After Gu Hai left instructions, he gathered the people going to the nether realm.
Gu Hai, Kong Xuan, the Mosquito Daoist, Bodhisattva Lian Sheng, and the Unborn Man gathered in the emperor’s study.
“Gu Hai, have you found Gu Han?” Bodhisattva Lian Sheng asked with antic.i.p.ation.
Gu Hai nodded. “I don’t know his precise location, but we will know when we get to the nether realm.”
Bodhisattva Lian Sheng nodded and did not ask further. As long as they found Gu Han, it would be fine.
“Unborn Man, I’ll have to trouble you.” Gu Hai looked at the Unborn Man.
The Unborn Man extended his hand and swiped down.
Buzz!
This opened a tear in s.p.a.ce, and negative energy instantly poured out.
“Let’s go!” The Unborn Man stepped into the nether realm.
The others followed close behind, entering the nether realm in the blink of an eye.
Buzz!
The tear in s.p.a.ce suddenly vanished.
Now, Gu Hai’s group stood in the nether realm.
This was Gu Hai’s second trip to the nether realm. When he looked up, he saw the vast silver moon illuminating the ground like before. The surroundings appeared eerie and sinister.
As everyone walked, they stepped on countless dry bones, which spread as far as the eye could see. This place seemed like a plain of bones.
“This is?” Gu Hai said with a frown.
“Near Myriad Bone Sinister Mountain,” the Unborn Man explained.
“Oh? Myriad Bone Sinister Mountain? We recall you mentioning it before. The skeleton soldiers you summon come from the Myriad Bone Sinister Mountain?” Gu Hai commented.
“That’s right. We lifespan cultivators establish contracts with the souls of the dead in the nether realm. They help us resolve some danger, and we help them seek lifespan. It’s just mutual benefit,” the Unborn Man explained.
Gu Hai nodded.
“The nether realm is quite empty,” Kong Xuan said with a frown.
However, the Mosquito Daoist narrowed his eyes, spewing faint, gloomy black fire from them.
“Empty? Hah! How can that be?” The Mosquito Daoist’s body suddenly shook.
Then he waved his hand at Gu Hai’s vicinity.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Explosions rang out around Gu Hai.
“This is?” Kong Xuan said in bewilderment.
“There are many small ghosts lingering around Your Reverence. The Mosquito Daoist just cleared them out.” The Unborn Man looked at the Mosquito Daoist in surprise.
Gu Hai looked at the Mosquito Daoist, but the Mosquito Daoist said nothing.
“Indeed, there are many ghosts.” Bodhisattva Lian Sheng frowned slightly as his figure flashed.
Bang!
The surface of Bodhisattva Lian Sheng’s body trembled, giving off bursts of wind.
“Bodhisattva Lian Sheng can see these small ghosts too?” the Unborn Man exclaimed in shock.
Bodhisattva Lian Sheng nodded. “My Nalanda Temple has secret techniques that target the nether realm. We have a certain understanding of the nether realm.”
“That’s good.” The Unborn Man nodded.
“Your Reverence, humans and ghosts are different. There will be differences between the land of the living and the nether realm. There are two ways to see the ghosts of the nether realm. One is to cultivate a heavenly eye. That way, one can see ghosts while maintaining a pure positive-natured body from the land of the living,” the Unborn Man explained.
“Heavenly eye?” Gu Hai frowned slightly.
Gu Hai had a heavenly eye, but it drained his energy greatly. He would not use it under normal circ.u.mstances.
“Previously, this official rubbed some medicine on Your Reverence’s eyelids and behind the ears, allowing Your Reverence to see. However, that does not last long. The second method is to let the negative energy enter the body to hide the pure positive-natured body. That equals being contaminated and a.s.similated by the nether realm,” the Unborn Man explained.
[TL Note: Yin and Yang can also be translated as negative and positive. The energy of the nether realm could also be translated as Yin energy, but there is already Yin-attributed energy, which is a similar concept but something else entirely. The negative energy is specific to nether realm energy, as the literal translation for the nether realm is the Yin realm or negative realm.]
“How do we do that?” Kong Xuan asked.
“Suck in the negative energy and let it wander to your limbs and bones. Don’t resist with your energy. A small amount of negative energy will not hurt the body. I believe Bodhisattva Lian Sheng and the Mosquito Daoist are using this method. This is the most common,” the Unborn Man explained.
Huff!
Kong Xuan and Gu Hai took deep breaths, letting negative energy pour into their limbs and bones in large amounts.
The negative energy contained a piercing chill. If it were in the past, the deities in the body only needed to struggle a little to get rid of all the negative energy. However, they did not resist this time, letting the chill overtake their bodies.
Buzz!
Gu Hai and Kong Xuan s.h.i.+vered from the cold.
They immediately heard a noisy clamor. When Gu Hai looked over, the endless sea of bones appeared dramatically different.
Now, countless ghosts and souls wandered the place. There were blood-covered babies, wrinkled old men, bloodied youths, and many others. When these ghosts saw the group of living people, they rushed over in excitement.
Seeing thousands of ghosts thronging over felt horrifying.
However, the Unborn Man, the Mosquito Daoist, and Bodhisattva Lian Sheng had force fields around themselves, shaking off the group of small ghosts.
The Mosquito Daoist had attacked Gu Hai’s surroundings, preventing small ghosts from approaching.
Only Kong Xuan had countless small ghosts surrounding him. They clung to Kong Xuan as they sucked on him with their mouths, drawing out wisps of positive energy.
After the small ghosts sucked the positive energy from Kong Xuan’s body, they appeared incredibly satisfied.
“Scram!” Kong Xuan glared and shook his body hard.
However, his shaking did not affect the small ghosts. He could not even touch them.
“Kong Xuan, living beings and ghosts are different. Your struggle will only leak more positive energy for the small ghosts, which will just satisfy them. If you want to shake them off, you have to mix in some negative energy,” the Unborn Man explained.
Mix in negative energy?
Kong Xuan followed the Unborn Man’s method, mixing negative energy into his energy.
Boom!
“Argh!”
“Argh!”
“Don’t!”
“My positive energy!”
All the small ghosts on Kong Xuan exploded from the struggle, scattering in all directions.
“It is indeed useful.” Kong Xuan’s eyes lit up.
Gu Hai also mixed a trace of negative energy into his energy as he waved.
Boom!
This sent many ghosts flying.
“Indeed, this method is easy. However, it would be hard to figure out without being told.” Gu Hai nodded.
“Indeed, Your Reverence!” The Unborn Man nodded.
Screech! Screech! Screech! Screech!
A swarm of bats suddenly flew over from a distance.
Bang!
The countless bats coalesced into one body, transforming into Chang Ming.
“This official, Chang Ming, salutes Your Reverence!” Chang Ming said respectfully.
When the Mosquito Daoist saw Chang Ming, his expression changed. After all, Chang Ming held the Primal Essence Pearl he yearned for.
“Is the Blood Uniform Guard used to living in the nether realm yet?” Gu Hai asked.
“Your Reverence, rest a.s.sured. We have adjusted extremely well. Furthermore, the blood race can consume evil spirits, aside from sucking blood. This is the best place for the blood race to develop.” Chang Ming smiled.
“That’s good!” Gu Hai nodded.
“Does Your Reverence require this official’s a.s.sistance on this trip?” Chang Ming asked.
“Come with us. Your blood race has a special advantage here. Perhaps it will be useful.” Gu Hai nodded.
“Yes!” Chang Ming nodded.
Buzz!
Gu Hai extended his hand and took out the Mantra Seeking Ball. The small buddha statue in the Mantra Seeking Ball pointed to the southwest.
“Let’s go!” Gu Hai said, then led the group in the direction the Mantra Seeking Ball indicated.
Buzz!
As the group flew, buzzing came from Gu Hai’s body.
The Life Ender Saber suddenly trembled and radiated an overwhelming hatred towards the north.
Gu Hai’s face suddenly sank. He turned his head and looked in the direction of the Life Ender Saber’s resentment.
Gu Hai had refined the Life Ender Saber long ago; it no longer had its past consciousness. The only possibility was an instinctive, bone-deep hatred.
Hatred?
Gu Hai looked into the distance.
He could just make out many skeletons wandering through the boundless world of bones as if searching for something. There were many types of skeletons: animals, humans, and even humanoid skeletons on skeletal horses.
“Myriad Bone Sinister Mountain?” Gu Hai said with a frown.
The Unborn Man looked in the direction Gu Hai was looking. “That’s right. That direction is Myriad Bone Sinister Mountain. The true skeleton experts are there. They even established a skeleton civilization ruled by the Bone Deity Palace. The Bone Ancestor used to reign over Myriad Bone Sinister Mountain, commanding all the skeletons in the world. However, something changed several decades ago. The Bone Ancestor died.”
“Oh? Several decades ago? The Bone Ancestor?” Gu Hai’s expression changed.
Gu Hai vaguely recalled that back when he first obtained the Life Ender Saber, Meng Tai’s master mentioned a tear opening in s.p.a.ce when Meng Tai’s master was trapped with the dragon vein.
The Life Ender Saber has been covered in cracks and stabbed into the dragon vein. Back then, there was a cry of “The Bone Ancestor is already reduced to dust. The world is mine now! Hahahaha!”
“I’m not sure about the details. Only the skeleton experts know about it, and they never tell others. I can only say that the current king is the Bone Deity, and he rules the Bone Deity Palace. All the skeletons in the world heed his commands,” the Unborn Man explained.
Buzz!
At the words “Bone Deity,” the Life Ender Saber in Gu Hai’s body grew even more resentful and buzzed nonstop.
Gu Hai’s face sank as he suppressed the Life Ender Saber.
“The Myriad Bone Sinister Mountain? I will have to investigate it in the future. Right now, I have to find Gu Han,” Gu Hai muttered.
As Gu Hai spoke, he led the group to the southwest.
------
A majestic palace sat on the summit of the colossal mountain made of countless skeletons in the cardinal north position. This palace was called the Bone Deity Palace.
Many skeleton soldiers stood guard outside the palace.
The palace was dark, with wisps of ghost fire providing light, vaguely showing a black throne with golden edges.
A black-robed figure sat on this throne, its skeleton face shadowed by the hood.
When the Life Ender Saber buzzed, two flames suddenly flared to life in the eye sockets of the skull.
Boom!
A powerful aura immediately spread out.
“Bone Ancestor? We did not utterly destroy you?” An eerie voice suddenly came from the black-robed skeleton.
“Bone generals, heed my command!” the black-robed skeleton said coldly.
Buzz!
The voice strangely spread into the surroundings, startling countless skeletons around the Myriad Bone Sinister Mountain. Many powerful skeletons quickly headed towards the Myriad Bone Sinister Mountain.
------
Gu Hai’s group flew for three days, following the Mantra Seeking Ball’s direction before finally arriving in the nether realm’s west.
“Your Reverence, this…this is the place?” the Unborn Man said in shock as he looked at the black energy soaring up in the distance.
The Mosquito Daoist’s expression also changed, betraying shock.
Bodhisattva Lian Sheng appeared horrified. “This is impossible! This…how can this place be a.s.sociated with the Spirit Mountain Holy Land?”
“Where is this?” Kong Xuan asked.
“The Heavenly Demon Holy Land, an upper-tier sect of the nether realm. It far predates the Spirit Mountain Holy Land, having been pa.s.sed down from ancient times,” Chang Ming said with a frown.
“An ancient holy land?” Gu Hai’s face sank.
“More accurately, it should be a faction that rose after the war between the shamans and animal spirits,” the Unborn Man said after inhaling sharply.
The Spirit Mountain Holy Land’s history could only be traced back eight hundred thousand years to the battle to oppose Heaven. However, the Heavenly Demon Holy Land had even vaster acc.u.mulations. Despite its antiquity, it remained strong, not collapsing.