Chen Xu sat cross-legged in front of the Red Mud Small Stove.

He listened to the Yanling Ghost King finish his story from when he was alive.

The story wasn't really new, because there's nothing new under the sun.

The powerless young man, though wielding a kitchen knife in a blood frenzy, could not ultimately protect his wife and child, watching them die in that pursuit!

He was born into a humble background, of ordinary origins.

He had no earth-shattering stories to tell.

He was not an aristocrat, had no disputes with sects, nor deep loves or hates in the martial world.

Yet he had the courage of a commoner, and fueled by intense hatred, he managed to escape the pursuit.

Thereafter, he scraped and struggled to survive.

The world was vast, with the Seven Prefectures of the South, Nine Mountains of Kunlun, Twelve Paths of Jade Capital, and the Tribulation Abyss...

He had been to many places, while many others he had not.

He had few opportunities, unable to join any sect or aristocratic family, and even finding it hard to learn at local martial arts schools.

He worked as a porter, laborer, and brawler, unable to learn true techniques from above, he practiced with his kitchen knife, night and day, crafting his own skills.

Drawing and sheathing the knife, he practiced only the chop and slash.

Thus he persisted through the seasons for three years.

Suddenly, one day, he realized he could slice a swiftly flying mosquito in two within a hair's breadth.

Two years later, he could clearly see a mosquito's flight path, severing only its wings without harming its body.

And so, he knew the time for his revenge had come.

At this point in the story, Yanling Ghost King paused slightly.

The porridge in the earthenware jar in front of him was quietly bubbling, while the flames beneath the Red Mud Small Stove had subtly diminished.

From fierce blaze to gentle flame.

Chen Xu, controlling the fire as he wished, quietly listened to the other's recollections.

This time, he didn't add Hundred Evils Fruit to the porridge, perhaps because all the Yanling Ghost King wanted was the plainest bowl of porridge.

Yanling Ghost King said, "I killed the steward's whole family, along with the landlord who bought my field that year.

But I only killed the landlord, not his whole family.

I had considered whether to kill his entire family, were the others innocent?

Yet before I could find my answers, after I killed the landlord with another knife, I suddenly felt all the strength drain from me.

A scholar walked out from the landlord's house, a distant cousin of the landlord.

He looked at me with pity, saying I practiced the knife but not technique, nurtured spirit but not body; my blade's intent was so strong it had exhausted my own Qi Blood, and I would not live for much longer.

Indeed, without his intervention, my Qi Blood withered, and I died full of resentment.

Only in death did I realize there were such wondrous cultivation techniques in the world."

This final sentence was said by Yanling Ghost King with an extreme calmness.

In his tone, there was no hatred, yet there seemed to be an endless loneliness and confusion.

He said, "I awoke in the City of Unjust Deaths, still with that kitchen knife from those days.

I forgot many things, only knowing I needed to cultivate, to practice the knife.

Fortunately, in the Ghost Market, one could buy techniques to cultivate Nether Qi, and opportunities existed in the Yellow Springs River, too.

I relentlessly trained for many years thereafter; though not achieving great success, I can now cleave the barrier between the Netherworld and Mortal World with a single slash."

What does it mean: merely cleaving the Netherworld's barrier with one slash?

Such a dismissive tone nearly made the Tray Ghost, listening in, leap up and scream again.

Yet the Tray Ghost managed to hold back, hearing Yanling Ghost King remark with melancholy:

"Though I can break the barrier, all my enemies from those days are long dead.

Even if I could see the Mortal World again, it seemed meaningless.

No, that's wrong. I had even forgotten I once had enemies…

I just felt there was nothing worthwhile in the Mortal World, nothing as interesting as my knife."

The steam from the porridge lowered gently, as Yanling Ghost King asked, "Brother Ghost, what do you think is the most indestructible in this world?

Is it hatred, cultivation, or memory?"

Chen Xu switched to a gentle flame, attentively coaxing the rolling grains in the jar.

He lifted a ladle of the porridge, letting it pour down like a thin thread.

Chen Xu said, "I do not know what is most unbreakable in the world, but I do know what is most irresistible."

Yanling Ghost King's expression instantly grew serious, he asked, "What is it?"

"It is time."

Chen Xu smiled slightly, "Look at the flowing water before us, passing silently, relentless day and night.

Only by such unceasing passage can black hair turn gray, the living to bones.

You say there's no reason for you to go back to the Mortal World, because all your enemies are dead.

Apart from those you killed, there are others you were unsure whether to kill or not.

But whether they should be killed or not, those people all vanished with time.

Your hatred, your obsessions, your lifetime memories, and after-death melancholies…which of these can withstand time?"

This final statement struck sharp discomfort among ghosts.

Yanling Ghost King frowned, "My memories have been recovered."

Chen Xu suddenly retorted, "How were they recovered?"

Yanling Ghost King was struck silent for a moment.

Then Chen Xu scooped a bowl of porridge from the jar.

It was just the simplest bowl of coarse rice porridge, with a handful of refined rice, giving it a special thickness, making it slightly sweeter than ordinary coarse rice porridge.

Chen Xu hadn't added Hundred Evils Fruit Powder, but in the end, he'd slipped in a drop of Netherworld Essence.

[Netherworld Essence: Colorless and tasteless, ghosts who consume it can purify their Nether Qi cultivation. If dropped into food, it can stimulate ghosts' memories related to their lives through the food's characteristics.

It makes resentful spirits recover reason, allowing mundane items to be edible to ghosts.]

If it were truly completely ordinary coarse rice porridge, ghosts actually couldn't eat it.

They can absorb its energy, but not consume the substance.

But with the addition of Netherworld Essence, this bowl of coarse rice porridge naturally became different.

Yanling Ghost King couldn't help but take the bowl, though he hesitated to taste it, holding it as if in thought.

The fragrance of the porridge mingled with the steam, and as Yanling Ghost King inhaled the aroma, a flash of inspiration crossed his mind, and he blurted out:

"I recovered my memories because your previous bowl of porridge was so fragrant, and also because of our conversation…"

Mid-sentence, Yanling Ghost King stopped abruptly.

Chen Xu picked up where he left off, softly saying, "My previous bowl of porridge triggered your memories of porridge.

And our conversation stimulated the scenes in your memory.

Bit by bit, gradually progressing, until all your past life memories returned.

The key wasn't really with me, but rather your own heart, with humanity not extinguished."

"Humanity" not extinguished!

Hearing these four words, Yanling Ghost King felt a quiver in his chest.

Like something hot, with that word 'emotion,' finally gushed forth from his cold, dormant ghost heart.

Yet he felt torment, for though his heart surged with emotion, his mind offered no clear answer.

He opened his mouth to speak, yet words failed him.

Amidst his heart-wrenching, unbearable torment, he heard the white-clad ghost opposite him say:

"Thus it seems, in this world, the most irresistible must be time. And the only thing that can resist time, is but the word 'emotion.'

Thus all sentient beings, dead or alive, are called beings of emotion?

The days and months have gone, and time will not wait. Yet emotion persists, unaffected by wind or moon."

Chen Xu sighed softly.

In an instant, Yanling Ghost King felt as if a lightning bolt split the chaos of yin and yang in the Netherworld.

Ripping apart and airing all his dark ignorance from his long, twisting time, exposing it to the sunlight.

He trembled, uttering a single word: "I…"

Beside Chen Xu, the Food Cauldron Celestial Book opened.

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.