Chapter 237: The Little Imp is Tricky

Upon his first encounter with the Youming Underworld, Li Changshou couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed.

This was far from the cycle of reincarnation he had imagined based on his own creativity—it fell short in every way.

At the edges of the Youming Realm, all he saw was barren wilderness, devoid of any order; vicious ghosts roamed freely, and traces of sinister yin beasts could even be spotted.

It wasn't much different from the descriptions in ancient texts of the desolate Blood Sea.

As they flew eastward deeper into the Youming Realm, the farther they went, the less the gray mist lingered, and their view became increasingly clear.

Unfortunately, they couldn't see the Wangchuan River teeming with wronged souls, nor the Sangu River that marked the boundary between life and death.

There was no sign of the legendary Guimen Pass from folklore, nor the grand spectacle of countless souls marching toward reincarnation along the Huangquan Road.

Around them and above their heads, specks of light drifted along in the same direction.

These were the true spirits of deceased beings, drawn toward the center of the Youming Realm, where the heavenly treasure of merit, the Liudao Lunhui Pan transformed by the great virtuous Houtu, resided.

After flying for a while with Ji Wuyou leading them, Li Changshou suddenly realized.

What they were on was the Huangquan Road itself, though these true spirits carried no entanglements.

The "sky" of the Youming Realm felt oppressively low, creating a stifling atmosphere, and the winds blowing from all directions carried faint wails and screams.

This was probably because the custom of "dancing on graves" hadn't emerged in the Honghuang era yet.

Li Changshou didn't dwell on the ambiance here, nor did he use it to refine his "funeral services" business.

His mood was somewhat heavy.

After all, being in a place like this, it didn't feel right to be too cheerful.

Ahem, back to the serious matters.

Along the way, Li Changshou had been pondering: if Senior Uncle Wan Jiangyu truly met with misfortune again, how should he explain it to his master, and what impact would it have on his master?

This was something hard to discuss openly, yet he couldn't hide it from his master forever.

Although his master had become a turbid immortal with overly high salinity, eliminating much of the need for struggle,

Li Changshou still wanted his master to be happier, to perk up a bit, and enjoy the remaining years, rather than living in perpetual regret and guilt.

So, he genuinely hoped that Senior Uncle Wan Jiangyu was safe.

As they headed toward Fengdu City, Ji Wuyou proactively released the pressure of his Golden Immortal realm, causing vicious ghosts to cower and demonic creatures to steer clear.

Even when their group of five accidentally passed through the territories of some fierce beasts, the beasts mostly hid even deeper.

After entering the Youming Realm from the eastern border and flying over a hundred thousand li, they finally spotted the first city in the underworld.

This city had no specific name; it was just one of the many small cities commonly found in the Youming Realm, inhabited mainly by ghost cultivators, yin cultivators, and demon cultivators, none of whom were particularly powerful.

Here, Li Changshou finally saw the underworld yin differences he was curious about.

These yin differences wore earthy-yellow long robes, most of them being ghosts who had cultivated into spirits, with strength equivalent to Hui Xu or Gui Dao realm qi refiners. They feared true fire and pure yang divine arts.

The yin differences mostly appeared listless, patrolling inside and outside the city, bullying the local yin cultivators to pass the time.

A few of them were in better spirits, chatting and laughing away, with no discipline whatsoever.

Li Changshou let out a soft sigh.

Conducting a field investigation like this was far superior to sitting in the Du Xian Men and daydreaming.

This underworld was truly...

Full of heavenly merit just lying around unused!

The cycle of reincarnation had been established, but order was incomplete, leaving plenty of merit to be claimed!

However, these opportunities would only be worth pursuing after he had firmly established himself in the Heavenly Court.

This trip was for his senior uncle's reincarnation, so he shouldn't get distracted by such investigations.

As they drew closer to the center of the Youming Realm, the cities they saw became more numerous and larger in scale.

Some were as bustling as major cities in the Southern Continent, filled with all sorts of bizarre "things" floating about,

Most of which were unlike ordinary living beings.

Ji Wuyou was truly well-traveled and knowledgeable, explaining along the way the origins of common ghost cultivators in the underworld and the several most important cities where the underworld's experts were stationed.

In the blink of an eye, after another hundred thousand li, two massive black mountains suddenly blocked their path.

Ji Wuyou didn't veer around them but led the four of them straight toward the narrow gap between the mountains.

"This is the only way to enter Fengdu City," Ji Wuyou said with a smile. "It's heavily guarded by the underworld forces, so stay alert later."

Before Ji Wuyou could finish speaking, shouts came from below:

"Those flying up there, come down!"

"This place has deadly restrictions—don't trespass, or you'll face the consequences!"

Ji Wuyou smiled calmly, clearly understanding the rules, and quickly brought the four of them down.

Li Changshou observed discreetly for a moment.

He noticed that profound and obscure Dao rhythms echoed between the two grand mountains, and just the thought of forcing his way through made his spiritual senses jolt sharply.

The setup here was no ordinary matter!

Once they reached the valley floor, they saw hundreds of burly figures with thick auras, clad in dark-yellow armor, holding steel forks and chains, standing imposingly before the narrow pass.

Each of these yin differences, taken individually, was nearly at the True Immortal realm.

Li Changshou felt a slight doubt;

These yin differences were vastly different from the ones they had encountered along the way.

Just before the five from Du Xian Men, another trio had passed through, and they could still see the three figures slowly flying ahead between the mountains.

It seemed some restriction ahead prevented them from flying too fast.

Ji Wuyou stood with his hands behind his back, hovering three feet above the ground on a cloud, leading the four toward the guarded entrance.

Wangqing Shangren and Youqin Xuanya were fully on guard, while Jiang Lin'er, who had been here before, seemed a bit distracted.

Li Changshou, however, was quite interested and examined these yin differences closely, forming a rough guess in his mind.

These were likely the descendants of the witches who had followed Niangniang Houtu.

Houtu's transformation into the Liudao Lunhui Pan occurred during the Second Witch-Demon War;

As one of the twelve ancestral witches, Houtu had her own direct lineage, and when she became the reincarnation disk to eternally suppress the Youming Realm, a group of elite witches from her clan chose to follow her.

These elites entered the underworld and were severed from the witches' tribal fate, being granted heavenly divine positions.

These yin differences were probably their descendants.

At that moment, a yin difference general in armor, wielding dual hammers, stepped forward. Judging by his aura, he was roughly at the mid-Tianxian realm.

The general had a sallow face, half-open eyes, and a lazy demeanor, as if going through the motions. He asked weakly,

"Where are you all from?"

Ji Wuyou replied calmly, "We humble ones come from an immortal sect in the Dongsheng Shenzhou."

"And where are you headed?"

"Naturally, we have business in Fengdu City," Ji Wuyou said with a light laugh, as if it were obvious.

The yin difference general smirked and yawned.

"Turn back. This road is closed."

Ji Wuyou frowned, and behind him, Wangqing Shangren couldn't help but step forward.

Wangqing Shangren said indifferently, "Why do you say this road is closed when those three figures just passed through?"

"Heh, heh."

The yin difference general swayed slightly, rolling his eyes dramatically. "For those who know the rules, the road is open.

For those who don't, it's truly closed."

"The rules?"

Wangqing Shangren's gaze sharpened, his white hair fluttering lightly as his aura began to emerge.

"Are there really such rules?"

"Hey!"

Fortunately, Jiang Lin'er reacted quickly, pressing down on Wangqing Shangren's arm.

Jiang Lin'er forced a smile and smoothly took out a treasure pouch from her sleeve, handing it over with immortal power, saying politely,

"We understand the rules, of course. My husband doesn't get out much, so please don't take offense, general."

Wangqing Shangren furrowed his brow slightly, as if about to speak.

Li Changshou, who had been watching from the back, couldn't help but smile a little.

However, the yin difference general casually swung his copper hammer, stirring up a gust of wind that sent the pouch flying back into Jiang Lin'er's hand.

Jiang Lin'er frowned and asked, "What do you mean by this, general?"

"Heh, the rules changed today," the general said, admiring the patterns on his copper hammer. "This is a critical area of the underworld—don't trespass recklessly. Aren't you afraid of heavenly punishment?"

Wangqing Shangren's eyes flickered, and he said coolly, "Are you intentionally making things difficult for us?"

From behind him came the sound of a sword being drawn.

Youqin Xuanya's face was icy as she summoned her Fire Qilin Sword Box, ready to strike.

Li Changshou, who had been trying to stay low-key, could only stand there with a wry smile.

It was just a matter of toll fees—how had it escalated so tensely?

As a great-grand disciple, this wasn't the right moment for him to speak, with the sect leader and his grandmaster present. They wouldn't let Wangqing Shangren actually fight the underworld yin differences.

It was nothing more than spending some extra treasures.

Besides, through this minor incident, Li Changshou could gauge the underworld's depths.

Just then, the yin difference general gripped his two copper hammers and stared at Wangqing Shangren with a hint of provocation.

Wangqing Shangren snorted coldly but held back under Jiang Lin'er's quiet persuasion.

"Yoh?"

The general's sallow face twisted into a cold smile. "Still not convinced?"

The hundreds of sturdy yin differences behind him stepped forward in unison!

Their eyes bulged like copper bells, radiating sharp vigilance!

Waves of astonishing blood energy rippled from them, merging into an overwhelming aura!

As Wangqing Shangren was about to respond, Ji Wuyou raised his hand slightly, signaling him to step back.

Ji Wuyou then moved forward two steps, his Golden Immortal aura fully displayed.

Ji Wuyou said with a smile,

"Since we've come all this way, we don't wish to turn back empty-handed.

Please make an exception, general. My fellow disciple is a bit hot-tempered—could you perhaps let us pass?"

"Make an exception?"

The general replied coldly, "If I say you can't pass, then you can't. Is a Golden Immortal that impressive?

Plenty of Golden Immortals have passed through here in a single day.

This is the Yin Cao Difu—even a dragon would have to coil up here!"

"Ahem, ahem."

Ji Wuyou coughed lightly, gripping a long sword in his hand as his aura turned sharp.

"In that case, I suppose I'll have to reason with you, fellow Daoist."

Li Changshou thought to himself: ...

Indeed, being hot-headed was a standard skill in the Du Xian Men!

Elder Wan Linjun was like that, and so was Wangqing Shangren—both were dedicated cultivators who didn't venture out much, so that made sense.

But how could the sect leader be the same?

Ji Wuyou had been chatting confidently all along, so he must have known about the yin differences collecting tolls here?

Li Changshou groaned inwardly, feeling a headache coming on.

Before he could think of a way to intervene, the yin difference general smirked and shouted toward the mountain beside them:

"Marshal! There's a human Golden Immortal trying to force his way through!"

"Hmm?"

A light exclamation followed, and a tremor-inducing aura burst from the mountaintop!

A whooshing sound filled the air as a figure leaped from the peak, starting as a tiny speck before landing in front of the hundreds of yin differences in an instant.

It was a nine-foot-tall burly man with light blue short hair, rugged features, and sleepy eyes. He wore light blue chainmail armor, exuding an astonishing presence!

A ferocious aura rushed toward them!

The man yawned and stretched.

"Who's causing trouble? What's the big idea?"

Ji Wuyou furrowed his brow, sensing the man's formidable aura—he was clearly a tough opponent. But as the leader of the Du Xian Men, especially in front of his disciples and their master, how could he show weakness to outsiders?

However, a voice transmission from Li Changshou entered Ji Wuyou's ear:

"Palm Door, I suspect this is a remnant expert from the ancient witch wars. It's best not to clash with him."

Ji Wuyou's aura weakened slightly.

At that moment, the yin differences and the general whispered among themselves:

"Marshal, you forgot your headgear!"

"The headgear, Marshal! The headgear!"

"Forgetting it once means six hundred lashes, Marshal!"

"Hmm?" The man touched his face, suddenly shivering, then turned and dashed back toward the mountain, his feet leaving cracks in the solid rock as he leaped up.

A moment later, he snorted coldly and jumped down again, landing in front of the hundreds of yin differences.

This time, he wore a loose bull's head.

He repeated his earlier words:

"Who's causing trouble? What's the big idea... Moo."