The underworld is a peculiar "world."
Without sunlight, the air is shrouded in fog, and an air of deathly silence prevails.
There are no sun, moon, or stars here, and no plants grow.
There are mountains and rivers, but they are much more barren than the large Black Mountain in Chen's hometown. The water in the rivers looks like it has died, there is no movement, and the color of the water is bizarrely black and dense, at first glance, it looks like petroleum. But if you carefully distinguish, you will find that these "water" is much thinner than petroleum. It just looks like that.
Desolate, cool, and lonesome.
A boundless, grey, misty plain that almost makes one feel as if one's heart is about to die.
Chen Yun and Wang Laozhi's spiritual souls emit a faint golden light, illuminating their surroundings within a few feet.
Qingliquan at the front directly entered the underworld with his physical body.
Chen Yun had previously inquired from his master about why it was the physical body that entered.
The answer was: The physical body of Qingliquan was too pure and radiant. If the yang spirit entered the underworld, countless ghosts would evaporate immediately upon being illuminated by the radiant light, thus disappearing without a trace.
Although the place is boundless and vast, Chen Yun and Wang Laozhi's souls almost instantaneously moved miles under the influence of Qingliquan.
Suddenly, a resplendent glow appeared in the grey and dim environment ahead.
A rainbow of colors fills all directions.
Chen Yun still thought he had arrived at the Pei Du Land of the Underworld.
Who would have thought that the next time they shifted, they would see a massive temple dedicated to the Land God in front of them.
The radiant glow emerged and soared from the plaque of the Land God Temple.
Chen Yun squinted and carefully looked, only to find that the plaque read "Tongnan Xishāng Gōu Chéng Liandi Temple".
"Uh..." Chen Yun was a bit dazed and turned his head to ask Brother Wang, "Master, we have moved millions of miles, yet we are still wandering around the Zhongnan Mountain?"
Wang Laozhi explained in a low voice, "The underworld is different from the mortal world. It is an independent realm that encompasses all things in the underworld. It transcends everything, including space and time. Therefore, the ghosts you see in the underworld may not only be from Tang Dynasty or people from past dynasties, but also those from the future. This is the case for all heavens and realms. All things disperse and come to the underworld."
The voice of Zhongliquan, who was walking in front, remained calm and added, "The underworld is different from the yang world. It is an independent world that encompasses all things underworldly. It transcends all things in the world, including space and time. Therefore, the ghosts you see in the underworld may not be limited to those from the Tang Dynasty or previous dynasties. Even future people are included. All things are dispersed and come to the underworld."
Oh!
So there's more than one underworld.
After hearing this, Chen Yun finally understood what the underworld was.
To be precise, the underworld is an independent world that exists outside all realms and transcends both time and space. The so-called land of ghosts is actually a place where numerous deities have opened in the underworld for the cyclic rebirth of all things.
Needless to say, the land of Fengdu itself belongs to the deities of Taoism.
Some people may have some doubts about the Yin Cao Di Fu, as this land of ghosts is well-known and has been linked to Buddhism in many legends.
In fact, the Yin Cao Di Fu is a concept from Taoism, but it was later integrated with Buddhist culture, leading to the confusion of the two.
In Taoism, there are far more than just the Fengdu and Yin Cao Di Fu. There are also four layers of blood lake hells, nine layers of nine ghostly hells, eighteen layers of Tai Shan Di Fu, and thirty-six layers of Queen Qing Di Fu and other places like that.
The Tai Shan Di Fu here is slightly different from the Confucian Tai Shan Di Fu. They belong to different systems of land of ghosts.
As they were talking, two ghostly officials appeared ahead.
They wore black clothing, carried curved blades, and held batons of intimidation.
The one on the left raised a hand to stop them, muttering something that Chen Yun couldn't understand.
Wang Laozhi seemed to know that Chen Yun couldn't understand and deliberately reminded him, "Use your 'spirit' to sense it. They are ghostly officials. The things they say are ghostly language. As the saying goes, 'ghosts speak without end', and ordinary people cannot understand it. Only by sensing with your 'spirit' can you understand the true meaning of what they say."
"Thank you, Master." Chen Yun quickly applied his spirit force to sense it.
Qingliquan was already responding, "I am Qingliquan from the Niningyangdong Propagation Temple on Mount Zhongnan. Today, I wish to send my disciples to the Fengdu Land of the Dead. I hope you can open the convenient gate and allow us to enter the Road to the Yellow Spring."
"It seems that a high priest has come."
"Forgive us for our disrespect, Master. We hope you can forgive us."
The two ghostly officials seemed surprised by Qingliquan's reputation and quickly bowed respectfully, offering greetings.
Qingliquan pointed to the temple and said, "In this way, can we enter the Yellow Spring Road?"
The ghostly official who had spoken first asked, "Do you have any official documents?"
Qingliquan responded expressionlessly, "No."
The ghostly official shook his head and said, "Since it is like this, I cannot let you pass..."
Before the words were finished, a surge of qi emanated from the temple.
Then, an old man with a staff shaped like a dragon head and benevolent eyes appeared. As soon as he arrived, he bowed to Qingliquan, "Master Qingliquan, my subordinates did not recognize your great reputation and were impolite. Please forgive them. I will open the Yellow Spring Road for you right away."
Chen Yun was surprised and thought, "This isn't the Land God of our Xigou City?"
Although he hadn't seen the Land God in person, the appearance of the elderly man in front of him was almost identical to that of the Land God worshipped at Xigou City Temple, so it should be the Land God.
Qingliquan waved his hand, "No trouble, thank you."
Chen Yun didn't expect that the rules were so strict, and even a teacher as famous as Qingliquan, who transcends the heavens and the earth, had to follow them to enter the Fengdu Land of the Dead.
The land god didn't say anything else, turned around, and lightly waved his staff shaped like a dragon head.
The scene before them changed rapidly.
In front of them, a small path like a yellow spring appeared, looking not very long, maybe just tens of meters long.
Qingliquan thanked the land god and, leading his two disciples, entered it with their souls.
Treading on the Yellow Spring Road, Chen Yun couldn't see the sun, moon, or stars above him; he couldn't see the earth and dust below; he couldn't see a sunny path ahead of him; and behind him was empty with nothing in sight. It seemed as if even the land temple had disappeared.
Furthermore, Chen Yun felt the road was very bumpy as he walked on the Yellow Spring Road. On both sides, there were countless ghosts who screamed and howled, reaching out to grab him. Some spoke in flowery language, as if trying to deceive people's minds. Others let out sharp screams that directly pierced people's souls, which were very terrifying.
Chen Yun's willpower was firm, so he naturally wouldn't be deterred by these sights.
Beyond the Yellow Spring Road lies the Ghost Gate of the Fengdu Land of the Dead.
It is said to be under the control of the Eastern Ghost Emperor Shentu and Yulu, two revered deities.
Unfortunately, Chen Yun did not see the two ghost emperors. Master Qingliquan introduced himself, and the ghost soldiers allowed them to pass.
Crossing over many mountains and rivers.
Finally, a grand divine palace appeared before Chen Yun's eyes.
There is a vast mountain range here, with a circumference of thirty thousand miles and a height of twenty-six hundred miles.
Chen Yun learned from Wang Laozhi's mouth that this was Luo Feng Mountain, which included six palaces called Heavenly Halls, each covering one million miles in circumference and two thousand six hundred miles high. They are the residences of the six ghosts and gods.
They have just reached the foot of Luo Feng Mountain.
Suddenly, it seemed that the yamans within the six palaces of the Luo Feng Mountain's celestial realm had some kind of perception, and beams of brilliant light surged upwards.
In an instant, a host of deities appeared before the three of them.
"Ha ha, Zeng Yangzi, I trust you are well."
Zeng Yangzi, why do you have the time to come to my Fengdu Land of the Dead today?
Zeng Yangzi...
The deities were giving Qingliquan respect and greetings in a dense array on the other side.
At first, Chen Yun didn't know the names of these yamans. Fortunately, Wang Laozhi kept explaining on the side.
The Five Ghost Emperors!
The Six Heavenly Realms of Luo Feng!
The Sages of Fengdu!
The sages of Fengdu Land of the Dead, besides the Fengbu Lord, almost all came to welcome them!
This shocked Chen Yun, he knew that his master was famous in the heavens and earth for a long time, but he never thought that his master had such a high status among these gods in the underworld.
Upon careful thought, he felt at ease. His master was a disciple of the Eastern King, and himself a great master in the Taoist alchemical school, who had also cultivated to the Tiango level, only second to the great Luo Immortals. Perhaps his position was not very high in terms of rank, even being an unranked official, but his status was definitely exalted.
Qingliquan was chatting and joking with the multitude of yamans, and even introducing Chen Yun and Wang Laozhi one by one.
Chen Yun and Wang Laozhi kept showing their respects and greetings to the deities.
Suddenly, Qingliquan brought Chen Yun and Wang Laozhi to a divine being who was five feet and four inches tall, with thin eyes and long beard, wearing a red court robe. He glanced at Chen Yun and said, "Chongyong, he is the Grand Tutor of the North Emperor of Fengdu. He once saved your life. Isn't it time to show your gratitude?"
Chen Yun looked anxiously, and it was only then that he realized this deity was Cao Cao.
He hurriedly bent over and bowed, "Piao deeply feels the grace of the Grand Tutor's rescue."
Cao Cao smiled slightly, "Fortunately, there was still a trace of my divine power left in the dilapidated temple that day. Otherwise, even if I had divine powers and authority, I would not have been able to protect you."
This is quite understandable, according to the celestial rules set by the elder Laojun, the divine power of gods to protect ordinary people can only be within a certain range of the shrine.
As for the "no authority" part, to be honest, Chen Yun wasn't quite clear about it, but he still continued to express his thanks repeatedly.
Fortunately, Cao Cao explained a sentence, which made Chen Yun understand the meaning of "no authority".
It turned out that Cao Cao's attack on the witch Lin Feiyun that day was not a coincidence, but rather Qingliquan had been protecting them secretly. As a deity, he could not directly intervene in human affairs, so he entrusted Cao Cao with the task of protecting Chen Yun and Zhang Qian within the range of the shrine.
Deities cannot act arbitrarily, as it would disrupt the balance of celestial rules. Only in some special circumstances can deities manifest their divine presence.
The witch Lin Feiyun had been using dark magic of yin spirits in Cao Cao's temple, which itself violated the taboo.
Therefore, Qingliquan couldn't intervene directly, but Cao Cao could.
Chen Yun was surprised to learn about the details of the situation, and he couldn't help but feel moved. It turned out that his master's care for him was far more than what he had seen.
Qingliquan chatted with the other gods for a while.
At the end, the Eastern Ghost Emperor Yulu extended his hand and said, "Zeng Yangzi, Fengdu Lord has known your arrival for a long time and has been waiting in the palace. Take your two disciples in."
Qingliquan gave a grateful shout and brought Chen Yun and Wang Laozhi into the Fengdu Land of the Dead's palace.
...
Inside the divine palace.
Chen Yun followed his master and senior brother into the hall, finally seeing the Fengdu Lord.
Only in the main hall could one see a middle-aged man sitting on the throne.
The Lord of Fengdu wore a crown on his head, exuding solemnity and authority. Behind him was a twelve-flags headdress.
What kind of divine being is this!
Looking at the eyes of the Fengdu Lord, Chen Yun felt as if he was sinking into them. He had a feeling that everything about him was exposed by those eyes!
Initially, he wasn't sure if it was just an illusion.
However, the next moment, the Fengdu Lord spoke a sentence that was breathtaking and shocking, "Chen Yun, you are not a person of this era. You come from... the future!"
What... what?
The Fengdu Lord just looked at me, and he knew I came from the future?
Chen Yun was completely stunned in place, finding it hard to believe, and his heart suddenly jolted, not knowing what would happen next.
(Chapter complete)
