After drilling back into the shell, Yu Sheng suddenly felt a wonderful sense of relief.
He pondered for a long time before realizing that this feeling was probably the joy of finally fulfilling a long-held wish from his past life.
Once upon a time, he, Yu Sheng, had countless times stared at the gaps in the ground and at the walls, sincerely hoping for a safe, enclosed place where he wouldn’t be disturbed, a place he could burrow into and hide away.
Whether it was called a gap in the ground or a turtle shell, as long as it could provide a place to hide when he felt awkward, nervous, or flustered, that would be enough.
Now, he finally had one, and this treasure even had a beautiful name: Linglong Snail.
As for what his disciples would think, and what that group of people who didn’t know where they came from would think... he wasn’t too worried. Long before he became Yu Yangzi and before he had the Linglong Snail to drill into, he had already performed the escape technique countless times in front of many cultivators.
At first, he was concerned, but soon he discovered that once he gained fame, no matter how astonishing his actions were, people could always come up with the most perfect, reasonable, and dignified explanations for him.
Who let him have such a good face.
Under the thick filter of the secular world and the obsession with looks, he, Yu Yangzi, kept silent, regarded as a learned person with few words. His expression was blank, seen as indifferent to power and wealth; he avoided people, seen as weary of hypocrisy and flattery. He seldom left his home, regarded as diligently practicing in seclusion. Even when he repeatedly stood up others, delaying various meetings, it was interpreted as testing the temperament of young people and the sincerity of visitors; being tested by him was considered an honor.
Even when he finally announced his retreat into the mountains and forests, severing ties with the three realms, he was only praised as ‘Yu Yangzi, lofty as the bright moon, viewing fame and fortune as dirt,’ with everyone admiring his ‘detachment and freedom’ in being able to take and let go.
Only Yu Sheng and the system knew that his silence was due to a blank mind, his blank expression was from being too nervous to remember to smile, his avoidance of people was a relapse of social anxiety, his seldom leaving home was because he was a lazy fish lying in bed, and his standing people up was simply because he forgot; not seeing people was a relapse of his laziness.
Even when he really retreated, it was never about ‘letting go’ of anything but rather regaining hope and confidence for a beautiful life, stepping back onto his own broad avenue!
Outside the Linglong Snail, within the Ghost Realm Mirror, three senior brothers stood in the cold wind, their stern gazes fixed on the group of trembling ghost subordinates.
Although they were already ghosts, naturally unfazed by the cold or heat, what truly made them tremble was the terrifying pressure from the three realm masters.
Ghost King: “Master despises these trifles and superficialities the most in his lifetime. You all acted on your own, coming to greet him without my permission, provoking his displeasure. This time will be forgiven, but if there’s a next time, just roll out of the Ghost Realm!”
The ghosts realized they had done something wrong; failing to earn praise meant they would face punishment, and they almost wished to flee, nodding repeatedly.
Only one foolish ghost, likely the second-in-command among them, chimed in at that moment, quietly asking, “Roll out of the Ghost Realm… where to?”
The Ghost King answered without thinking, “Hah, of course, you go and disband yourself, roll over to the Spirit Realm.”
The Human, Ghost, and Spirit realms have always been in conflict and mutual generation. When a person dies, their soul goes to the Ghost Realm; when a ghost ends, it disbands and becomes a spirit to go to the Spirit Realm. The Spirit Realm then breeds new spirits, which, when the time is right, will transform into new lives, descending to the Human Realm. However, individuals from the three realms are all afraid of ‘death’ and often try to find ways to linger, unwilling to head to the next realm.
Yin Wangzhi thought his answer was fine.
However, as soon as these words were spoken, Wen Jiu, who was next to him, became displeased. Although he had a smile on his face, he raised an eyebrow, looking meaningfully at Yin Wangzhi, “Does the Ghost King take our Spirit Realm as a place to casually throw away garbage?”
Why should he, who upset the Master, keep it? It was simply unreasonable.
Yin Wangzhi looked at him in surprise; before awakening, Wen Jiu would never have been so direct in retorting him, “If you don’t want it, you can just look forward to the day when the three realms split.”
Zhan Xiaotian immediately sensed something was off. Sitting in the position of the alliance leader for many years had made him more adept at gathering hearts than ordinary people. He raised his chin at that group and angrily shouted, “Get lost already?! Are you really waiting to be disbanded on the spot?”
The group of cannon fodder quickly seized the opportunity and vanished in an instant.
Yin Wangzhi saw that his faux anger was actually a genuine release, taunting him, “Zhan Alliance Leader, this is not your Human Realm. The methods you use on my subordinates will not win their hearts; ghosts never believe in your notions of good and evil. They always discuss strength first and then grudges.”
Moreover, even when it came to discussing grudges, what they look at is the enmity from their life in the Human Realm, regardless of what happens after death.
Once these words were spoken, it was a veiled warning to Zhan Xiaotian to be mindful of whose territory this was.
Zhan Xiaotian fixed a steady gaze on him, then shifted his gaze downward to the Linglong Snail in Yin Wangzhi’s embrace, struggling to suppress the impulse to retaliate, “Has Master still not come out?”
The attention of the three was instantly pulled back to Yu Sheng and his shell.
Wen Jiu directly reached out, but was blocked by Zhan Xiaotian's hand, trying to be the first to enter and find the Master? Not happening!
As a result, Wen Jiu’s ‘hand’ instantly became soft and innocent, turning transparent and deforming, breaking into two halves, transforming into a White Dumpling Rabbit that quickly burrowed into the shell.
On the severed limb, a new ‘hand’ grew back. Facing the murderous gazes of the other two, Wen Jiu remained unperturbed, softly explaining, “Master doesn’t wish to come out, so I’ll go in and find him.”
Zhan Xiaotian was so furious that his sword energy began to radiate outward, feeling that this Wen Jiu was becoming more cunning and difficult to deal with than before.
After all, in the past, he and Yin Wangzhi were the active ones; Wen Jiu always took a more cautious and conservative approach, never doing such a ‘strike first’ thing!
In other words, he is quite face-saving; before using a big move, he always straightforwardly recites the name of the technique.
After this incident, Yin Wangzhi kept the Linglong Snail even more securely. He could use the double body technique, but there were more important matters to attend to at the moment, such as returning to his quarters to settle in and prepare everything to present to his Master.
He also had to guard against Zhan Xiaotian trying to drill into the shell. Wen Jiu had already gone in and distracted him, and if Zhan Xiaotian entered now, it wouldn’t have a good influence. At most, he would be bullied by Wen Jiu inside, provoking Wen Jiu to be even more reckless.
It was truly strange; although he had clearly won with the palm of his hand, and his Master had first arrived in the Ghost Realm, Yin Wangzhi felt exhausted from the very beginning, as if the one with the greatest advantage had never been himself.
At that moment, Wen Jiu, who was walking beside him, suddenly glanced at him, seemingly smiling politely as he quietly reminded him, “Ghost King, you should also be careful. When Master is inside the magical tool, he finds it hard to perceive the outside world and relies entirely on your full protection.”
After saying this, without waiting for Yin Wangzhi’s response, he continued to look ahead as if his earlier words were just a casual reminder.
Yin Wangzhi’s expression darkened, and he tightened his grip on the Linglong Snail. He finally realized the crux of the problem—he couldn’t let Master keep hiding inside the magical tool like this.
Otherwise, on the surface, Master had come to the Ghost Realm, but in reality, it would be him, responsible for protecting the magical tool in the Ghost Realm, who had the least opportunity and reason to enter the shell and meet Master!
No wonder Wen Jiu didn’t seem surprised despite losing the competition earlier...
After walking for a while, the three of them, under Yin Wangzhi’s lead, arrived at the long-awaited Ghost King Palace.
In the imagination of most people, including Zhan Xiaotian and Wen Jiu, the Ghost King’s palace must be like the atmosphere of the Ghost Realm and Yin Wangzhi—a gloomy, dark place with howling winds.
However, what lay before them was a golden, shiny palace, filled with lights and decorations, with music and dance… a treasure palace.
That glaringly bright scene almost overshadowed the blood moon in the sky, rendering it dim.
Everything reeked of the smell of money, all decadent and luxurious. Even Zhan Xiaotian, who was accustomed to the lavishness of greedy mortals, couldn’t help but stiffen his expression, doubting his own eyes, repeatedly shifting his focus between the treasure palace and the dark, long path behind them filled with dry bones and wandering souls, constantly comparing.
Yin Wangzhi’s face, however, was full of pride and satisfaction. “We’re here, let’s go inside.”
He wanted to see who would still dare to belittle the Ghost Realm with words like ‘desolate’ and ‘monotonous,’ trying to hinder him from competing for Master’s favor.
Zhan Xiaotian and Wen Jiu didn’t move, nor did Yin Wangzhi.
In the end, both pairs of eyes fell on Wen Jiu, silently asking—where’s Master?
Wen Jiu smiled, “He doesn’t want to come out. Perhaps… the attractions prepared by the Ghost King aren’t enticing enough.”
Just as his words fell, Wen Jiu’s expression suddenly changed slightly, while Yin Wangzhi smiled knowingly. In the next moment, Yu Sheng transformed into a white shadow, emerging from the Linglong Snail, holding a little dumpling in his arms.
As soon as he came out, he sniffed, “What a fragrant smell of wine!”
Wen Jiu: …
Zhan Xiaotian couldn’t hide his curiosity, “How did Master smell it? Weren’t you just in the Linglong Snail?” It didn’t seem like what Wen Jiu had said.
Yu Sheng blinked innocently, “It came from the well.”
That well, connected to the underground water, became a passage linking inside and outside the snail after entering the Linglong Snail.
Yin Wangzhi’s gaze fell on his lips, and he raised his hand to wipe away the nearly invisible sugar dust from Yu Sheng, then hid his hand in his sleeve. “It’s my disciple who specially remodeled the entrance of the Linglong Snail. Everything is to let Master stay more comfortably, so there’s no need to worry about being unaware of the outside world.”
Yu Sheng nodded, feeling both gratified and touched. At that moment, he noticed the palace before him and blurted out, “Oh no, weren’t we going to the Ghost Realm? Where is this?”
Zhan Xiaotian suddenly coughed, turning his face away to hide the smirk on his face.
Yin Wangzhi calmly said, “Master, this is the Ghost Realm; this palace is built by your disciple.”
Yu Sheng looked at the bright golden scene before him, rubbed his eyes, and then looked up again, confirming he wasn’t blind or crazy.
In his mind, several lines from the original text describing the Ghost King’s palace emerged:
[The Ghost King Yin Wangzhi is cold, ruthless, and heartless; his palace in the Ghost Realm is as gloomy as he is, filled with lifelessness and darkness, dominated by shades of black and gray. He doesn’t like to light lamps, and even high-end soul lamps with pale tones are rarely used; the only color visible around that palace is the blood moon high above.]
[In such a silent place where even the sound of falling snow can be heard, the Ghost King has arranged a large number of ghostly puppets—servants and attendants made of paper, standing motionless like decorations in their respective places, which not only fails to add any vitality to this palace but makes it even more eerie and terrifying, making anyone who gazes upon it tremble, unwilling to take a step closer.]
Yu Sheng: …
I believe it; the protagonist's character is indeed breaking down, too terrifying to recover; this is scarier than a big demon wearing pink bunny slippers!
Just as he was thinking, Yin Wangzhi took Yu Sheng’s arm and supported him as they walked into the dazzling palace. As soon as they entered, the colors before them changed.
A vast expanse of pink flowering trees filled their sight, breathtakingly beautiful.
Upon closer inspection, the flower centers looked particularly like bunny shapes.
Yin Wangzhi smiled deeply, charmingly, radiating a soft light filter as he slightly lowered his head and leaned close to Yu Sheng’s ear to introduce, “Master, do you still like it? Those flowers are the rarest and most difficult to cultivate soul flowers in the Ghost Realm. The fragrant wine just now was emitted by them.”
Yu Sheng’s reason had almost collapsed, and only one sentence remained in his mind: What soul flowers? They should be renamed pink bunny flowers.
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