Chapter 91

"However, I still have one question. Why would the Ghost Office allow someone to take another's place in the competition? Isn't that cheating? If a low-ranking ghost hunter finds a high-ranking ghost to win the competition, wouldn't he become the head hunter?"

Xing raised the teacup lid, gently skimmed off the floating tea leaves, took a sip, and looked at Li Mu.

"This..." Li Mu's tough face showed a hint of pain, and he gritted his teeth, "The strong are respected, and in fact, the Ghost Office is very happy to see such things happen!"

"Oh?" Xing showed an interested expression.

"Because the rules of the ghost hunter competition clearly state," Li Mu continued, "The ghost who wins the competition can become the head hunter, and might even be recommended to the Prison Department to become a soul collector!"

"Oh, the winner of the competition, I see..." Xing's eyes shifted, and he said meaningfully, "Then, Head Hunter Li..."

"I hope Brother Xing wins the competition. It wouldn't matter if I gave the position of head hunter to you; I can start over!" Li Mu gritted his teeth and said firmly.

"Indeed, the Ghost Office's regulations have a certain flavor. Since that's the case, it can only be so." Xing nodded and said.

"Thank you, Brother Xing!" Li Mu's eyes were filled with tears. A man does not shed tears easily, but Li Mu was truly grateful to Xing.

"No problem, it's just a small effort." Xing shook his head and smiled gently. This matter was not entirely without benefit to him. He was someone who would not let a slight go unpunished. The red-faced ghost official had once withheld his reward, and Xing had always harbored resentment. However, he had not found a legitimate way to punish the red-faced ghost official until now.

"Right!" Li Mu suddenly thought of something and asked, "Brother Xing, you only came to the Netherworld a few years ago, right?"

"That's correct. Is there a problem?" Xing nodded and said.

"Have you been here for more than seven years?" Li Mu asked with a strange look.

"Not yet, but it's close." Xing replied, a glint of insight flashing in his eyes.

"Your cultivation has already reached the ninth level of a ghost soldier in less than seven years!" Li Mu couldn't help but draw a sharp breath. He hadn't expected Xing's cultivation time to be so short.

"I just had some opportunities." Xing said calmly, without a hint of pride.

"That's true. There's an unwritten rule in the Netherworld. New ghosts who stay in the Netherworld can return to the human world once during the first seven years to fulfill their wishes." Li Mu took a sip of tea and said.

"The first seven days, I've heard of it in the human world. I originally thought that a person's soul would return on the seventh day after death, but after coming to the Netherworld, I learned that time flows differently in the Netherworld and the human world. Seven years in the human world is also seven years in the Netherworld." Xing pondered for a moment and said, his eyes shining with thought.

"Yes." Li Mu sighed. He hadn't known this at first, and after spending seven years in the Netherworld, he had completely forgotten about the first seven days.

"However, not every ghost who lingers in the Netherworld can return to the human world on the first seven days." Li Mu suddenly said, his voice heavy.

"Oh? Why?" Xing was taken aback and quickly asked. He had to seize the opportunity to return to the human world and investigate the cause of his death.

"To return to the human world, you need a pass called the 'Ghost City Permit.'"

"Ghost City Permit?" Xing raised an eyebrow, asking. He was truly unfamiliar with it.

"The Ghost City Permit is the only pass to the capital of the Ghost Kingdom. The souls of the dead wear the Immortal Robe and hold the permit, and all checkpoints and ferries will verify and allow passage, ensuring a smooth entry into the Six Realms of Reincarnation.

The permit has three large vermilion seals. One is the seal of the City God of Fengdu, the capital of the Ghost Kingdom. The second is the seal of the King of Hell, Yin Tianzi. The third is the seal of the Prefect of Fuzhou, the capital of Fengdu. All three seals are essential.

The method of using the permit is as follows: When a person dies, they bathe and put on the Immortal Robe, then fill in the relevant details of the deceased in the designated blank spaces on the permit. During the funeral, the permit is burned with paper money, symbolizing the issuance of a pass to the deceased according to the legal procedures of the Netherworld.

As the saying goes: A yellow permit leads to the Netherworld, and three red seals ensure ascension!"

Li Mu explained in detail, "Of course, this is what I heard in the human world. In the Netherworld, the Ghost City Permit serves the opposite purpose, allowing ghosts to pass through the Ghost Gate and return to the human world."

"The Ghost City Permit requires three large vermilion seals. One is the seal of the City God of Fengdu, the capital of the Ghost Kingdom. The second is the seal of the King of Hell, Yin Tianzi. The third is the seal of the Prefect of Fuzhou, the capital of Fengdu. Isn't that very difficult?"

Xing frowned. He realized that it was indeed difficult for ghosts to return to the human world from the Netherworld. As the saying goes, it's easy to enter but hard to leave. The Netherworld wouldn't let ghosts return to the human world so easily, as it could disrupt the order of the three realms, and the soul collectors would be overwhelmed.

"As for the three vermilion seals on the Ghost City Permit, I can manage two of them," Li Mu said, a hint of hesitation flashing across his face, but it was quickly buried by his integrity.

"The City God of Fuzhou and I... have a connection. He is also familiar with the City God of Fengdu. If I ask him, I should be able to get the seal of the City God of Fengdu. As for the seal of the Prefect of Fuzhou, I can ask the clerk in the Ghost Office. I have a good relationship with him, and I can ask him to help me get the seal of the Prefect of Fuzhou. As for the last and most important seal, the seal of the King of Hell, Yin Tianzi, I am truly powerless."

"The seal of Yin Tianzi? I will definitely get it. As for the other two seals, I will leave them to you, Brother Li. I must use the first seven days to return to the human world!" Xing pondered and said seriously, his eyes flashing with determination.

At the same time, Xing also learned a harsh and realistic truth from Li Mu's words: "connections"!

Without a strong network of connections, it would be as difficult as climbing to the heavens to return to the human world on the first seven days!

The first seven days, seven days, seven years, are the time to gather the three seals.

"I have already wasted several years, but I must obtain the Ghost City Permit before the first seven days and return to the human world to investigate the cause of my death!" Xing said firmly.

"Don't worry, Brother Xing. I will take care of the seal of the Prefect of Fuzhou and the seal of the City God of Fengdu!" Li Mu patted his chest and said confidently.

"Great!"

Xing laughed loudly, raised his teacup, and drank tea in place of wine, toasting with Li Mu.

Tea does not intoxicate, but people do.

After drinking a pot of fragrant tea, Xing leaned on the table, silent, seemingly asleep, dreaming of the human world, recalling the moments of his life, as if in remembrance or as a warning. The Netherworld, the Six Realms of Reincarnation, cultivation, and everything else seemed like flowers in a mirror or the moon in water, possibly just a dream, ready to wake up at any moment.

Finally, Xing stood up, his eyes determined, facing reality, while Li Mu had already left. They had made their agreement, and everything was according to plan.

Xing walked out of the teahouse, stopped a carriage, and headed to the Pure Land in the inner city of Fengdu, a place suitable for humans to live, opened by a powerful person, and rightly called the Pure Land.

"Has it not opened yet?" Xing looked at the chaos before him, his expression dim. Two years had passed, but the Pure Land had not yet opened.

The chubby baby, the rooster, and Master Ouyang Feng, the scenes of warmth in the Pure Land during those few days, seemed vividly before his eyes, filled with human warmth.

"Could it be... two years in the human world?" Xing's lips twitched, guessing.

"If that's the case, two years in the human world would be equivalent to 730 years in the Netherworld!" Xing opened his mouth wide, as if it could hold an ostrich egg. He always felt that he had been tricked by Ouyang Feng.

"Never mind." Xing shook his head, glanced at the Pure Land shrouded in chaos, and turned to leave.

At the City God's Office, Xing returned to the chef's apartment, sat cross-legged on a mat, and sank his ghostly thoughts into his soul, finding no abnormalities in the newly formed Heroic Soul Wheel and the Essence Soul Wheel.

"Force Soul Wheel, Qi Soul Wheel, Essence Soul Wheel, Heroic Soul Wheel. I have already formed four of the seven soul wheels. The remaining three are the Heavenly Rush Soul Wheel, the Wisdom Soul Wheel, and the Central Hub Soul Wheel, which are the most difficult to form among the seven soul wheels."

Xing checked his True Soul, the "True Appearance Diagram," and his soul, finding no issues, and said softly.

After thinking for a moment, he got up and went to the main kitchen's ingredient area, continuing to take ingredient tokens, hunt fierce beasts, submit ingredients, and receive rewards. He then cut the remaining materials to refine elixirs and artifacts, and handed them over to his subordinates.

Time passed quickly, and Xing's days were spent in the ingredient area, relatively peaceful.

One day, Xing summoned Cui Qi and handed him a large number of ghost qi pills and low-level ghost artifacts, asking him to distribute them to the other subordinates.

At first, Cui Qi was shocked when he received them. He never expected Xing to become a noble ghost alchemist. However, after a few more times, Cui Qi became accustomed to it. Thanks to Xing's inspiration, Cui Qi stepped out of his brother Cui Yu's shadow, and his cultivation advanced, unexpectedly reaching the ninth level of a ghost soldier.

A few days later, Xing noticed Cui Qi's radiant face and asked what had happened. To his surprise, Cui Qi shyly said he had won the affection of Chunlan from the East Garden, which truly amazed Xing. He patted Cui Qi's shoulder and encouraged him to keep up the good work.

Unconsciously, several months passed. Zi Buyu had not sought Xing out since the banquet at the White Mansion, and Dongmei from the West Garden had also vanished, causing no trouble for Xing.

Xing had once wondered who had spread false information about him, claiming that his cultivation had advanced to the ninth level of a ghost soldier, which was completely fabricated. However, he had not expected to truly break through to the ninth level of a ghost soldier.

Xing had suspected Dongmei but quickly dismissed it. His intuition told him it wasn't the proud woman. He also thought of the master of the West Garden, Li Wenji, but immediately ruled her out. Regardless of her age and cunning, her status did not require her to do such a thing.

Xing still couldn't identify the mastermind behind the false information, but as long as they didn't truly provoke him, he didn't want to pursue it seriously. He planned to sweep through the special ingredient room in a few days. After becoming familiar with the ingredient counter ghosts, even if he hadn't reached the ghost official level, he was willing to give Xing the special ingredient token.

However, the day before Xing was to enter the special ingredient room, he received some terrible news.

"What? The leader of the West Garden, Dongmei, is dead?!"