Someone was making things difficult for Wen Yan, and of course Wen Yan couldn't put up with it, especially since the other party didn't even know him. No old grudges, no recent quarrels—so it could only be Fuyu Mountain coming to mess with him. In that case, Wen Yan definitely wouldn't just sit by and do nothing.

But he was here as a guest, celebrating Lord Zhu's birthday. If others didn't show respect to the host, Wen Yan couldn't break decorum like that himself.

So after fighting back, he'd have to give Lord Zhu some face, and not let everyone lose too much dignity over it all.

Of course, the main thing was, Wen Yan totally didn't expect that this old ghost actually struggled to withstand the poison and Yang Energy he'd slipped into the wine.

It seemed he'd only recently awakened, and was still in the recovery phase.

The atmosphere grew harmonious again. Even though Old Ghost Ji had lost a bit of face, if he could hang out with Lord Zhu, he probably wasn't the super petty type anyway.

Wen Yan genuinely liked that wine a lot; it had a particularly good effect on balancing his internal Yang Energy and pent-up fire.

After two cups, the feeling of restlessness settled down, and he felt cool and refreshed all over.

Even more importantly, after the first cup, his Scorching Sun, which had been stuck at 51% for days, actually climbed to 52%.

And after the second cup, it jumped up to 53%.

This totally shocked Wen Yan. For the sake of even a minor unpleasantness, let alone a real grudge, he'd definitely find a way to smooth things over if it wasn't anything too serious.

Wen Yan held his wine cup, passionately toasting the people around him, tugging at Old Ghost Ji, afraid he might bolt, and shamelessly asking him to bless the wine.

Sadly, only the first three cups directly gave his Scorching Sun another 1% each.

The fourth cup lost its buff effect, and he could already feel intense Yin and cold energy overwhelming him, having to quietly summon Yang Energy to counter it.

Three cups seemed to be the current limit.

But that didn't stop him from keeping Old Ghost Ji chatting about everyday life, using the excuse of learning old stories to probe for intel, and listen to the other's epic tales and bragging.

The older people get, the more they like to put a nostalgic filter on the past. Others might not feel much about it, but for them, it really is the most unforgettable thing.

Old Ghost Ji really couldn't handle Wen Yan's over-the-top friendliness and started telling some old tales.

He'd lived more than a thousand years ago—a textbook millennium-old ghost.

When he was young, he liked being a Taoist and tinkering with lead and mercury. Not for making elixir pills, but in today's terms, just for the thrill of doing dangerous chemistry experiments.

One time his experiment blew up, and his family pulled some strings to send him off to the army. Not long into his service, war broke out, and during a particularly brutal battle he was killed at Helan Mountain, his bones left there forever.

Even in death, Old Ghost Ji didn't feel ripped off. Wen Yan only had to prod him a little before he began bragging: back then, he'd personally taken down a dozen Syr Tardush warriors in that battle, ruined his own blade in the process, and before finally collapsing from exhaustion, he dragged a fearsome Fighter down to hell with him.

After death, his soul wouldn't leave the battlefield. Thanks to that accident, his Nether Soul condensed, icily cold, and on awakening he took on a bunch of enemies at once, smashing seven or eight opposing souls to oblivion in a single burst.

Wen Yan wasn't a history buff—he'd heard of the Turks, but Syr Tardush stumped him. Still, that didn't stop him from chiming in at the side, egging him on.

The mood was lively, everyone had a good time, and Lord Zhu was the happiest of all.

On his turf, if people started trouble, nothing would irritate him more. But with Wen Yan reviving the atmosphere and saving the day, he felt Wen Yan had given him enough respect—he was starting to really like this kid.

Wen Yan knew full well that Cai Heizi did get one thing right: Lord Zhu, aside from loving his reputation, was otherwise pretty easygoing and reasonable.

If not, there's no way he'd ever affiliate with the Scorching Sun Department.

Once everyone had drunk their fill, Wen Yan glanced at the room full of ghosts and took the opportunity to ask a question.

"Lord Zhu, do you know about the Heart-Probing Ghost?"

"Hmm, that name rings a bell, I feel like I've heard it somewhere," Lord Zhu thought for a bit but couldn't recall, so he pointed at Shen Zijun beside him: "You should ask him, he's from Fengdu—he'll know for sure."

Wen Yan cupped his hands toward Shen Zijun in greeting.

He'd certainly heard of the famous Fengdu Ghost City—just hadn't expected that judging by the way things looked, there might actually be real ghosts there.

Curious, Wen Yan politely asked Shen Zijun for advice.

Shen Zijun smiled, glanced around at all the ghosts, and then said,

"Actually, it's not really a secret. Back then, there really was an entrance there to the Nether Soul Realm.

But later, something happened, and before the Nether Soul Realm could fully form, it directly unfolded there.

In a single day, a Ghost City stood upon the earth, and that place was transformed into the Yin Realm.

Much later, the old Ghost City faded away, and the Yin Realm was dissolved by the Great Sun.

These days, certain parts of that place only get a heavier dose of Yin Qi at night, nothing particularly strange."

Shen Zijun smiled again, looked at Wen Yan, his eyes flashing, and continued.

"As for the Heart-Probing Ghost, I did hear the elders mention it at home.

When the Yin Realm unfolded over the land and the Ghost City appeared, so did the Heart-Probing Ghost.

The Heart-Probing Ghost doesn't care if you're a person, Demon, Ghost, or Spirit—everyone's mind is devoured by it.

Humans become dull-witted, Nether Souls turn numb and lost, Demons revert to their true forms, and Spirits and Monsters lose their spirituality.

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