Chapter 1 Finally

Finally, the sensation of falling gradually disappeared. The whistling wind in his ears lessened, and Hu Ma landed on solid ground.

Or, rather, it wasn't the ground. It was just that the weight had finally become light enough that Hu Ma had the feeling of stepping onto something.

To describe it accurately, it was like a person who had fallen into water had finally reached the bottom of the lake. He could stand, but it was different from standing on real, living earth.

It was only then that he slowly raised the lantern in his hand and used its faint light to look around.

The moment he raised his eyes, he immediately felt waves of Yin energy washing over them.

It was sour and cold, as if wet mud had gotten into his eye sockets, making them feel swollen and extremely uncomfortable. He could only feel clumps of black mist constantly spreading and gathering before him.

After several attempts, blurry images finally appeared before his eyes, startling him.

"This... is the Yin realm?"

Humans have three souls. Those that remain in the Yang realm are mostly guardian souls. The destination of the reincarnating soul is the realm of the dead, also known as the Yin realm.

Although he was a descendant of the Zou Gui (Ghost Walker) lineage and managed the Zhen Sui Fu (Evil Suppression Bureau), which suppressed both the Yin and Yang realms, it was only now that Hu Ma had truly entered the Yin realm for the first time.

Finding it novel, he used the white lantern in his hand to see that his surroundings were filled with misty, cold fog, damp and chilly, with visibility almost nonexistent.

Above, he couldn't see the sky. Below, he couldn't see the ground. He felt completely enveloped, unable to move freely.

The lantern in his hand could only illuminate a pitifully small area. Further away, he could only see vague shadows, and his ears seemed to be submerged in a lake.

There were muffled sounds, and occasionally some faint noises. Everything felt unreal.

Looking down at himself, however, felt very real. But for some reason, his arms were heavy, and even his sleeves had been inexplicably lengthened, almost dragging on the ground.

Hu Ma raised his hand and looked into his sleeve, only to see that it was filled with gold, silver, and copper coins.

"Did the old nanny burn these for me earlier?"

He instinctively gasped, only to realize that he couldn't breathe properly here. The breathing ability of a living person didn't exist here.

Instead, whenever he had such a need, a wisp of hot air would be exhaled from his heart, and the stuffiness would disappear.

But Hu Ma could also clearly feel that a trace of his Four Pillars cultivation was also disappearing, burned away.

"When a living person arrives in the Yin realm, every action, every movement, every breath, must be paid for."

"When mortals come down, they pay with their lives, so the time must be strictly limited. After a long time, they can't go back up."

"When people from the trade come down, they also need to pay with their Daoist cultivation. Although they can stay longer than mortals, they still can't go back up after a long time."

"..."

"..."

While adapting, he slowed his breathing and stepped forward.

As he walked, he felt the surrounding damp, cold Yin mist ripple like water, and he gradually saw more things around him.

The countless blurry, distorted shadows around him gradually came into view.

Only then did Hu Ma see clearly that there were so many people around him. Some were riding donkeys, some were sitting in sedan chairs, and some were dragging their legs, crawling on the ground.

The majestic ones were surrounded by teams of soldiers, marching silently.

The miserable ones wore shackles, with knives stuck in their bodies, and some even carried their own heads in their hands, stepping forward silently.

Each one was different, but what they had in common was that most of them were wearing shrouds and round hats, and their clothes had a paper-like texture.

The donkeys they rode, the sedan chairs they sat in, and even the maids and servants around them all seemed to be made of paper, but they wore stiff smiles on their faces, obediently following along.

"These are all newly dead people?"

Before preparing to handle this matter, Hu Ma had inquired with Er Guo Tou (Second Pot), and roughly understood some things about the Yin realm.

Most of those who entered the Yin realm were dead people, but some had died a long time ago, and some had died recently.

Newly dead people would be accustomed to walking on the ground like himself. Those who had died for a long time would become lighter and lighter, their feet not touching the ground, only able to float.

And these dead people didn't actually know where they were going. Unless the Yin messengers came to lead them, or the City God summoned them, they would just keep wandering aimlessly through the thick fog.

Unable to reincarnate, unable to be reborn.

Hu Ma was, after all, a living person, and he had a purpose. He naturally walked faster than those around him. Suddenly, he heard a "ding-dong" sound.

It was the copper bell on his wrist, shaking as he walked.

In this silent world, the sound was particularly piercing. All the surrounding Yin souls stopped at once.

Raising pale, stiff faces devoid of any blood, they turned their heads woodenly and looked at him.

Hu Ma frowned, then tore off the bell and threw it on the ground.

Wu Jia Pi (A Five-Additives Decoction) had explained very clearly that Granny Xue was definitely going to harm people.

Although sending people down and then taking them back up wouldn't be a big deal, if it was discovered by the Yin messengers, the sin would be great. The boils on her body would probably double.

But if she only sent people down and didn't take them back up, it would be easier.

She could both earn benefits from the living and easily explain things to the Yin messengers. More importantly, she could bribe them.

The gold and silver were indeed burned to him, but they were meant for him to lend to her friends. And this bell was to make it easier for people to find him.

...

...

He wasn't afraid. After all, he had a lot of skills, and Er Guo Tou would soon come down to find him. He casually threw away the bell and was about to continue forward, to get a feel for the scenery of the Yin realm.

But he didn't expect that after only a few steps, a rolling Yin wind suddenly blew in front of him, and gusts of mist rose, with fierce ghost shadows floating.

"The bell rang, the bell rang..."

"Granny Xue's great gift has arrived! Where is it? Where is it?"

"..."

Looking up, the Yin souls walking on the ground were trembling with fear.

And in the distance, the misty Yin fog was stirred up by something. Vague shadows were seen, with figures of varying heights and sizes, gathering from all directions.

Some wore long robes and hats with wings, some wore opera costumes with white faces, and some had three heads, propping themselves up on the ground with their arms.

Pairs of eyes like copper bells opened wide, glaring fiercely. Through the cold mist, the little ghosts in the middle were frightened and cried out.

Those still walking on the ground in the Yin realm were mostly new souls, who were the targets of evil ghosts. Unlike Hu Ma, who had come down directly, they had come through the Gates of Hell, and had already been exploited once. The little bit of gold, silver, and paper money they had left was only to lessen their suffering in the Yin realm. If they were robbed now, then for the long years to come, they could only...

Even if they wanted the people above to burn some more down, they would have to wait until the Ghost Festival to send a dream to deliver the message...

For a time, everyone was frightened and shouted, "Yin Messenger, Yin Messenger..."

"Come and take care of this!"

"..."

But it was their bad luck. Being able to sneak down here meant that this was a place where anything went, and no one was in charge.

And above them, the various ghost shadows came closer, straining their necks to look towards the middle, as if searching for something.

The little ghosts beside them also shouted, "He threw the bell away, he threw the bell away..."

"Grandpa, Grandma, it's right in front, but we can't find it..."

"..."

The group of ghost shadows clearly came to find Hu Ma, but because Hu Ma threw away the bell, they couldn't find him for a while. Anxious, they all laughed strangely:

"You can't escape, you can't escape..."

"..."

As he spoke, an evil ghost wearing a blue robe suddenly leaned forward. His blood-red mouth suddenly opened, and a howling wind rose. The incense energy from the surrounding new ghosts was drawn out, strand by strand, and flew into his mouth.

"Aiya ya..."

Seeing this, the other ghost shadows, fearing that he would eat it all himself, also opened their mouths wide, competing for the incense energy.

Even the little ghosts surrounding these tall ghost shadows revealed greedy looks and took the opportunity to rush into the circle, pouncing on the terrified Yin souls.

Some grabbed their sleeves, taking out the gold and silver ingots from their sleeves, desperately stuffing them into their own arms.

Others pounced directly on the newly dead Yin souls, taking a bite. The big ghosts ate the meat, the little ghosts drank the soup, and not a bit of the incense energy and popularity remaining on these new souls was left.

The group of Yin souls suffered a great disaster, with no power to resist, only crying and chaos.

"Hmph!"

But at this moment, Hu Ma snorted coldly, his face sinking.

He had just been watching. Each of these evil ghosts in the Yin realm had no small amount of magical power. If they climbed to the surface, each of them would probably be considered a ghost king.

Without top-notch skills in the Yin realm, no one would even think about taking on such a thing.

And such ghost kings were rare in the Yang realm. If there were one or two in a state, the people would be living in misery.

But in this Yin realm, there were so many at once?

However, he didn't care. A Shousui Ren (Year Keeper) can walk the Yin realm in the flesh because the Shousui Ren has a strong foundation. Living people dare not provoke him, and when he arrives...

In his cold snort, soul energy surged, revealing his Da Wei Tian Gong (Great Might Heavenly Duke) General Seal Dharma Image.

He had originally thought of acting low-key, only using three parts of his strength. But he didn't expect that when this soul energy surged, the Yin wind suddenly stirred, sweeping in all directions, and a fierce god appeared on his body.

He was as tall as seven or eight zhang, more than twice as tall as those gathering evil ghosts. With a blue face and fangs, he had four arms.

Two hands were clenched into fists, and two hands were open. A pair of fierce eyes opened, mostly white with little black, full of eerie darkness. His mouth was a grin, like a blood basin, devouring human flesh.

"Aiya..."

Hu Ma himself was stunned. How could using the Da Wei Tian Gong General Dharma Image in the Yin realm have a feeling of overwhelming, uncontrollable evil?

But before he could think about it, he had to fight these evil ghosts of the Yin realm, to make a quick decision, so as not to attract the Yin messengers.

Unexpectedly, when his Dharma Image appeared, there was a deathly silence all around. An invisible fear seemed to make all sounds disappear, and it spread rapidly in all directions.

Wherever it passed, there was a cold, fearful chill, as if an invisible hand had grabbed countless necks.

The next moment, ghost shadows scattered and Yin souls dissipated, with cries of horror:

"Heavenly Grandpa..."

"The Big-Bellied Ghost King is back! He's really here to swallow the underworld..."