Chapter 148: The Primordial World
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After the three streets of the Netherworld became eight, they arranged themselves in the shape of a Bagua and began rotating without pause. At the entrance stood a statue with blood-red eyes, its head lowered as it gazed down upon all living things, resembling nothing so much as a resurrected god. Lu Xin did not dare look up at its face. The moment he stepped onto the Netherworld streets, the sounds around him finally returned to normal.
When he looked back, the dense fog outside had vanished, and the countless monsters were nowhere to be seen, as though nothing had happened at all.
Moon-Buhei’s expression was grim. Not only was he solemn; there was also a trace of fear in his eyes—something that had not been there before. Even without asking, Lu Xin knew it must be connected to the creatures they had just seen.
“Little Xin, your master said I was a chosen one. At first I didn’t believe him, but now I understand. This Ghost Kingdom Divine Palace should be a miniature Primordial World. And in that age, our demon clan was once the ruler of this world.”
“A Primordial World? You mean the most ancient era, after Heaven and Earth first came into being?”
“Exactly.”
Moon-Buhei nodded, his gaze still fixed on the road behind them, his expression complex. The Primordial World was the name all living beings of ancient times had given to Heaven and Earth before the rise of the archaic age. It was the original form of all things after the creation of the universe. Lu Xin had once heard his master, Li Chunfeng, describe it.
In essence, Pangu had split open Heaven and Earth and established the sun, moon, cosmos, and universe. Nüwa had created humanity and transformed yin and yang into the myriad things. Later, Fuxi created the Primordial Eight Trigrams, awakening the intelligence of all living beings. In those days, Heaven and Earth were very close together, while floods and seas of fire covered the land. Heaven and Earth were joined by a single pillar called Mount Buzhou.
Later, Gonggong fought Zhuanxu for the throne. In his fury, he struck Mount Buzhou and shattered the pillar that supported Heaven. The sky rose higher and higher, the earth split apart, and all living things suffered beyond endurance…
“There are countless legends about the Primordial World. But whether it was Nüwa and Fuxi, or the later Gonggong and Zhuanxu, they were all members of the demon clan. Their power was enough to destroy the entire earth. Thus, the ancient demon gods ascended to the celestial realm. From that moment onward, the Primordial Age came to an end, and only then did your human race take center stage and gradually come to rule the land.”
“So you’re saying that humans were created by your demon clan?”
Lu Xin shook his head with a bitter smile. There was no way to verify whether those ancient legends were true. But the demons of old had indeed been extraordinarily powerful. At the very least, Nüwa and Fuxi had always been depicted, in every age, as monsters with human heads and serpentine bodies. And yet these two demon gods were said to be the ancestors of humanity.
“Whether your human race was created by us demons is irrelevant. What matters is that you have become the masters of the entire earth. No other power can stand against you.”
“That doesn’t make sense. According to what you said, after the ancient demon gods ascended to the celestial realm, humans began ruling the earth. But my master and Zhao Li both said that before the archaic age, the witch clan was the ruler of Heaven and Earth.”
“Heh. There’s nothing strange about that. The witch clan carried Pangu’s bloodline and was powerful by nature. After the many demon gods ascended, the earth was indeed ruled by the witches for a period of time. But your human race was born under Heaven’s mandate, and in the end you still wiped the witches out completely. By now, you should understand why I said this place is the Primordial World, shouldn’t you? The Ghost Emperor Tuber is a powerful demon god with the head of a tiger and the body of an ox. And those things we saw just now were a type of demon beast called the Chi. They should have vanished long before the archaic age.”
Moon-Buhei spoke at length about the legends of the demon clan’s history, yet he was plainly frightened. His voice trembled several times as he talked. It was the first time Lu Xin had ever seen him like this, and his own unease gradually deepened.
Taking his eyes off the road behind them, the two of them began walking deeper into the street. The ground continued to rotate, making their heads ache. After they had gone roughly a hundred yards, countless figures suddenly appeared on the deserted street. Every one of them stood perfectly straight and motionless, like corpses.
“The way these people are dressed looks strangely familiar. Fox, that man—I feel as though I’ve seen him somewhere before.”
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Lu Xin stopped and pointed toward a middle-aged man on his right. The man wore a vivid crimson ceremonial robe and a purple-gold crown, making him impossible to miss. Moon-Buhei was just as puzzled. He then leapt onto a rooftop and looked around for a moment, before suddenly drawing in a sharp breath.
“There’s no need to guess. None of these people are real. This must be the work of the star-chart formation outside the Ghost Kingdom Divine Palace.”
“What do you mean?”
Lu Xin frowned and leapt onto the roof after him. Following the direction of Moon-Buhei’s finger, he unexpectedly saw the figures of the Hermit of Turtle-Empty Mountain and Jiang Hong’er. The discovery shocked him deeply. The Netherworld streets lay in the depths of the Ghost Kingdom Divine Palace, while the Hermit of Turtle-Empty Mountain had been outside in the palace square, cultivating by draining the yang energy from others. Lu Xin was certain that even if those people had followed him into the Ghost Kingdom Divine Palace immediately afterward, they could never have appeared on the Netherworld streets before him.
“The Primordial Eight Trigrams created by Fuxi are the origin of all phenomena. They can illuminate everything within the Three Realms and Six Paths. The star-chart formation outside the Ghost Kingdom Divine Palace and the Bagua formation formed by these Netherworld streets should be two sides of the same whole. Their powers are connected, allowing the scene outside to be projected here.”
“Then all these people are merely motionless illusions?”
Boom!
The moment Lu Xin finished speaking, an explosion erupted on the street several hundred yards away. Countless sword energies burst through the crowd, and every figure touched by their radiance instantly turned to ash. Yet in the next moment, the shadows that had vanished reappeared as though they had never been destroyed. Every attack seemed utterly futile.
“No. These people aren’t dead! Little Xin, move!”
Moon-Buhei suddenly shouted and swiftly tackled Lu Xin to the rooftop. Looking up, Lu Xin saw more than a dozen ice arrows streak across the space above his forehead, chilling even the surrounding air. After dodging the attack, the two of them hurried down from the roof. The instant their feet touched the ground, every motionless figure around them opened its eyes.
A dozen talismans rose into the air, while the ordinary people without any magical power lunged at them with bared teeth and clawing hands. Lu Xin failed to recover his wits and stood frozen for a moment. Moon-Buhei, however, gave a ferocious grin and tore apart every person who came near with a series of slashes from his claws.
“Little ancestor, put away your compassion for now. We can talk after we kill our way out. These things aren’t real people!”
More and more talismans gathered around them. Lu Xin could clearly sense at least a dozen waves of magical power pressing down from above. Prompted by Moon-Buhei, he finally came to his senses. He immediately circulated his power and struck out with several enormous palm seals, shattering at least half the talismans.
At the same time, the remaining talismans transformed into flames and bolts of lightning and descended together. Moon-Buhei’s body shifted into that of a demon fox. Opening his jaws, he let out an enraged roar. A gale rose, extinguishing every spell.
After fighting for a while, the two discovered that the figures surrounding them could not be destroyed no matter how many they killed. Knowing that this was the power of the formation, they realized that brute force would only exhaust them to death. Moon-Buhei decided to carry Lu Xin and flee, hoping they might find a safe place.
The demon fox was extraordinarily agile, leaping back and forth between the rooftops, and no one could catch them. As they fled, Lu Xin noticed a gigantic statue at the center where the eight streets converged. Apart from that, the scenery in every direction was almost identical. The exits of the entire space had been completely swallowed by thick fog, making it impossible to tell which way led out.
The two tried running straight toward the same direction, but after more than ten minutes they were still within the Netherworld streets. They had even returned to their starting point. The entire space seemed to be infinite.
“This won’t do. If we continue like this, our strength will eventually run out.”
Although Moon-Buhei’s true demon-fox form did not require magical power, endless running and leaping would still exhaust his physical strength. Realizing that blindly rushing about would not help them escape, the two had no choice but to stop on a comparatively safe rooftop.
Looking around, Lu Xin saw streets and alleyways packed tightly below them. Countless figures stood among them, radiating a terrifying aura.
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Clang, clang, clang! Clang, clang, clang!
A deep, muffled peal of bells suddenly rang beside Lu Xin’s ears. The sound seemed to descend from the heavens, vibrating painfully through his eardrums. He looked up. The sky was hazy and empty, oppressively low and terrifying. Fortunately, the bells rang only for a short while before falling silent.
“Fox, we can’t get out because the entire space keeps rotating. You’re a demon who once ruled the Primordial World. Whether we can escape depends on your destiny.”
“What destiny? This formation was created by your human race. I don’t understand it at all.”
“Hahahaha! Since you know this is the Primordial World, you must be able to think of a way out. The Ghost Emperor Tuber is a demon as well. How could he allow his own kind to be trapped to death?”
As his long laughter rang out, a blood-red sword light suddenly flew toward them from the distance. Its momentum was immense, and when it crashed onto the rooftop, it sent countless roof tiles flying. Lu Xin and Moon-Buhei sprang to their feet, startled and furious.
They then saw Huang Yuyi lightly leap across several rooftops and land before them.
“Heh. I wondered what great figure had arrived. It’s only a lapdog of the Supreme Mystic Heavenly Sect. What is it? I let you escape last time, and now you’re in such a hurry to come back and die?”
“The demon fox has a sharp tongue. Unfortunately, I won’t make the same mistake twice.”
The corner of Huang Yuyi’s mouth lifted. His sword fingers moved in every direction, and the blood-red flying sword immediately rose into the air and shot toward Moon-Buhei.
Its magical power was immense. Even after reverting to his true demon-fox form, Moon-Buhei struggled to defend himself, and blood soon appeared across his body. Furious, Lu Xin summoned the Wandering Immortal Sword and sent it crashing into the attack, finally forcing the blood-red flying sword to halt.
Huang Yuyi then withdrew his power, seeming not to have come in order to fight after all.
“The arts of Strange Gates and Hidden Armor are governed by the three powers of Heaven, Earth, and Man. This Netherworld Bagua formation contains eight transformations: Opening, Resting, Life, Harm, Obstruction, Scenery, Death, and Terror. But only one of them can allow a person to escape. You are different, however. This formation traps humans, while you are a demon.”
“Huang Yuyi, what are you talking about?”
“What he means is that you should take everyone out of here, and preferably help him find the Hall of Yellow Springs. Of course, you can refuse and choose to work with me instead.”
The voice of the Turkic general who had vanished from the imperial palace rang out just as Moon-Buhei finished speaking. Another figure had appeared on the rooftop to their left.