Starting from the folklore forum, making up town objects

Chapter 510 Reincarnation-Level Suppressing Artifact: Ghost Gate
Chen Xin sensed it the moment the first gate to the underworld was successfully built.

Opening the complete list of town items, Chen Xin looked at the latest page.

……

"Zhenyin·Gate of Hell"

Uses: To suppress evil spirits, communicate with ghosts, and control the gates of hell.

Current strength: Underworld level
Current quantity: 1
Description of the talisman:

The living belong to Yang, the dead return to Yin.

Since ancient times, there has been a boundary between life and death, a gate between yin and yang, known as the Gate of Hell!

The Gate of Ghosts is the path of the dead, the road to the underworld, and the final limit of life and death.

Every midnight, the gates of hell open, and all demons and monsters are subdued.

The one who guards this gate is called a Yaksha, who can travel between the yin and yang realms and guide wandering souls.

If the gates of hell are wide open, anyone within the protected area who burns paper money or sets up offerings can summon the phantom of the gates of hell.

This shadow can guide the souls of the dead directly to the gates of hell.

If a living person builds a gate to the underworld in the mortal realm, they must sincerely burn incense at midnight and call out three times, "Please, underworld, open the gate to the underworld," to invite the gate to descend.

Remember, the Gate of Hell is the boundary between life and death; the living must not enter!
……

When Chen Xin was compiling the book "Ghost Gate Pass", he actually wrote a lot of content, but after it was simplified by "Complete Collection of Tranquilizing Objects", this is all that was left.

It's a bit of a pity, but this is only at the Yin-Yang level, yet it already possesses the characteristics of three talismans.

The previous Yin-Yang level had a three-characteristic talisman, which was a house-protecting medicine.

This one is to be elevated above Yama.

Chen Xin was quite curious.

What exactly lies above Yama, and what are its effects?
Thinking this, Chen Xin glanced at his accumulated merits, which had already exceeded ten million.

"Then let's upgrade."

Consuming 1,000 Yin Virtue, one is upgraded from the Yin Messenger level to the Yin General level, but no additional traits are added.

Consuming 10,000 Yin Virtue, one can advance from the Yin General level to the Yin Division level, gaining the [Devouring Ghost] trait.

【Devouring Ghosts】: If evil spirits appear around the ghost gate phantom summoned by the person burning paper offerings, the ghost gate phantom can directly transform into an evil tiger to devour them.

"It's like turning passive ghost-catching into active ghost-catching. Good, keep going!"

The 100,000 Yin virtues consumed upgraded the Yin Si level Ghost Gate to the Yama level Ghost Gate, and the [Ghost Head] trait was added.

【Ghost Head】: Within the city where the Ghost Gate is located, all 'doors' will display ghost heads after nightfall. The ghost heads can distinguish between humans and ghosts; ghosts enter the door, and humans enter the house.

Chen Xin's eyes lit up when he looked at this Yama-level ghost leader.

"A conceptual ability? If the entire Great Xia Dynasty were a city, wouldn't a single Yama-level guardian artifact be enough to suppress the entire Great Xia Dynasty?"

"That probably won't work. This city should still be based on the current city units."

"It's a pity that the sub-level Ghost Gate can only be upgraded to the Yin Si level. Otherwise, if the Great Xia built 109 Ghost Gates, we wouldn't have to worry about sleeping at night anymore."

Shaking his head, Chen Xin prepared to continue improving.

The abilities below the Yama-level Zhenwu (镇物) are mostly limited; it's unknown what the situation is like above the Yama-level.

Immediately, Chen Xin focused his attention on the life-or-death situation!

Yin virtue was consumed rapidly, and soon reached one million Yin virtue, but the desired improvement did not come.

Chen Xin thought to himself, "As expected, advancing from the Yama level to the next level should be a qualitative change; a million merits are not enough."

Thinking about this, Chen Xin was a little worried about whether his current tens of millions of good deeds were enough.

He now both hopes for enough and hopes for not enough.

If he has enough power, he can see what level is above Yama; if he doesn't, it means that the level above Yama is very high!
However, it soon stopped when the amount of merit reached ten million.

Chen Xin finally saw the level above Yama.

"Reincarnation: The Gates of Hell"

Current strength: Reincarnation level
Rules for Reincarnation-level Town Statues: None available.
……

To Chen Xin's surprise, the "use" field for Reincarnation-level Town Items was missing!
This is something he cannot understand.

Immediately, he placed his hand on the words "Reincarnation-level Gate of Hell".

Soon, a piece of information entered Chen Xin's consciousness.

After removing his hand, a look of surprise appeared in Chen Xin's eyes.

"Write your own rules?"

"This……"

From the information he had just received, Chen Xin obtained the relevant rules regarding reincarnation-level town objects.

Firstly, in addition to retaining their original characteristics, reincarnation-level talismans can have a rule written in the "Reincarnation-level Talisman Rules" section that conforms to the current talisman's ability. If the rule is successfully determined, it will take effect.

Secondly, the upper limit of all sub-level guardians has been raised to the Yama level. However, the Yama level of sub-level guardians only has the corresponding guardian power and cannot obtain the hidden characteristics of the Yama level of the main guardian, such as repairing the Yin-Yang rift and continuing to manage the sub-level guardians.

Third, the scope of effect of a reincarnation-level talisman increases with the number of sub-level talismans, with no upper limit.

Fourth, the Reincarnation-level Suppressing Object will link with all Sub-level Suppressing Objects. When any Sub-level Suppressing Object suffers a devastating blow, the Reincarnation-level Suppressing Object will actively project its phantom onto the Sub-level Suppressing Object, providing Reincarnation-level defense and Suppressing power.

Each time it descends, the sub-level is reduced by one level. If the sub-level talisman is of the Yin-Yang level, then no further reduction is needed.

Fifth, the Reincarnation-level guardian artifact can fuse with other Yama-level guardian artifacts, imbuing the sub-level guardian artifacts with their abilities.

Almost every one of these rules surprised Chen Xin.

But what Chen Xin was most eager to try was the first one: custom rules?
Chen Xin immediately thought of the ability he had previously wanted to give the Gate of Hell to actively absorb ghosts, but had never been able to find a suitable explanation for it.

But he immediately abandoned the idea.

The past is the past, and the present is the present.

If this rule only listed one ability, Chen Xin felt it was a waste, since that ability could be compensated for with the Zhenyin Seal. But this rule is not necessarily the case.

What should I write?

Chen Xin was caught in a dilemma.

After thinking for a full hour, Chen Xin finally prepared to make his boldest attempt!
Picking up his pen, taking a deep breath, Chen Xin began writing after the [Reincarnation-Level Suppressing Object Rules]:
"A gate to hell of the reincarnation level, leading directly to the underworld and the ten courts of hell!"

The underworld that Chen Xin wrote about was not the underworld he created, but the underworld from his memory!
He believed that the "Complete Collection of Town-Suppressing Objects" would understand his meaning.

However, just to be on the safe side, he added the title "Ten Kings of Hell" to distinguish it from Chen Xin's underworld.

Looking at that rule, Chen Xin's heart couldn't help but pound.

If it really is possible to get there, then can we also return to our original world from there?

Over the years, Chen Xin had actually adapted to everything here.

But ever since he saw that huge hole in the ghost realm and heard the words "the underworld," his heart began to tremble again.

"Will it work or not?"

Just as Chen Xin was waiting anxiously, the line of text disappeared. With a sigh, Chen Xin shook his head helplessly.

"That's true. If we compare a Reincarnation-level talisman with a ghost, it's only at the level of a Turbid Ghost. It's at most stronger than a Turbid Ghost, but not strong enough to have the ability to 'cross realms'."

Looking at the "Complete Guide to Suppressing Objects," he realized that the ranking system of suppressing objects in the "Complete Guide to Suppressing Objects" was modeled after the ranking system of the underworld.

However, their inherent abilities are insufficient to grant these guardian spirits the strength corresponding to their 'level'.

It was only after reaching the Reincarnation level at the Gates of Hell that Chen Xin gained some of the abilities of the ghosts and gods of the underworld that he remembered.

But it's still far from being one of the named ghosts and gods in the underworld.

"So, could this book have been created by someone who has seen the underworld?"

Shaking his head, Chen Xin stopped thinking about it.

After thinking it over, Chen Xin picked up his pen again and wrote down the next level of rules.

"When the Gate of Hell appeared, the heavens and earth trembled, and all the evil spirits of the mortal world and the underworld collapsed and vanished into nothingness!"

Unfortunately, it was still erased.

"Is it because it can't directly eliminate the evil spirits, or is its area of ​​effect too large?"

Chen Xin thought for a moment, then wrote:
"When the Gate of Hell appears, all the evil spirits of the mortal world crumble and vanish into nothingness!"

It was wiped away again.

"Still not working?"

Chen Xin frowned. At this point, he certainly couldn't narrow the scope of the effect any further. If he did, even if it succeeded, it wouldn't meet his expectations.

After thinking it over, Chen Xin changed the rules.

Keep trying.

After trying again and again, Chen Xin had formed some judgments in his mind.

Immediately, based on his own judgment, he solemnly wrote down a series of rules.

"Ghosts in the mortal world and the underworld, as long as they see the Gate of Hell and are within the protection range of any Gate of Hell, will be shackled and chained, and become wandering souls; as long as the deceased are buried in accordance with funeral customs, and the tombstone is inscribed with 'Please, underworld, open the Gate of Hell, guide the soul of the deceased into the netherworld,' then the deceased will not become a ghost."

Chen Xin originally wrote several hundred words for this rule.

But with each deletion and erasure, Chen Xin was left with only two rules that were neither strong nor weak.

Neither rule directly punishes ghosts and spirits, but the first rule limits their power. In this way, any underworld official can punish ghosts and spirits.

These are the rules that Chen Xin deduced from the "Complete Guide to Town-Suppressing Objects".

That is, since we cannot reach the strength of a true underworld official, we must weaken the evil spirits we face to a level that the current underworld officials can handle.

Of course, Chen Xin also skirted the issue by not including Youming in the story.

If you include the Netherworld, it's very likely it won't succeed.

Because the underworld is full of turbid ghosts, even the strongest reincarnation-level being cannot treat all turbid ghosts as wandering souls.

But if it's a turbid ghost appearing in the mortal world or the underworld, then sorry, it still has to lie down.

As for the second point, it is to prevent the birth of evil spirits!
In this way, even if a dark rift appears in the mass grave, not a single ghost will be born!
It's like a cat in heat. If you spay or neuter it, even if it goes into heat again, it won't breed.

But Chen Xin still couldn't be sure if it would be successful.

If that doesn't work, then we'll have to delete the second one and only keep the first one.

And so, just as Chen Xin had been waiting for, the line of text disappeared and then reappeared.

"All ghosts in the mortal world and the underworld, whenever they see the Ghost Gate and enter the territory under its jurisdiction, will be shackled and bound, turning into wandering souls, and will be freed upon entering the Ghost Gate; if the deceased is buried according to rites, and the inscription on the tombstone reads 'Ghost Gate welcomes the soul, guiding it across the netherworld,' then they will not be included among the ghosts and will be spared the torment of wandering."

The content has been simplified, but the general meaning remains unchanged.

This relieved Chen Xin.

He was afraid that some things would be cut after the "Complete Collection of Town-Suppressing Objects" was processed.

Thus, this cycle-level ordeal can be considered complete.

After thinking about it, Chen Xin decided that he could give it a try first!
He immediately arrived at a relatively flat area of ​​darkness.

"From here, all the ghosts and spirits in the area should be able to see the Gate of Hell, even if the Gate of Hell's protection range is currently insufficient."

As he said this, Chen Xin took out the tiny, palm-sized "Gate of Hell" from the book.

It's called the Gates of Hell, but it's actually just a phantom.

Immediately, Chen Xin flicked his wrist, throwing the phantom image of the Gates of Hell in front of him.

After the phantom landed, it seemed to take root and sprout, not only becoming solid but also continuously growing larger.

During this process, the yin energy in the area was directly torn apart and forced into the gates of hell.

As the yin energy enters, the gates of hell begin to rise and grow larger!
When Chen Xin sensed that only a thin layer of Yin energy remained in the Yin-Yang region, the Gate of Hell stopped changing.

At this point, it had grown to be ten meters tall!

Standing before the gates of hell, Chen Xin had to tilt his head back to nearly ninety degrees to see the three words on the gate.

"Next, do I need to ask the door to be opened?"

Just as Chen Xin was thinking this, the patterns on the pillars on both sides of the Gate of Hell lit up one by one.

Compared to the ghost gate created by Bao Lingqing, the patterns on the gateposts of this authentic ghost gate are much clearer and more exquisite.

No, it's not just patterns anymore; Chen Xin could even see those patterns moving!
Just as Chen Xin was curiously preparing to observe, the ghostly face resembling a tiger and a human on the gate of the underworld began to glow.

Before it could open its mouth, Chen Xin saw a beam of blood-red light shoot out from its eyes, shooting straight into the sky and hitting the gray mist high in the sky before exploding.

Countless crimson rays of light fell like meteors across the entire Yin-Yang region.

Immediately afterwards, the ghost face opened its huge mouth.

At the same time, Chen Xin heard the clanging of chains coming from all directions, getting closer and closer.

Chen Xin was on the verge of death.

He saw those figures, their hands shackled and their feet in chains, swaying and gathering towards him like walking corpses.

"Will they gather themselves towards the gates of hell?"

Chen Xin was surprised and opened the book again to take another look.

Sure enough, he noticed a part of the optimized text in "The Complete Book of Town Statues" that he hadn't paid attention to before.

"All were bound in shackles and chains, their feet bound, becoming wandering souls, entering the gates of hell to transcend."

Chen Xin smiled.

In that case, wouldn't we be able to save the need for the gatekeeper, the Wave-Treading Yaksha?
Thinking about how he had even lost a hand in order to match the River Styx with the Wave-Treading Yaksha, he felt that this Wave-Treading Yaksha was indispensable!
At least the existence of the Wave-Treading Yaksha can make these sneaky creatures move a little faster.

With that thought in mind, Chen Xin closed the Gate of Hell and disappeared into the Netherworld.

The ghosts that were originally gathering in this direction were no longer restrained and scattered and fled.

……

(End of this chapter)