Chapter 247
Chapter 247
The sky of the Yin-Yang Realm was forever shrouded in gray.
Faint, miserable howls mingled with the yin wind blowing into their faces and echoed ceaselessly in everyone’s ears.
The bones of countless unknown creatures lay scattered in heaps along both sides of the road.
They stretched as far as the eye could see.
The Road of No Return leading to Two Realms Mountain was muddy and winding.
Except the “mud” was rotten flesh and the “mire” was filthy blood. Mixed together, they gave off a stench that reached the heavens.
Eighth Master Chang understood the principle of saving good steel for the blade’s edge, so he did not use any Daoist arts to speed their journey.
To avoid being suffocated to death and becoming a noncombat casualty, he could only hold his enormous head high as he advanced.
It made him look exactly like a cobra.
By comparison, the Valiant Great General Snow Corpse leading the way ahead traveled in far greater “style.”
Every time his foot came down, blue light flashed across the ground and instantly froze a vast sheet of solid ice.
The ice sealed away all the filth.
Once the Snow Corpse lifted his foot and moved on, the road returned to its original state.
Hua Jiunan nodded repeatedly at the sight and could not help exclaiming,
“Uncle Snow Corpse’s cultivation is truly profound!”
“His feet never touch filth and his body gathers no stain. This is comparable to lotuses blooming beneath every step!”
As he spoke, General Li Guang’s warhorse galloped up from behind, his troops following close on his heels.
The desolate battle song of the Hundred-Battle Warrior Spirits shook the earth.
“Who says we have no clothes? I will share my robe with you. The king raises his army; repair our spears and lances. Together we face the foe!”
Chen Daji had been about to ask why Li Guang had followed them, but the instant he heard “Qin Airs: No Clothes,” he understood everything.
Emotion surged through him. As if waking from a long dream, Chen Daji threw back his head and roared.
He leaped from Eighth Master Chang’s back, summoned his ghostfire-wreathed warhorse in midair, and landed astride it beside Li Guang.
“Who says we have no clothes? I will share my undercoat with you. The king raises his army; repair our spears and halberds. Together we rise!”
The battle song rang out even louder!
Li Guang watched in delighted astonishment and asked in a trembling voice,
“Good Brother, have you broken through the mystery of the womb?!”
Chen Daji turned his head, his broad face full of confusion.
“Brother Li, what are you talking about? I don’t get it!”
“I’m riding my own horse mainly because Eighth Master’s ‘chassis is too low,’ and he hasn’t got a roof. The stench off the ground is making my head hurt…”
Li Guang stared blankly. At last he understood something Eighth Master Chang had once said.
You simply could not place any expectations on that little bastard…
After steadying his somewhat disappointed heart, Li Guang sighed with emotion.
“The Valiant Great General was extraordinarily gifted even in life. His strength was boundless, enough to tear apart tigers and leopards with his bare hands.”
“After death, his body remained incorruptible. The emperor personally invested him as a ‘great frontier lord’ of the region, and for two thousand years he has received the incense offerings of countless people.”
“By now, his cultivation has likely surpassed that of an ordinary righteous deity of the Underworld Court by a wide margin!”
Those words, combined with the Snow Corpse’s godlike silhouette ahead, filled everyone with renewed hope.
Chen Daji shouted excitedly,
“Uncle Snow Corpse is that powerful? Then he’ll definitely beat that bullshit Ghost King till he pisses and shits himself and can’t take care of himself anymore!”
Amused, Hua Jiunan nodded in agreement.
“I’m sure he can!”
This was not because Hua Jiunan underestimated the enemy or “blindly worshipped” the Snow Corpse. The so-called Ghost Kings truly were not especially powerful.
As the story quietly reveals,
In Daoism, “Ghost King” is also a general term for the leader of a group of ghosts.
The word “King” in “Ghost King” does not represent a supreme status.
In the classical texts, Ghost Kings are invariably depicted with bare torsos, red hair, protruding fangs, and demon-subduing bells in their hands-savage and ferocious in appearance.
Their rank is higher than that of ordinary Ghost Soldiers, roughly comparable to a bandit chief in the mountains.
Buddhist accounts are much the same as Daoist records on this point.
According to the Sutra of the Fundamental Vows of the Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva,
Within the Yin-Yang Realm and Jambudvipa alone-the Southern Continent inhabited by humanity-there are many great Ghost Kings, including:
The Evil Poison Ghost King, Great Quarrel Ghost King, White Tiger Ghost King, Blood Tiger Ghost King, and Red Tiger Ghost King;
The Calamity-Scattering Ghost King, Flying Body Ghost King, Thunderlight Ghost King, Wolf-Fang Ghost King, Thousand-Eyed Ghost King, and nearly a hundred others.
After hearing Hua Jiunan’s explanation, Zhao Fei and Chen Daji immediately grew cocky.
“Holy crap, so Ghost Kings are that weak? Then what the hell are we scared of?!”
“When we meet one, Uncle Snow Corpse won’t even need to act. Baldy can handle him alone!”
Hearing Chen Daji mention him, Young Monk Wuxin timidly poked half his shiny little head out from behind Hua Jiunan.
“Namo Amitabha Buddha.”
“Big Brother, I’m a little scared…”