CHAPTER 553: CHAPTER 553: THE SKY IS CLEAR AND THE LAND IS BRIGHT

"Where are you going? Do you want me to drive you?"

Ruan Hongzhuang asked Shen Siyuan, who was sitting on the balcony, carrying a shoulder bag.

"No need, go ahead with your tasks." Shen Siyuan waved his hand without turning his head, as most of his consciousness was connected to the Divine Bird in the Netherworld, observing its behavior.

"How about I leave Taozi here, and wherever you want to go, Taozi can take you." Ruan Hongzhuang continued.

"Yeah, I don’t have much to do at the company anyway." Taozi immediately chimed in from the side.

Upon hearing this, Shen Siyuan turned and saw Taozi’s hands holding an LV duffle bag, large enough to fit a lot of things.

It was bulging, but Shen Siyuan didn’t need to look; he knew it probably contained various snacks rather than cosmetics.

Shen Siyuan knew Ruan Hongzhuang was worried about him but naturally didn’t find her bothersome. He just smiled and explained, "Really, no need. My complexion may not look great, but I’m not as weak as you imagine."

Seeing Shen Siyuan saying this, Ruan Hongzhuang didn’t insist further.

"Then take care, and call me if anything comes up." Ruan Hongzhuang instructed.

Shen Siyuan waved his hand, and she only then left with Taozi.

But while passing by Tang Tang, she reached out and rubbed her little head vigorously.

This annoyed the little one having breakfast, who shook her head vigorously like a bobblehead, trying to avoid her touch. But Ruan Hongzhuang was already laughing as she went out.

Shen Siyuan lay back in his recliner on the balcony, continuing to connect his Divine Sense with the Divine Bird in the Netherworld.

He did not interfere with the Divine Bird’s actions, allowing it to freely soar in the Netherworld.

The appearance of the Divine Bird seemed to bring an unusual vitality and hope to the Netherworld.

It first found the Divine Fire scattered by Shen Siyuan and gently pecked it with its beak, swallowing the fire into its belly. As it devoured more Divine Fire, it grew larger and larger, finally transforming into a Firebird over tens of yards long, resembling a phoenix but not quite the same.

It flapped its flaming wings, sometimes flying into the sky, sometimes diving to the ground. Whether touching aggrieved souls in the clouds or bones on the earth, it sparked flames that soon turned the originally gray Netherworld into a sea of red. After the flames, the sky cleared and the earth brightened.

During this time, some evildoers naturally came to capture it, but its nimble form and striking speed made it undaunted by their wicked thoughts, and for a while, they truly couldn’t handle it, even getting burned by the flames on its body.

Shen Siyuan withdrew his Divine Sense from the Divine Bird after observing for some time.

The area of the Qiong Province Netherworld is vast, and if Shen Siyuan were to clean it himself, it would take unknown ages to cleanse the evil occupying it.

Now, with the Divine Bird being akin to Shen Siyuan’s avatar—its essence and spirit transformed—while the aggrieved souls and evil are also forms of spiritual will, as the Divine Fire burns away the chaotic wills, the purest spiritual power left becomes a great supplement for the Divine Bird, allowing it to grow stronger after consumption.

So, Shen Siyuan now has an "offline account" constantly cleansing the Qiong Province Netherworld for him.

This is why Shen Siyuan even feels it’s worthwhile despite the loss of his source.

Once he fully controls the Qiong Province Netherworld, as its Governor, the benefits will be numerous; a simple example.

Once he controls the Qiong Province Netherworld, as its Governor, he gains the power to appoint officials below himself.

Though only the Yin Gods can be appointed, it still represents significant authority. He wouldn’t even need to repair the Ten Thousand Soul Banner first; he could simply appoint Dou Dou and the others as Yin Gods, allowing them to "live" like humans in the Mortal World.

Because by then, they would no longer be mere ghosts but also gods.

As Shen Siyuan was pondering, he suddenly felt a weight on his abdomen, looking down to see Tang Tang climbing up.

"What are you doing?"

"Riding a horse."

"Shoo, shoo, I’m not your horse."

Shen Siyuan reached out to push her down, but she immediately dodged with a shoulder shift, playfully asking him to accompany her.

"Go play with Dou Dou and the others."

"Dou Dou is missing." Tang Tang spread her small hands, adopting a humorous stance.

Shen Siyuan remembered that Dou Dou and the others were still inside the Ten Thousand Soul Banner.

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"Wow, why did it suddenly get so big?" Dou Dou stood akimbo, looking at the sky.

If it weren’t for the gloomy sky indicating she was in the Ten Thousand Soul Banner, she might have thought she was in Bin Hai City.

"You saw brother do it yesterday, didn’t you?" Duoduo retorted with a roll of her eyes.

"Haha, I was just joking." Dou Dou quickly defended herself.

Duoduo didn’t want to argue with her about this, so she turned to Xiao Yue and said, "Sister Xiao Yue, let’s go play at the amusement park."

"What’s fun at the amusement park? I want to go home and have a look."

Before Xiao Yue could speak, Dou Dou interrupted.

"A home outside, a home inside, so magical. I wonder if my toys are at home."

Thinking of this, Dou Dou became somewhat impatient, immediately riding the Yin Wind into the sky.

Xiao Yue and Duoduo were curious too, so they quickly followed behind.

"Dou Dou... Dou Dou..."

But they hadn’t flown far before someone started calling her from below.

Dou Dou looked down and saw it was Yangyang Guoguo, prompting her to descend.

"Yangyang Guoguo, what are you doing here?" She looked around but didn’t see anyone else.

"There’s no one here, even more boring than outside," Yuan Kaiyang said somewhat grumpily.

"There’re people..." Dou Dou hastily replied.

Of course, there were people; previously, the area of Yin City was small, so everyone occasionally bumped into each other.

Now, Shen Siyuan had copied the whole of Bin Hai into the Ten Thousand Soul Banner. The originally few people now seemed like a drop in the ocean, encountering anyone required luck.

"Over there..." Xiao Yue pointed in a direction.

As one of the main spirits of the Ten Thousand Soul Banner, Xiao Yue naturally held a certain authority and easily detected yin souls in that direction, as did Dou Dou and Duoduo.

"I’ll take you to find them."

Dou Dou said, running off in the direction.

Yuan Kaiyang immediately followed upon seeing this.

The group continued walking for a while and soon encountered several people.

There was a little boy, a pair of twin sisters, followed by several adults.

"Brother Xiao Long." Dou Dou exclaimed with surprise.

The little boy was Xu Shilong, and the twin sisters were Sun Chunsu and Sun Muyun, accompanied by their parents, Zhao Xuerong, Chen Haiyan, and others.

The twin sisters were also pleasantly surprised to see Dou Dou and the others.

Zhao Xuerong then chatted with Xiao Yue.

"This place suddenly became big, yet the people are still the same few, really too empty. Why don’t you tell Mr. Shen to bring more ghosts in..."

Xiao Yue heard and nodded; she also felt the same way. Otherwise, the whole of Yin City looked dead, like a ghost town.

No, it is inherently a ghost town.