...
The Scorched Earth of the Burning Heavens.
The cracked, blackened earth mirrored the burning, fiery red sky, compressing the space between them so low that it was suffocating.
This was the dwelling place of demons.
Demon kings from all eight directions resided here, and the path ahead led to the palace of Demon King Wuxiang.
Shuangjian's figure flickered in and out of sight amidst the twisted, eerie stone forest. Walking through this world, the ghostly mist seemed omnipresent, yet "people" were exceedingly rare.
Even outside the demon king's palace, there was not a single guard on duty. It was like how a spiderweb needed no extra protective shield; they were more than eager for all the weak insects to swarm in so they could enjoy a hearty feast.
In his previous two reincarnations, relying on his half-demon bloodline, he had indeed entered the Scorched Earth of the Burning Heavens despite being a cultivator, and from then on successfully mastered the method to command the netherworld's ghostly mist.
He would never forget a path he had walked.
Following the memory in his soul, the moment he stepped into the shadow of the palace, the blackened earth beneath his feet suddenly churned, and several mud figures, about calf-high, stood up.
These mud figures were exactly as the name implied, molded from the scorched earth. As they moved, they constantly shed dirt and debris. They looked somewhat ridiculous, but objectively speaking, they were indeed terrifying.
This bizarre scene happened suddenly, yet Shuangjian didn't even cast his eyes downward, nor did his figure pause. He simply walked right past the mud figures. His speed was so fast that they couldn't even lock onto the hem of his robes.
And after he passed, the mud figures seemed to be trapped by something—perhaps just the wind stirred by his steps. In an instant, they all froze in place, crumbled into countless broken clods of dirt, and could no longer merge back into human shapes.
"Tsk, I knew that couldn't trap you."
A faintly familiar voice came from behind, carrying a distinct tone of regret.
As he spoke, he slowly approached, still wearing that tattered black cloth garment. Pinned to his collar were those same few wooden puppets—many of which still had their heads "missing," making them look even more sinister and eerie.
The newcomer was none other than Qin Yuman, the demonized cultivator who had supposedly been subdued according to the Dao One Immortal Alliance.
He stood safely within the netherworld territory now, looking at Shuangjian with a smile on his face, and greeted, "Brother, it's been a long time."
Shuangjian looked at him in silence, his face completely placid.
People of the righteous path could also lie. That day in front of the teleportation platform, the subtle pause in the elder's announcement had already indicated this person's escape.
And after his escape, he had clearly thrived like a fish in water, actually maintaining a degree of ease here in the Scorched Earth of the Burning Heavens.
Regarding Shuangjian's cold silence, Qin Yuman wasn't annoyed in the slightest. He continued with a smile, "I have always kept in my heart the favor you did by sending me into demonhood that day. I knew early on that you would return here one day. What a coincidence that we meet."
If anyone else had said this, it would sound exactly like harsh words spoken before taking "revenge."
But as Qin Yuman spoke, he pulled a pitch-black token from his waist.
"My puppets stole it for me," he said, touching his nose. "Although I don't know what you plan to do inside the demon king's palace, having this on you will save some effort... Let's use this to repay little sister Yingshi's sachet!"
He seemed to have forgotten that he had already received his punishment for the storage bag theft; aside from taking a severe beating, all his property had long been confiscated.
Or perhaps he hadn't forgotten, and was merely finding an excuse to cozy up at this moment.
But whatever his purpose, bringing up Yingshi was not a wise move. One second Shuangjian took the token from his hand, and the next, ghostly mist lashed out at him, silently striking toward his face.
Qin Yuman's smile stiffened. He retreated rapidly, narrowly dodging that wisp of deadly chill, and yelled, "Hey! How can you not distinguish friend from foe? I was grateful to you for helping me become a demon and came specifically to repay the favor, yet you attack me first?"
"..."
Responding to him was even more ghostly mist spreading from the shadows, weaving into a net and crashing down upon him with an overwhelming momentum.
When he was a cultivator, this ghostly mist had been hard to resist. Now that he had become a demon, he was still punished by this utterly tyrannical power...
A blade of mist grazed past his cuff, taking away half a strip of cloth. Qin Yuman finally changed his expression, knowing well that the patience of the person before him had run out. If he continued to provoke him, his life might be in danger, so he hurriedly fled in a wretched state.
Shuangjian did not pursue.
He indifferently withdrew the ghostly mist, his thumb slowly stroking the cold token in his palm.
This item was useful to him, so he accepted it.
But Qin Yuman bringing up Yingshi displeased him, so he attacked him.
He disliked how he repeatedly brought Yingshi into the conversation, treating her as a bargaining chip to be manipulated or a tool to provoke him.
Back in the snowy plains of the Heavenly Mountains, Qin Yuman had pinpointed his care for Yingshi and set a trap to force him to act, drawing demonic energy into his body.
Now, he was feigning familiarity by bringing up the sachet and calling Yingshi his little sister.
He didn't like this feeling.
He couldn't even stand his own use of Yingshi, so how could he tolerate others using her even more frivolously?
...So, what was Yingshi doing right now?
Shuangjian stared into the void, somewhat absentmindedly, his mind filled with the image of Yingshi on the verge of tears.
Did the symbiotic dependence brought by the blood pact also plunge her into depression and gloom?
Had her tears stopped?
If no one was there to wipe away her tears, what would she do?
...
Yingshi pursed her lips, her brows slightly furrowed, her downcast eyes holding a hint of sorrow.
Spring sun.
But the very next second, she smiled slyly and aggressively threw two cards onto the table: "Joker Bomb! Haha, didn't expect that, did you? I was just pretending I couldn't beat your hand!"
Then, under the silence of Mr. Hundred-Thousand-Know-It-All and the rabbit demon, she played her final card: "A three!"
Mr. Hundred-Thousand-Know-It-All stared at the handful of cards left in his hand, his face darkening as he scolded his teammate, who was also playing as a peasant: "I told you just now to play a bomb to stop her! But you insisted on breaking it up into a straight. You truly are an idiot who can't be reasoned with!"
The rabbit demon drooped its long ears and whispered in defense, "B-but I wanted to play a straight..."
"Hey, Senior Hundred-Thousand, blatant rule-breaking isn't allowed. How can the peasants openly discuss tactics to deal with the landlord!"
Mr. Hundred-Thousand-Know-It-All sheepishly fell silent, then said, "Let's play another round!"
"No more." Yingshi waved her hand. From Uno to Fight the Landlord, so much time had passed. She hadn't expected this rat demon to have such a huge card addiction. It was simply out of control, and even she couldn't handle it anymore. "Isn't it time we settled our questions?"
"...We can settle later. I'll give you a free question, how about that?"
"Cumulatively, you've already given me five for free, and I've won three myself. That's more than enough for me to ask!"
Yingshi hadn't originally planned on reaping such a rich harvest all at once. After all, besides Uno and Fight the Landlord, she hadn't even brought out Werewolf, Avalon, Blood on the Clocktower, or Who is the Undercover...
She had far too many strange and novel things that could serve as her bargaining chips to exchange for the answers in Mr. Hundred-Thousand-Know-It-All's head.
It was truly wonderful that Jing Fengliu had written such a mechanics-based monster.
"Alright then, let's take a break and fight again later." Mr. Hundred-Thousand-Know-It-All nodded reluctantly, sending off a large group of monster card players who were equally left wanting more.
"What do you want to ask this old man?"
Yingshi asked decisively, "Where is the Blessing Tree?"
Before Mr. Hundred-Thousand-Know-It-All could speak, a little pig slowly crawled over to her feet. Xiangxiang, who had been fast asleep for quite a long time, seemed to have finally digested the Demon Lord's Hand in its body and came closer to eavesdrop.
Yingshi squatted down and gave it a stroke. "You woke up right on time."
Mr. Hundred-Thousand-Know-It-All narrowed his beady mouse eyes, pondered for a moment, and raised his hand to trace a few lines in the empty air. To her surprise, motes of light gathered and outlined a rough map of the Demon Realm, with a faint glow blinking in a remote corner.
He said, "The Blessing Tree grows right next to the ferry crossing between the Demon and Devil Realms. However, it will not reveal itself unless it is a night with a full moon. Furthermore, those who are not acknowledged by it will not be able to see it either."
Yingshi silently memorized the location.
Immediately after, she asked, "How does one get acknowledged by it?"
"You don't need to think about it. The Blessing Tree of our Demon Realm naturally only cares for those of the demon race. Let alone human cultivators, even the spiritual pets of the Holy Spirit Mountain are equally unqualified." Mr. Hundred-Thousand-Know-It-All cast a faint glance at Xiangxiang.
"Oink," Xiangxiang grunted, spinning around in circles on the spot.
Yingshi found it strange. Just as she was about to ask, "Then does Shuangjian have the qualifications?", she heard Mr. Hundred-Thousand-Know-It-All suddenly say again, "You don't need to think about it. The Blessing Tree of our Demon Realm naturally only cares for those of the demon race. Let alone human cultivators, even the spiritual pets of the Holy Spirit Mountain... actually, actually are qualified."
"..."
Yingshi froze.
Mr. Hundred-Thousand-Know-It-All had answered her single question twice in a row! The two times were eighty percent identical, with only the last sentence changed! Moreover, the transitional relationship in that last sentence clearly didn't connect with the first half at all, as if it had been forcibly altered!
In an instant, a chill ran down her spine, and a speculation quickly surfaced in her mind—Jing Fengliu was modifying the minor details of the setting!
And this particular modification just so happened to collide with her Q&A session in real-time!
But why would he modify this specific point?
Suppressing her shock and the chilling sensation, Yingshi pointed at Xiangxiang and quickly asked, "What is it?"
Mr. Hundred-Thousand-Know-It-All's mouse eyes actually began to lose focus.
He shook his head. "This old man does not know..."
Yingshi then pointed at herself. "Where do I come from?"
"This old man does not know..."
"What is the Taiyu Traversing Technique?"
"This old man does not know..."
As he spoke, Mr. Hundred-Thousand-Know-It-All's eyes actually started rolling back into his head. His appearance was clearly abnormal. Yingshi hurriedly stopped this line of questioning that was making her blood run cold, rushed over, and tried to pinch Mr. Hundred-Thousand-Know-It-All's philtrum. "Senior Hundred-Thousand, Senior Hundred-Thousand, snap out of it!"
Could it be that Mr. Hundred-Thousand-Know-It-All wasn't a mechanism monster, but rather a pile of spaghetti code?
But that wasn't right... Thinking back to when they first met, this mouse specifically singled her out to answer questions about things not of this world. He definitely possessed some mysterious perception. Was it just that he could sense it, but couldn't give a concrete answer?
Yingshi was panicking to death right now. She absolutely could not afford for Mr. Hundred-Thousand-Know-It-All, her external aid in exploring the boundaries of the world, to collapse. In a panic, she shouted right into Mr. Hundred-Thousand-Know-It-All's ear, "Senior Hundred-Thousand, I won't ask anymore... Get ready to play Fight the Landlord. Quick, call the landlord!"
"Steal the landlord!" Mr. Hundred-Thousand-Know-It-All muttered as his rolled-back eyes returned to normal. He shook his head. "Landlord... hmm?"
He furrowed his brows, stood up unsteadily, and brushed Yingshi's hand away. "Why are you pinching this old man's mouth?!"
"..." Yingshi pulled a long face and remained silent.
"What is it? What number is your question on? Hurry up! I will answer them all in one breath while this old man still has patience!"
"..." Yingshi still didn't speak. She stood there blankly for a long while before asking again, "What is a Domain?"
"Naturally, it is a realm within a realm formed under certain extreme conditions when the spiritual energy of heaven and earth gathers on its own." Mr. Hundred-Thousand-Know-It-All looked at her unfathomably. "You should be clearer about this point than this old man, shouldn't you?"
