Under the shroud of night, where the lights were sparse, how many people around you were truly genuine, and how many harbored secret, dual identities—identities that might even stem from the ancient past, bordering on legend.

Ye Xiu slammed back a beer and laughed at Old Liu, who was already slumped on the other side of the table. "Based on what you just said, inside the Seven Star Constrained Dragon Sha territory, it felt like we merged with the other versions of ourselves. The sensation was hazy, unreal, yet my Soul Energy cultivation definitely advanced a whole level."

Old Liu waved his hand vaguely from his slumped position. "Hong Ling, Mo Xi, Mo Su, and that Empress of Ten Thousand Demons, Ji Jiang, plus a name—Bu Xian Wu Hou E Qian—keeps swirling around in my head."

"You drink too much and still fill your head with nothing but women!" Ye Xiu said, dropping some chili oil into the beer glass near Old Liu’s hand. He pushed the glass toward Old Liu. "Come on, come on, don't dwell on it. Finish this glass, and tomorrow morning we head to Mount Jiuhua."

Old Liu squinted, struggling to lift his head, and without thinking, downed the contents. "I really am drunk; even the beer tastes spicy!"

"Let's go. Get some proper rest, and we'll set off at dawn." Ye Xiu casually slipped his hands into his pockets and slid off the table. He knew that if he lingered any longer, he might pose a mortal threat to the surrounding patrons, perhaps even the owner.

"Hey, pay up! I’m broke..." Old Liu sobered up halfway when he saw Ye Xiu leaving. Seeing the burly owner approaching to collect the bill, he awkwardly stood up and told the owner, "My brother will pay; hurry up and find him."

Ye Xiu merely turned back, gave a yawn, and said, "You're a Taoist priest running the whole nine yards—and you're broke? Owner, feel free to charge him; this guy has plenty of money."

"Owner, find him, find him..." Old Liu trailed Ye Xiu, indignant. "I'm saving my money to get married! What about you? You're some kind of doctor, right? You make far more than us wandering folks. Besides, what use do guys like you have for money?"

"I just found out I'm a doctor?" Ye Xiu bristled at the thought. "I took a trip with you through the Nine Poisonous Fiend Array, missed a week of work, and got fired ages ago. Bottom line: I have no cash!"

"Seriously, you two grown men are arguing over a hundred or so Yuan? Can't you just be straightforward!" The stout owner stood there with his hands on his hips, looking ready to throw a punch. "What's the deal? Both broke? Are you trying to dine and dash, or do you want a taste of my fists?"

Ye Xiu kicked Old Liu forward, stepped aside to check his surroundings, and then shot a Black Flame Counter-Blast several yards out, causing it to vanish precisely outside the fat owner's field of vision.

"Damn it!" Old Liu stumbled, landing heavily on the owner. Surveying the man's formidable physique, he frantically patted down his own clothes. He finally produced a crumpled hundred Yuan note and handed it to the owner. "This is all I have; it should be enough, right? I’m truly out of money."

"Still five Yuan short!" The owner, instantly annoyed by Old Liu’s pathetic display, announced this while raising the cleaver he was holding.

Old Liu, cornered, tried to pull out his own thin noodle knife to scare the owner, but the meager blade was utterly overshadowed by the cleaver in terms of menace. He could only say in shame, "I really don't have any more. Search me if you don't believe me!"

"For crying out loud!" The enraged owner swung his hand back, ready to deliver a slap to Old Liu, but as his palm moved forward, a puff of smoke erupted, and the man in front of him vanished without a trace. He fell back onto the ground in terror, screaming repeatedly, "A ghost! There’s a ghost!"

"Hoo..." Old Liu instantly activated a talisman, transforming into a rat and hiding near the street corner. He cursed inwardly: the Ancient Path Oracle of the Strange Way stated that practitioners of the Strange Path must not use their powers on ordinary people. In that roadside stall environment, the only animal available for transformation was, unfortunately, a rat.

...

As dawn broke, Old Liu finally slept off the alcohol. He changed into a decent set of casual clothes, strapped on his signature weapon, and found Ye Xiu. He had to shine his flashlight directly on Ye Xiu's face to see clearly. "Damn it, do you always have to stay in such dark places? You’re the God of Death, not some bat!"

The city was awash in neon, but Ye Xiu felt that only in darkness could one perceive reality most clearly. He stretched languidly and raised the Jade Ring. "Susu, come out. Take us to Mount Jiuhua."

Susu materialized amidst swirling purple smoke. The first thing she saw was Old Liu, and she shot him a look of pure disdain. However, when her gaze fell upon Ye Xiu, her expression immediately shifted to one of warm smiles. "Congratulations, Master, your Soul Energy cultivation has improved. That location on Mount Jiuhua can indeed facilitate teleportation, but it only reaches the open-air bronze statue of Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva. I don't know why, but I can sense an immensely powerful Buddhist force there, and a significant gathering of vital human energy."

"I saw the news. Hundreds of eminent monks have been on Mount Jiuhua these past few days, performing blessings and consecrating the Kṣitigarbha statue with incense," Ye Xiu replied. He wasn't afraid of any Buddhist high priests; he simply preferred to avoid too many ordinary people, as the presence of the Death God near a mortal was never a good omen.

"The God of Death watches the news! Alright." Old Liu stepped resentfully into the illusory smoke conjured by Susu. This wasn't their first time experiencing the Jade Ring's Soul Energy teleportation; the sensation was akin to riding a roller coaster—life-or-death thrills!

As the eastern sky turned pale, the sound of faint, unending Sanskrit chants filled the air. At this hour, before the open-air statue of Kṣitigarbha on Mount Jiuhua, thousands of rays of Buddhist light were already emanating. Of course, only Old Liu and Ye Xiu, standing at the very back of the crowd, could perceive this spectacle.

"Whoa..." Old Liu's mouth dropped open as he beheld the magnificent bronze statue of Kṣitigarbha. A cultivator naturally understood Buddhist lore; Mount Jiuhua was the Bodhisattva's sacred domain. The Great Vow Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva, alongside the Great Wisdom Manjusri Bodhisattva, the Great Practice Samantabhadra Bodhisattva, and the Great Compassion Guanyin Bodhisattva, was revered for being "as unmoving in patience as the earth, and as profound in quiet contemplation as the secret treasury"—hence, Kṣitigarbha (Earth Treasury).

Although Ye Xiu had seen murals related to Kṣitigarbha in the Styx Blood Sea, the statue before him was breathtakingly marvelous. This open-air statue of Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva stood 76 meters tall, and with its lotus pedestal base, the total height reached 99 meters. The entire statue and base together measured 155 meters, making it one of the largest and tallest Buddhist statues in the current world.

"I wonder where the entrance to the Dao Realm of the Five-Pointed Burial Mound of Buddha lies?" Old Liu stroked his chin, carefully studying the environment. The surrounding peaks soared high, and for a moment, nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

"This Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva is depicted in the form of a Bhikṣu, holding a staff in his right hand and a Cintamani jewel in his left. Perhaps the treasure you imagine is actually in his hands?" Ye Xiu smiled faintly, remembering what Jiaye had said. If he truly was some kind of strange life form, what did those four characters imply? What connection could the God of Death have with the profound Buddhist Dharma of Kṣitigarbha?

"Ye Xiu! Why are you here? Tourists aren't allowed past this point, are they?" At that moment, a woman's voice shattered Ye Xiu’s contemplation. The woman was tall and beautifully featured. Today's circumstances presumably prevented her from wearing a revealing dress, but her light yellow knit top and dark jeans did nothing to hide her voluptuous figure.