Chapter 174
**Chapter 187: Let Me Test You (The Taste of the Martial Arts Arena)**
“Phew—finally sent that big shot off.” Huang Gu Bei sighed in relief, leaning back against the sofa, realizing that at some point, his back had become soaked with cold sweat.
The pressure was overwhelming.
In the past, he had two generals stationed in his office, both with notoriously bad tempers, who would explode at the slightest provocation. Yet, the pressure they exerted was nothing compared to a single hair from Governor Chen.
He couldn’t help but wonder what Governor Chen had experienced in the ruins.
Before entering the ruins, he was like a sharpened sword.
After coming out, he resembled a blade pulled from a battlefield of corpses.
“Miss Lin, do you think what Governor Chen said is true? Is there really an old monster behind the Bone China Girl?”
“Maybe,” Lin Chen replied, recalling the claw she had encountered, pulled from the void. That claw might just be the old monster behind the Bone China Girl, but the relationship between the Bone China Girl and the claw’s master remained a mystery.
If it was a master-servant relationship, the claw shouldn’t have killed the Bone China Girl.
But one couldn’t be too certain; after all, there’s no saying among evil spirits that “a tiger doesn’t eat its cubs.”
“Perhaps the evil spirit we encountered in the Ghost Market is the old monster Chen Huai’an mentioned… Regardless, we’ll know the truth after midnight tonight. Whether it’s bragging or reality, he has to provide an answer, so you all better be prepared.”
“True enough, after all, Governor Chen is indeed very strong…”
…
In the underground cavern of Jinde Ancient Town, a towering statue of a white porcelain Bodhisattva stood. A Bodhisattva is typically depicted with a kind and gentle expression, but this statue was anything but; her face was grim, adorned with a crown of hanging tassels, dressed in a blood-red robe, with embroidered lonely souls and wild ghosts on her sleeves. Instead of standing on a lotus pedestal, she was trampling a pile of white porcelain bones.
Suddenly, blood oozed from the statue’s eyes, her face contorting into that of a malevolent spirit, and a chilling voice echoed, “It’s only been a little over ten years since the spiritual energy revived, and there are already such powerful cultivators? It shouldn’t be like this… it shouldn’t be like this! There must be something wrong…”
The Porcelain Mother recalled the madman’s frenzied appearance, realizing belatedly that the madman seemed to be practicing demonic arts.
If it wasn’t the method of the Emperor Jiang, then a new lineage must have emerged?
But why hadn’t she known about it!
And since it was a demonic cultivator, they should be in the same camp as her.
Didn’t they say that during the early stages of spiritual energy revival, demonic cultivators and evil spirits shouldn’t fight amongst themselves?
Did this demonic cultivator dare to defy the rules set by those beings without fearing a fate worse than death?
The Porcelain Mother pondered for a long time but couldn’t make sense of it. This situation was too strange; she had never encountered anything like it before. But no matter what, since she was here, she needed to quickly enhance her strength.
“First, I need to recover. The methods available to cultivators in the early stages of spiritual energy revival are limited; they shouldn’t be able to find my hiding place…”
The Porcelain Mother closed her eyes and formed a hand seal.
To quickly regain her strength, she needed to switch from her ghostly form to that of a statue, which would accelerate her cultivation speed.
However, the statue form was also quite fragile and needed protection.
A hazy blood light brewed in the cavern, accompanied by a rustling sound.
A swarm of Bone China Girls, holding blood porcelain vials, slowly approached the Porcelain Mother.
They raised their hands high, pouring the blood from the vials into the withered lotus pedestal beneath the Porcelain Mother, and themselves shattered into porcelain shards, merging with the withered lotus pedestal, while the aura around the Porcelain Mother rapidly grew stronger.
During the Mingde era, a county official, in a desperate attempt to save his critically ill young son, performed a blood sacrifice of a girl to create blood bone porcelain, which he offered to the Earthly Fiend Ghost Mother. Over three years, countless sacrifices were made, and the Earthly Fiend Ghost Mother used the blood bone porcelain to shape a ghostly Buddha form. However, she failed to save the county official’s son, instead disguising a blood porcelain vial to resemble him.
After all, as a ghost cultivator,
She was only skilled in killing; how could she save anyone?
…
“Chen… Governor, is there really a stronger evil spirit behind the Bone China Girl?”
Once in the car, Xiang Xiaoyuan could no longer hold back, staring at Chen Huai’an in the back seat and bombarding him with questions.
“Of course! They don’t believe it, and you don’t either?” Chen Huai’an rolled his eyes and pulled out his phone.
“But Governor, the drone didn’t detect any evil spirit presence.”
“You might as well scrap that detection system.” Chen Huai’an was speechless.
He had been stirring up trouble inside for so long, and they came out telling him there was no detection of evil spirits?
What was he killing then?
Air?
“Governor, if there really is such a powerful evil spirit, it’s best not to go at midnight. That’s when the yin energy is at its peak; we should go at noon instead,” Zhao Ying, who was driving, slightly turned her head.
She was more inclined to believe Chen Huai’an.
After all, Chen Huai’an had a clear yet naive gaze, the kind that suggested he wouldn’t lie.
“It’s fine; I’m going at midnight.”
Chen Huai’an opened his electronic girlfriend game.
He really didn’t want to explain to Xiang Xiaoyuan and Zhao Ying.
He needed to go during the time when the ghostly energy was strongest.
One reason was that he was afraid he wouldn’t be able to find the other party’s exact location, and the other reason… he was worried about accidentally killing them again. This time, he needed to capture them alive. Anyone who has played Pokémon or Celestial Chronicles knows that without a skill that leaves the opponent with just one drop of health, you can only try to hit the higher-level, tougher ones.
For him, it wasn’t just about cultivation materials; it was also money!
“Governor…”
Zhao Ying and Xiang Xiaoyuan wanted to persuade him further. Chen Huai’an, already impatient, put on his headphones, pulled up the partition between the front and back seats, and curled up in his seat: “Alright, do what you need to do. I’m going to play a game.”
He muted the back seat, isolating himself from Xiang Xiaoyuan and Zhao Ying’s voices.
Glancing at Li Qingran, who was sleeping on the bamboo couch, images of her demonstrating the meridian pathways of the Chongxu Lingmu technique flashed in his mind. He licked his lips, a mischievous grin spreading across his face.
Since she was asleep, she should be… a bit sluggish, right?
He reached out a hand, poking her delicate, soft waist.
“Qingran, wake up! Let me test you~”
…
…
---
**Chapter 188: Another Epiphany?!**
Chen Huai’an peeled off the gloves, discovering a printed instruction sheet nestled between them, which read:
“‘Immersive Experience’ one-time-use gloves. Due to the immense energy required to manifest a player’s five senses in the Cangyun Realm, and the need for strong causality, this trial opportunity is limited. Players are encouraged to enhance their causality with their electronic girlfriend to reduce consumption and achieve five-sense communication sooner.”
“Oh!” Chen Huai’an had an epiphany.
He had just been lamenting the inability to touch Li Qingran, missing the sensation of her skin, soft and bouncy like a marshmallow.
Now, wasn’t this the opportunity he had been waiting for?
If he understood correctly, as long as he wore the gloves, he could truly touch Li Qingran, right?
But then came the question.
Chen Huai’an stroked his chin, narrowing his eyes.
Did the gloves really have to be worn on his hands? Was there a possibility of wearing them elsewhere, disguising them as a hand, and then holding hands with Li Qingran? Wouldn’t that be equivalent to…
“Ahem! Enough! Chen Huai’an, can you really be this lewd?”
“That’s your electronic girlfriend!”
“You need to respect, cherish, and love her!”
“Not act like a beast!”
In less than ten seconds, Chen Huai’an suppressed his filthy thoughts.
He picked up his phone, only to see a prompt pop up on the screen:
“[Do not wear the gloves on other body parts; otherwise, you will bear the consequences.]”
“Ha! Am I that kind of person? Do I need a mere game system to remind me?” Chen Huai’an scoffed, flipping the gloves and forcefully pulling them over his head.
The head, which governs vision, touch, smell, hearing, and taste, was the true opening of the five senses. This one-time-use glove was best suited for the head! Wearing it anywhere else would be a total loss!
This was wisdom.
There weren’t many humans as clever as him.
…
…
In her dreams, Li Qingran sensed something strange.
It was as if she had returned to a summer night of her childhood, playing hide and seek with the neighbor’s kids. That silly boy could never find her, and gradually, she had fallen asleep in a pigsty, surrounded by little pigs nudging her hands, feet, and face with their soft, warm snouts…
But wasn’t she in her master’s little room?
Where did all these little pigs come from!
Table of Contents
