Chapter 3

Listen! The Ghost Gate!

It is said to be the second checkpoint where the dead report to the underworld, guarded by eighteen ghost kings and countless ghost soldiers, with impregnable fortifications and walls of copper, unbreakable.

Xingke lifted his eyes to gaze at the Iron Enclosure Mountain where the giant dragon lay dormant and the Ghost Gate, which resembled a devouring mouth of heaven and earth. He was so shocked that he could not speak. Such a magnificent and grand scene was something Earth could never possess, truly a miracle!

"Quack"

Suddenly, a strange and mournful cry echoed, casting a dark shadow over the line of souls. The ferocious little ghost yaksha instinctively shrank its head, and Xingke wondered what could make even the little ghost yaksha so afraid.

"Could it be that the cruel ghost officer has come, making a strange cry?" Xingke speculated, involuntarily looking up. He saw a ten-zhang red bird flying and circling overhead, with wings spread to twenty zhang, casting a dark shadow.

"What kind of fierce bird is this, and why is it so peculiar, with nine heads and ten necks, the tenth neck bloody and headless, its mournful cry similar to the croaking of frogs in the fields?" Xingke wondered, muttering softly. Unconsciously, he focused his gaze, and suddenly felt his soul become light, with a desire to float and be sucked away.

"Crack!"

A loud crack echoed, and the little ghost yaksha fiercely swung a bone whip with thorns, striking the ground, scaring the souls and Xingke.

"Looking for death, aren't you!" The little ghost yaksha shouted, swinging the bone whip. Its ferocity was far more terrifying than the nine-headed bird in the sky.

"Swish, swish"

At this moment, Xingke noticed that many souls in the line flew up and were instantly swallowed by the nine-headed bird.

The souls that flew up surged from all directions into the sky. Many souls from other lines also flew up, but no matter how many, the nine-headed bird did not refuse any. The nine heads swayed, creating a cold wind, instantly swirling the souls from all directions and dividing them into nine streams, sucking them into the nine mouths.

"Quack" The nine-headed bird cried out, seemingly satisfied, but did not immediately leave.

"Close call!" Xingke said to himself. If not for the timely warning from the little ghost yaksha, he might have been the next to fill the nine-headed bird's belly.

"Trouble! With so many souls devoured by the ghost cart, we can't explain this to the higher-ups!" A black-faced ghost officer, holding a flag, looked up at the ghost cart circling in the sky, his face turning pale.

"No problem, it's a special situation. The higher-ups will naturally explain it to the four judges. But which official summoned the soul of the nine-headed bird and then disappeared?" The white-faced ghost officer, holding a jade tablet, glanced at the ghost cart, a hint of worry spreading in his heart, but his expression remained calm as he slowly said,

"Since the adult has spoken, the little ghost will not worry needlessly. But is it good to let this ghost cart run wild?" The black-faced ghost officer said. He did not call himself an official, indicating he was not a high-ranking ghost, just a flag-bearer, one level above the little ghost yaksha.

The white-faced ghost officer, holding the jade tablet, glanced at the black-faced ghost officer and said with a cold laugh, "The Ghost Gate is right in front of us, with eighteen ghost kings and countless ghost soldiers guarding it. How can a small ghost cart run wild?"

"Crack" "Crack"...

The little ghost yaksha drew the bone whip, leaving white marks in the air, and struck the souls heavily. The bone spines pierced the flesh, causing pain without breaking the bones.

The souls let out mournful cries, rolling on the ground in pain. Xingke could not bear to watch and did not dare to interfere.

"Looking for death! I've already said, you still look up. Do you really want to die? I'll let you feel the thirteen lashes of hell!" The little ghost shouted, fiercely swinging the bone whip, creating white bone flowers, each with thirteen lashes, causing the souls to feel pain to the bone.

The flag-bearer ghost officer said to the line of souls, "That is the nine-headed bird from the heavenly realm, which becomes a ghost cart after death. It is a well-known fierce bird in the underworld, fond of devouring souls that stare at it. Remember this, and avoid it if you encounter it in the future. Don't die needlessly; it's hard to explain to the judges if the number of souls is reduced."

"Nine-headed bird, ghost cart?" Hearing the explanation from the flag-bearer ghost officer, Xingke's eyes lit up. "It's a fierce bird from the heavenly realm, no wonder it's still so fierce after death."

"However, most of the souls devoured by the ghost cart were semi-transparent, with only a few milky white souls. Could it be... because the milky white souls are residents of the heavenly realm and know about the ghost cart, they did not look up at it." Thinking about this, Xingke felt a chill. The underworld was not as peaceful as he had imagined, and it would not be easy to reincarnate safely.

"Rude!" A thunderous roar echoed from the horizon, rolling through the gray sky, causing the eardrums to buzz and the souls to cover their ears in pain. Xingke felt a loud explosion in his ears, his mind blank.

After a brief second, Xingke quickly recovered. Seeing the little ghost yaksha and the ghost officers look up, he raised his head to look.

A huge black cloud rolled in from the horizon, quickly passing over the Ghost Gate. On the black cloud stood a massive bull-headed ghost god, emitting a black halo.

"How big is this?" Xingke was speechless, his mouth open wide enough to fit a whole goose egg.

The massive bull-headed ghost god stood on the rolling black cloud, towering as high as the Iron Enclosure Mountain and the Ghost Gate.

His black, mountain-like horns pierced the sky, his copper-red eyes like two suns, and his breath formed a terrifying hurricane, causing all the ghost souls to fall to the ground, trembling.

"Welcome the Bull-headed Yin Marshal!" All the ghost officers, including the one holding the jade tablet, knelt and shouted in unison, a scene of great grandeur, the sound waves like the sea, shaking the soul.

"Stand up, I will deal with the evil bird." The massive bull-headed ghost god spoke calmly, his voice like heavenly music, louder than the combined shouts of tens of thousands of ghost officers.

He extended a hand, blocking the sky, and easily picked up the famous fierce bird ghost cart, leaving it no chance to escape or fight back.

After dealing with the ghost cart, the massive bull-headed ghost god's two sun-like eyes shot out ten thousand feet of red light, sweeping over all the souls on the ground. The ghost officers and souls dared not make a sound, their minds blank, in complete silence. When the red light disappeared, they slowly recovered.

"Three hundred and fifty thousand souls are missing, devoured by the ghost cart!" The massive bull-headed ghost god frowned and said, his voice rumbling, causing the earth to shake and the ghost officers and souls to tremble.

"Please calm down, Bull-headed Yin Marshal!" A hurried voice echoed from the Ghost Gate, and eighteen blurry figures appeared on the city wall.

"Welcome the Bull-headed Yin Marshal!" The eighteen blurry figures bowed and said in unison, clearly the eighteen ghost kings guarding the Ghost Gate!

"Allowing a ghost cart to devour three hundred and fifty thousand souls at the Ghost Gate, what is the punishment for such negligence!" The Bull-headed Yin Marshal turned to the Ghost Gate, his red eyes falling on the eighteen ghost kings on the city wall, and asked coldly.

What is the punishment!

The Bull-headed Yin Marshal's shout made the eighteen ghost kings' hearts tremble, and they quickly said, "Please allow us to explain, Bull-headed Yin Marshal!"

"Speak!" The Bull-headed Yin Marshal shouted.

"The ghost that summoned the ghost cart... " The eighteen ghost kings' faces brightened, and they immediately explained, but their voices faded as they spoke.

The ghost officer holding the jade tablet, kneeling on the ground, trembled as if immersed in cold water.

"Bad feeling, is something really going to happen in the underworld? Should I report to the White Wuchang?"

The matter was too big, and the other souls and ghost officers did not notice, lying on the ground in a daze, waiting for the Bull-headed Yin Marshal to leave. Only the ghost officer holding the jade tablet, with a pale face, noticed.

"Understood, I will report this to the Ten Kings of Hell. You just guard the Ghost Gate! Even if the sky really falls, the Ten Kings of Hell, the Ten Yin Marshals, and the Four Judges will support you!" The Bull-headed Yin Marshal's red eyes retracted, and he said, no longer blaming the eighteen ghost kings.

"Yes!"

The eighteen ghost kings' voices rose, answering loudly.

"Hmm."

The Bull-headed Yin Marshal nodded, his gaze sweeping over the souls on the ground, and he rode the black cloud, disappearing into the horizon, leaving no trace!

After the Bull-headed Yin Marshal left, the eighteen ghost kings on the city wall looked down and shouted, "All ghost officers, listen! Escort the souls into the gate!"

"Yes!"

The ghost officers answered in unison, quickly getting up from the ground. The ghost officer holding the jade tablet led the line, the flag-bearer ghost officer waved the flag, and the little ghost yaksha swung the bone whip, shouting and driving the souls. The souls, some sighing, some wailing, some moaning, formed long lines, slowly advancing.

Everything returned to normal, as if the ghost cart that devoured three hundred and fifty thousand souls, the eighteen powerful ghost kings, and even the ghost god-like Bull-headed Yin Marshal were just a dream.

"Not a dream!" Xingke came to his senses, clenching his fists under the shroud, his expression determined.

"Faster! The next wave of souls is coming, speed up!" All the little ghost yakshas seemed to receive some command simultaneously, roaring and swinging their bone whips.

Under the fierce urging of the little ghost yakshas, the speed of the soul line increased, and the souls crowded together, heading towards the Ghost Gate. After passing the Ghost Gate, they would truly enter the ghost kingdom, the legendary underworld. What would it look like...

At the Ghost Willow Bank, the vast area was once again crowded with little ghost yakshas. The two blood rivers, now empty of souls, gradually dried up, exposing the yellow riverbed.

Rumbling, the gray sky and the blood-red earth shook again. The flag-bearer ghost officer pulled the flag and shouted, "Get ready! The first wave of the Ox Hour is coming!"

As he spoke, the two blood rivers surged like giant dragons from the horizon, their momentum terrifying, the blood-red color spreading across the sky!

"Soul net!"

A command was given, and a tense and urgent soul-harvesting was about to begin, representing the end of life in the human world and the heavenly realm, with souls carried by the San途 River to the underworld for the six paths of reincarnation.

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