Chapter 468: Breaking Through Hell
“Destroy the Yan Family?”
Granny Sha’s mind shook with turmoil. Destroy a great clan that had been passed down for thousands of years?
Even Chen Yindu, back in his day, wouldn’t dare claim he could destroy a great clan.
He had tried, but he hadn’t succeeded.
And now Chen Shi, so young, was talking about destroying the Yan Family—a behemoth of an organization!
Even if the Upper Realm had been destroyed, the Yan Family’s foundations were still far beyond what independent cultivators like them could hope to match!
Chen Shi gripped the Tianluo Blood-Transforming Divine Blade in his hand, and the demonic energy and nature within the blade howled as they surged into his body, trying to take control of him.
But the moment this demonic nature flooded into Chen Shi’s body, it sensed that Chen Shi’s internal demonic nature was even deeper and stronger than its own!
This time, the Blood-Transforming Divine Blade failed to control Chen Shi; instead, Chen Shi had taken control of it!
He channeled the Blood Lake Sutra, and the Blood Sea Hell behind his head grew wider and wider, the demonic nature growing heavier as well—the demonic nature from the Blood-Transforming Divine Blade, the demonic nature from the Blood Lake Sutra’s cultivation technique, plus the demonic nature Chen Shi had accumulated during eight years in the underworld!
Demonic energy roiled all around Chen Shi, his aura growing more fierce and overbearing by the moment.
The blood-red light behind his head bathed the Ghost Gate in a crimson glow!
He strode toward Judge Yan Guang of Tongue-Pulling Hell, his steps quickening, and the sound of battle all around him stoked his killing urge!
A Yan Family ghost-god charged toward him, but before it could even reach him, a blade of light split the air, and the Yan Family ghost-god was sliced cleanly in two. Its divine power collapsed and dispersed like mist, and its Primordial Spirit was dragged into the Blood Sea Hell behind Chen Shi’s head!
At the same time, within and around the Ghost Gate, all the fallen ghost-gods were drawn by some strange force—blood, Primordial Spirits, souls—all flew into the Blood Sea Hell behind Chen Shi’s head!
His speed increased, and at the far end of the Ghost Gate, Judge Yan Guang rose to his feet and let out a furious roar, lifting the entire Tongue-Pulling Hell as he sacrificed it!
Chen Shi sprinted toward Yan Guang, the Blood-Transforming Divine Blade spinning in his hand, blade light rushing forward like a tidal wave!
Countless strands of blade light crisscrossed and interlaced, surging endlessly like vast rivers colliding. They shattered every Yan Family ghost-god in their path—whether they had cultivated to the Return to Emptiness realm or the Great Ascension realm, whether they commanded incense offerings and extraordinary power in the underworld, whether their Golden Bodies were ever so resilient—all of them were as fragile as chickens and dogs before this blade!
Anyone struck saw their Golden Body collapse in an instant, their divine power dissolve, their Primordial Spirit severed and sent flying into the Blood Sea Hell!
Within the blade light, the countless pavilions and towers inside the Ghost Gate crumbled one after another!
Judge Yan Guang had already activated the Tongue-Pulling Hell. Within this vast, boundless hell, the life essence of countless ghosts, specters, and ghost-gods streamed toward him at lightning speed!
The great Dao of heaven and earth transformed into beams of radiant light that flowed behind his head, bending to his will!
The Tongue-Pulling Hell was lifted, and the countless ghosts, specters, and ghost-gods living within it lost their footing and tumbled. This massive hell was bound by an invisible force and began moving behind Yan Guang’s head!
The radiant light and life essence of the hell, like dust and smoke, flowed rapidly toward the back of his head.
The Tongue-Pulling Hell was actually his Realm of Emptiness made manifest. More precisely, this hell had been built upon his Realm of Emptiness.
In the early days of the True King’s Era, the True King had invited the Deity Statues of the Ten Kings of Hell, asking them to open the underworld for the Western Ox New Continent, establish the underworld courts, and set up the rules of the underworld’s operation. At that time, the hells were created by the Ten Kings of Hell along with a host of Vice Magistrates, judges, and Tai Ao, each contributing their own Dao principles. The hells themselves were powerful magical treasures.
These hells thus possessed different rules. For example, in Tongue-Pulling Hell, anyone who lied would have their tongue pulled out.
However, after the Thirteen Great Clans seized power, many hells were shattered, and some magical treasures capable of mobilizing these hells’ rules were lost. So the Thirteen Great Clans selected powerful cultivators to create new hells from their Realms of Emptiness.
This Tongue-Pulling Hell was one of them.
Although Yan Guang’s Tongue-Pulling Hell was not as mystical as the real one, after receiving the worship and blessing of so many souls for so long, the divine power it contained far surpassed his own physical body!
Once this hell hung behind his head, with the Dao power of heaven and earth supporting him, he could remain undefeated!
But just as this Tongue-Pulling Hell was being erected and about to settle behind his head, a thousand great rivers surged before him—those were the waves of blade light rushing toward him!
Then, suddenly, behind the thousand rivers, a red sun leaped out from the surface, its light glittering on the rippling water. Countless strands of blade light burst forth, and with a hissing sound, countless beams pierced his body!
Chen Shi sheathed his blade. The red sun sank back into the great rivers, and the rivers themselves roared and surged, gradually dispersing.
Yan Guang’s massive corpse toppled over. As it fell, it collapsed and dissolved, and by the time it hit the ground, it had completely disintegrated, transforming into rolling green incense-offering energy that slammed into the earth with a resounding boom!
The entire Ghost Gate was shrouded in mist.
The Blood Sea Hell behind Chen Shi’s head absorbed Yan Guang’s Primordial Spirit, its demonic energy growing even stronger, so intense that it affected the surrounding heaven and earth. It was as if, if he spread out this Blood Sea, he could assimilate the entire area, turning thousands of miles into a hellish domain!
Sha Qiutong sat on the Wooden Cart, staring blankly at this scene. From the moment Chen Shi got off the cart to the moment he charged forward, slashing his way through enemies to Yan Guang, to killing Yan Guang—it had only been one or two breaths of time.
In such a short span, Chen Shi had already slain the most powerful being in the first layer of hell!
This was completely different from Chen Shi’s performance in the mortal world!
“Is this Little Ten’s real strength?” she wondered.
Was that why the Heavenly Pool Ruler personally led the campaign against Yama Hall—so that he didn’t need Chen Yindu and the others to help?
But Chen Shi’s demonic energy was so heavy and his demonic nature so strong… could he truly resist the erosion of the Blood-Transforming Divine Blade?
Just as she had this thought, she saw Chen Shi put the Blood-Transforming Divine Blade into the small temple behind his head, still enshrining it. The Blood Sea Hell behind his head also dissipated, returning to normal.
Suddenly, Chen Shi’s skeletal body flew out of him, wearing the crown and draped in the cloak. It broke through the air and vanished.
Chen Shi jumped back into the Wooden Cart, sat down on the cushion, and laughed, “Aunt, leave this place to the Knife-Strain clan. Let’s head to Scissors Hell.”
Sha Qiutong looked back and saw the Knife-Strain clan’s ghost-gods still fighting fiercely, cutting down one Yan Family ghost-god after another.
Scissors Hell.
The judge of this hell was named Yan Shuang, who guarded the Ghost Gate leading to the third layer of hell.
The Wooden Cart rumbled forward. News of the first layer of hell’s fall hadn’t reached this place yet, and Yan Shuang was still unaware.
“There have been a lot more ghosts in the underworld lately.”
A Yan Family ghost-god stood at the Ghost Gate, checking the ghosts and specters coming and going, keeping a tight guard. He said to his companion beside him, “This time, the ones passing through are the Asura ghost clan. The women of the Asura ghost clan are all extraordinarily beautiful. It’s a pity that now that we’re dead and turned into ghost-gods, we can’t enjoy these women anymore.”
Another ghost-god laughed, “The Asura ghost clan is pretty rare. I didn’t expect so many to come at once. If my official position were a little higher, I could take in a few Asura beauties. Even if I can’t have fun with them, having them serve me at home would be very pleasant.”
This remark struck a chord, and the ghost officials nodded in agreement.
“Did you hear? The Yama King of our generation is named Wei Yue. His father was the judge Wei Ling under the previous Yama King. Later, the Yama King went missing, and Wei Ling, meeting everyone’s expectations, was supported and elected as Yama King by a group of underworld officers, underworld marshals, judges, and Tai Ao. Wei Ling had only been in the Yama King position for a short time before he died, and Wei Yue inherited the throne.”
A Yan Family ghost official said, “I heard that Wei Yue is actually a bastard of the Yan Family. He’s young, only a few decades old, and his cultivation isn’t very high, yet he took the seat of Yama King. The judges and registrars of the eighteen hells—none of them are weaker than him in cultivation. I wonder why they let him sit on that throne.”
Other Yan Family ghost officials quickly said, “Shush, shush! This is the higher-ups’ decision. How dare we discuss it?”
Just then, a registrar walked over and said coldly, “Stop wagging your tongues, or I’ll send you to the Execution Platform!”
The ghost officials shuddered and dared not speak.
The registrar continued, “Although the Yama King Wei is young, his contributions are not small. The merging of the yin and yang realms resulted in countless casualties among the common people and an endless number of lonely souls. Yama King Wei dispatched underworld officers to guide these souls into the underworld for judgment, filling the eighteen hells and greatly expanding them. Many ghost-gods originally resented him, but after this, they changed their views and respected him greatly. Yama King Wei has contributed to the Yan Family’s reign, which is not something you can slander! Besides, he’s a living Yama—he has a physical body. His future accomplishments will far surpass those of any judge!”
His gaze was sharp as he swept his eyes over the crowd. The ghost officials all bowed their heads and admitted their mistakes.
The registrar’s expression softened slightly. He looked at the Asura women who were planning to enter the city and asked with suspicion, “Why so many Asura ghost clan?”
“They should be looking for work.”
A ghost official laughed, “Now that the yin and yang realms have been separated, after all this chaos, work is hard to find. These women have come to our hell to find jobs, trying to make a living. Registrar, why not keep a few good-looking women in your residence? They can serve you with food and daily needs, and it also gives them a job.”
The registrar was quite tempted and began inspecting these Asura women.
Most ghost clans looked fearsome, bizarre, or strange, but the women of the Asura ghost clan were all strikingly beautiful and enchanting, naturally surpassing even fox spirits.
The Asura women who had come to the Ghost Gate this time were all breathtakingly gorgeous, and even though he was already a ghost-god, he couldn’t help but feel his mortal heart stir.
The registrar laughed, “This one, this one, and this one—I’ll take them all!”
As he was making his selections, a Wooden Cart carrying an even more beautiful and captivating woman arrived at the Ghost Gate.
In the cart was also a young man with two children. One of the children was holding a giant toad in his hand, which was very peculiar.
But the registrar’s gaze was drawn to the beautiful woman, and he laughed, “Wait! I want that one!”
The moment he said that, the young man in the cart had already jumped down and was walking toward the Ghost Gate, announcing in a clear voice, “Where is the chieftain of the Asura clan?”
“Your Majesty, your humble servant is here!”
Behind the young man, a beautiful woman knelt on one knee.
“Break through,” the young man said.
The beautiful Asura chieftain rose to her feet, activated her bloodline power, and in an instant transformed into a thousand-zhang ghost-god. She charged into the Ghost Gate, and with a deafening crash, smashed the gate to pieces. She was unstoppable!
Behind her, Asura women activated their bloodline powers one after another and followed her into the gate.
The registrar had just taken a blow from the Asura chieftain. His Golden Body nearly shattered, and he was sent flying backward. Then he saw a white-jade skeleton walking toward him from behind the young man.
The young man raised his hand, and a divine blade flew out. He swung the blade, and a blood-red blade light fell like a ribbon of silk, splitting the registrar and the ghost city behind the Ghost Gate clean in half!
The third layer of hell, Iron Tree Hell.
This place was guarded by two judges, the Fire Judge and the Earth Judge. They were discussing Nannan’s awakened memories when suddenly a heaven-and-earth-shaking roar echoed.
They looked toward where the roar had come from and saw Yan Shuang, the judge of Scissors Hell, flying backward and crashing into the Iron Tree Hell. Then, a flying blade of light flashed, and his head was severed!
Chen Shi sheathed his blade, stepped into the Iron Tree Hell, and swept his gaze toward the two judges.