Ye Yu sensed a familiar aura, and in an instant his figure vanished from the spot. When he reappeared, he found himself deeper in the Ghostly Forest.
There he beheld a female ghost clad in white, her features pure and refined, her eyes fathomless as though they could see through all things. The Blood Moon’s radiance completely cloaked her, and the surrounding space began to warp and twist.
Yes—this was the aura! The ghost before him was tearing through the void, about to ascend to the Divine Realm. Ye Yu had never imagined that someone in this Ghostly Forest would achieve transcendence faster than himself.
The female ghost seemed to sense his presence. She turned, looked in his direction, and lightly tapped the void with a raised hand. In an instant, the surrounding trees and vines seemed to shatter like petals, drifting away and fully revealing Ye Yu’s position.
Yet she did not strike. Instead, she spoke coolly, “What are your intentions?”
Unfazed, Ye Yu gave his name freely. “I am Ye Yu. And you must be preparing to ascend to the Divine Realm? My curiosity drew me here, to observe—and to prepare for my own ascent.”
The ghost could not help but smile. “What an arrogant spirit. Only at the Half-Ghost-Emperor realm, yet you dare boast so boldly—fearless of being proven wrong! ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) Still, I suppose your courage is commendable.”
Her impression of Ye Yu was not unfavorable. After a moment’s thought, she said softly, “I hope you succeed.”
Ye Yu called out, “If so, might I know your name? Should we meet in the Divine Realm one day, it would be good to have a fellow countryman to look out for me.”
“Shen Fuxin.”
No sooner had she named herself than the space around her fully warped. A pillar of blood-red light shone brilliantly, and she vanished in an instant—having successfully torn through the void and ascended to the Divine Realm.
Ye Yu gazed skyward for a long moment before finally lowering his eyes. Shen Fuxin—a fine name indeed. May this count as the beginning of a benevolent karmic bond. If we meet again in the Divine Realm, perhaps she will share useful news with me—after all, my understanding of that realm remains woefully scant.
As Ye Yu turned to leave, he suddenly took a half-step backward—and at that moment a blade’s radiance cut through the air toward him.
The attacker was none other than the long-hidden Demon Realm Blade Saint, Tang Fangzhan. Since the last time Ye Yu had used the Waterfall technique against him, Tang Fangzhan’s Dao-heart had nearly been shattered. Yet all the more reason he could not allow Ye Yu to live: if he did not slay him, his Dao-heart would remain obstructed and his cultivation would stagnate forever. Thus he had hidden in waiting, preparing to eliminate Ye Yu at the opportune moment.
Why not confront him openly? Was there any need to ask? He simply did not wish to endure another Waterfall’s shameful agony.
He had planned to strike Ye Yu while his attention was elsewhere, but failed. As his blade fell short, Tang Fangzhan spun to flee—only to have the Compassionate Life Blade under his own hand stamped into the ground by Ye Yu’s foot.
“You’ve followed me this long and still won’t quit? I didn’t want to bother with you, but since you insist on making trouble, don’t blame me for being merciless!”
Ye Yu wore a mocking grin, then formed his signature one-handed seal.
Tang Fangzhan’s eyes widened in horror—he recognized that terrible sensation too late.
“Waterfall, descend!”
Tang Fangzhan’s body tensed, but a mighty force struck him in the chest, sending him crashing to the ground.
It was over. His pale face flushed crimson. He abandoned his blade and fled as fast as he could.
Ye Yu, pleased, absorbed 970,000 negative-emotion points. “Tsk tsk, this mantis demon is quite stout—every haul brings surprises. But was that shove too cruel? Oh well—if cruelty offends me, I’d feel the pain, not him. Next time, I’ll think of something even more ruthless!”
Two days later, Ye Yu had capitalized on the ghosts’ resentment to grow his negative-emotion balance to nearly half a billion points. As expected, the more ghosts, the greater the resentment! But further growth now seemed unrealistic—time and memory would dull even vengeance.
Thus Ye Yu prepared the final phase of his plan: to shift targets and continue harvesting negative-emotion value elsewhere. He approached Ru Kong and said lightly, “You’ve been by my side all this time. You’ve suffered injustice—do you wish to take revenge?”
Ru Kong froze. He had no idea what Ye Yu meant. Revenge was all he desired, but he truly lacked the ability. He forced a wry smile and said, “Venerable, you must be joking.”
“I’m not joking. Summon them—all the lofty ones of the Buddha Realm. Right here, we’ll thoroughly propagate the Dharma. I, for one, am eager to learn the Mahayana teachings!”
Ye Yu smiled. At these words, Ru Kong began to tremble—ghosts yearning to hear Mahayana Dharma? Madness! This fellow could not be judged by normal logic. Yet given the offer, Ru Kong would not pass it up. He had come to hate Ye Yu deeply; these days had been the darkest of his life. No matter the trap, he would seize the chance to exact his revenge.
So Ru Kong sat cross-legged, laid his broken prayer beads before him, and earnestly began reciting the sutras. After half an hour of effort, golden light burst forth from his body as he established contact with the high masters of the Buddha Realm.
“I, this monk Ru Kong, beseech all Buddhas across the heavens to descend to this realm, propagate the Dharma, and liberate all sentient beings!”
Upon finishing, Ru Kong pressed his hands together and thrust forward, shattering every prayer bead before him. The radiant Buddha-light around him then faded, and peace settled once more over the forest.
Ye Yu squatted beside him and asked curiously, “So what happens next?”
