"This is the Wilderness outside the village? How did I get here?"
Ye Liang felt extremely puzzled. Just moments ago, he had still been investigating the Token inside the village. The next second, he inexplicably found himself outside in the Wilderness—an abrupt shift so shocking it defied belief.
Only true deities could accomplish something like this.
He reached down and touched the earth at the roadside—something felt instantly wrong.
"This isn't the Wilderness outside the village! This is somewhere else entirely!"
The weeds by his feet looked strange. As soon as Ye Liang tried to touch them, they darted away like living creatures. He kept walking forward. The mud and grass along the path looked bizarre—as if they were alive, shifting and writhing on their own!
At that moment…
Two figures suddenly appeared before Ye Liang's eyes—out of nowhere.
A man and a woman!
"Brother Izanagi, wait for me! Once I say goodbye to the Yomi Deity, I'll leave with you," said the woman, bowing to the man before stepping backward.
"Sure thing. I'll be right here waiting for you."
The man nodded.
Ye Liang saw clearly—the two gazed lovingly at each other, seemingly a romantic couple.
The man had delicate, handsome features and wore a beautiful azure robe. But as for the woman...
Wait—the woman?
Ye Liang couldn't see her face clearly. Though she stood directly in front of him, her face was bizarrely covered in pixelated blocks—as if digitally censored!
What in the world was this "pixelation"?
He took a few more steps closer.
"Hey miss, your face seems all distorted!"
As he stretched out his hand, the entire environment abruptly changed around him.
No longer endless wilderness, but a towering, golden and resplendent palace hall!
Startled, Ye Liang realized that with just one step forward, he'd already reached the palace's entrance! Outside patrolled countless Yomigami beasts!
They towered over thirty meters high—countless in number and each at least as powerful as a Yomi Leader.
"So I've really entered the stronghold of the Yomigami!" Before he even finished speaking, he saw the young man from earlier walking over. The youth seemed not to see Ye Liang, stopping instead right at the entrance of the palace hall.
"Sister Izanami, we promised to meet here. Why haven't you shown up yet? It's been so long—surely nothing happened to you!"
Hands behind his back, the young man paced restlessly at the threshold of the palace hall.
Ye Liang walked up beside him.
"Hey mate, you really can't see me?" Ye Liang reached out a hand—but grabbed only empty air. He lunged again—only to find his hand passing straight through the youth's body!
What the hell! This must be an illusion!
He understood instantly.
"No wonder I was brought here in an instant—it must've been that cursed plaque's doing!"
Ye Liang hurriedly pinched his own soft flesh.
He pinched himself hard—supposedly a trick to wake up from a dream.
Unfortunately,
Besides making him grimace painfully, there wasn't the slightest sign of waking up.
At that moment…
The great palace doors suddenly cracked open slightly.
"The door's not completely shut!"
The young man's face lit up with joy as he immediately stepped inside.
Creak—
Then the doors closed tightly once again.
"Just like that… gone?"
After waiting for quite a while without seeing the man emerge, Ye Liang could only start scrutinizing his surroundings anew.
Damn it! Can't wake up, can't get out either!
"Am I really going to be stuck here forever?" He felt around the bodies of the Yomi Leaders surrounding him.
As expected, he couldn't make contact with anything!
His gaze then shifted toward that half-cracked door.
It was pitch-black inside. To be honest, he dared not just step in casually — especially since that young man had disappeared right after entering.
He pressed his ear against the door and faint voices came from within.
"Izanagi, my dear brother! Please hear me out. Things aren't how you think!"
"Nothing more to say. Our bond ends here!"
"Izanagi, my dear brother! No! Please, no!"
The woman's voice suddenly exploded louder!
Ye Liang almost got his eardrums shattered by this shriek. After digging into his ears again, he leaned closer once more.
Inside fell silent.
Then,
The surroundings changed again.
The magnificent palace became a pitch-black room.
Except for a glowing man standing in the center of the room, he could see absolutely nothing else!
"Did I enter the palace?" He guessed, scanning the area. He saw nothing other than that glowing figure.
At this moment, the man silently turned his head. His eyes locked onto Ye Liang, seeming to fill with bloodshot fury!
"You saw *everything*, didn't you!"
Saw what?
Ye Liang glanced at the space around him again, finding no one else present.
Suddenly, he realized something!
Was this man actually speaking to him!
He quickly turned around!
Sure enough, the man's eyeballs kept staring unblinkingly straight at him.
"Uh, buddy, you got it wrong. I just walked in."
"No! You saw it all! You mustn't live! Mustn't live!" The man suddenly charged at Ye Liang like a mad beast.
At that moment,
The spatial dimension froze instantly!
The man's body vanished abruptly, and Ye Liang awoke from his dream!
Big drops of cold sweat trickled from his forehead. Feeling behind his back, he found the entire bedsheet soaked through.
Cold sweat or... did he pee the bed?
He felt confused.
The following morning,
Nao Uzumaki burst into Ye Liang's villa.
"Lord Ye Liang, the birthday banquet for Her Ladyship is about to start! Aren't you supposed to be ready by now?"
"Her birthday banquet?"
Rubbing his messy hair, Ye Liang woke up groggily. After dealing with his soaked bedsheet last night, it was already five o'clock in the morning.
After taking a bath, he didn't manage to fall asleep until past six!
He glanced at the alarm clock — it was already 10 AM.
He'd only slept three hours. No way anyone could survive that!
"I'm not going. Go with old man Shizhi." He waved his hand dismissively.
Nao Uzumaki was displeased.
"Lord Ye Liang, this birthday banquet happens only once every hundred years. Even if you don't feel interested, please do show some respect for Her Ladyship. Alright? If she gets angry, none of us villagers can live peacefully."
"A hundred years once?" Ye Liang scratched his head, sitting upright.
"You mean Her Ladyship holds a birthday banquet only once every hundred years?"
"Naturally! Her Ladyship has lived for centuries already. Being invited to her banquet is an extraordinary blessing."
"Reportedly, quite a few important figures from various places have come to attend this event too!"
"Oh, that really is rare," Ye Liang said with interest.
He originally thought this birthday banquet was just an ordinary family feast, but to his surprise, it had such a long history. As for those so-called important figures? Ye Liang immediately wanted to see who they were!
"Then let's go!"
After freshening up, Ye Liang followed Nao Uzumaki toward the dining hall.
"Here we go again... still stuck eating in the communal dining hall."
They entered and found quite a few people already seated inside.
However, there was a difference compared to regular days—while the lower section remained reserved for villagers' seats, there were several raised seats set up on the stage!
With just one glance, Ye Liang could tell these special seats were prepared for elite hunters like themselves!
"Ye Liang, young man! Over here!" Shizhi Xiao warmly waved at Ye Liang. His seat was at the very front, clearly due to his status as this event's hero!
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