You glanced coldly at the town mayor, writhing in the ruins and desperately grasping at illusory gold coins. He was greedy to the core. Even if you were to let him go now, this land would only see another Chang Le Town spring up in its place.
'Yin Spirit, he belongs in the underworld.' You withdrew your gaze, your tone laced with undeniable, chilling authority.
The Yin Spirit let out a low, cold laugh, clearly satisfied. He slowly approached the collapsed town mayor, his right hand grabbing at the air. The ink-black jade ruler instantly transformed into a long black hook.
'Having borrowed a hundred years of life in the mortal realm, it's time for you to repay the countless souls you've shattered.' As the jade ruler hooked out, the town mayor let out a piercing scream. A twisted black soul was forcibly torn from his decaying body.
As the first rays of sunlight pierced the clouds, you realised that the lingering scent of paper offerings in Chang Le Town had completely dissipated. You found yourself amidst rolling, desolate hills. There were no road signs, only countless crooked tombstones, some inscribed and some simply rotten pieces of wood.
This was the Desolate Graveyard. According to legend, the wandering souls of those who died far from home gather here, waiting for someone to take them 'home'.
Despite it being early morning, the depths of the graveyard were still shrouded in thick fog.
'Click, click...'
The crisp sound of bamboo clappers echoed from within the fog. You could vaguely make out a simple stage erected in the mist, and in the dim light, several small shadow puppets moved nimbly.
'Interesting.' A ghostly figure appeared beside you, its brow furrowed as it stared at the stage.
You gently flicked your sleeve and found a broken tombstone in front of the dilapidated stage. You then sat down calmly. 'Now that the stage is set up, it would be a waste not to watch the old master's efforts,' you said with a smile, your fingertips already pressing subtly against the cover of the Book of Rebirth. Spiritual energy spread from the ground towards the stage like spider silk.
Seeing this, the spirit let out a playful snort. Leaning casually against a withered tree, arms crossed, it appeared relaxed. However, the black jade ruler within its sleeve gleamed coldly, ready to respond to any attack that might burst through the curtain.
As you sat down, the sound of the bamboo clappers suddenly became rapid.
The shadow puppets on the lampshade moved even more strangely; the figure resembling you was entangled in black threads and unable to move.
You closed your eyes, no longer watching the play, but staring at the dim, yellowish lampshade. In your eyes, it was not sheepskin or donkey hide at all, but fragments of souls as thin as cicada wings! Each dancing shadow puppet is forcibly stitched together from countless broken personalities. Tracing the source successfully; currently reading the remaining memories within the shadow puppets.
The shadow puppeteer let out a hoarse, eerie laugh. 'Good composure! You're the first of these guests to dare sit and watch the entire 'decapitation play'. Since you're so engrossed, let your shadow be my protagonist."
With a 'whoosh', a gigantic pair of entirely black scissors with red lotus patterns wrapped around the handle emerged from behind the curtain. They didn't cut your body, but instead cruelly sliced off your outstretched shadow!
A gigantic pair of scissors, entirely black with red lotus patterns wrapped around its handle, emerged from behind the curtain. They didn't cut your body, but instead cruelly sliced off your outstretched shadow.
'Golden Bell, protect the shadow root!' you whispered.
Golden Bell instantly transformed into a blinding beam of light in an attempt to dispel the eerie shadow. However, the scissors seemed capable of slicing through light and were unstoppable.
The spirit's eyes shifted: 'These are the "Soul-Splitting Scissors" from the Underworld's Severing Fate Division. They can sever the connection between souls and shadows.' Run! Your shadow is about to be taken away!'
[Book of Rebirth – Crisis State] Negative Effect: [The Pain of Shadow Separation]: Your karma points are decreasing rapidly. If your shadow is severed, you will lose control of all your cards and fall into eternal nothingness.
Boundary Sensation: The Paper Bride – Shen Qing within the book senses this; she herself is a shattered soul and knows how to 'repair' a shadow.
Your once ethereal figure instantly swelled and twisted, transforming into a gigantic, pitch-black infant spirit that radiated a chilling aura. It let out a silent, piercing roar and did not dodge the scissors. Instead, it spread its arms wide, binding the pair of cold, sharp blades together like a viscous mass of black ink.
'Crack—snap!' The once indestructible 'Soul-Splitting Scissors', upon touching the infant's shadow, emitted a crisp cracking sound, and the crimson lotus patterns entwined on the scissors began to twist and dim wildly as if encountering a natural enemy.
'What kind of monster is this?' A shrill cry of alarm came from behind the curtain. The withered, brittle hands trembled violently as they tried to pull back the scissors, only to find that shadowy black energy was burrowing into the nails along the handles like venomous snakes.
'An eye for an eye. Since you've put on a show for me, I'll give you a soul-snatching rope in return!' The ghostly spirit had been waiting for this moment.
The truth is that he was originally a lowly clerk in the Underworld's Department of Severing Ties. He was banished from the Underworld for stealing the 'Soul-Splitting Scissors', after which he joined the 'Red Lotus' organisation. He murdered passers-by in order to create shadow puppets, in the hope of piecing together a 'living face' for his withered, broken body using the shadows of countless people.
Just as you were about to destroy him completely, the scissors on the monster's chest suddenly emitted a blinding, blood-red light. His body rapidly withered and disintegrated into a pile of rotting wood.
He weakly said, 'You can't stop the master's ritual.' With the monster's demise, the 'Soul-Splitting Scissors' fell to the ground with a clang. The black aura dissipated, revealing the true form of the underworld artefact. However, a deep crack appeared in its centre.
[Book of Rebirth – Conclusion of the Battle]
Conclusion of Cause and Effect: Severing the shadow does not sever the root; seeking countless masks ultimately causes one to lose one's true self.
Rewards: Damaged Artifact – Underworld Soul-Splitting Scissors (Fragment) (Function: Can cut simple illusory spaces or forcibly separate fused souls. Can only be used once per day.
Karma Value +10 (Current Total: 90/100).
Shen Qing is gently repairing the 'Shadow Roots' of the scattered soul fragments with her dream-weaving brush.
The Infant Girl crouches in a corner, looking at her hands with lingering fear. The power that had just eroded the artefact had also taken its toll on her.
The Yin Spirit picks up the broken pair of scissors and hands them to you. His eyes are extremely grave. 'This is already the third member of the "Red Lotus" organisation we've encountered. From the paper craftsman in Chang Le Town to this shadow puppeteer, they seem to be piecing something together.'
He gazes towards the farthest reaches of the desolate graveyard, where a towering, cloud-piercing tomb stands, emanating an overwhelmingly powerful aura of despair.
The final ten points of causality are there, and the original secret of this scroll may be buried within them.
You stood before the swirling crimson mist, your fingertips gently tracing the cracked Soul-Splitting Scissors.
'Since the Crimson Lotus people enjoy playing patchwork games, we'll give them a perfect creation.' Your gaze was cold as you looked at the desolate, writhing tomb. 'They want to create a god, so I'll give them a false divine embryo.'
You opened the Book of Rebirth, and Shen Qing and Jin Ling simultaneously received their orders. Shen Qing's figure swayed as he wielded the Dream-Weaving Brush, outlining a pure white 'divine embryo' that radiated a holy glow on the open ground. Then you summoned the Soul-Splitting Scissors and cut the surrounding pure spiritual energy into threads. You wrapped these threads densely around the 'divine embryo'. Meanwhile, Jin Ling released the last wisp of accumulated 'golden light of fortune', coating the false divine embryo with an alluring, sacred lustre.
'Hey, this presentation is so appealing, even I want to take a bite,' Jin Ling muttered softly from behind you.
Sensing this 'pure' divinity, the massive, desolate tomb roared with insatiable hunger.
The blood mist instantly contracted and a colossal 'mountain of flesh', stitched together from countless severed limbs and decaying organs, crawled out of the earth.
Judge's decree: Eternal Sleep.' The black light pierced the monster's core with extreme precision, like a scalpel, and it emitted a scream powerful enough to shatter a tombstone. Under the corrosive influence of the yin energy, its bloated body began to collapse violently.
Brave the monster's wails and fly towards its shattered core. You will find no divine essence there, only a memorial tablet engraved with your own name. The instant your fingertips touched the tablet, the bronze gate in your sea of consciousness emitted a soul-piercing roar.
[Book of Rebirth – Ultimate Synchronisation] Karma Value: 100/100 (Max).
Sealing Complete: All obsessions in Volume One, 'Spring Festival in the City of Bones', have been returned to their rightful place.
Memory Awakening: The kneeling boy in the scene turned his face — it was you, but your eyes were filled with a kind of resolute determination that would make even the gods tremble. [The Truth of the Spring Festival] [Reality Arrives]
The desolate graveyard, Shen Qing and Changsheng — even the blood mist filling the sky — shattered like glass at that moment. You abruptly opened your eyes.
There was no coffin, no desolate tomb. You were sitting in a modern yet extremely oppressive laboratory facing a huge one-way mirror.
On the other side of the glass were countless researchers in white lab coats, pointing and gesturing at you. On the table beside you lay a yellowed, ancient scroll. The scroll vividly depicts everything you experienced in this dream. The eerie voice no longer echoes in your mind; it emanates from a sophisticated instrument in the laboratory. Though electronically synthesised, it remains chilling.
'Congratulations, Source Tracer. You have just completed your first simulated recovery mission. Do you remember who you are now? Do you recall why we employed this method to mend your broken spirit?"
You thought you were exorcising demons within a painting, but you were actually rebuilding yourself within a shattered consciousness. Those so-called 'obsessions' are fragments of memory and the 'judge' is your subconscious's last line of defence. Welcome back to reality, CEO.
The real challenge has just begun.