Eden of the 108 Yokai

As they journeyed, they encountered many puppet celestial soldiers. These beings could sense the waist tokens worn by the three of them, usually ignoring them entirely. They only intervened when the trio attempted to enter certain palaces, though they did not launch direct attacks.

Luo Yu and his companions wandered around the vicinity and discovered three or five cultivators' remains, both male and female, mostly preserved in a meditative posture. Regrettably, apart from a small amount of celestial stones, medicinal pills, and personal items, their storage artifacts contained no vast treasures or cultivation techniques; their net worth was far inferior to that of the senior from the Green Dust Residence.

"The magical treasures on these bodies aren't even as good as those carried by the gate guards outside. How strange," Luo Yu muttered.

Qin Yue said calmly, "In the Heavenly Court, one cannot always have their way. These individuals were likely of low status; since they pledged themselves to the Heavenly Court, they were inevitably subject to strict control. It stands to reason that the guards responsible for the court's safety would have better equipment."

Luo Li looked around and asked, "Where are the treasure vaults and the spirit gardens?"

Luo Yu pondered for a moment and said, "There are puppets everywhere, making it too troublesome to move about. We must find a way to obtain higher-level access... Let's explore everywhere we can and see if we can secure a higher-grade waist token."

The three searched aimlessly. Although they could not enter the restricted areas, the scenery along the way was incredibly luxurious: the floors were inlaid with seven-colored gems depicting the sun, moon, stars, landscapes, mythical beasts, flowers, insects, fish, and various objects.

Luo Yu studied the floor for a while, identifying the green as malachite and imperial jade, the red as blood jade and chicken-blood stone, and the yellow as topaz, yellow jade, or Shoushan stone; there were also purple, blue, pink, and peach hues... It was a veritable world gem exhibition. Here, there was no distinction between high and low value; the only criteria for selection were color and texture.

These paths were rich and harmonious in color, some magnificent and solemn, others fresh and exquisite—truly a sight to behold.

"Let Mommy and the others come see this too!" Luo Li exclaimed.

Luo Yu thought it over: although there were many traps underfoot, there was no danger as long as they didn't force their way in. Their waist tokens were sufficient, and as long as they didn't wander off, sightseeing along the path should be feasible. He nodded, took out a teleportation array, activated it, and went home to pick them up.

The old man was originally tending the shop when he received the call about visiting the Heavenly Court. Without a word, he shooed away his customers, slammed the door shut, and rushed home in a frenzy.

The family happily prepared snacks, drinks, cameras, and even picnic blankets, setting off toward the teleportation array in high spirits.

As soon as Luo Chu stepped out of the teleportation array, his eyes lit up: clouds and mist swirled all around, while the white, warm spirit-jade ground extended in silk-like patterns. On both sides, magnificent golden palaces shone brightly; the sky was a clear, brilliant blue like nothing they had ever seen, and even the sunlight felt exceptionally bright. Every breath was incredibly fresh, and with every step, clouds and smoke flowed around them—it truly lived up to the name of a nine-heaven celestial realm.

"Oh! Great Cain! Is this the Eastern Heaven?"

"Sparkling!" Luo Ling jumped off Kunlun Lan’s back on his short legs, crawling on the ground and giggling incessantly. Father Chu ran over and scooped him up: "You can't run around." Luo Ling nodded: "I'll be good and stay put."

The old man used a magnifying glass to carefully observe the floor, nodding and shaking his head: "Beautiful, beautiful... It's just too extravagant."

The vampire waved his claws, continuously scratching at a wall: "Heavens, it's so sturdy! I should refine my nails more." Ever since he obtained the Poison Luo True Fire, he had been following Qin Yue and Luo Yu, burning his claws with the flame all day, tempering them to be even sharper than magical treasures.

Luo Yu said, "Remember, don't wander off. Don't provoke those golden-armored warriors; stay far away from them... You can go look at the edge of the platform; the ground there is beautiful, and you can even see auroras! Leave the teleportation array on; if you want to go back, just go yourselves."

The old man didn't even look up: "Go on, go on, you busybodies. Oh, how I wish Old Li and the others could see this, tsk tsk!" Father Chu frowned and muttered to himself: "Can this even be considered a masterpiece left behind by humans? Works created by non-humans cannot be measured by the same standards as human works, though one cannot deny its artistic value..."

Luo Yu stared in exasperation at these two distracted individuals and had to turn to the vampire: "You must keep an eye on them..."

The vampire said, "Don't worry, baby. There is nothing more important than Daddy's safety."

Luo Yu nodded. Although the vampire was usually unreliable, he always handled serious matters properly, making him quite trustworthy.

And so, the three siblings continued their exploration with peace of mind.

They spent three or four days wandering through the palace complex. Aside from picking up a few beast corpses and the relics left by cultivators' remains, they had no other major discoveries.

On this day, after the trio entered the barrier of a palace, they all stopped in their tracks: in the square outside this palace, a group of small animals was frolicking... rabbits, deer, cranes, and the like, along with a group of bare-bottomed, unidentified creatures rolling around on the ground, playing happily.

Luo Li was so shocked by the sight that her mouth hung open. She then jumped up and tried to cover Luo Yu's eyes, shouting: "Don't look! Don't look! It's too evil!"

The bare-bottomed group included both males and females, the older ones looking fifteen or sixteen, and the younger ones only seven or eight. Hearing Luo Li's voice, they turned to look at the three, their large eyes blinking innocently and purely.

Qin Yue’s face darkened. His gaze swept over the young girls in the group, and with a swift movement, he completed the action Luo Li had started, saying with a wooden face: "What kind of hellish place is this!"

Luo Yu was incredibly frustrated, struggling to pull away the hand on his face and shouting: "Hey, what are you doing! If you can look, why can't I!"

Qin Yue said, "Your cultivation is low and your heart is not yet firm; it is easy to be misled."

Luo Yu flushed and struggled: "Let... let go! This master is already half-dazzled; can't you see that everything else is just vanity?"

Luo Li said sternly, "There are underage girls in there! Do not look at what is improper!"

Luo Yu was deeply dissatisfied: "Why aren't you covering Qin Yue's eyes too!!!!"

Luo Li blinked and said helplessly: "He's too tall... I can't reach."

Luo Yu: "..."

As the siblings bickered, the group of creatures found it quite amusing and came over, laughing and chattering, to watch them.

Luo Li looked at them carefully and said happily: "They're all monsters!"

Qin Yue said with a wooden face: "They are likely descendants of pets raised by the Heavenly Court. The spiritual energy here is abundant, so gaining intelligence and taking human form is not difficult."

Luo Li reached out to hug a small sika deer that was sniffing her, stroking its fur. The other monster cultivators nearby saw this and also approached to show their affection. A youth with horns on his head even took out a fragrant spirit fruit and offered it to her with an expectant look.

Luo Li didn't care if there was any hidden meaning behind his actions and swallowed it without hesitation. The youth beamed with joy, making unintelligible sounds that were part deer-call and part ancient language: "Yoo-shi~~, yoo-shi!"

Luo Li asked curiously: "Can you speak? If you can speak... do you understand language?"

The youth was stunned for a long time before mumbling: "Language... after taking form, one can speak."

At this point, Luo Yu finally broke free from Qin Yue’s grip and, with a sly look in his eyes, surveyed the monster cultivators, joining the exchange with great interest.

With his involvement, the large group of onlookers joined in as well. After some difficult communication, they finally pieced together the origins of these monster cultivators.

Just as Qin Yue had suspected, this palace was called the "Cloud-Entwined Palace," the imperial garden of the Heavenly Court. The ancestors of these monsters were the pets kept there to beautify the scenery and provide amusement.

When the Heavenly Court met its disaster, some of their ancestors had already gained intelligence; they could understand speech and remembered things clearly even after taking human form. Later, when the masters of the Heavenly Court perished, these pets survived unscathed and had thrived here for generations. They did not understand cultivation and could not build a foundation, living at most for a hundred years or so, with their cultivation stuck at the Qi Refining stage. No one had entered for thousands of years, and they were unable to leave. Knowing nothing of the world outside the palace, they spent their days eating, drinking, sleeping, and reproducing—a monster version of the Garden of Eden.

After grasping this information, Luo Yu developed a keen interest in the Cloud-Entwined Palace: were there celestial flowers and herbs inside? As long as the grade was high enough, even ornamental ones would do! Since these monsters could come out, it was clear there were no puppet guards inside, meaning they should be able to enter!

Luo Yu cautiously asked the monsters if there was any danger inside. The monsters looked curious and asked: "What is danger? What does it look like? Is it edible?"

Luo Yu’s courage surged, and he pulled Qin Yue and Luo Li inside.

After entering the Cloud-Entwined Palace and turning past the screen wall, a wide water terrace appeared before them. Before their eyes lay clear lake water, misty and vast, covered with lotus leaves. Exquisite spirit lotuses exuded fragrance, appearing and disappearing within the clouds. A jade bridge spanned the middle of the lake, curving like a rainbow toward the shore. In the distance, green mountains and trees were faintly visible, though not clearly.

Luo Yu and Luo Li were eager to move forward when they suddenly heard Qin Yue say: "Wait!"

Luo Yu turned back: "What is it?"

Qin Yue said: "Look at this."

Luo Yu looked in the direction Qin Yue pointed and saw two golden-armored puppets lying on the terrace. They had been hidden in the clouds, and he hadn't noticed them at all. Why were these two puppets lying here? Did they need to sleep?

While Luo Yu was still confused, Luo Li and Qin Yue had already approached them, and Luo Li announced the truth: "They're broken!"

"Eh?" Luo Yu went over to look: one puppet looked relatively intact but was covered in sharp scratches; the other had a large hole directly in its dantian.

"What happened here? Someone destroyed them!" Luo Yu was terrified: the sturdiness of these creatures was evident to all—what could be so powerful!

Qin Yue said in a deep voice: "I fear someone else has been here."

The three inspected the two puppets again. Luo Yu said: "This dantian area must be where the celestial stones were placed or where the spirit-gathering array was engraved. That one might just be out of spiritual energy and not actually broken."

Qin Yue said: "The craftsmanship of these puppets is truly exquisite; we can take them back to study." He packed the two puppets away and added: "Whoever broke these puppets... I wonder if they are still here. There may be danger inside."

Luo Yu and Luo Li exchanged glances, troubled: "Right now, anyone above the Nascent Soul stage can't survive here. Perhaps they were destroyed thousands of years ago? They might have died a long time ago..."

Luo Li added: "Exactly! And they said there was no danger inside... Look, there are monsters in front!" She pointed to the jade bridge, where two creatures were indeed sitting and playing in the water, their fish tails splashing the lake and creating a faint, rhythmic sound.

Qin Yue pondered for a moment and found this reasonable: "Remember to be careful."

Luo Yu and Luo Li nodded obediently.