New Times, New Hell

Chapter 132 - The Power of Faith

Fleshed great years couldn’t be burned and wouldn’t grow moldy when submerged by water. After gaining a consciousness, they were very hard to harm with human weapons too. As long as this one reached the foot of the mountain, it would definitely wreak havoc in the city.

But right now, it seemed like this great year could no longer reach the foot of the mountain.

It was hard for humans to do anything to fleshed great years; in actuality, it was hard for the hungry ghosts too. However, hungry ghosts were ultimately different from humans. They weren’t scared of being hit or slammed into the ground. And, there were a lot of them. They carried with them an innate karma that rendered them capable of incessantly clinging to the fleshed great year.

Just like right now. Layers and layers of hungry ghosts swarmed onto the fleshed great year. From far away, it seemed like an enormous white pudding had been covered by ants.

The torch-mouthed hungry ghosts spat fire to roast the great year when they got the chance. The hungry ghosts with bad breath would secretly breathe out and use their stinky fumes on the great year. Needlepoint-throated hungry ghosts didn’t have these functions, but they could bite and scratch. They only didn’t have throats for eating, but they could help in other ways.

This scene was truly not too nice to look at, but the crisis had ultimately been resolved.

Yu Zhengdu didn’t forget to remind the Ghost Mother of Xi Mountain: “Organize them. Don’t throw the materials away after class……”

Ghost Mother made an “ok” hand gesture. “I know. Cover the pieces with beaten eggs and breadcrumbs, then fry them until both sides are golden……”

“What have you been watching daily?!” Yu Zhengdu sputtered out. “I’m telling you to dry them and put them away. Fleshed lingzhis are very expensive on the market. Such a big one can be sold for a lot of money!”

It was unclear if the fleshed great year could understand their conversation, but it obviously had already sensed that it wasn’t in a great situation. All of its soft flesh started trembling. It forcefully shook around and actually started sinking. It seemed to be trying to burrow into the ground to go home.

But at such a time, the hungry ghosts refused to allow it to leave.

“Want to run?!” Ghost Mother roared. She lifted her arms high into the sky. Her cloth garments split open as her entire body rapidly swelled and expanded. Very quickly, she became the same size as the fleshed great year. Her skin was dark and thick and covered in sarcomas. She had the feet of dragons and tigers, the eyebrows of a python, and the eyes of a jiao.

Her large arms wrapped around the fleshed great year that was trying to burrow into the ground. She forcefully pulled and directly picked the great year up.

The great year started shaking even harder. Innumerous little trabeculae emerged from its base, doing their best to touch the surface of the ground. But it was already useless. The hungry ghosts had already burrowed below it and had grabbed onto the little trabeculae to cut, bite, and burn them again.

Ghost Mother cackled: “Time for harvest——”

The hungry ghosts: “Time for harvest, time for harvest——”

The air was filled with a festive atmosphere.

At the top of Impasse Mountain, the Ghost Emperor stared at the fleshed great year that had no dignity left: “……”

“You’re actually capable of using Shang Que’s magical seal.” He inhaled deeply and turned his gaze onto Yu Zhengdu, slightly surprised. “I really underestimated you.”

Yu Zhengdu modestly made a fist salute. “You praise me too much.”

“However, it’s ultimately still just Shang Que’s power,” the Ghost Emperor said. After understanding that Yu Zhengdu had activated the Ghost King’s seal, he no longer cared. Since Yu Zhengdu was using Shang Que’s power, that meant that the latter’s power had been split. No matter how strong Shang Que was, his magic was limited. After all, Shang Que still needed to focus and fight him.

Instead, it was Shang Que who slightly furrowed his brows. A hint of confusion flashed across his face.

That confusion flashed by so quickly that the Ghost Emperor didn’t notice it. Right now, their battle was already getting more and more heated. No one had any energy to spare.

The eighth Bodhi bead floated into the air. The earth under Yu Zhengdu’s feet slightly trembled. He looked down, only to see that dirt from the Hungry Ghost Path had appeared on top of the stone blocks of the courtyard at the top of the mountain peak. More large trees and ghost fires appeared in his surroundings.

The barrier between the Hungry Ghost Path and mortal realm had become even weaker.

Luofeng employee group chat:

Employee A: 【What’s going on? How come the Hungry Ghost Path has appeared?】

Employee B: 【Shit, so many hungry ghosts!】

Employee C: 【They’re so thin!!!】

Lu Lingxi: 【@Shang Que @Yu Zhengdu, Bosses, what happened?】

Upon noticing the panic in the group chat, Yu Zhengdu was forced to make the time to reply:

Yu Zhengdu: 【Something big. Shang Que and I are taking care of it now. Be on call for any sudden orders.】

Yu Zhengdu: 【@Zhao Ruola, pay attention to the system with the technology department. Make sure no bugs appear】

Yu Zhengdu: 【What’s the current situation in Fu City?】

Kang Jin: 【Mortals can’t see the Hungry Ghost Path or the hungry ghosts, but they can sense that something wrong has happened】

Just as Kang Jin had said, at this moment, though Fu City’s residents couldn’t see the Hungry Ghost Path, they could very obviously sense that their surroundings were different from before. Things were cold and terrifying. There were also burning sensations because of the flames spat out by torch-throated hungry ghosts and extremely foul scents resulting from the bad-breathed hungry ghosts.

But the most horrifying thing for everyone was actually the dark layer of clouds that had suddenly covered the entire city and that was hanging extremely low.

The entire city had instantly fallen into darkness. All the buildings turned on their lights. The street lights quickly turned on too. However, those dark clouds appeared to be solid. Light seemed to be getting enveloped by the darkness and any source of light could only barely manage to illuminate its immediate surroundings.

Traffic had come to a standstill. The city was in a mess. The sounds of emergency braking, car horns, and arguing could be heard from every corner. Slowly, everyone realized that something was wrong. They all looked up at the dark clouds that were already right above their heads.

The streets were covered with white facial garments. Cars were parked haphazardly along the roads. Passengers ran off buses and drivers poked their heads out from their windows. There were swarms of people pressed up against the enormous floor to ceiling windows of office buildings.

Everyone was asking:

“What’s going on? Why is it so dark?”

“The sky hasn’t collapsed, right?”

“It’s so cold. I have goosebumps all over my body!”

“Fuck, your breath stinks. Stay away from me!”

“Bullshit, I just finished chewing a piece of gum. Where would I get bad breath from?”

They couldn’t see the extremely skinny bad-breathed hungry ghost next to them who innocently waved his hands around, then typed into his phone: what is gum?

Yu Zhengdu could barely take care of everything at the same time. Fortunately, Zhao Ruola was still at Luofeng. She stared outside the glass window at the facial garments that were all over the technology park, the big trees that had been completely uprooted, and the hungry ghosts who were observing their surroundings in confusion. She only felt like her eyes were uncomfortably swollen.

She squeezed her own nose bridge. The female scientist opened her Insight Eyes. “The Hungry Ghost Path and mortal realm have overlapped……”

Outside the glass window, the concrete walkways of the technology park had become intermixed with the dirt of the Hungry Ghost Path. The two realms were continuously combining and overlapping. At first glance, it seemed like the ground had been cut open: stone slabs and dirt were mixed together.

The hungry ghosts lifted their heads, revealing their pale, greyish-purple faces.

Though the beings of the Hungry Ghost Path were under Luofeng’s management, they were completely clueless upon suddenly appearing in the mortal realm. It was unavoidable for them to feel overexcited when seeing the strange and unfamiliar scenes of the mortal realm. All of them started wandering around the city like tourists. There were also hungry ghosts who took advantage of the fact that humans couldn’t see them to boldly pass through these humans’ physical bodies. They curiously touched and felt the objects of the mortal realm. Those especially annoying even used their pointy fingernails to poke the glowing streetlights.

In the eyes of mortals, it seemed that the atmosphere was switching between hot and cold for no reason. Lights were suddenly exploding and trash cans on the side of roads were falling over unprovoked. Industrial waste was all over the place.

At the peak of Impasse Mountain, the Ghost Emperor was forced to retreat two steps because of Shang Que. His back just so happened to bump against the enormous bronze incense burner. Unlimited hellfire burned at his back from within the bronze incense burner. The incense burner’s protruding patterns became branded into his flesh. His face turned ghastly pale; he was barely holding on.

He was still smiling, though. “Shang Que, I hadn’t thought that you would still be so powerful. But I already said that even if this were the you from a thousand years ago, you still wouldn’t be able to save the mortal realm……”

There were also innumerous hungry ghosts appearing around them. They wandered about, bewildered. Faint sounds of panic and horror could be heard from the bottom of the mountain, in the direction of the city.

At this moment, Yu Zhengdu was standing on the edge of the cliff, gazing into the distance at Fu City. As far as the eye could see, everything had been covered in darkness. All that was visible were dark clouds and ghostly shadows. However, he knew that the two worlds had overlapped. Hungry ghosts were appearing. The city’s infrastructure, mixed in with the dirt and dense forests of the Hungry Ghost Path, was close to collapsing. It was very likely that buildings would topple over at any moment.

Yu Zhengdu’s brows were tightly knit together. “These are the things I saw. The future……has ultimately still arrived……”

The Ghost Emperor finally belatedly reacted. He revealed a perplexed expression. “You really saw it?”

Yu Zhengdu turned around to look at him. He offhandedly waved with the god of fortune mask.

The Ghost Emperor seemed to understand now, too. Yet, he was also still bewildered. “Even with the godly power from the god of fortune dance, mortals still can’t see the future.”

But at this time, nobody could offer a clear answer to this question. To the Ghost Emperor, it was no longer important. Thus, he smiled once more. “Since you’ve seen it, then you must already be mentally prepared to accept this reality?”

Yu Zhengdu coldly said, “I’m mentally prepared to stop you.”

“Can you stop me?” The Ghost Emperor’s back was being burned by the glowing hot patterns on the bronze incense burner. His white robes had been burned through. His skin and the bronze were melded together. However, he still maintained his composed smile. “So what if you guys added Internet to the Hungry Ghost Path? You will ultimately be unable to stop these hungry ghosts from taking over the mortal realm……”

The bright golden Buddha Eyes saw through the layers of dense black and observed the mortal city…… And then, the Ghost Emperor suddenly paused. “What are those hungry ghosts doing?”

Only to see that in the city, the hungry ghosts – who were originally supposed to be causing panic and chaos in the mortal realm – were in the middle of neatly lining up and walking in the same direction. Upon passing trash cans that had been knocked over, they didn’t forget to help pick these cans up and also put the trash back in the cans.

And at every crossroad, there was also an Underworld spirit wearing a little vest and red armband who was waving a little red flag around. These spirits were providing guidance for the hungry ghosts.

Upon closer expression, he saw that all the hungry ghosts were holding phones in their hands. They were all in the midst of staring at their phones, occasionally looking around to check which direction they were going in. The ones who couldn’t understand the directions would ask the ghosts standing on the side of the road with red armbands for help.

The Ghost Emperor: ???

Yu Zhengdu received a message from Zhao Ruola: 【I’ve used the system to send all the clientele in the Hungry Ghost Path a message requiring them to follow the directions provided by the Life Management app’s routing service to gather at the designated location. There, they’ll wait for our company’s notifications and arrangements.】

Zhao Ruola: 【If they encounter an emergency situation or see any hungry ghosts not cooperating, they can press the [Emergency Help] button to notify the company in a timely manner. Those ghosts will be immediately arrested and locked up forever】

Yu Zhengdu heaved out a long sigh. “It was actually useful to add Internet to the Hungry Ghost Path.”

The Ghost Emperor: “Pu——” A mouthful of old blood immediately got spat out.

Though the Hungry Ghost Path had overlapped with the mortal realm, the hungry ghosts ultimately didn’t wreak any havoc in the mortal realm. Instead, they followed the route provided by Luofeng’s routing service and smoothly travelled towards each designated location. Under the guidance of Luofeng’s employees, they obediently got in line and sat down, playing on their phones while waiting for further notifications.

Some had even started making friendly conversation with the ghosts in the mortal realm.

Underworld spirit: “So you guys are hungry ghosts. So pitiful; you’re so thin.”

Hungry ghost: “I’m alright. Things are a lot better now than before. I even have a phone to play with.”

Another hungry ghost: “Right right right. Additionally, our reeducation classes are great. I checked the app’s tracking system and I can reincarnate in five hundred more years.”

Underworld spirit: “Oh oh. Jiayou oh. I’m reincarnating next month.”

Hungry ghost: “How wonderful. What are you reincarnating into?”

Underworld spirit: “It’s quite embarrassing to speak of. I paid for prostitutes while alive, so I’m going to be a chicken in the next life…… Fuck, why are you drooling?”

Hungry ghost: “My apologies. I thought of the fifty ways to cook a chicken……”

Underworld spirit: “You animal!”

Hungry ghost: “You’re going to become an animal really soon too!”

Very quickly, Fu City calmed down once again. Aside from the fact that it was still overlapped with the Hungry Ghost Path’s ground, black river, ghost fires, and dense forest, and disregarding the presence of the extremely low, thick clouds, everything seemed to be largely the same as usual.

“You really are a lunatic. You’re even trying to enlighten the Hungry Ghost Path,” the Ghost Emperor said through clenched teeth. He picked up the ninth Bodhi bead.

But at this moment, he was already at his limit. Shang Que didn’t give him another chance. The long, black sword broke through the barrier created by the nameless energy. The blade of the sword sliced past Luo Wanxiang’s wrist.

The rope of the Bodhi bead bracelet became cut open. The remaining Bodhi beads fell on the ground.

Shang Que said, “Education is for everyone.”

Luo Wanxiang’s golden Buddha Eyes slowly closed. His body weakly slid down the side of the bronze incense burner. His entire person sprawled out on the ground, revealing his back that had been burnt black by the scalding hot bronze patterns of the incense burner. The flesh of his back was a mess and the scene was very terrifying.

After, a gigantic shadow stood up from within Luo Wanxiang’s physical body.

He was wearing a red python robe. The lapels were embroidered with auspicious cloud patterns. He wore a beaded curtain crown atop his head and was holding a hu in his hands. This was the true form of the Great Northern Emperor of Fengdu.

“I’ve been outwitted. A pity,” the Great Emperor of Fengdu sighed.

Shang Que’s long sword floated in midair. He coldly gazed at the Great Emperor of Fengdu. “Are you still not giving up?”

“How can I give up?” The Ghost Emperor lowly said, “Shang Que, do you know what I saw?”

“I know.” Yu Zhengdu took the mask off from his face and looked at Shang Que. There was endless sorrow in his eyes. “They……are about to disappear……”

A hundred thousand citizens. They had used one hun and one po to survive for a thousand years. Now, though, they were finally unable to hold on any longer.

For a moment, Shang Que fell into a daze. At this moment, the Great Emperor of Fengdu lifted his hand. The fallen Bodhi beads floated into the air once more. “Shang Que, you’ll always lose because of your kindness and merciful heart.”

The black clouds covering the sky above the city were so dense they seemed to be solid. Rain started pouring down.

“It’s raining.”

“Ey, why is this rain red?”

“Goodness, what the heck?”

“The pollution is too terrible?”

“Fuck, why do I feel like this rain seems so much like blood?”

A red downpour of rain caused great horror in the city once again. Passersby started rushing into buildings and cars to avoid it.

It started raining harder and harder. The water formed streams on the ground, which then puddled into ponds. These ponds flooded over the edges of streets. The entirety of Fu City seemed to have been submerged in a red ocean very quickly.

Yu Zhengdu looked at the dark sky. His eyes were opened impossibly wide. “It’s the Great Netherworld Sea……”

The barrier between the Hungry Ghost Path and the mortal realm hadn’t simply collapsed. After the barrier had collapsed, the Hungry Ghost Path had folded over too. The black river flowed upwards into the sky above the city. There, the Great Netherworld Sea revealed its appearance.

The entire blood red ocean was actually hanging upside down above the city. From the top of the mountain, it seemed like the entire city was submerged in a red liquid.

The angry roars of a Heinous Ghost could be heard from the ocean. The enormous shadow had chains on its hands. It rose from out of the seawater, doing its best to travel towards the mortal realm.

The Great Emperor of Fengdu faintly smiled. “Shang Que, you can summon unlimited hellfire, but unlimited hellfire can’t cause the Great Netherworld Sea to evaporate.”

His hu flew toward Shang Que, engaging with the long black sword in midair.

A nameless force rippled out, causing the Hungry Ghost Path – which was overlapped with the mortal realm – to flicker in and out of view.

A fierce wind blew past. In the harsh breeze, the Ghost King of Luofeng Mountain finally revealed his true form.

“Careful,” Shang Que softly said to Yu Zhengdu. After, he wrapped an arm around Yu Zhengdu’s shoulders.

Before Yu Zhengdu could react, he discovered that he had already left the earth’s surface and was slowly rising higher. He looked down and realized that he was standing in Shang Que’s palm.

Shang Que had transformed into his enormous true form, which could connect the sky and earth. He was wearing a suit of black armor; a red cape fluttered in the wind.

Yu Zhengdu looked up. He could see the other’s black crown and……

“Wow, you actually have two horns!!!” Yu Zhengdu exclaimed.

The Ghost King of Luofeng Mountain’s true form had two pointy black horns growing out of his head.

There was a slightly awkward expression on Shang Que’s face. “Shut up!”

“They’re handsome horns.” Yu Zhengdu offered his great acceptance.

Shang Que reached his hand out and placed Yu Zhengdu on his shoulder. “Hold on tight. Don’t fall off. I can protect you.”

“I’m steady.” Yu Zhengdu’s legs dangled in midair as he sat on Shang Que’s shoulder. With one hand, he grabbed onto Shang Que’s collar. With the other, he made an “ok” gesture.

“Shang Que, you won’t be in time,” the Great Emperor of Fengdu drawled out.

Shang Que ignored him. He only asked Yu Zhengdu, “How long can they hold on?”

“Not that long. As long as possible,” Yu Zhengdu said while typing commands into his phone.

The long sword pierced toward the Great Emperor of Fengdu.

The Great Emperor of Fengdu’s hu flew into the air, turning into a huge magical formation that was so big that its edges couldn’t be seen. This formation forcefully pressed down.

At the same time, almost every cell phone and computer that had searched up the key term “Sagittarius Band” received a popup recommendation: Sagittarius Band’s Energetic Livestream.

Jiao Shanlan sent Zhao Ruola an emoji with a dark expression: 【I’m risking death to help you spread this virus. If anything happens to me, you have to come out and admit your crimes!】

Zhao Ruola: 【If you don’t spread this virus, something’s going to happen to you right now】

Zhao Ruola: 【The virus you made isn’t bad. Very accurate】

Jaio Shanlan: 【Smoking a cigarette.jpg, who would’ve thought that the biggest project my elite, cross-generational, experimental laboratory has completed so far is sending the people of the entire nation viruses!!!】

Zhao Ruola: 【Sh.jpg, don’t you want your face? Be quieter】

This virus had been hidden very well. Most people assumed that it was only a normal link. Additionally, it had been precisely recommended to Sagittarius Band’s fans. From the time that Sagittarius Band had first achieved popularity until now, this was their first time holding a livestream. Their fans all eagerly clicked into the link.

The advertising walls of big cities, subway TVs, and other public screens would all be connected to Sagittarius Band’s livestream too. This was targeted at those who weren’t fans or those who didn’t know much about Sagittarius Band.

In the livestream, the kinnaras were energetically dancing and singing. The horse-headed man passionately played his drum while saying, “Old buddies, let me feel your love for me. In only ten minutes, I’ll show you guys my real head!!”

This sentence was much more invigorating than any performance. If not for the fact that Zhao Ruola had prepared for this possibility in advance, the livestream channel would probably already have crashed.

The female kinnara was speechless. “I feel it…… Endless love and faith!”

In Jintan Village far away, the village god temple in front of the Yu clan’s ancestral temple started glowing a bright gold. All the villagers, along with some neighboring residents, rushed around, sharing the information: “The Village God has manifested——manifested——”

Everyone who could make it to the ancestral temple rushed over. Those who couldn’t started kneeling and worshipping in the direction of the village god temple too.

The fox demon, Hu Xiaoyue, snapped a selfie and sent a group message to her two hundred-something ex-boyfriends: 【Do you still love me?】

Ex-boyfriends: 【Yes yes yes yes yes yes yes!!!!!】

All of Luofeng’s clients received the same text message: 【Pray that Fu City will be safe】

In the Great Netherworld Sea, ghostly hands writhed. The Heinous Ghost roared at the sky like a wild animal. Then, it forcefully swung its hands. The iron chains rushed towards the mortal realm; sparks flew off of the chains, falling in the direction of the city.

In the city, the people hiding from the rain shuddered with fright. Some seemed to sense something. They looked up at the sky in confusion.

“What will happen?” The Great Emperor of Fengdu stared at the mortal realm. There was a hint of sorrow in his gaze.

The previously unimportant gods – the kinnaras, Village God, and fox demon who couldn’t be considered a god at all – worked together to cast a spell. The faith of humans formed an enormous barrier above Fu City.

The fireballs and chains were all blocked by that invisible force.

The Heinous Ghost: “……?”

He seemed to be in disbelief, so hurriedly lifted up his iron chains again and forcefully flung them forward. The mortal realm was clearly within reach. Those mortals, Underworld spirits, and hungry ghosts were merely ants in his eyes.

But he just couldn’t hit them.

The Heinous Ghost was so angry that he started jumping around. His enormous feet kept stomping down on the air above the city, but he couldn’t make contact.

“The faith of humans is very powerful,” Yu Zhengdu said.

Just as he finished speaking, a little girl’s timid voice suddenly sounded out from his phone. “Dad——”

Yu Zhengdu was quite startled. He looked down at his phone. Kang Jin had just sent him a short video. In the video, a little girl wearing a princess dress was pitifully looking at him with puffed out cheeks.

Yu Zhengdu: “……Peppa?? How come you’ve turned into a human?”

Kang Jin: 【Peppa was livestreaming too, just now. Her performance was too exhilarating and she received too much love. On accident, she turned into a human……】

Yu Zhengdu: “……”

Peppa had been cultivating this entire time under Shang Que’s guidance. However, according to Shang Que’s calculations, she would need to be at least five or six before being able to successfully take human form. Unexpectedly……

The faith of humans was really too powerful!

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Great Emperor of Fengdu: Unexpected, truly unexpected, smoking a cigarette.jpg