The Grand Tutor, seeing them charge forward, let out a cold sneer. Feigning panic, he shouted anxiously, "What are you doing? That's mine, don't force my hand!"
However, Wan Lei and Fang Xiaoyu paid no heed, charging straight ahead. Just as the two were about to act, Gouzi suddenly popped its head out, calling out urgently, "Don't go! That's a treasure of rules, not something you can destroy."
Seeing this, Wan Lei and Fang Xiaoyu immediately halted their advance, but it was too late. Within the Yuming Map, a powerful suction force suddenly erupted. The two were unable to control themselves and were directly pulled in.
This scene stunned the tribesmen below. Gods being sucked into the Yuming Map undoubtedly filled them with anger and fear, but more than anything, they were bewildered. He didn't know whether to continue feeding his soul into the Yuming Map or to head directly to their tribal gathering place. The gods had vanished. The Grand Tutor, manipulating the Yuming Map, seemed to be suppressing it with all his might and had no time to bother with them. Fortunately, they still had a pillar of strength.
"Everyone, defend yourselves, stay put, and do not act unless you are attacked," ordered the Linpeng Sovereign. He then soared into the sky and charged towards the Grand Tutor. He might not be able to defeat the Grand Tutor, but at the very least, he could distract him, preventing him from suppressing the Yuming Map, thus giving the two inside a greater chance of escaping.
"Your Majesty, should we engage?" a general asked, bowing beside the Emperor.
"Why the rush? It's just one enemy. The Grand Tutor can handle him. With your strength, why add to the casualties of our乾 (Qian) Kingdom's soldiers?"
"As you command."
"Where... is this accursed place?" Wan Lei and Fang Xiaoyu looked around the chaotic, void-like space, examining their surroundings carefully. The area wasn't empty; it was crowded. No, to be precise, they weren't people, but ghosts.
Here, there were billions of souls, drifting aimlessly. These ghosts weren't like the malevolent spirits they had encountered before; they bore no malice, no dark mist, no fangs, no glaring red eyes and clawing at them. Occasionally, if someone glanced at them, they would quickly look away, minding their own business.
"This is a treasure of rules," the little yellow dog said, frowning as it surveyed the surroundings.
"What is a treasure of rules?"
"It's a magical artifact that creates its own domain of rules and space. It can capture people and souls. I don't believe a cultivator from this Middle Spirit Plane could refine such a treasure. In this space, all rules are dictated by the controller. Unless a higher-level rule descends, it cannot be broken."
"Then who are these people? Why are they here?"
"I suspect they are all members of the Beast-Taming Tribe whose souls have been collected over the past millennia. While alive, their life and death were controlled by the Yuming Map. After death, their souls do not enter the underworld but are collected into this map, never to find peace."
"Such an evil artifact could be refined? What's the difference between this and those families in the Lei Feng Realm who kill people to refine souls?"
"The difference is immense. Those people deliberately collect souls to cultivate demonic arts; they are utterly wicked. This Yuming Map, on the other hand, simply absorbs souls into it, giving them a place to dwell and preventing them from entering the underworld. Looking at it..." The dog watched the disoriented souls drifting around. "They haven't become malevolent spirits, nor have they lost their minds. They just don't know what they are supposed to do. I wonder what the Yuming Map does with so many collected souls; isn't it a great burden?"
"This must be the outermost layer. Let's go deeper." Wan Lei grabbed Fang Xiaoyu, and they slowly flew further inside. There were too many ghosts here; they couldn't move fast. Occasionally, if they accidentally bumped into someone, those ghosts would glare at them and curse loudly. Other ghosts would focus their ordinarily hazy eyes on them, watching with interest, as if this was a seasoning for their monotonous lives.
As they observed these ghosts, the two found them all dazed and drifting, without direction or purpose. Some ghosts even mechanically performed strange actions. They seemed utterly devoid of fighting spirit, their eyes lacking any spark, as if nothing could capture their attention. However, if a commotion arose nearby, or people started arguing, they would perk up and gather to watch the spectacle. Once the excitement was over, they would revert to their previous state. They seemed to have lost their most fundamental desires: the will to survive, the desire for knowledge, sexual desire, greed – nothing. They were like lazy salted fish, content to just drift along.
They even lacked the will to fight. Wan Lei tried to provoke a ghost. As expected, the ghost cursed him viciously, using extremely unpleasant language. But it was all talk; the ghost made no move. The surrounding ghosts gathered again, their faces showing a flicker of emotion. Wan Lei then proceeded to beat it. The ghost didn't fight back, continuing to curse. Eventually, the ghost seemed too lazy to even curse and just lay on the ground, motionless, letting Wan Lei beat him, showing no will to resist. Even as Wan Lei was close to killing him, the ghost didn't retaliate, didn't even struggle, just listlessly watched the sky above, waiting for Wan Lei to strike him. Not a shred of will to survive.
Wan Lei, unable to stand it any longer, killed him. The ghost directly dissipated. Wan Lei waited for a long time, but the ghost never reappeared. "It seems their lives are also only one chance. They don't revive after death. So, why don't they resist? Aren't they afraid of death?"
Wan Lei frowned deeply, looking at the ghosts that dispersed after watching the spectacle. These ghosts were not scary, not terrifying, and even completely lacked aggression, yet they inexplicably sent shivers down Wan Lei's spine. What an abnormal world this was. Gouzi had said that ghosts in the underworld were no different from humans; they had emotions, desires, disputes, and conflicts. But how could it be like this here? What kind of place was this?
Wan Lei and Fang Xiaoyu drifted for an unknown amount of time. The space seemed to have no end. No matter where they went, they were met with a throng of ghosts, shoulder to shoulder. Apart from their different faces, there were no landmarks. To Wan Lei, these ghosts no longer even counted as living beings.
With no psychological burden, he unleashed a palm strike, shattering hundreds of ghosts. There were no screams, no scattering and fleeing. The surrounding ghosts merely glanced with interest before quickly losing interest and continuing their drift.