Jian Chou was merely troubled by doubts she couldn’t resolve. She happened to remember that this old residence in the City of Unjust Deaths had once contained some discussions related to reincarnation, and recalled that Zhang Tang had preserved this old residence for her, so she decided to come take a look.

She hadn’t expected to see Xie Buchen here!

The moment she saw him standing by the window near the plum blossoms, a bone-deep chill immediately swept over her.

She instinctively wanted to step back warily, but in an instant her clear rationality made her forcibly suppress this instinctive action. Not only did she not retreat, she actually stepped forward.

The smile on Jian Chou’s face was flawless. Her thoughts racing, she replied: “The City of Unjust Deaths has already been captured, and I heard it’s been thoroughly inspected. I came to take a look. I hadn’t expected that when passing through the streets just now, I accidentally discovered Friend Xie was here. Out of curiosity, I came in to see.”

She completely avoided mentioning that she was the master of this old residence.

She stepped into the courtyard and asked Xie Buchen: “What about Friend Xie? Is there something special about this courtyard?”

In terms of cultivation, Jian Chou was a full major realm higher than Xie Buchen.

So according to logic, for Jian Chou to discover Xie Buchen while passing by outside was a very ordinary matter.

And for Xie Buchen’s cultivation to be insufficient to detect Jian Chou’s spiritual sense was also logical.

But all this was merely “logic.”

Xie Buchen stood inside the window, looking at her through the half-open carved window. His blue robes carried an otherworldly elegance, and the three diagonal plum branches further enhanced his calm and clear bearing.

Hearing Jian Chou’s words, he seemed not to harbor any suspicion.

Seeing her walk up the steps from the courtyard, he didn’t stop her, only answering: “This residence does have some special aspects. Not long ago, some fellow disciples entered the city to look around everywhere. When they investigated this residence, they discovered some anomalies, so they asked me to come take a look. Friend Jian Chou’s arrival is quite timely indeed.”

“Oh?”

Jian Chou’s fingers hidden behind her back quietly clenched, but observing that Xie Buchen’s mid-stage Soul Formation cultivation showed no change and he stood there plainly, she walked into this dwelling.

All the furnishings were unchanged from years past.

Black, smooth floor tiles, row after row of bookshelves filled with books, the writing implements on the desk were as she had left them when departing years ago.

Countless details instantly flew through her mind.

In the brief moment of entering this dwelling, Jian Chou had already confirmed that she hadn’t left any traces or flaws in this old City of Unjust Deaths residence that would let people identify that “Yashan’s Jian Chou had once lived in this residence.”

Xie Buchen gently wiped away the dust that had just gotten on his fingertips. Knowing Jian Chou had entered, he stepped aside, lowering his gaze to the windowsill: “This residence’s strangeness begins from here. Since Friend Jian Chou has come, you might as well take a look.”

A line of characters was carved on the windowsill.

“May those who cherish flowers have fate, tend these plums in my stead.”

What followed, half-covered by the plum vase, was “Dizang’s reincarnation pool water, I thank you for your answer.”

Jian Chou had already seen this years ago. Walking over, she slightly raised an eyebrow, seeming somewhat surprised: “This residence’s master was quite elegant. However, reincarnation pool water…”

Xie Buchen raised his hand and lightly pointed. A point of brilliant green light emerged from his fingertip, falling toward a floor tile in this room that was covered by shadow.

“Buzz!”

The faint green light immediately blazed brilliantly, and a formation actually appeared in the room!

After a moment, the formation was broken.

The floor tile at the very center of this room made a light “crack” sound and sank downward, followed by the floor tiles around it, circle after circle, all sinking like ripples.

Soon, a groove two feet deep in the ground was revealed.

Only today, there wasn’t half a drop of water left in the groove.

Jian Chou said nothing, looking toward Xie Buchen as if waiting for his explanation.

Xie Buchen then said: “When I arrived, I briefly investigated this residence, and due to this line carved on the windowsill, I discovered this underground formation. But there’s no reincarnation pool water left inside. I think since these plum blossoms in the vase have bloomed, before we entered this residence, someone must have already obtained the opportunity and tended the plums for the one who left these words.”

“The City of Unjust Deaths is where ghosts who died unjustly from the mortal realm gather, and many ghost cultivators also live here. This residence looks quite old, built who knows how many hundreds of years ago. It’s not unusual for someone to have beaten us to the opportunity.”

Jian Chou seemed very rational and didn’t care much about this matter.

“I think what Friend Xie calls this residence’s special aspects shouldn’t merely refer to this small matter?”

Xie Buchen turned his gaze to look at Jian Chou. His eyes were calm and indifferent, all the reflections in his pupils like the blurred outlines of distant mountains.

He chuckled softly and walked to that row of bookshelves.

He actually pulled out an extremely old book from among them, opened to a page, and handed it to Jian Chou: “Friend Jian Chou also understands formations. I think you’ll know with one look.”

Jian Chou took it and looked. The opened book page recorded a somewhat ancient formation, with densely packed related research notes written beside it.

A somewhat familiar formation.

When she had gone to participate in the tripod competition and left this old residence years ago, she had memorized all the books in this entire room. How could she not remember this?

It could be said that during the Ghost Gate Pass battle the other day, when the Extreme Domain deployed this formation, she had already recognized it.

Though there were subtle differences, what those ghost soldiers used was clearly the formation left by the old master of this residence.

Exactly the page Xie Buchen had opened to!

Jian Chou didn’t play dumb. Her pupils contracted slightly, showing a face full of shock and wariness: “This isn’t…”

“…”

Xie Buchen’s gaze didn’t move from her even slightly.

At this moment, he actually found it somewhat amusing.

Their conversation was clearly full of hidden undercurrents.

Only because he harbored his own vague suspicions and could sense that she definitely hid something he desperately needed, wishing he could kill her and take it, yet now they spoke with unfamiliar politeness, treating each other with courtesy, as if even if they couldn’t be called close friends, they could at least be considered nodding acquaintances without conflicts of interest.

Cunningly concealing, cleverly hypocritical.

This was him, and should also be Jian Chou.

“Correct. I’m sure Friend Jian Chou has also seen that this formation is exactly what the Extreme Domain used in the previous Ghost Gate Pass battle, with tremendous power. At that time, I was thinking that this formation deployer’s understanding of formations was definitely no less than mine. Winning was truly fortunate.”

Xie Buchen walked from one end of this row of bookshelves to the other.

The hem of his robes swayed with his steps, the faint fragrance of cold plum blossoms mixing with the old book and ink scent filling the room, clinging to his body.

In a trance, it was like the third young master of the Xie Marquis Manor walking in his study years ago.

Jian Chou watched him, gently closing the opened book page.

Xie Buchen had already raised his finger, slowly stroking over those ancient volumes one by one, seeming like an unconscious action, yet also seeming to use such movements to think.

Cultivators didn’t need to use their eyes to read books.

As long as spiritual sense was strong enough, sweeping through this room would easily reveal what content was recorded above.

Jian Chou guessed he had already read through all the books in this room.

But Xie Buchen didn’t mention this at all, only saying: “Logically speaking, this residence’s original master should have countless connections with the Eight Directions Yama Palace, and was very interested in the universe’s origins and evolution, and matters of heaven and earth’s life and death cycle. But what’s strange is that all the human-written text in this room, according to degrees of age, can actually be divided into nine different handwritings. Moreover, the later notes all seamlessly connected to the research content of previous notes. Just from some fragments, there might be an enormous secret hidden here.”

Of course there was an enormous secret.

It was just a pity that the three plum branches in the vase had already bloomed, the old residence master’s writing on the window paper had all disappeared, not to mention that stick of purple incense made from three drops of the Nine-Headed Bird’s heart blood had long been sealed away by her…

Even if Xie Buchen wanted to investigate deeply, he had no opportunity.

Jian Chou’s gaze flashed slightly. She also walked over, casually placing the book in her hand back on the bookshelf, but paused a step while walking.

Every floor tile in this room was intact and undamaged.

Except for the one she was currently standing on.

Jian Chou said: “Though the Extreme Domain was established not long ago, there are quite a few powerful ghost cultivators. The City of Unjust Deaths is where new ghosts who died accidentally according to fate gather. Most such ghosts are geniuses. Even if some strange ghosts among them produced strange schemes, it shouldn’t be unusual. Since we can’t discover more clues in this room, all the so-called ‘secret’ matters can only be speculation.”

While she spoke, Xie Buchen had already walked a circle around the bookshelf and returned, seeing her move her feet and look down at the floor tile below.

There was actually a narrow crack on the floor tile.

Jian Chou frowned slightly, and right in front of Xie Buchen, she extended her spiritual sense downward, saying: “Compared to this roomful of rootless books, I find this crack more strange.”

The narrow crack was actually square-shaped.

Half a finger long, less than half an inch wide.

But probing downward, even exhausting Jian Chou’s current vast spiritual sense coverage, she surprisingly couldn’t reach the bottom of this crack. Gradually blocked by the thick earth force and yin essence underground, there was also a wonderful power that separated yin and yang, preventing her spiritual sense from advancing even half an inch further.

Xie Buchen’s gaze flashed slightly, only saying: “When I arrived, I also noticed this strange aspect like Friend Jian Chou, but my cultivation is ultimately insufficient to explore where this crack actually leads. I wonder, did Friend Jian Chou discover any results?”

Jian Chou shook her head.

Compared to Xie Buchen, or what Xie Buchen currently displayed, she naturally knew much more, even having personally witnessed how this narrow crack had originally formed.

That mysterious existence outside the window…

Kill Xie Buchen; sever seven parts of the soul!

The interrupted stick of purple incense…

Half an unclear “卩” character!

Jian Chou withdrew her spiritual sense, her expression showing undisguised confusion and doubt: “This crack is really too deep, and the deeper the spiritual sense goes, the greater the obstruction becomes, and it’s further limited by the rules of the yin-yang realms, unable to pursue further. I actually feel that this crack seems to have penetrated the barrier between yin-yang realms, leading to the other side of this Extreme Domain’s evil soil…”

The other side?

Such a feeling could be called shocking and worldly.

Xie Buchen’s eyebrow moved. In moments, deep thought had already flashed in his eyes. At this time, he surprisingly didn’t respond to Jian Chou’s words, but directly stepped past her, taking a dust-covered scroll from the books on one side. With just one flip, he revealed the “Map of the Extreme Domain’s Thousand Regions” tucked inside!

This was also something Jian Chou had seen originally!

The topmost sheet depicted nothing other than a map of the Extreme Domain relative to Shijiu Zhou.

The upper half of the map was Shijiu Zhou, with Shijiu Zhou’s mainland, Western Sea, Eastern Sea, and mortal isolated islands. The lower half was the Extreme Domain, with vast wastelands on both sides, eighteen levels of hell, and the Extreme Domain’s seventy-two cities. A line was drawn in the middle, separating the two parts.

The upper and lower parts weren’t symmetrical.

But with careful observation, one could completely see that this map was drawn relatively. Every place depicted in the Extreme Domain, when flipped over the middle line, corresponded to somewhere in Shijiu Zhou.

The yin-yang realms, one above ground, one underground, separated by this thick layer of earth, were naturally opposite like mirror images.

Xie Buchen revealed this map and folded it along the center line.

At this time, the upper and lower parts overlapped, with pattern lines intersecting each other.

Jian Chou easily understood his intention. When she leaned over to look, her pupils contracted slightly, then she raised an eyebrow and smiled: “What a coincidence.”

The map Xie Buchen had folded—their current location in the City of Unjust Deaths, when overlapped with Shijiu Zhou’s side, corresponded exactly to Kunwu!

In other words, if they pierced through the earth beneath their feet, they would emerge at Kunwu.

Could this crack beneath their feet really have broken through yin-yang and led to some corner of Kunwu?

Her face appeared light, but baseless wariness arose in her heart.

Jian Chou still showed not the slightest bit of this.

Xie Buchen was also watertight. Seeing this result from his folding, he seemed also slightly stunned, then his gaze moved, and he unfolded the map again, saying to Jian Chou: “With so many books in this room and quite a few intriguing mysterious aspects, we should report back to the senior predecessors and investigate the source more carefully.”

“Friend Xie speaks reasonably.” Jian Chou smiled. “This matter originally has nothing to do with me anyway. Of course, it’s entirely up to you to decide.”

“I had thought that since Friend Jian Chou had lived in the City of Unjust Deaths, you should have heard something about this residence’s master.”

Xie Buchen said mildly.

Jian Chou glanced at him: “The time I fell into the Extreme Domain wasn’t very long, and the time I spent blending into the City of Unjust Deaths was even shorter. I didn’t even know many people, so how could I understand the situation in this city? As for this residence’s master, I never heard even a whisper.”

“Is that so?”

Xie Buchen curved his lips and smiled too.

As if this was completely a casual question, and he hadn’t really expected to get any useful information from Jian Chou’s mouth.

He only sighed regretfully: “We discovered this place too late after all, and I fear we’ve already missed some important clues. Ultimately, it’s difficult to glimpse the true face of this secret.”

“It is quite a pity.”

That “three drops of heart blood incense” that very likely contained the old residence master’s nine lifetimes of memories and cultivation was hidden on her person!

When Jian Chou responded to Xie Buchen, there wasn’t half a flaw of guilt.

She walked around the room twice more, seeming to feel there was nothing more worth seeing, so she shook her head, preparing to bid farewell to Xie Buchen.

But unexpectedly, Xie Buchen also didn’t wish to linger here long.

Seeing Jian Chou had intention to leave, he said: “It happens that today Master Hengxu, Fudao Shanren, and several other powerful cultivators want to enter the city to go to the old alley Friend Jian Chou once mentioned, to visit ‘Immortal Wuzhong.’ Why not go together?”

Go visit Immortal Wuzhong?

Jian Chou had been recuperating these past two days and didn’t know the outside situation.

Hearing Xie Buchen’s words, she naturally thought of the old man who had given her that stone and helped her, so she didn’t refuse. Nodding, she left this residence together with Xie Buchen.

Only when stepping out the door and looking back at Xie Buchen re-closing those two doors, that thought that had been suppressed in her heart since seeing Xie Buchen emerged, painted with a strange color.

Really…

Was it as simple as receiving a report from fellow disciples and thus entering this residence?

Three lives, seven lifetimes, thousands of autumns, hundreds of generations.

Even through billions of reincarnations!

I—

Am still myself!

…

That old residence master who dared to claim he could deceive heaven—what kind of face did he now wear, what kind of identity did he bear, and what kind of “great scheme” was he planning?

“Friend Jian Chou?”

Xie Buchen turned back and walked over.

Jian Chou withdrew her gaze, smiled lightly, and said: “Let’s go.”