Stepping on the demon door, the witch becomes the strongest

Chapter 823 Can You Handle It?

Ye Yun completed the design of the array bricks.

The runes on each brick form individual array nodes. If multiple bricks are joined together, all the runes will assemble into an array with a larger area.

Its sole function is "direction": no matter which direction a soul comes from, as long as it enters the array's range, it will be guided towards the Gates of Hell.

In this way, the longer the Great Wall of Souls is built, the more ghosts will be guided by the formation until they gather at the Gate of Hell and are brought under the control and organization of the underworld.

“That completes my task.” Ye Yun handed the bricks to Yan Yu and said, “The real difficulty lay in manufacturing the bricks and stacking them according to the formation’s requirements. These processes are extremely complicated, but…”

The two turned to look at the distant wasteland.

A makeshift brick kiln has been set up, and the ghosts refined by Chen Lingyun's prison banner are stiffly digging, dividing, shaping, drawing patterns, and putting the bricks into the kiln with shovels.

Although these ghosts are extremely inefficient due to their lack of intelligence, the number of these kilns is so dense that they stretch from the horizon to the distance, with no end in sight.

If the quality is lacking, make up for it with quantity!
Every day, tens of thousands of people die in the Kingdom of Lu. Countless ghosts wander the wasteland after entering the underworld. Because the old site of the Gate of Hell has completely collapsed, they can only wander aimlessly until one day they can get lucky and reach the banks of the River of Oblivion.

With Chen Lingyun's forceful intervention, a large number of low-level ghost messengers began to roam the wasteland, capturing all the wandering ghosts and taking them to the Gates of Hell.

The Nine Heavens Yin Demon Prison Banner is planted before the Gates of Hell, constantly spewing out tentacle-shaped yin energy. Once these tentacles touch a captured wandering ghost, they will seize it and refine it within the banner.

Those with resilient souls became ghost messengers and joined the ranks of conscripts; the rest were refined into ghost workers and thrown into the teams of building new kilns or bricklaying teams.

Everything was orderly and in a positive cycle, operating automatically like an assembly line without even Chen Lingyun's presence. Ye Yun watched in amazement, praising it as follows:
"No matter how many times I see it, I still find it incredible. If Lingyun were willing to devote herself to the study of array formations, she would definitely achieve far greater success than I have."

“That’s impossible for someone like her,” Yan Yu waved his hand and said. “She does everything just out of interest. Rebuilding the Underworld is countless times more complex than studying formations, which would attract her interest and attention even more.”

"What if she suddenly loses interest one day?" Ye Jun asked.

“That’s why I need you all involved,” Yan Yu replied. “We can step in as soon as she loses interest.”

The underworld cannot be Chen Lingyun's underworld alone, because this woman's integrity cannot be relied upon at all.

"Oh, right, this is for you." Ye Jun handed him something else.

This is... a sticker box?

Yan Yu's gaze passed through the transparent plastic casing and found that it was full of cute stickers, such as stars, flowers, rainbows and Hello Kitty.

“I collected these when I was in elementary school.” Ye Jun looked away, seemingly a little embarrassed. “Back then, my dream was to be a bride, so I was always thinking about how to decorate my wedding.”

"This isn't nearly enough to put up at the wedding," Yan Yu said, weighing the sticker box in his hand.

"Later, my classmates found out," Ye Yun shrugged indifferently. "I was laughed at by everyone, so I gave up collecting them."

"Yan Yu, although you may not have realized it, I actually care a lot..."

"What do people around you think of you?" Yan Yu quickly interjected, "They might even judge their own worth based on their opinions."

Ye Jun remained silent for a moment, her expression seemingly strained, as if her powerful attack had been interrupted just as she was about to unleash it. She then took a deep breath, calmed herself, and said:
"So, when you put me..."

"When you were rescued from the misfortune of being expelled from the Longxiang team," Yan Yu continued, answering quickly, "you felt the value of being needed again, and realized that I was the one who rescued you from the lowest point in your life."

“So I am very grateful to you,” Ye Jun said calmly, “but that is not a reason for you to interrupt me to express my feelings. If you deliberately interrupt me and steal my lines again, I will slap you across the face.”

"Okay, I won't say anything more." Yan Yu made a zipping gesture near his mouth.

"Hmm." Ye Jun was silent for a moment, then realized she didn't know what to say, so she could only give a wry smile. "So, this sticker box is for you."

"The reason you gave me the sticker box is because you no longer care about what others think." Seeing that she didn't seem to want to explain further, Yan Yu tentatively asked to confirm, "You've realized that the only thing you truly care about now is our relationship, is that what you mean?"

“No, it’s just that the display case in your bedroom needs to take up a shelf, and I can’t think of anything else that would be meaningful,” Ye Jun said.

"That's too perfunctory." Yan Yu was speechless for a moment. "I'm not in a hurry for you to give me anything right away."

"Let's take it first," Ye Yun said.

"Ye Jun," Yan Yu earnestly advised, "My cabinet only has 10 compartments, and there are exactly 10 people in this villa. It's a one-to-one correspondence, so no new person will suddenly appear and take your place."

"Is it impossible for Teacher Mei?" Ye Yun asked.

“Teacher Mei…” Yan Yu paused for a moment, “Of course not, Teacher Mei’s ambitions lie elsewhere.”

“But she also needs to reach the Core Formation stage,” Ye Yun said.

"What do you take me for?" Yan Yu said unhappily, flicking his sleeve. "Am I the kind of person who helps others break through to the Golden Core stage?"

"Ahhh, I was wrong! How could you be! You really aren't!" Ye Jun quickly grabbed his hand, apologizing and admitting her mistake excitedly, but in her heart she didn't really believe it.

You've helped ten people and you still say it's not true? Tools like the Myriad Bamboo Sword or the Little Xuan Light Ruler, these are truly effective aids for Core Formation, and they're only used once at most before becoming useless. You've helped ten times already…

In fact, Ye Yun and Li Minghu had already discussed this, and they both agreed that Yan Yu's ideal match was a familiar, powerful, and beautiful female cultivator. Familiarity breeds affection, power breeds value, and beauty breeds desire.

Although Teacher Mei is not exactly beautiful, she is not unattractive either. Moreover, her status in the Lu Kingdom is unique, and it is not an exaggeration to call her the "teacher of cultivators".

Given Yan Yu's habit of picking girlfriends like a stamp collection, he would likely have little resistance to female cultivators of such unique value and high status.

"Alright, alright." Ye Yun hugged him and kissed him a few times, smiling apologetically and coaxingly, "How about we go check on the progress at the River of Oblivion?"

"Hmph, let's go."

The two flew through the Gates of Hell on their swords and continued forward, where they saw a stall set up on the banks of the River of Oblivion.

The ghost mother, Yin Rou, was sitting idly behind the stall, playing on her phone. Only when she saw the two approaching did she hurriedly put down her phone, revealing a nervous expression as if she were being inspected by a superior.

"The Meng Po soup is already open for business?" Yan Yu asked in surprise.

"Not yet," Yin Rou said respectfully. "The Bridge of Helplessness hasn't been built yet, and the ghosts don't cross here now. Lady Lingyun just asked me to come and familiarize myself with the work environment in advance."

"You get familiar with your work environment by playing on your phone, huh?" Yan Yu glanced down and saw a match-3 game on her phone screen—"You're quite up-to-date, aren't you?" Considering there's no signal in the underworld, playing games is probably the only form of entertainment.

He didn't say much, but just looked into the distance with Ye Jun.

The River of Oblivion flows ceaselessly, swallowing every ghost that tries to wade through it.

Without the Bridge of Helplessness, the ghosts have to wade through the narrow river upstream. The river water itself can erase memories, and wading inevitably involves choking on water. Drinking too much water can easily cloud their minds, and even after reincarnation, the embryo in the womb may be born with poor development.

From this perspective, rebuilding the Bridge of Helplessness is actually a great act of merit that saves countless lives, and it is very meaningful to do it.

The problem lies with the materials. Building materials capable of withstanding the erosion of the River of Oblivion cannot be simply reinforced concrete.

Since we can't use the national materials laboratory to fund the project, we can only rely on Zhao Yuanzhen's subjective experience to make the assessment. It will definitely take a lot of time and effort, so we can only take it slowly.

Back at the Jinling Mansion villa, Yan Yu saw Zhao Yuanzhen, Xie Ruoxi, and Anna laughing heartily on the sofa in the living room, their relationship as close as that of sisters.

When did they become so close?

Looking at the various northern foods on the table, Yan Yu seemed to understand the answer.

"He's back." Xie Ruoxi said casually, but secretly sent a telepathic message to her two older sisters.

"Shall we go on now?" Anna immediately became excited. "I'm going to play Liu Bei later."

"Not yet, waiting for Hongyu to come back." Zhao Yuanzhen suddenly asked, "Why are you playing Liu Bei? I'm the eldest in the family, so of course I'll play Liu Bei."

“Because Liu Bei is Uncle Huang,” Anna said matter-of-factly. “Look at my hair color.”

"Yellow hair isn't true yellow; a yellow mind is what truly matters," Zhao Yuanzhen declared resolutely and decisively. "In this respect, I will not lose to anyone!"

"No! This isn't exactly a title worth fighting for..." Xie Ruoxi complained, then took out her phone to ask Hongyu where she was.

Zhou Hongyu and Tang Xiaolian went shopping. Wearing sunglasses and masks, they tried on clothes everywhere in the mall, enjoying the thrill of being recognized by the crowd at any moment.

After receiving Xie Ruoxi's message, Tang Xiaolian said with a smile:
"Yan Yu is doomed this time! Anna's figure is clearly not easy to deal with."

"Hmph," Zhou Hongyu said coldly, "What good is a good figure? The important thing is technique!"

"Yes, yes, no one can beat your deadly scissor kick." Tang Xiaolian suddenly had a thought, "But before, when you teamed up with Sister Yuanzhen, you almost beat Yan Yu, right? Maybe Anna is just that one step away?"

Zhou Hongyu pondered for a long time, then nodded and said:

"Indeed, you can only know how good the bedding is after you've slept with them."

Tang Xiaolian: ………………

What exactly are bedding products? Why does it feel like the style of bedding around us is getting increasingly skewed?
But thinking about it carefully, Yan Yu can be quite a jerk sometimes, liking to bully weak girls. This time, he'll have to be taught a lesson by a strong girl.

Haha, I want to see him make a complete fool of himself!

Yan Yu was unaware that he was being targeted again. He was lying in bed, looking at the message sent by Liu Longtao.

"The Pear Blossom Courtyard is about to collapse," Liu Longtao said. "The condition they've been given is that the Pear Blossom Courtyard must accept the Purple Cloud Array node."

"No problem," Yan Yu said with a smile. "Without the Taiyi Zhou Tian Zi Yun Grand Formation, there's no way to break through the giant serpent's outer defensive barrier. If they're not satisfied, let them figure it out themselves."

"The facts are there, but it will take some time for them to accept them willingly," Liu Longtao said with a chuckle. "After all, installing the Purple Cloud Array means accepting the fact that the national defense system is completely controlled by the Lu Kingdom."

Non-Lu Kingdom cultivators cannot master formations, just as wild beasts on the ground cannot soar in the sky. This is due to the fundamental differences between the two extraordinary systems.

While both absorb spiritual energy from the outside world, cultivators absorb what is called "true essence," Yin-Yang masters absorb what is called "spiritual power," and the swordsmen of the Rikain Academy absorb what is called "sword energy"—refining spiritual energy into a sufficiently sharp and specialized energy to enhance the power of driving flying swords. The price is that it cannot be applied to areas other than sword control techniques.

If they don't want the Purple Cloud Array to be controlled by the Lu Kingdom, then the Pear Blossom Academy must make the superhumans in the country give up sword energy and turn to cultivating true essence. But this means that the cultivation system is completely connected with the Lu Kingdom, and the hidden dangers behind it are even more dangerous.

No wonder they were so indecisive.

"By the way, have you heard?" Liu Longtao suddenly asked, "It seems that the Pear Blossom Courtyard is planning to use a honey trap."

"A honey trap? For whom?"

"Li Zhaojiang."

"No, why would you use your feminine wiles on him?"

"Because he went up to her."

Yan Yu was stunned for a while before realizing that his brother-in-law was still up to his old tricks and had actually gone to Tianjin to pick up girls.

"So you mean I should go to his sister and complain?"

"Hey, I didn't say that, don't accuse me," Liu Longtao chuckled. "That guy is hooking up with two Korean girls at the same time, that's his own business. I'm not his brother-in-law, why should I care?"

“Alright, I’m his brother-in-law, I’ll go and talk to him, lest this kid get carried away and accidentally leak state secrets.” Yan Yu was about to get out of bed when he heard Master Jing say again:

"Old Yan, I heard that your house already has a double digit of people living there?"

"What's wrong? You have a problem with that?"

"No! I just wanted to know if your body can handle it," Liu Longtao said jokingly. "I'll have them get you some more Strengthening Pills."

"Heh." Yan Yu sneered without answering. "You'll never understand my happiness!"

He hung up the phone and then planned to go find Li Minghu.

Before they even reached the door, they saw Su Yunjin and Lin Ning walk through the wall and come in. The expressions on their faces seemed rather unfriendly.

(End of this chapter)