Chapter 110

The moment Su Chen entered the Underworld, he sensed how different this world was.

Its laws were the exact opposite of the mortal realm.

The mortal realm teemed with life and was rich in spiritual energy; here, it was lifeless and saturated with yin energy.

This yin energy was a great boon for ghostly beings, but for the living, it was like poison.

Su Chen checked his own condition.

Fortunately, his Hunyuan Golden Core encompassed the Five Elements and yin-yang; though the Underworld's yin energy was inferior to spiritual energy, it was still sufficient for cultivation.

He had transformed himself into an ordinary ghost cultivator and taken on the name Su San.

He glanced at his reflection in a puddle.

A ghost cultivator of average build and ordinary features, middle-aged in appearance.

"Hmm, perfect." Su Chen nodded in satisfaction.

What he needed to do now was quickly determine his location and find a way to the Underworld's reincarnation system.

He looked up and saw a vast, continuous range of black mountains in the distance.

The peaks were bizarrely shaped, like the claws and fangs of demons, jaggedly piercing the gray sky.

"I'll head over there first."

Deciding thus, Su Chen rode the yin wind toward the mountain range.

Along the way, apart from barren land and howling yin winds, he saw no living thing.

Soon after entering the mountains, a clashing of weapons and furious roars suddenly came from ahead.

"Someone… no, ghosts?"

Su Chen's heart tightened; he immediately suppressed all his aura and crept forward silently.

Su Chen hid nearby and saw two groups of ghost cultivators locked in fierce combat ahead.

These ghost cultivators all had solid ghostly bodies, radiating thick yin energy.

Su Chen sensed their cultivation bases; the strongest among them were roughly at the level of a mortal cultivator's Profound Union realm.

One group was clearly ambushing the other.

They outnumbered them and were stronger.

The ambushed group was retreating step by step; ghost cultivators were constantly being shattered, their bodies dissolving into wisps of blue smoke and vanishing entirely.

"Hand over the yin stones, and I'll spare your lives!" said a ghost cultivator wielding a long sword from the ambushers.

"These yin stones are meant for tribute to the Qingming Ghost King! How bold of you ghosts to dare rob the Qingming Ghost King's property?"

A ghost cultivator wielding a tiger-head great knife invoked his backer.

"Hahahaha! We're robbing exactly what Qingming owns!"

The sword-wielding ghost cultivator said no more and immediately beheaded the tiger-head great knife wielder.

"Quickly gather their storage magic treasures—this place isn't safe to linger."

Su Chen watched all this from the shadows.

"Yin stones? Qingming Ghost King?"

He keenly caught two key pieces of information.

It seemed the Underworld had its own order and resource system.

Soon, the raiding ghost cultivators finished clearing the battlefield and departed.

Only after they were far away did Su Chen emerge.

He went to a pile of rubble in the mountains where he had seen a ghost cultivator hide during the chaos.

It was a wounded little ghost, curled up in a crack between rocks, trembling.

Su Chen stepped forward and yanked him out.

The little ghost was terrified, pleading frantically: "Great hero, spare my life! Spare my life! I know nothing!"

Su Chen lowered his voice, speaking in a hoarse tone: "I ask, you answer. If you lie even once, I'll scatter your soul right now."

"Yes, yes! I dare not!"

"Where is this place?"

"Great hero, this is the Yinshan Mountain Range."

"Yinshan Mountain Range?" Su Chen frowned. "How far is it from the Underworld?"

"The Underworld?" The little ghost paused, his eyes filled with awe and fear. "Very far. They say you must cross the entire Yinshan Mountain Range, then travel for a very, very long time to reach Fengdu City. That's where the Underworld's border lies."

From the little ghost's fragmented account, Su Chen finally gained a rough understanding of the Underworld.

This world was far larger and more complex than he had imagined.

Though the Ten Yama Kings nominally ruled the Underworld, their actual control was limited mainly to Fengdu City and core areas like the Yellow Spring Road, Naiheqiao, and the Six Paths Reincarnation Platform.

Beyond the Underworld's territory lay vast, unclaimed lands.

The Yinshan Mountain Range where he now stood was one such place.

Countless ghost cultivators and ghost kings dwelled here, each seizing mountains as their own, warring against one another, fighting over cultivation resources like yin stones.

This was a true lawless land.

The "Qingming Ghost King" he had just heard of was one such powerful ghost king within the Yinshan Mountain Range.

"It seems the Underworld is no different from the mortal realm," Su Chen thought silently.

After learning the general direction of Fengdu City, he ignored the terrified little ghost and continued on his way.

With a clear goal, Su Chen's pace quickened considerably.

He avoided territories dominated by powerful ghostly auras.

Along the way, he witnessed many more "customs and scenes" of the Underworld.

Some ghost cultivators specialized in capturing wandering souls and refining them into elixirs; others had established crude marketplaces where ghostly beings traded necessities.

Several days later, as he traversed a valley, he suddenly spotted a sizable group ahead.

It was a caravan of dozens of massive bone carts, loaded with various goods.

Strong ghost cultivators guarded the front and rear of the caravan.

In the center of the caravan, a black banner fluttered in the wind, embroidered with a bold, flowing character: "Tong."

Su Chen's heart stirred.

In the chaotic Yinshan Mountain Range, organizing such a caravan implied formidable power.

Moreover, their direction of travel seemed to be toward Fengdu City.

"Following them might save me a lot of trouble."

Su Chen made up his mind.

He kept his distance, trailing far behind the caravan, ensuring he wouldn't be detected.

Thus, he followed the caravan as it moved through the perilous Yinshan Mountain Range.

Following the caravan indeed made his journey far safer.

The caravan bearing the "Tong" banner was evidently well-known in the Yinshan Mountain Range.

Along the way, though a few groups of ghost cultivators attempted to ambush them, most retreated upon seeing the black banner.

Occasionally, a few reckless ones were swiftly dealt with by the caravan's fierce guards.

Su Chen gladly enjoyed the peace, trailing at a safe distance, gathering intelligence about this world through observation and eavesdropping.

He soon learned that this caravan belonged to an organization called the Wantong Guild.

The Wantong Guild was a massive commercial force in the Underworld, with business spanning the territories of numerous ghost kings and even maintaining intricate ties to the Underworld itself.