In a five-star hotel suite in Kunming City, Yunnan, two silver-haired individuals, a black-haired youth, and a bald man all watched a live stream with rapt attention.

The most comfortable among them was the black-haired youth; he wore a silk robe, sitting on a big bed covered with soft, skin-friendly sheets while holding a 6.5-inch smartphone to watch.

The silver-haired, slender young man sat behind a desk, watching the live stream on an all-in-one computer provided by the suite. The screen wasn't large and the computer's processing speed was rather slow, but it was sufficient for watching live streams. The only issue was the built-in speakers' poor audio quality. The grating noise it produced caused him to grind his teeth with a clanging sound.

The silver-haired burly man lay sprawled on the suite's sofa, a lengthy couch that could fit five or six people yet was fully occupied by him alone. He held a 12-inch tablet as he watched, and the Little Bald Guy lay on his back doing the same.

Whenever the Disaster Girl appeared, the Little Bald Guy's head would involuntarily lean in closer, his mouth smacking as if he saw something delicious, his saliva nearly drooling out. Then the silver-haired burly man would quickly nudge his head back. "Watch the drool."

The Little Bald Guy wasn't angry, hugging the silver-haired burly man's neck and saying, "Ba, Ba, little Baba, since you've got a tablet, why not give me the phone?"

"No."

"Stingy."

Yun Wangshu, lying on the bed, chuckled at this exchange. The Little Bald Guy, hearing his soft laughter, suddenly leapt with all his might from the silver-haired man's back, flying high toward Yun Wangshu. "Little Wang Shu, I want a tablet too—"

Yun Wangshu, without lifting his head or saying a word, simply extended his fair, jade-like foot and kicked out, instantly sending the flying Little Bald Guy to the ceiling, then crashing down on top of the silver-haired burly man, resulting in a muffled groan of muscle against muscle.

The silver-haired burly man didn't care about what just happened and continued watching the live stream. The dirt-smudged Little Bald Guy wiped his nose, thinking viciously, Humph, once I'm powerful, I'll pin you all under me, starting with this little Baba!

The Little Bald Guy, who became an Earth Spirit by turning into a Coiling Dragon Pillar and was pressed under an overpass for decades, could only think of 'pressing' as the strongest, coolest punishment.

Yun Wangshu glanced at him and said, "Ba, hold him down."

The silver-haired burly man was very obedient; he immediately shook the Little Bald Guy off his back, then pinned him down with his arm to continue watching the live stream. The Little Bald Guy immediately cried out, "Why, why do you have to do this to me? Neither buying me a smartphone nor a tablet, and bullying me on top of that—I don't want to live anymore…"

"Next time you think something, remember not to say it out loud," Yun Wangshu casually reminded.

These four individuals were naturally Yun Wangshu, Changsheng, Ba, and the Coiling Dragon Pillar Little Bald Guy.

After half-heartedly becoming unofficial members of the Mysterious Country ten days ago, they were granted official identities and a sum of 'activity funds.' Since then, they began to travel around the country while cultivating the "Mysterious Sovereign's Secret Records."

They had originally planned to travel across mountains, rivers, and streams in search of traces of the Fairy Palace. Although revelations from adventurers regarding the Fairy Palace had completely dashed their hopes, they quickly found a new reason: to seek other Earth Spirits, to gain more knowledge, and to find more companions.

All four belonged to the Eternal Beings, but in the past, they either wandered unaware of the world's changes or hid deep in the mountains with only the sun and moon for company. When they re-entered the world, they found it was in an era of the revival of Spiritual Energy, with humans forming various forces and having absolute control over the globe.

Even though they walked the world in human form, and Yun Wangshu and Ba had completely transformed into human bodies, out of habit and the pride of Eternal Beings, they did not fully align themselves with the Mysterious Country's officialdom, like Mr. Chuan. Instead, they chose to seek their own paths.

For now, what they could do, aside from cultivating, was to look for other Earth Spirits like themselves.

They could be allies to unite with, friends to acquire information from, or even masters to learn from—even from the Little Bald Guy, they had improved their knowledge of the 'Earth Escape Technique' and the 'Bone Shrinking Technique.'

Earth Spirits usually only know a few, or even just one, spell over hundreds of years, but their mastery of these few spells naturally has its unique aspects; in any case, learning them is never a loss.

Thanks to Yun Wangshu's Divination, they had already picked up traces of a wild Earth Spirit in Kunming.

As long as they found the spirit, exchanging knowledge and learning would naturally follow—Earth Spirits often avoid human discovery, but they rarely refuse visits from their own kind.

Of course, now that the world was prosperous, they had previously faced inconveniences without formal identities, but now they could finally travel and enjoy themselves without worries.

Yun Wangshu watched the scene on the screen: tombstones like a forest, a sea of flowers on the other shore, numerous coffins, and a dark crimson sky that felt oppressively somber.

A caption appeared: "The girl has arrived at the grand cemetery in the depths of the Secret Realm."

All the tombstones were blank, all the mounds tightly packed, all the coffins firmly closed.

The Disaster Girl walked over every mound, past every withered tree, reaching the center of the grand cemetery.

A coffin with a crimson hue stood upright on the ground, an ordinary rectangle, but its color was strikingly glaring in the dimness of the cemetery. As the Disaster Girl approached, the crimson coffin lid quietly opened, clanging down to the ground.

A person dressed in a white Hunting Garment stood within the coffin. Their features were so handsome it was hard to tell if they were male or female. Shoulder-length black hair cascaded down, and their hands were interlaced across their chest.

When the person in the coffin opened their eyes to reveal crimson pupils, Yun Wangshu's eyebrows rose, and he couldn't help but say, "I didn't expect..."

"Hmm?"

Changsheng heard Yun Wangshu's voice, gave him a look, then turned to the Little Bald Guy and Ba. It was hard to tell with Ba, whose pancake face showed little emotion, but the Little Bald Guy's reaction was very telling—hugging Ba's head, he stared at the tablet screen as if stars filled his eyes.

All three of them could see something; am I the only one who can't?

Changsheng for the first time doubted his own strength, and then he heard the person on the screen say, "Ohayo..."

It's still better to read the subtitles, he thought. The subtitles read: "Nice to meet you, Disaster Messenger. I am the master of the Land of the Dead. In the outside world, I have many names, many identities. But at this moment, facing the Fairy Palace Envoy in my true form, and with the Supreme Supreme watching us, I cannot be impolite."

The beauty stepped out of the coffin and lightly opened his luscious lips. "I am the Qingmu Yuan Earth Spirit, the leader of the 'Fantasy Shikigami Breeding Project,' the creator of the 'Blood Magatama.'"

Earth Spirit!

This was the first Earth Spirit who did not appear in Ren Naiser's videos as a mating partner, but as an antagonist BOSS character!

Changsheng asked, "Can you all tell at a glance that he's an Earth Spirit?"

The three of them nodded, and Yun Wangshu said, "Maybe you can't see it, but there's a significant difference in the expressions and eyes of Earth Spirits compared to humans. This is especially true for Earth Spirits who haven't experienced the world; even if they look human, the emotions in their eyes can't be hidden."

"What emotions?"

"It's hard to describe. That's a trait characteristic of long-lived Earth Spirits."

"Then I must have it too, right? I've lived for two thousand years."

"You don't," said Yun Wangshu. "You were born from war, you gained spiritual sense through persistence, you are moved by your heart, and you live by your blood. You've always had obsessions; the past has become a pillar for your soul.

"But we Earth Spirits, we were born nameless, we live without destiny, secluded for centuries without companions or someone to communicate with, guarding a piece of land on our own. Even if they find their own goals, the vast past engulfs what they have in the present, just like a vast ocean.

"Ah, I got it. If I have to describe it, it would be... indifference.

"If they succeed, they don't need praise or exaltation; if they fail, they don't need pity or sighs. They just do it because they want to, and what they pursue is the process, not the outcome.

"To a typical Earth Spirit, hundreds of years are but a brief moment, and there's nothing in this world that can accompany them forever. Even if they attain spiritual intelligence, their concept of time won't change, so they often have this kind of personality."

Changsheng nodded thoughtfully and asked, "Are you like that too? Pursuing the Fairy Palace, seeking eternal life, are you also indifferent to the outcome?"

"Didn't I just say?" Yun Wangshu said. "That's the idea of a typical Earth Spirit. But I am not typical, nor entirely an Earth Spirit, and moreover, I have found... something eternal that can accompany me."

Meanwhile, in the livestream, after some brief pleasantries, the Qingmu Yuan Earth Spirit noticed the Disaster Girl raising her massive sword, larger than her own body. He gave a seductive smile. "Why so tense? You can defeat me anytime you wish. I won't resist, and I don't have the strength to."

He spread his arms wide, completely open, and said, "I'm very weak. I don't like fighting, and I don't like going outside. If it weren't for a fortuitous coincidence, I probably wouldn't have the chance to stand against the Fairy Palace... In fact, I rather long for the Fairy Palace."

Seeming to be immersed in his own memories, the Qingmu Yuan Earth Spirit spoke as if no one else was there. "For some reason, many people like to come to my home to commit suicide. Occasionally, I would take some curious trinkets from them. Unwittingly, I'd learn to use mobile phones and computers, then discover that this world is different from the past...

"But, I don't like going out. I just like to quietly watch the changes in the world from home."

Changsheng glanced at the three Earth Spirits and former Earth Spirits who were all lazily lying on the bed and sofa. Earth Spirits indeed share common traits, he thought.

"This peaceful life soon came to an end," said the Qingmu Yuan Earth Spirit. "The envoys of the Fairy Palace activated various Spirit Veins, and then I realized that in my home... there was also a small, faint Spirit Vein.

"Although it cannot compare with the Spirit Veins activated by the Fairy Palace, for me, this small Spirit Vein is already an extremely precious existence; it became an important part of me.

"And this Spirit Vein would give rise to beings with unbelievable traits."

He blinked his eyes, which gleamed like rubies, and said, "The living beings affected by this Spirit Vein tend to evolve 'towards the direction people expect.'

"Demons and ghosts become the demons and ghosts as people recognize them; extraordinary creatures acquire the supernatural abilities familiar to humans...

"I call this the 'Fantasy Spirit Essence.'

"Moreover, by hunting, any being can seize the Fantasy Spirit Essence of another, so long as it possesses it.

"The more people try to imagine fantasy creatures, the Spirit Vein will continue to strengthen. It will spread more 'Fantasy Spirit Essence,' making the fantasy creatures increasingly fit people's imagination..."

The Disaster Girl did not interrupt him, but instead she sheathed the Melting Iron Greatsword and listened quietly to the antagonist boss' plan.

"So I started the 'Fantasy Shikigami Breeding Project,' created the Blood Magatama, and bred powerful Shikigami to hunt and plunder other beings' Fantasy Spirit Essence.

"I want to see what the Fantasy Spirit Essence will eventually create, and how much stronger my Spirit Vein will become.

"To ensure all Shikigami hunt without hesitation, I inscribed techniques on the Blood Magatama designed to influence their minds and make them become wild and violent..."

"However, soon, because the fantasy creatures appearing before humans were all ferocious and violent, people came to believe that all such creatures were inherently so. The Spirit Vein, accepting this 'expectation,' also began to turn violent.

"Because when humans die, they hope for a Netherworld and a Grim Reaper to exist, the Spirit Vein that received this 'expectation' created this place.

"The three hells you just passed by, Disaster Messenger, are the images of hell as imagined by humans."

The Qingmu Yuan Earth Spirit looked up at the dark red sky above and sighed. "If you had come a little later, these 'expectations' would have been reflected back into the realm of the living. Then, ferocious fantasy creatures would roam everywhere, and death messengers from the Netherworld would govern life and death."

Although that's what he said, the Qingmu Yuan Earth Spirit didn't seem to have many regrets.

He sighed lightly and said, "I can no longer influence the Spirit Vein. Actually, it is the Spirit Vein that has taken possession of me."

The Qingmu Yuan Earth Spirit said, "When people labeled fantasy creatures with 'naturally murderous, angry, terrifying,' the expectations received by the Spirit Vein suddenly increased countless times.

"It is the simplest of imaginations to apply simple, negative labels to beings they cannot understand, much easier than complex fantasies.

"Even the anger that has nowhere to go in the mortal world seemed to find a funnel, continuously pouring into the Spirit Vein, causing it to rapidly expand.

"If I was the one driving changes in the Spirit Vein before, then later, it was the Spirit Vein that pushed me to change the world.

"And I became a vessel, a container for the Spirit Vein."

"So, is this destiny?"

The Qingmu Yuan Earth Spirit placed his hands over his heart and said, "Just when the Spirit Vein had completely taken on the form of anger, and I totally lost control over it, you appeared.

"I could either let myself be swept up by the Spirit Vein to overrun the world, or I could choose to fulfill the expectations of the Fairy Palace."

The Qingmu Yuan Earth Spirit shrugged. "However, I've already sent my strongest subordinate to stop you, but to no avail. So... you have won, Disaster Messenger."

He plunged his hands into his chest, pulling apart his body like opening a curtain. But inside his body, there was nothing but emptiness, and it quickly crumbled away in sections.

At the same time, all the coffins in the Grand Cemetery began to tremble, all the piles of earth rumbling!

CRACK!

After the first coffin lid was lifted, the sounds of coffins being opened and soil being broken surged one after another. Red streaks of light, like meteors, flew from the coffins and mounds up into the sky, disappearing without a trace.

The Qingmu Yuan Earth Spirit closed his eyes, and when he reopened them, there was a deep blue in his pupils. "I have dissolved myself and shattered the Spirit Vein. There will never again be Fantasy Spirit Essence, bringing an end to this tedious game of slaughter. The Hell's Secret Realm will also fade away, and everyone will soon be expelled.

"But at the same time, the last of the Spirit Vein's Spiritual Energy and Fantasy Spirit Essence was completely dominated by anger, killing intent, and fantasy. It was shaped into powerful fantasy creatures. Those that flew away from the cemetery just now were them.

"The task of dealing with them, I leave to you. They will likely appear in reality after one day, and as for where they will go, it's natural for 'like to attract like'..."

As his body crumbled away to nearly nothing and was about to vanish with the wind, the Qingmu Yuan Earth Spirit suddenly smiled. "Even without me, this Spirit Vein would sooner or later be polluted and corrupted by human fantasies; even without me, anger would eventually find another outlet.

"After I awoke, it seems like I haven't really accomplished anything... never mind."

The Qingmu Yuan Earth Spirit completely dissipated, and the Secret Realm began to shake, the scene transitioning to the Fate Room.

"When destiny blocks the way forward, the calm before anger plunges into a rampage."

The cloaked girl with blue hair gently waved her hands, and all the cards on the table instantly vanished.

"The rage about to wreak havoc in the human world,

The rage about to bring the world into an endless battleground,

The outrage about to erupt,

Can it be eradicated in advance?"

"The endless anger has found a vessel, and the chain of slaughter has reached its end, but in the unpredictable Arena, who will emerge as the victor?"

The Supreme Supreme: "Good."

The live broadcast ended.

Changsheng looked up and asked, "Are all you Earth Spirits like this? Just die when you say you will?"

Yun Wangshu said, "It's not too bad. After all, having lived for so long without much to do, I've long since lost any real concept of death. And even if I die, I'll be resurrected before too long, just without any memories..."

Changsheng was startled. "Earth Spirits can be resurrected?"

"Earth Spirits, Earth Spirits, as long as there is land, there will be Earth Spirits," Yun Wangshu explained. "Actually, doing a Spiritual Exchange with the Ren Family is almost like a near-death experience. If it weren't for... Well, Earth Spirits can be resurrected.

"Like this Earth Spirit, whose True Form has shattered; in the past, it probably wouldn't recover for a few hundred years.

"But now that Spiritual Energy is reviving, I estimate the resurrection time will be shorter. If you can preserve the Earth Spirit's True Form when slaying it, maybe the memories can be retained, and it might resurrect within a few weeks."

"Really?"

"Don't know. Ba and I aren't Earth Spirits anymore."

Both of them looked at the Little Bald Guy simultaneously. Without a word, he jumped into the floor of the room and didn't dare to show his head.

"Don't worry," Yun Wangshu assured. "We're not going to pin you down, cut your neck, or smash your bald head. Are we that kind of people?"

"I don't believe it; give me a written guarantee!"

——————————

It shouldn't have anything to do with me...

When the Disaster Girl was talking with the Qingmu Yuan Earth Spirit, there had actually been a destiny determination.

Great Hope, Despair, Despair, Despair.

Unfortunately, Little Jiu wasn't there, so Ren Suo, fulfilling expectations, drew 'Despair,' and then the Qingmu Yuan Earth Spirit committed suicide on the spot, freeing the Spirit Vein.

Luckily, the audience couldn't tell. Otherwise, if the Disaster Girl gained another ability to 'commit suicide on the spot,' that'd be a situation Ren Suo couldn't smooth over...

Ren Suo quickly moved past that and started pondering the content revealed by the Qingmu Yuan Earth Spirit.

Among it, there was a clue known only to Ren Suo and no one else: When Devouring the Spirit of the World initially activated the Flourishing Sakura Spirit Vein, it was noted that the Spirit Vein didn't gather but dispersed instead. Most of the Spirit Treasury was inside the Clear Sky Tower, with a smaller portion inside the Tokyo Tower.

Given the precedent of the Spirit Treasury being in the Tokyo Tower, it wouldn't be surprising if there were Spirit Treasuries around Mount Fuji as well.

Could it be my fault? Ren Suo shook his head—failing to achieve platinum, complete all achievements, or explore all game content is normal in gaming.

Moreover, this time's BOSS, rather than being the Qingmu Yuan Earth Spirit, seemed to be more about anger and the Spirit Vein.

Even though the Qingmu Yuan Earth Spirit played the role of a catalyst, in reality, even without him, this Spirit Vein would inevitably generate negative-leaning Extraordinary Creatures sooner or later.

For areas people don't understand and that easily attract negative news, society tends to label those involved negatively, such as 'idol fans are all idiots,' 'anime lovers are all shut-ins,' or 'cosplayers are all vulgar'...

If humans are already like this towards their own, when faced with Extraordinary Creatures of a different kind with formidable power, news or even rumors of Extraordinary Creatures causing harm to humans can significantly tarnish their image within society. Emotions would pile up like a snowball, and problems with this Spirit Vein would inevitably arise sooner or later.

What was unexpected was that anger became a huge source of energy for expanding the Spirit Veins. Is it as if after the revival of Spiritual Energy, emotions also became a highly efficient source of energy?

While Ren Suo was contemplating, he suddenly received a WeChat message on his phone. It was a private message from Qiao Muyi.

"Little Suo, I've been under so much work pressure lately. Many team members in the Tactical Bureau have been promoted to the second turn, and it looks like I won't be able to keep my team leader position for long. After all, as a girl, I'm often looked down upon by my colleagues, and my team members don't have much respect for me either. What should I do..."

Although Ren Suo didn't know why Qiao Muyi was chatting with him so early in the morning, seeing how pitiful she sounded, he consoled her, "Don't worry, even though Yu Kuangtu is dirty, despicable, and vulgar, he's quite good to his subordinates."

Qiao Muyi replied, "But I won't be one of his subordinates for much longer."

Ren Suo was shocked. "Is it that serious?"

"Yes, because... I haven't told anyone else yet. Do you want to know?"

"I do." Is the Tactical Bureau about to undergo significant changes? Ren Suo wondered.

"Then listen up, Little Suo."

"Your Sister Qiao here has just been promoted to the third turn. Luckily, the Lian River Countermeasure Bureau is adding a new deputy director, so from now on, I'll be on equal footing with Yu Kuangtu. You better be careful in the future as a Second Stage Cultivator; when you see me, you'll have to address me as Deputy Director Qiao, or Sister Qiao, got it?"

Ren Suo's face darkened; he could almost see the fox-like, bewitching smile on Qiao Muyi's face.

It seems that emotions really are a highly efficient source of energy.

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