Chapter 23

Wu Pifu and Lin Heier returned to the room, both of their faces looking extremely grim.

Next, the two described what they had seen and heard; although their account was not necessarily comprehensive, nor could it fully convey the shock of that first encounter, the other three were still left with their hair standing on end after hearing it.

This was even more shocking than seeing a paper effigy swallow a living person whole—that was a ghost!

Everyone looked at each other in silence, and Lin Heier asked, "Master, will this kind of devouring make those paper effigies even stronger?"

Wu Pifu shook his head to indicate he didn't know, but Xu Shilan said, "It's very likely. Energy does not disappear into thin air; it only transforms from one form into another. This applies to the vast majority of environments in the world. Since the paper effigies have started devouring these wandering ghosts, it means these wandering ghosts are useful to them. Perhaps they really will start to grow stronger."

Xu Rongyu immediately cursed, "We shouldn't have come to this righteous manor!"

Wu Pifu glared at him and said, "Where else would we go? We are human; we need to eat, drink, relieve ourselves, sleep, and rest. While the wilderness certainly doesn't have wandering ghosts, how would we eat or rest there? Are we supposed to do some wilderness survival routine? After a few days, would we still have the strength and spirit to deal with the paper effigies?"

Amida also said, "Those paper effigies can float. The environment in the wild is unpredictable, and we have no defensive facilities. If we encounter them, we could be besieged from all directions."

Xu Rongyu opened his mouth wide, wanting to retort but unable to speak. Especially when he thought of the horrifying scene of the city full of paper effigies he had seen in Xuanhua Prefecture, he could only lower his head in despair.

At this moment, Lin Heier said thoughtfully, "Master, everyone, I think that perhaps those paper effigies are yin-natured objects. All things in the world are nothing more than yin and yang. Ghosts are also yin-natured. Being devoured by the paper effigies will certainly allow them to grow, but they remain yin-natured, which is why we can use torches to burn them, and our Qi and blood can also barely resist them... Can we stack Qi and blood together with the flames?"

The others didn't understand, but Wu Pifu seemed to have thought of something. He walked to a torch, took one down, gripped it with his palm, and erupted with An Jin. This An Jin spread upward along the torch, just as if he had blown a breath of air onto the flame. The firelight suddenly surged, then returned to normal. He looked at Lin Heier and said, "Is this what the Holy Mother is talking about?"

Lin Heier nodded and said, "Exactly. It's a pity we only have An Jin. If we were Hua Jin Grandmasters, we could continuously extend this Qi and blood power into the flames. As it is, we can only erupt with An Jin four or five times within an hour at most; any more and we would damage our foundation... I just don't know if this kind of flame can kill those paper effigies in one blow."

Wu Pifu didn't speak, but secretly noted the information Lin Heier had mentioned.

From Xu Rongyu, Wu Pifu also learned much about the situation in this world. The power system of this world is also Guoshu, not much different from the world where he obtained the Tiger Demon Art. Xu Rongyu mentioned many master-level figures, such as his father, Xu Zhenshan, and the Red Lantern Society's Head Senior Sister, Lin Heier.

Although Xu Zhenshan was Xu Rongyu's father, Xu Rongyu still felt that Lin Heier was stronger. This was because his father was self-taught, without systematic teaching and training. Now in his forties, his physical strength had actually begun to decline. Although his "Tablet-Shattering Hand" was praised by the northern martial arts circles, in terms of evaluation within the martial arts circles, Lin Heier was far superior to his father.

Huang Lian Holy Mother Lin Heier—this was a famous brand in the northern martial arts circles.

And what Lin Heier said just now shouldn't have any embellishment or water in it. She could erupt with An Jin four or five times in about two hours; this was likely the standard of a true An Jin martial artist, perhaps even an elite An Jin martial artist.

As for Wu Pifu himself, he had tested it once before; in a single battle, he could erupt with An Jin ten to twelve times, and he could recover his physical strength and Qi and blood circulation after resting for less than an hour. Combined, this was more than just a little bit stronger than Lin Heier.

The boost from Physical Body Rank Two was truly a qualitative change.

(Then for my future strengthening, would it be better to directly strengthen my physical body rank?)

Wu Pifu smiled and shook his head as he thought about it.

He might not even survive this Dream World, yet he was already thinking about the future. Furthermore, he only had one hundred and seventy days of life left. Even if he really had the opportunity to strengthen, he had to desperately strengthen his proficiency in the Tiger Demon Art. Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to suppress the surging negative distracting thoughts. Once they erupted, it would be a real injustice to go crazy and die.

At this time, Xu Shilan suddenly spoke up: "Then can we directly break the root cause? These paper effigies have tenacious vitality; touching them drains life and Qi and blood, and they can even devour wandering ghosts to become stronger. And now there are only a dozen or so; heaven knows how many there will be later. Can we solve the root cause of the paper effigies' existence once and for all?"

Not to mention Amida, who was truly quite heartless and had actually started to doze off, the other three were slightly stunned and started to smile bitterly.

Xu Rongyu was the first to say, "Big sister... no, sister, do you really know what you're talking about? That is the Unborn Old Mother. We are actually just struggling to survive right now. How can we solve the root cause of such a god-and-buddha-level great power?"

Lin Heier also smiled bitterly and said, "Although they are evil demons and evil buddhas, if that really is the Unborn Old Mother, it is absolutely impossible for us mortals to defeat her. And I don't know what to do afterward. Most of the brothers and sisters in the sect believe in her. Once they all turn into paper effigies, I'm afraid that not to mention you and me, even this land of China will sink into a ghost domain."

Even Wu Pifu said, "That thing is at least a Dream Nightmare below 0.3 of the baseline reality, and I suspect it's not even a Tier One or Tier Two Dream Nightmare; at the very least, it's a Dream Nightmare of Tier Three and above. We are truly unlucky to have encountered it. For now, let's think about how to continue dragging out the time..."

Wu Pifu didn't finish his sentence, because they could return after dragging it out for five days, and this naturally couldn't be said out loud.

Xu Shilan shook her head, looked up, and gestured to the air: "These paper effigies didn't come out of thin air, but were transformed from the threads hanging down from the Unborn Old Mother. I don't know if you've noticed, but the Unborn Old Mother cannot directly descend into this world; she can only hang down threads, and she does so through a circular hole. Then... can we break that circular hole and isolate the Unborn Old Mother's influence on this world?"

The hearts of the three were moved. Not to mention Xu Rongyu, Lin Heier's heart was immediately moved, and she blurted out, "If so, can the sisters still be saved?"

After saying this, Lin Heier shook her head herself: "No, they have already been transformed..." At this point, Lin Heier's eyes turned red, and she almost shed tears.

Wu Pifu pondered for a long time before shaking his head: "The Unborn Old Mother might rely on that circular hole to project her power, but it is also possible that the circular hole limits her power and entry into this world. Not to mention whether we can break it, if we break it and let the Unborn Old Mother truly enter this world, then not to mention us, it's possible that this entire world will turn into paper things."

Xu Shilan said calmly, "Then this world would no longer be 0.9 of the baseline reality."

Wu Pifu's heart moved, but after thinking for a long time, he still shook his head: "It's too difficult, and we don't know what to use to break it. Not to mention anything else, just the height issue—visually, it's about fifty meters high. I only practiced Guoshu, I didn't turn into a superman. In this era, you want to teach me how to jump fifty meters high?"

Xu Shilan smiled and kicked Amida with her foot. Amida opened his eyes suddenly, but his face was still filled with confusion; he hadn't heard what everyone was discussing at all. Xu Shilan explained the situation, and Amida thought for a moment and said, "There are bamboo poles and vines here. I can make a simple launcher. Sending you to a height of fifty meters is not difficult. The difficult points are two: one is accuracy, and the other is how you land safely."

Wu Pifu spread his hands toward Xu Shilan, indicating that this was no longer his fault.

Unexpectedly, at this moment, Lin Heier suddenly said, "Are you discussing how to make the Unborn Old Mother unable to influence this world, or how to drive her out of this world?"

Amida laughed disdainfully, "Even a mere native knows about this world and the outside world?"

Lin Heier's face turned angry, but she was actually used to it, because this was the face of the foreign devils. She said in a low voice, "How could I not know? Buddhism says the world is infinite, with Small Thousand Worlds, Medium Thousand Worlds, and Great Thousand Worlds. Originally I had doubts, but since the Unborn Old Mother truly exists, the infinite worlds must naturally exist as well. The small hole in the air likely connects to the Vacuum Hometown."

Amida was surprised instead. Wu Pifu waved his hand at Amida and said to Lin Heier, "But isn't this Unborn Old Mother your belief?"

Lin Heier said sternly, "I believe in the compassionate Old Mother, the Old Mother in Buddhism, the Savior who saves the world, not this evil demon and evil buddha that treats human bodies as materials to weave into nightmares! If we don't drive her out, our death is a small matter, but if this world sinks into a ghost domain and my Chinese children turn into paper effigies, that is the big matter... Although you also said, Master, that it's possible she will enter this world after we break it, what is the difference between now and her entering this world? All of China has millions of her believers. If they all turn into paper effigies, the consequences will be unimaginable!"

At this point, Lin Heier stood up and bowed solemnly to Wu Pifu, then said, "Please, Master, help me break that circular hole!"

Wu Pifu said with an unhappy face, "You heard it just now, the two problems of accuracy and how to land, I..."

"Just control the Jin power!"

Lin Heier continued, "Master is An Jin, so naturally you know that An Jin is the control of Jin power reaching the point of perfection. The subsequent Hua Jin is the same. Tools like catapults naturally have no accuracy, but if Master goes up himself, under the control of Jin power, the accuracy will be absolutely precise. As for the landing problem, it's just Jin power control. I have seen a grandmaster jump off a cliff with my own eyes; from a height of seventy or eighty meters, he only needed a few rolls and a few borrowed forces to dissipate the Jin power, without hurting himself at all!"

Wu Pifu sneered, "You also said it was a grandmaster, it was Hua Jin, and he could roll and borrow force from the cliff, while mine is a raw fifty meters high..."

"I will teach Master the Sitting Lotus Jin!"

Lin Heier said decisively, "Master is gifted, and his Qi and blood are so vigorous that he doesn't seem human. And this Sitting Lotus Jin of mine is an peerless secret art, a non-transferable secret that can simulate the legendary Dan Jin supernatural power in a short time!"

At this point, Lin Heier suddenly knelt down and bowed deeply, "Please, Master, think of the common people. If it succeeds, Lin Heier is willing to offer the complete set of the Huang Lian Holy Mother Art!"

(End of chapter)