Chapter 232: The Past of the Statue, the Painting Given by the Goddess
After listening to Li Daoxuan's story, Lady Green did not speak immediately, but gently twisted her jade hands and began to perform her magic of divination.
Her fingers were as tender as green onions, white as jade, slender and long, flowing with a crystal luster, revealing an indescribable elegance.
After a long time, Lady Green opened her eyes and frowned slightly.
"This journey is extremely dangerous, but there may be a chance of success. If planned properly, we may be able to achieve our goal."
Hearing this, Li Daoxuan was delighted. The Queen's words meant that this action was feasible!
"It's just... I'm afraid there are still many problems with your current plan."
The Empress suddenly said this, leaving Li Daoxuan a little confused.
Then she picked up the brush and gently wrote a few words on the paper - Kill the Hu Order!
"If you want to complete this plan, there are a few things you need to pay special attention to. The first is to find the Killing Hu Order."
Li Daoxuan's expression was stern. Even the Empress said so. It seemed that it was indeed necessary to find the Killing Hu Order.
The empress wrote down a few more words - Taoist Zhou.
"This person is hiding something. What he said is both true and false. We must be on guard."
Li Daoxuan frowned. It seemed that this Taoist Zhou was not as honest as he appeared.
"The third one is the girl named Momo."
When the queen said this name, her eyes flickered slightly, and no one knew what she was thinking.
Just when Li Daoxuan thought she had finished, the empress continued, "The fourth is the statue of Shentu and Yulei."
Li Daoxuan was a little surprised. He didn't expect there was this.
"My lady, those two statues sometimes suddenly turn their heads. Why is that?"
The green-clothed lady looked at him and said calmly, "Do you really think that's just a statue?"
Li Daoxuan was stunned. For some reason, he felt a chill on his back.
"Those two statues were not carved out of stone, but were the flesh of Shentu and Yulei. Even after countless years, they still retain some residual divinity."
"Also, when they turned their heads, they were not looking at you, but at the peach tree."
"peach?"
Li Daoxuan was confused and asked, "My Lady, what is going on? Could it be that the peach tree is not dead yet? "
Lady Qingyi sighed and said, "This is a very old story. I also saw it by chance in an ancient book. I didn't expect that everything is true."
"In ancient times, Mount Dushuo was actually the underworld. No matter whether it was a human or an animal, their souls would enter the mountain after death and would not enter reincarnation."
"Later, as the number of souls of the dead in Dushuo Mountain increased, it could no longer accommodate them, so the Jade Emperor ordered the construction of the Ghost Gate, perfecting the underworld and the six realms of reincarnation. From that time on, Dushuo Mountain gradually declined."
"But a new problem has also arisen. That is, the road to the underworld is very long, and many dead souls will choose to sneak back to the world of the living. The Jade Emperor is going to select two gods to guard the gates of hell and prevent the dead souls from escaping."
Li Daoxuan's eyes moved, and he said, "So Shentu and Yulei were chosen?"
Lady Qingyi shook her head and said, "Yes and no."
"No one was willing to accept the task of guarding the dark gates of hell for eternity, and the immortals passed the buck to each other. The Jade Emperor had no choice but to use his own blood and bones to create two children, and named them Shentu and Yulei."
Li Daoxuan was shocked. Shentu and Yulei were actually the descendants of the Jade Emperor!
He possesses the bloodline and magical powers of Erlang Shen. In other words, isn't he a relative of Shentu and Yulei now?
However, Shentu and Yulei look very ugly and ferocious. It seems that the Jade Emperor is not as dexterous as Nuwa, and the children he created are not very good-looking. Of course, it may also be because he didn't put enough effort into it.
Li Daoxuan could imagine the fate of these two children.
Although he possesses the blood of the Emperor of Heaven, he is destined to guard the gates of hell for generations to come, doing a job that other gods hate and despise.
"The Jade Emperor ordered the divine bird to bring the two children to Mount Dushuo and put them under a peach tree. He ordered the Peach God to take good care of them, raise them up, and then guard the Gate of Hell forever."
"The Peach Goddess treated them as her own children, growing peaches to satisfy their hunger, cutting tree sap to quench their thirst, and protecting them from wind and rain. She was very attentive to them, and Shentu and Yulei also regarded the Peach Goddess as their mother."
"When they grew up, the Jade Emperor ordered them to guard the Gate of Hell. Shentu and Yulei were reluctant at first, but after being persuaded by the Peach God, they finally compromised. From then on, the world was at peace, and no ghosts escaped again."
Li Daoxuan sneered in his heart. If he were Shentu and Yulei, how could he let it go? He would definitely cause some trouble.
As expected, the empress continued, "Not long after, they got tired of this boring guarding job. After learning about the prosperity of the human world from the mouths of the dead, they began to yearn for the outside world. Later, they began to sneak into the human world, starting from three to five days, then three to five years, and the time became longer and longer."
"The Peach God saw it and reminded them many times, but they ignored it. They even said that they were just a peach tree with a lowly origin. Why should they control them who have the blood of the Heavenly Emperor?"
Li Daoxuan secretly sighed, it seems that even gods have a rebellious period.
When they were young, they regarded Peach God as their mother, but as they grew up, they learned that they were descendants of the noble Emperor of Heaven, and they began to look down on Peach God, perhaps because they were afraid of being laughed at by others.
He had a vague feeling that there might be a huge turning point next.
"The Peach God was very sad, but he could do nothing. Until one day, Shen Tu and Yu Lei left again. The ghosts took the opportunity to riot. 100,000 evil spirits escaped from the gates of hell and returned to the world of the living, causing disasters one after another."
"When the Jade Emperor received the news, he was furious and prepared to execute Shen Tu and Yu Lei. At this time, the Peach God did something and saved their lives."
"What's up?"
The empress showed a trace of emotion in her eyes, and said: "The Peach God was born in Dushuo Mountain. She has a strong attraction to ghosts. In order to make up for the mistakes of Shentu and Yulei, she chose to sacrifice herself and bloom all her life essence. The peach branches within three thousand miles are all full of peach blossoms, exuding fragrance, attracting 100,000 evil spirits in the world of the living."
"Those evil spirits devoured her body like crazy, sucking her life essence. Eventually, they all became drunk and were locked up in the underworld again. However, the Peach God was already covered in wounds and was on the verge of death."
Li Daoxuan was silent. He recalled the peach tree on Mount Dushuo that was riddled with holes. Not a single piece of bark was intact, as if it had been swarmed by a swarm of locusts.
His heart was moved.
Three thousand miles of peach blossoms are in full bloom, so magnificent, but it is a mother's last beauty.
As a god, if she really wanted to resist, why would she be afraid of a mere evil spirit?
Just to make up for her child's mistake, she chose to endure it silently and watched herself being eaten by the evil spirit bit by bit.
She was born in a humble family and was a minor god. She could only use this method to appease the wrath of the Emperor of Heaven and save her children.
"Later, the Emperor of Heaven was moved by her and released Shen Tu and Yu Lei, saying that if they could guard the Ghost Gate for one year without any mistakes, they could revive the Peach God."
"Shen Tu and Yu Lei cried loudly in front of their mother's corpse. In order to express their wish to revive their mother, they took the initiative to turn themselves into stone statues to guard her forever. As long as the peach blossoms did not bloom, the statues would not come alive."
"From then on, there were no more mistakes at the Ghost Gate. However, someone discovered that every Shen time, which was the time when the Peach God died, the stone statues of Shen Tu and Yu Lei would turn their heads and look towards Mount Dushuo, as if to see if there were any peach blossoms in bloom."
After hearing this story, Li Daoxuan remained silent for a long time.
So this is the secret of Mount Dushuo.
This is actually a tragedy. Even if Shentu and Yulei guarded the Yuanhui without any mistakes, Taoshen was destined to never be resurrected because those gods and Buddhas had disappeared.
If Shentu and Yulei had not turned into stone statues, they would probably have disappeared by now.
This is destined to be a wait that will never yield any results.
"The stone statues of Shentu and Yulei still retain their obsessions. Their divine power still protects Mount Dushuo. This is why the Styx cannot harass you after you enter the mountain."
Li Daoxuan suddenly realized, that's how it is.
"My Lady, why did you say that one of the keys to my plan's success is the statues of Shentu and Yulei?"
This is what Li Daoxuan is most puzzled about. In his plan, there is no mention of these two statues.
Lady Qingyi shook her head and said, "I don't know the specific details, but this is the clue I have deduced."
Li Daoxuan nodded. He knew that the art of divination was not omnipotent and could not calculate everything in detail. The fact that the Empress could calculate so much was already a manifestation of her high level of cultivation.
You have to know that this trip involves the Ghost King Xudu. Uncle Wu Dabao has also calculated it, but he couldn't figure out anything because Xudu is too powerful.
"By the way, Madam, I came here this time to ask for your help. If you can take down the Ghost King of Void Belly, then we can merge the Yellow Spring Realm and the Azure Underworld Realm—"
The lady in green shook her head and said, "I can't go to the underworld with you. The resurrection magic array can't block my aura. Once I show up, Xu Du will definitely wake up."
"My queen, it doesn't matter if Xu Du is awakened. As long as we are strong enough, the worst that can happen is that we can destroy the Yellow Springs Realm!"
"You take the empty belly too lightly."
She sighed softly and said, "None of these old monsters who have lived for thousands of years are easy to deal with. You must not underestimate the enemy."
Li Daoxuan felt a little disappointed. If the Queen did not take action, would he really have the confidence to defeat the Hollow-Dull Ghost King?
"However, I'm only saying that I can't go to the underworld with you, but that doesn't mean I can't help you."
Seeing Li Daoxuan's lost look, Lady Green's eyes softened a little. She sighed softly, waved her sleeves, and handed a scroll to Li Daoxuan.
"This painting must not be opened until you see the true form of the Void Du."
She said in a serious tone.
"My lady, what is painted here?"
"You will understand then. Although I cannot accompany you to the underworld, this painting can accompany you."
"Remember, you can only open this painting after you have seen the true body of Xu Du."
Li Daoxuan was a little confused and was about to continue asking, but he saw the Green-clothed Lady wave her sleeves and a clear light flashed. He felt dizzy and when he came to his senses, he was already standing in the Green-clothed Temple in Yuzhang City.
There was a cloud of incense burning in the temple, and a woman was kneeling devoutly, praying that her husband, who was doing corvée labor, would return safely.
Li Daoxuan looked at the beautiful and holy statue of the goddess, bowed deeply, and then left quietly.
