I am Jinshan Youxia

Tianlong looked up and watched as the shadows gradually climbed above the sun, and the sunlight gradually disappeared, marking the time the Yin Gods had spoken of.

"The time has come." The old Taoist priest made a hand seal, pointed to the lotus lamp in front of him, and said, "Receive the seal."

The three—Fatty Da Gui, Tian Long, and Meng Meng, dressed as a Taoist nun—sat down cross-legged, simultaneously forming hand seals and lighting the lotus lamp.

Golden light spread out from the lamp, illuminating the red rope, and the light illuminated the entire open space.

Some Taoist priests were chanting incantations on the high platform, while others were wielding swords under the talisman cloth, and the monks around them were chanting scriptures.

Time passed slowly, the wind completely stopped, and a feeling of stuffiness spread among everyone. The sun in the sky was slowly obscured by dark shadows.

"Whoosh~" A cold wind suddenly arose.

The monks and Taoists watched helplessly as the city's reflection and the densely packed figures in the sky suddenly plummeted, passing right through their bodies, a chilling sensation washing over them.

Fatty Da Gui felt extremely cold and panicked. He couldn't help but shiver, his fat jiggling, and the flame of the lotus lantern in front of him flickered, almost going out on the spot.

Tianlong, standing to the side, maintained the position with one hand forming a hand seal, while placing the other hand on the fat man to help, saying, "Junior brother, concentrate."

The old Taoist priest glared at his fat apprentice with a long face, but didn't say anything. Maintaining the formation had already taken up eighty percent of his energy, and he also had to be careful to guard against the evil spirits that might descend at any time. He was also getting old, and he was afraid that if he spoke, he would lose his strength.

The fat man's face flushed slightly, and he pushed forward with his hands forming a hand seal, causing the flame inside the lotus lantern to burn brightly.

As time passed, the reflections from the underworld slowly faded away, and the sun in the sky gradually brightened.

Where are the demons and evil spirits?

Everyone was filled with doubt, but at the very last moment of the solar eclipse, a furious roar was heard:

"Zhong Kui!"

Then, everything returned to normal.

"Master?" Tianlong asked in confusion, nothing had happened.

The old Taoist priest released his hand seals, letting the formation dissipate. His face showed the same bewilderment as everyone else's. Where were the evil spirits they were promised?

The voice calling out Zhong Kui sounded somewhat familiar, like a messenger from the underworld, but isn't Zhong Kui also a judge of the underworld?

The monks and Taoists from various sects gathered together. After a brief discussion, someone burned incense and inquired about the ancestral masters who were the gods of the underworld. The feedback they received was that the evil spirits had escaped, and everyone was asked to track them down.

That evil spirit is a zombie that has become a demon, and it is extremely powerful. Once discovered, one must not act rashly, but must notify the underworld immediately.

How exactly they escaped is unknown. In any case, they didn't even understand how evil spirits descended from the sky; they were just following orders to slay demons and monsters.

As for why the spirits were angrily shouting at Zhong Kui, they didn't understand, nor would they ever understand, and they dispersed in confusion.

The old Taoist priest packed his things and went home with his two apprentices and daughter. On the way, Da Gui kept complaining that the Yin God made them work for free and gave them nothing, and even the information was wrong.

"Snapped!"

"After returning, kneel before the ancestral tablet for six hours."

"Yes, Master."

-----------------

The underworld, a ghost town.

"Thank you for your help, Master Yan." Nie Xiaoqian bowed.

Her body was covered in marks from lightning strikes, her hair was curly and smoking, and her clothes were charred black everywhere.

The underworld spirits wanted to take advantage of the clash between yin and yang to kill their master. If it weren't for Yan Chixia's help at the crucial moment, who moved the sleeping master to another place, the master would have been caught in a pre-prepared trap.

Even if we don't eliminate it, we will definitely use sealing to deal with this biggest unstable element.

Yan Chixia waved his hand and said, "Just call me Zhong Kui. In every lifetime, I am the same person."

Having become a Yin spirit, he has regained all his past memories, but there are too many memories. He could be Yan Chixia, Yuqing Daoren, or even the old Daoist who subdued the Ksitigarbha Ghost King a hundred years ago.

Even the memories of the domestic fowl and wild beasts that he once reincarnated are his; it is through the accumulation of lifetimes that he has become the reincarnated Zhong Kui of today.

Nie Xiaoqian remained silent; she only recognized Yan Chixia.

Zhong Kui sighed and said, "Don't worry about him, senior. Once he leaves the underworld and enters the mortal realm, there are almost no people who can harm him. You should take better care of yourself."

If the position of King Yama hadn't been vacant, the combined power of the Ten Kings of Hell would be incomparable to what it was before. They would have dealt with the two kings of the underworld long ago, instead of waiting until today.

Nie Xiaoqian smiled but did not reply. With the help of her master, she was no less capable than any of the Ten Kings of Hell. She had long been prepared to lead her sisters away from China, and those Yin gods could do nothing to them.

She asked, "Master Yan, will you be in trouble?"

The judges are powerful, but the nine kings of hell are even more so.

Zhong Kui shook his head and said, "This clash between Yin and Yang will have a great impact on the underworld. Moreover, they will be busy repairing the underworld, so they won't have time to deal with me for at least a hundred years."

"Besides, they have no right to strip me of my divine position; at worst, I'll be reincarnated again."

"Well then, Master Yan, the journey of the martial world is long, we shall meet again in the future." Nie Xiaoqian clasped her hands in a fist salute, mimicking Zhang Chengyi's gesture, waved her hand to gather the remaining female ghosts into her sleeve, and drifted away.

"Let's go. Let's go."

Zhong Kui sighed again and looked up at the Black and White Impermanence flying towards him.

"Lord Zhong Kui, your deeds have been exposed!"

Chapter 276 Twenty-Five Years Later

Twenty-five years later, in a deep mountain beyond the Great Wall.

"hu~hu~"

A cold wind howled and snowflakes fell. A teenage girl, dressed in a thick fur coat, ran a short distance through the mountains, then turned back and threw a snowball. Standing prettily on a high spot, she said, "Dad, hurry up!"

Ao Tianlong wiped the snow off his shoulders, looked up at the sun, dragged his luggage with one hand, and calculated with the other, saying, "According to the location, the Valley of Fallen Sky that the tribe mentioned is nearby. Xiao Shuang, don't wander off."

Based on the timeline, the thing that fell into the mountains 25 years ago when Yin and Yang clashed could have been a celestial demon that so many monks and Taoists had been preparing for for years but never received.

However, although their Maoshan sect also worships its ancestor, none of the ancestor became a spirit, and no one knows where the ancestor went after reincarnation.

After much deliberation, Ao Tianlong decided to go and take a look.

After all, it might not be some kind of evil spirit, but he had genuinely heard that ever since something fell into the mountains, there had been strange noises, and the number of wild animals was gradually decreasing, making it increasingly difficult for nearby tribes to hunt, forcing them to migrate one after another.

Over the past twenty-five years, people from the tribe have entered the mountains one after another, but none of them have ever returned.

He was determined to find out the truth about this eerie place.

Ao Ningshuang, who had been running through the snow, turned back after a while, her face full of fear, and said, "Father, there really was a strange noise ahead!"

Ao Tianlong put down his luggage and quickly crossed the mountain. He could already faintly hear the echoing thunder.

The location is still far away, but we can already tell the direction.

He drew his sword and instructed, "Xiao Shuang, you stay here and watch the luggage. I'll go and scout ahead." With that, he darted off with remarkable agility.

As he drew closer, the sound grew clearer and clearer. In the dead of winter, he could feel the temperature around him rising, and the thunderous roar grew louder and louder.

"Corpse aura, it really is a zombie."

Ao Tianlong's nose twitched, and his expression became serious. Along with the thunder and heat, a thick aura of death was transmitted.

He bit his finger, rubbed it on the sword's blade, and used his blood to consecrate the sword, thus unsealing it. Then he carefully moved forward.

"Father, why is it thundering?" came Ao Ningshuang's voice from behind.

Ao Tianlong turned around with some annoyance. The corpse energy and thunder made him unable to pay attention to what was behind him, and as a result, his daughter had quietly followed him. He said expressionlessly, "Didn't I tell you to stay and watch the luggage?"

Ao Ningshuang stuck out her tongue and said coquettishly, "Dad, even if we encounter any demons or monsters, I can still help you."

"You?" Ao Tianlong said, maintaining a wary stance as he walked inside, adding, "I just hope you don't hold me back."

"This item is extraordinary. Remember what I told you about back then..."

“Back then, Yin and Yang clashed, and you were ordered by the Yin God to go and suppress the evil spirits.” Ao Ning Shuang continued, “Father, you’ve said it so many times.”

"And there's also Uncle-Master Da Gui, Aunt-Master Meng Meng..."

"Alright, alright, you know it's serious, so don't be stubborn, hurry back." Ao Tianlong quickly interrupted his daughter's nagging, "This is no joke."

Ao Ningshuang was about to speak.

"Boom!" After a very loud clap of thunder, ripples spread out from it, and strands of lightning surged outwards in a ring.

Ao Tianlong thrust his sword into the ground with his backhand, formed a hand seal, and hurriedly called out, "Xiao Shuang!"

Ao Ningshuang dared not act willfully at this time, so she turned around and hid behind her father.

"Sizzle! Pop!"

The current flowed through the sword stuck in the ground and was conducted underground. After the aftershocks dissipated, Ao Tianlong gasped for breath and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

"Father~" Ao Ningshuang shouted in an electronic voice, her hair standing on end, "Even if there are demons, such powerful lightning must have died long ago."

Ao Tianlong, smelling the corpse energy that had not weakened but instead strengthened, said with a solemn expression, "Xiao Shuang, go down and wait for me." He reached out and gripped his sword, his body twitching involuntarily from the residual electric current, and then walked step by step toward the source of the rumbling sound.

Ao Ningshuang hesitated. It wasn't that she was afraid of dying, but she knew that if she followed, she would become a burden. If her father hadn't helped to block the attack just now, she would have been electrocuted.

After taking a few steps, Ao Tianlong turned back and saw his daughter obediently going downstairs. He felt a little relieved. Even if he never returned from this trip, it was good that his daughter was alive.

Such a terrifying demon cannot be left unchecked; that is simply not in his nature. Even if he is no match for it, he can uphold justice and then go to the underworld to complain to the gods.

There was nothing they could do. Their ancestor was unworthy of being a spirit, so these descendants naturally had no background and no way to file a complaint. They had to resort to death to file a complaint.

After the roar, the evil spirits inside seemed to quiet down considerably.

After walking about a mile, Ao Tianlong saw several skeletons pressed against the ground by the roadside, with a few dazzling gems hanging on their bodies. He sighed, thinking that these must be the people who came to investigate back then, no wonder they didn't go back.

According to past practice, he should have collected the body and bones of the deceased, but now he himself did not know if he could get down the mountain, so he only took a look, did not take the gem, and continued to go deeper.

He remained fully alert to any potential attacks from evil spirits, and his pace was slow. It took him about half an hour to finally spot the valley shimmering with seven-colored light in the distance.

[They're all gemstones!]

Even though Ao Tianlong wasn't a greedy person, he was still somewhat excited when he saw a valley made entirely of gemstones.

"Om~"

A flash of lightning.

Ao Tianlong tried to use the same trick again, attempting to block with his sword, but the distance was too close. The lightning was too strong, and the sword blade was shaking and groaning wildly. He suddenly remembered the intact bones he had just seen lying on the ground, and he grabbed the sword and fell down.

Sure enough, when placed close to the ground, the effect of the lightning was greatly reduced.

He sniffed and understood why the lightning weakened when he was close to the ground. The soil in this mountain was filled with corpse energy, and lying on the ground meant he was at the balance point between the corpse energy and the lightning, so the damage he would suffer would be minimal.