Little Bowl widened her eyes, looking around with a novel gaze.

The figures she was based on, Zhu Jiu and Zhu Shi, were humans living in the real world. However, she herself could be said to be a Spiritual Body born in the Post-mortem World. Even though she had deeply grasped the mortal world belonging to the living through Zhu Jiu and Zhu Shi's memories and even knew about the "hypotheses of lunar formation in astronomy", which even I don't fully understand, this was still her first time coming to this realm where the sun rises and sets.

Warm sunlight, fresh air, the city's hustle and bustle... Things that seem logical to me were actually things she was truly experiencing for the first time.

Seeing her curious and amazed reaction, I felt proud that I could bring her to this place.

At the same time, I was also checking on her physical condition.

Because right now I was holding her hand, expressing a gesture that recognized her existence, even if exposed directly as a Dream Avatar to the mortal world could cause some adverse symptoms, she wouldn't really have any problems as long as she's by my side. However, it seemed that even without my power, she could exist independently. The natural privilege of the Divine Son was working normally in her, which reassured me greatly.

As for myself, being essentially fire, with both body and soul mimicking fire, there was no difference between the Post-mortem world and the real world. One moment I'd be in the spiritual realm, and the next in the material domain, my existence remained unwavering. This was not because I was powerful, but because it was simply my nature.

The ability to freely transform into an element, the "Manifestation", could also be seen as existing naturally in any realm. Perhaps this is a state that allows for habitation across dimensions. Large enough to stir clouds and spit mist; small enough to hide quietly; ascending to fly between the cosmos, hiding to lurk within the waves.

A profound realization dawned in my heart, as I realized once again that compared to a true "Manifestation", I was indeed incomplete.

Then, I too glanced around.

This was a very familiar living room on the fifteenth floor. Even though this was once Changan's rented apartment, Changan certainly no longer lived here. He had moved out long before I entered the Post-mortem World, living over at the Luoshan Headquarters. The landlord of this rental house didn't lease it out to anyone else.

Unless it's people like Changan and me, who are keen on such matters, no one would willingly move into a rental house reportedly haunted and where bizarre murder happenings had actually occurred. It was said that even the neighbor next door was scared and moved out. Thanks to this, it was convenient for me to repeatedly infiltrate for investigation and ritual array experimentation. The carpet on the living room floor remains rolled up and placed aside, done by my own hands during a previous infiltration.

Though the ritual array was originally destroyed by Zhu Shi herself, I later recreated it perfectly. Of course, unlike Agent Kong who hunts unrelated people for their blood, the blood used in this ritual array comes from myself. By the way, I sometimes wonder if past failed experiments were possibly due to my blood not counting as "human blood".

About whether my reckless behavior would be discovered by the landlord, the answer was no. Apparently, even the landlord himself wasn't inclined to enter this apartment, the floor and furniture were dusty, with cobwebs weaving in the corners of the ceiling, making the environment far from clean.

Luckily, the sunlight pouring through the floor-to-ceiling windows was enough to sweep away the gloomy and decaying atmosphere brought by the Post-mortem World. Standing on the balcony, one could see the bustling scenes afar. From the daylight, it seemed to be around midday.

Warm winds gusted towards me.

When I entered the Post-mortem World, it hadn't reached the solar term of the start of spring; the weather was cold, yet now it seemed close to summer.

I pulled out my phone from the flame. The phone signal and network connection were fully restored, allowing me to confirm the current date. I glanced down.

The twenty-fifth year, late May…

It had been over four months since I was last in the real world.

Immediately, my phone began to buzz continuously with notification sounds, as many missed calls, messages, and notifications from communication apps lit up the phone's notification bar. From Mazao, Zhu Shi, Changan, to Mr. Zhu and Lu Chan, not to mention Weichi and Dong Che, and even Xiaoqiao, believers who somehow found my number, and other familiar or unfamiliar people.

If I hadn't listed them, I wouldn't have realized that in the realm of unawareness, I had formed so many connections in this world.

During my "vanishing act", although Mazao and the others had my "Firefly" with them, they must have known that if even the "Firefly" couldn't contact me, the phone was a lost cause, yet they still bombarded my phone. The messages mostly asked where I was and requested a prompt reply upon my return. They must suspect if I have died; I should hurry back to deliver good news.

I cautiously sensed the "Fireflies" I left scattered across the real world.

Good, they were all detectable. Despite leaving for half a year, not a single "Firefly" was offline. Through these sensory mediums, I pinpointed Mazao and Zhu Shi's locations and identified other familiar people, feeling slightly relieved. After being away for so long, Ming Zhuo might have threatened Mazao, but she seemed unharmed now.

Details could come later, but turning to Little Bowl, she anxiously looked at me and asked, "Has Zhu Jiu's body shown any signs of death?"

"I don't know. I didn't leave a 'Firefly' with Zhu Jiu." I said, "But we can go check directly now."

Leaving "Fireflies" with familiar people was for their protection, yet "Fireflies" were also a double-edged sword; being akin to my avatars, those possessing them might attract strange incidents. Giving them to others was one thing since they occasionally interacted with Mazao, but leaving them with Zhu Jiu in a pseudo-dead state could amplify negative effects.

With this, I decided to take Little Bowl to the Zhu family's villa in Saltwater City for a simple check.

Oh right, and I should've closed the entrance to the fifteenth floor basement...or could I just leave it like this? This thought flashed in my mind. Glancing at the entrance not far away, I noticed the anomaly.

The entrance had vanished without a trace, leaving only the ritual array drawn with my blood on the ground.

Disappeared? Why? There should only be Little Bowl and me here, plus a No. 7 stationed in the Post-mortem World on the other side. Since no unrelated individuals were present, why would the entrance disappear…did Little Bowl revoke the extra powers that allowed herself and No. 7 to enter the fifteenth-floor basement? Or could it be...

Almost simultaneously as I stumbled upon this phenomenon, the answer revealed itself.

A mana fluctuation from an uninvited guest thundered into this space.

Enormous, heavy, scorching, formidable, its entrance immediately emanated a gargantuan aura reminiscent of the blazing sun hanging high in the sky.

From its strength, it was clear that this imposing mana fluctuation belonged to an Impermanence.

And it was an Impermanence I knew!

In my senses, a vast swath of orange flame burst from the depths of space, rushing towards Little Bowl.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.