Chapter 45: Promotion to Yin Marshal

The next day, outside the haunted house, Wang Dali pushed open the door with a trace of exhaustion on his face and slumped straight into Chu Tian's recliner.

"Is everything resolved?" Chu Tian looked at Wang Dali and asked.

"Resolved," Wang Dali nodded and said. "This time it was pretty much all thunder and no rain. That old lady actually didn't do anything at all; she just watched us go and persuade those people."

"How many did you manage to persuade back?" Chu Tian asked with a hint of interest.

"Less than a fifth," Wang Dali said. "And new people are already rushing in to take their places."

"What about those ghosts that came out?" Chu Tian asked.

"What else can we do? Targeted observation, of course," Wang Dali replied. "As long as they don't stir up trouble and live honestly, everything will be fine."

Chu Tian nodded.

"Though, speaking of which, Old Chu, I really don't understand why those people couldn't be persuaded out," Wang Dali said. "It's not like everyone is like that Yan Ming."

"Perhaps it's because that Peach Blossom Ghost Domain resembles a perfect dream," Chu Tian said.

He turned his head to look at the bustling metropolis outside the window.

Humanity has never ceased its exploration of a better social system.

Yet, a true utopia has always existed only in fantasy.

Within this steel jungle.

Everyone hurries along. Some run endlessly for material possessions, while others indulge in sensual pleasures to numb their minds.

Some must begin working in the dead of night, while others have not left work even at midnight.

Some make money at the expense of their health.

Others fail to make money and are left with a body full of aches and pains.

The words "life" imply both longing and practice.

Therefore, everyone always has a period when they yearn for a Peach Blossom Spring of their own.

A place where they can be free and unrestrained.

Therefore, there will always be people willing to exchange their lives with the ghosts within that Peach Blossom Spring.

However, if that Peach Blossom Ghost Domain were truly a perfect existence, why would those ghosts be willing to come out and live out their final days simply out of fear of death?

Perhaps it is because life always requires a bit of unknown novelty and fantasy, a few goals for striving, and a shred of hope.

Chu Tian watched through the window as a father, holding his wife and child by the hand, walked past the front of the haunted house with a smile.

Perhaps tomorrow, they too would return to their respective jobs and schools.

Yet their Peach Blossom Spring was right beside them.

The times are always changing; as long as there is hope for further progress, every single moment in this world is transforming toward the Peach Blossom Spring...

"Alright, I just came by to tell you and catch my breath," Wang Dali said. "There's still a lot to do. Brother, I'll be heading out first."

"Wishing you smooth work," Chu Tian said to Wang Dali.

"May your auspicious words come true," Wang Dali said with a wave, and pushed open the door to leave the haunted house.

The moment he stepped outside, a ray of sunlight happened to shine directly upon him, looking exceptionally dazzling.

And as Wang Dali left, Chu Tian felt as though something within his body had naturally and smoothly broken through.

Closing his eyes slightly, a gentle wave of ghostly energy continuously welled up.

His entire being felt as if it had undergone sublimation.

Inside Chu Tian's body, the Eighteen Soul-Detention Pagodas slowly rotated on their own, casting down streams of light from the tower body.

The previously sealed fourth floor of the pagoda slowly opened at this moment.

Inside the haunted house, Song Shiyun, who had just been playing Angry Birds, stared wide-eyed at Chu Tian.

It wasn't until the miraculous phenomenon on Chu Tian vanished and he opened his eyes that she asked in confusion, "Boss, just now... were you about to ascend to immortality?"

"That's right, I've become an immortal deity," Chu Tian looked at Song Shiyun and joked half-seriously.

The miraculous occurrence just now was merely the promotion of Chu Tian's official rank from Ghost-Nether Envoy to Underworld Commander.

The reason he hadn't broken through until now was simply that while his strength was sufficient, he still lacked a bit of personal insight.

Now, having experienced the affair of the Peach Blossom Ghost Domain, Chu Tian had gained his own insights into the evolution and operation of systems, and thus his realm broke through as a matter of course.

Among the underworld officials of the netherworld, ghost soldiers are the lowest rank, followed by the Underworld Ghost Envoys, Soul-Detention Envoys, and Ghost-Nether Envoys—three positions of equal standing. Above them are the Underworld Commanders who govern these three major roles.

Upon becoming an Underworld Commander, Chu Tian was entitled to three Underworld Ghost Envoys serving under him, specifically holding the positions of Ghost King, Day Patrolling Envoy, and Night Patrolling Envoy; four Soul-Detention Envoys: Black Impermanence, White Impermanence, Ox-head, and Horse-face; and four Ghost-Nether Envoys: Leopard Tail, Bird Beak, Fish Gill, and Wasp.

With these ghostly immortal ranks, Chu Tian could finally take the first step toward rebuilding the underworld.

"Boss, are you joking with me again?" Song Shiyun rolled her eyes and said.

Chu Tian directly closed the door of the haunted house, plunging the interior into sudden darkness.

Song Shiyun immediately looked at Chu Tian with vigilance and asked, "Boss... what are you trying to do?"

"What do you think?" Chu Tian replied with a smile.

"Boss, though I know you aren't picky and even managed to handle the boss's wife who is a vixen, humans and ghosts belong to different worlds, you know." Song Shiyun crossed her arms to protect her collar and said, "Even though I know this young lady is still relatively young and pretty, if you insist on forcing me, I probably won't have any chance to fight back. But can't we take things slow and date first? I value the experiential process. Besides, you'd better report this to the boss's wife beforehand, otherwise I'm afraid she'll beat me up when she gets back!"

"Must you be so dramatic?" Chu Tian looked at Song Shiyun speechlessly. A flash of blue light swept across him, and he had actually changed into a dark blue underworld official uniform, except that this new uniform differed vastly from his previous ones.

Not only did it look more exquisitely crafted, but it also faintly exuded the majesty of someone in a position of supreme authority.

Promoting from a ghost official to an Underworld Commander brought changes not just to his attire, but even more so to his weapon. The soul-locking chain in Chu Tian's hand wound around itself in circles through the air at that moment, transforming into a long saber.

The Ghost-Slaying Saber! The exclusive weapon of an Underworld Commander.

"Now, in the name of the Underworld Commander of the Netherworld, I hereby confer upon the female ghost Song Shiyun the position of Underworld Ghost Official. Assume your post immediately without delay!" Chu Tian finished speaking, flicked his finger, and a beam of blue light shot out. As the blue light vanished into Song Shiyun's body, the ghostly aura around her immediately underwent a transformation, and a set of underworld official attire appeared on her almost instantly.

In some mystical way, Song Shiyun felt the bone-chilling coldness that she had felt deep within her body ever since she became a ghost completely vanish.

"This..." Looking at the changes in herself, Song Shiyun's face was filled with utter shock. "Boss, the stories about the underworld you told us were actually true?"

Only after truly becoming an underworld official did Song Shiyun genuinely believe that the netherworld Chu Tian spoke of was real, rather than a legend he had simply made up.

"It seems this ability is quite useful after all." Chu Tian looked at Song Shiyun's current transformation and nodded, while sensing the information transmitted from the altered Eighteen Soul-Detention Pagodas in his mind.

It seemed the purpose of the Eighteen Soul-Detention Pagodas in choosing him was to have him rebuild the order of the underworld and restore the Six Paths of Reincarnation in this realm.