Chapter 769: Gu Junsheng! (1)

Uncle Xu's words were striking. Beneath his foul-tempered, stubborn exterior, the old man was utterly terrified of death. He was a master of disguise and deceit, a vivid embodiment of raw human nature.

Working with Uncle Xu benefited us both. Here on the far shore of reincarnation, the obsessions held absolute dominance. To stand against them, we had to unite every ounce of strength available.

"Room Four controls a passage in and out of reincarnation, but to use it, you have to open your mind and join them." Uncle Xu kept his head bowed, letting blood drip onto the floor. "I'm not like them. Or rather, I'm terrified of losing my ability to think and becoming a lunatic like the rest of them. That's why I've been hesitating. But your arrival has shown me another way."

"I do know another way out, but it's a difficult path, and it isn't easy to find." I certainly wasn't going to tell Uncle Xu the secret of the Copper Mirror right now. If he knew it was right here, he might cause trouble. With his selfish nature, he was only useful as long as our interests aligned.

"I've scoured every inch of the Longchang Neighborhood. Where exactly is this path of yours?"

Uncle Xu probed. I offered a faint smile. "I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere. When the time comes, just follow me."

Still not entirely convinced, he glanced back at the girl and chuckled. "Alright, I'll listen to you. But it's pure chaos inside Longchang. The malice of the dead controls most of the residents, and it's far too dangerous for two kids to stick together. If something goes wrong later and we're forced to split up, I'll take her with me."

Uncle Xu wanted to keep the girl as a hostage. I considered it for a moment and didn't refuse.

This worked out for the best. For one, it would put Uncle Xu at ease, and for another, it guaranteed the girl's safety.

"Since you've agreed, let's not waste any time. We should go find that path right now." Uncle Xu was eager to flee this wretched place; he had been trapped here for far too long. "Your main goal in entering reincarnation was to save this girl. Now that I've secured her, there's no reason to stick around."

"The timing isn't right. Taking that path requires opportunity." Feigning a sense of mystery, I walked over to the door and cracked it open. I checked the corridor, then cast a sidelong glance at the Copper Mirror resting on the opposite doorframe. It remained completely unchanged, showing no signs of anything supernatural.

"Has dawn not broken in the Yang Realm yet?" As time dragged on, my anxiety grew. Escaping Longchang with the girl had wasted a lot of time. It was highly likely the Copper Mirror had already activated while we were running. If that was the case, all my preparations tonight would be ruined. I would be fighting the Red Building Obsessions while simultaneously making an enemy of Uncle Xu.

"My luck shouldn't be that bad." I pulled my gaze back and stood silently in the room. This strange behavior caught Uncle Xu's attention.

"What are you looking at?"

"The lunatics from Room Four aren't so easy to deal with. Not only do they act like kings in the Animal Realm, but they also have considerable influence in the Yang Realm. We can't afford to let our guard down once we're out." The most pressing task right now was keeping Uncle Xu steady. Changing the subject, I deliberately leaked a bit of information about the Yang Realm to him.

Just as I expected, Uncle Xu's face lit up with curiosity. "You're saying the lunatics from Room Four have already established a foothold in the Yang Realm? What kind of form do they take? Are they what the Yang Realm calls vengeful spirits?"

"These lunatics have long since been assimilated by the malice of the Longchang Apartments. How should I put it? They're completely different from ordinary ghosts. They can only attach themselves to the bodies of the living, surviving by subtly influencing their hosts' minds, just like parasites." I thought it over and decided he needed to know this. "They don't even qualify as ghosts. Because their roots are tied to Longchang in the Animal Realm, even if they escape, they're still bound to the ruins of Longchang in the Yang Realm. They can't leave. They have absolutely no freedom."

"Even after leaving the Animal Realm, they still can't escape Longchang?" Uncle Xu's face instantly turned deathly pale. For a resident like him, the name 'Longchang' was an absolute nightmare—a word he wished he would never have to hear again for the rest of his existence.

"It's a good thing you didn't join them back then. Otherwise, you'd be exactly like them—tightly bound to Longchang. Even if you returned to the Yang Realm, you wouldn't be free." I narrowed my eyes. Regardless of whether it was actually true, I needed to completely kill any lingering thoughts Uncle Xu might have had. "In fact, that's one of the reasons they're so desperate to reincarnate. They want to steal the girl's chance at rebirth so they can become human again and sever all their ties to Longchang."

Uncle Xu nodded in half-understanding. "That's right. Those bastards are controlled by the malice of the dead. With their unfulfilled desires, they've gone completely mad."

After finishing my conversation with Uncle Xu, I turned my head and noticed that the girl had been staring at me the entire time. She seemed to be waiting for an answer.

"I'm sorry, I lied to you earlier. This is Junsheng's remnant soul. My will is attached to his body."

"A remnant soul? What are you talking about? You're not Junsheng? Then where is he?" The girl's voice pitched up, teetering on the edge of losing control.

"Don't worry, he's safe right now. I can feel him slowly waking up. Give it some time, and he should awaken completely." My explanation felt weak. The girl opened her mouth to say something else, but a massive explosion suddenly rocked the outskirts of Longchang!

The ground shook violently, and I could feel the entire building trembling beneath my feet.

"What's going on?" Uncle Xu and I rushed to the window, peering out toward the source of the noise.

Near Longchang's rear gate, a gigantic black head with twin horns had thrust its way into the neighborhood!

"A pixiu?" Having lost my Judging Eye, I could only make out a blurry outline. The only clear impression I got from the head was its absurdly massive size. "Has the Longchang Grand Formation been broken?"

I looked up. The lake-like mirror surface overhead was beginning to collapse. The massive mirror, originally supported by three pillars of light, now only had two.

Comparing it to just a moment ago, it wasn't hard to tell that the light emanating from the Doctor near Longchang's rear gate had grown drastically dimmer.

"Something happened to the Doctor! There's a problem with his Reincarnation Mirror Fragment!" The three fragments worked together to support the operation of the Longchang Grand Formation, relying on each other. With one faltering, the ripples instantly disrupted the entire formation.

"My god! What in the world is that?!" Even though Uncle Xu had spent a long time in the Animal Realm, his jaw still dropped in sheer shock at the sight of the massive beast's head.

"Don't worry about what it is. The situation has changed, and I have a very bad feeling about this." Staring straight at the giant beast, my expression remained indifferent. I had seen entities like this a long time ago. Aside from Lu Xing and Xiaofeng, I was probably the only person in all of Jiangcheng who had seen the massive silhouette of the flood dragon winding beneath the waters at the Lanjiang Dam.

In terms of sheer presence, the flood dragon suppressed beneath Jiangcheng was far more powerful than this shadowy beast.

"You're awfully calm. I've reincarnated in Longchang for who knows how many days, and this is the first time I've ever seen a monster like this." Uncle Xu wiped the blood from his face and asked casually, "Did you lead it here?"

"That's right. This monster came for me. Once the Longchang Grand Formation shatters, it'll likely come looking for trouble." The Black Jade Pixiu was sitting right in my pocket. I was absolutely certain the beast attacking Longchang had been drawn here by it. 'The pixiu on my statue only has a single horn, but this monster has two. There are clear physical differences. So why is it hounding me so relentlessly? I brought the Black Jade Pixiu out from the Live Show ruins in the Deep Dream Layer. Could it be that this monster simply has a grudge against the Live Show?'

Unable to figure it out, I reached into my pocket and clenched my fingers tight.

The giant beast unleashed its full assault, causing the entire earth to tremble. The pillar of light in the Doctor's hands had nearly gone out. Affected by this, the other two pillars also began to flicker unstably.

Fractures appeared across the mirror suspended in the night sky. The cracks spread like a spiderweb across the heavens, splintering everything in Longchang.

The situation was growing dire, and my heart jumped into my throat. 'The Reincarnation Mirror Fragment the Doctor is holding must have originally been anchored somewhere as the core of the formation. Because they moved it without authorization, the formation's power was already severely weakened. On top of that, traveling through the Underworld drained the mirror's inherent energy. It's no wonder it can't hold up anymore.'

Everything in the unseen world followed a preordained fate. The three Mirror Fragments were originally a single entity; none could be missing. Now that a flaw had appeared in the fragment held by the Doctor, the formation would likely collapse completely before long. When that happened, Longchang would be entirely exposed to the Animal Realm. The human livestock living inside would become food for all kinds of wild beasts, and the name 'Longchang' would be consigned to history.

Actually, that was for the best. In my opinion, a place that buried this much misfortune and tragedy had no reason to exist anyway.

The formation was on the verge of shattering, and the giant beast was invading. Who knew how many of Longchang's original residents would be devoured? Yet, I didn't feel a shred of sympathy for the obsessions, nor did I have any desire to save them. Right now, I was only hoping for the Copper Mirror to activate so I could hurry up and get out of here.

"Junsheng, that beast is about to break in! If we don't leave now, when will we?" Uncle Xu urged from the side, thoroughly terrified by the monster's overwhelming ferocity.

I really wanted to leave too, but the Copper Mirror hadn't reacted at all. I could only bite the bullet and wait. "It's almost dawn. Just wait a little longer. It'll be ready soon."

"How much longer do you need? Once the formation breaks, we won't be able to leave even if we want to!" Uncle Xu pointed toward Longchang's rear gate. A small portion of the monster's body had already squeezed through, and the light in the Doctor's hands had dimmed to its absolute limit. As Uncle Xu and I watched, the flickering glow pulsed a few times before extinguishing completely.

"Bang!"

An explosive crack tore through the space overhead, leaving my ears ringing. I forced myself to look up, stunned by the sight before me.

The lake-like mirror surface shattered, looking as though the entire night sky was caving in!

Yet at that exact moment, something completely unimaginable happened. A brilliant light erupted from my pocket, piercing the night sky. Like a towering pillar holding up the heavens, it soared upward, propping up the crumbling formation!

'It's the Reincarnation Mirror Fragment I brought in!' Bathed in the radiant light, my position was completely exposed. My expression darkened, and I gritted my teeth tightly.