Chapter Sixty
The crisp voice of a young girl came from beneath the phoenix tree, and before the words had fully faded, Xiuyan had already halted in his tracks.
The most powerful Ghost Lord in the Ghost Realm turned around, looking at the cunning and intelligent girl behind him.
"Little girl, what did you call me?"
Ayin rubbed her nose and called out again, "Your Majesty, Ghost King Your Majesty."
Xiuyan's expression showed a mix of surprise and helplessness, but he did not deny it. "How did you figure it out?"
"Your Majesty probably doesn't know that the Spiritual Power of the Water Condensation Beast is rare. If it is used to heal someone, its aura will not dissipate for three days. That day, I infused my Spiritual Power into you at the Cultivation Speech Pavilion. Logically, that aura should only be on you. But just now, I sensed my Spiritual Power aura on Ghost King Your Majesty's blood-red thumb ring, and you happen to be wearing a ring identical to his." Ayin's gaze fell on the ring on Xiuyan's finger. "You might have the same blood jade ring as Ghost King Your Majesty, but there would never be two rings tainted with my Spiritual Power."
Xiuyan raised an eyebrow, neither confirming nor denying Ayin's speculation.
In truth, upon closer inspection, aside from attire, eye color, and temperament, Xiuyan bore an eighty percent resemblance to Ao Ge. However, Ao Ge, with his imperial dignity, possessed deep crimson eyes that were eerie and unsettling, often captivating souls. Most in the Ghost Realm revered and feared him, never daring to look directly at him. Moreover, their temperaments were polar opposites, which was why no one had ever noticed the subtle connection between the Ghost King and Xiuyan, nor had anyone realized that the two had never appeared in public simultaneously.
Xiuyan rubbed the ring on his finger and smiled. "So it was this thing that gave me away. Little girl, you are quite clever. In all these years in the Ghost Realm, no one has ever discovered that he and I are one and the same."
"So, which one are you... Ghost Lord Xiuyan? Or Your Majesty Ao Ge?" Ayin asked.
"I am, of course, Xiuyan," Xiuyan replied, raising an eyebrow as if stating the obvious.
"Then what about Your Majesty Ao Ge?" Ayin asked curiously. "Is Your Majesty Ao Ge just a disguise? How do you change your eye color? And your ghostly power and personality—they’re completely different!"
"Because we are two different people."
Just as Ayin was about to lean closer to Xiuyan to press further, a cold, deep voice emerged from his lips. His pitch-black pupils turned blood-red, and his warm, gentle expression suddenly became aloof and sharp, pushing others away. Aside from not wearing imperial robes, the Xiuyan standing before Ayin now was almost identical to Ghost King Ao Ge from the Wushuang Hall.
"Ghost King Your Majesty!" Ayin was so startled by Ao Ge's cold, blood-red eyes that she took a step back, nearly bumping into the phoenix tree behind her. She could banter and joke with Xiuyan, but she dared not act presumptuously before Ao Ge, the ruler of an entire realm. She swallowed hard and forced an awkward smile. "So you really can perform a living transformation trick."
Ayin glanced at the Ghost King and cautiously asked, "What about Ghost Lord Xiuyan?"
"His soul power has always been weaker than mine. I can emerge whenever I wish," Ao Ge said, glancing at Ayin. "The Spiritual Power has been exchanged, and Feng Yin’s Soul has been retrieved. The Ghost Realm is no place to linger. You should leave."
With that, the Ghost King turned and walked away without hesitation, completely ignoring Ayin’s burning curiosity.Ayin pouted, feeling quite regretful, and trailed behind the Ghost King with her head drooping. Suddenly, the person in front of her stopped, and Ayin, unable to react in time, bumped into the Ghost King with a "thud." Startled, she jumped back three feet, ignoring the hard pain on her forehead, and covered her pounding heart, trembling with anxiety.
In the span of a breath, seeing that the Ghost King showed no reaction, Ayin was about to ask what was going on. The figure abruptly turned around, his dark eyes and smiling face restored as he winked at her. "Hey, little girl, I've changed back again!"
Ayin looked at the beaming Xiuyan before her, her eyebrow twitching as she finally suppressed the urge to give him a good beating. If not for the monk's sake, then for the Buddha's—she had to hold back out of respect for the Ghost King.
"It's good that you've changed back," Ayin said, sizing up Xiuyan from head to toe. "Lord Xiuyan, what exactly is going on between you and His Majesty Ao Ge? How can two souls reside in one body?"
It was precisely because Xiuyan sensed Ayin's confusion that he had stopped Ao Ge from leaving and changed back. The Ghost Realm was lonely, with long, endless nights, and it was rare to find a little girl like her to talk to—truly not easy.
"Let me tell you a story," Xiuyan said, walking under the phoenix tree and gazing up at the branches reaching toward the sky, his voice drawn out. "This story begins many years ago."
"Ao Ge and I were born in the Ancient Divine Realm 110,000 years ago, a pair of twin brothers. He governs life, while I preside over death. He was born as the guardian of the Mortal Realm, while I am the guide of the Yellow Springs and rebirth. Thus, on the day we came of age, True God Blazing Sun and True God Bai Jue chose me as the Ghost King and him as the master of the Heavenly Palace."
Ao Ge was the master of the Heavenly Palace? Then why did he become the Ghost King? And why was Xiuyan, the original Ghost King, reduced to a mere wisp of a soul? Ayin did not interrupt Xiuyan, quietly listening on.
"From birth, we cultivated together, and after coming of age, we were supposed to go our separate ways—I to the Ghost Realm, and he to rule the Heavenly Palace. But 70,000 years ago, the Demonic Beasts of the Ancient Divine Realm descended to the Mortal Realm, wreaking havoc and slaughtering countless lives, with no one in the Three Realms able to stop them. At that time, the three True Gods—Shang Gu, Bai Jue, and Tian Qi—happened to be undergoing mortal trials and were not in the Ancient Divine Realm. True God Blazing Sun had to maintain the operation of the Divine Realm and could not leave easily, so Ao Ge, Yue Mi, and I led tens of thousands of divine generals to the Mortal Realm to quell the chaos. That battle shattered mountains and rivers, dyed rivers red with blood, and half of the divine beasts and demonic beasts faced extinction. I also fell in that war."
The battlefield of Asura from 70,000 years ago slowly emerged in Xiuyan's memories. Just hearing about it, the sound of blood boiling and the drums of savage war seemed to echo, and Ayin listened, captivated. Since Xiuyan's soul still existed, it meant someone had saved him.
"Lord Ghost..." Ayin called out, then quickly corrected herself, "Oh, no, Your Majesty Xiuyan, who saved you later?"
Now that she knew Xiuyan was the Ghost King chosen by the True Gods of the Divine Realm, she couldn't very well shamelessly act overly familiar with him."Just call me Ghost Lord Xiuyan. After all, I died without even spending a day as a king." Xiuyan shrugged, appearing indifferent. "Ao Ge saved my last wisp of remnant soul on the battlefield. All gods in the Ancient Divine Realm know that as long as even one soul remains, the Primordial Chaos Power of the Ancient True God can help them be reborn. But at that time, the Ancient True God had not yet returned from her tribulation. For my sake, Ao Ge broke into the Hall of Life and Death, stole the Book of Life and Death, found the Ancient True God undergoing tribulations and reincarnations in the mortal realm, and forcibly awakened the Primordial Deity."
Ayin gasped. Forcibly awakening an Ancient True God undergoing tribulations? How was she forcibly brought back? Could it be by slitting the Primordial Deity's throat? To make her spiritual soul return to its place?
Ayin had read too many mortal operas and her imagination ran wild. Seeing her expression, Xiuyan knew she had misunderstood and chuckled, "What are you thinking? Gods can be awakened by Divine Power, it just consumes more Divine Power. As soon as Ao Ge awakened the Ancient True God, the divine generals pursuing him arrived. Knowing he had committed a grave mistake, he knelt outside the Ancient Hall with my remnant soul, begging the Ancient True God to save my life."
"And then? Did the Ancient True God save you?" Ayin quickly asked.
"No." Xiuyan shook his head. "The Divine Lord refused."
Ayin looked astonished. "Why?"
"Because I am the executor in charge of rebirth. If she used Primordial Chaos Power to help me be reborn, during the tens of thousands of years it would take for me to nurture Divine Power and revive, no new Yellow Springs guide would be born between heaven and earth, and the Ghost Realm would fall into chaos."
Ayin had heard of this. In the Divine Realm, some Divine Lords are born from the Cosmic Altar, their duties bestowed by heaven. Once a god ordained by heaven dies, a new god will be born in the Cosmic Altar to continue their duties. But if the previous one has not died, a new god will not be born.
A hundred years ago, after True God Bai Jue perished, rumors spread throughout the Three Realms that a new True God would be born in the Cosmic Altar of the Ancient Divine Realm, but so far there has been no news.
This is the law of heaven and earth, which no one can defy.
"What happened later?"
"To save me, Ao Ge willingly gave up his Divine Registry and the position of Celestial Emperor, replacing me to guard the Ghost Realm and becoming the new Ghost King. So the Primordial Deity agreed to condense my soul for him and help me awaken and be reborn."
"Although His Majesty Ao Ge possesses powerful Divine Power, he is not a god in charge of rebirth. How can he guide the path of the Yellow Springs?" Ayin murmured, then suddenly understood and looked at Xiuyan. "You are twin brothers, with nearly identical Divine Power origins. If his body is used as a vessel, you can immediately awaken and be reborn, and the Ghost Realm won't fall into chaos due to losing its guide. That's why the Ancient True God agreed to your request."
Reviving Xiuyan within Ao Ge's body would bypass the long process of soul recovery and nurturing, and the Ghost Realm would not lose its ruler. But at the same time, Ao Ge, now possessing Xiuyan's soul, would have to remain in the Ghost Realm forever, never to leave again.
Exchanging eternal freedom for Xiuyan's soul—no one knew that Ao Ge, the Ghost King feared and dreaded in the legends of the Three Realms, had made such a choice over seventy thousand years ago. He, who should have ascended to the highest position in the Heavenly Palace, overlooking the Three Realms.
"Yes, to bring me back to life, he forever lost his position as Celestial Emperor, stayed with me in the Ghost Realm, and became the Ghost King."
Xiuyan let out a long sigh, recalling the events of those years, his expression inscrutable."Since the Primordial Deity helped you gather your soul for rebirth, why is your soul still so weak and fragmented? If I hadn't used my spiritual power to nurture it, your soul power wouldn't have lasted much longer," Ayin asked, puzzled.
"Little girl, gathering a fragmented soul is no simple matter. I am originally a god, requiring thousands of years of continuous nurturing with Primordial Chaos Power. Back then, the Primordial Deity would come to the Ghost Realm every thousand years to gather my soul. Unfortunately, the world is ever-changing. Over sixty thousand years ago, when the Chaos Tribulation descended and the Primordial Deity sacrificed herself for the world, no one could gather my soul with Primordial Chaos Power anymore. Ao Ge built the Cultivation Speech Pavilion for me, exchanging palace tokens for rare treasures from the Three Realms rich in spiritual power to nurture my soul." Xiuyan gazed toward the phoenix tree. "But these spiritual items can only treat the symptoms, not the root cause. My soul power still dwindles day by day. A hundred years ago, when the Ancient True God returned, Ao Ge went back to the Divine Realm to ask the Ancient True God to gather my soul. Unfortunately, after the Primordial Deity returned from her tribulation, her divine power was only enough to reopen the Divine Realm and awaken the slumbering True God Blazing Sun, unable to nurture my soul any further. All these years, it has been this phoenix tree keeping me alive. If you hadn't appeared, I might not have lasted a few more years before my soul scattered and spirit dispersed."
He sighed, his expression ambiguous. "Actually, having my soul scattered and spirit dispersed might be for the best. If I die, a new Yellow Springs guide will be reborn at the Cosmic Altar, and he won't have to stay here in the Ghost Realm anymore."
A faint sigh echoed. Ayin was about to comfort the Ghost Lord, who seemed lost in sorrowful memories.
Unexpectedly, Xiuyan suddenly rubbed his hands together, adopting an ingratiating expression toward the empty air. "Ah, ah, I was just musing a little, not really wanting to die. Why are you so anxious? Our Ghost Realm is lively and splendid, with lanterns hung and drums beaten every day—how could I bear to be reborn elsewhere? I even wrote a few little tunes recently. I'll have the songstresses sing them for you tomorrow."
Presumably, His Majesty Ao Ge had heard Ghost Lord Xiuyan's musings and was displeased. Sharing the same body, they could naturally sense each other's emotions at any time.
Thinking of the Ghost King's city, as bustling and prosperous as Chang'an, Ayin suddenly understood the Ghost King's intentions. Ghost Lord Xiuyan loved excitement, so the Ghost King governed the Ghost Realm like the mortal world, fearing he would feel lonely. The two of them—one ruling the city, the other guiding souls to rebirth—were both kings of the Ghost Realm.
With the godly lifespan being eternal, perhaps it was a blessing for Ao Ge and Xiuyan to accompany each other in this way.
"Little girl, the story is over. You may leave now," Xiuyan said with a smile.
Ayin nodded, bowed to Xiuyan, and took her leave. After two steps, she suddenly turned back and asked, "Ghost Lord Xiuyan, I have one more question."
Xiuyan raised his eyebrows slightly. "What else do you wish to know?"
"You said earlier that you were twin brothers, right?" Ayin asked with slight curiosity. "So which of you is the elder brother?"
Xiuyan was taken aback, as if he had never considered this question over the years. After a moment of careful recollection, his eyes lit up, and he patted himself delightedly. "I emerged from the Cosmic Altar half an incense stick's time before him. I am the elder brother.""So it turns out Emperor Ao Ge is the younger brother. He's quite sensible, hasn't given you much trouble—just a bit expressionless. You can still train him up a bit in the future." Ayin nodded, then added with reckless courage, likely remembering Ao Ge's temperament and fearing Xiuyan might suddenly revert. She waved at Xiuyan, hugged Feng Ran's soul, and dashed out of the hall.
Behind Ayin, the standing figure's eyes gradually turned crimson, slowly returning to their ghostly, indifferent appearance.
Ao Ge watched the girl skipping away into the distance, an unusual warmth and barely perceptible gratitude flickering in his gaze.
In this story, there was one thing Xiuyan had always forgotten to mention.
During that battle long ago, part of the Demonic Beasts from the Nine Nether Purgatory broke through the forbidden barrier, slaughtering living beings. Xiuyan used the Divine Dissolution method to scatter his soul and spirit, forging a Barrier for him, shielding him with his own flesh and blood.
In the end, he lived. His elder brother died protecting him right before his eyes.
Seventy thousand years had passed, and he never regretted the choice he made back then. What did it matter if he gave up ruling over the Three Realms?
To me, wherever you are is this vast heaven and earth, this boundless world.
Outside the Palace of Bell and Spirit, Ayin, who had just stepped one foot out, saw a person and two beasts arriving on Sword Flight, seemingly about to stir up a storm of bloodshed in the Ghost Realm, and silently withdrew her foot.
Oh my goodness, Ghost Lord Xiuyan, save me! I don't think I'll make it through tonight, big sister!
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