Night fell:
The Officiant Daoist Nun went to the red building where Zhao Fei and the others had died.
The red building, which should have been bustling, was now deserted.
In the hall where Zhao Fei and the others had died, skeletons embraced beautiful women and pretty boys, their hands wandering.
From time to time, they drank fine wine and ate exquisite dishes.
The wine poured down their throats and washed over their spines.
The food went down and hung from their ribs and hip bones.
The beautiful women and pretty boys forced smiles as they attended them carefully, occasionally having to clean out their pelvic bones.
Another skeleton kept observing all the others.
Its jaws opened and closed, its teeth clacking together, while it gestured wildly, as though saying or doing something.
The Officiant Daoist Nun stared at the scene, utterly bewildered.
Someone beside her explained in a low voice, "These fellows keep repeating everything they did in life."
"We originally arranged for some pig spirits, rabbit spirits, and the like to keep them company."
"But they killed all those spirits!"
"After killing the spirits, these fellows grew stronger."
"We had Foundation Establishment Ancestors intervene, but it did no good at all."
"On the contrary, they ate two Foundation Establishment Ancestors alive."
The Officiant Daoist Nun sneered inwardly. Foundation Establishment Ancestors? Things I could finish off with two spells dare call themselves ancestors?
With nothing but inferior magical power and no refined spells, how could they protect their path?
She disdained them inwardly but could not be bothered to argue.
She continued observing the skeletal anomalies, then examined them with spells such as Inchlight Art and smiled faintly.
"These anomalies are weak. I can handle them."
"But... it'll cost extra!"
The people from the Blissful Union House and the Zhao Household frowned at once. "Extra? We paid you last time, but you failed to dispose of the corpses properly!"
"Not making you compensate us now is already an enormous kindness!"
"And you dare ask us for money? Have you lost your mind?"
The Officiant Daoist Nun glared. "Before you handed the corpses over to us, you said there was nothing wrong with them-you were only worried something might happen."
"But the corpses started waving their arms and kicking their legs while they were still on the road."
"You lied to me, and now you want me to take responsibility?"
"Heh..."
"No money, no help!"
A Foundation Establishment Ancestor from the Blissful Union House spoke up. "Little girl, watch your arrogant mouth!"
"Believe me when I say I can stop you from leaving this building."
The Officiant Daoist Nun chuckled. "I really don't believe you!"
"You're merely at Foundation Establishment through the New Method. What gives you the right to throw your weight around?"
"Threaten me? Are you worthy?"
Boom!
The Blissful Union House's Foundation Establishment Ancestor unleashed his imposing aura to suppress the Officiant Daoist Nun.
Yet the Officiant Daoist Nun did not even glance at him, as though she felt nothing.
A Foundation Establishment Ancestor from the Zhao Household spoke up beside them. "Little girl, a hundred thousand Green Beetles. You take care of it."
"Our two sides will each shoulder part of the responsibility."
The Officiant Daoist Nun shook her head. "Too little. Three hundred thousand, at least."
"I can't guarantee I can handle this alone. I need help, and hiring help costs money too."
After some discussion, the two sides finally settled on a price of three hundred thousand Green Fly Coins.
"Pay first!"
The Blissful Union House and the Zhao Household hesitated, then ultimately paid only a hundred thousand as a deposit. "You'll get the balance when it's done!"
The Officiant Daoist Nun began contacting people to help.
She sent the Dream Nun a message. After some hesitation, the Dream Nun agreed to come help.
She sent Wang Quan a message, but he did not reply.
She contacted others and soon found two more cultivators proficient in ritual procedures and underworld spells.
The four gathered, chattered through a discussion, and began employing their methods to clear away the anomalies.
One cultivator arranged ritual procedures, while another adjusted the rooms' layout to change the flow of feng shui.
The Dream Nun released belts that transformed into Beauty Snakes. They dug holes throughout the courtyard, adjusted the surrounding Earth Veins, and positioned props such as paulownia-wood figures and iron figures.
The Lower Court:
Wang Quan arranged his materials, then lay down in a coffin.
Over the years, as he learned about the Lower Court, he had discovered something:
These coffins were actually very precious.
Through formations, materials, and the nourishment of generation after generation of immortality seekers, these coffins could calm the spirit and still the mind, making them ideal for use when the Yin Spirit roamed.
They could also nourish and shelter the Yin Spirit.
Thus, rather than finding a meditation chamber, he lay inside his coffin to begin his first excursion.
Inside the coffin, he positioned an incense burner and placed a stick of incense in it.
He had also prepared all the other materials and set them within easy reach.
Once everything was ready, he recited the Yin Spirit Scripture.
The next second, the sandalwood incense in the burner began to burn.
At that moment, all of Wang Quan's thoughts entered the Yin Spirit within his Inner Landscape.
A short while later, a wooden door appeared in the Inner Landscape.
The wooden door was crude. His Yin Spirit pushed it open and stepped outside.
The next second:
Wang Quan saw a different world.
In the Real World, the Coffin Dormitory Area where he was staying was pitch-black, but once his Yin Spirit ventured out, the Coffin Dormitory Area he saw shone as brightly as day.
Beyond the Coffin Dormitory Area, however, everything was pitch-black.
With a shift of thought, he examined himself.
He found that his Yin Spirit looked exactly like his physical body. He pinched his arm; it felt fleshy, only slightly cool.
With another shift of thought, he took a step and crossed several hundred meters.
He did not rush to leave the Coffin Dormitory Area. Instead, he moved around first, familiarizing himself with walking as a Yin Spirit and sensing his physical body.
Finally, with a thought, a layer of mist appeared over his Yin Spirit, concealing his features.
Only once he was familiar with everything and fully prepared did he step out of the light and into the darkness.
Outside the coffin district, he surveyed his surroundings:
Amid the endless darkness, only the coffin dormitories and the Scripture Repository had broad stretches of light. Most other places were dark, with scattered candle flames in a few areas.
He looked up at the moon, then fell silent.
Because:
The moon in the sky was no longer golden yellow, but pale red.
The Daoist Scriptures record that the moonlight here can be harvested to refine spells such as thunderfire, specifically for harming Yin Spirits and corrupting Magic Treasures.
But now isn't the time to harvest it.
First, I'll see what the Lower Court looks like in the Second-Layer World.
As he walked, he discovered that many buildings, plants, and other things in the Second-Layer World were abnormal.
Some buildings twisted into spirals that soared skyward. Some plants had sprouted flesh and blood, or even heads, and looked eerily sinister.
This seemed like another world. The layout of most places matched the Real World, while only a few areas showed severe deviations.
He remembered that one area should have housed the superior dormitories in the Real World, but now it was a great tomb.
The great tomb was sinister. The Tomb Guardian Beast crouching at its entrance bled from all seven orifices, radiating murderous intent and looking utterly ferocious.
According to the Daoist Scriptures, the buildings, layouts, and so forth in the Second-Layer World correspond to those in the physical world.
If they don't correspond, it means the buildings or layouts in the Second-Layer World harbor danger.
Only by clearing away the danger at the corresponding location can the Real World's buildings be reflected here.
The more complete and similar a building complex's corresponding structure is in the Second-Layer World, the safer that area is.
At that moment, he saw hundreds of Yin Spirits around the great tomb.
Some Yin Spirits carried lanterns into the Great Tomb, while others set up stalls outside it.
Wang Quan approached a stall and discovered that they sold materials and tools beneficial to Yin Spirits.
The most frequently traded items were candles and lanterns.
Before you continue