A master of comedy!

Chapter 40 Erlang Zhenjun
"Master, is this Little Thunder Pool also a lineage of our Yin Opera?"

Two figures ran quickly along the dark road. Although it was dark around them, the grass, trees, strange rocks, and thorns seemed to be able to see them clearly.

"Of course not. This is a unique skill of the sorcerer lineage of the Yin Bai family. People of this lineage are somewhat similar to Taoists, but they are wilder and their methods are more bizarre... You will understand when you encounter them."

After a pause, Yu Zhensheng advised, "Each school has its own strengths. When you achieve great success in your cultivation, you can also learn more tricks—learn the unique skills of other lineages, which may prove very useful."

Zhou Sheng nodded and silently remembered his master's teachings.

"Of course, the most important thing is our skill in performing shady plays; we absolutely cannot neglect this."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Sheng's heart stirred, and he quickly asked, "Master, during my battle with the barbarians, I entered a state of perfect harmony with the role, and almost couldn't step out of the performance. At that time, I think I saw—"

"You saw Zhong Kui, didn't you?"

Yu Zhensheng suddenly raised his eyes and looked at him, saying, "Not only did you see Zhong Kui, but you also felt that he seemed to want to communicate with you, and that you could even become one with him if you got close, is that right?"

Zhou Sheng nodded.

"Remember, no matter what you hear in that state in the future, don't take it seriously, and don't try to contact them."

At this moment, Yu Zhensheng's expression became more solemn than ever before.

"But Master, I feel like it's... more than just an illusion?"

Zhou Sheng recalled the scene when he saw the Celestial Master Zhong Kui. He seemed to have truly heard the whispers of the gods and felt their aura.

It was as if I were standing in front of Zhong Kui, separated by some time and space.

The sudden thrill gave him a strong intuition that the figure who had met his gaze and rode a tiger towards him... was real.

Upon hearing this, a ripple appeared in Yu Zhensheng's eyes, and he then gave his disciple a deep look.

“Back then, I asked your grandmaster the exact same question.”

Zhou Sheng was taken aback and quickly asked, "What was Grandmaster's answer?"

"Extreme wisdom is easily broken, and high moral character can lead to demonic possession. Form and formlessness are both illusions."

"This is your grandmaster's answer."

Zhou Sheng felt somewhat disappointed; it seemed that his grandmaster thought those were just simple illusions.

“But I don’t believe your master. Back then, I was just like you, I absolutely trusted my intuition. Later, I tried to contact the deities in the illusion.”

The sound stopped abruptly, and Yu Zhensheng seemed lost in some kind of memory, remaining silent for a long time.

"Master, and then what?"

Yu Zhensheng then came to his senses and immediately let out a cold laugh.

"Then?"

"Then my whole family died, and I was crippled. I had no choice but to retire from crime and go into hiding, which is how I met you, this little troublemaker!"

Zhou Sheng: "..."

For a moment he couldn’t tell whether his master’s words were true or false. Just as he was about to ask more questions, his master suddenly stopped.

"Master, what's wrong—"

"Shh!"

Yu Zhensheng silenced him, and then he slowly looked around, a hint of seriousness gradually appearing in his eyes.

Ahead lay a winding and rugged mountain road, surrounded by a tall locust tree forest, its dense foliage almost completely obscuring the moonlight.

It was pitch black and eerie.

How long have we been walking?

"About an hour."

Zhou Sheng's voice also became serious, clearly indicating that something was wrong.

He had walked this mountain path many times. At his and his master's pace, it usually took them about half an hour to get out of the mountain and see the stele pavilion on the main road.

But we've walked for so long, why is it still a mountain road?

He had been so engrossed in discussing the illusory deities with his master that he had overlooked this point.

Yu Zhensheng bent down, grabbed a handful of soil, sniffed it, and then sneered: "The people coming from below are heavy with yin energy, their feet are covered in the Yellow Springs water. Wherever they go, even if it doesn't rain, the soil will be unusually damp." "It seems they've already caught up."

Zhou Sheng felt a chill run down his spine, though he was completely unaware of it.

Yu Zhensheng patted his shoulder, then looked around, laughed loudly, clasped his hands and said, "Yu Zhensheng, successor of the Yinxi lineage, since the judge has come, why not show yourself?"

The surroundings were completely silent, with only the rustling of leaves in the wind.

"Although my apprentice killed Magistrate Zhu and the rampant soldiers, it was to uphold the justice of the underworld law. After all, the matter of head swapping... doesn't sound very pleasant."

"Judge, you have traveled a long way to the mortal world. This little bit of paper money is not much of a token of our respect. Please take it and have some tea. Let's leave it at that. My apprentice and I will keep our mouths shut and never get involved in this matter again."

As he spoke, Yu Zhensheng took out a large stack of paper money from his sleeve, chanted an incantation, and with a flick of his hand, flames appeared on the paper money.

Yu Zhensheng scattered the paper money.

However, the next moment, a mountain wind blew in, not only extinguishing the flames on the paper money, but also scattering the paper money into pieces.

Yu Zhensheng's eyes narrowed slightly, and he said coldly, "It seems that the judge is determined to kill my disciple?"

The surroundings remained empty and silent.

Zhou Sheng used his keen eyes to examine the area carefully, but found no clues whatsoever, not even a trace of the underworld gods.

"Don't waste your magic power. With your meager cultivation, if the judge doesn't want to show himself, you won't see him even if you work yourself to death."

Yu Zhensheng shook his head. He said that the all-seeing eye could see ghosts and gods, but only if the ghosts and gods did not obstruct it; otherwise, it was still blind.

"Master, what should we do now?"

"What should we do? Of course, we should keep going and not look back."

Yu Zhensheng strode forward, but after walking for another half an hour, the surrounding mountain path remained unchanged.

"Hehe, a ghost wall, it seems the judge is determined to trap us, master and disciple, here to die."

Zhou Sheng felt a chill run down his spine upon hearing this.

He was naturally not afraid of ordinary ghost walls, which he could easily break with a wave of his hand. However, he could not see the slightest flaw in the bewitching array set up by the judge, even with his discerning eyes.

The opponent didn't even intend to show himself, leaving him with no way to exert his fighting spirit, even though he had the will to fight to the death.

If he didn't use the Luoshu, he would probably be completely helpless, forever lost in this place until he died.

Fortunately, besides Luo Shu, he also had his master.

"Since the judge insists on taking my disciple's life, then take it!"

Yu Zhensheng spoke clearly, his voice echoing among the trees, full of energy, like a gong or drum.

Zhou Sheng felt as if he had been struck by lightning.

What the hell?
Even the eerie wind that whistled through the rocks and vegetation seemed to pause briefly.

At that very moment, the sound of jade vibrating resonated.

He had somehow tucked a smear of cinnabar into his fingertips, closed his eyes, and smeared it on his brow, leaving a red vertical line.

It resembled a vertical pupil formed from a concentrated flame.

The next moment, Yu Zhensheng suddenly opened his tightly closed eyes. Whether it was an illusion or not, the dark forest seemed to light up for a moment, as if a flash of lightning had appeared.

Lightning flashed, followed by thunder.

Yu Zhensheng's singing voice was like thunder.

"The Pure and Wondrous Daoist Erlang Shen, whose illustrious name resounds throughout the Heavenly Court!"

"The Supreme General of the Lingxiao Palace is hereby ordered to arrest—"

"Little monkey!!"

……

　Thank you Zhe Shisan for the 500 reward! Sending you love!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)