Demon Emperor

Chapter 30 Underworld Gods and Demons
The underworld.

Dust filled the sky, and barren land stretched for miles.

The wind howled down from the sky, accompanied by the wails of countless ghosts and the suffering of the mortal world. Bolts of lightning in the sky roared like the hungry bellies of demons in the mortal world.

And this place is considered good. In the deeper, darkest part of the underworld, where nothing can be seen, even evil spirits and fierce gods dare not venture in.

In the darkness, inside the Yin Temple.

On the throne, a deity was enraged, while a malevolent creature beside him was wielding a whip, lashing out at the ghostly generals and minor officials below, who screamed in agony.

The three-eyed, horse-faced deity on the altar was still not satisfied and continued to roar and rebuke from below.

The sound, like a ghost eating mud, was completely incomprehensible to anyone other than the ghost itself.

"In the past hundred years, when have I ever suffered such a humiliating disgrace..."

"With the incense offerings cut off and the temples destroyed, where will we find refuge? It's all because of your incompetence..."

"If you can't even handle one thing, what use are you..."

"You all always boast about how great you are, but who can kill that brat for me now..."

"What emperor? The Great Sheng Dynasty is gone, the Mandate of Heaven has been lost, he's nothing but a mere child..."

The ghosts and fierce gods below trembled in fear, not daring to utter a word.

The donkey army suffered a crushing defeat, and Prime Minister Ruan Heng and the monstrous creature he created from his bloodline also perished.

It wasn't until the establishment of the Heavenly Maiden Palace that Ruan Hu filled that gap.

now.

All the ghosts and evil spirits of the underworld within a hundred miles of the area sensed something was wrong.

Without incense and temples, it seems that they will soon lose their right to rule the underworld in and around Xijing.

Today, when Lord Ma was summoning his generals and deities, he discovered that some deities had not yet arrived.

Even worse, a ghost general escaped from his army of mules, horses, and donkeys, which provoked him to completely erupt in anger.

"Useless things!"

"You're all trash! Keep hitting them! Keep hitting them!"

The whips were swung even more fiercely, and the ghost generals and officials below kowtowed repeatedly, begging for mercy.

The underworld gods control these ghost generals even more than servants, treating them like enslaved pigs and dogs.

No ghost dared to resist, even though the horse-faced god humiliated them in every way.

In this underworld, the power of the gods is greater than that of the emperor.

At this moment.

A figure emerged from the darkness.

She was a plump woman who looked to be in her twenties or thirties. Her eyes were narrow and had a somewhat sinister look. Her head was lowered to show submission, and she was dressed in the attire of the Qin and Han dynasties.

The outfit was so tight around the waist that it accentuated her already full figure, making her curves appear even more exaggerated from a distance.

Compared to the grumpy three-eyed horse god, it looks much more docile.

"Your Majesty!"

"That Ruan Hu is very wicked. He might really be a reincarnation of a great god from ancient times, or he might have inherited the legacy of the Dasheng Dynasty. It seems that the Dasheng Dynasty may not be finished yet."

"It would be better to retreat and temporarily avoid the sharp edge."

"Why should we, the gods who live forever, contend with these dragons and snakes of the mortal world for a fleeting moment?"

Upon hearing this, the deities on the altar became even more enraged.

"My foundation is in Xijing, where can I retreat to?"

"After a century of scheming and planning, things have finally come to this point. Are we to abandon it all in one day?"

"Without this foundation, wouldn't we become wandering ghosts? How could we sit on this divine throne and command the spirits and gods of this hundred miles away?"

"If I retreat, I'm afraid I'll be even less than a wandering deity in that thatched shrine."

Lord Ma stood up abruptly, his massive body casting a shadow that completely obscured the entire hall.

Lord Ma waved his hand, dismissing everyone else, and then poured out his heart to his wife.

As the saying goes, "A phoenix that has lost its feathers is no better than a chicken, and a tiger that has fallen into the plains is bullied by dogs."

"If I were to retreat now, I would lose my foundation and be unable to command these ghosts and spirits and Yin soldiers within a hundred miles. I fear I would immediately suffer their backlash."

"Just now, the Emperor of Fengdu issued a decree, and the gods of the Six Heavens have given a divine order, requiring me to guard this Western Capital Underworld and not to retreat in the slightest."

"If I lose this hundred-mile stretch of Netherworld Land, you will annihilate my soul and destroy my spirit."

Thinking of this, Lord Ma became even angrier.

"If it were before, when my army swept across the world and caused chaos, and when it swept across the eight hundred miles of the underworld and looked down on the ghost heroes, how would the gods of the six heavens dare to look down on me like this?"

"It's just because they saw that I suffered a series of major defeats, which led to the loss of my foundation and power."

"They used this as an excuse to manipulate me, forcing me and Ruan Hu to fight to the death, so that they could reap the benefits."

The more Lord Ma thought about it, the angrier he became, and he shouted loudly to those below.

"It seems that I, the Venerable One, will have to take action myself."

"To avenge this humiliation and let that brat Ruan Hu know just how many eyes I, Lord Ma, have."

Madam Ma exclaimed in surprise, "Husband, do you perhaps intend to take advantage of the opening of the gates of hell to travel to the mortal realm at night?"

Lord Ma nodded: "Exactly."

Madam Ma hurriedly advised, "We are spirits and deities of the underworld. Going to the mortal realm would be like throwing an egg against a rock. If we fail, we will surely perish."

"It would be better to lie low for now and wait for the right opportunity."

Lord Ma said, "That's right. That brat Ruan Hu didn't expect that I would strike first while his foundation is still unstable."

Although Yin and Yang have a vast boundary, this boundary is not insurmountable.

On certain days when the realms of Yin and Yang are tacitly agreed upon, ghosts and spirits can appear in the mortal world, and their power will reach its peak.

When most mortals in this land believe that ghosts can freely roam the mortal realm and cause trouble, then ghosts and gods can truly appear.

This is the law governing the Yin and Yang realms.

Lord Ma is ready to personally lead an expedition into the mortal world.

Mrs. Ma was terrified and tears streamed down her face.
"If your journey fails, what shall I do?"

Lord Ma was full of confidence, but he found his wife's posture very annoying.

"Don't talk nonsense."

"I have roamed the world for hundreds of years, and my name resounds throughout the netherworld."

“Taking the life of that mere brat Ruan Hu is as easy as turning one’s hand.”

"Wait for my return."

"I think it's not impossible for him to not only become the Ghost King, but also to become Emperor Ma in the underworld."
-
Xijing.

Under the bright sunshine, Ruan Hu had just visited the concubines who were recovering from a serious illness in the inner palace and was walking past the palace wall.

The green ivy growing under the palace wall climbs high towards the palace windows, as if it were people straining to squeeze in.

A group of palace maids and eunuchs passed by; the maids carried many things, and the eunuchs carried boxes and baskets.

Ruan Hu saw this and asked the eunuch beside him.

"Go ask them what's going on?"

The eunuch immediately sent a servant over, and Ruan Hu soon received the report.

"Your Majesty, the Qingming Festival is approaching."

"The gates of hell are wide open; those are all talismans used to ward off evil spirits, such as willow branches, mugwort, and incense."

"besides……"

After hearing this, Ruan Hu's eyes darted around.

"The gates of hell have opened?"

Ever since Ruan Hu learned that the area around the West Market Gate Tower was the entrance to the Gates of Hell, he had started to have designs on it, but he didn't know when the right time would come.

"Perhaps the time has come."

(End of this chapter)