Above the Great Dao

Chen Shi hesitated for a moment and agreed.

He is now a ghost, and being in the underworld poses many inconveniences. At any moment, he might be influenced by the unknown forces of the underworld, following those ghosts involuntarily, not knowing where he is headed. Moreover, there are many dangers in the underworld, and he does indeed need help. As for running errands for the Eastern Palace, he certainly wouldn't do it.

Peng Ju led the way, and the two walked along with the mist between the mountains. They saw streams of white mist flowing on the ground between the Yin Mountain, and on each path, there were people walking along with the mist.

These people were ghosts, muddle-headed and controlled by a mysterious force, tirelessly heading in the same direction.

Peng Ju had injured wings and couldn't fly, so the two walked along the edge of the road.

These ghosts were often unjust spirits and wouldn't appear in the Yuan Chen Palace; instead, they became wandering spirits, drawn by the underworld.

Chen Shi suddenly remembered that when he was young, he went out with his grandfather Chen Yindou for the Moon Festival. He saw that a village's wandering spirits were not drawn by the underworld. He didn't know the reason before, but now he finally understood.

The Thirteen Families were seizing power in the underworld, fighting the Ten Halls of Yama, causing the underworld to neglect its duties. Therefore, many wandering spirits were not led to the underworld.

"What is the Eastern Palace?" Chen Shi asked.

Peng Ju replied, "The Eastern Palace is where the Crown Prince resides."

Chen Shi suddenly realized, "So you work in the palace of the Yama Crown Prince. Which Yama's Crown Prince are you referring to?"

Peng Ju was puzzled, "The Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace is, of course, the Crown Prince of the Heavenly Pond Country. What do you mean by the Yama Crown Prince?"

Chen Shi asked in confusion, "You don't know about the Ten Halls of Yama? Don't know the Eighteen Levels of Hell?"

Peng Ju shook his head, "What is hell? And who is Yama?"

Chen Shi explained the Ten Halls of Yama and the Eighteen Levels of Hell, saying, "In the Ten Halls of Yama, there are ten Yamas, each guarding different hells. Within the Eighteen Levels of Hell, there are various underworlds, judges, Yin Commanders, and Yin Messengers responsible for guiding the souls of the deceased to hell, judging them according to their sins, and making them accept punishment."

Peng Ju was astonished and said, "The underworld has something like eighteen levels of hell? I've never heard of it. Do these Ten Halls have a higher status than the Master of our Heavenly Pond Country? Impossible. Our Heavenly Pond Country is vast and boundless, the largest country in the Yin Mountain!"

Chen Shi was even more surprised than him.

In Chen Shi's impression, the underworld should be entirely under the control of hell, but clearly, the Heavenly Pond Country is not within hell's jurisdiction!

The ghosts and monsters here haven't even heard of a place like hell!

Suddenly, Chen Shi felt dazed, and Peng Ju immediately grabbed him. Chen Shi came to his senses, only to see himself walking among the ghostly procession again, feeling frightened: "What is this force that keeps drawing me, making me unconsciously walk in that direction?"

This strange force was something he experienced before his death. Only in a dead state would one be summoned by this force. If one were to go against it, it would be like stepping on a mountain of knives and wading through a sea of fire, extremely difficult.

However, if the cultivator were still alive, they wouldn't be drawn by this force or even sense its presence in the underworld.

Peng Ju stopped and groped around in the mist, suddenly feeling a skull, and was overjoyed, grabbing it and lifting it up.

A complete skeleton stood up along with the skull.

"Chen Shi, possess this one."

Hearing this, Chen Shi took a step forward, his Primordial Spirit attaching to the white bone skeleton.

Within a moment, he completed the possession and could move freely.

He raised his hands, watching as his finger bones moved with his will, and couldn't help but laugh with delight, making a 'da da da' sound.

Peng Ju asked with concern, "Can you still feel that force pulling you?"

Chen Shi carefully sensed and indeed couldn't feel that force.

"How did you know that a ghost's possession could escape that force?"

Peng Ju replied, "Demons often possess inanimate objects like this. Some cultivators also like to attach themselves to skeletons, running around. They are often merchants, doing business with us."

Chen Shi found this very novel, thinking, "There are actually human cultivators doing business with ghosts and monsters. I wonder who they are... Right, Shao Jing could open the Juxian Building here, it might be a great business opportunity. But this business would need dead people to manage it."

He sprinted and then leapt into the air, executing a series of flying kicks to test the agility of this body.

There was no denying that the white bone skeleton's body was incredibly agile. The thigh could rotate along the hip bone without any worry of breaking, and the head could also rotate freely. He could even pull out two ribs to stab someone without any concern of injury!

Chen Shi could even take off another arm to whip someone!

He could also shoot his twenty-eight finger joints as bone swords to assassinate enemies!

"Being a skeleton is great!"

Chen Shi was overjoyed, but as he landed, there was a crack sound, and his left leg broke.

"But this body is too weak." Chen Shi shook his head.

This white bone skeleton had been in the underworld for too long, becoming decayed and full of holes, unable to withstand his antics.

Peng Ju ran over hurriedly, dismantled his left leg, threw it into the mist, then groped for a bit and pulled out another dry bone. After comparing it to Chen Shi's right leg, he found it a bit short.

He then pulled out several more left leg bones, finally finding one almost as tall as Chen Shi's right leg before attaching it as his left leg.

Chen Shi thanked him profusely, joking, "Peng Ju, you really know how to take care of ghosts."

Peng Ju replied awkwardly, "I've been used to looking after ghosts in the Eastern Palace, and I still need to look after my sister when I return home. I originally promised my sister I'd be back in three days, but I've delayed for two days now, so let's hurry back!"