The Hehuan Sect cultivates alchemy; my senior sister helps me refine alchemy throughout the world.

The black boat glided slowly across the water, without the sound of oars or water, like a piece of black paper floating on the surface.

A hunched figure stood at the bow of the boat, wearing a tattered straw raincoat. His face was obscured, only a pair of dark green eyes were visible.

The boat docked, and the man didn't say a word; he just stood there stiffly.

Following the old tortoise's instructions, Shen Yifei boarded the boat, shut his mouth, and plopped down on the gunwale. Liu Mengli sat down next to him, also without saying a word.

"Master, this water is strange," Liu Mengli transmitted her thoughts. "I just used my power of reincarnation to probe underwater, but I can't see through it!"

Shen Yifei also tried it, and it was just as Liu Mengli had said!

His divine sense couldn't even see a foot underwater.

"Master, I have a bad feeling. Do you think our cultivation techniques will be less effective in the Underworld?"

Before Shen Yifei could think about it further, the boatman suddenly spoke up, "Guest...where are you from?"

The sound, like the hooting of an owl, sent chills down one's spine.

However, despite the boatman's unpleasant voice, Shen Yifei almost blurted out, "I'm from the Tianyan Sect!"

He bit his tongue hard, swallowing the words back down.

He knew he shouldn't say a word, but hearing the boatman's voice was like being bewitched; he felt an irresistible urge to speak out!

That feeling was like a volcanic eruption, impossible to suppress!

Seeing Shen Yifei's appearance, the boatman chuckled sinisterly, "Young man, you smell strongly of a stranger. You must not have reached the end of your lifespan!"

Shen Yifei was shocked. A boatman from the River Styx could see right through him. If he went to the Underworld, wouldn't he really be like a naked man?

He thought that by leaving his body, he could conceal the presence of a living person, but little did he know that he couldn't even fool a boatman.

Just as he was about to ask the boatman how he could tell, Liu Mengli saw Shen Yifei's lips twitch several times, as if he wanted to say something, and gave his thigh a hard pinch.

Shen Yifei winced in pain, but he couldn't curse her. He could only glare fiercely at Liu Mengli.

Liu Mengli winked at him, "Master, bear with it. That little bastard said that every time you open your mouth, he steals a piece of your lifespan. Who knows how long that piece of lifespan is?"

She gestured with her hands, indicating the length, "Is it this long? Or this long?"

Shen Yifei looked at the way she was gesturing, and it looked exactly like how they had been practicing together a few nights ago.

But he knew the gravity of the situation, so he could only suppress his discomfort and clench his teeth tightly.

Suddenly, he realized something: why was the boatman targeting him?

Liu Mengli didn't seem to be in any discomfort at all!

The boatman also noticed the problem, looking at Liu Mengli's calm expression, and wondered what she was gesturing about.

A hint of surprise flashed in his dark green eyes. "This young lady is truly beautiful... In all my years ferrying people across the River Styx, I've never seen such a striking figure..."

However, Liu Mengli remained relaxed, and upon hearing the boatman's words, she giggled and said, "Old man, you say I'm handsome? Then where do you see my handsomeness?"

The boatman was overjoyed when he heard Liu Mengli respond and speak.

However, when he looked at the longevity pouch he carried with him, the longevity crystals inside had not increased in the slightest.

No, this woman is definitely not a ghost who just died!

He had been ferrying people across the River Styx for thousands of years. His master taught him how to distinguish between ghosts and spirits, a unique skill passed down only to him.

It is common for the souls of the living to go to the underworld, especially for those who have attained immortality and enlightenment, who frequently come to the underworld to handle matters.

Each time, he steals a living person's lifespan, but not much each time, at most ten or eight years.

Ten or eight years is a drop in the ocean for a cultivator; no one would notice. The boatman cultivated using these life-extinction crystals, and for thousands of years, he had never failed and had never been discovered.

But today, the woman in front of him sent a chill down his spine—the first time he'd ever encountered such a thing since taking on the job as a boatman.

"Forgive my poor eyesight, but I don't know who you are, young lady?"

The boatman's tone returned to normal, clearly indicating that no martial arts techniques had been injected into him.

Shen Yifei also lost the urge to speak.

Of course, he still didn't dare to say anything; he could only stare wide-eyed at Liu Mengli.

He didn't expect that Liu Mengli would stop him from speaking, and instead started chatting with the boatman herself.

"Old man, who I am isn't important." Liu Mengli smiled and leaned closer to Shen Yifei. "What's important is that you can't steal from me. If you want to steal from him, you'd better think twice. If I take your bag, I'll make sure you're reincarnated as a pig for ten lifetimes! You... believe it or not?"

The boatman was silent for a moment, a hint of fear flashing in his eyes.

Liu Mengli and the young man were clearly aware of his methods.

He looked at the Longevity Bag again, and the Longevity Crystals had not increased by a single one!

He dared not act recklessly again; a wise man knows when to back down.

These two people, especially the woman, looked like they weren't going to suffer any loss.

"Gentlemen... hold on tight," the boatman said in a low voice, bowing his head to push up his long pole, and the black boat slowly sailed on the River Styx.

After about half an hour, a faint, gray light finally appeared ahead.

The boat docked, and the boatman, without looking up, pointed ahead: "After this hurdle, you'll reach the gates of hell. Good luck, gentlemen. We won't see you off."

gate of hell.

It is actually a very bustling city.

At the city gate stood a black stone tablet with three large seal characters engraved on it: "Gate of Hell".

A long queue formed at the city gate, with men, women, young and old, dressed in various styles, waiting to enter the city.

Shen Yifei walked up to it, took a closer look, and could hardly believe what he was seeing.

I had imagined these ghosts to be pale-faced, with lifeless eyes, looking utterly miserable.

However, the people in line were all well-dressed and looked no different from normal people.

He heard the two people in line chatting.

"Brother, why did you die?"

"Oh, don't even mention it," the man in front pointed to a man not far away, "My wife was having an affair with him, and I caught her red-handed. I beat him to death."

"Oh, and then you were arrested and beheaded?"

"No, he killed me. I stabbed him, and he stabbed me!"

After saying that, he lifted his clothes and showed his wound to the person behind him.

After listening, Shen Yifei realized that even the dead retain their memories in the underworld, remembering everything they did in life.

Although there were many people in line, they moved very quickly, and it was Shen Yifei's turn in no time.

A middle-aged man in black official robes stood at the city gate, holding a thick booklet in his hands. Without looking up, he asked, "What's your name?"

"Shen Yifei..."

As soon as Shen Yifei finished speaking, he knew things were going to go wrong. He wasn't dead, so how could his name be on the register?

The middle-aged official began searching through the booklet. After flipping through it once and not finding it, he prepared to flip through it a second time.

Just then, Liu Mengli approached and said, "My lord, my husband is a bit slow on the uptake. When he died, his soul was so disturbed that he doesn't even know his own name anymore. Look, this is his name."

Liu Mengli pointed to a name in the booklet.

The middle-aged official muttered, "The cows are coming?"