Inside Chen Shi's body were hundreds of evil spirits that even someone like Chen Yin couldn't detect. Discussing the level of each spirit was pointless now. If you consider them as a whole, what level of evil spirit is Chen Shi? Demon level? Disaster level? Or Calamity level?
Moreover, Chen Shi now seemed like a passageway and container connecting the two realms of Yin and Yang, with more evil spirits crawling into his body and hiding once inside. Qingyang thought about suggesting entering Chen Shi's dreams to find the source of these spirits, but the idea now made him shiver with fear.
If they had actually gone in, they would be three cold corpses by now. The evil spirits crawling from the ghost hand owner's arm into Chen Shi's body were far more terrifying than those from Heavenly Yang Mountain. The spirits from Heavenly Yang Mountain were already extremely fearsome and evil. But those from the underworld were even more vicious.
"Old Man Chen, before Little Shi becomes a real threat, perhaps you should do the right thing," Granny Sha sighed, suggesting.
"When he becomes a real threat, he'll be a disaster. Even if you come back to life, you won't be able to handle him."
Qingyang and the bearded man with six heads nodded repeatedly.
The bearded man said, "Right now, only doing the right thing can ensure the safety of the human world. Who knows when the evil spirits inside Chen Shi will explode? If one day he opens his mouth and an evil spirit crawls out of his throat, it would be a disaster no less than an evil bodhisattva, especially since he has hundreds of such spirits inside him."
Qingyang added, "Old Man Chen, you wouldn't want your lifelong reputation to be ruined, would you? Doing the right thing will make your name last forever."
Chen Yin glanced at them and said calmly, "Whoever touches my grandson, I'll fight them to the death."
Qingyang and the bearded man fell silent.
Chen Yin was already an evil spirit, but luckily he was in the underworld, where the moonlight couldn't affect him. If he returned to the human world, he might immediately turn into a demon. Nobody wanted to face a demonized Chen Yin. If he got angry, he might join Chen Shi in causing chaos in the human world. Then there would be two problems, a big one and a small one. Of course, Chen Yin was the small problem.
Granny Sha pondered, "There's another way, which is to take it one step at a time and see what the evil spirits inside Little Shi intend to do. These spirits can't stay inside him forever; some will definitely try to come out. We can eliminate those that come out. With our strength, plus Prince Xiao, we should be able to handle it. But before that, we must block the source."
She looked towards the end of the green ghost's arm.
The green ghost's hand had already reached into the human world, with only the wrist visible.
Qingyang said, "If it were one-on-one, I wouldn't fear any evil spirit. The problem is so many spirits are crawling into Chen Shi's body, and we can't kill them all."
The bearded man suggested, "So, why not do the right thing?"
Chen Yin glared at him and sneered, "Hu Xiaoliang, if you dare mention doing the right thing again, I'll do the right thing to you."
The bearded man shivered and stopped talking.
Chen Yin said seriously, "I'll block the source, and I'll leave the human world to you. If..."
He hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth and said, "If you really can't handle it, let me know, and I'll bring Little Shi to the underworld, where we'll rely on each other."
Granny Sha, the bearded man, and Qingyang looked serious, knowing how difficult it was for him to say this.
Chen Yin had been strong all his life, ignoring his family in pursuit of his ideals. It wasn't until his grandson's divine fetus was taken that he realized how empty and lonely he was inside. No amount of friends or achievements could fill that void. Unfortunately, his beloved grandson had become a cold corpse.
The following eight years were his desperate attempt to make amends. He used all his connections and called upon all his friends to save Chen Shi. What seemed impossible, he accomplished. Two years ago, Chen Shi's soul returned. For others, a person coming back to life after eight years was strange and frightening. But for Chen Yin, it was the happiest moment of his life.
Living with Chen Shi for those two years was the happiest time of his life. Chen Shi was a sensible yet mischievous child, and watching him grow like a normal person was his greatest joy. He hoped Chen Shi could always live in the sunlight.
Saying he would personally bring Chen Shi to the underworld to rely on each other showed the struggle and pain in his heart.
"Take care, Old Man Chen," Granny Sha and the others turned and left.
"One more thing," Chen Yin suddenly said, "I've been in the underworld for so long and haven't heard any news about the King of Hell."
The three were taken aback. Granny Sha exhaled and said, "Maybe you haven't looked in enough places. With so many underworld messengers on the River of Forgetfulness, how could there be no King of Hell?"
Chen Yin nodded slightly, watching them leave, and then he also set off towards the right arm of the green ghost. The closer he got, the larger the green ghost became, making him feel as small as an ant. Now that he was an evil spirit, those spirits didn't attack him directly. However, if he blocked the passage, they would probably attack him fiercely.
"Who fears who among evil spirits?"
The bearded man had a keen nose, able to smell the incense from the human world, while Qingyang's bright eyes could see the red glow of the incense from afar. With them around, they couldn't get lost.
After half a day of walking, Granny Sha's face changed slightly, and she whispered, "Let's move faster; something is watching us."
The bearded man's three heads looked around, seeing only dim clouds around them, with something seemingly hidden within. They felt a chill in their hearts, knowing something was indeed watching them.
Qingyang asked, "Old lady, did you offend many big shots in the underworld? Are they here for revenge?"
Granny Sha shook her head, "My magic is still here, hiding our faces. It's impossible for enemies to recognize us. It's not a coincidence that something is watching us. We went to find Chen Yin, and someone is watching him. Seeing us contact him, they started watching us."
The three of them hurriedly sped up towards the giant incense burner. The incense burner stood tall, larger than mountains, with a single incense stick on top, glowing like a setting sun.
Suddenly, dark clouds fell, hitting the ground and turning into thick fog. As they flew forward, they saw white mist rolling in, heavy with moisture, enveloping them. The mist was strange, with no known height or width, making it impossible to discern up from down.
They heard strange laughter coming from all directions in the darkness. The bearded man and Qingyang, each with three heads and six arms, drew their weapons without hesitation. Their weapons, given by Granny Sha, included bows, arrows, swords, halberds, ropes, and seals. But they weren't ordinary; they were ghost god weapons, stained with intense blood and demonic energy.
Who knew where Granny Sha got them from?
"Keep your eyes on the incense," Granny Sha said sternly, "Follow the incense, and you won't get lost."
"Is that so?" A soft laugh came from the mist, and the mist ahead parted like drifting white sand, revealing a woman in white holding an incense stick, smiling at them.
Qingyang was about to charge forward to kill her when the mist surged, and the woman disappeared. Red dots appeared in the mist, like the tips of incense. Then, a huge creature emerged from the mist, attacking them.
Outside Yellow Slope Village.
Chen Shi hurried from the county town and saw the ritual altar still there from afar. Granny Sha's five ghost kings were still guarding it. One ghost king climbed to the third level of the platform to change the incense in the giant burner.
"What is Granny Sha up to?" he wondered.
"Have you guys eaten?" Chen Shi approached and asked.
The four ghost kings below ignored him, each sitting cross-legged, staring at the incense in front of them and inhaling the fragrance. They sat there, taller than a black bear, with big hands and feet, fangs, bushy eyebrows, indigo faces, and fiery hair. If ordinary people saw them, they'd be scared half to death.
Chen Shi approached them, took out some incense he had just bought from a book, and handed a few sticks to each ghost king, smiling, "This is the new premium incense from Hundred Fragrance Shop in the county town. Give it a try."
The ghost kings lit the incense, showing expressions of delight, and praised, "Truly top quality."
Chen Shi said sheepishly, "Dear brothers, I’ve always been clueless, but I want to befriend you. I don’t know how to get close to you, but I have some money to offer more incense."
The five ghost kings, seeing his politeness, felt embarrassed to chase him away.
Chen Shi offered more incense and said, "I’m closer to Granny Sha than her own son, but I’m not very knowledgeable. I don’t know what Granny Sha is setting up here. Can you tell me, dear brothers?"
The four ghost kings, being straightforward spirits, spilled the beans about Granny Sha, Qingyang, and the bearded man entering the underworld.
The first ghost king tried to stop it but was too late.
Chen Shi's eyes lit up, and he smiled, "Can I go up and take a look?"
The five ghost kings were quite troubled, discussing among themselves, "Granny Sha treats him like her own son. Not letting him see isn’t good. If he complains to Granny Sha later, we’ll be in trouble."
Reluctantly, the first ghost king said, "You can go up and look, but don't touch anything on the altar. If you do, Granny Sha might get trapped in the underworld and can't return."
Chen Shi, full of joy, quickly agreed and carefully climbed the altar, examining the strange talismans and banners.
"Big brother, the dog went up," the second ghost king saw Heiguo following Chen Shi onto the altar and became anxious.
"The dog can't go up," the ghost kings were startled and quickly said, "Get down quickly. The black dog's yang energy is too strong and will disrupt the spirit lamps."
Chen Shi, already on the second level and examining things, heard this and quickly turned around to tell Heiguo to get down. But Heiguo had already reached the third level, sniffing around curiously.
"Heiguo, come down quickly," Chen Shi became anxious and rushed up to the third level, fearing Heiguo would disrupt the setup.
As he reached the third level, he saw Heiguo's head disappear. Looking closely, there was a small incense burner in the center of the altar, with incense smoke forming a thin mist. Heiguo's head was in the mist, but there was no sign of it on the other side.
"Heiguo, come out quickly," Chen Shi stepped forward to grab the big dog, but Heiguo suddenly leaped into the mist and vanished.
Chen Shi lunged forward, his head passing through the mist, and suddenly another world appeared before him. His head appeared enormous in the air, below was a giant bronze sculpture of a beast, spewing smoke and fire. In front, amidst the mist, gigantic beasts fought and tore apart terrifying creatures in the mist.
Chen Shi was stunned, and after a moment, he saw a gigantic beast carrying the strange-looking Granny Sha, Qingyang, and the bearded man rushing towards him.
Chen Shi quickly pulled back, and with a whoosh, Heiguo leaped out of the mist. Granny Sha, Qingyang, and the bearded man rolled off the altar, covered in blood and wounds.
"This dog is a problem," Qingyang jumped up, standing on two legs, pointing at Heiguo with his front paws.
The bearded man quickly tried to cover his mouth, but it was too late.
Granny Sha quickly got up, brushed off the dust, and said, "The dog is normal, normal. It's my magic that's the problem. Qingyang, don't talk nonsense. Look, didn't Little Shi's head look big just now?"
Qingyang hesitated, "But, doesn't Little Shi also have..."
The bearded man clamped his mouth shut, stopping the word "problem" in his throat.
"You're a sheep, aren't you a problem too? Stop talking," the bearded man said angrily.
End of Chapter.