"This is not a place you should be."
Just as Wan Lei was deep in thought, a mighty and vast voice came from above him.
The two looked up, and before they could get a clear look at what it was, they were blasted downwards by a tremendous force.
They fell uncontrollably, falling, falling, as if destined for the eighteenth level of hell. The gusty wind and rain, the roaring thunder, the crashing lightning, the raging storm...
Thump!
Thump!
After falling for an unknown duration, the two finally landed on the ground, and the powerful force disappeared.
"Hiss... that really hurts."
Wan Lei got up, rubbed his lower back, and quickly pulled Fang Xiaoyu up. Fortunately, their cultivation and divine bodies were still intact; otherwise, they might have been killed on the spot.
"What kind of ghost place is this again?"
Wan Lei surveyed his surroundings. It wasn't as crowded as above, nor was it a chaotic void. There were flowers and grass, mountains and water, and in the distance, many villages. Nearby...
Nearby, another group of spirits had come to watch.
These two people falling from the sky had greatly piqued their interest.
Wan Lei grew impatient, raising his hand, lightning gathering in his palm, ready to annihilate all these spirits.
"Run quickly."
"This person is so strong."
"Oh my god, he's going to kill someone."
The spirits watching scattered in panic, their clumsy, scrambling escape making Wan Lei chuckle.
Fang Xiaoyu did not laugh.
"The people here have emotions, a will to survive, they know fear, and they even flee."
Hearing this, Wan Lei immediately stopped smiling and observed carefully.
The spirits here seemed no different from normal people, except for their slightly translucent bodies. Everything else was normal.
"Let's go, we'll go ahead and take a look. This place is finally a bit more normal. Maybe we can find a way to leave."
Wan Lei pulled Fang Xiaoyu along and walked towards the village ahead.
Before long, they arrived at a village. Many spirits lived here, some chopping wood, some starting fires, and others chatting and laughing in groups.
As Wan Lei and Fang Xiaoyu walked through the small village, people occasionally glanced at them and whispered, but most were busy with their own tasks and paid them no mind.
"Young man, may I ask what this place is?"
Wan Lei stopped a young man carrying firewood and put on a warm smile.
"This is Kutou Village, don't you know? Oh, you just died, haven't you? You haven't found your own tribe yet."
The young man became interested, put down his firewood, and looked at Wan Lei and Fang Xiaoyu with a smile.
"Your tribe is probably around here. Keep looking. If you can't find it, come back here and join our village. Just mention my name, Kutou Zhengya."
"Uh... well... I mean, what is this world?"
"You don't even know you're dead, do you? This is the world within the Yuming Tu. What an idiot."
The young man shook his head, looked at Wan Lei as if he were an idiot, picked up his load, and continued on his way.
"He's really lucid, knowing he's dead and that he's in the Yuming Tu."
Wan Lei chuckled wryly, not bothering to ask further. The man likely didn't know how to leave either.
"Deities, deities!"
Just as the two were at a loss, shouts suddenly came from afar. They turned their heads and saw another young man running towards them at full speed.
"Deities, why have you also come?"
The young man was overjoyed and knelt down with a thud in front of Wan Lei.
"Quick, get up, get up. Who are you?"
"Deity, don't you remember me? I am Dengyan Dahar."
The young man stood up, clearly overcome with excitement.
Looking at the somewhat familiar face before him, Wan Lei suddenly slapped his forehead.
"I remember now. You were a guard beside Dengyan Ge, weren't you?"
"Yes, yes, yes. Deity, you still remember me? I died just a few months after we set out. You were fighting an enemy wielding wood back then."
It was the battle against the Lord of Nanmu.
As Wan Lei pondered, Dengyan Dahar's expression suddenly froze, his face ashen.
"Deity... you even died in battle? Then... then has the Dengyan Tribe been... wiped out entirely?"
"No, no, no, we won in the end and have entered the Great Wall. Dengyan Ge and Dengyan Juling are alive and well."
Seeing that the young man was about to burst into tears, Wan Lei quickly comforted him.
"It's alright, Deity, please don't comfort me. I know. The enemy was too powerful. Our small tribe surely couldn't survive in the end.
Instead, we have implicated you, causing you to lose your lives protecting us.
Deity, please rest assured, I will take you back to our village now. You are still our deity, and we will continue to worship you..."
"Alright, alright. I haven't sent any souls into the Yuming Tu, so how could I possibly be here after death? We are not dead, and the Dengyan Tribe is doing well."
"Re... really? Then how did you get here?"
"It's a long story. We were trapped here by the Imperial Advisor, and we are looking for a way out. The Dengyan Tribe outside is still waiting for me to settle them.
Does anyone here know how to get out?"
"I don't know about that. I've only been here for less than a year. No matter what, the village chief is the previous elder. He's been here for decades and knows more. Let's go ask him."
"Lead the way."
"Yes, yes, yes. Brothers, let's go home. The deity has arrived."
Dengyan Dahar called out to the people in the distance, and they quickly gathered. Most of them were clueless, but one person recognized Wan Lei and prostrated himself.
"We're here to do business. We've brought a lot of grain this time, thirty people and fifteen carts! Let's go, brothers, no more trading, take the deity home. The deity wants to see the chief."
Dengyan Dahar excitedly led the way, jogging ahead.
Wan Lei smiled faintly as he watched them happily go, but then his smile froze.
He saw only... twelve people.
Wan Lei said nothing, silently following them forward.
The Dengyan Tribe's village was not far; they walked for over half an hour. In the village, they met the enthusiastic old chief.
"Chief, we've all returned, not one missing, and we've brought the deity back."
"Deity?"
The frail old chief curiously sized up Wan Lei and Fang Xiaoyu and was about to kneel and kowtow, but Wan Lei stopped him.
Clearly, Dengyan Dahar had told the old chief about the deity leading the Dengyan Tribe before.
The old chief ordered a banquet to be prepared, seating Wan Lei and Fang Xiaoyu in the honored seats while they served from the side.
Looking at the table full of fine wine and delicacies, Fang Xiaoyu's appetite was whetted, and he was about to taste the food of this ghost world when Wan Lei gently touched his finger.
He smelled a faint...
smell of decay.