Chapter Thirty-Eight: Is It Really Done Just Like That?

“Hahaha, don’t bother denying it! Before you became the Ghost King of the mountain stronghold, your real name was Jin Ergou. Sansha told me everything!” Yao Zhimei burst out laughing unceremoniously.

The Ghost King Jin’s face flushed red with humiliation and anger. “Sansha is an idiot! You can’t trust a word he says!”

While the two bickered, Qu Yiqiu had already entered the underground passage.

Not long after she ventured in, a spacious hall opened up before her eyes. The ancient walls on all sides were carved with rare and fantastic beasts, so lifelike they seemed to come alive from stone.

At the front of the hall stood two wide wooden doors. Hanging from them were curtains of white bone beads, shimmering with a chilling, grayish light.

Qu Yiqiu calmly swept her gaze over the two doors. In almost an instant, she made up her mind where to go.

The Ghost King Jin, who had just been dragged down by the nose by Yao Zhimei and was about to plead for rescue from Qu Yiqiu, caught sight of her striding resolutely toward the wooden door to the left.

“Master, you’re headed the wrong way! There’s nothing behind that door!” Jin called out loudly, eager to show his worth.

Yao Zhimei shrugged him off and turned to examine the two doors at the front of the hall.

Qu Yiqiu’s steps did not falter. “It’s fine. I’ll go take a look first.”

“Hahaha, Jin Ergou, keep up! The King’s choices are never wrong!” Yao Zhimei strode after her in great strides.

Jin grumbled a few curses at Yao Zhimei under his breath before putting on a fawning face and hurrying after them. “Coming, coming! Wait for me, Master!”

Qu Yiqiu lifted the bone-bead curtain. Her vision blurred, and in an instant, she was isolated in a narrow, void-like space.

“What is this? It feels a bit like my own original space.”

She looked around, but after only a few steps, she was blocked by an invisible barrier.

Suddenly, in the depths of her consciousness, she sensed a powerful cry for help from the Ghost King Jin.

He seemed to be in grave peril, his consciousness gradually dissolving.

With a wave of her hand, the Soul-Suppressing Banner manifested, dark energy swirling out.

“The Ghost King Jin is definitely still hiding something!”

This sudden barrier was clearly meant to separate the three of them.

Yet the soul contract left by Yao Zhimei was as silent as ever, indicating that only Jin, who had lived for years in the Ghost Cultivators’ Paradise, was under attack.

“M-Master… save me!”

The desperate plea grew stronger, and the banner’s dark energy spread even further.

Qu Yiqiu knew that if she delayed any longer, Jin’s soul would be gone for good.

“That’s what you get for hiding the truth time and again! Now you’re suffering the consequences.”

Her mind raced. The feeling of being trapped in this void was strangely familiar, reminiscent of her space treasure. A suspicion formed in her heart.

She focused her thoughts and reached out to the space treasure hidden in her body.

Unbeknownst to her, this subtle action was like a raging storm in the perception of this void, stirring up waves of overwhelming power.

---

Elsewhere, in a secret chamber with ancient walls set with skeletons, Jin the Ghost King lay collapsed on the ground, a faint wisp of life barely clinging to him.

His body was frail and nearly transparent, his eyes vacant, as though he might vanish from the world at any moment.

“Master… save me…”

“Master? Is that woman truly your final choice?”

Hovering above Jin’s fallen form was a palm-sized figure, standing atop a smooth, round eyeball. Its eyes were like sapphires, its features delicate, its limbs short and dainty—a truly charming little creature.

“Master… save me…” Jin muttered, his last traces of awareness fading.

The tiny being tapped its foot on the round eyeball and vanished in a flash.

Qu Yiqiu, still forcefully connecting with the space inside her, felt the ground beneath her feet tremble violently.

In the midst of the quaking, the little being tore through space and appeared, floating before her.

Qu Yiqiu was taken aback, her guard up. “Are you the Spirit of the Domain?”

The tiny creature’s delicate face betrayed no emotion. Its gemstone eyes looked her up and down.

“So you are the one he has chosen as his master?”

Qu Yiqiu hesitated, recalling that this creature was likely the one who had gravely injured Jin. “Yes, it’s me. What do you want?”

The little being tilted its head thoughtfully.

“If he has chosen you, then you are now my master as well.”

Before Qu Yiqiu could react, the little creature transformed into a streak of gray light and darted straight into her consciousness.

It happened so swiftly she was caught completely off guard.

What just happened? Had she just acquired the Spirit of the Domain that easily?

The space shattered, and scattered points of white light floated through the air.

Yao Zhimei caught a speck of light in her hand and marveled, “There may not be a domain spirit here, but the scenery is beautiful, isn’t it?”

She waited for a while, but Jin the Ghost King did not respond.

Yao Zhimei’s expression darkened. She kicked him hard. “Lying there won’t help you play dead!”

A sudden sense of crisis surged in Qu Yiqiu’s mind—an urgent plea from Jin.

She turned to see Yao Zhimei about to land another kick and quickly intervened. “He’s seriously injured. He can’t answer you!”

“What?” Yao Zhimei was taken aback.

---

Jin the Ghost King lay curled up on the ground, motionless. Qu Yiqiu approached and gave him a Pill of Essence.

As he swallowed the medicine, Yao Zhimei finally noticed that Jin’s soul body was on the verge of collapse.

Suddenly, alarms blared in her mind. She spread her spiritual sense and summoned a silver shield, instantly encasing Qu Yiqiu for protection.

“Be careful, Your Majesty! There must be some terrible power hidden here—maybe the domain spirit we’re seeking is playing tricks!”

Yao Zhimei’s expression was grim, her brows furrowed tightly as she guarded Qu Yiqiu without leaving her side.

A faint smile played at Qu Yiqiu’s lips. “It was indeed the domain spirit causing trouble, but I’ve already subdued it.”

“Already subdued it?” Yao Zhimei jumped in shock, her gauzy robes swirling around her.

“Yes. There’s no danger for now. Let’s go—the little ghosts outside are still waiting for us.” Seeing Jin’s color improve, Qu Yiqiu waved her hand and collected him back into the Soul-Suppressing Banner.

Yao Zhimei frowned. “Very well.”

On the palace’s crystal mirror, the faint outline of a stunningly handsome man’s profile appeared.

Bang!

The palace doors burst open, and a horde of ghosts swarmed in.

The central crystal suddenly exploded, sending countless shards flying.

Yao Zhimei charged ahead, brandishing two spears to scatter several black shadows.

Jin, still badly wounded, and Qu Yiqiu, whose strength was depleted, sought refuge in a corner.

She hurried to communicate with the little being within her mind.

“Can you control these little ghosts?”

The tiny creature sat cross-legged atop the smooth eyeball, its exquisite face serene and aloof. “The Nether Domain is broken. My power isn’t enough to control the ghosts within it.”

The Nether Domain? So the original name of this Ghost Cultivators’ Paradise was The Nether Domain, and this little creature was perhaps once its artifact spirit.

“However, I sense that you possess a celestial artifact similar to the domain itself. If you channel part of its power to me, I can control them for three breaths.”

Qu Yiqiu considered for a moment. “All right, let’s see if it works.”

The little being’s power was unfathomable—if it had wished her harm, she’d already be dead.

Ignoring the chaos of ghost cultivators ahead, Qu Yiqiu focused her mind, guiding the power of her space treasure outward.

In an instant, she felt a surge of heat coursing through her meridians, rushing up to her mind.

The little spirit’s eyes snapped open. “Master, it’s ready.”