Chapter 143 The Nineteen Ghost Soldiers
The King of Hell originally intended to resolve the Black Prison case in secret, as it concerned the dignity of his position as King of Hell, and he was unwilling to appear incompetent and unworthy in front of the True Monk.
However, Masakatsu still found out.
He hadn't expected the person behind this to strike a second time so quickly. He had initially thought the previous attack was just a show of force. It seemed that releasing the vengeful spirits from the Black Prison might have had another purpose.
Faced with the shocked and puzzled look in Shinju's eyes, King Zhen suddenly felt quite embarrassed.
He sent his generals to wait in the Yama King's Palace, while he lagged a few steps behind, waiting for the True Monk to "come and question him."
Shinjuku did indeed look displeased.
King Zhen had never seen Shinju with such an expression towards him before, and his heart tightened.
"Why haven't I heard my brother mention this? Why didn't he tell me? What happened?" Majutsu rarely used a questioning tone.
King Zhen had no choice but to tell the whole story, and then watched as Shinju's golden eyes dimmed.
The King of Zhen was immediately anxious, yet felt powerless and unable to speak. The facts spoke louder than words; he had simply not handled the matter well, and hadn't even found a suitable person to place his spies in.
Then, he heard Masakatsu say dejectedly, "Keiko is still too unreliable. No wonder my brother kept it from me."
King Zhen was shocked. He really didn't expect that what Shinju cared about was his own concealment, not his incompetence, and that he was not the one to blame.
"Qing'er, why blame yourself?" The King of Poison spoke with difficulty, "It was I who didn't handle it well. I only thought about solving it myself so that Qing'er could... praise me afterwards." He admired me and depended on me.
Upon hearing this, Shinju suddenly realized that he and the King of Poison shared a common flaw, and it wasn't just him who was like this. They always tried to solve problems on their own, afraid of burdening the other person. While it seemed like they were thinking of the other person, this cautiousness was actually a sign of their own lack of trust in their own abilities and in the other person.
The two had clearly come to a realization. They exchanged a glance, their eyes reflecting each other's figures, everything flowing in a silent understanding.
"This is the last time." A smile appeared in Shinju's golden eyes, but he still pretended to be serious.
The King of Poison pressed his forehead against the King of True Abode's, his phoenix eyes flashing with emotion. "Yes, for the last time."
“We are cultivation partners. After we return to the cultivation world and eliminate the demons, how about we hold a grand ceremony to celebrate our union?” As Zhen Su made this suggestion, his fair cheeks involuntarily flushed crimson.
This was the first time Shinju had verbally acknowledged their relationship. The King of Poison felt a tightness in his throat, his fingertips gently tracing the blush on Shinju's cheeks, suppressing the tremor in his breath, and whispered, "Alright, do whatever Qing'er wants."
With his curved eyebrows and swaying beast ears, Zhen Su led the King of Hell and walked side by side toward the Yama Palace.
Dozens of Yin spirits escaped from the Black Prison this time, and they were even more powerful than the previous evil spirits. Although the Yin soldiers and messengers knew that the King of Hell had just taken office and that this matter had little to do with him, his image of being incompetent and weak had already spread. The speed at which it spread showed that there was probably a mastermind behind it. Meanwhile, the rumors that the King of Hell should step down were rampant.
Although King Yama is the ruler of one court, the underworld has more than one court. The ten kings of the underworld are mutually restraining. Only now did King Zhen understand why the position of the tenth king of the underworld had been vacant for so long. It is likely that no one had tried to become the king before, but they were probably all removed from the position due to power struggles.
"Heh, this time I will not let them have their way." The King of Poison's eyes were sinister and his tone was cold. He had clearly made a decision, which was completely different from the gentle and affectionate image he had presented to Shinju earlier.
Shinju volunteered to ask the King of Poison to grant him the authority to participate in the investigation of the Black Prison case.
Ox-Head and Horse-Face originally intended to travel with True Monk. However, since they learned last time that King Zhen had not received any warning, they had been cautious. This time, when they were summoned to the Black Prison, they found Black and White Impermanence to take their place, while they personally brought the message back and waited for King Zhen to give them orders.
King Zhen originally intended to make the same arrangement, but Zhen Su refused, saying, "Those of the level of Ox-Head and Horse-Face will definitely be guarded against, and they won't be able to move at all. Why don't you put on a show, pretend to be annoyed, and only send out a few lowly ghost soldiers like me to lower their vigilance?"
What a ghostly soldier like him! If any random ghostly soldier had his abilities, when would it have been their turn to sit in the positions of Ox-Head and Horse-Face? Ox-Head and Horse-Face's lips twitched, and they forcibly suppressed the urge to speak.
Without the slightest hesitation, Zhenwang followed Zhensu's instructions, feigning a fit of rage and driving all the Yin soldiers away. He then telepathically instructed Ox-Head and Horse-Face to keep an eye on them and prevent anyone from having a chance to tip them off.
As a matter of course, Shinju took the Yin Soldier Talisman infused with magic and walked firmly into the magic array that would transport him to the Black Prison.
.
The lower level of the underworld, the Black Prison.
The Black Prison, judging from its name, might lead one to believe it's a massive prison holding countless heinous criminals. But in reality, it's more like a storage space, devoid of any living quarters, merely a place to seal away all sorts of malevolent spirits. Only time constantly changes and flows, and the spirits' self-awareness is soon lost in the long river of time. Each sealed cell is far apart, not densely packed. The prison guards are more like managers, controlling the secret codes for their respective areas. Because the codes are extremely complex and change every seven days, only the Lord of the Black Prison understands their patterns, and for thousands of years, there have been no major changes, demonstrating the stability of this system.
When Shinju arrived, the Black and White Impermanence were not getting any better treatment from a certain jailer, and they immediately started arguing and getting red in the face.
"Don't bring your spoiled brat attitude here! With that attitude, it's no wonder people won't cooperate!" Black Impermanence said angrily.
White Impermanence raised an eyebrow and said dismissively, "Don't you understand? That person was already given instructions. In terms of status, even the jailer's position is lower than ours. Why should I give him any special treatment?"
"You, you, it's pointless to talk to you!" Black Impermanence was so angry that he wanted to turn and leave, but the situation didn't allow it, and the guy beside him was extremely unreliable, so he could only think about how to move the investigation forward. Just then, a familiar figure appeared.
The tall, muscular figure, bound in a neat outfit and adorned with strikingly contrasting bushy animal ears and tail, was walking towards them step by step. However, the man's exquisite and handsome face was just as eye-catching, always leaving Black Impermanence stunned.
Bai Wuchang wasn't exactly calm either, but being proud by nature, he wouldn't admit it even if he was truly dumbfounded.
"Seniors, may I ask what the situation is?" Shinju was preoccupied with the case and didn't think much of the subtle expressions on the two men's faces. He came up and asked immediately.
The situation was indeed not good. The two composed themselves and recounted the progress of their story.
"Only the jailers and the Black Prison Lord can release the ghosts, but the jailers are completely uncooperative. It is said that the last time was the same, and in the end, the case was closed without any results, and the whereabouts of the escaped ghosts are still unknown."
"Aren't the guards responsible for this?" Shinju glanced at a guard a short distance away. The guard, noticing Shinju's gaze, glared back with extremely hostile eyes. Shinju then asked, "Speaking of which, how many exits does the Black Prison have?"
“There’s only one place,” Black Impermanence said.
That's the one we came from.
Shinju called the two to go and take a look at the teleportation array. As they were leaving, the silver bracelet on his wrist quietly fell off and rolled into a corner, transforming into a nimble silver spider that disappeared in the blink of an eye.
Upon closer inspection, it was discovered that the magic array was bidirectional and required activation with a military talisman. However, if Zhen Su's Yin Military Talisman had not been granted authorization and burned to ashes to transform into magic runes, he would not have been able to use his own military talisman to enter the Black Prison.
However, since this is the only exit, the possibility of the magic circle being tampered with is extremely high.
The Black and White Impermanence were not very knowledgeable about magic arrays, and the True Monk had only learned a little bit, so the three of them couldn't figure out anything.
If only there were someone skilled in magic arrays.
Array masters are the rarest talents in the cultivation world, bar none. They are even rarer than specialists in alchemy, weapon crafting, talismans, and spiritual plants, and their potential is even higher.
The protective formations of each major sect are one of the foundations of their existence. Therefore, even the most lowly formation masters are not neglected by most righteous sects, and those with even a little reputation in the cultivation world are certainly treated as honored guests. Rumors frequently circulate in the cultivation world that two sects often clash over the recruitment of formation masters as guest elders.
Suddenly, Zhen Su remembered that he had such a person here who was deeply knowledgeable about formations—Lou Lan, who could set up the most forbidden formation!
However, it wouldn't be right to simply send away the Black and White Impermanence. So, a rather unorthodox idea came to mind: since he could empathize with evil spirits, it might not be impossible for him to have Lou Lan occupy his eyes in return.
Shinju did not release the Demon Mother, but instead communicated with the Three Corpses through the Secondary Purple Palace.
A moment later, the gold spread out, and a light, fragrant tea color rose up, filling Shinjuku's entire pupils.
Lou Lan was naturally shocked, but considering it was Masato, it made sense. As expected of him.
After Lou Lan noticed the Sun and Moon Twisting Sprout Pattern array under his feet, he disregarded everything else and had Zhen Su squat down to examine it closely.
Out of the corner of their eye, Black and White Impermanence saw that Shinju was suddenly so serious and engrossed, and couldn't help but feel surprised.
But what surprised them even more was Shinju's subsequent analysis. At first, they were so focused on Shinju's handsome features that they didn't hear a word he said. But their senses kicked in, and they quickly realized that Shinju's words were sharp and insightful, like those of a master of formations, flowing smoothly and convincingly. Even though they couldn't yet verify the truth of his arguments, they felt in their hearts that it was exactly as he described!
Listening to Lou Lan's analysis, Zhen Su also felt he had benefited greatly. He then told Hei Bai Wuchang without reservation: "This teleportation array is an array within an array. The outermost cocoon pattern can prevent tampering. And these inner two layers of twisted patterns are similar in structure to an abacus. Each twist is a bead, recording the number of people teleported within seven days. The third layer can show the time of teleportation..."
The final conclusion was astonishing: the magic array showed no signs of being altered by human hands! This perfectly matched the number of missing spirits and the remainder outside the records of the ghost soldiers entering and leaving.
"Then, if the magic array hasn't been tampered with..." Black Impermanence couldn't help but think of something and was momentarily speechless.
Everyone knew that this meant the ghosts could only be released by the internal jailers.
It seems that the difficulty this time is not in investigating, but in holding those responsible accountable. Without figuring out the forces behind the black prison, all our efforts will be in vain.
Shinjuku and the others had no choice but to retreat.
As the jailer watched them leave, a look of "nothing special" flashed in his eyes, and he smiled contemptuously.
After returning to report, King Zhen took over the follow-up work. As the King of Hell, he wasn't worried about not being able to find out the origins and power distribution behind the Black Prison. Meanwhile, Zhen Su, who had been receiving worshipful glances from the Black and White Impermanence along the way, openly whispered a few words to King Zhen before detouring to the tower in Fengdu.
He had an extremely important matter that urgently needed to be dealt with. He had been without help until now, but with Lou Lan by his side, he could no longer delay.
When he left the Black Prison, he had already discussed it with Lou Lan. There was a magic array in the Black Tower that allowed the demonic path to enter and exit freely. He needed Lou Lan to rewrite the magic array to block their path of invasion.
Lou Lan agreed, saying she could give it a try.
Shinju stepped lightly onto the steps in front of the tower gate, but as soon as he crossed the threshold, a chilling palm was thrust out from inside!
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