Zhang Chen felt a stir in his heart upon hearing about the ’Ghost Immortal’ Technique. According to his estimation, the Ghost Immortal Technique is essentially the Primordial Spirit Technique of the Mortal World. However, there must be differences he needed to explore and discern carefully.
"Do you have the cultivation technique of the Ghost Immortal?" Zhang Chen asked curiously, wanting to know the difference between the cultivation techniques of the Ghost Immortal, the Primordial Spirit cultivation technique of the Mortal World, and the technique for cultivating Magical Power.
The Black Robed Monster glanced at Zhang Chen and wasn’t stingy. Instead, it rummaged around in the corner of the boat and took out two black books, casually tossing them to Zhang Chen: "After being severely injured by the creature in the Blood Lake years ago, I traveled the entire Netherworld in search of a way to continue living and acquired the cultivation technique of the Ghost Immortal. These two books are the cream of the crop among the Ghost Immortal techniques."
Zhang Chen took the books, and saw that the entire book was as black as ink, with no title on the cover. It was about ten pages thick and felt as cold as metal, clearly not made of ordinary material.
Zhang Chen opened the first page of the book, and what met his eyes was a ghastly, terrifying face of a fierce ghost. The ghost seemed to be alive, constantly twisting and roaring in the book, baring its teeth at Zhang Chen, startling him and nearly causing him to throw the book away.
"This book...?" Zhang Chen watched the living evil ghost in the pages, struggling incessantly but unable to break free from the constraints of the pages, and he couldn’t help but ask in shock.
"This book is a Celestial Book unique to the Netherworld, recording the true transmission of the Netherworld. In order to let cultivators comprehend the true meaning of the Path of Evil Spirits, the creator of this technique refined the Evil Ghost King, using its skin for pages, its blood for ink, and its soul for illustrations. This allows for a vivid conveyance of the Dao, enabling anyone who obtains this mantra to grasp its mysteries through diligent study," the Black Robed Monster said with a sly smile.
Upon hearing this, Zhang Chen glanced at the evil ghost again before turning the page. The next page had white words engraved on black paper, which looked rather eerie and sinister.
Zhang Chen kept flipping through the book as countless truths poured into his mind. He quickly became immersed in them, even causing the scenery of the Wangchuan River beside him to blur.
"The incantations for cultivating the Path of Evil Spirits are vastly different from the Primordial Spirit Dao and Qi Cultivation incantations of the Mortal World. It’s as if they are heading in completely opposite directions," Zhang Chen thought to himself after reading the entire book and gained considerable insight through continuous comparison.
Qi Cultivators practice by taking Magical Power as the root, using it to nourish the Divine Soul. The Yang God uses the energy of flesh and blood to nourish the Divine Soul, which then gathers the energy of Heaven and Earth, achieving unity between man and nature. However, the Hungry Ghost Dao emphasizes Devouring Soul, using Special Secret Techniques to refine— the more souls devoured, the stronger one becomes in cultivation, eventually transforming into a Supreme Celestial Ghost, merging with the Netherworld Law.
As Zhang Chen delved into the mysteries of the incantations, he failed to notice that the speed of the small boat had already begun to increase steadily.
Silently, the boat accelerated continuously, darting hundreds of miles in a breath. The scenery around Zhang Chen gradually blurred, and Heaven and Earth dispersed into countless distorted particles in a trance.
It was unknown how much time had passed when the Black Robed figure’s ominous voice sounded: "We’ve reached the Blood Lake." Suddenly, an indescribable stench flooded into Zhang Chen’s nose and mouth, making his soul seem to be tainted with filth.
"Could it be that this Black Robed Monster is brazen enough to scheme against me?" Zhang Chen, smelling the foul odor, felt as if his Primordial Spirit had been contaminated, and was shocked.
Just as he was about to use the Six-Word Mantra to counterattack, suppressing the Monster Power, the movement of the small boat suddenly halted, and a scarlet color filled his sight.
It was a vast Blood Sea, stretching endlessly.
The boundless Blood Sea dyed the dim sky of the Underworld blood red. The stench emitted from the Blood Sea continuously defiled the world and Zhang Chen’s soul.
Looking closely beneath the boat, the Blood Sea and the Wangchuan River were distinctly separate, truly like well water not mixing with river water.
"This is the Blood Lake," the Black Robed figure remarked, gazing at the Blood Lake with a hint of emotion in his eyes.
"This is clearly a Blood Sea, and you tell me it’s just a Blood Lake?" Zhang Chen retorted irritably.
Unexpectedly, the Black Robed figure seriously said: "What you see now is merely a small pond left behind from the constant droughts of the Blood Sea in the past. You simply cannot imagine the vastness of the true Blood Sea. An infinite number of worlds are bred within that Blood Sea, and the sight of its boundless waves is beyond your comprehension."
The voice of the Black Robed figure was full of reminiscence, as if recalling something.
Zhang Chen looked at the mighty waves of the Blood Sea, the water as viscous as blood, with a black hue mixed into the red liquid, resembling a bloodstain, sending a shiver down his spine.
Even the scent emanating from the Blood Sea was enough to fog Zhang Chen’s mind, with his soul seemingly enveloped in a layer of red light. This red light carried a unique Erosion Power, continuously assaulting Zhang Chen’s soul, as if intending to dissolve it.
A streak of green light shot out from the Cyan Lotus at Zhang Chen’s brow, but it could not resist the erosion of the blood-red aura. Zhang Chen’s Magical Power became tainted by the blood-red aura, suffusing it with a red glow. A petal of the cyan lotus quietly fell and shattered, devoured by the blood-red aura.
Zhang Chen noted the precarious situation—he had only inhaled a breath of the Blood Sea’s air, yet it had defiled his Magical Power and eroded his soul. Soon, his entire Dao Practice might be ruined, and his soul completely dissolved.
"It’s over, I’ve been tricked," Zhang Chen thought in shock.
Just then, the Black Robed Monster suddenly turned to Zhang Chen, laughing arrogantly: "You pitiful Qi Cultivation ant, daring to draw breath from the Blood Sea, truly ignorant of the immensity of Heaven and Earth. Do you know the origin of this Blood Sea? It gathers the blood of all powerful beings who died since the beginning of time, with their blood forming sedimentary bloodstains in the Blood Sea, tainting all things. Not to mention you—even beings with Dao Fruit would be invaded by the Blood Sea upon contact, let alone you, a mere ant. And you dare to control me, to lay your hands on the old master? Truly, you have no sense of Heaven’s would! Let me teach you a lesson."
"Aren’t you afraid of my Forbidden Technique?" Zhang Chen stared angrily at the Black Robed Monster, shrouded in a layer of red veil, cursing himself silently for all his precautions failing before this old man’s treachery.
Wanting to mobilize his Magical Power to invoke the Six-Word Mantra, but his Magical Power was corrupted by the bloodstain, making it immovable.
"Heh, no matter how powerful your Forbidden Technique is, so what? If you’re dead, does the existence of the Forbidden Technique still matter?" the Black Robed figure laughed coldly.
Hearing this, Zhang Chen glared at the Black Robed figure, his entire body shaking with rage.
"Kid, I’ll give you one last chance. Lift my Forbidden Technique, and I’ll spare your life, letting you serve as my mount, how about it?" The Black Robed figure cast a greedy look over Zhang Chen’s plight with sinister laughter.
Zhang Chen observed the Black Robed figure, noticing his intent. Although he didn’t seem to care, he still wanted the Forbidden Technique of the Six-Word Mantra removed.
"Heh, if I die, you’ll live forever with the Six-Word Mantra. With the mantra interwoven with your soul, rendering it disharmonious, you’ll never attain the highest realm. If you help me now, I’ll lift the curse, and we’ll settle our grievances," Zhang Chen’s eyes fixed on the Black Robed figure.
The Black Robed figure laughed coldly: "You dream in broad daylight! It’s just the Six-Word Mantra. If you perish, without your support, it will naturally unravel."
With a frigid gaze, the Black Robed figure said: "Since you don’t appreciate kindness, you can’t blame me."
As he spoke, the Black Robed Monster gently beckoned to the Jade Dew on Zhang Chen’s chest, causing it to fly into his hand, after which he kicked Zhang Chen into the Blood Sea.