GB Chapter 61

Although the two of them could now confirm that Qin Jiu was indeed Bi Qianren’s mother, the Demon Lord’s wife, the situation here was undoubtedly very strange.

Firstly, the day and night here no longer alternated, but the flow of time hadn’t changed. Yet, hundreds of years had passed, and Qin Jiu seemed completely unaware. The meaning in her words clearly indicated that not even a day had passed since Bifang had left, to the point where she couldn’t believe Qianren was her son.

Secondly, according to the records of the Heavenly Dao Alliance, the Demon Lord was killed by the Dao Ancestor for causing chaos in the mortal world. However, after Qianren’s observation, his cause of death was clearly from Heavenly Lightning, and his corpse was entirely human, without returning to his original Bifang form.

After eliminating the Demon Lord, the Dao Ancestor spread the immortal cultivation techniques throughout the world. This changed cultivators from the small-scale, master-disciple tradition of the past to grand sects opening altars to teach the Dao. It stipulated that anyone willing to cultivate, regardless of their background, could receive techniques and become a cultivator as long as they passed the moral character assessment. Later, the head of the Xuan Sect, who inherited the Dao Ancestor’s relics, officially established the Heavenly Dao Alliance to manage the cultivation world, and it gradually transformed into its present form. The Dao Ancestor, who laid the foundation for everything, died at Falling Immortal Lake for violating the Heavenly Law.

The successive heads of the Xuan Sect all died in martyrdom. Therefore, Qianren had no surprise about their ancestor’s method of death. In fact, he was sure that if the world encountered a crisis again, his two cynical masters would definitely step forward to inherit the tradition and sacrifice themselves. Now that he knew the Demon Lord’s true identity, and seeing that Lüling remembered nothing, he feared that the Dao Ancestor hadn’t completely eliminated Bifang back then, and perhaps there were many unknown secrets hidden within.

They all knew that one shouldn’t rush things. They chatted with Qin Jiu for a moment before leaving the thatched cottage. They still hid in the mountains outside the flower field, constantly observing the situation.

Watching the white-clothed woman who had seen them off at the door return to the house, Qianren finally looked at Zhuge Qingtian and revealed what he had just discovered, “This flower field is full of underworld soil.”

“You mean this entire area is?”

Underworld soil wasn’t a common thing. Hearing this, Zhuge Qingtian was instantly shocked. However, Qianren had been dealing with underworld soil for some time and would never be mistaken, so he replied, “Besides shaping human bodies, underworld soil can also preserve things for thousands of years.”

To cover the ground with that treasure that could resist demonic energy just to keep this place in its past state, this Demon Lord was indeed extravagant…

Silently sighing at the Demon Lord’s extravagance, Zhuge Qingtian also knew that the Demon Lord wouldn’t do this for no reason. After thinking for a while, he tried to guess, “Perhaps the Demon Lord knew what would happen before he left, so he did all this deliberately. But, if he knew the road ahead was dangerous, why would he bring you along?”

Zhuge Qingtian originally thought that the Demon Lord had encountered an accident that suddenly separated day and night. However, such a large scale of underworld soil couldn’t have been created instantly. It must have been laid out when the Epiphyllum flowers were planted. But if he knew that Heavenly Tribulation would descend, wouldn’t bringing his son be a deliberate burden? Unless, there was something that made him unable to leave Qianren by his wife’s side…

It was even more difficult to find the reason. Although the Ghost Goddess faintly showed signs of malevolent energy, she controlled it extremely well. They hadn’t been affected at all when they made contact. After pondering fruitlessly, he could only place his hopes on Lüling and asked, “Do you really not remember anything here?”

His question should have sounded strange to the memoryless Lüling, but looking at the large patch of underworld soil, he suddenly remembered the thought that arose in his heart when he first came to the edge of the world a long time ago, and he frowned, “When I first saw the edge of the world, I had only one thought in my heart – the night is dangerous.”

The night is dangerous? It was indeed dangerous at night with evil ghosts, but the Ghost Goddess shouldn’t be afraid of other ghosts, should she? The fact that she had been fine for a hundred years was proof.

Upon hearing this, the two of them felt even more suspicious. While they were troubled, Qianren, who was extremely sensitive to environmental changes, suddenly turned his head and stared at the underworld soil under the Epiphyllum flowers, “There’s movement in the soil.”

His perception wouldn’t be wrong. Sure enough, just as the three of them looked, the originally quiet underworld soil suddenly gushed out with bright red blood. The blood seemed to be conscious, quickly solidifying the soil into a form. It formed bones and flesh, and in the blink of an eye, it transformed into a lifelike person. And that face was very familiar to Qianren, exactly the same as the puppets left by the Demon Lord.

Having personally witnessed the entire process of the underworld soil becoming a person, Qianren finally understood why his attempts to create a body for Zhuge Qingtian had always failed. All of his blood was pure black, and only the blood flowing from his heart was as bright red as a normal person. It turned out that heart’s blood was needed as a guide for underworld soil to transform into a person.

Although underworld soil could create flesh, it couldn’t create a soul. Just as the first clay figure emerged from the soil, nine other clay figures also stood up in the flower field. After carefully observing the positions where they stood, Qianren realized that the Epiphyllum flowers weren’t planted randomly here. Instead, they were centered around these ten locations, forming a soul-gathering array.

This was just a basic array to attract new ghosts for cultivators to deliver. At first, Qianren hadn’t paid attention to it. It was only now that he discovered that the ghosts trapped by the array instantly combined with the clay figures, and then, while wailing, quickly ran outwards.

The clay figures made a loud noise. Upon hearing the commotion, the Ghost Goddess pushed open the door and came out. When she saw their backs, her expression was extremely vigilant, and she chased after them without hesitation.

“So, this is the wailing we heard in the past…”

Seeing this, Zhuge Qingtian immediately understood and looked at Qianren, “What should we do? They’re deliberately luring her over there!”

“That’s the direction of the night. Let’s follow them!”

The clay figures were created by the Demon Lord with his heart’s blood and couldn’t possibly harm Qin Jiu. However, seeing this situation still made him worried. Qianren decisively followed them, determined to see for himself what mysteries were hidden here.

The clay figures ran extremely fast, and the Ghost Goddess wasn’t slow either. Soon, they reached the border between day and night. Watching those people run into the night, the white-clothed woman hesitated for a moment. However, the faces of the clay figures seemed to make her worry greatly. In the end, she gritted her teeth and stepped over.

Seeing her like this, Qianren felt that something was even more wrong. He was about to follow her, but Lüling grabbed him tightly. This spirit’s cultivation was not weak. When he was truly trying his best to hold someone, even with his strength, he couldn’t break free. He could only look over with some anger, “What are you doing?”

“I don’t know. I just think… the night is dangerous!”

Lüling’s actions were completely instinctive. He himself didn’t know why, but based on that instinct, he used all his strength to hold onto the black-clothed man in front of him, absolutely not allowing him to step into the darkness.

“He’s right. We can’t go over there…”

They were entangled with each other and didn’t see the scene after the woman stepped into the night. Zhuge Qingtian, on the other hand, had seen it very clearly. He was shocked and gripped his arm tightly. He tried to calm his emotions and then sighed softly, “So, the Ghost Diviner didn’t speak incorrectly, the edge of the world only has one Ghost God: the Ghost Goddess…”

The moment she left the sunlight, the white clothes on the woman were instantly stained with blood. The originally clear eyes also gradually lost their senses. Finally, although she closed them as if in a deep sleep, her movements were more agile. With just one hand, she easily crushed the heart of the clay figure closest to her.

She seemed to have lost the ability to think. She had no doubts about the body that was supposed to be a living person turning into mud and scattering. She just closed her eyes, grabbed the struggling soul, a charming smile appeared on the corner of her lips, and then opened her mouth to swallow it into her stomach.

The other clay figures quickly scattered and fled. The blood-clad Ghost Goddess chased after them slowly as if sleepwalking. The night was still long, and she had plenty of time to eat them one by one. No one could escape because this was fate.

“There is a Ghost Mother in the South Sea, who gives birth to ten ghosts in one go, giving birth to them in the morning and eating them in the evening. So, the Ghost Mother who once appeared in the South Sea and suddenly disappeared from the records of the Heavenly Master’s Mansion is the Ghost Goddess.”

Slowly reciting the information about ghosts from the Heavenly Master’s Mansion that he had once glanced over, having seen all of this happen in person, Qianren finally understood why the Demon Lord had done this.

The Beauty Under the Moon, who only chased after the clay figures and killed them one by one, even when committing such an act of cannibalism, her expression was still as innocent and naive as if she were sleeping, as if she didn’t know what she was doing at all.

Or rather, the Demon Lord had done all of this precisely to prevent her from knowing.

The Ghost Domains of Ghost Gods were all powers they wanted the least when they were alive. Fang Suihan, who once tried to save the world with his own strength, obtained the White Sha that made everyone lose their will to live. Zhao Huanzhi, who sincerely hoped to lead his people to a secure future, obtained the Red Sha that made everyone he came into contact with go from happiness to misfortune. Even Zhuge Qingtian, who only longed to be seen by his beloved for his true self, ended up with the painted skin Sha that made him disguise himself even more unpredictably.

In the end, the Ghost Goddess was no exception. Qin Jiu only asked for a child in her life, and she could give everything for this child. But the Ghost Domain formed after her death was the Ghost Mother Curse, which would lead her child to death.

The malevolent energy of Ghost Gods couldn’t be resolved by anyone. Even though the Demon Lord separated day and night, he still couldn’t prevent the Ghost Mother Curse from activating. He didn’t want his wife to experience the pain of eating her child, so he substituted them with clay figures. Every time her malevolent energy activated, he would lure them to this place, treating it as just a nightmare. When she woke up, she would forget everything, and everything would be the same as before.

Qianren had once asked the Ghost Diviner on Huanhun Island the question of “why do Ghost Gods come into existence?” At that time, the pale man only sighed and, after a long silence, answered him. He said, “The Ghost Domain is not a power given by heaven to protect Ghost Gods. It is the result of the world’s hatred and curses against me being materialized. It is not that the Heavenly Dao cannot tolerate Ghost Gods, but that the human world cannot tolerate Fang Suihan.”

This was the truth he had never told anyone, for fear of making the God of Joy sad. Fang Suihan’s killings offended too many people. He wanted to save the country, but few of those he saved could understand him. Even when the state of Xi Shang was destroyed, many citizens still believed the court’s claims that he had weakened the country by purging the bureaucracy. It was only later that the historian of Xi Liang rehabilitated him and honored him as a saintly teacher of a generation. Similarly, as a key figure in the downfall of Xi Liang, Zhao Huanzhi was also regarded as an incompetent emperor and cursed by everyone, unable to be vindicated to this day.

Zhao Jicheng had been acting in the name of Zhao Huai’an in the Tian Shu Pavilion for a hundred years. The hatred generated by his evil deeds had also been pinned on Zhuge Qingtian. However, this was not the actual person, so although he had the form of a Ghost God, he was not as strong as other Ghost Gods. Only by merging with the Zhu Ge Qingtian, who was feared in Zhu Jiaji, could the red and white clash to become the Joyful Funeral God.

Having a love so profound that the Heavenly Dao was reluctant to send down a tribulation to eliminate it, and also receiving the world’s utmost hatred, making them intolerable to the human world, these were the true conditions for the birth of a Ghost God. The heavens did not accept them, the earth did not keep them, and they could only wander in the gaps of heaven and earth, never to be freed.

In terms of time, the Ghost Goddess was the first Ghost God to be born between heaven and earth. The human world could not tolerate the Demon Lord, but they could not touch the celestial beast Bifang, so that curse and hatred were transferred to Qin Jiu, who had no ability to resist. Just like in the past, when one could not defeat the strong, one would attack the person behind them. In this way, in order to free his wife, the invincible Demon Lord would willingly walk into the Heavenly Tribulation and embrace death.

Judging from this arrangement, he probably knew that all of this would not end with his death. However, even if there was only a faint possibility, he was willing to risk his life to try.

Even if it failed, he would do everything he could to come to her side again, not giving up until he was destroyed, to save her from the darkness.

Time slowly passed. Finally, the last puppet died with a scream. The blood-clad woman with closed eyes walked back from the darkness step by step. The moment she stepped into the sunlight, all the blood disappeared from her body. On the road where she had come, the scattered underworld soil was guided by the array and slowly returned to its original location. The Demon Lord’s heart blood wrapped around those souls, putting them back to sleep. Everything returned to the way it was before anything had happened.

At this time, the white-clothed woman stood at the entrance of her home and slowly opened her eyes. All the memories of today were swallowed by the demon blood. She had returned to the day she sent her husband out. Nothing had happened, and time hadn’t passed. This was just her on the way back to the house waiting for Bifang to return. They had agreed that Bifang would come back in the evening.

Although she was under such a curse, the night had already been separated by Bifang. She would never eat her own child. Now, her husband had gone to find a way to save her. That person was omnipotent and would surely be able to eliminate the first Ghost God in this world.

Waiting for the night to come and the Epiphyllum flowers to bloom, she could return to their best times.

Every day after waking up from the nightmare, the Ghost Goddess firmly believed this.

“Those souls in the underworld soil are the memories you have lost, right, Father?”

Watching the white-clothed woman walk into the thatched cottage, Qianren finally looked at Lüling beside him, whose expression was shocked by these words. Although it was like this, he didn’t hesitate this time.

From the moment he used all his strength to stop him from entering the night, he could confirm that this was his father.

Although his temperament had changed a lot, and although because of the splitting of his soul, he no longer had his past transcendent cultivation, the one thing that would never change was protecting them at all costs.

Author’s Note: Bifang: Trash, if you can’t beat your daddy, you give my wife a computer virus. I’m going to hack the server and perish together with them!

Dao Ancestor: I have something to say, please listen to me calmly, Demon Lord!

Bifang: Do you think a few words can make me surrender?

Dao Ancestor: Heavenly Dao Daddy says being addicted to games is bad for your health and told me to take you back, so hurry up and make an alt account!

Bifang: So, I split into eleven accounts.

Qianren (coldly): Oh, so that’s the cruel truth.

Author: Actually, the three Gods of the Ghost Domain correspond to the legendary ghosts of mourning, joy, and the ghost mother, which is a strengthened and upgraded version?