Chapter 303: We’re Going Home |
Chen Tang finally breathed easier. “As long as they’re alive, that’s good. As long as they’re alive.”
But his worry persisted. The underworld had no righteous energy of heaven and earth. Once cultivation was depleted here, it could not be replenished. Lose some vital energy and you truly lost it; magic and power would grow weaker and weaker. That was why even many peerless masters would not lightly tread into the underworld.
Chen Shi had led many provincial graduates into such a dangerous place. How far could they get alive?
Besides, there was no food here, no drinking water, and no treasure artifacts or talisman-weapons on them. How long could these people hold on?
“They have food.” Granny Sha said suddenly.
Chen Tang blinked, puzzled, and looked at her.
Granny Sha examined the traces left on the ground and said, “Their group numbers three to four hundred. Earlier there were over two hundred of them, and they joined with another party.”
Chen Tang’s body shivered slightly as he grasped her meaning. His voice went hoarse: “They ate people?”
Granny Sha stared ahead without replying, then continued in her own way, “When people are starving and have no way out, life always finds a path. At moments like that, morality isn’t considered.”
He watched the corpse skewered on the steel fork Granny Sha carried. Up until now she hadn’t discarded that provincial graduate’s body—could it be...
He did not dare to think further.
After all, even these people who offer sacrifices sometimes go hungry.
The two of them dove into the mountain range. Along the way they found traces of magical techniques and sorcery. After a day and a night of traveling, they stopped before a massive skeleton. The frame was enormous, with three heads, ferocious and menacing; half-cooked meat still hung from it.
It had been dead for over ten days, yet it still radiated a fierce, violent aura—undoubtedly vicious in life.
“It’s a demonic beast!” Granny Sha strode forward, cut off a few pieces of meat and sniffed them. “Still edible! Xiao Tang, don’t rush on. Eat until you’re full.”
They cut some meat on the spot and lit a fire to roast it.
The demonic beast’s meat wasn’t bad at all; they soon ate their fill.
Chen Tang hesitated for a moment and asked, “Sister Sha, this demonic beast is...?”
“A type of underworld creature, similar to cattle or horse. The ghost gods we met outside were herders, specialized in pasturing. The creatures they pasture are these demonic beasts; the ghost gods eat these underworld cattle and horses.” Granny Sha said. “Those, however, are domesticated and relatively tame. This one is wild, violent, and terrifying, with greater fighting power.”
She paused, then added, “Your Xiao Shi has very rich survival experience in the underworld. He actually knew these underworld creatures were edible. That makes sense—he lived in the underworld for eight years; he should know some of its living habits.”
Chen Tang asked, “What do these underworld cattle and horses eat?”
“Ghosts.” Granny Sha replied. “Herders drive them to chase spirits that fall into the underworld. If a living person falls in, they’re a tremendous feast—nourishing for them. So when herders encounter living people, they get excited and drive their flocks toward them.”
She frequently wandered the underworld and knew many secrets unknown to others.
Chen Tang grew silent for a moment and then stood. “Xiao Shi must have suffered greatly during that period he was dead.”
“You might be wrong.” Granny Sha rose, wearing an odd expression. “He may not have suffered at all. From my observation, he may have lived like a ghost among ghosts. The one who truly suffered was your father.”
Chen Tang was greatly confused.
They pressed on, delving deeper into this Buddhist hell and seeing traces left by fierce battles. Strangely, judging by the combat signs, these provincial graduates’ magic wasn’t depleted; instead, many of them maintained peak power, and Chen Tang even noticed many people’s cultivation had advanced!
They had slain many demonic beasts and feasted along the way, which made Granny Sha and Chen Tang frown deeply.
“Are these guys fleeing disaster?” Granny Sha complained, “Are they on vacation in the Buddhist hell?”
They tracked for days and one day reached a blood lake. A blood Buddha slowly rose from the water, its head split open with a huge hole. Walking among the other Buddhas, it exuded an overwhelming terrifying aura. Granny Sha and Chen Tang’s physical bodies burst, shattered, and became blood mist that merged into the blood Buddha’s body.
Their primordial spirits returned to their true forms. They exchanged a glance, faces grave.
Granny Sha once again used her temporary-host technique. Their primordial spirits descended and attached to two red-eyed, green-skinned yaksha bodies, plunging into the mountain range of Buddhas.
This time they bypassed the blood lake but met a group of maimed asura at a fork in the road.
These asura were a hundred zhang in height, clad in golden armor with wings on their backs—apparently the dharmapala guarding the Buddhist hell.
But their wings were broken, their bodies riddled with mortal wounds, and they were mad. On seeing the two, they attacked, intent on killing them.
Granny Sha refused to give up. She again forced the temporary-host technique, and the two hurriedly sped into the Mountain of All Buddhas, only to encounter a blind arhat the size of a mountain, immensely strong. It grabbed them and shoved them toward its mouth.
This arhat was also insane, as if possessed, and chewed them to bits!
On their fourth descent into the Buddhist hell, entering the bodies of the two yakshas, they plunged into the mountain and died at the hands of a group of voluptuous, young giant women.
Those plump maidens were dismembered—missing arms and legs—and danced in strange ways while trampling them to death.
“It seems like a group of maddened gandharvas.” Granny Sha said.
On their fifth descent, they again delved into the Mountain of All Buddhas. Granny Sha said, “What we saw earlier, aside from the great Buddha and the arhats, were Deva. They were monks who cultivated Buddhist dharma and transformed into devas to attend the Buddhas. Back when this Buddhist hell flourished, there must have been many high-level Buddhist masters here.”
Chen Tang asked, “Then if it was once so prosperous, how did it become like this?”
Granny Sha stared ahead. “That is what your father and we intend to find out. He was very persistent and clever, and though he encountered many dangers while seeking the truth, his strength grew. But he neglected you and Xiao Shi.”
Chen Tang fell silent.
This time their descent into the Mountain of All Buddhas went surprisingly smoothly. They avoided the blood Buddha, the asura, the arhat, and the gandharvas. They climbed along a mountain formed by the body of a reclining Buddha and found traces left by Chen Shi and his group.
“They actually made it here alive!” Granny Sha exclaimed.
On the reclining Buddha’s cheek, an ancient temple came into view. The two approached and read the plaque: Lei Yin Temple.
Inside, the deity statues of Lei Yin Temple had been destroyed; only the miniature shrines remained, and within them flowed an extraordinary power.
Chen Tang examined carefully and felt a stir in his heart. “There’s a Buddha consciousness within that extraordinary power!”
Granny Sha was checking the tracks on the floor. “They lived here for some time! It looks like someone stayed here. Strange!”
She was about to inspect the shrine when she found a glowing stone tucked in bedding in a corner.
Granny Sha picked up the stone and remained silent for a long time.
Chen Tang walked over and saw tears on her face.
“It’s a Three Lives Stone.” Granny Sha wiped her tears, tucked the stone back into the bedding, and said, “It reminds me of some bad memories... You said the shrine contains a Buddha consciousness?”
Chen Tang replied, “It truly is a Buddha consciousness!”
Granny Sha approached the shrine and carefully sensed the extraordinary power within. Suddenly she touched an ancient consciousness, and at the moment of contact, thunder seemed to roll in her mind, stirring deep emotion.
After a while she withdrew her sensing. “Xiao Shi passed here and awakened this Buddha consciousness, which sealed a yin spirit for the Buddha consciousness.”
Chen Tang stared at her in astonishment and blurted, “Sealed what?”
“A yin spirit.” Granny Sha asked, puzzled. “Didn’t your son tell you? He can seal spirits. The Western King Jade Seal and the map of rivers and mountains of the Western Ox New Continent were in his hands.”
Chen Tang’s eyes bulged and he stammered, “How did I not notice he had the Western King Jade Seal?”
Granny Sha said, “It should be in the wooden cart, right?”
She wasn’t certain either.
Chen Tang’s scalp crawled. Chen Shi’s wooden cart sat outside the Chen residence every day—inside it was the Western King Jade Seal? Wasn’t that asking to have it taken?
“Xiao Shi probably brought the Western King Jade Seal into the examination hall, but sealing a yin spirit shouldn’t require the Western King Jade Seal.” Granny Sha guessed. “After all, yin spirits belong to the underworld; the Western King Jade Seal has no jurisdiction here.”
She paused, then continued, “After the Buddha consciousness here was awakened, it sent them out of the Buddhist underworld. Xiao Tang, they have returned.”
Chen Tang finally let out a breath. “When did they leave?”
“Around four or five days ago.”
They withdrew their primordial spirits, left their temporary hosts, and their primordial spirits returned to their bodies.
The two yakshas also woke, found themselves in the temple, and panicked, scrambling out. They were captured by a group of undermanned gandharvas down the mountain—missing arms and legs—and were danced upon and crushed to death.
More than ten days earlier.
In the Mountain of All Buddhas, Chen Shi led his group of over two hundred provincial graduates through the Buddhas and caught up with Hu Feifei and the others. Their forces combined: Hu Feifei had over a hundred people, and together they totaled 349.
They followed Chen Shi onward but were attacked by a wild demonic beast. Together they killed the underworld cattle and horse and ate their fill.
The oppressive pressure of being trapped in the underworld eased considerably.
Some people’s nascent souls were chilled by the yin wind and fell ill, trembling uncontrollably. Huang Fengnian approached Chen Shi with worry. “This is the underworld; the yin qi is too heavy. Even if cured, the yin wounds left behind will be severe. Those who fell ill won’t live for many years.”
Chen Shi said, “Why not draw a Call-Yin-Spirit talisman and reverse yin to yang? The heavier the yin qi, the faster cultivation improves. I’ll teach you!”
He drew a Call-Yin-Spirit talisman and handed it to the people, and from it he derived a simple technique called the Call-Yin-Spirit Art, which he taught them as well.
He instructed them with the formula: “In stillness create motion, reverse yin to bring forth yang. Deep sound enters the subtle, the empty valley carries it. Sound follows qi, merging palace and vault. Echo upon echo, transform the mysterious altar. Stir the sound of yang, harmonize heaven’s strength. Yang spirit unites, true energy blends sound and health! Training in the underworld will advance you faster than the living world! (Excerpt from the Supreme Profound Origin Three-Day Jade Hall Great Method, Call-Yin-Spirit Talisman Mantra)”
The people practiced the Call-Yin-Spirit Art and indeed felt yin qi enter their bodies but without chill—only warmth. Their cultivation not only did not drain, it continuously advanced.
They penetrated deeper into the Mountain of All Buddhas. Wary of dangers on the road, Chen Shi asked Tian Yue’e to fetch the provincial graduates who once cultivated the Ten Extremities Array talismans.
The Ten Extremities Array consists of 256 talismans, turning into 256 deities—requiring 256 people to enact. But fewer than 200 provincial graduates had entered the underworld; some had been rescued, others had perished there.
Chen Shi selected dozens more and taught them talismans to fill out the Ten Extremities Array.
They traveled for days, feasting and growing plumper—eating even better than in the guildhall.
One day they came to the blood lake and disturbed the blood Buddha within.
The great Buddha slowly rose and tried to assimilate them. Chen Shi led the other 255 provincial graduates and activated the Ten Extremities Array. A pillar of annihilating light surged upward.
Chen Shi shaped the light into a blade and pierced the blood Buddha’s head!
The blood Buddha screamed in pain and dove into the lake, vanishing.
That was their first activation of the Ten Extremities Array. They hadn’t expected such terrifying power—but it came at great cost. The cultivation of the 255 people was almost entirely drained!
They rested the night at the base of a Buddha nearby, ate some cattle and horse meat, recovered some cultivation, and moved on.
In a valley they were beset by a horde of maddened asura. This time Chen Shi was smarter—he didn’t unleash the full Ten Extremities Array but split it into a dozen small arrays, assigning each graduate six or seven talismans to coordinate.
After fierce fighting, they pinned the asura to the ground, unable to move.
“Cut off their wings!” Chen Shi shouted. “Tonight we roast the whole wings!”
They hacked the asura’s wings off and cheered.
While they roasted, screams echoed. Chen Shi and Guo Daoist hurried over and saw Yu Lingzi tied up and strung over the fire. Nearby was another provincial graduate, Zhang You, with a missing finger, preparing to roast Yu Lingzi.
“Zhang, we have wings to roast here. Want some?” Chen Shi glanced at the fire and then asked with a flicker of light in his eyes.
Zhang You laughed, “Excuse the intrusion. I’m starving.”
Chen Shi untied Yu Lingzi and asked, “Anyone else?”
Yu Lingzi shook his head, “No. It’s just the two of us. Instructor, I think he really wanted to eat me.”
“No such thing.” Chen Shi smiled. “Couldn’t you fight back?”
Yu Lingzi said sadly, “I couldn’t. I only bit off one of his fingers.”
After they ate, they continued and faced a crazed arhat. Chen Shi took point, activated the Ten Extremities Array, and blinded the mad arhat. They then encountered voluptuous gandharvas and fought violently, incorporating one after another into the Ten Extremities Array, chopping them so they were missing limbs.
Zhang You watched in horror.
Those arhats and gandharvas were nearly at the Refining Spirit to Return to Emptiness level—top-tier experts. When possessed they were even more overwhelmingly powerful. Yet against Chen Shi’s group—mostly Nascent Soul and Spirit Transformation cultivators—they were hacked to pieces!
“Little Lord Chen is far more impressive than the Young Master,” he thought silently.
But repeated tough battles were taking their toll. If they met another powerful enemy, they might be annihilated in the Mountain of All Buddhas.
At that moment they saw a child of about ten standing on a slope, waving.
Chen Shi moved with the crowd to climb the slope. The child led them twisting and turning, up to a reclining Buddha, and then guided them to a temple.
“Lei Yin Temple.” Chen Shi stood before the crooked plaque.
“Come in quickly!” The child, handsome and refined, waved from inside. “Once you’re in this temple, the big monsters outside won’t dare enter.”
“Thank you, young friend!” The provincial graduates entered Lei Yin Temple and bowed in thanks to the boy.
He was courteous and well-mannered, returning their bows. “How did you get in? I haven’t seen living people in a long time.”
Chen Shi scanned the interior. The temple was piled with colorful glowing stones. He asked, “Little brother, we were led here by misfortune and accidentally wandered in. How did you get here? How long have you been here?”
“A very, very long time ago.” The child smiled. “I came to find the Three Lives Stone for my mother. Those stones. I came into the underworld to search for stone and couldn’t find any for a long time. A ghost god told me he knew where there was a Three Lives Stone and brought me here. It’s so scary here; monsters everywhere. I hid for a long time and searched for a long time before I finally found these stones.”
He had not seen anyone else for ages and was excited. “I barely survived. Later I found this temple was very safe—those monsters don’t dare come in. So I live here and go out when it’s safe to search for the stones. My mother likes these stones; I will find many for her!”
Chen Shi felt his heart leap and hurried to the child, grabbed the boy’s hands, crouched down, and peered at his face, looking him over and over.
“Tianyu? Are you Xiang Tianyu?” Chen Shi’s voice trembled.
The child was startled. “Big brother, how do you know my name? Did my mother send you to find me? Where is my mother? I found so many Three Lives Stones!”
He looked at Chen Shi with expectation.
Chen Shi hugged him tightly, fearing he might be lost again. “Brother Tianyu, your mother has been looking for you for a long time. She regrets sending you to search for the Three Lives Stone... Come home! Brother Tianyu, I’m taking you home!”