Translator: CinderTL
Tu Wanshan was immediately embarrassed. He hadn't intended to kiss Xu Sanyan; he had merely taken a subconscious step forward.
"Junior Brother Xu, would you tell your senior brother? I'll trade you a treasure for the information."
Xu Sanyan waved his hand. "We're fellow disciples. Isn't it too formal to talk like this? It's quite simple, actually. Just close your eyes and walk backward, and you'll find your way out."
"That's all?" Tu Wanshan asked, stunned.
"Exactly."
This was what the girl inside the discipline ruler had told him. As soon as they entered the alley, she had sensed the strangeness of the place. According to her, the people here were merely trapped by illusions that clouded their divine sense and senses.
By refusing to believe what they saw or felt, they could easily escape.
Xu Sanyan and the girl had already reached a "gentleman's agreement": he would help her escape, and she would help him explore the secret realm. When the time was right, he would use her to refine his divine soul. It was a mutually beneficial arrangement—a win-win situation!
Xu Sanyan had won twice, making it a clear win-win situation.
Tu Wanshan, his face filled with gratitude, cupped his hands in a respectful bow. "Thank you, Junior Brother. When we return to the mountain, Senior Brother will surely reward you handsomely."
"Senior Brother is too kind," Xu Sanyan replied dismissively.
Tu Wanshan ordered his men to retreat slowly using Xu Sanyan's method, their figures gradually fading into the distance. Only when they had completely disappeared did he relax, bow in farewell, and depart using the same technique.
Feeling the environment shift around him, Tu Wanshan breathed a sigh of relief. Junior Brother Xu hadn't lied after all.
A reassuring smile lingered on his lips as he opened his eyes, only to find himself staring directly into the face of a massive ghost. Two streams of bloody tears flowed from its eyes, and its deathly pale lips parted slightly.
"Guest, would you like a steamed bun?"
Tu Wanshan's heart jolted. He recoiled violently, his peripheral vision catching glimpses of ghosts wandering the streets. His pupils contracted sharply.
"Fuck... Where the hell am I?"
Was this still the secret realm he had been in before?
And where were his men?
In the narrow alley, Zuoqiu Shu watched Tu Wanshan and his group depart, finally relieved that Xu Sanyan hadn't deceived her.
However, she couldn't leave yet. Her second and third sisters had gone in another direction, and she needed to find a way to inform them of the exit.
Xu Sanyan turned to his followers. "Let's go. We should leave too."
"Yes, sir."
Elder Ren and the others closed their eyes and retreated, slowly fading into nothingness.
Xu Sanyan glanced at Zuoqiu Shu and smiled faintly. "Look forward to our next meeting..."
Zuoqiu Shu lowered her gaze, gently biting her lip without replying.
Zuoqiu Zhen looked at her eldest sister, then at Xu Sanyan, tilting her head as if pondering something.
Only after Xu Sanyan's figure had completely vanished did Zuoqiu Shu lift her head and sigh deeply.
"Ah..."
"Eldest sister, I think... he's actually quite good. He's strong, handsome, and young..." Zuoqiu Zhen said hesitantly.
"What do you know?" Zuoqiu Shu shook her head. As the eldest sister of the Zuoqiu Clan's younger generation, she could never risk endangering the clan.
Xu Sanyan opened his eyes, momentarily stunned to see the long street before him restored to its normal size. He quickly realized he had entered another secret realm—the one destined to merge with Endless Central City.
"Guest, would you like a steamed bun?"
A voice suddenly came from behind him, sending a chill down Xu Sanyan's spine. He whirled around to see a middle-aged man in a gray tunic carrying a shoulder pole with bamboo baskets hanging from each end.
He had no idea when this ghostly figure had appeared behind him!
Forcing himself to remain calm, Xu Sanyan asked, "How much for one?"
This secret realm was meant for cultivators in the Soul Refining Realm, perhaps even the Dao Harmony Realm. He needed to be extremely cautious.
"One soul spirit per bun."
Soul spirit?
Xu Sanyan stiffened. Were they using soul spirits as currency here?
He asked again, "What's special about these buns?"
"They fill you up."
Xu Sanyan frowned. What kind of answer was that?
And how was he supposed to pay with soul spirits? He couldn't actually cut off a piece of his divine soul to trade for a bun, could he?
After a moment's thought, Xu Sanyan retrieved a soul crystal from his storage pouch. He had obtained this item from the drum tower and only possessed one.
"Can I trade this for buns?"
"Yes, guest. How many would you like?" The middle-aged ghost's eyes gleamed with longing.
"How much can I get for this?"
The Middle-Aged Ghost pulled out a small scale, identical to the ones used by tofu vendors. He placed the soul crystal on the scale, and the weight sank.
"One jin and two liang."
Xu Sanyan's eyes flickered. "How many soul spirits do I... have myself?"
The Middle-Aged Ghost waved the scale near him, and the reading showed:
"Two jin, three liang, and six qian."
"Hmm... I'll take two steamed buns for now." He decided to test the waters, remaining mentally alert and wary of the ghost before him.
The Middle-Aged Ghost swiftly produced the buns, returned the remaining soul crystal, and turned to leave without any unnecessary movements, as if he were truly just an ordinary merchant.
Xu Sanyan examined the buns in his hand. They looked no different from regular steamed buns. However, the girl trapped within the discipline ruler reacted strongly. "Brother, give me some! Give me some! I really want to eat it! Please!"
"You want to eat it? Do you even know what it does?"
"It smells so good! I can feel it will make me stronger!" The girl's violent struggles caused the discipline ruler to glow brightly.
Ignoring her, Xu Sanyan took a small bite. He immediately felt a surge of energy, as if his divine soul had gained a faint trace of power—an almost imperceptible increase. Without careful focus, one might not even notice it.
But it was definitely there.
"This stuff..."
It actually increases divine soul power?!
Xu Sanyan's lips slowly curved into a delighted smile, as if he had already figured out the rules of this secret realm.
Just when I needed a pillow, one conveniently appears.
Suddenly, he remembered something and pulled out his mother-child stone to send a message:
"Lin Fan, where are you?"
He sensed that the boy was still alive and likely had also entered this secret realm.
Far across town, Lin Fan, hiding in a mansion, felt the child stone in his pocket warm slightly. His heart leaped with joy—only the holy son's mother-child stone could make the child stone heat up.
So... the holy son has arrived!
In Lin Fan's eyes, the holy son was not only immensely powerful but also possessed extraordinary wisdom. He was certain the holy son would find a way to bring him back.
He immediately replied: "Holy Son, this disciple is in a large mansion west of town. The streets are swarming with ghosts."
After a moment's thought, he sent all the information he had gathered to Xu Sanyan, including one particularly crucial detail:
"This world gradually consumes one's divine soul. You must replenish it by eating. Consuming roughly two to three taels of soul spirit daily will prevent harm to your divine soul."
Xu Sanyan's eyes narrowed. So it's not that simple after all. At a consumption rate of three taels of soul spirit per day, he would be dead within ten days.
He at least had a soul crystal to temporarily sustain him, but what about the others?
The others...
Hmph.
(End of the Chapter)
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