Yinshan Record

Chapter 369 Bitter Sea, Helpless Ghost Tree, Jade Flower
The river of corpses stretched as far as the eye could see, while Xue Baizhi and Elder Qin strode forward with unwavering steps.

In the silent cave, the only sound was the rustling of their hemp shoes against the black rocks beneath their feet as they walked.

Su Che followed slowly behind.

The further you go, the stronger the faint fragrance in the air becomes.

Su Che did not find that the fragrance had any effect on him, but he did find some different clues about Elder Qin.

This elder of the Great River Alliance, who had mastered the Rejuvenation Pill, was clearly acting strangely; specifically, Elder Qin's temperament had suddenly become unstable.

Sudden changes in temperature, irritable and impulsive.

At first, Elder Qin was able to move around cautiously, but later he began to intentionally or unintentionally tidy up the walking corpses standing around him, and now he is just pushing them around randomly.

What's even more interesting is that Xue Baizhi didn't stop it at all. She just stood on the other side and quietly watched Elder Qin act in this way.

Su Che wasn't sure if he could see it clearly, but Xiao Xue's gaze towards Elder Qin still held a hint of amusement.

After walking for an unknown amount of time, we finally reached the end of this river of corpses.

A quiet, dim light shone down from ahead, finally illuminating the thick, seemingly impenetrable darkness.

suddenly see the light.

The river of corpses continued, but a completely new world could be seen ahead. A cold, eerie light pierced through the deep space and slowly spilled onto the ground.

The black earth also came to an end, the cold, hard basalt rocks reaching their limit, before leading to a gloomy ocean.

The water was pitch black and exuded a chilling aura. The extreme cold caused a layer of frost to form around Xue Baizhi and Elder Qin even before they reached the edge of the ocean.

And on this edge where the ocean and rocks meet, there stands a giant tree.

The dark brown tree trunk looked as if it had been scorched by a wildfire, and large and small galls, each about the size of a human head, were growing on the dry bark. Each gall had a facial feature on it.

Whether crying or laughing, sad or angry, happy or worried, confused or enlightened, the jet-black leaves have a luster like that of black jade.

Its roots penetrate deep into the black rock, the thick roots strangely grotesque, like corpses tightly embracing each other, the hard rock cracked by these roots, like hideous wounds.

Su Che was certain that this large tree was the source of the refreshing fragrance.

Beneath the big tree, there was a patch of flowers that looked like they were made of crystal. They had stems but no leaves, and their entire bodies were crystal clear. They grew quietly under the big tree, and the six petals of the flowers reflected a faint blue light. Although there was no wind, they swayed from time to time.

Beside the big tree and flowers is a stone bridge.

The stone bridge's body was a pale white, like a dried-up skeleton, with no steps or handrails or other superfluous elements, as if it were a rib that had been removed from its frame.

The bridge stretches endlessly, its other end seemingly connecting to a distant and unknowable horizon.

Beside all this stood a huge stone tablet, covered with ancient characters written in the style of insects and birds.

Xue Baizhi and Elder Qin followed the River of Corpses forward and discovered that the River of Corpses eventually flowed into the gloomy seawater under the stone bridge.

"This is..." Elder Qin looked at everything in front of him, his heart filled with confusion. He was originally a rogue cultivator, and his knowledge was naturally far behind that of a famous disciple like Xue Baizhi.

Moreover, if this place is truly Luo Feng City in the Nine Netherworld, it is a secret that has been lost since ancient times, and how many people would know about it?
"It should be the Xuan You Weak Water, a single drop of which weighs a thousand pounds. It can absorb all things and is said to be so cold that even a goose feather cannot cross it."

"The Mysterious Nether Weak Water has a special nature; it is the most potent of the six types of water crystals. Sword cultivators generally use it to refine immortal swords, and it is also an important material in weapon forging and alchemy."

"Of the six types of water essence, Nine Heavens Thunder Ice is formed from heavenly thunder and has the ability to nurture all things. Earth Fire Bright Essence is a wondrous substance that generates yin from yang, a top-grade material for refining artifacts. Merit Whirlpool Liquid is taken from the Buddhist Eight Treasures Merit Pool and has the ability to transform vows and cleanse worldly calamities. Azure Dragon Tears is the key to unraveling the mysteries of the womb and being reborn. Heavenly One True Water is the foremost of the six types of water essence, the rarest and known as the ancestor of all waters under heaven."

"I never imagined that this place would gather so much Xuan You Weak Water. This alone is equivalent to an almost inexhaustible wealth."

Xue Baizhi looked at the mysterious and awe-inspiring Weak Water, which resembled an ocean, and felt nothing but shock and admiration.

What kind of person could gather so much mysterious and weak water and transform it into such an ocean?

Elder Qin looked around with even greater curiosity: "What are the names of this tree, this flower, and this bridge?"

Xue Baizhi shook her head.

"The Lord of Mount Tai and Luofeng City gradually disappeared during the Middle Ages, and there is even less information available to explain all of this now. I have no idea what's going on here."

She pointed to the river of zombies behind them.

"However, I think that according to common sense, this group should have slowly climbed the stone bridge ahead and continued forward, but now it seems that for some reason they changed course and were sent directly into the Weak Water."

Elder Qin looked at the stone tablet beside the stone bridge. He didn't quite recognize the ancient characters written on it, but he could make out that there were four characters written on it.

Although the ancient scripts were mainly based on insect script and bird seal script, the variations within them were countless. The great masters of that time even modified the characters and created words according to their own methods, incorporating the true texts and Taoist rhymes that carried their own supernatural powers into them. Almost every great master corresponded to a different script, and there were as many different scripts as there were cultivation methods.

If Xuandu Palace had not sorted out various scripts after the Middle Ages, the scripts would have become bizarre and confusing, and many people would never have been able to recognize more than a few characters in their entire lives.

"Does Fairy Xue recognize what these four characters are?"

Looking at the stone tablet, Elder Qin felt a sense of regret that his life had been somewhat wasted.

“I don’t recognize it…” Xue Baizhi looked at the stone tablet: “This should be a unique script belonging to the lineage of the Lord of Mount Tai…”

A cold, sinister voice suddenly broke in.

"This place is inscribed with the four characters 'Bitter Sea, Helpless.' The place you just came from is called the Ghost Gate. Beyond the Ghost Gate lies the Bitter Sea."

"This is the gateway that guides the souls of the dead into the underworld. After the death of Lord Taishan, rumors gradually spread among the people, such as the Gate of Hell and the Bridge of Helplessness. In fact, this bridge has no name, and this sea has no name either. The so-called Sea of ​​Bitterness and Helplessness was originally Lord Taishan's greatest compassion for the living beings of this world."

Siksananda's face was ashen, and her monk's robes were torn in many places, revealing her slightly wheat-colored skin, clearly indicating that she had been through a fierce battle.

She suddenly emerged from behind the big tree; clearly, she was one of the first to arrive, but had remained there.

"Among the Ghost Lord Youjun Dharma Gate, there is the so-called Houtu Dharma, which is to have compassion and pity for all sentient beings, and it also has something in common with my Buddhist teachings."

(End of this chapter)