50. To go to different places
"...In a state of deep concentration where the mind is as cold as ashes, the spirit is guarded within, and the will is not scattered. In this state of concentration, a spirit of darkness emerges. This spirit of darkness is a pure and ethereal ghost, not formed from pure spiritual energy. Therefore, although it does not enter the cycle of reincarnation, it cannot ascend to the realm of immortals and ultimately has nowhere to return, wandering among the three realms."[①]
Beichen followed along, reciting the exact words from the textbook without missing a single one, and tilted his head to look at Guifang.
"Do you remember now?"
“I don’t understand,” Gui Fang shook his head. “We in the Department of Ghostly Qi don’t have academic classes.”
Bei Chen's eyes widened: "Why aren't there any academic classes!"
Gui Fang said irritably, "I am the only student in the Department of Ghostly Qi. Some teachers are too lazy to even go through the motions and procedures. I have only heard their names, but I have never seen the teachers in person."
In comparison, Qin Xiuluo can truly be considered a very responsible teacher.
"Ghost Immortals possess supernatural powers, but are inferior to Immortal Lords. They combine the characteristics of gods and ghosts. Among the many immortals, although they belong to the lowest rank, they are still immortals after all."
Tang Xi looked on with envy and exclaimed, "You're so lucky! You can even stumble upon a celestial inheritance just by going out for a stroll!"
Nine-Headed Chapter seemed to have gleaned some pattern from Gui Fang, Tang Xi, and others. Its three eyes fixed on the person in the bucket, and finally nudged Bei Chen, sincerely suggesting, "Young friend Bei Chen, why don't you go out for a walk and see if you can encounter anything?"
Bei Chen chuckled, "I already have a magic weapon, one mace is enough, I can't be too greedy."
"A mace?" Gui Fang remembered, and teased, "Oh, right, the dog-beating stick the little tiger gave you. Why haven't you named it yet? Don't you know how to use it? Can't control it?"
Bei Chen's thick eyebrows stood on end, and he rolled up his sleeves. "What dog-beating stick? I'll hit you first!"
"..."
The noise around her helped Tangxi clear her mind.
Beichen can summon the Star Lord, Pipi stayed in the Fragrant Tomb to cultivate human form, and Guifang also has a celestial being... It's just unknown how powerful this celestial being is.
"Ghost Fang, which ghost immortal did you encounter?"
Gui Fang recounted in great detail the entire process of encountering the Fire element and Fang Shengzai's transformation.
"Has anyone here ever heard of Fang Shengzai Zhan?"
Bei Chen shook his head, his brows furrowing slightly. "It sounds like a very powerful immortal... but also someone who is neither entirely righteous nor entirely evil."
Tangxi seemed lost in thought.
The original text did not mention the Gui Fang's immortal lineage "Fang Sheng Zai Zhan," which is another variable.
Ever since Gui Fang and Bei Chen became teammates and entered the blessed land, the original story's timeline has collapsed horribly.
Furthermore, if Gui Fang's legacy can be used properly, it might help Bei Chen fight against those evil spirit masters, especially since Gui Fang hasn't yet shown the irrational state he experienced in the original story, being overwhelmed by the strange energy and poison.
Therefore, the future can be changed.
Tangxi River and my thoughts are swaying.
The future can be changed; we don't have to follow a predetermined fate.
Tang Xi couldn't help but feel secretly delighted, as the tangled mess in her mind seemed to be untangling by accident.
"When I met Fu Ningjing, she said she was chasing a fire elephant. Did she know whether she was chasing a demon or a celestial mount?"
After he finished speaking, there was a few seconds of silence on both sides.
"...Why didn't you say so sooner? I almost became the scapegoat!"
"You still haven't explained! What's the situation with Fu Ningjing? Did you two start fighting?"
Tang Xi rubbed her ears guiltily, lowered her head and listened meekly as she was scolded, recounting her "ghostly" encounter in the forest to everyone.
"...I didn't know Fu Ningjing, so I thought it was some evil spirit master causing trouble again...Sorry, haha, I was prejudiced and thought it was some evil spirit master impersonating Fu Guanhong hunting monsters."
Bei Chen couldn't help but feel a little worried. "It's strange that both of them, sisters, are now working for the Monster Management Bureau?"
Furthermore, Tang Xi and her half-demon roommate also joined the evil spirit master's team, as did Yao Yuqian, or other classmates, who successively joined the "Demon Management Bureau".
What are the benefits?
"Monster Management Bureau?"
Gui Fang scoffed, "What does it care about? The kind of thing that involves tearing out one's heart and lungs? The way it steals the sky and changes the sun to forcibly legitimize itself as a landlord is quite refreshing."
The Nine-Headed Octopus's head changed color several times, its eyes were dull, and the Ghost Fang, who had never attended a cultural class, suddenly uttered a few idioms, making it look at Ghost Fang Wu Di with a slight sense of unfamiliarity.
"What are you saying? Why are you suddenly speaking in such a literary way..."
Bei Chen explained to Jiu Tou Zhang, "He means that the current Demon Management Bureau is actually imitating the emblem of the abandoned Demon Management Bureau from the past, and is setting up its own independent entity. But in fact, none of us know whether the Immortal Alliance would allow the current Demon Management Bureau to be established."
Nine-Headed Chapter understood, “Oh, I see. After all, there are many ridiculous rules in blessed lands that are deliberately designed to restrict us demons… Wait a minute, we demons can’t break the rules, but you human cultivators can’t either?”
"Of course not."
Gui Fang rested his chin on his hand, looking down at his torn sleeve with a resentful gaze.
"Some cultivators were forcibly selected from the mortal world by the envoys of the Immortal Alliance, even if they themselves did not want to choose the path of cultivation and only wanted to live as ordinary people until they were a hundred years old..."
"But the Immortal Alliance has many ways to get the families of the chosen ones to willingly send their children to the Ark."
Tang Xi's heart skipped a beat. These words were like a wooden fish, suddenly tapping lightly on his mind, and blurry fragments of memory flashed through his mind. Those fragmented memories swept by like a gust of wind, and when he tried to recall them carefully again, he couldn't grasp anything.
...My memories before boarding the ark are hazy and unclear.
Tang Xihe tucked her sleeves in, forcibly ignoring the discomfort in her heart, and changed her sitting posture.
Nine-Headed Zhang and Bei Chen were discussing intently, their three eyes creased into a line.
"Ugh... You humans are so cruel to your own kind! You have to apply to go home? You have to wait in line? It's even more restrictive than being a bound spirit or a mountain spirit! Luckily, I'm a monster. The world is vast, and I can settle down anywhere."
Bei Chen was startled: "Wait! You mentioned going home... Hey, we still don't know where the Demon Management Bureau's headquarters is, but our whereabouts are under their control!"
"What a coincidence! The blessed land is the territory of the Demon Management Bureau, so naturally it's teeming with evil spirit masters. Tang... Hey! Wake up!"
Gui Fang gently nudged Tang Xihe under the table, "Why aren't you saying anything? Say something."
Tang Xi snapped out of her daze and replied perfunctorily, "I'm listening, I'm listening. What do you want me to say? Fang Shengzai Zhan? That's good. Maybe it will be of great help in the future."
"We've already gotten to the point where the Monster Management Bureau is involved, what are you spacing out for?"
Beichen pushed the conch cup in front of Tangxi, "You're always daydreaming, have a cup to clear your head."
"No, thank you." Tang Xihe politely pushed the conch cup back. "I'm perfectly sober. I was just thinking about something else."
What are you thinking about?
"To create disaster in every possible way."
Tang Xihe: "Perhaps Fang Shengzai Zhan's existence can help expose the evil deeds of the Demon Management Bureau. I wonder if we cultivators and the little demons of the blessed land can contend with the Demon Management Bureau."
"They even dared to poison Zhu He. From Gui Fangfu to Zhu He, the methods used by the people behind them are all the same: poisoning, poisoning, and more poisoning..."
Tang Xi paused, then said, "Wait a minute."
"The fact that they dared to poison the Lord shows that they are not worried about the news being leaked, nor are they worried about the Immortal Realm discovering anything amiss."
"Does that mean the channel for messages to reach the Immortal Realm has been blocked?"
The three exchanged glances and fell silent, gradually becoming tense, all thinking of the Eastern Star Emperor heading to the Senluo Platform.
Azure Dragon.
"Zhu He? I know her, the ruler of Fragrant Graveyard! Her demonic fire has healing properties, she's a very kind little raven!"
Lost in his memories, Nine-Headed Chapter didn't notice the strange expressions on the three people's faces. He sighed softly, "It really sounds plausible... Maybe the original intention of establishing the Demon Management Bureau was indeed to manage the demons in the blessed lands."
The original intention of management has been distorted, and the people in the Demon Management Bureau have also changed their minds. The procedure was correct, but the result was absurd.
Undeniably, many of the monsters in the blessed land have indeed been improved, and many have even gained sentience and can communicate with each other in human language. However, beneath this seemingly idyllic scene, an unseen hand seems to be manipulating this pure land at will, and numerous mandatory rules have left the little monsters powerless to resist, gradually succumbing to numbness and indifference, either sitting idly by or banding together for warmth.
"We can't let the Demon Management Bureau run rampant in this blessed land. I want to do something!"
Bei Chen jumped up and looked at Tang Xi and the other two. "Everyone, should we go to Senluo Terrace?"
"Calm down."
Tang Xi pulled him down to sit. "We're not citizens of the Fairy Realm, so we can't go up there. But, can we go to Junxing Mountain?"
Upon being reminded, Bei Chen also remembered, "Yes, Jin Chan Lao said that Junxing Mountain is separated by a strange barrier, and the specific situation is still unknown."
Bei Chen pretended to get up again, "Let's go investigate and see if the evil spirit master did something to Junxing Mountain."
"Juanxing Mountain?"
Nine-Headed Chapter jumped up in surprise, "Where are you going? No, you two go, young friend Gui Fang stays behind!"
"On what grounds?"
Gui Fang patted his leg and said, "I can go wherever I want."
"No! I'm still missing two heads!"
The Nine-Headed Octopus raised several tentacles, bargaining, "Then let's make a deal? You stay here and transfer your power to me to replenish the poison. No matter where Little Friend Tang and Little Friend Beichen explore, when you come back, I won't charge you any immortal coins, and I'll let the three of you stay at the Wandering Inn."
Tangxi and Guisi seemed to sense something. "Nine-Headed Chapter, you seem very sure we'll go back to the Wandering Inn."
"Of course we'll come back! You'll definitely leave empty-handed anyway... But I've only heard this from others, you can take it as a reference!"
Nine-Headed Chapter had no intention of hiding anything, or rather, he couldn't wait to publicize it, so he shrank closer and spoke in a mysterious and enigmatic tone.
"I heard that the entire Junxing Mountain area was violently suppressed by those guys!"
"ah?"
Nine-Headed Chapter: "I went to see it myself! There's a strange barrier around the entire Junxing Mountain area. Monsters outside can't get in, and they can't smell any monsters inside!"
The three of them exchanged glances.
A strange barrier? This is similar to the version the Golden Toad mentioned.
Tang Xi asked, "Was it those guys who did it? Since you went to Junxing Mountain, did you encounter anything else?"
"Shh! Don't say things out loud without evidence!"
The nine-headed octopus stretched out a tentacle and gestured in front of its mouth, a gesture quite like a human's, especially with the blatant hint in its eyes: "Be careful, they might arrest you for defamation, false accusation, and other charges, and then take you in for questioning and remove your inner core!"
"..."
It seems that Nine-Headed Zhang was also one of the monsters who went to Junxing Mountain, and unfortunately encountered the same situation as Golden Toad.
"I can't say anything more!"
Nine-Headed Zhang suddenly retreated and darted into the kitchen. "Things need to be investigated step by step. If I tell you in advance, as Young Friend Tang just said, preconceived notions will affect your ability to obtain information and make judgments."
"Tch, keeping us in suspense... So annoying, nothing good ever comes of it!"
Gui Fang said irritably, "Let's just create a huge mess and reshuffle everything!"
Nine-Headed Octopus screamed like a boiling kettle, yelling in the kitchen, "Idiot! Fool! Don't talk nonsense!"
Gui Fang: "My mouth is sewn shut, so the prophecy won't come true!"
·
After a hearty meal hosted by Kujuro, the three parted ways.
Gui Fang was half-dragged, half-pulled towards the water vat by the Nine-Headed Octopus, and said resentfully, "Brothers, remember to come back and get me out!"
"Don't worry, no matter what happens, we'll leave you behind."
Tang Xi waved his hand and said, "Cultivate well, brother. Try to communicate with Fang Shengzai through your divine sense."
"Tang Xihe! Who taught you to play such a bad joke on me!"
Gui Fang was completely dragged into the water vat by the Nine-Headed Seal, and almost coughed from being choked by the stone chamber beneath the vat.
He still wasn't used to the fishy smell of the sea here.
"I drew it beforehand, come on!"
Nine-Headed Octopus shouted loudly, patting the center of the formation, and said happily, "When I grow three heads, I'll cut off one of my arms and give it to you!"
Three eyes stared at Gui Fang Wu Di, and a mouth made of short, wrinkled tentacles, like chrysanthemums, chuckled foolishly, "What is lost will always be taken back from the sheep."
Gui Fang: "...Who wants your tentacles!"
Bad luck! Bad luck!
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