Chapter 158

Li Zhuiyuan nodded.

Because a portion of his memory was still suppressed, the boy had found many things in the previous conversation incomprehensible due to a lack of necessary cognitive conditions. But now, he felt he understood some of it. Not only did he feel he understood, but he also realized he had an odd sense of familiarity with the process—this method of suggestive narration using numerous euphemisms.

Li Zhuiyuan frowned slightly. He was very curious about what his "future" life would be like, if he couldn't even speak plainly and had to beat around the bush.

"Little one, do you really understand?"

"Yes."

"Tell me."

"You only cared about your own happiness, exhausting all paths first, leaving no way for those who come after."

"Crude words, but sound reasoning."

"So, my 'future' troubles are your fault?"

"How can you blame me? Look, I didn't even leave any descendants, so how could I have imagined that countless years later, a little one like you would contract the same illness and walk the same path as me?"

"Indeed."

"How much of what I just demonstrated did you grasp?"

"I've grasped the core of it. Even if the memories in this dream become blurry, I can follow the feeling and reverse-engineer the spells, formations, and feng shui. I have a sense that it's not difficult; it feels like I do this often."

"Normal. After all, you even restored that guy's Twelve Edicts. To be honest, if we hadn't done this, and you and that Yin family descendant had the chance to stand before him later, if you claimed to be a Yin and the other was an imposter, he might even slap the true descendant to death and recognize you as his own."

"That outrageous?"

"For someone who has existed for a long time, blood descendants hold little meaning."

"True."

"Let's begin."

"Okay."

During the previous teaching demonstration, the figure had already set up the formation and adjusted the feng shui layout. Li Zhuiyuan now only needed to sit within it and activate it using himself.

The figure stood behind Li Zhuiyuan, hand placed on the boy's head, and said in a deep voice:

"Humans, gods, and ghosts all possess spiritual thoughts. The difference is that malevolent spirits, being abhorred by heaven and earth, generally have incomplete spiritual perception, making them easier to control. However, they are not the only ones that can be controlled.

"Gods manifest in myriad forms: mountains can become spirits, ghost kings can join their ranks, and incense can shape them. But when they walk among mortals, they do so based on their spiritual bodies, and thus can also be deceived and manipulated.

"To control them, you must first demystify them. Once you peel back that layer, you'll find that they are, in fact, nothing more than that."

A sense of recognition arose within Li Zhuiyuan. It seemed he had encountered some gods before?

The figure continued: "Ordinary people have faint spiritual thoughts, making them difficult to capture. But you can lend your spirit to them, first helping them accumulate power, then guiding it with your own will.

"Due to our unique pathology, you and I are immune to the backlash of this method. However, this method must still not be abused; it can easily backfire and is not tolerated by the Heavenly Dao."

"What does 'not abusing' mean?"

"Using it for the righteous path is not abuse."

"Understood."

"Close your eyes and focus. I'll guide you through one full cycle."

Li Zhuiyuan closed his eyes, and the figure behind him also closed his.

The next moment, Li Zhuiyuan felt his spiritual will suddenly open up, as if a person walking across a vast wilderness, experiencing changing winds and clouds, and the shifts of the four seasons. Then, his vision rose higher and higher, gradually detaching from that person, moving above them, and from a different perspective, he began to witness their walk, observing the revolving spring, summer, autumn, and winter around them.

This was the artistic conception of the teaching. Li Zhuiyuan understood that the reason the blurry figure dared to teach in this way was that they were certain he had already mastered the level of techniques. What the figure was doing was continuously expanding his horizons based on that foundation.

In the boy's current memories, Li Lan often took him to see a psychiatrist. Undergoing hypnosis many times, he sometimes, when bored, would reverse-hypnotize the psychiatrist to make them quieter, passing the boring therapy time.

Hypnosis is one-on-one: first, lure them out, then guide them using their memory environment to achieve the desired goal. The dream ghost operates on this principle as well. What the figure taught him, however, was to construct a new environment and directly replace the old one.

Li Zhuiyuan finally understood what the figure meant by "not tolerated by the Heavenly Dao." The boy "still didn't know" precisely what malevolent spirits were, but he felt that even they would find it hard to approve of such an "utterly evil" technique.

One cycle ended.

Li Zhuiyuan slowly opened his eyes. He suddenly felt that what he saw in his vision, though unchanged, now held a new sensation.

The figure spoke: "Little one, how do you feel?"

Li Zhuiyuan: "You were holding something back just now."

The figure grabbed the boy's head, shaking it back and forth and side to side, scolding him angrily:

"You brat! If you didn't have the same illness as me, I truly couldn't teach you this secret method. Teaching it to you would only harm you, just like that guy who taught it to you."

"So, I have a master?"

"That's probably not your master; he's your enemy."

"Then why didn't he kill me?"

"He wants to make your life worse than death."

"Well, that's rather kind of him."

"That's because he didn't expect it. He might have just thought you were similar to me, but he never imagined you'd be *this* similar."

"He did teach me things in the end. He probably also gave me your books to read."

"He probably only had that one book. The rest, I deliberately scattered after writing them. He likely didn't have the good fortune for them."

"Good fortune?"

"When I just calculated your destiny, I not only found that you were sailing a boat but also that you possessed profound good fortune."

"That's a good thing, right?"

"Of course. However, if it weren't for this continuous good fortune around you, I'd genuinely suspect you'd practiced some dark art specifically to steal others' luck, which would be far too crude."

"Is there too much?"

"So much that even if you'd been diligently accumulating good deeds and virtue since birth, you wouldn't have amassed this much."

"Ancestral virtue."

"The nature is different. I suspect someone might have actively traded fates with you."

"Good fortune is a good thing, right?"

"Of course."

"Who would be willing to trade these with me?"

"You'd have to ask yourself. You're good at acting and deceiving; it's possible you charmed someone into happily giving you everything."

"Deceiving like that doesn't seem very good."

"Indeed, but at least that person must have been truly sincere towards you."

"I really want to clear the fog in my mind and see who it is."

"Once this matter is concluded, you'll have plenty of time. Let's proceed to the next step."

"Activate the formation, draw in the feng shui!"

"Activate!"

Li Zhuiyuan began to activate the formation, simultaneously mobilizing the feng shui layout. The figure had already prepared the most difficult parts, the side dishes; all he needed to do now was stir-fry them in the wok.

Li Zhuiyuan didn't know if his "future" self would know how to do this. In fact, he wouldn't. He was skilled in formations and proficient in feng shui, able to control feng shui with formations or draw formations with feng shui, yet he couldn't integrate formations and feng shui into one. Due to his "ignorance," he still didn't realize how much of an advantage he was gaining this time. To some extent, it could be said that with the figure's hands-on teaching, he elevated the core principles of his "Way of Formations," "Way of Feng Shui," and "Way of Techniques" by a significant margin.

As the formation activated, the Twelve Earthly Branches began to operate. Each branch had its pictogram, appearing at first glance as the twelve zodiac animals, but within them lay numerous profound mysteries. A feeling of "just as expected" arose in Li Zhuiyuan's heart. It was as if he had already experienced this scene before. Or perhaps he had long known that the figure had a similar habitual style, preferring to incorporate beast forms into his methods. This might also be because he disliked interacting with people, at least in the past, and these early habits had gradually formed a fixed style.

As the formation patterns moved, the Rat opened the formation, the Ox arranged the method, and the Tiger appeared at the front. With these three alternating in succession, the next moment, a cloud of black mist appeared before Li Zhuiyuan.

The figure spoke: "How much do you know about Emperor Fengdu?"

Li Zhuiyuan: "I've read about him in books; he should be called Yin Changsheng."

"Then do as you've learned from the books. Do you need me to teach you how to desecrate this Great Emperor and provoke his wrath?"

"No, I can do it."

"Remember, you only get one chance. Since you've decided to anger him and make him your enemy, then hold nothing back. Do everything within your power. Using him as a blade will make him very angry. Using him as a blade, and not making it sharp enough, will only make the Great Emperor even angrier."

"Understood. One more thing, what does that 'little ghost' you mentioned outside look like?"

The figure extended a hand and conjured a painting, which depicted the dream ghost: head bowed, holding a lamp, dressed in damp, white clothes.

"A mere 'little ghost' couldn't orchestrate such a grand display. There are people behind it helping it. Those people are likely the true targets you need to deal with."

"I see."

"Then what are you waiting for? Go to the dream next door."

Li Zhuiyuan said, "You said that the Yin family member in the dream next door should also be on my side."

"That's right."

"I need to go say hello to him first."

"And will you also seek his permission?"

"Just to say hello. If he's on my side, then he'll definitely agree."

"So, you're considering his feelings?"

Upon hearing this, Li Zhuiyuan's face showed a pained expression. The figure lowered his head, carefully observing the boy's expression, and chuckled:

"Hahahahaha, you brat, you're stronger than I was. At your age, I hadn't yet become terminally ill, but you're already beginning to treat your condition."

"Perhaps it's because I have a good mother."

"It really might be. Early onset, early treatment."

"Is your illness cured?"

"I'm missing this part of my memory."

"I don't quite believe that."

"Sometimes, knowing the answer too early can prevent you from moving forward. I can only tell you that you are much better off than I was. Back then, I wouldn't have cared about so-called... comrades. It's a pity you can't take these memories out of here, otherwise I'd really want to ask you to apologize on my behalf to that guy who taught you the method."

"It's fine. You said that both you and I are good at acting. I think I'll probably trick him."

"True, that kid is quite foolish. I used to tease him, saying he was so stupid it wouldn't surprise me if someone tricked him into being a doorman one day."

"I'm going."

"Go. I can't leave this dream. I'm waiting to see what you do. I want to see... the Great Emperor's fury!"

"Tiger returns to its position, Rabbit leads the way!"

On the bridge, the dream ghost's figure reappeared after being gone for some time. It had just made another trip outside; those people had urged it again, and it had once more put them off.

"What's with all the rushing? What's with all the rushing? There are three entities here, which one dare I rush? It's truly easy for those who... wait?" As the dream ghost muttered curses, it suddenly noticed a new development in the dream it controlled: two independent dreams had somehow merged at this moment.

This perplexed it, but soon, the woman's original dream began to rewind. The dream ghost immediately turned its head to look at both sides of the bridge: the turtles on one side of the lake were still churning, but the malevolent spirits on the other side were surprisingly beginning to retreat.

Although it had prepared for a near-death experience by diverting the trouble, it would be truly wonderful if the situation could return to normal and improve. The dream ghost immediately swayed, a sign of immense joy at seeing hope after despair. It had a hunch: these three terrifying entities probably didn't want to personally crush it to death. Wouldn't that mean they were going to dismiss it as insignificant and let it go?

Yin Meng stood numbly at the entrance of the coffin shop. She saw a mother and child walk past with an umbrella on the street ahead. The little girl was about to point at her but was shielded by another black umbrella, beneath which stood a boy. The boy surveyed his surroundings as he walked towards the coffin shop.

Yin Meng didn't know him, but as he approached, an inexplicable sense of reliance arose within her. It was as if, as long as he was there, everything about her would have support, and she would no longer feel lost. She didn't even try to think about who this person was or why he made her feel this way, because after seeing him, she no longer wanted to use her brain.

Li Zhuiyuan entered the coffin shop, closed his umbrella, and shook it dry.

"What's your name?"

"Yin Meng."

"You're on my side."

"Oh."

"Will you listen to me?"

"Yes."

"Then I need to do some things."

"Okay."

"These things will be very embarrassing for you."

"It's okay."

"You agree?"

"I agree."

Li Zhuiyuan was a little surprised, as everything was going too smoothly. His first reaction was, *are all my future companions this obedient?* But soon, he deciphered the root cause from the numbness and exhaustion in the depths of the girl's eyes. She was almost withered from torment; at this moment, she was at her most helpless. If he were to have a relationship with her in the future, and be on her side, then this subconscious sense of familiarity would make her instinctively cling to him like a lifeline.

The umbrella, which had just been folded, was opened again.

"Then I'm off to work."

"Okay."

The boy opened his umbrella again and stepped into the curtain of rain. Yin Meng mustered her courage and called out in a hoarse voice:

"Then what do I need to do?"

"Just be obedient."

"Okay, I'll be very obedient." After a pause, the girl called out again, "Don't abandon me."

Upon hearing this, Li Zhuiyuan stopped and looked back at her again. He still didn't know what would happen to him in the future, but the girl's tone made him somewhat puzzled. Li Zhuiyuan wasn't clear about his future position in the team, nor did he know that Yin Meng, like Zhuangzhuang, had once been anxious about her role and place within the team. Under the premise of "blind men touching an elephant," misunderstandings are always easily produced.

However, Li Zhuiyuan remembered that the figure had said he wasn't really seventy or eighty, but still very young, just a little older than he was now. Therefore, he was still a child now, and as a child, matters of "love and romance" certainly had nothing to do with him. Moreover, his team couldn't possibly be composed entirely of children, so the girl in front of him must be at least an adult, making them too far apart in age.

Li Zhuiyuan tried extending his hand and pointing downwards. The coffin shop's signboard fell accordingly, with Yin Meng standing directly beneath it. Yin Meng heard the movement, looked up, and the signboard floated above her head. Li Zhuiyuan lifted his finger upwards, and the signboard returned to its original position. A smile appeared on Yin Meng's face: "You're amazing!"

Li Zhuiyuan shook his head. When she was almost hit just now, his heart did stir a little, but not much. It wasn't like when he was on the bumper cars with Li Lan; when the girl in the red Hanfu was about to be hit, he had almost lost control and gone mad. Although both appeared to be girls of a similar age, in his heart, she and the other girl were incomparable. So, how did he meet that girl in Hanfu? He was truly curious. It couldn't possibly be just because she was pretty, could it?

"Ha, hahahahaha!"

In the amusement park, though unable to leave this dream, the figure with his hand on the boy's head could still see the scene in the opposing dream. Most people would find it hard to understand why, at such a crucial moment, this brat still had the leisure to deliberately figure out which girl held more weight in his heart. But he could understand. Because he and the boy were the same type of person. And people like them would feel immense surprise and then great curiosity about any special emotion that arose within them.

However, there was one thing the figure couldn't understand: "Can heartless people like us also have someone they like?" The concept of empathy for shared suffering was most clearly elucidated at this moment. Because at such a critical and important moment, the figure actually removed the hand that had been resting on the boy's head and moved to the edge of the bumper car arena, He wanted to take a look. After all, no matter how serious the matter, it was not as important as the amusement in their hearts.

Inside the amusement park, the girl in red sat motionless on a bench. After the dream's protagonist left, the place naturally fell into stagnation. Of course, even if the protagonist hadn't left, there weren't many living people in this amusement park to begin with. The figure rested his hands on the railing outside the bumper car arena, carefully observing and examining the girl.

"Don't mention it, she really is pretty. You brat, at such a young age, you already know how to stock up on the finest goods for yourself." But beauty was certainly not the primary factor. The figure knew all too well what he and that boy were like. He looked at the girl's face and began to calculate her fate.

"Come, let's first look at your facial features and destiny." As he calculated, the figure paused, exclaiming in surprise:

"Huh, so good, yet so fierce?"

This girl's destiny was both unspeakably noble and extremely difficult. The figure had lived through an era of turmoil and division; such a destiny he had only seen in princesses of fallen nations.

"Sigh."

The figure walked back to his original spot, once again standing before the boy, who sat cross-legged on the ground, eyes closed, with the patterns of the surrounding formation faintly visible.

"It's a pity I'm already dead, otherwise I really could have helped you. Never mind, it's meaningless. If I weren't dead, you'd probably be the first person to come kill me. You'd dislike me meddling even more, wouldn't you? I said earlier that because I was here, your future path would have many added troubles, but in truth, you didn't blame me. Even without complete memories, deep down in your character, you likely wouldn't want to retrace the path I originally walked. If there weren't some changes, you'd actually find it quite boring."

The figure raised his hand again and placed it on the boy's head.

"Heh, you brat, you really know how to have fun."

Li Zhuiyuan, walking down the street with an umbrella, formed a hand seal with his left hand, responding to the formation:

"Rabbit returns to its position, Dragon appears!"

The boy disappeared from the spot.

The dream ghost appeared on Ghost Street. Behind him was a group of blurry phantoms, appearing to wear long robes, their true forms concealed. These were images conjured by Li Zhuiyuan himself. He had just seen the dream ghost in the painting, and the people behind it were depicted by Li Zhuiyuan using blurry means. As luck would have it, these images actually coincided with those people in reality. This wasn't purely by chance; it was simply that the boy felt people who liked to act secretively should be presented in this manner. Li Zhuiyuan couldn't help but sigh with emotion: *It seems I'll have plenty of dealings with those unsavory types in the future.*

With every step the dream ghost took, pedestrians and shop owners along the way all emerged. They initially destroyed everything related to Fengdu culture, then erected various religious tablets. Influenced by Li Lan's work, Li Zhuiyuan was very knowledgeable about ancient culture. He wasn't truly interested; he simply had nothing better to do, took a glance, and memorized it.

Although in contemporary times, there are only a few well-known major religions, in folk traditions, various "illicit shrines" are innumerable, with even more than one in every village. If one looks across history, they are truly diverse, like fish crossing a river. The vast majority of them had long since vanished into the annals of history. Some simply lacked influence and weren't sanctioned by ancient courts, while others genuinely lived up to the "illicit shrine" label, to the point where, in modern times, they would be incredibly contrary to public order and morals, utterly repulsive. The boy specifically recreated these.

Fengdu, it is your sanctuary, Great Emperor Fengdu, the place where you, Yin Changsheng, "became immortal." Everything here is intimately connected to you; the people here have been passing down your stories for generations. So, in this dream, I will perform an act of great blasphemy against you. Leading these "unlucky scumbags," a vast, sprawling crowd, to confront you. If it were purely fictional, it wouldn't be much, but here, every single one is "real."

Soon, the procession grew larger and larger, with more and more "illicit shrine" figures. The dream ghost led the procession to the entrance of the coffin shop. It raised its hand, and the crowd behind it stopped.

Yin Meng stood at the doorway, blinking continuously as she watched the unbelievable scene. As a Fengdu native, the sight before her made her feel a profound sense of discord. But she knew that all of this was the boy's doing, and she wouldn't stop him.

The dream ghost pointed into the coffin shop. The closest group of gray-robed figures behind it entered the shop, then carried out the coffin containing Yin Meng's grandfather. Only then did Yin Meng realize: "Oh, my grandfather is dead." But the current scene was too bizarre, severely disrupting the immersive quality of the dream, so much so that despite Yin Meng's efforts, she couldn't conjure much sadness.

The dream ghost placed the lamp it held on Yin Meng's head. Then it gestured for Yin Meng to come closer. Yin Meng was very obedient. Carrying the lamp on her head, she walked to the front of the dream ghost, becoming the first in the entire procession. The dream ghost took a leather whip from its body. It flicked the whip, and its tip wrapped around Yin Meng's neck, making her lead the way like a pulled prisoner.

Li Zhuiyuan didn't think there was anything wrong with what he was doing, because his goal was to utterly infuriate the Great Emperor, and that couldn't be done gently or by saving face. Yin Meng herself didn't think there was anything wrong with it. In her view, it was all pre-arranged acting, and her attention was instead on the leather whip around her neck. She found it somewhat familiar and endearing. The dream ghost was controlled by Li Zhuiyuan, so this whip would subtly be influenced by their 'future' memories. In short, everything in the dream was a projection from reality.

The vast procession began to move forward again. That is to say, the real dream ghost was currently unable to control this dream and was isolated from it. If the actual ghost were present and saw its own image performing this act, creating such a massive spectacle in the Fengdu territory, and treating a descendant of the Yin lineage in such a manner, it would probably be scared to death on the spot.

As they walked, the crowd reached the shallow bank. Yin Meng continued to balance the lamp on her head while gently stroking the leather whip around her neck. She loved it and wished she could have one for herself in the future.

The coffin was lowered, pushed into the water, and began to float. Here, Li Zhuiyuan made no modifications, so the existing plot of the original dream would continue. The coffin gradually floated towards the center of the river. When it reached the deepest point, four ghostly figures suddenly appeared, lifted the coffin, and then, very quickly, the coffin vanished. Silence fell over the entire scene.

The dream ghost walked to Yin Meng's side, reached out, and placed a hand on her shoulder. The boy's voice also appeared by Yin Meng's ear:

"What comes next is the true blasphemy."

"Mm."

Yin Meng softly responded, showing little reaction; she was very calm about it. The figure had said that the Great Emperor did not care about his own bloodline—no joy, no love, no hate, just complete... indifference. When you can exist for an immensely long time, the meaning of descendants truly becomes hard to find. You watch them multiply generation after generation, like watching your pet cat constantly producing litters, interbreeding and mixing breeds endlessly... After many generations, they become so mixed that you find it utterly perplexing. The Great Emperor's feelings towards his descendants were even less than those he had for cats.

Because the Great Emperor had already arrived, or rather, a wisp of his gaze had already fallen upon this place. Otherwise, earlier, he wouldn't have formed a confrontation with the other two families, causing this dream to escape the dream ghost's control. But despite the commotion already stirred up, including the treatment of Yin Meng... the Great Emperor remained completely unresponsive. Not only was he not enraged, he didn't even bother to glance up, thinking that this was still not enough to warrant him simply waving his hand and sweeping the place away. Even with his descendant "dishonored," he still felt that taking action against this dream ghost would cause him to lose face and soil his hands in the river water. He might even be displeased as to why his descendants hadn't all died out yet, causing him such inexplicable involvement.

Yin Meng admitted she was a descendant of Yin Changsheng, but her feelings towards Yin Changsheng were extremely complex, as this was a topic that couldn't be deeply explored. Ordinary people who suffer misfortunes would never blame their ancestors, but Yin Meng's case was somewhat unique because her ancestor was not yet dead. When her father was murdered and his body sunk by her mother and her lover, when her grandfather lay gravely ill in a coffin for years, when she was alone and helpless, enduring cold stares... her ancestor was actually watching nearby. She didn't live at the ends of the earth; she lived in Fengdu, on Ghost Street, a place reputedly the closest to Emperor Fengdu.

What could truly make the Great Emperor raise his eyelids was, in fact, one specific place. This was also why the Great Emperor was genuinely drawn here. That was, Yin Meng had once witnessed Li Zhuiyuan using a secret Yin family technique to open the Underworld Path and send her grandfather's remains inside. This memory had remained in Yin Meng's mind, and in the dream, propelled by the river water, it was triggered and displayed. And this was the Great Emperor's true weakness. Whether his external descendants lived or died, he didn't care in the slightest, as long as they didn't bother him.

Yet, specifically, after seeing the environment here, Li Zhuiyuan's heart... thought of something. He was originally the one who had opened the door here. Now, he was back.

The dream ghost's hands began to move, wisps of black energy swirling around its fingertips. Immediately after, the river surface ahead began to extend, overlapping. The "path" through which the coffin had previously been sent was opened once again. The dream ghost raised its arm, and the next moment, firecrackers exploded, people cheered joyfully, and along the way, grotesque demons and gods, various illicit shrine figures...

Formed neat lines and set off! Go forth, march on, stand before the Great Emperor, and defy him to his face!

Li Zhuiyuan, as both the "culprit" and the "mastermind," profoundly understood what the "figure" had said at this moment: after this, the enmity would be immense. Putting himself in the Great Emperor's shoes, he probably wouldn't be able to resist wanting to crush himself instantly. Fortunately, the figure had said that the Great Emperor couldn't leave this place.

As for the Great Emperor's descendant, the "dream ghost" turned to look at Yin Meng, who stood beside it, and removed the lamp from her head and the leather whip from her neck. Yin Meng reached out and grasped the whip, and the "dream ghost" let go. Yin Meng toyed with the whip, as if holding a precious gift.

"Did we succeed?"

Li Zhuiyuan: "If there's no reaction yet, then it should be a success."

Yin Meng asked, "Why are we doing this?"

Li Zhuiyuan: "I don't know, but we must have a reason for doing this. Perhaps, if we didn't, we'd die, or even if we didn't die, we'd face endless trouble."

Yin Meng: "What about now?"

Li Zhuiyuan: "Our troubles are probably about to become very big."

The sky was overcast with dark clouds. The river surface gradually began to boil. At some unknown point, black figures wearing solemn masks appeared, standing on the river's center, the riverbanks, and the distant forested slopes. They appeared silently, but once noticed, a terrifying oppressive aura immediately swept forth. The dark clouds above began to descend, and the river surface below began to indent. This was, literally... heaven collapsing and earth sinking.

A gigantic black-gold coffin slowly emerged, bringing with it a terrifying ancient simplicity and majesty. All around, the masked ghostly figures covering the mountains and plains knelt on one knee and began to chant. At this moment, the dream had slipped from Li Zhuiyuan's control, but he could still hear some of the ghostly figures' voices. They were not chanting praises; the sound... was a curse.

The Great Emperor was truly enraged. When the Ghost Gate opens, all who have insulted the Great Emperor, no matter where you hide, will face vengeful spirits claiming your life!

In a small shop in a town, an old man was calculating accounts on an abacus, but as he tallied, the abacus suddenly cracked, its beads scattering across the floor. In a secret room, a shamaness was performing a ritual to invite ancestors to possess a client, who sat expectantly before her. But the shamaness suddenly convulsed, then foamed at the mouth, shrieking, "You deserve to die, you deserve to die, you deserve to die!" A team of people was walking through a miasma-filled mountain forest, searching for an ancient tomb. The compass in the leader's hand spun wildly at this moment. At the entrance of an old house, an old woman was sewing shoe soles. The needle pricked her finger, and blood flowed out, staining the pure white sole red. By the pond, an old man was sunbathing and fishing with a straight hook. But as he fished, all the koi in the pond floated to the surface, bellies up.

There was a family skilled in divination and fortune-telling. For the sake of the family's survival, they lived separately in various places under different surnames, only responding to calls and sending members from their smaller branches to perform tasks for the "main family" when the main family unsealed a message. For many generations, they had used this method to profit the main family time and again. In return, the main family would replenish the smaller branches, allowing them to evade disaster after disaster and continuously accumulate power hidden beneath the surface. They believed that their family's era was about to arrive. But today, at this very moment, all the smaller branches—these people skilled in divination—could see, even without magical artifacts, simply with their naked eyes: *Great misfortune had descended!*

Because, the Underworld, its location unknown, yet, everywhere.

By the pond where the dream ghost's true body floated, the group of gray-robed figures helping it with calculations all cried out in alarm at this moment. Originally, their calculations were proceeding logically, but suddenly, a terrifying warning arose from deep within their hearts, and the direction of their computations all turned towards themselves. They hastily stopped their actions, but one by one, they staggered, suffering a certain degree of backlash from their own calculations. Unfortunately, they had all concealed their true faces. If they could see each other honestly, they would likely all notice "darkness between their eyebrows," as it was so evident that even someone with only the most basic understanding of physiognomy could clearly see it.

"What on earth happened? What's going on?"

"What kind of change appeared in the dream?"

"Why are all the karmic consequences falling on us?"

Inside the house near the pond that sealed the form and spirit of the Boqi, the Boqi, bound by chains, let out a sinister laugh when it transformed into a human, and a cry when it transformed into a bird. What remained constant was the profound delight always evident in its eyes.

On the bridge. The dream ghost's eyes widened in fright. Although the dream where the woman resided had long been beyond its control, it at least still resembled a dream. But now, this dream had become a huge, terrifying mass of blackness. Even it, the dream's creator, dared not imagine what terrifying tsunami would be unleashed if this dream broke open, or how many people would be implicated!

Meanwhile, on the lake on the other side of the bridge, the dense crowd of turtles began to gradually retreat. Their "three families" originally disdained taking action, but since one couldn't resist acting, then all the better. However, even to that turtle, taking action was one thing, but creating such a grand display... wasn't it a bit excessive?

At this moment, the figure, who was the mastermind behind the mastermind behind all of this, was happily applauding. Li Zhuiyuan, who had been sitting cross-legged before him with his eyes closed, also opened his eyes at this moment.

The boy said, "Although I don't know what my original self was thinking, I feel this has exceeded the intended effect of my initial plan."

The figure: "No need to feel it; it's certainly the case, because your original plan didn't include my existence. If your plan was the same before I came and remained the same after I arrived, wouldn't I have come for nothing?"

Li Zhuiyuan: "Can you tell me the difference? I'm eager to know."

The figure: "The difference is, you originally only wanted to cut off a hand. Now, you genuinely have a chance to completely chop that whole person to death. This even exceeds my expectations for human-pig butchery, because I also didn't foresee that you, young man, would have a way to make that entity so angry. Promise me, don't go near the Fengdu territory in the future."

"But I can't remember these things; I'll forget them after I wake up."

"That is indeed a problem."

After a brief silence, both of them smiled. Future troubles could be left for the future to worry about; what was important was to enjoy the present moment of joy.

The figure: "You brat, you really are like me. Not only do we have the same illness, but we also share similar ways of doing things. I believe that when you read the books I've left behind, you won't find the slightest trace of me recorded, no matter how extensively you search historical records and various archives."

"Why?"

"This is also what the Heavenly Dao dislikes most about me, because all those who harbored enmity towards me have been wiped out by the righteous path."

As he spoke, the figure reached out and lightly patted the boy's shoulder:

"Alright, the Great Emperor's wrath has accumulated sufficiently. Quickly control the formation and let him unleash that overwhelming fury."

"Mm."

Li Zhuiyuan formed hand seals and activated the surrounding formation:

"Dragon returns to its position, Snake brings forth auspiciousness!"

The black dream was opened, and endless ghostly energy and resentments poured forth. The dream ghost let out a cry of alarm. Its true body in the pond immediately opened its eyes and, in a rush, forcibly pulled all the surrounding gray-robed figures into its own dream.

"You lot caused this; if we're going to the Underworld, we're all going together!"

In Fengdu, the previously clear sky suddenly became extremely gloomy. A sound inaudible to ordinary people echoed from deep within Fengdu, rippling across the sky.

"All ghosts heed the proclamation, receive the edict."