Those ghosts and spirits were lined up in a dead row, with no expression of joy or sadness on their faces, and they were extremely dull.
The appearance of Meng Po and I only attracted the attention of those ghost officials.
After sensing the yang energy in me, several ghost officials already knew that I was a person from the mortal world, but because Meng Po brought me here, they chose to remain silent.
Soon, we arrived at the junction of the Resurrection Cliff and the Naihe Bridge.
When I was a little far away, I couldn't smell the scent of Meng Po soup, but now that I'm closer, the sour smell of Chinese herbal medicine goes straight into my nose, making me very uncomfortable.
However, the ghosts and souls in the queue took the round-mouthed bowls handed over by the ghost officials and drank up the Meng Po soup in the bowls in big gulps.
There is a layer of shiny membrane under the Naihe Bridge, which glows with a light purple light and looks quite magical.
There were dark lines on the membrane, and those dark lines were like fireflies, flickering, giving people a very confused feeling.
The ghosts and souls that drank Meng Po's soup did not stay on the Cliff of Reincarnation for too long, and flew towards the bottom of the Naihe Bridge.
"Are they going to be reincarnated?"
I asked curiously.
Meng Po nodded and explained, "Yes, they are going to be reincarnated. There is actually a passage under the Naihe Bridge that connects to the world of the living. However, this passage is not a spatial passage, but is related to reincarnation. As long as the soul enters the passage, it will be absorbed into different fetal bodies according to what it did in its previous life, and then it will begin to gestate."
Is this reincarnation? It’s really incredible.
"Let's go, Brother Yang, let's go to the Naihe Bridge."
Naihe Bridge is an ordinary stone bridge with patterns on it. Most of the patterns are auspicious beasts, engraved vividly, and there are dark patterns beside them, which make it have a certain spirituality.
When we stepped onto the Naihe Bridge, the auspicious beasts opened their eyes. The expression in each beast's eyes was different, with anger, surprise, fear, joy, sadness... ...
Anyway, when those auspicious beasts looked at me, I felt a little creepy.
After all, they were pairs of eyes, and I felt like I was being watched.
At the same time, my mind became clearer.
Faintly, I discovered that after stepping onto the Naihe Bridge, the flow of spiritual energy in my body became sluggish, and the little Yuanying above my head slowly emerged and began to practice.
Moreover, as my little Nascent Soul cultivated, the spiritual energy in my body became more and more pure.
Incredible, incredible, it turns out that the Naihe Bridge has such wonderful features.
But Meng Po obviously didn't notice the change in me. When she saw me stop, she asked me, "Little Brother Yang, what's wrong with you?"
I smiled and said, "Nothing, let's go."
The Naihe Bridge is not long, and there is a bottomless abyss underneath. Below the abyss is the reincarnation channel just mentioned.
The further I walked, the stronger the spiritual energy in my body became, and I even had a sense of realization in my heart.
I suddenly felt that no matter whether an ordinary person or a monk, we are all so small, just like a grain of sand or a stone in the universe.
This feeling is very subtle, as if I am getting smaller and smaller, so small that I am undetectable, so small that I seem to have turned into an ion in the air.
Just as I walked down the Naihe Bridge, suddenly, there was a shock in my mind.
Immediately afterwards, more "spirits" surged in from between heaven and earth and quickly penetrated into my body.
Meng Po noticed the changes in me and asked in surprise, "Little Brother Yang, you... you... are you about to have a breakthrough
”
I don’t know what’s going on, but it seems like I’m about to break through.
Seeing my bewildered look, Meng Po asked me again: "So what level of cultivation have you reached now?"
I said, "I have reached the peak of the Nascent Soul Stage."
Meng Po took a breath and said in surprise: "The peak of the Nascent Soul stage, this must have been a powerful cultivator in the ancient times, and the spiritual energy in your body seems to be even more dense. Look, the air around you is fluctuating."
I thought about it and then sent a voice message to the little Yuanying above my head to ask him what was going on.
The little Yuanying was talking to me in a "chirping" voice, and I understood that I was really going to have a breakthrough.
But to break through to the Tribulation Stage, isn't it necessary to feel the "Tao" between heaven and earth? Could it be that I have already felt it? But what is my "Tao"
After thinking about it, my mind became clear and I remembered the feeling when I just stepped onto the Naihe Bridge.
"There are three thousand great ways, many different. Simplify the complex and blend them into the world."
These sixteen words suddenly popped up in my head.
Especially the four words in the middle, "Simplify the complex", shocked me even more.
Could it be that my "Tao" is to simplify things
But I haven’t mastered that kind of Dao yet, nor have I broken through to the Tribulation Crossing Stage.
Now, it's not the right time. I'm in the underworld. If I break through the Tribulation Stage, it will attract thunder. This Naihe Bridge is certainly helpful for breaking through cultivation, but there is a reincarnation channel underneath. If thunder comes down, it will destroy reincarnation.
Wouldn’t the world of the living and the world of the dead be in chaos
I hurriedly told the little Yuanying to stop trying to comprehend.
At the same time, I chanted the Heart Purification Mantra in my mind, controlling the "spirit" to transform into spiritual energy, and blocking the influx of "spirit" in the air.
It wasn't long before my body returned to normal.
"Aren't you going to break through?"
Meng Po's voice came again.
I nodded and said, "Yes, Granny Meng, I have suppressed the opportunity for a breakthrough. Now is not the right time."
Meng Po seemed to know the power of the thunderbolt and said with a smile: "You have mastered the method of absorbing spiritual energy. It is really enviable. Moreover, your cultivation talent is definitely a rare genius. It is incredible that you have already broken through to the Tribulation Stage. Even in the ancient times, there were only a few cultivators who could break through to the Tribulation Stage."
"Meng Granny, you are praised."
After a few polite words, I asked Meng Po to take me to find the golden and silver bridge.
After we crossed the Naihe Bridge, we began to shuttle through the dark stone caves.
Those caves are very damp and cold, but I have a pure yang constitution and am blessed with spiritual energy, so I am not afraid of them.
After wandering around in the cave for a long time, Meng Po suddenly pointed to a bright light ahead and said, "It's over there. We are almost there."
We rushed over there.
What puzzles me is that Meng Po had said before that the Golden and Silver Bridge was above the River Styx. If it was a river, why didn’t I hear the sound of flowing water
I expressed my doubts.
Meng Po smiled and said mysteriously, "You will know when you go there."
Well, she was just keeping me in suspense. But it wasn't far away.
The light gradually brightened.
Then a grayish-white space appeared in front of me.
The space was surrounded by steep stone walls, many of which were covered with patterns. Most of the patterns were drawn with dark patterns and looked very complicated.
On the protruding part of the two stone walls, there appeared a stone bridge with golden and silver light.
The golden light is released by a kind of golden beads embedded on the bridge.
The silver light is the light released by the entire bridge.
The golden and silver lights intersect in the air.
It became a spectacular and magnificent picture.
And under the gold and silver bridge is the River Styx.
What surprised me was that the water of the Styx made no sound because the Styx was not flowing at all.
It was like dead water. But the grayish-white water surface reflected light, turning the space into a grayish-white scene.
At the same time, I noticed that in a place not far from the end of the River Styx, there were some ghost officials in strange clothes working and mining a kind of gray stone.
They held various funerary tools in their hands.
Those tools are similar to axes, hammers, chisels and other things in the human world.
There were also many green baskets placed near their legs and feet.
Seeing me looking over there, Meng Po said, "Those ghost officials were sent here because they did something wrong, were punished, or failed to fulfill their duties. The stones they are mining are unique to the Styx, the Nether Stones. The Nether Stones help the ghost officials in the underworld to practice, so Lord Yama and several Lords of the Underworld still attach great importance to them."
I also noticed that there were indeed some Hades fish living in the River Styx.
Styx is a general term referring to the fish that live in the River Styx.
However, those fish were affected by the underworld energy, and their bodies were relatively cold, belonging to a type of cold fish. Most of those cold fish had long, sharp fins on their bodies, and they did not look as pretty and pleasing as edible fish or ornamental fish.
In fact, I think those Hades fish look very strange, more like monsters.
The water of the River Styx is not flowing, but the surface of the river is constantly emitting streams of underworld energy.
The dark energy I inhaled into my stomach made me feel uncomfortable, but Meng Po looked like she was enjoying it.
It seems that the underworld energy is still effective against the ghost officials in the underworld.
"This Styx is very unusual."
I said in admiration, and asked Meng Po at the same time: "Meng Po, now we have arrived at the Golden and Silver Bridge, where is the secret cave you mentioned? It should be under the Golden and Silver Bridge."
Meng Po nodded and said, "The dark cave is indeed under the Golden and Silver Bridge, but it is not here. It is still some distance away from here. If it were here, wouldn't the ghost officials who are working here be attacked by the strange creatures in the dark cave?"
I think that’s right.
Afterwards, I followed Meng Po and walked across the Gold and Silver Bridge again.
After crossing the Jinyin Bridge, we walked towards a slope.
The slope was very steep, probably about 30 degrees. Of course, this was no problem for Meng Po and me.
After going down the slope, we found a small wooden boat on the surface of the River Styx below the Gold and Silver Bridge.
The boat is not big, it is in the style of an ancient ship, with a small shed and oars on it.
The overall color of the boat is also gray. I guess the wood used to make the boat is different from the wood in the world of the living.
"Brother Yang, since you want to go to that secret cave, I won't follow you. Just get on this boat, paddle, and go west along the Styx. You will be able to see the secret cave in about half an incense stick of time."
"But I remind you that there are often strange creatures around the dark cave. If you want to go in, you must be careful and cautious."
I nodded and said, "Don't worry, Master Mengpo, I will be careful."
Then, spiritual energy surged in my body, and I tapped the stone ground with my toes and jumped onto the boat.
The boat didn't shake at all and just floated there quietly.
Meng Po stared at me, and I picked up the oars and rowed towards the west side of the River Styx.
Very quiet, very weird...
When I paddled the Styx, the water was like a thick grey liquid, without making any sound or ripples, as if there was no force acting on it.
But the boat was indeed moving forward.
(to be continued)
(End of this chapter) (End of this chapter)