The Spirit Realm is a name used by cultivators for mysterious places that defy understanding.
These places often have strange rules. For example, outside the provincial capital of New Township, there's a place called Spiral Town, a well-known Spirit Realm.
Anyone who enters Spiral Town will keep repeating the same day over and over, unable to leave until they die.
In another place, South Gate County, there's a Spirit Realm that turns people into paper figures, rendering even the greatest powers useless.
These places are famous and known to all as dangerous spots.
Yet, Yellow Slope Village is just a small village under New Township County in New Township Province. How could such a dangerous place exist here without being known?
"New Township's rotten seed, shameless little scoundrel!"
The woman in purple thought to herself, and the Imperial Guards who followed her were in chaos. Some tried to use spells to restore their bodies, others ran back, thinking they could return to normal by leaving the Spirit Realm. In their panic, some fell and shattered into pieces.
The woman in purple shouted, "Don't run around! Follow my orders!"
The group gradually calmed down and gathered together, their eyes focused on her.
The woman in purple steadied herself and said, "Since this place has a Spirit Realm, it means we're in the right place. This is the rumored True King's Tomb..."
At that moment, Chen Shi's voice came from ahead, "Big Sister, why didn't you follow? The lair of those porcelain dolls is right here!"
The woman in purple looked in the direction of the voice and saw a small head peeking out from behind a large dirt mound. It was Chen Shi, with an innocent face and clear eyes, not the cunning person she imagined.
"He's just a child. Maybe I overthought things."
She felt a bit guilty for imagining Chen Shi as a schemer, forgetting he was just a ten-year-old kid.
As she observed Chen Shi, she realized he had also turned into a porcelain doll, just like them.
"This kid has obviously been here before, so he must know how to change back from a porcelain doll to a human!"
Her eyes lit up, and she immediately ordered, "Follow him, and seize the chance to capture him!"
The group rushed forward, and the forest ahead became sparse, with fewer trees and more large dirt mounds.
These mounds were hollow with burn marks, resembling kiln caves.
Besides that, there were huge pottery jars, some broken, some intact, towering four or five times their height, giving off an oppressive feeling.
The group chased Chen Shi, weaving between the pottery jars and kiln caves. The woman in purple was at the back, amazed by her surroundings, and suddenly realized, "Wait, this isn't the True King's Tomb! This is... a kiln factory for making porcelain!"
Various thoughts popped into her mind. How could a countryside kiln factory become a Spirit Realm?
Where did the kiln's porcelain come from?
Why did Chen Shi bring them to the kiln factory?
Just as she was thinking this, Fang He's voice came from ahead, "We lost him... there's someone there! It's those porcelain dolls!"
The woman in purple hurried forward and saw the porcelain dolls that had been playing by the stream now hiding in the shadows of a broken kiln cave, looking at them in fear.
One of the porcelain dolls waved at them repeatedly.
An Imperial Guard laughed, "These little things are afraid of us..."
The woman in purple realized, her face changing, and quickly said, "They're not afraid of us, but something else! Retreat quickly—"
Suddenly, the ground shook, the sky darkened, and a strong wind blew as three giant figures in blue-gray clothing stepped towards them.
These giants were tall and thin, standing one or two stories high, and with the group turned into porcelain dolls less than a foot tall, the giants appeared even more massive.
The giants had long limbs and faces like clay sculptures, expressionless, resembling kiln workers who made porcelain, stirring up gusts of cold wind as they reached for them.
The group ran for their lives, but one person was caught by a kiln worker, who twisted his neck with a snap, shattering the porcelain head into fragments that slipped through the giant's fingers.
Seeing this, the others ran even faster, but the kiln workers took strides that covered dozens of their steps, easily catching another person.
The woman in purple was terrified. Although she was a cultivator who had long refined her Divine Fetus, in the Spirit Realm, her powers were greatly weakened and couldn't threaten these kiln workers!
A gentle step from a kiln worker could crush her to pieces!
She ran desperately, weaving through the kiln factory to evade the kiln workers' pursuit, but her companions dwindled until only she was left.
Everyone else had been caught by the three kiln workers.
The woman in purple suddenly thought of the porcelain dolls hiding in the kiln cave, and a flash of insight made her quickly hide in a broken kiln cave too.
Inside the kiln cave were several porcelain dolls. Seeing her enter, they waved their hands, signaling her to stay silent.
The three kiln workers bent down, looking around, and one of them peeked into the kiln cave, blocking the entrance with its massive face.
The woman in purple held her breath, not daring to make a sound.
The kiln worker's movements were stiff, its eyes lifeless, and its eyeballs, like porcelain, made a rustling sound as they scanned the kiln cave before getting up and leaving.
The other kiln workers stopped searching too.
After a while, the porcelain dolls cautiously peeked out, looked around, and breathed a sigh of relief, beckoning her to follow.
The woman in purple bent down and quietly followed the porcelain dolls.
Not far away, a giant kiln cave was ablaze with roaring flames, and the three kiln workers threw the porcelain dolls they had caught into the fire.
The porcelain dolls struggled and screamed in the flames, melting and deforming.
The woman in purple felt a pang of sorrow. Those porcelain dolls were the Imperial Guards of the Zhao family from New Township, and now they had died in such a rural place!
She followed the porcelain dolls and quietly left the kiln factory.
"Miss, were you also tricked into this place by the little brat from Yellow Slope Village?" one of the porcelain dolls asked.
The woman in purple replied, "I don't understand your language... huh?"
She was surprised to find that after becoming a porcelain doll, she could understand the chirping-like language of these porcelain dolls without any teaching!
The woman in purple didn't hide anything and explained the situation, saying, "He said his name was Honest, but he's full of tricks! You all..."
One of the porcelain dolls sighed and said, "We came here looking for treasure and were tricked into this place, ending up like this."
"And us too," said more porcelain dolls as they approached.
"And us."
Outside the kiln factory, group after group of porcelain dolls gathered, each with a gloomy expression.
"We heard the True King's Tomb was nearby, so we came to search for it, hoping for some fortune. But who would have thought that in the supposedly honest countryside, there'd be such a little demon!"
An elderly-looking porcelain doll was filled with rage, thumping its cane and angrily saying, "The little demon tricked us into this place, turning us into porcelain! In the past two years, more and more people have fallen for his tricks!"
Someone shouted angrily, "Don't be a fool!"
Everyone echoed, "Yes! Don't be a fool!"
The woman in purple joined in, but thought to herself, "These people also came for the True King's Tomb, just like me, and used ruthless means, which the little Honest noticed, so he tricked them here. This kid..."
Thinking of Chen Shi made her grind her teeth in anger, "Is that brat really only ten years old? And how does he change back from porcelain to a human?"
"Miss, are you..."
A middle-aged porcelain doll approached, observing the woman in purple, and suddenly exclaimed, "You're the second daughter of the Zhao family from New Township Province?"
The woman in purple was stunned and nodded, "And you are..."
The porcelain doll said, "I'm Li Xian from Spring City. Miss Zhao, we met last year!"
The woman in purple was shocked. Li Xian from Spring City was from a prestigious family and well-known. He had ventured alone into the dangerous Dragon Abyss, entering and exiting seven times without anyone stopping him!
When he visited New Township Province, her father had instructed her to greet Uncle Li, and now he was trapped in this remote place!
"I'm He Qinghe from Danjiang, nice to meet you, Miss Zhao."
The woman in purple was shocked again. He Qinghe from Danjiang was also a famous figure, having achieved the Golden Core stage, a top talent among the younger generation!
He was trapped here too!
A female porcelain doll said, "I'm Lin Feishuang, nice to meet you, Miss Zhao, and everyone."
"I'm Long Gang from New Township, nice to meet you, Miss Zhao, and everyone!"
"I'm from Yudu Huqing Pool, nice to meet you, Miss Zhao."
...
These porcelain dolls introduced themselves, and they were all notable figures, including an elder who had reached the Nascent Soul stage!
The woman in purple was both surprised and frightened. These powerful individuals, some even respected by the Zhao family, had all fallen for that little guy's trick, becoming porcelain dolls, at his mercy!
"However, I hold a high position in the Zhao family. If I don't return home for a few days, my father will surely send people to search for me. Once they find Yellow Slope Village, they'll find our trail and rescue me!" she thought to herself.
In the kiln factory, the flames roared high.
Chen Shi quietly retreated to a dark corner, avoiding the three kiln workers who moved like wooden sculptures.
In the corner were several large jar-like containers. Seeing him squeeze in, they quickly tucked in their limbs, making room for the porcelain doll to fit.
However, the gaps between them were large enough for Chen Shi to squeeze in.
The three kiln workers walked past, and one glanced at the corner jars. One jar, startled, suddenly grew a leg with a pop.
The other two kiln workers immediately turned to look, and the jar, sensing danger, quickly grew two arms and another leg, running away with a clattering lid.
The three kiln workers immediately chased after it, and after a while, two of them returned, bending down, their expressionless faces peering at the jars in the corner, as if checking which one had come to life.
Hiding in the corner, Chen Shi peeked out. The kiln workers' eyes were gray and white, like failed porcelain.
The two kiln workers inspected the jars, found nothing amiss, and left.
After a while, the other kiln worker returned, dragging the runaway jar back and tossing it into the kiln to be melted.
In the shadows of the corner, Chen Shi and the surviving jars quietly sneaked away.
The surviving jars seemed to have a grudge against Chen Shi. Once they were out of the kiln workers' sight, they turned to settle the score with him, but he was already gone without a trace.
———The next update will be tomorrow around 11 AM. Feel free to bookmark, read, and vote!