, Resnut
The ghosts of the Nether Ghost Realm all have one thing in common: they crave the 'body of the living.'
Even if it isn't the body of the living, they yearn desperately for any vessel that can house their soul, such as the body of a jiangshi or a structure like that of the wall ghost.
The reason is simple.
They are all ghostly creatures, constantly suffering from the attraction force of the Netherworld.
There are generally three methods to withstand the attraction force of the Netherworld.
The first is the simplest: using one's own cultivation to resist. This is only feasible for Ghost Kings of at least the Four-Axis stage.
The second is to capture other ghostly creatures and offer them as substitute sacrifices to temporarily reduce one's own attraction force. This is typically done among vengeful spirits who hold grudges against each other, or by particularly cruel evil spirits performing devilish rituals. However, this ritual is often avoided even by those of the Devilish Path as each time the ritual is performed, it actually strengthens the death aura of the initiator, increasing the attraction force of the Netherworld even further.The third method is to obtain a 'body'. Whether it's the city wall of the wall ghost, or the decaying flesh of a jiangshi, as long as it's a 'vessel' that somewhat suits them, it will allow considerable freedom from the Netherworld's attraction force.
Among these, the 'body of the living' is of the highest value. Even a Ghost King with a significant amount of death will gain tremendous freedom from the Netherworld's attraction force if they possess the body of the living. Although the body will lose its vitality, the ghost can still move quite freely as if they are alive.
Of course, as time passes, the body will become more like that of the deceased, but in the Nether Ghost Realm, the body of the living is the ultimate tool for prolonging life.
Furthermore, a Ghost King who obtains the body of the living can conceal the 'death' surrounding their body within the living flesh, making it less noticeable.
However, this old monster before him is carrying an enormous amount of 'death' processed through 19 heads.
This much is understandable.
After long cultivation in the depths of the Nether Ghost Realm, it's possible to reach such a state. Moreover, if one gazes too long at the sky and is eroded by an Entering Nirvana True Person who mastered devilish arts, it isn't entirely impossible.
Though a puppet of such an Entering Nirvana True Person might go berserk at any time, it is still within the bounds of common sense.
But, a being with such insane levels of death actually possesses the body of a living.
'W-What's more, only the appearance has changed. The death aura hasn't diminished at all...!'
This means that he wasn't intentionally revealing the appearance of that Ghost King due to the power of his Ghost Path Method, but rather that 'the aura of death he emits normally' is just at that level.
This suggests two possibilities.
First, this madman had deliberately obtained the body of the living and repeated suicide 19 times to obtain such insane levels of death.
Second, he had offered tens of millions of other ghost souls as sacrifices to the Netherworld, continually strengthening his own death to reach his current state.
Either way, he is quite the madman and malevolent spirit.
'No, if it's the first case, then the fact that the form of death is so distinct means that the 'suicide ritual' that the old monster underwent isn't some kind of method or ceremony, but actual suicide. Such a thing is impossible unless one is a True Immortal or a Reaper...meaning he obtained hundreds of bodies of the living and performed 'suicide rituals' with them.'
Mang Gol, facing a mad old monster for the first time since becoming the City Lord of Black River City, has no idea how to respond.
"Answer me, Black River City Lord. Why does everyone flee upon seeing my face? Is it that the body of the living is repulsed in the Nether Ghost Realm? Or is my face somehow frightening?"
As the old monster with a serious expression approaches while questioning them, Mang Gol, trembling, notices something.
'Just why is he asking me such a question? Wait a minute, this old monster...does he really not know?'
A sudden possibility flashes through Mang Gol's mind.
'I see! This lunatic must have lost his memory after repeatedly performing dangerous rituals like the 'suicide ritual'! I've heard that one can lose their sense of self while cultivating ghost methods, and this old monster must be a prime example of that.'
Cautiously, Mang Gol asks the old monster.
"E-Elder. You wouldn't be thinking of offering me as a sacrifice, would you...?"
"I have no such intention."
'That means he's not an evil spirit who offered millions as sacrifices! My assumption is correct!'
He slightly pats his chest in relief and explains to the crazy, senile, demented old monster before it.
He explains the situation to Seo Eun-hyun.
________________________________________
"...So..."
I understand the situation.
Ultimately, revealing the body of the living was the bigger problem.
An old monster with 19 heads is an uncommon but comprehensible creature owing to the peculiarity of cultivation methods and the inherent danger posed by True Persons.
However, possessing a living body while emitting such a level of death is either the mark of a madman or an evil spirit who delights in offering numerous sacrifices.
‘It seems that getting entangled with the ghost path makes me seem like a mad old monster every time.’
I also realize why the reactions of ghosts from the Nether Ghost Realm differ from those of ghosts from other realms.
"In the Nether Ghost Realm, death energy is always suppressed due to the gazes of the 'ones above' This allows the ghostly creatures in the Nether Ghost Realm to engage in relatively normal activities even in the presence of stronger ghosts.... However, it also means that they must judge others based on the form, size, and general aura of death, rather than intuitively sensing death. And to be honest, elder, the 'general aura of death' around you alone feels significantly dangerous..."
"..."
In short, my very existence is lethal to the ghosts of the Nether Ghost Realm.
'...Damn it. Is it better to live with the appearance of having 19 heads dangling?'
I sigh softly and turn to the City Lord of Black River City in front of me to express my gratitude.
"Alright, thank you for the valuable information."
While I was in the Bright Cold Realm, this problem never crossed my mind as everyone possesses the body of the living.
Even Yeon Wei, as a living being herself, doesn't know about this issue and hadn't taught me about it.
"No, elder. A person of your stature is undoubtedly a member of the distinguished Ghost Lineage. It is I who is honored to be of assistance."
Mang Gol bows deeply, smiling.
The initial fear he had shown towards me has diminished somewhat, and there is now a faint hope of gaining some benefit by serving me well starting to spark in his eyes.
'This works out well. This guy seems useful. It wouldn't be a bad idea to have him as a subordinate when forming my force.'
Feeling a change in the celestial energy, I turn my gaze to the horizon instead of directly looking at the sky.
'Oh, it's 'night' now.'
Not the eyes of Entering Nirvana True Persons, but as the 'true stars' emerge in the sky, the yin energy becomes stronger.
"The night in the Nether Ghost Realm...is beautiful."
I marvel quietly at the sky filled with yin energy, and the endless starlight that pierces through the yin energy to shine down on the earth.
The Nether Ghost Realm is brighter at night than during the day.
As the gazes of the Entering Nirvana True Persons are obscured by the attraction force of the stars, there is no longer any need to worry, and I look up at the sky.
Then, a sudden thought crosses my mind.
'Wait, they said that 'death' is usually suppressed by the gazes of the True Persons in the Nether Ghost Realm...but what happens when their gazes are obscured by the attraction force of the stars...?'
And that question is soon answered.
[Huuuaaaaaah! It's a great ghost!!!]
Mang Gol, who had been answering my questions with a hint of subtle expectation just moments ago, suddenly loses his rationality, screams madly, abandons his skeletal body and flees somewhere, even leaving behind Black River City.
"..."
Wooooong―
I suddenly feel the wall ghost residing in the city walls abandoning its vessel and fleeing away, sensing my death.
Sweeping my consciousness across the entire Black River City, I sense nothing.
The once bustling Black River City, which hosted a large gathering of a variety of ghosts, has become a desolate ruin, all due to my presence.
On my first day in the Nether Ghost Realm,
I succeeded in annihilating Black River City.
"..."
________________________________________
"So, you didn't get any information?"
"That is correct."
"Hmmm...well, it can't be helped. It doesn't matter much, since we have information I gathered."
Fortunately, thanks to the efforts of Yeon Wei and Hong Fan, Jeon Myeong-hoon and Kim Yeon, a significant amount of information has been gathered downstream.
"First, the place we've fallen to is the White Yin Domain. It is an area situated between the territories of the Underworld Ghost Palace and Penglai Island, making it one of the non-aggression zones between the two factions.
Her explanation continues.
"And there's some good news...it turns out that White Yin Domain contains a crucial element required for establishing the Five Blessings Axes."
I recall her earlier explanation.
There are several essential requirements needed to build the Five Blessings Axes.
First, a True Immortal, or a Middle Realm that governs the concept of the respective axis.
Second, an 'influence' to gather the materials needed to build the axis.
And lastly, the 'Void Spirit Pond.'
Naturally, the first and second requirements are either impossible to obtain on our own or too easy to acquire, so Yeon Wei wouldn't be making a fuss about them. What she is referring to has to be the last one.
"So, this White Yin Domain...contains a Void Spirit Pond?"
"Huhu, that's right. I've heard that one of the reasons this place became a non-aggression zone is that both Penglai Island and the Underworld Ghost Palace had too many useless skirmishes over the Void Spirit Pond in the White Yin Domain, so they mutually decided to abandon it."
The Void Spirit Pond is an incredibly important resource.
For forces knowledgeable about the Five Blessings Axes, it's an indispensable site. Even to those unaware of the Five Blessings Axes, it's a valuable resource for easily recruiting genius-level talents from the lower realms, making it an excellent talent acquisition site.
However, according to Yeon Wei, using the Void Spirit Pond merely as a 'talent acquisition site' is an enormous waste.
"Of course, I did say it is a waste, but as it functions to sweep up a significant number of geniuses, it is still important. However, the Void Spirit Pond in White Yin Domain is quite small, so it hardly serves as a talent acquisition site. Even when it does, it's very rare...ultimately, both factions declared the White Yin Domain as a non-aggression zone due to the unprofitable Void Spirit Pond."
'Hmm, if that's the case, it could be useful for escaping the Nether Ghost Realm in case of emergency.'
The reason we fell into the White Yin Domain was likely heavily influenced by the Void Spirit Pond.
As such, there might be a higher possibility of opening a side path more easily in the Void Spirit Pond than in other places.
"By the way, if it's not the Underworld Ghost Palace or Penglai Island, then who is currently managing the Void Spirit Pond in the White Yin Domain?"
"I was about to tell you that too. It's jointly managed by the three major Ghost Path Forces of White Yin Domain: White Vein Gate, Shadow Yin Gate, and Death Corpse Sect. From what I've heard, they are only using it as a talent acquisition site rather than for establishing the Five Blessings Axes, which is akin to putting pearls before swine."
Yeon Wei grins at me and Jeon Myeong-hoon alternately.
"Understand? We need to rip the pearls from the swine and carry out Seo Eun-hyun's plan to expand our forces and build the Longevity Axis!"
Jeon Myeong-hoon and I glance at each other, smiling slightly, and nod.
"Let's do it."
All the information has been gathered, and the plan set.
All that is left is to take action.
Thus, Jeon Myeong-hoon and I move.
________________________________________
White Vein Gate, a sect that practices white bone-related spirit methods.
Shadow Yin Gate, a sect that practices shadow and ghost king-related methods.
Death Corpse Sect, a sect that practices jiangshi methods.
White Yin Domain was a peaceful area managed harmoniously by these three sects.
The three sects also took turns using the Void Spirit Pond, and their sect leaders were on friendly terms, so things ran quite smoothly.
But peace doesn't last forever.
One day, a disturbance occurred in White Yin Domain.
A mad old monster with 19 heads and his subordinate dragging six shadows appeared and occupied the Void Spirit Pond, the secret site of the three major sects of White Yin Domain.
And those vicious ghost cultivators did not stop there; they spread out across White Yin Domain, kidnapping ghost souls and jiangshi who were living peacefully, forcing them into labor in the area they occupied.
The sudden outrageous acts of the old monsters led the three major forces of White Yin Domain to convene an emergency meeting.
The sect leaders of the three major forces of White Yin Domain, all cultivators at the Four-Axis stage, gathered at the White Vein Gate with serious expressions.
The convener of this emergency meeting, White Vein Sect Leader Baek Rin, began speaking in a grave tone.
"You all know why I've called you here. Today...we need to discuss the mad old monster who suddenly appeared in White Yin Domain, occupied the Void Spirit Pond, and is causing havoc. We will also discuss the heretical cult he established that is indiscriminately kidnapping the ghost spirits of White Yin Domain to convert as followers, the Wuji Religious Order (無極敎團)."
Translator Notes: The Wuji (무극) in this context is in direct contrast to the Six Extremes (육극). It basically means non-suffering.
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