Chapter 155: with translation of chapter title

Crossing the guards of Ox-Head and Horse-Face, Zhou Shuo followed Gu Jingling into the Hell Labyrinth, a place of profound depth, everywhere permeated with the wailing of ghosts and yin qi, a dark underground cavern. Zhou Shuo surveyed the environment while asking Gu Jingling about this world's cultivation system.

Gu Jingling was somewhat clueless about what realms and system classifications; Zhou Shuo changed his phrasing before getting some answers. In this world, cultivation does not have such strict rankings; the physiques of the human, immortal, and demon tribes differ, and each sect's cultivation methods vary, each with its own characteristics.

Just like the netherworld disciples, netherworld disciples cultivate the Spiritual Communication Netherworld Technique, starting from sexual practice, absorbing netherworld qi, and mastering the way of qi, but they also train in martial arts and spells; because they constantly dwell in the netherworld, their battles are unaffected by the heavenly cycles of the sun and moon.

Although there are no definite rank distinctions, Zhou Shuo asked Gu Jingling and found that cultivators in this world, once they reach a certain level, can directly enter the heavenly realm to undergo trials, gain recognition from the three realms, and then condense a Life-Soul Jade, which counts as a form of ascension; of course, some demonic beings also speak of condensing an inner elixir.

"Have you condensed a Life-Soul Jade?" Zhou Shuo was a bit curious; the Life-Soul Jade is somewhat like a golden core, but he didn't know what it looked like.

"Hmph, why should I tell you!" Gu Jingling looked at the curious Zhou Shuo, puffed out her cheeks, and kept asking question after question—not a good person.

"Well, how should we go?" Zhou Shuo looked at the girl with an "I'm angry" face, not knowing what to say; she was a pretty, willful, cute little lass, and it seemed she had not yet condensed a Life-Soul Jade, otherwise she wouldn't be like this.

Unbeknownst to them, Zhou Shuo had already followed Gu Jingling deep into the Hell Labyrinth; all around was a gloomy mist, the walls were cramped rock, and the air carried a heavy, oppressive feeling on the mind—but this oppression was nothing to Zhou Shuo or to Gu Jingling, who constantly dwelt in the netherworld.

"Come on, follow me; you can't wander randomly in the Hell Labyrinth—if you run into a genuine vicious ghost it'll be trouble. Let's first find a person—no, a ghost to ask." Gu Jingling glanced around, flicked her tiny wings, and immediately took the lead.

"What kind of ghost?" Zhou Shuo casually added two Dean Dai's Spells to himself, kept up with the low-flying girl, and spoke up, asking whether there were any ghosts in the Hell Labyrinth that could communicate.

"Who knows what kind of ghost that is—he's a weirdo, raving mad all day. Other vicious ghosts refuse to drink Meng Po's soup, but even if he drinks it, it does nothing for him. What kind of spell are you using?" Gu Jingling beat her wings low, watching Zhou Shuo wave his hand and scatter two streaks of luminous runes onto his legs, making his whole body move with agility, and she couldn't help but be curious.

"Dean Dai's Spell, a talisman that makes one light-bodied, so I won't lose track later." Zhou Shuo shrugged his shoulders.

"A talisman—are you a disciple of Square-Inch Mountain?" Gu Jingling raised her eyebrows slightly.

"No, I learned this talisman elsewhere, it's a secret transmission, but Square-Inch Mountain—is that the Square-Inch Mountain of Patriarch Bodhi? Did his sect produce a Great Sage Equal to Heaven, Sun Wukong?" Zhou Shuo felt a bit interested; it's the Spirit Terrace Square-Inch Mountain, the Slanting Moon Three-Star Cave—that isn't Sun Wukong's teacher's sect.

"Exactly that—you know it too! That was all five hundred years ago. I heard from my master that Sun Wukong was also one of the destined pilgrims, but his mortal roots were impure, his wickedness deep, and he clung obsessively to the Purple Rosy Immortal Maiden by the Buddha's lamp wick, not knowing when he'll awaken." Gu Jingling spread her hands and lifted her eyes, recalling her master's words.

"Purple Rosy Immortal Maiden?" Zhou Shuo's facial muscles twitched slightly—had he stumbled into a grand tale of Journey to the West?

"Hey, where did you learn your spell from?" Gu Jingling looked at Zhou Shuo's abnormal expression and found a topic.

"I've learned my spells from many places," Zhou Shuo replied offhand, but seeing the corridor ahead about to end, he instinctively stopped, hearing a faint wailing accompanied by surges of yin qi.

"Why, why, why, Wenxiu, I've suffered waiting for you—why won't you come find me?" In the midst of extreme sorrowful wailing, the anguished words swung left and right.

"How annoying, how annoying, you dead ghost, just obediently let me take you in—once you're inside my Myriad Ghost Banner, you won't feel sorrow anymore." The sharp voice sounded a bit out of breath.

"No, I want to wait for Wenxiu—Wenxiu! I'm waiting for you, I'm waiting for you, but Wenxiu, where are you, and who am I?" The emotions in the wailing were extremely unstable; hearing this, Zhou Shuo didn't hesitate and went toward the sound, only to see in the corridor of the labyrinth a dark shade flitting about, and a figure wearing a purple bamboo hat, the purple cloak on the hat covering the entire body.

"Forget it, you dead ghost, Yaofeng the Great doesn't want you anymore." The purple-cloaked figure, upon Zhou Shuo's arrival, immediately sensed it, let out a shriek, and tried to leave.

"Where do you think you're going?" Zhou Shuo looked at the fleeing Yaofeng, without hesitation unleashed three Heaven-Defying Sword Qi, simultaneously took hold of the Divine Ability Whip, and condensed golden light into a line forming a flying ring.

"Oh dear, what kind of spell is this?" The cloak-wearing figure named Yaofeng couldn't dodge in time, letting a sword qi graze his arm and cry out; the golden light line looped over his head, directly draped over his body, and then a strong force surged, threatening to drag him straight to Zhou Shuo.

Zhou Shuo had no intention of wasting words with the cloak-wearing figure; he planned to bind him close and then unleash two more Heaven-Defying Sword Qi to badly wound his soul, but before he could cast the spell, he saw the figure's body erupt into a mass of black smoke, the smoke pushing apart the golden light, and numerous ghostly silhouettes flew out.

"Kid, I'll make you taste the power of my Myriad Ghost Banner." Accompanied by shrieks, swarms of ghostly silhouettes came flying; Zhou Shuo protected himself with golden light, then waved his hand and drew several Five Thunder Talismans—each talisman bearing six shadows—and a vast amount of electric arcs surged outward.

"Oh no, my banner." The electric arcs hit the black smoke and, like sunrise meeting snow, vanished instantly; meanwhile, behind the thick black mist, a cry rang out, the smoke quickly dispersed, and the electric arcs surged straight at the cloak-wearing figure.

The electric current rolled past, gradually fading, residual arcs flickering in the air; the purple-cloaked figure half-kneeled in place, a pallid paper effigy drifted down from his chest to the ground, where it instantly turned to ash and burned out.

"A substitute?" Zhou Shuo glanced at the fallen pallid paper effigy, his eyes narrowing slightly.

"My pallid paper effigy—damn it, you brat, today I'll kill you!" Yaofeng looked at his ruined treasure, let out a shriek, lunged forward in an instant to appear before Zhou Shuo, and from beneath his wide cloak, a pair of withered, sharp claws reached out.

Facing Yaofeng's lunge, Zhou Shuo without hesitation launched three Heaven-Defying Sword Qi overhead, then raised the Divine Ability Whip wrapped in golden liquid, poured power into it and struck downward—but he hadn't expected that the three Heaven-Defying Sword Qi, upon contacting Yaofeng's face, would be blocked by something invisible.

Although Heaven-Defying Sword can slay heavenly demons and wound souls, his cultivation was still insufficient; being blocked was normal, and Zhou Shuo hadn't counted on relying solely on the sword qi, so he temporarily increased the power poured into the Divine Ability Whip by a third.

"Bang!" The Divine Ability Whip solidly struck the invisible shield surrounding Yaofeng; although he had protection, he was mid-air with nothing to push against, so Zhou Shuo's whip strike sent him tumbling down.

Zhou Shuo saw the fellow knocked down by the whip, flashed forward to press the attack, and lashed the Divine Ability Whip wildly at him—but that invisible shield was tough; no matter how he struck, he couldn't penetrate even a bit, not even the golden light taking effect.

"Damn, no way out." Zhou Shuo, relying on his agility, exchanged a few blows with Yaofeng, couldn't help but grin—this was utterly turtle-like.

"Kid, just watch me." Relying on his treasure's protection, Yaofeng endured several attacks, then let out a lion's roar, his cloak flung up to reveal his emaciated body lunging forward, his ten fingers stretching toward Zhou Shuo at unbelievable speed.

As Yaofeng's hands extended, they gradually grew larger, while correspondingly Zhou Shuo's body shrank, like a rabbit beneath a lion's claw—this is the application of martial arts fist intent altering space; a single paw would crush and mash anything, yet just as Yaofeng's claws were about to grab him, Zhou Shuo's form suddenly recovered, and he stamped his foot and leapt out of the claws' reach.

"Take a look at my Nine Heavens Thunder Move." Zhou Shuo escaped Yaofeng's attack range, held a breath of true qi, his form instantly turned into several streaks of electric arc, surged toward Yaofeng, the Divine Ability Whip's power instantly unleashed thousands of strikes, solidly blasting Yaofeng's exterior and sending him flying straight away.

"Where to?" Zhou Shuo saw Yaofeng flying away, his form instantly darted over, he swung the whip intending to unleash another Nine Heavens Thunder Tribulation, but this time he struck empty air—Yaofeng's form vanished from before him.

"A spatial-type treasure." Zhou Shuo eyed the figure appearing on the right, narrowing his eyes; Yaofeng's cultivation level was indiscernible, but without talent he absolutely couldn't jump through space directly—it was the item he wore taking effect, just like the earlier paper effigy substitute.

"Kid, I'll remember…." Yao Feng revealed his form, looking at Zhou Shuo behind him he spat out a harsh remark, but before he finished speaking he stretched out his left hand and grabbed the red, thin, long thorn that stabbed forward from in front of him, and at the same time with his right hand he blocked, seizing the wrist that was holding the red thorn.

"You found me?" The bone spirit manifested from the air, looking at the cloaked stranger in front who was grabbing its hand, it stuck out its tongue at him.

Yao Feng watched the little girl stick out her tongue, and also gazed at the expression on his own hands; suddenly something came to mind, and he hastily released the hand that was gripping the opponent's wrist, then glanced at his palm—indeed, he saw a cyan-black gas coiling in his pale palm.

"Ah!" Yao Feng gazed at the cyan-black gas in his palm, before he could recover from his surprise, suddenly he felt a pain in his waist and involuntarily let out a miserable scream.

"If you have the ability to break his defense, why not use it earlier?" Zhou Shuo kicked Yao Feng in the waist, threw a remark at the bone spirit, and then lunged onto Yao Feng's body.