The Undead Demi-plane

Da Ming's words had barely faded when he took Er Ming and leaped away, without waiting for Mu En to respond. Only two streaks of light remained, growing more distant by the moment.

Only Mu En remained in midair.

He looked down at the enormous crater and fell silent for a moment. Then he once again swept every inch of it with his spiritual power, over and over, trying to find some trace of a clue.

Unfortunately, there was nothing.

It was spotless, as if someone had cut a piece of this space itself from a canvas.

Mu En withdrew his spiritual power and sighed softly.

Just then, several streaks of light swept across the horizon and landed beside him.

A white-haired old man in casual clothes came down, still holding a chicken leg in his hand. His face was flushed with drink and shiny with grease as he asked urgently:

"What happened, Mu En?"

Mu En looked at the grease from the chicken leg glistening on the other man's face. He fell silent for a moment, then shook his head.

"Nothing."

Another figure landed. It was a middle-aged man. Mu En looked over and instinctively began, "Shao Zhe, you..."

He stopped halfway through.

The middle-aged man was staring down at the enormous crater, looking somewhat flustered and dazed. Only when he heard Mu En speak did he raise his head. "What is it, Mu En?"

Mu En was silent for a moment, then shook his head.

"...Nothing."

He turned to look at the two figures on the other side, who had already begun organizing people, and instructed them:

"Lin'er, Duoduo, I'll leave the search here to you. Remember to send plenty of Soul Masters to examine the area carefully, but don't force it.

"If you really find nothing, have someone fill in the crater."

Xian Lin'er and Qian Duoduo nodded. One turned back to the academy to gather people, while the other stayed to direct the Soul Masters present.

Mu En looked at the crater below, its sight enough to make one's heart pound. His gaze swept around, only to find the crowd growing larger by the minute.

Some were Shrek's students and teachers; others were elders of the Sea God Pavilion. One by one, they gathered around him, just standing there and staring.

Mu En furrowed his brow.

"What are you all doing here?! Move along. Go back. There's nothing for you to do here."

His voice wasn't loud, but it rang clearly in everyone's ears, carrying an unquestionable authority.

The crowd quickly dispersed, not daring to linger.

Mu En sighed softly, and his figure vanished.

A moment later, beneath the freshman dormitory building.

Under the old tree.

Mu En reclined in a lounge chair, gazing up at the clouds drifting slowly across the sky. He sighed again.

Why did he suddenly feel so tired?

Elsewhere, in Shrek City.

Da Ming and Er Ming walked side by side along the road back. The streets were crowded, vendors' cries rose and fell, and everything was as it usually was. The sudden explosion beyond the city walls had stirred up no commotion.

Watching Da Ming walk in silence, Er Ming finally edged closer and asked in a careful whisper,

"Big Brother, do you think that commotion just now could have something to do with what we're looking for?"

Da Ming shook his head, his tone calm. "I'm not sure."

The real reason he and Er Ming had gone to the explosion site was to search for that mysterious power capable of blocking a God King's detection.

At the site of the blast, he had indeed sensed an ultimate aura of light that had erased every trace. It was powerful—so powerful that it seemed to have reached the level of a deity.

But judging from the nature of its power, it didn't seem to be the entity they were looking for.

Still...

"It wasn't a complete waste," Da Ming said suddenly.

Er Ming paused, confused. "What do you mean, Big Brother?"

Da Ming looked ahead, his tone steady. "Didn't you notice? The site of the explosion was also within the area being concealed."

Er Ming froze, then his eyes lit up, urgency creeping into his voice.

"Could it be...?"

Da Ming shook his head, not letting him jump to conclusions. "We can't be sure that's the case, but at least we know that the special concealing field isn't limited to Shrek City. It's gradually expanding outward.

"That's good news for us."

Er Ming breathed a sigh of relief and nodded.

Whatever else, progress was better than none.

They walked a little farther and soon came to the two shops, now completely transformed.

Workers went in and out as the clanging of hammers rang without pause. They were putting on the finishing touches.

Da Ming looked it over and nodded in satisfaction. Then he remembered something and asked casually:

"By the way, where's Dong'er?"

Er Ming thought for a moment. "Dong'er said she was going out for a stroll, and would stop by that pharmacy to have some fun. She said she wanted to make some friends."

Da Ming paused slightly, then nodded.

Recently, he had sent people to make a few inquiries about the background of the youth named Jiang Ci'an and the girl named Xiao Xiao who was with him.

The information had come back quickly. There wasn't much of it, but it was enough to give him a clear picture.

They were two orphans who had lost both parents in childhood and grown up relying on each other.

No complicated background, no hidden forces lurking in the shadows—clean and simple. His earlier suspicions and precautions now seemed rather unnecessary.

Da Ming sighed to himself. Remembering how wary he had been, and how he had unintentionally brought up their parents, all he could think was...

I deserve to die.jpg

He shook his head and gave an order:

"Just don't disturb them. Those two children are both good kids."

Elsewhere.

In a dimly lit world.

A black sun hung in the sky, radiating an eerie purple glow that shrouded the whole land in a cold, uncanny light.

The ground stretched into the distance, uneven and barren. There were no plants, only gray-black earth and the faint outlines of broken bones in the distance.

Jiang Ci'an stood on the gray-black earth, his golden eyes shimmering as he surveyed everything around him, especially the distinctive black sun in the sky.

The Undead Demi-plane.

He silently confirmed the name of this place.

This was a plane Electrolux had created for the sole purpose of studying a certain form of necromancy.

His appearance here meant that at least the part of his plan involving guiding Electrolux to descend early had succeeded.

He had bet correctly.

Jiang Ci'an felt a surge of excitement, but the next moment, an old and calm voice sounded beside his ear.

"Young friend?"

Jiang Ci'an came back to his senses and turned to face the gray figure. He bowed respectfully.

"Thank you for saving me, Senior."

Electrolux looked at him and shook his head with a soft laugh.

"I should be the one thanking you."

He raised his hand. In his palm appeared the Gold of Life, sealed by golden chains.

"If you hadn't used high temperatures to awaken the Gold of Life's powerful life energy, I wouldn't have been drawn here, much less recovered a little of my physical form as I have now.

"I didn't save you. You saved yourself."