Otherworldly Desert Dust

It's rare for Wu Hen to be home these past few days, awake for even longer periods, which has put Yu Yi in an exceptionally good mood. She wanted to make some delicious hometown food for her son and that dusky Little Dragon.

Little Yi seemed to perk up at the sound of Yu Yi's voice, like a little coal-black cat scampering into the kitchen.

Oh, Little Yi, you're such an easygoing soul.

You only start thinking about food after a full sleep!

"Mom, it would be great if we could have some pork knuckle, steamed fish, tea cakes, and flower pastries. Arrange the plates to look nice." Wu Hen responded.

"You silly child, why do you always think of eating these? These are foods for immortals!" Yu Yi said, a little annoyed.

"I've done some wrong things recently. Could you pray for me and see if there's an immortal passing by who might help me out?" Wu Hen said.

Yu Yi took it as if Wu Hen was just joking, but when she saw Little Dragon crouching at the kitchen doorway, she couldn't help but smile and began to bustle about preparing food.

Although there was someone helping at home, there were some things Yu Yi preferred to do herself. The process of making delicious food could be perfectly correct, but once handed by another, the taste would be all wrong, and a picky eater would notice it right away.

"Oh, right, mom, is the Jade Talisman still around?" Wu Hen suddenly remembered this matter and asked.

"It's still here, yes."

"Oh, can I borrow it to ward off evil?"

...

Nighttime.

Stars twinkled in the sky, but there was one star faintly emitting a purple hue that was particularly striking.

In his room, Wu Hen could still feel that one special star despite being separated by a decorated ceiling. The starlight it emitted seemed capable of penetrating any material, leaping over dimensional barriers, watching over him with calm eyes. This made Wu Hen, who was accustomed to sleeping naked, toss and turn, unable to sleep well.

As the night deepened, Wu Hen grew hungry.

He had no choice but to leave his room, resembling a young man who racked up a gambling debt online, living in constant fear every day.

In the kitchen, Wu Hen found two candles lit on the stove. The aromatic scent was actually quite pleasant, calming one's mind, as if no matter how badly things went in the mortal world, there was still one final option—becoming a monk!

"Huff huff~~"

Suddenly, the bright candle flames flickered a few times.

Wu Hen initially thought the window was open and went to close it subconsciously, but then he abruptly realized that no wind was blowing in at all.

The candle's orange-red glow, after flickering, imperceptibly transformed into faint wisps of pale purple and blue-green.

It was already dark around, and somehow under the cover of this candlelight, everything nearby receded into pure black. The walls of the living room and kitchen, the furniture, the ceiling, all disappeared, leaving only the candlelight in the kitchen and the table full of offerings.

Seeing this eerie scene, Wu Hen broke out in a cold sweat.

He instinctively wanted to clutch the Jade Talisman left by the immortals, only to realize that he had come down wearing just his shorts—the Jade Talisman was by the bedside!

No way, was the signal from this Jade Talisman that weak? It couldn't even cover one room, and now I've still been traced by the Yin Department!

Under the candlelight, a graceful figure emerged. With the elegance of the moon's Chang'e, she was beautiful and enchanting, yet carried an air of purity and the classical. She seemed to step right out of the mural above the stove, standing before him so spiritedly, except her toes weren't touching the ground.

"Every debt has its debtor! Every wrongdoing has its culprits!" Wu Hen exclaimed in horror, hastily chanting.
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"The pastries are nice. Did your mother make them?" asked the woman in the candlelight softly.

"Yes, yes, if the immortal likes them, I'll burn you some every April." Wu Hen pretended not to know her.

"How many people are in your family?" the woman in the candlelight continued to inquire.

Wu Hen's heart tightened!

Is this an extermination??

Liu Mengying, don't you push me too far!

Do you know how the Yin Pole Heavenly Court met its demise? It was by threatening my family. If you continue to be obstinate, don't blame me for freeing your soul.

"Four people... I..." Wu Hen was about to put on a show of his own aura.

But Liu Mengying appeared somewhat distracted and spoke slowly, "My family also had four people. I have an older sister, but sadly, she was like me—always weak and sickly, passing away from this world earlier than I did."

Wu Hen immediately put away his hostility.

From Liu Mengying's words, Wu Hen couldn't sense any hostility. There was, instead, a hint of melancholy, like that of a woman who had been away from home for a long time and was seeking someone to confide in.

To tell the truth, Liu Mengying suddenly appearing in the kitchen stove's candlelight gave Wu Hen quite a shock.

He knew the Underworld Priests were formidable and could contend with the lineage of the Immortals, but he hadn't expected they could really manifest like the folktales described, showing spirits!

She had just taken a pastry to taste.

Wu Hen also saw her eating bit by bit, but the number of pastries on the stove did not diminish.

This made Wu Hen unsure whether she was a god or a ghost.

Moreover, Wu Hen could clearly feel the changes in Liu Mengying's aura. Before, she was similar to those people from Totem Sacred Sect and the Longevity Sect, just a person who had acquired Extraordinary Abilities. But now, having traversed dimensions and directly located him through the Yin Department's Eye, she truly appeared in his home like a deity manifesting...

Is this what the formidable beings of the Hua Chen Realm are like?

The powers they hold are truly beyond the comprehension of ordinary mortals, only snippets of which are recorded in folk tales!

As he had guessed, the collapse of the entire Yin Pole Heavenly Court had left a large amount of Yinji Factors with nowhere to go, all ultimately converging within Liu Mengying, who had completed her ascetic practices. This made her not merely a simple Hua Chen being, but likely elevated her to a status above the Yin Pole Heavenly Court.

Could a single Death Omen Yuan You bring about such immense energy?

Clearly not!

Just as Shen Wenhai had said, her ordeal was not about obtaining the Death Omen Yuan You, but rather the process itself.

"Meng Ying, since you've found your way here, then you know my true identity, and I won't deceive you any longer..." Wu Hen began to speak.

Spinning other tales was pointless, for they could not deceive Liu Mengying, who had achieved Ascension.

She was now a divine being, capable of traversing dimensions, and had even transcended the known forms of human life. How could she not be aware that the person who was an Awakener, who accompanied her on the final leg of her Ascension, was actually not the original Fan Chen she had known?

"What do you wish to tell me?" Liu Mengying asked calmly and peacefully, her figure radiating a faint purple light that still somehow bestowed upon her an aura of sanctity and transcendence.

The essence about her was completely different from the people of the Yin Pole Heavenly Court.

This made Wu Hen begin to doubt whether those from the Yin Pole Heavenly Court were merely imitating the true Laws of the Yin Department without grasping the essence of divinity.

Wu Hen hesitated, but opted for an honest confession.

However, Liu Mengying stepped forward, her eyes as serene as a glacial blue, gazing at Wu Hen's face. In her pupils, there was no estrangement or haughtiness, just a faint sadness and a hint of inexplicable reluctance.

Liu Mengying did not compel Wu Hen to confess his greed and selfishness.

She clearly understood that anyone who had acquired half of the Death Omen Yuan You wouldn't empathize with others out of a temporary identity. It's all human nature after all.

"I do not wish to hear your reasoning, for that is but your current understanding of life and fate," Liu Mengying said.

Wu Hen, at a loss, scratched his head. It seemed that explanations were useless. Perhaps an apology was better?

"From your perspective, you were born here, you are searching for a path for your homeland, you surfaced beside me as an Awakener, taking away the Death Omen Yuan You that I needed, without realizing that what I needed was not the energy within the Death Omen Yuan You, but the journey itself," Liu Mengying explained calmly.

Wu Hen opened his mouth but found he didn't know what to say.

Indeed, this was his perspective.

"Then shall we hear mine?" Liu Mengying asked politely.

"Alright," Wu Hen nodded, though he found himself involuntarily moving towards the staircase.

"Before that, you need to try to believe in past and present lives," Liu Mengying said.

"That's not difficult to understand..."

"But you don't believe it," Liu Mengying said.

"I'll give it a try now," he responded.

"Alright then," she said.

"What if I told you that your past and present lives are the very person you have Awakened; would you believe it?" Liu Mengying spoke slowly.

(This chapter is 4000 words. It's exhausting to split chapters, so I'm posting the chapter for midnight as well—no more at midnight~)

(Still, I'll combine the chapters into two, each with 3000 words~ From tomorrow noon, I'll post both chapters directly~)