...

Inside Virtue City Funeral Home, Wen Yan was still listening to his Grand Uncle Master talk about what this so-called ascension really meant.

Suddenly, the crackling sound of firecrackers erupted outside. Wen Yan glanced back and saw thick clouds of smoke billowing up.

Someone setting off firecrackers?

He instantly remembered what the director had said earlier—remember the employee code.

Before he could do anything, some of the funeral home's staff had already rushed over with fire extinguishers. Someone else grabbed a big broom, sweeping the burning firecrackers over next to a garbage bin.

Then, with a forceful motion, they flipped the cartoonish-looking bin over, trapping the firecrackers inside.

At the bottom of the garbage bin, a hose was connected, and the built-in extractor fan immediately started up, sucking out the smoke from the firecrackers.

But still, some smoke billowed up, its acrid scent beginning to spread through the air.

At the same time, the director stood at the edge of the back mountain, holding a bronze bell in one hand and a small three-inch sword in the other, lightly tapping the bell.

A clear ringing sounded, slowly rippling outward.

Standing at the entrance of the mourning hall, Wen Yan felt his hairs instantly stand on end.

He looked up. Everyone around him had vanished, and the walls of the mourning hall seemed to have undergone centuries of decay and erosion, turning dilapidated and ruined.

The sky grew dim, filled with an ominous, yellowish glow, darkness pressing in from all sides.

Black mist enshrouded the mountains, and when he looked behind the funeral home, all he saw were mountain-sized shadows squatting down. On three sides of the funeral home, it felt like colossal giants were looming overhead, staring down at this place.

The suffocating pressure seemed to solidify the very air. Wen Yan found it hard to even breathe.

But in the next instant, the feeling vanished. Everything flashed and returned to normal.

Wen Yan gasped for breath, cold sweat pouring down his back in an instant.

"What happened?" Grand Uncle Master's concerned voice came through the phone.

Wen Yan described the fleeting scene just now, prompting his Grand Uncle Master to erupt in a tirade over the phone.

"He Jian, fuck your uncle! Cai Qidong, fuck your uncle! Damn bastards, both of you are pieces of shit!"

"Grand Uncle Master..."

"You can only succeed now, can't afford to fail. That girl's bones are with you—go protect her remains, infuse them with Scorching Sun, lend her a hand. As for the rest, don't worry about it."

Grand Uncle Master hung up, so furious he nearly smashed his phone.

"Goddammit, is there no one alive left on Fuyu Mountain? A bunch of old fossils—hurry up and get moving!"

Cursing as he went, Grand Uncle Master gave instructions to three old Taoists coming out from the other room, telling them to set up the altar immediately.

"That bastard Cai Qidong from the Scorching Sun Department—he's up to no good. He wants to use that special water ghost to ascend and pull off something big.

And that He Jian from Virtue City Funeral House, he's no better. To threaten the entire West River water system, he's already rung the bell. If he rings it again, who knows—he might just wake up the Big Killer."

"Hurry up and set up the altar—lend that bastard Cai Qidong a hand."

One chubby old Taoist jumped in shock.

"Uncle Master, what do you mean? Wouldn't this make us enemies of the whole West River water system?"

"What's there to be afraid of? So what if we piss them off? If West River's got the balls, let them cross the Yangtze for payback. Even Dragon Tiger Mountain pisses on their heads without fear. Why should we be scared?"

The old Taoist wanted to say more, but Grand Uncle Master's face darkened.

"I'll tell you the truth—Fuyu Mountain's current Scorching Sun is right there in Virtue City Funeral Home. Cai Qidong, that bastard, definitely knows about Scorching Sun—otherwise, he wouldn't be so confident, wouldn't dare make this move."

At the words 'Scorching Sun,' the three old Taoists' faces changed dramatically.

"Uncle Master, seriously?"

"If not, why would I care if that Cai lives or dies!"

The chubby old Taoist who'd just been fretting about offending people now had a murderous spark in his eyes.

"Infinite Heavenly Venerable! Uncle Master, you always say my cultivation is weak. Even I admit, my cultivation is weak...

If those West River fools so much as touch a hair on our Fuyu Sect disciple, don't blame me for going on a killing spree before I ascend.

A few nether souls and some mangy beasts? I'll slaughter them all and be done with this karmic mess."

The skinny old Taoist beside him shook his head.

"Senior Brother, that's not right. We only act in accordance with heaven—we'd never go out of our way to make enemies. No need to get so angry. If someone stops us, then they're going against heaven, which means they're offending Dragon Tiger Mountain, the Divine Land Imperial Court, the Scorching Sun Department, and us—all at once."

The three old Taoists kept talking as, with practiced hands and perfect coordination, they quickly set up the Dharma altar.

Grand Uncle Master even went into the Ancestral Master Hall to borrow a Magic Sword.

He didn't join in himself, but took the phone and called Wen Yan again.

...

Wen Yan walked up to the wooden coffin, ignoring the stares of everyone else, stretched out a hand, and touched Wang Xueqi's bones.

He activated the power of Warm Jade. Yang energy instantly blessed Wang Xueqi's bones, infusing and covering them in a moment.

At the same time, in a place not far from entering Luoyue County, Wang Xueqi ran into trouble.

What blocked her wasn't the Water God or demons—but two water ghosts.

These two water ghosts were twisted and terrifying, all bloated like waterlogged corpses. They lunged at her—one grabbing and scratching, the other clinging to her legs, trying to drag her deeper down.

Wang Xueqi was also a water ghost. She hadn't hurt anyone, and only barely survived thanks to a few blessings of yang energy from Wen Yan. But with little fighting experience, she was completely flustered.

But after all, she was a water ghost—she couldn't drown. Calming down, she looked at the two and tried to persuade them.

"Minister Cai told me, ascension is actually just like dispersal. But if it succeeds, all water ghosts can benefit, can have a chance at a different path. You two are the last ones who should be stopping me."

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