Chapter 277: Coveting the Physical Body
After Hua Changxi understood the connection between the Nine Passes and the Five Great Sacred Lands, she asked again, “What kind of place is the Nine Netherworlds?”
The Squad Leader was silent for a moment before speaking, “Bloody, with endless slaughter and battles everywhere. The Nine Netherworlds is a place where strength reigns supreme. Without strength, you cannot survive there.”
He said this and smiled.
“Do you know, the most stable and peaceful territory in the Nine Netherworlds is the Nine Passes.”
Hua Changxi: “What is it that is slaughtering and battling?”
The Squad Leader looked at her, “The Demon Race, the Ghost Race, the Soul Race, and cultivators from the Human World. Let me put it this way, the Nine Netherworlds is chaotic, but as long as you have strength, you can do whatever you want.”
Hua Changxi frowned and asked again, “What’s the deal with the Ghost Market set up in the Nine Passes?”
Hearing this, the Squad Leader was surprised that Hua Changxi knew about the Ghost Market, “It seems Peak Master Hua has already been to the Nine Netherworlds.”
From Hua Changxi’s previous questions, he thought she knew almost nothing about the Nine Netherworlds and the Nine Passes. He had assumed she was a fledgling who had never been to the Nine Netherworlds before.
Hua Changxi looked at him, “There must be many cultivators who have been to the Nine Netherworlds.”
The Squad Leader was stunned, then smiled, “Indeed. The Yellow Springs Road has entrances at various junctions in the Human World. With the acceleration of Spiritual Energy Revival, they have all gradually opened. It’s no longer like before, where you needed a corresponding token to guide you to find the entrance to the Yellow Springs Road.”
Upon hearing this, Hua Changxi’s heart stirred.
So that dark, eerie, and chilling long road was the Yellow Springs Road.
The token the Squad Leader mentioned must be the black token with a skull carved on it that Eunuch Lin gave her back then.
Now, one can go to the Nine Netherworlds without a token?
“Is the entrance to the Yellow Springs Road easy to find?”
The Squad Leader smiled, “Is Peak Master Hua sensitive to Yin energy? The Yellow Springs Road is rich in Yin energy. When the entrance opens, Yin energy will inevitably overflow.”
Hua Changxi showed a look of understanding, “You mentioned the token for entering and exiting the Ghost Market just now. How did these tokens come into circulation?”
The Squad Leader smiled, “Spiritual Energy Revival actually began long ago. The first batch of cultivators in the Human World to seize the opportunity of Spiritual Energy Revival either stumbled upon or deliberately sought out the entrance to the Yellow Springs Road and descended into the Nine Netherworlds.”
“After these people established a foothold in the Nine Passes, they forged tokens that could induce Yin energy fluctuations. With these tokens, cultivators could descend into the Nine Netherworlds.”
He paused.
“From what this subordinate knows, these people have gathered a large number of followers to use for their own purposes with the tokens. Nowadays, they should all be influential forces in the Human World.”
Hua Changxi quickly asked, “Does the Squad Leader know which forces they are?”
The Squad Leader smiled, “As for that, Peak Master Hua will have to find out for herself.”
Seeing that he wouldn’t say, Hua Changxi had no choice but to ask again, “The Squad Leader hasn’t told me about the Ghost Market yet.”
The Squad Leader sighed, “The Ghost Market… it should be called a Marketplace.”
“Peak Master Hua has been to the Ghost Market, so you should know that the Ghost Market is set up outside the fortress. That territory was originally the rest and living area for the Demon Suppressing Guards.”
“In Ancient Times, because the Demon Suppressing Guards needed to purchase Cultivation Resources and daily necessities, marketplaces spontaneously formed at each pass.”
“However, with the Spiritual Energy Nirvana, the Human World and the Nine Netherworlds lost contact, and the Nine Netherworlds fell silent. When Spiritual Energy Revival began, the Ghost Race and the Demon Race were the first to rise in the Nine Netherworlds.”
“The Nine Passes should have been human territory, but now, apart from the Demon Suppressing Guards who are confined within the fortresses and rarely venture out, the territories outside the Nine Passes are either occupied by the Ghost Race, the Demon Race, or powerful Soul Cultivator families.”
“Currently, only Li Men Pass, due to a great disturbance that once occurred there, was seized by the Demon Suppressing Army of the Central Sacred Land. Otherwise, the outer areas of the nine passes would not be under human control.”
Hua Changxi’s eyes flickered. The great disturbance at Li Men Pass was the one she caused during her first descent into the Nine Netherworlds, wasn’t it?
The Long-Browed Arhat exchanged his life for the Demon Suppressing Army’s successful capture of Li Men Pass.
“Since the Ghost Race, Demon Race, and Soul Cultivator families have occupied the outer areas of the Nine Passes, why don’t they further breach the fortresses?”
The Squad Leader: “They naturally want to, and they have attacked the fortresses several times, but the fortresses of the Nine Passes are protected by Merit Power, so they are not easily breached.”
“In recent years, the Ghost Race and the Demon Race have grown too rapidly. We Demon Suppressing Guards were also worried that the Merit Power would not last long. Who would have thought that Heaven would bless humanity.”
“Just last year, the Fusang Divine Wood reappeared, the Soul Star was lit, and Li Men Pass and Xunmen Pass successively awakened.”
“Although the other Divine Woods are still dormant, since the Fusang Divine Wood has reappeared, the other Divine Woods will also reappear in the Nine Netherworlds one after another.”
Speaking of this, the Squad Leader looked at Hua Changxi with bright eyes, “I heard that when Dan Yuan Peak appeared, the Undying Divine Wood of the Dan Sheng Hall once flashed. Why doesn’t Peak Master Hua visit Genmen Pass and Zhenmen Pass more often? Perhaps it could also cause the Undying Divine Wood to reappear in the Nine Netherworlds ahead of time.”
Hua Changxi vaguely replied, “The appearance of Divine Woods has nothing to do with me.” Then she asked again, “By the way, why do the Holy Guards have no physical bodies?”
The Squad Leader’s eyes flickered, “The Nine Netherworlds are sealed and desolate. Does Peak Master Hua really think humans can survive for a long time in a place where Yin energy breeds?”
“Before Spiritual Energy Revival, there were no humans in the Nine Netherworlds. Only after Spiritual Energy Revival began did human figures gradually appear in the Nine Netherworlds.”
Hua Changxi frowned upon hearing this, “If there were no humans, then where were so many Demon Suppressing Guards recruited from?”
The Squad Leader lowered his eyes, “What does Peak Master Hua think?”
Hua Changxi’s heart skipped a beat, “The current Demon Suppressing Guards, aren’t they selected from the Demon Race, the Ghost Race, and the Soul Race?”
The Squad Leader: “The Demon Race cannot enter the fortresses. However, the current Demon Suppressing Guards are indeed almost all from the Soul Race and the Ghost Race.”
“In the past two years, a very small number of cultivators who could no longer stay in the Human World have successfully become Demon Suppressing Guards.”
Hua Changxi’s expression immediately turned grim upon hearing this.
No wonder, no wonder the General Liu guarding Li Men Pass just watched outsiders and the Demon Race intrude into the Formation Eye. Turns out they weren’t human at all!
Seeing Hua Changxi’s displeased expression, the Squad Leader thought for a moment and explained, “Anyone who joins the Demon Suppressing Guards must take a Heart Demon Oath to defend the Demon Prison to the death.”
Hua Changxi nodded. If there were no such restrictions, the seal of the Demon Prison would likely have been broken long ago.
“By the way, Squad Leader, what are the conditions for recruiting Holy Guards?”
The Squad Leader smiled, “This subordinate does not know. This subordinate only knows that the recruitment of Holy Guards requires the approval of the Fortress Commander General. For the specific conditions, Peak Master Hua will likely need to discuss them with the General.”
Hua Changxi: “Commander General? The highest authority in the fortress?”
The Squad Leader: “Yes. Each fortress has one Commander General. Below the General are two Brigadier Generals, and below the Brigadier Generals are the Garrison Commanders. Below the Garrison Commanders are the Commanders of Ten Thousand.”
After hearing this, Hua Changxi didn’t know what else to ask. She had only been to the Nine Netherworlds twice and knew very little. She stood up and said, “Thank you, Squad Leader, for your explanation.”
Seeing this, the Squad Leader also stood up, “If Peak Master Hua wants to know anything else in the future, feel free to come and find me. If I don’t know, I can go ask the Centurion.”
Hua Changxi nodded and watched the Squad Leader leave.
She now had a better understanding of the Nine Passes. The outer area of a pass was the territory of the Demon Race, Ghost Race, and Soul Race; the inner area was the fortress, which was the territory of the Demon Suppressing Guards.
If she wanted to enter the fortress to recruit Holy Guards, she would first have to pass through the territories of the Demon Race, Ghost Race, and Soul Race.
Thinking about the life-and-death battles she experienced during her two descents into the Nine Netherworlds, Hua Changxi dared not be careless about the Nine Netherworlds at all.
Unlike Meng Qingyao, Gu Xing, and Yan Qianying, who were trying to seize control of the Medical Affairs Department, recruiting Holy Guards was not an urgent matter for her.
She would go to the Nine Netherworlds, but not now.
Currently, she had two things to do: first, improve her Alchemy grade, and second, wait for Tong Yao to refine the Display Spiritual Artifact, recruit more Apprentices, and get the Dan Yuan Secret Realm on track.
Meanwhile, after the Squad Leader left, he went directly to the Centurion and reported all of Hua Changxi’s questions.
The Centurion listened and said, “Hua Changxi is the Peak Master of Dan Yuan Peak, the Hall Master of Number Thirteen Qihuang Hall, the Secret Realm Master of the Divine Wood Secret Realm, and she even summoned the Altar of Alchemy.”
“In the entire Medical Affairs Department, the person we absolutely cannot underestimate is this Hua Changxi.”
The Squad Leader nodded, “Fortunately, the matters she inquired about today are all common knowledge.”
The Centurion was silent for a moment, “In the future, when you encounter Hua Changxi, be careful. It’s best not to interact with her too much, lest she disrupt what we are trying to do.”
He said this and looked at the Squad Leader.
“During your patrols, have you found any suitable physical bodies?”
The Squad Leader immediately smiled, “The Dan Sheng Hall is indeed worthy of being a Sacred Land. There are so many talented prodigies with excellent aptitude. Before coming up, I thought good physical bodies would be hard to find, but I didn’t expect there to be so many.”
The Centurion also smiled, but after smiling, his expression turned grim, “Don’t provoke people from Noble Families. If you’re going to find someone, find those without any background.”
The Squad Leader: “Don’t worry, sir, this subordinate understands.”
