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Li Xiaonan sighed. Nowadays, he had not a trace of True Essence Power within him; even flying had become a luxury. The connection with the Soul Ring and Heavenly Jade Ring had been severed, not to mention the Ghost Realm Monument.
He boarded the legendary Bus 11 and traveled for about three hours before finally spotting a small village. If it weren't for Li Xiaonan's resilient character and unique physique, he would have collapsed from exhaustion long ago.
He looked up at the village sign—Yellow Spring Village. Smacking his lips, he stepped into this eerie and cold place.
"Excuse me, sir, have you seen a tall, beautiful woman around thirty years old? Her name is Mei Yingluo; she should have arrived recently," he asked.
The Male Ghost glanced at him coldly and slowly shook his head. "I don't know; I'm just here to run errands."
Watching the Male Ghost walk away, Li Xiaonan muttered, "Is this a joke? I'm calcium oxide!"
Shaking his head, he continued searching for his next target. He asked every ghost—old, middle-aged, and young—in Yellow Spring Village, adhering to the principle of not letting a single one escape, but unfortunately, he still received no useful information.
Without the support of True Essence Power, Li Xiaonan managed to hold on for two days. In the Underworld, where there was no sun or moon, he had lost track of time. Ultimately fruitless in his search, he felt dizzy and exhausted.
His body swayed before collapsing onto the gray earth.
Just as Li Xiaonan lost consciousness, his Yuan Ying opened its eyes within him. With a vacant gaze, one hand rested on his Dantian while the other held a flower at his chest. It began to operate the Harmony Technique on its own, allowing a trickle of rare True Essence Power to flow into Li Xiaonan's body.
Li Xiaonan blinked awake. The roof above him was somewhat damaged, and through the cracks, he could vaguely see the gray sky outside. He thought for a moment—oh right, he was in the Underworld looking for his mother. It seemed he had fainted earlier; without True Essence Power, he was indeed no different from an ordinary person.
He tried to sit up and felt invigorated; all previous aches had vanished. Puzzled, he wondered if a good sleep had cured him. However, when he attempted to mobilize True Essence Power within him again, there was still no response as if it had sunk into the ocean.
"Young man, you're awake! Come on, eat something; you must be starving," an elderly man appeared at Li Xiaonan's bedside with a bowl of yellowish porridge.
Li Xiaonan smiled and reached out to take the bowl from the old man. Although he wasn't really hungry, it was still a kind gesture from this old ghost. He grinned and said, "Thank you, sir!"
"No need for thanks! Actually, I just arrived in the Underworld not long ago myself. My living grandson is about your age; I wonder if he's warm and well-fed in the human world... They say that after death one drinks Meng Po Soup to forget everything. I never expected death to be another starting point; it turns out reincarnation isn't so easy either—it requires good deeds and virtue."
Li Xiaonan nodded as he ate the warm rice porridge. The taste wasn't great; it felt coarse but warmed his heart nonetheless. The Underworld wasn't devoid of humanity; for instance, this kind-hearted old man who had just become a ghost showed great compassion.
"Sir, I wonder if you have seen a beautiful woman who appears to be around thirty years old. She has only recently arrived in the Underworld."
The old man smiled gently and replied, "Child, if I had seen her, I would have told you already. It seems you’ve asked too many ghosts and confused yourself."
Li Xiaonan was taken aback; he realized he had already asked this old man before. He chuckled and shook his head, continuing to sip his rice porridge.
The old man continued, "That ghost must be very important to you. You could check out Azure Valley in Sunset City; there’s a Ghost Pool there where new ghosts come from. Perhaps someone has seen her."
Li Xiaonan felt a surge of excitement; after searching high and low, he finally had a direction to pursue. However, he also felt a twinge of worry—wasn't Sunset City the place where the ghost and demon armies clashed? No! He had to set off quickly!
He finished his porridge in a hurry, stood up, and bowed to the old man. "Thank you, sir. May I ask your grandson's name and where he lives?"
The old man chuckled, "Why do you ask such things, silly child? You can't return to the human world."
Li Xiaonan scratched his head; he was always one to repay kindness with gratitude. He asked, "Sir, do you have any paper and ink?"
The old man nodded, not understanding what Li Xiaonan intended to do, and handed him some rough yellow paper.
Li Xiaonan furrowed his brow for a moment before writing down the first chapter of the Swallowing Heaven incantation. He had only glanced at it before and hadn’t memorized the entire text.
Swallowing Heaven was indeed an extremely intricate technique. Unfortunately, Tian Yu Dao Ren had strayed onto the path of evil. This method could help a Ghost Body absorb the essence of heaven and earth for cultivation, making it the only technique known to Li Xiaonan that a Ghost Body could practice.
Li Xiaonan picked up the rice paper and blew on it lightly before handing it to the old man. "Sir, this is a method for maintaining health. If you practice it diligently, I believe one day you will see your grandson again."
The old man strained to keep his drooping eyelids open and exclaimed, "Child, is this true?"
"Why would I lie to you? You’ll know its effectiveness if you try it."
Afterward, Li Xiaonan requested a map from Yellow Spring Village to Sunset City before bidding farewell and setting off. Before he left, the old man gave him a stack of cakes, placed them on his head, and patted his shoulder. "Child, the journey is long. I don’t have much to give you; these cakes should suffice for hunger."
Li Xiaonan grinned foolishly and nodded, waving goodbye as he walked out of Yellow Spring Village.
Life is like this, a chance encounter, no need to ask for names.
Li Xiaonan, carrying a large pancake, had been walking for three days. Strangely, every time he felt exhausted, it seemed as if a trace of True Essence Power flowed into his body. However, whenever he focused on checking his body, there was nothing there. Over time, he began to doubt whether he was experiencing hallucinations. Nevertheless, it was a good thing; at least he could quickly reach Sunset City in one breath.
On this day, Li Xiaonan was still on his way to Sunset City. His white clothes had long been stained with grayish-yellow dust, and the pancake hanging on his chest swayed lightly with his movements, exuding an enticing aura.
A burly man in black blocked Li Xiaonan's path. With a fierce expression and a spiky hairstyle, he had a certain intimidating presence. He shouted, "Hey! This mountain is mine; this tree is mine. If you want to pass this road, leave your pancake behind!"
Li Xiaonan was taken aback and looked around. Where did this mountain come from? Where did this tree come from? And where was the road? Well, okay then. As Lu Xun said, there were originally no roads in the world; they became roads when more people walked them... How frustrating! What an old joke to use; this guy must have just crossed over from the human realm as a new ghost. Sigh, who would have thought that Li Xiaonan would one day be robbed.
Seeing that he had no reaction, the strong man pulled out a large axe from somewhere and repeated his earlier lines. Li Xiaonan sighed inwardly: Could you be any more ridiculous? Why is it that after walking for three days without encountering a single ghost, I finally meet one only to be robbed—of food no less?
The strong man raised his axe threateningly. Unfortunately, Li Xiaonan was too busy lamenting the unfairness of fate to react at all. The man swung the axe and charged at him.
Li Xiaonan was startled; was he really going to die over a pancake? If he died in the Underworld, that would truly be the end!
"Brother, please spare me one! I'm starving!"
Li Xiaonan gaped; the transformation of this ghost was too drastic. One moment he was brandishing an axe to kill him, and the next he was putting an arm around him and calling him brother.
Li Xiaonan sighed again and draped the pancake around the man's neck.
The man's eyes lit up as he exclaimed, "I will repay the favor of this pancake with my life! Little Jin will follow you from now on! May I ask for your esteemed name?"
Li Xiaonan waved his hand helplessly and continued toward Sunset City. Three days of experimentation had made it clear to him that he could survive in the Underworld without food, even though that strange True Essence Power only appeared when he was about to faint from exhaustion.
"Hey... bro... don't get swollen!" Little Jin mumbled with a mouthful of pancake as he kept pace with Li Xiaonan.
Li Xiaonan felt a headache coming on and said, "Stop following me; I'm not your boss."
Little Jin swallowed a piece of pancake and patted his belly. "Come on now! You're my Chen Yaojin's recognized boss! For this lifetime, I'm sticking with you!"
"Cheng Yaojin? Damn, it's the Three Axes! Starry Illusion Continent has played with me, and now it's Underworld's turn?"
Li Xiaonan suddenly stopped, and Chen Yaojin, unable to halt in time, bumped into him. "Ouch! Boss, if you're going to stop, at least give me a signal!"
Li Xiaonan raised an eyebrow. "How many times do I have to tell you? I'm not your boss! Do you have any principles?"
Chen Yaojin quickly stepped in front of Li Xiaonan, his expression serious. "It's precisely because I have principles that I follow you. Boss, you don't know—I was once a notorious river pirate. Before I was executed, those heartless bastards didn't even give me a decent meal! After being reborn in the Underworld, all I wanted was a good meal. Those scoundrels in Sunset City gave me a token and sent me to report to Yellow Spring Village, claiming there was food there! I was so dizzy from the journey that if you hadn't kindly given me some bread, I probably would have starved to death before reaching Yellow Spring Village!"
Li Xiaonan frowned slightly. "You came from Sunset City?"
Seeing that Li Xiaonan seemed interested, Chen Yaojin recounted his entire story.
He considered himself a man of loyalty; he had taken the fall for his gang leader and lost his head for it. He died hungry, becoming half a starving ghost. The Ghost Messenger saw his strong build and gave him an identity token, allowing him to become a ghost constable in Yellow Spring Village to maintain order.
"These breads should be enough for you to reach Yellow Spring Village. I came from there too. Although there's no sun or moon here, I've calculated the time based on my steps. You should arrive in three or four days. Being a constable is a decent job; even if you can't be a good person, you can at least be a good ghost," Li Xiaonan said with a smile before turning to continue toward Sunset City.
Chen Yaojin scratched his head but still followed Li Xiaonan. "Boss, are you really going to Sunset City?"
"Yes," Li Xiaonan replied coldly. He had only one month; without the sun or moon in the Underworld, keeping track of time was difficult. He feared that if he miscalculated even slightly, finding his mother would be futile.
"I know that place well; I'll guide you!"
Li Xiaonan had no time to deal with Chen Yaojin. He believed that ordinary ghosts couldn't keep up with him on this relentless journey, and eventually, Chen Yaojin would give up.
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