Thousands of miles away, Bafang City.
In the huge city, eight towering palaces are suspended in the air, like eight islands. Under the sunlight, they have heavy shadows, representing a supreme deterrent.
Eight huge human-shaped statues, seven men and one woman, each with a very different temperament, stand on the ground in front of each palace, and are even taller than the entire palace.
This is the statue of the eight Yama Kings of Bafang City.
Among them, some are old, some are young, and some even look like very young teenagers.
If one looks down from a great height and sees these eight suspended Yama Palaces and the statues of these eight Yama Kings, those with slightly lower cultivation will feel a trembling and depression from the bottom of their hearts!
This is the center of the entire underworld and the center of power!
The statues of the eight Yama Kings each held their own magical weapons in their hands. They flew into the clouds and looked down at the entire city and the entire underworld from above.
At this moment, outside the North Palace.
The door that was usually closed was now completely open.
One after another, ghost cultivators from the Ghost King Clan, holding black tridents and with tense faces, stood guard outside.
Inside the hall, the voices of several people talking could be faintly heard, but they were too vague to be heard clearly.
until…
"Kill Hanzhi?"
It was a steady and dignified voice, as if it had heard something incomprehensible. The voice that had always been unquestionable actually became much calmer, with a hint of surprise and confusion.
All the ghost cultivators guarding outside the door were immediately shocked, standing straighter, looking straight ahead, as if they were frightened by the sound.
All eight doors were opened, letting in the sunlight, and the dark ground inside was glowing.
There aren't many decorations in the entire hall, but whether it's the huge columns or the tall bronze lamps, they all exude a sense of grandeur and simplicity.
Although it is not gorgeous, it is very grand.
There were already four people sitting on the seats in the front hall.
If you look closely, you will find that the facial expressions and postures of these four people can actually match any of the eight statues outside.
Their eyes were all cast on the upper position.
The stairs are not high, only nine steps, but they are enough to distinguish the status of host and guest.
Sitting on the purple-gold throne was a tall man with broad shoulders and a solemn aura. His long eyebrows were slightly wrinkled, and a pair of deep black pupils could be faintly seen with dark gold.
His eyes swept across the three empty seats below, and his voice remained low: "Some time ago, the City King mentioned that he had sent Sha Hanzhi to investigate the Ghost Gate area. How could someone go missing out of nowhere?"
Today, there are still eighty days until the start of the tripod competition.
In the entire Jiyuyu, apart from King Qin Guang, the Lord of the First Yama Palace, who can sit in this great hall in the north, where else can one be found
As usual, there were several things related to the tripod dispute that needed to be finalized on this day.
Therefore, King Qin Guang sent someone to inform the other seven Yama Kings yesterday to hold a meeting today.
But he didn't expect that when he arrived at the hall, he saw that only three of the seven people had arrived, namely King Yama, King Taishan and King Chakravartin.
No one else could see any shadow.
King Qin Guang was surprised and naturally asked about where everyone was going.
The King of Chujiang in the Second Hall has never been interested in worldly affairs. He has been practicing in seclusion recently, so it is normal that he is not here.
Wang, the coroner of the Fourth Hall, is a child by nature and loves to play. The pet he raised ran away this morning, so he went to catch it on the way. It would take him a while to arrive, so it was not a big deal.
But the remaining two were beyond his comprehension.
One is the old fox in the third hall, Emperor Song.
This man looks very old, but he has a very ambitious heart. His previous life was the first emperor in the world. After his death, he entered the underworld and began to practice.
Later, when the war between Yin and Yang broke out, he used a little trickery to severely damage the monks of the Nineteen Continents and made great contributions.
After the war between the Yin and Yang worlds ended, this old fox was successfully named King of Hell by virtue of his outstanding cultivation, cunning strategies, and contributions in the war. He was ranked in the third palace and given the title of "Emperor of Song".
King Qin Guang has always been wary of the old fox, and he also knows that he is very scheming. The other party may covet the identity of the Lord of Hell in the First Palace.
only…
Even if he had ambitions, he shouldn't have missed such an unimportant occasion as today.
The other is the city king of the seventh palace, Jiang Chang.
She was the only one in Bafang City who did not intervene in the Yin-Yang world war, but was still named the Lord of Hell. She was a ghost in her lifetime, but she never harmed anyone. After being named the Lord of Hell, she was always kind to others.
Given the situation today, Jiang Chang shouldn't have not come.
So, King Qin Guang asked at that time, what was going on
As a result, speaking of Cao Cao, Cao Cao appears.
At this moment, Emperor Song arrived and said "I am late" as soon as he entered the hall. Then he looked at the other Yama Kings sitting in the room and apologized on behalf of the City King.
It turned out that the old fox happened to meet the City King on his way here.
It was then that she left the Seventh Palace, and the direction she was heading seemed to be out of Bafang City.
After the old fox greeted her, he asked her where she was going.
Jiang Chang had a solemn look on his face, which was unprecedented. There was no smile at all. He answered him briefly and disappeared on the spot.
"The City King was in a hurry at the time, and she was probably in a bad mood. She only told me that Sha Hanzhi was missing and there was no news. She wanted to investigate on her own. As for why Sha Hanzhi disappeared, she did not mention it."
The old fox Emperor Song raised his wrinkled eyelids and glanced at King Qin Guang above him.
"I think if the City King knew the reason, he wouldn't go to investigate it himself."
Sha Hanzhi is a very powerful female judge under the command of the urban king Jiang Chang. She is also one of the few judges in Bafang City who is not from a Dingzheng background.
In the past few years, everyone knew that she was the most trusted by Jiang Chan and was considered half-chief steward of the Seventh Palace.
The discovery of a ghost axe at the gate of hell a month ago alarmed almost half of the polar region.
In Bafang City, from King Qin Guang of the First Hall to King Zhuanlun of the Eighth Hall, everyone paid attention to that place. It was at that time that Hanzhi was killed and sent to the Ghost Gate area by Jiang Chang.
Everything was fine originally, and we would report any news we had every day.
Unexpectedly, starting from six days ago, no matter how the ghost cultivators from the Seventh Palace tried to contact Sha Hanzhi, there was no response at all, and there was no news at all.
Jiang Chan has always cared about his subordinates. When this incident happened, he immediately sent people to investigate.
In such a situation, either they are trapped somewhere, unable to escape or make contact, or they are truly gone.
After checking for a few days, there is still no news.
Jiang Chang could no longer sit still, so he set off early in the morning and headed for the gates of hell.
King Qin Guang slowly stood up from his seat, his tall body casting a long shadow on the ground.
He looked up outside the palace—
His tall statue stood in front of him. Even in this hall, one had to raise his head slightly to see that majestic face.
"Ghost Axe reappears, Sha Hanzhi disappears, and many scholars die in vain on the lonely island in the human world..."
All the events of recent days, one by one, flowed through King Qin Guang's mind, and he always smelled a hint of impending storm.
"The matter of killing Han Zhi will be handled by the City King. However, how is the investigation going into the abnormal increase in the number of new ghosts who died unjustly?"
Among the lower seats, the King Yama in the Fifth Palace is usually a peacemaker.
He had a long beard and looked quite old. There was a calm and peaceful look in his eyes, but his brows were solemnly furrowed into the shape of the Chinese character "川".
Hearing King Qin Guang's question, King Yama replied, "The Reception Office has just received new ghosts from the Reception of Wrongly Dead City, and there is still some confusion. However, there are nearly 300 new wrongfully dead scholars. The ghost messenger who went to investigate the City God Temple on the lonely island in the human world came back and reported that there are demons causing trouble."
This is not far from what everyone had expected.
King Qin Guang shook his head: "Although this matter is very strange, it is beneficial to our Jiyu as it can bring in new blood. The life and death of mortals has nothing to do with us. Rather than intervening and attracting the attention of the Buddhist Zen Sect, it is better for Jiyu to wait and see what happens."
"King Qin Guang is absolutely right."
The slightly hunched old fox Emperor Song listened to what King Qin Guang said and nodded.
"After the Yin-Yang War, the Zen sect was not happy with the Tantric sect's cooperation with us. After the Buddhist sect moved north, they parted ways with the Tantric sect. They were recruiting believers on the isolated island in the human world, wasn't it just to compete with our Jiyu? Now that something like this has happened, hehe, they should be troubled!"
After saying this, a wise smile appeared on Emperor Song’s face.
Others looked at him and felt that his smile was particularly hateful and extremely treacherous and cunning.
It is said that the Zen Buddhism is dissatisfied with the cooperation between the Tantric Buddhism and them, but wasn't it this person who instigated the bloody battle ten generations ago
Even the mighty Yashan exhausted all his strength in that battle.
Think about that scene...
Flesh and blood bodies fell one after another, and their bones were buried in the extreme domain. Countless ownerless swords rose into the air, flying towards the other side of the Nineteen Continents and the Yashan Arsenal amidst the mournful cries...
How cruel
How tragic!
Even those present here felt a vague sense of sadness when they thought about it.
However, speaking objectively, what Emperor Song said at this moment was very reasonable, and no one refuted it.
"In recent days, there have been many unusual incidents in my region. I'm afraid something is going to happen. I'm afraid we have to be more careful."
King Qin Guang reminded everyone, and then said: "In addition, the competition for the tripod is imminent, and the seventy-two cities are already selecting, and the quotas for the ten major ghost tribes are also drawn up by them. However, there are still many vacancies in Bafang City. I wonder if you have any ideas this year?"
To put it simply, just ask if anyone else wants to recommend someone, or want to recommend someone special.
The relationship between the eight Yama Kings in Bafang City is neither good nor bad.
Each King of Hell has three quotas. Some have one unused, while others have not enough after using them up. At this time, those with more quotas don't mind doing a favor.
When King Qin Guang asked this question, the hall fell silent for a moment.
The peacemaker Yama shook his head: "I don't have anything here."
Emperor Song narrowed his eyes and smiled: "This year, the First Hall has that Zhang Tang. The ones I like are not very useful, so I simply won't send anyone in there."
The remaining two are King Taishan, who is as big as a mountain, and King Chakravartin, who is handsome and calm.
King Taishan has always been a silent and honest person, just like King Chujiang who is obsessed with cultivation. He also shook his head and said, "I only have that one here, and I don't need the others."
As for the Chakravartin, although he ranks last, he controls the "Six Paths of Reincarnation" which is of vital importance to the Extreme Realm.
In his early years, he was under the command of King Qin Guang and was promoted by King Qin Guang. Even though he is now on par with King Qin Guang and has become the King of Hell, he has always been of the same blood as King Qin Guang.
He looked up at King Qin Guang, as if he was thinking about something. After a moment, he said, "There have been quite a few incidents at Ghost Gate recently, but there have also been quite a few strange people. A few days ago, I heard an interesting rumor."
"rumor?"
This is an idea.
King Qin Guang looked over.
The Wheel King did not keep the secret, with a strange look in his eyes, and said with a smile: "A month ago, a female cultivator came to the City of the Dead, and her soul bead was only the size of a speck of dust."
"Dust size?"
When everyone heard this, they were all surprised.
The kind-hearted King Taishan was not very patient and was the first to doubt: "How is this possible? Anyone who has passed the two stages of Nourishing the Soul and Condensing the Soul and successfully transformed the soul into a bead should have a soul bead of about an inch in diameter. A soul bead as small as dust? If her talent is so poor, I'm afraid she can't pass the two stages of Nourishing the Soul and Condensing the Soul, right?"
The words were very direct, but this was also the doubt of others.
Everyone looked at the Chakravartin.
The Chakravartin dared to say this, which means he was certain about it.
"When I first heard what my subordinates said, I didn't believe it. But since the fight for the cauldron had already begun, I might as well ask someone to find out a little bit. So I asked someone to ask the Jieyin Division. I'm sure you've heard about Zhang Tang from the Jieyin Division. He just took over the matter and led this female cultivator. The news is absolutely true and there is no falsehood."
At this moment, the expressions of several Yama Kings in the hall immediately became surprised.
Are there really such cultivators in the Extreme Realm
A soul bead the size of a speck of dust...
No matter how you think about it, it doesn't make sense!
King Qin Guang was also thinking about it and wanted to ask more details, but when he raised his eyes, he immediately saw the confident expression of King Chakravartin.
Based on his understanding of this old subordinate...
King Qin Guang understood and asked, "Has King Zhuanlun come up with an idea?"
"good."
The Chakravartin did not deny it.
Everyone was looking at him. The old fox Emperor Song seemed to have thought of something and was slightly startled.
The Wheel King only smiled shrewdly: "The competition for the cauldron has begun. It is no different from previous years. It is better to attract attention. No matter if it is weird or not, this weakest cultivator in the Pearl Transformation Realm in the history of the Extreme Region is not a perfect gimmick?"
***
"… Your origins are all in the books, and I have answered truthfully. The other thing is your cultivation, which is visible to everyone, and I have not concealed it. But I don't know who is asking behind the scenes."
Zhang Tang told Jianchou everything that had happened to him in the Jieying Division.
He did this simply to collude with Jianchou in giving each other's testimony, so as to avoid the situation in which one of us talks about one thing and the other and causes the truth to be exposed.
I can see that I am sad, but my heart is as heavy as lead.
Forged a list of new ghosts who died in vain, joined forces with the big-headed ghost and the small-headed ghost and Zhang Tang to sneak into the city of the dead, and even made a desperate attempt to attack the pearl...
Everything is a risk, and every risk is a victory.
At that time, Jianchou was already stretched to the limit and could not find a better solution.
So she did not feel any regret about all this. The only thing she was worried about was being caught at this moment, which would lead to failure and implicate others.
Most of the people on the ground floor and in the building have already left.
Chen Tingyan in the distance had also begun to walk back. Jianchou knew he shouldn't say any more, so he just said briefly, "If someone is interested in me or has doubts about me, they will definitely not let it go. We are powerless to change it, so we can only wait and see. This time, I'm really going to trouble Master Zhang."
Zhang Tang nodded as a token of his gratitude.
At this time, Chen Tingyan had also come back.
When he was still there just now, he saw Jianchou talking to Zhang Tang. He came over and said with a smile, "I'm fine. They talked a lot and it was almost endless. What were you talking about just now?"
Zhang Tang naturally wouldn't talk to Chen Tingyan, so Jianchou took the initiative to answer: "I heard that Lord Zhang got a place in the Eight Directions Hell Palace, so I congratulated him."
oh.
The Eight-Directions Hell
That's amazing.
Chen Tingyan gave Zhang Tang a cold look. He really didn't want to see this unlucky man even for a moment.
It just so happened that no one had come here to pick up the round ring for a long time, so he simply said, "There's nothing much to see here, but some days ago someone started predicting the second round of questions and was selling books. I'm going to take a look, Jianchou, do you want to come with me?"
Because Zhang Tang suddenly told her that someone was investigating her, Jianchou now just wanted to go back to her own territory and bury her head in practicing madly, so as to avoid being killed by someone who came to find her one day.
But if I don’t go now, it will feel like I’ve left my mark.
He suppressed the worries that weighed on his heart like a rock. Seeing that his worry was not evident on his face, he just nodded and said, "Let's go and take a look."
This time, Zhang Tang did not go again.
He came upstairs, firstly to see the legendary Li Han, and secondly to find an opportunity to talk to Jianchou. Now that both goals have been achieved, there is naturally no reason to go again.
So, he took the big-headed ghost and the small-headed ghost out of the ground and upstairs, said goodbye to Jianchou, and left the city to return to the Jieyin Division.
Without Zhang Tang, Chen Tingyan felt much more at ease.
He took Jianchou with him and traveled through most of the City of the Dead. He also met those monks who were cramming for exams at the last minute, and learned a lot of common sense in the extreme realms, such as the "soul recognizing the master" which she had never encountered before.
It was not until it got dark and the streets were deserted that Chen Tingyan accompanied Jianchou back to her newly rented house.
When Jian Jianchou closed the door, he didn't rush to leave. He stood outside the door for a while before leaving.
As Jianchou entered the house, the relaxed and natural expression he had on his face almost immediately disappeared.
Instead, there is a dense shadow.
She first used the method of spirit recognition that she had learned during the day to quickly make the control symbol of the house recognize its master, then opened the triple protection formation, and then swept away most of the obvious dust in the study with a flick of her sleeve.
The whole study became clean immediately.
The lamp next to the desk by the window was lit by Jianchou, illuminating the neatly arranged pens, inks, papers and inkstones on the desk, as well as the row of bookshelves not far away filled with new and old books.
There were three sparse shadows on the window paper, cast by the three plum blossoms in the plum vase.
The lights flicker and the shadows of the branches sway.
Jianchou's heart was filled with turmoil.
Who is checking her out
Should I doubt Zhang Tang or myself
Will Zhang Tang’s words inspire people to play chess
…
A series of questions finally emerged.
Jianchou didn't want to think about it, but he couldn't control it at all.
This is a strong sense of crisis.
Her current cultivation level is very low, and she only has one killer move to keep herself in shape. If anything changes, I'm afraid she won't be able to cope with it at all.
She had no idea who was investigating her, so she couldn't look for a solution from others.
But if she tried to solve the problem from her own body, even if she devoted herself to cultivation, how much could she improve? It would be of no help at all.
unless…
She had already returned to Nineteen Continents before the truth came to light.
However, if things were that simple, she would not still be staying in the City of the Dead.
He sighed deeply in his heart and felt a little upset.
Her gaze moved away from the branches and fell on the eucalyptus.
On the left were several stacked old books. Jianchou was very curious about the original owner of the house, so he wanted to calm himself down by flipping through the books. So he reached out and picked up the top book and turned a page.
One page.
Just one page!
Even at the first glance, Jianchou was stunned—
Inherited from Hongmeng and passed down to Yuanshi.
In terms of its form, it is water; in terms of its spirit, it is Tao.
If the living obtain it, all their worries will be relieved and everything will be possible; if the dead obtain it, they will be reborn and their bones will be given flesh.
Something comes out of nothing, and the cycle of reincarnation continues.
…
It was a thin piece of paper, the ink was old but still clearly visible.
If the living know about this, all their worries will be relieved and everything will be possible.
The dead obtain it, the new life is gained, and the bones can be turned into flesh!
What a big tone!
Even if it was the world's top panacea, it wouldn't be exaggerated like this, right
Jianchou read it word by word, wondering if he had come across some strange story.
But when she moved her fingers away from the edge of the paper and saw the last four words on the page clearly, she was finally completely speechless.
"The water of the reincarnation pond..."