Waking amidst a wave of warmth, Guo Jun opened his eyes to see his deceased parents, wife, and daughter looking at him with worried expressions. Upon seeing him stir, they broke into joyous smiles.
"Thank goodness, thank goodness, you're finally awake!"
"The Nine Yang Evil Dispelling Potion actually worked. You scared us half to death. Luckily, the Ding Group's potion hall heard our urgent plea and opened a green channel for us."
"Yes, all thanks to the Ding Group!"
The joy of those around him did not reach Guo Jun, who had just woken up. He suspected he, a ghost tamer, had suffered a backlash from a specter, and that the apparitions before him were illusions designed to shatter his will and destroy his soul.
Thus, in the next moment, he intended to use his most potent soul spike to obliterate the illusory scene.
However, he failed. He discovered his soul was devoid of any power, and no yin energy coursed through his body. Instead, a peculiar energy, entirely different from yin energy, filled him. This energy not only caused no harm to his physical body but also nourished it immensely, bringing him a warmth he hadn't felt in decades of suffering from the cold, shadowy embrace of yin energy and specters.
It was a warmth he never wanted to lose once he felt it.
"What... what is happening? Is this not an illusion? But... but how is that possible?"
Guo Jun found it difficult to comprehend his current predicament.
"The doctor said your brain wasn't injured. Why are you still so dazed? Have you forgotten? Last night, a horde of specters swept through. The Pure Yang Guard was held back by another group of specters and couldn't arrive in time. Then, everyone in our community who had cultivated Pure Yang True Essence bravely stood at the edge of the residential area to resist the specters. You were one of them. Thankfully, you managed to hold back that group of specters until the Pure Yang Guards arrived to vanquish them, preventing the specters from breaching our community. Otherwise, countless lives would have been lost! Did you really injure your brain? Should I call the doctor again or perhaps you should go to the hospital for a check-up?"
After recounting the events leading up to Guo Jun's serious injury, her son still appeared bewildered. His mother, Zhu Juan, immediately felt something was amiss, worrying that her son's injury was worse than she thought and perhaps affected his brain. While various potions were effective these days, few could treat brain injuries. An injury like that would be dire.
At this moment, Guo Jun's mind was a jumble. He couldn't, or rather, hadn't the capacity to, stop his mother from seeking a doctor. He remained stunned.
Because the events his mother described, he had a recollection of.
They were memories he would never forget in his lifetime. He vaguely recalled that it was thirteen years ago, in his understanding, in his memory, thirteen years ago. That year, there was no such thing as the Pure Yang Guard, no Pure Yang True Essence or martial arts cultivation, and certainly no various potions.
On that day, their community was indeed attacked and invaded by a horde of specters. Many men and women did step forward, attempting to resist them outside the community. However, they were utterly incapable of fighting the specters. From the outset, they suffered heavy casualties. He himself had fallen unconscious the moment he was exposed to the specter's invasion. When he finally awoke, not only had he undergone a transformation due to the specter's invasion, but his parents, wife, and daughter had all been killed by the specters that attacked the community that night.
Driven by extreme despair and hatred, he eventually survived the specter and yin energy's erosion. Though he became neither fully human nor specter, he did gain some power over specters and became a ghost tamer. In his memory, the only way to gain the ability to fight specters was to become a ghost tamer.
That is, to be eroded by specters and yet maintain sanity amidst the spectral transformation of body and soul. Such beings were collectively known as ghost tamers, and they could enhance their abilities by eliminating and devouring specters. However, they could neither be considered human nor specter. Furthermore, every time they devoured a specter to improve their abilities, it was a life-or-death crisis. If they succeeded, all would be well, and their abilities would grow. Failures either vanished into thin air or lost their sanity, becoming new specters.
To prevent becoming new specters, all ghost tamers who joined the official organization would enter specially prepared breakthrough chambers when attempting to advance. These chambers contained equipment to stabilize their minds and maintain clarity during breakthroughs. If a breakthrough failed, the chambers would immediately unleash a thunderous strike to eliminate them. Generally speaking, most ghost tamers were sustained by hatred.
Guo Jun clearly remembered that he was supposed to break through in the breakthrough chamber and had seemingly failed, entering a state of backlash from the failed breakthrough. Yet, everything he was experiencing now seemed entirely unrelated to the description of a failed breakthrough in his memory. By all rights, he should have been executed by the thunderous strike. Even if what he perceived was a life-flash, it was proceeding far too slowly.
While he remained silent, struggling with his thoughts, his mother had once again summoned the doctor. The doctor then infused some of his Pure Yang True Essence into Guo Jun's body. After a more thorough examination, stimulated by the burning yet warm Pure Yang True Essence, Guo Jun finally became somewhat clearer. He carefully sensed his internal state and realized he might not be dead; he might have entered a parallel world.
With this realization, he was no longer exhibiting any signs of a brain issue. The doctor concluded that he might have been stimulated by his first encounter with a life-or-death crisis, causing temporary disorientation, and advised him to rest. The doctor then hurried off to treat other injured individuals. Guo Jun, no longer bewildered, clearly stated his desire to go home. He had recovered. On the way home, he walked happily, his left arm around his wife, his left hand holding his daughter's, his right arm around his father, and his right hand holding his mother's. His parents, wife, and daughter merely assumed he was clinging to them out of affection after his near-death experience, fearing they might part ways, so they didn't find it strange. They only thought about how hard he had worked and how frightening the experience had been.
After returning home and spending several days online, Guo Jun finally understood why this suspected parallel world differed so greatly from the world of specter resurgence he had experienced in his previous life. The core reason was the Ding Group. All the changes stemmed from the Ding Group. It was because of the Ding Group that阳属性灵植 (yang-attribute spiritual plants) appeared, bringing everyone a glimmer of hope and possibility to confront specters and demons directly.
He didn't know where the core figure of the Ding Group, Ding Yun, had emerged from, nor did he want to. He had no intention of delving into it, as he felt his current life was a million times happier than his past one. The people he loved and who loved him were alive. His parents were still here, his wife and daughter were still here. This was a happiness he hadn't dared to dream of in his past years.
Whether he had arrived in a parallel world or been reborn, whether Ding Yun was a reborn, a轮回者 (reincarnator), a task-taker, or something else entirely, what did it matter? He had no grand ambitions or desires. Peace and well-being in the present, with his loved ones by his side, was more than enough.