The Gloomy Netherworld.
Dim and lightless, utterly silent.
Here stood a purplish-black stone pool, filled with layers of ghostly light and accumulated yellow water. Layer upon layer of foul impurities churned and transformed within it, making its depths impossible to discern.
Beside the pool stood an ancient stele, inscribed with [Corpse-Hiding].
Yet in a single instant, all the filth in the pool receded, turning into clear water. At its very center, a few shredded stalks of yarrow bobbed up and down.
"Yin-Yang... He actually sought the Dao through Yin-Yang. This Witchfolk even understood the great Dao of Fengxuan."
Ghostly qi shifted, and shadows took shape. From within them emerged a middle-aged man in a profound black Robe of Law, his expression cold and sinister, unlike that of a living man. What he cultivated was "hearing the nether."
"Lord Zhu, do you think he can succeed?"
Another young man stepped out beside the stone pool. His features were indistinct and drew no attention, and he wore a pale gray Robe of Law. All manner of murky radiance settled around him. Who else could he be but Fan Ju of the Mount Tai Underworld Office?
The Lord Zhu he addressed spoke slowly. "We of the Gloomy Netherworld cultivate the Dao of primordial beginning, taking 'calamity blessing' as one of the Four Tracks. It proceeds from the five phases and has the power to comprehend [fortune, prosperity, and longevity] in full. It does not concern itself with Yin-Yang. You have asked the wrong person."
"You once told me, my lord, that even the Gloomy Netherworld and the Netherworld could not prove the existence of the ghost gods of calamity blessing."
"Correct."
Lord Zhu revealed a somewhat sinister smile. Standing with his hands behind his back, he looked into the clear water of the