Elf: I have a secret realm of emerald green.

Surprisingly, I slept pretty well last night. It seems the spirit world really does have an atmosphere that makes people want to sleep forever.

But Xia Shen doesn't want to pass away yet; his career is unfinished, and his marriage is still pending...

I don't know if anyone outside has noticed that I'm missing.

Xia Shen was already starting to regret it, not because he regretted coming to the Spirit Realm, but because he regretted setting the email's time limit to one month.

It would have been better to explain the situation earlier...

But there's no point in thinking about that now; after all, I'm here to save the world...

No, a legion of the size of the Crystal Lamp Fire Spirits would only pose a slight threat to Fog City at most.

For the state apparatus, this little thing is nothing.

Thanks to the existence of elves, the emergency response to large-scale disasters in this world is quite effective.

However, if the gate to the spirit world suddenly opens without prior preparation, it will definitely be a disaster.

Another concern Xia Shen had was whether other ghost-type spirits in the spirit world might also have the same idea and sneak into the real world.

Xia Shen didn't know how likely this was, but he didn't dare to take the risk.

Therefore, those chandelier spirits must die in the spirit world!

The only thought in Xia Shen's mind was about the Crystal Lamp Spirit, who had caused a bloody disaster in the real world a thousand years ago.

…………

Pulling herself out of her thoughts, Xia Shen began preparing breakfast for the elves.

In the spirit world, everything is kept simple; breakfast consists of energy cubes and a cold wind.

That's right, in the spirit world, air is also food.

To be precise, it is food that is currently in a state of being half-soul and half-physical.

Perhaps there were simply too many souls in the spirit world, and most of them completely dissipated into the air after losing consciousness.

Over time, the concentration of souls in the air increased, and it was refined into a kind of energy.

For the spirits in the spirit world, this is a true example of becoming stronger simply by breathing.

Xia Shen and his elves are in the same boat now. After just one night here, he feels his mental strength improving rapidly.

Zoroark even stated that after staying here for a few months, he could go out and beat up Garchomp.

After preparing a simple breakfast, Xia Shen released all the elves.

Apart from Rowlet and Meltan, the other Pokémon were very curious about this extremely unfamiliar environment.

While they were eating breakfast, Xia Shen explained the situation to them.

Whether these guys were heartless or overly optimistic, they immediately accepted reality.

We had just finished breakfast and were already being assigned rooms in this ancient castle, whose owner was unknown.

They showed no courtesy whatsoever to the Night Demon and Marcia, who were the owners of this place.

Of course, the latter was happy to accept this; the more impolite Xia Shen and his elves were, the harder it would be for them to get off this pirate ship.

The elves dispersed to experience their new environment and new state, and Xia Shen also called out Yuxi to go and talk to the Night Demon and Marcia about serious matters.

There is still much to learn about the spirit world.

------------

Chapter 248 Xia Shen is missing!

The most important question remains: how much power does Yukshi, in his half-soul, half-physical state, still possess in the spirit world?

That's right, even Yukshi, a second-level god, cannot defy the power of a plane.

After arriving in the spirit world, it was also severely weakened.

But since Kexi often plays with astral projection, he should be quite used to this state.

However, this was just Xia Shen's wishful thinking.

As it turns out, Yuuki's strength dropped by more than one level in this state.

According to it, all things considered, it is not even as good as the Heatran without the Fireball Slate.

After hearing what it said, Xia Shen roughly understood the situation.

If Shidoran is level 91, then Yukshi in the Spirit World should only be around level 90.

But Xia Shen had just tried it, and Garchomp and the others' strength hadn't declined that drastically at all.

Perhaps the greater one's strength, the greater the limitations one faces?

Xia Shen guessed that this might be the spirit world's own self-protection mechanism.

But whatever the reason, the result is what it is.

Furthermore, given that the Ghost type is super effective against the Psychic type, it remains to be seen whether Uxie can defeat the Chandelure leader, whose strength is currently unknown.

The Night Demon and Marcia also expressed their concerns, but Xia Shen remained calm.

If all else fails, there's always that Masterball.

If I could trap that Chandelure inside for even a moment, I could place it and the Master Ball into Arceus Space, where time is completely frozen.

If the monster tablets can't seal you, can't Arceus suppress you?

However, the Master Ball is also an important trump card. If it can directly destroy the Chandelier Spirit, that would be even better.

…………

Afterwards, the Night Demon Spirit introduced the general situation of the Spirit Realm to Xia Shen and You Kexi.

Without a doubt, the spirit world is a vast place, serving as the final resting place for souls from all over the world.

Even the Dark Night Demon, which has existed in the spirit world for thousands of years, has never reached the end of this world.

This place is home to countless Ghost-type Pokémon, and an even greater number of souls.

There were elves and humans.

The vast majority of them are unconscious wandering spirits.

It will probably dissipate in a few decades or a hundred years, becoming nourishment for the world.

A powerful soul will possess various special items and merge into a new Ghost-type Pokémon.

Sword Sheath, Little Wood Spirit, Mimikyu...

Every day in the spirit world, a cycle of Ghost-type Pokémon dying and new Ghost-type Pokémon being born occurs.

In short, there are countless ghost-type spirits in the spirit world, the most powerful of which is the Chandelure.

The power levels of the spirits in the entire spirit world are roughly shaped like an rugby ball.

More in the middle, less on both sides.

Xia Shen learned from Sidora that the birth of a divine beast requires the power of rules.

In this chaotic land without rules or gods, this condition is clearly not met.

The only possibility is through that outsider—the monstrous stone tablet that has existed since the beginning of time and contains the primordial power of the underworld.

The chandelier spirit probably didn't know this, otherwise it wouldn't have been so short-sighted as to regard it merely as a key to the real world.

The one who gained the potential of a divine beast from the monster stone tablet was this spirit, Marshadow, who grew stronger when facing stronger opponents.

The current Marcia is still in its growth stage. Although Xia Shen doesn't know how strong it is, it is definitely not as strong as that Crystal Lamp Fire Spirit, otherwise it wouldn't have come to him for help.

…………

Yu Kexi was very interested in this vast and boundless spirit world, and pulled Xia Shen to go outside for a walk.

Xia Shen hesitated. This was neither a relatively safe real world nor a Xi Cui world where he could freely roam.

The spirit world is full of unknowns... To be honest, he was a little scared.

Looking at Xia Shen, who was utterly hopeless, Youkexi felt that he was looking down on him.

Are there any elves here stronger than me?

Xia Shen shook his head honestly.

[That's settled then! How can you be my trainer if you're such a coward!]

The impact of these words is comparable to "Are you even a man?!"

Xia Shenxin made a snap decision and immediately took Youkexi on a spontaneous trip.

Of course, he didn't forget to bring his elves back with him.

Xia Shen was worried about leaving them here.

Perhaps fearing that Xia Shen would simply run away with the bucket, Ma Xiaduo also followed along under the guise of being a tour guide.

Only the lonely old man, Night Demon, and Candlelight Spirit remained in their old home.

To be honest, there's really nothing to do in the spirit world.

It lacks the diverse landscapes of the real world, and the natural environment is almost like it's been filtered through black and white.

The only thing that really interested Xia Shen was the sheer number of Ghost-type Pokémon, which were rarely seen outside, here...

This reminded Xia Shen of a line from the anime describing Pikachu—"There are more of them than stray dogs on the roadside in Viridian Forest!"

This place is practically a paradise for Ghost-type trainers.

Although once you come to this paradise, you can forget about going back.

…………

"There's a forest here?"

Xia Shen rode his translucent Garchomp in mid-air and saw a scene he thought would never exist in the Spirit World.

[What's so strange about that? Like elves, not all trees rely on life force to survive; they probably exist by absorbing soul power.]

The answer to Xia Shen's question was not given by the indigenous Mashado, but by Keshi.