105. Those Who Ascend the Mountain, and the God Who Descends

That is the Son of Heaven of the Underworld.

Chen Huangpi only had to take one look to know that this was the Son of Heaven, birthed from the Yin Soil of the Yellow Springs, who ruled over the four directions and established the Ten Kings of Hell. He was the sovereign of the Yellow Springs' Yin Soil.

The Soul-Reaping Ghost spoke with a complicated tone, "Contract Master, those dark clouds are blocking my view, I..."

Although it knew that the Yama King had followed the Son of Heaven into martyrdom, it desperately wanted to take a look. Yet, the words on its tongue took a sharp turn.

"No, don't look." The Soul-Reaping Ghost gritted its teeth. "The Son of Heaven is dead. He was born of the Yellow Springs' Yin Soil, and both of them have become malevolent entities. It is impossible for him to have survived his own death. If we disturb him, it might lead to great trouble."

"Ah-Gui, you don't have to be like this," Chen Huangpi said. "The malevolent entities earlier had their upper bodies above the clouds; they must have seen the Son of Heaven. If I am careful, it will be fine."

As he spoke, Chen Huangpi plunged his head back into the dark clouds. The massive face, like the canopy of the heavens, once again filled his vision. This time, Chen Huangpi widened his eyes to look. The full appearance of the Son of Heaven was revealed to him with utter clarity.

It was the face of a middle-aged man. His expression was indifferent, devoid of any vitality. Fine strands of hair cascaded down from the horizon. He wore a crown adorned with nine pearls and twelve tassels. A sun burned at the center of the Son of Heaven's brow. It was unknown how many years it had been burning, yet it had never scorched his skin, flesh, or bones; it remained firmly embedded, never falling.

"Huang Er, your eyes are sharper than mine, help Ah-Gui take a look too."

"Ah-Gui, don't worry. Let this lamp help you find where that Yama father of yours, with whom you only share a negligible blood relation, is."

The Brass Oil Lamp widened its eyes. Its gaze scanned back and forth across the face of the Son of Heaven. Finally, it stopped on the sun. Faintly, the Brass Oil Lamp seemed to see tiny black dots, but though the sun appeared to be right before them, in reality, like the face of the Son of Heaven itself, it was unimaginably far away.

"Ah-Gui, this lamp cannot see clearly." The Brass Oil Lamp, eyes straining, could not discern what the tiny black dots were. It had to say helplessly, "However, since your father was a Yama, he certainly wasn't as powerful as the Son of Heaven. The Son of Heaven's physical body could be preserved after death, but your father was likely burned to ash by that sun."

"It's quite possible that the very air we breathe contains a part of your father."

"If you truly miss him, just take a few more deep breaths."

Hearing this, Chen Huangpi hurriedly exhaled the air he had inhaled into his lungs, saying as he did so, "Ah-Gui, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to."

"..." The Soul-Reaping Ghost darkened its face and said, "Contract Master, even if he turned to ash, it would have fallen to the ground and become part of the Yin Soil; it wouldn't be in your lungs."

"Blood relation means nothing. If you calculate it, all the beings birthed by the Yellow Springs' Yin Soil share a blood relation. Even this Son of Heaven is no different."

Although the Soul-Reaping Ghost's mouth wasn't as sharp as Golden Horn's, it was very stubborn. No matter what, it refused to admit it was the son of a Yama. Chen Huangpi didn't understand why the Soul-Reaping Ghost was so awkward. He and his master had a great relationship. He could ask for whatever he wanted and say whatever he liked. He remembered once pulling out his master's beard to make a zither string; his master hadn't even been angry. Instead, he had laughed and hung him from a tree to give him a beating, claiming he was curing him of his "itchy skin" habit.

However, after what the Soul-Reaping Ghost said, Chen Huangpi thought of something. He couldn't help but mutter to himself, "The Ferryman said I am also a part of the Yellow Springs' Yin Soil. Does that mean I am also blood-related to the Son of Heaven?"

"I was already an egg before the world changed."

"Perhaps I am a cousin to the Son of Heaven."

"As the saying goes, the younger brother succeeds the elder; I wouldn't be losing out by acknowledging this relationship."

Thinking of this, Chen Huangpi looked at the face of the Son of Heaven, which resembled the sky, and sighed with deep emotion in his heart: "Cousin, rest in peace. I will take good care of the Yellow Springs' Yin Soil from now on. Oh, almost forgot, you are also a part of the Yellow Springs' Yin Soil, so you should also belong to..."

As he muttered this, Chen Huangpi suddenly froze. Then, he violently rubbed his eyes, his clear black-and-white eyes filled with confusion.

"Chen Huangpi, what's wrong with you?" the Brass Oil Lamp asked in surprise. "Did you get dust in your eyes?"

"No," Chen Huangpi frowned. "I don't know if it was just me, but I think I just saw the Son of Heaven's eyelids twitch."

"It must have been your imagination," the Brass Oil Lamp said with disdain. "He has been dead for so long; could he possibly be a corpse rising from the dead? Even if he became a malevolent entity, that sun is suppressing him; he can't cause any trouble."

The sun and moon represent the laws of heaven and earth. Although it was unknown where this sun had fallen into the Yellow Springs' Yin Soil, a sun is a sun. No matter how powerful the Son of Heaven was, he could not contend against the laws. There could be many powerful existences, but there could only be one that approached the Dao. Unless the Temple Master merged with the Dao, no matter how powerful others were, they would only be infinitely close to it, forever unable to take that final step.

As it spoke, as if to prove it to Chen Huangpi, the Brass Oil Lamp pointed at the sun and said, "This sun killed the Son of Heaven; it's like a nail. As long as this nail doesn't fall, the Son of Heaven cannot move."

"You know, it really does look like a nail," Chen Huangpi tilted his head. "But the black dot inside the sun looks more like a nail to me."

"What's strange about that?" the Brass Oil Lamp said casually. "People have big heads and small heads, nails have big heads and small heads. The black dot is a nail, and the sun is also a nail."

Looking down, those malevolent entities were now somewhat anxious. One by one, they urged him with their gazes. Although these entities were different from the thin, weird ones—they weren't formed from corpses and felt as hard as stone carvings—they also couldn't speak. It seemed that their gazes were their way of communicating.

Chen Huangpi didn't know what these entities wanted to do. But just getting to this Fallen Mountain had taken over an hour. Now, laboring here, three hours had already passed. Five hours later, it would be dark. Chen Huangpi could not delay too long; he had to leave ample time for Golden Horn to find the way back to the mortal world.

Thinking of this, Chen Huangpi no longer hesitated. He swung his pickaxe and started knocking on the stones one by one. Not every stone contained a Soul-Returning Treasure Jade, but with so many stones pried open, it wasn't a small amount.

"This one is too small."

"This one is even smaller."

"This one is big, keep it."

"Oh, this one is even bigger."

Chen Huangpi only ate the small ones; the big ones were to be saved for his master. In a short while, the small hill grew smaller and smaller, leaving stones scattered all over the ground. Under the terrified gazes of the malevolent entities, Chen Huangpi held a Soul-Returning Treasure Jade the size of a human head, and in his other hand, one the size of a palm.

"This one is for Master, this one is for me."

As he spoke, Chen Huangpi had a thought. The head-sized treasure jade was tossed into the Soul-Summoning Book, while he picked up the palm-sized one and began to nibble on it, bit by bit. As for the earlier ones, they had long since entered his stomach.

In reality, it wasn't Chen Huangpi eating; it was the Six Yin Gods, and they were already full. Chen Huangpi felt a bit dizzy. If the treasure jade hadn't been so delicious, he wouldn't have been nibbling on it like this; he would have swallowed it whole.

*Crunch... crunch...*

Chen Huangpi gnawed on the treasure jade and urged the malevolent entities, "Why aren't you moving yet?"

When he came, he had followed these entities up. Naturally, he had to leave with their procession. Otherwise, the Fallen Mountain, which had almost attacked him earlier and now had a giant hole dug into it, would certainly not let him go. Furthermore, without this procession, the ground beneath his feet would just be an incredibly steep cliff, not steps waist-high.

The malevolent entities shook their heads. The one closest to Chen Huangpi thought for a moment, grabbed Chen Huangpi's shoulders with both hands, and turned him around. The entities behind immediately followed, falling into a line.

Seeing this, the Brass Oil Lamp clicked its tongue in wonder, "These entities are truly strange. When you went up the mountain, you were at the very back; now that you're going down, you're at the very front. Could it be that if you don't move, they can't move?"

Chen Huangpi looked at his feet and suddenly discovered that the ground had changed. The hard stones had turned into steps. There was no telling how many steps there were, but looking down, it led straight to the foot of the Fallen Mountain.

"Looks like I've become the leader."

Chen Huangpi took a step forward, and the tens of thousands of entities behind him also took a step. Going up the mountain was slow, but going down was fast. Chen Huangpi felt the wind at his feet and kept moving. He didn't have to walk; he just jumped down, and the entities behind him did the same.

If someone were looking up from the foot of the Fallen Mountain at this moment, they would be scared out of their wits. Because one by one, thin, weird figures, about three meters tall, dressed in black robes and wearing bamboo hats, were jumping and rushing down the mountain with great speed.

The leading figure was very young, but the younger he was, the more agile his movements. In the blink of an eye, dust was flying everywhere.

*Bang!*

Chen Huangpi jumped from the final step to the foot of the mountain. He immediately turned around and waved at the entities with a smile, "Thank you, you are all good entities; I will remember you."

At the same time, he shouted in his heart, "Huang Er! The Escape of the One Divine Light!"

The Brass Oil Lamp had been holding back the divine light, waiting for this moment. In an instant, a golden radiance emanated from Chen Huangpi's chest, as if he were hiding a sun inside. Now, the sun no longer hid itself; it shone with great brilliance, completely enveloping Chen Huangpi. Then, it turned into a streak of golden light and fled.

Across the land of the Yin Soil, a golden streak flashed by. The Brass Oil Lamp laughed, "Chen Huangpi, is my Escape of the One Divine Light fast?"

"Fast. If it were even faster, that would be better."

"This is already the fastest."

"Then we're doomed." Chen Huangpi looked at his feet with a bitter expression. There were steps beneath his feet again, meaning the procession of entities was still following right behind him. They hadn't been left behind by the divine light.

Just then, a long, thin hand reached into the light. The Brass Oil Lamp's eyes nearly popped out of its head.

"Ah!!!!!!"

Chen Huangpi saw the procession of tens of thousands of entities following him; no matter how fast the divine light went, the procession was just as fast. The hand that had reached into the light grabbed Chen Huangpi's shoulder and turned him around again.

Chen Huangpi turned his head and locked eyes with the entity behind him. The other's gaze was full of reproach, as if saying, "What kind of path are you leading us on? You're supposed to go that way."

However... that was the direction the procession wanted to go. It wasn't Chen Huangpi's destination. If these entities had been digging for the Soul-Returning Treasure Jade to "create a god," then since they had finished digging, the direction they were heading must be the place where the god-creation was happening.

Chen Huangpi smiled awkwardly, "Uh, I want to go that way."

Tens of thousands of gazes looked at him indifferently. That gaze carried an unquestionable tone, as if to say: "No, you must go this way!"