Chapter 125: Lingguang Hall Appears
The Underworld River was ignited, and the six Great Demons attacked simultaneously, causing the entire Genmen Pass to tremble.
The nine major checkpoints of the Nine Netherworlds were interconnected. When Genmen Pass moved, the other eight checkpoints also moved in response.
As the nine major checkpoints trembled, the Medical Affairs Department in the northeast of the Capital City, the Blacksmith Workshop in the southeast, the thousand-year-old ancient temple Di Xiu Temple in the southwest, the Nine Bends Eighteen Turns Stone Forest in the northwest, and the Heavenly Department in the center all trembled simultaneously.
In the Medical Affairs Department, Gu Xing, who had been sitting in a lounge chair with his eyes closed, cultivating, suddenly opened his eyes. He looked at the trembling ground, his expression grave, and quickly walked out of the courtyard to the stone cauldron in the plaza. He exerted all his strength to lift the stone cauldron and then slammed it down heavily.
“Clang!”
As the stone cauldron landed, a green halo rapidly spread outwards. With the radiation of the green halo, the trembling ground immediately stabilized.
Blacksmith Workshop.
The moment they felt the ground tremble, the entire marketplace began to strike iron with a unified rhythm and frequency.
With the sound of hammers striking, the trembling of the ground disappeared.
Nine Bends Eighteen Turns Stone Forest.
The moment the ground trembled, the Bagua stone platform in the center of the stone forest, which was so dilapidated that its carvings were no longer visible, suddenly began to rotate. The stone platform spun faster and faster, and light began to flash. By the time the stone platform stopped rotating, the ground no longer trembled.
Heavenly Department.
The Heavenly Department Minister, Wei Zhenjie, had originally planned to personally lead a team of the Demon Suppressing Army to Nanxiang County. The County Magistrate of Nanxiang County had submitted a memorial stating that a palace had suddenly appeared there, and he suspected it might be a ruin. Just as he was about to personally investigate, he felt the Heavenly Department trembling.
“Not good, there’s movement in the Nine Netherworlds!”
Wei Zhenjie’s expression changed. With a ‘swoosh,’ he flew up and hovered above the Heavenly Department. Then, a wooden staff carved with the four divine beasts—Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise—appeared in his hand.
“Bang!”
Wei Zhenjie gripped the wooden staff and struck it fiercely towards the ground. Rings of spiritual light appeared, and the Heavenly Department, which had been trembling, immediately stabilized.
Seeing that the ground had stopped trembling, Wei Zhenjie breathed a sigh of relief, only to see spiritual light streak across the southwest.
Di Xiu Temple.
A young monk in his early twenties fell from the air in a disheveled state, landing in the temple. He ignored the pain in his body and quickly took out a black and white ‘brush’ that had a handle but no bristles, and began to draw talismans in the air.
Soon, five-colored spiritual light converged under the black and white brush handle, and the character ‘Stabilize’ appeared.
The young monk waved his brush, and the character ‘Stabilize’ merged into the ground. Then, the trembling ground stabilized.
Seeing that the ground was no longer trembling, the young monk’s expression relaxed. Then, he closed his eyes and fainted.
At the same time, spiritual lights flew out from over a dozen alleys in the Capital City, scattering in all directions.
“Bang~”
In an alley near the west gate of the outer city of the Capital City, next to a small earth temple, Hua Changxi, dressed in a black robe, fell to the ground, with a red kasaya cushioning her fall.
After crossing the Underworld River, Hua Changxi controlled the kasaya to enter the dim and eerie long path. The others on the kasaya then disappeared one by one. Hua Changxi guessed that they had likely been pulled away by the Ghost Market Token.
Hua Changxi lay on the ground motionless. It took several minutes before she could support herself with the wall and stand up with difficulty.
At this moment, her face was as pale as paper, and her body was stiff.
The Great Demons that had appeared behind her attacked simultaneously. Although most of their attacks were blocked by the Long-Browed Arhat, she still suffered some severe injuries.
Hua Changxi could feel that her soul body was extremely weak, on the verge of leaving her body at any moment. She needed to quickly find a place to replenish her soul power and repair her soul body.
She had almost depleted her spiritual energy fighting the Green Dragon. Now, she didn’t even have the strength to go to Five Finger Mountain. She looked around and saw the city gate. She couldn’t care about anything else and directly rode a cloud, flying straight towards Lingguang Hall.
Lingguang Hall was the only place she could think of for healing that was closest to her.
On this day, the citizens of the Capital City saw over a dozen streaks of light flashing across the sky.
The citizens of the Capital City had more up-to-date information. They knew that those streaks of light were cultivators.
Seeing cultivators who could fly and burrow for the first time, the common people were both shocked and excited, both envious and yearning.
Of course, it wasn’t just the common people who were alarmed; the Royal Family and the high officials and nobles were also alerted.
Although the Spiritual Energy Revival had almost become public knowledge after the earth-shattering Great Battle at Five Finger Mountain, in order to seize more cultivation resources, everyone who had embarked on the path of cultivation had tacitly agreed not to expose themselves in front of others.
“Notify the Heavenly Department and have them immediately investigate what happened!”
In the Taiji Palace behind the Imperial Palace, the Grand Emperor’s expression was extremely grim.
Within the Capital City’s territory, even the Royal Family had to restrain themselves from using spiritual power. Now, someone had broken this rule, which made the Grand Emperor very displeased.
Noble families had many channels of information, and the Spiritual Energy Revival could not be hidden from them. This had already caused the Royal Family to allocate a lot of resources. If the common people of Great Jin were also to participate, the cultivation resources the Royal Family could collect would only decrease.
Heavenly Department.
“Master, what happened?”
The people of the Heavenly Department were all startled by the recent tremor and rushed out. The person in the lead was Wei Zhenjie’s most proud disciple, Chu Junyi.
Wei Zhenjie flew down from the sky, his expression solemn. “There’s a change in the Nine Netherworlds. I have to go down and take a look. Junyi, I’ll have you lead a team of the Demon Suppressing Army to investigate Nanxiang County.”
“Remember, if what the County Magistrate said is true and that palace is a ruin, do not yield to anyone, whether it’s from the Royal Family or other nobles trying to compete for it.”
Chu Junyi nodded. “This disciple understands.”
Afterward, the master and disciple each led their teams, one descending into the Nine Netherworlds, the other heading to Nanxiang County.
Medical Affairs Department.
Gu Jin Fan, who was refining medicine in her room, also noticed the tremor in the Medical Affairs Department at the first moment. She was the first to rush to the Old Plaza Courtyard, even faster than the Department Head.
Both of them saw Gu Xing lift the stone cauldron and then throw it to the ground.
“Senior Gu, you…”
Gu Qiming looked at Gu Xing, somewhat speechless. The stone cauldron stood in the plaza, which was somewhat abrupt. He and many others had thought about moving the stone cauldron away, but unfortunately, no one had ever been able to move it.
Yet, at this moment, the stone cauldron was lifted by a dying old man.
Gu Jin Fan was also looking at Gu Xing. “Senior, has the Demon Prison of the Nine Netherworlds changed?”
Gu Xing glanced at the two of them, said nothing, and bent over, trembling as he returned to the old courtyard.
Seeing that he wouldn’t reveal anything, Gu Qiming and Gu Jin Fan were very helpless.
Gu Qiming looked at Gu Jin Fan. “How do you know about the Nine Netherworlds?”
Gu Jin Fan looked at him. “Department Head, as more and more ruins appear in various places, many things are no longer secrets.” After speaking, she bowed and turned to leave.
The Dan Sheng Hall is the formation eye that suppresses the Demon Prison. If it trembled, it must mean something happened in the Nine Netherworlds. She had to go down and take a look quickly.
At this moment, not only the Department Head and Gu Jin Fan, but also many others had arrived at the plaza, all drawn by the recent tremor.
“What just happened?”
“It must have been an earthquake.”
Southern Suburbs of the Capital, Nanxiang County, Lingguang Hall.
After the County Magistrate of Nanxiang County reported the matter of Lingguang Hall yesterday, many people in the Imperial Court received the news. When Hua Changxi arrived, she saw several groups of people gathered there.
Most importantly, she saw her father, Hua Minghe, outside the hall.
Countless soldiers guarded the outside of the hall, and seven or eight people were gathered inside, all wanting to take over Lingguang Hall and arguing.
Hua Changxi was starting to lose her strength. Seeing that the Vermilion Bird Jade Pendant suspended inside the hall had not been taken, she confirmed that the people inside did not have strong spiritual power. She tightened her black robe and directly rode a cloud into the hall.
“Bang~”
Hua Changxi directly unleashed her spiritual power, knocking down the people inside the hall, and then snatched the Vermilion Bird Jade Pendant.
“Rumble~”
The moment the Vermilion Bird Jade Pendant was taken, Lingguang Hall erupted in a brilliant red light. Except for cultivators with Fire Spiritual Roots, everyone outside and inside the hall was sent flying.
Hua Changxi ignored the abnormality of Lingguang Hall, swept the cultivators inside out, and then used another burst of spiritual power to close the hall door before quickly heading underground.
Upon reaching the Vermilion Bird Transmission Monument Plaza, Hua Changxi could no longer hold on and collapsed on the ground. She took out the Soul Devouring Tree Branch from the Shen Nong Cauldron, lay on the branch, and fell into a coma.
Meanwhile, outside Lingguang Hall.
When Chu Junyi arrived with the Demon Suppressing Army, he saw a black-robed person rush into the hall. Before they could reach her, everyone inside the hall was thrown out.
When he and the Demon Suppressing Army rushed in, the hall door was closed. They tried to force their way in but were repelled by the red light that appeared on the door.
Not only that, but outside Lingguang Hall, the ground was shaking violently, accompanied by a large amount of red light appearing.
The red light was too intense for everyone to look directly at.
When the ground stopped shaking and the red light dissipated, everyone present was stunned by what they saw.
Lingguang Hall, which had originally been a single hall, had transformed into a magnificent palace complex. The palace complex was shaped like a pyramid, with the main hall at the highest point, and other palaces descending in sequence. The palaces at the lowest level were tens of meters from the ground, appearing like mountains from afar.
Previously, everyone had been standing outside the hall door. Now, they stood under a towering archway tens of meters high. The plaque on the archway read ‘Lingguang Hall’ in three large characters.
The archway was at least several hundred meters away from the palace complex. Looking at the mountain-like palace complex, these nobles, who were usually accustomed to being high and mighty, felt like ants for the first time, experiencing their own insignificance.
After a long period of shock, Prince Fu, the younger brother of the current Emperor, was the first to regain his senses. Upon regaining his senses, he became furious. “Who was that black-robed person just now? How dare they snatch the Royal Palace!”
The appearance of the black-robed person was too sudden, and no one had anticipated it. The main reason was that everyone present was either an official from the Six Ministries or a Prince and Duke. They truly did not expect someone to come out and snatch things from them.
Most importantly, this was the southern suburbs of the Capital City, the territory of the Capital. The Royal Family had absolute control here. Even the most ambitious nobles would not compete with the Royal Family in these areas.
Didn’t they see that noble families and Daoist sects would only go to places outside the Central Plains to seize territory? Even in the areas of the Central Plains close to the Capital City, everyone tacitly avoided interfering.
To snatch territory in the Capital City was clearly an act of rebellion against the Royal Family!
This time, when a ruin was suspected to have appeared in Nanxiang County, the nobles who received the news did not come forward, allowing the officials of the Six Ministries to compete for it.
Why?
It was simply not convenient to compete with the Royal Family.
Although it was not their private property, with people from noble families serving in the Six Ministries, the lion’s share of the benefits went to the Royal Family, and they could still get some soup.
Unexpectedly, someone appeared who did not follow the rules.
“Who is that black-robed person? How dare they compete with the Imperial Court for opportunities!”
Hua Minghe had come with people from the Six Doors. The Ministry of Justice had brought not only people from the Six Doors but also guards from the imperial prison, with the aim of boosting their prestige and competing with other government offices for this ruin.
Unfortunately, the situation had completely exceeded everyone’s expectations. They could only gather around and discuss in hushed tones.
“The Minister and the others entered the hall first, so why was their opportunity snatched by the black-robed person who came later?”
The Chief Constable of the Six Doors listened to Hua Minghe’s question and explained in a low voice, “Opportunities are strange things; it’s not a matter of first come, first served.”
“The Vermilion Bird Jade Pendant inside the hall should be the token that controls Lingguang Hall, but after the Minister and the others entered, none of them could take the jade pendant.”
Hua Minghe then had a new doubt. “That black-robed person rushed directly into the hall. How could they be sure they could take the jade pendant? Did they come here in advance?”
The Chief Constable immediately signaled Hua Minghe to stop talking, but his words had already been heard by many people.
Someone even directly told Prince Fu about it.
Prince Fu, upon hearing this, immediately became suspicious and coldly snorted. “This ruin, after the County Magistrate of Nanxiang County reported it, only the Six Ministries and the Cabinet knew about it. I don’t care who sent someone to scout it in advance. As long as this ruin is returned to the Royal Family, I guarantee I will plead with the Emperor for leniency, and there will be no further repercussions.”
“If anyone insists on taking it all for themselves, don’t blame me for being ruthless when the Imperial Court finds out.”
Seeing everyone’s silence, Prince Fu’s expression darkened further. He walked towards Chu Junyi and asked with some blame, “Where is Minister Wei? Why didn’t he come?”
Chu Junyi’s expression was calm. “Something happened in the Nine Netherworlds. Master has gone down to investigate.”
Prince Fu frowned upon hearing this. “When did this happen?”
Chu Junyi: “Just before we arrived.”
At this moment, Chu Junyi’s storage ring vibrated. Chu Junyi moved away from the crowd, took out his communication stone, and soon heard Wei Zhenjie’s urgent voice.
“Junyi, forget about Nanxiang County. Quickly bring the Demon Suppressing Army to Genmen in the Nine Netherworlds. Nether Dragon, Huang Mang of Ox Head Mountain, and Madam White Bone of White Bone Mountain have all been severely injured. Hurry and bring your men down to capture their territories.”
Chu Junyi’s expression trembled upon hearing this. Something big really happened in the Nine Netherworlds; even Nether Dragon was severely injured!
Thinking of the dozen or so streaks of spiritual light he had seen flying in various directions earlier, Chu Junyi’s eyes flickered. Could they be the cause of the major upheaval in Genmen?
“Your Highness, there’s a change in the Nine Netherworlds. We need to go and support Master. We’ll take our leave now.”
Chu Junyi informed Prince Fu and then, without hesitation, quickly left with the Demon Suppressing Army.
This Lingguang Hall was indeed a rare ruin, but compared to the Nine Netherworlds, it was not as urgent.
Looking at the Demon Suppressing Army that was leaving in a hurry, everyone present had different expressions. They didn’t even care about such a large ruin; what major event could have happened?
There were some changes in the previous chapter.
