Chen Zhou immediately understood.
For the divine path to have vanished and the way of humanity to be eking out a meager existence, there was likely something even more terrifying above the heavens.
A-Yao clearly did not want to dwell on such a heavy topic; she was far more interested in Chen Zhou's experiences in the outside world.
In the past, she wouldn't have asked, but she now considered Chen Zhou one of her own.
"What exactly have you been doing these past few months?"
A-Yao blinked curiously. "What kind of monumental feats did you achieve to accumulate so much merit? Even if you were dedicated to saving the suffering, it couldn't have happened this fast, right?"
Chen Zhou didn't hide anything. He explained that he had roughly cleared out the scourges of nearly half a province and happened to save millions of living beings in the process.
He gave a brief overview of the events in both the Southern and Northern Regions.
A-Yao sighed as she listened, her delicate brows furrowed slightly. "I didn't expect the human race to still be so destitute in the outside world after tens of thousands of years."
Mo Cang, who had been silent and withdrawn, suddenly perked up when he heard about the events in the Northern Region.
He stared intently at Chen Zhou and asked, "You just said you saved that many living dead in the Northern Region?"
"How did you do it?"
"Reversing life and death is no easy feat; it is considered a forbidden art."
Mo Cang's tone was somewhat agitated. "You must realize that bringing the dead back to life is an act of defying the heavens."
"In my life, I dealt with dead souls and corpses for a long time. I achieved some level of mastery in the path of death; refining corpses and nourishing souls was second nature to me."
"But as for the path of life, I couldn't even grasp the basics."
"If one attempts a forced resurrection, it usually only creates monsters that are neither human nor ghost, much like the living dead you mentioned."
Chen Zhou's heart stirred at his words. He asked, "Could it be that you have some connection to the Corpse Soul Sect?"
Refining corpses and nourishing souls—the specialization was far too obvious.
Mo Cang was taken aback, then showed great surprise. "In life, I was indeed a member of the Corpse Soul Sect. I suppose I could be considered the founding ancestor of the path of refining corpses and nourishing souls."
"Why? Have you met my descendants in the outside world?"
"Does the Corpse Soul Sect... actually still have its inheritance left?"
Chen Zhou thought it was quite a coincidence. He immediately told Mo Cang the full story of Kushi County, including how Mo Yuan had sacrificed the entire sect to suppress the Locust Mother, and how they had eventually been incorporated into his ranks as paper people.
Mo Cang remained speechless for a long time after hearing this.
Finally, he let out a long sigh, feeling both sorrowful and comforted.
"Mo Yuan... a good name."
"He is truly a worthy successor of my sect."
Mo Cang lamented repeatedly, "Though they fell so low that they had to sacrifice themselves to the fiend, he still possesses the character I had back then."
"To protect the people of a single county, he didn't hesitate to let the entire sect perish and even bore the infamy of practicing the ghost path... Good, very good!"
He looked at Chen Zhou, his gaze softening considerably.
"It was their fortune to have met you."
"If you hadn't intervened, my disciples and grand-disciples would likely have suffered the fate of having their souls utterly destroyed, never to be reborn for eternity."
Chen Zhou smiled. "They've also helped me a great deal. The patrolling and construction of the City of the Wrongfully Dead, as well as the reclamation of the Southern and Northern Regions, were all thanks to them."
"As for reversing life and death earlier, I didn't do it alone."
Chen Zhou admitted candidly, "It's true that, like you, I don't have much insight into the path of life."
"But every profession has its specialization. I wasn't defying the heavens alone; I have many followers, all of whom are my companions on this path."
"Because of them, I was able to complete that miracle."
The others all showed expressions of nostalgia after hearing this.
It was as if they were remembering events from the distant past.
A-Yao's gaze was tender as she spoke softly, "That is good."
"A single person's strength is ultimately limited. Even a god needs companions."
"Back then, we followed our lord in the same way."
She looked at Chen Zhou and said solemnly, "Do not fail them."
Chen Zhou naturally agreed. "Of course."
During their conversation, Mo Cang's gaze moved past Chen Zhou and landed on the Dream Demon piglet, which had been standing guard nearby.
"So this dream beast is also your follower?"
Mo Cang asked, "I can feel that its connection with you is very deep."
He had been curious about this ridiculously strong little pig since the battle earlier.
Being able to move freely within the Immortal-Slaying Shrine and even deploy a dream barrier—this was no ordinary creature.
Chen Zhou thought for a moment. Back when the little pig was still a nightmare, it had given its origin to him, and they had been bound by a contract via the system's General-Summoning Platform to make it a Ghost Attendant.
So he nodded and said, "Yes. Its origin has been given to me; its life and death are tied to mine."
Mo Cang marveled, "Is it already your divine attendant? No wonder it can enter this Immortal-Slaying Shrine."
"It helped you a great deal just now."
Upon hearing someone praise it, the little pig immediately puffed out its chest with pride.
Mo Cang looked at the little pig, a flicker of hope in his eyes.
He hesitated for a moment before speaking, "Young friend, I have an impolite request."
"If this dream beast reaches the eighth-stage in the future and gains complete control over dreams, could you bring it back to the Immortal-Slaying Shrine one more time?"
"To help repair this dream."
Chen Zhou looked at the Dream Demon.
The Dream Demon also looked at Chen Zhou and, without a second thought, gave a compliant nod.
Chen Zhou then smiled and said, "No problem. It has agreed. It's just a small favor."
Mo Cang was overjoyed and bowed deeply to Chen Zhou and the little pig.
"Thank you!"
"This place is our lord's dream. Our lord has been fallen for ten thousand years. Even with heaven-reaching power in life, the dream left behind will slowly dissipate as time flows by."
"With the help of a high-stage dream beast to maintain and stabilize it, this place can hold on for another few tens of thousands of years."
Mo Cang sighed, "Consider it a bit of selfishness on my part."
"We remnant souls eke out an existence here, and besides guarding our lord's final ruins, we have no other desires."
"Furthermore..."
Mo Cang gave Chen Zhou a deep look. "We also want to live a little longer to witness the day you ascend to that position in the future."
Chen Zhou understood his meaning.
Chen Zhou gave a confident smile. "Don't worry. It might not even take ten thousand years."
"I will bring it back again."
Mo Cang burst into laughter at those words, and A-Yao also raised her sleeve to hide a smile, her eyes full of admiration.
"Are you that confident?"
"Good. Then we shall wait here for that day to arrive."
The casual talk ended; time was almost up.
Chen Zhou could feel the dream beginning to become unstable, and the scenery of the Immortal-Slaying Shrine was slowly blurring.
Chen Zhou thought for a bit and added, "Would you three like to see the outside world?"
"Though the outside is a bit messy right now, it's not that bad. I have good wine there."
Yuheng waved his hand, his expression indifferent. "We cannot go."
"We are merely wisps of remnant souls, born of and dependent on the dream."
"Once we leave the Immortal-Slaying Shrine and the protection of this dream realm's laws, we will dissipate in an instant."
Chen Zhou said, "Ordinary methods might not work, but what about reincarnation?"
Mo Cang gave a bitter smile. "The path of reincarnation is already a supreme divine path. If you want to possess the authority of reincarnation, perhaps you'll have a chance to obtain it at the deepest part of the Wanchuan pond when you reach the ninth-stage in the future."
"But even so, our remnant souls cannot be reincarnated."
"Our souls are incomplete and have long since merged with the dream. There is no such thing as a next life for us."
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