The vast waters of the Jiutou River are emitting a cloud of white mist in this late autumn and early winter season.
In winter, the sun rises relatively late, and there is only a faint light rising from the end of the horizon, climbing up quietly, as if it dare not disturb the silent night on the land of the 19 continents.
Without the nine-headed bird, Jiutou River seems no different from it was more than 600 years ago.
It originates silently and stubbornly from nine places, from the heights of the snowy area and from the top of the mountains on Yashan, and gradually converges.
It flows through the three regions of north, south and center like an open fan. Countless rivers together with it form a giant net that covers the vast 19 continents.
The thousands of tombs on Yashan Mountain are quietly lying on the river bank, sleeping in the overgrown night.
It flowed past, passed through countless river bends, went around a big bend, and finally gradually approached the largest plain in the entire Central Region and the eleven most majestic peaks on the plain.
Those are the eleven peaks of Kunwu.
The golden sunlight finally burst out from the night, illuminating the sky as well as the great palace of the heavens high above.
The semicircular steps leading up one step at a time still carry a feeling of desolation.
The sunlight stopped on the last step and did not go up any further.
The top platform was shrouded in shadow, but there was a faint stream of light passing by.
It was a broken Chengtian jade teacup. The tea brewed in it could brighten the mind of a cultivator, making him feel relaxed and at peace.
But at this moment, there were only white fragments on the ground, which looked particularly shocking in this hall of the heavens.
There were ten chairs placed on both sides of the platform, but no one was sitting on the highest chair.
Zhenren Hengxu was standing in front of him, his body frozen like a sculpture, motionless and silent.
The ten elders below, no matter they were gray-haired or handsome as teenagers, all remained silent.
This deathly silence has lasted from the second half of yesterday night until this moment.
When they were summoned by Zhenren Hengxu, they had already seen the teacup fallen to the ground.
Zhenren Hengxu, the chief of Kunwu, and the leader of the Left Three Thousand.
He has transcended the stage of self-examination and even experienced a long period of worldly enlightenment. Now he is already a powerful cultivator who has reached the seventh level of returning to the void realm and has long passed the time when his emotions were fluctuating.
Now, there are still things that can disturb him or even make him angry.
Since they came in, no one had said a word, nor did they dare to say a word. They just sat like this for most of the night, until the sun rose.
Perhaps it was the sunlight coming in from outside, the bright world that suddenly entered the eyes of Zhenren Hengxu, and made him slowly come back to his senses.
He had been standing motionless like a sculpture, but his bright eyes suddenly moved.
I looked up, saw the floating clouds outside, and also saw the square bathed in white light.
Zhenren Hengxu slowly asked, "How are you doing recently?"
Here we come!
They are all elders of a sect, and any one of them is a well-known figure in the cultivation world.
But at this moment, none of them could hold back the shock from the bottom of their hearts and shook violently.
An elder in a snow-white Taoist robe stood up. There were not many wrinkles on his face, but his hair and beard were completely white.
He is one of the ten great elders of Kunwu, Yan Cheng. When he was young, he traveled through the Nineteen Continents and became famous for his "Goose Tail Sword". More than three hundred years ago, he broke through the Out-of-Body Realm and became an elder of Kunwu.
Although he is not young anymore, Yan Cheng still looks as cool and handsome as he did in the past.
He bowed to Master Hengxu and said cautiously, "Reporting to the First Master, six hours ago, the three nephews Zhao Zhuo, Wu Duan, and Wang Que had already forcefully explored the hidden world, but still could not find any trace of nephew Xie. I'm afraid..."
There is no need to say the rest.
The people who were doing this had been experienced for hundreds of years, and they felt a chill in their hearts when they heard this.
What has happened in the past two days has simply exceeded everyone's imagination.
No one could believe that an ordinary trial in the hidden world of Qingfeng Temple would eventually lead to such a tragic result.
On the evening of the day before yesterday, a disciple of Kunwu went to clean the back hall where the life tablets of the disciples and elders were kept as usual. Who would have thought that he would find that one of the life tablets of the true disciples was broken!
The disciple was so frightened at the time that he ran to report to several elders.
Several elders were also frightened. They quickly blocked the news and went to the back hall to check.
This sight frightened them so much that they dared not speak a word.
The broken life plate did not belong to anyone else, but to Xie Buchen, Kunwu's most proud and talented disciple in the past hundred years and the most valued disciple by Zhenren Hengxu!
It was like a thunderbolt dropped from the sky, leaving everyone disoriented.
They hurriedly sent a message to Master Hengxu who was outside, but Master Hengxu did not respond at that time. It was not until yesterday morning that he appeared in front of Kunwu Mountain, covered in dust.
Anyone in the know could guess that something horrible might have happened during Qingfeng Temple's trip to the hidden world.
Of course, there were also elders who were familiar with Master Hengxu, and they even smelled an unusual scent on the face of Master Hengxu who had finally returned.
This feeling is difficult to describe to outsiders, but at this moment it is spreading throughout the entire Hall of the Heavens.
Among the true disciples, the eldest disciple Zhao Zhuo, the third disciple Wu Duan, and the fourth disciple Wang Que are almost all the best among men.
After Zhenren Hengxu came back, he sent these three people out directly to find out the news about Xie Buchen.
If the life card is broken, it actually proves that the person is dead.
It was really confusing that Master Hengxu even sent people out to investigate, but they didn't dare to ask too much.
Now, after hearing Yan Cheng's report, the atmosphere in the Hall of All Heavens became even more silent.
Because, it was not until yesterday evening that they realized that the matter was not as simple as just Xie Buchen's accident.
There were six people from the hidden world of Qingfeng Temple, but only three of them came out safely, namely Lu Xiangleng, Xiahou She, and Ruhua Gongzi.
They sent a message to their master on the isolated island in the human world, reporting that they were safe.
But at the same time, he also asked his master to pass on the news: there was no news of the three people who were traveling with him, Zuo Liu, Jianchou and Xie Buchen, and their life or death was unknown!
The moment the news reached Kunwu, almost everyone was shocked.
Not to mention Zuo Liu, who has no sect or school, the remaining two people, one is a genius from Kunwu, the one valued the most by Zhenren Hengxu, and the other is a newcomer from Yashan, the only disciple accepted by Fudaoshan in more than 300 years, who even once stepped onto the stage.
These two people, shining brightly, would surely become the ones that the entire 19th continent would look up to in the future, but now they both met with trouble
and…
The cause of the accident is most likely due to "internal strife".
As soon as they thought about it more deeply, all the elders felt a chill in their hearts.
There is no such coincidence in the world.
Even if this is a coincidence, what impact will it have on Kunwu and Yashan, the two giants in the Central Region
No one can predict.
But no one wants anything to really happen.
But when they shifted their gaze to the face of Master Hengxu, that ominous premonition grew stronger little by little.
Zhenren Hengxu slowly turned around, and his calm gaze, with a slight coldness, passed across the faces of the ten elders.
"Order all Kunwu disciples sent out from Zuo Sanqian to return immediately."
The voice was calm, even sounding old.
But the moment it reached everyone's ears, it was earth-shattering.
All the ten elders opened their eyes wide in horror, and even felt a chill coming up from the soles of their feet, making them tremble in their hearts!
Recalling all Kunwu disciples, what does this mean, and what are they preparing for...
Almost goes without saying!
After Master Hengxu finished this short sentence, he did not look at the crowd again. Instead, he put his hands behind his back and slowly walked down from the Hall of the Heavens along the long steps.
His figure finally and slowly disappeared on the stairs.
Back mountain.
"Hua La La..."
The sound of the waterfall came from far away.
Zhenren Hengxu walked silently on the fallen leaves on the ground, passing through a quiet forest path. When he heard the sound of the waterfall, he stopped unconsciously.
The waterfall rushes down, splashing out crystal white waves.
The bottom of the stone pool is washed by flowing water, making it appear extremely deep.
There was a simple wooden house built against the mountain in front of us, and a pretty figure was standing in front of the door.
The surrounding trees have all withered, looking quite bleak.
The wooden house in this place suddenly seemed a bit dead.
In Gu Qingmei's opinion, this place has lost its vitality.
Senior Brother Xie hasn’t come back yet.
She had been locked up by Gu Pingsheng for a long time. Now that she had finally come out of her training, she learned that he had gone to the hidden world of Qingfeng Temple.
The door of the wooden house in front of me was still locked, a simple small copper lock without any tricks.
This is the lock used by mortals on this isolated island on earth.
Xie Buchen seemed to have a special liking for these things used by mortals.
Whether it was the writing brush, ink, paper, and inkstone, or the Four Books and Five Classics on the bookshelf, or this lock, or the “Seven Souls” that he hung high on the wall…
Gu Qingmei bit her lip as her fingers slid across the copper lock. Finally, she said to herself, "Just take a look. Use magic to open the lock and lock it back. Senior brother won't know."
After whispering this twice, she felt calm.
With a slight pinch of the fingers, a flash of snow-white light appeared.
The small copper lock opened immediately. Gu Qingmei quickly pulled it open, then slowly pushed open the two doors...
"Squeak..."
"What are you doing here?"
An old voice suddenly sounded.
At that moment, Gu Qingmei's hands trembled, and he turned around in fear. He was horrified to find that Master Hengxu had been standing behind him without him knowing.
He was wearing a simple Taoist robe, and his expression seemed as peaceful as before.
Can…
However, Gu Qingmei easily discovered that Master Hengxu was a little different today. There was a glimmer of light under his eyes, a chilling light that made people tremble with fear!
She almost forgot how to speak, and could only stammer: "First. First..."
Zhenren Hengxu glanced at her without any emotion, and then moved his gaze from her to behind her.
The two doors have been opened.
The furnishings inside the door were unusually messy, with a few pages of rice paper scattered on the ground.
There were pens and ink on the long eucalyptus, as if the owner had not put them away when he left. A page of rice paper with words written on it was spread out, with no paperweight on the edge, only a long sword made of ordinary iron pressing it down.
That was the ordinary sword that Xie Buchen brought back from an isolated island on earth.
Zhenren Hengxu clearly remembered that this disciple had very good habits. The room was always tidy, and all the pens, ink, paper and inkstone were placed in fixed positions and were never in disarray.
This is a controller who will not allow anything to escape his control.
But now...
Zhenren Hengxu slowly closed his eyes, thinking of the rift between him and Fudao in the Northern Territory Zen Sect that could finally no longer be concealed.
Xie Buchen is Kunwu's hope for dealing with the great catastrophe of the century. He is the one who can save the entire Kunwu and even replace him as the leader of the Central Region.
But even so…
So what
"Help..."
A whisper that was extremely obscure.
Zhenren Hengxu's gaze was fixed on the mortal sword, but it also seemed as if it fell on somewhere in the void.
No one knows what he is thinking.
***
Polar region.
It was already daybreak.
The excited little-headed ghost finally calmed down. Apparently, he had forgotten his previous generous pat on the shoulder and his bold words of letting go to Jianchou.
Holding two copies of Tianming Transcript in his hands, he felt more satisfied than ever before and said, "It's almost time, let's go to the Jieyin Division now!"
The big-headed ghost was actually very sleepy.
Neither he nor the little-headed ghost have sufficient cultivation, so it is normal for them to be tired after tossing and turning all night.
While the little-headed ghost was speaking, his eyelids had already begun to droop. He then just nodded and yawned loudly.
But today's trip to the Jieyin Division is something I have to go on.
You know, this is the day to hand in "Tianmingchao" and Judge Chu will appear in person. It is a great opportunity and should not be missed.
So, even though he knew that the big-headed ghost needed to rest, he had no choice but to drag him out the door.
Just as he stepped out of the door, he immediately remembered something, hesitated for a moment, and said to the big-headed ghost: "Wait a moment."
As he said this, he actually walked back.
Jianchou was still sitting at the table. He didn't look sleepy at all. There was a faint smile on his lips. He was staring at the oil lamp that had been extinguished.
"Hello!"
The little-headed ghost screamed.
For some reason, he felt that there was something wrong with calling him "Jianchou", just as he felt that there was something wrong with others directly calling him "Xiaotou".
Jianchou heard the voice and turned around, a little confused: "What's wrong?"
"I'll put this here for now. We agreed that you can't touch them. They're ours now."
The little-headed ghost took off the long sword and two bags hanging around his waist, put them back against the door, and spoke to Jianchou in an extremely serious tone, reminding her not to forget what he had said.
Seeing sorrow, he was speechless.
She really didn't expect that there would be such a...
Silly ghost.
I used my spiritual sense to open the Qiankun bag, but I couldn't see anything.
Jianchou looked at the little-headed ghost a few times and nodded.
However, when she saw the little-headed ghost was about to leave, she said, "Wait a minute. I've just arrived in the Extreme Region and I don't know what the situation is here. Do you have any classics that you can lend me to read?"
After all, what Jianchou lacks most now is the understanding of the polar region.
If you know nothing, you won't know where to start.
Once you know a little bit, the situation is very different.
I just don’t know if the little-headed ghost will agree.
It is actually a bit too much to make such a request directly now, but apart from this, there is really no other way.
Jianchou looked at the little-headed ghost.
The little ghost's two red eyes rolled around, as if he was considering something. After a while, he stretched out a finger and said, "Then you must agree to do us a favor later."
A favor
I didn't expect this, this is...
Agree
She was a little surprised and agreed immediately: "Okay."
"Haha, then we have a deal!"
The little ghost immediately showed an expression of "making a fortune", and without any hesitation, he took out a piece of paper from his sleeve and threw it to Jianchou.
"Here you go. Take your time to read it. That's all I know. By the way, don't go out and wander around. If you get caught, don't betray us."
"… good."
Jianchou listened to the last word of advice and suspected that he had become an idiot in front of the little-headed ghost. He couldn't help but twitch his lips: Such a simple truth, she still understands it...
No one would go out and seek death.
Shaking his head helplessly, Jianchou watched the little-headed ghost carry the two copies of "Tianming" and leave happily after closing the door.
The piece of paper thrown on the table by the little-headed ghost was wrinkled. When it was flattened and unfolded, it was actually not small. The handwriting on it was also densely packed, all written with a brush. It began with the four words "New Ghosts Must Know".
At that moment, Jianchou finally held his forehead with his hand.
She finally understood why the little-headed ghost had that "big profit" expression on his face.
You actually gave this thing to yourself
Really…
As the name suggests, this is probably what every new ghost who comes down will receive.
In the end, the kid tricked me into doing him a "help".
Fortunately, she didn't think she could do much to help these two little kids now. It was just a matter of teaching them to read.
Therefore, this transaction was not a particularly bad one.
Although it is "Things to know for new ghosts", I can't write a lot considering the length, so it may not be detailed enough, but it's better than nothing.
Jianchou comforted himself with a few words, then calmed down and started reading.
For her, any bit of information could potentially play an infinite role.
Just as Jianchou expected, the entire "New Ghost Tips" was extremely brief.
As she read and sorted out the information, she gained some understanding of the entire polar region.
Polar regions, most of which are below the ground.
A very small part of it is exposed above the ground and borders the human world. It is the easternmost part of the Nineteen Continents and the westernmost part of the isolated island on earth.
The Polar Region is vast and almost endless. It is where all ghosts gather and also the place of reincarnation.
The center of the polar region is the underworld, which is a magnificent city built on a plain behind the Ghost Gate.
The outer layer of the underworld is the various departments of the underworld. Each department has a judge stationed there and belongs to a different Yama Palace.
The inner layer is where the ghost cultivators who have achieved success in their cultivation live. It is the widest layer, and includes ghost cultivators of all sizes, the ten major ghost clans, and even the famous City of the Dead in the underworld, as well as the entrance to the Eighteen Levels of Hell.
Further in is the core of the entire underworld, Bafang City.
Bafang City, as the name suggests, is the city where the Bafang Yama Palace is located.
The eight Yama Palaces are located in eight locations in the city, towering high, overlooking the entire underworld and ruling the entire underworld.
There are eight Yama Palaces in the underworld, and naturally there are eight Yama Kings.
From King Qin Guang to King Zhuanlun, each King of Hell has a large number of judges under his command. The most powerful ones among them are called "Great Judges".
The judge has ghost officials, ghost messengers, and ghost soldiers under his command.
It can be said that in Jianchou's view, the entire system of the underworld is no different from that of the human world.
If one wants to obtain an official position in the underworld, one can basically only rely on hard practice, or be appreciated by the superiors, or participate in the "Ding Zheng" with one's own abilities.
The Dingzheng is similar to the imperial examination in the human world.
Every time a competition for the cauldron begins, countless ghost cultivators will come forward one after another. Among them, the Eight Directions Yama Palace and the Ten Great Ghost Clans each have a certain number of recommended participants, and the remaining places are left for all those who are not qualified to be recommended to compete.
Among them, the ghost cultivators who came from the City of the Dead were often the strongest competitors.
The King of Hell tells you to die at five o'clock in the morning, but you cannot die at three o'clock.
But the ghosts collected in the City of Wrongful Death are all new ghosts whose lives and deaths are different from those recorded in the Book of Life and Death. Each of them has their own special features, and to some extent, they have "died against the will of heaven."
Therefore, it is a universally acknowledged truth that a "genius" emerged from the City of the Dead.
The purpose and process of the entire competition are basically the same as those of the imperial examination, except for the name.
The Eight Directions Yama Palace, the Ten Great Ghost Clans, and even the various departments of the underworld can all look for available talents during the struggle for the cauldron.
There was even a person who became the Ding Yuan through the "Ding Competition" and was appreciated by King Qin Guang of the First Palace, and was directly promoted to be a judge.
This person is none other than the popular figure around Prince Qin Guang: Grand Judge Cui Jue.
Jianchou vaguely remembered that there were many temples dedicated to Cui Jue on the isolated island. Cui Jue was an honest official more than a hundred years ago, and he died unjustly, which made people sigh.
Unexpectedly, after his death, he came to the underworld and continued to serve as an official, but this time he was a "Judge".
She shook her head, smiled, and continued reading.
The following is the division of cultivation realms of the Extreme Realm cultivators.
The first level is to nourish the spirit;
The second level, concentration;
The third layer, the pearl;
The fourth level, Jade Nirvana;
The fifth level, the golden body;
The sixth level, He Dao;
The seventh level, return to the void;
The eighth level, bounded;
The ninth floor, reaching the sky.
It can be clearly seen from the first two levels that the word "Shen" is inseparable from "Soul and Spirit", which must be the cultivation of "Soul and Spirit".
The realm of "Golden Body" sounds very similar to the term used in Buddhism. It refers to the physical body that can be condensed after the ghost has successfully cultivated his soul.
The little-headed ghost had mentioned this to Jianchou before, so she was not surprised at the moment. At most, she was curious about how this soul should be cultivated.
But when she saw the last three realms, she was totally shocked: Return to Void, Boundary, and Heaven-reaching. These were exactly the same as those of the cultivators from the Nineteen Continents!
How is this possible...
Jianchou simply couldn't believe it.
She stared at the words carefully, and read them again and again. They were indeed "return to emptiness", "have boundaries", and "reach the sky"!
A strange and terrifying guess suddenly emerged in Jianchou's mind, making her unable to recover for a long time.
“Hula.”
A gust of wind blew in through the gap in the window, bringing a chill.
Jianchou's fingers were just lightly pressing down on the piece of paper. When the wind blew, the paper immediately started flying and was about to slip out from between Jianchou's fingers.
Fortunately, she saw the opportunity quickly and pressed it hard to fix it on the table again.
The crumpled piece of paper looks fragile.
Jianchou slowly came back to his senses and had already read to the end of the page, with only a short line of words left.
She glanced over casually.
"Note: After the war in the Yin-Yang Realm in the tenth Jiazi year, the Nine-Headed Bird disappeared, and the souls of all the cultivators in the Nineteen Continents were not collected. The only exceptions were the Zen and Esoteric Buddhism. The souls of the mortals on the isolated islands in the mortal world were all recorded in the Book of Life and Death, and escorted to be punished or sent to reincarnate in the six realms."
There was a great war ten generations ago, and Jianchou knew about it; the nine-headed bird died, and there is no reincarnation in the 19 continents, and Jianchou also knew about it.
But she didn't know that the Zen and Esoteric Buddhism sects were exceptions among the monks in the 19 continents!
The feeling at that moment was more than just a shock.
Just such a simple "note" aroused Jianchou's infinite doubts for a moment, and he remembered too many things.
But all these things kept coming one after another, making her head a mess and making it difficult to make sense of them.
Having finished reading the entire page, Jianchou has gained a general understanding of this polar region. Although it is not detailed enough, he is no longer so nervous.
She let out a breath slowly, dispelling all the complicated guesses and thoughts from the depths of her mind, and was about to reach out to fold the page of paper and return it to the little-headed ghost when he came back.
But at the moment when his fingers pressed on the last four words "Six Paths of Reincarnation", Jianchou suddenly froze.
All the energy and blood in the body stopped at this moment.
Her stiff fingers looked extremely white, making the wrinkled paper look more beautiful. However, between these white fingers, there was a glaring red spot!
A silver light flickered faintly between her fingers.
Jianchou slowly raised his hand and saw the red rope and silver lock wrapped around his fingers.
"The souls of the mortals on the isolated island of the mortal world are all recorded in the Book of Life and Death, and escorted to be punished or sent to reincarnate in the six realms..."