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Chapter 181 Demonic dye
On this gray and gloomy road, the donkey cart was bumping along slowly, while Zhengde's voice was speaking steadily.

"To let the Daoist know, it was probably more than a thousand years ago that the world was not like this. The Heavenly Court suppressed the four directions of heaven and earth, Mount Ling was peaceful and serene, and the underworld was also well-ordered in terms of rewards and punishments. Everything was in good order, and the laws of the world had not become like this. But one day, some alien species from beyond the realm descended into this world."

Zhengde raised his head and looked up at the equally dark sky, seemingly lost in thought.

"According to the stories passed down through generations in Buddhism, these strange beings possess unparalleled supernatural powers, and wherever they go, they establish demon kingdoms. Plants and trees become deformed, birds and beasts turn into monsters, and even well water emits a strange and ominous light—under this infection, the resistance of mortals quickly collapses. It seems that these evil spirits are about to take over the world. But at this moment, the gods and Buddhas in heaven intervene."

He cleared his throat and continued.

"The specifics... are no longer clear. All that is known is that the war was incredibly brutal. Fifty percent of the gods and Buddhas in the sky perished on the spot, and most of the rest were corrupted by demons. But in the end, those strange and evil demons were sealed away. However, the methods of cultivation in this world also became bizarre and strange. All cultivators were bound to be corrupted by demons, and only a few, after being purified and modified by several generations, could barely use them."

—Just as the last words fell, the long-awaited system notification sound rang in Zhou You's ears.

"Congratulations, player! You have deciphered a portion of the Lost World's lore, increasing the script's completion rate. You have obtained a Soul Stone."

Zhou You shut it down directly, then raised his head and asked Zhengde.

"—So that's why it's like this here?"

Zhengde looked around and then gave a wry smile.

"That's right, Daoist Master, you may not know this, but this Yin Road was originally the only way for souls in the mortal world to be reincarnated. The surrounding ruins should also be the underworld of Lizhou. But since the collapse of the laws of the world, this place has gradually been filled with the pollution left by the extraterrestrial demons. If the souls of the dead are lucky, they can be reincarnated. If they are unlucky, they will either become the nutrients and fertilizer for the Hell Flowers or become the corrupted monsters around here."

Having finished speaking, Zhengde looked at the grotesque beings who lingered, yet feared the Buddha's light, clasped his hands together, sighed deeply, and then fell silent.

…………

Like this, I don’t know how long it took.

The surrounding desolation gradually faded, and the human-faced flower and the deformed creature also disappeared. Slowly, all that could be seen was a thick gray mist.

Zhengde then spoke up again to remind him.

"Everyone be careful. We have now reached the dividing line of the Yin Road. Please follow my footsteps and do not go out. Otherwise, once you enter this gray fog, you will be randomly teleported to a place in Lizhou. If it is a village or town, it will be fine. But if it is some desolate wilderness, it will be difficult to get out."

Seeing that everyone had agreed, Zhengde took a deep breath and formed a hand seal—a golden light suddenly appeared in the gray mist.

"Everyone, look carefully, that's the direction we're going, don't go there!"

However, at that moment, the entire underworld suddenly trembled.

"Earthquakes even happen in the underworld?"

One of the bodyguards in the escort agency looked up and muttered habitually.

He wanted to look around to see what was going on.

However, all that could be seen and seen was an endless fog.

But soon, the Yin Road trembled again.

Then, the vibrations grew louder and more frequent.

It was as if...some enormous creature was approaching.

The bodyguard glanced uneasily at Lu Xiuyuan, who in turn turned to look at Zhou You and Zhengde without hesitation.

However, all he saw was a solemn face and a bewildered face.

Solemnity is Zhou You's, astonishment is Zhengde's.

Before Lu Xiuyuan could speak, Zhengde suddenly shouted.

"run!"

"What? Monk, what on earth happened?"

However, before he could finish speaking, he was stopped by a voice.

"Head镖师 Lu, you'd better listen to him—everyone listen to me now, get on the bus quickly, a big guy is coming!"

The one who spoke was Zhou You. He took a deep breath, pressed down on Duan Xie, which was starting to explode as a warning, and then looked up.

The thick, gray fog began to churn, as if something was stirring within it.

However, the problem is that this gray fog is boundless, as if it covers the entire Yin Road, so what could possibly stir it up?
...The problem was quickly solved.

Suddenly, from within the gray mist, a pale, bony finger emerged, initially appearing to be several feet long. Then came the hand, the arm...
Before long, a towering behemoth emerged from the gray fog.

—That was a skeleton.

A skull shaped like a mountain, wearing a five-skull crown and holding a white bone bottle!

Lu Xiuyuan had to crane his neck to get a full view of the thing, and he said, dumbfounded.

"What is this."

"The Dharma image of the Lord of the charnel ground! I knew those damned Tantric sects wouldn't let us off so easily!"

Zhou You gave a casual answer. He watched as everyone climbed onto the donkey cart, then swung his sword sheath and delivered a hard blow to the rump of each of the two donkeys!
The donkey raised its head high, let out a bray, and, despite the pain, galloped forward without stopping.

At this moment, Zhengde spoke hastily.

“That is Varana of the Western Vajra Flame Cold Forest. He was made into one of the bodies of the Lord of the charnel ground while still alive. And his power is incomparable to that of the one in Mang Village. But how exactly did they summon him? Even if this place is the underworld and not the mortal world, to make the Lord of the Cold Forest appear, at least three or four masters would have to be sacrificed. How could the Tantric sect be willing to sacrifice so many now?”

Zhou You replied directly.

"There's no use thinking about that now, Zhengde. How far are we from being able to escape from here?"

"The measurements of the mortal world are difficult to apply to the netherworld, but if we were to make a rough estimate, it would take about half an incense stick's time..."

Half an incense stick's time, in real-world terms, is about 15 minutes.

The donkey cart wasn't slow, but it definitely couldn't outrun this giant skeleton.

Zhou You's expression immediately darkened.

Zhengde needs to maintain the Buddha's light for everyone and cannot take action, so now he is the only one with the fighting power.

—So, why not light incense on Buddha's Birthday?

But Zhou You immediately shook his head.

He had a vague premonition that if he wanted to fight against this thing, he would inevitably summon the Auspicious and Wondrous Buddha Mother Bodhisattva, with whom he had a blood feud.

He narrowly escaped last time, but this time he wasn't confident he could dodge all the area-of-effect attacks, not to mention he had a whole carload of people to take care of.

After a brief deliberation, he immediately spoke.

"Zhengde".

"Benefactor Zhou, what's wrong?"

"You just said that if you jump out of this place, you will be randomly sent to a place in Lizhou, right?"

"That's right, Benefactor Zhou, why are you asking this?"

"—It's nothing, just to make sure I won't die."

Zhou You took a deep breath and then drew the Duanxie sword.

“Head镖师 Lu, and your apprentice, I’m pretty good at judging people. This bald guy seems trustworthy now. So after you leave this place, go if you can, and if you can’t, follow his arrangements. I’ll try my best to meet up with you later.”

Lu Xiuyuan still looked bewildered, but Lu Ping had a bad feeling and quickly spoke up to stop him.

"Master, what are you trying to do—"

However, before he could finish speaking, Zhou You had already taken the Broken Blade in his hand, jumped off the donkey cart, and leaped out!

(End of this chapter)