Chapter 75

After Su Xing and Zi Buyu entered the Bai residence, the earth began to tremble. Outside Fengdu City, the wind swept away the clouds, dust flew, and a hundred thousand ghost soldiers and generals galloped!

"Stop! Thirty thousand miles outside Fengdu City, halt and encamp!"

A mountain-like man of iron appeared out of nowhere, dressed in a green robe, with a leopard head, ringed eyes, an iron face, and a curly beard, his appearance strange, yet no ghost dared to underestimate him.

The mountain-like man stood on the city wall of Fengdu. With one step, he arrived before the ghost soldiers and generals, standing alone, creating an illusion that the scenery behind him was extremely distorted, while there was no scenery in front of him, as nothing dared to exist before him.

Standing alone, he blocked a thousand troops and ten thousand horses!

"Who are you!" The vanguard of the hundred thousand ghost soldiers and generals shouted, towering and large, yet he could not show his might before the mountain-like man.

"Bold!"

Suddenly, a thunderous roar echoed, but it was not from the leopard-headed, ring-eyed, iron-faced, curly-bearded, green-robed man.

A ghost king descended out of nowhere, carrying supreme authority, directly erasing the vanguard who spoke rudely.

"You didn't have to do that," the green-robed man frowned and said in a deep voice.

"Please forgive me, Holy Lord of Exorcism!" The incredibly powerful ghost king was extremely respectful before the green-robed man, taking the blame on himself.

"No need to blame yourself, you did nothing wrong," the green-robed man said with righteous integrity and uprightness. "Holy Lord of Exorcism is my former title. Now, the King of Hell has bestowed me a new title—Holy Lord of Blessing and Protection!"

Holy Lord of Blessing and Protection!

The green-robed man was none other than Zhong Kui. Though his appearance was strange, he was talented and erudite, always upright and just, treating people with integrity and sincerity, and in life, he had died by slamming his head against the Heavenly Dragon Pillar in the Golden Hall due to his dissatisfaction with the darkness of society!

The righteous path is: "Pomegranate flowers blaze, calamus is green, a picture of emptiness and whiteness. In a green robe, black hat, and lucky boots, he is a guest from Zhongnan Mountain. His eyes are like ink, his hair like a dragon, his lips like fresh red, his beard like a spear. He sees through the world's trivialities, not eating the mist and clouds but the ghosts. In what year did his image remain in the world, driving away plagues everywhere on the Dragon Boat Festival. Alas, the ghosts in the world are countless, but they cannot escape the light of his spirit. With his countless bodies, he drives away the ghosts, making their spirits tremble."

"Why, as a ghost king, do you not guard the Ghost Gate, but mobilize a hundred thousand ghost soldiers and generals to come to Fengdu City!" The Holy Lord of Blessing and Protection, Zhong Kui, asked in a deep voice, his tiger eyes glaring, his terrifying aura almost overwhelming the battle-hardened ghost soldiers and generals.

The ghost king could withstand Zhong Kui's authority, but his face turned pale, about to explain.

"Please calm down, Holy Lord of Blessing and Protection, the generals are just here to escort us."

At this moment, a clear and pleasant voice came from among the hundred thousand ghost soldiers and generals. A beautiful girl in a fiery red fur coat and long military boots walked out from among the ghost soldiers and generals clad in shining armor.

"A girl, mixing in the army, what a disgrace!" Zhong Kui frowned and scolded. He had a daughter too, who, like her, disliked needlework and loved martial attire, which gave him a headache.

The ghost king beside him spoke up at the right moment: "Holy Lord, you don't know, she is the daughter of a ghost king."

"Ghost king?" Zhong Kui raised an eyebrow, knowing that the ghost king he referred to was one of the Ten Great Yin Marshals.

"Very well, you may encamp thirty thousand miles outside Fengdu City." Zhong Kui shook his head, took another step forward, and vanished into thin air.

Zhong Kui never retreats!

"Phew..."

Seeing the Holy Lord of Blessing and Protection leave, the ghost king's daughter patted her small chest and let out a sigh of relief.

"Uncle Ghost, why does Zhong Kui seem even stronger than Father?" the ghost king's daughter asked.

"You don't know, I and your father were originally of one mind in different bodies. Your father failed to advance to a higher realm beyond the ghost marshal, leaving a root of illness, and his soul and ghost body were divided into eighteen parts, which is the origin of the eighteen ghost kings." The ghost king sighed deeply, revealing a shocking secret.

"Such a thing, I have never heard Father mention it." The ghost king's daughter covered her cherry mouth and exclaimed in surprise.

"Your father didn't want you to worry. After all, as one of the Ten Great Yin Marshals, a ghost king, due to a cultivation error, was split into eighteen parts, greatly reducing his cultivation, and there would certainly be other ghost marshal-level experts eyeing the position of Yin Marshal!"

The ghost king explained, his broad hand stroking the ghost king's daughter's head, his fierce face showing a kind expression. He was not just her uncle, but her "father."

"I see why the other seventeen ghost king uncles are so good to me, pampering me..." The ghost king's daughter's eyes reddened, murmuring softly.

"Boom!"

The heavens shook violently. Suddenly, ten towering domain gates appeared around Fengdu City. Some were golden, like gold cast; some were covered in bones, like the huge skeletons of some creatures; some were incredibly heavy, like bronze forged; some...

From these domain gates, armies marched out, luxurious caravans, and fierce creatures surged forth, each different.

A golden deity stood before the golden domain gate, seeing off his offspring. His child was a true prodigy, listed on the Dragon and Phoenix List of the Three Realms.

Before the massive skeletal domain gate, a hundred ice-frost bone dragons flew, like stars surrounding the moon, encircling a small ghost with a fierce head. He was the child of one of the Ten Great Yin Marshals, now crossing continents to attend the banquet held by Bai Wuchang.

"Hum!"

At the edge of the dark sky, a huge black fish rolled in the Northern Abyss, stirring up towering waves.

In the next moment, a high-pitched cry echoed, the wind howled, the Northern Abyss surged, and a golden light split the waves, from which a magnificent Peng bird flew out!

The Peng bird stretched its neck and let out a long cry, its voice piercing the sky, even reaching beyond the Netherworld, into the human world and the Heavenly Realm. Its wings spread, darkening the sky, and it turned into a golden light, disappearing into the Northern Abyss, heading straight for Fengdu City in the Yin Shen Continent!

That Peng bird was the son of Kunpeng, starting from the Northern Abyss in the northern part of the Yin Shen Continent, possessing the fastest speed in the world, and soon arrived at the edge of the Yin Shen Continent!

The commotion was not over. With a loud boom, the sky seemed to be pierced, a mountain peak slanted down, and with a thunderous crash, it landed several thousand miles outside Fengdu City, causing the earth to collapse in large chunks.

From the mountain peak, a sinister young man riding a white jade dragon elephant slowly arrived. He was none other than the son of the Lord of Mount Tai, Tai Ping, who had returned.

In the distance, dragon roars and phoenix calls echoed, and a rainbow of light surged like a tidal wave, with dragons and phoenixes presenting auspicious signs. The princes and princesses of the ghost kingdom arrived, all children of the Ten Kings of Hell!

"What a lively scene!" A man in a dragon robe, wearing a golden crown, a jade belt, and holding a jade scepter, stood at the peak of the Heavenly Son's Palace, overlooking everything, speaking with a mix of sarcasm, emotion, and anger. He was the emperor of the entire ghost kingdom—the King of Hell!

"My lord, why didn't you host this banquet?" The empress, wearing a phoenix crown and a rosy robe, asked softly.

"After giving birth to Lili, your body has been weak. Hosting a banquet would be too noisy. It's better to let Minister Bai handle it, let them be busy." The King of Hell looked down at the empress with tenderness, explaining. At this moment, he did not seem like the King of Hell who judged the living and the dead, but more like a gentle husband.

"My lord..." The empress's beautiful eyes were filled with tenderness, all her words melting into sweet affection, flowing endlessly.

In no time, the geniuses of the entire Netherworld gathered together!

In a place of the Netherworld that was supposed to be impossible for life to exist, forever shrouded in endless darkness, an army that would shake the Three Realms was now amassed.

"White Wuchang is making quite a stir."

A voice echoed from the darkness, indistinguishable as male or female.

"He's just gathering the talents of the Netherworld, planning something. There must be the shadow of the Ten Kings of Hell behind him."

Another voice sounded, filled with disdain for White Wuchang.

"Is there any movement from the Great Emperor of the Eastern Peak? Any move by that old man can affect the entire battle, even the Three Realms!"

Another voice spoke, clearly different from the previous two.

"There's no major movement. His two sons, the Lord of Mount Tai and the King of Mount Tai, are holding back. Only the son of the Lord of Mount Tai, Tai Ping, is frequently communicating with Fengdu, and the offspring of the King of Mount Tai have also attended the banquet hosted by White Wuchang."

A voice from the void answered.

"Oh? I wonder what schemes the former ruler of the Netherworld, the Great Emperor of the Eastern Peak, is hatching. His grandchildren are also quite remarkable."

"Also, this banquet is not just hosted by White Wuchang. Behind him is the King of Hell! Don't underestimate him just because he fell from the First Hall to the Fifth Hall. Remember, he is still the emperor of the entire Netherworld!"

"On the surface, he was demoted to the Fifth Hall by the Ten Kings of Hell, but in reality, he still holds the most important part of the Netherworld Seal—the True Dragon Seal of the Netherworld!"

"What are the Ten Kings of Hell up to!"

A voice filled with anger and resentment sounded, clearly having suffered at the hands of the Ten Kings of Hell during the great battle.

"It might be a trap!"

Another voice spoke, analyzing wisely.

"Hmph, a trap that has been set for a thousand, ten thousand, or even a hundred million years, just to eliminate us, the 'remnants'! Don't think only they can set traps, we can too!"

"Right, the Ten Kings of Hell are not invincible. They all have their own private activities in the dark."

"How is the surveillance of the Ten Great Yin Marshals, the Four Great Judges, and the Holy Lord of Exorcism and other powerful ghosts going?"

The first voice asked.

"Completely ineffective, all the spies have been killed. Should we continue to send elite forces for surveillance?"

A voice answered.

"No need. They are all on our level, and no one can watch them. Any small moves they make, we can guess on our side."

The wise voice rejected.

"But... he's not omnipotent either."

A voice hesitated.

"No problem. By the way, how are Cui Yu and Zhong Kui? They were our great enemies, especially the Holy Lord of Exorcism, Zhong Kui!"

"Stronger!" Several voices echoed, their tone heavy.

"Good, we are not static either. Looking forward to the next battle! What about the human world and the Heavenly Realm?"

"Ksitigarbha is meditating in the City of Unjust Deaths, and the Immortal of the Wheel of Rebirth has not opened his eyes for tens of thousands of years."

"As expected, the plan continues..."

...

A grand banquet, gathering from all sides, clouds moving from all directions, ten sides ambushed, the ancient forces hidden in the darkness of the Netherworld finally emerged.

Just as the City God of Fengdu and the Yin Marshal of the Fish Gills described, this is a turbulent era, a war, a grand banquet of the Three Realms!