Chapter 221

A gust of gloomy wind suddenly blew in Fengdu City. The sun had not completely set in the west yet. During the summer season, it’s supposed to be extremely hot, but everyone felt a coldness that seeped out from their bones at this moment, like invisible fierce ghosts passing through their bodies. The wind whirls in the wild, and it’s quiet all around. Everyone is as if facing a great enemy. They placed their hands on their sword and gathered their Qi, only afraid of something dirty catching them off guard. After all, this is the ghost city Fengdu.

The sun is setting, and the road is ending. The blood-colored setting sun dyed half the sky, constantly oppressing the horizon. The only light left in the sky was like a wounded swordsman struggling to shine, yet he was drained from the last drop of blood and the darkness surged in.

The gusts of wind were incessant, sweeping the leaves and debris from the street haphazardly. The sound of rustling was like a blunt knife grinding meat. The closed window lattices and doors were trembling and tittering from the wind one by one. Those unstable debris also made a crunching sound, as if something was going to tear open the barrier of the house, breaking the shells of human beings, tearing and biting the tender and delicious flesh and blood.

Darkness came down completely, but the Fengdu of this day has a light that cannot be extinguished. The moment the sun* set in the west, the bright lamps in Fengdu City lit up one household after another, one lamp after another, as if they were torches held by celestial beings lighting up the Milky Way.

They are the soul guiding lamps that the living left for the dead. The lamp wick needs to be soaked in cow's blood for 49 days. The lamp oil is made from animal corpse oil. It does not ignite during the daytime, and the moment the night falls, it will burn on its own, and will extinguish at sunrise. As long as this lamp is hung in front of the door, the loved ones of the deceased will be able to find their way home. Its flame is orange and red like blood, and the strange red light will turn the empty Fengdu into a gloomy ghost town overnight.

Everyone has heard the story of Fengdu's Hungry Ghost Festival, but no one has seen it before, except for Xie Bi An and Fan Wu She because it is a day when the living should not go out, both for their own protection and in reverence for the ghosts.

Many of the weapons and magical treasures with spirits attached in their hands began to tremble slightly. That is a warning to the increasingly powerful Yin energy.

"The Fengdu boundary is about to open." Xie Bi An murmured worriedly.

Fan Wu She clasped Xie Bi An's shoulder: "Take me in."

Xie Bi An turned and looked at Fan Wu She. His bright eyes reflected the red light of the soul guiding lamp, and coagulated into a drop of blood in the center of his pupil, which added a bit of an evil aura. He suddenly held that hand and said softly, "Xiao Jiu, big brother will take you home."

Fan Wu She’s body shook all over, his eyes suddenly widened.

In this instant, a huge force ferociously "crashed" into Fan Wu She's body!

Fan Wu She’s state of mind was stirred up into chaos by that “Xiao Jiu”. His alertness was a step behind. His body immediately stiffened and numbed. Obviously the five senses were still alive, but they are not under their own control. This feeling is very strange, but he knows very well what is going on. Xie Bi An gave him a dose of his own medicine*. He was possessed.

The one who was able to possess him was not an ordinary evil spirit. It was definitely Night Patrol! Night Patrol is very good at this technique. She used this trick when she helped them escape from Chidi City. Controlling the decent cultivation of the Cangyu Sect’s elder seemed to be effortless.

Fan Wu She concentrated his Qi into his dantian. His spiritual power erupted and followed the spiritual pulse to charge all his limbs and bones. Even if it’s Night Patrol, don’t ever think of causing trouble in his body!

Fan Wu She’s spiritual power is as majestic as the sea, which will be able to inflict serious damage on Night Patrol’s cultivation. Night Patrol naturally didn't dare to stay in Fan Wu She’s body for long, but it’s enough to do a lot of things in an instant.

Fan Wu She couldn’t move under the control of Night Patrol. He watched helplessly as Xie Bi An took away Wuqiongbi and the Shanhe Sheji Map like a dragon flying in the clouds*.

As soon as Xie Bi An got back Wuqiongbi, he forced out the evil spirit buried in Fan Wu She's body.

When Fan Wu She recovered, Xie Bi An had already put the Shanhe Sheji Map into his own qiankun bag.

All these happened in a matter of seconds, but the situation had already been greatly reversed.

Fan Wu She was so angry that his face turned blue and white, and his eyes were filled with hatred: "You never wanted to call me that in the first place… You planned this long ago!"

Xie Bi An said in a free and easy mood: "War isn’t fair. Between you and me, if you always lie to me, it’s boring."

Fan Wu She attacked Xie Bi An with his sword: "Return the Shanhe Sheji Map."

"The Shanhe Sheji Map has been the heirloom of my Daming Zong Clan since ancient times." Xie Bi An drew his sword to ward him off, "You are not of my Zong Clan's bloodline and are not worthy of possessing it. Now it has returned to its rightful owner."

"I will let you know who is the master."

But Xie Bi An was not interested in fighting. He dismantled several moves from Fan Wu She and retreated continuously.

Fan Wu She pressed forward step by step, and Lan Chui Han, as fast as a ghost, appeared in a flash between them and blocked Fan Wu She's sword in time.

Xie Bi An had a chance to catch his breath and took advantage of the opportunity to open the Yin Yang Monument’s entrance with Wuqiongbi: "Night Patrol, go!"

He expected that Fan Wu She would not dare to follow him and barge directly into the Yin Yang Monument, which was guarded by countless Yin servants ---- even if he had the Shanhe Sheji Map in his hand.

He had to return to the underworld. As Official Lord Cui said, whether facing Fan Wu She or Jiang Qu Lian, the underworld was safer than the earth. He had never worried about his own life, death, safety, and danger, but the golden core inside his belly, which could cause a great disaster, must not be obtained by anyone.

Just as he was about to cross the Yin Yang Monument and return to the Underworld, an accident occurred.

Qi Meng Sheng suddenly launched an attack and actually erected an ice wall in front of Xie Bi An. She shouted, "Don’t think of bringing him back to Jiuyou!”

It was not without reason that Qi Meng Sheng was so anxious. The dense Yin energy in the underworld is extremely harmful to the bodies of the living, unless one is a person with strong Yang energy, he or she may be seriously ill, or may suffer from mental disorders or lifelong illness. When Xie Bi An was first brought back to the underworld, he was still a baby in infancy, relying on the boundary laid by Zhong Kui in the Heaven Master Palace to survive. Even then, he had to return to earth from time to time to replenish his Yang energy.

And Cheng Yan Zhi is a living dead person who has to rely on the Seven Star Life-sustaining Lamp to hang on to a breath. The body is extremely fragile, so how can it tolerate the erosion of Yin energy? If this breath is not retained, even the process of collecting the soul is saved in the underworld.

Xie Bi An initially planned to take Cheng Yan Zhi back to Heaven Master Palace, so that there will not be too much impact on this body, but Qi Meng Sheng does not know that.

Qi Meng Sheng had made a move, and the Immortal Alliance naturally could not stand by and watch. Li Bu Yu drew his sword and split the ice wall from the center with a single sword stroke: "Emperor, go quickly." Although Li Bu Yu can be transformed by depending fully on human cores, after all, he has a hundred years of cultivation, and also has the blessings from countless immortal pills and Mount Shu’s cave. Regardless of cultivation and sword techniques, he is worthy of this generation of Immortal Lords. The power of this sword was not aged in the least bit.

However, Fan Wu She has already caught up during this delay. The Ting Mo in his hand turned into silver light as fast as a shadow, and the ferocity of the Zongxuan sword technique was clear under his hand. Xie Bi An has always felt the aggressive and fierce swordplay was not suitable for him, but extremely suitable for the Supreme Demon. That viciousness and eagerness to kill people simply complimented him.

Xie Bi An and Lan Chui Han received the swift and fierce sword attack from Fan Wu She together. The source of the Junlan Sword Technique is Xie Bi An. The two of them worked together flawlessly, forcing Fan Wu She back in one move.

Fan Wu She looked at the two people who had a look of harmonious tacit understanding, and felt growing jealousy. Of course, he knew that they had nothing going on between them and had no improper intentions towards each other, especially after they knew the origin of their past life and present life, but his jealousy is not only originated from the desire to possess his wife, he also cannot tolerate his big brother having another "brother". This brotherhood where they can give their backs to each other at ease and fight side by side was also the deep affection he had once possessed before. Anything between him and his big brother, he is not willing to share with anyone, yet the one he could not get, Lan Chui Han can get it easily!

The three of them fought for dozens of rounds, and it was hard to tell the winner from the loser.

Yet a large number of Yin servants suddenly poured out from the Yin Yang Monument, and Night Patrol came to the rescue.

When only a small number of ghosts appear, the living cannot see them without any assistance, but when a large number of them appear, the sudden increase in Yin energy breaks the balance of Yin and Yang. Under the excess Yin and deficient Yang, it is no better than the underworld, and ghosts are also visible just like the things on the earth.

Not only were the ghosts exposed to the moonlight, but the ghosts who were visiting their relatives on the earth had no place to hide. They were dressed in white and rapidly followed one after the other, chanting words and floated leisurely under the blood-red soul guiding lamps, which made people shudder from seeing it.

Facing an endless number of Yin servants, Fan Wu She took the soul token and was about to control souls, but Night Patrol took the opportunity to pull Xie Bi An into the underworld, and at the same time closed the Yin Yang Monument.

Xie Bi An looked at the huge stone monument towering in front of him and did not move for a long time.

"Impermanence." Night Patrol urged, "Official Lord is waiting for you."

"I'm a little worried ..." Xie Bi An was worried about Lan Chui Han. He had already seen the killing intent for Lan Chui Han in Fan Wu She's eyes several times, and he just returned and hid in the Underworld like this. What about Lan Chui Han? And what will happen to the cultivators of the Immortal Alliance?

"I have ordered 20,000 Yin servants. They can manage for a while. Let's go."

"I'll go back to the Heaven Master Palace. You let Official Lord Cui come to the Heaven Master Palace and find me. Tell him I have a reason to stay in the Heaven Master Palace."

"Official Lord is waiting for you at the Heaven Master Palace. The boundary left by Heaven Master can deal with the Red King."

"Let’s go."

The two of them quickly returned to the Heaven Master Palace.

Bo Zhu was looking from afar at the entrance, and as soon as he saw him, his eyes were tearful, as if he was afraid of never seeing each other again every time he parted.

Xie Bi An hurriedly consoled him with a few words, then entered the house. Cui Jue was pacing back and forth in the main hall. His face did not show obvious impatience, but the quick steps were tapping with uneasiness.

"You're finally back." Cui Jue breathed a sigh of relief, "The Supreme Demon has really been following you. Fortunately, I let Patrol follow you as well."

"Fortunately, there are two Patrols, otherwise it would not only be difficult to get out of trouble this time, but it would also be impossible to get such a magical treasure." Xie Bi An held out the Shanhe Sheji Map.

Cui Jue’s eyes lit up: "Could this be ..."

"That’s right. It's my Daming Zong Clan's Shanhe Sheji Map." Xie Bi An said with emotion, "Finally, it's been returned to its original owner." When the Shanhe Sheji Map was stolen, Zong Ming He was furious. Although no one could control this treasure for three generations, after all, it is the ancestral family treasure. Losing it in their own hands is really a loss of face, so he concealed the news and secretly investigated it. Everyone knows it must have been Zong Zi Xiao who did it, but Zong Ming He also failed to find this family treasure back up until his death. By the time he succeeded to the throne, although he felt slightly regretful, he did not search for it again until his mother’s clan's ancestral tomb was destroyed by the hands of this treasure, he then regretted not finding it back in that year. He often thought if he did not let Zong Zi Xiao have his own way, Zong Zi Xiao may not have had the opportunity to become the Supreme Demon.

"Yes, the item has returned to its original owner." Cui Jue asked with some anticipation, "Bi An, can you use it?"

Xie Bi An felt a pang of uneasiness, "I don't know, I never tried it before."

"There’s no harm in trying."

Xie Bi An hesitated. He was afraid that as the Human Emperor, if he could not control his family's heirloom, he would really lose his face. He was indeed curious, but a subtle avoidance had developed, and he shook his head in the end, "There are more important matters. Official Lord Cui, Hua Xiang Rong has given me Cheng Yan Zhi's body."

"Oh?!"

Xie Bi An released the ice coffin and enlarged it to its original size. Bo Zhu was startled and yelled "What is this?"

Cui Jue was a scholar and had a strong desire to learn before and after his death. Other generals might bring back all kinds of things from the earth, but Cui Jue only wanted books, and most people burned books when they worshiped him, so there were already few things he hadn't seen or heard of in this world. The thing in front of him aroused his curiosity. He walked around the ice coffin three times, shaking his head and nodding, and finally sighed: "Absurd, really absurd. I have been in the underworld for hundreds of years and have seen all kinds of things on earth, but such a thing has never been seen before."

Xie Bi An felt that he should have many emotions, but he was very indifferent at this time. He was used to facing absurdity and ugliness. He was numbed.

"Just leave him in the Heaven Master Palace. It's safe here. With him here, we can pin down Qi Meng Sheng."

"... Qi Meng Sheng is blackmailing me with the Golden Trunk Jade Policy." Xie Bi An frowned, "I have to find a way to get the Golden Trunk Jade Policy back."

"Let Night Patrol try."

"Night Patrol just sneak attacked Fan Wu She, and Qi Meng Sheng is taking precautions. Besides, that is her biggest bargaining chip now. She will be very careful and won’t come off easily."

"I will wait for the opportunity to move." Night Patrol said.

"Thanks a lot, Patrol." Xie Bi An arched his hand, "Also, thank you for helping out just now."

Night Patrol waved her hand.

"I also need the Golden Trunk Jade Policy very much." Cui Jue said gravely, "I'm afraid that only the Golden Trunk Jade Policy can solve the ultimate purpose of Jiang Qu Lian."

Xie Bi An said in surprise, "What does that mean, Official Lord Cui? Could it be that the Red King is also a reincarnation of a celestial being?"

"I only know that his past life and present life cannot be illuminated on the Three Lives Stone." Cui Jue pondered, "But he doesn't look like a reincarnated celestial being. When celestial beings experience calamity, they rarely go astray. Most of them have no merit, or like you, who failed in the calamity. If one is reincarnated in the Human Path, they will rarely fall to the lower three paths even if one deviates."

"Then why can't he be shone on the Three Lives Stone?"

"He came to ask me the same question. I answered him that there were only two possibilities, either he was a reincarnated celestial being, or a reincarnated Asura." Cui Jue said, "With his temperament, the latter is very likely.”

"Asura ..."

The Asura Path belongs to the upper three paths of the six reincarnation paths, second only to the Heaven Path. They don’t die nor get old just like Heavenly Gods and transcend the cycle of reincarnation, but the Asura is like a god but not a god. They have the power of a god but no divinity. They failed to break away from the seven emotions and six sensory pleasures*. They’re arrogant, warlike, and do whatever they want, both good and evil. Most of the Asuras have outstanding talents, but they do not cultivate their hearts in cultivation, and those who cultivate to the extreme become monsters with divine power but no virtue. They stayed on earth for fear of becoming a scourge and they were not accepted by the Heavenly Gods, so the Asura path was born at the right moment. Millions of years ago, those earthly deities who could fight against the Heavenly Gods could only ascend to heaven if they were willing to obey Great Emperor Haotian, and the remaining majority went to the Asura Path, which was like a place of exile for those who were so powerful that they could shake the heavens and move the earth but could not work with the gods. But Asuras are extremely rare and do not easily enter the cycle of reincarnation. Xie Bi An has lived in the underworld for more than twenty years and has never seen one before.

"If his three lifetimes are really recorded on the Golden Trunk Jade Policy, then he has already seen it." Xie Bi An said gravely, "In fact, I originally wanted to think of a way to find out Jiang Qu Lian's past with you. Perhaps only by tracing the origin can we know his true purpose. I didn't mention it before as I was afraid that you would reject me because it was not in accordance with the laws of the Underworld."

Cui Jue said helplessly, "During special times, special plans will be carried out. In order to catch Jiang Qu Lian, using such means is nothing. We really cannot investigate it, that’s all.”

"Then how did Fan Wu She know ..." Xie Bi An said to himself, "He doesn't seem to be making something unnecessarily complicated. He must know something."

"Know what?"

"He knew that Jiang Qu Lian and Lan Chui Han had a deep connection in their previous lives and said they were ..." Xie Bi An was inexplicably a little embarrassed, "star-crossed lovers."

Cui Jue revealed a surprised look, "Really?"

"Fan Wu She and Jiang Qu Lian have probably met and even plotted something during these three years, it’s just that Fan Wu She was hiding and has a plot that we can't guess. Jiang Qu Lian has not shown up so far, which makes me even more worried."

"So Lan Chui Han doesn't know anything?"

Xie Bi An hesitated for a moment: "I think he knows something. He is likely to be like me at the beginning, triggered by the memory of his past life by Jiang Qu Lian, and constantly remembering some fragments that are apparently true but are not, and have virtually indistinguishable from reality over the years. I'm very worried about him."

"If we can't get the Golden Trunk Jade Policy back temporarily, then in order to solve the mystery of Jiang Qu Lian’s origins, we can only rely on Lan Chui Han."

Xie Bi An's heart sank. He took a deep breath and said in a deep voice, "Official Lord Cui, there are many people who are unwilling to remember the past. It is a cruel thing to fall into the love-hate relationship of a previous life that is already irrevocable."

"It is cruel, but you must not forget, the calamity between you and the Supreme Demon is most likely in this lifetime. How about Lan Chui Han? No one can say for sure, but it's up to him to decide whether he wants to remember it or not."

Xie Bi An thought of all the pressure on his shoulders, and lowered his head overwhelmingly.

 

 ----

the sun*[金乌]---SQC used ‘Jinwu’ here, which means ‘golden-crow’. It represents ‘the sun’

gave him a dose of his own medicine*[以其人之道还治其人之身]--- to use an opponent's own methods to obtain retribution; to get revenge by playing sb back at his own game / to give sb a taste of his own medicine

a dragon flying in the clouds*[飞龙探云]---the skill of stealing things from the enemy

seven emotions and six sensory pleasures*[七情六欲]--- The seven emotions refer to: joy, anger, sorrow, fear, love, evil and desire; but in TCM, the seven emotions refer to joy, anger, worry, thought, grief, fright and fear; the six desires generally refer to life, death, the ears, the eyes, the mouth and the nose.

 

Edited on 1 June 12 (Emzie)

 

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