When Shen Mo was sealed into the ground, his emotions of surprise and amusement outweighed his anger.
This should have been a simple task. He infiltrated the mind of Shian’s Evil Spirit and distorted its most important memories. As long as the memories were altered outrageously, it would be impossible for it to maintain its current state of tranquility. The once docile Evil Spirit would suddenly go insane, and Shian would suffer heavy damage from within.
Encountering Shian’s presence in the memory world was a bit unexpected for Shen Mo. However, considering Shian’s continuous research on the Evil Spirit, it was reasonable to encounter them in the memory world.
Shen Mo never expected that Shian’s little group had the ability to fight against the transformation of the Evil Spirit in its memories.
Wrapped in layers of seals deep underground, Shen Mo laughed heartily within the slumbering body of the Evil Spirit.
During the incubation process of the Evil Spirit, his perception of the outside world gradually became blurred and confused. He only remembered how Shian’s little group collaborated—analyzing the techniques, that dog was likely Fu Xingchuan.
Shen Mo found it quite amusing to think that the young and spirited kid from back then had fallen into such a state.
Having had enough fun, he held his breath and focused his mind, activating his ability. It was like floating from the depths of the sea to the surface, gradually brightening the surroundings while the coldness and heaviness around him disappeared. Shen Mo “floated” out of this memory, drifting in that dangerous and unknown space, allowing his thoughts to wander.
The Evil Spirit was sealed and plunged into slumber. No matter how he distorted the outside circumstances, its memories could no longer be altered. It could be attempted again, but with Shian on guard, repeating the same techniques would be meaningless.
In theory, he should swiftly withdraw.
…If he were still in Shian, that would indeed be a situation requiring urgent evacuation. Shen Mo chuckled, calming his spirit and “sinking” back in.
Darkness and coldness once again engulfed him.
In the darkness, Shen Mo could vaguely sense a large, dark object. Compared to it, the floating small clusters around it were like fish fry in a coral reef. Though they could be described in such terms, in reality, these things didn’t possess a clear “volume.” The sense of their size and vagueness lingered only in his mind, and Shen Mo wasn’t foolish enough to open his eyes to observe.
He aimed in the direction he had emerged from earlier and retraced his steps.
Something was amiss.
The Evil Spirit was sealed before its complete birth a thousand years ago. And yet, Shian was able to mimic the actions of the past Great Celestial Master based on its memory. Where did they acquire such clear memories?
This was truly fascinating.
Shen Mo once again fell into the world of memories, and this time he didn’t make any mistakes. He found the body he had originally planned to use—the first cultivator of the Gouluo Army, the “Half-Step Charon” who controlled the corruption.
In the bloody ruins, Shen Mo moved his new body and skillfully merged into the wall. He suppressed his breath as much as possible, only extending two open eyes from the rubble, looking in the direction of Shian’s little group.
The remnant of the illusionary Yellow Millet was still lying on the ground, hardly distinguishable from liquid. The girl and the dog were still moving around the sealed area of the Evil Spirit, exhaustedly reinforcing the seal.
The person who had taken on the shell of the Great Celestial Master stood motionless like a wooden stake.
Sure enough, just as expected. Shen Mo relaxed his tired and battered body, and his thoughts turned light and joyful.
The Evil Spirit was in deep slumber, but the memory world didn’t end here… It was like someone’s memory continuing to sustain the operation of the world. There must be fresh and valuable information on Shian’s side.
In the shadows, he patiently observed, not even disturbing a single grain of sand.
[I’ve communicated with what’s in my head, and it doesn’t know where it came from.]
Two hours passed, and Huang Jin finally fell into a deep enough state of unconsciousness.
[Yin Ren seems to be stuck in a glitch-like place, losing all perception. He has no idea where he is. What should we do next?]
[We’ll meet up with the other two outside the village and continue to reveal the truth of the past.] Fu Xingchuan said, shaking his fur covered in dust.
Finally, Zhong Chengshuo moved. “Shouldn’t we go find that person?”
As he spoke, his body subtly leaned in a direction. In the direction that Zhong Chengshuo leaned, there was a large area of collapsed house ruins.
Upon hearing Zhong Chengshuo refer to Yin Ren as “that person”, Fu Xingchuan paused for a few seconds and looked meaningfully at Zhong Chengshuo, saying, [Let’s finish reading the letter first instead of aimlessly searching.]
Zhong Chengshuo remained devoted to his role as a flesh puppet. He just nodded and didn’t say anything further, pondering something in his mind.
Upon hearing that he still had to double as a projectionist, Huang Jin let out a series of puffing wails, [Since this thing squeezed into my head, I’ve drawn ten thousand tranquility mantras in silence!]
“Practice is useful.” Ge Tingting comforted him. “Do you remember the previous Fu Tianyi? He has improved a lot.”
Perhaps thinking of the miserable state of Fu Tianyi being trained by Yin Ren, Huang Jin flattened even more, his actions filled with despair.
The group rested noisily until noon, until Yellow Millet finally regained its spherical form. Zhong Chengshuo also pressed his bleeding hand onto Yellow Millet, providing power to its illusion.
His movements were silent and obedient, just like a true flesh puppet.
The illusion had a pause and then resumed, and the figure of the Great Celestial Master from a thousand years ago appeared again. Yin Ren watched as the humanoid monster walked away with the children, and then he slowly walked towards the outskirts of the village.
The steps of the Great Celestial Master were even weaker than before. If he had previously concealed his weakness, this time he no longer bothered to hide it.
In the illusion, the Charon of the Gouluo Army emerged from a charred wooden beam, his eyes greedily fixed on the direction of the Great Celestial Master. His gaze shifted from Yin Ren’s empty hand to his chest, where the Evil Fruit was hidden with an expression of a mixture of malice and desire.
Shian’s group watched this person’s secretive appearance attentively, following him all the way to the outskirts of the village.
Not far behind the four people, Shen Mo controlled the Charon in “reality” and quietly followed behind them.
……
In the blink of an eye, five days had passed.
The six members of Shian had completed their gathering, and the four people and two objects continued to follow the illusion without stopping.
The desolate mountain village had long disappeared from their surroundings. They followed Yin Ren and the children as they advanced through the wilderness, watching the vegetation gradually become sparse. The wilderness turned into hills, and then into rugged mountains. As they walked, the surroundings became increasingly desolate, with even fewer birds in the sky.
Perhaps out of consideration for the children, the Great Celestial Master no longer kept his army of evil spirits stationed nearby.
He would only take out the Evil Fruit every few hours, caress it with care, and then use it to “command” the surrounding evils, making them pretend to patrol the area.
The Evil Fruit, this top-tier cursed spirit weapon, had somehow become a good fishing hook.
In the illusion, the Charon who was tracking the Great Celestial Master had indeed not given up and followed for hundreds of miles, despite being injured.
It wasn’t until the group entered deep into the mountains that even Lu Xiaohe’s recorded actions slowed down. Since the loss of the detection equipment, she tended to use Fu Tianyi as a device to measure the concentration of evil qi. Fu Tianyi’s face turned blue enough to be displayed in a bronze artifact exhibition, indicating that something was really wrong in this place.
Even the Gouluo Charon, who had been following the Great Celestial Master, hesitated.
“Who knows what kind of place this is? There isn’t even a map, puff puff,” Huang Jin said dejectedly.
During these five days, Fu Xingchuan had been busy. He commanded Fu Tianyi to create two spirit weapons that could produce human voices, so they wouldn’t have to find a tree branch every time Yellow Millet wanted to communicate. Unfortunately, the materials were limited, and these items would occasionally malfunction.
“According to the records in <The Book of Exorcism>, the Great Celestial Master sometimes disappears for a period of time, saying that he would hide in remote places for cultivation.”
Lu Xiaohe continued to record as she spoke.
“From what it seems now…” she sighed and didn’t say more.
Everyone present knew what she wanted to say.
From what it seemed now, the corruption of the Evil Force on Yin Ren’s body was too heavy. He couldn’t maintain strict control for 365 days a year; there would always be a period of time when he needed to catch his breath in an uninhabited place.
At the moment, it wasn’t yet time for the Great Celestial Master to “cultivate”. In addition to fishing, Yin Ren seemed to intend to take these children near his hiding place, so that they could be far away from the war.
This reminded her of the Yin Ren she was familiar with. Lu Xiaohe put down her charcoal pencil and subconsciously looked towards Zhong Chengshuo.
Since the Evil Dog Spirit was sealed and they officially gathered, the flesh puppet had hardly participated in any conversations. He just sat in the Great Celestial Master’s shell, even more silent than an ordinary flesh puppet with his face forever facing the direction of the “Great Celestial Master” from a thousand years ago.
Covered by a red cloth, Lu Xiaohe couldn’t see the expression of the “flesh puppet”.
At this moment, the Great Celestial Master was sitting on a piece of bluestone, resting. Since the battle in Yin Village, the Great Celestial Master had been sleeping for longer and longer periods of time. Now, that person was slumped on the stone and the red cocoon was swaying making it seemed like he was about to fall asleep.
Until a young man arrived with an evil spirit.
Seeing someone coming, the Great Celestial Master quickly straightened up, even discreetly cleared his throat. “What is it?”
He was the eldest child in Yin Village. The young man lowered his head, his hand guided by the evil spirit, and his eyes were still covered for protection.
“I… I want to offer this to you.” The young man said in a low voice, holding a small package in his arms. “My brother brought it from outside the village. It’s in good condition. I’ve been holding it in my arms, and now it’s ripe and ready to eat.”
As he spoke, he carefully presented the package.
These past few days, the Great Celestial Master had been sending evil spirits to collect meat, bird eggs, wild vegetables, and mountain fruits for the children to eat. Despite his pale complexion and obvious tear marks, the young man’s body didn’t appear weak. Yin Ren didn’t mince words with him; he made a gesture, and the cloth package flew into his hands.
Inside the clean fabric, lay quietly an apple.
The apple was red, plump, and emitted a fragrant aroma. Its surface gleamed with a smooth and gentle luster, contrasting with the sour and bitter small fruits in the mountains. Yin Ren seemed somewhat surprised. He cupped the apple in his hands and cautiously sniffed it.
“Thank you… cough, I’ll accept this offering.” He spoke as solemnly as possible.
Although he said that, Yin Ren didn’t take a bite; he simply cherished it by wiping it clean. He enchanted several preservation spells on the apple before carefully tucking it away.
“After they have rested, we will depart immediately.”
Adjusting his clothing, Yin Ren instructed the evil spirit.
“You need to rest…” The evil spirit widened its eye sockets.
“I don’t have much time left, so we need to swiftly conclude this matter.”
The Great Celestial Master looked towards the depths of the mountains.
“We need to return to the Valley of Remains quickly.”
When Shen Mo was sealed into the ground, his emotions of surprise and amusement outweighed his anger.
This should have been a simple task. He infiltrated the mind of Shian’s Evil Spirit and distorted its most important memories. As long as the memories were altered outrageously, it would be impossible for it to maintain its current state of tranquility. The once docile Evil Spirit would suddenly go insane, and Shian would suffer heavy damage from within.
Encountering Shian’s presence in the memory world was a bit unexpected for Shen Mo. However, considering Shian’s continuous research on the Evil Spirit, it was reasonable to encounter them in the memory world.
Shen Mo never expected that Shian’s little group had the ability to fight against the transformation of the Evil Spirit in its memories.
Wrapped in layers of seals deep underground, Shen Mo laughed heartily within the slumbering body of the Evil Spirit.
During the incubation process of the Evil Spirit, his perception of the outside world gradually became blurred and confused. He only remembered how Shian’s little group collaborated—analyzing the techniques, that dog was likely Fu Xingchuan.
Shen Mo found it quite amusing to think that the young and spirited kid from back then had fallen into such a state.
Having had enough fun, he held his breath and focused his mind, activating his ability. It was like floating from the depths of the sea to the surface, gradually brightening the surroundings while the coldness and heaviness around him disappeared. Shen Mo “floated” out of this memory, drifting in that dangerous and unknown space, allowing his thoughts to wander.
The Evil Spirit was sealed and plunged into slumber. No matter how he distorted the outside circumstances, its memories could no longer be altered. It could be attempted again, but with Shian on guard, repeating the same techniques would be meaningless.
In theory, he should swiftly withdraw.
…If he were still in Shian, that would indeed be a situation requiring urgent evacuation. Shen Mo chuckled, calming his spirit and “sinking” back in.
Darkness and coldness once again engulfed him.
In the darkness, Shen Mo could vaguely sense a large, dark object. Compared to it, the floating small clusters around it were like fish fry in a coral reef. Though they could be described in such terms, in reality, these things didn’t possess a clear “volume.” The sense of their size and vagueness lingered only in his mind, and Shen Mo wasn’t foolish enough to open his eyes to observe.
He aimed in the direction he had emerged from earlier and retraced his steps.
Something was amiss.
The Evil Spirit was sealed before its complete birth a thousand years ago. And yet, Shian was able to mimic the actions of the past Great Celestial Master based on its memory. Where did they acquire such clear memories?
This was truly fascinating.
Shen Mo once again fell into the world of memories, and this time he didn’t make any mistakes. He found the body he had originally planned to use—the first cultivator of the Gouluo Army, the “Half-Step Charon” who controlled the corruption.
In the bloody ruins, Shen Mo moved his new body and skillfully merged into the wall. He suppressed his breath as much as possible, only extending two open eyes from the rubble, looking in the direction of Shian’s little group.
The remnant of the illusionary Yellow Millet was still lying on the ground, hardly distinguishable from liquid. The girl and the dog were still moving around the sealed area of the Evil Spirit, exhaustedly reinforcing the seal.
The person who had taken on the shell of the Great Celestial Master stood motionless like a wooden stake.
Sure enough, just as expected. Shen Mo relaxed his tired and battered body, and his thoughts turned light and joyful.
The Evil Spirit was in deep slumber, but the memory world didn’t end here… It was like someone’s memory continuing to sustain the operation of the world. There must be fresh and valuable information on Shian’s side.
In the shadows, he patiently observed, not even disturbing a single grain of sand.
[I’ve communicated with what’s in my head, and it doesn’t know where it came from.]
Two hours passed, and Huang Jin finally fell into a deep enough state of unconsciousness.
[Yin Ren seems to be stuck in a glitch-like place, losing all perception. He has no idea where he is. What should we do next?]
[We’ll meet up with the other two outside the village and continue to reveal the truth of the past.] Fu Xingchuan said, shaking his fur covered in dust.
Finally, Zhong Chengshuo moved. “Shouldn’t we go find that person?”
As he spoke, his body subtly leaned in a direction. In the direction that Zhong Chengshuo leaned, there was a large area of collapsed house ruins.
Upon hearing Zhong Chengshuo refer to Yin Ren as “that person”, Fu Xingchuan paused for a few seconds and looked meaningfully at Zhong Chengshuo, saying, [Let’s finish reading the letter first instead of aimlessly searching.]
Zhong Chengshuo remained devoted to his role as a flesh puppet. He just nodded and didn’t say anything further, pondering something in his mind.
Upon hearing that he still had to double as a projectionist, Huang Jin let out a series of puffing wails, [Since this thing squeezed into my head, I’ve drawn ten thousand tranquility mantras in silence!]
“Practice is useful.” Ge Tingting comforted him. “Do you remember the previous Fu Tianyi? He has improved a lot.”
Perhaps thinking of the miserable state of Fu Tianyi being trained by Yin Ren, Huang Jin flattened even more, his actions filled with despair.
The group rested noisily until noon, until Yellow Millet finally regained its spherical form. Zhong Chengshuo also pressed his bleeding hand onto Yellow Millet, providing power to its illusion.
His movements were silent and obedient, just like a true flesh puppet.
The illusion had a pause and then resumed, and the figure of the Great Celestial Master from a thousand years ago appeared again. Yin Ren watched as the humanoid monster walked away with the children, and then he slowly walked towards the outskirts of the village.
The steps of the Great Celestial Master were even weaker than before. If he had previously concealed his weakness, this time he no longer bothered to hide it.
In the illusion, the Charon of the Gouluo Army emerged from a charred wooden beam, his eyes greedily fixed on the direction of the Great Celestial Master. His gaze shifted from Yin Ren’s empty hand to his chest, where the Evil Fruit was hidden with an expression of a mixture of malice and desire.
Shian’s group watched this person’s secretive appearance attentively, following him all the way to the outskirts of the village.
Not far behind the four people, Shen Mo controlled the Charon in “reality” and quietly followed behind them.
……
In the blink of an eye, five days had passed.
The six members of Shian had completed their gathering, and the four people and two objects continued to follow the illusion without stopping.
The desolate mountain village had long disappeared from their surroundings. They followed Yin Ren and the children as they advanced through the wilderness, watching the vegetation gradually become sparse. The wilderness turned into hills, and then into rugged mountains. As they walked, the surroundings became increasingly desolate, with even fewer birds in the sky.
Perhaps out of consideration for the children, the Great Celestial Master no longer kept his army of evil spirits stationed nearby.
He would only take out the Evil Fruit every few hours, caress it with care, and then use it to “command” the surrounding evils, making them pretend to patrol the area.
The Evil Fruit, this top-tier cursed spirit weapon, had somehow become a good fishing hook.
In the illusion, the Charon who was tracking the Great Celestial Master had indeed not given up and followed for hundreds of miles, despite being injured.
It wasn’t until the group entered deep into the mountains that even Lu Xiaohe’s recorded actions slowed down. Since the loss of the detection equipment, she tended to use Fu Tianyi as a device to measure the concentration of evil qi. Fu Tianyi’s face turned blue enough to be displayed in a bronze artifact exhibition, indicating that something was really wrong in this place.
Even the Gouluo Charon, who had been following the Great Celestial Master, hesitated.
“Who knows what kind of place this is? There isn’t even a map, puff puff,” Huang Jin said dejectedly.
During these five days, Fu Xingchuan had been busy. He commanded Fu Tianyi to create two spirit weapons that could produce human voices, so they wouldn’t have to find a tree branch every time Yellow Millet wanted to communicate. Unfortunately, the materials were limited, and these items would occasionally malfunction.
“According to the records in <The Book of Exorcism>, the Great Celestial Master sometimes disappears for a period of time, saying that he would hide in remote places for cultivation.”
Lu Xiaohe continued to record as she spoke.
“From what it seems now…” she sighed and didn’t say more.
Everyone present knew what she wanted to say.
From what it seemed now, the corruption of the Evil Force on Yin Ren’s body was too heavy. He couldn’t maintain strict control for 365 days a year; there would always be a period of time when he needed to catch his breath in an uninhabited place.
At the moment, it wasn’t yet time for the Great Celestial Master to “cultivate”. In addition to fishing, Yin Ren seemed to intend to take these children near his hiding place, so that they could be far away from the war.
This reminded her of the Yin Ren she was familiar with. Lu Xiaohe put down her charcoal pencil and subconsciously looked towards Zhong Chengshuo.
Since the Evil Dog Spirit was sealed and they officially gathered, the flesh puppet had hardly participated in any conversations. He just sat in the Great Celestial Master’s shell, even more silent than an ordinary flesh puppet with his face forever facing the direction of the “Great Celestial Master” from a thousand years ago.
Covered by a red cloth, Lu Xiaohe couldn’t see the expression of the “flesh puppet”.
At this moment, the Great Celestial Master was sitting on a piece of bluestone, resting. Since the battle in Yin Village, the Great Celestial Master had been sleeping for longer and longer periods of time. Now, that person was slumped on the stone and the red cocoon was swaying making it seemed like he was about to fall asleep.
Until a young man arrived with an evil spirit.
Seeing someone coming, the Great Celestial Master quickly straightened up, even discreetly cleared his throat. “What is it?”
He was the eldest child in Yin Village. The young man lowered his head, his hand guided by the evil spirit, and his eyes were still covered for protection.
“I… I want to offer this to you.” The young man said in a low voice, holding a small package in his arms. “My brother brought it from outside the village. It’s in good condition. I’ve been holding it in my arms, and now it’s ripe and ready to eat.”
As he spoke, he carefully presented the package.
These past few days, the Great Celestial Master had been sending evil spirits to collect meat, bird eggs, wild vegetables, and mountain fruits for the children to eat. Despite his pale complexion and obvious tear marks, the young man’s body didn’t appear weak. Yin Ren didn’t mince words with him; he made a gesture, and the cloth package flew into his hands.
Inside the clean fabric, lay quietly an apple.
The apple was red, plump, and emitted a fragrant aroma. Its surface gleamed with a smooth and gentle luster, contrasting with the sour and bitter small fruits in the mountains. Yin Ren seemed somewhat surprised. He cupped the apple in his hands and cautiously sniffed it.
“Thank you… cough, I’ll accept this offering.” He spoke as solemnly as possible.
Although he said that, Yin Ren didn’t take a bite; he simply cherished it by wiping it clean. He enchanted several preservation spells on the apple before carefully tucking it away.
“After they have rested, we will depart immediately.”
Adjusting his clothing, Yin Ren instructed the evil spirit.
“You need to rest…” The evil spirit widened its eye sockets.
“I don’t have much time left, so we need to swiftly conclude this matter.”
The Great Celestial Master looked towards the depths of the mountains.
“We need to return to the Valley of Remains quickly.”
