Chapter 1945: Chapter 1942: Opening the Passage
Perhaps afraid Lin Tian wouldn’t believe it, Zhang Ruyan added another sentence, "Mu Yun is trustworthy, she won’t bend the rules for personal reasons."
Mu Yun also didn’t make a move, she just looked at Lin Tian. Lin Tian glanced at her twice, then took two steps to the side, giving up his spot.
"Thanks for cooperating. Looks like you’re not as brutish as the other Impermanence Envoys said." As she walked past Lin Tian, Mu Yun paused and offered a word of thanks. Her expression was still stiff, but there was a certain goodwill in it.
"No need to thank me, I just hope the Netherworld can give her a fair treatment." Lin Tian said calmly, unconcerned with how the other Impermanence Envoys saw him.
Mu Yun had originally intended to keep walking, but after hearing this she stopped again: "Her life was pitiful. She was killed by her own family. After death, they even used seven-inch copper nails to seal her coffin, preventing her soul from returning to the Netherworld."
"Her resentment accumulated over the years and finally turned her into a vengeful spirit. Once she became a vengeful spirit, she could no longer enter the Netherworld or cross the Naihe Bridge. Vengeful spirits like her used to be guided on by Ksitigarbha Envoys, but for some reason, Ksitigarbha Envoys have been missing for a long time. So she’s remained in the Human Realm all this time, unable to enter reincarnation again."
"Today the Reincarnation Artifact reacted, the senses changed, so I came to bring her into the Netherworld. But let me be blunt first: after becoming a vengeful spirit she did quite a bit of evil. Once she enters the Netherworld she won’t escape some suffering. However, considering she was harmed into becoming a vengeful spirit and it was beyond her control, the Netherworld will deal with her leniently."
"If possible, she’ll still have a chance to enter the Human Path in reincarnation, which would be a pretty good outcome. It’s better than falling into the Beast Path, where life and death are in others’ hands." Perhaps finding Lin Tian more pleasing to the eye now, Mu Yun patiently explained a few more sentences.
"Mu Yun Envoy, no matter how I reincarnate in the next life, I only hope I can meet Young Master Lin again, to repay his kindness." The Black Robed Woman said expectantly.
Mu Yun shook her head and said coolly, "Where you reincarnate, I have no say. Whether you can meet again, I can’t give you a definite answer either. Once this life is concluded, all karmic ties disperse like smoke. Why cling to it?"
"Please, Mu Yun Envoy, point me to a bright path, so that I can meet Young Master Lin in my next life." The Black Robed Woman dropped to both knees, pleading with utmost sincerity.
Mu Yun Envoy frowned slightly. She didn’t help her up, only said indifferently, "There is a red-clothed vengeful spirit in the Wangchuan River, a single thread of obsession unextinguished, existing solely to see one person upon the Naihe Bridge. How very much like you she is, yet no one can help her. Someone who can’t let go like that will only sink in the Wangchuan River for all eternity."
"Red-clothed vengeful spirit? Could it be her?" Lin Tian was stunned as he recalled something. The last time he barged into the Netherworld and crossed the Naihe Bridge, he and a red-clothed female ghost had jumped into the Wangchuan River together, and because of that he’d met the Soul Ferryman.
Mu Yun cast Lin Tian a sidelong glance and didn’t answer, but her eyes had already given Lin Tian a definite response. That result made Lin Tian sigh inwardly, and Zhang Lingyu’s expression was also quite moved.
Lin Tian knew these female ghosts could be terrifyingly persistent, so he had no intention of trying to talk the Black Robed Woman out of it. Mu Yun didn’t waste any more words either. She walked forward a few steps to stand before the Black Robed Woman, but instead of putting on the Soul-locking Chain, she merely grabbed her arm.
A streak of black light flashed past, and Mu Yun and the Black Robed Woman disappeared at the same time. The black light shot into the vortex, and in the next instant the vortex also vanished without a trace. The floor returned to its original state, as if nothing had ever happened.
The three looked at one another. Zhang Ruyan glanced over Lin Tian and Zhang Lingyu and said evenly, "I know you two have questions. Ask them quickly. Whether I answer or not depends on my mood."
"Sister Ruyan, who exactly is that Mu Yun? You seem quite familiar with her?" Zhang Lingyu asked.
"’Familiar’ is an overstatement. Over a decade ago, she was the Impermanence Envoy in this region, specifically in charge of guiding Spiritual Bodies into the Netherworld. Back then she was still a Fifth-grade Impermanence, and I was the Heavenly Master’s Successor. I’d cooperated with her before."
"But later she stopped appearing. Looking at it now, it’s because she was promoted and is in charge of a higher tier. A First-class Impermanence is the highest rank among Impermanence Envoys. The fact that she personally came today shows how seriously the Netherworld takes this matter."
"Otherwise, for something like guiding a Spiritual Body, there’d be no need for a First-class Impermanence to take action. Even the lowest Ninth Grade Impermanence would be more than enough. That’s all there is to it. Any other questions?" Zhang Ruyan answered patiently.
Lin Tian blinked and asked again, "Judging by Mu Yun’s battle-general getup, she should be pretty good at fighting. Compared to a Judge, who’s stronger?"
"Your question is like comparing a prime minister and a general. The prime minister holds the higher rank and greater authority; the general is unmatched in martial strength. So who do you say is stronger?"
"In terms of position, the Judge is definitely higher. But in a fight, that’s hard to say. To become a First-class Impermanence Envoy, you must be able to fight, maybe even more than a Judge. As for your last trip barging into the Netherworld, you probably just didn’t run into the really powerful ones. Otherwise, did you think the Netherworld was your own back garden?" Zhang Ruyan replied.
"I’m well aware of that. But I have another question. With your experience, what kind of outcome will that woman have?" Lin Tian asked casually.
Zhang Ruyan stared at Lin Tian for quite a while, then suddenly chuckled, "I thought you wouldn’t ask. Looks like you still can’t get her out of your mind. Planning to find her reincarnated self and cultivate feelings from childhood? Heh-heh, don’t worry, I can tell you with certainty that given her situation, she won’t fall into the Beast Path."
"That’s good." Lin Tian only smiled faintly and didn’t bother defending himself. Zhang Ruyan’s gaze flickered slightly, who knew what she was thinking.
"What’s our next move?" Lin Tian swept his gaze around and returned to the main business of the day.
The Black Robed Woman’s affair had been full of twists and turns, but in the end it was just an interlude. Lin Tian hadn’t forgotten that today’s ultimate goal was Jiang Chen’s Body.
He was still prepared to keep breaking through the levels: a "light-net alarm" on the first floor, a Spirit Array on the second, a difficult vengeful spirit directly on the third. Wouldn’t the fourth be even harder? The Spirit Suppressing Tower had nine floors in total, each higher level only more dangerous than the last.
Unexpectedly, Zhang Ruyan said, "We’re going straight to the ninth floor."
"Straight to the ninth floor?" Lin Tian thought he’d misheard and found it hard to believe.
"Mm. After the third floor, more important things are suppressed and won’t be opened lightly. Previously the ninth floor was always empty, but after Zhang Heyuan brought back Jiang Chen’s Body, they made an exception and opened the ninth floor to seal Jiang Chen’s Body inside."
"Only Jiang Chen’s Body is too formidable and must be sealed separately. The ninth floor’s restrictions are completely independent and unrelated to the other floors, precisely to prevent Jiang Chen’s Body from destroying the other restrictions and releasing what’s being suppressed."
"When the ninth floor was opened before, to avoid triggering the restrictions on the other floors, they went directly into the ninth floor. That passageway should still be findable now." Zhang Lingyu explained in her stead.
Zhang Ruyan didn’t head for the stairs. Instead, she turned back and walked toward the other side, then said calmly, "Lingyu girl, I’ll be the one to open it. You still need to conserve your Mana to unlock the seal."
Having said that, without waiting for Zhang Lingyu’s response, Zhang Ruyan took out a card-shaped talisman, pinched it between two fingers, and flicked it forward like a dart at the wall ahead.
