Chapter 40

Athough the smoke looked like ice crystals, it was still quite obstructive to vision and choking. Yu Sheng expressionlessly waved his feather duster, creating a refreshing breeze that instantly dispersed the surrounding dust and mist.

In the deep pit stood a group of people, all looking up at Yu Sheng and Wen Jiu above the pit.

It was a group, not just two. In addition to Yu Sheng, who could instantly recognize Zhan Xiaotian and Yin Wangzhi, there was also a batch of men and women who looked somewhat disheveled.

Both sides were silent for a moment. Zhan Xiaotian had the most pronounced reaction; the expression on his face was unrestrained, vividly illustrating what it meant to have "a belly full of dirty words that couldn't be spat out."

The spirits who had been filling the pit earlier had jumped out and formed an even circle at the edge of the pit, creating quite a spectacular sight.

Yu Sheng's expression stiffened slightly. Suddenly facing so many people was clearly beyond his expectations, and for a moment, he didn’t want to speak at all, even taking a step back.

Just then, Wen Jiu stepped forward, positioning himself diagonally in front of Yu Sheng, displaying a polite yet distant smile. He greeted them, "Leader Zhan, Ghost King Yin, creating such a big commotion in the spirit realm during your visit, are you worried that Master and I wouldn’t notice the two of you?"

The one who had spoken without seeing them earlier was Zhan Xiaotian. At this moment, his expression darkened for a brief moment before he quickly regained his energy. He pointed his long sword forward, unapologetically confronting them, "Who knows if Master willingly came with you or was abducted by your devious spirit? If we don’t make some noise, I might worry that Master thinks he’s been forgotten by his other disciples!"

The long sword stirred up a gust of wind, and after he spoke, the crowd behind Zhan Xiaotian seemed to receive some unspoken cue and shouted in unison, adding fuel to the fire. "Hey, so devious!"

"Leader is right!"

"The Leader is brilliant!"

Yu Sheng: …

Are you all clowns from the Xingxiu Sect making a cameo?

Zhan Xiaotian frowned, feeling a bit embarrassed, and turned to silence them. The crowd immediately grinned apologetically and complied.

"Master, did you come voluntarily?"

A cold voice interjected; it was Yin Wangzhi, who had come alone without any subordinates from the ghost realm. He looked up in Yu Sheng's direction, his eyes a deep, dark void, hiding who knows what.

Yu Sheng instinctively tensed up, his fingers tightening reflexively. After calming himself down, he stepped out from behind Wen Jiu.

Was he angry?

If he admitted that he had gone with Wen Jiu willingly, would Yin Wangzhi be angry at him for leaving without notice?

Perhaps that would be better…

Yu Sheng nodded. "Yes."

After a moment of thought, he frowned and added, "I am not weak enough to be coerced by anyone."

Yin Wangzhi closed his eyes, paused for a moment, and answered in a low voice, "Good."

Zhan Xiaotian wasn't concerned about anything else. He had already walked to the edge of the deep pit, kicking a white-blue stone down the steep slope with one foot. When he stepped down again, it landed on a platform that was just right for him to stand on.

Step by step, he slowly and firmly walked towards Yu Sheng from the steep slope. Though it seemed effortless, he was actually exerting tremendous force, creating a rugged series of steps on the steep slope.

“Master, you came to the spirit realm without even informing your disciple.” Zhan Xiaotian walked over step by step, smiling radiantly. His tone held no dissatisfaction, as if he were merely joking with a close master. As he reached the top of the slope, he added, “I’ve been looking for you so hard. If I hadn’t found you, I might have made a mistake.”

Yu Sheng glanced behind him and noticed a group that resembled subordinates but didn’t appear to be from the Immortal Alliance, struggling to climb the steps that Zhan Xiaotian had made. Some seemed to be injured and were crawling awkwardly, rolling back down the slope and landing in a tragic manner.

He couldn’t bear to watch and looked away. “Who are they?”

Zhan Xiaotian explained, “Master, do you remember when I received a distress signal in the Ghost Realm? They were the ones who sent it.”

So they are people who smuggled across the border...

Yin Wangzhi didn’t climb the slope. Instead, he swayed and transformed into a cloud of black mist, appearing directly behind Yu Sheng without a sound, causing Yu Sheng to shiver involuntarily. “Yin, Yin Wangzhi, you…”

“Don’t worry, Master. I’m fine.”

Seeing that Yin Wangzhi and Wen Jiu were only exchanging glances without any intention to fight, Yu Sheng breathed a sigh of relief. Although he felt uncomfortable under the scrutiny of so many people, he thought it might be better for his disciple to hold a grudge than for their anger to be directed at each other.

Yin Wangzhi had his own way of venting frustration. Since they were near the edge of the spirit realm, he quickly located a few spots with abnormal energy fluctuations and captured a group of ghostly outlaws trying to smuggle in. One by one, he dispersed their souls, causing them to be reborn in the spirit realm as new spiritual entities.

Wen Jiu clearly disapproved but, for Yu Sheng's sake, called over other spirits to help clean up the scene, avoiding direct confrontation with Yin Wangzhi.

Zhan Xiaotian continued talking to Yu Sheng, “Master, when I arrived, I discovered these people smuggling in and was nearly caught by a group of powerful ghosts. I saved them before I fully understood the situation. They should have been sent back to the human realm for the Immortal Alliance to handle, but I didn’t know how long it would take for them to return, so I brought them along.”

Yu Sheng nodded. “I’ve already heard Wen Jiu talk about the walls between the three realms and the smuggling issues.”

“But rest assured, Master,” Zhan Xiaotian raised a hand, and the group that had just crawled out of the pit knelt on one knee, bowing their heads respectfully. “Although these people are all vicious criminals and quite dangerous, I’ve already left a mark of consciousness on each of them. As long as they behave before returning, they’ll receive some benefits.”

Yu Sheng was slightly surprised at this point.

The mark of consciousness was a unique thing in the human realm. Once another party left such a mark in one’s consciousness, it was equivalent to handing over one’s life and fate, held in another's thoughts.

As long as Zhan Xiaotian wished, he could determine these people's lives in an instant. They would have no chance to resist. Even if Zhan Xiaotian were near death, his powers completely drained and unconscious, he would still have ways to end their lives.

However, leaving such a mark wasn’t easy, indicating that Zhan Xiaotian’s strength surpassed that of the entire group combined by many realms.

Yin Wangzhi sneered from the side, “Capturing a few desperate criminals just to show off. How shameless.”

“Every realm has its own rules,” Zhan Xiaotian countered, his expression suddenly serious, losing all humor. The aura of an upper-class figure became prominent. “No matter whether they’re desperate criminals or not, they must be brought back alive to the Immortal Alliance for judgment!”

Yin Wangzhi scoffed coldly, “What a performance.”

Zhan Xiaotian stood his ground. “It’s better than the Ghost Realm’s indiscriminate punishment! The majority of smugglers come from the Ghost Realm. While the Ghost King resorts to killing to stop killing, there’s no hint of reflection or improvement, tsk.”

Yin Wangzhi raised an eyebrow. “You speak so well. Master doesn’t like outsiders, yet you brought so many with you. You dare to accuse others of having ulterior motives? I see your filial piety to Master is just a façade; you’re truly using his power to stabilize the chaos among the three realms!”

Yu Sheng felt a headache coming on, waving his hand to intervene between the two and making a stopping gesture. Turning around, he noticed the anger still lingering on Zhan Xiaotian's face.

“Master, you once said,” Zhan Xiaotian continued stubbornly, “to uphold right and wrong, we must first maintain rules rather than human sentiment. The more a world is filled with emotions and righteousness, the more it needs clear and cold punishment.”

Yu Sheng was taken aback; he hadn’t expected Zhan Xiaotian to remember his words so clearly.

“Since becoming the leader of the Immortal Alliance, the first thing I did was ensure that punishments within the alliance are based on actions, not individuals, abolishing the subjective ‘reference for judgment’ entirely.” Zhan Xiaotian’s tone softened somewhat, as if he was gradually calming down while recalling these matters.

“I will definitely bring these people back, whether they deserve to die, be punished, or are innocent. I will never make a hasty decision about their fates just because I’m the leader, Master. I’m bringing them along, not because I’m soft-hearted or indecisive, but because I want to be true to myself.”

“I certainly believe you just want to be true to yourself.” Yu Sheng hurriedly reassured him. Zhan Xiaotian’s character had collapsed quite a bit, but he was still a righteous main character who had garnered the support of many side characters due to his sense of justice and integrity. “If you want to take them, then take them. As for the matters of the three realms, I originally planned to get involved.”

Yin Wangzhi’s expression darkened further, almost turning into a humanoid iceberg.

Yu Sheng comforted one and then the other, took a couple of steps, lightly patted Yin Wangzhi’s arm, and said softly, “Leaving the Ghost Realm without notice this time was my fault.”

Yin Wangzhi stiffened, slightly tilting his head to look at him. “Then let’s go back.”

Yu Sheng felt guilty. “Not yet…”

Yin Wangzhi resumed his cold posture, suppressing his lips. “Oh.”

Yu Sheng: “…”

Zhan Xiaotian seemed to mutter, “Unappreciative,” and Yu Sheng coughed a couple of times, hastily changing the subject.

“Regarding the walls between the three realms and the frequent smuggling incidents, I have a suggestion.”

The three protagonists focused their attention on him, and Yu Sheng continued, “I need your cooperation. Is that alright?”

Zhan Xiaotian was the first to respond, “As long as it’s Master’s command, I would never dare to refuse!”

Yin Wangzhi frowned slightly but didn’t refuse. “The Ghost Realm’s manpower can be allocated at any time.”

Wen Jiu remained silent for a moment before nodding. “As long as you’re happy.”

Yu Sheng felt satisfied, relieved, and smiled as he straightforwardly laid out his plan—setting up a large-scale teleportation array at the borders of the three realms to directly send those who attempted to smuggle in to the jails of each realm for proper handling by their respective organizations.

This way, the three protagonists wouldn’t need to run around everywhere, and they could also collaborate with each other to foster some friendship.

Zhan Xiaotian had a complicated expression. “This would require mutual cooperation, right? A teleportation array of this scale…”

Yin Wangzhi interrupted, “Cooperate with them? Isn’t it cooperating with Master?”

Yu Sheng replied, “You just agreed to it.” No backtracking!

Wen Jiu silently looked down at his toes, at the ground, at the reflection in the water.

Zhan Xiaotian exclaimed, “Hey! Wen Jiu, you already knew Master’s plan, didn’t you?!”

Yin Wangzhi grew increasingly agitated and rubbed his temples. “A teleportation array of this scale requires the strongest of each realm to act. A necessary condition is leaving marks of consciousness in each other’s minds to maintain a connection... Master, are you serious?”

The expression seemed to say: You want me and them to leave marks in our consciousness and maintain a connection? I might as well just be sickened to death.

Zhan Xiaotian looked like he was dying. “I’d rather hold hands with Yin Wangzhi and sing and dance.”

Yin Wangzhi stared at him in shock, nearly drawing his sword.

Yu Sheng chimed in, “If you find it difficult, it’s fine to hold hands and cultivate your relationship first before working on the teleportation array.”

Zhan Xiaotian & Yin Wangzhi: “... No need.”

Wen Jiu: “Heh.”

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