"To choose it myself?"
Ye Ling murmured, putting away the Void Key and respectfully bowing to Zi You, "Thank you, Master Zi You."
"No need to thank me... Perhaps you haven't realized it, but your arrival in the Pure White Between and the Real Between is the greatest help to us."
"Ye Ling, remember this... After entering the Real Between, you owe no one, not even good or evil. So, for every decision you make, rely solely on your own heart, understand?"
Ye Ling: "Understood."
"Very good."
Zi You nodded, then beckoned to Xuan Yu, "Xuan Yu, come with me. Stabilizing the Hall of Ten Thousand Realms requires your strength."
"Alright, Auntie. Please allow me a moment to speak with Ye Ling."
Xuan Yu nodded to Zi You, then looked at Ye Ling with a complex expression.
A moment later, Xuan Yu mustered her courage and apologized to Ye Ling, "I'm sorry... I was selfish just now. If you don't want to come back, you don't have to consider us."
With that, Xuan Yu ran towards Zi You without looking back.
Zi You nodded slightly at Ye Ling, then left with Xuan Yu.
Ye Ling watched Zi You and Xuan Yu disappear, still feeling somewhat dazed.
He always felt that Zi You and Xuan Yu were hiding something, and their purpose in sending him to the Real Between was likely not to find good and evil.
However, things had progressed to this point, and he had no option to turn back.
"Fine, let me see... what kind of monstrous flood and beasts lie on the other side of the Real Between!"
Ye Ling took a deep breath and no longer lingered, directly passing through the barrier and entering the Real Between.
His vision distorted, and Ye Ling felt a dizzying sensation, his entire body becoming extremely uncomfortable.
The next moment, Ye Ling appeared in a space composed entirely of words.
Not just this space, Ye Ling found that he himself seemed to have become the two characters "Ye Ling," looking as if he had been decomposed by the Ink Between!
However, it was an extremely simplified version after decomposition by the Ink Between.
"This... is the Real Between?"
Ye Ling scanned his surroundings, his eyes filled with astonishment.
In this place, whether it was the sky or the ground, everything was made of words. In the sky, many characters for "white clouds" floated, and on the ground, characters for "flowers" and "grass" grew.
The size of these characters represented the volume of things.
For instance, the character for "tree" on the ground was hundreds of times larger than those for "flowers" and "grass"!
"Another me!"
At this moment, the voice of the inner demon arrived. Ye Ling looked over and saw the inner demon, also composed of a large number of characters, walking towards him.
Seeing the inner demon now simply as the two characters "inner demon," Ye Ling couldn't help but burst into laughter.
"What's so funny?" the inner demon asked, walking up to Ye Ling. "Aren't you the same as me now? We're all just two characters."
"I just find the scene a bit amusing," Ye Ling smiled at the inner demon. "Speaking of which, although I've become just two characters, my movements haven't been affected. It's as if I'm still a person. What's the principle behind this?"
The inner demon said, "Who knows? This so-called Real Between is entirely composed of words, and we've also become words... Plus, the Void is just the world of a book. Do you think we are characters within a book?"
Ye Ling: "After experiencing so much, no matter how exaggerated the truth is, I can accept it... You still remember why we came here, right?"
"To find good and evil, I know!" the inner demon replied. "But, my other self, this place is all words, my eyes are going to go blind. How are we supposed to find good and evil in this pile of characters?"
"I've already tried. This Real Between is purely two-dimensional. We are currently on a plane, and many of our abilities cannot be used, at least not divine soul exploration."
Ye Ling: "Where there's a will, there's a way. Let's explore the vicinity first. Although this Real Between is made of words, it looks like a complete world. Perhaps there are native beings."
"Alright... Let's act together, so we can look out for each other."
The inner demon had no better ideas at the moment and agreed with Ye Ling, walking forward together.
Soon, they reached a wall constructed from characters for "stone," and in the middle of the "stone" characters, there were the two characters for "wooden door."
"There are so many 'stone' characters here, and also the character for 'door'... Could this be a city?" the inner demon asked Ye Ling, looking at the wall of words ahead.
"It's quite possible," Ye Ling took a deep breath and looked at the inner demon. "Shall we go in and take a look?"
The inner demon hesitated, "Then... shall we go in and see?"
Just as Ye Ling and the inner demon were talking, the "wooden door" suddenly split open, and a large group of "militiamen" and "soldiers" rushed out. They neatly divided into two columns, surrounding Ye Ling and the inner demon.
The next moment, a peculiar creature with the characters for "General" rode on characters for "horse," accompanied by "guards," emerged from the wooden door, looking down at Ye Ling and the inner demon.
"Who are you two?"
The "General" made no sound, but a sentence floated above its head.
Ye Ling and the inner demon exchanged glances upon seeing the words floating above the "General's" head, unsure how to respond.
Do the beings here not communicate through speech?
The inner demon wanted to test it and immediately said, "General, we are travelers from afar, who have accidentally journeyed here, seeking two friends."
However, after the inner demon finished speaking, the "General" showed no reaction.
Seeing this, the inner demon remarked, "It seems they cannot hear our voices... Are they truly two-dimensional beings? What kind of hellish place have we come to?"
At this moment, Ye Ling had a sudden idea. He used his creation power to create characters similar to how the "General" spoke, writing the inner demon's words above his own head.
The "General" seemed to be able to see the words Ye Ling wrote with his creation power. Another sentence floated above its head: "Which country are you from?"
"There's hope!"
Ye Ling was delighted to see that the "General" could communicate with him and immediately wrote with his creation power, "Reporting to the General, we come from the distant Void Country."
"General": "I have never heard of this country."
Ye Ling: "It is merely a remote small country, so it is normal for the General not to have heard of it."
"General": "Indeed... Then please present your passes to prove you are not spies from neighboring countries."
"Passes?"
Ye Ling was taken aback by the "General's" words.
Where would he get any passes?
Seeing Ye Ling's lack of response, the "General" raised its hand, and the surrounding "soldiers" pressed in on Ye Ling and the inner demon.
At this moment, the inner demon had a flash of inspiration and immediately said to Ye Ling, "My other self, try using the words 'passes'!"
Hearing the inner demon's words, Ye Ling could only try his luck and wrote the three characters for "passes" with his creation power, displaying them to the "General."
Upon seeing the "passes" Ye Ling presented, the "General" immediately nodded, "Indeed, you are distinguished guests from afar. Please forgive my rudeness... Soldiers, grant them passage!"
With that, the "General" patted the "horse" beneath it. The "horse" let out a series of "neigh" sounds, carrying the "General" back into the city.
The group of "soldiers" and "militiamen" also followed the "General" away, leaving Ye Ling and the inner demon outside the city.
Seeing that the "General" had indeed led the soldiers away, Ye Ling looked at the three characters for "passes" he had created with his creation power and couldn't help but exclaim, "This actually worked..."
The inner demon grinned at this moment, "My other self... this place seems rather interesting!"