This humble Taoist priest, Qianhe, begins his quest for immortality by slaying demons and monsters.

Chapter 186 The Kui Niu Drum's Divine Power, Ten Ancestors Suppress the Lord of the Prefecture

That wasn't all; on Zhong Bai's chest, an illusory mark was shimmering.

The Thunder Seal in his dantian emitted a scarlet thunderous infusion, and a phantom drum appeared in front of Zhong Bai.

It is the Kui Niu Drum!
This is the first time Zhong Bai has used the Kui Niu Drum Mark so far, and Lie Lingzi should feel honored by it.

The illusory drum became increasingly solid under the infusion of lightning seal. Lightning gathered in Zhong Bai's palm and transformed into a drumstick, which slammed onto the drum surface with a loud bang in Lie Lingzi's shocked gaze. The surrounding lightning exploded, and it seemed that only the sound of this drum could be heard in the world.

The moment the drums sounded, the so-called Hundred Ghosts Devouring Immortals Formation turned the illusory peak ghost generals into nothingness with overwhelming force, and even the formation flags were annihilated by lightning.

At the very center of the drumbeats, Lie Lingzi's body trembled slightly. Lightning had pierced through his chest, and his originally solid ghostly form slowly became transparent.

"No! You...!"

Lie Lingzi wanted to say something, but just as she was about to continue speaking, she noticed that scorching flames were rising up beneath her feet.

"No need for your last words. I don't want to hear your dying roar of resentment..."

Zhong Bai's lips were somewhat pale. The hammer blow had drained most of the true essence from his body. If it weren't for the fact that Zhong Bai's physical strength was comparable to that of a Golden Core True Monarch, he would probably have collapsed to the ground long ago.

far away.

The four ghost messengers gasped in shock at the sight. They had never imagined that Zhong Bai could kill their superior so quickly—a peak Ghost King!
In the palace of the Lord of Mount Tai, the Lord of Mount Tai, who sat cross-legged in the void, frowned. The death of Lie Lingzi was perhaps not very important to the Lord of Mount Tai.

But Zhong Bai's identity... The orders from King Chujiang were being rapidly issued in his mind. Lord Taishan originally didn't want to care about the life of a ghost king's envoy, but now he had no choice but to go.

A divine soul departed from the body.

......................................................

After killing Lie Lingzi, Zhong Bai was not overly joyful. He had done everything he could and had left no evidence against him.

When Lie Lingzi arrived, given Zhong Bai's personality, why would he have argued with him?
Zhong Bai himself understood that this was the territory of King Chujiang and the jurisdiction of Lord Taishan. Zhong Bai had killed someone's subordinate, and he couldn't just get rid of him without a reason. Maoshan's domineering ways couldn't offend people so easily after all.

Now that Lie Lingzi is dead, the higher-ups behind him should be arriving soon...

As Zhong Bai was thinking this, a Dharma image that blotted out the sky appeared in the void.

The thousand-foot-tall Dharma form made Zhong Bai not even have the courage to look it in the eye; his body trembled incessantly, an instinctive fear of such a terrifying aura.

Clenching his teeth, Zhong Bai suppressed his unease and looked up at the Dharma image that appeared in the void.

"Humph!

"A mere cultivator from the mortal realm dares to come to the underworld and kill my subordinates? Do you think your status as the leader of the Maoshan Sect gives you the right to act with impunity?!"

As the thunderous sound rang out, Zhong Bai felt a sharp pain in his eardrums; the pressure was too intense.

"This humble Taoist priest, Zhong Bai, greets Lord Taishan. Lord Taishan, I have come to the Underworld to kill Lie Lingzi on orders!"

"Acting under orders? Under whose orders!"

"The decree of the Lord of Maoshan under the rule of King Yama!"

Zhong Bai remained neither humble nor arrogant. At this moment, he represented the leader of Maoshan Sect. A thousand years ago, the leader of Maoshan Sect and the local lord were absolutely equal. Now, even though Zhong Bai's strength was far inferior to that of the Lord of Mount Tai, he could not lose in terms of courage.

"joke!
"You've come on the orders of the Lord of Maoshan to slay the underworld official under my Lord of Taishan! Are you looking down on me?!"

Upon hearing this, Zhong Bai realized that the other party was deliberately trying to cause trouble. Such a big shot could easily see through Lie Lingzi's actions with just a few calculations, yet he pretended to be deaf and dumb.

"Does Your Excellency mean that everything Lie Lingzi did was at Your Excellency's behest?"
Or is it that Lord Underworld Lord is unaware of the rules of the Underworld, that the souls of the dead cannot return to the mortal realm?

Zhong Bai simply gave up and decided to be bullied. He thought, "If the sky falls, someone else will hold it up." Zhong Bai didn't believe that the Tenth Ancestor was unaware of the current situation, given the order he received.

Zhong Bai's actions had an element of gambling.

In the void, Lord Taishan's expression was rather unpleasant. He truly hadn't expected Zhong Bai to talk back like that, even taking the blame upon himself.

"presumptuous!
Are you questioning me, the Prefect?

"Hmph! Looks like I'll have to teach you a lesson!"

Upon hearing this, Zhong Bai focused all his qi and blood, and activated the Golden Light Divine Incantation to its fullest extent.

With a single finger, the index finger, which blots out the sky, appears as large as a mountain in Zhong Bai's eyes.

Just as his index finger was about to fall, the face of the Lord of Mount Tai suddenly turned pale, his eyes filled with fear as he looked into the distant void, and his thousand-foot-tall Dharma form began to tremble.

Zhong Bai, with his eyes closed, waited for the index finger to arrive and did not notice.

A gentle, ethereal voice came into the mind of the Lord of Mount Tai: "The new leader of Maoshan is not bad. I like him. Do not harm him!"

"Your Majesty, I understand!"

After silently replying in his heart, Lord Taishan looked at Zhong Bai with a complicated expression.

He never intended to actually kill Zhong Bai with a single finger strike; it was just a show.

But then, the voice of Meng Po (the Goddess of Forgetfulness) echoed in my mind!

With a thud, Lord Taishan felt a bit scared, but thankfully he reacted quickly.

Just then, the Tenth Patriarch appeared.

The same thousand-foot-tall Dharma image rose up, confronting the Lord of Mount Tai across the void. The Tenth Ancestor's gaze was filled with doubt. The reason was simple: the old friend of Mount Tai was acting strangely at this moment. His empty eyes seemed as if he had just been frightened.

"Fellow Daoist Taishan, why make things difficult for a junior like me!"

After a moment's thought, the Tenth Ancestor began to speak according to his own script. Upon hearing this, the Lord of Mount Tai finally came to his senses. Looking at the belated Tenth Ancestor, the Lord of Mount Tai couldn't help but roll his eyes. It was all Wang Zhiyuan's fault for arriving too late. If he had come earlier, perhaps Lady Meng Po wouldn't have reminded him, and he wouldn't have had to worry.

"Wang Zhiyuan, you really are..."

The words were on the tip of his tongue, but the Lord of Mount Tai simply didn't want to say another word to the Tenth Patriarch. He wanted to be alone, he really wanted to be quiet...

With a whoosh, the Dharma image dissipated, and Lord Taishan left directly to return to his palace.

In the void, the Tenth Ancestor looked bewildered. He didn't know what had happened to his old friend, Lord Taishan. He looked depressed, as he didn't seem to have been able to stop him.

Below, Zhong Bai slowly opened his eyes. Since the arrival of the Ten Ancestors, Zhong Bai's mood had calmed down. Sure enough, the Ten Ancestors couldn't really ignore him.

The Tenth Patriarch looked at Zhong Bai with some doubt.

"You brat, what just happened? Why does Lord Taishan look like a doormat?"
Is it you who, relying on the power of our Maoshan underworld, forcibly coerced others?

No, you're not capable of that.

He muttered to himself, the Tenth Patriarch was completely baffled, while Zhong Bai was somewhat confused.

Um... what did he do?

It seems not?
"Alright, alright. The reason I had you handle this matter is to make you understand that the underworld is not solely dominated by Maoshan. In short, you must show some respect to the Lord of Mount Tai in the future, understand?"

After saying this, the Tenth Patriarch disappeared from the spot.

Zhong Bai, on the other hand, looked completely bewildered...

...................................................

Inside the palace of King Chujiang.

On a white jade chessboard, black and white pieces are locked in a fierce battle.

"Brother Chu Jiang, there seems to be something wrong with your subordinate, the Prefect..."

King Chujiang nodded upon hearing this.

"Taishan isn't usually like this. This game of chess ended before it even started, which suggests that a third party intervened..."

"Brother Zhuanlun, your Maoshan sect leader is indeed quite capable. No wonder you wanted him to venture into the new world."

"Haha, fellow Daoist, you flatter me."

The two men, King Chujiang and King Zhuanlun, were both among the Ten Kings of Hell. King Zhuanlun was also one of the Four Patriarchs of Maoshan. Naturally, some information could not be kept from them.

"This game is over, Brother Chu Jiang. I'll come again next time to learn from your chess skills..."

As they spoke, the Fourth Patriarch's figure gradually faded until it disappeared from the spot.

No sooner had the Fourth Patriarch left than the Lord of Mount Tai was summoned to the palace by King Chujiang.

"Tell me, who interrupted the game of chess..."

King Chujiang did not look at Lord Taishan, but stared at the chessboard in front of him.

"Your Majesty, it is... the one on the Bridge of Helplessness!"

Upon hearing this, King Chujiang, whose gaze had been calm, suddenly trembled. The chessboard in front of him was overturned by the tremor, and the white jade chess pieces clattered to the ground.

"I see, it's that person... no wonder. You may leave now."

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

After the Lord of Mount Tai left, King Chujiang finally snapped out of his daze, took a deep breath, and then looked into the distant void, lost in thought.

Zhong Bai did not linger in the underworld for long. After the Ten Ancestors left, Zhong Bai led four ghost messengers and left the underworld to return to the mortal realm.

Renjia Town.

A day had passed since Zhong Bai left. In the mortuary, candlelight shone brightly. Lin Fengjiao and Simu paced back and forth, clearly still worried about Zhong Bai's journey to the underworld.

Just then, a rift suddenly appeared in the void in front of them, opening the passage between the two worlds. Zhong Bai was the first to emerge from the passage. Although his face was somewhat pale, his aura was not diminished.

The moment Lin Fengjiao and Simu saw Zhong Bai, they both beamed with joy and headed towards him.

"Master, my brother!"

The two spoke at the same time, but Zhong Bai raised his right hand to signal them not to ask yet.

He then turned to look at the interdimensional passage behind him.

Where are the ghost soldiers?!

As soon as Zhong Bai finished speaking, rows of neatly arranged Yin soldiers poured out from the interdimensional passage behind him.

The weakest among them were peak-level ghost soldiers, and some were even at the ghost general level.

Three hundred Yin soldiers may seem like a small number, but this is the entire number that Zhong Bai can mobilize within his authority.

"My subordinate is here!"

The unanimous response from the ghostly soldiers sent a jolt through the hearts of all the Maoshan disciples in the mortuary.

(End of this chapter)