Chapter 111: Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio, White Skeleton Dharma

Ding Hai saw it, so naturally the others saw it too.

As the last trace of magical power connection with the Sky-Viewing Mirror was cut off, the terrifying suction force also dissipated.

Everyone felt empty inside, as if all their strength had been drained away.

"This... this City of the Dead, how could it be..." Immortal Qinghai's eyes were full of disbelief.

The City of the Dead, the legendary city of the underworld.

It is a place to receive the souls of those who died due to accidents, injustices, etc.

This city first appeared in Buddhist scriptures. Before that, there had never been such a city in the underworld, and there had never been any related records in the world of the living.

Strictly speaking, this is a city that does not exist.

However, at this moment, its outline was revealed in the Sky-peeping Mirror. The meaning of this was unimaginable.

"It seems that the connection between Guixu and the underworld is far from as simple as we imagined." The old Taoist priest Zhang Jingqing said in a deep voice.

"We must find out the truth as soon as possible, otherwise the consequences will be disastrous." Qinghai Zhenren's face was also extremely ugly.

Everyone looked solemn when they heard this.

They knew that what this peek revealed was just the tip of the iceberg.

If Guixu is really connected to the underworld, the entire world will be threatened.

Zhang Zhiwei, who was standing aside, saw that the atmosphere was a bit tense and asked, "Master, what should we do next?"

"First, pass this news back to the sect and inform the earth immortal ancestors in the blessed land. The matter of Guixu has exceeded the level that Yangshen can handle." Through the scene just now, the old Taoist Zhang Jingqing made a judgment in his mind.

Qinghai Zhenren nodded and said, “This matter is indeed beyond our ability to deal with.

Without the Earthly Immortal Realm ancestor leading the team, our fate after entering Guixu will not be much better than that of Fellow Daoist Jingshan and the others.

Instead of constantly adding fuel to the fire, it is better to gather all the strength and try to see if we can decide the outcome in one battle. If that doesn't work, we can implement the strategy of the blessed land falling."

Ding Hai, who was at the end of the crowd, did not join in the discussion at this time.

Black Mountain - City of the Dead
When he linked these two nouns together, he couldn't help but think of a monster made up by Old Monster Xu.

Black Mountain Demon.

Pu Songling, a hermit of Liuquan, was a failed scholar in official history. His life was not poor, but it was not that good either.

In the history of spiritual fantasy, he was not an outstanding great cultivator, and throughout his life, he only reached the realm of transcendence.

If it weren't for the brilliant fox ghost work "Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio" that he left behind, which not only contains the seven emotions and six desires of the lower class people, but also contains hidden warnings and admonitions, he would actually be no match for the masters of ordinary small lineages.

However, it is some of the stories in this book "Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio" that have left a deep impression on the imagination of later generations.

The character of the Black Mountain Old Demon was not directly created by Pu Songling.

Instead, he was a villain created by Xu Laoguai himself in later generations.

Logically speaking, it shouldn't be related to Guixu, right?

But looking at Zhang Zhiwei beside him, Ding Hai finally chose to shut up.

What if it is really the Black Mountain Demon?

There was a hint of solemnity in Ding Hai's eyes.

Zhang Zhiwei, who was not far in front of Ding Hai, noticed that something was wrong with Ding Hai, but he did not point it out directly and chose to remain silent.

At this time, the seven Yangshen bosses headed by the old Taoist priest Zhang Jingqing decided to send Zhang Zhiwei and Ding Hai back to report the news after preliminary discussion.

Zhang Zhiwei's strength is relatively weak. Although he has reached the threshold of Yang Shen realm, he is ultimately of no use in this situation.

As for Ding Hai, everyone present recognized his strength, but because of this, they did not want Ding Hai to be trapped in Guixu.

A few hours later, in an unknown sea area in the South China Sea.

Two figures rushed out of the calm sea one after another. They were Ding Hai and Zhang Zhiwei.

Under normal circumstances, the two people who were eager to report the news should have split up as soon as they came out of the sea and report the situation in Guixu to the sect as quickly as possible.

After Dante Crab and Zhang Zhiwei rushed out of the sea, they did not part ways immediately.

"Old Ding, what's going on? I saw that you hesitated at the end, as if you had something to say? Why didn't you just say it directly?" Zhang Zhiwei asked Ding Kai after coming out of the sea.

"I do have some ideas, but they are immature. I need some information to prove my guess. Even if I reveal all my guesses just now, it will be of no use to the overall situation."

Before confirming his guess, Ding Hai did not want to speak rashly. It was not that he was afraid of exposing his secret, but that he could not confirm whether his guess was true or false.

It would be fine if it was true, even if my secret was exposed.

With his strength at this level, if he really doesn’t care, even an earthly immortal would find it difficult to kill him.

If you want to capture him and slice him up as a guinea pig, then you'd better be prepared for a nuclear war.

What he was afraid of was, what if his guess was wrong?
It will kill people!

Even though the old Taoist priest Zhang Jingqing and Qinghai Zhenren were ready to die on this trip.

But Ding Hai didn’t want any of them to die because of him: “I need to go back and look up some information.

If the Maoshan Sutra Library is not available, I hope the Longhushan Sutra Library can be opened to me for a short period of time."

"No problem. You are fast on foot, so you can go back to Maoshan to check first. If you can't find the information you want there, feel free to come to Longhushan." Zhang Zhiwei readily agreed to Ding Hai.

At present, the Three Mountains Talismans have launched comprehensive cooperation to deal with the Guixu crisis. As a candidate for the next Heavenly Master, it will not be a problem for Ding Hai to exercise a little power and allow him to enter the Sutra Library.

After getting the answer, Ding Hai asked the question that concerned him the most: "Let me ask you one last question. If there is really something wrong in Guixu this time, will I, Maoshan, take over this time?"

Zhang Zhiwei did not hide the truth from Ding Hai: "According to the order of priority agreed upon by our ancestors more than a thousand years ago, this time it is indeed Maoshan that will take the lead."

After getting the answer he wanted, Ding Hai nodded without saying anything.

It's time to verify your own conjecture, no matter how impossible or absurd it seems.

As long as there is a possibility, Ding Hai is ready to pursue it further.

Maoshan treated him well. Except for the status, he basically enjoyed all the resources that a direct descendant should have.

To the best of his ability, Ding Hai wants to give it one last try to see if he can continue Maoshan's thousand-year glory.

After resolving their doubts, Ding Hai and the other person immediately parted ways.

With his extremely fast speed, he returned to Maoshan in less than an hour.

After hurriedly informing the Ministry of External Affairs of the specific situation of Guixu entrusted by Qinghai Zhenren and asking them to report it to the ancestors in the blessed land, he went to the library alone.

In the library, scriptures are piled up like mountains.

Ding Hai came to the area of ​​strange stories and began to look for strange stories that recorded secrets and legends from different eras.

In the past, Ding Hai had never paid attention to these travel notes and the like.

Every time he came to the Sutra Repository, he either came to observe various Taoist teachings or to recite Taoist scriptures.

He never looked at these classical Chinese novels in his eyes.

But this time, he had a feeling that the answer he needed might be among them.

He quickly flipped through ancient books, looking for records about the City of Wrongful Death and Pu Songling. Time passed quickly, and several days passed in the blink of an eye.

Ding Kai, who had searched almost the entire area of ​​strange stories, finally found some plausible clues in an ancient book called "Records of the Netherworld".

The City of the Wrongful Dead was created by Buddhism based on some descriptions in a strange book of fox and ghost stories called "Yu Li Bao Chao".

According to Buddhist records, it is a city created in hell by Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva for the ghosts who died due to unexpected disasters.

It is located on the right side of the Fengdu Emperor Palace in the Nine Nether Hell, adjacent to the Naihe Bridge and the Blood Basin Realm of Suffering.

The person in charge of the City of Wrongful Death is King Biancheng, the sixth king of the Ten Kings of Hell.

According to Buddhism, King Biancheng is one of the Ten Kings of Hell in the underworld.

He is ruthless, impartial and impartial, and specializes in judging the souls of those who died in accidents or unjust deaths.

In the City of the Dead, these dead souls can get temporary rest and wait for the underworld to give them fair judgment.

However, the account that Ding Hai saw in "Records of the Netherworld" recorded a city of wrongful death that was contrary to the world's perception.

In the "Records of the Netherworld" there is a story called "Travels to the City of the Unjustly Dead".

This story is told in the voice of Pu Songling's old friend Liuquan Jushi, recounting a bizarre experience that Pu Songling told him after drinking.

It tells the story of how Pu Songling, a hermit from Liuquan, mistakenly entered the City of the Wrongful Dead and experienced a series of thrilling events there.

The content of the story is not important. To sum it up, it is nothing more than how Pu Songling, a hermit from Liuquan, defeated evil with his wit and courage.

What is really important is Pu Songlin's portrayal and description of the City of the Dead.

According to his narration, the City of the Dead had long lost its underworld order and had become a paradise for evil spirits.

There, chaos is the theme...

After carefully reading the description of the City of the Dead in "Records of the Underworld", Ding Hai's frown gradually relaxed a little.

These descriptions had many similarities with the City of the Dead in the story in his mind.

But there are also many differences.

Ding Hai felt that he seemed to have touched the edge of some truth, but it was as if there was a layer of mist between them and he couldn't see the whole picture clearly.

After putting "Records of the Netherworld" back on the bookshelf, his eyes wandered around the bookshelf in an disorderly manner.

Ding Hai carefully pondered this fantasy story.

If the unknown person who wrote "Records of the Underworld" did not lie, Pu Songling, a hermit from Liuquan, did not make up stories.

This "Travels in the City of the Dead" is most likely the true source of the story in his mind.

But the question is, how did Pu Songling, who told this story, go deep into Guixu and escape unscathed?
You know, with Pu Songling's strength, he might not even be able to reach the entrance of Guixu.

Also, where did his memories of his past life come from?
Possession? Reincarnation? Or was it some mysterious power implanted in him when he was born?

The many complicated questions made Ding Hai fall into deep thought.

He knew that this was not only a story about the City of the Dead, but also a mystery about his own destiny.

He wanted to find the answer.

After reading all the books in the Strange Tales area of ​​the Maoshan Sutra Library, Ding Hai immediately rushed to Longhu Mountain.

When he arrived at Longhu Mountain, Zhang Dashengtou had already reported the news and returned to the South China Sea with the team sent by Longhu Mountain to support Guixu.

Fortunately, before he left, he had already arranged for Ding Hai to enter the Longhu Mountain Sutra Library.

With the help of Zhang Xilin, Ding Hai successfully sneaked into the Sutra Library of Longhu Mountain.

After entering the Sutra Library, Ding Hai began to search the books in order according to titles such as "Records of the Netherworld" and "Travels in the City of the Wrongly Dead".

Not long after, an ancient book that seemed to be buried by dust and time came into his sight.

On the cover of the book, there were a few large characters written in regular script: "Secret Records of the Netherworld".

Seeing this name, Ding Hai couldn't help but feel happy, hoping that this book could provide him with more information about the City of the Dead.

I carefully opened the pages of the book and a faint scent of ink wafted into my nose.

The words on the pages are old but clearly legible.

Ding Hai began to read carefully.

As he read further, his brows furrowed more and more.

The contents recorded in "Secret Records of the Underworld" are far more detailed and in-depth than those in "Records of the Underworld".

It seems to be an essay left by Pu Songling, a hermit from Liuquan, when he was mentally disturbed dozens of days after he had a dream.

The contents are very diverse, telling the various secrets of the netherworld in Pu Songlin's dream.

Among them, the description of the City of the Dead made Ding Hai shudder with fear.

Because it clearly records that the City of the Dead has been breached by demons and all the gods and Buddhas have fallen.

Destruction and chaos are the themes of the world.

According to the records in the book, the destruction of the City of the Dead did not happen overnight.

Hundreds of years ago, demons began to infiltrate and erode the City of the Dead.

They took advantage of the resentment and anger of the undead in the City of the Dead and gradually eroded the order and peace of the City of the Dead.

As time went by, the undead in the City of the Dead gradually lost their sanity and became crazy and cruel.

They attack everything in the underworld and even pose a huge threat to the human world.

In order to maintain order in the netherworld, Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva and other Yamas had to take action.

They sent a large number of ghost soldiers to the City of the Dead to suppress and clean up.

However, the demon's power was too great.

Although the ghost soldiers were extremely brave, they could not be completely eliminated.

In the end, in an extremely brutal and bloody battle, the army of Yin soldiers were surrounded and killed by demons, and the Ten Kings of Hell also fell one after another.

The entire underworld fell into chaos and destruction.

Darkness and fear spread like a plague, covering the entire underworld.

Above the shattered ruins of the City of the Dead, the wild laughter of demons and the wailing of the undead intertwined into a mournful symphony, echoing in the endless void.

The wind was howling, and dust and blood were intertwined, casting a thick layer of haze over the already dark underworld.

The demons' wild laughter became more and more rampant. They brandished their sharp claws and slaughtered the remaining undead in the ruins.

If there is a problem in the underworld, the world of the living will naturally not be able to escape chaos and destruction.

A chaotic era even bloodier than the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms began to dominate the earth.

The orthodox sects that worship immortals and Buddhas either degenerate into evil sects or disappear completely.

Demons began to penetrate deep into the mortal world to suck the marrow and destroy the bones, and ghosts often roamed in broad daylight to steal souls.

(End of this chapter)