Chapter 165: Journey to the Royal City

Their vision dimmed for just a blink — and in the next instant, they were already standing in the underworld.

Behind them flowed the dark and endless River of the Dead, while ahead stretched several winding paths. Beside the road stood a towering stone stele with two large carved characters: “Xiu Ling” (Spiritual Restoration).

Good. At least they had arrived directly at the right place.

But…

“Where exactly is this?”

And how were they supposed to find the Yama of the Realm of Spiritual Restoration?

“This should be near the River of Darkness,” Yuan Jiang said after glancing around. He thought for a moment, then continued, “The Royal City of this realm is located close to the dark river. The Yama should reside there — it shouldn’t be far. Master, we—”

He stopped mid-sentence. When he looked up, the person standing before him was shorter… and had a completely different face. Yuan Jiang blinked. “Who are you?”

He glanced around in confusion — where had his master gone? He had just been standing right here!

Yun Jiao, without even looking up, answered smoothly, “That’s Ancestor’s diplomatic form. You’ll get used to it.”

“…What?” Yuan Jiang didn’t quite understand.

“Don’t question it,” Bai Yu said, patting his shoulder. Then, in a lowered voice, he added, “You know how Ancestor’s real face is… So whenever he goes out, he uses this one instead.”

Though honestly, he always changed into the same other face.

Yuan Jiang froze for a moment, then recalled a certain… history regarding his master. He exhaled in relief. “Ah, yes. That’s actually a good idea.”

Though… since when was his master so reasonable?

He leaned closer and whispered suspiciously, “Whose brilliant idea was that? Are they still alive?”

Bai Yu: “…”

How violent did you think your master was, exactly?

-_ -|||

“This place feels empty,” Yun Jiao murmured, glancing around.

Xi Teng nodded quickly in explanation. “Little Junior Sister, you may not know — the only souls drawn into this realm are those from the Monster Spirit World. Meaning they were beasts or spirits who achieved sentience before death. But few creatures in the world can gain wisdom, and demons live long, so their numbers are low. That’s why the dead spirits here can’t compare to those of the mortal realm.”

Realization dawned on Yun Jiao. So everyone here was a demon soul. Looking closer, she indeed saw that the occasional spirit drifting by didn’t all have human shapes — some had triangular ears, some long tails, and some features distinctly bestial.

“Then which way do we go to reach the royal city?” the old man asked.

Xi Teng was about to suggest following the densest flow of yin energy when Ye Yuan casually raised his hand and said, “This way.”

Immediately, as if a strong wind had swept through, the surrounding yin mist split apart, clearing a straight path that led forward.

The group blinked in awe before hurrying after him.

Yes — having a walking cheat code really made life easier.

Yuan Jiang had been right — the Royal City of the Realm of Spiritual Restoration wasn’t far. After only about fifteen minutes of walking, the dark silhouette of the city walls came into view, and the surrounding yin energy grew denser.

“It’s the Royal City!” Xi Teng exclaimed in delight and immediately sped up, drifting eagerly toward it. The old man quickened his pace to follow.

“Wait!” Yun Jiao’s voice sharpened. She reached out and yanked the old man back just in time.

He stumbled. “What is it?” Xi Teng also stopped midair.

“Don’t you feel…” Yun Jiao scanned the area carefully, her eyes narrowing. “…that it’s too quiet here?”

The others paused, instinctively looking around. She was right — they had barely seen any spirits along the way, and strangely, the closer they got to the city, the fewer there were.

Now, standing almost at the gates, not a single ghostly figure was in sight.

But this was the royal city. It should have been bustling with activity.

A heavy unease settled in everyone’s chest. Something was very wrong.

“There aren’t even guards at the gate!” Yuan Jiang suddenly exclaimed, staring in disbelief at the massive city entrance.

Everyone followed his gaze. Indeed — the gates stood wide open, and the area before them was utterly empty. Not a single soul, not even an underworld guard.

“This is an empty city,” Ye Yuan said quietly, his tone firm.

They all froze, then hurried forward. The enormous gates loomed silently before them. Beyond lay the main street, lined with small stalls and shops — yet not a single spirit could be seen. The stalls were vacant, their goods untouched, as if everyone had vanished at once.

“How could this be?” Xi Teng’s eyes widened in disbelief. “Impossible! Senior Brother Ji Qi only sent a probe message to the Yama of this realm yesterday, and the response clearly came from within the royal city. How could it become deserted overnight?!”

What in the world had happened here?

“Let’s go inside and check,” Yuan Jiang said grimly.

The others nodded and stepped forward — but just as Yun Jiao turned to follow, she felt a strange pulse of yin energy sweep past. There was a pattern to it, an unnatural rhythm. Her face darkened. “Wait!”

She reached out, grabbing someone’s sleeve — just barely managing to pull the old man back.

But she was too late to stop Xi Teng.

He had already stepped through the gate. The moment he crossed, his figure wavered — and vanished before their eyes.

“Brother Xi!”

“Junior Brother Xi!”

Their cries echoed. Both Yuan Jiang and the old man immediately formed seals, but no matter how they tried, they couldn’t sense his presence at all.

Had Yun Jiao not stopped them, they would have walked straight into the same trap.

“Girl, what was that?” the old man asked anxiously.

“There’s a formation at the gate,” Yun Jiao said solemnly.

“A formation?! What kind?” the old man blurted out. “How did even you and Yuan Jiang fail to sense it at first? And where did Xi go? He’s not… in danger, is he?”

Yun Jiao turned in a slow circle, scanning the surroundings. Then she knelt, sensing the faint energy in the ground. After a long moment, she said, “I’ve never seen a formation like this before. But it’s something akin to a teleportation or concealment array. Second Brother— I mean, Senior Brother Xi — was probably transported somewhere else. But I can’t trace where. When I tried probing its other end, all I sensed was… emptiness, as if something blocked my sight. And the array carries a kind of energy I’ve never felt — cold, darker even than yin itself.”

“It seems we’ll have to find whoever set it up if we want to locate Xi,” Yuan Jiang said gravely. “Little Martial Niece, can you break it?”

“I’ll try.” Yun Jiao nodded, studied the formation again, then walked to the right side. She shifted one of the embedded formation stones — and immediately, a flash of white light appeared. A faint image of the array shimmered in the air for a moment before fading away.

“It’s done. We can go in now,” Yun Jiao said.

Yuan Jiang and the old man exchanged a look, then stepped through the gate.

Only Ye Yuan lingered a moment, tilting his head slightly to glance up at the city gate. His eyes narrowed faintly before he followed after them with crisp, measured steps.

Forget it.

Mysterious wild men — not important.

(End of Chapter)