Chapter 1 Up Comes the Question "Is Your Mom Home?"

In the underworld, countless resentful spirits were stunned.

In the Buddhist realm, countless monks were dumbfounded.

To come right out and ask if someone's mom was home?

Was it really necessary to be so savage?

But after thinking about it, it made sense; to catch the bandits, first catch the king. The Ghost Emperor's mother was indeed the king.

"Are you seeking death?"

The Ghost Emperor's voice thundered, a terrifying imperial aura spreading out, his eyes flashing with ominous light.

He was a Ghost Emperor, one of the Ten Great Ghost Emperors of the entire underworld, able to shatter the void with a flick of his hand, and make the firmament tremble with a single thought. Yet now, Lu Changsheng dared to speak to him like this? How could he not be enraged?

Lu Changsheng, however, was stunned.

Weren't you the one who started with the memes?

You like to play, I'll play with you.

"Nay, nay, I am here to offer you salvation."

Lu Changsheng said, his expression calm as he looked at the Ghost Emperor.

"Salvation? Over the years, countless people have wanted to come to the underworld to offer me salvation, but every one of them was saved by me instead. What do you have to save me, Huangdu Ghost Emperor, with?"

Huangdu Ghost Emperor laughed loudly. In truth, he had wanted to slap Lu Changsheng to death, but the underworld was too boring. Though he was a Ghost Emperor, the influence of the Buddhist realm kept the underworld's ghosts from leaving.

He had been in the underworld for countless years, spanning several eras. And in the underworld, only the Immortal Kings had some wisdom; the rest of the ghosts had none at all.

Over the long years, Huangdu Ghost Emperor had truly become bored. Now, seeing Lu Changsheng, he naturally wanted to say a few words.

Of course, the main reason was that after Lu Changsheng descended into the underworld, he didn't immediately try to save the resentful spirits, unlike Bodhi Wisdom and South Bright Glazed Light, who saw resentful spirits as a merchant saw treasure, unsightly in their greed.

On the contrary, Lu Changsheng was quite good. Landing here, he was calm and composed, and of course, extremely handsome. So Huangdu Ghost Emperor didn't choose to attack directly, but wanted to chat with Lu Changsheng.

Hearing Huangdu Ghost Emperor's voice, Lu Changsheng put his palms together, a smile in his eyes.

"Salvation through love."

Lu Changsheng said with a calm smile.

Huangdu Ghost Emperor: "..."

Boom!

Huangdu Ghost Emperor lost his temper. He reached out his hand, and a terrifying imperial power descended. He would directly kill Lu Changsheng; this man had gone mad with the memes and couldn't be allowed to live.

But just then, the Xuanhuang Pagoda of Heaven and Earth appeared.

The pagoda was ten thousand zhang tall, blooming with immeasurable merit light. Within the ninety-nine and eighty-one layers of the pagoda, a figure sat in meditation, embodying Buddha, Tao, and Confucianism. They chanted ancient scriptures, offering salvation to all.

Countless resentful spirits around were directly and forcibly saved under the illumination of the light of merit, without any fancy tricks.

Huangdu Ghost Emperor's giant palm descended, and nine Immortal Cauldrons appeared, forcibly blocking Huangdu Ghost Emperor's attack.

In an instant, Lu Changsheng's strength also exploded.

The aura of the Three Thousand Great Daos surrounded him, a green lotus beneath his feet, and the Bodhi Divine Tree emerged behind him, evolving into an unsurpassed Pure Land. Countless resentful spirits were forcibly saved in an instant.

Strands of white light merged into the Bodhi Divine Tree, turning into nourishment. However, this kind of salvation wasn't about killing the resentful spirits, but about letting them let go of their obsessions and no longer be burdened by karma.

"Innate merit treasure?"

Huangdu Ghost Emperor instantly sensed the terror of this Xuanhuang Pagoda of Heaven and Earth. Although it was an Immortal King artifact, in his eyes, it was even more terrifying than the Nine Cauldrons.

Ghosts and demons themselves feared this kind of extremely yang and upright object, especially since the Xuanhuang Pagoda was of innate quality and possessed unparalleled divine effects.

And the most terrifying thing was that Lu Changsheng's strength was no weaker than his own. Coupled with these imperial artifacts, to be honest, he wasn't even fifty percent sure he could defeat Lu Changsheng.

Thinking of this, Huangdu Ghost Emperor wanted to escape this place.

But just then, Lu Changsheng's voice slowly rang out.

"Huangdu Ghost Emperor, don't you want to settle your karma?"

Lu Changsheng's voice echoed, making Huangdu Ghost Emperor pause.

He looked at Lu Changsheng, but his eyes soon revealed a look of disgust.

"You righteous cultivators are full of lies. What salvation? It's nothing more than persuading people to let go of their obsessions and forget love and hate. It's utterly ridiculous. My karma, my obsessions, are as vast as the Nine Hells. You want to save me? It's simply impossible."

Huangdu Ghost Emperor said, constantly in a state of rage, his eyes full of disgust as he looked at Lu Changsheng.

In his eyes, these righteous cultivators came to the underworld just to save resentful spirits and gain merit, nothing more.

What bullshit about letting go of obsessions, what bullshit about settling karma?

It was just making him forget these obsessions and karma. But if he forgot these obsessions and karma, then why would he still be in this underworld? He might as well truly dissipate and disappear.

Huangdu Ghost Emperor didn't believe Lu Changsheng at all, but he didn't choose to escape immediately because Lu Changsheng didn't show any intention of attacking.

On the contrary, Lu Changsheng was only defending, not attacking.

However, Huangdu Ghost Emperor had already sent a message to the other nine Ghost Emperors. He alone couldn't subdue Lu Changsheng. He would call a few more Ghost Emperors over to help, and he refused to believe that they couldn't suppress one Lu Changsheng.

"Your obsession is extremely deep, but you never tell anyone. Why not speak your obsession? If I can save you, I will take action. If I can't save you, I will leave. What do you say?"

Lu Changsheng said calmly.

In fact, from the moment Lu Changsheng arrived in the underworld, he was very clear that it was almost impossible to rely on one Scripture of Salvation to save all the resentful spirits in the underworld.

The number of resentful spirits in the underworld, added together, was more than all the living beings in the other five realms. To put it bluntly, even if Bodhi Wisdom and South Bright Glazed Light were to offer salvation here for ten thousand years, they wouldn't even be able to save one percent.

And with every breath, a large number of resentful spirits would appear in the underworld.

Because there was constant strife in the five realms, the speed of salvation couldn't keep up with the speed of growth. It was almost impossible to truly eliminate the resentment in the underworld.

That's why Lu Changsheng would start with the Ghost Emperors first. Only after saving all ten Ghost Emperors of the underworld would he have a chance to truly save the other resentful spirits.

Huangdu Ghost Emperor looked at Lu Changsheng. For a moment, he was silent.

But soon, he transformed into a human form, a middle-aged man, very burly, wearing bronze armor.

"Alright, I can let you know my past, but if you can't save me, don't even think about leaving the underworld."

Huangdu Ghost Emperor didn't sincerely want Lu Changsheng to save him; he was just stalling for time, stalling until the other Ghost Emperors arrived, and then they would join forces to suppress Lu Changsheng, that was all.

"I'm all ears."

Lu Changsheng smiled lightly, then sat down directly. The Shanti beside him lay beside Lu Changsheng; after all, with Lu Changsheng around, he wasn't afraid at all.

But Shanti didn't speak, but waited for Huangdu Ghost Emperor to speak and tell his story.

Seeing Lu Changsheng so calm, and coupled with that handsome face that even he couldn't help but look at a few more times, for some reason, the hostility in Huangdu Ghost Emperor's heart lessened a lot.

Immediately, Huangdu Ghost Emperor also sat down and looked at Lu Changsheng, slowly saying,

"Once, in the human realm, there was a country called the Great Ying Dynasty. This country was extremely powerful, with a million soldiers, sweeping across the surrounding ten countries, only because this dynasty not only had the best weapons."

"But more importantly, this Great Ying Dynasty had an invincible Great General. This Great General was the Great General in the hearts of countless people of the Great Ying Dynasty, and a peerless general in the eyes of civil and military officials."

"Not only was his martial power the best in the world, but he was also highly talented, with both military and political strategies, a peerless genius in governing the country."

"And this Great General didn't seek fame, didn't seek wealth, only hoped for peace in the world. And he understood very well that if he wanted peace in the world, he must unify the ten countries, otherwise, there would be endless wars between the ten countries, and countless people would die every day."

"Every day, the tragedy of white-haired people sending off black-haired people would happen."

"Finally, when this Great General was fifty years old, he helped the Great Ying Dynasty complete the unification of the world. He planned to retire and not participate in politics, but the emperor of the Great Ying Dynasty was old and had all kinds of suspicions about him."

"He was worried that one day, after he died, the crown prince would be weak, and this Great General would overthrow the Great Ying Dynasty. But this Great General had a very high reputation in the dynasty, and it could even be said that his merits overshadowed his lord."

"So the emperor of the Great Ying Dynasty came up with a poisonous plan, to let this Great General deal with the nobles of the ten countries, whether to kill or keep them, let this Great General handle it."

"Once this Great General killed the nobles of the ten countries, it would inevitably attract countless scoldings, but if he didn't kill them, the nobles of the ten countries would still be hidden dangers, and the world would never return to peace."

"The emperor knew, he understood, so he let the Great General solve this matter. The current crown prince also knew, although he was weak, he respected this Great General very much, and regarded him as an admired hero from the bottom of his heart."

"So the crown prince told the Great General about this matter, hoping that the Great General would not take over this matter."

"Even the civil and military officials knew that whoever advocated killing would be a sinner for eternity. The nobles of the ten countries surrendered to Ying in the first place because they wanted to live. If they violated it, they would inevitably violate the laws of heaven. But in the end, the Great General appeared."

"He took over this matter. At noon the next day, two million, four hundred and fifty-six thousand, seven hundred and eighty-six heads fell to the ground. The moment the heads fell to the ground, the sky changed color, with wind and rain, like a hell on earth."

"The entire Great Ying Dynasty was also punished by heaven. The Great Ying emperor died suddenly that day, and the crown prince ascended the throne. From the civil and military officials to the common people, they all said that the Great General should be sentenced to death."

"In fact, everyone knew that if the nobles of the ten countries didn't die, they would always be hidden dangers, and the Great Ying Dynasty could not truly sit firmly. But everyone understood that whoever advocated killing must violate the laws of heaven, so the Great General was sentenced to death."

"Death by a thousand cuts."

"But the Great General was not afraid, because he had made all the preparations. The only requirement for him to take over this matter was to let his family go. The old emperor had promised him, so he was relieved to do it."

"However, the old emperor's posthumous edict appeared. The edict said that if the nobles of the ten countries died, the one who advocated killing would have his nine generations exterminated!"

"At this moment, the Great General was angry, because he had agreed with the old emperor before, but no one would listen to his explanation."

"Because everyone knew that the emperor was the most ruthless since ancient times. The nobles of the ten countries, more than two million lives, could not be borne by the Great General alone, and his nine generations must be exterminated."

"Only by exterminating the nine generations can the anger of the world be appeased, and the anger of the people of the ten countries be appeased. At that moment, the Great General smiled. He knew that he had become a chess piece after all, and he had implicated his family after all."

"On the day of the death by a thousand cuts, all seven hundred and thirty-five members of his family, including their families, were subjected to the pain of flesh scraping and eye gouging. Their wails resounded throughout the capital. Even the Great General's child, who was still in his swaddling clothes, died in their hands."

"At that moment, his hatred soared to the sky."

"He didn't hate the one who killed him, he couldn't hate the people of the ten countries, he only hated the ruthlessness of imperial power, he only hated the ignorance of the world, he only hated that he was soft-hearted after all. He died with hatred, but he lived with hatred."

Huangdu Ghost Emperor said, his emotions were extremely fluctuating when he said this, and the entire sky was blood red.

Those scenes appeared above the sky.

Seven hundred and thirty-five people were scraped of their flesh and gouged out of their eyes, subjected to extreme torture.

A middle-aged man, witnessing his wife, children, relatives and friends screaming, but powerless, could only roar to the sky.

This was indeed extreme hatred.

He had worked hard for the emperor to conquer the country, sacrificed himself for the peace of the world, only wanting to exchange for the well-being of his family.

But he never thought that the emperor would be ruthless, go back on his word, and even watch his wife, children and daughters suffer extreme torture. This scene was unbearable to witness.

Countless resentful spirits roared, and their emotions were also stirred up, roaring again and again.

Millions of miles of sky, blood-colored, extremely terrible.

And in the Great Thunder Ancient Temple.

After seeing this scene, the countless monks also put their palms together.

They chanted ancient scriptures, but it had no effect.

Many monks sighed.

"Huangdu Ghost Emperor has indeed suffered hardship, no wonder he has such a deep obsession, Amitabha, good, good."

"The emperor is ruthless, goes back on his word, Huangdu Ghost Emperor is indeed a pitiful person."

"Loved ones dying like this in front of you, it is indeed painful and unbearable."

The ancient monks spoke, they didn't know what to say.

After all, Huangdu Ghost Emperor's experience was indeed heartbreaking and tearful, and it was precisely because of this kind of obsession that he was able to become a Ghost Emperor.

And in the underworld.

Lu Changsheng sighed.

He was moved, put his palms together, and an Amitabha released endless Buddha light.

But the next moment, Lu Changsheng slowly spoke again.

"The Great General's life was indeed full of misfortune, but after countless years, he has already let go of his obsession."

"Huangdu Ghost Emperor, why don't you let go of your obsession?"

Lu Changsheng's voice echoed.

In an instant, it attracted countless curiosity.

They couldn't understand what Lu Changsheng was saying.

Even Shanti and Huangdu Ghost Emperor didn't understand what Lu Changsheng was saying.

"When did I let go of my obsession?"

Huangdu Ghost Emperor spoke, asking this.

"The Great General did let go of his obsession, but you, the Crown Prince, picked up the obsession."

Lu Changsheng slowly spoke.

The voice echoed.

Countless cultivators were stunned in an instant.

Including Huangdu Ghost Emperor, he was completely stunned.

Silence.

The underworld was silent.

The Buddhist realm was also silent.