CHAPTER 569: CHAPTER 290: THE LAW OF GHOSTS

These are offerings used for the ritual.

Xu Qing saw an elderly woman standing in front of the altar, chanting obscure incantations.

As the incantations were chanted, the bells bound with white silk on the withered branches of the giant tree rang softly. When the ritual reached a certain point, Xu Qing found himself floating up to the sky!

Three thousand elderly women around also accompanied the ritual, soaring to great heights. Xu Qing looked down and discovered that the giant tree which seemed to reach the heavens was rooted on an island.

No, that island is quite vast; it would be more appropriate to call it a continent.

The continent’s shape resembles a phoenix, but the undulating patterns are like the scales of a dragon pieced together.

On all sides of the continent, there is water encircling it, turbid and difficult to cross.

According to the ’Records of Ten Continents Inside the Sea’: Weak water encircles Phoenix Scale Continent, an area 1,500 li, surrounded by weak water on all sides, a feather does not float, impossible to cross...

Xu Qing was lost in thought when the elderly woman in front of the altar tapped the ground heavily with her staff, causing a visible surge of emerald light. The dry giant tree began to sprout; in an instant, the seasons changed, and the ancient tree bore countless gourds.

Once the gourds matured and fell, they scattered apart, each scooping a ladleful of weak water and came to the presence of the ’Three Thousand Flying Elderly Women’.

Taking the gourds, the elderly women treated them as boats to cross, each entered the gourds and fell back onto the withered branches.

Xu Qing’s vision went black; in a short moment, he couldn’t see the outside world until he heard the sound of water and a faint light appeared before his eyes.

At this point, the lone elderly woman was floating in a wooden ladle within the cave-heaven of the gourd, surrounded by boundless weak water.

Not sure how long she drifted, the wooden ladle suddenly sank into a tumultuous whirlpool. The elderly woman shut her eyes tightly, performed a hand seal and recited an incantation to stabilize herself. When she passed through the undercurrent and reopened her eyes, she had arrived in the human realm.

Xu Qing had never seen such a smuggling method.

If each fruit born from that giant tree represents a world, does this mean each world has an elderly woman searching for a way to face the great calamity?

Xu Qing continued to observe.

The elderly woman had just arrived in this world and hadn’t started to wield her full strength yet before being surrounded by hunters smelling prey at the exit of the Ancient Yin River Dao.

Xu Qing saw the legendary first of the twelve gates, as well as the ancient gods, Ji and Qi, guarding the Yin River passage.

Legend has it that Ji is the god of rituals, Qi is responsible for prayers and invocations. These two are gods worshipped by ancient witch tribes, but they perished during the third great calamity between heaven and earth, while the Ji and Qi before them are substitutes summoned by magic corpse puppets from the Nine Netherworld with accumulated resentment and malevolent thoughts.

Besides witch ’Ji’ and witch ’Qi’, above the elderly woman, a colossal figure with a string of heads is hidden within the sinister clouds and ghost mist.

The elderly woman faced the ominous winds, stared straight at the presence above.

"Ghost Law..."

The strings formed by a multitude of ghosts - fend ghosts, mountain ghosts, water ghosts, vengeful ghosts, hanging ghosts, hungry ghosts, etc. - resembled a cauldron furnace imprisoning numerous Yin Ghosts, constantly melting all the ghosts’ abilities together, ultimately forming a law enforcer of the underworld mastering various ghost laws.

The elderly woman’s face was sorrowful. Facing the pressure from Ghost Law, witch Ji, and witch Qi, she showed no fear; her sorrow was due to the unfavorable start of this venture.

Her body possesses a unique fate; normally, her first smuggling here, the chances of encountering a nemesis at the door are no higher than being hit by a meteor upon leaving the house.

Yet upon her arrival here, she coincidentally bumped into Ghost Law, such a magic corpse puppet.

In the depths of her heart, the elderly woman sensed the omen of bad luck entwining her, even if she safely leaves the Yin River Dao today, it will likely be challenging to find opportunities influencing the direction of the great calamity in the future.

"The aura from Nine Netherworld, you are an underworld deity smuggled into the human world, who exactly are you?"

Countless ghost voices overlapped, and the colossal body amid the sinister clouds and ghost mist scrutinized the elderly woman.

"No matter who you are, you must remain in the Yin River; we absolutely will not allow you to leave alive!"

Before the words fell silent, countless ghost creatures transformed into ghost shadows darkening the skies, charging towards the elderly woman as diminutive as an ant!

Resembling children, with black-red skin, big ears, and long arms - the Fanged Ghost, adept at epidemics - the Epidemic Ghost, and various Shadow-eating Ghosts, unlucky ghosts that excel in depletion... A thousand types and thousands of ghost creatures carrying various laws and principles, forcibly carved out a nearly thousand li ghost realm within the Ancient Yin River Dao.

The elderly woman’s face grew more sorrowful; she reached out, taking a ladle of weak water, swallowed a mouthful, and when she opened her mouth again, a blood-red wind orb with immense magical power swept towards the surrounding ghost realm!

The advancing witch Ji and witch Qi hastily retreated in panic.

"It’s Leeward! This old woman has refined Leeward!"

The elderly woman performed a seal to control the wind, and wherever the red hurricane passed, ghosts wailed and dissipated instantly. The Fanged Ghost’s elastic long arms disintegrated into dust inch by inch, the Epidemic Ghost’s emitted poison mist backfired into its throat, the Shadow-eating Ghost was scraped by wind sand till its bone shadow vanished, Unlucky Ghost, Hungry Ghost’s laws backfired upon themselves...

"Weak water borrows power; it shall be repaid, this debt is marked by me."

The elderly woman gazed into the void with dim eyes.

Ghost Law grew furious, the ghost realm stretched thousands of miles around became viscous, above the void, countless Fanged Ghosts appeared with forbidden ghost realm laws, transforming into long black arms reaching out.

Finally, the ever-sorrowful elderly woman couldn’t help but reveal an odd expression.

The Ghost Law before her is indeed as treacherous as a haunted swamp, behaving like a fox, acting like a rat.