The ghost and god deliberately said, "I'll give you some time to think about how you can be useful to me."

"Those who are useful, I can give you a chance to survive and become one of my aquatic subordinates."

"Those who are useless can just wait to be left behind to feed the fish!"

The ghost and god beckoned to Shopkeeper Jia, "Go eat something. Eat your fill, and then come back!"

The ghost and god wanted to kill people!

As soon as the ghost and god's voice fell, Shopkeeper Jia raised his fish spine, parted the water, and rushed straight towards the earthen platform where the blue-robed thieves were.

The ghost and god laughed, "You can only eat useless people. If you dare to eat someone useful, I won't spare you."

While all the术士 (shushi, Daoist sorcerers) were on guard, Shopkeeper Jia's fish spine drew an arc in the water, avoiding the blue-robed thieves and rushing towards another earthen platform.

The earthen platform, which was more than a meter in diameter, was instantly torn apart by the impact. The 术士 (shushi, Daoist sorcerer) on the platform knew that he had no hope of survival as he fell into the water, so he simply detonated the符箓 (fú lù, talismans) on his body the moment he fell.

The dazzling firelight exploded above and below the water, but it didn't hurt Shopkeeper Jia at all. Instead, it allowed him to drag the seriously injured 术士 (shushi, Daoist sorcerer) into the water.

The sound of sharp teeth gnawing on the corpse, the sound of fins slapping the water, and the sound of a person struggling before death all came from underwater, enough to make one's hair stand on end.

All the 术士 (shushi, Daoist sorcerers)' expressions changed at this moment. This was exactly the effect the ghost and god wanted.

My fingers gently tapped the hilt of my saber, sending a signal to Ye Yang: There's more than one strange fish underwater. Are you confident in taking him down?

I remembered that when we were in the陷阳河 (Xian Yang River), Ye Yang used a feng shui formation to summon the Five Peaks to suppress the water monster. The ghost and god here was also water-attributed, so Ye Yang could use feng shui secret techniques to suppress him as well.

But Ye Yang's answer chilled me to the bone: The ghost and god has taken precautions, and a feng shui formation can't be set up here.

It was my oversight. This was the ghost and god's territory. He would only arrange things in a way that benefited him. How could he leave others with a chance to kill him?

While Shopkeeper Jia was eating, the ghost and god slowly said, "Becoming an aquatic creature isn't really so bad. Don't look down on yourselves just because you're only a fish, a shrimp, or even just a turtle or tortoise now."

"But, when you have enough cultivation, you can transform into humans, and even gain power beyond your imagination."

"What's so good about being human?"

"术士 (shushi, Daoist sorcerers) can't become immortals. Even if you don't die at the hands of demons, monsters, and ghosts, you'll only live for a hundred or eighty years at most. What's the point?"

"Isn't it good for me to give you the chance to become a ghost and god?"

The ghost and god in the water wanted to first force us into a corner where we had no retreat, and then offer us a bait.

When people are in extreme despair, they might not care about living as a monster.

The ghost and god in the water wasn't in a hurry to force the 术士 (shushi, Daoist sorcerers) to state their positions. He waited until Shopkeeper Jia was full before slowly saying, "Tell me what you know, something useful."

When Shopkeeper Jia floated up from the water again, his face was full of respect.

Shopkeeper Jia said, "In the Yin Yang Inn, only Nangong Zhen can freely travel through various spaces!"

"Every time he travels through space, he uses different things. Sometimes he uses an oil lamp, sometimes he uses a key, sometimes he doesn't use anything at all, and just walks through."

The ghost and god in the water said coldly, "I don't want to hear about 'sometimes'. I want to know, what is the thing he uses the most to travel through space?"

Shopkeeper Jia quickly said, "According to my observation, he has three things in total: an oil lamp, a key, and an iron shovel. However, he always carries a package on his back when he goes out, and no one knows what's inside."

"The only thing I can be sure of is that there is bloody raw meat in his package. And it's freshly cut."

The ghost and god in the water said, "I want to know, what is the treasure he controls that is used to kill ghosts and gods?"

"It should be a gourd," Shopkeeper Jia said. "I once saw Nangong Zhen worshiping a gourd. However, I don't know where he hid the gourd."

"Waste!" The ghost and god scolded angrily, "You've been in charge of the Dark Domain for so many years, and you don't even know Nangong Zhen's secrets?"

Shopkeeper Jia said in horror, "Master, the Dark Domain that I'm in charge of is originally the weakest among the five domains, I..."

Before Shopkeeper Jia could finish speaking, the ghost and god slapped him away: "Since you don't know anything, what use do I have for you?"

Shopkeeper Jia floated to the surface again: "This subordinate knows who can answer your questions, Master."

The ghost and god in the water said grimly, "Speak!"

"Him, the blue-robed thieves." Shopkeeper Jia said urgently, "They broke in back then to steal the secrets of the Yin Yang Inn. They tracked Nangong Zhen for a few days, they must know Nangong Zhen's secrets."

While the blue-robed thieves' expressions changed drastically, Shopkeeper Jia shouted again, "And those few over there, they entered the Yin Yang Inn to seize secrets, they must also know Nangong Zhen's secrets."

The ghost and god in the water chuckled, "So many people! It doesn't matter, I can take them one by one."