Walking alone with a sword, slaying ghosts and gods

Chapter 613 The Purple Gourd Overturns the Heavens and Burns the Nine Netherworlds, True Fire Purifies Heaven and Earth (Part 1)

“Rumble——!!!”

The nine Netherworld Eyes, which were once forcibly suppressed and bound by the Myriad Souls Suppressing Prison Array, located at the Wanxiang Senluo Palace mountain gate, have completely lost control, like a deep-sea volcano that has been dormant for many years, and the earth's energy has erupted continuously.

In an instant, it was as if the giant pillar supporting the earth had been pulled away. The earth, which had been made incredibly solid by the sect's secret techniques, crumbled inch by inch like fragile glass. Huge, spiderweb-like cracks spread wildly, and a bottomless, dark abyss suddenly opened up.

In an instant, boundless yin energy, death energy, resentment energy, and foul energy, carrying a bone-chilling current capable of freezing the primordial spirit, surged forth from the nine abyssal maws, like the overturned sea of ​​the underworld that had been suppressed for billions of years.

"Seize this man!" Xuanzhen Daojun shouted, his hair and beard bristling.

With a flick of his hand, the ninth-tier magic weapon, the Golden Dawn Shuttle, shone brightly, transforming into a dazzling golden thread that pierced through the void, instantly wrapping around the core of the array, where the Wanhai Daoist was weakened by the backlash of the array.

The Xuanqing Daojun's Xuanyin Demon-Controlling Corpse-Suppressing Rope moved like a serpent emerging from its hole, silently locking onto Wanhai Daoren's limbs.

The hermit Miaoyin chanted incantations, and the demon-subduing Sanskrit sounds transformed into a tangible golden swastika, suppressing the operation of the demon's primordial spirit and consciousness.

Prajna Vidyaraja once again raised the vajra high, his eyes blazing with fury and power, the tip of the vajra gathering unparalleled Buddhist power, ready to unleash it.

Wan Hai Dao Ren was only at the early stage of Mahayana cultivation. With the formation broken and his mind shaken, how could he possibly resist when surrounded by four people of the same level or even stronger in terms of magical power?
He felt golden light enveloping him, dark ropes binding his body, chanting Buddhist hymns filling his ears, and Buddhist might pressing down on him. His magical power instantly froze, and before he could even escape, he was tightly bound by various Taoist magic and supernatural powers, like a lamb to the slaughter, and was pulled close by Xuanzhen Daojun's outstretched hand.

This was, after all, a Mahayana Dao Lord. Although the Taiqing Sect's plans had been progressing very smoothly so far, it was still a direct breach of the Wanxiang Senluo Palace, one of the nine sects of the human race, and even the destruction of the sect. A few survivors had to be left to explain the heinous crimes committed by this sect and to give the world an explanation.

"The backlash from the earth's energy will subside naturally. We should leave this place as soon as possible!" Daoist Xuanqing said with a furrowed brow.

In that extremely short time, the ground beneath the four people's feet seemed to be torn apart by an invisible giant hand, emitting a tooth-grinding groan.

Boom, boom.

With a deafening roar, a web of enormous, bottomless cracks with smooth, mirror-like edges spread out. Deep within these cracks lay not ordinary lava, but a dark abyss filled with viscous, ink-like liquid that exuded a chilling aura of death!
Those pitch-black abysses seemed to connect to the depths of the Netherworld, where countless twisted ghostly figures shrieked and floated. The dense, impenetrable Yin energy and ghostly aura surged into the sky like a tangible black tide, instantly transforming the space where the four of them were located into a Netherworld of Ghosts.

Even though Xuanzhen, Xuanqing, Miaoyin, and Banruo possessed profound magical power and exquisite cultivation, and the yin energy and ghostly aura that attacked them were naturally repelled by their magical power, they still felt a chill originating from the depths of their souls.

"Something's not right! This eruption of earth energy is continuous and shows no signs of abating. It's as if a higher-level force is secretly pulling it along!" The Hermit of Wonderful Sound was formerly the Myriad Wonderful Ghost Mother of the Myriad Manifestations Palace. She was well-versed in the secrets of the ghost path and quickly noticed something amiss. Her expression became extremely solemn.

"Be careful!" Just then, a warning signal suddenly arose in Xuanzhen Daojun's heart, and the Golden Dawn Divine Shuttle spun around to protect himself.

However, we were still a step too late!

Just as the four were distracted by this sudden change in the underworld and were trying to resist the impact of the icy ghost energy that was enough to freeze and crack magical artifacts, the change suddenly occurred.

Without a sound, the void beside Daoist Xuanqing suddenly cracked open, like a sheet of rice paper soaked in ink.
A judge's pen, with a pure black handle, pale white wolf hair, and a sharp point as if soaked in fresh blood, emerged without warning!

Xuanzhen Daojun is skilled in swordsmanship, and his speed in responding and counterattacking is definitely not slow.

However, the person who launched the sneak attack was far more powerful than him.

The moment the judge's pen appeared, it seemed as if all the chill and resentment of the abyss were gathered on it, and its speed was so fast that it exceeded the limits of the divine senses of the four people present!

"Pfft!"

Before Xuanqing Daojun could even realize that his protective magic had shattered like paper, the judge's pen had already struck his vital heart like a venomous snake!
Daoist Minghe violated the sect's rules and was imprisoned in the Wuji Prison for ten thousand years. Naturally, he also handed over all his magical treasures. Whether it was the Xuan Yin Demon-Suppressing Corpse Rope or his ninth-grade low-level defensive magical treasure, the Xuan Yuan Tortoise Shell Shield, they were all handed over to Daoist Xuanqing by the sect.

But at this moment, this ninth-tier defensive magic treasure was as if it were nothing. Although it circled around Xuanqing Daojun's body, it failed to provide effective defense.

A chilling and extremely vicious ghostly power, like billions of ice needles, instantly pierced through the body and invaded the internal organs and meridians.

Xuanqing Daojun suffered a mountain-like impact, the Xuan Yin Demon-Controlling Corpse-Suppressing Rope in his hand flashed with spiritual light and cried out in agony. He spat out a mouthful of black blood mixed with shattered ice, and his body fell forward, plummeting straight down into the endless abyss below!

"Junior brother!" Xuanzhen Daojun's eyes widened in horror as he manipulated the Golden Dawn Shuttle to try and save him.

But after the judge's pen injured Xuan Qing, its trajectory took a strange turn, ignoring spatial distance and reappearing before Xuan Zhen Dao Jun with the same ghostly death intent!
In a hurry, Xuanzhen Daojun pushed the Golden Dawn Shuttle to its limit, transforming it into a golden light screen in front of him, which was solemn, meticulous and almost impenetrable.

The pens collided.

"Qiang!"

A deafening roar, like the clash of metal, erupted, and the Golden Dawn Shuttle's light flickered violently.

Xuanzhen Daojun felt an overwhelming, chilling force coming from him. The blood-stained pen actually pierced through the Golden Dawn Shuttle's blockade and struck Xuanzhen Daojun with its remaining force.

"Your swordsmanship is not bad, but it's a pity that you abandoned your sword to seek the power of magical treasures. It was because of this that you suffered this defeat."

Xuanzhen Daojun felt as if he had been struck in the chest by a heavy hammer. He felt a sweet taste in his throat, vomited blood, and staggered back hundreds of feet. The protective magic around his body quickly dimmed, indicating that he had also suffered a serious injury.

In the blink of an eye, one of the two Mahayana Dao Lords was severely injured and the other was wounded by this sudden sneak attack!
The blood-red judge's pen, having repelled Xuanqing and Xuanzhen, did not pause. It spun in mid-air, accompanied by the wailing of ghosts, and aimed directly at the brow of the hermit of the wondrous sound!
Wherever the brush touched, the void froze, as if it contained some profound truth of heaven and earth, some law of the netherworld.

"Amitabha!" At the critical moment, Layman Miaoyin activated the golden body of the Buddha's Dharma image again. The compassionate face in the center uttered the Buddha's name, while the Dharma images on the left and right opened their eyes wide with anger at the same time!

At the same time, a short sword with a clear body and inner Buddhist light suddenly appeared in the hands of Laywoman Miaoyin: "I vow to liberate all sentient beings; I vow to sever endless afflictions"; it was the Vajra Sword, the Mahayana innate supernatural power she had condensed by abandoning Taoism to cultivate Buddhism!

"Buzz!" The Vajra Flying Sword emitted a clear and melodious dragon roar. The indestructible Buddhist Vajra Sword Qi suddenly erupted, transforming into a golden streak of supreme strength and yang energy that could cut through all evil spirits. It fiercely slashed at the incoming Judge's Pen!
"Hey!"

Like a red-hot iron cutting into ice and snow, a harsh, corrosive sound rang out.

The Vajra Sword Qi clashed violently with the Netherworld Judge's Pen, bursting forth with dazzling golden and black light. Countless tiny vengeful spirits around them screamed and turned into green smoke the moment they came into contact with the Buddha's light.

The judge's pen clearly hadn't expected the Layman Miaoyin to react so quickly and to restrain his supernatural powers so much. It was slightly momentarily stunned by the sword energy containing the great power of Buddhism, and even wisps of black smoke rose from the tip of the pen.

"Death-Binding Brush! Senior Brother Ghost Soul, it's you! It really is you!" The moment the Hermit of Wonderful Sound used the Vajra Sword to force back the Death-Binding Brush, the three magical halos behind her simultaneously locked onto the figure slowly stepping out from the void rift. Her voice was icy cold, filled with unbelievable rage:
"More than 1,600 years ago, you should have perished under the Nine Netherworld Profound Fiend Heavenly Tribulation, your body and soul annihilated! Yet you... chose to surrender to the Netherworld Ghost Realm?!"

The void rift slowly closed, and a person emerged from it. He was tall and thin, wearing a large black robe, with half of his face hidden in the shadow of the hood. Even from the remaining half of his face, it was clear that he was an extremely handsome man.

However, the aura surrounding him was ethereal and unpredictable yet profound, perfectly blending with the surging aura of the Netherworld Abyss below. He was none other than the legendary former giant of the Myriad Manifestations Palace, who had long since perished: Ghostly Yama.

The aura emanating from him had clearly reached the peak of the late Mahayana stage, and it possessed a pure, cold, and strange quality.

The Death Pen flew back to his side, still drawing blood-red characters in the air, incredibly mysterious.

"Junior Sister Wanmiao, you have excellent eyesight and skill. Originally, your path to enlightenment was severed, but I never expected that you would abandon Taoism to cultivate Buddhism. You have spared thousands of years of cultivation and created a new path, carving out three more points of room for maneuver."

The Ghost King Yama spoke calmly, yet even in the Netherworld, he possessed a majestic and imposing aura. "Why? Senior Brother Ghost King, you were once the Lord of the Myriad Manifestations Palace, yet now you have used Netherworld ghost energy to corrupt the foundation of my sect, connecting the Nine Earth Eyes and turning our mountain gate into a ghost realm?"

For ghost cultivators, the physical body, essence, blood, golden core, and nascent soul of a cultivator are all highly nourishing. Normally, the cultivation speed of ghost cultivators is extremely slow, especially in the later stages of cultivation. Therefore, countless ghost cultivators in the Netherworld dream of seizing the Netherworld Passage to enter the Immortal Realm and Earth Immortal Realm to hunt down cultivators, hoping to use their essence, blood, golden core, and nascent soul to advance further.

The Myriad Manifestations Palace suppresses the nine Netherworld Eyes, and also suppresses the Netherworld for the entire Earthly Immortal Realm, preventing ghost cultivators from escaping into this realm.

For hundreds of thousands of years, the Myriad Manifestations Palace has done this extremely well, and it remains so today.

"If I had a choice, I would also like to ascend to the heavens as a human, regardless of how those old monsters are sinking in the lower realms."

But... no, even if I sealed my memories and reincarnated into the body of an infant in this world, and cultivated step by step to the Mahayana realm, the heavenly tribulations were still more severe and stronger each time. This damned heaven simply doesn't want us ghost cultivators to be able to ascend!
Do you know how difficult it is to overcome the Nine Nether Profound Fiend Heavenly Tribulation? One thunderbolt after another, seemingly endless, I almost truly perished, body and soul!

"I don't want to betray the sect, but I have no choice, I have no choice, you know that, junior sister!"

"You... So, you are actually the reincarnation of a ghost saint from the underworld... No wonder you were born with such knowledge and could even guide our cultivation."

Upon hearing this, Master Miaoyin was also greatly shaken. Youhun Yama was known as the most outstanding cultivator and the most outstanding sect leader of the Wanxiang Senluo Palace in tens of thousands of years.

Not only did he make rapid progress in his own cultivation, but he was also able to guide others. Even the Azure Water Heavenly Lord, who was originally his elder, had received his guidance and favors. Later, he voluntarily avoided his sharp edge and did not compete with him for the position of sect leader. Who would have thought that the Ghostly Yama was originally a Mahayana cultivator from the Ghost Realm!
The Wanxiang Senluo Palace, which was in charge of suppressing the underworld, was eventually overthrown by a ghost and became its leader. It's truly a huge joke!

"Senior Brother Youhun, you connected with the Netherworld Eye to transform it into the Netherworld Abyss, and then stirred up the Nine Netherworld Tides. What exactly is your intention? Aren't you afraid of attracting the powerful beings of the Earthly Immortal Realm to join forces and suppress you, leading to eternal damnation?"

While the two were talking, the heavily injured Daoist Xuanqing had already floated up again and landed among the four of them. Daoist Xuanzhen had also sorted out his own energy and suppressed his injuries.

“Suppress? Suppression is better than being annihilated under the Nine Netherworld Tribulation. Back then, in order to survive, I re-established the Heart Demon Oath with them. Now, I only need to wait for the Netherworld Abyss passage to be completely stabilized and connected with the Netherworld Ghost Realm before they descend into this realm, and then I can escape.”

A tenth-tier immortal artifact is truly extraordinary. Even with his cultivation level, he survived a single blow from my Death-Inducing Brush and still had strength remaining; this was because the tenth-tier immortal artifact absorbed a portion of my magical power.

Ghostly Yama was well aware of his junior sister's little tricks, but he was too lazy to expose them.

Now that the Netherworld is about to descend, it would be lonely if no one knew of my thousand years of hard work.

“Junior Sister Wanmiao, if it weren’t for that tenth-tier Ghost Dao Immortal Artifact, I would have let you leave. Unfortunately, I know you can’t persuade him to give it up, so I will have to go and get it myself.”

If, at the very moment the earth's energy erupted, Xuanzhen, Xuanqing, Banruo, and Miaoyin Jushi had immediately gone all out, they might have been able to suppress the opening and connection of the Netherworld Abyss passage.

However, in the short time that the two sides were talking, the Netherworld Abyss passage had been completely stabilized, the connection between the two worlds was a foregone conclusion, and he was now free.

Now, it's time to retrieve that tenth-tier Ghost Dao Immortal Artifact. If I had this treasure in hand to refine the Ruyi, I might have actually been able to survive the Nine Nether Profound Fiend Heavenly Tribulation back then!
As the Ghost King Yama channeled his magic, the bottomless abyss in all directions seemed to come alive!

Countless thick, dragon-like jet-black ghostly energies soared into the sky, each bearing billions of agonizing, distorted ghostly faces, emitting piercing screams that shook the very soul.

The entire underground space was completely transformed into a viscous sea of ​​ghosts. At the same time, space was reversed. From the perspective of Xuanzhen, Xuanqing, Banruo, and Miaoyin Jushi, behind the Ghost King Yama, a huge world was rapidly approaching.

At the same time, space was frozen and compressed by extreme cold, and even time seemed to stand still. A terrifying suction force emanated from that abyss, threatening to drag all living beings into eternal darkness!

The severely injured Daoist Xuanqing had already fallen halfway into the dark tide of ghostly energy, and was barely breathing.

Xuanzhen Daojun struggled to activate his natal flying sword to protect himself and Xuanqing, but the sword light was like a candle flickering in the wind in the boundless sea of ​​ghosts, about to be extinguished.

Prajna King roared repeatedly, his vajra swung like a wheel, and his body was protected by Buddhist light, but he was also entangled by countless ghostly tentacles, making it difficult for him to move an inch.

Miaoyin Jushi activated her three Dharma forms simultaneously, and the Vajra Sword in her hand transformed into thousands of sword shadows, slashing at the ghostly tentacles, temporarily protecting a section of the area. However, facing this terrifying offensive that almost mobilized the power of the entire Netherworld Abyss, her Buddhist light was also being rapidly eroded, and her face quickly turned pale.

Just as the four were trapped in a desperate situation, about to be swallowed up by the boundless sea of ​​ghosts—

"Hmph! You ghosts and demons of the underworld dare to act so arrogantly in my spirit realm? Ghost King Yama, prepare to die!"

A deep, ancient yet majestic shout, like a thunderclap from the heavens, tore through the thick, ghostly wind and exploded in the sky above the abyss!
Even faster than the shout was a magnificent, righteous golden-white pillar of light, containing immense power to suppress evil and ward off demons. Wherever the pillar passed, the chilling ghostly energy melted away instantly, like snow being poured into boiling water.

This was actually a sneak attack.

The Ghostly Yama was caught completely off guard when the Taoist, who was one with the sword, closed in on him. Although the Ghostly Yama immediately used his magic to counterattack, the old Taoist, dressed in an ancient blue Taoist robe, with a thin face and sharp eyes, was also extremely fierce and ruthless in his sword techniques amidst the golden and white sword light.

It was none other than the most senior Mahayana cultivator of the Taiqing Sect, Daojun Mingque!
The close-quarters combat swordsmanship was fierce and unparalleled, and the Ghostly Yama was once again ambushed by the Bright Dao Lord who seized the initiative.

Therefore, even though his accumulated magical power far surpassed that of Daoist Mingque, he was still led by the nose by the old Daoist in front of him in dozens of moves.

The two exchanged a solid palm strike in mid-air. Daoist Mingque retreated into the space between the four, while Yama Youhun turned pale and also stumbled backward a great distance.

"No, you've only been at the Mahayana stage for a few years, how could you possess such magical power!"

In the recent battle, Ghost King Yama suffered a minor setback. Having accumulated cultivation over two lifetimes, he held an extremely high seniority and couldn't believe he had been defeated by a "junior" like Ming Que.

However, Daoist Mingque ignored him and grabbed at the Golden Dawn Shuttle in Daoist Xuanzhen's hand with his left hand!
"Buzz!"

The Golden Dawn Shuttle, which had been dim in its original light, burst forth with unprecedented brilliance as if it had been parched for a long time and received timely rain!
The shuttle vibrated and hummed, instantly growing to tens of feet in size. Runes that looked like liquid gold flowed across its entire body, and a sharp aura that pierced through the universe spread out, forcibly pushing away the surrounding ghostly energy and creating a huge vacuum zone!

"Golden light pierces the void, all laws are shattered! Let's go!" Mingque Daojun commanded.

The Golden Dawn Shuttle transformed into a golden stream of light that reached the heavens and the earth, instantly enveloping the four heavily injured Daoist Xuanqing, Daoist Xuanzhen, Layman Miaoyin, and King Prajna.

"Trying to leave?! Stay here!" Ghost King Yama was both shocked and furious. He hadn't expected Daoist Mingque to arrive so quickly, and his strength far exceeded his expectations.

He activated the Netherworld Ghost Domain with all his might, and countless thicker chains, wrapped with blood-red runes, like giant pythons from the Nine Netherworlds, frantically coiled around the golden streak of light that was about to break through the sky.

"break!"

A condensed celestial light, refined to its utmost, shot out from the fingertip of Daoist Mingque, striking the tail of the Golden Dawn Shuttle with pinpoint accuracy.

At the same time, Daoist Mingque himself flew into the divine shuttle.

As if igniting the last bit of propulsion, the Golden Dawn Shuttle suddenly burst forth with a blinding golden light, its speed instantly reaching its limit!
Like a divine sword that cleaves the heavens, it directly tears through layers upon layers of ghostly energy blockade, breaking the chains of ghostly energy that had been binding it inch by inch!
Wherever the divine shuttle passed, space was forcibly cleaved open, creating a golden passage. Amidst the unwilling roars of the Ghostly Yama and the endless howls of the Netherworld Abyss below, the Golden Dawn Divine Shuttle transformed into a golden thread, instantly piercing through countless layers of rock and restrictions, disappearing into the sky above this Netherworld Ghost Domain.

Lu Cheng had all the Mahayana cultivators of the Taiqing Sect refine the Golden Dawn Shuttle to a certain extent. Although this prevented it from unleashing its full power, it gave each Mahayana cultivator an additional means of survival.

(End of this chapter)