"Impossible!" Ye Yuqiao shook her head.

"Why?"

"Modernizing the Netherworld would only undermine the foundational stability it has maintained for tens of thousands of years and implicate the interests of many people," Ye Yuqiao explained. "The Netherworld is different from the mortal world. People in the Netherworld don't have to worry about birth, aging, sickness, and death, so their pursuits and ways of thinking are vastly different—that's the most fundamental difference. Besides, even if I wanted to do that, the large traditional families would never allow it. There would definitely be obstruction."

Chen Hao sighed with disappointment and said, "These big families are really troublesome!"

"The Netherworld has been like this since tens of thousands of years ago, it has never changed. No matter how much the mortal world develops, it won't affect the Netherworld. For example, mortals, due to their limitations, think of using transportation tools to improve efficiency, while Netherworld residents never have such needs. In the end, they are just two different worlds!"

"Alright, alright, I get it," Chen Hao said, showing an impatient expression. He had merely asked on a whim, not expecting Ye Yuqiao to react so vehemently and say so much.

"What does it matter if they are two different worlds? We're from different worlds but didn't we still meet and end up together?" Chen Hao muttered.

"You're so naughty!" Ye Yuqiao raised her hand and pinched Chen Hao's cheek with a smile, "If one day you become the Nether King, don't even think about remaking the Netherworld."

Chen Hao smiled noncommittally and replied, "That day will never come!"

"Have you really never thought about becoming the Nether King?"

Chen Hao shook his head firmly, "I don't want anything, I just want to fulfill our eternal vow with you."

Ye Yuqiao's eyebrows furrowed slightly, as if harboring an unspeakable agony.

"What's wrong, you don't want to be with me forever, now?"

"I do, I really do!"

..

..

The next morning dawned.

The cold wind howled outside the tent, while inside, the charcoal on the fire pit burned restlessly, as if worried it would be overturned by the raging storm.

"Yuqiao!" After a startled cry, Chen Hao awoke from a nightmare.

He had that nightmare again: Ye Yuqiao was surrounded by flames, crying out to him for help.

Seeing Ye Yuqiao lying peacefully beside him, Chen Hao breathed a sigh of relief.

"It's strange. I haven't had that nightmare in days while I was in the Dust Realm. Why does it start again the moment I return to the Netherworld?" Chen Hao looked bewildered.

Once his breathing settled, Chen Hao lay down again. He opened his right arm and gently pulled the sleeping Ye Yuqiao into his embrace.

A moment later, completely devoid of sleep, he began to recall his experiences in the Dust Realm and his conversation with Lin Huashan last night—"Is there a possibility that there is another Yuqiao in this world?"

Even without Lin Huashan's words, Chen Hao felt there was something different about the Ye Yuqiao in the Dust Realm compared to the Ye Yuqiao in the Netherworld. The biggest difference was his own feelings.

He always felt that the Ye Yuqiao in the Dust Realm was the Yuqiao he had known and loved before, whereas the Yuqiao lying with him now felt somewhat unfamiliar.

"At the time, in addition to me, Niu Tou, Ma Mian, and the Dust Tribe Clan Leader Zhou Ke were there too, not just them—almost everyone saw that woman, and yet Zhao Chong dared to say he did not recognize her. It seems like they have agreed to keep it from you!"

At that moment, another of Lin Huashan's statements from last night echoed in Chen Hao's mind.

Suddenly, a glint of light flashed in Chen Hao's eyes; he felt like he was onto something, but after pondering over it, he found no trace to follow.

The sensation was like feeling an itch somewhere on your body but being unable to scratch it properly when you try, always missing the spot by just a little.

Undoubtedly, this feeling was maddening.

A moment later, Chen Hao blinked and said to himself mockingly, "What am I even thinking about? How could I take Huashan's absurd words seriously?"

Having said that, Chen Hao cut off all his thoughts and closed his eyes, leaning his head into the fresh fragrance of Ye Yuqiao's hair.

But Ye Yuqiao, whom he had embraced, had actually awakened and was feeling sad and worried about the thoughts and emotions Chen Hao had just expressed.

She feared that before long, she would lose to her Yang Soul.

..

..

When Chen Hao awoke again, it was an hour later.

He and Ye Yuqiao had just finished washing up when Zhao Chong came in.

"Zhao Chong, is it true that the Ghost King's army of a hundred thousand is almost at the foot of the mountain?" Ye Yuqiao asked Zhao Chong urgently.

Zhao Chong gave a grunt and said with furrowed brows, "That's one of the things I've come to report to you."

A gleam of surprise flashed in Ye Yuqiao's eyes as she asked, "What else is there?"

"Just received news that the Qian and Li families' allied forces have fully mobilized and are moving closer to Netherworld City."

Ye Yuqiao's mouth fell open slightly, looking very shocked.

"Qian Feng is actually attacking Netherworld City at this time, what exactly is his motive?"

To her, Qian Feng's choice to attack Netherworld City at this moment was totally unexpected.

Although the Ghost King was mainly focused on dealing with the five major families, there were still about a hundred thousand troops stationed on the eastern front. The Qian and Li families' allied forces had only about seventy thousand troops; attacking with all their forces right now was extremely risky.

With Qian Feng's cautious personality, how could he make such a decision?

"In the mortal world there's a story called 'Besiege Wei to rescue Zhao', could he be trying to save our alliance of the five families by doing this?" guessed Chen Hao.

"Would Qian Feng risk himself to save us?" asked Zhao Chong.

"Why not?" replied Chen Hao, "Think about it, if our alliance of the five families were to be annihilated, next the Ghost King would mobilize all his forces to attack them. Rather than saying he's saving us, it's more like he's saving himself. Looking at the current situation, it's clear there is one strong and two weak; if the two weak want to survive, aside from being able to defend themselves, they also depend on not being eliminated by the strong one."

"That makes sense!" Ye Yuqiao said, looking at Chen Hao approvingly.

Zhao Chong first nodded and then said with a heavy fog in his eyes, "Although your analysis is right, I still can't believe that Qian Feng would be willing to risk saving us."

"Perhaps Qian Feng's strength isn't just what we see now," speculated Chen Hao, "Maybe, like us, he has a mysterious army at his disposal."

Ye Yuqiao nodded, deeply trusting Chen Hao's analysis. Then she turned to Zhao Chong and said, "Let's not worry about what Qian Feng is thinking for now, the urgent matter is to figure out how to resist the Ghost King's army of a hundred thousand."

..

..

Two quarters of an hour later, Chen Hao and Ye Yuqiao arrived at the southern end of the Huiyin Mountains.

Here once lived the Dust Tribe. The ancient spirits of the Dust Tribe's soldiers lay dormant nearby.

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