How did I, who just ascended to heaven, become an evil spirit?

"Yes, yes, Monkey, are you really hiding something?" Chi Yue looked at Yuan Sou with suspicion, suddenly moving closer and lowering her voice.

"You keep saying, is that really your grandfather?"

"That big guy is a full ten feet tall, how come you're so skinny?"

Old Yuan gave his signature smirk: "Whether they're my biological grandfather or not, they're all my grandfathers who raised me."

"Please wait a moment, everyone. Tiger and I will go ahead first, so that this old man won't be frightened by seeing too many strangers at once."

Yuan Shou cupped his hands in greeting and then disappeared back into the cave.

Li Hu followed behind at a leisurely pace. After walking for a while, Yuan Sou turned back to Li Hu and said:

"Tiger, if my grandfather starts making a scene again, you should leave first and don't worry about me."

"What if he attacks you?" Li Hu asked, frowning.

"Don't worry, my grandfather would never kill me," Yuan Sou sighed and continued walking deeper into the area.

As the two gradually ventured deeper into the cave, strangely, the cave was already in a state of chaos due to the attack by the divination ape. In particular, when the divination ape uttered the phrase "The earth's nature is receptive; the superior man, in accordance with this, carries all things with virtue," the entire ground cracked open.

But now, Li Hu discovered that the place had been completely restored to its original state, exactly the same as when he first entered.

It's as if the cave can heal itself.

Yuan Sou also noticed this, and Li Hu keenly observed that Yuan Sou nervously swallowed. Neither of them said anything more.

When they arrived at the sinkhole again, Li Hu coughed lightly twice, as a reminder to the divination ape.

As soon as the sound faded, a branch at the top of the banyan tree shook violently, accompanied by the hoarse, deep voice of the divination ape:

"Fire fellows, fire fellows..."

"Hey, stop it! It's Grandpa!" Old Yuan nimbly darted to the tree on all fours and continued calling up to it.

"It's me, your monkey grandson has come to see you."

"Hmm... It's actually a monkey?" The divination ape in the tree canopy finally stopped attacking, leaped down from the tree like a small mountain, and reached out to pinch Yuan Sou's cheek.

After examining it carefully for a moment, the divination ape suddenly waved its hand violently and said, "..."

"Nonsense! My monkey grandson is clever, adorable, and young. How could he possibly look like a chicken-skinned creature like you?!"

"Oh dear, Grandpa, it's been 152 years since you drove me out of Blackwater Mountain. How could I not be old?" Old Yuan sighed.

"Oh? Is that really so?"

The divination monkey sat on the ground, resting its chin on its hand in deep thought, muttering to itself, "Then why don't I have any recollection of this? I don't remember!"

"Grandpa, this is probably too long. I'm getting old and you're getting senile."

Old Man Yuan laughed heartily, and the fortune teller also burst into laughter, "That makes sense! That makes sense!"

"The universe revolves, endlessly repeating itself; it turns out I'm just getting senile!"

The divination monkey roared with laughter, as if old age were a cause for celebration; its voice echoed for a long time in the narrow sinkhole.

When he had calmed down considerably, Old Man Yuan said:

"Grandpa, I made quite a few friends on this trip. Look, they've all come to ask you to tell their fortunes."

Yuan Sou helped the divination monkey to Li Hu's side. Only then did the divination monkey notice Li Hu.

"This brat is quite handsome. So he's a friend of the Monkey King. I apologize for my earlier offense! May the Heavenly Venerable grant me boundless blessings!"

The divination monkey performed a Taoist greeting, and Li Hu returned the gesture with a cupped-hand salute.

Old Yuan stood between the two with a smile and introduced them to the divination monkey: "Grandpa, this is Tiger Lord, the deputy commander of my Limb-Severing Post!"

"Deputy Commander? Then the Commander must be you, right?"

The fortune teller didn't pay much attention to Li Hu in front of him, just laughed and looked at Yuan Sou with an expectant expression.

"Haha." Old Yuan laughed awkwardly.

"It's me, of course it's me. I have 108 brothers under my command at the Amputation Hill."

Yuan Sou forced a confident smile, while Li Hu lowered his eyes and smiled silently.

"Well done! You didn't disgrace the monkeys from Blackwater Mountain!" The divination ape happily slammed its fist into the pool at its feet, splashing water all over itself.

"Commander, since you've come to seek divination, please come in and have a seat."

After the fortune teller finished laughing, he became much more enthusiastic and took Li Hu's hand, leading him to a stone table and benches under the banyan tree.

The stone table is carved with a chessboard of nineteen lines, but there are no chess pieces around it.

"Since you've come seeking divination, there must be a problem—marriage, fortune, finding lost items, good or bad luck. Is that what you wish to ask?"

The fortune teller pulled out three copper coins from somewhere on his body and lined them up on the table.

"No."

Li Hu shook his head, and was about to ask his question when he was interrupted by the divination ape.

He seemed to have a strong desire to perform, and then asked:

"So, are you asking about immortality, martial arts, cultivation techniques, and cultivation levels?"

"No." Li Hu shook his head, preparing to ask the question again, but was interrupted by the divination monkey.

"It's neither this nor that, you little brat, just tell me! Do I have to ask you?"

The fortune teller seemed somewhat displeased. This was the first time Li Hu had met someone so domineering and eccentric, but to avoid further provoking him, he simply clasped his hands and said:

"This junior wishes to ask if there is a way in this world that would allow me to meet an immortal, preferably a sword immortal, as I have many things I wish to discuss with him."

Most of Li Hu's questions had already been answered by the Master. His biggest question now was why the Sword Immortal Li Hu did this. But this was probably not something that could be answered with just three copper coins. So, sitting down and talking with the Sword Immortal himself was the most direct way.

If the sword immortal insisted on not letting Li Hu know, then he had no other good options.

"Ha, what's so difficult about that?!"

Unexpectedly, the divination ape just smiled contemptuously, and then, with lightning speed, struck Li Hu in the chest with a palm!

Li Hu was somewhat bewildered. Could it be that they wanted to kill him so that he could meet the Sword Immortal?

Yuan Sou was also greatly alarmed, but fortunately Li Hu blocked the attack with both arms.

"Senior, what does this mean?" Li Hu asked in confusion.

"Go!" The divination ape did not answer Li Hu's question, but forcefully uttered this short syllable. The sound was like a mouthful of ten-year-old phlegm, and a surge of unbearable power suddenly struck out from the divination ape's palm.

boom!

Li Hu seemed to hear something shatter, and then a pain like a turtle shedding its shell shot through his body. He was then sent flying by the second burst of force from the divination ape.

As he flew far away, he even saw his own body still standing in the same spot.

What happened?

Li Hu stared at his body, which was still in place, and then stretched out his palm, only to find that his palm had become somewhat illusory.

Could it be that my soul has left my body?

Li Hu felt his vision slowly darken, and he heard a loud tinnitus, as if someone was speaking close to his ear, but the words were unclear.

Everything around slowed down. The ripples in the shallow pool under the banyan tree spread more slowly, and the stiff expression on Yuan Sou's face also slowed down. But the only thing that didn't slow down was the movement of the divination ape, who turned his head to stare at Li Hu with his hands behind his back.

"Since you want to go to Baiyujing, what harm is there in me taking you there?"

Having said that, the divination ape suddenly leaped out from the opposite side of the stone table, ignoring Li Hu's body left behind, and flew straight to Li Hu, grabbed his wrist, and with a flick of its wrist, Li Hu felt as if he were a rocket, soaring into the sky.

He looked down and saw the entire Blackwater Mountain spread out before him. He flew higher and higher, and his vision became increasingly blurry.

Li Hu felt himself floating upwards and falling downwards, sometimes growing larger and sometimes shrinking. His senses were completely distorted, and he couldn't distinguish up from down, left from right.

Even though Li Hu is still using a first-person perspective, he can still see his own face and entire body.

One moment my face is covered in wrinkles and a beard, the next it looks like a baby, and then it reverts to its original form.

Finally, when everything returned to silence, Li Hu felt as if he had finally landed.

He got up from the ground, rubbed his eyes, and found himself in a sea of ​​clouds, surrounded by clouds that reached his knees, but he still felt grounded, as if he had arrived at the Heavenly Palace in the 1986 TV series Journey to the West.

A strange floral fragrance filled the air, just like the scent that appeared when he and Huang Daxian ascended to heaven. All around was quiet, and the only thing Li Hu could hear was the tinnitus in his ears.

Li Hu straightened up and looked around. All around was a vast expanse of white, with no buildings in sight.

Li Hu was getting a little anxious. Where had the fortune teller gotten himself into this mess?

Is this really Baiyujing?

He wiped the sweat from his face and realized that he was completely soaked in sweat, with water dripping from his brocade robe, and the stench of sweat assaulting his ears.

So Li Hu took off his clothes, intending to wring out the sweat before considering other things, since there was no rush.

But at that moment, Li Hu suddenly remembered that he had long been an evil spirit, and his body's functions had completely stopped, so why was he sweating?

It's strange that you can sweat if you don't even need to eat or drink.

"These clothes should be dry."

The thought had just popped into Li Hu's mind when he suddenly realized that the clothes in his hand were lighter. When he touched them again, they were completely dry, and he couldn't even smell any sweat. Instead, they had a pleasant fragrance.

Strange, wishes come true here, could it really be Bai Yujing...? Li Hu was startled and, with a suspicious thought, put on his clothes.

He looked around again and found that there was nothing around him, and he didn't know where to go.

But then he thought, since Bai Yujing's wish had come true, it didn't matter which direction he went.

So Li Hu randomly chose a direction and strolled off.

He moved with incredible speed, but no matter how he walked, Li Hu found that his surroundings remained unchanged.

The same knee-high cloud, the same indistinct white expanse, trapped in this space, with no reference point for time, and no idea how long he had been walking.

Time was hard to endure, but after Li Hu became an immortal and transformed into a demon, time no longer mattered. It was said that, like immortals, he lived as long as heaven and earth.

Li Hu felt that he had been gone for three days, or three months, or even three years.

Finally, a line of upturned eaves came into view on the horizon, which looked like a palace.

With a goal in mind, Li Hu began to approach the building. Li Hu walked very fast, but the building approached very slowly. It might have taken another three days before Li Hu finally arrived in front of the building.

Judging from the layout, this place seems to be an open-air court assembly hall, with an extremely long staircase leading directly to the upper-level eaves hall.

Having already walked for so long, there were only a few steps left. Li Hu lifted the hem of his brocade robe and slowly stepped forward.

The steps here resembled the magnificent imperial steps that officials would walk on when they went to court. As Li Hu walked, he looked around and discovered that the steps were densely covered with swords.

There are several of these sticks stuck on almost every step of the stairs; at a glance, there may be as many as several thousand.

Li Hu was a knowledgeable swordsman, so he couldn't resist his curiosity and began to examine and evaluate the swords carefully.

Upon closer inspection, Li Hu realized that those swords all looked strangely familiar.

"This one is Suspended Light, this one is Shattered Jade, this one is Fleeting Shadow, this one is Cutting Clouds, Knocking on Silence, Broken Goose, Dwelling in the Sunset..."

Li Hu could name almost every sword, because it was one he had used before his ascension, or one he had defeated.

The area in front of the hall was densely covered with swords related to him. Li Hu's thoughts drifted, and he was shocked to realize that he had killed so many people by the time he ascended to immortality.

So many swords are related to me, then what about the one in the hall...?

Li Hu's pupils constricted as he strode forward and finally reached the top of the steps. Looking out, he saw a magnificent courtyard with flying eaves and brackets in the distance.

Beneath the courtyard stood a golden dragon throne, upon which sat a slender man dressed in a red brocade robe.

Li Hu felt his heart racing and goosebumps rising all over his body. He tentatively approached the person in front of him, not daring to make a sound, like a devout believer on a pilgrimage.

The man on the broad dragon throne had his head bowed, making it impossible to see his face clearly, but even from a distance, his figure was enough to make Li Hu's heart pound.

The dragon head carved on that dragon throne was incredibly lifelike.

Li Hu got closer and closer, but when he was only ten meters away from the dragon throne, the dragon head on the throne suddenly moved, like a vicious dog protecting its master, hissing at Li Hu from afar and emitting a low growl, which made Li Hu's whole body tremble.

The golden dragon that makes up this dragon throne is actually a living creature.

The person in front of them was sitting on the back of a living dragon.

"Ao Jin, don't shout."

After noticing the unusual movement of the dragon head, the person on the stage slowly turned his head and patted the dragon head.

The dragon head obediently lowered its head and closed its eyes.

The man who sat down raised his eyes and met Li Hu's gaze.

Li Hu was slightly stunned, but then he realized that the person in front of him only looked three-tenths like him, and couldn't help but feel a little disappointed.

Although he had the voice and physique of a young man, his hair was already gray and even had bald patches. His face was completely emaciated, with only a thin layer of skin covering his bones. His cheekbones protruded high, his eye sockets were deeply sunken, and his exposed skin was covered with scars. He exuded an air of exhaustion, as if he had suffered a lot of torment for a long time.

Li Hu had never seen a starving corpse so horribly mutilated. An ordinary person would probably have died long ago if tortured to such a state.

Li Hu was stunned for a long time before he dared to confirm that the person in front of him was really him.

"You...how did you get here?"

The man exclaimed in surprise, his voice exactly the same as Li Hu's, only his tone was low and deep, as if he had just been pulled out of hell.