Chapter 104: Teammate

Huhu!

Under the vast and boundless Ghost Gate, a yin spirit rode the wind and took shape, revealing the figure of Wu Ming.

“Too close! I nearly missed the seven-day deadline!”

Although he had a contingency plan, if he could leave from here, it would be more convenient and save dragon qi. Why not take this opportunity?

“Dear younger brother!”

At the city gate, Weishanchu, the merit recorder and guardian of the city, stood among the ranks. Upon seeing Wu Ming, he immediately stepped forward: “Ah… you’ve made me wait quite a while…”

“I encountered a minor issue that delayed my schedule and caused my elder brother concern. Please forgive me!”

Wu Ming bowed apologetically with clasped hands.

This calm demeanor in the face of major events left Weishanchu secretly amazed: “My dear younger brother’s cultivation alone marks him as no ordinary person!”

He continued: “That friend from the School of Law returned earlier. He actually killed five Black Mountain ghosts and earned a full one thousand merits… How are you prepared?”

A trace of concern appeared on his face.

Whether in posture or sincerity, at least this attitude moved Wu Ming somewhat: “I barely managed to gather enough!”

“Excellent!”

Weishanchu clapped his hands joyfully: “Then I shall accompany you to the Virtue Office! That Xu Ziquan is still there waiting, as the City God said the gate to the human world shouldn’t be opened repeatedly and insisted on waiting for you…”

His mood was particularly good at this moment. Both of his investments could return to the human world, which was a tremendous opportunity!

If one promise might be somewhat unreliable, having two promises doubled the reliability and opportunity. As long as one of them fulfilled the promise, his descendants in the human world could receive protection.

“Oh?”

Wu Ming allowed Weishanchu to eagerly lead the way. Planning for one’s descendants was only natural and nothing remarkable. What surprised him, however, was the Black Platform City God’s behavior.

“Are you placing so much hope in me, or have you discovered something?”

With the dragon qi concealing him and the previous land deity treasure sutra matter having been done secretly and recently, the Black Mountain Lord and Black Platform City God, not being the Heavenly Dao, naturally wouldn’t know immediately.

Still, this level of attention made Wu Ming somewhat uneasy.

“Fortunately, I’m about to return to the human world. With the distinction between yin and yang, there will be fewer concerns…”

The two made their way to the city center, where a grand palace stood proudly amidst a flowing crowd. Above the entrance hung a golden plaque inscribed with “Virtue Hall.”

Many living souls and even ghost deities were waiting in line to be summoned and have their merits counted.

Wu Ming, however, took a backdoor route. Under Weishanchu’s guidance, he skipped the line directly, drawing many disapproving glances.

Inside the grand hall, dozens of high desks were piled with mountains of official documents. Weishanchu led Wu Ming to a desk made of rosewood, behind which sat a small demon with two horns on his head.

“This is my good friend. Please give him some convenience!”

Weishanchu smiled and slipped a bulging pouch to the side. Wu Ming’s sharp eyes recognized it as a bag of spirit money, prompting a silent sigh at how even the King of Hell’s subordinates could be difficult to deal with.

“Of course! Since Senior Wei is here, we’ll definitely handle this as a special case!”

The little demon nodded repeatedly, then turned to Wu Ming: “Please hand over your merit talisman!”

A beam of light flashed from Wu Ming’s shoulder as he released the magical seal, letting a golden talisman float down.

“Hmm, over five hundred merits… but it’s still short of a thousand!”

Seeing Wu Ming’s sealed talisman, the demon showed a hint of dissatisfaction. After carefully checking the merit record, he immediately cried out.

“Wait! I have one more merit to submit!”

Wu Ming extended his hand: “Exploring the No-Return Valley grants five hundred merits. Here is the proof!”

A water-element symbol surged forth, projecting a screen showing fleeting images of a heavenly altar and palaces.

Of course, it was only a superficial glimpse. Any parts that might reveal his secrets had been carefully edited out.

“No-Return… No-Return Valley!”

Weishanchu’s mouth hung open: “So when you said you had something that delayed you, you meant this place?”

The No-Return Valley was a deadly place in the underworld, where ghosts and deities who entered never returned. For Wu Ming to successfully explore it was truly sensational.

In the underworld, status was tied to power. This feat of exploring the No-Return Valley represented truly terrifying strength.

Almost instantly, Wu Ming felt over a dozen reverent gazes discreetly sweep over him. When he looked up, the demons in the hall had already switched to fawning expressions.

“What? Why haven’t you recorded it yet?”

The demon with two horns in front was startled by Wu Ming’s narrowed eyes: “Senior, please wait a moment. I’ll handle it right away! Right away!”

…

“Wow… my younger brother actually managed to explore the No-Return Valley. Truly fearless and extraordinary!”

Even after exiting the hall, Weishanchu still hadn’t recovered, his face filled with excitement.

“Compared to that… we should hurry to see the City God and not keep Brother Xu waiting…”

Wu Ming remained indifferent, playing with a piece of jade pendant in his hand, the proof of one thousand merits, secretly sighing: “If only I really had a thousand small merits…”

“Brother Xu and a few others are resting in the side hall nearby. My younger brother can go there now and wait for the City God’s reception…”

Weishanchu said enviously.

“A few?”

Wu Ming’s eyes flickered.

“Indeed! Later on, more people arrived one after another, all wanting to return to the human world. The master approved one by one, but very few managed to gather enough merits…”

Weishanchu’s words made Wu Ming sigh deeply in his heart.

In essence, the merit ranking was set by the Black Platform City God himself.

For example, becoming an official in the underworld required five thousand merits, while returning to the human world only cost one thousand!

Previously, he had to exchange his position as a land god for it. Wasn’t this saying that a ninth-grade land god in the human world was even less valuable than a small underworld official?

The only possibility was that the Black Platform City God was deliberately trying to swindle people.

However, since “the butcher’s knife is raised and I am the fish on the cutting board,” and since he hadn’t agreed to it, Wu Ming still maintained a relatively open attitude.

Upon entering the side hall, several sharp gazes pierced toward him, sharp as blades, carrying the aura of bloodshed and martial prowess. The presence of those who had experienced reincarnation was indeed very obvious.

“Brother Wuming has indeed arrived!”

Xu Ziquan was among them, stepping forward to greet with a beaming smile: “I knew my elder brother would surely gather enough merits. There are a few other cultivators here; let me introduce you…”

“Hmph! No need. We’ve delayed until now just to wait for this person?”

In the side hall, there were two more people, a man and a woman, both with extraordinary auras. The man snorted coldly, clearly dissatisfied between his brows.

Wu Ming cast an inconspicuous glance at Xu Ziquan.

To immediately provoke hostility upon first meeting, if no one had been stirring up trouble, he wouldn’t believe it for a second.

He then smiled and bowed politely: “Daoist Wu Ming greets both of you. I suppose the City God’s action is merely because we cultivators are numerous, to avoid trouble, and not specifically for waiting for me alone!”

This reasoning made sense. The woman beside nodded repeatedly, and the man’s furrowed brows seemed to relax slightly.

“My name is Gong Yunshang, and this is my companion beside me, Li Suihan. Brother Li is concerned about the human world and his words might have been a bit harsh. Please don’t take offense, fellow cultivator!”

Gong Yunshang wore a crimson flowing dress, yet exuded a scholarly air, appearing like a well-read lady from a distinguished family. However, in Wu Ming’s spiritual vision, she had a vibrant aura, displaying both Daoist clarity and Confucian literary brilliance, with flames several feet high, clearly not the delicate and fragile woman she seemed to be.

As for Li Suihan, he was similar to Wu Ming, possessing a Daoist dharma body, but with a slightly more martial and vigorous demeanor, clearly leaning more toward martial cultivation.

At this moment, being within someone else’s domain, they might be observed. After a brief greeting, the four sat down quietly to wait.

…

Deep within the palace.

Heavy divine curtains hung down. The Black Platform City God sat high upon a nine-tiered throne, his vast divine might shaking the heavens and earth, profound and unfathomable.

“Unexpectedly… this young man actually managed to reach that place!”

The Black Platform City God remained silent for a long time before finally waving his hand.

A light screen appeared, clearly showing the scene of the No-Return Valley ruins!

After a long while, a voice filled with the weight of time and hardship echoed from within the palace.

…

“The time is almost here, why hasn’t he arrived yet?”

Inside the side hall, as the seven-day deadline approached, Li Suihan, with the most impatient temperament, stood up and began pacing back and forth.

Although they were all high-level yin spirits, without reaching the True Man stage, their primordial spirits couldn’t be fully perfected. Staying any longer would not only cause their physical bodies in the human world to decay but also risk their yin spirits being tainted by the underworld, forcing them to exclusively cultivate the ghost immortal or deity path.

The other two, Xu Ziquan and Gong Yunshang, although still sitting cross-legged, also showed signs of anxiety in their eyes.

“The City God is a deity of faith, managing countless affairs daily. A slight delay is only natural…”

Wu Ming remained the calmest. This wasn’t just because he had confidence in the Black Platform City God, but more crucially because he had a backup plan, giving him the freedom to advance or retreat. Even if the City God didn’t assist him, he still had a method to return to the human world, thus feeling no fear.

At this moment, he reached into his robe and gripped the Suizhou Pearl.

The pearl had already been heavily sealed, with the land deity’s imperial edict inside as well, all precautions taken to prevent the Black Platform City God from detecting any flaws.

With the dragon qi acting as a barrier, even with the deity’s immense powers, nothing suspicious would be discovered for the time being.

“The City God’s procession arrives!”

The four waited for another half hour, until even Xu Ziquan couldn’t endure any longer and stood up, when a clear announcement suddenly echoed.

Boom!

The bells and drums sounded together from all around, carrying an immense aura of authority that instantly suppressed the slight anxiety within the hall.

With red mist spreading across the ground and golden light filling the sky, the Black Platform City God arrived at the hall seated on a palanquin.

Divine power surged like an ocean, and divine majesty was as formidable as a prison!

“Greetings to the City God!”

Among the four, even the most defiant Li Suihan showed respect and bowed respectfully, not daring to show any negligence.

“You four, since your physical bodies in the human world have not perished, are naturally allowed to return. I, who govern the path between yin and yang and uphold the laws of the underworld, shall assist you in returning to the mortal world. However, divine law cannot be lightly invoked; you must each pay one thousand merits. Do you accept this?”

Amidst flowers falling like rain and golden lotuses sprouting from the earth, the Black Platform City God’s voice, cold as clashing jade, descended.

“We all have no objections and will follow the City God’s decision!”

At this moment, the four of them spoke in unison.

“Good!”

The Black Platform City God’s gaze swept over the four individuals one by one. Wu Ming felt a chill as the deity’s gaze seemed to pause momentarily on him, yet it also felt as if it had never lingered at all, leaving him with an eerie sensation.