Chapter 4

Passing through the Ghost Gate, walking the Yellow Spring Road, being judged by the King of Hell, and seeing the afterlife.

After the soul enters the Ghost Gate, it must walk the Yellow Spring Road.

Long lines of souls pass through the Ghost Gate, and the sky suddenly darkens. The towering gate seems to transform into the sky, replacing the gloomy heavens and forming a night that does not exist in the underworld.

After walking for hundreds of miles on the dark road, one truly emerges from the Ghost Gate.

"Finally out. I didn't expect a single checkpoint to be so long. Truly, the Ghost Gate of the Underworld lives up to its name." Xing woke up, took a deep breath, and muttered to himself. Inside the Ghost Gate, it was not only dark and long, but the eyes of the little devils and yakshas were as bright as lanterns, which was quite terrifying.

Xing's eyes suddenly lit up. The scene of the Yellow Spring was completely beyond his imagination. It was a vast field, with crisscrossing paths and extremely wide ridges that could accommodate a hundred carriages side by side. The field was not planted with crops but was filled with a yellow, amber-like substance known as the Yellow Spring.

"This is the Yellow Spring? It looks like an endless sea of yellow." Xing sighed, marveling at the spectacular and magnificent scenes he had seen since entering the underworld, which had greatly enhanced his mental resilience.

"Snap"

The bone whip was continuously lashed, and the little devils and yakshas sternly shouted at the souls: "Now you are officially entering the underworld, the realm of the King of Hell. You must drink the Yellow Spring to become true ghosts!"

"Drink quickly!"

The little devils and yakshas herded the souls like ducks, and those who disobeyed received a whipping and were kicked into the Yellow Spring, where they choked and gulped down the yellow water.

"Still, it's better to drink obediently. I'm curious about what it's like to become a ghost." Xing smiled bitterly, lay down by the ridge, and scooped up a handful of Yellow Spring water, drinking it all.

"Hmm? It's warm, slightly sweet, and a bit bitter, like tea." After drinking the Yellow Spring water, Xing smacked his lips, finding the taste quite good, and decided to jump into the Yellow Spring and drink to his heart's content.

The other souls were clearly different from Xing. They treated the Yellow Spring like poison, taking only a small sip and fearing to drink more.

"Hmph, those ghosts are truly ignorant, not knowing the value of the Yellow Spring. We can't even drink it if we want to." Many ghost officials, seeing the souls treat the Yellow Spring like poison, sneered in displeasure.

"How can they know? Although the Yellow Spring is highly toxic to living beings, it is the most nourishing substance for ghosts. Souls can only drink it when they first enter the Ghost Gate and transform into ghosts. We were once like that too, and later regretted it bitterly." A black-faced ghost official with a flag stood by the ridge and slowly said, his ghostly eyes burning with envy as he looked at the souls in the Yellow Spring.

"If it weren't for the proximity to the Ghost Gate and the protection of the earth dragons, the Yellow Spring would have been drunk dry by the ghosts long ago." A white-faced ghost official holding a jade tablet glanced at the black-faced ghost official, his tone carrying a hint of warning.

Drinking a drop of the Yellow Spring allows a soul to complete its transformation into a ghost. The semi-transparent soul becomes more solid, showing its appearance from life, but with skin as pale as paper.

Black souls, after drinking the Yellow Spring, instantly reveal their true form, showing sharp claws and fangs. They are the reserve force of evil ghosts, a potential threat. In life, they were great evildoers, and in death, they did not transform into evil ghosts, so their souls are black.

"Indeed, after drinking the Yellow Spring, they transform into evil ghosts." The ghost official, seeing the black ghostly aura rising from the ridge, said coldly. After each batch of souls drinks the Yellow Spring, most of the black souls transform into evil ghosts, a sight they have become accustomed to.

"Little devils and yakshas, listen up. You are allowed to use your ghostly aura. Any resistance will be met with three thousand soul whips!" The white-faced ghost official holding the jade tablet shouted coldly.

"Understood!" The little devils and yakshas excitedly shouted, their ghostly claws tightening the bone whips, and they showed their fierce grins as they approached the black and evil ghosts.

Xing drank the Yellow Spring in large gulps, his black eyes darting. He had been careful to avoid the black souls, keeping a distance from the nearest evil ghost, and none of the souls in the same Yellow Spring as him were black.

Now, Xing's foresight was evident. The black souls that had transformed into evil ghosts immediately tore apart a semi-transparent soul and lunged at the nearby souls.

"Roar!"

One evil ghost even charged towards the Yellow Spring where Xing was, skillfully avoiding the fierce little devils and yakshas along the way.

"Damn, why is it charging towards me? I don't even know him!" Xing cursed, diving into the Yellow Spring in a panic.

"Roar! Ugh..."

The evil ghost, with its long, hairy legs, splashed into the Yellow Spring, baring its yellow teeth and grinning at Xing, who had submerged himself.

"Ugh, I haven't provoked you. You must have the wrong person, brother!" Xing's cheeks puffed up, his face turning red as he held his breath, tears mixing with the amber-colored Yellow Spring, bubbling up.

"Hehe."

The evil ghost grinned at Xing, extending its blood-red claws, which were surrounded by black aura. If Xing were hit, he would be seriously injured or even killed.

"It's you who forced me!" Xing, seeing the blood-red ghostly claws coming at him, kicked out in a panic, using his legs to propel himself out of the Yellow Spring and run towards the ridge.

"Roar, ugh?"

The evil ghost, spitting out incomprehensible sounds, brought up a gust of cold wind and pursued Xing relentlessly.

"He's faster than me, and I can't make it to the ridge in time!" Xing glanced back quickly and immediately turned to run towards the nearest soul.

"Ahh, don't come near me!" The soul, which had just transformed into a ghost, screamed and ran away.

Sorry.

Xing muttered in his heart and shouted, "Help! Brother, save me!"

"I'll give you a million, just don't come near me!" The ghost shouted, not looking back as he ran away.

The vast Yellow Spring Road, with its crisscrossing ridges and Yellow Spring, was in chaos. The little devils and yakshas could not keep up, and many souls and ghosts had already been torn apart by the evil ghosts.

"Roar!" As the evil ghost pursued, it suddenly generated a gust of cold wind under its feet, and its furry legs propelled it into the air.

"Hehe..." The evil ghost grinned, extending its arms, and its blood-red claws reached for Xing.

"Can it fly? Why am I so unlucky?" Xing, seeing the evil ghost right behind him, was terrified, his heart sinking.

Running could not match flying, and Xing was quickly pounced on by the evil ghost, its claws reaching for his chest.

"I won't accept this!" Xing's eyes widened, his fists clenched, and he roared in defiance.

"Bold, to attack a virtuous soul!" The white-faced ghost official holding the jade tablet, noticing Xing, suddenly shouted. The jade tablet in his hand transformed into a crystalline light and struck the back of the evil ghost's head.

"Roar!"

The ghostly claw that was about to grab Xing's chest suddenly stiffened, and the evil ghost let out a painful howl, turning to ashes with a puff.

Xing sat up abruptly, breathing heavily, still in shock.

"Dead?" Xing immediately got up and looked around, finding that the evil ghost that had tried to kill him was indeed gone.

"Thank you, sir, for your help!" Xing immediately bowed to the distant white-faced ghost official, not sure if he did it correctly, but with genuine gratitude.

"Hmm." The white-faced ghost official caught the jade tablet, nodded slightly, and said no more. He focused on the golden souls, and whenever he saw one in danger, the jade tablet would transform into a crystalline light and strike, instantly turning any evil ghost to ashes.

"Virtuous souls?" Xing fell silent, jumping back into the Yellow Spring and drinking more, as he had not yet felt the transformation into a ghost.

Xing silently drank the Yellow Spring, his mind racing.

He now knew that semi-transparent souls were ordinary souls, not very valuable, and the little devils and yakshas did not care much about them; black souls represented the souls of evildoers, the reserve force of evil ghosts, and the little devils and yakshas "cared for" them; golden souls were virtuous souls, representing great benefactors and nobles who had accumulated virtue in life, and were closely watched by the ghost officials; milky white souls were the souls of celestial beings, and the little devils and yakshas treated them with some respect.

As for red and yellow souls, he did not know what they represented, and the little devils and yakshas did not show any clear signs.

The little devils and yakshas treated red souls with indifference and yellow souls...

Xing was the only yellow soul, and the little devils and yakshas had an ambiguous attitude, as if they had mistaken him for a virtuous soul.

"Is it golden, not yellow? Am I actually a virtuous soul?" Xing wondered, asking himself if he had been a bad person in life, but he had not done any great good deeds or accumulated virtue.

"Can't figure it out, can't understand it. I won't think about it anymore. Let this beautiful misunderstanding continue." Xing shook his head, burying his head in the Yellow Spring and blowing bubbles, no longer thinking about it.

Xing was now a mystery. What did the yellow soul represent? How did he die? Who made his shroud? He had been alone in life, so who had taken care of his body?

With a splash, the Yellow Spring rose a hundred feet, almost washing Xing onto the ridge. He turned, his face filled with shock, and stared at the object falling from the sky, his mouth open but unable to speak.

"Don't panic, this is the earth dragon guarding the Yellow Spring!" The ghost official on the ridge suddenly shouted.

"Earth dragon?"

Xing looked at the dragon without claws or horns, his face twisted. "Eating earth above and drinking the Yellow Spring below. So it's really an earth dragon, the ancestor of earthworms!"

"Don't move, the earth dragon is very fierce. If you get swallowed, it's your own fault!" The ghost official shouted, quickly adding.

"Fierce?" Xing raised his arm, and the earth dragon rubbed against his waist. "Stop it, it's ticklish..."

After a while, with the help of dozens of earth dragons, all the suddenly transformed evil ghosts were subdued, either turned to ashes or bound with peach wood shackles and subjected to severe whippings.

The souls, now transformed into ghosts, were reorganized, and Xing returned to the line. He had drunk an unknown amount of Yellow Spring but felt nothing.

"Snap!"

The sound of the bone whip cracking, a little devil and yaksha pointed at Xing and said, "You, yes, you! Come out quickly!"

"Me?" Xing's heart suddenly raced, and he stepped out trembling, asking respectfully, "What does the ghost official need from me?"

"The ghost official holding the jade tablet wants to see you!" The little devil and yaksha, looking fierce, pointed at the white-faced ghost official holding the jade tablet.

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