Yin Na felt the thrill of dying flash through his mind, as he saw Chen Zixi begin to move his hand for the killing blow.

There was so much he wanted to say.

That there was still more he could offer; that the Golden Core cultivator’s decision was a mistake; that he understood that Chen Zixi ultimately feared the weight of society over individual strength, and that he was a coward for believing in the former over the latter.

That he understood there was nothing he could say to change the next decision of Chen Zixi to fulfill his mission to Xiao Feng and kill Yin Na to avenge Tian Ji Han.

His death was unavoidable, he had committed too many crimes and was clearly unable to escape the karma of his actions today.

And so, with a single punch to the temple full of overwhelming qi, Chen Zixi killed Yin Na. His punch nearly shattered Yin Na’s skull, as blood poured out of his seven orifices upon hitting the ground.

It seemed so fast that the other cultivators could not believe what had just happened.

Brother Liu Kang: “He- what, that was it?”

Brother Sun Lu: “I understand that he was a tricky one, but you should have prolonged his suffering, Chen Zixi! Yin Na did not deserve so swift a death!”

Ying Er: “That coward! He thinks he can escape our wrath even after death, he is wrong, I will mash his bones and-”

Xiao Feng: “It’s finally over…”

But none of that noise mattered to Yin Na anymore, for he was dead.

Within the world of the Nine Yin Treasure Jade Block…

“There exist many treasures, spells and techniques to preserve the soul long after the body has expired,” thought Yin Na. “And I certainly predicted that the Nine Yin Brick would have something similar.”

Yin Na was absolutely elated. Just by falling into Chen Zixi’s hands, he knew death was going to be the ultimate risk. However, due to his unnatural luck, planning, and foresight, he took a gamble based on his understanding of the 9-Yin Treasured Jade Block.

Based on what Deng Ping had told him, all of the former owners of the Jade Brick always ended up manifesting inside the treasure in some form after death. He was not sure exactly what form, maybe they only turned into pathetic copies of their will, but if his body could not escape destruction in life, he was willing to see what the afterlife held for his soul within the brick.

This world is such that true death can be avoided for the most resourceful of cultivators!

Yin Na’s soul was manifested in the form of his now-perished body, as he was surrounded by a pitch-black world. He was naked, and retained the appearance of his long-haired self before rebirth.

“I realized that there was definitely some strong soul magic involved with this Brick the moment Deng Taifan blabbed about having met the former Demon Lord Mao. If his account is correct, the previous users of the brick all ended up with their souls or memories inhabiting the brick upon death. As of now, I feel fully comprehending and autonomous in my thoughts and feelings, I don’t think anything is missing, so I guess my soul is intact.”

Yin Na walked a few paces until he saw a light…

“Why, that must be Deng Taifan!” The naked Yin Na exclaimed.

Right beside a square table, an old man that was also naked was sitting shuffling Mahjong tiles by himself.

“Well,” said Deng Taifan. “Here comes my scumbag ‘pupil!’ Don’t think you can go beg me for any favors after cursing out your mentor! Who’d have thought you’d actually take my advice and die like the dog you are?”

“Then let’s not waste words,” said Yin Na. “Why else would I die except to talk with Demon Lord Mao?”

“Hmph!” snorted Deng Taifan. “As if I’d let you.”

“Let me guess,” Yin Na said, eyeing the movements of Deng Taifan’s hands over the tiles. “I have to beat you in a game of Mahjong before you’ll let me.”

Deng Taifan snorted: “Ha! As if!”

Yin Na frowned. He was not looking forward to debating or even battling with the will of Deng Taifan.

Deng Taifan: “You’ll have to beat me in a thousand games of Mahjong!”

“...Very well,” said Yin Na.

A short while later…

“I don’t believe it,” said Deng Taifan. “You’ve beaten me one thousand out of one thousand games!”

“Alright,” Yin Na said. “Now that I’ve demonstrated my superiority in Mahjong, it’s time to fulfill your promise.”

Because they have lost their corporeal bodies, they felt no bodily fatigue. The only possible drawback for the soul was mind-numbing boredom, but Yin Na’s personality thrived on continuous risks and victories that rewarded such risks and luck.

Deng Taifan’s spirit disappeared, and all of a sudden, from nearby within the pitch black another square table appeared, where multiple naked souls were seen playing Mahjong.

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Yin Na approached them: “Which one of you is Demon Lord Mao?”

The biggest, most muscular spirit said without looking up from his tiles: “That would be me.”

The representative of Demon Lord Mao was nearly the height of two men. He had short, cropped hair that made his head look like a small rock on top of a mountain of muscle. Even as a mere spirit Demon Lord Mao was sizing up Yin Na.

“I can see that you’ve all become wills, whereas I’m still a complete soul,” said Yin Na. “There’s no hope for rebirth anymore for you guys, but my body is still out there in the outside world, albeit dead. Is there any way I can return to the real world before my time is out and I become a permanent resident of this Brick?”

“Hey junior brat!” Another spirit with a losing hand was shouting at Yin Na by the Mahjong table. “You better address Lord Mao with respect, otherwise-”

“Not really,” said the will of Demon Lord Mao, slightly impressed by Yin Na’s straightforwardness. “You’ve beaten old man Deng at Mahjong, so you reserve the right to guide the next cultivator who finds the treasure and activates the password.”

“Don’t talk rot!” Yin Na snarled. The other spirits, even Demon Lord Mao were startled at Yin Na’s brazenness. “I have no intention to serve as some blind servant to the next cultivator in a thousand years. Besides, how would they be able to unlock the password without anyone telling them?”

Demon Lord Mao’s will was glaring, and grit its teeth in anger.

“You think you have the right to talk to me like that?” said Demon Lord Mao. “As if I’d be inclined to give you any answers with an attitude like that!”

“Let me demonstrate my dominance of Mahjong over you, and you’ll tell me everything you can!” Yin Na said.

“Ha!” Demon Lord Mao laughed. “You think mere Mahjong is enough to subjugate me? The Demon Lord Mao?!”

Yin Na groaned. He had no idea what other tricks or some weird game Demon Lord Mao had in mind for him, and he absolutely was sure that he’d lose in a fight with its will.

Demon Lord Mao: “You’ll have to beat me in ten thousand games of Mahjong for that privilege!”

Yin Na: “...alright then.”

And so they played ten thousand games, without a break. The only time anything changed was when Demon Lord Mao had to stop to explain a few hundred variations of Mahjong that he had learned from over several human eras and epochs.

However, Yin Na won them all.

“Unbelievable,” cursed Demon Lord Mao. “You’re even a better player than Deng Taifan! You must be cheating!”

“My luck and willingness to take risks are simply better than yours,” responded Yin Na. “Now tell me: how can I return to my body before I become one of you losers?”

Yin Na made Deng Taifan and Demon Lord Mao lose face in front of all the other wills. He could talk to them however he wanted without repercussions.

If they still had their bodies, Deng Taifan and Demon Lord Mao would have vomited rivers of blood! But instead, all they could do was pathetically gnash their teeth and acquiescence to Yin Na.

“There were occasions when Deng Taifan’s life was threatened with extreme danger. During these rare times he would use a rare soul transfer technique that I taught him, whereupon becoming unconscious I would be able to take over his body and wield it with my long, almost-forgotten abilities.

“But alas, you said that this Golden Core Cultivator Chen Zixi killed you with a single punch to the brain. There’s really no hope for me to possess your corpse and avenge your death at the hands of your enemies. How can you be sure that your body is even intact? You’ve accumulated much hatred and resentment in your life, how can you be sure that your enemies left you even a body to bury?”

Yin Na’s soul, if its eyes still had the capacity for color, would have turned a darker shade as he said, “I’m not asking for you to temporarily possess my body. I’m asking for a way for me to revive and get out of here.”

The Demon Lord Mao was now a mere spirit, but even though he lost much of his wisdom and intelligence from when his soul was intact many millennia ago, the concept of losing face was still wounding to him. However, Yin Na was so domineering in his Mahjong playstyle that the Demon Lord felt himself utterly suppressed by the soul of Yin Na’s presence!

“I can’t suffer the agony of another Mahjong hand reveal,” was went through the spirit’s mind. “Or getting one of my useful tiles stolen while getting tricked into picking a useless one. I’d better relent now and give him what he wants.

“Okay,” said Demon Lord Mao. “There is a way: through the Door of Uneasy Rebirth.”

“The Door of Uneasy Rebirth?” Yin Na turned intensely attentive. “Now we’re getting somewhere.”

“The Door of Uneasy Rebirth is a dimensional door out of this realm,” explained Demon Lord Mao. “Just walk a hundred paces from here in that direction, and you’ll see a faint light in the darkness.”

Yin Na wanted to laugh. “It was that easy?”

“But,” Demon Lord Mao continued. “The chances of succeeding through this method are almost null. Otherwise, you’d have thought all of us entrapped here would have done the same, before we became spirits. Only a few other fresh souls taken into the Nine Yin Jade Treasure block have attempted the journey through this gate, and none have ever succeeded, as their souls were lost into the ether. There is no way to increase your chances, you simply have to trust your luck blindly.”

“Interesting,” said Yin Na. “Considering how many games I’ve won against both you and Deng Taifan, I would say that my luck is probably sufficient!”

Of course Yin Na was filled with anxiety. He was not stupid! But he was not one to be paralyzed by the fear of uncertainty and low probability.

“Before I leave here,” Yin Na said. “I need to know: is there a way I can summon you instead of Deng Taifan?”

“You speak as if you’d be the first to succeed in rebirth from being imprisoned inside the Nine Yin Jade Treasure block.”

“You haven’t answered my question,” said Yin Na.

“Well, since you’ve beaten Deng Taifan at Mahjong a thousand times, you pretty much can order whoever you want imprisoned here,” said Demon Lord Mao. “That is, if you succeed in getting out and back to your body. Of course, I haven’t ever attempted the perilous trip out, there’s no way for me to further inform you on this endeavor.”

Yin Na pondered the possibilities for a bit.

“I know with certainty that I will not be content as a spirit to guide the next moron who gets his hands on this brick. It has never been documented how death works in our world, I could be simply running from the certainty of death into the uncertainty of the void. At worst, I will go join those few other failed spirits’ company.”

With these words, Yin Na walked towards the Door of Unlikely Rebirth.

As he walked towards the faint gray light, he stopped by the spirit of Deng Taifan.

“Deng Taifan,” Yin Na said. “Tell me this: how long did you know that I killed your grandson?”

“Only the second time after you’ve unlocked the Nine Yin Treasure Jade Block,” said Deng Taifan. “You bastard, if I could still get my hands on you!”

“You’re welcome to another Mahjong game,” said Yin Na.

The spirit of Deng Taifan appeared to tremble a bit, before begrudgingly saying, “I hope your soul ends up lost along the way.”