Invasion Myth: Starting with the Schoolteacher

Chapter 620 The Dharma King Wants More Money

The Yin-Yang Dharma Realm is an ancient city.

This city is neither in the mortal realm nor in the underworld, but hangs precariously between life and death.

The city wall is neither brick nor stone, but is built from unfulfilled wishes.

The sugar figurine clutched by the child who died young, the unsent letters home by soldiers, and the unspoken repentance of an old man on his deathbed.

These obsessions solidified into translucent glazed bricks, within which light and shadow flow, eternally unbroken.

The water in the moat is clear as a mirror on the left bank, reflecting the ultimate joy of the mortal world; while it is turbid as pus on the right bank, churning the extreme suffering of the underworld.

The floating bridge on the river appears and disappears intermittently, and the bridge planks are covered with the three characters "greed, anger, and ignorance." Whenever someone accidentally steps over the characters, black blood seeps out.

The city's streets and alleys twisted like a maze; in the East Market, there were stalls selling Meng Po's soup; in the West Market, there were shops selling birthday gifts; in the South Ward, ghost craftsmen hammered locks for the dead; in the North Ward, witches spun shrouds.
In the center of the royal city stands the Yin-Yang Palace, its foundation made of black jade compressed from the eighteen levels of hell, its pillars of gold crystal cast from the thirty-three heavens, and the wind chimes hanging from the eaves emitting ghostly wails.

The whole place looks extremely mysterious and sinister, except for the fist marks on the city wall, which are somewhat eye-catching.

The Yin-Yang Dharma King resided here.

No one knows where He came from.

Some say that He was a cultivator from ancient times who failed to ascend and fell into the gap between Yin and Yang, becoming this being that is neither alive nor dead;

Throughout history, there have been many cultivators who failed to ascend, all of whom had already cultivated their Yang Souls. It's possible that if they obtained some rare treasure, they could transform it into a small celestial realm.

Some say that He was an anomaly born from this world, rejected by the power of Yin and Yang from birth, and wandering outside the rules;
It's also possible that they were conceived by heaven and earth; monsters and demons fall into this category. The most famous are the egg-born creatures from the Legend of the Heavenly Book and the guardian spirit Shi Gandang, who is said to have been born from a giant rock on Mount Tai.

Some whispered that He might be the incarnation of some unspeakable being, who came to this world only to witness the suffering of all beings in the cycle of reincarnation.

The last point was confirmed to be a statement made by the Karmapa himself, which is suspected to be an attempt to embellish the story.

But no matter what the speculation, there is no way to verify it. In an era when there were no gods in the heavens and no spirits on earth, they were still considered top overlords comparable to Black Mountain in terms of their powerful strength.

Even the hundreds of ghost kings in the Five Directions Ghost Emperor's dojo dared not neglect the other party.

They even brought all sorts of rare and precious treasures in exchange for a piece of information.

When the Yin-Yang Dharma King slowly walked out of the palace, the entire royal city fell silent.

He was draped in a dark ink robe with flowing clouds, the hem embroidered with dark gold yin-yang fish. As he walked, countless tiny vortexes seemed to appear and disappear at the hem of the robe, swallowing up light.

His face was so handsome it was almost sinister. His eyebrows were like distant mountains shrouded in mist, yet they exuded a chilling, murderous aura; his eyes were like stars reflected in a cold pool, his nose was high and straight, and his lips were as thin as a blade.

Her long hair was unbound, falling like splashed ink. Her fingers were long and pale, with nails as translucent as black jade, as she toyed with a chess piece that was half black and half white.

The design is clearly meticulous and reflects a human touch.

What's most unsettling is His aura. Even though He's standing right in front of you, it's as if there's an invisible barrier between you. It doesn't belong to the living, nor to the dead. In short, it's strange!
Standing before the hall, gazing at the five unseen sacred mountains of the underworld, a hint of distress appeared on his lips.

The Five Directions Ghost Emperor's Dojo actually wanted him to go to the human world to investigate what kind of vicious person dared to invade the underworld.

The Yin-Yang Dharma King sat on his throne, lightly tapping the armrest with his fingertips, gazing at the chaotic sky where the underworld and the human world met, his heart filled with complex emotions.

The underworld may seem dangerous, but it is actually safe and peaceful.

At least the rules of the underworld are clear. Even though the spirits of the underworld have disappeared, the cycle of reincarnation is still barely functioning. Without the restraint of underworld officials and ghosts, at most a group of ghost kings are just lording it over everyone.

But what about the human world?

The world is too cruel now.

There was a time when He enjoyed descending to earth in His true form, basking in the awe and reverence of all living beings.

Playing tricks on the fate of mortals is so much fun, especially matters of love, which love to transcend life and death and are the best toys.

Even when encountering top-tier experts, it is not afraid at all. If it can win, it will fight; if it can't, it will run back to its lair to hide. After all, it is almost an unwritten rule that cultivators at the pinnacle of human cultivation rarely fight to the death.

But things are different now.

Because the Yin-Yang Dharma King travels between Yin and Yang, he often inhabits the bodies of various races throughout the Nine Provinces to observe them and select high-quality souls to plunder.

Today he's a down-on-his-luck scholar, tomorrow a street vendor, and the day after tomorrow a courtesan... He never reveals his true identity, so he's very well-informed.

Have you ever seen the golden dragon of fortune that covers the entire land? It sweeps away all plague demons.

When a top-tier sect like Mount Shu falls, its protective array collapses as easily as paper; Mount Fukong falls just as easily, and one of its avatars is crushed to death.

The Tibetan demonic sect was destroyed, and it is said that several great monks who could see into the underworld perished.

The White Lotus sect's lunatics are going crazy in the north; I heard a Dharma King has died.

The water demons are stirring, and the clouds and mist over Dongting Lake are churning endlessly; it seems that something big is about to happen.

After observing for a long time, He was genuinely afraid.

Having witnessed so many dynastic changes and the emergence of sages, we have seen that whether it is a disaster or a blessing, there are always clues to be found.

But nowadays, everything in the world is completely unpredictable!

This isn't a calamity; it's clearly the madness of the Heavenly Way!
Therefore, he refused the five envoys.

The ghost kings were somewhat surprised; this one wasn't accepting orders? Wasn't it said that the Yin-Yang Dharma King, seemingly possessing profound understanding, was actually insatiably greedy, only accepting...
The Dharma King sneered, "The reason I've survived until now isn't because of my magical power, but because of my ability to assess situations and my shamelessness!"

For example, last time, that bastard Ruoxu, relying on his profound cultivation, directly broke into the Yin-Yang Dharma Realm, stepped on His royal city, and forcibly sent a woman's soul back to the mortal world.

This is a blatant slap in the face!
Any other overlord would have been enraged and attacked relentlessly.

But what about the Dharma King?

He waved with a smile: "Fellow Daoist Ruoxu, please take care."

Then he turned around and led the Yin-Yang Dharma Realm to another place to lie low. I endured it!

The Yin-Yang Dharma King had already seen the killing intent in Ruoxu's eyes, and it was highly likely that he would use his power to suppress this realm and create a pure land to subdue demons.

After all, he had indeed caused trouble in the world, so it was not unjust for him to be targeted.

After the transfer, they were indeed safe. A foreign fire god came out to take the blame and confronted the demonic monk, fighting their way into the deepest hell.

Face? What's face worth? Survival is the only thing that matters!
As for the Five Directions Ghost Emperor's Daoist Temple?

Ha, those old guys still want to drag him into this, saying they're "plotting something big together."

The Dharma King picked up his teacup, took a small sip, and sneered inwardly: "You five old geezers, still..."

"You have to pay more."

If you don't pay more, who will risk their lives for you?

The envoys weren't angry; adding money was a good thing, as the Five Directions Ghost Emperor's Dojo had existed for a very long time and had accumulated a great deal of knowledge.

It's perfectly reasonable to sacrifice some treasures to overcome the tribulation, especially since the cost is shared among five families.

The Yin-Yang Dharma King stated that he would provide an answer within ten years.

"ten years?!"

The ghost kings would have agreed in the past, since the timeline of cultivators is different from that of mortals, let alone ghost cultivators, many of whom are thousand-year-old ghosts.

(End of this chapter)