FVN Chapter 99 Antique Hall
Chapter 99 Antique Hall
"Hengniang?"
The ghost messenger bowed and took out a round, black stone slab. The surface of the slab was as smooth as a mirror, and the edge was engraved with a circle of fine seal script.
He placed the yellow paper on the stone slab, and a wisp of mist rose up, transforming in the air into the figure of a young woman of about sixteen, dressed in a light blue dress, with a purple hair on her left eyebrow—it was none other than the woman in question.
The ghost examines the body carefully for a moment, then sighs softly:
"Another fox demon who, because she has lived for so long, has forgotten who she is in the mortal world."
After saying that, the old man pulled out the thin booklet with a dark red cover and frayed edges from under the counter. He turned to the page with densely packed small, vermilion characters, added a line of annotation at the end, then closed the booklet, looked up, and smiled:
"Mr. Song is quite capable, he didn't get intoxicated by the gentle embrace of this demon soul devouring corpse spirit."
"It was just luck."
The ghost messenger smiled faintly, took out an ebony box from the iron cabinet, pushed open the lid, and inside were neatly arranged amber-colored longevity pills, each one crystal clear.
He carefully counted out sixty coins, divided them into six piles of ten, and pushed them in front of Song Quyou.
Mr. Song nodded.
Song Quyou glanced at it and put all the longevity pills into his sleeve.
……
The underworld is devoid of sunlight, only the dim moon hangs in the sky.
At the summit of Meishan Mountain, in the plum blossom forest, flowers bloom and fade at all times. Before the previous blossom has even fallen to the ground, the next one is already swollen and ready to open, an endless cycle that continues like a continuous, inextinguishable flame.
But in this plum grove, there is a plum blossom that never fades, always standing proudly on the branch, hidden in the sea of plum blossoms that bloom and fade.
Just then, a wisp of pink mist drifted in from the north and entered the plum blossom.
We arrived at a beautiful manor with clear blue skies and fields of red plum blossoms.
The manor was large, but there was no one in sight, only red-headed, green-skinned ghosts bustling about.
The misty pink vapor drifted deeper, and among the vermilion railings and painted beams, red plum trees bloomed one after another, blooming in a quiet yet unrestrained manner.
Deep within a vermilion building, no ghost dared linger. The wispy, pink mist drifted straight into an unclosed window.
"Mei Yingxue! Mei Yingxue!..." The misty pink vapor drifted in and transformed into the appearance of a woman in white, shouting as she searched for the woman in the crimson skirt.
No one answered from inside the building. The woman in white ran through the empty pavilions, her skirt brushing against the pillars, startling a string of copper bells under the eaves.
At this moment, Mei Yingxue sat cross-legged by the window at the highest point of the vermilion building, with jade bowls in front of her filled with various minerals and spices. She took out some of each, and used the various utensils in front of her to grind, moisten, or stir them...
"So you were here. I called you so loudly, why didn't you answer me?"
Mei Yingxue said indifferently, "I don't want to bother with it."
The woman in white snorted and put her hands on her hips, saying, "Since that's the case, I don't want to talk to you about what you asked me to do."
Mei Yingxue shook her head and smiled faintly. With a wave of her hand, a stream of light flew out from between the white-clad woman's eyebrows. Within that stream of light, twinkling stars appeared, showing the white-clad woman and Song Quyou in the Corpse Demon Forest.
Mei Yingxue glanced at her, then stood up abruptly, skillfully picked up the whip next to her, and raised her hand to lash the woman in white.
"I told you to use the seductive arts of that demon soul-devouring corpse spirit to arouse his three corpses and see if they were still there. You really have no shame, actually showing your beauty to others."
The whip rose and fell, and the woman tried to escape, but she was firmly locked in place by an iron chain that appeared out of nowhere on the ground, and could only let the whip fall.
clatter!……
The whip struck, tearing flesh and sending wisps of powdery breath flying everywhere.
Despite the excruciating pain, the woman, with tears welling in her eyes, glared angrily at Mei Yingxue without uttering a sound.
Mei Yingxue stopped whipping and coldly stared at the tear-streaked face in front of her.
"You still have the nerve to cry? When did I ever teach you to be so shameless?"
The woman in white bit her lip, tears streaming down her face, yet she stubbornly turned her head away.
"Yes, I am ashamed! But it's still better than being a coward."
Mei Yingxue's fingers stiffened; the whip was raised halfway through the air again, but didn't fall. She turned her back, released the chains, and sighed softly:
"Does he still have three corpses?"
The woman in white collapsed to the ground, angrily saying, "He's gone. I used the seductive arts of that demonic soul-devouring spirit to arouse his three corpses, but there was no reaction at all."
Mei Yingxue remained silent.
The woman in white behind her suddenly stood up, completely ignoring the pain from her wounds, and ran to Mei Yingxue's side, saying in a carefree and cheerful voice:
"Moreover, he doesn't seem to harbor any evil thoughts. Although he's incredibly wicked, I can sense that he... is like the person described in the book—possessing a clear and tranquil mind, a serene and enlightened spirit..."
The copper bells under the eaves tinkled softly, and a breeze blew in through the window, filling the room with a rich fragrance of plum blossoms.
Mei Yingxue remained motionless for a long time, frowning in deep thought, and muttered to herself:
"Song Quyou! How did you do that?"
Even immortals in the Celestial Court often haven't eliminated their three corpses. And you, a mere mortal, how can you possibly sever them? ...
This also happens to be the only possibility: that after you secretly severed your three corpses back then, you faked your death and escaped, thus not entering the cycle of reincarnation.
……
Having earned the Longevity Pills, Song Quyou planned to stroll through the market and exchange them for some cultivation materials.
Song Quyou walked through the market streets and stopped in front of a tall wooden building.
This wooden building is two stories taller than the other buildings in the neighborhood, with upturned eaves and a row of white lanterns hanging under the eaves. The three large gilded characters "Gudongtang" on the lintel are sometimes bright and sometimes dim.
Two strangely shaped stone beasts, resembling three-eyed mastiffs, squatted on the steps in front of the gate. Their long braids hung down from their ears, making it impossible to tell what kind of beasts they were.
Stepping inside, the space was even more spacious than from the outside, stretching far into the distance. The walls were lined with floor-to-ceiling ebony shelves, displaying a bizarre array of items. Some were greasy and filthy, some were decayed and rusted, while others gleamed and pristine…
The store is well organized, with ironware, porcelain, jade, books, and even miscellaneous items arranged very clearly.
Behind the counter stood a short, stout shopkeeper with a fair complexion and no beard, wearing a silk robe with copper coin patterns, wiping a jade carving with a piece of velvet cloth.
Upon seeing Song Quyou enter, he put down the jade carving, smiled, and cupped his hands in greeting: "A rare guest indeed, Mr. Song, is this your first time here?"
"Does the shopkeeper know me?"
The short, stout shopkeeper said with a fawning smile, "Of course I know him. Mr. Song is highly skilled. In the past four years, he has eliminated many evil spirits and helped those wandering souls who were about to dissipate to live for two more years. He is also a friend of Miss Mei. Who in the entire Qin Gu Fang doesn't know Mr. Song?"
Song Quyou did not respond. Merchants are profit-driven and only remember those who are useful to them, thus flattering themselves.
The short, stout shopkeeper, seeing Song Quyou's indifferent expression, didn't care. He still smiled broadly, took out a thick catalog from under the counter, and pushed it in front of Song Quyou.
"Mr. Song is highly skilled and must need some items for cultivation. Although my shop cannot compare to the legendary immortal abodes, it has collected quite a few..."
As he spoke, the short, stout shopkeeper tiptoed and whispered in Song Quyou's ear, "But they've also collected quite a few treasures left behind by the ancient immortal abode."
Song Quyou's gaze fell on the inventory list, but he didn't rush to flip through it. He simply said, "Shopkeeper, you're joking. How could something from the Immortal Abode end up in the Underworld?"
"It's normal that Mr. Song doesn't know. Only us old ghosts who don't want to be reincarnated and only want to deal in antiques know a little about it."
Song Quyou became interested, withdrew his hand from the inventory list, and looked at the short, stout shopkeeper, saying, "Shopkeeper, could you elaborate?"
Seeing that Song Quyou had become interested, the short, stout shopkeeper's eyes flashed with a sharp light. He put the jade carving back on the shelf, picked up a wooden box, and said in a low voice:
"Mr. Song is visiting my shop for the first time today and seems to be in high spirits, so of course we must make sure he enjoys himself to the fullest."
As he spoke, he picked up the box and led Song Quyou to a square table to explain in detail.
……
"Mr. Song asked why there are celestial abodes in the underworld, so this old ghost will tell you everything he knows. However, this is just one person's opinion, so please don't take it seriously."
"Not at all, it is my honor to hear the reason from the shopkeeper."
"Mr. Song, do you know why the underworld is different from the human world?"
"Please enlighten me, shopkeeper."
"In fact, there is no distinction between the underworld and the human world in the world, or rather, the underworld and the human world are the same world."
Song Quyou's eyebrows twitched slightly, but he didn't interrupt.
The short, stout innkeeper poured Song Quyou a cup of tea. The tea was grayish-white, with a few unknown dried leaves floating in it.
"I once obtained a jade slip, which recorded the reason for this matter. It said that before the distinction between the underworld and the human world was made, there was a celestial ancestor who ruled the world."
He imparted immortal techniques, guiding people to cultivate themselves and become immortals. Those who became immortals opened immortal abodes in various places, protecting mortals with favorable weather, good harvests, and freedom from illness and disaster.
However, the immortal techniques were targeted by another evil entity. But that evil entity had no human soul or body and could not cultivate the immortal techniques. In the end, it approached the immortal cultivators. At first, it pretended to be crazy and silly, making a fool of itself and being extremely obsequious. As it slowly gained the trust of the immortals, it slowly stole the immortal techniques and corrupted mortals.
It corrupts the minds of mortals, defiles their bodies, and uses them to give birth to its own offspring.
The offspring of that evil creature, which procreates in the bodies of mortals, are cunning, greedy, and adept at deceiving and bullying the weak, making them unpleasant to behold.
However, immortals are good at teaching and guiding. Since this was the first time the immortals had seen such evil creatures, they naturally believed that they could be guided to the right path. So they let them live among mortals, reproduce with mortals, and gave them a good life. One day, they would make them no different from mortals.
Indeed, one day...
Over thousands of years, the offspring of evil creatures have multiplied and multiplied, and many of them are no different from ordinary people. They are extremely good at flattering superiors and bullying inferiors. On the surface, they are docile and obedient, but behind the scenes, they steal the magic of immortals bit by bit and use it to bewitch mortals and enjoy their adoration.
But the immortals were unaware of this and did not investigate further.
Seeing their docile and obedient nature, he trusted them even more and slowly handed over the immortal scriptures, alchemy chambers, and magical artifacts to these offspring of evil spirits.
The short, stout shopkeeper paused here, his withered fingers tapping lightly twice on the edge of the wooden box. The lid slid open silently, revealing a broken jade slip inside. The jade was yellowish, cracked, and missing most of the edge, with fine black seal characters on it.
"And then, the immortals found out?" Song Quyou's gaze fell on the jade slip.
"I've noticed."
The shopkeeper took a sip of the grayish-white tea to moisten his throat: "But by the time we realized it, it was too late."
Those evil offspring have long since infiltrated every immortal abode, alchemy rooms, scripture pavilions, and magical artifact stores; where is there no trace of them?
They steal immortal techniques, magical artifacts, and elixirs, and establish religions and temples in the mortal realm, enjoying incense offerings that immortals have never experienced.
The immortal was furious and only killed a few ringleaders. However, he hesitated to kill the remaining evil offspring, as they had intermarried with mortals for thousands of years, and their bloodlines were already mixed. They were impossible to kill completely.
Therefore, the Immortal Ancestor established the instruction that immortals should not directly appear in the world, but can only secretly guide mortals to gradually eliminate evil spirits and completely cut off the path for evil spirits to attach themselves to immortal abodes in various places.
However, to the Immortal Ancestor's surprise, there were indeed evil offspring among the immortals.
Those bastards who infiltrated the immortal sects secretly received offerings from other evil creatures and bastards, making rapid progress. They appeared to have extremely high talent and were more humble and docile than anyone else in their dealings with others. After the immortal ancestor established his teachings, they became the deepest hidden spies.
It wasn't until the Immortal Ancestor left to explore beyond the heavens that this group of evil creatures revealed their fangs, raised the Immortal Ancestor's banner, rallied their kind, and incited half of the Immortal Mansions to turn against them, resulting in mutual slaughter.
The same is true in the mortal realm. The offspring of evil beings gather in groups, committing adultery, murder, and plunder, bewitching and forcing mortals into becoming slaves or servants, worshipping evil beings and recognizing their ancestors every day, and killing those who disobey in public.
In that great chaos, the battle raged until the heavens and earth were shattered. Countless generations of mortals perished, and when the immortal ancestor returned, all he saw was devastation.
Of the once ubiquitous celestial abodes, only one in ten remains, with most now occupied by evil creatures and their offspring. These evil creatures' descendants continue to build shrines and temples in the mortal realm, and the bewitched mortals recognize these evil creatures as their ancestors, worshipping them day and night.
The Immortal Ancestor was enraged and used his great power to gather the fragmented world together.
One realm is the human world, reserved for mortals and the offspring of evil beings whose bloodlines are no different from mortals; the other is the underworld, specifically for imprisoning the ringleaders and their direct descendants. From then on, the two worlds are separated, and all the direct descendants of evil beings are imprisoned in this realm.
Therefore, it's not surprising that the underworld possesses secret magical treasures and teachings of immortals; the two realms are essentially the same world, only separated by barriers.
The short, stout shopkeeper calmly pushed the jade slip into Song Quyou's hand and said with a faint smile:
"Mr. Song, please take a look and see if this jade slip is credible?"
Song Quyou took the jade slip and carefully read the words on it, which were exactly as the shopkeeper had said.
Just as the jade slip was about to be returned after reading it, the surrounding scenery suddenly changed.
Song Quyou found himself standing on a boundless wasteland, with a gaping hole in the sky above him, and crumbling walls, broken white jade steps, an overturned alchemy furnace, a gilded plaque half-buried in ashes, and mangled human corpses beneath his feet—a scene of utter desolation and misery.
Suddenly, a hand reached out from the ruins, its skin as white as ice and its bones as white as jade, stained with indelible scorch marks, and grabbed Song Quyou's ankle.
Song Quyou looked down and met a pair of bloodshot eyes. It was half of a man's body, struggling out of the scorched earth, his long hair tangled with ashes, his face covered in soot and looking utterly disheveled.
The man revealed his pearly white teeth and laughed loudly, "Future generations, I knew those bastards would be wiped out by the Immortal Ancestor."
Song Quyou frowned slightly but remained silent.
"Young friend, do not panic. I am Ningxu, a disciple of the Immortal Ancestor. I left behind a wisp of my divine consciousness only to meet the future ruler. It is truly an honor to meet you today."
Song Quyou remained wary, but his face remained impassive. He simply cupped his hands slightly and said, "Senior Ningxu, I have mistakenly entered this place. I hope you will forgive me."
Ningxu raised his hand and wiped the ashes off his face, revealing a handsome face: "No need to be so reserved. My immortal abode was attacked by those bastards and is in a mess. I myself don't have much time left."
"By the way, young friend, what has become of the world?"
Song Quyou revealed what he knew.
Ningxu frowned deeply and muttered, "How could this be? How could my immortal path decline? In nearly a thousand years, no one has entered the realm of immortals."
Ningxu suddenly looked up, his bloodshot eyes fixed on Song Quyou: "You said no one has entered the Immortal Realm for a thousand years, but what about the evil creatures? Have their evil offspring been eradicated?"
"This junior has never seen it before. If it weren't for your jade slip, senior, I would never have even heard of the evil creature you mentioned."
Ningxu laughed wildly, "Never seen anything like it, never heard of it..."
Before he finished speaking, Ningxu shuddered as if he had been struck hard by something. His bloodshot eyes widened suddenly and then slowly narrowed again.
"Never heard of it?"