Chapter 1800: Fengdu

Xu Xiaoshou arrived early, yet he never cared much about the people or ghosts in this place.

He stepped down from the fragrant osmanthus carriage. Not far away, Hong Niang held a golden bead, while the corpses of Uncle Jin and Elder Fu lay scattered nearby.

Li Fugui had long recognized the identities of these two; they were none other than Golden Order Assassins. The assassins of Three Incense Sticks had largely participated, to varying degrees, in the hunt for the Black Gold bounty placed on him back then. Their deaths were hardly regrettable.

As for Hong Niang… Even if she was a Golden Bead client, since she had decided to come to the Ghost-Buddha World for training, her life and death were her own fate. Xu Xiaoshou originally had no desire to interfere. As he had previously stated: "The world is full of ill-fated people; how many truly care for humanity? If I were to lend a hand to everyone I encountered along the way, I wouldn't be able to get anywhere."

However, this white-faced ghost was somewhat special, being one of the targets for this journey. "Uh-uh-woo..." Looking up, the evil ghost shrieked, its body rapidly disintegrating.

After being pierced by the 'Ten-Stage Sword Finger of Fame,' even if it possessed the power of the Death God, that minuscule amount was utterly insufficient to resist. "Just a petty ghost!" Xu Xiaoshou chuckled, no longer paying attention.

His target was naturally not the white-faced ghost; this was merely a leading shrimp soldier or crab general. To outsiders, it might seem strong, but even his half-year-old self could have easily torn it apart, let alone his current self.

What Xu Xiaoshou was truly concerned about was whether the white-faced ghost, upon its death, would transform into a ghost domain and summon forth that wisp of "will"—possibly originating from the Ghost Buddha and destined to return to it.

"Hua Changdeng, huh..." Standing there, his perception scanned across thousands of miles.

The land, spanning thousands of miles, was foul and eerie. Even in broad daylight, it gave one the chilling sensation of being in the underworld. Or, to put it another way: "Fengdu!"

For half a year of cultivation, he traveled back and forth between the Apricot World and the Holy Spirit Continent. Xu Xiaoshou had personally witnessed the Ghost-Buddha World evolve from nothingness into its current "Fengdu" appearance. The root of everything lay in the permeation of the Death God's power.

Half a year ago, when the Ancient War God Stage first showed anomalies, some areas became ghost domains. Most of the ghosts crawling out from underground were merely at the Post-Heaven or Innate level. Months later, these ghosts grew to Grandmaster and King-Throne levels. More recently, even Saint-grade ghosts were frequently appearing, some having even mastered the Death God's power!

"This is hardly ideal."

"Resentment obstructs the Heavenly Ladder, isolating the Five Great Saint Emperor Families from the Holy Spirit Continent, making it difficult for Saint Emperors to cross." "And now, Ancestral Source power is permeating out, granting some ghosts triple-realm combat awareness, as well as the abilities of ancient sword cultivators, and these abilities are quite formidable..."

A few days ago, when Li Fugui reported these developments, Xu Xiaoshou immediately realized that a storm was brewing. After all, most who could master Ancestral Source power were Saint Emperors. And among Saint Emperor-level ancient sword cultivators, he currently knew only one person: Hua Changdeng. "Does Hua Changdeng intend to break the restriction of resentment and forcibly ascend to the Holy Spirit Continent from atop the Heavenly Ladder?"

"And is this Ghost-Buddha World formed by the influence of the Ghost Sword Art's second realm, the power of the Lord of Fengdu?" At that time, Xu Xiaoshou was cultivating with Ba Zun'an and presented this view, but the latter remained noncommittal.

He felt that Ba Zun'an's concerns seemed to extend beyond Hua Changdeng; he appeared to be worried about something else. "Beyond the Heavenly Ladder?" Xu Xiaoshou didn't know. Half a year had passed, and the passage remained blocked. Information about the Five Great Saint Emperor Families, it was feared, only the inscrutable Dao Qiongcang possessed the ability to know.

However, Xu Xiaoshou no longer dared to trust Dao Qiongcang's words, so there was no need to question him further. To this day, he didn't know the outcome of Elder Yu's battle after becoming a Saint Emperor and heading beyond the Heavenly Ladder. If he had won, perhaps after half a year, he would have taken over at least half of the Wurao Emperor Realm's resources, thus gaining a slight foothold. If he had lost... If he had lost, even Xu Xiaoshou couldn't guess what the outcome would be. "What kind of person is Hua Changdeng?"

Although he had obtained some information about Hua Changdeng during his Ten Venerable Seat period from Li Fugui, not much remained. Outsiders' opinions could hardly be clearer than those of Ba Zun'an, Hua Changdeng's sworn enemy. Therefore, Xu Xiaoshou asked this question.

Faced with this question, Ba Zun'an's evaluation was unexpectedly positive: "Hua Changdeng primarily cultivates the Ghost Sword Art, once known as 'Ghost Sword Immortal.' He is righteous, straightforward, and overall quite decent."

It was hard to imagine that, in Ba Zun'an's mind, the person who had severed two of his fingers would have such an image. Xu Xiaoshou was somewhat surprised. He thought Hua Changdeng was a despicable villain who would resort to any means to win back then. Now it seemed that the only truly unscrupulous one from beginning to end was Dao Xuanji. Was even Hua Changdeng merely a pawn who had been used?

"Ghost Sword Immortal..." He savored the title, then asked again: "Speaking of which, I haven't fully experienced the true 'Lord of Fengdu.' Could you demonstrate it for me?"

The Sword Dao Disk transcends Dao transformation, yet so far, Xu Xiaoshou had never seen anyone formally use the Lord of Fengdu in actual combat. At most, during the battle above Jade Capital City, Liu Fuyu had used a half-step second realm 'Sword of Fengdu.' 'Sword of Fengdu,' 'Lord of Fengdu'...

Though only a one-word difference, the disparity was likely vast. Practicing according to what was recorded in the 'Sword Gazing Scripture,' one might also quickly master the Lord of Fengdu that Ba Zun'an had learned thirty years ago. But it certainly couldn't compare to Ba Zun'an's current sword.

Ba Zun'an, however, shook his head and said very seriously: "There has always been only one 'Lord.' When the Lord exists, all others are secondary—possessing merely the name but not the reality; I am also like this. Leaving aside everything else about Hua Changdeng, simply in terms of talent and attainment in the Ghost Sword Art, he is far superior to me. This is beyond dispute."

"Since you haven't experienced the true 'Lord of Fengdu,' my suggestion is to wait for the Ghost-Buddha Cataclysm, wait for Hua Changdeng himself to arrive. You can observe and learn from him." Ba Zun'an's Ghost Sword Art was actually inferior to Hua Changdeng's? Xu Xiaoshou thought seriously for a moment and realized that this seemed to be the first time Ba Zun'an had admitted to being weaker than someone in ancient sword arts.

He asked: "Then what's the difference between your Lord of Fengdu and Hua Changdeng's Lord of Fengdu?" After a moment of thought, Ba Zun'an calmly replied: "My Fengdu is a mirage. His Fengdu rewrites reality."

*Hiss, hiss, hiss!* The earth suddenly began to corrode. Blackish-brown, viscous swamp water seeped out from underground, bubbling like boiling water. Each time a bubble burst, putrid Death God power spurted out, and the swamp water splashed, polluting the ground and intensifying the corrosion. Soon, with the hundred-zhang evil ghost at its center, even the ground beneath Xu Xiaoshou's feet was covered by the corrosive swamp water.

"Giddy-up!" Old Man Li was the quickest to react, immediately driving the carriage away, leaving only one phrase: "Young Master, be careful."

"What is this?" Hong Niang's expression turned grim at the sight. She dared not approach, clutching the Golden Apricot and repeatedly backing away. She didn't quite understand what this swamp water was, but she could roughly sense that the power it contained was probably no less than the Death God's power the white-faced ghost had just unleashed. But... "The white-faced ghost is already dead!"

Hong Niang exclaimed in a startled voice. Under Master Shou's finger just now, the white-faced ghost couldn't even let out a proper scream. It had quickly disintegrated and dissolved into the world. But after its death, why did this swampy area look as if more ghosts were about to emerge?

*Hiss, hiss, hiss...* As expected, cracks soon appeared all over the corrosive land, and ghost hands protruded from within.

*Hiss! Hoo-hoo! Ha-ya, ga-ga!* Humanoid, beast-like, or in forms neither human nor beast, ghosts quickly crawled out from underground, creating a terrifying scene.

On the Golden Apricot's screen, the comment section was ablaze. Everyone speculated if it was possible that for one white-faced ghost slain, ten thousand more would emerge? Ten thousand Half-Saints? Although the white-faced ghost did not possess the status of a Half-Saint, nor was it a Half-Saint in the normal sense, wouldn't such a massive quantity be utterly terrifying?

Amidst the myriad of ghosts, Master Shou was surprisingly unhurried; he even bent down and scooped up some swamp water. "What is he doing!"

"What is Master Shou doing with his precious hands? I forbid it!" "Don't scoop the swamp water, scoop me..." The Golden Apricot zoomed in, showing Master Shou scooping up a few smears of viscous liquid from the corrupted ground. He rubbed it between his fingertips, frowning. When his two fingers separated, everyone could see viscous threads of liquid dripping from Master Shou's fingertips. *Drip.*

It dripped onto the ground again, emitting a corrosive sizzling sound. "A bit disgusting..." As the Golden Apricot's viewers had concluded, it was indeed somewhat disgusting.

Xu Xiaoshou had encountered this before. He had previously slain fifty-six ghosts, all of the white-faced ghost level. The difference was that some only possessed Saint power, while others only had the aura of Death God power, none of which came close to the "expert" standard. Only a rare three ghosts had mastered the Death God's power. The strongest among them was similar to the current white-faced ghost, having also received a large amount of Ancestral Source power. When Xu Xiaoshou slew a ghost, after its death, it would corrupt the earth and give birth to a wisp of will.

Unfortunately, as soon as this will appeared, sensing the Saint Emperor's pressure, Xu Xiaoshou didn't even have time to think. He seized the opportunity while the entity was still consolidating and not yet fully formed, and cut it down with a single sword strike. Afterward, Xu Xiaoshou regretted it immensely. He thought that by cutting it down, he would either weaken its power or provoke its wrath, causing it to reveal its true form. Whichever direction it developed, it would have been good. At the very least, it could disrupt the opponent's plan. He never expected... "Once it's cut, it's gone."

That previous wisp of will truly was just a single wisp, and it seemed to have no significant connection to its main body; once gone, it was truly gone. Afterward, Xu Xiaoshou slew about ten more ghosts, all of which lacked this level of intensity, and none exhibited similar anomalies. He even resorted to torture, and some ghosts did indeed 'burst' with power, but unfortunately, no will was born after their death.

And so, on a trip to the Central Yuan Realm with Li Fugui, he managed to ambush this white-faced ghost, which contained a considerable amount of Death God power. Xu Xiaoshou was quite enthusiastic. Wasn't the purpose of his elaborate scheme to wait for the birth of a will from the corrosive land after this ghost's death?

*Hiss, hiss!* The ghosts were disoriented, colliding with each other aimlessly. And sure enough, one ignorant ghost stumbled directly towards him. Xu Xiaoshou raised two fingers. After a moment's thought, he lowered his hand and allowed the ghost to pass. "I shouldn't scare Hua Changdeng; what if he senses I'm too dangerous and doesn't dare to come out?"

*Boom!* As this thought flashed, the world violently shook. The area covered by the ghost domain changed color, instantly plunging from daylight into night. All around, it became chillingly cold and eerie, as if one had fallen into an ice cellar. "So cold..." Hong Niang's delicate body shivered fiercely. She felt that this scene was not something she could continue broadcasting, and she somewhat wanted to retreat.

Although the area around Master Shou was certainly generating even greater buzz, the Golden Apricot's screen showed that the viewership had already surpassed two million and was rapidly approaching three million as people spread the word. But one couldn't deny that "Master Shou" equaled "calamity"! Even with all the attention around him, his vicinity was bound to be exceptionally dangerous. And she wasn't Feng Zhongzui; Master Shou didn't seem to have any intention of protecting her.

"Woo-woo, Hong Niang wants to withdraw..." The moment she uttered these words, the millions of viewers on the Golden Apricot all collectively voiced their resistance. Before anyone could react, a *boom* exploded from the nine heavens, and with a *snap*, several protective jade talismans on Hong Niang's body shattered. "Ah!"

She shrieked and fell prostrate, her entire body hitting the ground heavily outside the ghost domain, her voice filled with terror: "Saint... Saint Emperor's pressure?" The Golden Apricot rolled before her, automatically locking onto the scene.

In the scene, Master Shou, in white robes and a black cloak, fluttered in the eerie wind. Not far in front of him, accompanied by the wailing of ghosts, a phantom figure slowly materialized. "Three Days of Forest Change, Hundred Ghosts Night Parade..."

"Approaching the bridge, wading through water, purple shore grass inclining..." Accompanied by ethereal murmurs, the phantom figure stepped forth from the distance. Behind it, boundless yellow murky water suddenly condensed, a surging tide, submerging everything. Humans, ghosts, and demonic beasts might float and sink within it, never to emerge.

"This is..." Hong Niang's pupils contracted. She cried out in alarm, "The Water of Oblivion, the Yellow Springs Road?" This Yellow Springs was not *that* Yellow Springs, not the one associated with the King of Hell's chief seat.

Hong Niang had seen ancient texts that recorded: "When the gates of Fengdu Prison open, the Yellow Springs Road descends. This spring, this road is bitter; once entered, no return." Those who truly cultivate the Dao of the Soul, when they reach the pinnacle, can materialize or even summon the imagery of the Yellow Springs Road, imprisoning souls within it, forever preventing their transcendence. This person... had he perfected it?

"Wait!" "It seems not just the Yellow Springs Road; this bridge is..." The figure strode from afar. The River of Oblivion parted beneath its feet, opening a path, and at the end of the Yellow Springs Road, a high bridge was erected. The bridge was built from grim white bone-stones, adorned with ox-heads, horse-heads, and the bones of various races, making it extraordinarily eerie. The bridge seemed to span Yin and Yang. As the Saint Emperor figure walked onto it and returned from its end, he had actually solidified slightly.

"The Bridge of the Other Shore?" "High bones accumulated and cast, ox-heads and horse-faces cry, one bowl of the Water of Oblivion, two lives estranged... The Bridge of the Other Shore?" Hong Niang was utterly panicked. "Don't look! Don't look!" Only at this moment did she realize how much courage Feng Zhongzui had possessed when broadcasting for Master Shou back then.

This Saint Emperor's pressure, this Fengdu imagery—its power hadn't even spread outwards, yet it had already crushed people's bodies, making it difficult to breathe. How could she narrate this? Even holding one's breath and keeping one's eyes open was difficult; narrating this would require a truly courageous heart!

While she said "don't look," the Golden Apricot's screen remained focused. Over two million viewers were completely abuzz at this moment, wishing they had two more pairs of eyes to see more clearly. After all, viewing through the Golden Apricot's screen, they could at most see distorted images but wouldn't be crushed to the ground themselves.

"Hong Niang, you've worked hard! To actually get a scoop on Master Shou for us—I knew nothing small happens around him. This person looks a bit terrifying!" "Hong Niang, get up! Why are you lying down? You're about to surpass Feng Zhongzui and become the world's number one broadcaster! Seize this opportunity!" "Hong Niang, quickly ask Master Shou to protect you! If Feng Zhongzui, a man, can be protected, why can't you?" "What kind of Saint Emperor is this? Why do I have no memory of him at all?"

"Look quickly, he carries a sword!" Carrying a sword—this was extremely important. The white-faced ghost also carried a sword, and Uncle Jin and Elder Fu died by the Ghost Sword Art. Master Shou carried a sword, and the first opponent he forced out after reappearing after half a year also carried a sword...

"I know who he is!" On the Golden Apricot's screen, the Saint Emperor figure walked down from the Bridge of the Other Shore. His face was blurry, but his voice was clear, interrupting all the fervent discussion on the Golden Apricot: "Xiao Shi Tan Ji?"