135. What to Do When the Invincible Boss Betrays First

This suction force erupted with such ferocity and suddenness that Chen Sheng had no time to react before he was met with a background of eternal black and white.

This caused Chen Sheng to blink involuntarily, a trace of skepticism flashing in his eyes.

When this suction force appeared, although the physical sensation was just as it had always been, for some reason, his senses were continuously transmitting a feeling similar to that of the real world.

Yes, the real world!

This was something he had never experienced before.

In fact, after the sun tanned his skin back to its former complexion today, Chen Sheng had discovered that his strength had accordingly reached its limit. Sunbathing any further no longer yielded that all-around increase in power.

So... was his sensation mistaken? Or was his previous cognition wrong?

Chen Sheng thought to himself, and subconsciously turned his head. Right beside him, a certain little female ghost was tilting her unique yet background-fitting grayish-white face, looking at him with a pitiful little expression.

Chen Sheng could not help falling silent for three seconds.

Then, gathering his thoughts and sorting his memories back to the usual routine, he said with a hint of disbelief, "Don't tell me you're about to say you've been robbed again?"

"This... hehe... this... hehe..."

The little female ghost instantly grew embarrassed. She rubbed her little hands and resumed that somewhat wretched tone.

She looked just like a fly rubbing its hands together and accidentally rubbing its own head off.

The moment Chen Sheng saw her like this, he knew in his heart that nine times out of ten it was true. The corners of his twitching lips tightened, and he said with feigned calmness, "Let's go, I'll help you snatch it back!"

At the very least, she was the guiding beacon along his path in life; he still had to save face.

Besides, snatching back that "Mò"-granted perfect attribute of a "residence" didn't seem all that difficult anyway. He could come and go as he pleased.

"It hasn't been robbed yet..." At this moment, however, the little female ghost added in a soft voice.

"Then why did you summon me over?" Chen Sheng was speechless. Was he some kind of summoned beast now? Did this place possess such magical settings?

As long as one took a master—even if it was merely verbal—the master could summon the disciple across realms so casually?

"Because it's about to be robbed..." the little female ghost continued.

"Who is it?" Chen Sheng raised an eyebrow, deciding to strike first to gain the upper hand.

"It's Lu Jinsheng, the master of the Gourmet City from last time. He came back furious, flew into a rage, and then invited an instrument of execution to fight you. Furthermore, quite a few fierce spirits have publicly supported the Gourmet City master," the little female ghost said hastily. Otherwise, she wouldn't have activated her summoning skill once more!

"So it's him..."

Chen Sheng nodded, then waved his hand, and the gallows manifested accordingly.

This time, after this instrument of execution appeared, Chen Sheng's gaze immediately fell upon it, observing it closely and continuously, just as if it were his first time ever laying eyes on the execution tool.

Suddenly, Chen Sheng's gaze slightly narrowed.

"What is it?" The little female ghost glanced at the gallows. Having spent a long time in contact with Chen Sheng, she wasn't all that afraid of the gallows anymore. After all, this instrument of execution was different from the ones wielded by other fierce spirits.

The instruments of execution in the hands of other fierce spirits were at least on equal footing with the spirits themselves. Moreover, in most cases, the fierce spirits accommodated the execution tools; once an execution tool expressed an opinion or approved of something, the fierce spirit—no matter how much they had disagreed previously—would immediately change their mind and choose to agree.

Therefore, those fierce spirits were actually incapable of truly controlling an instrument of execution.

Yet the instrument of execution in Chen Sheng's hand was entirely different. It was centered completely around Chen Sheng, acting like a sycophantic lackey, exuding flattery no matter how one looked at it.

Such a situation could not merely be called rare; the little female ghost had never even heard of it before, let alone witnessed it!

It was simply preposterous!

"Nothing, I'm just pondering a question." Chen Sheng shook his head, a thoughtful look in his eyes. He glanced at the little female ghost, looking at her just as closely, as if he were seeing his nominal master—the guiding beacon on his life's path—for the very first time.

Previously, he had been too shocked and speechless to take a careful look at this little female ghost.

And upon this closer look, Chen Sheng's gaze narrowed slightly once more.

"What question?" the little female ghost asked subconsciously, failing to notice Chen Sheng's anomaly.

"Do you know what the Seventh Child is?" Chen Sheng slowly spoke, deliberately pacing his words as if he were afraid the little female ghost wouldn't hear clearly.

***

However, the little female ghost shook her head.

Yet immediately afterward, she said, "I don't know about the Seventh Child, but I know the first six."

"Tell me about them," Chen Sheng immediately requested.

His attitude was as earnest as someone checking their thesis for plagiarism after writing it, rather than listening to an NPC deliver a game's lore exposition.

"In this world, there once existed six 'He's," the little female ghost began.

"'He'?" Chen Sheng couldn't help interrupting out loud.

The moment the little female ghost looked at Chen Sheng, she knew he had misheard. After all, Chen Sheng had misheard once before, mistaking "Mò" for something else. So she simply wrote the character for "He" on the ground.

"This 'He'..."

Chen Sheng's expression turned stern. The implications carried by this character were no small matter.

"You could also call them gods!" The little female ghost nodded. "This world has always been dominated by ghosts. The limit for living mortals is the Unity Realm of martial arts; only ghosts can master powerful extraordinary abilities. While some ghosts can become fierce spirits, others can walk an entirely different path besides that of fierce spirits. So far, however, only six ghosts have ever walked that path."

"That path is extraordinarily miraculous. Once one steps onto it, it means taking only the final step to ascend into 'He'—that is, a god!"

Hearing this, Chen Sheng wore a peculiar look.

However, he did not ask immediately. Instead, after meditating for a moment, he spoke, "You said this world has always been dominated by ghosts. Why are there still so many living mortals?"

He asked a question completely unrelated to himself.

"That was the handiwork of those six 'He's..." The little female ghost's tone suddenly turned strange, her grayish-white face knotted with deep internal conflict.

"Hm?" Chen Sheng didn't quite understand. Ascending from ghosts—not becoming fierce spirits, but gods—they were still, at the root of it, gods from the ghostly faction. Why did the little female ghost's tone sound as though the gods had always stood on the side of humanity?

"Nobody quite knows how it happened, but back when they were still ghosts, those six—even if not murderous maniacs—were certainly knee-deep in blood. That remained true even after those six stepped onto that path. But strangely enough, the moment those six completed the final step of ascension, their attitudes would instantly undergo a drastic change: they would suppress fierce spirits and obliterate malevolent, infinitely vicious ghosts that had harmed countless people. The very condition that allows ghosts to harm living beings was the handiwork of the first 'He'."

"And the subsequent five successors without exception chose to support this measure, even repeatedly reinforcing it, ultimately establishing it as the rules of this world!"

At this point, the little female ghost's tone became exceptionally helpless.

When a traitor appeared within a group, the first thing to do was naturally to eliminate that traitor. But what if that traitor happened to be the absolute strongest leader of the group?

The kind who could effortlessly suppress a collective rebellion, regardless of numbers!

What could the ghosts at the bottom do about that?

They could only accept it helplessly!

This point also filled "Mò" with immense dissatisfaction. Any ghost choosing to enter "Mò" would, upon acquiring the perfect attribute of a "residence," also receive brief information regarding those six.

"Without exception?"

A look of surprise surfaced in Chen Sheng's eyes. If it were just one, it might be understandable and attributed to a lingering shred of compassion, but what if all six were like that?

Then, words like "unfaded mercy" could no longer describe it.

Moreover, to be able to make all six choose to do so and stand on the side of humanity, there must be something hidden within this that offered immense benefits to those six!

What guaranteed a united front had never been anything other than interests.

Chen Sheng nodded silently, then began to feel a sense of awe at the power possessed by those six. Six of them continuously reinforcing it had actually created the rules out of thin air.

"Would you like to hear slightly more detailed information about those six?" the little female ghost asked, tilting her little face. This was something she had inquired about out of curiosity over the years.

Although the era in which those six existed was extremely distant, inquiring about them was not particularly difficult.

After all, they were the true peak of this world in every sense of the word.

"Is it even alright to talk about them?" Chen Sheng asked in surprise. Shouldn't beings of that caliber be so powerful that even their names couldn't be spoken lightly? Otherwise, it would invite disaster.

Even if it didn't mean instant death, one would still be targeted for a period by local fierce spirits or the subordinates of those six.

"Those six have been dead for many years now; why wouldn't it be alright to talk about them? The factions left behind by those six vanished right along with them," the little female ghost curled her lower lip, exuding a sense of "when the tiger is away, the monkey becomes king."

"Gods... can die?"

Chen Sheng could not conceal his shock. Who could kill a god? Or were they... simply dying of old age?

"Yeah, they all died. Otherwise, how do you think Wudai came to be?"

"Wudai?"

The little female ghost thought for a moment, then simply explained what Wudai was to Chen Sheng. After finishing, fearing that Chen Sheng might not fully grasp it, she deliberately offered an example: "The Lost Mist you mentioned earlier is Wudai of the seventh rank. It can be said to be the most formidable among the naturally formed Wudai."

"And the first six Wudai?"

"Naturally, they are the leftovers from the deaths of those six! But what exactly they are, nobody knows; there is only a rough description. It is said that those six 'He's all felt profound emotional waves when facing the mortal realm, and thus attempted to create an ideal, perfect world. But without exception, they all failed, and the perfect worlds they created ultimately formed Wudai."

"Those six types of Wudai never manifest in the world. However, it is said that hidden within the Lost Mist are paths leading to those six Wudai—though who on earth would dare enter the Lost Mist!"

The little female ghost spread her little hands, a bizarre expression involuntarily crossing her grayish-white face.

Chen Sheng fell deep into contemplation at this point.

Those six ascended to become gods, becoming the "He" in the little female ghost's mouth, yet without exception chose to stand on the side of humanity, suppressing fierce spirits and ghosts, and finally attempted to create a perfect world conforming to their imaginations.

So, could the existence of living mortals influence these six gods?

Or rather, were those six fundamentally the same entity all along?

"Do you know about the Evernight Datura?" Chen Sheng suddenly asked.

"I do. It's a god-defying entity that escaped from the Eternal Land of the Unknown, and it's currently being hunted by some of the carriages of the Underworld Nether Train!"

"Then let's talk about this... what is a god-defying entity?" Chen Sheng wasn't particularly keen on learning about those six because he had a premonition: while the little female ghost could shout about them without consequence, the moment he spoke of them, they might just pop right out.

Although he had no proof, Chen Sheng's premonition was exceptionally strong. After all, the Evernight Datura addressed him as the Seventh Child...

In other words, he was the seventh "He".

However, when had he ever been a ghost?

Chen Sheng thought for a moment, recalling his other form-shifting state, and instantly suppressed this train of thought.

"A god-defying entity refers to those ancient ghosts back in remote antiquity that the first 'He' found disagreeable. These ghosts were extraordinary and had once vied for supremacy with the first 'He', but they ultimately failed, so they were suppressed by the first 'He' within the Eternal Land of the Unknown." At this moment, the little female ghost fully displayed her encyclopedic side.

After all, over all these years, she might not have gathered useful intel, but when it came to gossip, she was exceptionally proficient.

Though she hadn't managed to dig up useful news, she knew a whole mountain of ancient gossip handed down from antiquity that was now completely useless.

This was her final stubborn pride as a half-step fierce spirit!

Chen Sheng: "..."

Then, thinking it over, he couldn't help asking: "All six 'He's are dead, yet the ancient ghosts suppressed by the first 'He' are still alive and well. Isn't that a bit... preposterous?"

"It is a bit, but the Eternal Land of the Unknown is somewhat special. Everything there is unknown; even known things go there and become unknown. Only the Underworld Nether Train dares to venture there. After all, the Underworld Nether Train was crafted by the second 'He' specifically to explore the Eternal Land of the Unknown," the little female ghost explained.

Chen Sheng pondered thoughtfully, then suddenly asked, "You said the Evernight Datura is a god-defying entity. Would it ever submit to a god and choose to stop opposing them?"

"How would I know that?!" The little female ghost finished, then casually asked, "Master, why did you suddenly start asking about these things?"

"Because right before you summoned me over, someone claiming to be the Evernight Datura respectfully addressed me as the Seventh Child," Chen Sheng said calmly. "By the way, she is a mass of shadow capable of shifting forms."

The little female ghost's expression instantly froze. She stared blankly at Chen Sheng for a long while before snapping out of it, her eyes widening in absolute terror: "Is the Tribulation of Ten Thousand Ghosts starting again? Wuwuwuwu..."

The little female ghost instantly burst into tears.

This left Chen Sheng somewhat bewildered: "What are you doing? What Tribulation of Ten Thousand Ghosts?"

"The arrival of every single 'He' marks the golden age of living mortals, but correspondingly, all ghosts stop having any good days left! Wuwuwu..." the little female ghost cried as she explained, terrified that she would be the very first one dealt with by this seventh "He".