"Senior, would you like some wine?"
As soon as Jiang Lin finished speaking, a gust of wind howled past on the mountain.
Immediately after, a giant black hand emerged from the dark abyss beneath the cliff.
It snatched the wine jar and quickly pulled it back into the abyss.
As the aroma of wine filled the air, the laughter of the old senior from the dark abyss echoed.
"Hahaha, you're quite sensible, kid!"
Following that were sounds of gulping down wine.
Jiang Lin, however, was stunned, his pupils slightly dilated.
That giant black hand just now...
The last time he came, Jiang Lin hadn't noticed anything.
But this time, with 'Number One's' perspective, he realized that the hand wasn't actually black.
Instead, it was a 'hand' filled with red energy, like flames.
What he saw as black was merely something clinging to the surface of those flames.
What was that?
Jiang Lin only caught a glimpse due to its speed.
"Kid, do you have any more?"
Just then, a wine jar was thrown up from the abyss.
Jiang Lin snapped back to reality, "Yes."
He opened his storage bag and took out a large amount of drinks and food.
In a short while, the ground was covered, and many items floated in the air.
As various delicacies appeared, their mingled scents were incredibly enticing.
The large black hand from the abyss reappeared, grabbing a large handful.
It began to eat ravenously.
Before long, another large handful was gone.
As Jiang Lin brought out the food, he kept his attention on the 'big black hand' that was extending.
With each observation, Jiang Lin noticed.
The black aura clinging to the fiery red energy seemed to have some corrosive effect.
And the red energy was counteracting and burning away those black auras.
But for some reason,
When those black auras appeared with the giant hand, they didn't spread towards Jiang Lin.
As the senior was the gatekeeper of the dark abyss...
Were those black things from within the dark abyss?
While Jiang Lin was thinking, the old senior from the dark abyss, after eating his fill and satisfying his hunger,
Finally had the mood to attend to Jiang Lin.
He casually said while munching,
"Kid, did you succeed in merging those two powers?"
"Yes."
Jiang Lin cupped his hands, "I have to thank the senior for your guidance."
"I knew it was you, kid!"
The old senior from the dark abyss said, extending his giant hand again and grabbing a meter-tall wine jar.
"I only mentioned it; whether you succeeded or not was your own doing. Don't flatter me."
"So, what brings you here this time?"
He didn't believe this kid was here solely to express gratitude.
Having lived for so many years, he had eaten more meals than this kid had eaten salt.
Hearing this, Jiang Lin didn't beat around the bush.
He directly stated his doubts.
"Senior, what is the effect of the power formed by merging ghost energy and divine power?"
The old senior from the dark abyss took a large gulp of wine, "Who knows."
"I've only seen others use it. I guess it's similar to how you use your ghost energy."
"However, this thing is much more powerful than your ghost energy."
Suddenly, he seemed to recall something and chuckled,
"What, you haven't used it yet, kid?"
He's quite cautious.
"I indeed haven't found an opportunity..."
Jiang Lin didn't deny it. After thinking for a moment, he asked,
"Senior, did the person you saw who could use this power mention any effects this power might have on oneself?"
From the abyss, the sound of eating meat could be heard.
After a while, a voice replied, "Never heard of it. What, are you going mad, kid?"
Just as Jiang Lin was about to answer, his body suddenly stiffened.
A highly oppressive gaze emerged from the dark abyss, falling upon him.
It quickly scanned him from head to toe.
The old senior from the dark abyss withdrew his gaze and said while eating a chicken leg, "You're not going mad, but your eyes seem to have a bit of a problem."
"Can't see clearly? It shouldn't be a big issue."
Jiang Lin was surprised.
As expected, the King of the Southern Palace could see it; it wasn't a coincidence.
Figures of this level could indeed detect some clues.
But it seemed to be only that much.
He himself probably only knew what was going on.
Jiang Lin nodded slightly, "Yes. It's unclear if I was affected by something during the fusion."
The old senior from the dark abyss: "You'll have to explore that yourself. We are different races."
"I can't give you an answer."
Different races?
Jiang Lin was curious and was about to ask when he saw two large hands emerge from the abyss, directly picking up his storage bag and dumping it into the abyss.
With a few swooshes,
The delicacies and drinks inside were emptied.
The big black hand tossed the storage bag back into Jiang Lin's arms.
"Alright, if you have nothing else, leave quickly."
The old senior from the dark abyss said, "This place is not suitable for you to stay long."
Jiang Lin heard this and could only put away his storage bag.
He cupped his hands, "Then, Senior, please enjoy. I'll visit you again next time."
After saying that, he waved his hand, stirring up a gust of yin wind.
It dispersed the lingering aroma in the air.
...
As soon as he emerged from the dark abyss,
Jiang Lin saw a figure rushing towards them, escorting a reincarnated deity.
The reincarnated deity was eroded by demonic energy and was on the verge of collapse.
Jiang Lin understood and quickly made way.
Listening to the cries of the reincarnated deity, Jiang Lin sighed slightly.
But he knew this was not something he could prevent.
Even the former divine official 'Jiang Lin' had only come up with a method of recuperation.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh—
The wind in the sky grew more and more urgent, carrying a hint of coolness.
And fine, dense raindrops.
Jiang Lin flew a bit further before opening the underworld passage.
He returned to the Underworld.
After returning from the Western Palace's "drift bottle wish" mission, he encountered the Southern Palace arena.
After that, it was the training room.
There were also some affairs accumulated in the eighteen palaces that he needed to handle.
...
Pat pat!
Pat pat!
As Jiang Lin entered the underworld passage, the wind in the sky became increasingly urgent.
Raindrops fell on the eaves and glass, making rhythmic sounds.
The human world had already entered autumn.
Coupled with the rain, the sky darkened early.
People inside their houses poked their heads out, hurriedly collecting clothes swaying under the eaves.
Then they closed their doors and windows tightly.
Beep beep—
On the road, vehicles turned on their windshield wipers, impatiently honking their horns.
Groups of pedestrians, either carrying backpacks or holding jackets,
Ran to the nearby shops to take shelter from the rain.
"Damn it! I didn't bring an umbrella yesterday when it was sunny, but today it's raining so heavily when I didn't bring one!"
Shen Jie patted the water droplets off his clothes and was about to enter a shop to look around.
His peripheral vision suddenly caught sight of a figure on the other side of the street.
Standing in the rain, without an umbrella, walking slowly forward.
He was completely drenched.
Shen Jie clicked his tongue. It was autumn, not summer.
He was bold to stand in the rain like this.
He glanced at it, then looked away and walked into the shop.
"Boss, do you have an umbrella?"
...