Chapter 91: The Dharma Body

[Side Quest: Lost!]

[Quest Description: You are now in a maze. Escape within seven days! Upon completion, you will be rewarded with two hundred minor merits and unlock the next quest!]

Gray mist around formed words, then gradually dissipated.

“No penalty for failure?”

Wu Ming’s pupils slightly contracted. That was not a good sign. Instead, he sensed a huge danger lurking.

“And… ‘lost’? Does this place not belong to the world of gods and spirits? Then where is it?”

He suddenly looked up. Everything was dim. The entire sky and earth seemed devoid of sunlight, covered in a sinister grayish aura.

As the quest started, the restrictions lifted, but gray mist still lingered around, resulting in very low visibility.

“Strange! Strange!”

Wu Ming stomped the ground. It was dry and rocky, mixed with sand, all in grayish-black, devoid of any sign of life.

He checked his belongings and found some items untouched, while others were missing.

“Where exactly is this place?”

A very strange feeling lingered in his heart, giving rise to vague suspicions.

He couldn’t pinpoint it yet, so he chose a direction and started walking slowly.

Underfoot, a gravel path slowly emerged. The gray mist scattered as he approached, but it never fully retreated, maintaining a certain distance.

Suddenly, ahead, the view brightened, revealing an open area with faint silhouettes.

Wu Ming took a few steps forward, then abruptly stopped, gasping in shock.

It was a small hill where several figures moved about. Upon closer inspection, he saw that these figures wore white burial robes, their bodies translucent, some even missing limbs, bleeding from all seven orifices—extremely terrifying.

“What is this…?”

Wu Ming’s pupils constricted: “Vengeful spirits?! Could it be that…”

“Woe is me! The wild dog is coming! What shall we do?”

Suddenly, a vengeful spirit whose neck was half severed, held together only by a bit of flesh and skin, cried out loudly, its expression filled with terror.

“What shall we do?”

Other figures sighed as well. Some drifted away, others lay on the ground, presenting a scene of impending doom.

However, no matter how these “people” acted, Wu Ming felt their expressions were stiff, as if each thought required more effort than usual.

“Ow woo!”

Whoosh!

A fierce wind blew toward his face. Amid the shrieks of the vengeful spirits, thick black mist emerged from the wind, forming into a tall figure.

This “person” was more than twice the size of an average human. Its upper body was half-naked, muscles bulging. Its head, perched on its shoulders, had a protruding lower jaw, filled with sharp fangs dripping with saliva. Its eyes were bright red—a giant dog’s head!

This monstrous creature with a beast’s head and human body first let out a loud roar. The spiritual pressure radiating from it rendered all the vengeful spirits unable to move.

Seeing this, the dog-headed monster expressed satisfaction and pounced, biting into the spirits. Each bite removed a layer of white light from the spirits, transforming it into black mist that was absorbed bit by bit.

This monster had a huge appetite and especially favored the leaders among the spirits. After devouring a dozen or so, its dangerous eyes suddenly lifted, locking onto Wu Ming.

“Indeed, this world is no longer the land of the living!”

Wu Ming’s eyes suddenly cleared. He sighed.

“Ow woo!”

Another loud cry rang out. The wild dog abandoned the other spirits and charged fiercely toward Wu Ming.

This roar carried immense pressure, enough to immobilize any low-level spirit. With its immense physical strength and innate abilities, it was naturally unstoppable against minor ghosts and vengeful spirits.

“Demon beast!”

Unfortunately for it, Wu Ming was not like those previous spirits. Seeing this, he merely let out a cold shout.

Boom!

Previously confused, Wu Ming now became clear-headed. As soon as he regained his senses, his consciousness shone brightly. The spiritual power he had accumulated manifested as a flame of light enveloping his entire body.

In an instant, his original form solidified several times over. Particles condensed into a yin-yang robe, a five elders’ crown, cloud-walking boots, and so on.

In a moment, he transformed from a bewildered youth into a transcendent, elegant figure of the netherworld, holding a fly-whisk.

A clear light poured down, extending several feet outward, with red vapor rising and transforming into flames, illuminating the area.

“Woof! Woof!”

This pressure surpassed the dog-headed monster by far. Upon colliding with the flame, the beast howled in pain, its body showing burn marks, black mist wafting off. Terrified, it fled without looking back.

“Thank you, noble master, for rescuing us!”

The remaining spirits, seeing Wu Ming radiating clear light and red aura, his spiritual pressure even more terrifying than the wild dog’s, immediately felt their legs go weak and kowtowed on the spot.

“What are your names? Where are you from? When did you die?”

Moved by their plight, Wu Ming asked with a sorrowful expression.

“I am Wang Dahu, born in Qingyun Village, died from a mountain wolf’s attack!”

“I am Zhong Er, from the county town, died in warfare!”

“I am Han Zhonglin, a scholar from Suizhou Prefecture, fell off a cliff accidentally!”

…

In the netherworld, the contrast of spiritual power was more evident. The higher being had complete control over the lower ones’ life and death. Thus, when Wu Ming asked, they dared not withhold any information.

As Wu Ming listened, his frown deepened: “So this truly is the underworld of Yama!”

“Just asking a few, their causes of death and origins vary greatly. What a chaotic underworld!”

“If that’s the case, I’m in danger!”

He realized that although everyone had three souls and seven spirits, even cultivators who had embarked on the path of transcendence through martial arts or Daoism possessed yin spirits capable of entering the underworld, it was still extremely dangerous.

Defeating vengeful spirits was naturally effortless, but for certain ghosts and deities, a cultivator’s yin spirit was a prime elixir or puppet, making things very troublesome.

Moreover, yin and yang were ultimately different. Prolonged stay in ghost realms would inevitably pollute the yin spirit.

Unless one attained the status of a true immortal, achieving true yuan-shen, one could freely ascend to the heavens or descend into the underworld, remaining unharmed.

“I’m still at the Magus level. Although my yin spirit has achieved some success, in the underworld, I’m certainly not invincible…”

Wu Ming pondered silently, his expression growing increasingly grim: “Furthermore… if seven days pass, my physical body will collapse. At that point, aside from reincarnation, I’ll only have the path of becoming a ghost immortal to take. No wonder the Celestial Temple didn’t impose any penalties…”

Thinking thus, Wu Ming immediately tried to sense his physical body through cultivation techniques, but no matter what he did, he couldn’t perceive its location.

Even the underworld itself seemed to be under a powerful force binding it, making it difficult to escape. His expression darkened further.

“I am Niu Kang’an, born in Heitai County, died of sudden illness…”

At this moment, a burly man spoke.

“Hmm! How is Heitai County? Who is the current magistrate?”

Prompted by a sudden thought, Wu Ming asked immediately. The answer he received sent another jolt through his mind: “Still Zhang Zhengyi in office, and the timeline coincides exactly with after I expelled the Black Wind General last time?”

“Do you know the way back to the land of the living?”

Holding onto a slim hope, Wu Ming asked one last question, only to receive a series of helpless glances in return.

Only then did he realize that these spirits, after death, had been in a daze, their souls falling here, suffering day and night.

If there had been a way out, these spirits would have rushed toward it long ago, rather than lingering here in torment.

“It seems the underworld in this world of gods and spirits is indeed very strange… very strange indeed…”

Wu Ming shook his head inwardly, scanning his belongings. He found that most of his magical artifacts, including the Tiangong Ring, were missing. Only a pearl and a decree remained—these were the Suishou Pearl and the Land God Edict. Each had its own mysteries, capable of entering and exiting the underworld, which wasn’t too surprising.

Especially considering that the Land God Edict originally had partial functions within the underworld.

“Perhaps… my way out this time lies with these items!”

In the world of gods and spirits, the Land God Edict had transformed from its original “concealed divinity” state—a grayish-white stone tablet—back into a faintly glowing object, its runes flickering. Wu Ming gripped it tightly, deep in thought.

“If last time in the world of gods and spirits, I saw the divine side, this time I’m starting from the ghostly side… last time in the mortal realm, this time in the underworld. Interesting indeed!”

Wu Ming stopped probing further and casually asked about the surrounding conditions.

Unfortunately, these souls were all mentally stiff and weak, barely able to hold onto this small hill. Any passing ghost or deity could easily wipe them out. He couldn’t gather much information.

“Enough! Since we have met, it must be fate. Today, I shall help you rid yourselves of karmic obstacles and escape this sea of suffering!”

Wu Ming formed a magical seal and began chanting a salvation mantra.

Each world had its own cycle of reincarnation, broadly similar. Now, drawing on this world’s spiritual energy and adjusting a few rituals, Wu Ming found his mind instantly connected to a vast cycle of reincarnation.

“The reincarnation system in this world is far inferior to that of the Zhou Dynasty…”

Still making mental comparisons, Wu Ming continued chanting: “Heaven and Earth are greatly merciful, bestowing sweet dew, removing your sins, guiding your rebirth…”

With a wave of his hand, a gentle rain of dewdrops fell upon the vengeful spirits, transforming into wisps of white vapor.

Receiving this vapor to mend their forms, the spirits’ faces lit up with immense joy and serenity. Their missing limbs and body parts reattached, bloodstains vanished, and they donned white robes, kowtowing to Wu Ming: “Thank you, noble benefactor! In our next life, we shall repay your kindness!”

“Go forth! Go forth!”

With a flick of his sleeve, Wu Ming sent the spirits into the white light, toward reincarnation, vanishing instantly.

In moments, all the spirits were delivered, the small hill left empty, the surrounding mist seemingly thinning slightly.

Wu Ming, however, didn’t notice these changes. Instead, he looked at himself and saw a thin layer of golden light forming on his body. A surprised expression crossed his face: “This is… the aura of merit! Although only a little, it is undeniably real!”

He felt slightly puzzled. Delivering souls was a priest or monk’s usual duty. Why was the underworld here so chaotic, with spirits everywhere?

He vaguely sensed he might have caused trouble. Not daring to stay any longer, he quickly walked away.