Chapter 64: Summoning the Mountain of Knives Hell (I vomited and had diarrhea today and was hospitalized; this is the last of the sa

"I am about to open the Altar to engage in Dharma combat; Hu Jinhua, you and Hui Zhuo shall guard the front of the altar together."

Xu Jia performed magic as if leading an army; all orders issued were military commands and decrees.

"Your subordinates obey your command!"

Xiaopangdun only felt a burning sensation, and he placed the ugly mask he had carved himself onto his head.

This was the "Fang Xiang Shi."

The Fang Xiang Shi is the primary mask of Witch Nuo, possessing the power to repel evil and demons, remove gloom, and suppress Evil Qi; in ancient times, he was a minister to the Yellow Emperor.

Besides this, there was a Five Elements Belt made of tattered cloth strips tied together, fastened around his waist like a grass skirt.

The rattle-drum used to coax children last time had become his "Spirit Drum."

Hu Jinhua transformed into a fox-headed, human-bodied form, while the Luejue Shen, with a human face and chicken feet, appeared alongside a dozen or so Military Officials.

The three foxes also began to dance the fox dance...

It looked like a chaotic dance of demons, and in fact, it was a chaotic dance of demons.

However, folk magic looks like this; it is similar in style to primitive Taoism, with forms derived from Witchcraft.

There were also seven lamps, arranged according to the previous method of Worship the Dipper, with the Four Symbols and Five Spirits House-Pacifying Talismans pasted on the four sides.

Hanging at the entrance was a replica of the "Yin-Yang Soul-Summoning Guiding Lamp" used by the Underworld's soul-snatching envoys; the paper covering the lantern was blue, so the light was also eerie.

This was to make wandering ghosts think that Underworld officials were at work, causing them to keep their distance.

Living people, upon seeing the blue lantern, would also be startled and dare not approach.

After all, the purpose of performing all these rites is to avoid living people, for fear of causing a collision.

Moreover, the Blade Mountain Method is fiercer and more dangerous than the Ascending Heaven Method; if one summons the Mountain of Knives Hell and accidentally collides with the evil ghosts of Hell, and cannot stabilize the situation, it would be troublesome if the living souls of people were snatched away as well.

Yet, Xu Jia stood up the Knife Mountain Ladder; it did not lean against the table, but was simply planted on the ground, standing firm and steady.

He then took out the Avoidance of Blades and Soldiers Talisman, burned it into talisman ash, and swallowed it down with a bowl of farm rice wine, gulping it all.

The words of the medical practitioners: wine can assist the Qi.

As the Talisman took effect and the wine bolstered his strength, Xu Jia swallowed it into his throat and felt a warm Qi travel from his throat into the Twelve Heavy Buildings, the Five Viscera Palaces, and finally surge into the Four Limbs Acupoints.

Xu Jia began to hold his breath and circulate his Qi; that warm Qi generated wind beneath his feet, as if there were a lifting force.

Realizing the magic had taken effect, Xu Jia immediately used both hands and feet, climbing up the Knife Mountain Ladder like a monkey climbing a tree.

The firewood knives of this Knife Mountain Ladder, though not divine weapons, were used for chopping wood and grass; if they were to chop a person, they would slice through bone and sinew alike.

Niu Congcong held his breath, feeling even more terrified than when the Nine Heavens Ascending Heaven Dharma Altar was set up before.

Hu Jinhua saw clouds forming beneath Xu Jia's feet, a mass of rising Qi, as if a pair of wings had grown on his ankles, carrying him upward.

Xu Jia wore no shoes, but was bare-handed and bare-footed; his hands gripped the blades above with force, and his feet also gripped the knife edges as if with toes.

Although it hurt slightly, it was merely a feeling of being pressed, with no sensation of being cut, and certainly no blood.

Holding his breath in this manner, Xu Jia climbed seven or eight rungs in succession like a monkey, but this rising Qi was also constantly being consumed.

The effect of the Avoidance of Blades and Soldiers Talisman lasted only ten breaths; the timing was very tight.

However, the Wine Qi was quite useful; Xu Jia broke into a light sweat, and the Wine Qi evaporated from his acupoints; because the acupoints were open, the night wind made his neck feel cold.

Xu Jia understood that in his heart, he must only think of moving upward to safely reach the top of the Knife Mountain Ladder; if he thought about what would happen if the ladder fell, the ladder would not stand firm, it would fall, and he would likely fall and be half-killed.

If he thought about what would happen if his toes were sliced off, that thought would immediately leak out, followed by a leakage of Qi, and he might even be split in two by the weight falling onto the knife ladder.

This Knife Mountain Ladder had eighteen rungs; on average, he climbed two rungs per breath, but while the beginning was light and fast, it became slower the higher he went.

Xu Jia gritted his teeth and held his breath; what he saw around him was no longer pitch black, but a Mountain of Knives Hell.

As far as his eyes could see, thousands of sharp blades formed a mountain. On the blades, mottled bloodstains had long since dried into black.

Evil ghosts of the Mountain of Knives Hell struggled and climbed on the blades. Their skin was sliced open by the sharp blades, their internal organs were hooked and dragged out, their intestines hung on the knife trees, and their fur matted into felt. Severed fingers, hands, and feet were scattered about, and bone fragments were strewn all around.

Fresh blood gushed out, sliding down the knife edges and converging into rivers of blood...

The Underworld's laws are ruthless; those who commit blasphemy against deities, kill indiscriminately, cause death through fraud, or sow discord leading to the ruin of families are all imprisoned in this Hell.

Those sinful souls cursed and shouted, ignoring the pain of the knife mountain; some even climbed up the Knife Mountain Ladder, wanting to grab Xu Jia's feet and have him take them away from the endless torment of the Mountain of Knives Hell.

This is the true danger of the "Lushan Five Prisons Great Method"; besides the tight time limit, it is easy to be dragged into Hell by the ghosts of the Mountain of Knives Hell to suffer in their stead.

"Xu Jia! You shall not die a good death! You deserve to go to the Mountain of Knives Hell! You slander the Underworld! Do not think that ghosts and gods are ignorant!"

"Xu Jia! Your affairs have been exposed! You have subverted Yin and Yang and returned to life without authorization; if we cannot report Huang Zhenren, can we not report you?"

If it were only the evil ghosts of the Mountain of Knives Hell, it would be one thing, but faintly, Xu Jia also heard the voices of his former colleagues.

However, Xu Jia knew these were all illusions; everyone in the Underworld has their own "business"—Huang Zhenren's business is borrowing a corpse to return to life, and the jailers of Hell also earn some extra income. How could they undermine each other? But the voices grew closer and could not be fake, as if they were lingering in his ears, making him involuntarily quicken his pace to shake off these knife-mountain evil ghosts.

Soon, when the ninth breath arrived, the eighteen rungs of the knife ladder had been climbed, and Xu Jia leaped, landing on the Nine Heavens Ascending Heaven Dharma Altar he had previously set up.

This was also extremely dangerous; it was dark, and he could not see the scenery, so one careless move would result in the destruction of the altar and his own death.

The evil ghosts had already climbed to the top of the knife ladder, but they could not reach Xu Jia at all; the Nine Heavens Altar was in the Nine Heavens, while the Mountain of Knives Hell was in the Nine Underworlds, separated by eighteen layers, plus the human world made nineteen layers—how could they catch up? The knife-mountain evil ghosts shrieked and cried, but the illusion was already fading; Xu Jia immediately cast the "Summon Blade Mountain Hell Talisman," and the Mountain of Knives Hell illusion was instantly fixed around the Dharma Altar.

At the same time, a black knife mottled with blood sacrifice condensed in mid-air; Xu Jia reached out to merge with it, and his hand instantly became like a blade, the price being that all the hair on his hand fell out.

With this Mountain of Knives Hell illusion present, if the opposing Evil Master sent any fierce ghosts to fight, they would only fall into the Mountain of Knives Hell; moreover, Xu Jia was high on the Nine Heavens Dharma Altar, his Dharma Power amplified ninefold, and he could even snatch the soul of the opposing Evil Master from afar! Xu Jia immediately shouted: "I obey the decree of the Great Demon King of the Six Cave Palaces of Fengdu, to command the establishment of the Knife Mountain Hell Altar; Knife Mountain jailers, Great and Small Judges, you shall obey and capture, listen to my command!"

Xu Jia performed magic on the Nine Heavens, and his decree reached the Nine Underworlds; the ghosts and gods of the Nine Underworlds' Mountain of Knives Hell looked up upon hearing the order, seeing the command come from outside the Nine Heavens, but seeing no True Person, they secretly thought: "Who is this issuing orders? Why is there no official document or decree? But since he dares to use the decree of the Great Demon King of the Six Cave Palaces, it must be a position within the Six Heavens of Luofeng; perhaps a good friend of a colleague?"

Some Hell Judges speculated: "The one issuing orders from the Nine Heavens must be a Heavenly Court Dharma Official!" For a time, although there was no formal decree, the jailers and judges, in order to show off, still responded to the order and dispatched troops; a detachment of about one hundred and twenty evil ghosts was dispatched from the Mountain of Knives Hell.

These evil ghosts had bones made of blades, skin like scales, and faces gleaming with cold light; they were "Knife Mountain Hell assimilated" knife-ghost Yin soldiers, whose hands and feet were weapons, extremely sharp, fierce, and fond of eating human lungs.

If one were afflicted by them, one would first cough incessantly, then holes would appear in the lungs, and breathing would sound like a whistle, until one died.

The knife-mountain Yin soldiers arrived beneath the altar, instantly bringing a surge of Evil Qi and a blast of miserable Yin wind.

Xu Jia sat on the altar, observing with his Dharma mind, knowing they could be used and would not rebel, so he nodded slightly and produced a piece of yellow paper in his hand.

This yellow paper was cut in the middle and folded into a shape resembling a bamboo dragonfly; as they were scattered, the many knife-mountain evil ghosts attached themselves to them. They transformed into paper figures, riding the wind and drifting toward Yushan.

On Yushan, in the Shanju Guan, the Daoists gathered in one hall.

The leading Daoist had crane-white hair and chicken-skin, drooping brows and eyes, and a gaunt, bony face, looking as if a layer of skin were stretched over white bones, with a robe worn over the skin.

It is precisely the Abbot of Shanju Guan.

The one beside him is the Superintendent, with a square face, broad ears, and a tall, sturdy build.

There are also eight deacons, for the Guest Hall, Scripture Hall, Library, Hall Affairs, Warehouse, Accounting Office, Dormitory, and Numbered Rooms.

Among them is the "Evil Master" Xu Jia spoke of, but he currently shows no signs of abnormality.

The old Abbot said, "A traitor has appeared among us. I already know who it is, and I hope you will stand forward yourself."

However, the eight deacons had varying expressions, looking at one another, yet not one was willing to stand forward.

"County Commandant Chen reprimands our Shanju Guan for colluding with the Evil Sect. Is the foundation passed down by our Ancestor for hundreds of years to be destroyed in a single day?"

"The Mountain God's mind is in a state of Madness because someone offered resentment incense. The Great Heavenly Truth Incense cannot suppress it for much longer. If we wait for the Mountain God to become completely mad, this mountain will turn into a human ghost realm, the Earth Dragon will turn over, and the hundreds of thousands of commoners in Yunshan County will be displaced... It is not too late to repent and admit your mistakes now!"

"Abbot, just say it! Who is the traitor? We will strike together and finish him!" The Accounting Deacon was already silently circulating his power.

The Abbot shook his head. If he said it directly, he feared the entire Shanju Guan would fall into total destruction. Killing this one person might attract the attention of the Evil Sect's main altar, leading them to dispatch more Evil Masters, which would be the real disaster. Thus, he wanted to reform them; after all, they had spent many years together, and he knew the other party's nature was not inherently bad...

"County Commandant Chen has already surrounded the mountain. If you are willing to stand forward, I will take the blame." The Abbot spoke with compassionate persuasion.

But the next moment, he saw the Guest Hall Deacon open his mouth, and a streak of black light struck directly at the Abbot's brow.

A yellow-earth light barrier appeared around the Abbot's body; it was the power of the Magic Tool, the "Jade Mountain Mountain Peak True Form Diagram," manifesting.

The Daoists of the other seven halls attacked in unison, but the Guest Hall Deacon seemed like a deflating balloon, leaving only an empty skin.

"Substitute Method." The Abbot sighed and said, "It seems Cheng Yun has already met with misfortune."

"Abbot, that County Commandant Chen is blocking the mountain gate; he comes with ill intent. I fear he has already set his sights on our heads. The Evil Sect wants us to have a misunderstanding with the government. We cannot explain ourselves even if we are in the right, let alone if we are in the wrong?"

The Abbot of Shanju shook his head: "These are all minor calamities. The only great calamity still lies with the Mountain God. His rate of corruption is faster than I imagined. If we do not curb it, we will not escape this disaster, and the commoners will not escape this disaster."

"Has anyone been sent to invite Guangjing Shitai from Dizang An at the foot of the mountain?"

"The nunnery closed its gates last month..."

"Then I fear she is also in grave danger." The Abbot sighed: "It was fated to have this calamity. I have cultivated since childhood and experienced few disasters; now I am sixty-three years old..."

The Superintendent Daoist said, "As long as we work together, it will not be difficult to overcome this calamity."

"Difficult! Difficult! Difficult!"

The Abbot finally seemed to make a decision and spoke: "I intend to sacrifice my body to the Mountain God. My cultivation can help clear his spirit for a while, but blood sacrifice is, after all, drinking poison to quench thirst. Within one hundred days, if there is no solution, try your best to evacuate the commoners. Although leaking heavenly secrets will surely bring heavenly punishment, you must prioritize compassion above all else!"

"Open the Altar and set up the sacrifice!"

Xu Jia was commanding one hundred and twenty Ghost Soldiers of the Mountain of Knives, searching the Yushan mountains.

Very soon, the Duowen Sha and Guangmu Sha were captured by the Ghost Soldiers of the Mountain of Knives.

These two Sha took their names from the Heavenly Kings Duowen and Guangmu among the Buddhist Protectors. They were created by blinding and deafening people with sharp ears and keen eyes, cutting off ears and gouging out eyes to refine the magic. They also worshipped two divine statues of "Thousand-Mile Eye" and "Wind-Listening Ear," embedding the eyes and ears within them and burying them under century-old trees to hear every rustle and movement.

The two little ghosts were scared half to death upon being caught; where had they ever seen the ghosts and demons of the Nine Netherworlds dispatched from the Mountain of Knives Hell? Xu Jia interrogated them from a distance and learned that they were liaison ghosts for the Evil Sect of the Longevity Sect. Within this sect, mid-level Evil Masters would refine these little ghosts, and the ghosts would communicate and exchange items between them without the masters meeting in person.

Although the little ghosts were loyal to their masters and carried forbidden spells, the ghosts and demons of the Feng Du Dao Shan Di Yu specialized in breaking the evil spells of Evil Masters. The two little ghosts quickly spilled all the information about their master.

It turned out that the Evil Master was not truly human; he was a wild man born from the crossbreeding of a human and a mountain demon. He was naturally covered in black hair, ate poisonous insects, and drank dew. Once, he abducted a Saintess of the Longevity Sect back to his cave, and the two became husband and wife. That Saintess passed a "Longevity Dharma Record" to him, which contained nothing but evil and crooked spells.

The Evil Master had quite a talent for cultivation. The Saintess then placed him in Shanju Guan, designing a scheme to remove the skin of the Guest Hall Daoist and teaching the Evil Master to refine it... to infiltrate Shanju Guan.

The Evil Master had been lurking in Shanju Guan for several months. Unable to keep the strict precepts, he secretly thought about refining the powerful Ghost Sha from the Longevity Dharma Record: the Five Elements Sha and the Nine Sons Mother Sha.

During these days, while impersonating the Guest Hall Daoist, people often came up the mountain to ask for divination. He would then request their Eight Characters, searching carefully... looking for useful people to use for cultivating his evil arts.

In his daily life, he would control wealthy households at the foot of the mountain, ruining families and looting their wealth to use for his Dao cultivation. After all, even cultivating the Evil Path is quite costly...

Xu Jia did not want to know the details of the Evil Master's past; he only wanted to know where he was.

He immediately ordered the two little ghosts to lead the way.

Meanwhile, on the other side, the Evil Master had already hidden in a cave within the Yushan mountain range.

Yushan is a scenic spot in Xinzhou, with scenery that is Du Xiu, not losing out to the many famous mountains of the Jiangnan Circuit.

Although this cave was not a Cave Heaven Blessed Land, it could still be considered a place of gathered spiritual beauty.

He hid here to cultivate, where one day was equal to six days in the outside world. He was determined to hide out this time before planning his next move.

(End of chapter)