Chapter 368

Chapter 369: How Big Is This Otherworld?

Leaving the suddenly blank-faced Irene alone, Yu Sheng walked up to Immortal Yuan Ling, who was holding his spirit mirror and replaying, again and again, the images they had recorded in the Otherworld.

Thousand Peak Spirit Mountain torn off the planet’s surface. The Grand Void Spiritual Axis slowly breaking apart in space.

And those twisted, chaotic distant stars.

The old man’s face looked more serious than ever.

“If this truly is our past, then the eerie Otherworld on Nethermoon is more special and important than anyone thought,” Immortal Qian Ji said in a low voice, the sound from his chest carrying heavy weight. “It can reflect scenes of the old world, even bring out things from it. Add a group of mysterious Evil Path Cultivators fixated on finding a so-called Sovereign’s Legacy there, and many old fellows won’t be able to sit still.”

Immortal Yuan Ling nodded, then added, “Not just the current elders. Even reclusive ancestors who have hidden from the world for years might come out. Compared with us, those who lived through the early chaos of the Grand Void Spiritual Axis care even more about the ‘old world.’” His eyes hardened as he continued, “But beyond that, I am now more concerned about another doubt, one we have overlooked.”

Immortal Qian Ji turned and asked, “Oh?”

“Is that eerie Otherworld really on Nethermoon?” Immortal Yuan Ling said, unusually grave.

Silence fell over the Grand Hall. Even Irene, who had been chattering to Luna, froze, turned her head, and stared in confusion.

Little Doll spoke without thinking and said, “If it’s not on Nethermoon, then where is it? Didn’t we just from up there-” She stopped mid-sentence as something clicked, and her eyes went a little wide.

Yu Sheng’s gaze fell on Zheng Zhi, who was quietly listening, and then on Rapunzel and Mermaid, who were a bit absentminded.

Immortal Yuan Ling spoke slowly and said, “These three did not enter through the Nethermoon mine. Their entrance was on a mountain path somewhere on Thousand Peak Spirit Mountain. That has something to do with Zheng Zhi’s gift, but the entrance itself did open on the Grand Void Youth Form. And earlier, there was a group of Black Robed Evil Cultivators whose entrance may have been at a third location, outside both the Grand Void Spiritual Axis and Nethermoon.”

Yu Sheng nodded and said, “So the mine is only one fixed entrance. The ‘body’ of this Otherworld might be somewhere else, and its entrances might show up… across all of Featherwing-13b.”

Rapunzel blinked and said, “A mixed entry method, both conditional and positional? You can go in through a specific Rift, but if you’re within a certain range and meet the conditions, you can enter directly too?”

“Very likely,” Immortal Yuan Ling said with care. “I already sent disciples to check the mountain path where you three fell into the Otherworld. They searched the area and found no trace of a suspected Otherworld Rift. There is definitely no fixed entrance there.”

“If that’s true, it’s not good,” Immortal Qian Ji said, worry edging into his tone. “Sometimes the environments in that Otherworld are extremely dangerous. If its entrances are not limited to Nethermoon but can swallow people anywhere on the Grand Void Spiritual Axis whenever conditions are met… this time it was Thousand Peak Spirit Mountain. Next time, a small sect? Or even an ordinary city? This time it took three people. Next time, ten, a hundred?”

“I think that’s unlikely,” Yu Sheng said. “Zheng Zhi’s constitution is very rare, even in the Borderland.”

Immortal Qian Ji’s lenses flickered as he turned to the “big nephew” and asked, “Fellow daoist, is that so?”

Zheng Zhi looked embarrassed but nodded and said, “After reading my test report, our captain did say something like that.”

Immortal Qian Ji thought for a moment, then said, “Even so, we can’t keep this quiet. No matter the reason, we should notify the sects. If something abnormal appears on the Grand Void Spiritual Axis, we need to know. Those Black Robed Evil Cultivators suffered a loss this time, but they may try again. They understand that Otherworld well. If they use its traits to slip onto the Grand Void Spiritual Axis without anyone noticing, that will be trouble.”

Immortal Yuan Ling nodded firmly and said, “Agreed. Today, the two of us will draft a notice together and explain the situation to Remote Mist Sect, Hengxu, and Nethergloom Valley, then discuss next steps.”

“Has the black-robed man we caught woken up?” Yu Sheng asked.

“He has,” Immortal Yuan Ling said at once, “but his mind is very tough, and a great expert seems to have sealed parts of his memory. Direct questions get us nowhere. So I threw him into the Heart Questioning Pavilion and give him an elixir every day, letting him live through decades in Illusion Arts between false and real, to see if he loosens up.”

“Good. I know your pill and talisman work,” Immortal Qian Ji said with a nod. “With that routine, unless he finds a chance to end himself, no one can hold out. Before we figure this out, I will let this avatar stay here for now. Arrange a mechanism workshop for me, if you would.”

“Of course,” Immortal Yuan Ling said. Then he turned to Yu Sheng and added, “Your experience in that Otherworld was dangerous. I’ve set out some tea and food at the Immortal Dining Hall and prepared a little wine. Let’s eat together and settle our nerves, shall we?”

What could Yu Sheng say? The moment Foxy heard the word “food,” she was already wiping drool on her own tail. He could only nod.

Hearing there would be food, Rapunzel scooted over and asked, “Can we eat together?”

“Naturally,” Immortal Yuan Ling said with a hearty laugh. “You are all guests. If the other seventy-something little ones get hungry, they can go to the Immortal Dining Hall anytime.”

Mermaid covered her face and said, “Rapunzel, this is a little embarrassing, you know.”

Rapunzel rolled her eyes and said, “So much talk. The Old Immortal is treating us. Are you eating or not?”

Mermaid muttered, “Eating.”

…

After they had eaten and drunk their fill (for the record, Rapunzel and Mermaid had juice), Yu Sheng’s group went back to Wutong Road 66 on the Cloud Viewing Terrace.

Zheng Zhi was pulled into the living room too, because Yu Sheng had something serious to tell him.

Looking straight at him, Yu Sheng asked, “You’re sure you won’t return to Boundary City? You’ve seen what it’s like here. A very nasty Otherworld is activating. Thousand Peak Spirit Mountain is at least one entrance area. If you stay here, your chance of falling in again isn’t small.”

Zheng Zhi had felt tense when they brought him in, but after hearing Yu Sheng, he thought seriously for a long time. Then he nodded firmly and said, “I’m sure.”

“I want to hear your reason.”

Zheng Zhi rubbed his hands, a little embarrassed, and said, “There are two. One is for the Bureau report. One is the truth for you. Which one do you want first?”

Yu Sheng raised an eyebrow and said, “Give me the Bureau one first.”

“Because the Bureau assigned me to stand guard at Wutong Road 66. I should complete my task.”

“Alright. And the truth?”

Tears almost came to Zheng Zhi’s eyes as he said, “Brother Yu, the Borderland… has more Otherworlds!”

Yu Sheng stared: “…”

“I might fall into one here again, but where wouldn’t I?” Zheng Zhi said with a helpless laugh as he pointed at himself. “You talk like I’d be safe in Boundary City.”

“Fair point,” Yu Sheng said, slapping his own forehead. “I forgot about that.”

From the sofa, Irene looked up from the remote and said, “Exactly. At least here, there are only a few active Otherworlds, and right now only one is highly active. If big nephew falls in, those of us outside know where to fish him out. If he goes to Boundary City, he really could slip and die in eight hundred different ways. When the coroner comes, they’ll have to open blind boxes in every Otherworld in town to see if they can pull a piece of him.”

Cold sweat broke across Zheng Zhi’s back. He hunched his neck and said, “It’s not that bad. I haven’t died in the last twenty years, at least.”

Yu Sheng reached over and tapped the little Doll, knocking her off balance, and said, “Play fewer gacha loot-box games. All your allowance goes into microtransactions, and you still lose to bots.”

Irene popped up and bared her teeth as she said, “Say that again and I’ll fight you! And what about me playing games? That’s all I’ve got to pass the time.”

Then the little one squatted on the sofa and started to rattle off a flood of complaints: she “can’t eat or drink,” “doll outfits are ridiculously expensive and few fit,” “the last shoes were hard plastic,” “she barely needs any space to sleep,” and “even playing games gets her mocked.” It went on so long that Yu Sheng’s head went numb.

Worse, she didn’t rant alone. Halfway through, she called over her other three bodies, and now four voices chattered together in Yu Sheng’s ears. The words could make a listener cry. If Yu Sheng didn’t know she hogged all the TVs at home, made more noise alone than the rest of the house combined, and took up three quarters of the bed when she slept, he might have believed her.

After a few minutes, Zheng Zhi felt his head swell like a drum. For the first time, he realized the harmless-looking little Doll could be so noisy. He threw Yu Sheng a sympathetic look, stood up, and said, “Brother Yu, I’ll leave you to it. I’m going back to organize my notes and write the Bureau report.”

Yu Sheng lifted a hand to stop him, but he was already gone.