Along the banks of the River Nai in the Underworld, a strange and unsettling sight had appeared.
Xu Ying slowed his steps, alert. As he passed a willow tree, a figure beneath it beckoned: "Lord Xu, won't you sit for a while?"
Yuan Qi, the serpent, hissed a warning: "Ah Ying, this one means trouble."
Xu Ying nodded slightly. "Since we're here, we may as well settle in. He's set up this formation and has clearly been waiting a long time. He won't let us leave easily."
He walked over and took a seat across from the figure. Behind him stood several Ox Demons—not on solid ground, but hovering in pillars of yin wind, their feet never touching the earth. The sight was grim and terrifying.
This was Xu Ying's confidence.
Though he didn't know why these Ox Demons followed him, having them and the Soul-Striking Whip at his back meant he could handle most dangers.
The figure across from him was an old man with a perpetually worried expression. His age was impossible to discern—his wrinkles were carved like knife wounds, slicing deep into his skin, as if cut down to the bone itself.
His eyes had sunk deep into their sockets. Under the pale green lantern light, they glowed like two points of smoldering incense hidden in hollow caverns.
He carried a peculiar scent of incense, though from appearances, he didn't seem to be a deity.
The worried old man poured tea. Xu Ying was thirsty but didn't drink. "Do you know me, elder?"
Yuan Qi stared at the teacup, swallowing, but there were only two stools and two cups. He had no share.
The old man smiled. "I do. When you were a child, I once held you in my arms."
Xu Ying looked at him in surprise, searching his memory. "I don't recall you, elder. My family lived in Jiangji Village. Everyone there bore the surname Jiang. My father was the third son, called Jiang Sanlang. My mother was from the next village, named Luo Yinghua. I was the second child—I also had a sister... No!"
His eyes reddened. In his mind, the Vision-Viewing Terrace flickered into view—a small boy who had bumped against his leg, and a couple whose faces he couldn't make out.
Yuan Qi and the Great Bell tensed. "Oh no—Ah Ying's episode is coming back!"
The worried old man gestured toward the tea. "You had headaches as a child, and they haven't gone away even now. How pitiful."
Xu Ying's head throbbed violently. He raised the cup, then set it down again. "If you held me as a child, then you must know many things about my early years?"
The old man's worry deepened when Xu Ying refused to drink. Suddenly, lightning split the sky and thunder rolled. A great temple soared overhead, and from it came the voice of the white-robed Nuo Immortal: "You little brat who raised that giant serpent—where are you hiding? Come out! Let me see you perform those two sword strikes again!"
Xu Ying and Yuan Qi's faces drained of color. The Great Bell let out a single, alarmed tone. Only the Ox Demons remained calm, snorting in their pillars of yin wind.
Xu Ying was about to rise and take his leave, but the old man spoke: "You needn't worry. He won't find my place. Soon, the Underworld Prefect of Yongzhou, Ling Youdao, will pass through here and lead him away."
Xu Ying's eyes flickered. He secretly activated his Celestial Eye, gazing at the old man with a smile: "How shall I address you, elder?"
Behind his brow, his spirit sense formed a mirror. The Celestial Eye opened, illuminating the old man.
Xu Ying's heart lurched. Behind the worried old figure sat an immeasurably vast divine being—seated in the void, radiant with ten thousand streaks of auspicious light, impossible to look upon directly!
"A Qi-Refiner!"
Xu Ying's blood ran cold. He hastily dismissed the Celestial Eye, lowering his gaze to his nose, his mind to his heart, careful to betray nothing.
This worried old man—like the girl in the coffin—was a Qi-Refiner!
But hadn't the girl said that Qi-Refiners had vanished? Where did this deeply troubled elder come from?
The old man sensed something—a momentary disturbance, as if someone had glimpsed him—but the sensation vanished as quickly as it had come. He looked around, puzzled. Nearby, only the broken temple's ghost-gods drifted about, and the white-robed Nuo Immortal circled overhead in his great temple, searching for Xu Ying's whereabouts. No other powerful presence was in sight.
"Could there be a hidden master nearby?"
He found no trace of the observer and cautiously raised his guard. "The Nuo Immortal of the Water-Entrance Temple is surnamed Chen, given name Mianzhu. He was once emperor of the Southern Dian Kingdom. He admired Central Plains culture and came to study here. His talent was truly extraordinary, and his fortune profound. After learning the Nuo shaman's transmission, he opened the Yujing Secret Vault and obtained a mysterious lineage. Upon returning home, his cultivation advanced rapidly. In barely a century, he reached the realm of a Nuo Immortal."
Xu Ying listened intently as the old man recounted the white-robed Immortal's history.
The worried elder continued: "Chen Mianzhu lived to the age of three hundred and sixty-seven. When he became a Nuo Immortal, he grew keenly aware of his limited lifespan and began preparing for what would follow. He harnessed the full power of the Southern Dian Kingdom, commanding its people to worship deities and craft statues of gods. By the time his mortal life ended, he had constructed the Water-Entrance Temple—one end connected to the mortal realm, the other to the Underworld. He concealed his Place of Latent Transformation within the Underworld, hoping to become an immortal Nuo shaman who would never die, existing simultaneously in both the realm of light and the realm of darkness. He enslaved countless deities to refine spiritual pills for him, to serve his meals and attend to his needs, so that he might continue living as an emperor. The so-called immortal life was nothing more than this. Until one day..."
Xu Ying picked up the thread: "Until one day, a sword strike descended, tearing open his Place of Latent Transformation! A peerless powerhouse entered his hidden realm and slew him!"
The old man's expression turned peculiar. "That person who broke into his Place of Latent Transformation did not kill him. He ate him."
A chill crept up Xu Ying's spine, rising from the base of his skull to the back of his neck. His voice came out hoarse: "Ate him?"
Without thinking, he took a sip of tea to moisten his throat.
Yuan Qi and the Great Bell were too captivated by the story to notice.
The old man said, "He was eaten very thoroughly—nothing left but a single skin. Even the soul was consumed entirely. The being who ate him did so with exquisite care, as though savoring a delicacy he had prepared himself, unwilling to waste even a single morsel."
At this point, the old man's own throat bobbed as if swallowing, as though the Nuo Immortal were an irresistibly delicious feast.
He poured more tea for Xu Ying and continued: "If it had been an ordinary death, Chen Mianzhu wouldn't harbor such deep resentment. It was precisely because he was eaten alive—bite by bite—until only a skin remained, that his resentment became sky-high. In truth, only a fragment of his consciousness survives."
Understanding dawned on Xu Ying. He drank his tea: "No wonder his strength seems formidable, yet not quite so."
The old man said: "He was eaten clean. Only a skin is left—how much strength could that provide? All show, no substance. He can bully lesser Nuo shamans, but any mid-tier cultivator will cause him trouble. Ah—the Underworld Prefect has led him away now."
At that moment, Prefect Ling's voice cried out from the sky, followed by the white-robed Nuo Immortal's laughter: "You wooden and clay deity—you've barely a few ounces of flesh on your bones, and you dare come here to cause trouble?"
Ling Youdao's voice echoed back: "I am the Underworld Prefect! What can you do to me? Kill me and you violate the Heavenly Laws—you'll never escape the consequences!"
"The Underworld? What is it to me? One day I'll storm the Underworld Court and become its Emperor!"
Their voices faded into the distance. Xu Ying exhaled in relief. "Thank you, elder."
The old man nodded: "Lord Xu, please continue on your way."
Xu Ying stood. His vision blurred momentarily; he shook his head and cleared it. Then, with Yuan Qi and several Ox Demons in tow, he walked into the vast darkness, his figure gradually vanishing.
The old man stared, momentarily speechless.
After a long pause, he suddenly cried out: "Old Meng! Did you dilute this tea with water? No—more like you diluted water with tea!"
He was trembling with fury. The legendary Meng Po's Soup—the Soul-Bewildering Brew—had only left Xu Ying slightly dazed for a moment before he woke up, seemingly unaffected!
Old Meng must have been going easy!
"I must go find Old Meng and demand an explanation!"
The old man stood, gathered the tea set from the stone table, and reached for a green paper umbrella leaning against the table leg—only to find nothing.
He reached again. Still nothing. He snarled: "Where is my umbrella? Who stole it?"
A chill gripped him: "Was it the hidden master who glimpsed me? He watched me from the shadows and silently stole my umbrella—was that a warning?"
He looked around warily, raising his voice: "Which friend is having a joke with this old man? Why not show yourself?"
He waited a long time. Nothing moved. Step by step, he retreated, defenses raised, guarding against ambush.
Then he leaped into the air and transformed into a streak of light, vanishing into the deep blue sky. Only then did he breathe easier: "Even that great master couldn't find a single flaw in my defense!"
* * *
"We've finally reached Wuwang Mountain!"
Xu Ying and his companions returned to the Qinyan Cave on Wuwang Mountain, entering the Mud-Pellet Palace. Yuan Qi wept with joy: "I nearly died twice going out of this cave—I'm never leaving again!"
The Great Bell flew from the back of Xu Ying's skull, carrying the green paper umbrella. "What happened last time?"
"I ran into a snake catcher. He chased me for three days and nights."
Yuan Qi examined the green paper umbrella, puzzled: "Bell Master, where did this come from?"
The Great Bell spoke with pride: "I saw it leaning against the table leg, quite charming. While the old man was distracted, I slipped it away. He never noticed."
Yuan Qi coiled his tail around the umbrella and snapped it open with a *pop*, holding it over his head like a small mushroom. "Too small."
The umbrella swelled with a *whoosh*, becoming just large enough to cover his great serpent head. Yuan Qi clicked his tongue in amazement. "A magical artifact!" He did not return it to the Great Bell.
"Ah Ying already has Bell Master. This umbrella naturally belongs to the second-in-command of Qinyan Cave!" he thought to himself.
Xu Ying picked up the Soul-Striking Whip and examined it closely. The skull at its tip nodded and swayed, cackling with delight.
This whip struck the soul directly—living, dead, even deities. Anyone with a primordial spirit could be hit. City Gods, broken temple spirits—their bodies twisted and tears streamed down their faces. Yet the whip had no effect on Xu Ying at all, which intrigued him.
"Why am I immune to this whip?"
Puzzled, he handed it to Yuan Qi. "Lash me once."
Yuan Qi took the whip, emboldened instantly: "Ah Ying, you asked for this—no going back!"
"Hurry up!"
Yuan Qi swung. "With this lash, I settle the score for you chasing me! We're even from now on!"
*CRACK!*
The whip struck Xu Ying. He felt only a faint tremor in his soul—nothing else.
The Ox Demons, who had followed Xu Ying into the cave, saw Yuan Qi whip him and flew into a rage. They raised their own whips and lashed at Yuan Qi.
Yuan Qi panicked: "He told me to do it—it wasn't my—AAAGH, it hurts!"
A single lash sent him writhing in agony. He collapsed to the ground as the Ox Demons surrounded him, whips cracking without mercy. His screams mixed with the sharp *snap-snap* of leather.
Xu Ying hurried over to stop them and pulled Yuan Qi free. The great serpent lay foaming at the mouth, barely alive, weakly muttering: "Ah Ying... we're not even..."
Xu Ying frowned. "Why did it hurt Little Seven so badly when it didn't affect me at all?"
The Great Bell was also puzzled: "The Soul-Striking Whip targets the soul. Perhaps your soul is different. Wait—let me knock it out and take a look!"
Before Xu Ying could protest, it struck with a resonant *dong*. Xu Ying's vision swam. When it cleared, he saw another version of himself standing before him.
The Great Bell said: "Don't be alarmed—that's your physical body. You are the spirit."
"I'm the spirit?" Xu Ying exclaimed.
The Great Bell examined him carefully. "Ah Ying, tell me honestly—did you take the Myriad Spirit Pills?"
Its tone was anguished: "Your soul is nearly solid!"
At the Vision-Viewing Terrace, Yuan Tiangang stroked his beard, watching the small, worried-looking old man shuffle unhurriedly toward the Bridge of the River Nai, his brow furrowed with some unknown burden.
"But where is his green paper umbrella?" Yuan Tiangang muttered, puzzled.