Chapter 2432

Ling Jinbao asked in surprise: "Yujing City is a famous forbidden land across the world. Why did you come in? Do you hold a grudge against the Earth Mother?"

Baochi Hai waved his hands: "No, no, I just wanted to come in and take something, but I slipped up and got caught."

Are all thieves in the world in the habit of calling 'stealing' 'taking'? Even after becoming immortals, they still do? "What exactly did you used to want to steal?"

"It was just a matter of youthful rivalry." Baochi Hai sighed wistfully, "Back then, Yujing City's reputation was already great, and everyone outside said this place was a ghost city, a forbidden land. Baochi Shan made a bet with someone, claiming he could steal the Wind Dew Golden Lotus from here and escape unharmed."

Ling Jinbao interjected: "Then his death was truly not worth it."

"Who says it wasn't? I objected at the time, but Baochi Shan insisted on coming. Ah, for these two thousand years, I've wanted to give him a good slap every single day!" As a shadow spirit attached to his brother's body, Baochi Hai couldn't seize the initiative, "Actually, besides this Wind Dew Golden Lotus, Baochi Shan also wanted to obtain a plant called Soul Grass. This herb is the main ingredient for making Soul-Strengthening Powder. His favorite offspring was born with a weak soul and wouldn't live past seven; only Soul-Strengthening Powder could prolong his life. We searched all the spiritual mountains under heaven, but found no suitable specimen. After many twists and turns, we finally heard that Yujing City had a five-hundred-year-old Soul Grass, its medicinal potency neither too strong nor too weak—just right. Baochi Shan wanted to pluck a stalk, but then——"

He sighed: "He died, I escaped, but I couldn't get out of Yujing City either, so I've been living here in the dark."

"You're an illegal resident." Entering Yujing City without the Earth Mother's permission and settling in privately—what else could that be but an illegal resident?

Ling Jinbao eyed him skeptically: "Even if you're a shadow spirit who hasn't touched flesh and blood for two thousand years, how can you still exist?"

"This place is very special—it actually lies between the real and the illusory." Baochi Hai tapped the stone stool, "The Earth Mother never expected us to be one body with two souls. Seeing Baochi Shan dead, she ordered her subordinates to dispose of him. I had wanted to take the chance to slip out of the city, but I was also extremely weak, afraid my soul would scatter before I even left the city. Passing by this place, I happened upon a soul-attracting bottle, so I dove in to rest."

"The Earth Mother has consumed too many relics and ancient cities, and Yujing City is full of strange and wondrous things everywhere—she probably hasn't even recorded them all herself." He continued, "As a result, I fell asleep and don't even know how long I've slept—probably several hundred years. When I woke again, Yujing City's appearance had changed, the monsters had changed, and their numbers were enormous; there were even some human slaves."

"When I wanted to leave, I discovered I was bound by this damned broken bottle—I couldn't go far." Baochi Hai sighed, "That's when I realized this wasn't a soul-attracting bottle, but a dream-attracting bottle!"

"A dream?" Ling Jinbao looked toward the fissure, "You mean I'm in a dream?"

"This fissure is the boundary between dream and reality." Baochi Hai pointed at the crack in the wall, "But the dream hasn't started yet—you're still in reality."

He sighed again: "I went from being a shadow spirit to becoming a nightmare, which is why I'm bound to Yujing City!"

"Does the Earth Mother not know of your existence?"

"Perhaps she does, perhaps she doesn't." Baochi Hai shrugged, "I think she doesn't care. This is a ghost city—chaos abounds."

In a ghost city, hauntings and nightmares are commonplace, aren't they?

"Now that I've spoken of myself, tell me about you." Baochi Hai exhaled, and the small oil lamp beside Ling Jinbao lit up, "You entered Yujing City—what do you want? The Wind Dew Golden Lotus, or the Earth Mother's life?"

"Both."

Baochi Hai pointed outside: "That giant lizard we just passed isn't even the most terrifying pursuer. The Earth Mother has a Wu Ao under her command, which in life was a giant crocodile. She filled its bones with her own rock ash, crafting it into her first loyal pet. This creature obeys only the Earth Mother, excels at hiding, and usually sleeps in the Secret Realm at the bottom of the pool, rarely emerging for years. We brothers were gnawed by it. By the way, I heard passing monsters say the Spirit Mountains have come knocking?"

"It's very lively outside the city."

"The Earth Mother has faced many great wars before and always emerged victorious." Baochi Hai waved his hands repeatedly, "If you lack full confidence, hear my advice: while the Earth Mother hasn't noticed you yet, hurry and flee the city. Otherwise, once she finishes dealing with outside matters, you won't be able to run even if you want to——"

He paused, then pointed at himself: "We are the lesson to be learned."

"They say you once approached the White House beneath the underground city, and only then were you caught?"

"No, no." Baochi Hai lifted his foot and lightly tapped the ground twice, "We searched several Secret Realms, even turned over Yujing City's so-called 'treasury,' but still found no Wind Dew Golden Lotus. We accidentally stumbled into another Secret Realm, and that's how our whereabouts were exposed."

"Just like you, we gathered many clues beforehand and did plenty of preparation, but we had no idea Du Zhishan still hid a Secret Realm."

Ling Jinbao fell silent for a moment, then suddenly said:

"You keep saying 'you all.' How do you know how many of us came in?"

"Four. Three disguised as cyclopes, one as a giant spider." Baochi Hai smiled, "You passed by here earlier, and I couldn't help but glance a few more times. I said before that cyclopes generally don't enter this area unless ordered, so your arrival stood out. Yujing City may be chaotic, but there is actually order beneath the surface."

Ling Jinbao remained silent. As outsiders, how could they know these ins and outs of the city?

"You entered the Longfeng Valley garrison, and only you came out afterward—clearly the others went on to Du Zhishan. Tsk tsk, this isn't fleas jumping on a bald head—it's obvious as day."

"However many eyes are watching in the dark here, they've noticed something off. You think you're flawless, but in fact, flaws are everywhere—otherwise, how could that giant lizard have come to seize you? It must be that some monster tipped them off."

Ling Jinbao's heart stirred: "You also went to Longfeng Valley garrison before and saw Liu Yisheng, right?"

Liu Yisheng also mentioned that he had chatted with the surname-Bao infiltrator.

"We saw him and talked for a long time, then tried to sneak into Du Zhishan—just like you." Baochi Hai gave a bitter smile, "We also judged that the Wind Dew Golden Lotus must be inside Du Zhishan."

"What happened?"

"Du Zhishan is a Secret Realm, the most important Secret Realm in Yujing City!" Baochi Hai emphasized each word, "The Earth Mother cultivates the Wind Dew Golden Lotus within Du Zhishan, and this Secret Realm is a episode from Guanshibing's youth!"

"His youth?" Ling Jinbao startled, "You know Guanshibing is……"

"Of course I know—he controls the Earth Mother." Baochi Hai said, "Liu Yisheng also told us the past of Longfeng Valley. We saw Guanshibing in the Secret Realm, very surprised, but he didn't recognize us at all."