A master of comedy!

"On the road to the West, a goose holds a magical herb in its beak and chants Amitabha. Its flat feathers seem to indicate a desire for spiritual cultivation; if people don't cultivate themselves, what will become of them?"

On the stage, Zhou Sheng played the role of Mulian, wearing a kasaya and holding a tin staff, looking solemn and dignified.

However, once his hearing was awakened, he suddenly realized that something was wrong.

The faint sounds of opera all around seemed to have disappeared.

According to the Black and White Impermanence, there are nine theaters in Fengdu City, used by ghost opera performers to perform ghost plays.

He could still hear the sounds of the play coming from other places, but starting from the eighth play, those sounds became less and less frequent.

Now, you can't even hear any other opera singing besides theirs.

Could it be that all nine stages... are dead?

Upon thinking of this, a chill suddenly ran through him, and he became even more vigilant, as if his Dao heart was issuing a warning.

Suddenly, among the ghosts below the stage, he saw a figure.

It was a demon that seemed to have escaped from a volcanic hell, half of its face was a skull, and the other half was charred black, staring straight at him.

Zhou Sheng was startled, feeling an extremely strong sense of oppression.

This ghost is not simply someone with a strong malevolent aura; rather, it possessed extraordinary cultivation in its previous life, even surpassing his current level.

He was at least a master of the fifth level during his lifetime!
Finally, a formidable opponent has arrived.

Zhou Sheng remained solemn and dared not relax, meticulously performing the yin opera. After an unknown amount of time, the figure nodded slightly and finally looked away.

He suddenly had a strange feeling, like when his master tested his studies when he was a child. Every move he made felt like a cold glare on his back, and he was afraid that his master would find a problem at any moment.

Since he opened his tongue orifice, he has rarely experienced this kind of pressure.

"Let me ask you, all the ghosts—"

The actor playing the demon suddenly trembled and his voice stopped abruptly, as a pair of charred, burning hands were plunged into his throat.

Almost in a flash of light, the charred demon appeared on the stage, its speed so fast that even Zhou Sheng was startled.

"save……"

Before he could finish his plea for help, the young sorcerer was engulfed by flames and quickly turned to ashes.

"His breathing is unsteady, his pronunciation is unclear, and even his breathing is off; he's just incredibly noisy..."

The hoarse, deep voice slowly rose, causing every performer on the stage to tremble.

Those eyes, pulsating with crimson flames, continued to look at the next one; on the stage, charred footprints were slowly approaching.

"Little monk, there's a woman named Liu Qingdi inside, but her son isn't called Mulian Monk..."

The Yin Master who was targeted was quite skilled; he managed to suppress his fear and bring out the fruits of his years of hard work.

Their singing, recitation, acting, and martial arts were all quite impressive.

However, a moment later, that chilling voice rang out again.

"wrong!"

"The Ghost Step consists of three feints and one solid step. You took the seventeenth step incorrectly..."

With a scream, another ghost performer was burned to ashes on stage.

Then the evil spirit, without stopping, looked at the next one.

"Ghosts fear the sound of Buddha's voice. When Maudgalyayana was reciting scriptures, why didn't you, as the gatekeeper ghost soldier, cover your ears?"

"The abacus is wrong. In the underworld, when settling scores, the sound of the pearl should be dull and lifeless. Why don't you prolong your single syllable?"

"The judge's decision requires the first stroke to pause for three breaths before piercing through with the next stroke..."

Immediately afterwards, the nightmarish voice echoed across the stage, each word followed by the screams of the ghost performer.

In a short while, only a handful of people remained on the field.

At this moment, Zhou Sheng understood that his previous feeling was not absurd. This evil spirit was an expert among experts and had an extremely good understanding of yin magic.

Even... even above him.

Seeing that the Yin-Yang performers, who had barely managed to hold on until now, were on the verge of collapse, Zhou Sheng's gaze sharpened. He knew that things couldn't continue like this. Otherwise, the final performance would likely become a one-man show.

He took a deep breath and suddenly recited the line that had been repeated on stage.

"Om Mani Padme Hum!"

This play tells the story of Maudgalyayana, who, having attained enlightenment in Buddhism, descends to the underworld to find his mother. When he encounters obstacles, he repeatedly recites the six-syllable mantra, causing a great upheaval in the underworld and demonstrating immense Buddhist power, thus forcibly rescuing his mother.

Whenever the local ghosts and gatekeepers refused to let him pass, he would recite this incantation, and they would immediately give in.

Zhou Sheng's earlier incantation had already had the effect of suppressing evil, so none of the ghosts below dared to come up on stage, until this charred evil ghost appeared.

At this moment, he opened his tongue and recited the mantra with all his might, immersing his mind completely in the Yin play. In a daze, he seemed to see a figure sitting on a lotus platform, radiating boundless Buddha light.

Boom!

Each word was as heavy as a mountain, and the entire stage seemed to shake violently because it could not withstand the power of the incantation.

Rays of crystal-like Buddhist light bloomed, forcing the evil spirit back several steps. Its body was filled with yin energy, like snow melting under the sun.

The demon suddenly turned around, and a clear look of surprise appeared in its bloodshot eyes, which were filled with resentment.

"Opening the tongue orifice, achieving perfect harmony between actor and performer?"

After that, he stood still, staring intently at Zhou Sheng, not missing a single detail.

For a moment, even Zhou Sheng, who was in a state of perfect harmony with the role, felt immense pressure and almost fell out of his realm.

Tap! Tap! Tap!
Under the scorching Buddha light, the evil spirit actually approached Zhou Sheng step by step, almost within three feet of him, not missing a single detail.

Singing, reciting, acting, fighting, hand gestures, eye movements, body movements, techniques, and footwork!

Zhou Sheng brought the four skills and five techniques of traditional Chinese opera to their fullest potential. In a state of perfect harmony between actor and role, he made no mistakes and continued to sing with complete concentration.

But Zhou Sheng knew in his heart that he couldn't maintain the perfect harmony between himself and the role for long, and he would soon fall from grace.

By then, the other side will definitely find a flaw in him!
But if a fight breaks out, he might not necessarily win. Moreover, there are so many ghosts below the stage, and Judge Lu on the second floor won't let this opportunity pass. He might even directly sentence him for breaking the rules and subject him to torture.

After enduring several rounds of torture, he would be crippled even if he didn't die.

But now, apart from him, even the most outstanding Tan Sheng would absolutely not be able to withstand this demon's provocations.

How to break the game?

……

"Brother, we've finally arrived at Yunguan Fortress!"

At the foot of a cliff, more than a dozen figures rushed over, with Bao Ying leading the way.

What time is it now?

Bao Ying looked up at the moonlight and quickly asked.

"Six quarters past the hour of Yin!"

Bao Ying slowly exhaled a breath of stale air and nodded, saying, "There's still time. Hopefully, Boss Long can hold on."

As he spoke, he dismounted, took out a small incense burner, lit three incense sticks, and muttered incantations.

The next moment, the fragrant mist shot straight into the sky like a smoky avenue.

Bao Ying leaped into the air, his body shrinking automatically as he ascended into the fragrant mist, as if he were climbing a ladder to heaven.

In just a few breaths, they arrived silently at the top of the precipice.

His men also arrived, stepping through the mist.

When they saw that there really was a temple dedicated to the judge on the cliff top, a glimmer of light appeared in everyone's eyes.

“There really is one. There’s no temple marked here on any feng shui map.”

"This temple is indeed strange. It has many concealment formations. If we hadn't followed the incense offerings here, we wouldn't have been able to see this temple even if we had climbed the mountain from the main gate!"

...(End of this chapter)