Gentlemen, it's time to enter the Banner of Ten Thousand Souls.

Chapter 141 Fengdu Yellow Springs
Under the cover of dark clouds, countless ghostly figures busied themselves on the ruins.

These spirits come in various forms. Some are ethereal, like wisps of smoke drifting in mid-air; others have faint outlines of their former selves, whether male or female, old or young.

The chaotic dance of countless spirits should have been a sinister and terrifying scene, but these spirits were not distorted in appearance, nor did they harbor much resentment. Instead, they were all busy and happy, even somewhat excited.

Because Chen Ye promised that this place was also their own home.

Once the sect is built, these hundreds of thousands of spirits will no longer need to be trapped in the Ten Thousand Soul Banner and can live freely within it.

Although the spirits don't need to eat or drink, it's really uncomfortable for them to be crammed into the Ten Thousand Souls Banner all the time.

This ruin is also their homeland, and being able to move around freely is a small consolation.

To speed up the process for the spirits, Chen Ye used magic to summon large dark clouds, turning daytime into overcast skies to make it easier for them to work.

Chen Ye built high platforms, continuously drawing spiritual energy from the earth's veins, which automatically evolved into runes with various functions.

The spirits, following Chen Ye's instructions, each collected the runes and imprinted them onto the constructed buildings.

The integration of each rune is to regulate the earth's veins and extract spiritual energy to transform into the various functions of the mountain gate array.

Even during the most rampant era of the Demonic Sect, no one could command hundreds of thousands of ghosts to work for them at the same time.

Many demons craft the Ten Thousand Soul Banner, but few do not torment the spirits of the dead.

Moreover, the brow bone of the Demon Lord Wujiu is unique; ordinary Myriad Soul Banners cannot allow cultivators to communicate with these Yin spirits.

Without the premise of mutual understanding, it would be almost impossible to command these 100,000 spirits. Chen Ye is not some reincarnated military genius; his command experience in his previous life was at most having twenty or thirty people set up a venue.

As the outline of the mountain-guarding formation gradually emerged, the rudimentary form of this sect was revealed to Chen Ye and the Venerable Lord.

The lord examined it carefully and asked, "Are you planning to hollow out the bottom layer?"

Chen Ye nodded and explained, "The spirits of the dead can never see the light of day. Although I promised to set them free, there will always be various troubles if they live among the living."

An excessively strong aura of death can have a serious impact on the living. If an ordinary person walks around a cemetery a few times, especially if they are physically weak, they are more likely to encounter evil spirits and experience symptoms such as convulsions and nightmares.

With hundreds of thousands of ghosts gathered together, if they were to live among the living, the number of ghosts would soon increase even further.

All Chen Ye could do was isolate them by digging several layers underground for these spirits to live in, while the living lived on the surface.

The Venerable Master laughed and said, "You really do what you say. No wonder the Qinghe Sword Sect is willing to believe you even though they know you come from the Demonic Sect. I can say I'm benefiting from my grand-disciple's influence."

Although he gained some verbal advantage, the Lord truly admired Chen Ye.

There are plenty of people in this world who are all talk and no action; who can't say a few high-sounding words? But when it really comes down to it, there are very few gentlemen who can live up to their words and deeds.

Chen Ye treated people with sincerity and was truly willing to give up the benefits he had already gained, which led to even the Venerable Lord being tricked by him.

But that is precisely why the Lord was willing to continue cooperating with Chen Ye. He knew that once Chen Ye agreed, he would do what he was supposed to do.

In this world, not only do virtuous people want to befriend other virtuous people, but petty people also want to associate with virtuous people. Ideally, the world would be full of virtuous people, and only they themselves would be petty people. That would be the happiest thing ever.

Chen Ye was unaware that the Venerable One held him in such high regard. After examining the blueprints, he suggested to the Venerable One, "Venerable One, these barbarians have worshipped ancestral spirits for generations. They use the methods of the Nirvana Sect to create their own Buddhas through the power of their vows. We can actually make use of this. Perhaps our sect could then have many Buddhas."

The Venerable One immediately understood Chen Ye's meaning and laughed, "What, are you worried that your master can't let go of the past and want to give him a different path?"

After Mo Ci abandoned his cultivation, his soul became extremely weak, like a bamboo basket that could not hold water. No matter how he was cared for, his soul could not be stopped from weakening.

Only by attaining Buddhahood can he make up for his losses, which has been the direction Chen Ye has been striving for all along.

But Mo Ci did not cooperate.

Even though he had confessed his past sins, he still couldn't let go of the guilt. Mo Ci couldn't accept that his enemy had died peacefully with many children and grandchildren, just as he couldn't accept that he had slaughtered hundreds of people, not even sparing children.

Both were knots in his heart that he could never get rid of.

As Chen Ye said before, Mo Ci is not ruthless enough when he is a bad guy, and not tolerant enough when he is a good guy.

In this way, Mo Ci could not transform into a fair Buddha who upholds justice for rogue cultivators, and would need to change his vow.

The Crimson Serpent Buddha can be formed from resentment and hatred, and among the various emotions in the human world, some are suitable for Mo Ci's current state. However, Chen Ye's understanding of this is too shallow; it would be better to directly consult the Venerable Master, who would likely be willing to take care of his disciple and grand-disciple.

The Venerable One shook his head and said, "The so-called power of will is the will of all living beings, which is an extremely strong desire. Whether it is negative or positive, it is extremely strong and pure."

“A Buddha like me, the Crimson Serpent, gathers the world’s resentment and hatred. Such emotions only bring anger and ruthlessness; how can they tolerate anything else? Your master is now wavering, his own true nature is blurred, and there is no will in the world that can match his.” Upon hearing this, Chen Ye became anxious and hurriedly asked, “Is there really no way?”

The Venerable One pondered for a moment, then said, “It’s not that there’s no way, but it’s probably more difficult than making him a Buddha. In the scriptures, becoming a Buddha refers to transcendence, an ultimate state. But spiritual practice is always a step-by-step process. Sentient beings may achieve some success in their cultivation, but they haven’t reached the other shore. They are neither ordinary people nor Buddhas, so what are they?”

Chen Ye blurted out, "Arhat, Bodhisattva?"

This time, however, surprised the Lord: "Where did you hear these two words from?"

"This... I saw it in an ancient book."

Chen Ye almost forgot that Buddhist scriptures in this world are incomplete. The Nirvana School only knows the Buddha, and the Heart Sutra of Cixin Temple is only half complete. It is estimated that their understanding of the Bodhisattva is far from the original meaning.

The Venerable One hurriedly asked, "Which ancient book do you have with you? Let me see it quickly."

The Lord was surprised that Chen Ye could use these two words so readily; they were just fragments he had found after years of research.

Chen Ye could only make excuses, saying, "I forgot about it a long time ago, and I didn't bring it with me."

The Venerable One stared at Chen Ye suspiciously, sensing that this young man was hiding many secrets. However, now was not the time to concern himself with such matters. He said to Chen Ye, "Since you know about Arhats and Bodhisattvas, you should also know that the path to Buddhahood is not something that can be achieved overnight. Your master is currently plagued by inner demons, so it is impossible for him to become a Buddha. However, he has some chance of becoming an Arhat."

"How exactly to do it depends on your methods. These barbarians believe in ancestral spirits, but their beliefs are different and chaotic, yet extremely stubborn. How will you integrate this belief? Once you can condense the will of all beings into one, perhaps you can help your master forge the golden body of an Arhat and barely preserve his soul."

Chen Ye listened and understood that this was not an easy task.

Among the hundreds of thousands of spirits under his command, there are two to three hundred different ancestral spirits they worship. Although many barbarians live in the same tribe, the ancestral spirits are related to their ancestors, and each family worships a different ancestral spirit.

Getting them to believe in the same Buddha is extremely difficult.

No wonder the Nirvana Sect had no intention of retaking the barbarians; they simply used them as blood sacrifices.

The Venerable One said to Chen Ye, "This matter can be discussed in the long run. Let's establish the sect first. Your master seems to have little time left, but your Ten Thousand Soul Banner is different from what it used to be. It should be able to extend his life by a few more years."

Chen Ye nodded, knowing the principle that haste makes waste.

The Venerable One then asked, "By the way, you've been busy all day, redesigning this sect's headquarters. You must have some ideas by now. What should this sect be called?"

Chen Ye shook his head and said, "I haven't thought of a name for the sect yet, but this newly built city is just like Qinghe. I want to give this city a name first."

"Oh, you want to change the name of the place? That's not bad. There was Qinghe first, and then the Qinghe Sword Sect. We can do the same thing. What name would you like to give this city?"

"Fengdu."

"Fengdu?"

The lord frowned. Just hearing the name, he knew it wasn't the "Feng" of harvest.

Chen Ye reached out and wrote the two characters "Fengdu" in mid-air, then branded them onto the newly built city gate.

The venerable one asked, "What is the deeper meaning behind this name?"

Chen Ye explained, “I once told Miss Su of the Qinghe Sword Sect that if I were to attain immortality one day, I would hope that everyone in the world would experience the consequences of karma. The virtuous would be able to attain bliss after death, while the sinners would be punished. No matter what one was like in life, one’s karma would eventually be settled after death.”

"Therefore, I named this place Fengdu, meaning the city of the underworld. I wish that all people in the world would return to Fengdu after death, where good and evil would be settled, and all living beings would have a second chance."

The Venerable Lord was astonished and couldn't help but say, "You're incredibly audacious! You're even more daring than me! To make everyone in the world subject to cause and effect? ​​Even becoming an immortal wouldn't be possible."

Chen Ye laughed and said, "It's all about human effort. Who knows if we don't try?"

The Venerable Lord shook his head, muttering repeatedly, "Fengdu, Fengdu, the underworld... are you still not giving up, or do you want to call this sect the Myriad Souls Sect?"

Chen Ye rolled his eyes and said to the Venerable Master, "How about we just call it the Yellow Springs Sect?"

"The Yellow Springs? What does that mean?"

Chen Ye didn't explain, only saying, "It doesn't mean anything special. Anyway, this name doesn't sound like the Demonic Sect, don't you think, Lord?"

The Venerable One pondered for a moment, then said, "Fengdu Yellow Springs, that's a pretty good name, but unfortunately it has nothing to do with my Crimson Serpent Holy Sect."

Chen Ye hurriedly said, "The Crimson Serpent Buddha is already receiving offerings within the sect. What more do you want, Venerable Master? If you really expose the Crimson Serpent Demon Sect's name, the five major sects will join forces to wipe us out."

The Venerable One sighed, then said, "Very well, then let it be called the Yellow Springs Sect. From this day forward, the Crimson Serpent Holy Sect is the Yellow Springs Sect of Fengdu!"

(End of this chapter)