In Xijing, Yan Guzhi, the Minister of Rites, is sitting in front of the main hall of the Yamen of the Ministry of Rites. Below him are almost all the officials and minor officials of Shanglinyuan Supervisor. They are using various spells to summon souls, search for souls, fix souls, and find people and ask for directions, but Yan Guzhi's frown is still nowhere to be found.
More than 600 people fell into the underworld with the Xianqiao Blessed Land, but neither alive nor dead was seen. It would be fine if they were all mud-legged, but the key is that there are also Guo Daozi, Jinlu Taoist and other Taoist holy land disciples among them. More importantly, Zhang You is also among them!
Zhang You is a member of the Zhang family and will inherit the position of head of the clan in the future. If such a person dies in this exam, he, as the Minister of Rites, will also have his end.
"You two bastards who let go of cranes in the summer and accept eagles in the summer!"
Yan Jiuzhi cursed secretly and urged Shanglin Yuanjian to think of another solution.
Shanglin Yuanjian was in charge of livestock and sacrificial supplies, and made offerings to ghosts and gods on weekdays. It was the yamen responsible for contacting the underworld with the underworld. It had a lower status, but was extremely important.
Shanglin Yuanjian usually sacrifices livestock to ghosts and gods to open the way to the underworld. In this way, when the princes and nobles die and the underworld messengers come to pick them up, they usually give a notice in advance and give the dying person ten and a half days to deal with the funeral arrangements. You can even bribe the underworld to find a position in the underworld for the elderly in your family.
Because there are many sacrifices on weekdays, Yin Chai is also willing to deal with Shanglinyuan Supervisor.
In the square below, someone brought many pigs, horses, cattle and sheep, and set up an altar. The incense was burning brightly, and the green smoke slowly rose and filled the air.
The sacrifices such as pigs, horses, cattle and sheep were brought to the altar, and soon someone emerged from the smoke to enjoy the sacrifices.
Several officials came forward to question these ghosts and gods, and asked one by one about the whereabouts of Juren who had fallen into the underworld.
After enjoying the sacrifices, the ghosts and gods were still rude, swearing and swearing, but they also answered all the officials' questions.
————The cannibal has a short mouth. Since he has enjoyed the sacrifice, he will naturally get something in return.
After a long time, a group of small officials from Shanglinyuan Supervisor sorted out the information they had received and presented it to Zuo Jianzheng. Zuo Jian was flipping through it in a hurry, and immediately ran all the way to Yan Guzhi, presented it to Yan Guzhi, bowed and said, "Please take a look, sir."
Yan Jiuzhi opened the document and Zuo Jianzheng said: "Sir, we have inquired about the whereabouts of 644 people and indexed their souls, but we can't find their souls. After asking the ghosts and gods, we found that 217 of them have died and 427 are still alive. Of the people you are focusing on, Taoist Jin Lu is deceased, and the others are still alive. "
While reading, Yan Jiuzhi asked: "Where did they fall? Why can't they attract souls?"
"Sir, the place those ghosts and gods said they went to is not the territory they are in charge of. It belongs to the second hell, an abandoned place, and they have no right to enter it."
Zuo Jianzhengdao, "They also said that the ghosts who fell in there have basically no chance of coming out. Even ghosts and gods like them dare not go in. There are things scarier than them inside. Soul-calling spells are basically useless and cannot summon the souls there. Once you enter it, there is no chance of survival.
Yan Guzhi's heart felt cold, his eyes trembled, and his voice was hoarse: "Is there any other way?"
Zuo Jianzheng shook his head gently: "We have tried all possible methods, and there is no other way."
He hesitated and said: "I heard that there is a person named Sha Granny among the San people, who is proficient in soul magic and is unparalleled in the world. This person was once the first wife of Xiang Yunfei, a doctor in the Ministry of official affairs, and was later divorced. Maybe she can find a way."
Yan Ji said: "I'm going to invite you, Sir! Also, after all, they are all scholars who are in Beijing to take the exam. We can't let these distinguished guests die in a foreign country. Continue to call the souls, and we must call him back!" Zuo Jian was leaning forward and walked quickly down the stone steps. , all the officials in the Shanglin Garden Supervisory Hall shouted: "Continue to summon the souls!"
Then he called a junior official and ordered: "Go to the official department quickly and invite Xiang Yunfei, the doctor of the official department, to come to the master." The minor official hurried away.
Not long after, Xiang Yunfei, a doctor from the Ministry of Personnel, came to the Yamen of the Ministry of Rites and saw Yan Guzhi. Yan Guzhi asked: "Sir Xiang, can you please invite Sha Qiutong to help us search for Juren who is missing in the underworld? I also know that you are in trouble, but this is a serious matter, so please don't refuse."
Xiang Yunfei bowed to Yunfei and said: "My lord, I have nothing to do with Sha Qiutong anymore. I don't know where she is now. Even if I want to ask her to help, there is nothing I can do." Yan Guzhi smiled and said: "A few days ago, wasn't she still outside the examination room of my Rites Yamen, talking and laughing with you?"
Xiang Yunfei was shocked, dumbfounded, and said: "That woman is indeed Sha Qiutong is somewhat similar, but Sha Qiutong is already over sixty years old..."
Yan Guzhi said: "She is Sha Qiutong, known as the soul-searching Rakshasa Granny Sha. She was originally an official in Shanglin Yuanjian and was the official record of Shanglinyuanjian. You got married and had a son, and then you divorced her. Now, she doesn't know what magic trick she used to make herself younger, and she deliberately gets close to you. "
Xiang Yunfei was stunned.
It took him a long time to come back to his senses, shook his head and said, "I don't know where she is. If you can find her, I will come forward to persuade you." Yan Guzhi frowned slightly and immediately sent someone to search for Granny Sha's whereabouts.
Time passed day by day, but Granny Sha was not found. The officials in Shanglinyuan Prison tried their best to find the whereabouts of those Juren. "Master Yan, 364 officials from Shanglinyuan Prison have been searching for thirteen days in a row, day and night, and they are too tired to hold on any longer." If they go down, someone will be killed! Please have mercy on them and let them rest for a few days before searching again!" Yan Guzhi looked down and saw that the officials in Shanglin Garden Prison were all damaged. It was really difficult to survive, so he had to say: "Take a rest for two days."
Zuo Jianzheng hesitated for a moment and said: "Sir, to tell you the truth, I think that even if I search again, I won't be able to survive. There are many ghosts and monsters in the underworld, which is extremely dangerous. The Yin Qi is heavy. Even if they can escape from the mouths of the ghosts, their own cultivation will be eroded by the Yin Qi. The physical body is decaying. Even if he is rescued today, he is probably a useless person. "
Yan Guzhi's eyes twitched, thinking of Zhang Fuzheng's unsmiling face, he gritted his teeth and said: "You want to see a person alive, but you want to see a corpse when you die!" The supervisors left and right had no choice but to retreat.
After another two days, the Shanglinyuan Supervisor regained enough energy to continue the search.
At the same time, in the Xiuxiu Hall, the Fu Zheng Pavilion also continuously sent people to the Shanglin Garden Supervisor and the Ministry of Rites to inquire about the news, asking whether the missing Juren had been found. News came one after another, and the expressions on the faces of Shui Xuanzhi, Qin Su and others gradually relaxed.
"The longer the time drags on, the lower the possibility of survival."
Zou Su said with a smile, "Half a month has passed, and these Juren are in the underworld, I'm afraid they have turned into white bones. The poor bones by the Wuding River are like people in a spring boudoir's dream. Their relatives still don't know that they have died in the underworld."
Other officials assisting the main cabinet also sighed.
"Chen Shi and Zhang You died in the underworld, so the master is sure of everything." Master Tang said with a smile. Shui Xuanzhi said seriously: "How can we gloat about misfortune? Don't mention such words again!"
He paused and said: "It won't be long before the Ministry of Rites stops the rescue and the examination results will be released. The young master will definitely be the first in the examination. In half a month, the palace examination will be a formality. The young master is a hard-won champion. Everyone, you must build momentum for the young master early!"
Everyone nodded.
Jijiu Dou Qi asked: "Shui Changshi, how can you come back alive after being trapped in the underworld for so long? If they suddenly appeared at that time." "It's impossible to come back alive."
Shui Xuanzhi said lightly: "Even if I am a Mahayana existence like me, it will be difficult to last long in the underworld. The underworld is full of ghosts and gods, and there are monsters everywhere. It is weird and unpredictable. No one can live in the underworld. I won’t be able to do it after a month! What’s more, most of the people who fell into the underworld this time have not yet achieved their souls, let alone killing the three corpses.” He smiled slightly and said: “Their three corpse gods will absorb the Yin Qi and become stronger and stronger, destroying their Dao foundation. Even if someone can come back alive, the Dao foundation has been broken, so why worry about it? The underworld is more terrifying than you think!”
In the underworld, a bluestone road is paved in the air, extending forward continuously. Below, a black pot carrying Chen Tang is galloping.
Grandma Sha, who looks to be in her mid-twenties, stands at the end of the road, the bluestone beneath her feet moving forward
She has regained her youth, and her vitality and blood are abundant. In the past, her vitality and blood were withered, and she did not dare to be so extravagant and wasteful. Now, despite her squandering, she has improved her cultivation even more, and has the potential to make a breakthrough. Two people and one dog have been traveling in the underworld for more than ten days. Grandma Sha has been helping Chen Tang to determine the direction.
The black pot helped them kill the ghosts, gods and monsters they encountered along the way, making them invincible.
The underworld is so big that it is not easy to find someone. However, Grandma Sha divided the underworld into nine areas and she can quickly determine the direction. However, when she summoned Chen Shi's soul, she found that the location of Chen Shi and others was not in the ninth district.
When traveling in the underworld these days, I mainly use the longitude and latitude of the nine districts to locate Chen Shi’s position in the underworld space. She suspected that there might be a second layer of space in the underworld, and she could use this to determine the exact location of this space.
She has offended many masters in the underworld. This time she appeared in public, many evil spirits came to chase her, but they were blocked by Chen Tang and the black pot. The strange thing is that in recent days, the number of people chasing them has become less and less, and finally they stopped chasing them altogether.
But in the underworld they went to recently, there were no ghosts, no ghosts, and ghosts. It was very desolate. The earth was pitch black, the sky was gray, and there was no other color. "Chen Tang, Black Pot, stop! They should be nearby!" Granny Sha said suddenly.
Hearing the words, Black Pot immediately stopped and looked around, but saw that the place was twilight and vast, with huge dead trees everywhere. Each dead tree requires dozens of people to surround it, and it is very strong.
Chen Tang jumped off the black pot head, looked at these trees carefully, and said: "It is the Bodhi tree, the tree of enlightenment in Buddhism. It is said that the Buddha Sakyamuni attained enlightenment under the Bodhi tree and became the Buddha." The bluestone slabs under the feet of Granny Sha were still being paved forward. There was an ancient temple in the dead forest in front, which was large in scale and exuded ancient meaning.
Chen Tang and Hei Guo followed and walked over. When they arrived in front of the temple, they saw the plaque of the ancient temple hanging crookedly on the side with the words "Ksitigarbha Temple" written on it. "The person enshrined here should be Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva of Buddhism."
Chen Tang said, "This Bodhisattva went deep into the Buddhist hells, repeatedly rescued the ghost of his mother, and made a great wish to save all those who fell into hell." Two people and one dog entered the temple, and they saw the skeleton of a giant dog crawling on the ground. Black Pot barked twice at the giant dog's corpse.
There are only shrines in the temple, but no statues of gods. The statues have been smashed to pieces.
"Chen Shi and those Juren are nearby! But they are not in the same underworld as us."
Grandma Sha looked around, took two futons and spread them on the ground, sat on one of them, and said, "Xiaotang, I cast a spell to send your soul and mine into another underworld, and the black pot will protect us and keep us safe. Sit down." Chen Tang sat opposite her.
Behind Grandma Sha, the emperor's soul appeared, and she stretched out her palms. The ground under the two people's seats seemed to disappear, replaced by a clear spring.
Chen Tang looked down and saw that the futon had turned into a lotus in the clear spring. They were sitting on the lotus at the moment, and looking down along the lotus stems, they saw clear springs continuously flowing upward. The spring water went deep into the ground and was so clear that it seemed as if it had emerged from another time and space. "The name of my magic is Linshe."
Sha Granny said, "Relax and offer sacrifices to the soul."
Chen Tang worshiped the soul according to his words, and the voice of Granny Sha came to his ears.
"The so-called equanimity is a house and a place of shelter. The body is the equanimity of the soul. Since we cannot enter another world, we must leave our original equanimity and come to the equanimity in another world as a soul, so that we can have a body and act independently."
His talismans were inherited from Chen Yindu. Chen Yindu left a few Talisman Compilations and Talisman Creation Treasures at home. He half studied by himself and half consulted Chen Yindu and Creation Xiaowu, and learned the contents of the two books. There are only a handful of people in the world who can surpass him in attainments in talismans!
There are not many talismans in the world that he has never seen before, but there are many talismans that Granny Sha cast this time that he has never seen before. "Sister Sha, what kind of talisman is this?" Chen Tang asked.
Grandma Sha glanced at him and said: "These are some soul-like talismans that I created myself. They are the spells I created. Xiaotang, do you know why your father likes Chen Wu more? You are knowledgeable and transcendent. There are many peers, but you are not pioneering enough and are more suitable for learning, but you have too little. In this regard, you are far inferior to Chen Wu, even less than your father, and even inferior to me."
Chen Tang did not say anything.
He learns anything very quickly and can learn it immediately. But asking him to create new spells or talismans would be a bit difficult for him. But Xiaowu, the creator, is a different kind of person. He can always come up with many strange and weird spells to win Chen Yindu's favor.
Suddenly, Granny Sha's magic burst out, and the spirits of the two people suddenly sank, as if they had traveled through countless time and space, and a white light was spinning endlessly in front of their eyes. Chen Tang felt his soul shake suddenly, as if he had hit something, and he hurriedly stabilized his body.
Chen Tang was shocked and said: "I don't understand..."
However, as soon as his words came out of his mouth, it turned into: "Quick quack quack..." What's even weirder is that he actually understood it!
He looked at himself quickly and saw that he had turned into a green-faced and fanged ghost!
At this time, another ghost came over, carrying a fork with a human corpse hanging on it. He was only wearing a rag trousers and waved to Chen Tang. Chen Tang hurried over and asked tentatively: "Mother-in-law?"
The ghost punched him hard on the head and said angrily: "Call me sister!" "Sister." Chen Tang followed suit.
"Follow me!" Granny Sha said, lifting up her trousers with her left hand.
Chen Tang followed her and couldn't help but said: "Sister, there is still a person hanging on your fork." Granny Sha said: "Do you think the clothes on this corpse look familiar?"
Chen Tang looked at it carefully, his heart beating violently: "It's a candidate for the examination!"
Grandma Sha tugged on her trousers and said, "When I entered this house, I found it carrying the lifting body. This means that Xiao Shi and the others should be nearby!" She suddenly grabbed a ghost and asked, "Croak, croak, croak?"
They walked out of the blessed land and searched everywhere. At this time, they met a grazing ghost. The ghost's feet were huge wheels, with flesh and blood growing on the wheels, and its body was huge. Granny Sha stopped and asked: "Quack, quack, quack, quack?"
Grandma Sha said to Chen Tang: "It said that the things that fell from the sky are over there! Let's go there!"
Chen Tang became energetic, and the two of them rushed over quickly. Soon after, they found the Xianqiao Blessed Land. There was no living person in the blessed land.
They walked out of the blessed land and searched everywhere. At this time, they met a grazing ghost. The ghost's feet were huge wheels, with flesh and blood growing on the wheels, and its body was huge. Granny Sha stopped and asked, "Croak, croak, croak?"
Grandma Sha said goodbye to the ghost and god, pulled up her trousers, and followed Chen Tang away, saying, "He said the grass had entered the mountains. It was too dangerous there, so he didn't go there to graze." Chen Tang was worried, and the two of them went deep into the Buddha Mountain. Eyes emerged from the bodies of the Buddhas, watching them curiously.
Sha Granny caught the ghost monk who jumped out of one of the eyes, tortured him for a confession, and said in surprise: "Alive! He said Xiao Shi and the others are still alive!" She tugged on her trousers, rushed over excitedly, and said with a smile, "They have been in the underworld for so long, and yet they are still alive!"