Chapter 162: The Earth Realm

On the communication line.

His sister's voice came through.

"Jiang Jian, the first half of the term is ending. When are you leaving for Chang'an Prefecture? Has the time been set?"

Jiang Jian fell silent briefly, then said, "I'll depart in the next couple of days."

Jiang Zhao asked, "Will you take part in the final exams in a few days?"

Jiang Jian replied, "I won't be taking them."

His sister paused for a moment, then said, "You haven't replied to any of my messages."

"Yes," Jiang Jian said softly, "I've been preparing resources and haven't had time to check."

His sister didn't scold him, but asked, "Are you going to investigate Shi Shi Xuan's matter?"

Shaoshuizhou, a tributary of Linjiang.

Its water veins are cold and yin, breeding many malevolent spirits.

Jiang Zhao and Yin Yin and the others had discussed it, and unanimously agreed that Shi Shi Xuan's behavior was strange and unusual.

Even the academy's archives had erased Shi Shi Xuan's name.

In the end, after deliberation among them,

they left the decision to Jiang Jian.

Jiang Jian did not hesitate, saying, "At eight tonight, come to the First Academy dormitory to pick me up. We'll go to Shaoshuizhou."

His sister replied, "Alright, I'll follow your lead."

"By the way."

Jiang Jian's tone grew slightly grave, "Tell Liu Liu Tiezhu and the others—keep the white jade Shi Shi Xuan gave you close at all times. Don't lose it under any circumstances."

His sister replied obediently, "Okay, I'll tell Yin Yin right away."

The communication ended.

Jiang Jian, meanwhile, wore a solemn expression as he retrieved his identity device and opened a message from the prefectural office.

It had been sent personally by Vice-Prefect Jiang.

Jiang Jian had not yet read its contents.

But its title was bolded in black characters.

"Internal Notice from Linjiang Prefectural Office."

"Multiple entrances to the Dead Realm have appeared within the prefecture's territory."

"All office personnel must exercise caution when traveling outside."

When he first received this message,

Jiang Jian had not paid it much attention.

But combined with Shi Shi Xuan's matter, it now made him connect the dots to this internal notice from the prefecture.

The Dead Realm is also called the Earth Realm.

The most mysterious of the Four Realms of Earth and Moon.

The Surface Realm, with its seventy prefectures, falls under Chang'an Prefecture's jurisdiction.

The Star Ring Realm is administered by the Prayer Star Palace on behalf of the Earth Alliance.

The Moon Realm, with its thirty prefectures, is the central seat of the Earth Alliance and the most flourishing land for human prodigies.

The Dead Realm, with its thirty prefectures.

Officially, it too falls under the Earth Alliance's guardianship.

But this realm has always been mysterious.

Its mode of existence differs from that of the Surface Realm.

In 2875, the Earth Star Ring appeared; under the sun's radiation, the Four Realms of Earth and Moon gradually took shape.

The Dead Realm exists deep within the void.

It also emerged in 2875, alongside the Earth Star Ring.

When a person dies, if their resentment is strong, they become a ghost.

If they have no resentment, and die of natural causes rather than accident,

they enter the Dead Realm—the "Earth Realm."

But the beings of this realm are neither ghosts nor demons, neither human nor monster.

They are terrifying "the dead."

The seventy prefectures of the Surface Realm have always kept their distance from the Earth Realm.

Because "the dead" are more terrifying than ghosts.

Very few have ever entered the Earth Realm.

Its true nature is known to even fewer.

Under normal circumstances, only the dead can enter the Earth Realm.

The living cannot enter it.

Some beings of the Earth Realm, with profound cultivation, have used special means to reach an agreement with the Earth Alliance.

The thirty prefectures of the Earth Realm are nominally under the Earth Alliance's jurisdiction.

But this is merely surface-level pretense.

When the Earth Star Ring was first shattered by force,

the Earth Realm vanished as if it had never existed, taking no action whatsoever.

Whether the seventy prefectures of the Surface Realm, the thirty prefectures of the Moon Realm, or even the Earth Alliance's central authority—all deeply despised it.

Yet they had no way to deal with the Earth Realm.

Because no one could enter it.

But—

since one man appeared on Earth, slaughtered hundreds of millions of Saturnian lifeforms, shattered the Saturn Star Ring with great divine power, and reclaimed a large fragment to rebuild the Earth Star Ring,

the Earth Realm opened entrances on the Surface Realm.

These entrances appear randomly.

Each time, they attract some beings to enter.

But the Earth Realm is a place for the dead.

Whether human, demon, spirit, monster, or evil ghost—

once they enter the Earth Realm, none return. There has never been an exception.

The seventy prefectures of the Surface Realm possess detection methods.

Whenever an Earth Realm entrance appears within a prefecture's territory, the prefectural office issues an internal notice.

This information is never disclosed to ordinary citizens.

It is only distributed internally within the prefectural office, and inspection troops are dispatched to surround the entrance, forbidding anyone from approaching.

"You're really going?"

Zhou Princess Qingyue stepped forward, looking at Jiang Jian. "The Earth Realm has no return. That's a place for the dead."

"Even ghosts dare not enter."

She pointed to herself. "Ghosts and demons, though born of resentment, are still living beings."

"The dead in the Earth Realm are far more terrifying than us."

Hearing this,

Jiang Jian smiled and said, "Who said I'm going?"

The ghost paused, asking, "Didn't you just promise your sister you'd let them pick you up tonight?"

Jiang Jian flipped his palm and retrieved a piece of white jade.

It was a gift sent by Shi Shi Xuan several months ago.

The jade looked ordinary.

But if one looked too closely, one might become entranced, even losing one's spiritual clarity.

"This thing was sent by Shi Shi Xuan."

Jiang Jian said softly, "I sensed something terrifying within it."

"If I carry it with me or simply discard it, something terrible might happen."

"For instance, being dragged straight into the Earth Realm."

Jiang Jian sneered. "It's a time bomb."

"Shi Shi Xuan has been abnormal since he disappeared."

"No—since he first received that bracelet, he's been off."

"I don't know the exact reason."

"But I have a hunch."

As he spoke,

Jiang Jian's gaze turned icy and piercing. "The worst possibility."

"Is that Shi Shi Xuan—"

"wants to send us into the Earth Realm to bring back his dead mother."

"We must go to Shaoshuizhou."

The hidden danger in this white jade will never be resolved.

I'm going to Shaoshuizhou not because I believed Shi Shi Xuan's words.

I'm going to erase this strange white jade completely.

Upon hearing this,

even if Zhou Princess Qingyue were a demon, a chill crept through her heart.

Her gaze trembled slightly, then steadied as she asked, "But all this is just your speculation."

Jiang Jian did not refute her, but said, "Whether my speculation is the truth will be known tonight."

Zhou Princess Qingyue added, "I've read all your communications. Shi Shi Xuan doesn't seem evil. Aren't you imagining him as worse than he is?"

Jiang Jian whispered, "Human malice is a thousand times more vicious than any ghost."

"When I was in middle school,"

"I had a dormmate who ate and slept with me every day."

"Later,"

"his envy twisted his mind, and he leaked my notes."

"I've also seen fathers and daughters, husbands and wives, plotting against each other for wealth, coldly poisoning one another—this too is the evil of human nature."

Jiang Jian smiled, "The human heart is like the wind—sometimes kind, sometimes vile, ever-changing, never fixed."

"What is shown may be less than one percent."

"So never trust anyone's surface."

"Not even me."

"Zhou Princess Qingyue, have you ever thought about this?"

"Is the me you see the real me?"

Jiang Jian looked at Zhou Princess Qingyue, his gaze cold as a deep abyss. "You, a demon of the Springflow Realm, have such a simple mind."

After saying this,

Jiang Jian put away the white jade and fell silent.

Zhou Princess Qingyue stood frozen in place, her eyes filled with thought.

The resentment churning deep within her spirit unknowingly diminished a little more.

Time passed quickly.

The sky darkened.

The roar of the Cross-Boundary Shuttle came from outside the window.

"Zhou Princess Qingyue, come with me."

The cabin door opened and Jiang Jian said, "Jixue, pilot the Cross-Boundary Shuttle and dock it at the Academy's fleet yard."

Jixue replied, "Understood."

Zhou Princess Qingyue said nothing, following Jiang Jian down the gangway and onto another Cross-Boundary Shuttle.

"Did you bring all the white jades Shi Shi Xuan gave you?"

Jiang Jian stepped into the cabin and asked Liu Liu Tiezhu and the others softly.

Shan Ye joked, "You personally told us to bring them—we wouldn't dare forget."

Liu Liu Tiezhu, however, sensed something was off and asked, "Is there something strange about this white jade?"

"I've studied it. Found nothing major."

Here, Liu Liu Tiezhu frowned. "But there's an aura inside that makes me deeply uneasy."

Jiang Jian said coldly, "That's the aura of the dead."

At these words,

the cabin fell silent.

Jiang Zhao, his sister, along with her dormmate Zhong Ling and Yinyin, had been laughing and playing.

Hearing this,

they all froze, turning to look at Jiang Jian.

(End of Chapter)