Joyful Marriage to the Chief Overseer

Clack, clack.

Accompanied by footsteps descending the stairs, a figure appeared before the group. The newcomer wore a coarse linen robe and an old, worn eye patch around her neck.

Shi Ji, Wen Chao, and the Su sisters all froze in surprise—they hadn't expected this person to still be alive!

Wu Xian, however, revealed a flicker of joy.

This woman was none other than Yue Mei, who had gone missing earlier and lived in room 408. Her attire was now much simpler, but compared to before, she looked even more beautiful—her skin paler by a shade, and her demeanor far more confident.

Yue Mei's appearance was proof that Wen Xian's earlier suggestion was right—there was a way to survive outside the inn!

He looked at her expectantly. "Tell us, what's your plan?"

A mysterious smile played on Yue Mei's face. "Are you interested in learning about our savior—the Ghost Mother who searches for her children?"

…

Third floor of the Peaceful Inn.

Wu Xian pulled out a piece of underworld currency and placed it on the statue.

Yue Mei's arrival had given the desperate group a glimmer of hope.

She only said she had a way to solve their predicament, but the details were kept secret for now, related to the Ghost Mother's legend. She promised to reveal more at night.

Though shrouded in mystery, the mere fact that she was alive was enough to overshadow any other plans Wu Xian's group had. So, they chose to follow Yue Mei's lead.

With daylight still lingering, everyone went to seek out statues to strengthen themselves.

Wu Xian, carrying underworld notes, prepared for his first purchase inside the Blessed Land. He slid a ten-denomination note into the mouth of the Buddha statue.

Swoosh!

Like a noodle being slurped, the note was drawn in. The statue's base opened, and wooden planks and cloth pieces emerged, quickly assembling into a small stall.

On the stall were nine golden glowing items.

Four were talismans: "Sharp Rune," "Golden Light Curse," "Blessing Charm," and "Severed Head Regeneration."

Three looked like books—all divine powers: "Golden Crow Feather," "Demonic Possession," and "Yin-Yang Eyes."

Finally, there were two magical tools—one a Pure Whisk, the other a Peachwood Sword.

Every item was priced at 70 underworld notes. Wu Xian originally had 210, but spent 10 notes opening the shop, leaving only enough to buy two items, so he had to choose carefully.

He immediately ruled out the magical tools—the Pure Whisk was unnecessary, and the Peachwood Sword's function overlapped with his bronze coin sword.

Next, he examined the talismans.

The Sharp Rune would make an object sharper, and the Golden Light Curse unleashed a golden beam attack. Both were discarded quickly—his bronze coin sword didn't need sharpening, and the golden light overlapped with his True Fire Curse.

Then came the Severed Head Regeneration spell—a self-targeting magic that prevented death by beheading; pick up the head and reattach it to revive. Perfect for faking death.

But recently, bodies had been disappearing at the Peaceful Inn. Faking death now would be like tempting fate.

The "Blessing Charm" caught his interest.

It could upgrade any ordinary talisman to a precious one and restore its usage count. Wu Xian thought for a moment, then picked this from the golden glow, intending to use it on his True Fire Curse.

After buying the Blessing Charm, Wu Xian had 130 notes left. He then turned to the three divine powers.

Demonic Possession: steals wisdom and life force, corrupts morality and laws, turning the user mad and grotesque, like a malevolent spirit.

Yin-Yang Eyes: see through life and death, allowing the viewer to perceive spirits and the underworld.

Golden Crow Feather: Wu Xian's chest hair had already taken that shape…

Among the three, Demonic Possession was probably the strongest but came with terrifying side effects—losing one's sanity was a real risk, so Wu Xian rejected it outright.

Yin-Yang Eyes weren't very useful either, since the evil spirits in this Blessed Land were already visible to them.

After much thought, Wu Xian chose the Golden Crow Feather.

Maybe a gradual change can bring about a profound transformation.

Unlike talismans and magical tools, divine powers had no physical form. As Wu Xian placed his hand into the golden light, a warm current flowed into his body.

He immediately felt a tingling scalp. Taking out his phone, he snapped a selfie—and saw several golden strands mixed in with his hair. His internal firepower felt far hotter than before.

The transaction complete, the wooden planks and cloth folded back into the statue's base.

To Wu Xian's surprise, the Statue of the Many Treasures Buddha did not disappear like the others.

This meant that anyone with underworld currency could use it. After some thought, Wu Xian removed all his concealments about this statue.

If others had notes, let them use it.

Given their situation, any increase in power, no matter who benefits, was good for everyone.

…

Afterwards, Wu Xian searched nearby, hoping to find another statue—or perhaps encounter a minor evil spirit.

But after several attempts, he found nothing.

The space within the Blessed Land was limited; all the easy-to-find spots had long since been scoured. Even if there were statues hidden somewhere, they wouldn't be easy to discover.

Suddenly, a spark of inspiration hit Wu Xian.

He realized there was one more place that might conceal a statue.

He hurried across the street to the building opposite the inn and rushed up to the fourth floor, kicking open a door.

On the very first morning in the Blessed Land, Wu Xian had noticed a billboard across the street, displaying a man with his entrails removed.

At the time, Wu Xian hadn't given it much thought, but now he understood—the presence of that man meant a brutal encounter with an evil spirit had taken place in the room behind the billboard.

Such a place was the most likely to harbor a statue or useful oddities!

Using his detective skills, Wu Xian quickly searched the room from top to bottom. Finally, inside the oven of the integrated kitchen stove, he found a statue about thirty centimeters tall.

The statue depicted a woman wearing a phoenix crown and ceremonial robes, holding a red chain in both hands. At each end of the chain was a metal collar. Beneath the phoenix crown and veil was a faceless visage—no eyes, no nose, no mouth.

Engraved on the statue's base was its name:

Celestial Official — Joyful Marriage Chief Overseer

In the notes given by Qi Zhiyong, there was a description of this statue—worshiping the Joyful Marriage Chief Overseer could grant talismans ending with the suffix "-technique."

Yet Wu Xian found something puzzling.

The space where the statue was placed was cramped and narrow—impossible to perform a proper worship ritual.

So Wu Xian, on high alert, carefully reached his hand into the oven.

In all the horror movies he'd seen, there was always a classic scene:

A character is forced to reach into a dark, narrow space—only to be ambushed by a lurking ghost, their hand severed, shredded, roasted, or pulled inside. Any ridiculous fate could befall them.

Hehe, not this time!

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