Chapter 82

"Quite a formidable weapon," Xuankong could tell that this dragon was no ordinary creature but a specialized magical artifact used for combat.

He guessed it might be a treasure from an ancient great sage during the Fengshen Great Tribulation.

However, he wondered why it had ended up in the Underworld and now manifested as a bloody river.

Xuankong jumped into the air, and at this moment, he transmitted his voice to the first palace of the Underworld, the Xuanming Palace: "An old friend has come to visit, where is Brother Qin Guang Wang?" Wang Qi, below, smiled at Wang Jun and said, "Master Brother is so angry that he's a bit dizzy. Shouting here, who could possibly hear him?"

At this moment, both banks of the blood river were shrouded in red mist, and only Wang Qi and his companions were protected by Xuankong's rosy light. The other minor ghosts and yin judges had turned to ashes.

Xuankong landed from the air and muttered to himself, "Strange, the Ten Yama Kings are the lords of the underworld, and they should know everything that happens here. Why hasn't anyone come to investigate the appearance of this blood river blocking the passage?"

Wang Qi smiled and said, "Master Brother is quite suspicious. Perhaps Lord Yama has other important matters. If you ask me, we should quietly investigate the Book of Life and Death and then quietly return to the world of the living without disturbing any ghosts or gods. Isn't that the best?"

Xuankong frowned and said, "I have a connection with Qin Guang Wang. How can I stand by and do nothing when the Underworld is in trouble?"

Wang Qi advised, "Don't overestimate your strength. If the Underworld really has a major crisis, I don't think Master Brother has the ability to resolve it. Besides, we came to the Underworld to save our old father. Getting involved in others' affairs would just complicate things."

As Xuankong and the others hesitated, unsure how to cross the river, they suddenly heard a clear and melodious sound. The Underworld suddenly brightened with blood-red light, and red clouds filled the sky. Wang Qi grabbed Xuankong's robe and shouted in panic, "Master Brother, disaster! A monster is coming!"

Xuankong's face turned serious as he looked up. He saw a blood-red light column shining down from the darkness of the Underworld.

In the light column stood a strange-looking cultivator. His face was gilded, his hair and beard were red, and he wore a set of chainmail armor, bound at the waist with a precious belt. He stood in the air, smiling, and looked at the blood dragon in the river with a pair of golden-red eyes.

Xuankong used his divine transmission skill, but instead of summoning Qin Guang Wang, he summoned this strange person.

He thought to himself, "This person looks strange, but he is surrounded by a clear aura, as if he were a celestial being."

Xuankong made up his mind, jumped to the clouds, and bowed to the strange person, asking, "I am Xuankong, a cultivator of the Laoshan Sect. May I ask where the immortal is going?"

The strange person finally noticed Xuankong and his companions, feeling somewhat delighted. He thought, "When I was on my way, Immortal Han Zhi mentioned that Uncle Wen Zhong had descendants in the human world, and now I've unexpectedly met them."

He smiled, adjusted his tiger-skin robe and armor, and clasped his hands, saying, "It's a pleasure, a pleasure. I am the Solitary Star Lord from heaven, specially sent by the Jade Emperor to subdue this evil beast."

Xuankong was secretly startled and had already guessed the origin of the blood dragon in the river.

He maintained his composure, quickly pulled Wang Qi and Wang Jun to bow to the Solitary Star Lord, and said, "Junior disciple Xuankong, greetings to Uncle!"

Wang Qi was still dazed, reluctantly following Xuankong to bow and asked in a low voice, "When did our Laoshan Sect have an uncle?" Xuankong also lowered his voice and explained the background of the Solitary Star Lord to Wang Qi and his disciple.

Do you know who this Solitary Star Lord is?

He is none other than Yu Yuan, a cultivator from Penglai who shone brightly during the Fengshen Great Tribulation. He rides a fire-eyed golden-eyed beast and wields a square heaven halberd. He is known for his profound magical powers and expertise in various techniques, and is nicknamed the "Seven-Headed General."

There is a poem to prove it: "Face gilded, hair and beard red, a pair of golden-red eyes; tiger-skin robe and chainmail armor, a precious belt with a jade clasp. Secretly taught profound skills, unmatched in the world; known as the Seven-Headed General, fierce as a flying bear; his name is written on a blue-green banner, Yu Hua, the first to achieve success."

Xuankong calling the Solitary Star Lord Yu Hua "uncle" has a story behind it. Yu Hua is a disciple of Penglai's One-Qi Immortal Yu Yuan, who is a disciple of the Holy Mother of the Golden Spirit and a fellow disciple of the Nine Heavens Thunder God, Lord Wen Zhong.

By seniority, Yu Hua is a contemporary of Laoshan Sect's One-Eyebrowed Taoist.

It is reasonable for Xuankong to call him "uncle," but Wang Qi was amazed. He didn't know the roots of his sect and thought it was just the old Taoist's drunken ramblings.

How could there be so many ancient great deities' legacies?

He didn't believe it before, but now, seeing a living celestial star lord, he had no choice but to believe. Wang Qi tugged at Xuankong's sleeve and said nervously, "Good Master Brother, if there are any more secrets in our sect, please tell me now!"

Xuankong struggled to free his sleeve, but Wang Qi held on tightly, and he couldn't shake him off.

He could only clasp his hands and smile bitterly, bowing to the Solitary Star Lord and asking, "I wonder what the Jade Emperor's decree is, for Uncle to come to the Underworld to subdue a monster." This was a rhetorical question, as there were so many celestial star lords.

Moreover, ordinary small monsters didn't require a primordial immortal to come down to subdue them.

The only truth was that the monster dragon in the blood river was not something else but the Blood Transformation Divine Saber that Yu Hua had lost during the Fengshen War. Indeed, the Solitary Star Lord smiled and said, "I have a divine saber that I lost in the lower world, but I didn't expect it to be activated as an array eye here today."

He was also very curious. After he and his fellow disciples were enshrined as deities, he used his spare time to secretly investigate the three realms.

At that time, he discovered that his Blood Transformation Divine Saber had been taken by the Ten Yama Kings of the Underworld. He was proud, and his sect had some grudges with the Underworld deities, so he never came to retrieve it.

He thought the Yama Kings had collected his magical artifact for storage, but he didn't expect them to release it today and set up a blood river array outside the Ghost City of Fengdu.

This array, with the Heavenly Net Blood Transformation Divine Saber as the array eye, was extremely vicious. Whoever fell into the array and was cut by the blood light of the divine saber would immediately die from blood transformation. More terrifyingly, the Blood Transformation Divine Saber could also injure the souls and spirits of cultivators.

Even a soul, if struck by the Blood Transformation Divine Saber, would turn to ashes in moments and could never be revived.

The Solitary Star Lord revealed the true form of the blood river, which made Wang Qi shudder and repeatedly say, "How vicious, how vicious!" Only Xuankong, despite the cold sweat on his back, remained somewhat alert and asked:

"Uncle, you said the Yama Kings always kept this treasure tightly, why did they release it today to form a great array? Moreover, this array is extremely vicious. Why would they surround the Ghost City of Fengdu with it?" It was always the enemy who came to block the door, not the family who surrounded their own home.

The Solitary Star Lord sneered, "The Underworld has always been annoying. They must have offended some deity, who has come to attack them." He advised Xuankong, "Don't meddle in their affairs. Even I, after retrieving the Blood Transformation Divine Saber, will have completed the Jade Emperor's decree and return to heaven!"