“Slash!”
Above a patch of empty land in the underworld,
With Wu Ming’s loud shout, the Qi of Metal in the void condensed, transforming into a colossal golden sword.
“Kill!”
Opposite him, a hideous ghost with a green face and sharp fangs, red hair and yellow beard, roared furiously, raising its spiked club towards the sky.
“Presumptuous!”
Wu Ming’s eyes turned cold. He silently recited a spell, and the golden sword mercilessly slashed down. The spiked club instantly snapped in two. The ghost let out a piteous scream, its head falling to the ground, rolling a few times before turning into ashes.
“These Five Elements techniques—I’ve only just begun to scratch the surface, yet their power seems multiplied a hundredfold in the underworld. How strange…”
Certainly, Wu Ming had an explanation for this.
Compared to the mortal world, the underworld was a lower-dimensional realm, where all supernatural forces naturally became more active, capable of manifesting divine abilities.
Going further, the stronger the world, the stricter its rules, making such grand displays of power increasingly difficult.
As for Wu Ming’s Five Elements techniques, they were naturally taught by Wu Qing.
His adoptive older sister hadn’t returned to the Daoist academy since spring, choosing instead to reside in the fortified manor. While this caused Wu Ming considerable inconvenience, it was not without benefits.
At the very least, under her guidance, his cultivation had rapidly improved, and he had even mastered several fundamental Five Elements techniques.
These minor spells were originally obtained by Wu Qing through a fortunate encounter, so there was no violation of the academy’s rules.
“Practice makes perfect. Indeed, I can now manipulate the talismanic seeds within my spiritual consciousness with increasing ease…”
Feeling satisfied with his progress, Wu Ming nodded approvingly.
“Esteemed Daoist, thank you for saving us!”
At this moment, a group of terrified souls, who had been stunned into silence, finally stepped forward under the leadership of an elderly man leaning on a cane, bowing deeply to Wu Ming in gratitude.
“This place lies at the border between Heitai Yin City and the Black Mountain Ghost Kingdom, an extremely perilous location. Since you are all citizens of Heitai County, you should leave quickly…”
“Thank you, Benefactor! Thank you, Benefactor!”
The ghosts below repeatedly kowtowed. The underworld was extremely dangerous, and had Wu Ming not intervened, they would have surely become the meal of the evil ghost. Their gratitude was sincere, not feigned.
At this moment, Wu Ming noticed a faint flicker of white light from his shoulder.
With a shift in his spiritual awareness, he immediately connected with a divine talisman attached to his shoulder:
“Killed an evil ghost and rescued thirty-seven innocent souls. Gained thirty-seven merits!”
The talisman recorded the previous events in detail, and a line of text appeared—these would serve as proof of achievement in the future!
Ever since he decided to earn merits, he had received this talisman from the City God’s office. In Wu Ming’s eyes, wasn’t this essentially a divine version of a mission recorder?
“However… although this divine talisman can only rigidly record events, if the City God so desired, it might also be used to peek into my secrets…”
A cold glint flashed in Wu Ming’s eyes. He formed a hand seal with his fingers, and once the recording was complete, he immediately sealed the talisman:
“Wait!”
“Does the Immortal have further instructions?”
The group was just about to leave when they paused again at his words.
“The path I referred to earlier is not towards Heitai Yin City…”
Wu Ming smiled mysteriously and chanted another spell: “The great mercy of heaven and earth, sweet dew descends, removing your sins, liberating your souls to rebirth…”
The Black Mountain Ghost Kingdom had decreed that monks and Daoists were forbidden from delivering souls to rebirth, but this was the border region, beyond their control.
Moreover, Wu Ming was very curious about the matter of reincarnation—what consequences would arise from performing such a ritual, and why was the Black Mountain King so fearful of it?
Even in the worst-case scenario, even if it turned out to be fruitless, he would still gain some virtue!
With a wave of his hand, a gentle rain of dewdrops fell, carrying redemptive white light.
“This… is it the Dew of Reincarnation?! Thank you, Immortal! Thank you, Immortal!”
The old man exclaimed in awe, bowing his head repeatedly, and scolding the younger ones behind him: “Why are you hiding? Hurry up and use the dew to cleanse your sins and ascend to reincarnation? This is a great blessing!”
Without hesitation, he stepped into the rain, washing away his impurities, transforming into a beam of white light and entering the cycle of rebirth.
Only then did the other spirits realize what was happening. They rushed forward to compete for the dew, bowed deeply to Wu Ming, and then soared into the cycle of rebirth.
After everything was over, Wu Ming opened his spiritual eye and saw a slight increase in the golden light of virtue around him. A smile appeared on his face: “Each world has its own rules. Although I do not yet know the use of virtue in this world of spirits, accumulating it can only be beneficial.”
Looking at the divine talisman again, the recorded merits had now reached five hundred and sixty-seven. He shook his head: “These small missions, two days of hard work, add up to only half of the total. Accumulating a thousand merits in three days is extremely difficult. I wonder how Xu Ziquan is doing?”
Because both of them urgently needed merits, and due to the lack of sufficient trust and the inconvenience of cooperation, he had chosen to act separately from this follower of Legalist cultivation.
Looking at the current situation, completing the task of accumulating a thousand merits within three days through conventional means seemed even more difficult.
“Could it be that the City God deliberately wants me to fail, so that I can only become a ghost immortal, or be forced to submit to His sect?”
Wu Ming mused: “Or… is it meant to push me to take risks?”
At this thought, he instinctively climbed to a higher vantage point. Looking afar, on the dark and boundless land, an endless canyon stretched out before his eyes.
Nirvana River, No-Return Valley, Ghost Mang Mountains!
These three places were perilous locations in the underworld, and also served as boundary markers between the Black Mountain Ghost Kingdom and Heitai Yin City.
In terms of sheer vastness, Ghost Mang Mountains were first, followed by Nirvana River, and then No-Return Valley. However, in terms of danger, the order was reversed, with No-Return Valley being the most perilous. Ordinary ghost deities would truly find it a one-way trip.
On the merit ranking list, there was a special task for exploring No-Return Valley. Simply obtaining some findings there would grant five hundred merits, placing it at the top of the list!
Unfortunately, many ghost deities were aware of the dangers and dared not venture in. Wu Ming had pondered for a long time before finally deciding to come here.
“Relatively speaking, Xu Ziquan chose to infiltrate the Black Mountain Ghost Kingdom to assassinate enemy ghost deities… If he can kill five ghost deities of equal rank, a thousand merits would be easily obtained. Unfortunately, this method is not suitable for me…”
Wu Ming sighed, shaking his head.
Xu Ziquan was still an unknown figure to the Black Mountain Ghost Kingdom, but Wu Ming had previously been chased out of the territory and barely managed to escape pursuit.
If he were to return so openly now, he would surely alert high-level ghost deities! Worse yet, if even a trace of attention from the Black Mountain King fell upon him, he would be in serious trouble.
Even with the aid of the Dragon Qi, he might not be able to withstand the combined spiritual power of the Black Mountain King and the Heitai City God, fueled by the prayers of countless ghost citizens!
But exploration was different. With great fortune, he wouldn’t die immediately.
Moreover, without any outsiders present, he could freely unleash his abilities.
With these thoughts, he no longer hesitated and headed directly toward the valley entrance.
“This is…”
Upon reaching the end, Wu Ming truly understood the reputation of No-Return Valley. The valley walls on both sides were almost towering into the heavens, forming a vast entrance that resembled the gaping mouth of a monstrous beast, seemingly ready to devour everything.
That alone was not so bad, but what startled Wu Ming most was the solemn and majestic aura emanating from within the valley.
“There must be something extraordinary within No-Return Valley, but compared to confronting the Black Mountain King and the Heitai City God directly…”
Wu Ming rubbed his chin and took a step into the valley.
Buzz!
The gray mist around him seemed to stir, yet also remained unchanged. However, the solemn aura surrounding him grew even stronger.
“This feeling…”
Wu Ming’s expression changed slightly. A flash of white light appeared in his hand, and the Suizhou Pearl materialized.
This pearl was about an inch in diameter, pure white and luminous in the dark. Inside, swirling golden and cyan clouds were visible, with a faint image of a cyan-purple serpent.
However, the serpent was now moving rapidly, showing signs of agitation, which was somewhat unexpected for Wu Ming.
“This is… the Dragon Qi stirring! Could it be that the No-Return Valley has some connection to the ancient human emperors?”
He vaguely felt that taking out this pearl had coincidentally triggered some crucial mechanism.
Perhaps, the unknown secrets of the No-Return Valley in the underworld would soon be revealed before him.
Roar! Roar!
The purple serpent within the Suizhou Pearl darted to its limit. Wu Ming clenched the pearl tightly, and the aura above his head transformed. Golden and cyan clouds surged forth, taking the form of a dragon, with radiant flames stretching several zhang in length!
“The power of the Heitai City God extends ten zhang, and the Black Mountain King surpasses even that. I am second only to these two, but among the high-level ghost deities on both sides, I might be unique…”
Wu Ming compared his current aura to that of the Heitai City God and immediately drew a conclusion.
If he fully utilized the Dragon Qi and transformed it into radiant flame abilities, he might instantly become a powerful ghost deity second only to the Black Mountain King and the Heitai City God!
However, doing so would mean he could only cultivate the path of ghost immortality within the underworld, which was not a wise choice.
Roar! Roar!
With the roar of the dragon, waves of immense power radiated outward in invisible ripples, suppressing the Five Elements and nullifying all other techniques!
Swoosh! Swoosh!
Squeak! Squeak!
The black mist quickly thinned and retreated. In the distance, several dark figures, startled, fled in panic. Among them, a few creatures emitted flames rising nearly a zhang high, making Wu Ming’s eyes widen.
According to the Zhou system, ten chi equals one zhang, and one zhang is approximately 3.3 meters in his previous life.
Without relying on the Suizhou Pearl’s aura, and judging solely by his innate luminous techniques, Wu Ming estimated that his power was comparable to a ghost deity with a flame length of about four to five chi. This was on par with the officials under the Heitai City God, such as the Merit Recorder, the Land Deity, or even the Black Mountain King’s envoys.
In the underworld, spiritual power could be classified according to the ranks of the mortal world: Emperor, King, Duke, Marquis, Earl, Viscount, Baron, and Gentleman.
Flames spanning several chi would be at most the rank of Baron, while flames reaching a zhang in height would be equivalent to the rank of Viscount.
Without the aid of the Dragon Qi, Wu Ming would likely be no match for those hidden creatures lurking in the darkness.
However, once he harnessed the Dragon Qi, his flames could stretch several zhang, making him a different story altogether.
“Previously… my estimation of the Heitai City God was inaccurate. This deity’s power is formidable, with flames soaring more than ten zhang high, placing him among the highest ranks of the underworld—akin to a Duke or Marquis! Even with the Dragon Qi, I would still be unable to contend with him!”
At this moment, the Suizhou Pearl emitted a white glow, illuminating a path through the gray mist.
Wu Ming gazed into the darkness, the dragon swirling above his head. A feeling of fear mixed with eagerness suddenly surged through his entire being.
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