The Underworld Goes Global

Hu Mang blinked, cut off the Divine Communication without saying a word, and then prepared to hang up the phone.

"Second brother, if you dare hang up the phone, I'll haunt you even as a ghost!" the Old Third said indignantly.

"Cough cough, do you think I'm that kind of person? Huh? Aren't you in Dachang City? What are you doing in Fengdu?" Hu Mang immediately shifted the blame.

"Isn't that to thank you for your promotion, Second Brother?!" the Old Third said through gritted teeth.

The matter wasn't complicated. Old Third, who was happily delivering takeout at Dachang, suddenly received a notice from his superiors that he had to participate in an internal assessment.

The matter was sudden, and the third Old Third immediately thought of the matter he had entrusted to his second brother to get a permanent position. He thought to himself that his second brother was really efficient, getting a permanent position so quickly. It really is true that having someone in high places makes things easier.

So, Chen Xiaosan has been busy with the so-called assessment for a while. After a series of complicated assessments, he successfully passed the test and entered Fengdu, or rather, this high-level ghost city!

So he immediately reported the good news to his second brother!

"... So, you're still delivering food, just in a different place, right?"

Hu Mang recalled what Eighth Master had said: the food delivery system and the Yin official system were different. What could be more effective in training frontline combat personnel than placing them in more dangerous places?

"Well, what a coincidence. If you had made it clear back then that you didn't want to deliver food, wouldn't I have let you change careers on the spot? What are we going to do now? Why don't you quit your job and become a consultant like me?" Hu Mang chuckled dryly.

"Boss, how can we be the same? Your mother is a government official, a child of the system, while I'm just a contract worker," the Old Third said bitterly.

"Hey, don't make me sound like some villainous rich kid. When I was working in civil engineering, I did five whole years of contract work. What rich kid goes around carrying bricks for no reason?" Hu Mang complained.

"Never mind, second brother, you're responsible for this to the end."

Hu Mang also knew that this was somewhat unfair to the Old Third.

Dropping someone like Old Third, who has only reached the Foundation Establishment, into a high-level ghost city like Fengdu would result in an exceptionally high casualty rate.

No matter how fast he runs, he can't outrun a thousand-year-old vengeful ghost.

In a place like Fengdu, there must be an extraordinary number of ghost kings.

"How's your Yin Virtue going?" Hu Mang asked suddenly after thinking for a moment.

"It's barely passable. If it weren't for this incident, I'd probably be preparing to form my core by now."

"Your 'barely passable' probably refers to the industrial Core Formation stage."

"Of course, I'm not like you or Boss Gu, those weirdos who insist on pursuing the absolute best. I'm already pretty good at figuring out a bit of the Golden Nature."

For most working-class people, achieving industrial mastery is their ultimate goal.

Even the most popular virtual cultivation paths now mostly only reach the level of Industrial Golden Core.

"Don't rush to form your core yet. You know about the Dragon Blood Tide, right? I've prepared some overseas specialties for you."

After a moment's thought, Hu Mang informed the other party that he would be giving away the Nether Pearl and the Yin Wine as gifts.

Chen Xiaosan perked up upon hearing this, "Second Brother, even though you tricked me, we're still good brothers!"

"With all of this, plus the Yin Virtue you've accumulated, is it enough for a high-quality Core Formation?" Hu Mang asked.

"That should have been enough."

What do you mean by "originally it was enough"?

The Old Third said awkwardly, "I thought that after the assessment, I would become the station manager and say goodbye to working in the wind and rain. So, in order to ensure the assessment went smoothly, I used a little bit of my 'Yin Virtue' to cheat during the process."

"How much is 'a little bit'?"

"About half."

"..."

Hu Mang now understands the other party's condition. Without the replenishment of Yin Virtue Qi, relying solely on the Old Third's meager Golden Nature Sensation, he can indeed only attain the Industrial Golden Core.

The Old Third was selected for the Immortal Ladder Project through "special talent"—his skill lay in his Movement Method, not his comprehension.

Hu Mang hesitated for a moment, but ultimately decided not to abandon the matter. Without the strength of Golden Core cultivator, one would absolutely not be able to survive in a place like Fengdu.

Unlike himself, the Old Third can't challenge opponents of higher levels. At most, he can escape from a higher level, but what about the deliveryman's tasks?

Could you secretly lend the ghost ship to the Old Third for a short trip?

It's hard to say Fengdu has water or not, the problem is that even the Old Third can't control the Ghost Dragon Vein.

Neither the ghost ship nor the Yellow Springs Water-Parting Saber are things that ordinary cultivators can control.

Or should we continue to look for Eighth Master and remove Old Third's name from the assessment list?

This isn't really appropriate. The Underworld Bureau isn't run by Eighth Master's family; doing this kind of thing really damages one's character.

Um?

Hu Mang suddenly thought of something.

"If there were a Ten-Thousand-Year Yin Pearl, I could sense that the Yin Qi within it was pure, innate ghost Ghost Qi."

"What? Second Brother, you're not kidding me, are you? What kind of Yin Pearl can have ten thousand years of refinement?!"

"Stop talking nonsense, scan me with your Divine Sense."

Hu Mang took out the Ten-Thousand-Year Yin Pearl. Soon, a chilling Divine Sense reached out from the other end of the phone and enveloped the Yin Pearl.

Then, Chen Xiaosan on the other end of the phone gasped.

That aura was completely different from any other kind of Yin Qi he had ever encountered before.

Ordinary Yin Qi, even the Yin Qi condensed within the bodies of those ancient ghosts over hundreds of years, carries some impurities—the bitterness of resentment, the stickiness of obsession, or the decay of death energy. Just like aged wine, no matter how mellow it is, it inevitably has a stale, rotten taste at its core.

However, the Yin Qi emanating from this Ten-Thousand-Year Yin Pearl was shockingly pure, as if it were the purest and most primordial source of Yin that remained after being refined countless times.

The moment that Yin Qi touched Chen Xiaosan's Divine Sense, he felt as if his entire sea of consciousness was being immersed in a ten-thousand-year-old icy pool.

For the first time, his almost numb, living-dead body felt an almost instinctive longing.

"Impossible! This shouldn't be! How can there be such pure Yin Qi? Even the main Ghost Vein might not have such a level of rare treasure!"

Chen Xiaosan's voice trembled with excitement.

"Second Brother, if you hand this over, you could at least get a formal position in the Underworld Bureau! No, more than that, it'd be enough for a judge's post!!"

"Alright, enough talk. With this thing, condensing a high-quality Golden Core shouldn't be a problem, right?"

"Second Brother, from now on you're my real father! If you tell me to go east, I'll never go west. I'll stop using the surname Chen; I'll change my name to Hu Xiaosan!"

The Old Third was so excited he didn't even want to live anymore.

"Alright, alright, that's enough. Remember to return it to me when you're done. You shouldn't need much to condense your Golden Core."

Hu Mang said casually.

"But second brother, aren't you overseas right now? How are you planning to send this thing over?"

"Use courier service. The overseas courier industry is quite developed now."

"..." Chen Xiaosan almost slammed his head into the Yin Hub No. 1 in his hand.

"Dude, stop messing around, you're sending this kind of treasure by courier?!"

"What should I do then? Should I hire a Golden Core sword cultivator to travel overseas? What if they pocket the money?"

"Use the Ghost Dragon Vein, Second Brother! Don't you know the Ghost Dragon Vein can cover any corner of this planet? You have a sign, right? That's a coordinate point in the Underworld."

Hu Mang was taken aback. He had thought that the artificial Ghost Dragon Vein had fixed routes, but now it seemed that while the routes were fixed, the Underworld Bureau had mastered a higher level of Dragon Vein manipulation technology.

Sure enough, I'm such an incompetent consultant; I didn't even know this.

"Second brother, I'll go apply right away, don't do anything! Please don't do anything!!"

As soon as he finished speaking, footsteps sounded from the other end of the line, and then Chen Xiaosan hung up the call.

"What the hell is this, telling me not to move?"

Hu Mang shook his head and took out all the local specialties he had prepared, along with the Nether Pearl, Yin Wine, and most importantly, the Ten-Thousand-Year Yin Pearl.

He thought for a moment, then added another large piece of Yin Iron. If the Old Third were to break through to the Golden Core, he would also need to forge his own Golden Core Method. He couldn't just keep stabbing people with that woman's knife every day.

Under the sun, Hu Mang waited for about half an incense stick's time, ate two coconuts, and finally saw the sign of the Underworld Bureau Advisor light up. He then felt the familiar power of the "Ghost Dragon Vein".

This dragon Dragon Vein power did not come from anywhere else; it surged forth from his own shadow.

He looked down and saw his shadow on the ground begin to expand and distort in an abnormal way. The edges of the shadow spread outwards like diluted ink, quickly covering the area in front of him where the supplies were placed.

The shadow's color deepened, transforming from ordinary gray-black into a profound, pure black that seemed to absorb all light, like a portal to another world slowly opening beneath his feet.

Then a sinister customer service voice rang out.

"Intermediate-level Underworld Bureau Chen Xiaosan has requested a transfer of supplies from you. Do you agree?"

"Yes."

The next moment, the shadow returned to normal, and at the same time, the supplies on the ground disappeared.

"Damn, it's a global roaming service!" Hu Mang muttered to himself.

Then, Chen Xiaosan's phone rang again, and he excitedly flattered her, becoming a complete Underworld.

Hu Mang, however, was pondering another question: if the Ghost Dragon Vein could achieve global positioning, could a "humanoid Sinful Dragon" like Jiang Kuisha also be located at any time?

Locating him was so easy; locating the same Dragon Vein power should be even simpler, right?

If that's the case, is Heavenly Gate really playing a grand game?

Meanwhile, at a hilltop estate on Java Island, Zheng Qingbo was enjoying a drink after completing a successful verbal deal when his secretary, Jiacha, hurried over and whispered a few words in his ear.

Zheng Qingbo paused for a moment, nodded silently, and followed his secretary into a small room.

Only one figure, shrouded in blood, sat in the room.

"Elder Min, what brings you here?" Zheng Qingbo asked with a slightly stiff smile.

"If I hadn't come, how would I have known that my test subject had appeared?"