Immortality begins with meditation puppets

"The Abyss Secret Realm, this is the advanced secret realm I have mastered. As for the source of the information, I don't need to hide it from everyone. It was learned from Huang Lizhen of the Huang family of Penglai. The entire Huang family was wiped out because of this secret realm."

According to Huang Li, this abyss secret realm was originally sealed away by a yellow pagoda fragment, hidden from the world. Because this yellow pagoda fragment has the effect of helping people condense the Nascent Soul cultivation fruit, the Liu family of Penglai, along with several other families of Penglai, have been secretly and ruthlessly unsealing the yellow pagoda fragments in various parts of the Western Sea cultivation world for years. For their own selfish interests, they have disregarded the survival and continuation of the people of the Western Sea. The trauma caused to the Western Sea cultivation world by the escape of the Demon Buddha and the escape of ten thousand demons from the Land of Extinction is ultimately their fault. Such despicable people are even more hateful than evil demons. We, the people of the Western Sea, are indignant upon hearing this and should rise up and attack them... Uh, sorry, I got addicted to cursing Penglai. This is the draft of my future attack on Penglai. I'll skip it for now and just talk about the secret realm.

It is said that in order to break through to the Nascent Soul stage, the patriarch of the Huang family unsealed the Yellow Pagoda fragment that suppressed the Abyss Secret Realm in his ancestral land. With this Yellow Pagoda fragment, he shared his fragment with the Penglai Duke family and advanced to the Nascent Soul stage. However, he kept it a secret and did not let anyone know. His purpose was to secretly make a fortune for the Huang family members and independently develop the unsealed Abyss Secret Realm.

Initial explorations confirmed that this secret realm was part of the ancient underworld, a place of exile for ancient powerful beings who banished and exiled the most wicked and evil. These ancient demons had to have their rough edges smoothed and their sins cleansed here before they could have the chance to be reincarnated in the six realms of reincarnation. During the great calamity of the ancient times, as the underworld collapsed and reincarnation became disordered, this place was targeted by several high-ranking demons. They bewitched and drove the demons within to wreak havoc in various parts of Tianyuan, and even wanted to refine this place into the demons' base in the Tianyuan Realm, making it an existence like the Thirteen Demon Realms of the Heavens today. Later, the Witch Clan and the Reincarnation Sect joined forces to break through it, killing all the high-ranking demons within. With the help of the Supreme Sect, they used the Yellow Pagoda to suppress the entrance and the demons within.

During the Huang family's early explorations, they discovered that after countless years, in the secluded abyss, those once ferocious and powerful demons were no longer as formidable as before. As for the origins of these evil spirits, not a single one was found. It was because the ancient powerful beings were meticulous in their actions and did not trust the wisdom of later generations. They had arranged everything for the evil spirits back then, leaving no trouble for future generations.

While the dangers were minimal, the benefits were numerous. Preliminary explorations had already uncovered over a dozen mines, including Soul Stone mines, and hundreds of other underworld-specific spirit beasts such as the Prison-Suppressing Divine Elephant, the Netherfire Three-Headed Dog, and the Netherworld Lynx. This greatly tempted the Huang family. Once the Penglai artificial heavenly court project was completed and the Huang family had several deities to supplement their fighting force, the Huang family patriarch gave an order, and all the second-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators and above in the family emptied the Huang family treasury, distributing all the strategic resources accumulated over the years, such as puppets, formations, talismans, pills, and armor, to their designated locations, determined to conquer this abyss secret realm in one fell swoop.

As everyone knows, the Huang family suffered a terrible fate, with only one heir, Huang Li Zhenren, escaping. Of course, being a kind-hearted person, I revealed everything he knew to him and then reunited his family. According to him, after the Huang family set out into the Abyss Secret Realm, things went smoothly for the first few days. He even subdued a fourth-tier Soul-Devouring Spider, and the other members of the Huang family also made their own gains. Just when they were feeling triumphant and ready to continue their great efforts, they discovered a well-preserved Yama Palace.

The reputation of the Yama Palace is well-known, so I won't go into too much detail. In short, when the Huang family saw this palace, they were almost bursting with excitement. After sending a team with puppet spirit beasts to check the situation and confirming that there was no danger inside, the Huang family patriarch led the Huang family into the palace. He only arranged for Huang Li to lead more than a hundred people to guard and provide support outside, in preparation for seeking help from the outside world if a major crisis occurred, at least to drag the Liu family and Zhao family into the mess.

Unfortunately, all the preparations were in vain. In Huang Li's perception, after the Huang family entered the Yama Palace, they disappeared without a trace, like a mud ox sinking into the sea. He waited and waited, but no one came out. Realizing something was wrong, he sent several teams to check in batches, but still found nothing. Instead, hundreds more Huang family disciples went missing in the Yama Palace.

At this point, Huang Li realized something was wrong and tried to escape the secret realm with the rest of his people. He then planned to find the Liu and Zhao families and gather forces from all sides of Penglai to rescue his ancestor and clansmen. However, as he fled, boundless dark clouds suddenly rose in the Yama Palace, and a million ghost soldiers, white bones wielding spears, chased after them. If he hadn't realized something was wrong with the palace and retreated the camp repeatedly, he would have been thousands of miles away from the Yama Palace, and the pursuers would not have been able to catch up. He wouldn't have even been able to escape the Abyss Secret Realm.

Then came a series of insignificant events: the Liu family, seeing the Huang family's weakness, wanted both the secret realm and the Huang family's accumulated wealth, intending to devour them completely. Huang Li fought back, but with nowhere to turn, he ultimately resorted to desperate measures, seeking refuge with me.

At this point, Su Qing sighed with regret. The Huang family had risen to power in Penglai for so many years, holding a significant stake in the early stages of the dynasty. Having weathered numerous infighting within Penglai's families and still standing strong, producing a Nascent Soul ancestor and several fourth-tier deities, they should have been able to make a name for themselves in the spiritually revitalized Tianyuan Realm. Yet, this illustrious family collapsed in an instant due to a moment of greed. He was now uncertain about the outcome of his exploration of this abyss secret realm, whether he would lose all the wealth he had accumulated over the years. Of course, he wouldn't die. Before going to this secret realm, he had prepared hundreds or even thousands of substitute dolls for himself—otherwise, how could he be himself?

After listening to him for a long time, Liang Haishun and the others looked at each other in silence, still unsure whether they should go or not.

Go? The benefits are obvious: not only are there unique minerals from the ancient underworld and all kinds of spirit beasts, any one of which could fetch an astronomical price in the modern cultivation world, but what excites cultivators even more is the ancient heritage within the underworld.

The cultivators present are all idealists and have aspirations. In recent years, they have taken advantage of the rise of Tianyuan and have made enough money. They no longer care about ordinary wealth and glory, and are only interested in things that cannot be bought with spirit stones.

In ancient times, there were three realms: Heaven, Earth, and Man. People have heard of the might of the Heavenly Court, with its millions of divine generals, whose thunder and rain were all divine blessings. They also know of the Human Court, where all races pay homage and who is the overlord of all realms. However, they know very little about the Underworld, which is on par with the Heavenly Court and the Human Court.

The underworld is low-key and unknown to the world, but even without thinking, people know how powerful it is. It can control the six realms of reincarnation, arrange life and death. These crucial matters are handled by them. If they are not strong, what makes them so special?
According to many ancient Taoist records, some people investigated in ancient times and found that among the three forces of Heaven, Humanity, and the Underworld, the Underworld was the most corrupt. Every moment, people would line up to find a way into the Underworld, hoping to arrange a good reincarnation for themselves or their family and friends, so that they could truly win at the starting line and be superior to others even in the womb.

Such incidents are commonplace, and even when exposed, no one dares to investigate. Isn't this because the Underworld is a complex and powerful force? Ancient chronicles record that the founder of the Underworld was the ancestral witch of the Wu tribe, the founder of the Reincarnation Sect, and Houtu Niangniang, the goddess of all races and beings. Zhen Yuanzi, a member of the scattered immortal lineage, contributed the Book of Earth to acquire a portion of the initial shares, and the Styx Ancestor donated the Nine Netherworld Land to acquire some shares as well. After the second round of investment attraction, the Heavenly Court invested thousands of divine positions, which the Underworld could freely allocate. The Buddhist sect sent bodhisattvas to work for the Underworld indefinitely. Thus, this Underworld involved various forces, and naturally, no one dared to investigate.

The power structure of the Underworld is as follows: besides the high-ranking Empress Houtu, who represents the interests of the Underworld itself, there is the Fengdu Emperor, who is appointed by the Heavenly Court and sent to the Underworld, the Dongyue Emperor, who represents Buddhism, the Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, the henchmen of the Styx River and Zhen Yuanzi, the Five Ghost Emperors, and the Ten Kings of Hell, the Six Cases Officials, the Reincarnation Department, the Judges Department, the Underworld Department, and other internal affairs personnel who actually carry out the work. In addition, the Ten Underworld Marshals lead the army of underworld soldiers who are in charge of external wars. This is roughly the power structure of the Underworld.

Among them, the Ten Kings of Hell are neither the best nor the worst. Although they are still employees, they are at least high-level employees. Without the strength of a sixth-level Void Refinement cultivator, they cannot hold their own. Of course, because they are in charge of life and death and reincarnation, they inevitably encounter some beings stronger than a sixth-level Void Refinement cultivator in their daily work. Those who are registered are fine, but it is not good if some monkeys that pop out of nowhere come to cause trouble. Even the King of Hell cannot handle them. However, such monkeys are rare, and such incidents are also rare. In most cases, the King of Hell and his subordinates can make the sinful souls tremble with fear and are very powerful. And who would not take action when they see the inherited treasures left by this King of Hell? Who would not want to try it like the Huang family?

The Huang family members died after trying, which means they were unlucky and short-lived. But this group of people might be very lucky and chosen by God.
The opportunity is huge, I really want to go all in.

However, it must be said that the Huang family's example was too tragic. The Huang family patriarch and a group of fourth-order gods, along with the various cultivation artifacts accumulated by their family over the years, were not to be underestimated. Yet they perished silently in the Yama Palace. If these people rashly enter, wouldn't they also be like sheep entering a tiger's den? Moreover, they would be even more foolish than the Huang family's flock of sheep. They would be like fools who know the danger inside but still want to deliver food to others' doorsteps!
The hesitant and wavering cultivators then turned to look at Su Qing. They understood that while they could shamelessly claim to be chosen by Heaven, Heaven would certainly not recognize them. But Su Qing seemed to be close. Hadn't they seen the Azure Dragon Dao Mark land on him? Having followed him for years and witnessed him escape danger time and time again, they knew he was different from them. Perhaps he had given gifts to the underworld in a past life, and in this life, he was a chosen one of destiny registered with Heaven. Following him was definitely the right thing to do!
"Master Su, what are your thoughts?"

"His thoughts? Master Su has already told us he's going to this Abyss Secret Realm. What else could he be thinking? He definitely wants to take everyone there for an adventure!"

"Master Su, give me a straight answer. What preparations have you made, and when are you going? I have to guarantee that I've already made arrangements for my nephew and niece, and I have no worries. Even if I die now, it will be enough to do justice to my sister and brother-in-law. I'm still going to follow you this time. If I die, my eggs will face the sky; if I don't die, I'll live a long life!"

Su Qing could understand the feelings of these cultivators at this moment.

It should be noted that after learning about the Abyss Secret Realm from Huang Li, he hesitated until now. Only now, having gained some capital and made several brothers and friends, has he finally made up his mind to go and pull off a heist.

"Please be patient, everyone. Over the years, I have asked Fellow Daoist Tong to bring me thousands of Daoist books about the ancient underworld from various sects in different realms. From these books, I have gained a better understanding of this abyss and secret realm."

Based on my judgment, the Yama Palace that appeared in this secret realm should be the Chujiang King Palace, one of the Ten Yama Kings. When the ancient underworld collapsed, the Chujiang King led the three Yin Generals to guard the abyss and resist the invasion of evil spirits. Unfortunately, the evil spirits colluded with the fierce gods and evil beings within, which led to the failure of the mission and the loss of control over the entire abyss. This is why the Wu Clan, under the orders of the Ancestral Witch Houtu, came to this secret realm with the Samsara Sect to clean up the mess and seal it away.

Of course, times change, and things are not what they used to be. We don't know yet whether the person sitting in this hall is still King Chujiang. However, judging from the annihilation of the entire Huang family, whoever is in the hall probably doesn't have any goodwill towards us cultivators. Judging from his ability to annihilate the Huang family patriarch and prevent him from escaping, he must be at least at the peak of the fifth-order Nascent Soul stage, or at most, the sixth-order Void Refinement stage.

It's at most at the sixth level of Void Refinement, and it certainly wouldn't reach the seventh level of Dao Integration. Otherwise, that yellow pagoda fragment wouldn't have been able to seal it.

These are the risks we are aware of. At that time, the Huang family had only explored half of this abyss when they encountered the Yama Palace. What lies behind this palace is unknown to us. We can only speculate about the extent of the risks or opportunities that lie ahead.

I'm not greedy. My idea is to lead everyone in first and see what happens in front of the Yama's Palace. I can use the puppets to check the situation. If it's beyond our capabilities, we can retreat or share it with the major sects so they can figure out how to handle it. We can follow them and get a share of the spoils.

However, this is just my personal opinion. I also have special means to ensure my own safety, which is why I dared to try this secret realm. Fellow Daoists, if you are to make a decision, you must consider your own circumstances, whether the risks match the opportunities, whether you might regret going, or whether you would regret not going. In short, the decision is in your own hands. I welcome you to go, and it's fine if you don't. (End of Chapter)