Chapter 84: The Five Corruptions and Evil World

Shen Siyuan felt a momentary daze, and suddenly the scenery around him changed utterly.

This was remarkably similar to the teleportation technique in the Nine You Demon Lord’s memories.

Seeing the vengeful spirits and malevolent ghosts swarming toward them like a hive of hornets, Shen Siyuan immediately unleashed his [Ten Thousand Souls Banner].

This was the first time he had unleashed the Ten Thousand Souls Banner without restraint.

The banner first emitted a faint, misty glow that enveloped Shen Siyuan, shielding him from the pervasive miasmas of sin, resentment, and malevolence, then surged upward in the wind, growing into a colossal banner standing tall in the void.

Though its fabric was riddled with countless holes and its staff split by a massive crack running the full length, its aura remained undiminished.

Streams of black smoke erupted from the banner’s surface, snatching up the ferocious spirits and vengeful ghosts, drawing them into the fabric like a whale swallowing water—no ghost could escape the banner’s power.

In the blink of an eye, a vacuum formed around them.

Shen Siyuan set Duo Duo down and gazed toward the distant sky, but saw no trace of the flames she had ignited twice before—presumably they were now in a new location, and an extremely distant one.

Looking down at the pile of skeletal remains, Shen Siyuan stamped his foot twice; countless bones crumbled to dust, revealing the pitch-black earth beneath. Duo Duo, curious, kicked at the debris with her feet—with Shen Siyuan beside her, her courage had grown considerably.

At that moment, Shen Siyuan suddenly noticed rusted weapons buried beneath the bones.

“Is this an ancient battlefield?” Shen Siyuan wondered.

“But who were the enemies?”

“And where exactly is this place?”

“Perhaps this is the Underworld.”

Shen Siyuan looked up at the sky, but the heavens were obscured by dark clouds, revealing nothing of their true form.

“Boom… boom… boom…”

Suddenly, the ground trembled; countless bones were jolted upward, some splitting apart, others turning to powder.

Having lain here for untold ages, constantly battered by the yin winds, these bones had become extremely fragile.

Shen Siyuan gestured with his hand; the Ten Thousand Souls Banner in the void shrank rapidly and returned to his palm.

He then bent down and scooped up Duo Duo.

“Let’s go back.”

Shen Siyuan knew his current strength was too weak—he should avoid premature contact with powerful entities.

Duo Duo quickly turned the umbrella’s handle, and the two vanished from the spot.

In that instant, Shen Siyuan caught a fleeting glimpse of a massive black shadow hurtling toward them from afar.

Back in the rented apartment, Shen Siyuan set Duo Duo down, reclaimed the Ming fire fireflies into the Ten Thousand Souls Banner, then paused and left one behind, handing it to her.

“This Ming fire firefly is for you.”

Duo Duo reached out curiously with her small hand; the Ming fire firefly immediately landed on her fingertip.

“Put away the umbrella, and you must quickly learn to control the Ming fire on your body.”

Shen Siyuan pointed to the flames engulfing her entire form.

Duo Duo nodded obediently; her attention was now entirely fixed on the Ming fire firefly.

Shen Siyuan paid her no further attention, rewrapped the Soul Binding Chain around his waist, then sank his spirit into the [Ten Thousand Souls Banner] to examine his recent gains.

Inside one of the “honeycombs,” a vast number of ferocious spirits and vengeful ghosts were crammed together.

All these spirits had been corrupted by sin, miasma, and malevolent energies, their souls rendered filthy and devoid of reason, reduced to single, primal instincts.

Some ferocious spirits glared with murderous intent, endlessly shrieking “Kill! Kill! Kill…”

Others glowed with lewd lust, emitting strange, twisted laughter…

Still others stared with grotesque fury, endlessly repeating “Sinful one! Sinful one!”

…

These ferocious spirits and vengeful ghosts were excellent materials for repairing the [Ten Thousand Souls Banner], but Shen Siyuan dared not use them.

Once the Ten Thousand Souls Banner consumed these spirits, the sin, miasma, and malevolence clinging to their souls would transform into demonic energy—resulting in an overwhelming torrent of demonic energy.

Shen Siyuan knew his current strength could not withstand such demonic corruption.

The Ten Thousand Souls Banner was a demonic artifact; devouring its master was its innate nature. Had it not been severely damaged during the heavenly tribulation, its power reduced to less than one-tenth, Shen Siyuan would long ago have been devoured and turned into its puppet.

That was why he had always been cautious, never daring to use the Ten Thousand Souls Banner recklessly.

Otherwise, the countless twisted, desire-corrupted wandering souls roaming the mortal realm would have already been absorbed into the banner.

He refrained precisely because he feared the banner’s influence would alter his nature, turning him into its slave.

Yet Shen Siyuan had risked capturing these souls not because he was bored or fond of danger.

He sought to sift through the fragmented memories of these ferocious spirits and vengeful ghosts, hoping to uncover clues about that other world.

Was it merely a ghostly wasteland—or the true Underworld? If Shen Siyuan wished to restart the cycle of reincarnation, this mattered greatly.

With this in mind, Shen Siyuan immediately drew forth several ferocious spirits and examined their memories one by one.

“Kill! Kill! Kill… Kill! Kill! Kill…”

In the memory, a young, muscular man clad in leather armor, wielding a long halberd, charged forward with his comrades like a tidal wave.

Around him lay corpses; blood stained the earth crimson. He had long since lost his senses, unable to distinguish east from west—his only thought was to swing his halberd, thrusting forward, thrusting forward…

Then an enemy’s blade severed his throat; he collapsed to the ground, finally regaining clarity, staring wide-eyed at the azure sky before losing consciousness entirely…

…

“Kill! Kill! Kill… Kill! Kill! Kill…”

Again he swung his halberd, charging forward with his comrades, riding the yin winds like a tide—but now the world had changed.

The entire realm was a dull gray; monstrous shapes emerged from the clouds.

There were colossal beings shaped like giants, serpentine creatures covered in eyes, beasts as vast as mountains and shaped like giant deer…

They opened their mouths and vomited forth filth; souls instantly lost their minds, becoming ferocious spirits and vengeful ghosts, driven only by instinct to clash and devour one another in midair…

…

“Is this the Manifestation of Evil Miasma?”

Shen Siyuan was stunned—he had learned from the Nine You Demon Lord’s memories that such a Manifestation of Evil Miasma was rare even in the Great Wilds.

Evil miasma arises from the six desires; Buddhists call it the Five Corruptions, Daoists refer to it as Tribulation Qi.

The Five Corruptions are: Tribulation Corruption, View Corruption, Affliction Corruption, Sentient Corruption, and Lifespan Corruption. A realm where sentient beings exist under these five conditions is called the “Five Corruptions and Evil World.”

This is the manifestation of sentient evil thoughts, the Five Corruptions and Evil World, where rites and music have collapsed, moral order has decayed, virtuous thoughts vanish, the realm becomes a ghostly wasteland of demons and monsters, corrupting all wisdom and light, consuming spiritual energy and magical power, triggering the Five Declines of Celestials, sinking into the Final Dharma Age—this is a calamity…

If this calamity is overcome, Buddhism and Daoism will flourish; if not, the mortal realm will become a demonic domain.

Shen Siyuan suddenly felt he understood something.

The world he had entered was indeed the Underworld.

To prevent the Evil Miasma from seeping into the mortal realm, and to stop the desire-corrupted souls of the living from fueling the Evil Miasma, powerful beings had sealed the Underworld entirely.

If Shen Siyuan wished to restart reincarnation, he must first purge the Evil Miasma from the Underworld.

Shen Siyuan’s gaze fell upon the [Ten Thousand Souls Banner] in his hand.

Use demon to subdue demon?