Such a muddleheaded monarch; if he can hold onto his throne, that would truly be ghostly!
As expected, just half a year after the mausoleum was completed, the remnants of the former dynasty, under the banner of restoring order, laid siege to the city.
Faced with the oppressive clouds over the city, Huan Wenyu not only didn't panic but, under the service of the eunuch Li Shunying, donned a brand new ocher dragon robe, put on the Emperor's crown, and was welcomed by the thousand-man honor guard awaiting his ascent to the throne.
At that moment, Huan Wenyu looked not like an emperor on the brink of national ruin, but rather like a founding emperor newly ascending the throne!
As the saying goes, "With each imperial power comes bloodshed, and every emperor kills"; Huan Wenyu intended to establish the New Dynasty by the Yin River, how could he not kill?
As the ministers inside the palace proceeded to the hall for court discussions, the palace gates suddenly closed. Huan Wenyu sat high on the dragon throne, with a strange man beside him, dressed in a floral robe, with a mask covering his face and a sword case on his back.
"My ministers, I gazed at the dim stars last night, and it seems the mortal world's rule is doomed…"
As Huan Wenyu spoke these words, not only the ministers below, but even Xu Qing couldn't help but curl his lips.
The army was already at the gates, even a fool knew the fate of the nation was precarious, did he really need to observe the stars at night?
Huan Wenyu didn't care what others thought; he continued, "While the mortal state weakens, the laws of the Netherworld grow stronger! Today, I intend to break the Nine Tripod Pact and establish a new domain of the nether realm, to govern the Dharma statutes of the Netherworld."
"The journey to the Underworld is not a march to death, but a Phoenix's rebirth, allowing my subjects and I to renew our bonds and once again rule!"
"You, my pillars, will follow me in life to rule under heaven, and in death, share in the blessings of the netherworld!"
Xu Qing didn't know how Huan Wenyu managed to say such words shamelessly; the court ministers beneath him were undoubtedly cursing.
Some civil and military officials who were unwilling to follow Huan Wenyu just attempted to force the hall doors open, but in the next moment, these people's heads were separated from their bodies.
The restless ministers instantly calmed down, as they looked up to see the masked stranger beside the emperor reeling in a thread of red Qi, which fell upon the mask.
Merely a red pattern on the mask had instantly decapitated two grandmasters and several generals of high martial rank.
This is an inversion of heaven's will; the emperor intended to stand up to the court ministers!
Some ministers who were secret allies of the rebels couldn't hold it in any longer. Who told the emperor to play like this?
King Chu Huan had reigned for only twenty-three years, and at forty-three years old, Chu Wenyu set fire to the palace. The entire palace city was instantly engulfed in flames.
And this was no ordinary fire of burning wood; it was ghostly green and blue, an ethereal, otherworldly fire.
As all the subjects in the palace endured the agony of the flames, their flesh gradually withered, transforming into Skull Ghost Soldiers, while Chu Huan King's form continued to grow.
The resentment and Evil Qi born from the subjects' extreme suffering became his nourishment. As he devoured all the resentment, King Chu Huan ascended above the ghostly masses.
The masked stranger laughed and congratulated King Chu Huan, stating that his rule over the netherworld would flourish and that the destiny of the Chu Kingdom appeared to continue.
King Chu Huan felt an unprecedented clarity throughout his body; he asked the stranger, "Who exactly are you, and why are you helping me? What can I do for you?"
The stranger laughed, "I am the last Nuo master in this world, they call me the Land Nuo Immortal, and some call me the Land True Immortal, but I dislike these titles. In my eyes, as long as the Heaven-Reaching Road does not open, those who remain in this mortal world cannot be called 'immortals.'"
"If so, how should I address you, master?"
The masked stranger's eyes gleamed with a peculiar light; he spoke, "You may call me Ascendant Fuluan."
"As for why I'm helping you... the answer lies in the character for 'immortal.'"
Ascendant Fuluan chuckled lightly and continued, "You need not fear, as I won't demand much for now. Instead, I aim to bestow upon you a transformation."
As he spoke, Ascendant Fuluan took out a stone box, inside of which lay a severed finger as thick as a child's arm and about two feet long.
"This is the severed finger left behind after the Emperor of the Netherworld's return to the void. If you acquire it, you shall have the chance to command the specters of the nether realm and become the true emperor of the Netherworld."
Ghostly flames flickered in King Chu Huan's eyes; he could hardly suppress his desire for sovereign power, yet at the final moment, he asked, "What exactly do you want from me, Master? Just say the word, and I will marshal the entire nation's strength to assist you!"
Ascendant Fuluan pondered for a moment and finally stated his condition.
"I want you to continue to properly worship and guard the gatekeepers of the Nine Netherworld portal of the Yin River, gaining their approval and, if necessary, to trip them up for me..."
Who? Me?
King Chu Huan's eyes widened; as a skull ghost, let alone dealing with the many gatekeepers guarding the Nine Netherworld portal of the Yin River, even just the Ghost Law at the head of all ghosts was beyond his capability to provoke.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have worshiped the Ghost Law before his death, praying for protection when he reaches the Yin River.
"What, you don't want to?"
Ascendant Fuluan maintained a smile at the corner of his mouth.
"I am willing! I am willing to serve the Enlightened One!"
Even though the skeleton of King Huan of Chu had grown larger, his spirit remained unchanged.
It was also on the day King Huan of Chu accepted the severed finger of the Yanluo Heavenly Son that the Chu Kingdom's reign was completely reduced to ashes along with the palace.
It was widely rumored that King Huan of Chu died by self-immolation.
Afterwards, the remnants of the previous dynasty allowed Emperor Jinsui to ascend the throne, continuing the Jin Dynasty's reign.
In the same year, Huan Wenyu, who had shed his golden shell, reached the much-desired Ancient Yin River Dao, hoping to rebuild the nether kingdom with the severed finger attached to his palm.
However, at that time, the powers of the Ancient Yin River Dao were complex and intertwined, with not only demonic ghosts running rampant but also mortal cultivators fighting incessantly.
With his low cultivation, Huan Wenyu struggled to protect himself, realizing that even an ordinary ghost king who seized a domain wasn't as easily achievable as he thought.
Huan Wenyu might have been confused during his life, but after becoming a ghost, he had many more ghostly ideas.
Guarding the entrance to the Jin Sect was the head of ten thousand ghosts, the Ghost Law. The nether and the mortal world were different; in the mortal world, people sought blessings and prosperity, while ghosts were often accompanied by calamities and disasters.
Huan Wenyu thought, since the Ghost Law governs ten thousand ghosts, it must be even more ominous!
To gain the favor of the Ghost Law, Huan Wenyu simply changed his name to 'Multi-Adversity.'
At this time, the Nuo Immortal who had entrusted heavy responsibilities to Multi-Adversity had long disappeared, passing the buck like a shopkeeper.
In order to possess self-protection power amidst the many monsters and demons in the Ancient Yin River Dao, and to fulfill the long-cherished wish of a nether emperor, Multi-Adversity began to flaunt his flags everywhere.
When encountering fierce ghosts, he would claim to be an envoy of the Ghost Law, stating that more than half of the Ghost Law's annual offerings and meals were provided by him; when facing cultivators with profound skills, Multi-Adversity would say that he was once a mortal emperor, not an ordinary ghost here, but a wandering soul due to the destruction of his country, and how tragic his background was...
Upon hearing that he was a mortal emperor, especially one so respectful and humble, the cultivators felt a sense of nostalgia for their homeland.
Well, not only would they spare Multi-Adversity, but some would even give him Yin Treasures or Dharma Artifacts, so that this fallen emperor wouldn't be bullied by wandering souls and wild ghosts in the Yin River.
Thus, Multi-Adversity gradually grew over approximately a hundred years, and formally declared himself king in the Ghost King Mausoleum.
In the same year, when Multi-Adversity, as the Ghost King, offered a grand ritual to heaven and earth during the presentation of treasures, his large figure was accompanied by the vague presence of the Ghost Law riding the evil fog of Yin clouds, lingering for a moment above the Ghost King Mausoleum.
Ignoring his status as a Ghost King, Multi-Adversity led his ministers to offer a grand worship to the Ghost Law.
The Ghost Law did not speak, but after lingering for a moment, it left the Ghost King Mausoleum.
However, Multi-Adversity the Ghost King knew that his years of offerings had been acknowledged.
The Ghost Law had recognized his existence.
From that point on, Multi-Adversity the Ghost King soared to prominence, completely securing a place in the Ancient Yin River Dao. But he knew this was not permanent; as long as the Nuo Immortal who helped him initially reappeared, his ghost kingdom could collapse overnight.
However, a millennium passed, and the Land Nuo Immortal from that time never appeared.
The worldly experienced and highly cultivated Multi-Adversity the Ghost King gradually overlooked this matter, believing that in a world of great calamity and imbalance between Yin and Yang, that Nuo Immortal might not have survived.
In the Eight Banner Marshals' camp, Xu Qing stood amidst the tomb, lost in thought as he gazed at the bones before him.
The so-called Ascendant Fuluan, the Land Nuo Immortal, was clearly playing a large game, and he mistakenly erased a piece laid out over a thousand years.
If the other party knew it was him...
Xu Qing didn't think he would have good fortune.
Rumor had it that King Huan died by self-immolation. After that, the Jin Dynasty's emperor ascended the throne, continuing the Jin reign.
Filial Piety Stick, Mourning Stick.
Sinan Sword Technique.