Chapter 23

A pair of golden, bare feet stepped onto the floor, seemingly made of pure gold, with wooden splinters and roughness around them. The entire statue was heavy, sinking slightly into the ground.

"This is pure gold! I never thought I would see so much gold in the underworld. It's... truly... too wonderful!" Xingke hugged the golden feet, his face rubbing against the smooth foot, feeling the immense happiness that came with such a large chunk of gold. In his lifetime, he was not a tycoon, but he was not far off, yet he had never seen such a large pure gold statue.

"Could it be that the U.S. National Bank's gold vault was raided, and all the gold bars were melted and recast into this statue?" Xingke was stunned, his face filled with happiness.

The Lipo Pulse Wheel seemed to be influenced by his emotions, spinning vigorously, with boundless power surging from the depths of his soul.

Xingke let out a loud cry, full of energy, and hugged the golden thighs of the large statue. He wiped it with a cloth, moving around the statue like a perpetual motion machine, cleaning every bit of it, revealing the gold beneath the dust.

Before long, the dusty statue was bathed in light, the gold shining brilliantly, illuminating the old house, the walls, the floor, and the beams, making everything look as if it were gilded, creating a sense of opulence.

Xingke stood before the statue, arms crossed, satisfied with the golden statue, the cloth in his hand worn out.

"Such a fine piece, I've decided not to sell it!" Xingke said solemnly. The statue was solemn and intricately crafted, made of gold, a treasure worthy of being passed down as a family heirloom.

The golden statue was over two zhang tall, its head almost touching the ceiling of the old house. If the ceiling were not so high, it would not have fit.

The statue stood straight, with broad arms outstretched, resembling a cross. Its face was solemn, with thick lips slightly pursed, eyes sharp and piercing, eyebrows slanted upwards, exuding a sense of authority without anger, and a hint of compassion in the slightly drooping corners of the eyes.

It had disheveled hair, and a large treasure wheel hung behind it, adorned with conical objects that were swords, countless ancient golden swords embedded in the wheel. It wore a long robe that was open at the top, revealing a strong left shoulder, the hem of the robe reaching just above the knees, and bare feet on the ground.

The golden statue exuded a mysterious charm, neither overpowering nor peaceful, but rather a sense of the extraordinary within the ordinary. Ordinary ghosts would see it as nothing more than a luxurious ornament.

"Hmm, there's something to it!" Xingke made a simple and fair assessment, rubbing his chin, still unable to figure it out.

"Truly a wondrous statue, like a Buddha, a sage, and a celestial being, yet it ends up being a 'four不像' (four不像 means 'four不像' in Chinese, which can be translated as 'a mix of four things that doesn't quite fit any one of them'). However, within its oddity lies a deeper, more profound charm, truly intriguing."

Xingke stood before the golden statue for an hour, constantly pondering the details, hoping to discover something, but found nothing.

"Wait!" Xingke suddenly had an idea, his eyes shining. "Instead of using the countless copies of the 'Hell Ghost Sealing Map' as the object of meditation, why not use this statue? With the real thing in front of me, the meditation should be more effective."

He put his words into action, renovating the old house with the speed of a whirlwind, running around the house, either holding wooden boards or a hammer and saw, the materials decreasing rapidly.

There was no sun or moon in the underworld sky, and no way to tell how many hours had passed, but Xingke finally finished renovating the entire courtyard. The courtyard had undergone a complete transformation.

Red Fish had been too busy to visit the courtyard recently, but if she came, she would be shocked by the changes, a complete transformation.

The dilapidated walls were torn down and replaced with a fence, expanding the area several times. The wild grass was cleared, and plants dug from somewhere else were planted, with golden flowers blooming, clearly chrysanthemums, and clusters of unknown flowers.

Xingke had considered digging the flowers from the banks of the River of Forgetfulness, but he gave up because it was too difficult.

"Speaking of which, I haven't returned the 'Mengpo's Great Forgetfulness Sutra' to Mengpo yet. I need to memorize it quickly and return it to her." Xingke, sitting on the bridge, suddenly remembered that he had almost forgotten the 'Mengpo's Great Forgetfulness Sutra'.

The wooden bridge was built by Xingke, with a small stream flowing beneath it, which he had dug out himself. These were not tasks that ordinary people or ghosts could accomplish, requiring great determination and... strength!

The courtyard was now rebuilt according to Xingke's ideal, inspired by two lines of poetry.

One line was "Picking chrysanthemums under the eastern fence, I gaze leisurely at the southern mountain," and the other was "A small bridge over flowing water, a thatched cottage."

The overall atmosphere was there, but the house could not be built that way because the golden statue was too large. Xingke had to build a three-story villa, with his Bugatti Veyron parked in the garage.

The golden statue was "hidden" in the "Treasure Pavilion," though it was unlikely that any ghost would discover it, it was better to be cautious.

Xingke glanced at the old tree by the small bridge and the fledglings in the tree, then turned and walked into the "Treasure Pavilion" in the villa.

The old tree remained, with bare branches and no leaves, the fledglings still chirping mournfully, seemingly out of place amidst the surrounding lush flowers.

Xingke lifted the floor, revealing a secret passage, and the Treasure Pavilion was built underground...

The eternal lamp bought from Fengdu flickered, illuminating the entire Treasure Pavilion. The two-zhang-tall golden statue was placed in the center, unmoved, as Xingke could not move it. He had dug the Treasure Pavilion around the statue.

In the center of the Treasure Pavilion was the golden statue, with bookshelves against the walls, a few books on the empty shelves: the 'Nili Sutra,' the 'Mengpo's Great Forgetfulness Sutra,' the 'Three Realms Annals,' and a few encyclopedic books.

Xingke sat on a cushion in front of the golden statue, briefly recalling the method of meditation.

Meditation, what to think, close the senses and observe. What is meditation? It is to first observe, then think, and finally close the five senses and "observe."

First, observe. Xingke opened his eyes wide and stared at the golden statue, standing up from the cushion and circling around it, memorizing every detail before sitting back down.

Next, think. "What can I think about? This is too difficult, forcing me to do the impossible." Xingke felt overwhelmed, the golden statue too complex, so he skipped the thinking part.

Finally, close the five senses and "observe." "Closing the five senses means death, right? No, I'm already a ghost, I won't 'die' unless I dissipate, and I don't need to breathe to 'die'!" Xingke closed his eyes, striving to close his five senses, not hearing, seeing, tasting, or touching, focusing on meditating on the golden statue in his mind.

This required a process. The Treasure Pavilion was quiet, the eternal lamp burning brightly, the flame standing straight, with no wind.

Xingke's mental and control abilities were strong, and he soon entered a state of "meditation," his breath long and deep, his body relaxed, a crystalline light point emerging from his brow, his forehead shining as if oiled, like a mirror.

Time passed, and the light points gathered, forming a crystal the size of a soybean, adhering to his brow and mysteriously "sinking" and disappearing.

Through his ghostly body, he saw his soul, with a canopy-like celestial soul, similar to his brow, shining like a yellow crystal, a vague outline gradually appearing in the center, somewhat resembling the golden statue.

"Phew, too difficult!" Xingke suddenly opened his eyes and shouted. He did not notice that at the moment his eyes opened, two bright beams of light shot out, startling.

"Clank," Xingke pulled out a delicate pocket watch from his loose robe and checked the time.

"Ah, no way, just a moment of meditation, and two hours have passed!" Xingke exclaimed, feeling that the time had passed in an instant, but in reality, two hours had gone by.

"Indeed, meditation is a good way to train 'thought.' In two hours, my 'thought' has grown a bit." Xingke's brow shone, his ghostly thoughts extending, noticing that his surroundings were clearer, the range slightly expanded, and he was pleasantly surprised.

Actually, Xingke's first meditation was highly effective, clearly visible, and also due to his extraordinary talent. His life's training had already calmed his restless heart, allowing him to quickly enter a meditative state, not inferior to a monk who had meditated for years.

"I wonder how the 'Hell Ghost Sealing Map' is?" Xingke thought, comparing it, assuming that the golden statue was better than the 'Hell Ghost Sealing Map,' but perhaps that was not the case.

Xingke took out the 'Hell Ghost Sealing Map' and unfolded it, the cruel, terrifying, and bleak scene immediately overwhelming him. Cold winds blew, the sky filled with red flames, the earth on both sides with black mountains of knives, the road lined with iron thorns, and small ghosts with human skin around their waists, each a fierce demon, wielding barbed bone whips, whipping the chained and shackled evil ghosts, the ground littered with severed limbs and cries of agony.

The scene had not changed, but Xingke was no longer as shocked and horrified as the first time he saw it. He calmly scanned the image, memorizing the entire 'Hell Ghost Sealing Map' in one go.

Xingke closed his eyes and meditated again, this time on the 'Hell Ghost Sealing Map.'

In no time, crystalline light points gathered, the size of grains of sand, sinking into his brow.

In the region of the celestial soul of his merit soul, a scroll gradually appeared, showing ghosts being reborn, hanged ghosts, blood ghosts, water ghosts, wraiths, headless ghosts... the sky filled with red flames, the earth with mountains of knives, fierce demons, a yellowed scroll, the expressions of the ghosts, all perfectly detailed, another 'Hell Ghost Sealing Map'!

Xingke slowly opened his eyes, his pupils deep, no light flashing.

His lips curled into a smile, "The golden statue and the 'Hell Ghost Sealing Map,' the difference is clear!"

When Xingke meditated on the golden statue, it was extremely difficult, taking a long time to form a rough outline. However, with the 'Hell Ghost Sealing Map,' it took no time to form a complete, perfect image!

Comparing the two, the golden statue and the 'Hell Ghost Sealing Map,' the difference was clear!

"Unfortunately, it's just a mass-produced item, not as good as the original, what a pity." Xingke rolled up the 'Hell Ghost Sealing Map,' a look of regret on his face, wishing the scroll in his hands was the real thing by Lord Cui.