The ghostly energy of Youquan Valley surged relentlessly, transforming into countless fine threads that rushed up the Eighteen Hells Tower. It seemed to be aiding the arrival of a new Hell Lord.
“Return my Hell Lord crown!” Hanlei Zi raged, teleporting down from atop the statue. Just as he was about to strike Yin Ya’s gray cocoon, a terrifying presence suddenly spread behind him.
As if an ancient beast was slowly awakening, gray stones fell from the statue. Its crocodile-like head gradually lifted towards the sky, then opened its massive mouth to release an ear-splitting roar.
“You! Quan!”
The prison spirit’s roar echoed throughout heaven and earth. All humans, demons, and ghosts were stunned, unable to move. They could only watch speechlessly as a spectral river flowed from the Eighteen Hells Tower, originating from Yin Ya’s location. Initially tiny, the river gradually expanded, cascading down the tower like a waterfall and flowing towards an unknown destination.
Ignoring the impending sunrise that would soon leap over the horizon, all ghosts in Youquan Valley emerged. Though many weak spirits disintegrated in the sunlight before reaching the river, countless others crawled out from their tomb-like houses. Like starving people in a drought, they leaped into the flowing stream.
Nan Yan stared at the scene in awe and asked, “Where will they be transported to?”
“It’s not transportation, it’s reincarnation,” Ji Yang replied, his voice distant. “Hell isn’t just a warning for the living to do good deeds. It’s part of the natural order. The dead reincarnate here, and the living’s first life also originates from this place.”
Nan Yan noticed that some ghosts disintegrated before entering the cycle of rebirth. Her expression filled with pity as she remarked, “Compared to ordinary people, few cultivators’ souls can safely return to the cycle of reincarnation.”
“In the end, humans are just one part of this realm. Plants and animals also have spirits, and there’s nothing wrong with reincarnating as a human. How do you know you weren’t a mountain finch in your previous life?” As Ji Yang spoke, he gazed at Nan Yan’s profile, a strange light flickering in his eyes.
Mountain finch?
As Nan Yan looked up questioningly, she saw Ji Yang’s expression change. The tower top beneath their feet began to shake violently.
“What’s happening now?” she asked.
The cultivators who had been battling moments ago lost interest in fighting. They anxiously scanned the seventeenth floor below with their divine sense.
Sure enough, a tremendous boom erupted from within the tower walls. Zhu Sui’s figure flew out first. Since Youquan Valley prohibited Nascent Soul cultivators from entering, he was immediately compressed by the spatial rules. Using all his power, he barely managed to open a spatial rift and temporarily gain a foothold.
Simultaneously, the Youquan Hell Lord’s massive form crawled out of the tower’s cracks like a spider. His bones, originally blood-red, were now releasing wisps of blood mist that surged into Yin Ya’s cocoon above.
“Which little beast dares to steal my ghostly power?!” the Hell Lord roared. Upon seeing Ji Yang, however, he seemed to hesitate before asking, “Is this the body you found for my soul transference and rebirth? Why is it absorbing my ghostly power?!”
The Hell Lord climbed to the top level. His presence, part human and part divine carried an air of taboo that instinctively drove away all cultivators. Some even fell to their knees, unable to rise.
The Hell Lord resembled a deity governing the netherworld in this realm. For him, there was only annihilation, no rebirth. To survive, his only option was soul transference.
Zhu Sui spoke, “Youquan Hell Lord, though I’m bound by the laws here and can only stay for a moment, you’ll certainly die before I do. We’re evenly matched now, so why not join forces to defeat this guardian spirit and prevent him from becoming the new Hell Lord? Once I obtain the Youquan Hell Crown, I’ll find you a body for rebirth. Whatever you want, if it exists in this ghostly place, the human realm will provide it.”
The Hell Lord cackled strangely, “You deceitful humans, I’ve already been fooled once. How could I fall for it again?”
By now, half of the Hell Lord’s bones had lost their blood color. The transparent parts were gradually turning to ash and dissipating in the sunlight, causing him great anxiety.
“Why be so stubborn?” Zhu Sui transmitted telepathically, enduring the spatial pressure. “Dao Tian Shangshi must have arrived outside Youquan Valley by now. This place will soon be under our control anyway…”
As Zhu Sui spoke, his gaze turned to Ji Yang. However, with so many people from the Chen and Si States present, he hesitated to escalate the situation due to Ji Yang’s identity.
The other cultivators had begun to stand up. Upon seeing Zhu Sui, someone hurriedly asked, “Are you a senior from Daosheng Tian? What’s going on here? When can we leave?”
At these words, all cultivators turned hopeful gazes towards Zhu Sui—after all, Daosheng Tian represented justice in the cultivation world. The mass killing of cultivators by ghosts and demons was already a major incident warranting intervention from at least half of the Righteous Law Palace.
Amidst the commotion, only Nan Yan and her companions harbored different concerns.
“Won’t he silence us?” Nan Yan asked.
“He wouldn’t dare. If he reveals the truth, he’d have to silence everyone present. However… the imperial son of Chen State is still here. He can’t possibly kill him too.”
Indeed, with Mu Zhanting and Li Mian present, if anything happened to them and both the Dragon Lord and Prison Demon Marquis discovered that Daosheng Tian’s people were responsible, the situation would escalate dramatically.
A hint of mockery crept into Ji Yang’s voice: “We were fellow disciples after all. I should go tease him a bit.”
As he finished speaking, his pupils gradually turned red, resembling an underworld river flowing in circles around his irises.
The next moment, a collision sounded in the nearby void. Zhu Sui’s expression changed slightly as another terrifying aura emerged from a newly formed spatial rift.
“Huo Wuji!” Zhu Sui’s face darkened.
Li Mian, who had been hiding to the side during the chaos, immediately rushed out. She was then gently grabbed by a hand extending from the rift, pulling her inside. “Uncle Master, you’ve finally arrived!” Li Mian truly relaxed only now, pointing at Ji Yang and saying, “He betrayed our Tianxie Dao, and that woman beside him must be the Dao cultivator who came to overthrow our Si State!”
“Oh?” Huo Wuji’s somber voice emerged from the rift as his divine sense pressed down. “I’ve long suspected your identity and followed you out of concern. I never imagined you’d plot to kill so many cultivators from my Si State! Come back to Tianxie Dao with me!”
Huo Wuji’s fingers closed, unleashing an irresistible pulling force. Just as he was about to grab Ji Yang, Zhu Sui unexpectedly intervened, blocking Huo Wuji.
“Zhu Sui! Tianxie Dao is cleaning the house. Why are you interfering?!” Huo Wuji shouted.
After a moment of silence, Zhu Sui replied, “This youth is Daosheng Tian’s responsibility… you can’t take him!”
Observing the situation, Nan Yan suddenly realized Ji Yang’s intention—he wanted to expose Daosheng Tian’s schemes to the world, forcing those operating in the shadows into the open!
It was a risky move. Ji Yang held too many secrets. If Tianxie Dao took him away, Daosheng Tian’s role in harming the previous emperor would be revealed. If Zhu Sui insisted on taking him, it would inevitably arouse suspicion.
Even if they claimed to be protecting the imperial son of Chen State, why would they desperately try to take away Ji Yang, the main troublemaker? Was Ji Yang their agent, and that’s why they were desperate to protect him?
It was an impossible situation.
Nan Yan felt frustrated on Daosheng Tian’s behalf. Turning her head, she saw Ji Yang lowering his eyes and softly saying, “Uncle Master Zhu, are you hesitating because you want me to fall into the hands of demonic cultivators and have my soul searched?”
With these words, Zhu Sui’s eyes reddened with anger. The surrounding cultivators, shocked, began to shout:
“So this is Daosheng Tian! No wonder our masters say Zi State is full of hypocrites!”
“Senior Huo Wuji! We’re willing to follow you to seek justice for our fallen companions!”
Amidst the curses, Huo Wuji demanded, “Zhu Sui, as an elder of Daosheng Tian, what’s your explanation?!”
Zhu Sui, his chest heaving with anger, had expended much energy fighting the Youquan Hell Lord. Forced to act, he would inevitably be caught between Huo Wuji and the Hell Lord. He could only say bitterly, “Daosheng Tian has stood for a thousand years. How could we collude with ghosts? I’m taking him only to hand him over to the Righteous Law Palace for judgment, nothing more!”
Huo Wuji sneered, “The Righteous Law Palace is just Daosheng Tian’s puppet. If our State’s Prince Li Chi becomes emperor, he won’t go to your Zi State. Wouldn’t it be better to build another Evil Law Palace in Si State? You’re plotting to take our Youquan Valley secret realm today. Are you planning to target Ku Quan Valley in Mao State and Xia Quan Valley in Wei State next? Daosheng Tian, aren’t you afraid the States will discover your true face, unite to attack Zi State and shatter your Xuankong Mountain?!”
This accusation was now laid bare. Even though Zhu Sui insisted Huo Wuji was making baseless claims, it was futile. The cultivators had already formed their judgments.
As Zhu Sui struggled, the silent Youquan Hell Lord’s skeleton suddenly rattled, concentrating all its blood essence into a small blood-red figure.
Everyone thought this figure would attempt to possess Yin Ya, and even Mu Zhanting lunged forward. Unexpectedly, the blood figure turned and, in the blink of an eye, dove into Nan Yan’s back.
“Youquan!”
“Didn’t expect that, did you? I saw how protective you were of this girl! Today, I’ll possess her. Let’s see if you dare kill me, hahaha… Huh?”
The Hell Lord’s surprised voice came from Nan Yan’s back. Quickly, Ji Yang placed his hand on Nan Yan’s back, seeming to gather a force of annihilation in his palm, forcefully pulling the blood figure out of Nan Yan’s body.
Unexpectedly, after being pulled from Nan Yan’s dantian, the Hell Lord struggled and frantically fled.
“What’s wrong with this woman? There’s a bodhi tree growing in her heart that nearly extinguished my ghostly essence…”
Upon escaping, the Hell Lord immediately flashed away, breaking free from Mu Zhanting and diving into the gray cocoon.
“This celestial fox is better. As long as I can possess it successfully… Hey, hey, hey??”
From within the cocoon, the Hell Lord made an even stranger sound than before, but it quickly faded, as if it had been an illusion.
Ji Yang had no time to worry about that. Nan Yan had lost consciousness and fallen into his arms, her chest gradually emanating an unusual Buddhist energy.
Ji Yang’s face darkened as he tried to suppress the Buddhist light from Nan Yan’s heart, but Zhu Sui had already noticed.
“A bodhi tree in the heart? Could it be?!” Zhu Sui’s eyes suddenly blazed with excitement, trembling as he burst out of the spatial rift to grab Nan Yan.
But Huo Wuji had been waiting for this moment. Seeing Zhu Sui move, he struck from the side with a fierce palm attack. Zhu Sui was hit directly, spitting blood.
Despite this, having seen the small bodhi tree slowly forming in the Buddhist light above Nan Yan’s heart, Zhu Sui disregarded everything else and laughed loudly.
“It is the Buddha Bone Zen Heart! After seven hundred years… Haha! Truly impervious to ten thousand ghosts, the Buddha Bone Zen Heart!”
Zhu Sui hesitated no longer, turning to leave Youquan Valley to inform his sect. But as he stepped into the spatial rift, his expression changed, and he retreated several steps.
The void above him suddenly rippled with a different kind of tide. Simultaneously, the bright sky turned blood-red, and a crimson netherworld river poured down from the heavens.
Countless Yin Cursers emerged from the river, revealing their hideous heads…
Everyone was terrified. Even Li Mian fell to the ground, constantly backing away. “How… how can there be so many Yin Cursers? This is enough to destroy the mortal world!!”
Zhu Sui felt his blood almost freeze. Then, an ice-cold voice sounded from behind him.
“Even for this Buddha Bone Zen Heart that teachers have yearned for years… I must say, you won’t be taking this news out of here.”