Mang Shusheng's Ink Painting Practice

Chapter 172 There is an Imperial Street in the Underworld

Becoming a ghost general does have some benefits after all, which is that ordinary ghost officials are not qualified to have the time to wander around Fengdu Ghost City.

Ghost messengers are like cattle and horses, and they have to escort the dead souls in the world of the living at all times.

Zhao Yifu is now a senior ox and horse and can enjoy some leisure time.

He saw that it was still early, so he walked into Fengdu City.

From a distance, the city looks like a giant beast lurking in the darkness, giving people a sense of oppression and fear. However, once you are inside, you will find that it is actually quite lively.

The ground underneath was paved with tiles that emitted a faint green, red, and purple light. Although it was still dim when walking on the street, it was possible to see things.

This city is so huge that no one knows how vast it is.

There are ten gates around the city, each guarded by a Yama Palace.

The city is full of mountains, rivers and streams. Some places have beautiful scenery while others are filled with countless ghost shacks.

All Zhao Yifu could feel when he was in it was a crowded feeling.

Anyway, the street where he appeared now was very crowded, and all the people coming and going were ghosts.

These ghosts are still attached to the mortal world and are unwilling to reincarnate. They survive by eating the incense and offerings from their descendants in the mortal world.

But they cannot remain indefinitely. When the incense and offerings to them in the mortal world stop and no one worships them, they will lose the qualification to stay in this city and will have to enter reincarnation and start the next life.

What Zhao Yifu saw at this moment was countless ghosts wandering aimlessly on the bustling ghost street.

He walked along the ghost street towards the outside of the city, when he was suddenly attracted by a strange fragrance.

He noticed that there was a fork in the street in that direction, which was filled with ghosts, but they were all gathered at the intersection and didn't dare to move forward.

Zhao Yifu walked over and took a look, and found that the two sides of the street were lined with a dazzling array of bone cages that seemed to be illuminated by phosphorous light, and in the cages were pieces of meat that looked like tumors.

The strange fragrance comes from this tumor.

But Zhao Yifu now only felt nauseous, because he realized that those tumors might be the same type of 'Old Yin Immortal Meat', ghost meat...

At this moment, a little kid finally couldn't help but move forward and stood in front of the burly body of the butcher's stall owner.

It was very eager for ghost meat, but could not afford the price to buy it. The two sides just had a brief exchange... and the little ghost actually stretched out an arm and placed it on the chopping board.

"Crack!"

The butcher chopped off the kid's arm without hesitation, then took down a bone cage hanging in front of the stall and handed it over.

The kid didn't feel any pain from losing his arm, but he couldn't wait to open the bone cage and then stuffed the ugly and disgusting tumor into his mouth with intoxication.

"Gaba Gaba~"

The chewing sound was really unpleasant, even creepy.

Zhao Yi Fu quickly withdrew his gaze and hurried out of the city. He really couldn't adapt to the world of the dead.

When you leave Fengdu, you will see a vast expanse of snow-white wasteland.

The wasteland was covered with dust and ashes, and white powder was floating everywhere.

The Yin Spirit naturally had an epiphany that this wasteland was called the "Wilderness of Bones".

The white powder here is actually ashes...

Cold phosphorescent flames continuously emerged from the ground, slowly burning the scattered bones, turning them into floating bone powder...

This environment is full of darkness and depression.

Zhao Yifu walked patiently for a while in this "wilderness of bones", and then unexpectedly encountered a fierce ghost.

Outside Fengdu City, such wandering evil spirits are actually very common.

This is a fierce ghost in the shape of a woman in white, with traces of shackles on her body.

There is no doubt that this is an evil ghost that has just been locked up from the world of the living.

Among the ghost officials, there is a group of highly capable ones who are responsible for capturing evil spirits in the world of the living. However, these evil spirits are actually a trouble in the underworld, so they can only be abandoned in the wilderness to fend for themselves.

Once the resentment subsided, they could naturally enter through the ten gates surrounding Fengdu City and face judgment. If the resentment persisted, they would become the vehicle for the venting of their eternal grudge, becoming a part of the underworld's suppression and digestion of this world's catastrophe.

Zhao Yifu felt that all the ghosts he saw in the underworld were actually consumables.

He drew out the killing knife, and with the intention of hiding the blade, he 'gently' cut the white-clothed female ghost's body.

The blade was very blunt and could not cut through the ghost girl's body.

But this also caused her resistance. She had an unwilling and tenacious resentment in her that was added to her own yin energy, thus resisting the resentment in Zhao Yifu's killing knife.

In the confrontation, the two sides quickly canceled each other out.

Then the evil ghost quickly weakened.

At this time, Zhao Yifu actually had two choices. He could use the ghost mask to directly devour the female ghost, seize the spirit of her ghost body and use it as his own nutrients, and the female ghost's soul would fly away, leaving only her true spirit to return to heaven and earth.

The return of the true spirit to heaven and earth actually means that the true spirit has been cleansed and must start over from plants, insects, and fish, and go through countless reincarnations to accumulate spirituality before it can regain the opportunity to become an adult.

So what's the other option?
That is to wash this evil ghost into a "blank slate guilty ghost" and then hand it over to the underworld to let the underworld judge its crimes.

Of course, this would require a trip to the Eighteen Levels of Hell, but if one persevered, one could immediately re-enter the cycle of reincarnation, at least without having to start from scratch...

This involves a mechanism of rewards, punishments, promotions and demotions of the true spirit.

There was actually nothing wrong with Zhao Yifu being a little selfish at this time, but he still decided to follow the rules.

He put the 'blank slate guilty ghost' into the detention space in the ghost mask, and then continued to look for new evil ghosts.

His purpose in looking for evil spirits was just to dispel some of the resentment and hatred from them.

He kept walking in the wilderness of bones outside Fengdu City. He caught eleven evil spirits and walked no less than a hundred miles, but when he looked back at Fengdu City, he still felt that it was a vast dark area.

This city is too big.

Zhao Yifu felt shocked.

But when he sensed the time, he knew that it was almost dawn.

As soon as he had a thought, his Yin Shen body immediately returned to Fengdu.

He released the dozen or so blank ghosts he had just captured, allowing them to be taken away for trial by the ghost messenger who suddenly appeared, and then his figure quietly disappeared in the underworld.

……

In the world of the living, he woke up.

He wandered around the underworld that night and slept a little tiredly.

This time, Bai Wuchang dragged him there specifically to give him a promotion, but he felt that... he could visit the underworld more often in the future.

"came back?"

Liang Zhongzhi greeted him from the side.

Zhao Yifu stretched himself and nodded, saying, "Master, let me tell you, Fengdu Ghost City is really huge!"

He was like a curious baby, eager to share his findings with his elders. Liang Zhongzhi looked at him lovingly and said, "Okay, tell me more about it."

Zhao Yifu began to share his experiences in the underworld.

Liang Zhongzhi listened with a smile, stopping from time to time to praise, and occasionally offering comments and comments.

Just as Zhao Yifu was speaking happily, someone suddenly interrupted: "Maybe you can go to Dixiang Street and have a look."

Zhao Yifu turned around in surprise and looked at Huigu, who had been listening there for who knows how long.

He said, "Uncle Master, what is Dixiang Street?"

Hui Gu apologized, "I didn't mean to eavesdrop. I just wanted to ask you to go have breakfast, but I didn't expect to hear these..."

There was still a look of surprise on her face. She obviously didn't expect that Zhao Yifu had run back and forth from the underworld overnight.

Moreover, the vastness of the underworld made her very interested, and she became completely fascinated by it without realizing it.

After hearing Zhao Yifu's question, she calmed down and said, "I heard that Fengdu Ghost City is vast and boundless. There is a street called 'Emperor's Street', which is where the emperors of all dynasties lived after their death."

"Because no matter which generation of emperors, they always leave their names in history books and do things that have far-reaching influence."

Zhao Yifu understood and said, "So if they don't want to enter the reincarnation cycle, they can really stay in the world for a long time."

He suddenly became interested, rubbing his hands together and looking very restless.

Liang Zhongzhi angrily scolded: "Calm down!"

"Even if you want to cause trouble for the deceased emperors, that's for tonight, and don't let it interfere with your business."

Zhao Yifu immediately regained consciousness and said awkwardly, "I just wanted to go find that Daojun Emperor. Maybe I could get something out of him."

Upon hearing this, Hui Gu immediately said, "That's what I was thinking when I mentioned this matter. I didn't expect that we would think the same way."

Zhao Yifu turned his head to look at Huigu and thought it was just a coincidence. After all, he was just making up an excuse.

But then I thought...it seemed to be true!

He had originally thought of finding an opportunity to ask his pen pal if there was any secret, but now it seems that it would be more direct to contact the person involved directly.

He pondered and said, "In that case, it is indeed necessary to go to Dixiang Street for a walk."

Then he couldn't wait to say to Liang Zhongzhi: "Master, please protect me while I go check it out."

When Huigu saw this, she showed an envious look in her eyes.

Zhao Yifu can travel in his Yin spirit during the day, which means that he has begun to transform from Yin to Yang and climb to the pinnacle of cultivation in this world.

How can one not be envied for having such a level of cultivation at this age?
Fortunately, Huigu only looked at him with envy for a moment, then quickly retracted her gaze and turned her attention back to herself.

Her character was indeed outstanding, but the most important thing was that she was afraid that if she showed any "inappropriate expression" again, Zhao Yifu would be able to perform the "breaking pill and reshaping" process in front of her again.

There was nothing wrong with this process, and it could even be considered a step-by-step tutorial on how to form a pill... But she felt that if she watched this kind of scene too much, she would develop a mental disorder!

……

Zhao Yifu's spirit left his body again.

This time, his Yin Shen came straight to the square outside Fengdu City. He appeared here the first time he came here.

It seems that he was able to appear directly in the city last time thanks to Bai Wuchang pulling him.

In the underworld, there is no distinction between day and night. Even when it is morning in the world of the living, it is still pitch black here.

Zhao Yifu entered from the nearest city gate and saw a towering hall with the words "Yanluo Hall" written on it!
Unexpectedly, his 'birthplace' in the underworld was outside the Yama Palace.

"This ghost general, King Yama is resting. Please don't disturb him unless it's something serious."

Suddenly, a ghost official holding a pen and paper spoke to Zhao Yifu.

Zhao Yifu apologized after hearing this, "I just stopped here because I was moved. I just want to go into the city."

The ghost official said, "Then just ask the ghost general to come this way."

As he spoke, the ghost official pointed a way to Zhao Yifu.

Zhao Yifu was about to leave when he suddenly remembered something and asked, "Excuse me, this ghost official, where is Dixiang Street in the city?"

The ghost official looked at Zhao Yifu in surprise and asked, "What are you going to do in 'Dixiang Street'?"

Zhao Yifu said, "When I was in the human world, I was also an official appointed by the court, so I want to pay my respects to your Majesties."

The ghost official was quite surprised. He asked, "Which dynasty did you serve in?"

Zhao Yifu did not hide it and said, "I am an official in the Great Xu Dynasty."

The ghost official was even more surprised. He said, "I'm sorry. I was also an official in the Great Xu Dynasty when I was alive. I didn't expect to meet a colleague again..."

"Since we are colleagues, I should also remind you one more thing."

"Dixiang Street is a secret place in Fengdu City. Apart from the deceased emperor, only the ghosts and gods of the underworld and the immortal gods of heaven can enter there."

"You are a ghost general, so you must become a ghost commander to enter."

Zhao Yifu was quite troubled when he heard this. He said, "Sir, please tell me the direction. I have to go and take a look before I give up."

The ghost official nodded and said, "Wait a moment."

After a moment, the ghost official handed Zhao Yifu a piece of paper with what looked like random doodles on it and said, "Just follow this diagram."

Zhao Yifu was in a daze for a moment, but then he understood the meaning of this picture... This messy graffiti-like picture was actually the map of Fengdu!
The ghost official directly drew a map of Fengdu for him.

Of course, normal people would not be able to understand it, but ghosts and evil spirits are different. Zhao Yifu's evil spirit could directly understand the condensed information from it.

"Thank you sir."

The ghost official was dressed like a scholar, with a gentle face and a goatee. He twirled his goatee and said, "You're welcome. I haven't heard anyone call me 'sir' in years, and I really miss it."

He waved his hand and said, "Just go ahead. Don't stay here any longer."

Zhao Yifu silently put away the paper, clasped his fists from a distance, and then left.

He arrived at a secret place according to what was drawn on the paper.

This was the end of an alley, there was no passage at all, and in front of him was a pitch-black wall.

However, with his cultivation of the 'Boundless Universe Technique', he knew that this was the entrance to a secret realm, but he couldn't find the actual way in.

At this time, he has three methods to try: the first one is the least reliable, which is to ask his pen pal to let him be the emperor for a while, and then he can come in as the emperor of the world; the second is to honestly roll up his merits, so that he can become the Yin Shuai of the underworld, and naturally he can also enter this place.

Thirdly... he felt that he could try to crack the secret path here, but this kind of illegal operation was taboo and probably very difficult.

After much deliberation, Zhao Yifu felt that he could only focus on collecting achievements first, but he should not give up the practice of the 'Boundless Universe Technique'.

He made preparations for both scenarios first. If all else failed, he could try to pull his pen pal's soul over and push it in while he was sleeping to see what was going on.

Anyway, we are letting Ying Cong meet his ancestors, not harming him...

(End of this chapter)