"Could it be like in those novels, where spirit herbs, spirit beasts, and spirit artifacts appear?" Zhao Mumu's imagination ran wild.
"Spirit herbs and spirit beasts are probably unlikely," Song Miaozhu said. "The spiritual energy now isn't drawn to plants or animals—only to refined craftsmanship. As for whether spirit artifacts will appear, I don't know. We'll just have to wait and see."
After returning to her room, Song Miaozhu lay down on her bed and went to the underworld.
She opened the Underworld Net, and went poking around her ghost friend circle to dig up information about foreign ghosts.
First, she messaged Sister Xiang Yun—an old ghost from before the Han Dynasty. If anyone knew the ins and outs of the afterlife, it was her. Plus, Sister Xiang Yun had heard a thing or two about Anshou Hall's Heaven-tier ghost shop, and its rumored ability to connect the living and the dead.
And asking her didn't risk exposing her living identity to anyone else.
[Proprietor Song of Anshou Hall] "Sister Xiang Yun, do you know what happens if a foreigner dies in our territory? Would a ghost official bring their soul to the underworld?"
[Qin Master Xiang Yun] "In the last era of cultivation, ghost officials still frequently traveled to the mortal realm to guide souls to the underworld. But after too much contact with cultivators, some of them found the entrance to the Yellow Springs Road and tried to interfere with the balance of yin and yang, meddling in underworld affairs. So, the underworld stopped sending ghost officials to guide souls and completely separated the realms. Nowadays, newly deceased ghosts sense the entrance to the underworld from their own corpses."
[Qin Master Xiang Yun] "As for foreign ghosts… I'm not too sure. In all my years in the underworld, I've never seen one."
Since Sister Xiang Yun didn't have solid info, Song Miaozhu scrolled through her friend list and messaged her only contact in the government sector: Bai Xiaoqiao from the Underworld Net Division (UND for short).
Their relationship wasn't particularly close, but that didn't matter—gifts could smooth things over.
After some thought, Song Miaozhu sent a message:
[Proprietor Song of Anshou Hall] "Want the latest IEEE and ACM journal series?"
Then she reconsidered—that was too much. Given the UND's current situation, a set of IEEE journals alone would be enough temptation. She could save the ACM journals for the next favor.
(Proprietor Song of Anshou Hall has retracted a message.)
[Proprietor Song of Anshou Hall] "Want the latest IEEE journal series?"
[UND, Bai Xiaoqiao] "Yes, yes, yes! Oh my god! You can get these?!"
[Proprietor Song of Anshou Hall] "Help me find out how the underworld usually handles foreign ghosts, and I'll send you the latest set."
[UND, Bai Xiaoqiao] "Consider it done!"
[UND, Bai Xiaoqiao] "But Boss Song… what did you just retract?"
[Proprietor Song of Anshou Hall] "Just a few extra words."
[UND, Bai Xiaoqiao] "Alright, I asked someone from the Underworld Registry Division. In the past, foreign ghosts were guided into the underworld by ghost officials. If their homeland had an underworld authority, the ghost officials would contact them to arrange a return. If their homeland had no underworld order, they'd just be dumped outside the border."
[UND, Bai Xiaoqiao] "Now, ghost officials don't even guide our own people, let alone foreigners. If foreign ghosts can't find our underworld and stay in the mortal realm, they'll just dissipate into nothingness."
[UND, Bai Xiaoqiao] "By the way, which country's ghosts are you talking about?"
[Proprietor Song of Anshou Hall] "Japanese."
[UND, Bai Xiaoqiao] "Those little devils?! Then don't bother—let them dissipate! Once they're gone, their soul energy will return to the cycle, and maybe years later, a brand-new soul will emerge from it! After all the evil they've done, it's only fair they contribute to our side!"
[UND, Bai Xiaoqiao] "But why are you dealing with Japanese ghosts? Did you cross the underworld border into their Sanzu River? Smuggling is dangerous—don't mess around!"
[Proprietor Song of Anshou Hall] "I didn't smuggle! My shop has connections to the living world. I'm just asking for someone else!"
[UND, Bai Xiaoqiao] "Connections to the living world? No wonder you can get IEEE journals… Wait, if you can get IEEE, can you also get ACM? Any other programming books?"
[Proprietor Song of Anshou Hall] "Anshou Hall accepts large-scale living-world shopping requests!"
[UND, Bai Xiaoqiao] "Why didn't you say so sooner?! I'll talk to my boss—we'll pay with official funds!"
[Proprietor Song of Anshou Hall] "Thanks for the business! But if a large number of Japanese ghosts gain power in the living world and start harming people, will the underworld still ignore it?"
[UND, Bai Xiaoqiao] "What?! That's happening? Let me ask again!"
[UND, Bai Xiaoqiao] "Okay, I'm back. My contact says that if ghosts in the living world gain power, it means spiritual energy has revived. That's a living-world matter—cultivators will handle it. They need to accumulate virtue too, or they'll suffer when they die and come here."
[Proprietor Song of Anshou Hall] "What if a local ghost stays in the living world due to unfinished business, takes advantage of the spiritual revival, and starts causing havoc? Would the underworld intervene?"
[UND, Bai Xiaoqiao] "No. The boundary between worlds is strict. If a ghost returns to the underworld, they'll pay for their actions. If they don't, they'll eventually dissipate. Ghosts are responsible for their own choices—the underworld and ghost officials are just enforcers of the cycle."
[Proprietor Song of Anshou Hall] "Thanks. I'll prepare the IEEE journals for you soon—this is a personal gift."
[UND, Bai Xiaoqiao] "Boss Song, you're the best! I won't hold back then!"
...
Song Miaozhu shut down the Underworld Net, sinking into thought.
The message from the Underworld was loud and clear.
Even ghost messengers no longer ventured to the living world.
The boundary between the realms was far stricter than what she'd read in The Art of Paper Crafting.
Ghost messengers wouldn't intervene. Any ghost lingering aboveground was now the living's responsibility to handle. But with the spiritual revival underway, certain areas had grown thick with yin energy, making it easier for ghosts to roam.
This one ghost from an old battlefield near the summer estate had already caused enough of a ruckus that they didn't know how to deal with it—except to stay far away.
And this was only the beginning.
While spiritual revival brought many wonders, it also brought dangers. She needed to grow stronger—fast.
After briefly checking the shop's inventory, Song Miaozhu returned to the living world and crushed her last three low-grade spirit stones.
Channeling the energy into her spiritual platform space, she resumed crafting paper offerings to refine the energy.
By morning, the red spirit crystal in her Spiritual Platform had grown slightly larger.