Li Xin finally came back to his senses. “N-no, it’s nothing, just… being grabbed by Senior Brother like that suddenly reminded me of the past.”

Hearing this, images of his intimate memories with Li Xin surfaced in Chiyu’s mind as well. Those tender, lingering moments made his face flush uncontrollably.

Chiyu quickly pulled his thoughts back and coughed lightly. “We don’t have much time. Let’s head up first and talk later.”

Li Xin followed behind him, faintly catching sight of Chiyu’s flushed face. He couldn’t help but chuckle quietly. “Alright, I’ll listen to Senior Brother.”

Chiyu nodded. “Follow me, and don’t speak.”

Li Xin nodded as well.

The underworld was unlike other places — there was only one path leading in. But this path was not the way back, and the exits leading to different realms were also distinct. Without a guide — a ghost official — or if one didn’t frequently travel between realms, entering meant no return.

Chiyu, being a seasoned ghost official of the underworld and holding the Nether Emperor’s travel decree, was unstoppable wherever he went.

Thus, their return journey went very smoothly.

In less than the time it took for an incense stick to burn, the two of them were back in the living world, at Li Xin’s mountaintop villa.

At this moment, the sky was just beginning to lighten. The two brothers, Chang Wu and Chang You, who had been guarding the courtyard, heard movement and immediately rushed inside to check.

When Chang You saw it was them returning, he was overjoyed. “Master Li, Master, you’re back so soon!”

Chang Wu quickly poured water for them. “Master, Master Li, please have some water.”

Li Xin gave a soft “mm” and took the cup, drinking two sips.

Chiyu, however, hesitated, not taking the cup. Li Xin caught this out of the corner of his eye and immediately took the other cup from Chang Wu’s hands. “Your master is still a soul body right now — he can’t drink water.”

Chang Wu immediately realized his mistake and kept apologizing, “Forgive me, Master. I was careless.”

Chiyu didn’t blame him. He smiled gently to comfort him. “It’s alright. You’re so obedient, I should be praising you.”

“Chang Wu is dull-witted. As long as Master doesn’t mind, it’s enough,” Chang Wu said sheepishly, sneaking a glance at Chiyu, then peeking at Li Xin.

Li Xin handed both cups back to him. “You should learn more from your brother — stop being so scatterbrained all the time.”

“Yes, Master Li,” Chang Wu replied softly, hanging his head low.

Chang You stepped forward to change the subject. “Master, during your trip to the underworld, were you able to restore the souls?”

Chiyu nodded. “Not only were they restored, but the Nether Emperor also helped me fuse my soul.”

“That’s wonderful! Now Master has a real chance to reincarnate!” Chang Wu, still young, immediately forgot the earlier scolding after hearing the good news.

Chiyu smiled. “I don’t really hope for reincarnation. Just being a complete ghost is enough. After so many years in the underworld, I’ve already gotten used to it.”

“Master, please don’t say that. Master Li has been thinking about this all these years — and so have we. We just want to stay by your side,” Chang You said hurriedly.

Li Xin immediately chimed in, “Senior Brother, don’t worry. I will definitely find a way to revive you.”

Chiyu knew it wasn’t an easy task. Just finding all the soul fragments was already a near-impossible feat — and even if they found them, resurrection was far from simple.

Without the help of an enlightened being, they would have to use forbidden techniques — and using forbidden techniques would go against the laws of heaven and inevitably lead to terrible consequences.

Chiyu didn’t want Li Xin to risk himself for him.

He smiled lightly. “If we can find all the soul fragments, I’ll ask the Nether Emperor for a decree allowing me to stay in the living world permanently. How about that?”

“Master, you… don’t want to come back to life?” Chang Wu asked, puzzled.

“I’ve been a ghost official for so many years, even the Yama Kings have to show me some respect. I’d be reluctant to give up this identity,” Chiyu said with a laugh.

Even if Chang Wu and Chang You couldn’t see through him, Li Xin, who knew Chiyu’s nature best, could. He had never been one to seek power — he was saying this only to dissuade Li Xin from taking desperate risks and using forbidden techniques.

“Fine,” Li Xin thought to himself. “I’ll just go along with him for now. We’ll deal with the rest later.”

Chang Wu and Chang You were slightly stunned and looked toward Li Xin. “Master Li…”

Li Xin forced a smile. “Let Senior Brother do as he wishes. As long as we can stay together, that’s enough.”

Chiyu immediately caught the meaning in Li Xin’s words. “Don’t worry, Buyi. After everything we went through to reunite, I’ll treasure it. I won’t leave again.”

Only then did a genuine smile appear on Li Xin’s face. “Good. As long as Senior Brother stays, that’s all that matters.”

As they spoke, they gazed at each other, and the suppressed emotions between them gradually stirred, creating a warm, overwhelming feeling. Both of their eyes turned red.

Seeing the atmosphere was about to become too emotional, Chang You hurriedly asked another question, “Master, Master Li, what should we do next?”

Sure enough, the two snapped out of it and withdrew their gazes.

Thus, the mood didn’t spiral out of control.

Chiyu pulled out the Heaven and Earth Soul-Chasing Compass from his sleeve and showed it to the three of them. “This is the Heaven and Earth Soul-Chasing Compass bestowed upon me by the Nether Emperor. It can detect whether the remnant souls are still in the living world, and pinpoint their exact location. If we follow its guidance, we’ll be able to find them.”

“Why would the Nether Emperor give you such a valuable artifact?” Li Xin had lived long enough to have heard of this artifact.

Chiyu smiled helplessly, knowing Li Xin was overthinking again. “I don’t have that kind of face. It was You Jiang who asked the Nether Emperor for me.”

“That male fox demon?” Li Xin was half-skeptical. “The Nether Emperor really spoils him.”

Chiyu laughed. “The Nether Emperor always indulges him — otherwise, how could he run that kind of shop in the underworld without anyone daring to cause trouble?”

Li Xin realized Chiyu had caught onto his random thoughts and coughed lightly. “I was just asking.”

Chiyu didn’t want to expose him and just answered calmly, “I know.”

Li Xin suddenly noticed that Chiyu seemed sharper than before and asked with a light laugh, “Senior Brother, you seem quicker than before?”

“Of course,” Chiyu said with a self-deprecating smile. “After fusing my soul fragments, not only has my soul body become much more solid, but even my mind is much clearer. Only now do I realize how rigid and muddle-headed I used to be.”

“Senior Brother, everything will be better from now on,” Li Xin comforted him, afraid Chiyu would dwell on it too much, so he quickly asked, “By the way, Senior Brother, do you know how to use this artifact?”

Chiyu nodded. “The Underworld Emperor taught me.”

“Then shall we try it now?” Li Xin said.

Chiyu gave a soft sound of agreement. Following the method the Underworld Emperor had taught him, he placed the Soul-Chasing Disk on the ground, sat down cross-legged, formed hand seals, and chanted an incantation:
“The Great Dao is boundless, the universe revolves, all things have breath, the spirit is indestructible. Draw the spirit, chase the soul, summon swiftly.”

After chanting, he pressed his hand onto the Soul-Chasing Disk, letting it sense his aura.
“The one we seek—does any remnant soul remain?”

The Soul-Chasing Disk flashed twice. Seeing a reaction, Chiyu immediately withdrew his hand, and the disk began to spin rapidly. Driven by Chiyu’s spiritual power, it glowed faintly, the light flickering and dimming, speeding up and slowing down rhythmically.

Li Xin and Chang Wu-Chang You watched in amazement as the Soul-Chasing Disk spun before them, not daring to make a sound.

Li Xin had seen many magical artifacts before, but few from the Underworld. It was his first time seeing a high-grade artifact like the Universe Soul-Chasing Disk.

Unlike typical Underworld artifacts that exuded a sinister aura, or powerful artifacts that carried an oppressive presence, this one felt unusually steady and gentle.

For a moment, Li Xin thought that this artifact seemed made for Chiyu.

The artifact was very much like Chiyu himself—powerful without being ostentatious, calm without being timid.

Li Xin hadn’t seen Chiyu perform magic in years, and now, he found himself completely absorbed by the sight.

Memories of his youth resurfaced—how Chiyu had taught him magic, step by step.

Chiyu’s nature was firm yet gentle. Although he always spoke softly, his standards for Li Xin had never been the slightest bit lax.

Suddenly, the glow from the Soul-Chasing Disk extinguished, and the pointer came to a halt.

Chiyu withdrew his magic, gazing at the markings and direction indicated on the disk with focused seriousness.

Chang Wu was the first to speak. “Master, did you find it?”

Chang You immediately covered his brother’s mouth. “You and your big mouth! Don’t disturb the Master.”

Realizing he had made a mistake again, Chang Wu quickly lowered his head and muttered an obedient “yes.”

Li Xin crouched down slowly, also looking at the Soul-Chasing Disk. Seeing that Chiyu was still calculating something with his fingers, he didn’t dare interrupt.

Only when Chiyu finally lowered his hand and smiled did Li Xin dare to ask, “Senior Brother, you found it?”

Chiyu nodded. “Northwest, about six hundred li away, near an ancient tree.”

Li Xin was overjoyed and immediately instructed Chang You, “Go investigate as the Master said.”

“Yes, Master Li.”

The two brothers immediately ran to the study. Using the computer, they precisely locked onto a location—Xiuchuan Village.

After compiling the information, Chang You printed it out and brought it to report to Li Xin in the living room.

“Master, Master Li, we found it. It’s a place called Xiuchuan Village,” Chang You said as he handed the freshly printed documents to Li Xin, who was sitting on the sofa. “This place is surrounded by mountains on three sides, with rugged terrain. Roads only reached it a few years ago, but because communication remains poor, the people there still live in a very backward way.”

Li Xin glanced at the information and wanted to hand it to Chiyu but hesitated slightly—he wasn’t sure if Chiyu could read modern text and didn’t want to embarrass him.

Yet, at the moment Li Xin hesitated, Chiyu already guessed what he was worrying about.

“The Underworld keeps up with the times too,” Chiyu said with a small smile. “Although most documents there still use classical text, I can understand these simplified characters.”

He reached out and took the papers from Li Xin’s hand.

After flipping through a few pages, he looked up and asked Chang You, “What about the ancient tree? Why isn’t it recorded?”

Chang You nodded. “Master, this is all the information we found on Xiuchuan Village. There’s no record of the ancient tree, but it should be somewhere in the nearby mountains.”

Chiyu thought for a moment and nodded. “Since the Soul-Chasing Disk pointed to that ancient tree, it must be the key. When we get there, we’ll search for it first.”

“Master, what kind of tree is it? How big is it?” Chang Wu quickly asked.

Chiyu closed his eyes, recalling the information received from the Soul-Chasing Disk. “It’s very large—about five or six people would need to join hands to encircle it. Not very tall, just over one zhang, with dense branches and leaves. It looks like a locust tree.”

Opening his eyes, Chiyu looked at Li Xin. “Why don’t we go now?”

Li Xin had no objections and immediately ordered the two brothers, “Prepare the car. Pack some clothes at random. We leave immediately.”

“Yes, Master Li!” the two brothers responded in unison.

They were about to split up to get ready when Chiyu stopped them. “No need to trouble yourselves.”

Li Xin immediately asked, “Senior Brother, do you have another way?”