Undead Demi-plane

Da Ming finished speaking, and without waiting for Mu En to respond, he took Er Ming and leaped away, leaving only two fading streaks of light behind.

High in the air, only Mu En remained.

He looked down at the massive crater below, fell silent for a moment, and then once again swept his spiritual power over every inch of the pit, attempting to uncover any lingering clues.

However, it was a pity; there was nothing.

It was completely clean, as if a piece of this space had been cut right out of a canvas.

Mu En retracted his spiritual power and sighed softly.

Just then, several streams of light streaked across the horizon and landed beside him.

An elderly man with white hair, dressed casually and holding a chicken leg, landed. His face still bore a hint of drunkenness and grease as he asked urgently:

"What happened, Elder Mu?"

Mu En looked at the grease from the chicken leg on the man's face, remained silent for a moment, and shook his head.

"Nothing."

Another figure descended—a middle-aged man. Mu En looked over and spoke instinctively: "Shao Zhe, you..."

Halfway through his sentence, Mu En paused.

He saw the middle-aged man looking at the massive crater below with a hint of panic, somewhat dazed. Hearing Mu En's voice, the man looked up: "What is it, Elder Mu?"

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

"...Nothing."

He turned his head again to look at two other figures who had already begun organizing personnel, and instructed:

"Lin'er, Duoduo, I will leave the search work here to you both. Remember, send more soul masters to check carefully, but there is no need to force it.

"If there really is nothing to be found, just have people fill in the crater."

Xian Lin'er and Qian Duoduo nodded. One turned back to the academy to call for help, while the other began directing the soul masters present to start their work.

Mu En looked down at the shocking crater with a complex gaze. He scanned his surroundings, only to see the crowd growing larger and larger.

Whether they were Shrek students, teachers, or elders of the Sea God Pavilion, they were all gathering around him, just standing there and watching.

Mu En frowned.

"Why are you all gathered here?! Disperse, go back. There is nothing here for you to do."

His voice was not loud, yet it reached the ears of everyone present clearly, carrying an unquestionable majesty.

The surrounding crowd hurried away, not daring to linger.

Mu En sighed lightly, and his figure vanished from where he stood.

A moment later, below the freshman dormitory building.

Under that old tree.

Mu En leaned back in his recliner, looking up at the clouds drifting slowly across the sky, and sighed once more.

Why did he feel inexplicably exhausted?

On the other side, inside Shrek City.

Da Ming and Er Ming walked side by side on their way back. The streets were bustling with people, and the sounds of hawking rose one after another. Everything was the same as any other day; the sudden explosion outside the city had caused no ripples here.

Er Ming looked at the silent Da Ming, finally unable to hold back. He leaned in closer and asked in a cautious, low voice:

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

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

The reason he and Er Ming had gone to the explosion site was essentially to search for that mysterious power capable of shielding them from the detection of a God King.

At the battlefield of the explosion, although he had indeed sensed an extreme aura of light that had erased all traces—a power that was very strong, seemingly even reaching the level of a deity—the nature of that power did not seem to be the existence they were searching for.

However...

"Actually, it wasn't without its gains," Da Ming suddenly said.

Er Ming was stunned and asked in confusion: "What do you mean, Big Brother?"

Da Ming looked ahead, his tone calm: "Didn't you notice? The location where that explosion occurred was also within the range of the concealment."

Er Ming paused, then his eyes lit up, his voice tinged with urgency:

"Could it be...?"

Da Ming shook his head, not letting him jump to a conclusion: "I'm not certain if it is, but at the very least, we can confirm that this special field of concealment is not limited to Shrek City; it is gradually extending outward.

"For us, that counts as good news."

Er Ming breathed a sigh of relief and nodded.

Regardless of anything else, progress was better than nothing.

The two walked for a while longer and soon saw the two shops, which already looked brand new.

Workers moved in and out, the clanging of hammers echoing incessantly as they performed the final decorations.

Da Ming watched with a satisfied nod, but then, remembering something, he asked casually, "By the way, where is Dong'er?"

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

Da Ming paused slightly, then nodded.

During this period, he had sent people to investigate the background of the youth named Jiang Ci'an and the young girl named Xiao Xiao who was by his side.

The information had arrived quickly; it wasn't much, but it was enough for him to sketch out a clear profile.

Two orphans who had lost their parents at a young age, growing up by relying on each other.

No complex background, no hidden forces lurking in the shadows—they were clean and simple, making his previous precautions and speculations seem somewhat redundant.

Da Ming sighed inwardly, recalling his earlier wariness and the unintentional mention of the other party's parents. Now, he only felt...

I really deserve to die.

Shaking his head, Da Ming instructed, "Just don't go disturbing them. Those two children are both good kids."

On the other side.

In a world where the light was dim.

A black sun hung in the sky, emitting an eerie purple radiance that shrouded the entire land in a cold and grotesque halo.

Looking out, the terrain of this world was uneven; there were no plants, only bare, grey-black earth and the faint, broken remains of bones visible in the distance.

Jiang Ci'an stood on the grey-black soil, his golden eyes shimmering with light as he surveyed everything around him, especially the iconic black sun in the sky.

Undead Demi-plane.

He silently confirmed the name of this place in his heart.

This was a private plane created by Electrolux for the study of certain necromancy.

Being able to appear here meant that his plan—at least the part about guiding Electrolux to descend early—had truly succeeded.

He had bet correctly.

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

"Young friend?"

Jiang Ci'an snapped back to reality, turned around to face the grey figure, and bowed respectfully.

"Thank you for saving me, Senior."

Electrolux looked at him, shook his head, and chuckled softly.

"It is I who should be thanking you."

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

"If you hadn't used high heat to stimulate the powerful life energy of the Gold of Life, I would not have been attracted, nor would I have been able to recover a sliver of my physical form as I have now."

"It was not I who saved you, but you who saved yourself."