When Bai Fanlu heard this, he spun back and laughed in mockery. Was this Lord Dragon God teasing him?

"I asked for the antidote to the frost poison to save him, so how could I kill him?"

"If you don't kill him now, the poison will be transferred to you when he dies." Xun Huan bluntly pointed out this fact.

Bai Fanlu frowned, how did Xun Huang know that he was suppressing the poison with Cang Jin?

"How did you know?"

"Absurd! In this world, there is nothing this God does not know!" Xun Huang scoffed arrogantly.

He was right behind Bai Fanlu at this time, leaning very closely. The frigid chill directly bypassed the protective barrier made of spiritual energy and penetrated into Bai Fanlu's bones. Bai Fanlu heard his own knucklebones cracking as if they had stiffened up from holding onto a ball of ice with bare hands.

Was another round of duelling imminent?

The best outcome was that both parties lost. But even so, his goal of saving Xiao Liu's life would not be achieved.

Xun Huang repeated solemnly, "Kill him, and you can leave this place in one piece. This God shall not stand in your way."

"What grudge do you bear against him? Why do you want him dead?"

"I have no enmity nor resentment against him."

Bai Fan Lu was simply baffled. This Dragon God was really as the book had described. He regarded human lives as mere weeds. How unworthy of his position as an ancient god.

"I can't do it." Bai Fanlu firmly declared and turned around to leave.

"The audacity!" Xun Huang bellowed, "Did you think that this is a place where you may come and leave as you wish?"

Next, the burst of a dragon's roar reverberated and shattered the surrounding rocks, and in the blink of an eye, an ice halberd was swung and pressed against Bai Fanlu's neck.

Blood got frozen immediately the instant it flowed out and Bai Fanlu resisted the tingling pain and took the initiative to take another step forward.

Xun Huang didn’t expect him to be so determined in his resistance, and he retracted the halberd slightly, without allowing the weapon to sever Bai Fanlu's head.

"Will you or will you not kill him?"

"I cannot."

Xun Huang's reptilian lids flicked and briefly revealed his eyes. Bai Fanlu could feel the rage that was bursting out of them, and on top of that, there also seemed to be a hint of another inexplicable emotion.

After this act of probing, Bai Fanlu was certain that his guess was correct. Xun Huang didn't make a move directly this time, because he must have another agenda.

"If this God wants to kill the youth, then the youth is right here in this city, and is about to die. Why then did you have to request that I carry out the deed?"

Xun Huang did not answer. He simply tilted the halberd slightly, letting it fall from Bai Fanlu's throat to his chest.

"And if this God wishes to kill me, he may do so with a swing of his blade. So why do you have to play pretend with me here?"

"..." The corners of Xun Huang's lips trembled almost imperceptibly.

"So the goal of this God does not lie with us at all. My companion and I are no more significant than ants. Compared with your ten thousand-year plan, how could we matter?"

The ice halberd finally slid down and faded into Xun Huang's right hand. The Dragon God turned his head slightly, and pondered these words while examining Bai Fanlu.

Bai Fanlu was sure now that the Dragon God must have encountered obstacles in awakening his true form. The Xun Huang standing before him could not leave the perimeter of the temple and needed his help. There was no doubt that the thing that mattered most to Xun Huang was how to break the barrier during this once-in-a-lifetime opportune moment.

But why then, did Xun Huang insist on having him kill Xiao Liu right at the beginning? What does this have to do with breaking his barrier?

Although Bai Fanlu was puzzled, he now had the upper hand and this knowledge gave him more confidence for the negotiation.

Xun Huang wanted to leave this place, and they too had the same intention. Therefore, it should not be hard to reach an agreement.

After pondering for a moment, Xun Huang finally relented, "It's okay if you don't want to kill him, but if you want the cure, you need to do another thing and this will be hundreds of times more difficult."

Xun Huang spoke and paced around slowly.

An oppressive cold air came from where the Dragon God passed by, one gust after another. Bai Fanlu's hands, held in fists, slightly relaxed only to feel the ice forming from his sweat falling, causing white smoke to emit from the tips of his fingers.

Perfect! There's hope!

"I'll do it." Bai Fanlu answered without hesitation.

"Why aren't you asking what is it I want you to do?"

Xun Huang sauntered back to the stone platform where he stood at the start. He rested his palm on the platform surface and it cracked open at once, revealing a rotating beam of black light.

There was a faint sound within that beam.

Bai Fanlu ignored the question posed by Xun Huang since he had no other choice than to accept the task. Whether he asked for the details or not, the result was the same. It was better to get down to it.

Seeing Bai Fanlu's expression of going to righteousness, Xun Huang's lips twitched with interest, and he stated bluntly, "Go to the Ghost Realm and help me complete a task."

Hearing this, Bai Fanlu glanced at the beam of light again and understood at once. It turned out that a ghost made the sound.

Behind the black beam of light, was probably the legendary Gates of Hell.

The original owner had also been to the Ghost Realm in the novel, but it was not in this part of the plotline. The way he entered was quite similar to this method before him.

Some exceptional parts of this world were portals leading to the Ghost Realm. Anyone capable of unlocking such portals may pass through.

"Why? Are you afraid?" Noticing Bai Fanlu deep in thought, Xun Huang mocked with a smile.

Being fearful was a natural reaction, but Bai Fanlu had no other choice, "I am just afraid that my friend cannot wait until I fulfil my promise to you."

"Bring him here. I shall keep him alive and await your return."

Bring him here? What if this Dragon God went back on his word and killed Xiao Liu? Bai Fanlu contemplated and couldn't take the risk.

Xun Huang seemed to have guessed Bai Fanlu's thoughts, and raised his eyebrows, "I do not play such trickery and break my promises."

"This is a matter of life and death. I have to be cautious."

Seeing that Bai Fanlu still didn't trust him, Xun Huang snorted impatiently, opened up his palm, and revealed a bright blue pearl, "Have you ever heard of the Yuanhe Wind Taming Pearl?"

Yuanhe Wind Taming Pearl!

Legend had it that this was ancient. Later in the novel, after Yun Zhan killed Xun Huang, he extracted this pearl from the Dragon God's body. The artefact played a significant role in his ascension to immortality.

"I will loan this pearl to the youth for four hours to keep the effects of the frost poison at bay. If you do not return by then, I shall retrieve it. Does that put you at ease?"

Four hours of grace. In addition, Xiao Liu had two Cang Jin ribbons on him, so time was no longer a pressing matter. Bai Fanlu replied, "Okay, it's a deal! What do I need to do in the Ghost Realm?"

"Bring me seven Nether Ghost Flames."

Nether Ghost Flames? What is that?

Bai Fanlu wondered, "How can the Ghostly Flames be obtained?"

"You'll have to find out yourself."

Bai Fanlu smacked his lips lightly, why does it seem like even Xun Huang has no clue how to obtain the Ghostly Flames?

"Alright then. I beseech this God to keep his word. Please hand me the antidote once I bring back the Ghostly Flames."

Xun Huang snorted coldly, "I never break my promises."

Bai Fanlu received the Yuanhe Wind Taming Pearl, "I ask this God to wait briefly for me. Let me ascertain that the youth will be safe and sound."

Xun Huang had no objections as he turned and placed his hands behind his back.

Bai Fanlu didn't dare to delay any further and hurried back to Xiao Liu as fast as he could.

Putting Yuanhe Wind Taming Pearl on the youth's abdomen and seeing his stiff complexion gradually ease, Bai Fanlu was finally relieved. Then, he immediately returned to Xun Huang's side.

The black beam of light was like a cold obsidian crystal, and Bai Fanlu stretched out his hand to it without hesitation.

As his figure disappeared, Xun Huang stood in place, raised his hand, and touched a piece of gauze covering his eyes. His thin lips were slightly pursed, and a cold smile formed.

"Ha...it's finally the time for revenge. Have you been lonely for the past millennium? Then how timely this is! In a while, I shall allow you to witness with your own eyes how this God will treat the people in your world. Haha! It will be quite interesting!"

*  *  *

The Ghost Realm was utterly independent of the three major realms of immortals, demons, and humans. It had a vastly different structure as described in the novel.

No matter what or who one was during his lifetime, even if it were an immortal who had lived for thousands of years if he ever passed away, and so long as the soul was intact, it must enter the Ghost Realm and reincarnate according to the law of the universe.

So this Ghost Realm was, in reality, a passage. Even when Bai Fanlu thought of it this way, he could barely increase the degree of his acceptance of this eerie and terrifying place. However, it did ease some of the resistance in his heart.

The entrance of the Ghost Realm was much like a dimly-lit basement. There were only some free-roaming and mindless ghosts floating around. Bai Fanlu summoned up a hat with draping gauze to cover his face as he walked past those wandering souls and headed deeper inwards.

This was the same method used by the original owner to avoid entanglement with ghost envoys. Once he got past the ghost envoys and entered Mengpo's realm, he could find opportunities to sneak into other safer areas.

In the plot, the original owner's entry into the Ghost Realm happened after Xun Huang broke the barrier and left the temple.

Yun Zhan was seriously injured at that point. Bai Junming took advantage of the original owner's laxity and extracted Yun Zhan's three souls and one spirit on their way back. Fortunately, the original owner promptly stopped him. Yun Zhan's soul and spirit were not absorbed but ended up being arrested by the ghost envoys and led into the Ghost Realm.

During this period, the original owner and Bai Junming developed a rift of animosity. The original owner offered up one of his souls and spirits to stabilise Yun Zhan's dying body to save Yun Zhan. However, due to the imbalance of spiritual power within him, the seal for his demonic blood slackened and resulted in some signs of his demonic awakening.

Because of the reaction between Yun Zhan and the original owner's soul, the man had the illusion that he returned to the Spiritual Spring back at the Sect to heal.

Later on, the original owner asked Ling Qingzi to teach him how to enter the ghost realm in hopes of retrieving the three lost souls and one spirit for Yun Zhan. It was then that the book's Bai Fanlu stepped into the Ghost Realm.

Like the current Bai Fanlu, the original owner did not know exactly where to find what he was looking for after entering the Ghost Realm. He only knew that the incomplete set of souls and spirits could not enter the reincarnation wheel, but he had no clue where they were.

As the plot progressed, the original owner found Bai Xiaosheng, a lone wandering ghost who was chained to a bridge in the Ghost Realm. After inquiring, he found out where the three souls and one spirit were. Then, he made a deal with Mengpo to use his next life as collateral to exchange for them. This decision led to the original owner being completely erased from existence after death.

Bai Fanlu was now searching for the Nether Ghost Flames, and planned to find the same chained wandering ghost to get a clue about the item's location.

He was already well prepared. It was easy enough to avoid ghost envoys and find the lone bridge. There was only one shadow by it, and it was dressed in a black robe and had long, half-tied, messy hair. He was sitting alone by the bridge with his back facing the path as he peered at the Yellow Springs before him in a daze.

There was a similar bridge some distance to his right. It should be the chain bridge in the book. Ghosts on the bridge were followed by others lining up to cross the bridge. That side was the one that lead to the place of life, Huangquan hai MengpoThe Underworld and Mengpo who feeds the soup of forgetfulness (they forget their past life) to those entering reincarnation..

Bai Fanlu approached the bridge, but the wandering ghost didn't turn back. He simply said, "This bridge is blocked. You cannot cross it. Quickly be reincarnated."

After that, he raised his right hand and gestured for Bai Fanlu to leave.

Bai Fanlu still didn't leave, and politely saluted the ghost with a fist in his palm, regardless of whether he was visible to him, "Dare I ask this senior, where can I get the Nether Ghost Flame?"

The lone ghost still didn't look back and merely raised his left arm. With that, something silvery-white whizzed past, and Bai Fanlu could see that it was a fishing rod. The swift white shadow was a fishing line that appeared sparkly as light reflected on it.

"Oh no! My fish escaped!" The ghost slapped his thigh with his right hand and got slightly annoyed.

Bai Fanlu was lamenting that the original owner did not face so much trouble with his task. He didn't accidentally get into some unfortunate situation, did he? Could the intent to ask different questions lead to different results?

But fortunately, there was no conflict afterward, and the ghost set up his fishing rod once again. However, he stopped talking, as if he had forgotten entirely the question posed to him by Bai Fanlu.

Bai Fanlu was at a loss, and just as he was hesitating, the ghost suddenly asked, "The Nether Ghost Flame is not a good thing. What do you want with it?"

Bai Fanlu hurriedly answered, "To save someone."

"Save who?"

Bai Fanlu wanted to say that it was his younger brother, but after thinking about it, he replied, "A friend."

The ghost seemed to nod, raised his hand, and pointed to the lone bridge, "You will find them once you cross the bridge. You may retrieve as many as you wish if you are capable."

"Thank you, senior!"

Bai Fanlu was overjoyed, spun around and leapt onto the bridge, then he ran in the opposite direction.

Although he was eager, he carefully adjusted his hat to avoid revealing his identity.

But when he reached the middle of the long bridge, a strange wind rose from the Yellow Springs. Although Bai Fanlu hurriedly tugged his hat, and it didn't get blown off, the corner of the white gauze was still lifted.

The hand of the ghost that held onto the fishing rod paused slightly, and the ‘fish’ that had approached the hook got scared away.

After crossing, there did not seem to be anything special with the surroundings at first, but as Bai Fanlu continued deeper, light spots like fireflies appeared in front of him.

Gradually, the light spots became increasingly more prominent and gathered in greater numbers. The specks of green flames were the size of one's palms and were scattered in the dense forest before him.

If he weren't in the ghost realm, he would have thought that this scene of the fireflies dancing in the forest was breathtaking.

These little green fires must be Nether Ghost Flames according to the wandering ghost. At one glance, he could tell that there were a lot of them, and he only needed seven.

Bai Fanlu was already aware that it would not be that easy to obtain them, so when he reached out to touch the flames, he had already raised his guard and was ready to respond at any moment.

As expected, the moment his finger touched a Nether Ghost Flame, it suddenly soared and turned into a majestic ghoul in front of his eyes.

It had sharp fangs and a pair of fiery eyes, and in the next instant, the beast rushed towards him with a roar!

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1 Comment

  1. LicoLico

    Thank You for the new chapter ♡〜٩( ╹▿╹ )۶〜♡

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