Condemning the Heavens

Lan approved of Xue Wei's decision, but he said nothing. Although he considered them friends, they were not bosom friends who had to depend on each other to survive.

They were entirely dependent on each other for survival, and their ties were closer than many families.

Although he was their friend, he did not feel that such an important decision should be within his hands, and thus he stayed quiet and looked at Xue Wei as he gave his reasons.

The ox-headed man was quite surprised when he heard that this Rulebreaker did not intend to bring more than one person with him to the Ghost Realm. One has to know that entering the Ghost Realm was a very desired opportunity, but he was unwilling to bring more people, as it would endanger those who were left behind.

This was enough to make him understand that they genuinely had a close bond, and he suddenly began to feel interested in this Rule Breaker.

He had never encountered them before, and thus he had assumed that they were inhuman. He thought that they were above all others, looking down on the masses, and did not care for friendship, but now he understood that he had been prejudiced.

"Well, I have to get going fast," the ox-headed man said. "The death energy is draining away swiftly, so follow me now if you want to have a chance to enter the Ghost Realm."

Xue Wei and Lan did not have to hear that order more than once before they rushed to his side and stepped into the big gate that had started to grow dim.

As they entered, an acute sense of vertigo suddenly hit them. The sensation grew increasingly uncomfortable, and they soon began losing touch with their limbs, but as they were thinking that something had gone wrong, they could suddenly feel the ground beneath their feet, and their vision cleared up again.

What greeted them was a world very unlike their own. Everything was desolate. As far as the eye could see, the land stretched on. It was even, and without the slightest hill or mountain in sight. All the plants they could see were a few dead shrubs, but even they were scarce on the sandy and cracked ground.

The few shrubs they did see were all withered, and there was not even a single leaf on them, the sight making both Lan and Xue Wei frown.

They were not too shocked over the land lacking in lifeforce, but the shrubs showed that once upon a time, lifeforce had existed in the realm.

What had caused it to change?

The ox-headed man looked at Xue Wei and Lan; amazement flashed by his eyes when he saw their ugly expressions as they stared at the shrubs.

While he could not be sure, he could guess that they had taken the hints. That this realm had, in fact, once upon a time been alive.

But although he admired them for noticing this fact, he had no interest in telling them the story behind their Ghost Realm.

This was something they had to figure out on their own as they began their journey in the Ghost Realm.

"Well, I have done my task," the ox-headed man smiled slightly as he looked at Xue Wei and Lan. He then raised his hand, and a small bottle resembling a gourd appeared in his hand. He shook it, and a few wailing sounds could be heard from within.

Xue Wei raised an eyebrow in surprise. He had not seen the ox-headed person make a move, but from seeing the bottle, he understood that this ox-headed man was quite powerful.

"I should thank you," he continued. "If not for you, I would not have managed to get my hands on this many souls. Although I am obligated to release them, I can still absorb some of the death energy surrounding them, and no one will know if a soul or two goes missing."

"You consume souls?" Xue Wei was not sure if the ox-headed man would answer his question, but he still asked.

Surprisingly enough, the ox-headed man began laughing when he heard the question, and then he nodded his head generously. "Not only do I consume souls, everyone within the Ghost Realm consumes souls. The cultivation method of us souls is to consume each other to gain more strength. Weaker souls get consumed, while stronger souls become ghosts. This is also why this is called the Ghost Realm and not the Soul Realm."

Xue Wei and Lan were both surprised. They had no previous knowledge about the Ghost Realm, but this fact alone was enough to make them understand how dangerous this place was.

Even more worrying was that Lan's little lover had been in this realm for more than ten thousand years. Had she managed to become a leading ghost during such an extended period, or was she now consumed, with nothing remaining of her, but the memory within Lan's mind?

Xue Wei noticed the pale expression on Lan's face, but he did not know what to say in order to make him feel better. After all, it was against his ethics to lie to a friend, and he could not, with a clear conscience, say that she was a Ghost by now for sure.

The ox-headed man sensed Lan's grief, but he did not care. He had seen too much destruction and sadness to be affected by such emotions.

Instead, he also sensed Lan's overwhelming powers, and since Lan was no Rule Breaker, he had to put some restrictions on this being.

"You there," he said, "Since you have followed the Rule Breaker into the Ghost Realm, you need to give up your human shape for the duration of your stay, and also downgrade your strength to that of a King Ranked Expert. As you get more familiar with the realm, your strength will slowly return, but it will take some time to adjust to the death energy and the desolate lands."