Invasion Myth: Starting with the Schoolteacher

Chapter 972 The Door, Long Time No See
Ultimately, a terrifying "black sun" formed deep within the soul!
If you want to "break free from troubles" using the traditional approach...

Before an individual can even transcend their limitations, the black sun, formed from endless karmic causes and effects, will erupt first, enough to turn the world upside down.

Some karma must be repaid, some karmic ties must be severed, and some obstacles must be overcome.

In the Dragon Lord's eyes, Xu Bailian will either sink into madness and destruction, or... create an unprecedented ending.

"However, there's always a way out." Xu Xuan quickly put aside his worries about the future; he was very good at comforting himself.

"Becoming an immortal or a Buddha is a distant prospect. Right now, the immortals and gods of the Three Realms are nowhere to be found. If I can reach the fourth realm, the 'Seeing the Dao Ground,' I will theoretically be at the pinnacle of the human world, which will be enough to deal with most troubles."

They even optimistically started planning "backup plans":
"Even if we don't ultimately attain the orthodox status of Taiyi Immortal or Bodhisattva, there's still the 'Heaven of Free Transformation'!"

"I've heard that the Demon Palace in the Vajra Valley has been abandoned for a long time since Mara left, and the position of Demon King must be vacant."

"The Lord of Eight Billion Heavenly Demons... that title sounds pretty cool."

Just as Xu Xuan was comforting himself and even letting his thoughts wander, another of the nine stone platforms—the "Empty Platform"—suddenly flashed an ominous light!

The seemingly ordinary campfire on the platform suddenly burst into flames several meters high, a ghastly green.

The withered, ethereal fox spirit beside the flames seemed to be summoned by some irresistible force. It let out a sharp, mournful cry and plunged headlong into the raging fire!

The fox fur instantly ignited, turning into a rolling fireball, but it continued to repeat the distorted proverb in a mournful voice:

"The Great Chu will rise! Chen Sheng will be king! The Great Chu will rise! Chen Sheng will be king!"

This desperate and frantic roar added an even more eerie and ominous touch to the already gloomy atmosphere of the altar.

In the end, the fox demon completely dissipated in the flames, transforming into a condensed, pitch-black aura of resentment.

This wisp of resentment, just like the writing on the silk scroll before, swirled in the air for several minutes before suddenly plunging into the void and disappearing!
At the same time, the spiritual power of the mountains and rivers in the entire Daze Township was forcibly seized and distorted by the formation, resulting in a violent collision at the boundary between Yin and Yang!
Unable to withstand this violent reverse force, the nine stone platforms began to develop numerous cracks, emitting a "crackling" sound as they succumbed to the unbearable pressure.

Clearly, this reckless and forceful opening of the portal has already caused the reversed Dragon-Slaying Formation to show signs of collapse!

When the power of Yin and Yang reversal accumulates to a certain critical point—

Click!

A sound, far clearer than before, like the shattering of glass, came from the depths of the void!

The void that had been repeatedly struck was finally torn open, revealing a black rift about the height of a person with its edges twisting and flickering.

The dense laws of the underworld surged forth like a flood bursting its banks, followed by pure ghostly energy that almost solidified into a tangible form!
A chilling mist quickly spread, and the once clear sky over Dazexiang suddenly darkened, with lightning flashing and thunder roaring!

This is no ordinary celestial phenomenon, but rather an anomaly resulting from the intense collision and friction between the laws of the mortal world and the underworld in this place; it is "fragments" at the level of rules.

Guo Beicheng had experienced this change before, but it was milder after the tree demon, who had been rooted in the earth for thousands of years, acted as a node.

The Great Wisdom Dharma King is clearly a reckless and pure-hearted person, so naturally he does whatever is most efficient.

The materialized ghostly energy danced, twisted, and tangled wildly above the altar, gradually condensing and spreading as if it had a life of its own, enveloping the entire wilderness in a gloomy and eerie atmosphere.

Even more unsettling was that in the center of the churning black air currents, a blurry shadow was gradually taking shape.

It is constructed from pure ghostly energy and overflowing laws of the underworld, and its outline vaguely resembles the shape of a door!
The laws of the underworld, which were originally at a complete disadvantage in the mortal world, seem to have finally found a "fulcrum" to rely on, and began to converge on that blurry doorway at an unprecedented speed, making it clearer and more stable.

Xu Xuan looked at the gradually forming black doorway without any tension; instead, a meaningful smile appeared on his lips.

Others might not recognize him, but how could he not?
This familiar structure, this energy that connects yin and yang...

"Ahmen...is that you?"

The Gates of Hell: It's you again?
behind the door.

It was a boundless, viscous, and suffocatingly blood-red world.

There is no sky, no earth. Above and below, dark red blood plasma slowly rotates and writhes like living things, thick as solidified agate, or like a newly formed sea of ​​blood.

The air was thick with the pungent stench of rust mixed with a rotten, sweet smell. Every breath felt like inhaling liquid sin, heavy and sinking into the lungs, polluting every inch of the senses.

There were no flames in this pool of blood, yet it emanated a scorching heat that pierced to the bone.

In the very center of this boundless pool of blood stood a figure.

His face was extremely ugly, a bluish-black color that seemed to have been frozen with a thousand years of resentment and unwillingness.

Its body was no longer flesh and blood, but rather a condensation of resentment and obsession. The tattered battle robe on its body was like a banner that had survived countless calamities, with eerie green ghost flames burning along its edges.

The fatal arrow wound on his left chest has now transformed into a scorching, ever-opening crack, undulating and pulsating in the darkness, as if it still roars in anger at the betrayal of the past.

His face still vaguely revealed the rugged features of the heroes of the past, but his eyes had been completely transformed into two deep vortexes that devoured all light.

If you gaze at it for too long, you can almost see how a swan about to take flight has its wings broken, and how the fate-altering rain at Dazexiang turned into a torrential downpour of blood. The crown symbolizing power on its head has long been twisted and deformed, turning into a thorny iron crown entwined with the endless wails and resentment of the nine hundred soldiers, tightly binding its soul.

He was none other than Chen Sheng, the Ghost King who had been lingering here.

Among the rebel kings who rose up in rebellion throughout history, Chen Sheng's fate can be considered relatively "lucky."

Because of his special status as the "first to rebel against Qin," he gained the recognition of Liu Bang, the founder of the Han Dynasty, who eventually established the Han Dynasty. Liu Bang issued an edict to set up thirty families to guard Chen Sheng's tomb, exempting them from taxes and miscellaneous labor, and assigning them the exclusive responsibility of guarding Chen Sheng's tomb.

With the imperial decree from the "First Emperor" of the Han Dynasty, and with incense burning in temples and shrines still existing in the human world for worship, Chen Sheng's true spirit could have been spared the torment of falling into the eighteen levels of hell and could have peacefully awaited reincarnation.

However, the resentment and bitterness in the heart of this first king of the uprising were too deep and too heavy.

It's hard for a king's vanguard not to harbor resentment.

They actually broke free from the guiding power of the Ten Kings Palace and voluntarily threw themselves into the more chaotic and cruel lower level of the underworld, intending to accumulate power and stir up trouble again!
After hundreds of years of development, annexing the weak and conquering all directions, it has finally established a foundation in this blood pool hell and has become the ghost king it is today.

Unfortunately, Wu Guang, his most capable assistant during the uprising, had already reincarnated and could no longer stand by his side.

At this moment, Chen Sheng looked at the silk handkerchief brought by the resentment of the ghost fox in his hand, and the familiar words "Chen Sheng Wang" on it. The mournful and distorted cry of "Great Chu will rise! Chen Sheng Wang!" echoed in his ears. His face was so gloomy that it was almost dripping water.

That junior named Dazhi didn't notify us in advance as agreed, and so hastily and forcibly opened the Yin-Yang Gate!
It is important to know that the Yin-Yang Gate is of great importance. He is currently in the thirteenth level of hell with no cover. The wisps of Yang energy are like a campfire lit in a dark forest, which has inevitably attracted the covetousness of countless ferocious beings around him!
"Fortunately... I have never truly trusted the credibility of people in the mortal world!" Chen Sheng thought to himself with a cold snort.

He had already completed all the preparations for war and was just waiting for the right opportunity!

Suddenly, the ghost king thrust a seemingly ordinary bamboo pole into the churning pool of blood!
"rise!"

At his command, the blood pool surged violently as if boiling!

Accompanied by the teeth-grinding sounds of bones grinding and metal clashing, squads of soldiers exuding a strong aura of death and malevolence stepped out from the depths of the blood pool!
Seven hundred chariots, rusty yet exuding a chilling aura! Two thousand cavalry, both men and horses clad in heavy armor, their eyes burning with ghostly fire! And the infantry, densely packed, numbered no less than one hundred thousand!

The entire army formation exuded a murderous aura, with malevolent energy condensing like clouds, making this blood-soaked hell resemble an ancient battlefield about to be traversed!
However, upon closer inspection, one would find that this seemingly large army was somewhat disorganized in formation, and the soldiers' weapons were mostly bamboo poles, sharpened wooden sticks, or rough stone tools, which were far removed from the iron cavalry of the elite armies of the mortal realm.

Chen Sheng frowned, a hint of dissatisfaction flashing in his eyes, but it quickly turned into a deep sense of helplessness.

Even ghost soldiers and ghost generals are divided into different ranks.

Soldiers who die in battle may be recognized by the dynasty or later generations as "heroic martyrs" or "loyal and righteous men," and their souls may be guided by the Taiyi Jiuku Tianzun to the Eastern Paradise for pure cultivation, or be reborn as wealthy people to continue their spiritual path.

If there are no human sacrifices, or if the battles they participate in are deemed "unjust," the most ferocious among them will be cast into the Asura realm to continue fighting, while ordinary soldier spirits will mostly be unable to escape the fate of falling into hell to suffer.

Neither the Eastern Paradise nor the Asura Path are places he currently has the ability to recruit soldiers.

As for other high-quality soldiers in the underworld, they also have their own channels.

The dojos of the Five Ghost Emperors are composed entirely of elite ghost soldiers who were brave and skilled in battle in life and were rigorously selected and refined after death.

However, to gain access to the ranks and recruit soldiers, one needs a special background and various complex maneuvers both before and after death. King Helü of Wu, for example, followed this high-level approach.

Another approach is to occupy special underworld cities like the "City of the Wrongfully Dead," collect the malevolent spirits and evil souls with heavy resentment and overwhelming evil aura, and form an army.

Although these soldiers are difficult to control, once they are formed into an army, their strength is often even more formidable.

Unfortunately, these top-tier sources of manpower have long been divided up or tightly controlled by various powerful figures.

Chen Sheng rose from humble beginnings and never received a proper aristocratic education. As a result, he was inherently deficient in commanding troops, governing the country, and even managing and scheming underworld forces.

In addition, although he was a Ghost King, he was not strong enough to forcibly occupy important nodes in the underworld.

Therefore, he had to personally venture into the eighteen levels of hell, into the relatively "free" but also the most deplorable area, to recruit these tormented, resentful, yet disorganized and poorly equipped low-level ghosts.

In general, their current power in this vast and boundless underworld, filled with powerful figures, can only be considered a small, isolated vassal state, far from being able to sweep across the entire world.

This is the harsh reality he had to face.

Chen Sheng forcibly suppressed the frustration he felt due to the army's poor conditions.

No more hesitation!

The forcibly opened Yin-Yang gate, and the silk handkerchief in her hand as a token, were the second clear signal from the other party!
He knew full well that his own unique characteristic, the name of "the first uprising," was the greatest banner!

If this first battle upon returning to the mortal world can be fought well and make a name for itself, then with the appeal of this banner, countless undercurrents of dissatisfaction with the current state of the world will naturally respond and follow suit.

Just like when Dazexiang raised his voice and the whole country responded, it created a situation where the world was in turmoil!
At that time, soldiers, armor, provisions, and elite troops can all be obtained from it!

He stopped looking at his poorly equipped subordinates and focused all his attention on the black gate that was gradually taking shape ahead.

He wanted to personally lead these 100,000 ghost soldiers to reclaim the land he had lost!

However, why is this portal a bit small?
And what is this door trembling about?
(End of this chapter)