"Young master, this soup is brewed with eight tears, removing its bitterness and leaving a sweet fragrance, like a life of human hardships. Your heart is like dead ashes; drink this soup, and forget all troubles." The woman glanced around enchantingly, her words full of endless temptation.
Qin Yi squinted slightly, yet his lips curled into a smile. Though he felt uneasy inside, his face remained calm and composed.
"Young lady, could you be Meng Po?"
The woman was slightly taken aback, surprised, "Young master actually recognizes my old self."
"Damn, you really are Meng Po? Isn't Meng Po supposed to be an old, crumbling, decrepit old hag? How can she look like you?"
The woman smiled slightly, "The world is ignorant; they defame my appearance out of fear for my old self."
"Isn't that Mengpo Soup in your hand?"
The woman nodded slightly.
"Is this really the underworld?"
"Young master, drink this bowl of soup and forget all the troubles. After crossing this Naihe Bridge, the Netherworld Hall lies ahead."
"If I drink your soup, will I forget everything?"
Meng Po nodded slightly.
"Give it to me then." Qin Yi stretched out his hand.
Meng Po was taken aback, "Young master, do you have no unfulfilled wishes? You are eager to drink this soup; are you not afraid of any regrets?"
"Your words are quite contradictory. If I drink your soup, won't I forget everything? How could there be regrets?" Qin Yi laughed.
"Everyone has regrets, many things they can't let go of or are unwilling about. Young master's carefree nature is truly rare. In that case, please drink this bowl of soup." The woman raised her hand, and the steaming bowl of soup slowly floated up, flying toward Qin Yi.
"Wait." Qin Yi suddenly said.
Meng Po was slightly taken aback, and the soup flew back to her hand. Her face showed a strange smile, "It seems young master has many unsettled matters. Why not speak out, and perhaps my old self can help you solve them."
"Really? I wish for world peace, for better air quality, for people to have a stable and prosperous life, for disease and disasters to no longer exist..."
Qin Yi rambled on, then saw Meng Po's delicate face collapse.
"What young master speaks of, my old self truly cannot help with."
Qin Yi shrugged, "I know, just saying it aloud. I know you can't do it; it's just a beautiful wish of mine. Besides, I'm not asking you to help with those things. I just want to ask... can you add some cilantro to this soup?"
Meng Po stared blankly at Qin Yi, completely bewildered.
"Or maybe some scallions would do." Qin Yi laughed.
Meng Po was stunned for a good while before slowly opening her mouth, "What young master speaks of, there is none."
"Can't do anything, yet dare to call yourself Meng Po?" Qin Yi looked full of disdain and muttered, "Forget it, one last condition. If you can satisfy me, I'll drink this bowl of soup immediately."
Boom!
The storm swept through, submerging the small boat and Meng Po directly in the purple light, as the rolling storm spread around.
After a long time, the storm finally dissipated.
Qin Yi looked down; the small boat was gone, and Meng Po had disappeared as well. The great river remained, with a paper boat floating on the water and a tiny straw man.
"Puppetry Technique?"
Qin Yi was surprised; the Puppetry Technique is a branch of the array, even he didn't understand it. Unexpectedly, the owner here could create this creepy stuff.
With a light flick of his fingers, two wisps of purple flames flew out, landing on the small boat and straw man.
The paper boat and straw man instantly turned to two trails of smoke, slowly floating up into the sky, forming several big words: Scared to pee?
Damn...
Qin Yi's face turned black.
"Who the hell are you? Get out here, skulking around like a rat in the sewers, stop pretending to be a god here."
His voice rolled like thunder, lingering on and on.
But, after waiting for a long while, nobody answered.
Qin Yi sneered, "When I catch you, you'll die a horrible death."
The owner here is definitely a pervert; what normal person would do such unreliable things, setting up such a big array just to scare people for fun.
Qin Yi snorted coldly, carrying the little guy as he walked forward along the bridge.
Half an hour later, he finally crossed the bridge.
A huge palace stood hundreds of meters ahead.
In front of the palace was a plaza, paved with bluestone slabs, smooth and level.
But Qin Yi's eyes widened; the palace plaza disappeared from his sight. At the sides of the ten-zhang-high Stone Gate of the palace, there were two fruit trees, entirely golden, glowing with golden radiance. On the branches, two golden fruits swung, glittering brilliantly.
Spirit Fruit.
Qin Yi's gaze burned; these were top-grade Spirit Fruits, and the Spiritual Energy was gentle, most suitable for Qi Refiners to consume.
Not to mention two, even consuming one could help him break through a level.
Qin Yi transformed into a beam of light, charging toward a Spiritual Fruit Tree.
Each fruit tree bore only one Spirit Fruit, but he wanted both.
Rushing to the Spiritual Fruit Tree, Qin Yi reached out to grab the Spirit Fruit.
Roar!
Just as his hand touched the Spirit Fruit, a small mountain next to him suddenly moved, and a black stone pillar slammed directly toward him.
Qin Yi was startled, had no choice but to give up the Spirit Fruit and flip back.
Roar roar...!
The muffled roaring sounded like thunder, making Qin Yi's eardrums ache.
Earlier, he noticed four huge stones beside him, like small mountains. But his mind was focused on the Spirit Fruit, so he hadn't observed closely.
Now, he found that these weren't huge stones but four fierce Stone Apes.
These four Stone Apes were over ten meters high, their bodies made entirely of stubborn stone, with faces seemingly carved out by tools, grotesque and vicious.
Qin Yi sneered, another Puppetry Technique?
"Small puppets dare to roar before me, courting death."
Qin Yi's eyes were on the Spirit Fruit. Whoever dared to stop him from picking the Spirit Fruit, he would crush them all.
Boom!
He punched out, and the fist momentum surged. The rolling Fist Light directly enveloped a Stone Ape. The Fist Light's destructive power was terrifying, tearing apart a giant arm, causing it to fly off and fall to the ground in a heap of rubble.
However, Qin Yi's face changed drastically; these Stone Apes were completely different from Meng Po.
The Meng Po was made of straw, but these Stone Apes were real and substantial.