I am grinding experience in another world

Qingyang City Lord’s Mansion.

Xiao Jingbai sat expressionless in the great hall.

Pei Jiang, keeper of the Qingyang City Secret Spy Bureau, hurried into the hall and pulled a square-folded letter from his qi pouch.

“My lord, fresh news: Feng’an City has received a batch of Divine-Sealing Pacts, and what I hold here is a list corresponding to the divine training locations,” he said.

“Everything else is normal except for one remote guardian of the land—they’ve received two Pacts.”

“Substitute Puppet Technique? Does someone from Feng’an City want to go to the Yang Realm?” Xiao Jingbai couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow. “Is it Lü Liang wanting a peek, or does Lü Chengshan have other schemes in mind?”

“That’s not important,” Pei Jiang shook his head. “It’s not cost-effective to target Feng’an City on a large scale. But sending someone to intervene and cause that person to deviate from the intended destination isn’t hard.”

“The Yang Realm is so vast, a slight error might mean a difference of tens of millions of miles. One misstep and they could be shredded to pieces by the Ghost Gate.”

“If that person is Lü Liang, my lord, you could vent some spleen. Even if it’s not, it would still upset Lü Chengshan’s plans, a small taste of revenge. What do you think…”

“Clever old fox! Always so devious!” Xiao Jingbai couldn’t help but smile. “Let’s do as you suggest.”

The Strange Demon Worry-Free King had been captured by Yinshan Prefecture, and Xiao Jingbai’s hundred-year plan for his path of cultivation had been abruptly halted, leaving him bitterly resentful towards Feng’an City.

For months, he had been keeping a close watch on Feng’an City, just to find a flaw that would allow him to exact his revenge.

Unfortunately, the cautious actions of Lü Chengshan and his son left him with no such flaw to exploit.

“Withdraw the spies from Feng’an, and notify our Living Gods to select new Nether Spirit Primordial Embryos and find ways to send them to the Netherworld. I want to continue my Nether Spirit Realm training,” he ordered.

“The lord is wise!” Pei Jiang bowed respectfully. “Once you complete the Yin-Yang fusion and transform your Yin God essence, Lü Chengshan is nothing; without even needing to lift a finger, the Yinshan Prefecture Lord will personally deliver him to you.”

Xiao Jingbai gave a slight nod, his expression cold. “Let them jump around for a few more days first.”

…

Three days later, by the River of Oblivion.

A group of hundreds descended from the sky, landing on the riverbank.

“Just by holding the Divine-Sealing Pact and flying towards the other side of the River of Oblivion, the Bridge of Helplessness will appear?” Chen Mu marveled.

Though it was called a river, the River of Oblivion was actually boundless. No one, no matter who, ever appeared on the other side.

Apart from the Netherworld Worms within the river, those that had washed away past memories and dissipated their Primordial Spirits, no one could reach the opposite shore.

And it was said the Bridge of Helplessness was on the other bank.

“Rest assured, sir. The Divine-Sealing Pact has existed for thousands of years, there will be no mishaps,” Lü Liang said with a smile.

“The Substitute Peach Stiff Technique truly has no effect?” Chen Mu was still uneasy.

A normal Divine-Sealing Pact would certainly work fine; the issue was that the Pact in his hands was abnormal, camouflaged with a Secret Technique, its energy fluctuation was only half as strong as usual.

“As long as you and Le Dian stay together, there will be absolutely no problems,” Lü Liang explained patiently.

“The Divine-Sealing Pact contains the essence of the target training location. With the attraction from the Yang Realm’s training location, it will precisely transport you to where the training location is.”

“The Li’s Substitute Peach Stiff Technique has indeed reduced the strength of the Pact’s essence, but its effect is only slightly weakened.”

“Besides, Le Dian has a Pact just like yours. As long as he stays close to you, he’ll make sure you reach the same destination.”

Chen Mu looked at the short, stocky man beside him, who had a respectful face, and let out a sigh of relief.

The man was named Le Dian, who in the future, would be the one to replace him as the protector of the Land God Temple in Small Hollow Town for a hundred years.

“The Pact itself has the power to block the River of Oblivion’s forces. Without joining the training location, you can still stay in the Yang Realm for a while.” Lü Liang said with clasped hands. “Once we part this time, I’m afraid we won’t see each other for a year. Take care, sir.”

See each other again?

Better to never see each other again.

After spending over three years in the Netherworld, enduring hardships at every turn, and narrowly escaping death numerous times, Chen Mu determined to keep his distance upon his return to the Yang Realm, vowing never to set foot in the Netherworld again.

In this time, Lü Thirteen had also completed his briefing with the Worldly Gods dispatched by Feng’an City.

Chen Mu gave a respectful bow to Lü Liang and Lü Thirteen, then turned and transformed into a Yin Wind, taking Le Dian and following over a hundred Yin Soldiers flying towards the other bank of the River of Oblivion.

…

“For your journey to the Yang Realm, you have two matters to address,” Pei Jiang said to the square-faced, black-clad, sturdy man in the Qingyang City Secret Spy Bureau.

“First is to assist the lord in acquiring Nether Spirit Primordial Embryos,” he directed.

“Our Living Gods have already identified several suitable candidates. Your mission is to repeat the old trick, just like how we dealt with the Worry-Free King before, contrive however you must to plunge it into the Netherworld.”

The square-faced man, Qian Huan, took a deep breath and bowed: “As you command.”

Pei Jiang nodded slightly, “You’ve accompanied me capture the Worry-Free King before; you’re familiar with the procedure. Perform it correctly, and you will succeed.”

“And don’t worry. If you indeed face difficulties, just contact the Living Gods to get in touch with the Netherworld, and I will ensure you have the greatest support,” Pei Jiang assured him.

Qian Huan’s expression eased, “I will not fail the trust of the Keeper.”

“This second task is a small matter, but you must also attend to it with care,” Pei Jiang said, handing Qian Huan a White Jade Bell the size of a walnut.

“This Soul-Locking Bell contains a trace of essence aimed at two identical Divine-Sealing Pacts.”

Qian Huan’s expression changed, “The Li’s Substitute Peach Stiff Technique?”

“At this time?” he questioned.

“Could they know of our plans and wish to interfere?”

“Better to err in killing than to let someone escape. Besides, this person is from Feng’an City, so…” Pei Jiang said, his expression turning cold as he cast an icy glance at Qian Huan.

“I understand!” Qian Huan said solemnly.

…

On the boundless River of Oblivion, white fog spread all around, thick and thin in patches, obscuring the vision of everyone present. Looking back, the shore they had departed from had already disappeared.

At a certain moment, a faint pulling force came from the Divine-Sealing Pact within Chen Mu’s sleeve.

Over a hundred ghost soldiers seemed to have received a signal, almost simultaneously turning in a new direction. Chen Mu’s heart stirred, and he immediately changed direction to follow the spectral army soaring toward the horizon.

No one knew how long they had flown when they broke through a thick mist, and an ancient, grey-white stone bridge appeared before them.

The bridge was exceedingly long, stretching into the dense fog with seemingly infinite length, its end invisible. On the other side, it led to a bank resembling a fiery red thread.

At the moment, creatures with human heads and bodies trailing white smoky serpentine forms—the Netherworld Worms—were orderly floating in the middle of the bridge.

The faces of these Netherworld Worms varied—some were furious, some ecstatic, some indifferent, some sorrowful—but regardless of their expressions, without exception, they were all queuing up honestly on the bridge, moving forward.

A slight shock went through Chen Mu’s mind as he quietly ascended the bridge’s surface along with the ghost soldiers.

The bridge was not very wide, just about wide enough for three carriages to travel abreast, its surface lined with stone slabs cut from River of Oblivion rock.

The slabs appeared weathered by the years, mottled and pockmarked as if worn by countless footsteps, their surfaces slightly smooth and rounded, exuding a sense of age.

Grasping the handrail also carved from River of Oblivion rock, Chen Mu looked down below the bridge.

However, he discovered the reflection on the water was that of a brand-new silver-inlaid White Jade bridge, as if it wasn’t the reflection of the stone bridge but rather a completely new jade bridge hidden under the surface of the water.

Is this the Bridge of Helplessness?

It’s a bit eerie!

Chen Mu, looking at the Netherworld Worms quietly queuing into the distance, couldn’t help but tense up.

The other ghost soldiers were also subdued by this quiet and strange scene, each behaving and walking along one side of the stone bridge, heading in the direction of the Netherworld Worms.

After walking for half an hour, a fiery red hue came into view.

What initially seemed like a red line in the eyes of the people gradually spread out to reveal that it was not some red embankment but rather a flat riverbank covered with clusters of fiery red flowers.

At the end of the grey stone bridge, there was an eight-sided pavilion with grey tiles and wooden pillars.

White Jade bead curtains hung around the pavilion, and a woman dressed in a wide-sleeved red shirt was sitting squarely in the middle of it.

The lady was garbed in red, with subtly visible golden dragon patterns, draped in a multicolored brocade shawl, her head adorned with a golden phoenix hairpin, dignified and majestic.

“Is that…” Chen Mu couldn’t help but turn to Le Dian beside him.

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“Sir, that is Divine Monarch Meng, in charge of ghosts’ reincarnation and the guardian of the Bridge of Helplessness.”

Ghosts’ reincarnation?

The guardian of the Bridge of Helplessness?

And her last name is Meng?

Isn’t this Meng Po from the folktales?!

And the Meng Po Soup…

Chen Mu’s interest was instantly piqued, and he quickly turned to look again.

Sure enough, in front of the pavilion’s gate, there was a jade cauldron about half a person’s height with three legs and two ears, filled to the brim with a pool of greenish liquid, with the faint aroma of alcohol wafting around. A Netherworld Worm with an expression of wild laughter was dutifully staying in front of the cauldron, seemingly waiting to be fed.

“Is the liquid in the jade cauldron the Meng Po Soup?”

“No, that is the Life-Ending Liquor!”

Life-Ending Liquor?

That’s quite different from the folktales.

Chen Mu took a few more interested glances, then lifted his head to look again at the center of the pavilion.

Through the bead curtain, a face as if cast from metal, cold and solemn, suddenly came into view. Black and golden colors were interwoven on it, like broken porcelain.

In the center of her brows, a cluster of ornamental flowers shone brightly, as vivid as the endless fiery red flowers on the bank.

The interlocked hands over her abdomen were bright silver, with distinct joints, resembling a mechanical puppet!

As if sensing Chen Mu’s gaze, the dignified and cold face suddenly turned towards him.

In that instant, Chen Mu felt as if he was standing before a colossal statue that blocked out the sky, an intangible sense of oppression surged forth, akin to someone grasping his heart, freezing him in place, afraid to move.

“Sir, you mustn’t stare too much!” Le Dian quickly tugged at Chen Mu’s clothes.

Only then did Chen Mu snap back to reality, hurriedly lowering his head to avert his gaze.

Catching a glimpse of the exposed joints that resembled those of a mechanical creation, Chen Mu couldn’t help but have his expression change.

“This Divine Monarch Meng…”

“You know about clay soldiers and paper effigies, right?” Le Dian whispered to Chen Mu.

“Those paper and clay figures?” Chen Mu raised an eyebrow.

Back in Antiquity City, he had encountered an acquaintance, the owner of Imperial Goods Pavilion, Le Yang’an.

That person was extremely fond of clay soldiers and paper effigies, collecting them like figurines, and had an entire cabinet full of various shapes and styles of paper and clay figures.

“Could Divine Monarch Meng be…” Chen Mu was incredulous.

Le Dian shook his head: “The Divine Monarch isn’t such a lifeless thing.”

“It is said that the Divine Monarch was personally enlightened by the Emperor Yama, possessing a conscious primordial spirit.”

“Incredibly powerful, capable of creating thousands of clones, and living as long as the Netherworld itself, this being has been guarding all the Bridges of Helplessness since ancient times.”

“Even the Lord of Yinshan Prefecture must pay respect to the Divine Monarch and cannot afford to slight her.”

While Chen Mu was filled with a sense of awe, he couldn’t shake off a feeling of peculiarity.

Glancing out of the corner of his eye at the Divine Monarch’s hands that looked like mechanical constructions, the more he looked, the more bizarre it seemed.

A cyberpunk Meng Po?

Isn’t this Meng Po a bit too cyberpunk?