Chapter 45: Thirty-Third Heaven of Unending Grief

After a cool breeze passed, Wu Xian opened his eyes again.

This time, he appeared at the very spot where he first entered the blessed land.

Unlike last time, it was daytime now; the countless malevolent spirits had all hidden away, and Wu Xian could finally see the full scope of this place.

It was an endless wasteland.

Vast and boundless, scattered rocks, thick weeds, a sky of pure blue without a single cloud—everything was eerily silent, no wind, no birdsong, no insect chirps, even his own breathing audible.

Around him stood four statues.

Three of them were silver-plated statues of the Three Officials.

It felt as if their struggle within the blessed land was nothing but a dangerous monkey show performed for these immortals and gods—monkeys in danger get no help, and only after the show ends do they toss a few scraps to the ones they favor.

“This wasteland holds too many secrets; I’ll explore them slowly later.”

Who knows? This so-called Dao cultivation might affect the blessed land’s difficulty—the higher the Dao cultivation, the stronger the malevolent spirits encountered…

While Wu Xian pondered these three attributes, the immortals and gods had already finished their review of him.

Wu Xian gave a self-deprecating smile: “From now on, eat when you’re hungry, drink when you’re thirsty—take better care of yourself… after all, I’m already halfway buried in earth.”

Simply tearing up this invitation would let him enter the blessed land directly.

Wu Xian continued observing and soon noticed other oddities.

Remaining lifespan: 20 years

【Congratulations. You have gained the favor of Yin Law Judge Cui, and been granted a single-person blessed land entry. Survive within it, and you shall receive Cui’s blessing.】

He liked this reward very much—who wouldn’t want a longer vacation?

Wu Xian’s permanent position is currently 0.

In the wasteland, a procession appeared.

【Congratulations, Vassal Wu Xian. You have passed the blessed land “Phantom Inn.”】

【Congratulations. You have triggered “Disaster Retrospection.” Based on your performance in the retrospection, you are rewarded with three hundred Yin Virtue.】

Dao cultivation: 0

Permanent position: 0

Blessing slots: 3

Wu Xian blinked in surprise.

Wu Xian no longer had the courage to climb up.

For the blessed land’s system, starting from scratch is entirely different from starting with prior advantages!

With those two malevolent incense sticks, his number of deity offerings increased to three.

Wu Xian didn’t rush to leave—he climbed onto his own statue, pulled out a telescope, and gazed into the distance.

He had seen all these twenty-plus people before!

They were unmistakably the surviving original inhabitants from the previous blessed land!

“Why are they here?”

Wu Xian felt the blessed land didn’t operate this way.

Of all these rewards, the one that surprised him most was the permanent position.

Fortunately, a stream of information flooded into Wu Xian’s mind.

This made Wu Xian’s teeth ache slightly.

Between the other four statues stood a familiar door—his detective agency’s door. Opening it would return him to reality.

In the distance, he could see circular clearings, each spaced about ten meters apart; each clearing had a statue, some with pillars or walls—clearly, each clearing belonged to a vassal.

Moments later, a yin official stepped out from the door, suddenly turning his head toward Wu Xian’s direction. Wu Xian recoiled, fell hard to the ground, heart pounding wildly.

The permanent position was somewhat perplexing.

“Su Huijin is dead, so her plot vanished, and her statue lies shattered. Every inch of this wasteland may bury the remains of former vassals.”

Without the pressure of malevolent spirits.

Lifespan was easy to understand—it was how many more years he could live in the real world, barring accidents.

He hadn’t expected to have only twenty years left at his young age; clearly, his past lifestyle had drained his body far too much.

The fourth statue was a human-sized stone figure, seated cross-legged on a rock, its shoulders bare—no arms—each end lit with a white candle.

Wu Xian guessed this reward was given to all who passed the blessed land—at least thirty days of respite before any vassal would be forcibly pulled in again.

Permanent position was one of the rare enhancements available to vassals beyond items and blessings—each permanent position allowed a vassal to bring one ability, artifact, or talisman into the next blessed land.

Wu Xian licked his lips.

Standing higher, he could see this place wasn’t empty after all.

“Hello, Vassal.”

Unfortunately, Wu Xian had only one permanent position—he could choose only one item from the nine to bring into the next blessed land; the other two offering items would be wasted here.

“Where are they going now?”

As for yang lifespan… Wu Xian never turned down more.

After calming his emotions.

Wu Xian’s pupils dilated.

But even this was far better than having no permanent position at all.

“Please confirm your current status.”

What did Dao cultivation mean?

Did higher Dao cultivation mean longer life? Or explosive combat power—could he slap a malevolent spirit dead with one blow?

Leading the procession was a ghost in a black robe and pointed black hat, feet hovering above the ground—a yin official. The yin official held a chain, at the end of which were twenty-plus humans.

【Your performance in this blessed land was rated “outstanding” by the immortals and gods. Reward: one permanent position, two rare incense sticks, one year of yang lifespan.】

Just moments ago, he had been distressed over not being able to carry his items into the next blessed land—now, with this permanent position, he could choose one item to bring forward!

Wu Xian rolled his eyes.

New text appeared on his vassal permit.

“It seems rewards are based on performance in the blessed land—the better the overall performance, the better the reward.”

【Reward: 30-day rest period.】

But Wu Xian searched twice and found no Su Huijin—only a clearing swallowed by weeds, where a broken statue lay, its face half-gone, its outline unmistakably resembling Su Huijin.

“You are in the Thirty-Third Heaven of Unending Grief, the transit point between blessed lands and the mortal realm. Wait a while—the immortals and gods are reviewing your performance in the blessed land to determine your reward.”

Wu Xian paused.

He opened his vassal permit—the first page now displayed new information.

Thus, even outstanding performance in the blessed land granted no lasting advantage—each blessed land was a fresh hell, starting from zero.

Wei Chao held a magnifying glass and notebook, studying the statues.

This meant all unused talismans and artifacts could not be carried into reality or into the next blessed land.

“So the statue represents the vassal’s state within the blessed land.”

Wu Xian searched among the clearings and soon found someone familiar.

The statue’s face was his own!

Wu Xian kept watching and saw these people enter a door; behind it, faintly visible, was a white van—the license plate unreadable.

The people vanished after entering the door.

Blessing slots were straightforward—it was the number of blessings he could use simultaneously. He currently had only one blessing, so no concern there.

Shi Ji had obtained something and was happily dancing a hip-swinging dance among the statues.

As the text appeared, an invitation materialized silently in Wu Xian’s hand.

So the scene he had just experienced was called “Disaster Retrospection”—apparently, not everyone got the chance to experience it.

Wu Xian didn’t grasp the meaning of Disaster Retrospection, but three hundred Yin Virtue was still valuable—should he meet the Five Manifest Wealth Gods again, these Yin Virtue could be exchanged for spirit money to shop at the Many Treasures Tathagata.

(End of chapter)