From the Carp that Brings Children to the Celestial Officials

Chapter 296 Journey to the Underworld
"Haha, I'm afraid everyone in the entire Shinto sect knows about this."

"I have heard that a demon that was sealed away in the underworld has been born, overturning the volcanoes and hell, causing severe disasters everywhere."

"The Heavenly Realm then issued an order, commanding all government offices of the seventh rank and above, both in Heaven and on Earth, to send deities to participate. In particular, our Earthly Deities, being closer to the Underworld, sent quite a few deities."

“Even our Changning Prefecture sent out three seventh-rank deities and five eighth-rank deities.”

"Since you're going there too, could you please take care of them for me?"

At this point, the City God also laughed.

The higher-ups only briefly mentioned this volcanic hellish disturbance with a single sentence. But it's clear to anyone with eyes to see that the risks involved are considerable.

After all, there are rumors that the demons who caused this unrest have not been arrested and are still at large.

For lower-ranking deities, the aftershocks of battle with these demons could be fatal.

According to information obtained by the City God through his own channels, this operation is far more complex than it appears.

"The level of the underworld is much higher than that of the human world, and I cannot guarantee that they will be safe and sound."

"However, I can promise that, within my power, I will do my best to protect the deities of our manor."

You Ming did not take on everything.

The power level in the Netherworld is higher, which means that a Dharma Aspect cultivator who is considered a master in the human world may only be considered to be at a lower-middle level in the Netherworld.

"With your words, that's enough. I'll immediately send orders to the Yin-Yang Division to have them cooperate with you in entering the Underworld."

The City God nodded. If they encountered a situation that was truly difficult to handle, they could only accept their bad luck.

……

Before setting off, You Ming also met the other gods who were going to enter the underworld together.

These deities are all military officers in the Earthly Deities, either generals in life who were deified after death, beasts who attained enlightenment with strong bloodlines, or some kind of naturally extraordinary beings with remarkable appearances.

Among them were several familiar faces, who should have been the deities of Changning County. Later, when the county was upgraded to a prefecture, they were promoted together.

The leader was clad in a golden beast-faced armor, thick iron-backed armor, a demon-slaying blade at his waist, and a blood-patterned command flag on his back.

Surprisingly, a cold, eerie light emanated from the junction of his head and body, which was quite bizarre.

This person is the current door god of Changning Prefecture, and his full title is [Zhan Sui Bei Wu Zheng Wei].

Legend has it that this person was a highly skilled warrior in life, who was beheaded by bandits while protecting his hometown. Therefore, he was deified after his death and became a protector of the region.

"Greetings, General Yang."

You Ming cupped his hands in a gesture of respect to the other party. Although this gatekeeper was only a seventh-rank official, "General" was his former title, and he addressed him as such to show respect.

A slight smile appeared on the doorman's stiff face as he nodded to You Ming.

The other two seventh-rank deities are [Netherworld Gate Opening Officer], who, although not wearing armor, is tall, has a token at his waist, and holds a broadsword.

Of course, what interests You Ming more is that this god is also a demon.

However, the other party should be practicing the path of demon beasts, and its true form is a black bear. Therefore, although it is roughly humanoid, it is covered in black fur, has a dark face, and its facial features are almost invisible.

Another one is the [Divine Martial Judge of the Refining Fire Division], who is a deity in charge of the refining of military equipment in Changning Prefecture.

He was neither a ghost nor a deity, nor a demon, but a kind of innate spirit born of nature.

His body seemed to be made of rock, but it was fiery red, with fine lava flowing along it, looking like some kind of strange runes.

He wore a layer of red armor, which seemed to seal away his fiery temper. At the same time, he had a crimson chain wrapped around his left shoulder, held a fire-element command arrow in his right hand, and carried a fire-feather banner on his back, making a rumbling sound as he walked.

These two individuals, each leading several eighth-rank deities, came to pay their respects to You Ming.

Although You Ming's divine position is not as high as theirs, his title as a Dharma Aspect Grand Master is not something they can offend.

In addition, since the City God specifically instructed that You Ming should be in charge of this operation, everyone naturally treated You Ming with great courtesy.

"Now that everyone is here, let's get going."

"It's quite a journey from here to the underworld."

The [Netherworld Gate Enlightenment Officer] looked around and, seeing that everyone was present, took the initiative to speak.

His job was to transport souls between the two realms, and he was already very familiar with the [Road to the Underworld].

"Gods, in your positions and by your divine duty, enter the Netherworld and beseech us to open the path to the underworld!"

Black Bear Bail took the large seal from his waist and pressed it into the void.

All that could be seen was the shimmering light on the seal, and the void before them suddenly cracked open, releasing a chilling aura. The sound of chains being pulled could also be heard incessantly.

Then one sees a road, as if carved from black jade, hanging down from mid-air. The road is eight zhang wide and completely black, like a block of black ice, radiating an astonishing chill.

The road, like a winding mountain road, extends downwards in circles, its depth unknown.

This feeling is like having a nightmare, where you feel yourself sinking deeper and deeper into darkness, seemingly without end.

"Gentlemen, let's set off."

Black Bear Yasi shouted in a deep voice, but then he realized that something was not quite right.

He just used to shout that whenever he went down to the underworld, so he got used to it.

He was rather slow-witted. Although he realized something was wrong, he didn't know how to resolve it, so he simply took the lead and was the first to step onto the path. After only a few steps, his figure disappeared.

Seeing this, You Ming and the others followed Black Bear Bailiff onto the [Tongyou Official Road].

"What an amazing project!"

As You Ming stepped onto the trail, it felt like walking on a normal downhill path, his steps light and quick.

But he could sense that with each step he took, the surrounding void seemed to shrink considerably.

Such a project is not only enormous in scale, but also involves the use of space; only Shinto could accomplish such a feat.

Although You Ming was taking a leisurely stroll, his speed was extremely fast. Even though it couldn't match his own [Transformation of Others], they had already traveled hundreds of miles in the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.

The trail seemed to have no end. The entire wide road was silent, and there was no one else besides their group. Everything was extremely oppressive.

If an ordinary person were here, they would probably be driven mad with despair.

However, You Ming didn't care; he even had the leisure to check his surroundings.

He soon discovered that the road was not entirely empty, dark void on both sides; there were occasional forks that seemed to connect to various parts of the mortal realm.

Sometimes, one can even see flickering soul flames in the darkness.

According to the black bear bailiff, those were some wandering ghosts who tried to rush onto the official road and take the opportunity to sneak into the underworld, but were killed by the gods who were on their way.

(End of this chapter)