Final Chapter
"Look...look south!"
Gu Lili was stunned. After seeing who it was, she felt her cheeks burning. Memories from ten thousand years ago flooded her mind, causing her to subconsciously make a hand seal, wanting to teleport herself back to Meng Po's Residence.
But before the magic array could be activated, it was firmly held in place by Guan Nan.
Guan Nan gripped her arm, his eyes filled with indescribable emotions. Everyone present, bewildered by the scene, stood frozen in place.
Just as 389 put down the soup spoon and walked this way, Guan Nan suddenly tore open a spacetime rift, dragged Gu Lili into the rift, and disappeared.
"Huh??" 389 exclaimed, "Our Lady Meng Po has only been back for a few hours, and even Lord Guan Nan can't stand it? Couples in the throes of new love are too terrifying."
"Hmm, if this continues, I think you'll be the one to become Meng Po (the goddess of forgetfulness)." Fangfangfang raised the corners of her mouth, revealing a rare, faint smile.
"Hey? Sister Fangfang, you smiled! You actually smiled."
Fangfangfang rolled her eyes at 389, then waved her hand at the soup pot before turning and walking towards the Bridge of Helplessness.
After a long time, a spacetime rift appeared in Guan Nan's bedroom. As soon as Gu Lili stepped out of the rift, she was pressed against the wall by Guan Nan.
"View...View South"
Guan Nan braced his arms against the wall, trapping Gu Lili in front of him, his gaze fixed intently on her: "Aren't you going to say anything?"
Gu Lili raised her eyes, but only dared to look at the other person's chin.
She felt the other person's strong breathing, her heart raced instantly, memories flooded her mind, and her cheeks flushed.
“Guan Nan.…”
Gu Lili had barely uttered the other person's name when her mouth was sealed by a wet, hot lip. The other person's tongue tentatively explored her, and after she unconsciously let out a soft "hmm," it was like a raging beast, determined to possess her completely.
My mind went blank, and my body trembled uncontrollably as if I had been electrocuted.
Suddenly, a hot tear rolled down her cheek.
Guan Nan suddenly stopped kissing, buried his head in Gu Lili's shoulder, and began to sob like a child.
"I'm sorry," Guan Nan choked up.
Gu Lili raised her arm, hovering in mid-air, and after a long while gently embraced the other person again: "It's all in the past, it's all in the past, Guan Nan."
Gu Lili truly did not remember what happened tens of thousands of years ago. Although she saw her past life in the Void Realm, she still did not feel that it was herself.
Therefore, seeing Guan Nan so heartbroken, she couldn't be sure whether he loved Meng Li from his past life or was attracted to her in this moment.
Suddenly, Gu Lili felt a burning sensation in her chest, as if her spiritual energy had been activated by something.
Before she could react, the Nine Difficulties of Gui Water had already pierced through her body, passing right through Guan Nan. The exposed half of the blade, though bloodless, gleamed with a cold light.
"Ugh..." Guan Nan groaned in pain.
"Ah! Jiunanzhan, what are you doing?!" Gu Lili exclaimed.
The Nine Difficulties Slash did not stop, but continued to pull back as if it had its own consciousness, until a golden inner core was extracted from Guan Nan's body and returned to Gu Lili's body along with the Nine Difficulties Slash.
"Guan Nan!"
Guan Nan, whose inner core had been extracted, collapsed to the ground, lifeless.
Gu Lili panicked and cried out as she tried to channel her spiritual energy into him, but he showed no sign of waking up.
"Don't worry, he just had half of his spiritual power drained, and his spiritual consciousness just needs to repair itself now."
Ksitigarbha appeared in the corner and spoke slowly.
"What...what happened to him? Why did Jiunanzhan drain his spiritual power?"
"Naturally, it's because he has fragments of your true form from your past life. Back then, he must have actively retrieved those fragments and then placed them into his spiritual consciousness to nourish them with spiritual power."
As Ksitigarbha spoke, he pointed to the golden core that was merging into Gu Lili's body and continued, "This fragment has been nourished for tens of thousands of years, absorbing half of his cultivation. It's perfect for your recovery, but he..."
"What's wrong with him?" Gu Lili asked anxiously.
"His vital energy was severely damaged, and he is now repairing himself. I don't know when he will wake up."
"No, no!" Gu Lili hurriedly reached out, trying to grab the golden elixir and return it to Guan Nan. But the golden elixir seemed to have gained sentience, quickly entering Gu Lili's body and disappearing without a trace.
"I want... How can I return that thing to Guan Nan? I don't want the Golden Core, I want... I want it."
Gu Lili's emotions became increasingly agitated. The Nine Difficulty Blade, which had already been embedded in her body, seemed to be summoned out of her body as it sensed its master's emotions. It floated in the air and emitted mournful cries.
"No, it's a good thing that he's repairing himself now. The cataclysmic disaster is still ongoing. If we don't quickly find your original body fragments, he might be the next one to be sacrificed. Moreover, the cataclysmic disaster is becoming increasingly difficult to control as time goes on. By then, not only him, but even the collective sacrifice of the remaining immortals might not be enough to keep the world at peace..."
"Therefore, the best course of action now is to find the other 11 fragments as soon as possible, awaken your divine power and divine nature, and Guan Nan will awaken accordingly."
As Ksitigarbha spoke, he helped Guan Nan, who had fallen into a coma, onto the bed and then cast a seal with hand gestures to prevent others from disturbing him.
Gu Lili had no interest in listening to Dizang's sermons about righteousness or world-ending calamities; what did they have to do with her? All she wanted was for Guan Nan to come back to her side.
"Eleven fragments, scattered across the vast sea of people, where am I supposed to find them...?"
Gu Lili slumped against the wall, looking at the man who had just been intimate with her on the bed, tears streaming down her face.
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"Line up, stand still, and take your onboarding handbooks. In a little while, Mr. 389 will personally interview you."
At the entrance to the Underworld, Fangfangfang was giving a serious lecture to the new recruits in public relations, and then led them into the Underworld in order, waiting to be selected for employment.
Entering the underworld, passing through a long procession of dead souls, a woman dressed in a sexy zombie outfit, wearing red-soled stiletto heels, is sitting on a stone pier by the bridge, reviewing the information of new employees.
"This is our current head of the Underworld, Lord 389, who is also your onboarding reviewer," Fangfangfang introduced to the newcomers.
"Greetings, Lord 389!" The little devils bowed in unison.
389 nodded: "Before our Lady Meng Po went into seclusion to cultivate, she reformed the system of the underworld, especially the Yellow Springs system, and delegated the authority of Meng Po Soup, which is why you have the opportunity to join the company."
389 closed the document, stood up and walked to the little ghosts: "I have reviewed your current merit points and the information of your ancestors for eighteen generations. Now I will have Meng Po's source select one of you to become the new Meng Po."
As they spoke, a beam of fluorescent green light flashed, and a small wisp of Meng Po's essence that Gu Lili had left for 389 floated on 389's raised palm.
"Go and help Lady Meng Po choose a suitable successor."
At 389's command, Meng Po's essence slowly floated up, circled the newlyweds a few times, and sniffed each of them before finally stopping in front of a little girl.
All eyes turned to the little girl, causing her to recoil as if startled, until Meng Po's essence was activated again, and to everyone's astonishment, it pierced into her brow.
"What's your name?" 389 asked, frowning.
"Your subordinate...your subordinate's name is...your subordinate's name is Wen Zhitao."
Fangfangfang and 389 were also a little confused. The girl looked ordinary and not very strong. She hid among the newcomers like a timid little nobody.
But since the source chose her, it must have been approved by Gu Lili. In any case, it's her.
389 nodded: "Okay, the source of Meng Po has been chosen. Wen Zhitao will be the next Meng Po in the Yellow Springs. Fangfangfang will assign the areas to other people later."
"Yes, Lord 389."
The newcomers were clearly surprised by the result, but due to 389's status and authority, no one dared to argue. They simply responded hastily and followed Fangfangfang to their posts.
"Wen Zhitao, come here, I'll show you around your future work environment."
"Yes...yes...Lord 389." Wen Zhitao was stunned, clearly not yet used to being selected as Meng Po.
“Our Yellow Springs has been reformed now. Look over there.” 389 pointed and said that the number of soup stalls in front of the Bridge of Helplessness had increased from one to five.
"For thousands of years, there has only been one hot soup stall in the Yellow Springs. Meng Po is open all year round, and the souls have to queue for a long time. This has caused resentment between the two sides."
"Thanks to the reforms of our previous Lady Meng Po, the number of stalls has been increased to five. You will still be the one to make the soup, but the work of preparing the soup can be handed over to your assistants. You can also take your regular vacation."
"Look over here again." 389 pointed to the other side of the Bridge of Helplessness, where many empty carts and some tables and chairs stood, just like a food stall in a night market that hadn't opened yet.
"That's the future night market street, which is still in the process of attracting businesses. Some kind-hearted souls who don't want to die can sign a contract to set up stalls here permanently instead of being sent to the Sea of No Return, providing food and entertainment for the deceased souls. This is also considered accumulating merit."
"Oh? That's...that's wonderful!"
It wasn't until 389 revealed the new rules of the Underworld that Wen Zhitao, who had been silently bowing her head, suddenly raised her head. Clearly, this was very different from the Underworld she knew.
389 Only then could they take a good look at the new Meng Po. She had no special features, and her short, stiff hair was greasy and stuck to her face.
But those clear, bright eyes made one feel a pang of pity.
"Yes, this was all secured by our previous Lady Meng Po. I hope you will continue to uphold the wishes of our predecessor and make the Underworld a better place."
389 wasn't actually good at speaking official jargon, but being put in this position, he had to put on a show and force out some illogical platitudes. Fortunately, the other party was only a half-baked one.
"Yes, Lord 389. I will do my best."
"Okay, go find Fangfangfang. She will arrange accommodation for you and explain the follow-up matters."
389 turned around and waved to the back.
The other party tactfully withdrew quietly without disturbing them further.
Three years have passed since Gu Lili left. Ksitigarbha accompanied her on her journey to find the fragments of her original body, but it is unknown whether they have found them or not.
It is said that another celestial being in heaven is about to make a sacrifice to delay the coming of the world-ending calamity, but the one lying in Guannan Hall still has no reaction.
389 gazed at the stone pier where Gu Lili often sat by the Bridge of Helplessness and sighed softly.
No matter who you are, whether you are Gu Lili, Meng Po, or Meng Li.
I will always be here, in the place you left, waiting for you to come back.
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