The Demon with Holy Radiance

"It seems I was overthinking things. In that case, I’ll have to trouble you, Senior Brother."

Yang An didn’t press the issue. He had already sensed something was wrong. Since he couldn’t get a direct answer from Fu Ming, it wasn’t a problem he could solve in a moment’s notice.

And it wasn’t as if he could kill Fu Ming over it.

Fu Ming’s expression remained perfectly calm, as if he truly knew nothing about the Life Crane that Yang An had just asked about.

It was difficult for Yang An to read anything from his face.

"It’s been five days since I first entered and left Lower Hu. You only just returned to the Gray Scale today, Senior Brother. Is there a way to extend one’s stay in Lower Hu?"

’Time to get down to business.’ Fu Ming hadn’t revealed much before, as if he were hiding something. ’He has to talk now, right?’

Fu Ming shook his head.

"I didn’t go to Lower Hu. I was in the ’mirror-me’ state, which is why I emerged after you.

"What you saw of me in Lower Hu was just a measure I had prepared long ago."

"As for extending your time in Lower Hu, there is one method that might help you."

"What method?"

Fu Ming looked at Yang An and slowly uttered a single word:

"Slaughter!"

He paused for a moment.

"Everything in the Xian Origin Land seems both real and unreal, true and false. But regardless, they are all products of the Xian Origin Land. You, on the other hand, are an outsider who is constantly being rejected by the Deep World."

Hearing this, Yang An understood what he meant.

"So by killing them and being tainted by their aura, the rejection we experience will lessen?"

"Not we. You!"

Fu Ming shook his head.

"After our physical bodies die in reality, our souls come here and naturally begin to integrate with the Xian Origin Land, becoming a part of it. You are the only exception.

"You have already gained control over the Xian Origin Land. Only you can truly kill them."

"Not only that, but this method might also help you comprehend the Xianyuan Forbidden Artifact."

"Is that so?"

’How could Fu Ming know so much?’ Yang An was skeptical.

But Fu Ming quickly added another sentence.

"All of the above is just my speculation. As I said, you are the most special one here, Junior Brother. I am just a dead man, unable to verify this guess, but I imagine it will be useful to you.

"If it doesn’t work, you’ll have to find another way. I can’t help you any further."

Hearing Fu Ming’s words, Yang An was silent for two breaths before nodding.

"Thank you, Senior Brother."

It didn’t matter whether what Fu Ming said was true or false, something he already knew or mere speculation. The answer he gave did present Yang An with a viable path forward.

He had never understood what gaining control of the Xian Origin Land actually meant. Besides being able to enter and exit it at will, how did this so-called "control" manifest itself?

According to Fu Ming’s answer, it seemed his greatest power was the ability to permanently kill the creatures of this world. This meant the method might actually work.

’In essence, is this the ultimate freedom granted by my control?’

"Right, one last thing. Senior Brother, have you ever heard of Boundary Repairers?"

Yang An was preparing to enter Lower Hu again, but this question suddenly occurred to him just before he left.

Fu Ming nodded.

"I have.

"It’s said that Boundary Repairers come from the former Five Great Celestial Sects. There are many Original Spirits in the Deep World, and Boundary Repairers often hunt and capture them.

"If you run into a Boundary Repairer, Junior Brother, it’s best you avoid any contact with them. It’s very dangerous."

He was reminding Yang An, but it was also a warning.

Yang An gave him a deep look and nodded.

"Thank you, Senior Brother."

Now he was certain that Fu Ming knew quite a few secrets.

The moment he mentioned Boundary Repairers, Fu Ming had brought up the Five Great Celestial Sects. He clearly already knew there was a connection between the Celestial Sects and the Xian Origin Land.

Fu Ming had never mentioned this before, only bringing it up after Yang An asked about it first.

This gave Yang An the feeling that Fu Ming was deliberately guiding him, step by step. As for his true purpose, Yang An had no way of knowing for now. He could only take it one step at a time.

Besides, regardless of whether Fu Ming was guiding him or not, Yang An had to enter the Deep World of the Xian Origin Land to become stronger.

"Bow Lady!"

He called out softly in his mind. Immediately, a chilling sensation spread from his Heart, lasting for several breaths. As an ever-increasing pain washed over him, the world before Yang An’s eyes began to change rapidly.

Except for the campfire, which seemed to burn with eternal stability, Fu Ming and everything else in the surroundings appeared to liquefy and drip away.

Once his vision stabilized, Yang An found he had smoothly entered Lower Hu this time.

He was in the same place he had left from—the spot where the woman had died.

Yang An deliberately memorized the sensation from before, having the Bow Lady regulate the pain to return his consciousness to its previous frequency.

The surroundings were quiet, deathly still. Yang An couldn’t see any living creatures. All traces of the woman’s death had vanished without a trace, and the person who had appeared as he was leaving was also gone.

In fact, Yang An suspected that the voice belonged to a so-called Boundary Repairer.

If that guess was correct, then the woman must have been an Original Spirit.

The first time Yang An entered the Outer Continent and wasn’t suppressed by its Rules, he had suspected he might have some connection to the Original Spirits.

When that Boundary Repairer appeared, he had said, "There’s an unrecorded World Body here," and then attacked. He was clearly referring to Yang An.