aloof Buddhist disciple

Qinglian stared at the Netherfire before her and poked it with a finger. The Netherfire, however, dodged and jumped around in disgust. Qinglian was so angry that she transformed into her own essence and chased after the Netherfire, trying to envelop it, but it always managed to dodge her attacks. In the end, after a series of entanglements, the Netherfire flew back to Gu Lili's side.

"Alright, Qinglian, don't scare it anymore," Gu Lili whispered.

"Heh, you actually managed to subdue my essence and even bring it to life." The Ghost King glanced at Gu Lili with extreme disgust and said, "Keep it, it will be of great use to you. Don't worry, it won't remember me after it takes human form."

Gu Lili understood the Ghost King's "entrustment of his orphan." Qing Lian had said that any spirit born without being inspired by heaven and earth was not allowed to exist in this world. If this was true for her, then the Netherfire was probably the same.

Because of the spirit fire that had come to life, the Ghost King had to suppress his ferocity and whispered, "Treat it well."

Gu Lili didn't answer, but looked at the chains, countless in number, one after another, wrapping the Ghost King tightly, just like when she was sending a package in the human world, she would wrap the box with tape again and again until the cardboard was completely covered with tape before handing it over to the courier.

The man in front of me looked to be no more than 20 years old. His handsome face, though covered in blood, still exuded youthful vigor. It was hard to imagine what connection he had with the title of Ghost King.

"How long have you been here?" Gu Lili asked.

"You don't know? You come to torment me every year, how could you not know how long I've been locked up?"

"What grudge do we have? I... I don't remember. Something happened in the underworld. I don't remember anything from before."

The Ghost King frowned slightly: "At the beginning of creation, in the ancient war, the one you loved died under my God-Slaying Mace."

After a few words, the Ghost King looked at Gu Lili and, finding her unresponsive, seemed to have truly lost her memory. He sneered and continued:

"You ancient gods, in order to unify the six realms, ordered the slaughter and massacre of my demon race's people, and plotted to kill the ancient divine beast race that had formed a blood alliance with my race. The wronged souls who died unjustly are filled with resentment. You established the underworld to suppress these vengeful spirits, hehehehehe..."

The Ghost King's miserable and desolate self-mockery echoed throughout the room: "I have been imprisoned here by you for tens of thousands of years, immortal and indestructible, all to take my origin. Those sanctimonious officials, saying it was to burn away the evil souls of the world, hahahahahaha, wasn't it just to burn away the vengeful souls of us demons and divine beasts, so that they could not be reborn? I am guilty, I am a sinner, I deserve to be imprisoned here and suffer endless whippings."

At this point, the Ghost King grew even more agitated. He felt the strange chains tighten once more, causing him to let out a low growl of pain, and blood dripped down through the chains.

"But you, Mengli... you can never bring your lover back to life. He fell to my God-Slaying Mace, reduced to ashes, his soul extinguished, unable to enter the cycle of reincarnation. You will never, ever be able to reunite with him again, hahahahahahahaha."

Accompanied by violent laughter, a large mouthful of blood gushed from the Ghost King's mouth, causing his initial arrogant mockery to turn into violent coughing up of blood, with the stench of blood spreading as he gasped for breath.

Gu Lili did not respond, but simply watched the other person's madness with indifference.

Seeing that the other party remained unmoved, the Ghost King continued to roar, "You... why aren't you saying anything? Come and hit me again, slash my face again, break my bones again! Isn't this what you like? Isn't this the only thing you look forward to every year?"

"Lady Meng Po, why don't we leave? I think he harbors a lot of ill will towards you." Qing Lian walked to Gu Lili's side and gently tugged at her sleeve.

"Don't worry, it's alright." Gu Lili pried Qing Lian's hand away and slowly walked towards the Ghost King.

The floor near the Ghost King was covered in filth. The closer she got, the more suffocating the stench, mixed with the smell of blood, became. With each step, the filth felt so sticky that it seemed to imprison her in place.

"Heh, what, you're not pretending anymore? A thousand years haven't seen you, and now you want me to pay for it all? Anyway, I'm not going to die, so do as you please..."

He has been imprisoned here for countless years. Apart from Mengli coming to beat him half to death every year, or a ghost messenger coming to collect the Netherfire every few hundred years, he has never seen any living creature.

When he was suppressed here and his Netherworld Flame was drained, only a sliver of his essence remained to sustain his immortality. This loneliness had long since tormented him to the point of madness. So, from the first moment he saw Gu Lili, his feelings were less like hatred and more like an outpouring of the loneliness he had endured for a thousand years.

The Ghost King continued to mock and taunt Gu Lili. Gu Lili walked up to him, raised her hand, and gently stroked his cheek, interrupting his taunts: "I don't know you, but you... are living a very miserable life now."

The Ghost King froze, his eyes changing from scarlet resentment to confusion, then filled with bewilderment and grievance, but only for a moment before returning to normal. He opened his mouth, revealing his fangs, and bit down on Gu Lili's arm.

Gu Lili did not resist, letting her blood gush from the other person's mouth and drip onto her favorite light purple dress.

"Lady Meng Po!!!"

Gu Lili's last impression was Qing Lian's call of "Lady Meng Po".

When she woke up again, she was lying in a comfortable bed. The soft, warm blankets made her want to sleep a little longer, but a pair of large hands kept gently stroking her cheeks, which gradually dispelled her sleepiness. She opened her eyes groggily.

"Guan Nan!!! What am I doing..."

"This is Guannan Hall. If I had arrived any later, you would have been freezing."

When Guan Nan saw that she had woken up, he slowly got up from the bedside and sat on the black lambskin sofa, and a faint woody fragrance wafted out.

Gu Lili sniffed hard and could smell lemon and cardamom. Although she had never used perfume in her previous life, this kind of scent was the one that would make her stop and linger when she was in a high-end shopping mall enjoying the air conditioning.

"How do you know where I am?"

"What do you think? If you leave it cold, who will make the soup?"

"All right."

Gu Lili looked around. The simple black and white combination of a bed, a table, and a sofa was very different from the European-style decoration she had seen in the various halls of Guannan Hall before.

"This can't be...his...bedroom, can it? And this bed..." Gu Lili wondered to herself, when suddenly a blush spread across her cheeks.

“The 19th floor is forbidden territory. If we send you back to Meng Po’s residence, everyone will see that you are half dead and will definitely ask you all sorts of questions. If the higher-ups find out, even I can’t protect you.”

“My bedroom is the only place in the underworld with a restriction, which no one else can explore or trespass on. No one but me can... no, besides me there is one annoying guy who can come and go as he pleases. I can’t do anything about him, but that kid is smart enough not to expose your secrets.”

"Oh no, I forgot he can read minds! No, I need to master the art of shielding myself as soon as possible!" Gu Lili, who had been single for 26 years, was waking up in a man's bed for the first time. Although the other person might be a physical ghost, his incredible handsomeness was enough to make her blush and lose control of her emotions.

Gu Lili sat up, pulled the blanket tighter around her, and subconsciously glanced under the covers: "??? My clothes??? You??? Me???"

"Do you really want to lie on my bed wearing those filthy, sticky clothes?"

“Then I…” Gu Lili pointed to herself speechlessly.

"What's wrong with you? I've lived for tens of millions of years and seen everything. Your size is just passable at best, not enough to make anyone have any wild thoughts."

"You, you, you..." Gu Lili was speechless after hearing the other person's words. Firstly, because the other person had admitted to seeing her naked, and secondly, because her figure, which she was quite proud of, was completely disparaged by the other person.

"Spells? Don't you understand spells? Haven't you watched any fantasy dramas? You're as unconscious as a dead pig, do you think I can move you and change your clothes?" Guan Nan glanced at her disdainfully and said.

"Um... what's with that Ghost King? Why did he say he knew me?"

Gu Lili knew that quickly changing the subject was the best tactic for dealing with awkward situations. So she didn't continue the previous topic and directly shifted the blame to the Ghost King.

“I don’t know. The 19th floor has existed since I took over the Underworld. All I know is that it has been supplying the Netherfire for ten thousand years. It has always been a forbidden area of ​​the Underworld. There is a barrier set up by the gods of the Heavenly Realm before their fall. Not to mention public relations, even I can only approach the door when I am nourishing the Netherfire.”

As Guan Nan spoke, his eyes suddenly turned sharp: "I don't know how a mere mortal like you could have the ability to open an ancient barrier."

"For ten thousand years, the remnants of the demon race have never given up their evil intentions, repeatedly infiltrating the underworld to try and break into the 19th floor to rescue their young master. If I discover that you are connected to them..."

It wasn't until this last sentence that Gu Lili understood what the other person meant, and a nameless rage surged in her heart: "Then please, take that damn source from my body and let me drink soup and be my little weed, OK??"

Guan Nan seemed to realize she had gone too far. She stood up and was about to approach the bed when she felt a surge in her chest and a metallic taste in her throat. A mouthful of blood gushed from her mouth. In a daze, she thought there was a familiar figure opposite her. Before she could focus, her consciousness began to blur, and she collapsed heavily onto the bed.

"Hey, you idiot, your girlfriend's probably going to hold a grudge against you now..."

The Ksitigarbha, who had been hiding in the shadows, revealed himself, shook his head, and muttered something.

"Shut up……"

Guan Nan quickly stepped forward and used magic to examine her spirit, only to find that the spiritual power that had been replenished was gradually dissipating.

Yesterday, in order to save Gu Lili, who was nearly killed by the Ghost King, Guan Nan channeled spiritual energy into her all night long and fed her a treasure of the underworld—the Soul-Gathering Pill. This Soul-Gathering Pill is made from dozens of kinds of immortal herbs and divine beast cores, and refined with the Jade Terrace Immortal Dew. Only one pill can be obtained every 500 years. She had clearly recovered, so why is she vomiting blood again?

Do you have a solution?

Ksitigarbha slowly approached, rolled up his sleeves, and used hand seals to probe Gu Lili.

"How is it?" Guan Nan asked.

Ksitigarbha frowned slightly, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes: "That Ghost King has been starving for ten thousand years, so he will naturally eat all the delicacies that are offered to him. But even if your little girlfriend has rebuilt her physical body, she was still a mortal before. Her body was almost shattered by the Netherfire not long ago. How can she withstand such torment?"

Guan Nan listened in vain, then said sternly, "Get to the point."

Ksitigarbha's lips curled up, and he said teasingly, "This girl was transformed from a dead soul, unlike you and me, who have cultivated to a high level, with the yin and yang of our spiritual energy in harmony... So... how about... you two cultivate together?"

“You…” Guan Nan’s eyes were filled with murderous intent, and lightning crackled in his raised palm. Just as he was about to unleash his magic weapon, Dizang hurriedly put on a smile and said, “Passing on Yang energy is also acceptable, it is acceptable, haha.”

Guan Nan glanced at Dizang, then withdrew his summoning spell and paused before asking, "How can I transfer yang energy to her?"

"Mouth to mouth..."

"Are you planning to die here today?"

"Hey, no, no, no, this is the normal way to transfer fluids. If you really can't accept it, well, well, I'll transfer it mouth-to-mouth for you, girl. I won't go to hell, who will..."

Before Ksitigarbha could finish speaking, Guan Nan's Netherworld Axe was already hacking at him: "Hey, I said, are you serious... No, no, no, there's still a way, quickly put this thing away..."

Guan Nan raised his axe and chased after Dizang, but fortunately, his bedroom had a special restriction, so the outside could not hear the noise inside, and the room could be instantly restored to its original state if it was damaged by magical artifacts.

"Oh...you...when are you going to change your bad temper...oh, hey, let me catch my breath..."

A few strands of hair fell from Ksitigarbha's forehead, and his already loose bun at the back of his head was only supported by a sandalwood hairpin. Looking at his thin face, clear eyes, and flowing robes, he had the appearance of an immortal.

People say that Buddha has no form, and Guan Nan often wonders why a half-Buddha who cultivates in the underworld has such a carefree Taoist image.

"If you don't explain yourself clearly now, you won't need to say anything again." Guan Nan raised the hammer in his hand again: "Also, what little girlfriend? Can't you act a little more like a detached Buddhist monk?"

"Alright, alright, put the axe away first, and I'll talk to you then." Dizang looked at Guannan's axe with apprehension. That thing couldn't hurt him, but his "Taoist robe" was this year's runway style, which he really liked. If that big axe got close, his clothes would definitely be in trouble.

Dizang peered into the vicinity of Guannan, making sure the other party had put away their axe, before continuing, "Sleep with her... Don't rush, no dual cultivation, just together every night. Being close by, women are naturally able to absorb yang energy, you know..."

"I don't understand"

"Try it, try it for one night and you'll understand."

"..."

"You'll lie down with her like this tonight. If that doesn't work, you'll do it tomorrow..."

"If this doesn't work, I'll burn all your fashion pieces in the house tomorrow!"

"Okay, okay...you're really impatient. Um, I have something to do, I'll be going now."

Before Guan Nan could cause any more trouble, Dizang had already vanished.

Guan Nan walked to the bedside, gently bent down, and probed Gu Lili's spiritual consciousness. Then he sighed softly, took off his outer clothes, lifted the corner of the quilt and crawled under it. After a pause, he pulled the person in front of him into his arms.

The next day, Gu Lili felt hot, as if the scorching summer sun had made her mouth and tongue parched. In her hazy state, she subconsciously reached for the water glass on the bedside table, but was blocked by a warm and broad chest.

"Aa ...

Fortunately, the room has good soundproofing, otherwise Gu Lili's screams would probably have been heard even by 389, who is still working overtime in the underworld.

"You...you...you said you had no romantic intentions towards me? You...you...you scoundrel!"

Gu Lili shouted at Guan Nan, who was shirtless, and then she subconsciously hugged herself, since she felt that she wasn't wearing many strips of cloth.

"Have you ever watched fantasy dramas? Do you understand the concept of 'crossing yang energy'? Your spiritual consciousness was damaged by the Ghost King. The Yin energy in the underworld is too heavy to repair your spiritual consciousness. Only my blazing yang energy can balance the excessive Yin energy in your body and thus repair your spiritual consciousness."

"Then, then we..." Gu Lili clutched her chest as she picked up her clothes from the ground and quickly put them on.

"Nothing happened," the other party said coldly.

Gu Lili hurriedly put on her clothes and slowly retreated towards the door: "I, I have to go back, I still need to make...make soup."

"No!" Guan Nan stood up, strode to the door, leaned against the wall with one hand, and whispered in her ear in a commanding tone.

"Ugh..." Gu Lili was about to argue when a mouthful of warm blood gushed out. She reached out to cover her mouth and nose, but the blood still seeped out from between her fingers and dripped onto the ground.

"You see, you can't leave now. I'll send someone to the underworld to explain things to you. For now, just stay in Guannan Palace to recover." With that, Guannan picked her up in a princess carry and put her back on the bed. Then he took a pack of wet wipes and carefully wiped away the bloodstains, again and again, until there were no more bloodstains and even the smell of blood disappeared.

Back in the warm bed filled with the warmth of the blazing sun, Gu Lili felt drowsy. Her eyelids struggled to open and close several times, until the person in front of her gently said, "Sleep," and she finally gave up resisting, closed her eyes, and fell into a deep sleep.

"Her spiritual consciousness is indeed repairing and healing itself," Ksitigarbha said, revealing himself as Gu Lili fell asleep.