Within the surging mist, in a city of death that had not seen visitors for many years, Zhuli opened her eyes.

    A trace of confusion flickered through them.

    “Is there some activity in the city?”

    In this city of death, apart from the tens of thousands of resentful spirits that were suppressed, there were only the wandering, muddled, and spiritless remnants.

    But at this moment, Zhuli sensed some disturbance in the city.

    She rose within the mist and headed straight towards the source of the disturbance.

    She saw a towering ghostly figure collapse heavily within the mist.

    A young man’s corpse, which should have been dead, now stood on the street—it was he who had felled the ghostly figure.

    Zhuli appeared silently and asked with a frown, “Who art thou? Darest thou trespass into this den of dragons and pit of tigers?”

    The body of the young man in front of her was clearly that of a powerful person who had returned to life by possessing a corpse with his primordial spirit.

    Yet, despite the directionless mist, his primordial spirit had managed to penetrate the fog and reach this city...

    A sense of vigilance rose in Zhuli’s heart.

    Faced with her sudden appearance, the mysterious visitor showed no surprise, as if he had anticipated her arrival.

    He looked at Zhuli calmly and said, “Dragon Deity Fairy, Chaos has arisen, and the city’s resentful spirits are about to lose control. Dragon fairy, are you unaware of the great calamity that looms?”

    Even though he was the outsider, he now took it upon himself to question Zhuli.

    This caught Zhuli off guard, and she became uncertain.

    “...The resentful spirits in the city are about to run amok?”

    Why haven’t I noticed, yet this person has foreseen it?

    Zhuli was filled with doubt and did not attack immediately.

    The words of the mysterious person that followed only increased Zhuli’s unease.

    He said that the resentful spirits in the city were about to lose control and would surge into the human world, causing great calamity, and even she would perish in the ensuing chaos of the resentful spirits’ rampage.

    Such alarming news, but the stranger spoke with utmost seriousness, and what he described seemed logical.

    If the resentful spirits in the city truly lost control and she, being unprepared and the first to be affected, indeed faced a high probability of perishing... R

    After hesitating for a moment, Zhuli chose to tentatively believe him.

    “Very well! I shall trust thee for now.”

    “But I shall follow thee and behold all thy doings with mine own eyes...”

    Although the stranger was a powerful person, he was after all only a soul possessing a corpse, unable to wield any powerful immortal magic.

    Zhuli? took them to be new philosophers from the outer world, pondered for a moment, and then chuckled lightly.

    “...One philosopher transcends the mundane, not confined by material things, while the other seeks truth and argues cunningly. It’s really interesting.”

    Sensing her interest in such topics, the mysterious figure continued the conversation with a smile.

    As he knocked down and refined the remnants of demigods in the city, he laughed and chatted with Zhuli? about philosophers like Zhuangzi, Huizi, Laozi, and Confucius, and their fascinating and wise sayings.

    Every sentence he said, every story he told, was thought-provoking and contained philosophy.

    Some of the sayings even contained the ultimate truths of the great Dao.

    Ordinary people might not perceive the essence of the Dao in those words, but after a bit of contemplation, Zhuli?’s eyes revealed a hint of astonishment.

    “The valley spirit never dies, it is called the mysterious female...”

    “Zhuangzi dreams of being a butterfly...”

    “The universe and I came into existence together, and all things and I are one...”

    “The supreme good is like water, which nourishes all things without contention...”

    These topics were numerous and chaotic, with philosophical reasoning, the way of the gentleman, and even the ultimate truths of cultivation.

    The mysterious figure only touched on each topic lightly, not delving deeply with her.

    But even so, Zhuli? gained a lot.

    For her, while the secrets of cultivation and immortal techniques were valuable, these ultimate truths of the great Dao were equally precious.

    Logically, the two were strangers with no prior relationship, yet upon their first meeting, he imparted such precious knowledge to her...

    Zhuli? sighed inwardly, feeling the weight of this favor.

    She wanted to refuse, but after some thought, she chose to silently accept this kindness.

    This mysterious person with the ability to project his primordial spirit into the depths of the mist, solely to suppress the resentful spirits in the city, must be a high personage of the righteous path.

    Having already accepted this favor, she decided to silently note it down.

    When the opportunity arose in the future, she would repay it.

    –That was Zhuli?’s plan.

    But when their conversation suddenly turned to Zhuli?’s situation and the mysterious visitor’s awareness of her being trapped in the city, the mysterious person laughed and pointed out a way for her to live.

    “I happen to know the whereabouts of the Bingxian Tiger Talisman.”

    “As long as we get the Bingxian Tiger Talisman and command the tens of thousands of resentful spirits to follow your orders, you will have a chance to leave this city.”

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