The bank's storefront was modest—no grand signage or flashy decorations. From the outside, it looked no different than a traditional herb shop, much like Anshou Hall across the street.
Only a single weathered, antique signboard hung above the entrance, bearing the words: Tiandi Bank.
Amidst the riot of garish colors and eye-catching shopfronts crowding the street, it appeared almost too plain to notice. If not for the occasional ghost wandering in and out, most would easily miss the entrance altogether.
But anyone who had read Fengdu: A Handbook for New Ghosts knew better. The Tiandi Bank was significant enough to warrant its own dedicated chapter—and it had no competition in the entirety of Fengdu. Why bother with advertisements when your monopoly was absolute?
Despite the unassuming entrance, the inside was anything but ordinary. In truth, each street-level location was merely a gateway to the real bank, which existed elsewhere entirely.
As soon as Song Miaozhu stepped inside, she found herself in a space that felt otherworldly, completely unlike any storefront she had ever seen. She stood upon a floating island paved with shimmering gold bricks, suspended in the void.
According to Sister Xiang Yun, the Tiandi Bank existed in the liminal space between the realms of the living and the dead, governed by its own unique laws. Bathed in the golden glow reflecting off the bricks, Miaozhu's soul form shimmered faintly, tinged with gold.
Before her sprawled a forest of gold ingots, endless and radiant.
Each ingot served as a self-service kiosk.
Some gleamed with bright gold light—vacant. Others dimmed—already in use.
Even though she had read about this place in the Fengdu: A Handbook for New Ghosts, the reality of standing here was breathtaking. Golden bricks underfoot, a vast grove of ingots glinting like stars, and an atmosphere so saturated with wealth it made any gold-loving spirit's heart race.
Most ghosts stored their excess underworld currency here—the kind that wouldn't fit in their ancestral shrines or tombs.
Unlike the convenience of personal ghost vaults, funds stored here couldn't be withdrawn at will.
Then again, the fees were significantly cheaper than those charged by private ghost banks, which were mostly designed to milk ghost merchants dry under the guise of convenience.
Still, Miaozhu had to admit—they were incredibly handy. After soaking in the scenery, she floated toward the nearest glowing gold ingot. Just as she approached, the ingot dimmed—someone beat her to it.
Left with no choice, Miaozhu drifted further through the forest, eventually finding another unoccupied kiosk and entering.
Inside, the interior matched its exterior in extravagance: golden walls, shimmering decor, radiant as the sun. Even as a soul, Miaozhu instinctively squinted from the brightness.
Suddenly, her ghost shop owner's token emerged from within her, and three glowing orbs appeared before her.
—The first orb held a gold ingot silhouette.
—The second displayed a renminbi (RMB) bill.
She recognized these two from The Fengdu: A Handbook for New Ghosts:
—Gold Ingot Orb: For opening an account or depositing/withdrawing hell coins.
—RMB Orb: To boost the wealth luck of living relatives—spend hell coins here to bless them with prosperity.
But the third orb wasn't mentioned in the handbook.
Yet its silhouette was familiar—a low-grade Treasure Bowl, the very item that converted spirit money into real-world currency.
"Maybe this is a privilege reserved for Heaven-tier ghost shops?"
Curious, she touched the third orb.
The other two vanished, and the Treasure Bowl orb split into three, each with its own description:
[Low-Grade Treasure Bowl] (Heaven-Ranked Ghost Shop Exclusive)
Function: Converts hell coins into standard human currency (currently Renminbi).
Exchange Rate: 1 Hell Coin = 2 RMB
Price: 100,000 Hell Coins
Note: Ownership remains even if the shop changes hands.
~
[Mid-Grade Treasure Bowl] (Heaven-Ranked Ghost Shop Exclusive)
Function: Converts RMB into hell coins.
Exchange Rate: 2 RMB = 1 Hell Coin
Price: 1,000,000 Hell Coins
Note: Ownership remains even if the shop changes hands.
~
[High-Grade Treasure Basin] (Heaven-Ranked Ghost Shop Exclusive)
Function: Converts hell coins into rare mortal-world currency—spirit stones.
Exchange Rate:
- 100 coins = 1 Low-Grade Spirit Stone
- 10,000 coins = 1 Mid-Grade Spirit Stone
- 1,000,000 coins = 1 High-Grade Spirit Stone
- 100,000,000 coins = 1 Supreme-Grade Spirit Stone
Price: 10,000,000 Hell Coins
Note: Ownership remains even if the shop changes hands.
~
Song Miaozhu's gaze locked onto the high-grade bowl.
Spirit stones!
Ancient texts described them as cultivators' currency—and more importantly, they were packed with dense spiritual energy, perfect for direct absorption during cultivation.
She had been frustrated by the scarcity of spiritual energy in her town, barely enough to gather before it vanished.
But now, it was as if the heavens had handed her a pillow just as she grew sleepy.
She quickly checked her ghost shop vault:
Total 8,635,421 hell coins.
Not enough for the high-grade bowl—but at her shop's current earnings rate, she'd have 10 million in six or seven days.
But she couldn't wait. So, she purchased the Mid-Grade Treasure Bowl for 1,000,000 coins.
She'd need it eventually anyway—and with it, she could transfer funds from the human realm to help purchase the High-Grade one faster.
Her Wealth Vault account had 7,150,000+ RMB, with 1,000,000 reserved for her ancestral home's renovation payment in three days.
No matter. She transferred five million yuan to the Mid-Grade Bowl. In return, 2.5 million hell coins materialized in the bowl.
Now her mortal account held just 2.15 million yuan, but her ghost balance had climbed to 10.13 million—more than enough to buy the High-Grade Treasure Bowl with funds to spare.
She bought it instantly.
Her ghost account now had only 135,000 coins left.
But she didn't care. She dumped 11,000 hell coins into the high-grade bowl, converting it into:
—1 mid-grade spirit stone.
—10 low-grade spirit stones.
Since the mortal world had no "spirit stone accounts," the transaction wasn't digital. They simply materialized in the bowl—eleven luminous crystals.
One stone glowed more brilliantly than the rest, its aura denser and richer.
Despite the chaotic yin energy of the underworld, the stones' spiritual energy remained stable, not dissipating at all. Miaozhu picked them up one by one, carefully examining their shimmer.
"Even the color of spirit stones has changed in this spiritual revival?"
Ancient records mentioned that spirit stones varied—metal, wood, earth, etc.—each aligned with different cultivation affinities.
Cultivators could only use stones that matched their spiritual roots and techniques.