Chapter 432: Chapter 301: It turns out that the strangeness in the underworld is not much different from the world!
Liu Shishi opened her mouth, at a loss for words. She could only feel that what Xu Yang was doing was not quite right.
“Let’s not waste any time, Shishi. We can talk about it later after we enter the grove,” Xu Yang urged impatiently, pulling Liu Shishi towards a small grove.
Of course.
“Small grove” was just Xu Yang’s term for it.
In reality, this forest was boundless and expansive. The trees inside were all twisted and grotesque in shape, and all of them were withered. Not a single leaf was found on their branches.
The fog inside the forest was a lot denser than on the road outside. Even Xu Yang could hardly see far into the depths of the forest.
He quietly activated his “Heavenly Eye Skill” to inspect his surroundings.
To his surprise, the deeper parts of the forest were filled with roiling Yin energy, hiding who knew how many Yin spirits and malevolent beings.
Particularly striking were several potent auras that either swiftly concealed themselves or erupted with powerful hostility the moment Xu Yang activated his “Heavenly Eye Skill.”
“Well, well!”
Xu Yang couldn’t help exclaiming, “The Underworld Palace is indeed extraordinary… Just within a radius of a hundred li, there are at least three Ghost Kings!”
But on second thoughts, it was actually quite normal.
After all, the majority of souls from the human realm would be cast into the Underworld Palace after their death. After judgment, they would either be thrown into the eighteen layers of hell or reincarnated through the Six Paths of Reincarnation… And a portion of the souls, like old Master Xu Zhiyuan, would do the same.
These souls, upon entering the Underworld Palace, would not receive judgment from the Underworld officials.
Instead, they would escape into the “wildlands”.
These souls had a special name in the Underworld – “wandering ghosts”.
Then, there were also those original inhabitants of the Underworld.
Among them were powerful tribes that established their own cities, while the smaller tribes would form villages, towns, and even clans of their own.
In addition, there was another special type of “existence” that lived in the Underworld’s “wildlands”.
Escapees!
The dungeons of the Underworld held many violent ghosts waiting for their judgment.
Over endless ages, some managed to escape, which was only to be expected.
Upon confirming that there were only five Ghost Kings within a hundred li, Xu Yang said, “Madam, you start cultivating. I’ll guard for you.”
Liu Shishi’s cultivation had been somewhat unstable.
Now that she had entered the Underworld Palace, the Yin energy floating in the air was tens of times denser than in the human realm. She merely took a few breaths and already felt the power in her body stirring restlessly. She immediately sat cross-legged under a large tree.
Rumble!
At the next moment, a swirling gust of Yin energy rose up from Liu Shishi’s body.
“It’s starting!”
Xu Yang took out his Bi Shui Sword and a large iron hammer. Holding the sword in his right hand and the hammer in his left, he began to watch his surroundings vigilantly.
And sure enough.
With Liu Shishi’s breakthrough, the swirling Yin spirits in the vicinity behaved as if they had sniffed out a delicious meal. One after another, ghostly figures began to creep towards Xu Yang’s location.
“Out of my way!”
Xu Yang thrust out his sword, releasing a majestic Great River sword aura that instantly slayed the three violent ghosts leading the charge!
“Ding!”
“Congratulations, you have successfully helped the departed souls transcend and thus earned a reward: +300 merit points.”
“Ding!”
“Congratulations, you have successfully helped the departed souls transcend and thus earned a reward: +300 merit points.”
“Ding!”
“Congratulations, you have successfully helped the departed souls transcend and thus earned a reward: +200 merit points.”
The system notification echoed in his mind.
Earning 800 merit points in an instant didn’t make Xu Yang happy. Instead, he frowned even deeper… because he noticed that after his outbreak just now, the hidden Yin spirits and ghosts had become even more restless.
For a moment, a fierce Yin wind swept through the forest.
Visible to the naked eye, ghostly figures began to fly out from the dense fog, charging towards him.
“Damn it!”
Xu Yang was furious, shouting, “My wife is just having a breakthrough, is there really a need for this?”
“You are all ghosts, why are you tormenting each other?”
While saying these words.
The Bi Shui Sword and the large iron hammer in his hands did not pause for a moment.
He stood in front of Liu Shishi, sweeping with his sword wherever he went. Whether it was an ordinary violent ghost or a red-clothed one, none of them could withstand a single blow.
Any Yin spirit or malevolent being attempting to get close was inevitably beaten off by a smashing hammer blow.
Xu Yang didn’t know any hammer techniques. His strikes seemed haphazard, but his strength was profound… especially when the head of the hammer was haloed with thunder and firelight. Every ghost that came into contact would invariably die instantly!
Behind him.
Liu Shishi, her aura in turmoil, strained to open her eyes.
“Don’t worry about me. Focus on your breakthrough!”
Xu Yang said in a deep voice, “These few ghosts are no match for your husband!”
After a killing spree that took down seventy to eighty ghosts, the remaining ghosts were finally scared off, all of them hovering a hundred meters away in the thick fog, not daring to approach.
“Ding!”
“The ghosts are terrorized, you have gained a reward: +20 merit points, Fire Manipulation Skill +1.”
“Ding…”
A series of “terrorized” system notifications sounded once again.
Xu Yang shifted his gaze towards the faint ghostly figures a hundred meters away, and couldn’t help but think, “Seems like the ghosts in the Underworld aren’t that different from the ghosts in the human world… If you kill aggressively, they will also be scared!”
Since they could be scared.
Then it would be easy to handle.
Xu Yang grinned coldly, saying dismissively, “Just a bunch of dogs, why aren’t you continuing?”
“Humans!”
From the fog, a ghostly figure flew forward.
By look and sound.
It seemed to be a female ghost, with a green face and jagged teeth, rather repulsive to look at.
Drool and fresh blood dripped continuously from the corner of her mouth as she growled, “As a human, you dare to venture into the Underworld… You’re really courting death!”
The aura of this female ghost wasn’t weak. She was close to the level of a Ghost King.
No sooner had her words fallen than a sword light rose from Xu Yang!
Soul Differentiation, Primordial Spirit Sword Control!
Zing!
The sword light was like a swimming dragon, in an instant, crossing a hundred meters and piercing through the head of the female ghost with a splash.
Boom!
The female ghost’s body exploded entirely, turning into a wisp of green smoke that dissipated in the dense fog.
“Ding!”
“Congratulations, you have successfully helped a Yin spirit transition, awarded merit points +500.”
Xu Yang extended his hand, the sword light flew back and hovered above his head. It was the old man’s Thousand-year-old Thunderstruck Peachwood Sword.
“A red dress ghost even dares spout big words in front of me, seeking death!” Xu Yang spoke coldly.
The next moment, another wave of “scared” merit point notifications rang in his ears.
The ghost shadows in the thick fog, seeing Xu Yang’s bravery, were frightened to the core; some of them turned around and fled, while some hid themselves.
Xu Yang no longer paid any attention to these ghost spirits and sat beside Liu Shishi, cross-legged.
Soon.
Half an hour passed.
The chaotic aura from Liu Shishi gradually stabilized and continuously strengthened.
She had successfully made a breakthrough and stepped into a realm above that of the Ghost King!
Her Yin Body had become more solid.
Inside the Yin Body, as though blood were coursing through her veins, she was one step closer to creating real flesh from her body.
Slowly opening her eyes, Liu Shishi stood up and exclaimed, “Husband, I have broken through.”
Xu Yang opened his eyes, laughing, “Congratulations, madam, now you have surpassed the Ghost King, from now on… the husband is still under the protection of madam.”
“Husband, you’re joking again.”
Liu Shishi said: “Even after my breakthrough, I am afraid I am still no match for your strength… Forget it, husband, you rest for a while, I will go drive off these ghost spirits.”
In fact, Liu Shishi didn’t need to do anything.
The Yin Spirits lurking around, sensing Liu Shishi’s breakthrough, had already begun to scatter.
And Liu Shishi, being kind-hearted, didn’t exert any force to chase them away or kill them.
Xu Yang, sitting cross-legged on the ground, shook his head in silence, “Such a pity!”
“What’s a pity?”
Liu Shishi flew back, her face full of confusion.
Xu Yang said: “It’s a pity that those few Ghost Kings… were too calm… they didn’t dare to attack me.”
“Ah?”
Liu Shishi was startled and didn’t understand.
This…
Isn’t it a good thing?
What is there to regret?”
How could she understand Xu Yang’s thoughts?
Killing a Ghost King yielded 1000 points of merit!
Of course.
Killing the Ghost King directly was a waste of resources, it was better to… scare them slowly, that is the right way.”
However, since those Ghost Kings didn’t seek death, Xu Yang couldn’t be bothered to go after them directly, he said: “Madam, let’s go, we need to scare… stop the ghost spirits on the road and tell them the truth that they are already dead, so they won’t make the mistake after entering the Fengdu City.”
He was eager to bring Liu Shishi out of the “small woods”.
…
The road to Fengdu City was wide and long.
The fog was thick on the road.
In the fog, ghost figures were slowly moving forward.
The distances between these ghost figures varied, some were only a few tens of meters apart, even hundreds of meters, and some were even several miles apart.
This scene, although it is not as magnificent as the heyday of the Underworld Palace.
But it was much better than the previous period of 600 years.
In these 600 years, the Yin-Yang Path was severed.
Although there were occasional Yin spirits that could enter the Underworld Palace, the palace was too large.
Fengdu City, Ten Halls of Yama…
These sparse Yin spirits were scattered, and they might not even have ten entering Fengdu City in a year.
Fengdu City.
In front of the tall city gate, a group of heavily armed underworld soldiers were all smiles.
Seeing the Yin spirits entering the city one after another, an old underworld soldier grinned, “After so many years… Our Fengdu City has finally become lively, the more spirits that enter the Underworld Palace, the more the laws of the Underworld will gradually repair and perfect themselves. Eventually, they will return to their heyday.”
But soon.
The number of Yin spirits entering Fengdu City decreased.
The old soldier noticed something wrong. He looked up to the distance, only to see that the fog was thick on the road, and no ghost figures could be seen.
Approximately an hour later, no new Yin spirits had entered the city.
The old soldier questioned, “Strange, strange… why suddenly there are no more ghosts?”
…
At the same time.
A hundred and twenty miles away from Fengdu city.
On the main road.
Xu Yang wielded a large hammer, blocking the center of the road.
There were forty to fifty ghosts gathered on the road.
Most of these ghosts were still in a state of confusion, not knowing they were already dead and still thinking they were dreaming.
A few had already become ghosts and had been lurking in the human world for years. Now that the Yin-Yang Path was reconnected and the Ghost Gate was open, they were able to enter the Underworld Palace.
These kinds of ghosts have one characteristic.
They are more vicious!
After all, these years in the human world, most of the encounters they had were with ordinary people.
One of them, a large black-faced ghost with a bearded ghost, stepped forward to throw a fit upon seeing a “ghost” blocking the road with a hammer, but when he got a clear look at Xu Yang, his eyes lit up. He looked up and down at Xu Yang, licking his lips said-
“What a handsome boy… Boy, play with me, if you can please me, I’ll spare your life.”
…
PS: There will be more after 12 o’clock, recommending a friend’s new book: Those Years as a Corpse Keeper in the Graveyard.