Teaching

Wu Pifu and Lin Heier returned to the room, both looking terrible.

They then described everything they had seen and heard. Though their account was not necessarily complete, and they could not fully convey the shock of witnessing it for the first time, the other three were still horrified.

This was far more shocking than seeing paper figures swallow a living person whole. Those were ghosts!

Everyone fell silent. Lin Heier asked, "Master, will this devouring make those paper figures stronger?"

Wu Pifu shook his head, indicating that he did not know. Xu Shilan, however, said, "Very likely. Energy does not disappear out of thin air; it only changes from one form to another. This applies to most things in the world. Since the paper figures have begun devouring wandering ghosts, it means those ghosts are useful to them. They may truly begin growing stronger."

Xu Rongyu immediately started cursing. "We never should have come to this mortuary!"

Wu Pifu shot him a glare. "Where else were we supposed to go? We're human. We need food, water, sleep, and a place to relieve ourselves. The wilderness might not have wandering ghosts, but how would we eat? How would we rest? Were we supposed to play survivalists in the wild? After a few days, would we still have the strength and focus to deal with paper figures?"

Yamadai also said, "Those paper figures can float. The wilderness is full of changing terrain, and we have no defensive structures. If we encounter them, we could be surrounded from every direction."

Xu Rongyu opened his mouth, wanting to argue, but no words came out. Especially when he recalled the terrifying sight of Xuanhua Prefecture filled with paper figures, he could only lower his head in despair.

At that moment, Lin Heier said thoughtfully, "Master, everyone, I think those paper figures may be yin-aligned entities. Everything in the world can be reduced to yin and yang. Ghosts are yin-aligned too. When they are devoured by the paper figures, the paper figures may grow, but they remain yin-aligned. That is why we can burn them with torches, and why our vital energy and blood can barely resist them... So can vital energy and blood be layered together with flame?"

The others did not understand, but Wu Pifu seemed to realize something. He walked over to a torch, removed it from its holder, gripped it in his palm, and unleashed his hidden force. The force spread upward along the torch, as if he had blown a breath into the flames. The firelight immediately surged, then settled back down. He looked at Lin Heier and asked, "Is this what the Holy Mother meant?"

Lin Heier nodded. "Exactly. Unfortunately, we only possess hidden force. If we were Grandmasters of transformed force, we could continuously extend the power of our vital energy and blood into the flames. But we can only unleash hidden force four or five times at most within an hour. Any more would damage our foundations... I just do not know whether such flames could kill those paper figures in a single blow."

Wu Pifu said nothing, only silently committing the information Lin Heier had mentioned to memory.

Wu Pifu had also learned much about this world from Xu Rongyu. The power system openly known in this world was likewise martial arts, not much different from the world where he had obtained the Tiger Demon Art. Xu Rongyu had mentioned many master-level figures, such as his father Xu Zhenshan and Lin Heier, senior sister of the Red Lantern Society.

Although Xu Zhenshan was Xu Rongyu's father, Xu Rongyu still believed Lin Heier was stronger. His father had come from an unorthodox background and had never received systematic instruction or training. Now in his forties, his physical strength had already begun to decline. Though his Stele-Slamming Hand was highly praised among northern martial artists, Lin Heier's standing in the martial world far surpassed his father's.

Lin Heier, the Yellow Lotus Holy Mother—hers was a resounding name among northern martial artists.

And what Lin Heier had said just now was likely without exaggeration. She could unleash four or five hidden-force attacks in roughly two hours. That was probably the standard of a true hidden-force martial artist—perhaps even an elite hidden-force martial artist.

As for Wu Pifu, he had tested himself before. In a single battle, he could unleash hidden force ten to twelve times, and after resting for less than an hour, he could recover his stamina and resume circulating his vital energy and blood. Taken together, he was far more than a little stronger than Lin Heier.

The enhancement from the second stage of the physical body was truly like a qualitative transformation.

(Would it be better if I directly enhanced my physical body's tier from now on?)

The more Wu Pifu thought about it, the more he shook his head with a laugh.

There was no guarantee they would even survive this dream world, yet he was already thinking about the future. Besides, he only had one hundred and seventy days left to live. Even if he had another chance to enhance himself, he had to desperately improve his Tiger Demon Art proficiency. Otherwise, he would be unable to suppress the backlash of negative thoughts. If they erupted, he would go mad and die. That would be truly unjust.

At that moment, Xu Shilan suddenly spoke. "Then can't we strike directly at the root? These paper figures have tremendous vitality. Even touching them drains life force and vital energy. They can devour wandering ghosts to grow stronger, and there are only a dozen or so right now. Who knows how many there will be later? Can't we solve the root cause behind the paper figures once and for all?"

Yamadai was one thing—he truly had little sense of concern and had actually begun nodding off—but the other three froze briefly before breaking into bitter smiles.

Xu Rongyu spoke first. "Big sis... no, Sis, do you even know what you're saying? That is the Unborn Mother. We're barely clinging to life as it is. How are we supposed to solve the root cause of a being on the level of gods and Buddhas?"

Lin Heier also smiled bitterly. "Though it is an evil demon, an evil Buddha, if that truly is the Unborn Mother, then we mortals can never defeat Her. I do not even know what to do next. Most of the brothers and sisters in the society believe in Her. If they all turn into paper figures, then forget you and me—even the Huaxia Continent may sink into a ghost realm."

Even Wu Pifu said, "That thing is at least a nightmare below Baseline Reality 0.3. And I suspect it is not even a first- or second-level nightmare. At the very least, it is a nightmare above the third level. We really have the worst luck imaginable to have run into it. For now, we should think about how to keep delaying..."

Wu Pifu did not finish the rest, because if they held out for five days, they could return. Naturally, he could not say that aloud.

Xu Shilan shook her head. She gestured upward and said, "These paper figures did not appear out of nowhere. They were formed from threads lowered by the Unborn Mother. Have you noticed that the Unborn Mother cannot descend directly into this world? She can only lower threads, and those threads pass through a circular hole. So... can we break that hole and cut off the Unborn Mother's influence on this world?"

The three of them were stirred. Xu Rongyu aside, Lin Heier's heart immediately skipped a beat, and she blurted out, "If that is the case, can my sisters still be saved?"

After saying that, Lin Heier shook her own head. "No, they have already been transformed..." As she spoke, her eyes reddened, and tears nearly fell.

Wu Pifu pondered for a long while before shaking his head. "The Unborn Mother may be using that hole to project Her power, but it is also possible that the hole is what limits Her power and prevents Her from entering this world. Leaving aside whether we can break it, what if breaking it allows the Unborn Mother to truly enter this world? Forget us—everyone in this world might turn into paper things."

Xu Shilan remained calm. "Then this world would no longer be Baseline Reality 0.9."

Wu Pifu's heart stirred, but after thinking for a long time, he still shook his head. "Too difficult. And we do not even know what we could use to break it. Forget everything else—there is the issue of height. By my estimate, it is around fifty meters up. I only practice martial arts; I have not turned into Superman. Go ahead and teach me how to jump fifty meters into the air in this era."

Xu Shilan smiled and kicked Yamadai with her foot. Yamadai abruptly opened his eyes, still looking confused. He had not heard a word of the discussion. Xu Shilan explained the situation, and after thinking for a moment, Yamadai said, "There are bamboo poles and vines here. I can make a simple launching device. Sending you fifty meters into the air would not be difficult. There are two hard parts: accuracy, and how you would land safely."

Wu Pifu spread his hands toward Xu Shilan, indicating that this was not his fault.

But Lin Heier suddenly said, "Are you discussing a method to prevent the Unborn Mother from influencing this world, or to drive Her out of this world?"

Yamadai laughed contemptuously. "A mere native knows about this world and worlds beyond it?"

Lin Heier's face darkened with anger, though she was already used to it. This was simply the face of foreign devils. She said in a low voice, "How could I not? Buddhism says that worlds are infinite: minor thousand worlds, medium thousand worlds, and major thousand worlds. I once had doubts, but since the Unborn Mother truly exists, infinite worlds naturally exist as well. The world connected through that little hole in the sky is most likely the True Emptiness Homeland."

Yamadai was instead taken aback. Wu Pifu waved a hand at him, then said to Lin Heier, "But is the Unborn Mother not your faith?"

Lin Heier said solemnly, "What I believe in is a compassionate Mother, the Mother of Buddhism, a savior who rescues the people—not this evil demon, this evil Buddha that uses human bodies as materials to weave nightmares! If She is not driven away, then our deaths are a small matter. The world falling into a ghost realm and the children of China turning into paper figures—that is the great disaster... Though Master has said that breaking it may allow Her into this world, what difference is there between that and Her already entering it? There are millions of Her believers throughout China. If they all turn into paper figures, the consequences would be unimaginable!"

With that, Lin Heier stood and solemnly bowed to Wu Pifu. Then she said, "Master, please help me break that circular hole!"

Wu Pifu looked displeased. "You heard it yourself just now. There are two problems: accuracy, and how to land. I..."

"Force control will suffice!"

Lin Heier continued, "Master possesses hidden force, so you naturally know that hidden force is the ability to control one's force to an extraordinary degree. The same is true of transformed force afterward. A catapult or similar tool naturally lacks accuracy, but if Master goes up personally, then with force control, the aim will be absolutely precise. As for landing, that too is merely a matter of force control. I have personally seen Grandmasters leap from cliffs. From heights of seventy or eighty meters, they merely rolled several times and borrowed force a few times to disperse the impact, suffering no harm at all!"

Wu Pifu sneered. "You said it yourself—they were Grandmasters, wielders of transformed force. And they could roll and use the cliff to borrow force. But for me, it would be a sheer drop of fifty meters..."

"I will teach Master the Lotus-Seated Force!"

Lin Heier said decisively, "Master's talent is extraordinary, and your vital energy and blood are so abundant that you scarcely seem human. My Lotus-Seated Force is an unparalleled supreme art, a secret never passed on. It can briefly imitate the legendary supernatural abilities of pellet force!"

At this point, Lin Heier suddenly knelt, prostrating herself fully. "I beg Master to hold all living beings in your heart. If we succeed, Lin Heier is willing to offer the complete Yellow Lotus Holy Mother Art!"