Chapter 678

Since leaving Huanggang Village, Yang Jian had been troubled.

It wasn't because he carried two ghosts that might awaken, nor because his mother had called a few days ago saying she'd dreamed of his father.

On the contrary, once his physical safety was secured, his temper had improved considerably.

For instance, even Wu Yue from the company, who'd been in good spirits, hadn't been killed by Yang Jian, nor had he clashed with Wang Xiaoming over the file deletion issue—he'd simply settled the matter with a straightforward exchange of money for goods.

The two collaborated smoothly, and Wang Xiaoming didn't even know Yang Jian planned to secretly kill his younger brother, Wang Xiaoqiang.

What's a good gift to give for Yuan Shi Tianzun's wedding?

Fang Zheng said to send local specialties, but I can't exactly send a ghost over.

Yang Jian was seriously pondering while eating ice cream when suddenly he heard a clamor and wailing—he looked up at the emergency exit sign, which read "15th Floor."

"Almost walked past it."

He pulled his foot off the stairs, turned, and entered the 15th floor of the office building; the entire level was dark as if power had been cut, shrouded in a murky bluish-black haze like a fire had occurred, yet there was no acrid, choking smoke.

The environment was being influenced, but it wasn't a ghost domain yet—only an embryonic form.

Crackling

The windows shattered into fragments.

"If you don't want to die, don't move—stand right there."

Yang Jian's voice rang loud, yet the chaos continued; he bit into his ice cream cone and didn't repeat himself.

There were traces of blood on the floor; through the haze, he could barely make out a group of employees huddled near the glass curtain wall of the open floor, some retreating, hesitating whether to jump.

Except for one.

A young man, enveloped in thicker gloom, stood numbly before the office workers; when he sensed Yang Jian's approach, he turned his head, revealing two pitch-black, hollow eyes.

His skin was bluish-black, radiating an inexplicable dread and chill, staring fixedly at Yang Jian.

It was the ghost infant that had emerged from Zhou Zheng's belly, still incomplete.

"I searched all night and couldn't find you—ended up having to stake out this area."

Under incomplete information and without confidence, he wouldn't meddle by hunting ghosts on his own.

But having foreseen the future and analyzed the event from a third-person perspective, Yang Jian understood that today, at this exact moment, was the easiest time to seal the source ghost infant—if he let it grow unchecked, it would bring him trouble.

"What are you staring at?"

Yang Jian chewed and swallowed the ice cream cone, his golden seal on the third eye cracked open, revealing a crimson ghost eye; the shadow beneath his feet instantly swelled, opening several more ghost eyes.

In an instant, red light flooded the entire floor.

The gloom dispersed; Yang Jian drew a three-pronged, double-edged blade and a golden coffin, facing the ghost infant: "Try staring again?"

A flash of red light—the ghost infant was pinned to the wall, dissolving into black mist under the shadow's invasion.

After finishing this, Yang Jian confirmed the source ghost had no other derivative ghost infants in the city; a path of red light stretched straight through the streets to the sealed Seventh Middle School.

Moments later.

Yang Jian dragged a golden coffin weighing several tons out.

He thought for a moment, pulled out a neatly folded dark-brown human-skin paper, on which black, twisted characters floated:

"My name is Yang Jian."

"What exactly is going on with you?"

Should he send this as a gift? After all, the human-skin paper was of little use to him now.

Same material—human skin—same school; look at Fang Zheng's Human-Skin Scripture, which can automatically hunt ghosts and monsters, then upgrade its cultivation method and turn falsehood into truth.

"Why not ask the boss to strengthen it for you?"

"."

The characters on the human-skin paper blurred, then twisted into chaotic symbols; after a moment, they fell silent, then a new string of characters appeared at lightning speed:

"My name is Yang Jian. When you read this, I am still alive. I learned the future through strange means, but now I cannot reach certain places, so I still need the human-skin paper's help."

"On the condition that I must fully trust the human-skin paper, not alter it arbitrarily, and not do unnecessary things."

"Pretty smart." Yang Jian shook the human-skin paper: "You should know what I want right now."

Immediately, the characters vanished and reappeared:

"My name is Yang Jian. I plan to go to the Ghost Post Office, located at... Although Ghost Dream and the Ghost Post Office are not things I should currently touch, with the human-skin paper's help, I'm confident I can obtain what I want—like that dog."

Of course, Yang Jian didn't fully trust the information given by the human-skin paper.

He wanted to rapidly increase his strength; collecting ghost puzzles would let him master powerful rule-based forces in a very short time.

Besides, the Heavenly Court doesn't assign dogs—he'd have to bring his own into the ranks.

He didn't want to become a giant overnight—just enough to gain self-preservation capability in other worlds and accumulate resources, thereby achieving a virtuous cycle of ghost control and cultivation.

Doing these things required one prerequisite: he must have a way to handle the dangers of the Ghost Post Office.

"The ghost that cultivates ghost children is already in hand; the rest—"

"Yang Jian? How is it you?"

"You?!"

The newcomer was Zhao Kaiming, head of the International Police in Dachang City; seeing Yang Jian emerge from the security booth with a golden coffin behind him, his expression darkened.

"I'm a citizen of Dachang City—I naturally have the duty to handle these threats. No need to thank me; just send me a banner in a couple days."

Yang Jian put on the look of a concerned citizen.

He knew this man carried the Wish Ghost, but its mechanism was too powerful—if possible, Yang Jian didn't want to clash with Zhao Kaiming now.

With the Hungry Ghost incident resolved early, Zhao Kaiming couldn't stir up trouble in the short term.

"Goodbye, Officer Zhao." Yang Jian waved his hand—the golden coffin vanished instantly.

Seeing this, Zhao Kaiming's eyes filled with darkness and madness: "I'm the official in charge of Dachang City—you should hand over the sealed ghosts to me for safekeeping."

He had no time to wonder how Yang Jian had done this or where he'd gotten so much gold—all he cared about now was one thought.

'The source ghost must be left behind!'

Zhao Kaiming reached out to stop Yang Jian, but his chest suddenly took a blow, sending him flying backward.

'Excellent, you dare attack INTERPOL!' Zhao Kaiming stared at the hollow in his chest, not angry but delighted, shouting loudly:

'Wang Yue, Wang Xiaoqiang, you can come over now—help me apprehend this dangerous element!'

'Oh? Are you all hanging out together today, plotting how to deal with me?' Yang Jian glanced at the eight people stepping out of luxury cars beyond the street blockade, unfazed.

'Yang Jian openly resisted law enforcement, attempted to take away a monitored ghost, and attacked me—you all saw it.' Zhao Kaiming's wound was healing.

He had fused with the Wish Ghost—he was now an entity that could not be killed by external means.

'We saw it,' Wang Xiaoqiang said with a teasing grin: 'I'm assisting you with the case.'

Wang Yue, however, warned cautiously: 'Your affairs have nothing to do with me.'

'I'll give you a reason: you killed Yan Li's family—I'm going to kill you to avenge them.'

Yang Jian scanned the group: 'More people makes you stronger?'

He pulled out three paper dolls, lit them on fire, and flames burst forth, revealing three phantom figures stepping out.

'Hurry up—I still need to find my dog.'

Yang Jian looked at the stunned men across from him and pulled out several more golden coffins: 'Let me introduce you: this is my big cousin Yang Jian, my second cousin Yang Erlang, my third cousin Yang Yan.'

{Banquets are an indispensable signature experience in the Fantasy Realm. }

It was dawn in the twelfth month; the Cooking Immortal, Weigong Shilang, plunged wholeheartedly into a state of intense busyness, crafting festive flavors using mountains, rivers, sun, moon, heaven, earth, and the cosmos.

'That... could you please not explain while...'

'... I'm cooking?'

Weigong Shilang stopped kneading dough and stared blankly to the side: 'I thought these TV shows were all dubbed later.'

Su Lin pressed pause on the recording and said: 'I'm afraid I'll forget it after filming. Don't you know 'The Flavor of Dongmu' has a huge fanbase?'

'Isn't it just Weigong family food...?' Weigong Shilang muttered sarcastically.

He'd previously wondered why he kept seeing his own cooking tutorial videos on the Ten Thousand Worlds Knowledge Token—and why they were paid courses.

He sighed, set the dough aside to ferment, then borrowed Shi Hao's medicinal cauldron, poured in fresh cream refined from the milk of some savage beast, dropped in a shard of profound Zhaoguang, sealed the cauldron with protective measures.

Finally, he shattered and blended it evenly with the Disruptive Sword, whipping it to a yogurt-like consistency.

'What are you doing with MY Disruptive Sword!?'

'That's part of the universe—you can't mix it with ingredients without borrowing a treasure weapon.'

Weigong Shilang strained to control the whipping frequency capable of shredding spacetime, struggling to reply: 'And this isn't yours—it's mine. I projected it.'

'You've been scheming for so long, yet even making this dish exhausts you—has your power not recovered to even one ten-thousandth of your former strength?!' Gilgamesh crossed his arms, disappointed.

'I wanted to see you unleash the sword technique that can suppress the time rivers of all worlds at full power.'

Puff.

Dada Liya covered her mouth with both hands, her body trembling slightly as if desperately holding back laughter.

Weigong Shilang's face instantly flushed red; he turned and shouted: 'Please stop saying things like that! It's so embarrassing! Just sit over there and wait for dinner!'

'Huh?' Gilgamesh was baffled.

But soon, without external interference, the ingredients in Weigong Shilang's hands underwent astonishing transformations—phenomena like oceans, skies, dragons, and phoenixes appeared as his utensils passed over the food.

As the cake base baked, it felt as if he were standing in a wheat field; when the meat's fat reacted with flame, it resembled a volcano erupting; even the sliced raw fish revealed schools of fish swirling in vortices.

Even before the dish was fully cooked, merely smelling its aroma and witnessing its preparation granted the body a sense of fulfillment.

Worse still, when layer upon layer of cream were spread across the cake, stars sparkled, colors interwove, frosty mists drifted endlessly—and finally, actual structures emerged from the mirror's surface, forming towering columns of interstellar gas and dust.

They were the cradles of starbirth, a magnificent spectacle of the universe.

'Creation Pillar Cake—complete.' Weigong Shilang's hands dimmed; the Food System notified him that this transcendent dish would grant no reward.

Outside the shrine's torii, Lu Mingfei had returned and was excitedly taking photos with Hui Liyi, dressed in a shrine maiden's robes.

Bo Li Byakuren Lingmeng Lingmeng's hands suddenly dropped; she ignored the broomstick fallen to the ground, ignored that the Fantasy Realm now had another 'shrine maiden,' and gazed at the 'food' as if lost in divine reverie.

Somehow, the snow on the cliffside Bo Li Shrine had melted, and the cherry trees had sprouted new buds—though winter had only just begun.

'Incredible,' Teacher Yan Sen gazed up at the ever-expanding, rising 'cake,' gently scooped a bit with his finger, put it in his mouth, and his eyes sparkled.

He fumbled in his sleeve for a moment, then ran to Weigong Shilang and placed a ball of Bai Guang before him:

'The multiverse I created recently—Su Dao friend couldn't use it, so I brought it for cooking.'

Weigong Shilang opened his mouth, staring dumbfounded at Teacher Yan Sen, who looked at him with eager anticipation.

'Teacher Yan Sen Zongzhu, I can't make a dish of this caliber...'

'What a pity.'

The anticipation in Teacher Yan Sen's eyes faded.

I have no idea what this guy is thinking—take responsibility for your own Created World!

You can't even cut this thing—it can't even be shattered with the Disruptive Sword...

'In cultivation terms, eating this would make you explode,' Song Shuhang muttered from the side: 'I still remember that multiverse was once stuffed inside Su Lin's body.'

The moment he finished speaking,

'Can't you phrase it differently?' Su Lin's eyelid twitched as he glared at Song Shuhang: 'Where did that squirrel on your shoulder come from?'

'Found it at the Bo Li Shrine—it's fated to me. I plan to take it home as a spiritual pet and let this little guy inherit one of my Dao titles,' Song Shuhang chuckled, patting the squirrel's head:

'Look, Su Lin senior—it's not afraid of people at all, isn't it especially clever?'

'It just seems kind of dumb,' Su Lin poked the squirrel's head with his index finger: 'Call it Sandy—smart name. Maybe it'll become a scientist of the Empire someday.'

'Hi there~ Sandy, wanna go catch jellyfish and blow Yogurt bubbles?'

This isn't Bikini Bottom, Su Lin senior—and this squirrel is male.

Wait—why 'Yogurt bubbles'?

This has to do with how Patrick Star eats.

Mind reading?

I don't want to hear the next line—you should have a bit of Hercules in your heart.

If it weren't for the exorbitant cost of scrapped resurrection magic artifacts and the large amount of Spirit Stones he owed Bai Qian, Song Shuhang had an impulse to immediately order the magic potion.

I'm giving you this bottle of witch potion.

Because of the cooking and

The brief arrival of spring slightly warmed the climate here, but Song Shuhang still stood bewildered in the wind.

The banquet preparations were nearly complete, leaving only a single cauldron on the ground, filled with clear water and a special hotpot base crafted by Master Xiao, with Xiao Yan lighting the fire beneath it.

Raw meat, vegetables, and Spirit fruits—once all were arranged, the onlookers nearby had already swallowed hard countless times.

"It feels like something's missing…" Ye Fan lowered his head in thought.

"You're right—I hadn't noticed until you mentioned it," Xiao Yan frowned, stroking his chin in thought. "Is it crucial?"

"Crucial."

The group suddenly understood and turned their gazes toward Su Lin.

I've quit drinking.

Then why don't you quit lust?

Stop pretending—get the wine out now!

Su Lin sighed helplessly.

These alcohol addicts should get checked for alcohol dependency; at my current state, drinking is purely a loss—both financially and to my body. Tea is better.

"What nonsense?!" Gilgamesh slammed his fist on the table and rose: "Such a delicacy demands wine worthy of it!"

The Treasury of the King of Gold opened its gates; from golden ripples of space, flasks of divine ancient wine from the Azure Silver Galaxy landed on the table, along with legendary alcoholic treasures from across cosmic history.

"No wonder you're the Hero King!"

"So generous!"

"I've changed my mind about you! Come, let's drink!"

It was clear the Hero King was deeply pleased—especially when the "World-Eater" in his eyes sincerely praised him—so even wines brewed by the wine gods of various mythologies appeared.

"Teacher Yan Sen, I'll leave it to you later—they may have restraint, but once drunk, they might overstep." Zhongli set down his blueprint.

"Naturally." Teacher Yan Sen nodded with a smile.

Not long after the food and drink were served, several more arrived at the Hakkaisan Shrine: the Su Lin medical team from Yuyin Yonglin, along with Teacher Huiyin and Fujiwara no Mokou from the Temple School, but also an uninvited oni girl.

"I thought spring had come before I came here—why didn't you invite me to the banquet?" Suika looked around. "Wait—what's with all this wine?!"

"Hinata's people are using the shrine for a wedding," Reimu had no patience to explain further; she was lost in a hallucination of clothes bursting and sea bream falling from the sky.

"Since you're here, join us," Hinata smiled warmly.

The open-air kitchen bustled; ingredients were more than sufficient—just adding one more pair of chopsticks for each new guest—and the familiar oni quickly blended into the banquet's atmosphere.

But Weigong Shilang felt he was probably overworked—dishes prepared according to headcount kept

being miscounted, mysteriously missing one or two portions.

【Irene: "No time! Annoying! It's all your fault!"】

"My fault?" Su Lin glanced at Irene's reply, closed the chat group, and turned to see Teacher Huiyin approaching, holding a stack of books.

"Thank you for your invitation—these are historical materials concerning mythic eras and legends." Teacher Huiyin handed the books to Meng Qi.

Opening them, he saw the ink was still fresh—written by hand these past two days.

"There's more I'll deliver to you in a few days."

"Thank you."

Meng Qi did not offer excessive politeness—he needed this now.

"Legends?" Hinata placed a turkey leg on Mokou's plate and leaned over curiously. "Why are you collecting these?"

"He's gained another asset," Su Lin flipped a page, reading the entries on 【Tianxiang Xiangbei Shen / Tianjin Wengxing / Luxi】:

"Classified by authority and origin…"

"That's correct—but you could ask me too," Hinata mused, pointing to Yuyin Yonglin with a hint of pride. "Yuyin Yonglin is mentioned in mythological tales—as the deity of wisdom, strategy, and medicine."

"And you? The girl from the bamboo?"

"That's merely the true story from Japan," Hinata gazed up at the sky, thinking a moment. "Before that, I was born on the Moon—but because of the Sun. Calling me a Moon deity isn't quite right… Let me think—how would you describe it in your Eastern myths?"

"That is merely the true story on this side of Japan." Kaguya gazed up at the sky, pondered for a moment, and said:

"Before this, I was born on the Moon because of the Sun—it is not quite right to call me a Moon deity. Let me think... in your Eastern mythology, perhaps I would be described as"

Su Lin: "?"

Meng Qi: «? »

Su Lin: «? »