Volume One: The Soul-Attracting Gourd and the Spirit-Burning Lamp Chapter 56: A World Beyond

Hearing what Brother Walking Corpse had said, Gu Mo felt a sudden clench and a shudder run through his body.

“Brother, you’re truly ruthless!”

Brother Walking Corpse trembled slightly; after a sigh, he looked into Gu Mo’s eyes and said, “Little brother, the way I am now, I’m not planning on revenge anymore. You shouldn’t act recklessly before you have real power. Grow strong quietly, don’t get ahead of yourself, understand?”

With that, Brother Walking Corpse turned his head to look at Xiao Yulou, hands clasped behind his back.

“This Taoist’s strength is extraordinary. But let me warn you: the human heart is hidden behind the belly. Sometimes, you can’t even trust yourself.”

Gu Mo nodded as if nothing had happened. “I understand, brother.”

Brother Walking Corpse moved his neck with great difficulty, closing his foul-smelling, terrifying mouth, and fell silent.

Seeing this, Hairball the Gluttonous Ghost retracted its tingling, long tongue as well.

After leaving that peculiar channel of communication, Gu Mo relayed Brother Walking Corpse’s words.

Upon hearing this, a barely perceptible smile appeared on Xiao Yulou’s face.

Gu Mo, however, plopped down on the edge of the bed. King Yan, Jiang Jingxue, sat beside him, gently stroking his back.

After a long while, Gu Mo sighed deeply and asked, troubled, “Brother Xiao, it seems the one who harmed my brother is that old scoundrel from Xiangxi!”

Xiao Yulou nodded slowly. “Not only that, but this person must be closely tied to the White Lotus Sect.”

A chilling sense of dread swept through the room.

Just then, Hairball the Gluttonous Ghost pulled back its long tongue, pointing with its tip toward its gaping maw.

(It was obvious this little attention-seeker wanted a reward.)

Gu Mo was at a loss. He hadn’t been home in years—where was he supposed to find food for his newly adopted pet?

Seeing Gu Mo’s troubled face, Xiao Yulou reached into the sleeve of his black Taoist robe and produced a whole set of hand-grab pancakes.

Hairball the Gluttonous Ghost, seeing food, immediately snatched them with its tongue; in a blink, the cold pancakes disappeared into its mouth.

Gu Mo frowned and asked, “Hey, are you Doraemon? How come you can pull anything out of your sleeve?”

Xiao Yulou’s face darkened, looking incredulously at Gu Mo and the others.

“What’s wrong? I do have some cultivation. Keeping a few tools in my sleeve is perfectly normal.”

Gu Mo rolled his eyes hard at Xiao Yulou, clearly not believing his nonsense.

Helpless, Xiao Yulou sighed and held his sleeve out to Gu Mo.

“Brother Gu, if you want to see, go ahead.”

At these words, Gu Mo stepped forward, his gaze locked on the pitch-black sleeve.

He peered in—and instantly blurted out a string of expletives.

“What the hell is this? Is your sleeve a three-bedroom apartment? Two hundred square meters?”

Inside was a vast space, piled high with Taoist paraphernalia: talismans, chicken blood, Three Pure Bells, glutinous rice, cinnabar, peachwood swords, even two spare black robes.

In one corner of this strange space were clothes of various professions, with two sets of blue-and-white-striped patient uniforms standing out.

After witnessing this astonishing sight, Gu Mo glared fiercely at the scruffy Taoist before him.

“Brother Xiao, today you must give me some tape!”

Upon hearing this, the immortal-looking Xiao Yulou paused, reaching into his sleeve again. Soon, transparent tape, solid glue, foam adhesive, even wedding dot glue, were all laid out.

“Brother Gu, why do you want tape?”

Gu Mo’s face turned ashen; he was muttering a million curses in his heart.

Twisting his features into a murderous expression, he barked, “You’re just messing with me, aren’t you?”

Xiao Yulou, looking dazed, scratched the back of his head and said innocently, “Didn’t you ask for tape?”

Nearly fainting, Gu Mo retorted, “You idiot, I’m asking why there’s a whole other world in your sleeve!”

At this, Xiao Yulou burst into laughter, apologizing for his silly antics.

“Ah, Brother Gu, you mean this!”

With a shake of his head, Xiao Yulou explained proudly, “Brother Gu, this technique of mine is called the ‘Three Pure Devouring Heaven Method.’ Once your cultivation reaches a certain level, you can create a sealed alternate space, which naturally lets you store anything you need.”

Gu Mo suddenly understood.

“So, are there any drawbacks to this ‘Devouring Heaven Method’?”

Xiao Yulou thought for a moment, looking upward. “Yes! Nothing living can be stored in this space. Just because your Brother Walking Corpse is… well, that’s why I could demonstrate a bit.”

He then glanced at Hairball the Gluttonous Ghost.

“Brother Gu, the space inside this glutton’s mouth is practically boundless! Are you sure you don’t want to adopt it?”

This piqued Gu Mo’s curiosity.

“Oh?”

The atmosphere in the room grew tense, even the air seemed to thicken. Gu Mo, Xiao Yulou, King Yan Jiang Jingxue, and even Brother Walking Corpse all stared at the little dark creature.

In a flash, Hairball the Gluttonous Ghost, thinking it was about to be fed again, opened its cavernous maw and used its saliva-glazed tongue to signal a ‘3’ in Arabic numerals.

Gu Mo clamped and shuddered once more.

“What’s going on? After the founding of the country, weren’t all monsters and spirits supposed to be banned? Animals aren’t allowed to become spirits!”

Xiao Yulou coughed quietly, reminding him, “Brother Gu, the glutton means three times the snacks.”

Gu Mo’s expression froze; inside, he muttered, ‘Damn, what a shameless opportunist!’ But curiosity got the better of him, so he agreed for now.

Hairball the Gluttonous Ghost, thrilled at more snacks, forgot all previous grudges, gurgling joyously as it opened its gaping mouth. (What a greedy little creature! As long as there’s food, it’s happy to do anything.)

Gu Mo saw the abyss before him and, steeling himself, leaned close to its mouth.

“Hey—!”

He shouted into the space, but heard no echo. It seemed the space inside the glutton’s mouth was even more impressive than Xiao Yulou’s Devouring Heaven Method.

Xiao Yulou, raising his brows with a smile, sank his body and concentrated his Taoist energy into his hand. Suddenly, a massive fireball flew into the glutton’s mouth.

Flames burst forth, illuminating the space inside.

With the fireball’s glow, Gu Mo peered in, and was startled by what he saw.

The space inside the glutton’s mouth was vast, almost like another world—astonishingly large! But it was so dark, it was impossible to see what else was there.

By the fire’s bright light, Gu Mo finally saw part of the space.

Inside the glutton’s mouth, cold winds swept through thick black mist. There were hills, peaks, ridges, caves, and ravines; but the hills grew no grass, peaks pierced no skies, ridges saw no travelers, caves held no clouds, ravines carried no streams. A calm red lake lay there.

Though chilly winds blew between the mountains, making one uneasy, it was still a remarkable sight.

Then, that silly Gu Mo took a deep breath and bellowed into the vast space. His shout dissipated instantly.

Afterwards, Gu Mo chuckled foolishly—a shout into empty mountains, something many people love to do.

To help Gu Mo see the space clearly, Xiao Yulou raised his Taoist energy, pointing a golden energy into the fiery orb.

With a boom, the floating fireball expanded several times, burning fiercely.

Its light swept away the darkness; suddenly, the space inside the glutton’s mouth was bright as day.

Looking up, Gu Mo’s naive smile froze.

Before his eyes were mountains of garbage. A stench seemed to assault him.

Why? It felt that way, though neither Gu Mo nor Xiao Yulou actually smelled anything strange.

Sweat beaded on their foreheads as they surveyed the chaos, both looking at the gluttonous ghost with disdain.

“Being able to eat is a blessing, but you can’t eat this much garbage!”

Looking closer, Gu Mo saw blackened corpses under the heaps of trash.

Among them, skeletal remains of birds and beasts. The red lake was a pool of thick, deep blood!

Gu Mo, witnessing this horrifying scene, broke out in goosebumps, his heart pounding wildly.

Suddenly, Gu Mo blurted out another string of expletives.

“What the hell, Xiao, is this the ‘pet’ you talked about?”

Xiao Yulou’s face flushed, feeling a loss of dignity. But having bragged, he couldn’t let the boast fall flat.

“Boundless Heaven!”

With his signature phrase, Xiao Yulou pressed a Taoist seal and said loudly, “Brother Gu, you don’t know how lucky you are! You’ve seen the glutton’s abilities. The space in its mouth is at least a hundred thousand times greater than mine! You could build a city inside!”

Gu Mo, though uneasy, had to admit the facts before him.

“Come on, what would I do with such a vast space? Race go-karts?”

Xiao Yulou snorted, “Hmph! Forget go-karts—you could play with planes and cannons!”

Gu Mo scoffed, “Tsk, didn’t expect this little thing to be a ‘divine beast’!”

He then asked, “Brother Xiao, what could I possibly do with such a huge space? And with so much garbage inside, even burning it would take days!”

Xiao Yulou sighed and rolled his eyes. “Brother Gu, are you stupid? Just find a waste recycling station!”

Gu Mo nodded, “That’s true…”

After some idle chatter, Gu Mo felt he’d forgotten something important. He was always busy, and chronic lack of sleep had affected his thinking.

Suddenly, after much pondering, Gu Mo slapped his thigh.

“Damn, the gold bars!”

At this, Xiao Yulou was shocked to his core…