Demons and Ghosts

The Spell Seal was complete.

But Xu Yuan did not move for a long time.

He still felt...

As though something was missing.

He scratched his head, got up, took a bottle of cold water from the fridge, and drank it slowly.

Even though he had reached the Qi Refining Second Layer—

He had gotten up early to deliver food to the hospital, then fought Jiang Xueyao when they assembled at school; battled for hours during the monthly exam and killed a Ninth Layer of Qi Refining Human-Skin Monster; completed an entire set of comprehensive exam papers that afternoon, had his Spiritual Root tested, and met teachers from Luofu and the Nine Luminaries; swung his sword after school to scare off those swarming admirers; completed the Witch's Heart selection that evening; gone shopping for shoes and a Formation Disc, then bought groceries and daily necessities; and come home to do homework until midnight.

In short.

He needed to pull himself together.

He slowly finished the bottle of cold water, then took a shower.

He started with hot water, switched to cold, alternated between them for seven or eight minutes, then dried off.

He dried his hair.

Changed into clean clothes.

And swallowed an extra-strength Awakening Spirit Pill. (Zhao Afei had whispered, "This is the good stuff. Just buying the formula from the graduates cost me several sets of resources.")

Good.

He was brimming with energy!

Xu Yuan rubbed his hands together, feeling his fighting spirit surge.

Granted.

He had already reached Qi Refining, and his swordsmanship was accomplished. Getting into a top university would be no problem.

He really could get a good night's sleep right now.

He could even go out and have fun every day starting tomorrow.

But.

He had promised to meet Yang Xiaobing at Luofu.

He still wanted to see the summit of this world.

And there was that Nightmare-Level Competition.

Time waits for no one, man.

This world was even more rigidly divided by class than Earth. From the news and the original body's memories, he had already seen plenty of real problems.

If he could not become strong enough before those cruel realities came for him—

Things would end badly.

"Adversity gives life; comfort brings death."

He murmured the words several times, a sharper glint entering his eyes.

His hands formed a seal, drawing forth Spiritual Power.

The art took shape.

In an instant.

An icy aura bubbled up and spread throughout the living room.

Fire.

Fire without the slightest warmth began to burn once more.

Smoke carrying a jumble of strange smells emerged from the void and descended over the entire room.

Sensing something, Xu Yuan suddenly turned his head.

Cold mist churned endlessly in his bedroom, carrying an air of ancient desolation.

Let's go.

Take another look!

He strode quickly into the bedroom.

At first, the passage was so narrow that only one person could pass.

After he walked several dozen steps.

The way ahead suddenly opened up.

Dull gray sand covered everything in sight.

A Bronze Man lay on the ground.

His father had left it behind.

Xu Yuan hurried over and searched carefully.

Where's the Dried Corpse?

I remember throwing it here.

Why isn't it here?

Following his memory, Xu Yuan found the spot and dug several meters down.

Nothing!

"Don't tell me it ran off... That's impossible."

Xu Yuan muttered, then abruptly fell silent.

Across the desert.

A trail of distinct footprints stretched toward the distant mist.

It really came alive.

But where would a Dried Corpse go?

Xu Yuan followed the footprints.

Before long.

He picked up speed.

The Netherworld Passage Art continuously consumed Spiritual Power.

He was only at the Qi Refining Second Layer, and his reserves were limited.

He had to hurry!

Xu Yuan sprinted on and soon reached the crest of an exceptionally tall sand dune.

He stood atop it and looked down, unable to keep from saying:

"...How can that be?"

Below him was an oasis!

And not just an oasis, but a town.

Broken walls and ruins stood throughout the town, partly buried by windblown sand. It looked especially desolate and lonely.

Should I go down and have a look?

As he considered it, he spotted something moving among the ruins.

It was the Dried Corpse!

Though it was far away, he had a clear view from above, with no blowing sand to obscure his sight.

So Xu Yuan could clearly see the wandering Dried Corpse.

Xu Yuan swept forward on the wind, his toes tapping lightly against the sand. With just a few bounds, he landed before it.

"Who are you? What do you want?"

The Dried Corpse roared.

Lines of faint, glowing text quietly appeared above its head:

"?"

"Monster classification."

"—An ordinary thing that has undergone a bizarre transformation, a rarity in this world, alive and thus a monster."

Suddenly—

Several more lines of text appeared before Xu Yuan's eyes:

"You have encountered a 'monster.' Your general knowledge of the world has expanded as follows:"

"Birds and beasts that cultivate and take human form are demons;"

"Beings whose single thought leads them into corruption, with no return, are fiends;"

"Lives that have ended yet retain a spirit are ghosts;"

"Ordinary things that undergo bizarre transformations and come alive are monsters."

"—These are the meanings of demons, fiends, ghosts, and monsters."

All the text vanished.

Xu Yuan looked at the Dried Corpse—now it was a "monster."

So.

Should I kill the monster?

Wait a moment.

Xu Yuan spread his hands and said earnestly:

"Someone hid you under my sofa. I'm the one who brought you here."

"Do you remember who killed you?"

The Dried Corpse thought for a moment. "I think I have some recollection. Shall we talk?"

"No problem," Xu Yuan said.

Before Xu Yuan had finished speaking, the Dried Corpse suddenly vanished from where it stood.

So fast!

In an instant.

Xu Yuan activated the Qiong Jia Sword's Blowing Snow divine might and slashed hard at his side!

Clang.

A crisp ring sounded.

The Dried Corpse flew backward, landed lightly, and looked down at its hand.

A bloody cut on it was already closing.

"You have a fine sword."

It licked the wound on its wrist while glaring viciously at Xu Yuan.

Xu Yuan was a little surprised.

The Qiong Jia Sword had Sharpness +5. Ordinary swords could not withstand a single strike from it.

Yet this Dried Corpse had barely suffered a scratch?

What a monster.

"Hey, you're alive again thanks to me. You don't need to attack me."

Xu Yuan sounded displeased.

"That's why I want to kill you and make you one of my kind," the Dried Corpse explained.

"If I die, you can make me one of your kind?" Xu Yuan asked with interest.

"No," said the Dried Corpse.

Xu Yuan's mouth twitched. He was starting to want to kill this monster.

But his Spiritual Power was not fully replenished.

Besides.

He needed to use the bathroom.

You could not hold your bladder forever.

Especially not as a teenage boy.

So—

"Forget it. I'll come back next time."

Having made up his mind, Xu Yuan was about to dismiss the Netherworld Passage Art.

But at that very instant.

Something unexpected happened—

He suddenly noticed the silver ring on his finger trembling faintly.

The pendant also gave off waves of soft, resonant sound.

The Truth Set seemed to be reacting!

Lines of faint, glowing text flashed into view:

"You have reached the ruins '???' and fulfilled the prerequisites. You may now activate the Truth Soul Art:"

"Azure Heaven Draws Yellow Springs."

"Channel Spiritual Power into the Final Enlightenment Ring and the Final Truth Emblem."

Xu Yuan was startled.

This art could only be activated at a "designated ritual ground."

He had originally planned to get a Blank Historical Branch and see whether it could activate the Soul Art.

He had not expected—

To find a place that met the requirements in the world reached through the Netherworld Passage Art!

Then he could not leave.

He stood where he was, silently sensing the reactions from the ring and pendant.

And relieved his bladder.

The Dried Corpse wandered around several dozen meters away for a while, then suddenly lunged at him again, both hands reaching for Xu Yuan's groin.

Xu Yuan was getting a little rattled.

First a sneak attack, now a grab for his crotch—

Even a monster ought to pick its moments to act up.

Clang!

The longsword flashed out, unleashing a dense flurry of Sword Qi that hissed through the air.

Flying Swallow Chain! Flying Swallow Chain! Flying Swallow Chain!

Twenty-four arcs of Sword Qi slashed the monster into the air—

"Go."

Xu Yuan gave a low shout.

The longsword turned into a streak of light and shot skyward, striking with all its might!

Flying Sword: Swallow's Return!

The Dried Corpse barely managed to block with both hands. Black blood sprayed as the blow sent it crashing into a distant building like a heavy cannon shell. With a strange shriek, it fled.

—It had run away!

Seizing the moment—

Xu Yuan zipped up his pants and poured Spiritual Power into the Final Enlightenment Ring and the Final Truth Emblem.

A strange sight appeared!

Layers of light and shadow spread through the air, forming an image that slowly unfolded amid the lonely wind and sand.

The light and shadow spread rapidly, overlapping the ruins of the town. In fact—

They replaced the town below.

Before he knew it,

a cloaked cultivator had appeared beside Xu Yuan, standing with him on a street in the middle of town.

"I don't know if it will work."

The cultivator spoke.

"What do you mean? And I haven't asked—who are you?" Xu Yuan said.

The cultivator neither answered nor looked at him. Instead, he took a ring and a pendant from inside his robe.

The Truth Set!

"I made this ring and pendant to record the truth as I know it—"

"Because I'm nearing the end of my life."

"Listen to me—"

"Ghosts cannot be seen, which makes them extremely hard to kill."

"Even if you succeed in killing Ghost Monsters, it will only ease the disasters plaguing the mortal world for a while. In the end, it won't do much good."

"Because when people die, their souls have nowhere to go. After devouring one another, they will form powerful Ghost Entities all the same."

"As long as humanity survives, ghosts will never end."