Seeing his comical expression, I couldn't help mimicking him. "What could possibly happen to me?"
"Stop laughing! You're just a soul without a physical body now. You can't be exposed to sunlight. Hurry up, hurry up! Open this red umbrella, or you'll really vanish into thin air."
Looking at the anxious look on the Earth God, I began to sense that things might be more serious than I thought.
I looked around, but Chi Yu's physical body seemed to be gone.
"Earth God, where's my physical body?"
When the Earth God saw that I'd noticed, his expression grew even more anxious.
"The physical body... it walked away on its own."
"What?" I raised my eyebrows in surprise, my eyes widening.
"I waited for you here for days, without sleep or rest. I was just taking a little nap, and it walked out of the formation on its own."
The more the Earth God talked, the more anxious he became. His wrinkled face scrunched up like a dried bitter gourd.
"The physical body walked out on its own? That's impossible. How could it move without a soul to support it?"
"Yeah, I was also puzzled. So after I woke up, I immediately went after it. And when I caught up, I discovered an earth - shattering secret."
The Earth God squinted his eyes mysteriously.
"What secret?"
He leaned close to my ear and looked around, as if afraid someone would overhear. "The secret is... that physical body doesn't belong to you at all. Did you possess it?"
I curled my lips. This hardly seemed like a secret.
"The physical body indeed isn't mine, but I didn't possess it. I somehow ended up in her body."
"That explains it. No wonder she's been following you. Now that she's back, it's like returning something to its rightful owner." Now that I'd admitted it, the Earth God, who had been blaming himself for losing the physical body, no longer felt ashamed.
"What do you mean by'returning something to its rightful owner'? Did Chi Yu come back to claim the physical body?"
"Ah, so the red - robed woman who's been following you is called Chi Yu."
The Earth God looked as if he'd just had an epiphany, but his words left me even more confused.
I asked in surprise, "Earth God, you're saying the red - robed woman who's been following me is Chi Yu's soul?"
"Right. It's definitely her soul. I'm absolutely sure about this." The Earth God's face was full of confidence.
"Impossible. I've seen Chi Yu's soul, and that woman is definitely not her."
After I entered the Ancient Abyss Realm, the first thing I saw was Chi Yu's soul. Her soul was pure and spotless, completely free of any impurities. It could never be that red - robed woman full of venomous resentment.
"I'm definitely not wrong. And this woman is not simple. I saw the Mysterious Well Water under her feet. This soul is hiding something very deep. When she followed you, I always thought she was just an ordinary vengeful spirit that had latched onto you. But I never expected that her soul had been soaked in the Mysterious Well Water."
"If a vengeful spirit like this were to possess someone, the consequences would be disastrous. Fortunately..."
The Earth God took a deep breath and continued, "...fortunately, she's back in her own physical body. I hope this can calm her extremely evil thoughts."
The Mysterious Well Water, possession, vengeful spirits... The Earth God's analysis seemed reasonable, but I felt that things couldn't be this simple.
The information he gave me, combined with what I'd seen, was enough for me to come up with another version of the story.
There was no doubt that Chi Yu's soul was pure. The problem occurred when we were at the Mysterious Well in the back hall of the Purple Star Palace.
What changed her was that white orchid with sharp leaves. That orchid looked delicate and eye - catching among the flowers. It was the key to unsealing the Mysterious Well Water.
It seemed harmless, but it was full of hidden dangers.
Chi Yu was eager to pick the orchid and cut her hand on it. Without realizing it, she offered a blood sacrifice to the Mysterious Well.
This small mistake, while the Ancient Abyss was unsealing the well, indirectly released the vengeful spirit soaked in the well water.
The fact that this thing could slip away right under the Ancient Abyss's nose was proof of its strength.
Chi Yu was the physical body that carried the snake spirit. Her blood could nourish all things, and the vengeful spirit sensed this, so it had been following her.
First, it took Chi Yu's soul.
Then it possessed her physical body to increase its power.
I couldn't figure out what it would do next.
"Earth God, I think something's wrong. That soul isn't Chi Yu's. It's someone else. It attached itself to Chi Yu's soul, which is why you mistook it for her."
Just thinking about this made me feel scared. That thing was like a parasite, slowly devouring Chi Yu's consciousness.
"No, Chi Yu is in danger. I have to go find her right now." I turned and stepped out of the shadow of the old locust tree. A puff of white smoke rose from my feet, accompanied by a sizzling sound, like meat being grilled on a hot plate.
I immediately let out a scream, pulled my foot back, and hopped around on the ground, holding my foot.
The Earth God quickly pulled me back into the shade, afraid that I might hop out again.
"Oh, girl! Can you focus on the important thing first? Don't be so reckless. You only have one more day. If you don't complete the task the Heavenly Emperor assigned you, His Highness and Lady Xi will probably suffer because of you."
"Moreover, your abilities are limited. You can't save Chi Yu. After you save His Highness, let him figure out a way. After all, he and Chi Yu have a deep relationship."
I lowered my head and thought about it. What the Earth God said seemed reasonable.
"You're really insightful. We'd better hurry and go find the Ancient Abyss."
"Okay. Since you've lost your physical body, you were born missing a soul. Fortunately, someone helped you replenish it, so your soul is intact. And that stone has helped stabilize your soul, so you can hold on for a while. It's high noon now, and you can't be in the sunlight. I'm going to put you in this red umbrella for now. I'll let you out when we see His Highness. Is that okay?"
I looked down at the red umbrella and nodded at the Earth God.
The red umbrella opened, and my body turned into a long beam of light, disappearing into the umbrella.
Inside the umbrella, everything was red. The sunlight couldn't get in, and I couldn't see clearly. Although I didn't have to walk, my mind never stopped thinking, always lingering on the Earth God's casual words.
The Earth God said my soul was intact, but my soul was seriously injured in the Soul - Refining Cauldron. According to Bai Qi, it was very difficult to repair it to its original state.
Did the Earth God make a mistake, or has my soul really been repaired?
Just as I was lost in thought, the red umbrella shook violently. I felt like I was being dumped out of a basket and landed directly on the ground.
"I can only take you this far. It all depends on you, Your Highness."