: Charging into the Underworld

Author: Gu Zhenren

July 11, 2025

At this moment, the solid ground shook violently.

The defensive formation of White Paper Immortal City activated at full power, drawing in the dark waters of the Underworld Serpent River.

Millions of tons of Underworld Serpent River water, mixed with boundless Yin energy and blended with the ink river waters within White Paper Immortal City, formed a swirling "mountain" of black water!

This black water mountain lifted the entire White Paper Immortal City, like a giant whale raising its head.

Within a dozen breaths, the once flat-surfaced immortal city transformed into a mountain city.

Black Water Mountain White Paper City!

Heaven and earth changed colors, dark clouds churned.

The previously opened southern gate had long since slammed shut, creating a situation of closing the gate to beat the dog.

Luo Si's tent erupted in chaos!

Xie Sichao's expression changed drastically, anxiously muttering, "There's actually such a change!"

Many ghost generals felt a chill run through their bodies.

They even suspected that the earlier ease with which the Mourning Music Wraith opened the southern gate was a setup.

A ploy by White Paper Immortal City to bait the hook.

Now, the numerous Golden Core level ghost generals and the three Death Bone Colossi were the fish lured in!

With the gate closed, only the Path of Silent Return remained.

"Should we pull them back or continue sending reinforcements?" Everyone looked at Luo Si.

At this point, they suddenly realized that Luo Si, who had advocated caution earlier, was right; the vanguard general's proactive attack was a rash move.

Under the expectant gazes of the crowd, Luo Si remained motionless, offering no response.

He was merely observing.

Inside the Paper Giant, Ning Zhuo's eyes gleamed with sharp light.

He too felt a surge of pleasant surprise, recognizing the earlier situation as a trap.

"This fits the current City Lord's style perfectly. She used everyone, including me, as pawns!"

For the sake of her grand scheme, any pawn could be sacrificed.

"Mother, if we take out the Mourning Music Wraith now and eliminate the retreat path, we can swallow this crucial enemy force whole!" Ning Zhuo exclaimed excitedly.

However, the Buddhist Physician, Meng Yaoyin, still kept her eyes tightly shut, communicating only through divine sense: "Little Zhuo, stay calm."

"Now is not the right moment for us to act."

"Rest assured, the City Lord will definitely make her move!"

"The River of Forgetfulness Prefect setting White Paper Immortal City as his blood sacrifice target was inevitable."

"This created a connection of fate between him and the current City Lord, ensuring a fierce conflict."

After a pause, the Buddhist Physician, Meng Yaoyin, continued: "We... need to wait patiently."

"Wait for the opportunity... that belongs to us."

"Only by disrupting... the River of Forgetfulness Prefect's century-long scheme can we truly end this... catastrophe and allow the city's people to live... peaceful lives."

Ning Zhuo was startled: "Mother?!"

He noticed that the Buddhist Physician, Meng Yaoyin's divine sense transmission was becoming intermittent.

This scene was quite familiar in his memory.

Previously, when the Buddhist Physician, Meng Yaoyin showed such signs, they rapidly worsened until she lost her senses and became uncommunicative.

Now, this process had shortened far too much.

It hadn't been long, yet the Buddhist Physician, Meng Yaoyin already showed signs of being unable to hold on.

White Paper Immortal City.

City Lord's Manor.

The City Lord's main body was also quietly waiting for Luo Si's next military order.

No withdrawal, no reinforcements.

The City Lord's main body wore a gloomy expression, sneering inwardly: "That enemy general is somewhat interesting."

Since the vanguard general and the others insisted on rushing in and had charged through the southern gate, withdrawing troops now was meaningless.

Compassion has no place in commanding troops!

Luo Si's lack of orders was itself a command: for them to continue playing the role of bait, luring White Paper Immortal City into showing more of its hand.

Luo Si needed to see White Paper Immortal City's true strength.

"Then let you have a look." Seeing that she couldn't lure more enemy combat power, the City Lord's main body immediately threw out a ruler.

The ruler transformed into a beam of light, piercing through the sky, arriving above the southern gate battlefield in just a few breaths.

The ruler hovered motionless in mid-air, drawing many gazes.

It was three feet, six inches, and five-tenths long, warm and smooth all over, a deep cyan color. The ruler body was straight and rigid, both sides densely covered with fine lines resembling crackled porcelain patterns, seemingly chaotic yet containing a certain aesthetic appeal.

The ruler surface emitted a faint, almost imperceptible layer of grayish-white Primordial Chaos energy, like a thin veil over green jade, with energy threads emitting extremely faint rustling sounds as they moved.

Primordial Chaos Dispersal Ruler!

The next moment, Primordial Chaos energy gushed out, mingling with the jade light from the ruler body, shooting towards the Mourning Music Wraith.

Ghost General Yan Wei stepped forward, blocking the path in front of the Mourning Music Wraith. A strong sense of foreboding made him immediately erect his strongest lifelong defense.

But as soon as the Primordial Chaos jade light touched him, it dispersed his form, separating him into a stream of Yin energy, a Golden Core, three Hun souls, and six Po souls.

The magical treasures, weapons, and other equipment he wore all scattered to the ground.

Primordial Chaos: the beginning of substance, not yet formed into a body; Dispersal: the end of calamity, returning to the Great Void!

Just as described by the poem on the back of the jade ruler: Green jade measures calamity's number, Primordial Chaos returns to dust.

Ghost General Yan Wei had no power to resist, disintegrating and perishing on the spot.

This scene sent a chill through everyone, who instinctively retreated, wanting to put distance between themselves and this terrifying treasure ruler!

Only the vanguard general roared, advancing instead of retreating: "Protect the Mourning Music Wraith!!"

The generals of the Yin soldier army quickly reacted; with the southern gate closed, only the Path offered a quick escape.

So, they steeled themselves and swarmed forward to protect the Mourning Music Wraith.

They shouted, "Quick, adjust the Path's direction so we can get out."

It turned out this Path of Silent Return was a one-way channel, allowing travel in only one direction: either from outside the city in, or from inside the city out.

But the Mourning Music Wraith remained expressionless and unresponsive.

As they spoke, the Primordial Chaos Dispersal Ruler released its mysterious light again, illuminating the surrounding area.

The ghost generals were horrified; even with their full defense, those within the range of the mysterious light were disintegrated and dispersed, their numerous magical treasures and weapons breaking apart into various components.

The Mourning Music Wraith was among them, leaving only scattered, separated Hun and Po souls, and a Golden Core.

The Path of Silent Return candle, burned down to a small stub, was also decomposed into a pile of wax, wick, and flame.

This astonishing scene silenced the entire battlefield!

The few ghost generals outside the mysterious light's range were shaken, knowing they had narrowly escaped death.

The flame, without wax and wick to sustain it, rapidly shrank, and along with it, the Path also contracted sharply, on the verge of disappearing completely.

Inside the Paper Giant, the Buddhist Physician, Meng Yaoyin opened her eyes and sighed softly, saying to Ning Zhuo, "The time has come, Little Zhuo."

Ning Zhuo hesitated for a moment, then abruptly executed the Cremation Prajna Spirit Release Sutra.

The familiar flames ignited again, this time spreading rapidly from the inside out within the Paper Giant.

Meanwhile, the Buddhist Physician, Meng Yaoyin gently gestured, causing ripples in space.

The next moment, she summoned the magical treasure, the Field Lamp.

This Field Lamp had an octagonal prism shape, standing four feet two inches tall with a diameter of one foot eight inches. Its top tapered into a dome shape, while the bottom was square and flat. The material resembled brass and sandalwood.

The Field Lamp could greatly adjust the local earth energy, creating fertile fields, and could also connect pathways.

During her lifetime, Meng Yaoyin had secretly placed it inside the Paper Giant, using its power and functions to covertly connect several locations in the Underworld.

Each hidden location housed a paper soldier army!

Boom!

The Buddhist Physician, Meng Yaoyin's Golden Core shone brightly, spewing a vast amount of magic power, all channeled into the Field Lamp, causing it to unleash its full power.

It also activated related formations, linking Yin and Yang.

The flames brought by the Cremation Prajna Spirit Release Sutra were now blazing fiercely.

The strange self-immolation of the Paper Giant shocked both friend and foe.

Under the cover of the flames, the Field Lamp's light directly affected this battlefield, causing the Path of Silent Return to suddenly enlarge!

The Path, originally a small trail, abruptly transformed into a swirling black vortex. Within the vortex was a broad, smooth road directly connecting to the Underworld, not the world outside the city.

Amidst the suspicious gazes of everyone, the Paper Giant, engulfed in flames, strode directly into the black vortex, its figure disappearing into the Underworld and vanishing quickly.

Before leaving, it casually swept up several Golden Cores and a pile of disassembled magical treasures and weapons.

"Little Ma!" Qing Chi shouted, without a second thought, leading the charge and following into the Underworld.

The Qing Jiao Army followed closely behind.

"All according to plan." Sun Lingtong, seeing the Qing Jiao Army all charge into the passage, then led the Ox Cavalry to become the third wave entering.

On the Yin soldier army side, the remaining ghost generals quickly reacted and also rushed into the passage.

Luo Si frowned deeply.

This passage leading directly to the Underworld made him sense a conspiracy; he decisively gave the order.

Receiving the new military command, a large number of Headless Ghost Riders within White Paper Immortal City immediately turned and charged into the passage, becoming the fifth wave to enter.

Inside the City Lord's Manor, the City Lord's main body observed all of this.

She frowned, thought for a moment, and remotely directed the Primordial Chaos Dispersal Ruler to strike at the black vortex passage again.

The Primordial Chaos Dispersal Ruler's power was domineering. Just before it could disperse the passage, the Bone Tomb Daoist let out a strange cry, moving like lightning as he desperately squeezed into the passage.

He truly had no other choice!

The situation had changed too quickly.

Once the City Lord's main body made her move, the gains were immense. She was extraordinary herself and, as the City Lord, had the enhancement and amplification of the entire immortal city.

White Paper Immortal City was not like Fire Persimmon Immortal City; the former was created by the Mysterious Plain Scholar for mysterious purposes, almost tailor-made for the City Lord. The latter was built through cooperation between the Southern Bean Royal Family and several local major families, with the City Lord severely restricted and unable to easily utilize the city's defensive formation to enhance herself.

This was also the first public appearance of the Primordial Chaos Dispersal Ruler!

Its wondrous and mysterious functions were terrifying.

With the City Lord's main body formally entering the battle, the defensive war of White Paper Immortal City entered a new phase.

The Black Water Mountain lifting White Paper Immortal City made it easier to defend and harder to attack.

The Yin soldier army side suffered heavy losses: numerous Golden Core level ghost generals, three Death Bone Colossi, a large number of Headless Ghost Riders, and a mole like the Bone Tomb Daoist.

Although White Paper Immortal City successfully executed the "close the gate to beat the dog" strategy, it also lost important combat forces like the Paper Giant, Ning Zhuo (Jiao Ma), and the Qing Jiao Army.

Both sides suffered losses, but overall, the Yin soldier army lost more.

The Underworld.

Tribulation Altar.

A Yin wind swept through, causing the River of Forgetfulness Prefect's robes to flutter.

Although he had rested and recuperated with all his might, his recovery speed was unsatisfactory.

After the battle consumption from fighting Lady Sorrowbone and the Silent Ghost Monk, the River of Forgetfulness Prefect's combat power was now only at sixty percent.

Yet, a powerful enemy had arrived!

In the dark, silent Yin clouds, numerous candlelights flickered into existence.

Illuminated by the candlelight, a scorched bone lotus platform drifted leisurely over.

Seated cross-legged on the lotus platform was a cultivator.

His body was composed of charred black bones, draped in a tattered great cloak. The cloak fluttered noisily in the wind.

He had no flesh, skin, eyes, ears, or other organs; he was merely a skeleton.

But his eye sockets were not empty; instead, they burned with candle flames.

His left arm was entwined with a bronze chain, while his right arm was wrapped in a layer of yellow cloth. From the oily yellow cloth, candle wax continuously dripped.

With each breath he took, sparks sprayed from his nostrils and mouth.

Circling his body, within the lotus seed holes of the platform, stood nine candles of varying shapes. These candles were unlit, each possessing a unique, divine quality.

The River of Forgetfulness Prefect took a deep breath, showing an unprecedented level of caution.

He sighed deeply: "As expected, you've come."

This powerful enemy was extraordinary; one could say it was the strongest existence in the River of Forgetfulness Prefect's mind, and the one he feared the most—the Ghost Fire Prefect, Yin Jiuzhu!

The Ghost Fire Underworld and the River of Forgetfulness Underworld were closely adjacent, their relationship tense. It had been this way since ancient times, difficult to improve.

Regardless of who was stronger or weaker, both sides schemed against each other, each wanting to devour the other.

The River of Forgetfulness Prefect's major move this time was bound to provoke a strong reaction from the Ghost Fire Prefect.

If one asked who in the Underworld least wanted to see the River of Forgetfulness Prefect succeed, it would undoubtedly be the Ghost Fire Prefect!

The River of Forgetfulness Prefect said, "You've traveled far from the Ghost Fire Underworld, deep into the heart of my River of Forgetfulness Underworld, abandoning your geographical advantage to actively invade. Have you truly lost your mind?"

The River of Forgetfulness Prefect shook his head, putting on a show of pity for the other.

The Ghost Fire Prefect sneered, "Stop pretending. I was the one who connected Lady Sorrowbone and the Silent Monk."

"Besides them, there's also the Painted Skin Rakshasa."

"Heh heh, you can guess where she is now?"

The River of Forgetfulness Prefect immediately felt a sense of foreboding, quickly suppressing this distracting thought: "She should be here, doing her utmost to hinder my path to enlightenment."

"If she's truly not here, that would be a great pity."

"After your failure, you will deeply regret not concentrating all your forces against me."

The Ghost Fire Prefect coldly laughed, "River of Forgetfulness Prefect, do you think I haven't consulted diviners? The Jade-Faced Rakshasa has already infiltrated your River of Forgetfulness Immortal City. She will wreak havoc within the city. Why? Because I had someone calculate that destroying River of Forgetfulness Immortal City would greatly benefit hindering your path to enlightenment!"

Before his words faded, the Ghost Fire Prefect officially made his move.

A candle in front of him ignited on its own.

This candle was pale as dry bone, its surface covered with tiny holes like countless wailing mouths. The wick was a tangled, semi-transparent grayish-white mist.

Once lit, the candle flame flickered eerily, displaying countless struggling soul shadows and emitting a heart-palpitating sound of mournful sobs and murmurs.

Soul-Snaring Candle!

The candle flame erupted with a terrifying suction force, violently drawing in the souls of the nearby Underworld cultivators.

The River of Forgetfulness Prefect also felt his soul body become unstable and hurriedly cast spells to steady himself.

After testing with one move and seeing the result, the Ghost Fire Prefect threw his head back and laughed, "River of Forgetfulness Prefect, you've indeed weakened."

Hidden Location.

"Where is this?!"

"Why are there so many paper people here?"

The Qing Jiao Army was bewildered and alarmed.

"Little Ma!" Qing Chi called out, running towards the Paper Giant.

The Paper Giant collapsed with a crash, the spiritual light obtained from its burning all gathering into the body of the Buddhist Physician, Meng Yaoyin.

(End of )