Chapter 96
Holding the jade token, Mo Xiaoxin arrived at the Illusionary Spirit Abyss. This was a place where Leng Huai used to have to lead her up, but now she could easily go there.
Returning here again, recalling all the moments she shared with Leng Huai, Mo Xiaoxin felt a pang of pain in her heart.
Yue's words echoed in his mind: "The rare herbs and plants on the Illusionary Spirit Abyss are the formation of the Spirit Locking Array. As long as the formation is broken, the gate to the Spirit Realm can be opened."
"There's someone waiting for you there."
He drew a circle with both hands, and instantly a strong wind howled, causing the grass and trees to sway and shake.
With Mo Xiaoxin's rapidly changing gestures, the plants and trees moved swiftly.
As the gesture ended, the gale disappeared.
The original locations of the vegetation have been completely changed.
At the end of these plants, a transparent staircase appeared.
The staircase leads straight up into the sky, with no end in sight.
Climbing these steps is no easy feat.
Because they are not from the spirit world, they must endure a painful purgatory to cross over. Although there are only a few dozen steps, the pain intensifies with each step.
There are countless people who fall down the stairs because they cannot bear the pain.
Yes, it's not that easy to see the dead.
Mo Xiaoxin gripped the jade pendant tightly, her eyes unwavering, and stepped onto the first step.
A sharp pain came from the soles of my feet.
It's no big deal.
Mo Xiaoxin pursed her lips and stepped onto the second step, where the stinging sensation intensified slightly.
Then the third, the fourth step...
The pain, which started in her feet, gradually spread throughout her body; her hands and feet began to feel numb and tremble with pain.
It's nothing, it's nothing.
Mo Xiaoxin gritted her teeth and took a difficult step.
She kept her head down and didn't look at how many steps were left; she didn't dare to look.
The pain penetrated to her very bones, and she feared she would back down.
Her breathing was erratic from the pain, her eyes were swollen, and cold sweat soaked her hair and got into her eyes.
A sharp pain shot through her eyes, and she had to blink repeatedly to relieve the discomfort.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the steps above, and ten more steps.
She pounded her legs, which were numb with pain, and struggled to lift her right foot.
When she stepped onto the ninth step, she could no longer stand. She crawled on the ground in a disheveled state and forced her other foot onto the ninth step.
She collapsed on the ninth step, gasping for breath, as if she were terminally ill.
She looked up at the vast expanse of white sky, and in a daze, she seemed to see those eyes filled with despair and helplessness.
No, she has to get up!
Leng Huai is still waiting for her in the spirit world.
Her mind was a complete blank. With difficulty, she opened her eyes and crawled up a few more steps while still lying on the ground.
Her face was pale and bloodless, like that of a dying old woman.
Mo Xiaoxin touched her face; it was wrinkled, her skin loose and sagging, and she was as thin as a rake. She looked at her hands; her once fair and tender skin now looked incredibly aged, like a withered tree branch.
She had turned into an old woman.
Her body trembled as if a gust of wind could blow her over.
A mocking smile curled at the corner of her lips. Did they really think they could defeat her like this? Make her admit defeat?
impossible!
Even if she faints from the pain and falls from here, she will climb back up!
The cycle repeats endlessly, without ever giving up.
In a daze, she seemed to hear someone calling her name from above.
"Mo Xiaoxin".
The voice was both strange and familiar; it was impossible to tell whether it belonged to a man or a woman.
Who is calling her?
A hint of doubt appeared in her eyes, and her body unconsciously stepped onto the stairs. The sound disappeared as soon as she stepped onto the last step.
Kuang!
There was a sound of something falling behind me. I turned around and saw that all the transparent steps had collapsed.
"You've finally arrived."
A figure appeared in front of her, and Mo Xiaoxin was stunned.
"Little one?"
The person standing in front of me, smiling brightly, was none other than Mu Xiaoxiao, who had disappeared long ago.
Mo Xiaoxin was overjoyed and went forward to hug Mu Xiaoxiao.
She looked down at her arms, which had just been skin and bones, but were now back to normal.
"Xiaoxiao, what are you doing here?"
Remembering that this was the spirit realm, Mo Xiaoxin's heart skipped a beat: "You wouldn't have already..."
Mu Xiaoxiao flicked Mo Xiaoxin on the forehead, still as carefree as ever: "Big sister, I'm not dead!"
Mo Xiaoxin rubbed her aching forehead: "Then how did you end up here?"
Mu Xiaoxiao was a little smug. She winked mysteriously at Mo Xiaoxin and said, "Then guess?"
Mo Xiaoxin shook her head: "I can't guess. Also, where have you been all this time, leaving me all alone in the Demon Realm? What kind of best friend are you?"
Mo Xiaoxin pouted and said with dissatisfaction.
Mu Xiaoxiao apologized and said, "Actually, I was arranged by your mother to protect you. She asked me to give you those medicines, but Leng Huai noticed my presence, so I had to leave."
Mo Xiaoxin was shocked: "It was actually my mother who arranged for you!"
She smiled gently; she knew then that the friend she had chosen could not be a bad person!
However, recalling Mu Xiaoxiao's previous attitude towards Leng Huai, I realized that...
"Xiaoxiao, why did you hurt Leng Huai before?"
When the past was brought up, a hint of regret appeared in Mu Xiaoxiao's eyes: "I don't know what was wrong with me at the time. We had a good relationship at first, but during the great battle, I wanted to abandon him and see him suffer. I didn't want to do this, but Leng Huai didn't blame me at all. He even took me to the Demon Palace. Afterwards, I regretted it. I wanted to leave, but then I met your mother. She said that as long as I helped her with her business, I could stay in the Divine Realm to recuperate."
Mo Xiaoxin: "What happened before can't be blamed on you. Because your body was controlled by the lingering will of the demon god, anyone who got close to Leng Huai was influenced by her and betrayed him. Fortunately, I had your help and was not bewitched by her."
Mu Xiaoxiao suddenly realized: "So that's how it is."
Her long-standing worry was finally resolved today. She breathed a sigh of relief and a relaxed smile appeared on her face: "As long as he doesn't blame me, that's fine."
"Did my mother send you here to meet me?"
Mu Xiaoxiao nodded: "I have been waiting for your arrival in the Spirit Realm to show you the way."
Mo Xiaoxin immediately understood Yue's good intentions: "So when she said someone would help me, she was referring to you."
Mu Xiaoxiao: "Leng Huai's soul is suffering in the spirit world. You must take him away as soon as possible and take his soul back from the Xuan Snake."
"What exactly is this spirit world?" Mo Xiaoxin asked.
She originally thought that the spirit world was a place where souls resided, a quiet and peaceful place where one wouldn't suffer any torment. But after listening to Mu Xiaoxiao's words, it seemed that it wasn't what she thought.
Mu Xiaoxiao: "Simply put, the Spirit Realm is a refuge for souls. It's where souls that have escaped the Underworld and don't want to be reincarnated stay. There's no clear jurisdiction here, so it's very chaotic. You can only survive here if your soul is strong. Someone like Leng Huai, who is missing one soul and one spirit, is easily bullied by others."
Thinking of how Leng Huai had been beaten black and blue by the other ghosts, Mo Xiaoxin couldn't help but find it a little funny.
Mu Xiaoxiao led Mo Xiaoxin to a passage: "After entering here, you will enter the Spirit Realm. Officials will come to check your passes."
Mo Xiaoxin still had many questions in her mind. Just as she was about to speak, she turned her head and found that Mu Xiaoxiao had disappeared without a trace.
They come and go without a trace; let's just call them Mu Vanish.
She complained inwardly, but as her only friend in this world, Mu Xiaoxiao had indeed provided her with a lot of help and comfort.
It seems that Mu Xiaoxiao also has a mission to fulfill, so it's not appropriate for her to linger here too long.
After passing through the long passage, a huge black archway suddenly appears, giving people an invisible sense of oppression.
Before their hands even touched the archway, a majestic voice rang in their ears: "Who dares to trespass into the spirit realm?"
Suddenly, a black lion's head appeared on the archway, its bulging eyes staring straight at her.
Mo Xiaoxin was startled. She immediately took two steps back, took out the jade token she had prepared beforehand, and politely said, "Hello, this is your pass."
The lion head looked at the pass, its mouth agape, as if it wanted Mo Xiaoxin to put the pass inside.
Mo Xiaoxin threw the jade pendant in.
After swallowing the pass, the lion head said, "Verification successful."
The archway slowly opened.
Before Mo Xiaoxin could react, she was sucked in by a powerful suction force.
When I opened my eyes again, many dark shadows floated past in my hazy vision.
A noisy commotion came from nearby.
"Someone else is here."
"It smells so good, I wonder how it tastes?"
"I saw her first, so she's mine."
"She's mine! She's mine! Don't you dare take her from me!"
The sharp, piercing sounds kept coming up and down, giving her a headache.
She frowned in annoyance: "Shut up, you're so noisy!"
She rubbed her forehead and then she could see clearly what was surrounding her.
A man whose heart is missing and whose wound is bleeding continuously; a woman with wet hair and a swollen face; a little boy with a limp...
Mo Xiaoxin, who had just been so arrogant, immediately deflated.
Good heavens, what are these things? They're all missing arms or legs.
Mo Xiaoxin almost fainted again.
The little boy hopped on one leg to Mo Xiaoxin's side: "Sister, you're alive."
As soon as he said this, the three ghosts eagerly awaited Mo Xiaoxin's answer, their eyes shining.
Mo Xiaoxin shook her head: "How could that be? I'm dead."
The little boy sniffed it and said simply and clearly, "It doesn't look like it."
Mo Xiaoxin glared at the little boy: "How is it not like me? What do you know, you're just a kid?"
The woman stared at her scrutinizing eyes: "Then tell me, how did you die?"
She was about to say that she had drowned, but after looking at the woman's death, she realized that the woman had probably been held underwater and suffocated, so she had to find another way to die.
Mo Xiaoxin began to fabricate a lie: "I was murdered."
The man didn't believe him: "But you don't have any wounds on your body."
Mo Xiaoxin then lied again: "I was angered to death by someone."
The three people were confused: "Die from anger? You can die from anger?"
Mo Xiaoxin: "Yes, they are all internal injuries, which you cannot see."
The man and the woman looked at each other in bewilderment.
The little boy said expressionlessly, "But, sister, you look delicious."
Man: "I'm hungry."
Woman: "I'm hungry too."
Man: "But there's not enough to go around."
The three ghosts started arguing again. Mo Xiaoxin coughed and said, "Do you know where Leng Huai is? If you tell me where he is, I'll let you eat him."
The three continued arguing, completely ignoring Mo Xiaoxin.
Mo Xiaoxin could tell that these three ghosts were mentally unstable. Rather than wasting time arguing with them, she decided to leave quickly and find Leng Huai: "Why don't you all discuss how to divide it..."
She left first.
She ran along the road ahead, and it was a long time before the three ghosts realized that their food had run away. They were all filled with remorse and began to blame each other.
These three ghosts show that it's not a good thing for her to appear in the spirit world; she's easily targeted by these things.
Fortunately, he ran into three idiots and managed to escape with his life.
The spirit world is a chaotic place, practically devoid of any management.
All the ghosts wander aimlessly here, taking pleasure in bullying the weak and feeding on them.
Of course, those who stay here are doing so to avoid being taken to the underworld for reincarnation, and to return to the Six Realms to fulfill their unfinished wishes.
Where there are people, or rather, ghosts, there is a world of intrigue and conflict, and fulfilling one's wishes is not an easy task.
The prerequisite is that you have to get out of here alive.
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