Chapter 695: Zhong Kui Chews Ghosts, Peach Branch Whips Gods
In the Songzhou military camp, inside the commander's tent, several lieutenant generals stood guard, looking anxiously at the figure in white clothes and a gold belt.
"Master Kong, what happened to General Xue?"
Just now when Xue Rengui fell off the city wall, it was this Taoist Master Kong who rescued him. He looks so young, but I didn't expect that he is actually a Taoist monk.
Li Daoxuan drank the wine and said with a smile: "Don't worry, Lord Di is here, you won't die."
Di Renjie was also proficient in medicine, especially acupuncture. At this moment, he was giving acupuncture to Xue Rengui, with sweat all over his forehead.
After a long time, Di Renjie wiped the sweat off his face, covered Xue Rengui with a quilt, and frowned.
"Master Di, how is General Xue?"
The lieutenant general hurried forward to ask.
Di Renjie sighed lightly, said nothing, and just shook his head.
All the generals turned pale and looked sad.
"He has no pulse or breathing, and his pupils are dilated. General Xue... I'm afraid his time has come."
Xue Rengui fought in battles all year round, always leading the charge. Even though he was a master of martial arts, he suffered many hidden injuries. If he had not taken the elixir and medicinal wine given by Li Daoxuan, he would have not survived until today.
Di Renjie looked gloomy. Songzhou was in danger right now. If the news of Xue Rengui's death were to spread, the military morale that had just been aroused would probably be immediately dispersed.
But life span is determined by fate and cannot be cured by medicine, and he is powerless to change it.
At this moment, Li Daoxuan's voice sounded.
"Brother Di, do you still remember what I said before?"
Di Renjie was stunned and asked, "What?"
"I don't agree. Even the King of Hell wouldn't dare to take him in."
Di Renjie was shocked. Brother Kong meant that there might be a turning point.
"But this King of Hell doesn't give me face. In that case, I have no choice but to go down and ask for the person."
"Go down? Could it be..."
Li Daoxuan nodded, looked at him and smiled: "Brother Di, do you dare to go to the underworld with me to get back Xue Rengui's soul?"
"Let's go and ask that King of Hell, who gave him the courage to recruit my Li...Tang's famous general?"
Di Renjie stared at him in a daze. He was already 62 years old and had experienced the ups and downs of officialdom for a long time. He had long learned to plan before taking action and was no longer as impulsive as he was in his youth.
But at this moment, his blood, which had been dormant for a long time, began to beat again.
“Brother Kong, knowing you is really a dangerous thing.”
He gave a bitter smile, but added something secretly in his heart.
It’s also a lucky thing.
…
The Tibetan army was marching towards Songzhou.
Ming Chongyan also followed the marching team, riding a war horse, observing the stars as he hurried on, constantly calculating with his fingers, his brows gradually furrowed.
Just now, a general star fell in the sky, confirming Xue Rengui's death, but for some reason, he had a feeling of uneasiness.
To this end, he continued to deduce and observe the stars, but did not discover anything.
Everything was going according to the route he had set. Calculating the time, Li Zhi should have woken up by now. Prince Chen and he must be fighting. The Tang Dynasty was now in the midst of a civil war.
Once Tubo occupied the Tang Dynasty, his mission would be complete. By then...
When he thought of this, Ming Chongyan's eyes showed a hint of heat, the feather fan in his hand kept waving, and a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
Li Daoxuan, from now on, your era is over.
In the future, there will only be one national teacher in the world, and that is Ming Chongyan!
…
Huangquan, light boat, and the gate of hell.
The red flowers of the other shore bloomed on both sides of the river, emitting a hazy luster, like a dream, as if they were some distant call, making the soul peaceful and tranquil, and not giving rise to hostility.
Beside the huge Ghost Gate, the stone statues of Shentu and Yulei are no longer there. On the distant Yellow Spring Island, three thousand miles of peach blossoms are blooming silently.
Li Daoxuan stood on the lotus boat that carried the dead souls, with his hands behind his back, a hint of emotion in his eyes, recalling his experience in the underworld that year.
More than sixty years later, I revisited the place.
This place is no longer called the Yellow Spring Realm, but is collectively called the Underworld together with the Blue Dark Realm and the City of the Dead. The surrounding area is full of lotus boats that ferry the souls of the dead, with a white candle lit on them and green ghost fire floating in the air.
Looking around, it was so densely packed that it seemed almost endless.
The underworld today is no longer what it used to be. After Sister Yu came to power, she recruited talents in an unconventional way, re-established the order of the underworld in accordance with the ancient times, and divided the ghost officials into levels, which has some ancient style.
However, she has often been in seclusion in recent years, and her power has been decentralized, so she rarely shows up in public.
In the underworld today, there are three Hades, one demon-slaying marshal, and six judges under Sister Yu. In addition, Po Meng and Xiao Que'er have transcendent identities and are old men from the Qingming world. One is in charge of reincarnation, and the other is in charge of intelligence.
Di Renjie stood beside him, looking at the gloomy scene around him, feeling a little scared.
Seeing Brother Kong smiling and looking very happy, as if he had returned to his own backyard, he couldn't help but ask, "Brother Kong, how sure are you? If not, let's take a long-term view."
This is the underworld after all. Even if Brother Kong has a high level of cultivation, he cannot force his way in. It is best to use wits to defeat him.
Li Daoxuan smiled slightly, pointed upwards and said, "Don't worry, I have someone above me."
Di Renjie was stunned for a moment, and then thought of his background.
Brother Kong had met the Imperial Master and his wife in the past, and the current Ghost Emperor of the Underworld is the woman in red who played chess with the Imperial Master on the top of Wulong Mountain.
It can be considered a bit of a relationship.
I hope that the Ghost King in Red can still give Brother Kong some face.
…
The lotus boat soon arrived at the ferry. A group of ghost officials holding soul-catching ropes and soul-beating sticks had been waiting for a long time, and they escorted the ghosts that had come ashore to the Judgment Bureau.
"The ghosts this time are so poor, none of them are rich, how unlucky!"
A ghost messenger couldn't help but sigh.
When the dead souls come to the underworld, the paper money burned by their relatives in the world of the living will also come with them. Those who are in charge of them can take the opportunity to make a fortune.
Those who pay can receive fewer lashes, or even avoid the use of the soul-cursing rope.
Even if the crime is discovered in the court later, as long as you are willing to pay money, they will try to make the execution as light as possible, or even cut corners.
"Just be content. I heard that among the ghosts just now, there was a white-haired general with a murderous aura. A dozen ghost officers couldn't catch him. In the end, even the King of Hell and the Judge were alarmed and held a personal trial!"
"Tsk tsk, that kind of fierce man, even in the world of the living, he would probably be a big shot..."
"Haha, no matter how great a person is, once he arrives in our underworld, he has to coil up like a dragon. It is said that the white-haired general stole his life span and violated the laws of the underworld. I am afraid he will be in a miserable state!"
Li Daoxuan and Di Renjie looked at each other.
It seems that Xue Rengui's soul has just arrived in the underworld not long ago. As a famous general of the time, he is still very powerful even after death. He actually injured more than a dozen ghost officials and directly alarmed the judge and the King of Hell.
At this time, a ghost saw the two people and stepped forward and said, "You two, why don't you get ashore quickly!"
Di Renjie chuckled and stepped forward to negotiate.
" Young man, may I ask where the white-haired general is now? We are his old friends and would like to catch up with him."
The ghost sneered and said, "How ridiculous! Do you think the underworld is your home and you can see whoever you want? Do you think our underworld rules are just for show?"
Di Renjie calmly handed over a handful of paper money.
The ghost had a righteous look on his face, but his hand in his sleeve quickly took away the money, felt the weight, and whispered, "You have to pay more."
Di Renjie handed over another handful. Before setting off, he had considered this special situation and came prepared.
The ghost took it quickly and said, "Not enough, not enough!"
Di Renjie chuckled and didn't add any more money.
It is easy to see the King of Hell, but it is difficult to deal with little devils.
This kind of person is the most insatiable. If you satisfy them blindly, it will only make them worse.
Sure enough, the next moment, the ghost saw that he didn't add money, his expression suddenly became cold, and he shouted loudly: "You are a living person, right? I have smelled the smell of meat on you a long time ago. A living person actually trespassed into the underworld. I think you are tired of living!"
Soon after, several ghost officials surrounded him with murderous looks in their eyes.
Di Renjie sighed softly and said, "Brother Kong, it seems that you are right. For such a villain, we must give him a warning and use thundering measures."
"I lost, I'm willing to admit defeat."
Di Renjie took out a handful of silver from his pocket and handed it to Li Daoxuan.
Li Daoxuan took it in his arms and said with a smile: "It's great that Di Renjie can lose the bet once!"
After saying that, he suddenly opened his mouth and sucked. Suddenly, a howling hurricane arose in the underworld, and the Yellow Springs was churning up waves like a dragon sucking water.
He actually swallowed the ghost messengers that surrounded him directly into his mouth, and they tasted very crisp when chewed.
"I am Zhong Kui, I am the best at chewing ghosts, especially unscrupulous ghost messengers like you who corrupt the underworld and have bad conduct. They are the fattest and taste the best!"
After saying this, he laughed loudly, and it was like thunder that echoed in the eighteen levels of hell for a long time, shaking the entire underworld.
The other ghost officials had never seen such a horrific scene, and their legs went weak for a moment.
"Please spare my life, Immortal, please spare my life!"
They knew very well that they had provoked a powerful monk.
"Goddess, we are the subordinates of the King of the Wheel of Time. Please, for the King of the Wheel of Time, spare us!"
Originally there were ten Yama Kings in the underworld, but due to limited talent, the Ghost Emperor Chen Ziyu only promoted three, namely King Chujiang, King Taishan and King Zhuanlun.
During his lifetime, the Wheel-Turning King was a cultivator in the Yangshen realm. After his death, he entered the underworld to serve as a god. He performed outstandingly and was promoted to one of the Ten Yama Kings.
However, he was nepotism, liked to form cliques, and had great abilities but not very good work style . He had many conflicts with Guan Yu, who hated evil.
Li Daoxuan looked at these ghost officials and his voice was like thunder.
"Let me ask you, where is the white-haired general now?"
"Replying to the Immortal, in the Tenth Hall, Suying Palace, he is being judged by the Wheel King..."
Li Daoxuan's eyes turned cold. The duties of the Chakravartin were secondary. He usually arranged the fate of the dead souls in the next life and then escorted them to Meng Po. Even if there was to be a trial, it should be King Chujiang and King Taishan. How could it be the Chakravartin?
Thinking back to what the ghost had just said, Xue Rengui had just made a noise, and the judge and the King of Hell were alarmed and quickly took him away.
A sneer appeared on the corner of his mouth. Sure enough, Xue Rengui's death was not accidental, but someone was manipulating it behind the scenes and adding fuel to the fire.
"Who is this demon who dares to break into my underworld?"
"You bold monster, die now!"
"The Yin soldiers line up and shoot arrows!"
The noise Li Daoxuan made just now obviously alarmed the underworld. Countless ghost soldiers rushed over upon hearing the news. The Ox-Headed and Horse-Faced Demons, as well as the Black and White Impermanence also came riding on the wind. A thick ghost aura rose into the sky, and there were shouts of killing.
Li Daoxuan laughed loudly, his voice was like a loud bell, shaking the underworld so much that many ghost soldiers could not stand steadily.
"After many years, I will break into the underworld again today. Haha, I will turn the world upside down!"
The five-colored divine light flashed for a moment, and the thousands of arrows disappeared in an instant, as if they were taken into another world.
The four great generals, Ox-Head and Horse-Face, Black and White Impermanence, came to attack, some looked ferocious and evil, some looked ghostly, and each displayed their magical powers.
"Brother Kong--"
Before Di Renjie could utter the word "heart", he saw four figures flying backwards like cannonballs, creating deep grooves in the underworld.
A piece of silver was deeply embedded in their chests.
The four powerful ghost generals climbed up, coughing up blood, and looked at the figure in white with horror.
As they were ghost cultivators, things like silver could not touch them, but this person threw it casually, and not only did it hit them, it also blasted the four of them away, leaving them with no ability to fight back.
"Who exactly is Your Excellency?"
Li Daoxuan said nothing, but just looked at them calmly. He stretched out his hand, and the three thousand li peach tree on the Yellow Spring Island fell down, broke off a peach branch, and automatically fell into his hand.
Seeing this scene, all the ghost generals' faces changed drastically.
The peach tree on the island is also called the Peach God. It has a transcendent status. Shentu and Yulei, two of the Five Ghost Emperors, were raised by it. She also helped the national teacher Li Daoxuan when he was conquering the Xudu Ghost King.
Why would Tao Shen help an outsider?
"In just a few decades, the atmosphere in the underworld has fallen to this level. They must be punished!"
Li Daoxuan pulled casually, and all the ghost officials wailed in pain, as if they were poured with boiling oil, and smoke was coming out of their bodies.
Di Renjie looked at the figure in white clothes and a golden belt, holding a peach branch and whipping countless ghosts and gods. His heart was shocked, as if he thought of something.
He whispered.
"Brother Kong... who are you?"
