Exploring the Underworld Mountain

On the golden spear, dragons and snakes hissed.

But the moment Yu Zhensheng reached out his hand, the arrogant dragons and snakes actually left the golden spear on their own and coiled around the statue's arm.

That hand finally grasped the spear.

This golden spear was only a little over a foot long, about the size of a toy in a person's hand. However, in the next moment, golden light surged, intertwining and weaving.

With a few crisp metallic clangs, the golden spear, like the Pilgrim's Golden Cudgel, grew longer section by section.

In just a few breaths, it had grown to thirteen feet long!

What a fine weapon!

Then, a dragon's roar was heard, and malevolent energy surged to the heavens.

The spear shaft resembled the spine of a coiled dragon, its patterns like nine-layered pagodas, or like thunder and lightning flashing, tempering the four hundred and twenty-seven-character true words of the treasure eulogy.

Each stroke and curve exhaled golden light.

The spearhead was like karma fire, giving people the illusion of golden flames burning fiercely. Even the ghostly Yin-Yang Road seemed to become scorching hot.

Yu Zhensheng casually twirled the spear, producing muffled sounds like rumbling thunder.

He stood holding the spear, the cinnabar mark between his brows like fiery eyes glaring, adding three parts ferocity. His muscles stretched and bones shifted, his bearing magnificent, truly like King Ma descended to the mortal realm.

The bloody lightning brewing in the night sky finally stopped.

A colossal bloody pupil, like that of a god, slowly appeared. Its cold and profound gaze fell upon Yu Zhensheng alone.

"Old man, you finally managed to retreat. Now, for this child who borrowed a corpse to return his soul, are you truly going to get involved again?"

"Think carefully. This time, you might not be able to leave alive!"

His voice boomed like thunder, echoing through the mountains.

Yu Zhensheng laughed heartily, his voice bold and his spirit soaring. His back, with golden spear and white hair, was like Old Huang Zhong battling at Mount Dingjun, or like the old general Zhao Zilong, seventy years old yet still requesting to fight on the battlefield!

"I am old, but I am not dead."

"Even if I have to die, I'll at least take someone down with me, Lu Pan..."

His voice paused slightly, and he raised his spear, pointing at the god-like bloody pupil. He ignored the wind and thunder raging around him, his voice ringing out with killing intent.

"This golden spear of mine has tasted the blood of countless Guardian Soldiers from the Underworld. I truly wish to see... if I can slay a true god?"

Zhou Sheng was shaken by these words.

Having fought with Guardian Soldiers, he knew best how ferocious they were. If he hadn't had the Startling Hall Wood in hand and entered the Unity of Person and Role state, he would have been the one to die.

And to hear his Master say he had killed many Guardian Soldiers back then?

At this moment, he finally understood why the City God Lu Bingyuan valued his Master so highly, trying every means to pull his Master into this.

Before his legs were crippled, how strong... was his Master?

"Yu Zhensheng, you were indeed the most outstanding Ghost Opera Performer. For hundreds of years, no other Ghost Opera Performer has reached your level. In your prime, even I would have shown you respect. Unfortunately..."

The Judge's voice held a hint of mockery.

"In that opera from back then, King Yama pulled your leg tendons and crippled most of your cultivation. How much of your former strength do you have now...?"

Zhou Sheng glanced sideways at the words, his gaze falling on his Master's crippled right leg.

His Master's leg tendons were actually pulled by King Yama?

No wonder, with his Master's medical skills, he couldn't heal his own crippled leg.

He just couldn't understand what opera his Master had performed to enrage King Yama to the point of crippling him.

"How much strength I still have, you can certainly try. If that doesn't work--"

A hint of madness seemed to flash in Yu Zhensheng's eyes as he laughed loudly, "I'll sing that unfinished opera from back then again!"

Upon hearing this, the bloody pupil actually showed a discernible flicker.

Was that... fear?

Zhou Sheng became even more curious. What opera could possibly make a high-ranking Underworld Judge's expression change so drastically?

After a brief stalemate, the eye in the sky slowly dissipated.

The Judge's voice echoed faintly.

"Two months from now is the Ghost Festival."

Yu Zhensheng's expression changed slightly.

"I'll spare the child this time. When the Ghost Opera of the Ghost Festival arrives, let's see how you protect him then?"

"Oh, right... This official almost forgot..."

"You used your own life as collateral for him, delaying things for three years. If he dies during the Ghost Opera of the Ghost Festival, then you, Yu Zhensheng..."

"Will fall into my hands. Then, under the Judge's brush, we'll see which layer of hell you're suited for?"

The voice gradually faded, and the mist dispersed.

Everything around returned to its peaceful state. As the terrifying pressure dissipated, Zhou Sheng let out a long sigh, only to realize his back was drenched in sweat.

He looked at his Master, seeing him standing tall and straight, holding his spear, and felt a surge of admiration.

Truly worthy of being my Master, always so calm and composed. There's still so much I need to learn.

"Quick, quick, come help me!"

Yu Zhensheng urged, "I ran too fast earlier, I pulled something in my back!"

Zhou Sheng: "..."

He stepped forward to support his Master, massaging his back. He could faintly hear his bones cracking.

"I'm old, truly old..."

Yu Zhensheng shook his head and smiled, a hint of loss in his expression. He sighed, "Old as Lian Po, can I still eat?"

"If it were twenty years ago, you wouldn't have been able to leave today!"

As he spoke, he handed the golden spear in his hand to Zhou Sheng.

The moment Zhou Sheng touched the spear, his hand felt a burning heat, as if he were holding a red-hot iron rod.

He instinctively let go in pain. Immediately, golden light flowed out, and the thirteen-foot-long spear rapidly shrank, flying like a dragon into the hands of the statue of Emperor Huaguang.

The dragon-snake, as thick as a thumb, crawled down from the statue's arm and coiled around the golden spear again, quickly turning to stone.

Seeing Zhou Sheng's astonished gaze, Yu Zhensheng smiled faintly.

"You brat, now you know why this statue is a treasure of our Ghost Opera lineage?"

"The statue itself is just a vessel. The truly powerful thing is that golden spear from the Patriarch!"

"However, this spear is extremely potent, and ordinary people cannot control it. With your cultivation, using it would be suicide, which is why I didn't teach you the method of borrowing the spear earlier."

Zhou Sheng, however, did not focus on the divine golden spear. Instead, his gaze fell on his Master's right leg.

"Master--"

"As you can see, my right leg is indeed crippled, and it was King Yama himself who pulled out my leg tendons."

"Master, can it really not be cured?"

Zhou Sheng's heart ached. As fellow Ghost Opera performers, he understood too well what this meant.

Through cold winters and hot summers, diligently practicing.

How much sweat, how much hardship, how many beatings it took to hone one's skills?

Countless years of effort and sweat, lost in an instant.

"I've tried all sorts of methods over the years, and I even specifically visited ghost doctors among the Hundred Schools of the Underworld, but the best result was merely being able to walk without issue. Once I engaged in strenuous activity, it would revert to its original state."

Zhou Sheng remained silent.

Seeing his disciple's sad expression, Yu Zhensheng was surprisingly calm. He shook his head and chuckled, "Being able to keep my life is already a blessing from the Patriarch. As for this leg..."

His expression was somewhat complex, but his voice remained light.

"It's gone, so it's gone."

"Who told me to choose to perform that opera back then? I only lost a leg, but those old partners who performed with me... not a single one walked out alive..."

Yu Zhensheng's expression became very complicated, filled with sadness, nostalgia, guilt, and hatred, yet also an indescribable determination.

Zhou Sheng had never seen his Master lose composure like this.

"Master, what opera was it?"

Upon hearing this question, Yu Zhensheng fell silent for a long time, as if lost in some distant memory. After a long while, he slowly spoke.

"Exploring the Underworld Mountain."

"The one who taught me this opera was not your Grandmaster, but... Lord Bao in the illusion."