How could Xu Ying possibly be willing to jump down? The youth blinked furiously at Yuan Qi, signaling him to hurry and leave, calling out, "I'm not learning! Are you coming or not? It's almost dark. The Netherworld surrounds us on all sides, teeming with ghosts and deities. Watch out, or you'll never make it home!"
Yet Yuan Qi was riding high on his enthusiasm. "I was listening to the sermon just now and caught onto some of the mysteries! I'm staying here to learn. If you're afraid of ghosts, go on back first. I'm going to spend a few more days here with the Immortal Master."
Xu Ying ground his teeth in frustration. Suddenly, Yuan Weiyang beside him wore a look of doubt, murmuring, "Nightfall? The Netherworld? Wait a moment... there's something wrong here!"
Xu Ying looked toward him. "What's wrong?"
Yuan Weiyang's brow furrowed slightly. "Did you notice those stone statues on the immortal mountains? Uncle Xiao and I didn't rush over here to listen to the sermon. Instead, we went to inspect several of those immortal mountains and discovered many colossal stone statues carved into the likenesses of various deities."
Xu Ying lowered his voice. "Did you find Soul-Calling Inscriptions?"
Yuan Weiyang was startled and looked up at him. The green-robed old servant, Uncle Xiao, also cast an astonished gaze upon Xu Ying, thinking to himself, *Could he truly be a disciple secretly cultivated by some great aristocratic clan? Otherwise, how could he know about an esoteric script like the Soul-Calling Inscription?*
Soul-Calling Inscriptions were peculiar talismanic scripts discovered by certain great aristocratic clans when excavating the tombs and cave-heavens of ancient Qi Refiners. These characters were obscure and difficult to decipher, yet they contained immense mysteries.
Having obtained these writings, the aristocratic clans naturally treasured them and refused to casually display them to outsiders. Thus, to the rest of the world, Soul-Calling Inscriptions remained a secret; even within the great clans themselves, few people knew of them.
Judging by his attire, Xu Ying was merely a rustic boy from the countryside. Yet judging by his knowledge of Soul-Calling Inscriptions, he had to be a core scion of a prominent clan!
Yuan Weiyang said, "They are indeed Soul-Calling Inscriptions. Earlier, I could never figure out why an immortal realm would need Soul-Calling Inscriptions. But when you just mentioned the Netherworld, it suddenly clicked..."
A flash of insight struck Xu Ying's mind, and he blurted out, "I understand now, too! So that's how it is!"
A dazed look filled Uncle Xiao's eyes as he thought, *What on earth did the two of them figure out?*
The bronze bell was equally at a loss, having no idea what these two were talking about.
Xu Ying spoke at a rapid-fire pace: "After the sun sets, this ruined temple realm falls precisely within the domain of the Netherworld! This is the Netherworld, where ghosts roam everywhere!"
Yuan Weiyang nodded. "The Soul-Calling Inscriptions inside the brains of the divine statues are actually meant to summon the lonely souls and wild ghosts of the Netherworld to refine the Myriad Spirits Pills."
Xu Ying added, "The divine statues are servants of the white-robed Nuo immortal. They are responsible for summoning Netherworld ghosts and refining Myriad Spirits Pills for him."
Yuan Weiyang continued, "The white-robed Nuo immortal placed his Hidden Scenery immortal realm within the Netherworld, with its entrance anchored in the mortal realm at Shuikou Temple. When the Netherworld invaded the mortal realm, the two realms collided, jarring loose this Hidden Scenery realm. That is why this ruined temple realm appeared!"
Xu Ying picked up the thread: "Because the ruined temple realm has always been hidden within the Netherworld, where ghosts are ubiquitous, the statues did not need divine souls to inhabit them; they could remain empty. Therefore, whenever the grand temple realm enters the Netherworld, all the divine statues revive and become powerful deities!"
As he voiced this deduction, he froze, a fine sheen of cold sweat breaking out across his forehead.
Yuan Weiyang picked up from where Xu Ying left off, carrying the deduction further: "Which means, once the sun sets in the outside world, the Nai River will reappear, the Netherworld will invade, the grand temple realm will return to the Netherworld—and all the divine statues will awaken!"
He paused for a beat before concluding, "They are about to begin a massacre!"
The two exchanged a glance, both feeling as though they had met a kindred spirit.
The bronze bell and Uncle Xiao, however, were thoroughly stunned. In a swift back-and-forth, these two youths had sketched out an utterly terrifying picture. Just imagine: across five immortal mountains, hundreds of colossal divine statues reviving to unleash an indiscriminate slaughter—what an appalling scene that would be!
Xu Ying jerked his head up. The setting sun was sinking in the west, on the verge of slipping beneath the horizon.
Yuan Weiyang stood up and addressed the green-robed old servant, "Uncle Xiao, this place is about to become perilous. Let us depart."
Uncle Xiao nodded.
Yuan Weiyang looked at Xu Ying. "Aren't you leaving?"
"My friend is down there. How could I walk away?"
With that, Xu Ying suddenly leapt from the immortal palace's roof down into the temple, laughing heartily. "I've come to learn the Immortal Master's teachings as well!"
Yuan Weiyang was stunned, murmuring, "Jumping down there is courting death. Why would a wise person march knowingly to his doom? We had such a delightful conversation; I thought you were a sensible person like me, but it turns out you are not."
Shaking his head, he followed Uncle Xiao to leave. Yet Xu Ying's action lingered in his heart like an unsolved riddle. He desperately wanted to fish Xu Ying out of the temple just to question him thoroughly.
Yet reason told him that the best course of action right now was to leave this place as quickly as possible!
Xu Ying landed beside Yuan Qi and smiled. "The Immortal Master's immortal arts are truly unfathomable. I wonder if the Immortal Master understands swordsmanship? This disciple wishes to study the sword."
The white-robed Nuo immortal sat upright before the immortal hall. Wisps of immortal light curled around him, revolving like wheels of swords, but he did not speak.
At that moment, a voice sounded from the temple gates, sneering, "Criminal Xu Ying! Even if you flee into the grand temple, you will not escape the net of justice!"
Xu Ying turned his head to look. Yongzhou Judicial Administrator Zhou Zheng strode into the temple, his clothes tattered and looking exceedingly battered, though his complexion remained fairly sound.
Zhou Zheng strode before a paunchy, potbellied man and dropped to one knee, declaring loudly, "Lord Regional Inspector, your subordinate fortunately did not fail his mission and has driven Xu Ying into the grand temple!"
The fat man was three or four times the width of an ordinary person, sitting there like a mountain of flesh. It was none other than Yongzhou Regional Inspector Zhou Heng, currently absorbed in cultivating the Detailed Explanation of Daoist Truth and the Xuanji Mechanism. Highly annoyed by Zhou Zheng's arrival, he barked, "Zhou Zheng, what are you making such a racket for? Do not disturb my ascension to immortality!"
Zhou Zheng froze in bewilderment. "My Lord, Xu Ying has been cornered into the temple by me."
"Xu Ying doesn't amount to a fart!"
Regional Inspector Zhou Heng snapped in foul humor, "Xu Ying is merely capable of unraveling demon cultivation techniques. What I am cultivating is an immortal art, infinitely superior to anything he has. Once I become an immortal, why would I ever need to cultivate demon techniques?"
"Th-this..."
Zhou Zheng stood at a total loss. He suddenly thought of how many guards had followed him, now either dead or scattered, with barely any survivors remaining. And now Lord Regional Inspector brushed it aside with 'Xu Ying doesn't amount to a fart,' rendering all those lives lost in vain. An overwhelming sorrow welled up within him.
*I have failed those brothers!*
At that moment, several more City Gods strode into the grand temple, their eyes locked onto Xu Ying from afar without blinking. Seeing that Vice Prefect Ling Youdao was actually among the crowd, the Ningyuan Circuit City God hurriedly stepped forward and whispered, "Vice Prefect, Xu Ying has arrived. Shouldn't we..."
Vice Prefect Ling let out a sigh and opened his eyes. "Why must you disturb my immortal destiny? Ever since entering this temple, I have been imparted immortal arts; I cannot even be bothered to care about that fat pig Regional Inspector Zhou anymore. And now you come disturbing my quiet cultivation over some Xu Ying!"
The City Gods were left dumbfounded as well.
Suddenly, Xu Ying chuckled. "Could it be that the Immortal Master does not understand sword arts?"
Yuan Qi said displeasedly, "Ah-Ying, how could the Immortal Master not understand swordsmanship? That sword-qi chasm over a dozen li long outside Shuikou Temple was created by the Immortal Master's sword arts. Right, Immortal Master?"
Those who had been disturbed by Xu Ying also glared angrily in his direction.
Before the immortal hall, the white-robed Nuo immortal smiled without a word.
Xu Ying smiled. "The truth is, the Immortal Master knows no swordsmanship at all. You are a Nuo immortal. Sensing that your lifespan was nearing its end, you hid within your latent transformation realm and concealed it within the Netherworld. In life, you must have possessed formidable influence, enslaving those divine statues to refine Myriad Spirits Pills for you because your divine soul had been wounded, requiring Myriad Spirits Pills to sustain it. But one day, a ray of sword light split your latent transformation realm apart and struck you down right here. Not only did that person slay you with a sword, but they also flayed your skin."
Yuan Qi flew into a rage and shouted, "Xu Little Soft, do you have any idea what you're saying? Offending the Immortal Master means certain death! Immortal Master, please don't take offense with him; his brain was severely damaged by an illness, and he doesn't even know who his parents are!"
Regional Inspector Zhou Heng was so furious that waves rippled across his belly, shouting, "Brat named Xu! By defying the Immortal Master, I will execute you even if it violates our clan laws!"
Xu Ying's gaze remained fixed on the white-robed Nuo immortal's face as he continued with a smile, "Right now, you are nothing more than a human skin. You crave flesh and blood, but you cannot directly use the flesh and blood of just anyone. You need to alter these people so their flesh and blood suit your needs. You want to pass down your techniques to them, having them cultivate your wicked art on their own to transform themselves into vessels fit for you..."
He frowned, unsure of how to describe this act of taking over another's physical body.
Knowing Xu Ying had never encountered this knowledge before, the bronze bell prompted him, "Body seizure! The physical body is like a house, and the soul is like a lodger. Seizing another's physical body, banishing, destroying, or devouring the original owner's soul—a cuckoo taking over a magpie's nest—that is called a body seizure."
Xu Ying continued, "Using your wicked art, you made this bunch of pitiful wretches transform themselves into bodies suitable for you to seize. Am I right?"
As soon as these words fell, many people stopped cultivating the Detailed Explanation of Daoist Truth and the Xuanji Mechanism and turned their gazes toward the white-robed Nuo immortal.
Vice Prefect Ling frowned. "Xu Ying, do you realize what you are saying? Blaspheming an immortal venerable will subject you to eternal suffering through samsara!"
Xu Ying raised a finger, and a ray of sword qi shot forth like a rainbow piercing the vast sky, streaking straight toward the white-robed Nuo immortal as he barked, "Was it this move that killed you?"
The white-robed Nuo immortal, who had remained calm and unperturbed the entire time, suddenly suffered a drastic change of expression upon seeing this streak of sword light. His facial skin deflated like a punctured bag, letting out a shrill shriek of sheer terror!
Of course, Xu Ying's sword could not harm him in the slightest; before it could even draw near, it was shattered by his lingering aura.
This strike had only possessed the outward form, yet the white-robed Nuo immortal had already been startled like a bird terrified by the mere twang of a bowstring. At the sight of that identical sword light, he was utterly incapable of maintaining his aloof posture as an exalted master.
Beneath the hall, the crowd was entirely dumbstruck.
The white-robed Nuo immortal was still wailing miserably, his screams agonizing and piercing, as though he were in the very midst of having his skin flayed and his sinews torn out.
How could a dignified immortal lose his composure so disgracefully?
Xu Ying's eye twitched as he glanced toward the sky. Without anyone noticing, the light beyond the heavens had dimmed. The youth patted Yuan Qi, who was still frozen in shock, and whispered, "Move! If we don't leave now, it'll be too late."
Snapping back to his senses, Yuan Qi immediately fell in behind him, and the youth and snake made for the temple exit. Still shaken, Yuan Qi remarked, "Ah-Ying, that Immortal Master was truly good to me. He was very patient when lecturing on the scriptures, far more patient than you. Oh right, he even gifted me two scrolls of scriptures."
"Hahahahaha!"
A bizarre laughter echoed from behind. The white-robed Nuo immortal was laughing so hard he rocked back and forth. Oddly enough, his waist seemed broken; when leaning forward, his entire body flattened against the ground, and when pitching back, his waist folded in reverse until the back of his head touched the floor.
"Night has finally fallen."
The white-robed Nuo immortal rose to his feet, bathed in immortal light, and laughed. "The hunt begins. My divine dynasty has awakened!"
Outside the ruined temple realm, the Nai River manifested out of thin air, with eerie ghostly fires dotting both banks.
Even though a sun still hung high within the ruined temple realm, an abrupt chill crept in. In that moment, the entire grand temple realm crossed into the Netherworld.
Among the immortal mountains, the divine statues grew brighter and brighter, their droning chants swelling in volume.
In the sky, ghostly fires swarmed in like a sea of stars, pouring into the ruined temple realm. Each ghostly fire represented a lonely soul or wild ghost, drawn by the Soul-Calling Inscriptions etched into the brains of the statues on the five immortal mountains, throwing themselves toward the statues and altars!
Xu Ying dashed out of the temple with Yuan Qi, only to see towering silhouettes rising and falling across the five floating immortal mountains, accompanied by rolling tremors of terrifying divine might!
Panic-stricken people fled the grand temple in a frenzy, shoving and trampling one another as they scrambled outward.
Earlier, this place had been an immortal realm to them; now, it was hell!
"All of you must die!"
The white-robed Nuo immortal's voice rang out behind them. "Tonight, every one of you will be an offering to my divine dynasty!"
Those who had delved too deeply into cultivating the so-called Detailed Explanation of Daoist Truth and the Xuanji Mechanism suddenly had their flesh and blood separate from their frames the moment they crossed the temple threshold. Only their bare skeletons ran out of the grand temple, while their flesh and blood remained trapped inside the gates.
Xu Ying looked back to see many people leaping forward in an attempt to clear the temple threshold. The instant they crossed it, their bones and flesh tore apart, leaving only bleached skeletons hurtling out.
Seeing this, the others hesitated with raised feet, terrified of stepping outside.
By practicing the Detailed Explanation of Daoist Truth and the Xuanji Mechanism, they had driven their vital qi like nails deep into their flesh and blood. Since their vital qi now resonated with that of the white-robed Nuo immortal, they had effectively refined themselves into one entity with the grand temple. To leap out meant stripping away their own skin and flesh!
A sudden spark of inspiration struck Yuan Qi, and he cried out, "Circulate the Detailed Explanation of Daoist Truth and the Xuanji Mechanism in the normal direction! That should undo it!"
The white-robed Nuo immortal roared in fury, "You worm, you ruined my grand design! I will make sure you die a miserable death!"
As if a barrier had suddenly shattered in Yuan Qi's mind, he shouted, "I get it! He also refined himself into one with the grand temple to stay undead! He can't leave the grand temple either!"
Incensed beyond measure, the white-robed Nuo immortal's human skin took flight, billowing through the air as it lunged toward the temple gates.
However, because this grand temple was his Hidden Scenery latent transformation realm, the moment he reached the threshold, a bizarre force dragged him right back.
Back then, he had secluded himself within his Hidden Scenery latent transformation realm in perfect peace, never expecting an unforeseen enemy to seek him out and slay him with a single stroke of a sword.
Because he had died an unjust and unwilling death, he lingered inside his own flayed human skin, refining it into one entity with his Hidden Scenery latent transformation realm so that this grand temple served as his flesh, sinews, bones, and five viscera and six bowels.
He then devised the Detailed Explanation of Daoist Truth and the Xuanji Mechanism to trick people into entering the temple. As long as they entered and practiced this technique, they would fuse with the grand temple and become his flesh and blood.
This scheme had proceeded smoothly without a hitch, until it ran into an idiotic snake demon and went entirely awry.
Even more unexpected was that although this snake demon was foolish, he was surprisingly clever at times, actually deducing the flaw in his cultivation method!
"My family hails from a line of scholars! I've read widely, and the books contain all sorts of stories. Did you really think you could fool your Grandpa Niu?" the great snake mocked, turning his head back.
The white-robed Nuo immortal grew even more enraged. "That vile snake actually goes by the surname Niu! To think I would lose to a demon who hasn't even figured out his own species!"
Chapter 37