Chapter 539: Dark Spirit Realm

Seeing the three towering figures before him, Zhang Yu was taken aback. He replayed in his mind the conversation he'd had with Fu Ji after getting the orb.

When he first saw the orb left behind by the Shadowless Death, Fu Ji had roughly guessed what it was.

“This thing just now could pry at the Spiritual Realm’s power partly because the Old Unemployed One hijacked the Spiritual Realm in and around the University City, and partly because of this pearl,” she said.

“The Yuhua Sect and the Wuye Sect being able to hijack the Spiritual Realm — the techniques they used are probably related to this thing.”

Pictures and memories flashed through Fu Ji’s mind. She murmured, “Born from the shadows that rely on the Spiritual Realm, hiding within the darkness of the Spiritual Realm — a spiritual world belonging to the Evil Gods: the Dark Spirit Realm.”

“Didn’t expect those guys actually pulled it off.”

“And this time they even let the Yuhua Sect and the Wuye Sect use the Dark Spirit Realm.”

After Zhang Yu clenched the orb, Fu Ji tried to communicate with the power inside it and further confirmed her suspicion.

“It really is the Dark Spirit Realm.”

“But if ordinary cultists use this thing, at most they can use it to contact each other and pry a little Spiritual Realm power.”

“As for me…”

Fu Ji quickly parsed the Dark Spirit Realm information contained within the orb and grew more excited.

“Through the Dark Spirit Realm information inside, I can communicate with the Evil Gods of the Dark Spirit Realm.”

At that thought she couldn’t wait to operate immediately.

But if she did that, once her mind connected to the Dark Spirit Realm she wouldn’t be able to pay attention to the outside world, wouldn’t be able to continue conversing with Zhang Yu, and he would easily notice something was off.

At the same time, as if sensing Fu Ji’s oddness, Zhang Yu asked, “Fu Ji, what is this thing?”

If this had been the old Fu Ji, she wouldn’t have hesitated for a second — she would have lied to Zhang Yu and hidden this means of communicating with the Evil Gods.

But right now, thinking of Zhang Pianpian supporting him with tech, their current relationship, and how Zhang Yu had just fought alongside Yu Xinghan and Shi Huaiyu, Fu Ji thought inwardly, “If he later asks Zhang Pianpian for help and Zhang Pianpian notices my little moves, the trust I worked so hard to build will be gone.”

“This kid’s trust… it actually matters.”

“Dammit… after being around him so long I’ve gotten soft?”

“No, I’m not soft. I’m using a way this kid can accept to win his trust so I can harvest him later. From my observation, the best way to harvest this kid is to gain his trust!”

With that in mind, Fu Ji spoke her discovery aloud.

Zhang Yu asked in surprise, “So the Dark Spirit Realm is part of the Spiritual Realm? Like a secret chamber inside the Spiritual Realm? A hidden passage? Only the Evil Gods know the password and can pass through it — secretly using the true gods’ Spiritual Realm to achieve their own ends.”

Fu Ji replied, “Something like that. You can think of it that way. I’m going to communicate with the Evil Gods through the Dark Spirit Realm next. If you don’t trust me, come with me.”

Zhang Yu asked, “Is it dangerous?”

Fu Ji smiled. “The Dark Spirit Realm’s original godway technique… I contributed part of it.”

“Or rather, when the Dark Spirit Realm was built, I should count as one of the elders.”

“Too bad I got harmed before I could see the Dark Spirit Realm completed…”

“Heh, my old friends are probably in a higher layer of the Dark Spirit Realm right now. I wonder if we can meet someone familiar in the Kunxu second floor’s Dark Spirit Realm.”

As she spoke, Fu Ji dragged Zhang Yu through layer after layer of the Spiritual Realm, until they arrived deep inside a void — a place that could be called the Dark Spirit Realm.

At the deepest part of the Dark Spirit Realm, three figures stood around an ancient wooden round table.

They seemed to have just been talking, but when Fu Ji and Zhang Yu arrived they all turned their heads.

The three colossal figures loomed like pillars supporting the sky, each with a strange and different shape.

One seemed to be made of countless hands and feet; each hand and foot was covered in eyes. Those eyes all stared at Fu Ji as it slowly said, “Oh? Didn’t expect visitors today?”

Seeing this, Zhang Yu felt his heart sink. Inwardly he asked Fu Ji, “Are these three Evil Gods the ones behind the cults?”

Fu Ji answered, “They should be some of the people behind it.”

“Maybe the Evil Gods are sponsoring the cults, or they convert certain cultists into their followers and grant them ritual power.”

“But beyond the Evil Gods, there are probably other forces behind the scenes.”

At that moment Fu Ji and Zhang Yu’s minds joined, and in the Dark Spirit Realm they took the form of a straw-stuffed ragdoll made from rags, buttons, straw, and stitching.

This was how they appeared after entering the Dark Spirit Realm.

Facing the Evil Gods, Zhang Yu naturally said nothing and left all communication to Fu Ji.

“Visitors?”

Fu Ji’s ragdoll form sneered and stepped to the table. With a gesture, an elegant chair materialized in front of her.

Seeing Fu Ji so casually produce objects in the Dark Spirit Realm, the three Evil Gods were surprised.

Fu Ji sat in the chair as if it were nothing and said to the three, “You can call me Fu Shen — one of the founding gods of the Dark Spirit Realm.”

If she were in the Spiritual Realm or the real world, Fu Ji wouldn’t dare to be so flamboyant or to approach other Evil Gods so casually.

But the Dark Spirit Realm was different. On one hand, Fu Ji’s deep knowledge of the Dark Spirit Realm’s foundational godway architecture let her better hide her information here.

On the other hand, Fu Ji knew a key point: the reason the creators made the Dark Spirit Realm in the first place was to give the Evil Gods a safe place to exchange information.

This place prohibited mutual attack; fighting was impossible — it was a safe zone.

When the three Evil Gods saw Fu Ji summon a chair and heard her words, none of them answered immediately. They each pondered the claim and used their own channels to verify it.

Regardless, Fu Ji had become inscrutable in their eyes.

Fu Ji continued, “You three are meeting here for Wanfa University City?”

The many-handed, many-footed Evil God said, “You may call me Xi Shen.”

Xi Shen continued, “Fu Shen, are you interested in Wanfa University as well?”

Fu Ji said casually, “Who knows? If I were to make a move on the University City, I’d hit the 666th level first.”

Another figure composed of swirling colored light asked, “Why?”

Seeing Fu Ji’s gaze, the colored-light figure said, “You can call me Xiang Shen.”

Fu Ji smiled faintly. “Don’t you know? The 666th level is where Divine Lord Wanhuan stores his physical bodies. There are quite a few corpses he bought at great cost there.”

“Grab any one and you can get precious intelligence from that body’s brain.”

Feeling the mental ripples in the Dark Spirit Realm, Fu Ji seemed to perceive the three Evil Gods whispering amongst themselves.

And they were indeed privately communicating.

“They can generate items so easily in the Dark Spirit Realm — if this Fu Shen knows the Dark Spirit Realm that well, even if she’s not a founding-level god, she’s certainly among the most senior.”

“The 666th level of Wanfa University City is where Divine Lord Wanhuan keeps his physical bodies? No wonder it’s completely sealed off; no one can enter or glean any information.”

“This Fu Shen even knows such confidential information. Looks like she’s been laying groundwork inside Wanfa University for a long time. Maybe she’s already converted an important cultivator into her follower.”

“If that’s so, perhaps our action interfered with her long-term arrangement and she came to demand compensation?”

“Demand compensation? Hah, even if he’s experienced, that’s no reason.”

High technical power and deep intelligence networks — at this moment Fu Ji grew ever more unfathomable in the three Evil Gods’ eyes.

Although they didn’t know what the three were discussing, Fu Ji kept speaking, “Or are you interested in that Law Husk of the Divine Lord Nectar? I’d be interested too — after all, it was the fuse that set off the University War.”

Xi Shen, covered in eyes and limbs, said indifferently, “Fu Shen, you know about that Law Husk?”

Fu Ji leaned back, hands behind her head, and said casually, “The Law Husk stolen from Divine Lord Nectar has circulated everywhere. One ended up in Wanfa University’s laboratory; that’s hardly secret news, right?”

“But who do you want to strike? Magneto? Tian Zhang? Or that experimental subject student?”

The colored-light Xiang Shen flickered, sending halos across its body: “Naturally, the experimental subject student is the easiest to manipulate.”

Hearing that, Zhang Yu’s heart trembled; he thought, “This Evil God has set its sights on me?”

Fu Ji chuckled, “Simple is simple, but what can an experimental subject know? He probably doesn’t even know whose Law Husk that research belongs to or what faction it came from.”

Xiang Shen’s colored body changed and it said coldly, “Oh? Then you think we should go after Magneto? Or cause trouble for Tian Zhang?”

Fu Ji snorted coldly. “Magneto has the best chance in the past twenty years of becoming the fourth Nascent Soul. Taking him out would cost too much.”

“Tian Zhang is a talisman-and-sigil professor; if the Spiritual Realm has any trouble in the University, he’ll be among the first to sense it. He’ll be ready — you won’t find a chance to get him.”

Xiang Shen’s lights altered again. “That’s no good, and that’s no good… then what do you suggest?”

Fu Ji smiled. “Looks like your followers within Wanfa University aren’t very high-ranking and don’t know the inner workings.”

“If you want to go after the labs, the best target is, of course, Research Division’s Feng Yuhan.”