Schemes of Gods and Ghosts

Yellow Wind Little Sage stared at the dim spiritual light in his palm, a trace of surprise flashing through his eyes.

[Name Beyond Life and Death

Type: Heaven-and-earth wonder

Quality: Incense Residue

Trait: False Immortality

Description: A mortal name unrecorded in the Book of Life and Death. Though upon death it neither enters reincarnation nor falls into Hell, it is therefore also difficult to transcend the Three Realms and Six Paths, with no hope of ascending to godhood!]

"Rumor has it that after Mythic Walkers with all five Mythic Traits perfected die, their bodies will produce special Mythic Materials." Yellow Wind Little Sage clicked his tongue in wonder.

"Hou Mingyuan had not even reached Scavenger Perfection, yet because White Impermanence's Edict manifested, he forcibly produced the core trait originating from the fur of the Undying Divine Monkey."

"This name, unrecorded in the Book of Life and Death, had been passed down from the Mythic Era to this day, and actually transformed directly into Mythic Material. One truly had to marvel at the mysteries of the Celestial Circuit Realm."

After his brief amazement, Yellow Wind Little Sage immediately composed himself and stored the Mythic Material in Greedy Mouth. The Baleful Chill Fork that had flown deep into the forest was also drawn by the wind, slicing through the air as it returned to his hand.

Having done all this, Yellow Wind Little Sage glanced at the small corpse before the Northern Yin Mountain Temple and sighed inwardly.

With a flick of his finger, flames condensed from magical power fell upon the corpse.

A few breaths later, the tiny figure that had lain there vanished without a trace, leaving behind only a small pile of fine ash that the night wind gently scattered.

Having done all this, Yellow Wind Little Sage swiftly turned and strode toward the main gate of the Northern Yin Mountain Temple.

When White Impermanence's Edict had appeared moments ago, the entire temple had shone brilliantly, with strange phenomena erupting everywhere.

Such a disturbance could never have escaped the notice of the other Mythic Walkers active within the Yin Mountain Realm. Someone might already have been on their way.

He had to seize this moment, obtain the Mount Luofeng Deity Tablet as quickly as possible, and leave at once.

As he pushed open the main gate, the light shifted between brightness and darkness, and the scene before him rippled like water. When everything settled once more, the familiar interior of the mountain god temple appeared before him.

The imposing gods and ghosts guarding either side of the gate immediately revealed respectful expressions upon seeing Yellow Wind Little Sage.

"Fu Ming (Hui Yuan) pays his respects to Your Excellency, Little Sage!"

Yellow Wind Little Sage nodded slightly and casually asked, "Have you been guarding this place the entire time?"

Fu Ming answered respectfully:

"Under normal circumstances, this sliver of our divided souls cannot control these gods-and-ghosts bodies for long. Most of the time, we hide deep within them and sleep, allowing the bodies to punish outsiders.

"But ever since Your Excellency left last time, we gave up sleeping and waited all along for your return."

A thoughtful look flashed through Yellow Wind Little Sage's eyes.

Perhaps it was precisely because Fu Ming and Hui Yuan had controlled the gods-and-ghosts bodies during this period that the Yinshan Investigation Branch had found an opening.

They had used that child to test the compassion of the two gods and ghosts, thereby deducing the existence of Fire Stealers.

If their divided souls had fallen asleep and the gods-and-ghosts bodies had been left entirely to act on their own, they would never have distinguished between adults and children. Every violator would have received equal punishment. There would never have been a situation where "the child was merely expelled rather than directly killed."

Moreover, Fu Ming and Hui Yuan were, in essence, still scholars of Jade Capital Academy. Strictly speaking, they were still university students.

Born of the Ivory White Tower, they had reached Scavenger Perfection before experiencing much of the world's treachery.

It was precisely because they lacked experience that they had been influenced by their own emotions and failed to kill that little girl on the spot at the final moment.

Had they been those old, wily Fire Stealers, they would never have exposed such an obvious flaw.

As Yellow Wind Little Sage pondered this, Fu Ming stepped forward with a tense expression and urgently asked:

"Your Excellency, Little Sage, could it be that you have obtained an edict from a deity of the Ancient Underworld?"

The Northern Yin Mountain Temple had just displayed such violent phenomena, its radiance soaring into the heavens as Dao resonance flowed through it. Naturally, such a disturbance could not have escaped the two gods and ghosts stationed here.

Coupled with Yellow Wind Little Sage's return at precisely this moment, they immediately connected it to the matter of a deity's edict.

Yellow Wind Little Sage took out White Impermanence's Edict and showed it to the two gods and ghosts.

"Does this edict meet the rules?"

The two gods and ghosts, Fu Ming and Hui Yuan, did not answer immediately.

They exchanged a glance, their expressions becoming more solemn than ever. Their armored gods-and-ghosts bodies began to emit an aura of the Netherworld Underworld, and the surrounding temperature plummeted, as though they had crossed from the human world into the Netherworld Underworld.

Within the two gods and ghosts, the slivers of Fire Stealer divided souls that had been hidden deeply slowly emerged. They condensed into the shapes of illusory palms and cautiously reached toward the edict.

Yellow Wind Little Sage's heart tightened. Even though they had sent down only slivers of their divided souls, he still felt immense pressure.

The chasm between Scavenger Perfection and ordinary Mythic Walkers was displayed in all its fullness at this moment.

This action seemed to offend White Impermanence's Edict. The scarlet words written in blood upon that white slip of paper instantly blazed with light.

Inside the entire Northern Yin Mountain Temple, endless shadows began spreading from every direction. Those shadows twisted and converged like living things, projecting within the void a dark space resembling a reflection of the present world.

Within that bizarre space formed from pure shadows, a tall figure could vaguely be seen.

It was a god and ghost clad in white, wearing a tall hat bearing the four words "Profit at First Sight."

His face was obscured by shadow and could not be seen clearly, but his eyes emitted a cold, ghostly light as they silently gazed toward this place.

"A deity! A genuine deity, absolutely not one of those False Gods!"

Fu Ming's voice was filled with excitement and wild joy.

He exchanged a look with Hui Yuan, and irrepressible delight gleamed in both their eyes. The two simultaneously increased the output of their divided souls, causing the illusory palms to become more solid.

Yet at that moment, White Impermanence's previously illusory projection abruptly froze. Those eyes veiled in shadow suddenly burst forth with dazzling divine light, as piercing as two cold moons.

It was as though a great will that had slumbered for countless ages had awakened from a long dream at this very moment.

White Impermanence's gaze began to solidify. The originally illusory dark space gradually became clear, and traces of materialization began appearing at its edges.

An invisible passage was slowly taking shape within the void, attempting to pierce through the spatial barrier of the Yin Mountain Realm and peer into the true state of the Northern Yin Mountain Temple.

The joy on the faces of the two gods and ghosts, Fu Ming and Hui Yuan, instantly froze, transforming into deep terror.

"It is a living deity! And it is within the bounds of this Celestial Circuit Realm!"

"How is that possible? How could a deity manifest in this place?"

To obtain the Mountain God Tablet, one needed an edict from a deity of the Ancient Underworld. That was indeed the rule of the Northern Yin Mountain Temple.

But when Fu Ming and Hui Yuan had stated that rule, the two gods and ghosts had harbored a small scheme of their own.

If Yellow Wind Little Sage used the power of the Yellow Wind Great Sage behind him to produce an edict left behind by a deity of the Ancient Underworld—

Then, while taking the Mountain God Tablet, the two gods and ghosts could seize the opportunity to use the abilities of Fire Stealers to try to steal the godhood carried within the edict.

If their scheme succeeded, they could greatly accelerate their accumulation of a trace of the godhood of the myriad immortals and gods, swiftly complete the Fire-Stealing Ritual, and advance to the Fire-Stealing Rank.

To them, that was a heaven-sent opportunity.

But all of that rested on one premise: the deity of the Ancient Underworld had to be dead!

They had never imagined that the edict Yellow Wind Little Sage produced would actually come from a living deity of the Ancient Underworld.

Not only had this failed to steal that trace of Ancient Underworld godhood, it had instead drawn the deity's gaze.

A deity of the Underworld that had survived from the Mythic Era until now—merely thinking of the height of its godhood was enough to fill them with despair.

For an existence like that, even a wisp of descending consciousness would be enough to crush the two insignificant Fire Stealers completely!