You, a living person, are telling me I've served in the underworld for ten years?

Chapter 2: The Art of Reviving the Living and the Art of Binding the Soul!
You've worked diligently in the underworld for seven years, but due to a lack of connections and low abilities, you've been unable to get promoted. Fortunately, there's always a way out...

Since the severing of the connection between heaven and earth, the path between humans and the dead has been cut off, separating the living from the dead. The souls of the deceased are unable to enter the underworld to be reincarnated, leading to chaos and endless war in the netherworld!

The higher-ups of the underworld wish to restore order and reshape the path between Yin and Yang. They intend to select a group of underworld officials to serve as pioneers in the mortal realm. Upon learning this, you volunteered and were successfully selected.

[You followed tens of thousands of underworld officials and wandered the road to the Yellow Springs for three years, enduring countless hardships and dangers, suffering numerous deaths and injuries, and ultimately you were the only one who successfully returned to the world of the living!]

"........."

Chen Yang was somewhat bewildered.

Did I fall to my death?
The souls of the dead drifted to the underworld and became underworld officials?

"This is……"

"Has my cheat software been credited to my account?"

The funeral home was usually quiet, so Chen Yang passed the time by reading novels and playing games. He had read quite a few novels with a "system" theme.

"But is this something that only transmigrators, reincarnated individuals, or good-for-nothings who have been cheated on or jilted in marriage can possess?"

"What have I done to deserve this... that I've also opened a shop?"

And this thing...

It seems like it opened early?
I didn't die, so you're saying I've returned from serving in the underworld for ten years?

While Chen Yang was surprised and incredulous, he couldn't help but feel a little excited.

But considering Zhou Qiang's presence, he could only calm himself down and push the money back onto the counter.

"What? You think it's not enough?"

Zhou Qiang frowned slightly, somewhat displeased, and said, "I only came to patronize your business because we're classmates. I'm just having you go through the motions. Isn't 1 yuan enough?"

“If it weren’t for the hassle, I would buy a Taoist robe on Pinduoduo and hire someone at the labor market for 200 yuan.”

Just go through the motions!

I've already been killed by the ghosts at your construction site, and you're still going through the motions?
Chen Yang: "Mr. Zhou, given our relationship, if it were just a formality, I wouldn't mind not paying you... But this matter isn't as simple as you think. I suggest you find someone else, Mr. Zhou!"

Zhou Qiang raised an eyebrow and said, "What do you mean?"

Chen Yang: "There's no smoke without fire. Mr. Zhou, you think it's just rumors spread by the workers on the construction site because they're ignorant and uneducated... But have you investigated?"

"Does this even need an investigation?"

Zhou Qiang: "You just said it yourself, we must believe in science!"

"........."

They learn quite quickly.

"How many years has technology been developing?"

Chen Yang rambled on, "This world is vast, and there are countless things we haven't seen... We can't just dismiss something as superstition or something that doesn't exist simply because we haven't seen it, can we?"

"Not buddy!"

This stumped Zhou Qiang. He widened his eyes and said, "You mean my construction site might really be haunted?"

Chen Yang remained silent, only offering a faint smile.

This made Zhou Qiang feel a little uneasy, especially...

We are currently in a funeral home.

He felt a chill run down his spine, and forced a smile, saying, "Trying to scare me, huh? You've always loved telling scary stories since you were a kid. There are no ghosts in this world."

"If you believe, it exists; if you don't believe, it doesn't. In any case, your forehead is dark and you are surrounded by yin energy, which is not a good sign."

Chen Yang was in a hurry to study the [cheat code] and had no time to chat with Zhou Qiang. He made up a few words, got up and directly asked Zhou Qiang to leave, saying, "Mr. Zhou, I'm sorry... I usually go to bed early, so I won't keep you any longer!"

Darkening between the eyebrows? A sinister aura surrounding the face?
Even though Zhou Qiang didn't believe in ghosts and gods, he still felt a little uneasy. As he walked out of the funeral home, he couldn't help but look back.

boom!
Chen Yang pulled down the roller shutter door directly.

Seeing the lights come on on the second floor of the funeral home, Zhou Qiang then got into the car.

He turned on the car's interior light, glanced at his face in the rearview mirror, and, finding nothing "darkened," couldn't help but laugh, "Damn, I almost let this kid fool me!"

"If he really had that ability, why wouldn't he earn that 1 yuan?"

I started the car and drove just a few hundred meters out of Yumin Street when a phone call came in.

"Young...Young Master Zhou!"

The voice on the other end of the phone was trembling, choked with sobs, and said, "Please come back quickly, there's been an accident at the construction site!"

...............

The second floor of the funeral home.

As soon as Chen Yang went upstairs, he opened the system.

On the light screen of the system interface, a line of text jumped out.

[You have endured countless hardships to reach the mortal realm, but all your cultivation has been lost, leaving only a wisp of your soul that may perish at any moment. Please find a suitable body as soon as possible to nurture this remnant soul.] [Mission: Find a body that resonates with your soul.]

[Task Reward: Cultivation Points +100]

This stupid system... it even issues missions?

But I'm not dead, so where can I find a physical body?

If that so-called "remnant soul" is truly annihilated, will I die?

Before the thought could even settle, the mechanical voice in his mind rang out again—

Your lingering soul has wandered the mortal realm for a long time, and has finally found a suitable body.

[Mission complete. Reward: Cultivation +100.]

As the notification sound rang out, Chen Yang couldn't help but shudder.

He felt a cool power suddenly arise within his body, flowing through his limbs and bones, eventually converging three inches below his navel.

"Could this be the location of the dantian and qi sea mentioned in the novel?"

"But aren't cultivation levels in novels always described as a warm, comforting current...? Why does my cultivation level feel so cold?"

The text on the screen flickered, and the mechanical notification sounded in my mind once again—

[Although you have found a suitable physical body, if your soul cannot be 100% in harmony with it, it will be difficult to perfectly control it. Please intensify your training to improve the compatibility with your body.]

[Task: Increase physical compatibility.]

[You have increased your physical compatibility to 50%, and have received the reward: Resurrection Technique.]

[You have increased your physical compatibility to 80%, and have received a cultivation reward of +500.]

[You have increased your physical compatibility to 100%, and have received the cultivation technique reward: Yellow Springs Refining Spirit Technique (Volume 1).]

That icy power began to circulate within his body again, and a large amount of unfamiliar information surged into Chen Yang's mind!

Chen Yang closed his eyes and carefully comprehended the meaning.

【Resurrection Technique】: One of the essential magical skills for underworld officials, which can bring the dead back to life for a short time.

【Yellow Springs Refining Spirit Method】: A method for refining the spirit created by the Lord of the Underworld.

for a long time.

Chen Yang slowly opened his eyes, a look of understanding flashing in them.

"I see!"

"Because the system was activated in advance, I did not die, nor did I have the experience of returning as a remnant soul after serving in the underworld for ten years. My body is my own, so it is naturally a 100% perfect fit!"

So you don't have to do anything to get the system rewards for free!
"And my cultivation level..."

"It's not true qi, nor is it magic power, but... yin qi!"

That's understandable.

"If things proceed normally, I will die tonight and become a ghost. Even if I return to the world of the living... I will no longer be a human being, but a ghost!"

It's perfectly reasonable for ghosts to cultivate yin energy!
of course.

Yin energy is only an auxiliary force for "Yin messengers".

The "ghosts" of the underworld follow the path of "refining the spirit"—traveling at night, traveling during the day, controlling objects, and manifesting their forms.

This is similar to, but not entirely the same as, the Taoist practice of cultivating the "Yin Spirit." Taoist cultivation of the "Yin Spirit" requires gathering Qi to refine the spirit and nurture the soul. Only after condensing the "Yin Spirit" can one "leave the body."

Ghosts are conscious beings, so they don't need to go through such trouble.

These are all knowledge that Chen Yang obtained from the "Yellow Springs Refining Spirit Method".

Feeling the "cultivation" within his body, Chen Yang had a thought, and his cultivation flowed, transforming into a ball of black yin energy that appeared in his palm.

Feel……

It's surprisingly cool!

"My current cultivation level is still very weak, roughly equivalent to that of an ordinary evil spirit..."

Chen Yang then tried to separate his soul from his body to play around with the "Yellow Springs Refining Spirit Method," but... he failed!

"I am not dead, nor am I a true ghost or underworld official. If I want my soul to leave my body, I would probably have to do what Daoist cultivators do: gather qi, calm the mind, nurture the soul, and condense a Yin spirit..."

However, there is no method for condensing Yin spirit in the "Yellow Spring Refining Spirit Method"!

Hey!
Chen Yang cursed under his breath, but the notification sound in his mind rang again—

Ten years have passed, and the world has changed beyond recognition. Though you have returned, you are now a changed person. Overwhelmed with emotion, you think of your old friends and wonder how they are doing.

[Task: Reconnect with your old friends from back then and convince them that you are Chen Yang]

[Quest Reward: Soul Binding Technique]

(End of this chapter)