Chapter 398 Preparing for War

Chapter 398 Preparing for War

Chapter 398 Preparing for War
"Meng Po?" Xu Qing looked at the direction where the City God of Fengdu turned into green smoke and disappeared. His black Taoist robe fluttered in the dark wind that was filled with the smell of rotting corpses.

In the distance, the Wangchuan River was like a giant python lying in a coil. Amid the rolling inky waves, half a moss-covered bone and a broken soul lamp floated to the surface of the water, and were quickly entangled by the blood-red mist and drifted towards the Naihe Bridge.

The thin black divine dog squatting at his feet suddenly crouched down, and three Dharma images emerged. Its six amber vertical pupils scanned the surroundings vigilantly. Its claws left five scorch marks on the bluestone slab, and it transmitted a message to Xu Qing: "That is not an ordinary Meng Po. She is an incarnation of Hou Tu Niangniang."

"For the Queen Mother Hou Tu, the entire underworld system, from the King of Hell, the Judge to the Ghost Messenger, are all in her hands."

As he spoke, a faint blue light emanated from the divine dog's body, projecting countless blurry shadows of ox-headed and horse-faced monsters on the ground. Above the heads of these shadows, there were imperceptible threads of cause and effect.

Xu Qing understood what it meant.

Hou Tu Niangniang is actually the source of the entire underworld, or the creator of the six realms of reincarnation.

"Last time, someone asked Meng Po to take action." The thin black divine dog continued to speak. The ears of the head in the middle of the three heads trembled uneasily, and the dog's tail curled up unnaturally. "That person is still rowing a boat at the end of the underworld. Every time he paddles, countless wronged souls bite his soul. For an entire era, he was deprived of the qualification for reincarnation."

It raised its head and looked at the vaguely visible Forgotten River in the distance, where there was an ancient house that was always shrouded in mist.

With its ability of listening, it could hear the faint sound of a spoon stirring soup, mixed with the whimpering of wronged souls, which was creepy.

The thin black divine dog knew that Meng Po had probably noticed what it said.

But since the City God of Fengdu had told this matter, the thin black divine dog must of course explain the matter clearly to avoid any complications.

Xu Qing reached out to catch the falling Netherworld petals, and watched them turn into ashes in his palm. He sighed and said, "No wonder you didn't say a word before." His fingertips passed through the void, and a miniature yin-yang fish condensed, with black and white energy slowly flowing through it. "This price is indeed not something that ordinary people can afford."

The black divine dog continued, "However, in the underworld, most people only know that Meng Po stood up for others, but they don't know the final result. Few people know the origin of the ferryman to the underworld. Moreover, ferrying people to the underworld is also a meritorious deed, and with the blessing of Hou Tu Niangniang, he was able to avoid death."

Before he finished speaking, the divine dog suddenly stood up, and the head in the middle let out a sharp bark, pointing to the rolling dark clouds in the sky: "The breath of Master Erlang!"

I saw a huge golden pupil emerging in the clouds. Wherever it passed, the Yellow Spring fog boiled like boiling soup, making a "gurgling" sound.

Xu Qing looked at the sky with a sneer, and waved his sleeves. Countless five-element sword qi turned into threads, showing a sharp edge and rushed into the void, dispersing the opponent's breath.

He said calmly: "Even if it is Xiansheng Zhenjun, if he wants me to submit, he has to ask my sword first whether it agrees or not." The Taoist rhyme flowed around him, and the shadow of the twelve-grade green lotus was faintly visible behind him.

“Master, please don’t underestimate the True Lord.” The divine dog crouched down again, and drew complicated netherworld runes with its claws on the ground. Each stroke oozed dark red blood. “The fact that he can achieve his current fame is actually inseparable from my master, Ksitigarbha.”

"Back then, my master, Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, made a great wish to create a perfect world."

The thin black dog's voice became hoarse, and a whimpering sound came out of his throat. "He used the underworld as a testing ground to try to refine the evil essence of all evil spirits."

At this point, the hair on the black dog exploded, and a trace of fear flashed in the eyes of the head in the middle: "But the master underestimated the power of those evil spirits. Some of these special evil spirits are actually the residual souls of fallen powerful people. Their residual souls have long been integrated with the laws of the Tao, and their essence is the 'Tao', and they cannot be killed at all."

It suddenly fell silent, pointing its claws to the sky. In the air, they condensed into the shadow of a three-pointed, two-edged sword, with strange black lines flowing on the blade. "It's just like the weapon in the hands of Master Erlang. It looks like a magical weapon, but it's actually a ghost transformed from the soul of the ancient great demon three-headed dragon."

Xu Qing never expected that the three-pointed, double-edged sword that was so powerful in the three realms and six paths was actually a deadly weapon transformed by a vicious ghost.

"This kind of evil spirit is no different from the laws of the Great Dao. Because of this, True Lord Erlang can suppress those special evil spirits that have escaped into the human world. And because these evil spirits are immortal, they may escape even if they are sealed. Therefore, Erlang Shen asked Taiyi Jiuku Tianzun for the ability to find the sound and show his divine power. Once an evil spirit escapes the seal and harms the human world, as long as the name of True Lord is recited, True Lord will appear and suppress the evil spirit. In this process, there will be endless merits. This makes True Lord's divine power grow day by day, and eventually become the top existence in the Three Realms and Six Paths."

Xu Qing didn't expect that there was such a twist in Erlang Shen's journey to enlightenment.

He couldn't help but wonder, "Why doesn't Taiyi Jiuku Tianzun do it himself?"

Thin Black Divine Dog: "It is said that Taiyi wanted to repay Yuqing for a favor and gave Xiansheng Zhenjun the opportunity to achieve enlightenment. After all, Xiansheng Zhenjun had an incarnation who once worshipped under Yuqing. He is of the same lineage as Yuqing and has a deep connection with her. He is also the judicial god appointed by Yuqing and was granted the Yuanshi Talisman."

This Yuanshi talisman is of great significance.

In the last era, when Zhenwu worked in the Heavenly Palace, he received the Yuanshi Talisman, which gave him the legitimacy.

"I am in the underworld, and I have heard of the name of Taiyi Jiuku Tianzun in the human world for a long time. I wonder if the God has ever seen him?"

The black divine dog shook his head. “In the last era, Taiyi Rescuer of Suffering had already been rarely seen, but he did often save people from suffering. Among all the great powers in the heavens, Taiyi is the most chivalrous one, and he is not burdened by chivalry.”

Xu Qing smiled: "That means being casual and free-spirited, and standing up for the weak, right?"

Thin Black Divine Dog: "The Bodhisattva said that Taiyi Jiuku Tianzun is the most Taoist being in the Tao sect. Because he does whatever he wants, but it is all the wonder of the operation of the Tao. Tathagata saves all living beings, but only saves himself, while Taiyi saves himself and saves people from suffering at the same time."

Xu Qing: "As one of the four great bodhisattvas of Buddhism, I never expected that Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva would have some negative comments about Tathagata. This was beyond my expectation."

The black divine dog sighed: "The Tathagata and the Bodhisattva have different philosophies, but other than that, the Tathagata and the Bodhisattva are actually good teachers and helpful friends."

Xu Qing agreed with this.

The principles of the world are all interconnected when they reach a high level. Only those who are truly wise can understand these experiences.

It is difficult to find an opponent and a soulmate.

Even if there is a struggle for the great power, it does not prevent these top beings from admiring and respecting their opponents in their hearts.

In fact, a man may pursue beauty when he is young, but when he is older, he will understand that being able to communicate with others is better than countless others in the world.

Beautiful appearance will wither, but the beauty of the soul, if touched, brings an experience that is far beyond comparison with beauty.

However, if I go out, I can't help but look at beautiful women first.

This is instinctive.

While living in this world, we cannot escape from the two desires of sensual pleasures.

Therefore, the Buddha said that one cannot see the Tathagata through sound or sight.

As long as you are still an old pervert, you cannot see the true nature of Tathagata, and you are still an ordinary person.

In fact, whether or not to become a sentient being is not decided by yourself; it is determined by heaven.

Xu Qing continued, "The Divine Lord is well-informed and has a lot of experience. He is also a good teacher and helpful friend to me. But for now, we still have to focus on dealing with the matter of Erlang Zhenjun. No matter what, if we want to go to the Wheel of Life and Death, we have to go to Fengdu Ghost City."

Just because he said he would not go to pay homage to Erlang Shen, it did not mean that he would not go to Fengdu.

It's just that he doesn't want to be forced or oppressed.

I was bullied when I was a beast of burden, but now I am a quasi-emperor, and I can still be bullied. Then my cultivation in this life has been in vain.

That doesn't make sense.

...

...

When the City God of Fengdu returned to the main hall, the entire hall had turned into a snowy scene of Meishan.

The True Lord leaned on a throne made of ice crystals, with his three-pointed, two-edged sword inserted diagonally into the ground, the blade reflecting the fluttering soul-guiding banner on the Naihe Bridge. The City God knelt in the snow to report, and with every word he spoke, frost formed on his beard and hair.

He knew in his heart that the True Lord might have known that he had mentioned Meng Po's affairs too much and was punishing him on purpose.

There was no choice but for the City God to accept the punishment.

And now that he has been fined, the matter is over.

He achieved his goal without offending anyone.

After hearing the City God's reply, the True Lord stroked the demon-binding rope wrapped around the hilt with his fingertips. The rope chain suddenly came alive and swam out of the hall: "Young people are indeed full of energy, but they really do have some of Lu Zu's character."

He then laughed, the sound was as clear as an ancient bell in heaven, and then the God said calmly: "In this case, after I meet Meng Po, I will go to Yinshan to meet him."

After the Divine Lord finished speaking, he suddenly appeared above the Wangchuan River. The Yellow Spring Water under his feet was suppressed and stirred up a hundred-foot-high wave. The blood mark on the True Lord's forehead suddenly lit up, and he stepped on the waves and reached the ancient house in the middle of the river.

The plaque hanging on the lintel of the house was engraved with the Taiyi bronze characters "Heaven and Earth".

"Squeak."

The mottled wooden door opened without wind, revealing a pot of boiling soup in the yard.

Meng Po's hunched back was stirring the soup spoon. With each turn, fallen stars from different eras emerged from the cauldron. As soon as Zhenjun's boots touched the threshold, the entire ancient house suddenly turned over, as if time and space had been reversed in an instant.

"Master, are you here to ask for some soup?" Meng Po's voice echoed through the underworld. The soup spoon tapped lightly on the edge of the cauldron, and the splashing soup condensed into the shadows of the ancient witches in the air.

Zhenjun touched the ground with the tip of his knife, and the sharp white knife light flowed over the stone steps like snow water: "The Queen sent me to suppress the evil spirits in the Nine Netherworlds, and gave me Yinshan as a villa. Later, I lent this villa to Guanzizai Bodhisattva, but now it has been forcibly occupied by someone. Please give me an explanation, Queen."

Meng Po suddenly straightened up.

The wronged souls at the bottom of the Wangchuan River suddenly chanted in unison, and the sound waves caused the Naihe Bridge to shake violently.

"Young man Yang, I haven't asked about the affairs of the underworld for many years. If you want to solve this matter, use your own method, don't come to me."

As the old woman spoke, she waved her hand.

The Yellow Spring water turned into waves, soaking the divine clothes of Erlang Xiansheng Zhenjun.

He smiled slightly, knowing that he had already gotten what he wanted - Meng Po would not interfere in this matter!

For Erlang Shen Zhenjun, as long as Meng Po does not interfere, everything will be under his control.

Although Lu Zu's disciples are powerful, Xiansheng Zhenjun is not afraid of the combined forces of the Eight Immortals of the Upper Cave headed by Lu Zu, so how could he worry about Xu Qing?

He bowed to Meng Po, then left and returned to Fengdu.

Although I don't care about Xu Qing, I can't be unprepared for this trip.

He still needs some time to bring more divine power to the underworld.

After returning to the City God Hall, Xiansheng Zhenjun drew a circle in the air with his three-pointed, double-edged sword, and then a purple bamboo forest appeared in the circle. He saw the white-robed Bodhisattva inside.

"Bodhisattva, I will retrieve the origin of the Five Elements Avenue soon. I'm sorry to bother you with Brother Nezha's matter."

It turns out that the reason why Erlang Shen Zhenjun was looking for trouble with Xu Qing was because of the origin of the Five Elements in Xu Qing's body.

This innate five elements is the foundation for the birth of all things in the world.

It is exactly what Nezha needs for his rebirth.

In fact, Erlang Xiansheng Zhenjun knew that Guanyin was using him to deal with Xu Qing, but for the sake of his good brother, he had no choice.

This Nezha is the Great God of the Three Altars and Sea Assembly.

At the end of the last era, it was almost reduced to ashes.

Xiansheng Zhenjun traveled in the three realms, six paths, and all the heavens and worlds for many years before he found a wisp of residual soul.

With the help of Guanyin, he found the Precious Lotus Lamp and used the power of the lamp to gather Nezha's remaining soul.

Even so, if Nezha wants to be reborn, he also needs the origin of the innate five elements.

Otherwise, the Heavenly Dao of this era will not recognize Nezha's rebirth, and will continue to bring down endless heavenly punishment until Nezha is destroyed.

"Friend Yang, Xu Qing has Taiyi Jiuku Tianzun behind him, so don't underestimate him."

"Taiyi Jiuku Tianzun?" Xiansheng Zhenjun's expression suddenly trembled, and revealed a hint of excitement and disgust.

Nezha almost lost both his soul and body in the Taichu era, but it was actually all thanks to Taiyi Jiuku Tianzun.

In fact, he and Taiyi Jiuku Tianzun also have some conflicts.

But Taiyi Jiuku Tianzun is an existence comparable to the master, and he actually reversed cause and effect, and made Xiansheng Zhenjun owe Taiyi a favor for no reason.

Xiansheng Zhenjun naturally refused to acknowledge this cause and effect, so he gave up his past as a disciple of Yuqing and reshaped himself.

In fact, beheading me is also a wise move.

Without the past as a disciple of Yuqing, Xiansheng Zhenjun became even more powerful, and his own level surpassed the level of Eternal Invincibility.

However, his real body was being pestered by someone and he was always busy.

Otherwise, dealing with Xu Qing would be just a matter of a finger.

Xiansheng Zhenjun said again: "Taiyi Jiuku Tianzun and Buddha have been entangled endlessly, so how can they care about me. And sooner or later I will go back to ask him for an explanation."

"It is not a good thing for you to be so arrogant." Avalokitesvara shook his head.

Xiansheng Zhenjun: "Bodhisattva, just help me save Nezha, I will take care of the rest."

In fact, Xu Qing and Taiyi have a karmic relationship, which makes Xiansheng Zhenjun even more excited.

He felt that this was an opportunity to resolve the conflict between himself and Taiyi.

Then, erase the circle of emptiness and no longer care about what happened to Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva.

Xiansheng Zhenjun then gently stroked the blade of the three-pointed, double-edged sword. Microscopic traces of blood seeped into the blade, and the whole person became more ethereal and unpredictable.

(End of this chapter)