Are There Only Demonesses Left in the Cultivation Realm?

"How could anyone possibly meddle with the Authority of Death?"

Su Youwan found it inconceivable.

The light on the White Bone Road flickered, illuminating the Silver-haired Maiden’s profile. She spoke again, "Besides, a Dao Star for death has never shone in the Cultivation Realm."

Lu Changyuan said softly, "Just because it’s not recorded doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist."

Of the three thousand Great Daos, Cultivators may choose the Path they are most skilled in to cultivate.

But some Paths can’t be cultivated just by wanting to.

Take Xia Lianxue’s Time Dao, for example. No one knows how much the Little Fairy suffered, or what she did in the void, to finally attain the Time Dao.

The same was true for the Path of Death.

Records about the Nether Monarch are extremely scarce. All that is known is that the Nether Monarch appeared out of nowhere, already at the Yao Guang realm upon his debut. There has never been any mention of the Dao he attained.

Even Su Youwan, the Little Ancestor of the Compassionate Palace, had never heard of the Nether Monarch’s Dao.

Lu Changyuan said, "This Cultivation Realm always has a bunch of old relics lying dormant, ready to pop out at any moment."

Ancestor Red Simurgh managed to cling to life for five thousand years. Heaven knows how many old relics from Jian Guyang’s era were never cleaned up, just left sleeping in their coffins, waiting to burst out one day and stir up some major trouble.

After a moment’s thought, Su Youwan added, "It shouldn’t be a problem. Those old masters can’t stir up that much trouble."

With the Compassionate Palace and the Daoist Sect around, those Old Monsters would have to think twice before making a move. Otherwise, they’d have nowhere to cry if they were suddenly killed by a member of the younger generation.

A massive city abruptly appeared before the two of them. The swirling Nether Qi billowed and rolled, blurring the length of the White Bone Road.

TAP.

TAP. TAP.

A rhythmic tapping sound came from an unknown source. After they stepped onto the path, it became the only sound, a sound that made one’s heart pound in their chest.

They walked on, losing all track of time.

The two of them finally arrived before the city gates.

Looking closely, the city wasn’t sitting on the ground, but rather seemed to have grown out of a pool of black ink. The surrounding bricks were covered in twisted, ancient patterns that looked like a person’s throbbing pulse.

Huge shadows occasionally glided through the murky mist, making no sound and leaving only a fleeting trail that vanished in an instant.

Lu Changyuan didn’t spare the Spirits much of a glance. "Let’s go," he said. "Into the city."

The gates, carved from white bone, were not shut tight. It was impossible to see what lay behind them, only an endless void.

Su Youwan suddenly took Lu Changyuan’s hand.

"Third Prince?"

"It’ll be troublesome if we get separated."

’Fair enough.’

The maiden’s delicate hand was cool to the touch, as if to say that even held in a tight embrace, she would remain cold.

When they opened their eyes again.

A street filled with lanterns appeared before their eyes.

It was just like a street from a Mortal World dynasty. The bustling street adjoined a market, and everywhere were illusory shadows. These shadows had no faces and their bodies were ethereal, yet somehow, you knew with an eerie certainty that they were all hurrying to the market.

Lu Changyuan observed his surroundings and said, "This is East City."

The Netherworld is divided into an east and a west city.

And this was East City.

A single glance showed that lanterns hung outside all the wooden houses, and at this moment, the red lanterns had candles lit inside them.

This meant that it was currently daytime in the Netherworld. If they were swapped for white lanterns, it would symbolize the arrival of night in the Netherworld.

The Netherworld has one absolutely inviolable rule.

The living are not allowed outside at night.

If this rule was broken, Lu Changyuan would be fine, but Su Youwan would transform into a Spirit on the spot, forever trapped in the Netherworld.

Therefore, their primary objective now was to find a house in the Netherworld that could shelter the living.

"Young Master Lu, where are you taking Youwan?"

"Just follow me."

They followed the path of grayish-black stone bricks, and after a series of twists and turns, Lu Changyuan came to a stop.

Before them stood a small gatehouse surrounded by gray walls. A grayish-black "Fortune" character was pasted right-side up on the wooden door.

"Young Master Lu, why did you bring Youwan here?"

Lu Changyuan didn’t answer the Silver-haired Maiden’s question. Instead, he opened the door. It wasn’t locked.

It was not a particularly large house, with a small courtyard inside. The moment they opened the door, they saw people in the courtyard—no, it would be more accurate to say they saw Spirits.

Two illusory figures were sitting in the small courtyard. They were startled when Lu Changyuan barged in, and their Nether Qi surged as they prepared to lunge and tear him to pieces.

But Lu Changyuan simply stated nonchalantly.

"This is my house. You’ve been living in my home for so many years. Now I’m back, and you want to kill me?"

By chronological reckoning, the last time Lu Changyuan had entered Nether City was one thousand seven hundred years ago. He had stayed here for a century. It was perfectly normal for him to own a bit of property, wasn’t it?

The two illusory figures froze.

They began to speak haltingly, their voices an unknown, guttural screech.

Su Youwan couldn’t understand it.

Lu Changyuan sneered, "Consider yourselves lucky I’m not asking for rent. Now, get out."

The two Spirits left the house, dejected.

But halfway out, they turned back and called out to Lu Changyuan in their unintelligible language. Although Su Youwan couldn’t understand the words, she could hear the plea in their voices.

Lu Changyuan waved his hand. "When I leave, you can continue living here if you want."

Only then did the two Spirits finally leave.

Su Youwan had long heard the rumors about the Netherworld.

The Compassionate Palace’s records on the Netherworld weren’t very detailed, but they did make a special note: whoever enters must obey the rules, especially when it comes to respecting the Spirits within.

Because you never knew how the entire Netherworld would punish you if you angered a Spirit.

But watching Lu Changyuan, she saw not a hint of caution. In fact, he was acting more native than the native Spirits.

Lu Changyuan turned to look at Su Youwan. "Now, all we have to do is wait. When the Ghost Sect opens, the Nether River will naturally appear."

Su Youwan just stood rooted to the spot, watching him as if she were frozen in place.

"Third Prince?"

Lu Changyuan called out again.

Su Youwan finally snapped back to reality. She said softly, "Young Master Lu, don’t move. Let Youwan check something."

Before Lu Changyuan could react, the Silver-haired Maiden began murmuring a scripture. Her hand began to glow with golden light as she quickly raised it to his face.

Lu Changyuan raised an eyebrow. "What’s this all about?"

After a long moment, there was no result.

Su Youwan didn’t answer, instead trying other methods on Lu Changyuan.

The faint scent of sandalwood incense from the maiden wafted into Lu Changyuan’s nostrils, and an unfamiliar Thought surfaced in his mind.

"Strange," the maiden said.

"What’s strange?"

Su Youwan shook her head. "It’s nothing. Perhaps Youwan was just overthinking it."

The Silver-haired Maiden lowered the white cloth that covered her eyes. Her silvery-white hair cascaded down like a waterfall, and through the translucent strands, one could glimpse her fair earlobes.

The maiden was tall, with a fine, elegant nose and strikingly beautiful features. However, her pair of red pupils gave off a sense of scrutiny. As she stared at Lu Changyuan now, she looked like a hunter that had locked onto its prey.

The maiden hadn’t performed this thorough, frantic examination on Lu Changyuan for no reason.

It was because just a moment ago, she had indeed seen red in Lu Changyuan’s eyes—a red that belonged to the taint of a Desire Demon.