Chapter 133: Chapter 51: The Time Coffin
"Are you planning to stay here this time and not go back?"
Gao Tian asked.
Yu Sheng looked up at the Inner World’s green sun.
According to his original plan, he was supposed to die in Longshu Temple, completing his mission by passing the Time Coffin to the next person.
Being dead is the easiest path. You don’t have to think about any troubles—you just die, and it’s over. The remaining affairs are for the living to worry about.
But now that he wasn’t dead, countless responsibilities awaited him.
"I am going back.
"The resurgence of malevolent spirits in the real world is growing stronger. If this trend continues, forget the Dragon Country—the entire world will be destroyed.
"I will do my best to contribute what little I can.
"While completing missions for the Living Beings’ Apartment, I’ll also go out and handle some supernatural incidents. I’ll try to slow the progress of the full supernatural resurgence as much as possible."
He looked at every familiar blade of grass and every tree in Longshu Temple, his eyes seeing only that mischievous kid from a thousand years ago.
"But first, I’ll stay here to atone for the sins I must.
"I owe this land, my master, and my senior brothers too much. My sins are heavy, a debt I can never fully repay in this lifetime."
Gao Tian decided not to ask any more about the stars in the sky for the time being. After all, something discovered only once in a thousand years was far less urgent than the malevolent spirits now found on every street corner.
As for the Time Coffin, Gao Tian had a faint idea from the moment he got it. He just wasn’t completely sure yet.
No Time Element artifact is weak.
Now, after experiencing the fourth loop, it had been confirmed in theory.
But he needed a hint from Yu Sheng as a fail-safe. Otherwise, the consequences of this method failing would be too severe.
Gao Tian:
"A major figure in the Supernatural Community once told me something.
"Turning into a ghost after death is an absolutely irreversible process. No artifact exists that can turn a ghost back into a human.
"Is that statement correct?"
Yu Sheng considered this for a moment.
"That’s correct.
"At least, I’ve never in my life seen a ghost turn back into a human.
"Of course, I can’t speak in absolutes. It’s possible I’m just ignorant, and a magical artifact like that really does exist in the depths of the Inner World."
Gao Tian prompted,
"Not long ago, I saw a friend turn into a ghost and then change back into a human."
Yu Sheng:
"Who was it? Do I know them?"
Gao Tian:
"Of course you know him.
"And he looks a lot like you.
"No. The word ’like’ isn’t quite right.
"He looks exactly like you.
"That person was you, Yu Sheng."
Wang Wenbo, who was drinking water on the side, nearly spat it all out.
’What is with these people? Who taught him to break a single sentence into so many parts?’
In the third loop, after holding back "Mother," Yu Sheng returned to Longshu Temple to see Gao Tian one last time. He was already dead and had become a ghost, using a special method to temporarily maintain his consciousness, though it couldn’t last for long.
In the fourth loop, thanks to the time reset and the effects of the Time Wheel Crow, Yu Sheng changed from a ghost back into his living form.
In other words, as long as time is reversed, it is theoretically possible for a ghost to become human again.
Of course, this was only in theory. In practice, there were many more factors to consider.
The starving ghost in the temple, Master Jingming, and the squad from the Republic era had all become permanent malevolent spirits through the repeated cycles.
This meant that one couldn’t remain a malevolent spirit for too long, or else not even a time reset could save them.
Gao Tian voiced this idea.
Yu Sheng nodded.
"You are already very close to the truth of the Time Coffin.
"Don’t go any further, or you’ll pierce that last paper screen."
By saying this, he was essentially giving his tacit approval of Gao Tian’s theory.
A new, and one might even say very special, combo began to form in Gao Tian’s mind.
The combination of these two Supernatural Artifacts was fundamentally different from other combos.
The payoff was abnormally huge, but the risks were also incredibly high.
Ghost Transformation Spear + Time Coffin.
First, activate the Time Coffin to ensure his body would reset after five minutes. Then, use the Ghost Transformation Spear to turn himself into a malevolent spirit.
This meant Gao Tian could enter a malevolent spirit form for five minutes.
After five minutes, the Time Coffin’s effect would kick in, his body would revert to its state from five minutes prior, and he would turn back into a human.
Malevolent spirits are undying and indestructible, can reliably acquire a killing rule, and might even be able to manifest a Ghost Realm. This was far stronger than a mortal body of flesh and blood.
If this combo really worked, if time reversal could offset the transformation into a malevolent spirit...
’So this was what Teacher Xu Yuan meant all those years ago when he said the Ghost Transformation Spear was a weapon that could overturn the era?’
He had spent his entire life searching for a Supernatural Artifact related to time. But artifacts of that type weren’t so easy to find; Teacher Xu Yuan had died without ever finding one.
As for Xu Yuan’s generation, their understanding of the Ghost Transformation Spear was even more shallow. They had no way of understanding their master’s intentions.
But in truth, Xu Yuan had already found the Divine Tree and died. The Ghost Transformation Spear was of little use to him by then.
Gao Tian decided to keep this secret hidden.
The fact that he could turn into a ghost was his final trump card, to be saved for the day of the final battle in Shanghai.
He would wait until the Artist, the Rainy Woman, and Xu Yuan—three S-Level malevolent spirits—descended simultaneously to finish off Old Man Sun and forge a living Hell. Then, he would give them a big surprise.
...
...
After leaving Longshu Temple, they found that Old Man Sun, who had been outside, was gone.
Jiang Yang:
"He was in a hurry to get back and deal with the Rainy Woman, so he didn’t want to squeeze onto a slow bus with us.
"Also, Old Man Sun left a strange message for you."
Gao Tian:
"What could he have left for me?"
Jiang Yang’s expression turned odd. He imitated Old Man Sun’s tone:
"Being able to fight a ghost that has opened its Ghost Realm... not bad strength.
"But next time, please don’t fight in the city center. If you have to fight, find somewhere deserted."
He thought for a moment, then couldn’t help but ask,
"You fought a ghost with a Ghost Realm?
"When did this happen? You’re that badass?"
Gao Tian just laughed and brushed it off.
"The old man’s getting confused. He’s mixing up things he did in his youth with me."
Jiang Yang looked skeptical.
"Is that so?"
...
...
Stepping off Bus 444, their feet landing on the soil of the real world, gave them a feeling of having been gone for an eternity.
It was four or five in the morning in the real world, the gray sky like the pale belly of a dead fish. As Gao Tian and the others walked toward the Living Beings’ Apartment, they saw from a distance that the first-floor lobby was brightly lit. A resident was clearly there, waiting for them.
Who would be waiting for them at this hour?
The elusive Old Man Sun? Had he returned to the Living Beings’ Apartment after leaving the Inner World first?
’Not likely.’
Gao Tian was the first to reach the apartment entrance. Pushing open the glass door, he saw an exhausted Xia Ta sitting on the sofa. In front of her was the laptop Wang Wenbo had left running before he departed.
"Welcome back."
Xia Ta’s gaze drifted back and forth between the three who entered the apartment: Gao Tian, Jiang Yang, and Lan Chu.
Directly behind her was the wall that issued the green-character tasks. The green characters had faded, but their faint imprints were still clear enough to make out the requirements.
"The seventh green-character task... Five people went, and for three to come back alive is already pretty good," Xia Ta sighed.
From her perspective, Yu Sheng and Wang Wenbo, who hadn’t followed them in, must have died in the Inner World.
This was a huge loss for the Living Beings’ Apartment. As expected, no one had yet managed to complete an eighth task.
Jiang Yang smiled and explained,
"Yu Sheng and Wang Wenbo both survived. They’re just stuck in the Inner World dealing with some follow-up issues from the task.
"We all completed the mission. I’ve now finished my sixth, Gao Tian his fifth, and Yu Sheng his seventh."
Hearing this reversal, even the ever-composed Xia Ta’s expression became a little colorful.
’The seventh green-character task... five people, including the weakest one, Wang Wenbo, and they all survived?’
’Since when did green-character tasks become as easy as a trip to the Inner World? The same number of people who left came back, and the remaining two are just... sightseeing?’
Moreover, there was now a slightly awkward situation.
Xia Ta, with five completed tasks, had been the apartment’s top-ranked resident. Now, compared to Yu Sheng with seven and Jiang Yang with six, she had the lowest task level. Even Gao Tian, a newcomer, had reached five.
Fortunately, Xia Ta wasn’t the type to fuss over such things. Besides, the more residents with high-level task completions, the better it was for the newcomers.
Upon confirming everyone was alive, Xia Ta’s mood could be seen shifting from shock to pleasant surprise. But she wouldn’t display such trivial emotions, merely changing the subject lightly:
"I had just returned from my hometown and rushed to the Living Beings’ Apartment right as you all left for this joint mission.
"Normally, you should rest for a while after coming back and enjoy your vacation.
"But there are two very important things I must tell you right now."
Gao Tian and Jiang Yang found seats on the sofa.
"Please, go ahead."
Xia Ta:
"First, I went through and cataloged all the children who were sent back to my hometown. I confirmed the year they were sent to the Children’s Home and the names of their previous family heads. I registered everything."
She paused, giving the three of them a moment to think.
"But during the registration, I discovered a child was missing.
"A child who should have been at the Children’s Home, but wasn’t found."
Jiang Yang asked in return,
"Were there any children in the Children’s Home that you knew from before?"
Xia Ta nodded, stood up, and walked toward a drawer under the front desk to get something.
"Yes, yes there was. There was one child... I have her photo."
As Xia Ta pulled the photo from the drawer, Gao Tian’s sealed memories also began to slowly awaken.
He was the one who had given her that photo.
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