Chen Shi returned to Heavenly Pool Kingdom once again, taking control of his skeletal body. He could feel that this skeleton's cultivation had improved significantly—the Blood Lake Hell had expanded greatly and now housed many more ghost gods.
The skeleton's physical strength was also astonishing, with all kinds of strange patterns erging on its surface.
Chen Shi could even sense that his skeleton's cultivation had already surpassed that of his original body.
This skeleton, combined with the Blood Lake Hell, had almost reached the Unity realm, maybe even the Three Corpses realm!
"The Blood Lake Sutra's cultivation speed is too fast!"
He couldn't help but marvel. However, the reason the Blood Lake Sutra cultivated so quickly was, first, because Chen Shi's starting point was already high—he was already close to the Unity realm, only prevented from crossing into it by the invasion of evil energy. Second, it was backed by an endless supply of divine blood, with thousands of divine corpses hanging on Boundless Cliff, providing an inexhaustible source.
The third reason was that the Blood Lake Sutra was indeed an extrely tyrannical cultivation technique, seizing others' blood energy for one's own use, essentially plundering their cultivation and turning it into one's own!
"Before long, I'm afraid this body of mine might be able to contend with powerful experts in the Spirit Refining realm or even the Return to Emptiness realm!"
Chen Shi's Primordial Spirit took control of the skeleton, and he could feel his soul continuously strengthening.
The Blood Lake Sutra didn't enhance the Primordial Spirit much—its main effect was strengthening the soul. Now Chen Shi's soul had surpassed three zhang, reaching the level of ten zhang.
His Primordial Spirit's proficiency had naturally risen along with it, to the point where his soul was even beginning to suppress the Primordial Spirit!
If he entered the Unity realm, rging his Dao Field, Primordial Spirit, and physical body, he would beco a ten-zhang tall demonic god!
But so far, Chen Shi still didn't dare step into the Unity realm.
He could clearly sense the evil energy between heaven and earth. If he entered the Unity realm, the trend toward demonic corruption would beco unstoppable!
"How can I avoid becoming demonic?" He sat on his throne, lost in thought.
In recent days, Heavenly Pool Kingdom's capital had seen an influx of many small skeleton ghosts, becoming a peculiar sight in the city.
These small skeleton ghosts posted job notices, and hordes of little yakshas, ox-heads, and horse-face lesser ghosts ca running over in droves. The skeleton ghosts would then take out special paper with drawings of buildings and other structures.
They chattered and discussed with each other, explaining what needed to be built to the little yakshas and other lesser ghosts. The little yakshas would nod seriously, then start working with a clatter, constructing pavilions and towers. After a few days, a Juxian Pavilion had risen from the ground in Heavenly Pool Kingdom's capital.
On the day Juxian Pavilion opened, ghost gods from all the tribes in the capital ca to watch the excitent. The pavilion sold rare goods from the mortal world, such as fine fabrics, mirrors for grooming, incense, head ornants, pendants, and other exquisite items.
These things were completely unseen in Heavenly Pool Kingdom's capital on ordinary days, causing a sensation. Countless ghost tribes crowded into Juxian Pavilion, planning to buy these rare items from the mortal world.
Juxian Pavilion didn't accept incense offerings—it only took underworld-specific items like gloomy flowers and soul-returning lotuses. Of course, gold and silver, those soft and useless discarded tals, were also acceptable.
Juxian Pavilion's business was explosively popular. Everything on sale was snapped up.
In the underworld, spiritual dicines like gloomy flowers and soul-returning lotuses were quite rare, but ghost gods could obtain them much more easily than cultivators. So ghost gods even specially opened up swamps to plant soul-returning lotuses.
Once Juxian Pavilion obtained these spiritual dicines, they imdiately sent them to the mortal world. After being refined by the dicine King Sect into life-prolonging elixirs, they appeared in Juxian Pavilions everywhere, soon to be converted into wealth.
Shao Jing sought out Li Tianqing, saying, "The goods we ship from the mortal world can't keep up with demand. Relying solely on bribing the underworld officers ans too little cargo and too much trouble. I've heard that His Majesty has a magic treasure called the Dark Spring Swimming Dragon Sword, as well as a wooden cart. Perhaps we can use these two treasures to transport goods to the underworld."
Li Tianqing said, "I'll go with you to the mortal world to borrow these treasures."
The two returned to the living world and ca to Huangpo Village. Wu Qingyu, hearing their intention, lent them the wooden cart and the Huagai canopy.
The two consulted Granny Sha's Topographic Map of the mortal and underworld, trying to determine the location of the Dark Mountains in relation to Qianyang Mountain. They arrived in the mountains.
Li Tianqing examined the geography of the two realms, compared the map, and said, "It should be here."
He raised the Huagai canopy. Beneath it, a streak of sword light like a silver fish flashed by—the sword light resembled a winding dark spring, penetrating deep into the underworld.
The two followed the dark spring into the underworld, looked around, and both frowned.
"Wrong, wrong! The location doesn't match!"
They returned to the mortal world. Li Tianqing consulted the Topographic Map again, chose several possible locations, and once more raised the Dark Spring Swimming Dragon Sword. When they entered the underworld, they still couldn't find Heavenly Pool Kingdom.
They switched to a few more places, but each ti they entered the underworld, they never found Heavenly Pool Kingdom.
Li Tianqing said, "Take the sword to the underworld! Raise the sword from the underworld into the mortal world, and then we can determine the exact location of Heavenly Pool Kingdom!"
The two imdiately went to the dicine King Sect, took dicine to simulate death, and brought the sword into the underworld with their Primordial Spirits. They bribed the underworld officers and were escorted to Heavenly Pool Kingdom.
The two attached themselves to their skeletal bodies. Li Tianqing raised the sword, and the sword light split the void. The two flew in and passed through the crack, arriving at the world on the other side. All around them was a vast, boundless expanse filled with ghost gods everywhere.
"Wrong! This is still the underworld!"
Li Tianqing looked around and exclaid in shock, "This should be the underworld of Qianyang Mountain! The underworld... has two layers!"
The two exchanged glances, both seeing the shock in each other's eyes.
The underworld near Qianyang Mountain likely had two layers overlapping. The first layer was the underworld of Western Ox New Continent, while the second layer was the underworld where Heavenly Pool Kingdom was located!
The two layers of the underworld were actually overlapping!
That was why Li Tianqing, no matter how many tis he raised the sword, could never find Heavenly Pool Kingdom.
Parts of these two layers of the underworld intersected spatially, causing ghosts and spirits to mingle.
But many places didn't intersect—they only overlapped, like the Dark Mountains!
The two found Chen Shi and told him about this.
Chen Shi was astonished. He had long noticed sothing unusual about the underworld near Qianyang Mountain—there was no way it could accommodate the Ten Thousand Mountains, with the forr yin-yang opposition between Qianyang and the Dark Mountains. Li Tianqing's discovery made him feel that simple yin-yang opposition couldn't explain this phenonon.
"Perhaps soone can explain this. Co with !"
Chen Shi brought the two to the thunder ape ghost tribe's settlent. Lei Qu, the clan head, listened to their purpose, pondered for a mont, and said, "According to the poems passed down by my tribe, the place we are in is actually the mortal world."
Chen Shi, Li Tianqing, and Shao Jing exchanged glances, utterly confused.
Lei Qu said, "The poems handed down say that when the first life died, the underworld was born. He stood in the underworld watching his loved ones in the mortal world weep from grief, calling out to them, but they couldn't hear his voice. Yin and yang were separated, with no communication between them. When the catastrophe occurred, the two realms rged, making it difficult to distinguish between them."
Li Tianqing asked, "What catastrophe?"
Lei Qu said, "The sun went out, the moon disappeared. That's when the catastrophe began. We ghost tribes chose to survive through silence, struggling to live on in the Dark Mountains."
Li Tianqing frowned, feeling sothing was off.
Shao Jing couldn't help saying, "In our mortal world, the sun sets earlier and earlier every day, and the nights get longer and longer..."
He stopped there, not continuing.
The ghost tribes' sun had gone out, yin and yang had rged into one, leaving no daylight.
Would the sa happen in the mortal world?
Would they also see the fusion of the two realms?
An unease settled in their hearts.
Lei Qu said, "The previous ruler led the clan elders of the Elephant Boat ghost tribe out because they heard about an immortal appearing in the Dark Mountains, supposedly a predecessor of the ghost tribes. He went to search for that immortal to learn about what happened back then, but encountered misfortune."
He gave Chen Shi a deep look and said, "Your Majesty, it seems there is a force in the shadows preventing those who seek the truth. Heavenly Pool Ghost Kingdom has already lost one ruler. There can't be a second ruler who loses his life over this."
Chen Shi thanked him for his concern.
The three took their leave and ca to the streets of the capital.
Chen Shi looked at the various ghost tribes on the streets—perpetually without sunlight, terrifying in appearance, possessing divine power but living miserable lives.
They might have been divine beings before, but now they were no different from ghosts and monsters.
If the sa thing happened in the mortal world, how many people could survive?
Just then, Li Tianqing said doubtfully, "There are Heaven's Listeners here too."
Chen Shi's heart stirred. Several Heaven's Listeners landed on the eaves near them, their ears turned toward them.
"Heaven's Listeners really are everywhere, infiltrating every crack! They used to monitor the previous ruler, and now they're monitoring ..."
Chen Shi stopped mid-thought, thinking to himself, "When the previous ruler died, there were many Heaven's Listeners, all flying toward the palace! That ans what the previous ruler did caught their attention and concern! And the previous ruler was searching for the legendary ghost tribe immortal. That must have been what alerted them! Maybe the previous ruler's death was also related to these Heaven's Listeners."
His eyes flickered.
The previous ruler was extrely powerful, a strong cultivator whose Elephant Boat ghost tribe bloodline had awakened. His strength probably wasn't weaker than the ancestors of the Thirteen Great Clans!
With the addition of many Elephant Boat ghost tribe elders, this force couldn't be underestimated!
The appearance of the ancient immortal was also a matter of great importance!
Then the person in charge of this couldn't be an ordinary Heaven's Listener!
"In Heavenly Pool Kingdom's capital, there's a big fish." Chen Shi withdrew his gaze, thinking to himself.
Li Tianqing suddenly thought of sothing and said, "Little Ten, these Heaven's Listeners..."
Chen Shi shook his head slightly. Li Tianqing understood and didn't continue.
They returned to the palace. Chen Shi stood before the throne room, looking into the distance. He could see Heaven's Listeners rising and falling in the capital—up and down, up and down again. The ghost tribe commoners seed completely accustod to them, paying them no attention.
Shao Jing went off to handle his own affairs. Li Tianqing stayed in the palace, and the two of them observed the patterns of the Heaven's Listeners' movents from in front of the throne room.
For several days in a row, they didn't move.
"Found it!" Li Tianqing spoke first.
His observation was sharper, his mind more ticulous, and he found the Heaven's Listeners' pattern first.
Chen Shi imdiately walked outside, his voice deep and resounding: "Since you've co to my territory, without my permission, leaving won't be so easy!"
In the big-bellied guardian tribe's territory, a little yaksha skillfully carried a bundle on its fork as it walked outward. There were many little yakshas like it, working one day and resting for three. After earning a day's wages, they'd go eat, drink, and have fun until the money ran out, then co back to look for work.
It walked with its head down, about to leave the big-bellied guardian tribe's territory, when a pair of feet appeared before it—feet with no flesh, only toe bones.
"Little yaksha, long ti no see."
A voice sounded above it. "Aren't you supposed to be working in my Primordial Palace? Why did you run here? Oh, right, you also swindled a huge amount of incense money from ! Where's my money?"
The little yaksha shuddered. It looked up and saw Lord Chen, wearing a fur coat and a crown, staring fixedly at it.
The little yaksha stepped back, laughing nervously. "Your Majesty, could it be that you've mistaken this yaksha for another? We little yakshas all look the sa..."
Another voice ca from behind it. "Every little yaksha looks different. Soone with a keen eye can tell them apart."
The little yaksha turned around. Li Tianqing stood behind it, blocking its retreat.
The little yaksha quickly put on a flattering smile. "Your Majesty's money, I didn't dare touch a single coin! I'll give it back to you right now!"
It hurriedly took down its bundle, about to take out the money, when it saw the big-bellied guardian tribe's chieftain appearing not far away. A shadow fell overhead—it looked up to see the thunder ape tribe's chieftain standing among the dark clouds above, guarding the sky.
Besides that, several other ghost tribe chieftains were approaching from different directions.
The little yaksha sighed. It didn't take out the incense money, but smiled instead. "You found out after all."
Its body gradually transford, slowly shifting from a short, ugly little yaksha into a graceful, delicate young girl. Her face was round and fair, with refined features—slender, curved eyebrows, a slight blush on her cheeks, and a hint of seductive charm.
Her clothing differed from Ming Dynasty attire. Over it was a transparent long robe, paper-thin; underneath was a pink dress, slim and form-fitting, fully displaying the allure of her waist.
Chen Shi extended his hand. "Where's my money?"
The young girl lowered her voice and chuckled. "I'm a living person, just like you. Your paper money is useless to , so I really didn't spend it."
She took out many paper bills—the paper money from Chen Shi's Treasure Tree. Back in Immortal Capital, Chen Shi had seen that this little yaksha had worked for him for three years without receiving any money and felt pity, so he had given it most of the paper money from his Treasure Tree.
Who would have thought that a few days later, the little yaksha would take the money and run, disappearing without a trace!
Chen Shi took back the paper money, his tone softening slightly. "Miss, what is your na?"
"Wuyu."
The young girl smiled sweetly. "Wen Wuyu."
Chen Shi nodded slightly to keep his crown from falling off. "Miss Wen, co with ."
Wen Wuyu followed him.
Lei Qu and the other chieftains flanked them closely.
Chen Shi waved his hand, signaling them to withdraw, and walked leisurely. Before he knew it, they had reached the Heavenly Pool beside the capital. The lake's surface was calm, reflecting the shadows of the two.
Chen Shi said, "Miss Wen, isn't Despair Slope supposed to be detached from the world? Then why did it interfere with worldly affairs and kill Heavenly Pool Kingdom's previous ruler?"
Wen Wuyu bent down, gently reaching her slender hand from her sleeve to lightly play with the lake water. She shook her head and said softly, "People from Despair Slope don't easily interfere in the world of n. Lord Xiang Fu didn't die by my arrangent, but at the hands of an immortal."
Chen Shi's heart shook. "An immortal? Is there really an immortal in the Dark Mountains?"
Wen Wuyu smiled but didn't answer.
Chen Shi didn't press further. He sought her guidance instead. "Then when does Despair Slope make a move to intervene?"
"When the world loses its way, when demonic flowers bloom everywhere, on the eve of the True God's world-destroying judgnt, Despair Slope will step in to set things right and prevent the True God from annihilating the world."
Wen Wuyu gazed at the distant lake, her voice faint. "Many people misunderstand Despair Slope, thinking it must be the shadowy hand ruling the mortal world. Even the Thirteen Great Clans think so."
Chen Shi smiled. "But it's not?"
"Of course not."
Wen Wuyu stood up straight, speaking seriously. "The word 'despair' in Despair Slope actually refers to the despair of the True God's world-ending judgnt. It's a struggle before the great despair arrives, a grand undertaking to save the world. To save people from despair and to continue civilization and life—that is Despair Slope's purpose."
Chen Shi couldn't help but feel a surge of respect. "I didn't expect Despair Slope to be such a noble organization! I admire that!"
Wen Wuyu laughed. "Ignorance is not a cri. Our Despair Slope sends Heaven's Listeners to monitor the world, also to prevent demonic nature from accumulating too deeply and causing the True God's judgnt. Unfortunately, the Heaven's Listeners' actions are often misunderstood."
Chen Shi changed the subject. "Since Despair Slope is so noble, then why did it cut off my Innate Dao Embryo?"
Wen Wuyu fell silent.
Chen Shi's footsteps landed on the lake's surface as he walked toward its center, his voice flat. "Make your move. I want to see how powerful my Innate Dao Embryo is."
—Thanks to ICL, Divine Dynasty_Xinuo, zuizhe8888, and Ren Jian De Yi Zi for the four Alliance Leader tips!
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