Chapter 345: 204, Eight Extremes Immortal Life [Dragon Pool and Tiger Den], Return to the Underworld (5k7 large Chapter)_3
Inside was the Immortal Mushroom Sect’s most treasured possession: the last of the Netherworld Soil.
"Friend Yin, please guard my physical body. I will be back soon," Xu Xing said to Yin Shou after taking the jade box and thanking him.
When undergoing the Earth Tribulation, the greatest fear is one’s physical body being damaged in the process. Without a physical body, a Ghost Immortal would be trapped in the Netherworld Wasteland, unable to return.
After speaking, Xu Xing gently touched the dark world before him. Instantly, a transparent membrane appeared before him, like the surface of a lake, sending out ripples. As the ripples ceased, Xu Xing arrived in a gray world, slightly different from the Netherworld Wasteland he had observed from the outside. There weren’t as many tombs here. A blood-red crescent moon hung in the Heavenly Vault. Through the moonlight, one could see the lofty mountain range hidden in the darkness in the distance.
My body... it still has a physical form? A special kind of existence... Xu Xing could still sense the Elixir Talisman, the Cave, and the Dantian within his body—three distinct spaces, representing three different cultivation paths.
The reason Approaching Yang Realm Ghost Immortals are used as sacrifices is because their bodies contain Yang Qi. This pure Yang Qi is the key for Ghost Immortals to Return to Yang... I must not expose my Golden Crow Body; the consequences would be unimaginable.
Xu Xing cast a spell to seal the aura of the Cave within his physical body, preventing even the slightest trace of his Golden Crow Body from leaking out. However, just as he finished casting the spell, a coffin abruptly materialized before him.
"Yao Dang, you unfilial disciple! You destroyed my Qiming Sect and then killed me..." The coffin exploded with a BOOM, and the white-haired Cai Qing emerged. His face was ghastly pale, his lips crimson, and his eyes emanated a cold, gloomy light. Shi Yuyan had only destroyed his physical body in Reality. Although he had died in Reality, he was still alive here in the Netherworld Wasteland.
"Die!" Xu Xing’s eyes narrowed slightly; he wasted no more words. The moment Cai Qing appeared, Xu Xing summoned the Flying Immortal Purple Mansion to strike him down. With the Eight Extremes Immortal Life [Cave Spirit (Dragon Pool and Tiger Den)], he could gather White Tiger Qi on his own. Although the gathering process wasn’t fast, and far inferior to directly obtaining White Tiger Demon Saint True Blood, after twelve years, he had still accumulated enough White Tiger Qi to condense a Dao Pill. His reliance for this venture into the Netherworld Wasteland was his own Immortal Path cultivation. It was equivalent to the Fate Determining Realm of a Ghost Immortal. Cai Qing was merely half-step into the Returning to the Netherworld Realm and was killed by Xu Xing in a single clash.
"HEHEHE... It’s been over four hundred years, and your cultivation has reached this stage! However... you can’t kill me..." Cai Qing’s ghostly form re-condensed, his eyes turning blood-red. He spoke while lunging viciously at Xu Xing, like a true vengeful specter!
No wonder the Earth Tribulation is so difficult to pass... Xu Xing activated his Yan Shen Silver Pupil to scrutinize Cai Qing’s ghostly form. He soon discovered a chilling law within it. This law made Cai Qing exist in a state between life and death, allowing him to resurrect after being killed. Cai Qing is just an ordinary vengeful spirit of the Netherworld Wasteland. If he were one of the Undead, I can’t imagine how powerful he would be...
Xu Xing swiftly retreated a hundred paces, evading Cai Qing’s attack. Then, with a wave of his sleeve, he unleashed streams of Xuan Yellow Aura, which transformed into several illusory dragons and tigers. These illusory dragons and tigers coiled around Cai Qing, relentlessly tearing at his ghostly form. A moment later, Cai Qing let out a miserable shriek as his form disintegrated. This time, there was no resurrection.
Indeed, my guess was correct. Laws can only be countered by other laws, Xu Xing thought, glancing at the slightly diminished Dragon and Tiger Daoism Pill in his Dantian. The Xuan Yellow Aura he had just unleashed was none other than his Elixir Qi, which was imbued with a portion of his Dragon and Tiger Dao Principle.
That was the first vengeful spirit. Two more to go, Xu Xing mused, looking around as he waited for the other two to appear. The entity before him was Cai Qing, yet not Cai Qing; merely a soul possessing Cai Qing’s memories.
After a wait of about Three Breaths, Ao Lin’s soul arrived. Xu Xing used the same technique, relying on the consumption of Elixir Qi, to deal with Ao Lin’s soul. Although he could have used Ghost Immortal methods, such as curses, to destroy the soul, it would have wasted too much time and thus wasn’t worth the effort.
A cultivator could only remain in the Netherworld Wasteland for seven days. Once the seven days were up, they had to return, or risk being trapped there forever. If one failed to pass the Earth Tribulation, they could only use a spell to re-enter. However, a cultivator’s second entry into the Netherworld Wasteland was not as simple as the first; it came with a price. Yin Shou had entered the Netherworld Wasteland twice. The second time, he had paid the price of an arm, which served as the offering.
Him? I never thought he’d actually come seeking revenge one day... After dispatching Ao Lin, Xu Xing saw the third vengeful spirit intent on killing him. This vengeful spirit was somewhat unexpected: Emperor Hongchang of the Li Dynasty, who had once been a mere mortal. Emperor Hongchang’s strength was a notch above the previous Cai Qing and Ao Lin, roughly equivalent to the Returning to the Netherworld Realm. However, a Ghost Immortal at the Returning to the Netherworld Realm was hardly a threat to Xu Xing.
It must be because my own power is too great; I bathed in Sun True Fire even at the Approaching Yang Realm. That’s why these three vengeful spirits are so formidable... Xu Xing shook his head. The strength of the three vengeful spirits was not their own, but bestowed by the laws of the Netherworld Wasteland.
With Emperor Hongchang’s demise, the distant mountain range before Xu Xing began to tremble. A wide river slowly unfurled, extending from the gray mist to his very feet. The land beneath him transformed into a riverbank. In the river, countless corpses were piled haphazardly, bobbing and sinking in the current. Some were corroded down to bare bone, while others were dismembered, missing arms and legs. As Xu Xing gazed at these corpses—whether floating face-up or face-down—all their eyes, following the river’s flow, turned to stare fixedly at him. In that same instant, all their faces transformed, becoming identical to Xu Xing’s own.
Simultaneously, an old man wearing a Conical Hat arrived at the bank, poling a paper boat, clearly waiting for Xu Xing to board.
I possess an Earthly Pregnancy Fate, so how could there be a ’corpse’ for me to retrieve? Xu Xing frowned. For a Ghost Immortal, passing the Earth Tribulation meant journeying to the River of Nether to retrieve one’s own ’corpse.’ But he had been born of an ’Earthly Pregnancy’ in this life; he had no such corpse. Although he suspected this ’corpse’ might merely be an illusion, not a literal body to be fished out, he was unsure how to proceed.
Shi Yuyan would not harm me! She instructed me to walk the path of a Ghost Immortal, to come to the Other Shore River in the Netherworld Wasteland and find Emperor Senluo’s legacy, the "Senluo Scripture." She must have considered this step. Let me try first!
After a moment’s hesitation, Xu Xing stepped onto the old man’s paper boat, accepted the fishing hook offered, and began the task of fishing for his ’corpse’.
"One quarter of an hour costs one year of Yangshou," the old man’s voice was low, aged, and difficult to discern.
Yangshou? As Xu Xing cast the fishing line, he looked at the old man. "Sir," he asked, "what is this Yangshou you speak of? Is there some distinction in lifespans?"
The old man shook his head but didn’t answer, simply continuing to pole the boat out into the middle of the river.
"Did you drop this, Sir?" While pulling the fishing rod, Xu Xing flicked his sleeve, and a piece of Netherworld Soil fell out, landing near the old man’s right hand, which was guiding the boat.
The old man’s eyebrows twitched. He nonchalantly pocketed the Netherworld Soil and whispered, "Yangshou refers to the lifespan of the living in the Yang Realm; this also includes the lifespan of Yin Souls. Its counterpart is Yin Life, which is the lifespan of ghosts."
The lifespan of ghosts... Xu Xing was stunned. He hadn’t expected Yangshou to encompass not only the lifespan of a physical body but also that of Yin Souls. In that case, if Cai Qing and the others were truly ’alive’ here, they must be consuming Yin Life. He intuitively felt he was on the verge of uncovering a profound secret of this world. Countless powerful individuals lie dormant in this Netherworld Wasteland. Is it because of Yin Life?
"Sir," Xu Xing began, seeing the old man seemed willing to talk, "I once heard a story that a heartless person can still live. In that case, can a ’corpseless’ person retrieve a body from the River of Nether?" He paused, then added as if to clarify, "When I converted to Ghost Immortal cultivation, my original physical body had long since been incinerated by an enemy."
The old man poled the bamboo pole once more but didn’t reply, deliberately tugging his Conical Hat lower.
"The River of Nether contains the corpses of everyone from the Yang World. As long as you fish diligently enough, you’ll eventually retrieve one..." The old man said this hesitantly, after tucking the three pieces of Netherworld Soil Xu Xing had given him into his sleeve.