Are There Only Demonesses Left in the Cultivation Realm?

"Hurry."

The Cultivators who had entered the Netherworld this time couldn’t help but panic.

When most of the lanterns turned white, night in the Netherworld silently replaced the day.

A fog suddenly arose, and giant creatures whimpered from within it.

There were still some who had not yet found a house. The lanterns around them had turned completely white, and they too were enveloped by the fog.

Initially, this person had seen how frantic Mei Zhaozhao and her two companions were, and how Li Lang had been devoured by a Spirit. He had been terrified, but now that he was actually in the fog, he calmed down.

’I’m not dead yet, am I?’

The man frowned. "It seems like nothing’s happening."

The giant creatures in the fog seemed to pass by him as if they weren’t in the same space-time, not harming him as they headed into the distance.

He breathed a sigh of relief.

’What was that all about?’

’The Netherworld isn’t as dangerous as they say.’

’I didn’t feel a thing. I should focus on finding the Three-Life Fruit.’

’They used to say you couldn’t stay outside after nightfall, but that was in the past. The rules of the Netherworld have probably changed.’

Someone screamed in terror, the sound reaching the man’s ears.

"On you! It’s on you!"

Only then did the man look at himself. He didn’t know when it had started, but red flowers were sprouting from his body. At first, there were just a few, but they soon bloomed completely, enveloping him entirely.

The flowers were like a burst of fire in the Netherworld. Their slender petals curled back and wrinkled violently, shimmering with a luster like raven feathers and glowing a heart-stopping red.

What was most terrifying was that long threads extended from the pistils of these Other Shore Flowers, instantly binding the man and wrapping him tightly.

A bloodcurdling scream came from within the flowers.

The onlookers were horrified. "Quick, find a house!" one shouted.

But houses weren’t that easy to find. Some had Spirits that would devour anyone who entered, and true night was about to fall.

The group ran around like headless chickens.

Not everyone had entered the Netherworld unprepared.

A Fourth Realm Cultivator sighed. It was definitely too late to find an empty house now. He had no choice but to find one that looked extremely small.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK.

The Fourth Realm Cultivator knocked on the door.

The door creaked open, and a Spirit that looked like an old man stood before him.

The Fourth Realm Cultivator took out a bowl and murmured, "The Nether Monarch will eventually return. A wandering soul from a foreign land begs for a night’s shelter."

SLASH.

He sliced open his hand, waiting until the crimson blood filled the entire bowl before handing it to the elderly-looking Spirit.

Seeing this, the elderly Spirit took the bowl and stepped aside.

His face pale, the Fourth Realm Cultivator finally breathed a sigh of relief and hurried into the room. As he did, the crimson glow that had been at his back also dissipated.

The dim room was so dilapidated it seemed to have been silent in the river of time for a thousand years. The entire house consisted of a single room—truly wretched and cramped.

But it was enough for him. He couldn’t have afforded a larger one.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

The night was not yet over.

The lanterns were only faintly red, and the fog had only just begun to thin.

A bloodcurdling scream came from outside. Su Youwan opened her eyes almost instantly.

’I can’t divine anything.’

Lu Changyuan said, "If you can’t find a house, you can only sell your Spirit."

A Cultivator infuses their Spirit and Thought into their blood, selling it as a commodity to the Spirits in exchange for the temporary right to stay in a house.

This method damages a Cultivator’s Origin.

If the two of them hadn’t had the house Lu Changyuan left behind from his previous visit, and if they hadn’t found an empty one, they might have had to sell their Spirit just like that Fourth Realm Cultivator.

The Silver-haired Maiden put her white blindfold back on. "Whether it’s the Three-Life Fruit or the Nether River, both are immense opportunities."

From the moment Lu Changyuan had awakened until now, the people he had met—be it Xia Lianxue, Qiu Yuehan, or even Su Youwan before him—were all geniuses among geniuses.

Even among the Nine Gates and Twelve Palaces, they were the absolute cream of the crop.

These people were prodigies from the moment they began their Cultivation. Enlightenment was only a matter of time for them. But not everyone in the world is a genius.

Enlightenment, enlightenment, Fifth Realm.

How many people get stuck before the Fifth Realm, unable to advance a single step.

Therefore, for many Cultivators, whether it’s the Three-Life Fruit, which allows one to "experience three illusory lives," or the Nether River that illuminates one’s own Dao, both are incredibly rare opportunities.

Lu Changyuan chuckled. "The last time I came here, I really hit it off with the residents. There used to be a Spirit named Luo next door... I didn’t expect to come back and find a new batch of Spirits. I thought the Spirits here never changed."

Su Youwan was taken aback for a moment.

She seemed to detect a vague emotion in Lu Changyuan’s words, or perhaps a sort of detached, melancholic nostalgia, but it wasn’t obvious.

"Young Master Lu, are you a nostalgic person?"

Lu Changyuan hadn’t expected Su Youwan to ask such a question. "Not really, I guess," he replied.

"Then you’re the type who loves the new and despises the old."

"Third Prince, why must everything be so black and white?"

Su Youwan didn’t take the bait, her voice ethereal. "Nostalgic people always say they aren’t, to avoid old attachments from piling up."

Lu Changyuan changed the subject. "The Third Prince really doesn’t know how to hold a conversation."

The maiden’s lips curved.

This was the greatest fluctuation in her emotions.

’I used to dislike talking to people, but I’ve recently found that it’s actually quite interesting.’

The Silver-haired Maiden no longer dwelled on using the Destined Celestial Dao to divine the future. However, she had made up her mind: if Lu Changyuan was truly being corrupted by the Desire Demon as she suspected, she would save him.

A Bodhisattva sees all living beings as equal, yet this time, she had given Lu Changyuan special treatment.

"The Nether River has not yet appeared. What will you do next, Young Master Lu?"

"When daylight comes, I’ll go to the Nether Monarch’s Palace to find the Sun and Moon Gnomon."

Lu Changyuan wasn’t being secretive. Why the Sun and Moon Gnomon had returned to the Netherworld was also a question that needed to be answered.

"Young Master, do you know why the Sun and Moon Gnomon returned to the Netherworld?"

The maiden suddenly broke into a radiant smile. Her features were exceptionally gentle and beautiful, as if exquisitely carved by the Celestial Dao itself. Her flowing silver hair cascaded down like the finest silk, with a few errant strands slipping down her front, outlining her delicate figure.

’She’s clearly a cultivator, yet she’s so beautiful.’

Lu Changyuan stared blankly at Su Youwan.

"Young Master Lu, why do you keep staring at Youwan?"

"I believe I’ve said it many times: the Third Prince is very beautiful."

"If Youwan is truly so beautiful, then back when Noodle Granny told you to take Youwan with you, why didn’t you agree?"

"I don’t think those are two separate issues."

Su Youwan didn’t press the issue. Instead, she said softly, "After the Sun and Moon Palace Master achieved the Dao of Yao Guang, he shattered the Sun and Moon Gnomon for some specific reason. After this Magical Artifact of the Nether Monarch was broken, the Sun and Moon Palace Master ordered someone to return it to the Netherworld. After being nurtured here for several hundred years, it should have recovered some of its power."

Lu Changyuan narrowed his eyes slightly. "How does the Third Prince know all this?"

The Silver-haired Maiden toyed with a strand of her silver hair. "It was written in the palace’s ancient records. As for the rest... if Young Master Lu wants to know, you’ll find out if you return to the Compassionate Palace with Youwan."

"If I go in, will I be able to get out?"

The maiden’s smile bloomed, breathtakingly beautiful. "I don’t know."