Chapter Thirty-Eight: Gazing at Heaven

at herself. Her tight-fitting shorts highlighted her curvaceous figure, with strong and powerful thighs straight as arrows pressing against the ground. Her wheat-colored skin exuded a wild sensuality....Because of the battle between Bai Gu Zun Shen and Zhuang Ting, the entire Feng Lin City domain sank into the gap between the Netherworld and the mortal realm.

To become an indelible blemish on the land, a festering wound stretching between Wangjiang City and Sanshan City.

Outside the city walls stood a spirit tablet, carved from precious stone and inscribed with array patterns. It was already a magic artifact in itself.

The inscription is said to have been personally drafted by Emperor Zhuang, who issued an imperial edict confessing his guilt and declared the White Bone Dao a national enemy. This stele was erected to transcend the souls of the deceased and comfort the living.

However, only those who can truly see the underworld understand that this Spirit Tablet is meaningless besides fooling the common people.

Because it's just scratching the surface outside of Maple Forest, it can't help anyone at all.

The Fenglin City domain now belongs to neither the Underworld nor the mortal world.

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This also means that the spirits lingering here will never be able to transcend, forever unable to reincarnate.

For all eternity, enduring suffering and hardship.

Unless Zhuang Gaoqian personally entered the space between realms, his pitiful subjects had little chance of being saved. However, the Fenglin City region, already eroded by the aura of the underworld, was almost a stronghold for the White Bone Deity. How could a king risk such danger

The Fenglin City domain was so silent it was almost maddening.

Ling He remembered, at first, there was sound here.

Cries, shouts, wails, cries of pain, curses, sobs...

Those voices were all very sad, and it was hard to listen to, but at least there were still voices.

Later, as the aura of the underworld gradually spread, those sounds slowly disappeared.

It has been gone for a long time.

He watched helplessly as the little girl with pigtails in his arms died.

Breath and temperature, little by little, leaving her small body.

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No matter how hard he tried, scavenging for food and medicine in the ruins couldn't stop her from leaving.

At that moment, Ling He suddenly realized. Had he saved her from under the beam, or had he only inflicted more pain upon her

“Big brother, big brother! Why didn't you save me”

“We work hard, paying taxes to the country, supporting your cultivation. You are transcendent cultivators! Why haven't you protected us”

"I'm so much pain, I'm in so much pain..."

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Ling He shook his head, trying his best to shake those images and sounds out of his mind.

It's all just painful hallucinations.

But it was these painful visions, hallucinations, that were reminding him he was still alive.

More and more moments of confusion made Linghe realize that his time awake was dwindling. In such a place, no one could avoid the insidious influence of the Nether Qi.

But every time he woke up, he did his own thing.

He was doing a very simple thing—burying every corpse he could see. He dug graves for them, filled the dirt, and chanted sutras for their souls to cross over.

People believe that only when they return to the earth can they find peace. The earth is a compassionate mother, embracing all her lost children.

The first person he buried was the little girl with pigtails.

He didn't even get to know her name.

A small mound outside the Mingde Hall, was her new home.

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Linghe recited the "Taishang Jikur Jinjing" for her and performed a Buddhist ritual to liberate her soul.

The

Taishang Jiugong Jing

itself does not contain any specific magical techniques, but it is indeed a sutra for transcendence that all Daoists will recite.

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As for the origin of this scripture:

It is said that in ancient times, a hunter went deep into the mountains after shooting a tiger. Under a pine tree, he met a Taoist priest.

The Taoist said that he was weighed down by sins and his lifespan was nearing its end. He asked what his plans were.

The Hunter begged for an extension of his life, and the Taoist told him to swear off his bow and arrow and never kill again. That way, after he died, the Taoist would help him ascend to the afterlife.

The Hunter agreed and left.

Here is the translation:

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This winter, Orion suddenly fell ill and died, but his left hand still had one finger with warmth remaining.

Therefore, his family did not bury him immediately.

Three days later, Orion indeed revived.

He said that when he first died, two yellow-robed messengers holding official documents led him to the underworld.

An official holding a black notebook said to him, "You have committed grave sins and deserve to go to hell!"

He was terrified and suddenly remembered the Taoist priest, praying silently in his heart.

At this moment, auspicious clouds surged from the northwest sky. A Taoist priest sat in a cloud chariot and descended from heaven, hovering before the hall.

The officials in the underworld bowed to him. The Taoist said, "I have a disciple here, I came to liberate his soul." He then handed a scroll of scriptures to the hunter and told him to recite it.

After the hunter finished reciting the scriptures, the Taoist priest vanished.

Here's the translation, keeping the HTML tags as you requested:

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At that time, a messenger in yellow clothes brought the hunter to his front door. Hearing the sound of crying from inside, the hunter came back to life.

It all feels like a dream.

But the hunter sat there recalling the scriptures, and wrote them down verbatim.

From then on, he practiced fasting and reciting scriptures every day, and after a few years, he left home to practice in seclusion. Since then, his whereabouts have been unknown.

But this scripture was also copied and circulated, becoming a classic of the Daoist tradition.

Its name is the

Taishang Jiukong Jing.

In the present day, there are numerous schools of thought. When practitioners choose a school, they usually consider its cultivation techniques' power, the depth of its foundation, and the size of its organization.

But many people have forgotten the original spirit and ideals of these schools and sects.

For example, the Confucian school emphasizes universal education, opening up people's minds.

For example, the Legalists established rules and regulations to govern all things under heaven and earth.

For example, Taoism. The Daoist school is not merely the oldest practice in the world; its very origins lie in countless human struggles and the initial steps towards cultivating the path of enlightenment.

As for things like praying for blessings and dispelling calamities, or performing rituals for the deceased, these are all within the purview of a Taoist priest's duties.

Yet, in this world, how many cultivators stand high above others, looking down on all beings

In a world where might makes right, the strong remain strong, and the weak suffer forever.

The earth fissures ravaged the entire Maple Forest City, but after everything subsided, this land seemed to silently accept the appearance of ruins.

Ling He retrieved the bodies of the people one by one from the ruins and buried them.

First are all the children in Mingde Hall, as well as their husbands.

Then there is Xuanwu Street, Aoki Avenue, Pegasus Alley...

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Step by step, moving forward, leaving behind one grave after another.

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No one pities this land, no one rescues the people here, and no one offers them prayers for the afterlife.

Then, Ling He, come do this thing.

This is a monumental undertaking, which may take a lifetime to complete.

Needless to say, his "life" was destined to be short.

Maybe tomorrow, maybe in the next instant, he will be completely consumed by the sinister energy of the netherworld. Like everyone else in this domain, he will die silently and unnoticed.

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But before he died, he still had to do this.

Far away in the Qi State, Jiang Wang did not know that in the already desolate Fenglin City, there was still someone struggling to move forward.

Just like Du Yexi, who was becoming increasingly silent and murderous in Jiujing County, he didn't know what kind of efforts his always-criticized lazy younger brother, Xiao Wu, was making now.

At least at this time, everyone is walking alone.

All are unable to see the path ahead, unable to see hope.

All the same, they never stopped.

They didn't know that far away, someone was answering their call.

They all thought that echo was only in their hearts.

This is an incredibly difficult road.

This is true for everyone.

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Jiang Wang never relaxed for a moment. The potential within Shen Tong's inner palace was very considerable, but before it could be realized, it was nothing more than potential.

By this time, he had already mounted a carriage and was heading for the Chiyang County.

The carriage within, phantoms of flowers bloomed and withered, a crown of thorns formed and then vanished.

He was practicing diligently, repeatedly refining the three new sword techniques he had learned.

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The benefits of laying the foundation for Zhou Tian Xing Dou Array are now evident, he hardly needs to worry about Dao Yuan's consumption.

Of course, this trip to Chiyang County is also to improve my strength.

To him, no matter how powerful the martial arts that circulated in the world were, there was always a way to counter them.

At least up to this point, summarizing his experiences and integrating swordsmanship into the three great sword styles is still his strongest technique.

But before that, he needed a truly good sword.rse, if it were truly a peak-level Sanjingwai lou, Jiang Wang might not have made this decision.He is willing to give fairness within his capabilities. Instead of saying, he easily dies for the sake...