Ghost Compendium-Chapter 401 - 365: First Emperor and the Stele

As soon as he finished speaking, all the pressure dissipated.

The Black Dragon Army led by Bai Qi forced themselves to rise up from the ground, orderly turning and retreating.

As the last one left closed the door of the hall, Bai Qi’s gaze fixed intensely on Wu Liang’s back.

Once there were no outsiders in the hall, Emperor Shi asked the question Bai Qi most wanted to ask: "Human, you know Bai Qi too, but I reckon it’s not the Bai Qi from our world."

"How exactly did you come here? Was it through that thing?"

With that, Emperor Shi pointed at the stone monument on the table before him.

But Wu Liang didn’t immediately answer his question. Instead, he grinned cheekily and said, "Your Majesty, it may not be fair if you only ask me questions, right? How about this, let’s ask each other. I’ll answer one, and you must answer one too, how’s that?"

These words made Emperor Shi laugh heartily.

He had been in this position for countless years, much like how the Fierce Ghost World didn’t know when the Five Great Venerables came into existence, Emperor Shi couldn’t remember how long he’d been a Venerable.

It was already a forgotten memory buried in the dust of history.

Yet, even so, Emperor Shi had never encountered such an interesting character.

He was actually setting terms with him!

"Hahaha! Fine! I approve! You answer my question first!" Emperor Shi laughed as he spoke to Wu Liang.

"I indeed come from another world, but I didn’t come through this stone monument, though it’s related," Wu Liang craftily answered.

He neither directly exposed the existence of [Ghost Compendium] nor lied to twist the truth.

After all, the stone monument and [Ghost Compendium] have a pretty complex relationship.

This was something Wu Liang had already figured out.

Since the Magic Cube Dragon possesses the pair of eyes from Emperor Shi that can discern truths from falsehoods, it proves that Emperor Shi himself surely has similar means.

In front of him, lies are useless.

The only way is what he’s doing now—telling the truth without revealing everything.

"Hmm... interesting, besides this stone monument, there’s some divine object that can traverse two different worlds?" Emperor Shi mused, gently stroking his long beard.

Then Wu Liang asked, "My turn then, does Your Majesty have some black gel-like substance in your body that substitutes for blood to support your shell, what is it?"

This question was key to Wu Liang’s visit here.

Whether seeking the unsolved mystery of Emperor Shi in the reality world or satisfying his own curiosity.

Wu Liang really wanted to know what that black gel was, and this thing definitely has a mysterious connection with [Ghost Compendium] and the stone monument.

But unexpectedly, upon hearing Wu Liang’s question, Emperor Shi shook his head.

Following that, he asked puzzledly, "Why do you think there’s that kind of black gel in my body? Do you believe there’s something in this world that could change my shell?"

As soon as he finished speaking, a gleam of enlightenment flashed in Emperor Shi’s eyes.

His expression turned playful as he said, "Wait, since you’re curious about this, then you must know someone with so-called black gel inside, and even he doesn’t know what it is?"

"Interesting, what exactly am I like in another world..."

Listening to Emperor Shi’s self-muttering, Wu Liang couldn’t help but step forward and ask: "You know the existence of the reality world?"

However, Emperor Shi didn’t answer the question and just murmured softly after his contemplation, "Now it’s my turn to ask."

Boom—

As soon as he finished speaking, a black dragon rose high behind Emperor Shi.

The dragon soared through the vast hall, its scale taking over almost the entire ceiling, finally fixing its cold eyes on Wu Liang in warning.

In that instant, the puppet on Wu Liang’s shoulder jumped high.

In a flash, it transformed from a palm-sized puppet doll into a hideous, roaring block dragon, mercilessly claiming part of the ceiling occupied by the black dragon.

Emperor Shi glanced at the block dragon created from Puppet Ghost, somewhat surprised.

The aura was remarkably similar to the Magic Cube Dragon but mixed with unfamiliar elements, leaning more towards a human feeling.

It was clear that the ferocious block dragon simulated by Puppet Ghost wasn’t entirely the Magic Cube Dragon.

But rather the dragon shape manifested by Director Long using the awakened ability.

"My next question is—what do you think this world is like?" Emperor Shi asked again, shifting his gaze back to Wu Liang.

But his question was somewhat perplexing.

Mere moments ago, he was curious about Wu Liang’s method of world traversal, and now suddenly he’s asking such philosophical things?

Wu Liang raised his head to look up at Emperor Shi. From his eyes, Wu Liang did not see any mockery; instead, Emperor Shi was intensely serious, even more than when asking about the stone monument.

This caused Wu Liang to delay answering.

Indeed, what kind of world is this?

Fierce ghosts run rampant, the law of the jungle prevails.

Everything respects strength, and combats are all too common, with the dissolution of souls being the most routine of deaths. The wilderness is filled with the wails and prayers of masterless fierce ghosts longing for a home, sometimes even seeking worship from sky-descended beings as though they’re divine.

The various forms of entertainment and twisted concepts evoke physiological discomfort.

A profound sense of discord marked by ignorance, violence, cruelty, and even pathos.

This was the deepest impression the Fierce Ghost World made on Wu Liang.

But in Dragon City, he also encountered Magic Cube Dragon’s loyalty to Emperor Shi; the unyielding commitment of Nightmare No. 2 and the Guard Army to Dragon City; even Zeus’s frustration and anger conveyed genuine emotions.

After contemplating for a complete five minutes, Wu Liang slowly said:

"This is a world full of false contradictions yet undeniably real."

"At first, I thought this world was false, like a replica inside a game console, merely crafted by something akin to a massive computer."

"However, the chaos here instead prompted doubt in me. Such a level of computer couldn’t create such basic errors. This world’s correspondence and contradictions with the reality I encountered precisely prove its existence."

"Thus, I now believe—this is a real world yet one with a significant issue in its developmental direction! An... erroneous world!"

Wu Liang’s voice echoed disruptively within the hall.

Even General Bai Qi standing guard outside the hall heard something, trembling in astonishment.

Addressing one of the Five Great Venerables of the Fierce Ghost World, revered as the custodian of order—Emperor Shi.

This guy dares declare the world chaotic and even erroneous! 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

How does he dare!?

"An erroneous world..." Emperor Shi repeated Wu Liang’s words.

He could naturally discern that Wu Liang’s utterance was heartfelt, undeniably authentic without concealment or fabrication.

Precisely because of this, Wu Liang’s words prompted deeper reflection from Emperor Shi.

A moment later, Emperor Shi gently picked up the stone monument on the table.

He then casually tossed it in Wu Liang’s direction.

Startled, Wu Liang hastily raised his hand to catch the monument.

However, the moment it reached his hand, he realized something was amiss.

"This stone monument... lacks any power!?"

Although the touch and aura felt like that of a divine monument.

This time, Wu Liang did not find any information on it.

Even [Ghost Compendium] didn’t react as before.

It seemed as though it was merely a piece of special stone material in his hand.

"I’ve gained what I wanted to know myself, the next questions are yours to ask, as many as you wish; I’ll respond one by one, this is the reward human like you deserve," Emperor Shi suddenly said emotionally, "Our world is already a failed product; may your world avoid repeating our mistakes."

"!?"