94: Qingyi

Looking at the somewhat eerie scene before him, Xu Yan remained expressionless and calmly called out, “Zhu Yan.”

The next moment, the ghostly shadows that had been darting around silently dispersed as if they were popped bubbles, leaving only the little girl ghost within the circle of light.

The situation was clear. The drooling ghostly shadows in the room, and the force that had pushed Xu Yan into the room earlier, were merely the opponent's tactics. From start to finish, there was only the little girl ghost in front of him inside the room.

However, upon realizing that her tactics had been casually broken by Xu Yan, the little girl in front of him did not show fear or anger. Instead, she tilted her head and gave Xu Yan an eerie yet sweet smile.

Observing the opponent's obvious provocative action (from the Ghost Infant's perspective), the General Rank strength displayed by the opponent, and the fact that Zhu Yan had effortlessly countered her tactics earlier.

The Ghost Infant, who was following Xu Yan while hidden, instantly perked up. This female little ghost in front of him looked very easy to bully.

Thinking this, the Ghost Infant revealed itself and, through a combination of words and gestures, indicated to its Boss that it was willing to teach a lesson to this little ghost who dared to attack him.

Looking at the eager Ghost Infant, and the clearly abnormal little girl who had been staring at him with that sweet, eerie smile ever since the ghostly shadows were dispelled by Zhu Yan, Xu Yan realized that the Ghost Infant's previous beating was not suffered in vain—it hadn't learned a single lesson.

However, Xu Yan figured that since he would have to interact with the opponent anyway, letting the Ghost Infant probe her wasn't a bad idea. Thus, he didn't speak up to stop it, tacitly approving the action.

Seeing that Xu Yan did not reject its suggestion, the already restless Ghost Infant fully perked up. After letting out a childish, infantile "Awoo," it rushed towards the little girl, accompanied by swirling Black Mist.

Facing the Ghost Infant lunging towards her, the little girl opposite made no move. Just as the Ghost Infant was about to make contact, her previously tilted head fully slumped down, and her entire head rotated 180 degrees from its original position.

At the same time, the previously pitch-black surroundings completely lit up. The furniture and walls vanished instantly. Except for the few square meters of land beneath Xu Yan's feet, everything was replaced by a Blood Pool soaking human bodies and various severed limbs. The dense stench of blood rushed straight to the crown of his head.

The Ghost Infant, which was about to touch the little girl, was now frozen mid-pounce in the air, unable to move. Its lively eyes, which had finally brightened up, dimmed once more. More than the fear of being restrained by unknown means, the emotion in the Ghost Infant's eyes was utter despair.

This was the third time! He, the Ghost Infant, a powerful Spiritual Beast that roamed freely in its territory, had encountered people pretending to be General Rank to trick ghosts three times in a row! Do you big shots have a screw loose? If you like pretending to be weak, fine, but why do you all love pretending to be General Rank shrimp?!

Just as the Ghost Infant was silently screaming internally, a pair of slender, smooth hands reached toward its location and cradled it.

The original little girl stretched, transforming into a beautiful fifteen or sixteen-year-old girl dressed in an Azure Robe. Her face held a gentle expression as she lightly patted the Ghost Infant's body, just like a mother soothing her newborn child.

Soon, with the rhythmic patting, the Ghost Infant, who had been wearing an expression of despair, began to feel sleepy, closed its eyes, and slowly drifted into slumber.

After finishing all this, the Azure Robe Maiden finally shifted her gaze from the Ghost Infant in her arms, looked up, and met Xu Yan's calm eyes.

The change in the surrounding environment froze the Ghost Infant's body but did not restrict Xu Yan's movements. However, Xu Yan's intuition told him that the opponent seemed to harbor no ill will toward him or the Ghost Infant. Therefore, facing the unknown entity before him, Xu Yan ultimately chose to wait and see.

Watching Xu Yan, who remained calm, the maiden holding the Ghost Infant slowly spoke. A slightly cold, youthful voice entered Xu Yan's ears.

“Hello, Visitor from Beyond the World.”

Hearing the opponent's words, Xu Yan's mind went blank for a moment.

However, even Xu Yan himself didn't know whether his reaction was due to the opponent's voice or the content of their words.

Seeing Xu Yan's pupils instantly dilate, the Azure Robe “Maiden” thought her words had frightened him. She felt a little smug internally, thinking that Outsiders were nothing special after all.

Just as she was about to speak again, she heard Xu Yan's voice, tinged with confusion and a hint of expectation.

“Are you male?”

This time, it was the opponent's turn to be bewildered.

Wait, I'm telling you something very important! I just directly pointed out your identity as an Outsider! You're not asking or explaining anything, but focusing instead on my gender?

However, no matter how many complaints he had internally, he still honestly answered the question.

“Gender? When I was alive, I was a man. This current appearance is how I looked before I died. Besides, for Ghostly beings like us, gender isn't important.”

After hearing the reply, Xu Yan nodded and pulled the conversation back to the original topic.

“How did you know about me? And what is it that you, or rather, all of you, want with me?”

After seeing the strength and demeanor the opponent now displayed, and recalling his memories from when he left the Dense Forest for the human town, Xu Yan realized many things he had previously overlooked.

His arrival at Shadow Town must have been the result of intervention and guidance by the opponent or the power behind them.

If that was the case, his identity was likely already confirmed by the opponent, so there was no need to refute anything.

Since Heavens Mandate Guidance had not issued a warning, and he felt no malice from the opponent, it was best to simply get straight to the point.

Slightly surprised by Xu Yan's directness, but since the opponent had no intention of denying or concealing his identity, the entity also saw no need to dwell on that aspect and began answering Xu Yan's questions.

“More than ten years ago, our Leader sensed a gaze from beyond the heavens. That was an existence that did not belong to this world.

That gaze openly swept across the entire world. Many powerful existences discovered it, but due to its overwhelming strength, they dared not provoke it in any way.

After that gaze disappeared, our Leader saw something at the cost of his own slumber, telling us that in more than ten years, an Outsider from Beyond the Heavens, originating from the same place as the source of that gaze, would descend here and bring a turning point to this world on the brink of collapse.”