NOVEL NEXT Chapter 367 - 366: The Origin of the Ghost Immortal
Chapter 367: Chapter 366: The Origin of the Ghost Immortal
After Du Ping and Ji Kongkong left, Jiang Li called Qi Ming over.
“I have something to say beforehand.”
“Human Emperor, please speak.”
“My personal feelings did factor in Xiao Fang meeting you. I could not bear to see you all in the same city, yet unknowingly passing each other by, hence I brought Xiao Fang here.”
“However, Xiao Fang is ultimately a spirit and is one step away from reincarnation.”
“If one day the Underworld comes knocking, Xiao Fang may be forced to reincarnate. You should mentally prepare yourself for this.”
Qi Ming nodded painfully.
“But you also shouldn’t worry too much. I will try to help, and find if there are any alternative solutions.”
Qi Ming thanked Jiang Li again.
Jiang Li brought all the spirits and Qi Ming to the Imperial Palace.
Commander Liu was shocked beyond words.
“Hall Master, you just left the Imperial Palace for a moment and made such a big fuss.”
The commander hadn’t expected that there would be trouble in the Underworld.
“Build a city near the Imperial Palace. Set up a grand array to absorb the Yin energy below the city, and set up a grand array to block the Yang energy from above, so that the spirits will not be burned by the Yang energy.”
“Alright.” Commander Liu answered. This was not a difficult task.
“Also, I am appointing Du Ping as the temporary commander. He is responsible for finding the ghosts hidden throughout the Nine States.”
“…Alright.” Commander Liu hesitated for a while before acknowledging.
The commander was exasperated. Du Ping was not easy to deal with. How did he end up nominating himself for the position of commander? And why was the Hall Master in sync with him?
Commander Liu was extremely tired. In the vast Imperial Palace, from the Hall Master to the Commander, it seems he was the only one who was normal.
Jiang Li had a word with the Elder Immortal about the affair of the Underworld, but the Elder Immortal also appeared unusually baffled.
“A conflict among the Ten Halls of Yama? I’ve never heard of this, but it’s not unreasonable for them to have conflicts.”
“What do you mean?”
“Do you know how the Ghost Immortals in the Underworld came to be?”
“I don’t.”
With a smile, the Elder Immortal stroked his beard, “When an Immortal dies and enters the Underworld, they have two choices. One is to reincarnate, wash away their memories and start anew, the other is to stay in the Underworld and become a Ghost Immortal.”
“Doesn’t that mean all Immortals would want to stay in the Underworld?” Jiang Li was shocked. Who would want to lose their cultivation, forget everything, and embark on the unknown journey of the next life after reaching the realm of an Immortal?
Even if you do well in your next life, can it be better than being an Immortal?
“Not all Immortals are qualified to stay in the Underworld. Only those with profound Yin Virtue are allowed to transform into Ghost Immortals and become part of the Underworld.”
“If you were not an Immortal, but died, you would probably be qualified to stay in the Underworld. So would I.”
“So, you see, the Underworld does not have any native Ghost Immortals. They all died from the Immortal Realm, and the Ten Halls of Yama are no exception.”
“The Immortals are stubborn and fond of power struggles. They maintain this character even after death. The invasion of the Heavenly Demon has disrupted the balance of life and death, which intensifies the conflicts among the Halls of Yama.”
“I see I learned a great deal. But what’s the difference between Yin Virtue and Merits?”
“Yin Virtue is the calculation of good and evil in the Underworld. The Yin and Yang are separated, and the Underworld tries to minimize the connection with the Yang Realm, thus they came up with their own set of merits.”
“The specific calculation standard, I do not know.”
“So doesn’t the Immortal Realm turning a blind eye to the Heavenly Demons invading the Ten Thousand Realms damage Yin Virtue?” Jiang Li was puzzled. The Immortals valued Yin Virtue, but wouldn’t the acts of the Immortal Realm decrease Yin Virtue?
The Elder Immortal remained silent for a while, choosing his words carefully, “The Underworld has its own set of values, which may not necessarily align with those of the Yang Realm. They may believe that the invasion of the Heavenly Demon leading to the death of sentient beings is natural, and that life is destined, everyone has to die.”
“Including causing an imbalance in the cycle of life and death?”
The Elder Immortal showed a strange smile, “The increase in spirits, isn’t that a reason for the Underworld to expand?”
“The territory of the Underworld surpasses the Yang Realm, reversing Yin and Yang. Transforming the Underworld into the Yang Realm, and the Yang Realm into the Underworld.”
“Don’t forget, the Ten Halls of Yama were once Immortals. In a power struggle, what could be a bigger power than the struggle for control of the Yin and Yang realms?”
Jiang Li fell silent. The Elder Immortal thought he had scared Jiang Li, so he continued, “Of course, this is the worst possibility and not necessarily inevitable.”
“The fight in the Underworld could also have happened because the Heavenly Demon wanted to invade the Underworld.”
“The Elder Immortal seems to know a lot about the Underworld.”
“Most of what I’ve heard is from hearsay, much of it is my speculation. I am just guessing the situation in the Underworld based on the way of thinking in the Immortal Realm, it’s possible the real Underworld is not like this, the Ten Halls of Yama might be above personal gains.”
After thanking the Elder Immortal, Jiang Li turned and left.
The Elder Immortal watched Jiang Li leave, always keeping a smile on his face.
Jiang Li received a new mission.
[New mission: The once-in-a-century Sentient Beings’ Secret Realm of the Buddhist Door has opened, causing a sensation across Nine States. Even genius cultivators from previous generations have come to participate. Talents abound, from the Golden Core Stage to Divinity Transformation, all gather in front of the Secret Realm. You, as a Nascent Soul cultivator, have an impressive cultivation level, but no reputation. Some of the previous generation cultivators believe you are just an unknown junior who obtained the cultivation method from your ancestors.]
[Please inherit the legacy of Manjusri Bodhisattva in the Sentient Beings’ Secret Realm.]
[This mission cannot be abandoned.]
[Reward: Half a jiazi’s worth of cultivation, Golden Lock Armor, Dao Sect’s secret technique “Establishment of the Three Pure Land”.]
“Sentient Beings’ Secret Realm?” Jiang Li disregarded the system rewards, which were not worth much. Instead, the Sentient Beings’ Secret Realm reminded him of some events.
The Sentient Beings’ Secret Realm was well-known in the Nine States. The Secret Realm contained numerous legacies left by the Immortal Realm Buddhas, Bodhisattvas and Arhats. The Fragrant Elephant Bodhisattva obtained the cultivation method for Heavenly Vision here, the Dragon Tamer Arhat obtained the Dragon Tamer Arhat legacy here, and the Tiger Tamer Arhat obtained the Tiger Tamer Arhat legacy here.
Five hundred years ago, Jiang Li and Saintess Pure Heart went to this Secret Realm. However, just as he was about to enter the Secret Realm, he was expelled by a certain Arhat, who reasoned that Jiang Li had killed too many beasts in the White Marsh Dynasty, and that went against the Heavenly Order and was disrespectful to Buddhism.
Annoyed, Jiang Li debated with the Arhat, saying that the beasts attacked first when he entered the White Marsh Dynasty, and he was just defending himself. But, the Arhat said Jiang Li could defend himself but it was not necessary to kill the beasts.
Jiang Li accused the Arhat of being presumptuous, and the Arhat criticized Jiang Li for being cruel, as he did not consider the beasts he killed. The two quarreled for several days, and by the time the Sentient Beings’ Secret Realm closed, they had not yet resolved their dispute. Jiang Li then lost the opportunity to enter the Sentient Beings’ Secret Realm.
Thinking this was unfair, Saintess Pure Heart also stayed outside and argued with the Arhat along with Jiang Li.
After hearing about the incident later on, the Venerable Samyak Buddha reprimanded the Arhat for going too far. He gave Jiang Li and Yu Yin some Buddhist scriptures and heavenly treasures as compensation.
Later, when Jiang Li became a candidate for the Human Emperor, he did not think much about the Sentient Beings’ Secret Realm and did not visit it when it opened again.
As for the Arhat who argued with him, he died two hundred years ago.
“Then let’s make a trip.”
Jiang Li didn’t know what the legacy of Manjusri Bodhisattva was. According to the ancient records, Manjusri Bodhisattva was in charge of wisdom, so his legacy might be related to wisdom.