The old woman’s chilling words, paired with that eerie smile, sent a shiver down Yan Lingyu’s spine.
An offering for... us?
An ill omen surged in her heart. Is she burning paper money for the dead for our sake?
Bang!
Gu Qingfeng directly kicked over the brazier. Emerald ghost fire scattered, instantly igniting the alleyway and turning it into a sea of green flames.
Old fossil, is this pittance of paper money enough for anyone? If some passing ghost or god saw this, they’d think this Emperor couldn't afford a proper burial.
The old woman’s expression remained unchanged as she said indifferently, Young master, do not be in such a hurry. This old woman has plenty of paper money.
As she spoke, she pulled a thick stack of paper money from her robes and threw it violently into the air.
Suddenly, a fierce wind howled. The yellow paper money filling the sky ignited all at once, transforming into clumps of eerie green fire that rained down toward Gu Qingfeng like a meteor shower of ghost flames.
Faced with this, Gu Qingfeng simply opened his mouth. A terrifying suction force formed a black hole within his maw, and like a whale swallowing the ocean, he vacuumed up every last bit of the ghost fire.
A flash of surprise crossed the old woman’s eyes. You truly are extraordinary, young master. However, once you enter the Yellow Springs Ghost City, no one leaves alive.
Blood River, Manifest!
The old woman scattered another handful of paper money. The paper ignited without a breeze, and in an instant, countless cracks spiderwebbed across the alley.
A raging river of blood overflowed from the fissures, its turbulent waters carrying a powerful corrosive aura as it surged toward Gu Qingfeng. Within the blood river, countless malevolent ghosts with hideous, distorted faces shrieked and roared.
She threw yet another handful of paper money.
Underworld, Open!
A black vortex emerged, flowing with a murky, primordial dark light. It was like the gateway to hell itself, releasing a power that could make any soul surrender to oblivion.
Samsara, Rise!
Rumble!
The world began to tremble, and the void twisted incessantly. A world of reincarnation rose majestically, containing the Six Paths of Rebirth, mountains of bone and rivers of blood, the Yellow Springs and the Naihe Bridge, the Eighteen Levels of Hell, and hundreds of millions of struggling, screaming ghosts!
Suppress!
At the old woman’s command, the three great mysteries—the Blood River, the Underworld, and Samsara—bore down on Gu Qingfeng simultaneously.
The power at this moment was truly earth-shaking, causing the mountains and rivers to lose their color, the sun and moon to dim, and the heavens to sink into darkness.
Gu Qingfeng’s eyes lit up instantly. He shouted that it was a great tonic and immediately opened his mouth wide. A terrifying suction force erupted, and in a heartbeat, the three great visions—the Blood River, the Underworld, and Samsara—were sucked into his mouth and swallowed into his belly.
The victory-assured smile on the old woman’s face froze.
You... what kind of thing are you!? Are you human or ghost? How can you devour the power of the Blood River, the Underworld, and Samsara?
Did this Emperor give you permission to ask questions?
Gu Qingfeng waved his hand, and a terrifying suction force erupted from his palm, dragging the old woman directly into his grasp as he seized her by the throat.
This Emperor is asking you: where are the Immortal Kings who entered the Yellow Springs Ghost City earlier?
After her initial shock, the old woman actually calmed down. You cannot kill me. Within this Yellow Springs Ghost City, all ghosts and gods are immortal and indestructible.
Jie jie jie... When did this Emperor say he was going to kill you? This Emperor simply wants to devour you! Grip of the Underworld!
The Gates of the Underworld crashed open behind him. Ghastly, pale ghost hands, like venomous serpents, coiled tightly around the old woman’s body and dragged her inside.
With that, the old woman fell silent forever.
Gu Qingfeng gave a disdainful smile. Immortal and indestructible? You dare mention immortality in front of this Emperor? Then go enjoy eternal life inside the Gates of the Underworld.
He understood perfectly well why these ghosts were indestructible; it was nothing more than relying on the forbidden power of the Yellow Springs Ghost City to achieve infinite rebirth.
But what Gu Qingfeng did was not kill her, but directly devour her origin.
After the successful devouring, Gu Qingfeng obtained the information he wanted. This old woman was considered a high-ranking ghost-god within the Yellow Springs Ghost City, so she naturally sensed the arrival of the group of living beings from the Immortal King Hall.
However, it was merely a sensation. Since those living beings had not violated any taboos, she hadn't paid them much mind.
Consequently, Gu Qingfeng only knew the general direction, but that was enough.
He immediately put his arm around Yan Lingyu and set off.
...
In the northern part of the Yellow Springs Ghost City, inside a gloomy ancient mansion.
Four figures were gathered together, plotting in secret.
The faces of these four were filled with worry and gloom as they constantly discussed their countermeasures.
If Gu Qingfeng were here, he would find that these four were all familiar faces.
They were the Immortal Kings of the Sixth Star Ruins.
Tiandu Immortal King, Xuanjun Immortal King, Chongming Immortal King, and the Lord Buddha of Small Western Heaven.
Because they possessed Transcendence Matter, they were hunted by the Immortal King Hall. Forced by circumstances, they fled into the Yellow Springs Ghost City, taking advantage of the fact that the Immortal King Hall did not dare to act within the city to barely cling to life.
If I had known it would come to this, we shouldn't have moved against Star Extreme Immortal King back then. If he were here, we would have one more helper, Xuanjun Immortal King said regretfully.
A flash of regret appeared in the eyes of the others as well.
Star Extreme Immortal King belonged to the Star Demon race and was naturally eccentric and extreme in temperament, so he didn't get along with any of the other Immortal Kings.
In order to have one less person to share the Transcendence Matter with, these Immortal Kings had secretly murdered Star Extreme Immortal King.
Now, they were suffering the consequences of being shorthanded.
Not just Star Extreme Immortal King. Had I known, we should have brought Gu Ruochen along as well, the Lord Buddha of Small Western Heaven said with a miserable expression.
As a newly ascended Immortal King who had once defied them, they naturally hadn't been willing to let Gu Ruochen have a piece of the pie either.
Hmph! In my opinion, the culprit is clearly that little beast Gu Qingfeng! If he hadn't snatched our Immortal King weapons, causing our combat strength to plummet, what would it matter if we were missing two people? Even if we couldn't beat the Immortal King Hall, we could at least have run away. We wouldn't be cornered in this ghostly place! the heavily injured Chongming Immortal King, who only had half a body left, roared in anger.
At the mention of Gu Qingfeng, Chongming Immortal King’s teeth itched with hatred.
After all, the reason he was so severely injured was inextricably linked to the time Gu Qingfeng captured Immortal Empress Xihe and then made a call while "handling business."
That day, he was in the middle of a battle when he heard his wife’s "tragic cries" coming from the other end of the transmission jade. He was instantly distracted, allowing the people from the Immortal King Hall to seize the opportunity and leave him heavily wounded.
How could he not hate him?
Especially now, being trapped in the Yellow Springs Ghost City and unable to return to save his wife, his agony was driving him mad. Just thinking about Immortal Empress Xihe being Gu Qingfeng’s prisoner, pinned down night after night, wailing in misery day after day, toyed with at his whim, and even forced to face all sorts of unreasonable demands—it made him feel like he was going to explode.
Enough. What is the point of saying all this now? Tiandu Immortal King said coldly.
As soon as he spoke, the others were immediately silenced.
Clearly, Tiandu Immortal King held the highest status and possessed the greatest strength among them.
This was indeed the case. Tiandu Immortal King was a late-stage Immortal King, while the others were either middle or early stage, so they naturally deferred to him.
In truth, his strength was originally on par with the Master of the Immortal King Hall, Xu Qingyun. However, as a sword cultivator who had lost his Tiandu Sword, his strength had naturally plummeted, leaving him no match for Xu Qingyun.
Add to that the constant internal strife within the Sixth Star Ruins—killing Star Extreme Immortal King and isolating Gu Ruochen—and they were outnumbered by the Immortal King Hall. That was how they had ended up in such a desperate state.
"Our priority now is to find a way to survive this ordeal! The Immortal King Hall is laying siege from the outside while we are trapped within. Though we are safe for the moment, this Yellow Springs Ghost City is saturated with deathly energy. Even as Immortal Kings, prolonged exposure will allow this ghostly qi to invade our bodies, causing our cultivation to wither uncontrollably. If we simply wait here, we will all perish long before the Immortal King Hall even lifts a finger," Immortal King Tiandu said, his voice heavy with gravity.
"What else can we do? In this godforsaken place, I can't even begin to heal my wounds!" Immortal King Chongming barked, his face twisted in a mask of frustration and rage.
Just as a cloud of gloom settled over the group, Immortal King Tiandu’s expression suddenly shifted. "Mask your presence! Something is approaching!"
The group was instantly seized by alarm. In the Yellow Springs Ghost City, ghosts and deities lurked around every corner. Whatever was coming could only be a creature of the underworld.
But they hadn't violated any of the city's taboos—could it be that simply staying in this city for too long was enough to draw them out?
As they suppressed their auras to the limit, caught between fear and uncertainty, a rhythmic thud of footsteps suddenly echoed from outside the ancient mansion.
Tap... tap... tap...
The footsteps came to a halt right before the entrance.
The tension in the room became stifling.
"Jie jie jie..."
A chilling, sinister cackle rang out, sending shivers down their spines.
"Well, well... what have I found here?"
to panic—he has a system. As long as an investment target dies, he can claim a reward. And since he is immortal, the one thing he has plenty of is time. ... Countless years later. “Immortal Emperor of Longevity? I invested in him.” “Supreme Celestial Venerable? I invested in him.” “Undying Empress? I invested in her.” “...” “Heh. Once they’ve all died, even the Heavenly Dao will have to kneel and call me Dad.”
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
d intelligence to keep the plot moving, and sometimes even the protagonists are forced into absurdly dumb decisions. Why does the A-list celebrity heroine in urban romance novels ditch the top-tier movie star and become a lovestruck fool for a pockmarked male lead? Why do the leads in historical tragedy novels keep dancing between love and death, only for the blind healer to end up suffering the most? And Gu Wei never expected that after finally landing a villain role to stir up trouble, she’d pick the wrong gender! No choice now—she’ll just have to crush the protagonists as a girl!
s the Eldest Princess, renowned for her cold and aloof detachment, became the most docile of lambs, obeying his every command without question. But when the final move was played on the chessboard, as Gu Chenghan seized everything and ascended on the verge of apotheosis, that very Princess suddenly embraced him from behind, her tone carrying a dependence never heard before: "Wait... you haven't yet... commanded me to love you forever." Gu Chenghan froze abruptly. She... hadn't been hypnotized?! ... [The Eldest Princess's Diary] [When my soul was extracted, becoming the sole spectator outside my own shell] [At first, there was overwhelming fury, until I saw] [How he used my sword to effortlessly shatter my inescapable doom] [How he wielded my authority to eradicate fatal conspiracies I had never even detected] [Like a deity, he rescued me from the deep mire I was trapped in] [If not for those annoying vixens, he and I would be a match made in heaven] [I think I am ill, gravely ill] [My deity should belong to me alone] ... "Hypnosis? Oh, it succeeded, my dear Master." "Only this time, it's my turn to hypnotize you."
