Chapter 323 - Yuancheng Palace, Little Yaksha

In the Netherworld, thunder rumbled ominously. Chen Shi, transformed into a blue-faced, fanged deity, crawled up from the top of Heiguo and surveyed his surroundings. He saw thick, rolling smoke and a massive, pitch-black volcano spewing lava and demonic fire. The flames illuminated his face, casting an ominous red glow over the blue features. Heat waves assaulted them, so intense that even at a distance from the ground, they could feel their bodies being nearly cooked. This volcano was immense, far larger than Heiguo, almost obscuring his vision. Among the billowing smoke, lightning flashed—the kind of sinister lightning found in the Netherworld, as opposed to the yang bolts in the mortal realm. Mortal lightning, called yang thunder, is pure and unyielding, capable of piercing through anything. A single bolt can cleanse all negative energies. But this yin thunder was different. It contained malevolent energies; when it struck a living creature, flesh and bone would dissolve. If it hit a cultivator, it could damage their foundational core and strip away their powers! For those with lower cultivation, being struck by yin thunder could result in a soul-shattering death! The most insidious aspect was its ability to harm one's talent and comprehension. Even the brightest minds, if struck, would become as dense as stones, their intelligence and memory severely impaired. Chen Shi glanced at the boat woman beside him. She too had transformed into a yaksha, a blue-faced, fanged beast, bald with red hair starting near the neck, and sporting red whiskers by her cheeks and chin. She was a head taller and noticeably stronger than the yaksha he had become. The boat woman was a mother yaksha, wearing a tattered black wrap over her chest, and a black loincloth around her waist, worn and ragged. She wielded a three-pronged spear, which held a tattered cloth sack. Chen Shi looked down at himself; his upper body was bare save for a tattered red loincloth around his waist. He looked little better than a refugee. He touched his chin, where a vibrant red beard sprang forth, then felt his bald head, clean as could be. "In the future, I only need to comb the back of my head and my beard," he thought to himself. The boat woman tugged at her wrap, pulling it higher, and pointed into the distance. "Lord Scholar," she said, her human voice morphing into the garbled language of ghosts, "Xiandu is to the north. It should take us about a month to walk there." Chen Shi, surprised that he could understand her speech, looked in the direction she indicated. Massive volcanoes dotted his sight, spewing demonic vapors and flowing streams of molten lava, merging into rivers heading northward. "In the mortal realm, this area is known as the Huangshi Mountains, vast and formidable. Even Heiguo would take over twenty days to traverse it before reaching the northern ice fields," said the boat woman. "Once in the northern ice fields, Xiandu is nearer. But this journey is fraught with danger. As yaksha in the Netherworld, we hold a low status and are easily conscripted. If we encounter powerful beings, we could be captured and devoured." She peered around cautiously. "Many deities in these mountains feast on yakshas." "No need to go through all that trouble," Chen Shi said with a smile. "Ask Heiguo to perform a spell and take us straight to my Yuancheng Palace. It saves us a month’s journey and avoids the peril." He leapt off Heiguo's head and approached the banks of the lava river, retrieving a rustic stove from a miniature temple, eagerly looking at Heiguo. Heiguo, towering above the stove, seemed skeptical it would fit inside. The boat woman jumped down as well. "Your Yuancheng Palace? You're a fugitive. It's likely under guard by deities. We should head to Heiguo's palace instead." Chen Shi shook his head. "Heiguo's palace is crawling with deities." The boat woman turned her bright eyes to Heiguo, impressed by its significant standing. “Unexpectedly, Heiguo has achieved great accomplishments,” she thought. “The heavens must be merciful. Since being resurrected in borrowed bodies, we’ve managed to accomplish great feats! Perhaps, when the Little King of Yanluo returns, we'll both get rapid promotions!” Heiguo chanted incantations silently, its massive frame beginning to shrink slowly but with difficulty, clearly not yet adept at such spells. Chen Shi and the boat woman stood by patiently. In the distance, a thunderous noise heralded the appearance of a colossal ghost deity from a volcanic crater, larger than Heiguo itself. It stood on fiery clouds and soared away, trailing flames in the sky. Further out, an odd deity emerged, its upper body enormous, but its lower half fused with the mountain. It had three arms, two on the sides and one growing out of its navel, scooping and hurling lava from the mountaintop like a basin, chuckling sinisterly as it did. The lava formed a river where red-skinned, fanged imps gathered, using iron pots and cauldrons to scoop up the molten fluid and gulp it down as if it were fine wine. Drunk and staggering, they banged pots on each other's heads, causing a cacophony of metallic clanging. Some intoxicated imps were then seized by six-legged, dog-faced spectral beasts and carried off to the volcano, offered as sacrifices to the three-armed deity for protection. Chen Shi also saw a peculiar flower in the distance, its hundred-mile-wide petals spreading out, spewing demonic mists. The mist corroded the boundary between the Netherworld and the mortal realm, partially revealing the latter. Numerous deities awaited the flower's work to breach the barrier, ready to storm into the mortal plane. Chen Shi looked around and spotted massive tentacles rising from a volcanic crater, sweeping low across the ground. These tentacles, covered with mucous, trapped any imp it touched, dragging them into the volcanic mouth where the sounds of chewing and maniacal laughter rang out. "Trying to cross these volcanic lands, one may not make it out alive," thought Chen Shi. The deities here seemed stronger than elsewhere. Even the boat woman, this formidable underworld officer, likely faced certain death in attempting the crossing! Heiguo shrank to around four or five fathoms but still towered over the diminutive stove, unable to reduce its size further. Chen Shi produced salt. Heiguo stood upright beside the stove, casting spells, murmuring in an incomprehensible chant. Scooping up the salt, it tossed it into the stove. Instantly, emerald flames blazed beneath it. Chen Shi and the boat woman climbed onto Heiguo's back—Chen Shi wrapping an arm around her robust waist while she clung to Heiguo's neck. Heiguo leaped into the stove, diminishing its size rapidly, as if it were a whale swallowing a rainbow, sucked into the tiny stove! A few bold red-skinned imps dared approach the stove, peering inside to see Heiguo transformed into a black hound, sprinting madly within the green flames with two passengers. Mischievously, the imps tossed rocks into the stove. Suddenly, a three-pronged spear flew out from the flames, piercing one imp. The others scattered in fright, not daring to approach again. The spear dislodged the imp’s body and retracted into the flames. Chen Shi retrieved the trident, his grip firm around the rugged waist of the boat woman, his fingers locking onto her steely abdominal muscles to prevent being thrown off by Heiguo’s wild ride. They raced through the infernal inferno, massive volcanoes, colossal deities, towering demon-trees, and demon-gods' settlements slipping into fleeting glimpses. In the firelight, Chen Shi glanced back, astonished to find the stove's mouth still behind them. "This is a teleportation spell!" He marveled at its speed, outstripping his Celestial Gate technique. In a flash, the surrounding scenery flipped from volcanic to icy plains. The fire continued to blaze; they felt no cold despite the frozen landscape. Suddenly, a blinding light seared their eyes, forcing Chen Shi and the boat woman to shield them, tears springing forth from the brilliance. Heiguo also shielded its eyes with its ears, continuing its fiery charge. Then, a sudden weightlessness gripped them, and ground vanished beneath as they plummeted downwards, tumbling to a stop when Chen Shi hit a pillar, dazing him. The boat woman returned to her senses in a flower bed, legs sticking out, while Heiguo slid on its back into a palace. Chen Shi shook off the dizziness, eyes finally focusing. Gone were the terrifying scenes, replaced by soft divine light. Before him was a sallow-skinned, big-eared little imp with bright blue skin, peering curiously at him. "You're awake?" The little one danced with joy at Chen Shi's recovery. Startled, Chen Shi scrambled up. The young imp was a juvenile yaksha, clad in tattered shorts, a towel over its shoulder, and a worn, gray cap with pointy ears poking through. "And who might you be?" Chen Shi asked in bewilderment. “Master, have you forgotten?” The little imp's cap bobbled as it spoke. “I’m your servant. I've worked for you here for three years without a single payment. Master, about the wages…” Ignoring the plea, Chen Shi surveyed their surroundings. The pillar he had crashed into appeared as a transparent jade column, flawless in its brilliance. Glancing downward, he saw the floor was paved in white jade, each tile polished to gleam. The halls were made of jade, the red walls of red jade, tiles of colored glass, gold eaves, silver mountains, and a garden blooming with divine flora, songbirds, and flower scents. A dragon swam lazily in a pond. Chen Shi was awestruck. "Is this my Yuancheng Palace?" The little imp removed its cap, expectantly waiting for Chen Shi to pay for the past three years of labor. The boat woman extracted herself from the flower bed, dusted her beard, and queried, "How can you prove you’ve worked here for three years?” The little imp faltered, unable to produce any evidence, then fell to its knees, clutching the cap as despair overtook it, sobbing uncontrollably. The boat woman whispered to Chen Shi, "Ignore such little creatures. They’re just small yakshas, common as dirt in the Netherworld. Usually, they don’t live to see adulthood. Don't pay it yet, let it work two more years and it'll die of exhaustion." Chen Shi hesitated. "Is that right, though? Since it’s employed by me, it deserves its due. However, what currency is used here in the Netherworld?” “Paper money," replied the boat woman. "Mixed with the essence of incense and prayers, it’s the hard currency. The little ghosts absorb this essence to live longer and become stronger. But being native to the Netherworld, without living relatives in the mortal realm to send offering, they must work in Xiandu, paid a little paper money for sustenance." "Interesting. But how can I tell how much paper money I have?" Chen Shi asked. "Every Yuancheng Palace has a Yuanbao Tree," the boat woman explained. "On it hangs the paper money burned for you by your mortal relatives, infused with incense and prayers. Those without such essence cannot hang." Chen Shi hurried to the back of his Yuancheng Palace, discovering his Yuanbao Tree in the courtyard. The tree shone with golden light, its branches heavy with golden paper money, incense smoke curling around them. Some papers were so laden with incense essence they had turned into miniature golden ingots adorning the tree! “This is a Yuanbao Tree. You’ve received a considerable amount of money,” the boat woman exclaimed, “Dying early does have its benefits. In over ten years, Chen Tang must have burned you a lot of paper money. Some die without receiving any incense or paper offerings.” “What happens to spirits without incense and paper money?” Chen Shi inquired. The boat woman gestured upwards to the sky. Following her gaze, Chen Shi saw streets in the heavens stretching out in all directions, with elaborate Yuancheng Palaces dotting them. However, many stood dim, ghostly, even crumbling, bit by anguishing bit into nothingness. Even the pathways around these palaces grew transparent, vanishing gradually! “These Yuancheng Palaces belong to forgotten ghosts, deprived of incense, fading away. A person dies to become a ghost, a ghost dies to become a qi, qi dies to become xi, and xi dies to become yi. Xi-yi signifies emptiness.” The boat woman explained, “Yuancheng Palaces disintegrate and collapse in this manner until they vanish as well. The flame runs out, the lamp extinguishes, vanishing into darkness.” Chen Shi watched, the heavenly streets of Xiandu seemed endless, the Yuancheng Palaces countless. Constantly, some were forgotten, their palaces disintegrating into void. Within these palaces worked countless little yakshas, and when their palaces crumbled, they packed their bags with defeat, carrying their bundles on sticks, searching for new employers along the heavenly roads. Chen Shi saw ranks of yakshas marching on the heavenly streets, seeking work door to door. Those palaces that already had yaksha stood firm, barring any newcomers. "So there’s no freedom, even in the Netherworld," Chen Shi murmured. He plucked a few pieces of paper money and gave them to the tearful little yaksha. Filled with gratitude, it kowtowed in thanks, then happily resumed its duties. "Why pay it? After a few years, it’ll die of overwork, saving you the expense," the boat woman grumbled. Chen Shi chuckled, “It works, I pay— such is the way. We, as mighty yakshas, are still its kin, aren’t we? How should we find my mother’s Yuancheng Palace?” At that moment, the little yaksha hurried over, tugging Chen Shi and the boat woman toward a rear hall. Heiguo trundled up to them as the little yaksha shouted, “Quick, hurry inside! A monster is coming as night falls!” Heiguo swiftly entered the hall, and the little yaksha struggled to close the door, peering tensely through the crack outside. Chen Shi peered through the crack as well, joining his anxious gaze. The sky abruptly darkened, a blood moon taking prominence, heralding ominous winds. Sounds echoed from the front and side halls— Chen Shi squinted; a giant eyeball emerged from the front hall, nearly the size of the entire space, rolling about wildly. The eye squeezed through the door, soon followed by another, then a nose, mouth, forehead. As the entire face pushed through, Chen Shi discerned it. It bore his likeness. Yet this head crowned with a central, pointed bulge radiated deceit, a cunning aura. Behind this head was a worm-like body, brimming with limbs, grotesque and large, clad in armor-like plates. The boat woman peeked over his shoulder; taller than Chen Shi, she observed from above. Even Heiguo gazed down through the crack, peeking outside. "Lord Scholar, it's your Three Corpses God!" the boat woman exclaimed. "The one outside is the Lower Corpse God, named Peng Mo, controlling lust. Lord, your Peng Mo is terrifyingly strong!" ------