Chapter 156: The Tunnel of Reincarnation

Chapter 156: The Reincarnation Tunnel

Niu Tou and Ma Mian simply could not believe their eyes. They continuously rubbed their strange, grayish-white hands against their faces, terrified that they were suffering from some chronic senile vision defect and had seen things wrongly.

However, upon seeing Wu Hong’s slight smile, the two instantly petrified, huge waves of shock churning within their hearts. At the same time, they vaguely sensed that the nearly one million vanished souls might be related to this person sitting right in front of them, whose very name they did not even know.

Was it because the two ghost guards' vital energy and blood were surging violently, shaken by the powerful fluctuations of Wu Hong's soul?

They had never before encountered a human with such a powerful soul. Even their Lord of the Underworld was merely on par with this.

Before boarding the ghost carriage, this young man's soul fluctuations had not been nearly this powerful. Yet, after taking a trip through the Underworld River, his soul power had grown to such a degree—this alone spoke volumes.

Yet, everything was too late now. The two ghost guards had already stepped onto the ghost carriage, and without the designated ghost guard to open it from the outside, the doors were absolutely impossible to open.

"How are you two doing? I hope you will forgive my offense just now!" Wu Hong looked at the naive ghost guards and said with a faint smile.

"Ah? So it was all your little trick? I'm going to report you!" Niu Tou and Ma Mian exchanged glances, then simultaneously dashed toward Wu Hong, casting all decorum aside, intent on giving him a severe beating.

Without wishing to harm them, Wu Hong triggered the demonic energy around his body, and the two ghost guards were sent flying backward, slamming heavily against the window panels of the carriage with a loud thud.

Clearly, however, the two ghost guards were enraged to the extreme and unwilling to let Wu Hong off so easily. They scrambled up from the floor once again and charged straight at him.

"You two, since what's done is done, why don't we sit down and talk? Perhaps I can bring both of you safely out of the agony of reincarnation?"

Wu Hong's words actually worked. The two ghost guards abruptly halted their charge and spoke in unison, "Heheh—kid, aren't you boasting a bit too much? Ever since the Reincarnation was formed, it has never been heard of that any holy spirit could retain complete memories and escape reincarnation! Even the Buddhas of the Heavens cannot do it—"

Hearing the ghost guards' words, Wu Hong was startled! It was clear that shortly, the ghost carriage would pass through some sort of reincarnation tunnel, which must be immensely formidable.

Yet, seeing the agitated ghost guards preparing to charge at him again, he quickly asked, "Then, before me, has there ever been a human in the flesh who completely crossed the Underworld River while preserving a complete soul consciousness?"

With every single word of Wu Hong's rapidfire questions, the two ghost guards' bodies trembled violently. Eventually, their mouths gradually widened, their faces filled with utter astonishment.

Had they not witnessed Wu Hong's state with their own eyes, if an outsider had told them such a thing, they would never have believed it even if beaten to death.

Yet, Wu Hong's flesh and blood existed in real-time, and his soul still surged with billowing demonic energy, clearly completely unaffected by the Underworld River water.

No matter how hard the two ghost guards racked their brains, they could never have imagined that within Wu Hong's mind existed a demonized scripture. This scripture was originally a holy book intended to deliver all living beings, manifest the ancestral forms of the heavens, and serve as the Primordial Buddha of Ten Thousand Buddhas!

Yet, even if Wu Hong had relied on his previous state of the Great Sun Tathagata True Interpretation, he could not have successfully passed through the baptism of the Underworld River.

It was precisely the demonized, bizarre scripture that had been reforged into 'fragmented' form, which thoroughly assimilated and refined the energy within the Underworld's Blood Sea for Wu Hong's own use. This allowed Wu Hong's physical body and soul to be baptized while losing absolutely nothing.

Even Wu Hong himself did not fully understand the principles behind it, let alone the two ghost guards.

Upon hearing Wu Hong's words, the two ghost guards were completely dumbfounded. Such a situation had indeed occurred in legends, but that was when an supremely powerful entity of heaven and earth had been mistakenly summoned by negligent ghost guards.

That was a Saint King of the demon race whose power shook the heavens and moved the gods. Possessing an invincible golden body, he did not need to ride a ghost carriage to physically resist the baptism of the Underworld River; he had wreaked havoc in the underworld, altered life and death, returned triumphantly to the mortal realm, and established absolute hegemony.

Yet, although the youth before them was strong, he clearly could not be mentioned in the same breath as that ancient Saint King.

Clearly, this was a peculiar youth who had used some bizarre method to escape the baptism of the Underworld River, keeping his flesh from rotting and his soul from scattering.

"Perhaps..." The two ghost guards exchanged a glance, a fire of hope igniting in their hearts.

"Heh, you two should tell me what that reincarnation is all about, so I can be prepared."

"Brother, let's spare this kid for now. Perhaps because of him, we still have a chance?" Ma Mian said to Niu Tou.

After a brief exchange between the two ghost guards, they came over to Wu Hong and quietly sat down on the carriage floor just like him.

Their large bovine and equine eyes stared unblinkingly at Wu Hong, trying to discern his peculiarities, but they were somewhat disappointed.

Withdrawing his smile slightly, Wu Hong said, "Don't look at me like that, you'll make me shy."

Hearing Wu Hong's words, Niu Tou and Ma Mian instantly felt the urge to erupt and strike him.

"I'm so hungry! Oh—Big Brother, what kind of monsters are these two? They look like they'd be delicious..." Having slept soundly inside Wu Hong's sleeve—completely unaffected by the Underworld River water—Kun Kun suddenly woke up, stretched lazily, and bounced out from Wu Hong's cuff.

"Ah—what is this? How come I've never seen such a creature in the mortal realm—" Catching sight of the small beast appearing before them, Niu Tou and Ma Mian were struck with terror. They stood up in unison, panic written all over their faces, and stumbled back several steps before managing to steady themselves.

"Ah, Kun Kun, you're awake. Those two aren't for eating, though!" Wu Hong was pleasantly surprised, yet felt a pang of guilt in his heart. Ever since Kun Kun had started following him, it had remained in a state of hunger and deep slumber.

Hearing it wake up and immediately search for food tugged at Wu Hong's heartstrings.

Yet, when Niu Tou and Ma Mian laid eyes upon the Kun Kun beast, utter dismay gripped them. The creatures of heaven and earth were diverse, and they had seen plenty.

They had even laid eyes on the Saint King who had wreaked havoc in hell back in the day, yet they completely failed to recognize this abruptly appearing small beast.

How could they not be terrified? Moreover, although this small beast's body was tiny, the energy contained within it was even more terrifying than that of the young man before them; it could directly be described as vast and boundless, like facing an entire realm of heaven and earth.

"Ghost Guard Lords, there is no need for alarm. The reason I have some confidence in escaping reincarnation is not without basis. This is a Kunpeng beast; I assume the two of you must have heard of it?"

"What? Kid, what did you say? How is that possible? The Kunpeng vanished from heaven and earth long ago! The most powerful avian species in the world today is the Golden-Winged Great Peng! How could the Kunpeng—the ancient, legendary teacher of all demon kind—appear here?"

Upon hearing Wu Hong state that the small beast before them was a Kunpeng, both ghost guards were so frightened that their hearts nearly leaped out of their chests.

In their understanding, the Kunpeng beast had long since vanished from this world.

Legend had it that the Kunpeng beast existed prior to the Six Paths of Reincarnation, in an era extremely distant—so distant that even some supreme mighty figures had forgotten that age when gods and demons filled the skies.

It was the era when the demon race ruled the world.

Yet the existence of the small beast right before their eyes was an utterly inexplicable phenomenon.

After their initial shock subsided, their faces filled with wild joy, and they thought to themselves, "If what this person says is true... if this small beast is truly the boundless-powered Kunpeng beast, then escaping reincarnation completely is no empty boast or tall tale!

"One must know that the appearance of the Kunpeng beast predated reincarnation itself, and it possessed limitless magical power!

"Although this small beast is clearly in a stage shortly after birth, it is, after all, a legendary creature of heaven and earth creation. Its various miraculous traits are not something minor ghost guards like them could fathom."

Wu Hong was likewise deeply shocked in his heart. He knew Kun Kun was extraordinary, but he had never imagined its origins could be so astounding.

"Very well, we believe you. It's possible to completely escape reincarnation! Tell us, what do you suggest we do?"

After a long while, the two ghost guards finally calmed down and sat back down opposite Wu Hong.

At this moment, the ghost carriage continued moving on its own, as if guided by some pulling force.

The scenery outside shifted wildly. In the blink of an eye, the ghost carriage arrived before a gigantic black hole. Just a single glance at this black hole was enough to shake one's mind and soul.

Clearly, the ghost carriage was a supreme treasure of the underworld, capable of protecting the safety of souls! If an ordinary soul, devoid of the ghost carriage's protection, were to suddenly appear before this black hole, it would likely be instantly shredded to pieces and vanish from heaven and earth.

"Ah! Big Brother, it feels like I've been here before? There's so much to eat inside..." Kun Kun drooped with saliva as it gazed at the black hole outside the ghost carriage.

Its words made Niu Tou and Ma Mian even more convinced that this extraordinary youth had the ability to break free from reincarnation.

However, Wu Hong's brows furrowed slightly at this moment, as he felt the black hole outside the carriage suffused with an endless oppressive might aimed at human souls.

With Wu Hong currently being a flesh-and-blood entity carrying a soul, this sensation caused him to tremble even more.