Secret Buyer-Chapter 343 - 263: Yama’s Throne, Chongyang’s Fall
(There will be an update of ten thousand words later.)
The entire Martial Mansion,
at this moment, seemed to transform into a small world,
with the shadow of the Luofeng Divine Mountain appearing within, yet it did not attract any attention from anyone in Chang’an Town.
Even Cui Baihua outside the gate only looked at the door lintel of the Martial Mansion with confusion.
"Strange..."
She murmured to herself.
Meanwhile, inside the Martial Mansion.
The elderly woman’s hands and feet were numb, and she was watching this horrifying scene along with Chen Shishan,
the water of the Yellow Springs trickling, the Divine Mountain towering into the clouds, thousands of innate fierce ghosts created by her own hands, yet they crawled and bowed to someone else,
as if welcoming with ceremony.
"What transaction?"
The elderly woman spoke dryly, her expression slightly flickering, revealing a sense of horror.
Zhang Fusheng stood calmly, never intending to confront the elderly woman directly—her enlightening of over a hundred Grotto Heavens,
implying each of her Grotto Heavens spanned over a hundred kilometers, with mountains and rivers piled within,
much stronger than his eleven Grotto Heavens, far beyond tenfold.
The gap between them was almost exponential.
At this moment, he spoke calmly:
"Your Wu Family is a lineage guarding the tomb, inheriting from the Martial Champion countless years ago—or should I say, Emperor Zetian?"
The elderly woman’s expression truly changed, with over a hundred Grotto Heavens revolving and colliding behind her, stirring up what could be called an immense force!
The Power of Heaven and Earth was rioting,
for the first time in many years, she revealed her true form, becoming younger, her once splendid head adornments, her garments filthy,
but at the same time, accompanied by spontaneous celestial music, her whole being showcasing the traits of the Celestial Human Second Decline,
her light dazzling, day and night clear, like the sunlight breaking through thick fog!
"Who are you really?"
The elderly—no, the glamorous Female Immortal at this moment questioned, her celestial voice elegant, the sky brilliantly shining,
Zhang Fusheng still stood unmoved, quietly standing there, surrounded by vast black fog.
Chen Shishan suppressed his fear, looked up, and could see shadowy figures in that black fog,
like living beings in black robes, and within the rolling black fog, it seemed like an ancient bridge was emerging!
"The bridge behind me is called the Bridge of Helplessness."
Zhang Fusheng said calmly.
As his voice fell, that ancient bridge gradually became clear, with a monument upon it bearing the words ’Bridge of Helplessness’.
The Female Immortal’s expression was greatly shocked, and the hundreds of Grotto Heavens revolving and colliding behind her also suddenly stabilized.
She stared blankly at the Bridge of Helplessness she had been pursuing for countless years, at the Yellow Springs River running across it, and she suddenly realized.
The Female Immortal spoke with a quiver in her voice:
"Is the soul within that bridge..."
"Precisely."
Zhang Fusheng spoke peacefully, with a faint smile on his face:
"The Saint of the Great Tang has been retrieved by me from the Bridge of Helplessness, that Celestial Khan, who is also the Emperor of Heaven... but today, he calls me a Taoist Brother."
The Female Immortal’s face turned pale, even the celestial light and music surrounding her became dim at this moment,
she took a deep breath, and her hundred Grotto Heavens dispersed cleanly.
The Female Immortal spoke lowly:
"What do you want?"
She apparently misunderstood something, but that was exactly what Zhang Fusheng wanted.
He then spoke indifferently:
"Very simple, I want the Grotto Heavens you’ve cultivated in this life, I want your Spiritual Cultivation, I want the refinement of all your Techniques."
"If you hand them over, I can promise to grant the Emperor of Tang freedom, allow him to walk freely, and let you go to pay homage."
The Female Immortal pursed her lips, staring intently at the young man standing amidst the black fog, finally understanding:
"You are from the High Heaven Association?"
"Yes."
The Female Immortal fell silent again.
After a long while, she spoke lowly:
"I’ve heard that the transactions of the High Heaven Association cannot be violated, whatever is said is followed?"
"Yes."
"Then... I am willing."
The Female Immortal sighed softly, and beside her, Chen Shishan was anxious:
"Master, you must not..."
Before he finished his words, the celestial music around the Female Immortal suddenly became grand, Chen Shishan submerged in the celestial music, was crushed by the rolling mundane world, turning to dust.
"How ruthless."
A faint smile appeared on Zhang Fusheng’s face, this woman, she was very loyal to the Emperor of Tang.
Good.
With this thought, he made a gesture of courtesy, with chaotic fog appearing, forming into the shape of a True Man.
"I have already concluded a transaction with this Celestial Human, may the True Man bear witness."
"Mercy, mercy!"
The True Man sighed, sketching light and shadow with his hand, the Contract slightly trembling, yet it did not become hot—the Female Immortal was willing from the heart.
"The contract is established."
In the vast celestial sound, the celestial light on the Female Immortal began to disperse, as did the celestial music, and simultaneously, the decay of her hair adornments and filthy garments also dispersed.
She was no longer glamorous, her cultivation of thousands of years was peeling away,
it was Dharma Marvel, it was Spiritual Will, it was various Techniques...
The Female Immortal aged anew, turning into bones.
Her cultivation was gone, and the five thousand eight hundred years of the Celestial Human’s lifespan naturally was gone with it.
She then aged to death in an instant.
What remained was a complete soul.
A complete and intact soul.
"Can I see the Emperor now?" the complete soul asked lowly at the Yama Hall.
"Naturally."
Zhang Fusheng nodded, the Yellow Springs, the Bridge of Helplessness, Luofeng Divine Mountain, and other phenomena dispersed, thousands of innate fierce ghosts sinking back underground,
the mansion suddenly returned to normal, the black fog receded.
And within the Contract.
Lay one hundred and three Grotto Heavens, and four thousand six hundred years of Spiritual Cultivation along with four thousand six hundred years of Techniques training.
A big gain.
Zhang Fusheng gently opened the mansion door again, glancing at the eager young girl waiting outside,
he called out with a sidelong glance:
"Erfeng, come, enter!"
The Emperor of Tang then entered the Martial Mansion, and the door closed again.
"Are you... the Emperor?"
A complete and intact soul, trembling, asked.
Emperor Tang scrutinized her, calmly saying:
"You are a descendant of the Martial Champion, right?"
He originally felt indifferent about the Martial Champion, just a little figure in the harem,
but upon learning of the Wu Family’s usurpation of Tang, his indifference turned into disdain, even speculating whether the survival of the Wu Family was related to Emperor Ziwei.
The soul bowed to him, but suddenly rose, floating into the Yama Hall, and astonishingly sat right atop the King Yama’s seat!
The hall suddenly turned solemn with rows of ghostly candles lighting up one by one,
the Wu Family woman shouted:
"Zhang Fusheng, aren’t you going to bow?"
The eerie hall revealed innumerable souls, all who had died in the Martial Mansion over the years,
all the souls garbed in the attire of Yin Messengers, holding the Soul-Killing Stick!
Zhang Fusheng was amazed:
"No wonder you handed everything over so willingly, turns out there was a backup plan?"
He looked around, finding not just ten thousand souls, but more than a hundred thousand; this was the accumulation of the Wu family lineage over thousands of years!
A hundred thousand Yin Messengers, within the ’Martial Mansion’, could accommodate such through the capability of ’great in the small’, or within the Yama Hall without feeling cramped,
these hundred thousand Yin Messengers, chanting the words ’kill’ and ’power’, the Soul-Killing Sticks struck the ground, producing a sound powerful enough to intimidate Celestial Humans and even the souls of Divine Spirits!
"Emperor, step aside!"
The soul enthroned on the King Yama seat spoke loudly, and Zhang Fusheng was forcibly pulled into the Yama Hall by an unknown force of restraint.
Inside the hall, it was as dark as could choke.
The air was damp and cold, with a bizarre stench of old coffin boards mixed with incense, suffocating when inhaled.
The surroundings were unclear, only ghostly candles on both sides, and then suddenly, heavenly light blazed.
A hundred thousand souls lined up on both sides, ghostly candles burning, the Soul-Killing Sticks pounding the ground, the ceaseless ’kill’ chant echoing, nearly shaking his soul out of his body!
But his expression remained calm.
Zhang Fusheng chuckled:
"I underestimated you, and also underestimated the power of this Yama Hall... If I’m not mistaken, the Yuan family, Wei family, also have similar trump cards and means, right?"
"Otherwise, just relying on a Celestial Human to guard, how could you hold onto the Thousand-Mile Zhaoling?"
The Wu Family woman was wrapped in an illusory, unclear King Yama robe and crown,
she grasped a Judgment Order in her hand, flinging it to the ground:
"Sinner Zhang Fusheng, hurry up and stand trial!"
With those words, black thunder rumbled around the hall, manifesting the meanings of punishment, judgment, life and death,
yet Zhang Fusheng laughed:
"This Yama Hall, can it truly judge me?"
"Impudent!"
The Wu Family woman seated on the throne widened her eyes, seemingly exuding some of Yama’s majesty indeed!
She raised the Judgment Wood high, and then!
Her hand froze in mid-air.
The Judgment Wood, no matter what, could not fall.
The Yama Hall could not judge this Zhang Fusheng.
Or rather...
It could not try this most ancient [Human Ancestor].
The Judgment Wood shattered, the Wu Family woman’s soul nearly dissipated in the gloomy wind,
her head swam, and upon steadying herself, she found herself prone in the hall, surrounded by a hundred thousand souls, and when she lifted her head.
The young man named Zhang Fusheng was already seated on the high throne of King Yama.
Taiyi Chapter, Hand Imbued with Cause and Effect.
Now that the woman had lost her cultivation, Zhang Fusheng easily played with the cause and effect of mutual judgment and trial,
and in swapping them as well.
Thus, he stepped from being the judged to being the sovereign of trial and punishment, while the soul originally seated became the prisoner at the foot of the steps.
A hundred thousand Soul-Killing Sticks struck ground, a hundred thousand souls chanted—"Kill! Power!"
The woman’s soul was scattered, but Zhang Fusheng raised a hand, reuniting the dispersed soul.
She grovelled on the ground, grovelling before the hall, repeatedly questioning:
"Who... exactly are you?"
Zhang Fusheng merely chuckled:
"Erfeng, regarding these caretakers of the mausoleum, what should be done with them? Right or wrong aside, they are loyal to you."
Emperor Tang had walked into Yama Hall at some unknown time, unstartled by the grim and solemn spectacle,
to him, according to his memory, he had been to Yama Hall ’just over a month’ ago,
but at that time, ten Kings of Yama came to welcome him, calling him Human Lord, saluting him with respect.
Emperor Tang stood with hands behind his back, gazing at the soul willing to sacrifice thousands of years of cultivation for him.
He calmly spoke:
"Acting without permission and overstepping is transgression."
"As you held good intentions, and were loyal and devoted, you may be spared from capital punishment... as for the specifics?"
In the woman’s bewildered glance, Emperor Tang saluted Zhang Fusheng.
"I will leave it to Taoist Brother Fusheng to decide."
In the Yama seat, Zhang Fusheng picked up the cracked Judgment Wood, rubbing it, then gave it a slap downwards.
"The Bridge of Helplessness is short a bridgekeeper, you shall guard the bridge, guarding the isolated bridge for a million years, then you may discuss merits and faults."
The soul of the Wu Family woman flickered and quivered, entering the black mist, falling into Zhang Fusheng’s Divine Realm, falling upon the Bridge of Helplessness.
In Yama Hall, Emperor Tang was surprised:
"Taoist Brother Fusheng, this would not seem so much as a punishment, the bridge keeper of the Bridge of Helplessness... is actually [Granny Meng]."
Zhang Fusheng nodded quietly, rubbing the Yama seat, trying to absorb it into his Divine Realm—but failed.
This Yama Hall, the grim and solemn hall, seemed rooted here, unable to be moved.
"What a strange thing indeed."
He murmured, and then explained to Emperor Tang:
"I saw heavy cause and effect on that woman, just moments ago sitting in front of this Yama seat, the previously unclear and untraceable cause and effect became crystal clear."
"She is herself, and also an unknown number of generations of your Martial Champion’s reincarnated body."
Emperor Tang was stunned, hearing this Taoist Brother Fusheng continue to murmur:
"Just like this, for Wei Bushi it remains uncertain, and Yuan Tiandao and Yuan Feidao, may they be reincarnations of Yuan Tiangang and Yuan Shoucheng?"
Murmuring amidst.
Outside the hall, suddenly a great shake.
Zhang Fusheng rose from the Yama seat, eyes tightly focused, listening intently.
It is Chongyang.
The entire Chongyang Heaven and Earth is swaying and shifting.
It...
has wholly extricated from the Golden Province.
And is crashing towards a vast, boundless infinity, roaring!
