Volume One: Turmoil in Yan and Yun Chapter Ninety-Two: Yama Shatters the Mortal Realm

Ghost Gate appears, and the Underworld opens.

Dou Xiaotong naturally knew what this meant. In terms of breadth of knowledge, no one could match him except Li Jinxing.

The highest inner art of the Soul Seizing Pavilion was the Manifestation of Ghosts and Gods, and its corresponding ultimate techniques came in three forms: Ghost Gate Appears, the Hundred Ghosts March, and the World of Yama.

And this was only the first emergence of the Ghost Gate, yet it already carried such overwhelming force. Soul Without Form had, over the years, deepened his understanding of the Dao so much? Could it be because he had allied himself with the Netherworld?

As that thought crossed his mind, he pressed down lightly with his palm. A thousand formations began to turn at once, and the heavens split open with a thunderous crash, revealing the boundless starry void beyond.

What people called the blue sky was nothing more than the result of scattered light. Now that the light of the outside world could no longer enter the world formed by the array, there was naturally no such thing as a sky anymore.

Creak.

At that moment, a sudden sound of a door opening rang out. The Ghost Gate opened a narrow crack, and through it one could see a blinding white radiance. Immediately after, countless streams of blue-black energy surged eagerly out of that white brilliance, carrying a bone-deep chill.

A thin layer of ice formed over the ground. Neither sacred flame nor blazing sun could melt it, and even the formations nearest the Ghost Gate began to tremble faintly.

The sound of the door opening grew ever more shrill, and the gap in the Ghost Gate widened bit by bit. Suddenly, a ghostly figure shot out. It had barely taken two steps before a beam of light blazed from within the formation, and that apparition turned to a wisp of green smoke before it could even struggle.

"Compared with before, this Ghost Gate seems to be opening much more slowly," Dou Xiaotong said softly. "It has even provoked the rejection of heaven and earth. Could it be because the ghostly energy is too heavy?"

"A false Ghost Gate and a counterfeit Underworld, and yet you dare put on such a show of divine mystery?" he said with amused wonder.

The words had barely fallen when the Ghost Gate burst fully open, and countless vengeful spirits poured out in frantic waves.

Dou Xiaotong's expression still did not change. He looked down with interest, finding the sight of those wraiths surging forth like a tide rather magnificent.

If his formations could truly be broken by sheer numbers of these ghosts, that would be the strange thing.

If one were to speak of combat strength, he might not rank at the very top. But if it was a matter of who could kill better, there were not many in this world who could surpass him.

In former days, the temple master had swept across fifty provinces beyond the passes with a single sword. If he had not intervened to shield those commoners, the death toll might have been even greater.

To protect so many people in an instant was an extremely difficult feat. Even if a heaven-piercing expert came, at best they could only block the technique of the Harmony of Light and Dust, but Dou Xiaotong had achieved it through formations alone.

That was far harder than killing.

So when it came to killing, it would be much simpler for him. Creatures of this level of ghostliness, if they did not form a battle array, could be slain as many as came.

With a slight turn of thought, the formations began to operate even faster. Countless beams of light of all colors kept appearing from the void and vanishing back into it, and in the process, the majority of the vengeful spirits were turned to wisps of pale smoke.

Yet still, the endless ghosts continued to pour out of the Ghost Gate in a desperate rush, charging toward death one after another.

With a loud clang, the Ghost Gate finally opened wide. A chill like a vast sea swept out, momentarily halting the slaughter the great formation was inflicting upon the ghosts. Even the beams of light in the void seemed to be frozen by the Netherworld's frigid breath.

Dou Xiaotong gave a light exclamation. "The Hundred Ghosts March? Stronger than before."

The words had barely fallen when dozens of ghosts slid out along that cold breath. Their forms and auras were far stronger than the others.

Exactly one hundred, no more and no less.

"Black and White Impermanence, Ox-Head and Horse-Face, oh? Even Zhong Kui is here... If those bald monks of the Buddhist school were here and saw so many souls beyond salvation, they would surely be furious," Dou Xiaotong sighed. "What to do? I don't know how to deliver salvation."

He paused, then narrowed his eyes and smiled, looking very much like some sinister old man trying to traffic in children. "Since I can't let the mortal world descend into chaos, then I'll just kill them all."

As if sensing Dou Xiaotong's malice, the hundred ghost generals all raised their heads to stare at him. They had no pupils, only dull, lifeless whites.

Judge Cui swept a great hand through the air and drew a line across the Book of Life and Death with his brush.

Nothing seemed to change in the scene.

Dou Xiaotong's pupils contracted slightly.

In that instant, he had clearly seen the Wither-and-Bloom Hundred Herbs Formation, which symbolized vitality, being severed cleanly at the waist. Though it repaired itself in an instant, it had undeniably been cut apart.

He had not expected these ghosts to be able to see through his formations. It seemed that the Hundred Ghosts March possessed not only greater strength than in the past, but also far more cunning.

Using a thousand formations as a world, the Wither-and-Bloom Hundred Herbs Formation was the source of life within that world. If its life force were destroyed, then the world itself would collapse.

Judge Cui's hand moved with dazzling speed. Every stroke of his brush could split the Wither-and-Bloom Hundred Herbs Formation for an instant.

But that was all.

Judge Cui could not break the Wither-and-Bloom Hundred Herbs Formation. He came to an abrupt, wooden halt, looked left and right, and saw the hundred ghosts emerge in all directions, rushing off toward a hundred separate fronts as the battle erupted at once.

How could this look like they were being controlled by anyone else?

These ghosts clearly possessed self-awareness!

Dou Xiaotong's expression was grim. He murmured to himself, "Soul Without Form, does the Hundred Ghosts March you command now still remain under your control?"

No answer came from the Ghost Gate.

"If you cannot break the foundation of the formation, then you mean to destroy all of it?" Dou Xiaotong muttered as he sensed the situation within the array.

In the blink of an eye, dozens of formations had been shattered. It had to be said that the Hundred Ghosts March had more than enough reason to leave such a heavy mark in the annals of history.

The ordinary ghosts followed behind the hundred ghost generals. Whenever one of the generals was wounded, they would dissolve into pure spiritual power to replenish them, keeping them at peak condition at all times. In turn, most of the great formation's attacks were borne by the hundred ghost generals, preventing the other ghosts from losing their souls too quickly.

Though he was immensely confident in the formations he had laid down, he had to admit that at this rate, their destruction was only a matter of time.

Dou Xiaotong's gaze gradually sharpened. Since the day he faced the minister of the demon race, this was the first time he had shown such an expression in battle.

"You want the mortal realm overrun with evil ghosts? Then I'll break you first!" Dou Xiaotong raised two fingers, pointed from afar at the Ghost Gate, and shouted, "Condense!"

All the formations slowly solidified, finally becoming nine hundred and ninety-nine points of light.

Points joined with points to form lines.

Lines joined with lines to form planes.

Planes joined with planes to form a body.

The linked grand formation merged into that body, and the originally intangible array gradually became solid!

The interplay of the real and the unreal was the path many Dao-Integration experts sought, but imagination alone could not turn the void into reality. Most such attempts depended on some other force, such as primal energy or the will of a weapon. Yet no path truly created something from nothing.

Dou Xiaotong had accomplished this great formation purely through his understanding of formations, and that was already considered very far along that road.

As the great formation fully solidified, the air itself seemed to crack.

Countless lesser ghosts were still surging out of the Ghost Gate, only to be pinned down by the might of the formation. Ghosts possessed souls but no true spirit, and in an instant they vanished like smoke.

At last the grand array fully took shape. Cracks in the void spread across every visible scene, and within this space, even the Ghost Gate itself was shattered.

The hundred ghost generals were also immobilized by this overwhelming pressure, and some of the lesser ghosts could not even lift their heads.

"Ninety-nine hundred and ninety-nine formations correspond to nine hundred and ninety-nine Great Ways. Using them as a foundation, one may build a formation and make a world," Dou Xiaotong said calmly. "This formation, I name Mortal Realm."

"Fine means."

Soul Without Form's voice sounded from within the Ghost Gate.

Dou Xiaotong did not answer. His finger slid down slowly and pointed at the Ghost Gate covered in cracks. "Go."

The Mortal Realm shot into the Ghost Gate with lightning speed.

Several thunderous explosions came from within the gate, along with the screams and howls of countless vengeful spirits.

Outside the Ghost Gate, a blaze of intense light erupted. Through that radiance, one could make out a towering figure.

All the ghosts were transformed into the purest spiritual power, flowing toward that figure, and the hundred ghost generals were no exception.

A terrifying fluctuation surged from within the Ghost Gate, bearing both the force of that figure and the force of the formation itself.

Dou Xiaotong could feel the power gathered within the formation, and he knew all too well the gulf between that power and the figure within.

Yama!

Very strong. That was Dou Xiaotong's first reaction.

The Mortal Realm could not stop him. That was his second.

Before he could even form a third thought, Yama lifted a hand, and a long blade slowly appeared in his grasp.

The blade fell.

First, the endless light was cleaved cleanly in two, revealing the mountain of corpses and sea of blood within the Netherworld, along with Yama's sinister mask.

Then the Mortal Realm formation itself was split apart. As the realm was broken, endless karmic fire erupted forth, falling toward Yama like meteors. In the blink of an eye, it ignited the entire Underworld, only to be extinguished by the blade aura.

Then the Ghost Gate itself was shattered, the door linking the worlds of yin and yang collapsing as ghostly energy flooded out in all directions.

And finally came Dou Xiaotong's body. From his left shoulder to his right hip, he was cleaved cleanly in two by a single strike.

Strangely, no blood spilled out, much less any organs.

His body suddenly became faint and insubstantial, like a reflection in water.

A reflection cannot be cut. Any severed place will always mend again with the flow of the water.

Dou Xiaotong's body followed suit and healed. His face had gone deathly pale, sweat covered him in a thin sheen, and a trace of shock had appeared in the depths of his eyes.

He was certain that even a Heaven Sword Extremity, a god-hidden expert famed for overwhelming offensive power, could not possibly annihilate the Mortal Realm with a single strike.

He had seen many god-hidden experts in his time, human and nonhuman alike, living and dead.

Not one of them possessed power like this.

This... was clearly the might of a heaven-piercing being!

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