*

The moment she learned that the chosen one was her own brother, she couldn't quite articulate the thoughts that were running through her mind.

If it were him, that would be outrageous. Even though gods are detached from worldly affairs, unfettered by conventions, and observe the mortal realm with amusement, she still couldn't convince herself to transgress these ethical boundaries...

But even though it wasn't him, the thought of that possibility still brought a pang of disappointment to Nan Qing's heart.

Unlike other worlds, this world is also considered to be in the Dharma-ending Age because of the existence of extraordinary events.

Although the spiritual energy between heaven and earth has long been thinned out, it still exists. Nan Qing gently raised her hand, and her fingertips were surrounded by specks of light, which were the spiritual energy of this world.

Although this small world cannot restrict her use of divine power, she has never used it. It's not because she is worried about any heavenly rules. This heavenly law cannot restrict her, but if she really uses her divine power, even a trace of it, it would be enough to make a world tremble.

However, if it's a small world like this one, containing spiritual energy, then absorbing the spiritual energy in the air for her own use would be incredibly simple for her.

With a slight flick of her fingertips, the spiritual energy of the entire city flowed into the sea like rivers, silently converging into her palm. Looking at the spiritual light gathering in her palm, Nan Qing picked up Xiao Ba from the side.

"Want to take a stroll through the underworld?"

The little hedgehog, which was being lifted up, nodded frantically.

[I've been thinking about it so much, Host is the best!]

Nan Qing chuckled. Since she couldn't sleep anyway, she decided to go have some fun.

She raised her right hand and made a random gesture in the air.

"boom----"

After a low, piercing sound, a dark rift suddenly opened in front of her, and a chilling ghostly wind, carrying a mournful ghostly howl, rushed out. The rift widened and widened until it transformed into an ancient and eerie bronze gate, carved with a hundred ghosts walking at night. The door knocker was a pair of ferocious demons, each holding a rusty copper ring in its mouth.

The bronze door slowly opened, and Ox-Head and Horse-Face stepped out, holding steel forks. They were about to shout, but their souls trembled, and the steel forks in their hands fell to the ground with a "clang." They instinctively knelt down, their foreheads pressed against the floor of the underworld, not even having the courage to look up and see who it was.

Nan Qing placed Xiao Ba on her right shoulder, made no trouble for them, and calmly walked past, leaving only one sentence:

"Come visit your underworld, but don't bother me."

Long after she left, Ox-Head and Horse-Face shakily got up from the ground.

"Old Ma..." Bull Head's voice still trembled uncontrollably, and his large, bell-like eyes were filled with fear. "Who...who was that just now...?"

Horse-faced shook his head stiffly, his hands trembling as he bent down to pick up the steel fork. Hearing this, he only dared to say, "Don't ask... don't ask..."

Just a moment ago, he even felt that his soul was on the verge of disintegration. Even the Ten Kings of Hell would be no match for that great man.

Nanqing was helpless. Her soul was powerful and ordinary mortals could not perceive it, so they had no way of knowing. But for the lowest-ranking soul servants in the human realm and the underworld, she didn't even need to borrow the spiritual power of this world. With a simple pinch, she could make their souls disappear.

After crossing the bronze gate, the scene of the underworld piqued Nan Qing's interest.

Along the winding Wangchuan Road, large swathes of dazzling red spider lilies bloom, their blood-red petals appearing particularly alluring in the gloomy underworld. Among the flowers, one can vaguely see a few wisps of ghostly spirits wandering about. The Wangchuan River beside it glows with a ghostly blue fluorescence, with specks of phosphorescence floating on its surface, making the entire river appear dreamlike and ethereal.

"It's prettier than I imagined."

Nan Qing reached out and gently brushed the spider lilies by the roadside, causing them to shimmer with starlight. The blood-red petals trembled slightly, as if responding to her touch.

She stopped at the bank of the River of Oblivion, looking at the wisps of remnant souls inside. She was not afraid at all. Instead, she lifted her skirt, squatted down, and reached her slender white fingers directly into the river.

[Host, host, is the river water cold? Little Eight wants to go down and play too~]

The river water was icy to the touch, carrying a hint of chill, but to Nan Qing, it was no different from ordinary river water. The remnant souls that should have clung to her scattered, creating delicate ripples in the river.

"It's alright, you can go in and have some fun if you want."

As soon as she finished speaking, the little hedgehog on her shoulder leaped up, even straightening its front paws together and flexing its hind legs, striking a rather professional diving pose in mid-air, though it's unclear where it learned that from.

"Thump!"

The water splashed high, startling the nearby lingering spirits, who retreated several feet. Little Eight's round body frolicked happily in the river, its sharp spines bobbing with the ripples—it was like a little swimming furball!

Nan Qing simply took out a cloud brocade cushion from the Nebula Realm, sat on it, kicked off her slippers, and dipped her fair little feet into the River of Oblivion. The moment the water touched her skin, she parted her red lips slightly and let out a soft "Mmm." No wonder Xiao Ba was having so much fun; the water was indeed comfortable and cool, much more fun than swimming or soaking in hot springs.

Tired from playing, Xiao Ba climbed up her legs and lay on her knees, panting heavily: "Host, this underworld doesn't seem as gloomy and scary as they say in TV dramas."

Nan Qing rested her hands on the soft cushion, squinting her eyes contentedly, her feet gently swaying in the river, stirring up ripples.

"It's just that the remnant souls in the river can't harm you or me."

"The River of Oblivion contains the obsessions of countless lost souls. Ordinary ghosts, even a drop of it, could have their minds instantly corrupted by those obsessions. It's not something to be trifled with!"

Little Ba's round body tilted to one side, its four legs in the air, revealing its white and tender belly, its black bean eyes full of indifference.

[Little Eight is a Time-Space Beast, so he's not afraid of these things. He even dares to play in the Dead Sea of ​​the Underworld.]

After saying that, it even patted its round belly with its little paws, looking like it was saying, "I'm very powerful."

Nan Qing chuckled lightly, reached out a finger and poked its soft belly, mercilessly exposing its flaws:

"Are you truly unharmed? With your century-long cultivation, you'd probably find nothing but bones if you went in."

The Dead Sea in the Underworld is far superior to the small River of Oblivion in the Netherworld. In ancient times, the Dead Sea was also known as the Abyss of Returning to Nothingness. Back then, Gonggong angrily struck Buzhou Mountain, causing the pillar of heaven to collapse. The waters of the Milky Way and the resentment of the fallen gods and demons gathered there. Over millions of years, it has taken the form of this forbidden sea. Let alone this little one, even an ordinary Golden Immortal would be corroded and have his soul destroyed if he touched even half a drop of the Dead Sea. It would take thousands of years of cultivation to resolve the overwhelming resentment within.

If you're unlucky enough to encounter the lingering obsessions of those ancient demon gods, even your true spirit might be torn apart and devoured.

Upon hearing this, the little hedgehog whose boasting had failed frightened its spines, and it shrank back into itself, burying its head in its belly fur.

It had only heard its ancestors talk about the Dead Sea in the Underworld, and that it was a very powerful place, a forbidden area of ​​the Underworld. It was just... just bragging... little did it know that the sea was so dangerous!!

Our ancestors never told it that encountering even a single drop of its essence would kill it...

[Wait, wait until I cultivate for another... eight thousand years... no, ten thousand years! Then I definitely won't be afraid anymore!]

Nanqing picked up the hedgehog and swung it around in the air until it looked dizzy before putting it back on her lap.

"Alright, what's so difficult about taking a trip to the Dead Sea? When this world ends, I'll take you there."

Those evil spirits and resentment have no effect on her. Her true form is a combination of the essence of the five elements of heaven and earth, the brilliance of the sun, moon and stars, and also contains the power of creation from the beginning of chaos. It can purify all the poisons of the three realms and eliminate resentment and evil.

Even the raging fury of the Dead Sea in the underworld melts like snow in boiling water when it encounters her.