I, the transmigrated villain, please wait, gentle master.

Chapter 155 The Xiang River Breaks and the Jade Mountain Collapses (4)

Fortunately, Taiji Hall and the local area are not openly hostile to each other.

Even though Xuan Yu and Wang Cai were very close, Di Jie wisely refrained from taking action against Si Wuxie.

Si Wuxie is a man who is good at playing both sides. Over the years, he has been caught in the middle and has never gotten out of trouble, which is enough to show that he is quite capable.

Xuan Yu didn't want to cause trouble for Si Wuxie because of his entanglement with Wangcai. He was already tired enough living as a "servant," and it would be terrible if he died from exhaustion.

But many things won't happen just because he "doesn't want to."

Wangcai, this silly dog, is just like his owner, acting recklessly and wantonly. To put it bluntly, they both have a bit of a crazy streak and are always causing trouble.

For example, right now, just because of a few words of argument, a mad dog bit off Cui Jue's finger.

Xuan Yu said coldly to Gouzi, "You've really messed up this time."

Wangcai, however, didn't take it to heart and said, "How could that be? I didn't bite him to death; I was already being very polite."

Xuan Yu slapped his head away, "You should know that Judge Cui Jue holds a very special position in the Underworld..."

Although he is not as powerful as the Ghost King or Ghost Emperor, he controls the Book of Life and Death and the Book of Merit. His judgments are an indispensable part of the entire cycle of reincarnation.

His existence seems to be more important than the underworld officials like Black and White Impermanence, Ox-Head and Horse-Face.

In a large workshop, the manager may be absent, but the long-term workers cannot be absent, otherwise the business will not be able to operate.

However, Xuan Yu then thought that this large workshop in the underworld was actually already half-paralyzed...

Since Ren Pingsheng fought the Ghost Emperor six hundred years ago, piercing through the eighteen levels of hell, the underworld has been severely weakened, and everyone from top to bottom has given up on themselves.

Black Impermanence suffered severe injuries and recuperated for a hundred years, so White Impermanence had no interest in catching ghosts anymore;

Meng Po simply found a puppet to stand in by the soup pot, making the road to the underworld completely blocked.

The Ghost King and Ghost Emperor kept souls in the border market for their own use, making a great deal of trouble outside the cycle of reincarnation.

Furthermore, with Hell destroyed and poorly repaired, evil spirits frequently escaped to the human world. The Ghost King and Ghost Emperor turned a blind eye, and the lower levels followed suit, with all the underworld officials lying flat like salted fish, not even bothering to turn over.

Si Wuxie, this nominal underworld official, was extremely well-informed and knew every nook and cranny of the underworld. Xuan Yu had been living in Yongjie Town with Si Wuxie for many years. The more he saw, the more he knew, and the more he understood.

Xuan Yu still remembers that Si Wuxie often chatted with him, predicting that this makeshift troupe would collapse sooner or later, and most likely be brought down by Li Tingyun and Taiji Hall.

As the various forces rise and fall, the Fengdu Ghost Realm suffered enormous damage after the battle six hundred years ago and has temporarily settled down. However, six hundred years later, the Taiji Palace, which is neither entirely righteous nor entirely evil, has emerged, causing unease among the various immortal sects and making the local areas regard it as a major threat.

The wicked must be dealt with by the wicked. Back then, when many immortal sects joined forces to resist the invasion of the ghost realm, all the cultivators, including Ren Pingsheng, felt extremely troubled. Now, the Great Emperor of Fengdu has finally felt the same way.

Xuan Yu was in a state of turmoil, his mind wandering aimlessly. He thought to himself: Whether others fall or not is a matter for later. Right now, the city gates haven't even caught fire yet, but we, the innocent bystanders, are already being affected!

Wangcai, that little rascal, has completely offended the judge, and will surely drag Si Wuxie down with him.

Si Wuxie, that unlucky fellow, unknowingly lost his sister and inexplicably made an enemy of the judge. Perhaps, the land will no longer tolerate him!

Xuan Yu thought about it for a moment and suddenly realized something: Si Wuxie probably already knew that the territory was unreliable and that one day he would not be able to stay there. Rather than looking for a way out then, it would be better to prepare for self-preservation in advance.

That's why he chose to return to the Yunlan Sect.

He wanted to solidify his position as sect leader, swallow this hot potato, and consolidate his power.

In Si Wuxie's view, everyone else was unreliable, and the only person he could rely on was himself.

Thinking of this, Xuan Yu couldn't help but sigh, people often say "a fox that lasts a thousand years is a demon that lasts ten thousand years," and that's absolutely true.

Even so, he was still very worried.

On the other hand, Wangcai, the instigator, showed no fear whatsoever.

That idiot of his is just like Si Wuyou. He gets into trouble and just waits for others to clean up his mess, acting without any fear.

Xuan Yu said in a deep voice, "Wangcai, this matter may not end so easily."

Wangcai couldn't understand. "Why have you become so indecisive? Okay, listen to me, the trouble has already happened, it's all in the past, so let's not bring it up again!"

He waved his hand and said, "Let's continue looking for Si Wuyou now."

Xuan Yu was dragged a few steps away by him, but shook off his hand and said, "Stupid dog, who gives you the confidence to be so fearless? It's your master, isn't it?"

He continued, "You've offended the underworld officials, aren't you afraid of causing trouble for your master? Because in your opinion, even if it's a huge problem, your master can definitely handle it, right?"

Wangcai sensed his unfriendly tone but didn't understand what he meant. "What exactly are you trying to say?"

Xuan Yu frankly revealed his thoughts: "Indeed, the Taiji Palace is renowned, and your master's strength is not to be underestimated. But have you ever thought about it? Li Tingyun was imprisoned in Hell by the Ghost Emperor for 130 years, yet why hasn't he sought revenge? From what I know, he is definitely not the kind of person who would leave a grudge unavenged."

Undeniably, the Lord of Taiji Palace is indeed very powerful. Although he is young while the Ghost Emperor is several thousand years old, it is really uncertain who would win if they were to fight.

After all, Li Tingyun's current momentum is even stronger than Ren Pingsheng's back then.

"However, the Taiji Palace has never openly broken ties with the Earth Realm. None of the city lords of the Four Symbols City have ever laid a hand on the Earth Realm's underworld officials, and Li Tingyun has shown no intention of retaliating against the Ghost Emperor."

Xuan Yu asked, "Stupid dog, do you know why?"

Wangcai, not quite grasping the concept, muttered, "Why... how should I know why..."

"My master has his own reasons for what he does and doesn't do. If he doesn't tell me, I can't control him. Even if he does tell me, I might not remember it."

"But I think those Ghost Kings and Ghost Emperors really deserve to die. Maybe the master doesn't kill them because they are still useful."

Xuan Yu said, "Are you that confident in your master?"

Wangcai said, "Of course! My master is invincible, no one can beat him!"

Xuan Yu replied, "That's not necessarily true. In fact, the most direct, simple, and reasonable answer to my question is that your master is wary of the Ghost Emperor of Fengdu."

Wangcai asked, "What 'fear'? What are you afraid of?"

Xuan Yu said, "As far as I know, the Ghost Emperor is unkillable, as are the Ten Kings of Hell."

Wangcai scratched his head. "Really? Are there really people in this world who can be 'immortal'? If so, they would have become immortals or demons long ago, right? But the Ghost Emperor hasn't even become a true demon yet."

Xuan Yu said, “There are always exceptions to everything. For example, there is a type of zombie called ‘Hanba’ that is immortal. However, the ‘immortality’ of Hanba is not like that of immortals, gods, and demons, which break free from the constraints of the Heavenly Dao and live as long as heaven and earth. Rather, it means that Hanba has a strong regenerative ability. Even if its body is destroyed, it can quickly recover to its original state and is very difficult to kill completely.”

Seeing that Gouzi was getting more and more confused, he said, "If you don't know what a drought demon is, then let's not talk about it. Let me think, what else... Right, the phoenix. The phoenix is ​​a divine bird that undergoes rebirth through fire, which can also be described as 'immortal and indestructible.' But the phoenix in the human world is a demon. If it cannot cultivate to become an immortal or a demon, it cannot escape the laws of heaven."

Using this analogy, he continued, "By the same token, the Ghost Emperor and the Ghost King are also 'unkillable,' but it's not because they have strong regenerative abilities, nor because they can be reborn like a phoenix, but because they lack a spiritual core..."

The spirit core is the foundation for the cultivation of all tangible but intangible things. The numerous underworld officials, ghosts, and spirits such as the day and night wandering gods in the underworld all take the first step in cultivation by condensing a spirit core, a process called "solidifying the spirit".

After possessing a spirit core, their "spiritual body" will not easily dissipate.

Even if it suffers a severe blow from the outside world, as long as the spirit core is not destroyed, it is only a matter of time before it can gather spirit again.

In this sense, a spirit core is actually similar to a demon core. A demon beast will die without its demon core, and a spirit body will perish without its spirit core.

Even though Wangcai wasn't very bright, he still knew these common-sense things, so he asked Xuan Yu, "You said that the Ghost Emperor and the Ghost King don't have spirit cores, how is that possible? If they didn't have spirit cores, wouldn't they be dead long ago?"

Xuan Yu said, "For ghosts who cultivate demonic arts, the spiritual core is their lifeline and fatal weakness. Therefore, they will try every means to hide their spiritual core. The best way is to refine the spiritual core into nothingness. In this way, their fatal weakness will no longer exist, and they will be invincible."

Wangcai, being simple-minded, said, "Refining the spirit core into nothingness... isn't that just destroying the spirit core? They're courting death, seeking their own demise. What's with the talk of 'flawless'?"

Xuan Yu said, "Refining a spirit core is definitely not advisable for a little ghost with shallow cultivation. But ghost kings and ghost emperors have cultivated for thousands of years, so it cannot be generalized. They have a way to make their spirit core return to nothingness while ensuring that their spirit body is immortal."

Wangcai commented, "Okay, that sounds amazing and interesting, haha."

Xuan Yu snorted coldly: "So, do you now know what your master is afraid of? Suppose he has the ability to subdue the Ghost Emperor, but he has no way to eliminate him, then even if he wins, he will still lose."

If you can win a battle, but it will result in heavy losses on both sides, and you are destined not to kill the enemy, then such a battle is a defeat even if you win. You should avoid it if possible and not waste your own resources.

"From this perspective, it is reasonable and wise for Taiji Palace not to antagonize the local area."

Xuan Yu concluded by saying to Wang Cai, "I know you're fearless and have nothing to fear, but I still want to tell you something..."

“You are a member of the Taiji Hall, and your actions represent the will of your master.”

"Since the Taiji Palace Master does not want to make enemies with the mortal realm at present, you should think twice before doing anything in the mortal realm in the future."

Wangcai nodded its head. "I think I understand what you mean. Anyway, I'll listen to you. You won't hurt me!"

Xuan Yu rarely smiled, but he patted the dog's head and chuckled, "Silly dog."

When Wangcai saw him smile, he grinned foolishly too, and his tail popped out from behind him, wagging incessantly. As the tail wagged, the dog suddenly became worried.

He said, "But I've already bitten off the judge's finger, what am I supposed to do now? That guy surnamed Cui even said he'd cut off my tail..."

Xuan Yu remained silent, reached out and grabbed his tail, stroking the stray hairs.

Wangcai said dejectedly, "Should I tell my master about this, then pluck off my own tail and obediently hand it over?"

Xuan Yu: "..."

You don't have to.

He couldn't help but wonder if his words had scared the silly dog.

Li Tingyun is clearly biased towards his own people and doesn't care about the truth; he's extremely protective of his own!

Even if the Taiji Palace is not yet at the point of being on the verge of war with the Earthly Realm, if the Judge keeps pressing Wangcai and insists that he pay for a tail in order to settle the matter... I have a feeling that Li Tingyun will personally chop off all ten of his fingers.

Xuan Yu said to Wang Cai, "You should trust your master; he won't side with outsiders."

Wangcai said proudly, "Of course! My master treats me very well! I still remember, a long, long time ago, a butcher was going to kill me and sell me as dog meat. At that time, my master was not even ten years old. He actually took a knife and cut that fat and strong butcher into eight pieces!"

Xuan Yu was slightly startled, unsure whether to call him shrewd or ruthless. At less than ten years old, he had already learned to kill... But without him, there would be no Wangcai today.

Wangcai smiled and said, "But people always change. The current master is not the same as he was when he was a child. Actually... I'm a little afraid of him. Sometimes, in the Taiji Hall, I don't even dare to breathe too loudly, so I don't go back there often anymore."

"If it were my owner when I was a child, I think even if I caused a terrible disaster and might have dragged him to his death, he would not abandon me."

The dog's tail drooped down. "But now, I think that even if no one else wants me dead, my owner might just kill me if he's unhappy, haha."

At this point, Wangcai suddenly remembered something: his "Star-Picking Step" was taught to him by his master.

Li Tingyun was by no means a patient and good teacher. Rather than saying that he taught Wangcai, it would be more accurate to say that he forced Wangcai to learn. When a dog is cornered, it will naturally know how to jump over the wall. Wangcai was almost beaten to death for trying to learn this!

The painful lessons of that year were still fresh in everyone's mind. Wangcai was dragged onto the trial ground by Li Tingyun, a situation that could be described as "nine deaths and one life".

From that moment on, the dog's opinion of its owner completely changed.

Wangcai's pure feelings for Li Tingyun were now mixed with something called "fear".

Because of fear, we stay away; and because of fear, we remain constantly vigilant.

Although Wangcai still regards Li Tingyun as his only master and has never betrayed him, the dog knows that his master is no longer the boy he once was. People change, and his master has become extremely cold and inhuman.

Wangcai said, "To be honest, I have no doubt that if my master is unhappy, he'll want to kill me, haha!"

Xuan Yu said, "If you don't want to laugh, then don't laugh. It's so awkward."