Zhang Kui Asks the Way in Investiture of the Gods

The underworld, also known as Youdu, Huangquan, or Jiuyou, is the final destination of all things and the place of reincarnation. This place is completely different from the mortal world; there is neither sun nor moon, nor stars, only the eternal darkness of Huangquan and the ever-flowing, ghostly light of the River of Oblivion.

When Zhang Kui opened his eyes again, a chilling, deathly atmosphere enveloped him. He found himself standing on a desolate, gray-brown plain, the ground beneath his feet cold and hard, as if trampled by countless ghosts.

Looking up, the sky was an indescribable dark purple, and the ground was dotted with strange plants that emitted a pale green light or a ghostly blue phosphorescence, like will-o'-the-wisps adorning the boundless wilderness.

In the distance, a vast, murky river, shimmering with a yellowish light, flowed silently—the legendary River of Oblivion. Countless illusory figures, rising and falling in anguish, could be vaguely seen within its depths. A chilling wind howled, stirring up dust from the ground, yet it brought no sign of life, only a bone-deep cold and endless desolation.

Countless grotesque and dazed spirits, arranged in an endless procession, numbly and slowly moved forward in a certain direction under the guidance of some unseen force.

"This is the underworld..." Zhang Kui felt a chill in his heart. He instinctively began to circulate the Nine Breaths Qi within his body, but he found that the spiritual energy here was thin and filled with dense Yin Sha death energy, which was incompatible with the Xuanmen orthodox magic power he cultivated, making it twice as difficult to absorb.

"The environment here is harsh, so we need to proceed with caution." He activated the Great Yin-Yang Void Eye to its fullest extent, carefully examining this unfamiliar world with his eyes.

In his vision, countless gray-black currents representing death intertwined into a net, forming the basic laws of the underworld, while the River of Oblivion contained powerful forces of reincarnation and oblivion.

Upon arriving here, the Treasure-Dropping Coin in his palm trembled excitedly, emitting an even hotter buzzing sound. That strong guiding feeling reappeared, clearly pointing north. Zhang Kui suppressed his aura of a living person, and without hesitation, immediately used the Five Elements Great Escape Technique. His figure transformed into an almost transparent phantom, skimming the ground and silently speeding towards the north.

Along the way, countless spirits appeared, each with its own unique form. There were bewildered newborns, vengeful ghosts filled with resentment, and strange creatures from the underworld. At this time, the underworld was still in its early stages of order, far from the strict bureaucratic system of the eighteen levels of hell and the ten kings of hell described in later legends. It appeared more primitive and chaotic, yet also possessed a primordial vastness and mystery.

After flying for an unknown amount of time, Zhang Kui felt he had covered a vast distance at his speed. Finally, at the edge of his vision, the outline of a majestic, imposing, and dark gray mountain range slowly emerged. The mountain range exuded an incredibly heavy pressure, as if it were the center and pillar of the entire Netherworld.

Zhang Kui stopped his escape, hovering in mid-air, and cautiously released his divine sense to scan forward. The moment his divine sense touched the mountain range, a vast, ancient, and supreme majesty that governed life and death and reincarnation surged forth, causing his very soul to tremble!

"Luofeng Mountain!" Zhang Kui was shocked and immediately withdrew his divine sense, his face showing undisguised astonishment.

According to the scattered legends passed down through the ages, he instantly understood the origin of this mountain—this place was actually the legendary Taoist temple of the Great Emperor of Fengdu, the ruler of the underworld, one of the seventy-two blessed lands of Taoism, and Luofeng Mountain, which was regarded as a symbol of the underworld.

"The Treasure-Dropping Coin actually led me here... It seems that what it desires, or what it lacks, is closely related to this Lord of the Underworld." Zhang Kui's mind raced, and he made a judgment.

Legend has it that the Great Emperor of Fengdu in the Northern Underworld is a powerful being who lives as long as heaven and earth, with unfathomable cultivation. He holds the power of reincarnation and is known as the patriarch of all ghosts and gods. Zhang Kui thought to himself, "It seems I need to be more cautious on this trip and absolutely must not act rashly, lest I anger this powerful being."

He took a deep breath, suppressing the turmoil in his heart, and descended to the foot of Mount Luofeng. The mountain was covered with a kind of pitch-black, dark stone, hard and cold, emitting a faint dark light. He did not use any more teleportation techniques, but instead chose to walk up the mountain as a sign of respect, and also to take this opportunity to observe this mysterious sacred mountain.

The mountain path was rugged, yet possessed a solemn and dignified rhythm. The higher one climbed, the purer and more concentrated the surrounding yin energy became, the less chaotic and violent it was at the foot of the mountain, and the more orderly and majestic it appeared. No obstacles were encountered along the way, as if the mountain itself had no reaction to the arrival of this stranger. [This is a continuation of the previous sentence, which is not directly related to the preceding text.]

Upon reaching the summit, a magnificent and imposing complex of ancient and dignified buildings comes into view. These buildings are mostly constructed of black stone and jade, and are carved with various ghosts, gods, and reincarnation patterns. They are majestic and silent, as if they have been sleeping for eternity.

Zhang Kui's gaze swept across the area, finally settling on the most magnificent main hall, located at the heart of the complex. He took a deep breath and stepped through the hall's doors.

The main hall was unexpectedly spacious and simple. Apart from a towering statue of a deity standing sixteen feet tall in the center of the hall, there was nothing else, making it appear exceptionally solemn and empty.

Zhang Kui's gaze was immediately drawn to the statue.

The deity wears an imperial crown with twelve tassels, each adorned with twelve warm, black jade beads, symbolizing supreme authority over the netherworld and the balance of yin and yang. He is dressed in a long, flowing robe of black and white, embroidered with a constantly revolving, mysterious diagram of the six realms of reincarnation, depicting the cycle of rebirth for all beings. A leather belt cinches his waist, adorned with a sash, and he wears high-topped, red shoes shaped like ruyi scepters. The entire statue is solemn, majestic, and ancient, exuding a powerful aura of control over the origin and end of all things.

When Zhang Kui tried to concentrate and use the Great Yin-Yang Void-Penetrating True Eye to see the details of the deity's face, a strange change occurred.

The moment his consciousness touched the face of the statue, he felt a violent, dizzying sensation, as if the world was spinning around him, and his entire soul was sucked into an invisible vortex. In a daze, he felt his perspective suddenly change—he was no longer a gazing observer standing below the steps, but had become the statue itself.

Through the "eyes" of the statue, he clearly "saw" himself standing in the hall, his face slightly bewildered. This bizarre shift in perspective shook him to his core.

Immediately afterward, before he could even adjust to the change, countless vast, chaotic images, containing endless ancient information, flooded into his mind like a burst dam:

He saw the Earth Goddess Houtu, the mother goddess of the boundless earth, and, moved by the suffering of all living beings, made a great vow to transform himself into the six realms of reincarnation to mend the heavenly order. From then on, the underworld came into being, and all the souls of all things were able to be reborn...

He witnessed a sea of ​​blood churning, the arrogant figure of the Styx Ancestor establishing the Asura clan, vying for power with the nascent Netherworld, and unleashing a massive carnage...

He witnessed the beginning of the underworld, when countless ghosts raged and order was chaotic. A descendant of the Goddess Pingxin, a man of great merit and fortune, was born as the Underworld Emperor. Holding the Book of Life and Death and the Pen of Reincarnation, he restored order to the underworld, suppressed countless ghosts, and initially established order in the underworld...

These images contained an immense amount of information, including some of the secrets since the beginning of time. They caused Zhang Kui's mind to churn. If his soul had not been far more resilient than others of his level, he would probably have already lost his composure.

Just as he was trying to suppress his discomfort and glean more clues from these fragmented images, all the images suddenly receded like a tide, disappearing without a trace.

The dizziness disappeared, and the field of vision was restored.

Zhang Kui found himself still standing in the same spot, as if everything that had just happened was merely a fleeting illusion. But he knew it wasn't an illusion; after all, everything that had just occurred felt so real.

"Little one, have you come to your senses?" A gentle, kind voice, as soothing as Mother Earth, capable of calming all restlessness and unease, quietly echoed in the empty hall. This voice carried a serene understanding of all things and the cycle of reincarnation.

Zhang Kui was greatly alarmed. His muscles tensed instantly, and his magical power instinctively circulated throughout his body, his Dragon-Subduing and Tiger-Taming Divine Power poised to be unleashed. He abruptly raised his head, his gaze like lightning, sweeping across the empty hall, and shouted in a deep voice, "Who is it?"

His voice echoed in the empty hall, but received no response. The sixteen-foot-tall statue still stood there silently, its face shrouded in a mysterious mist beneath its crown.

Is it the remaining divine thought of the Emperor of Fengdu?

Or some other unknown powerful being from the underworld?

Zhang Kui was highly focused, his left hand already quietly resting on the hilt of the Dragon Sparrow Sword at his waist. He activated the Great Yin-Yang Void Eye to its fullest extent, trying to find the source of the sound. At the same time, his golden core spun rapidly within his body, ready to deal with any unexpected situation.

In this arena of the Netherworld Ruler, he dared not be careless in the slightest.