Everything before me appeared abrupt and surreal—ancient and modern buildings jumbled together, and the people on the street were just as mixed, their clothing a blend of old and new. Even the shops lining the avenue reflected this confusion. People bustled to and fro. Tan Tian and I climbed the hillside, and before us stretched a wide, lively street under the night.
I quietly stared at the Yinfolk on the street, sensing something off. On the surface, these Yinfolk looked ordinary, but my intuition warned me—there was something strange about them.
Tan Tian smiled beside me, raising his hand to reveal a purple eyeball in his palm. I jumped in surprise as he pressed the eyeball directly into my head. Instantly, my eyes glowed with purple light, and I saw the truth: the Yinfolk before me were all misshapen, their bodies marked by lumps and deformities in varying degrees.
Ethan Zhang once told me what was really going on with these Yinfolk. They retain only the consciousness they had at the moment of death, while their bodies are formed from the Yin energy of this world—like a physical vessel. But what I saw now was far from human; their forms were grotesque, some resembling monsters.
"Those aberrant beasts beneath the Sea of Forgetfulness are probably twisted from these Yinfolk. If the beasts start attacking the Bridge of Sighs, it’ll be real trouble."
I hummed in response as Tan Tian led me onward. My face was pale—everything I saw was disturbingly strange.
"Just control it with your mind. Consider this eye a gift from me—the Revelation Eye."
With a thought, the strange visions vanished. I felt an eyeball in my palm. Swallowing nervously, I couldn’t shake the unease, but as soon as I thought about it, the eye disappeared. Then I felt an itch at my neck—Curse Wolf slowly materialized, drifting like black smoke around my throat, then settled quietly like a sinister scarf, circling me before staring blankly at the surroundings.
A bizarre scene appeared before my eyes—the walls of every building, and even the food the Yinfolk ate, were threaded with black, vein-like lines, pulsing faintly in and out. It was sickening to look at.
Tan Tian glanced curiously at the Curse Wolf wrapped around my neck.
"It's something formed purely from curse energy."
I suddenly remembered the scroll Ghost Painting Book Immortal had given me. I took it out and explained the situation to Tan Tian, then spread the scroll on the ground. I noticed that the path I’d taken was surprisingly short—even though we’d crossed the Sea of Forgetfulness, it should have been a much longer distance.
"What you see in this world is only its surface, not its true aspect. The real world has different layers—the Yin-Yang realms work this way. What you perceive as a vast distance between the Yin-Yang worlds is, in reality, as thin as paper, easily pierced. The same goes for the connection to the Shadow Realm. That’s why the breath of all things can transform so quickly, and the world keeps turning."
Tan Tian and I kept walking, but after seeing those pulsing black veins, I felt sick. Curse Wolf lifted its head as if sensing my discomfort, and suddenly, I couldn’t see them anymore.
"Where are we going now?"
I asked, and Tan Tian stared quietly into the distance.
"To the top of the mountain first."
This city, built halfway up the mountain, had a strange layout. All the streets wound around the hillside, and the buildings were arranged in circles. Only a few central roads led upward—the main road we’d taken at first was nowhere to be seen.
The Yinfolk here couldn’t see me and Tan Tian, both wrapped in the Corpse Barrier. Just then, Tan Tian turned to me and asked a question.
"Want to learn? I can teach you. You’ve got instinctive coexistence and a clever mind—you’ll pick it up quickly. It could save your life in a pinch. This Corpse Shroud can place you in an independent space in an instant, letting you avoid any attack. Only if your enemy is powerful enough to affect space itself will you be in danger."
I looked at Tan Tian in confusion, but soon understood what he was trying to do.
"You’d better keep your thoughts to yourself. Trying to please me is just because you want me to help you survive."
Tan Tian nodded.
"That’s exactly right."
I sighed and nodded in agreement. Even though I had some power now, facing enemies like Sylvia Yan or high-level Blue Wraiths, my strength was still far from enough. It was better to learn a technique that could guarantee my safety.
Just then, fog began to roll in. Tan Tian and I had reached the mountain path, walking through thick white mist. Visibility was low—we could only see the ground beneath our feet. Everything around us was blanketed in eerie whiteness, and the fog carried a strange, unsettling aura.
Tan Tian stopped walking.
"We’re walking in circles."
I took out the scroll and checked it—we really hadn’t gone far. Frustrated, we turned back, but as soon as we stepped out of the fog, I was shocked. The city before me had completely changed. Gone was the bright, lively city we’d seen before; now it was a ruined wasteland, littered with broken walls and rubble, as if ravaged by war. Only a few scattered lights flickered in the darkness.
Occasionally, a few Yinfolk wandered the streets, but they looked lifeless. Tan Tian walked past them slowly.
"It's still the place we came from before."
I hurriedly opened the scroll and found it was true—I’d only retraced my original path.
"Is it the space itself?"
I asked, and Tan Tian shook his head.
"I just said—it’s the surface and the true aspect, two extremes that appeared before us after passing through the mist. In life, do you know why there’s joy and suffering?"
I looked at Tan Tian in confusion, not knowing what he meant. Tan Tian crouched down, pressing a finger into the ground.
"Joy and suffering in life are equal—some experience real joy and real suffering, while others live through wild ups and downs. Those whose lives seem calm are no different from those who face extremes; it’s all just transformation. Because people are made of emotion. The city we saw before was bustling, everyone looked happy, but now we’re seeing its other side."
With a crack, brown lines spread instantly from the ground in all directions. My eyes widened—the ruined buildings now overlapped with the prosperous city I’d seen before, as if the two cities had merged into one.
"Let’s go. There’s no need to keep looking. This must be some product of Emperor God’s experiments with Chimera Beasts. We have only one goal here—to find the channel they use to turn Yinfolk into ghosts, and destroy it."
I hummed in response. As Tan Tian stood up, I saw the vibrant city and the ruined city split apart. I glanced back once more, then followed Tan Tian into the mist. We kept walking, but in this fog—could we really reach the mountaintop?
After walking for a while, I felt something was off. I checked the scroll again and found we’d covered a long distance. Tan Tian walked silently ahead.
"We’ve reached the top."
Tan Tian stopped. I stepped onto the stairs—the mist around us had vanished. I swallowed hard. Zhang Qingyuan had told me about this scene long ago, but I’d only imagined it until now. Seeing the endless city before me, I was stunned. In the distance, I saw a massive tower glowing with pale blue light.
"Head for the tower where Phantom Sage is. Worst case, we might be discovered."
I hummed in response and looked down the mountain, but saw nothing—the mist was gone, and only a vast, barren black slope remained. The city from before had disappeared.
"This world is truly strange. How did they do it?"
Not only had the city vanished, but even the Wangchuan Sea we’d crossed was gone, replaced by a vast, black forest stretching into the distance.
"I’ll explain more later—the difference between surface and true aspect, and the nature of the world. Everything we do in the Yin Realm directly affects this war. The fighting must still be fierce!"
I hummed in response and followed Tan Tian. I wasn’t sure if he had other motives, but for now, I could trust him—he’d always acted to restore emotion. Whoever gave him hope, he would side with.
Tan Tian and I started down the mountain. There was no fog, and the path was smooth. We couldn’t use our powers to fly—if we were discovered, we might lose our chance to uncover Emperor God’s secret for turning Yinfolk into ghosts.
"Three of the Nine Feathers from the Corpse Realm are still hiding here. Come with me—we’ll find them. They might already know something."
I looked at Tan Tian in surprise. He led me onward, but without being able to fly, crossing such a huge city on foot would be slow.
"Can you drive?"
I hummed in response. Tan Tian pointed to a car parked nearby. We walked over. Tan Tian raised his hand, and in an instant, the car was wrapped in a violet Corpse Shroud. We got in, and I drove along the main road following Tan Tian’s directions.