Pressed to the Heavenly Court, One of the Three Souls Missing

"Is this a bit unexpected? Please calm down and let me explain. There's a reason I came along..."

Noticing Qiu Yan's gaze, the Eight-Character Ancient Seal Inscription characters flowed even faster, and a childish voice came out, mixed with a hint of pride. But before he could finish speaking, Qiu Yan simply said "Farewell" and turned to leave, decisive and swift.

"What's going on! What's going on! This isn't right..."

The Eight-Character Ancient Seal Inscription remained rooted to the spot for a long while before resuming its flow, muttering to itself, and hurriedly followed.

The deity flew swiftly for a while, then pressed down the escape light and returned to the Netherworld Domain through an Agricultural School Stove Fire.

The Netherworld, the attic courtyard.

Stepping out from the stove in the courtyard, the deity looked up at the sky.

The River of Forgetfulness hangs in the sky, with several orbs of light floating around it, seemingly unchanged.

"It seems that a layer of divine power surrounds my Netherworld Domain, covering and concealing the entire valley and mountain, making it difficult for others to discover."

A thought flashed through his mind, and he realized who was behind it.

Then, two luminous figures emerged from the pavilion to greet them; they were Bai Wenpan and Huang Jue.

Huang Jue was very happy to see Qiu Yan. He was about to raise his hand to greet him when he saw Bai Wenpan bowing respectfully. Then he remembered something, stopped what he was doing, and bowed to him as well.

The deity sighed inwardly, then composed himself and spoke a few words. Bai Wenpan answered each question, and finally took out a ball of light.

"The Metropolitan City God came once, but did not enter. He entrusted this to me to pass on to you."

Upon hearing this, the deity himself grasped the ball of light and crushed it.

Instantly, a thought flowed out from within and entered the mind of the true being.

"Hmm? The Metropolitan City God left a message, telling me to ignore her for the time being, and also specifying the identity of that Circuit City God. I originally thought that the Circuit City God was a relative of some important figure in the Heavenly Court, which is why he was so arrogant and domineering. I didn't expect that he was originally a god of the Heavenly Court, who was punished to Samsara for a certain matter, and later returned to the Divine Path."

After analyzing the information, the deity's gaze shifted, noticing Bai Wenpan's hesitant expression. He then asked, "Mr. Bai, if you have something to say, please speak plainly."

After listening, Bai Wenpan hesitated for a moment before saying, "The other day I heard a rumor that the Metropolitan City God had been captured by Celestial Soldiers and taken to the Heavenly Court."

"What? She's been taken to Heavenly Court?"

Qiu Yan looked surprised but did not inquire about the source of the information. He knew that even though deities like Bai Wenpan had lost power, they still had their own sources of information. Moreover, gods could extend their perception through believers, so even if they were in the Netherworld, they could still learn about news from the Mortal World.

"Min Yuan ..." Bai Wenpan pulled back the somewhat agitated Huang Jue, cupped his hands towards the deity's true form, "To be able to take away the City God of the Metropolitan City God in such a short time, it must have been with the Circuit City God's approval. Even if we wanted to help, we were powerless to do so. Moreover, Non-Self hadn't already escaped the Divine Office, we probably wouldn't have escaped the consequences either."

He was advising Qiu Yan to be patient and not act impulsively, and he also pointed out the potential threat to create a sense of urgency. This was both his own intention and an attempt to increase his own importance in Qiu Yan's eyes.

Huang Jue hearing this, Huang Jue understood the implications and suppressed his temper, letting out a sigh.

"The struggle between gods is really straightforward. The higher the rank, the greater the power. I am only Fifth Grade now, so I can't interfere with the affairs of higher ranks, but..." Qiu Yan's gaze swept around, feeling the power that enveloped the Domain of Law Mountain, recalling the information he had just received.

"The Metropolitan City God seemed to have anticipated this. After I left the Divine Office, she first imparted Divine Path knowledge to me, and then concealed my Domain of Law, as if she had been preparing for this all along..."

He suddenly recalled the conversation between Yin Xiao'e and Dong Grand Preceptor, and fragmented pieces of information in his mind were quickly pieced together.

"Could it be that being taken to the Heavenly Court was part of her plan? However, I also have a relationship with the Metropolitan City God of the Capital. No matter what, I can't ignore it, but I can't act blindly. I need to accumulate strength and reach a sufficient rank first. This is urgent. There were quite a few unexpected events during the trip to the ruins, which must have exceeded Yin Xiao'e's expectations. That's why she pointed out the origins of the Circuit City God and gave him a warning. Although I have left the Divine Office, given the status of the Circuit City God, taking him down wouldn't be too difficult if I really wanted to!"

Thinking of this, Qiu Yan felt a sense of urgency, knowing that his plan needed to be accelerated. Immediately afterward, the deity spoke, "I would like to ask Mr. Bai and Brother Huang for a favor."

"Please give your orders, sir," Bai Wenpan quickly replied.

The deity himself said directly, "There are some Wandering Soul on this Netherworld. Most of them had extraordinary cultivation in life, which is why they were able to regain their senses after death. Right now, I need a wandering soul who has some understanding of the path of Life Cultivation, preferably one who has successfully Soul Tempering Wandering Soul entered the Core-Forging Realm, to ask them some questions."

Bai Wenpan, understanding the implication, nodded and said, "I will certainly comply. With our low Divine Grade, apart from being enveloped by this Domain of Law, we would easily be lost if blown by the Yin winds of the Netherworld..."

Before he could finish speaking, the deity himself raised his hand and waved, sending out two Fire Star that landed on Bai Wenpan and Huang Jue, instantly warming their bodies.

"In that case, you can be assured of safety."

Having received the promise, Bai Wenpan and Huang Jue left with peace of mind.

At that moment, a childish voice suddenly came from behind the deity—

"If you want to know the details of Life Cultivation, why don't you come and ask me? It won't cost much."

Then, flames flickered on the stove in the courtyard, and eight Ancient Seal Script flew out, swirling in the air and quickly forming a sentence.

Qiu Yan was not surprised by this. When he stepped into the Yin-Yang Road from the Agricultural School Stove Fire, he maintained the path to attract the eight Ancient Seal Script. However, he did not respond to the words of the Eight-Character Ancient Seal Inscription, but instead stepped into the pavilion.

The Eight-Character Ancient Seal Inscription, without any hesitation, followed along, chattering on and on.

Not long after, Bai Wenpan and Huang Jue returned, accompanied by two trembling wandering Wandering Soul.

Looking at the two Wandering Soul, Qiu Yan scanned them with his senses and immediately noticed that these Wandering Soul were incomplete in terms of their Three Souls, lacking Earthly Soul.

His perception was tinged with divine power, and the two Wandering Soul, already sensitive, trembled immediately upon being touched.

They were powerful and influential in life, but only after death did they realize that Beyond Heaven and yin beyond yang. The causes they committed in life have all become the effects of their present lives, and even regret is useless. After their experiences, they lost their original spirit and now, feeling the majesty of the gods, they are even more trembling with fear.

The deity withdrew its senses and said, "There's no need to be nervous or worried. I've summoned you here to understand some things."

The two wandering Wandering Soul, having recovered their senses, quickly replied, "Whatever your question, Your Majesty, we will answer it without reservation."

The deity nodded. "I wonder what level of cultivation you two reached in your previous lives?"

"Reporting to Your Majesty," one of the Wandering Soul replied, "Both of us had Core Formation in our lifetimes."

Upon hearing this, the deity asked again, "That's for the best. Let me ask you, if the Golden Core is shattered, can it be restored?"

"A shattered Golden Core? Once the Golden Core is shattered, cultivation is completely destroyed, and True Essence will scatter throughout the world. Unless a powerful being suppresses it or a deity helps, one can barely cling to life, but recovery is almost impossible. At least, we have never heard of such a thing."

"Indeed, the Golden Core has shattered. To survive, one must use heavenly materials and earthly treasures and medicinal cuisine to nourish and prolong life. But since even the core has shattered, it means the physical body no longer exists. Therefore, one must first seize another's body, like a cuckoo taking over a magpie's nest. This will require considerable effort to merge the soul and the body..."

Upon hearing the question, the two Wandering Soul answered one after the other. In their previous lives, they had both Core Formation and were figures no less powerful than gods. However, they had committed too many sins and ended up in this state. It was a fitting retribution, and now their rough edges had long been smoothed out.

Hearing the words of the two souls, the deity nodded repeatedly. After thinking for a moment, he inquired about heavenly materials and earthly treasures and medicinal recipes, and wrote them down one by one.

After a long while, the matter was finally clarified, and the deity himself suddenly said, "What you two have said has been of great help to me. It would be impolite not to reciprocate. If you have any requests, you can make them, and it will be considered a fair exchange."

Upon hearing this, the two Wandering Soul were taken aback at first, but after confirming it, they were overjoyed.

One said, "We humbly request that the Divine Lord take us into the Domain of Law, even if we are just gatekeepers, we are willing to do so."

Another addition. "The Netherworld is fraught with danger for us, and we live in constant peril. If we can be taken in by the divine deity, we will be willing to give our lives for it from this day forward."

Qiu Yan had already intended to start with the Wandering Soul to understand the Netherworld. After hearing this, he pondered for a moment and then agreed, but he also had other arrangements, which he would not mention later.

Meanwhile, Bai Wenpan and the others led the Wandering Soul down, and the Eight-Character Ancient Seal Inscription surrounded them.

"If you have any questions in the future, feel free to ask me directly. I know far more than those two Wandering Soul. Besides, I've changed my mind; I won't take your money anymore."

The deity itself glanced at it. "Since you are the writing of Sage, yet you are not very clear about the identity of Sage, how could you know other things?"

"You don't know this, but I was sealed inside the Totem Pillar, yet I can sense the outside world. That tribe has changed hands many times, each time... Wait, you're trying to trick me again!" This time, the Eight-Character Ancient Seal Inscription reacted quickly, changing the subject, "Fine, how about this, you can ask me any questions, and I'll answer them to the best of my knowledge, and I won't charge you."

"Such a good thing?" The deity himself simply shook his head.

"Of course you have to give me something in return," the Eight-Character Ancient Seal Inscription floated over, "I don't want money, just give me a Divine Rank to play with, what do you say?"

"You want to become a god?" Upon hearing this, the deity himself was quite surprised, then shook his head. "My own Divine Rank is not yet secure, how can I bestow godhood upon others?" After saying this, he went deep into the pavilion and sat down cross-legged.

"Don't be so stingy..." The Eight-Character Ancient Seal Inscription was about to follow, but it was blocked by a faint divine light. Then, a Li Trigram appeared in front of the deity.

Incense Thoughts permeate the air, slowly unfolding.

Wuxin City, post house.

The scholar's clone slowly got up, moved his hands and feet, and made crackling sounds all over his body, like beans being fried in an iron pot.

"My hands and feet feel a bit rusty after not moving for a few days."

Shaking his head, the scholar got up from the bed and took a few steps. Suddenly, he heard a soft knock on the door, and then Luo Jiayun pushed the door open and entered, carrying a bowl of soup. When he saw Qiu Yan get up, a look of joy appeared on his face.

"Brother Qiu, you're finally awake."

Before long, news of Qiu Yan's awakening spread throughout the inn, causing quite a stir. (To be continued)

P. S.: Thanks to "Heartbroken Puppy" for the monthly vote!

Thank you to "Volcano1889", "Torreya grandis", and "Chao Qin Mu" for the generous donations!