Chapter 72: Summoned by the King of the Underworld

"But how are we supposed to find the King of the Damned? And besides, there must be hundreds of thousands of prison ghosts held in this Black River Prison. The king who commands such a multitude surely possesses extraordinary power!" said Big Flower Niu.

"Big Flower is right," Wei Xiaoping replied. "To rule over hundreds of thousands of prison ghosts is no small feat. Still, no matter what, we must seek out this king and see if he can clear a path for us. If he refuses, then we'll have to find another way."

"But how do we find the king? Where do we even begin?" asked Old Horse.

Wei Xiaoping pondered this. Indeed, how could they swiftly locate the king? The vast expanse of the Black River stretched out before them, nothing but endless, churning black waves, every part of it appearing identical. How were they to know where the king made his dwelling?

"Perhaps we should split up to search," Wei Xiaoping suggested. "Old Horse, you head south. Big Flower, you search west. I’ll cover the east and north. Take care not to stray too far. If any prison ghosts try to interfere, avoid them if you can, but if you must, use force only to push them aside. Avoid harming them unless there’s no other choice. If you encounter danger, call out loudly."

"Understood, General!" replied Old Horse the Hellhound and Big Flower Niu in unison, already preparing to rush off in their assigned directions.

Wei Xiaoping was just about to set off himself when, not far from where they stood, bubbles began to rise ceaselessly from the river, and the waves grew taller and wilder.

At this, Wei Xiaoping immediately signaled Old Horse and Big Flower to halt. He drew the Demon-Slaying Sword Soul from his back, raising it high and fixing his gaze on the bubbling water.

Old Horse and Big Flower took their places at Wei Xiaoping’s sides, crouching low, eyes riveted on the bubbling spot, ready to spring at the first sign of danger.

"Could it be those three wolf-lion beast ghosts who escaped, coming back for more?" Old Horse muttered.

"I don’t think so," said Big Flower. "When those four wolf-lion beast ghosts first appeared, they let out a howl. This time, there’s no sound at all."

"Big Flower’s right," Wei Xiaoping agreed. "There’s no howl like before. I doubt it’s them this time."

Besides the bubbling and the rushing of black water, an uncanny silence had settled around them.

Glancing about, they noticed the prison ghosts who had been nearby had vanished without a trace—only far off, hundreds of meters away, did a few figures remain active.

The bubbling grew louder, and with it, the black waves rose higher. From the center of the commotion, pale blue-gray rays of light began to shoot forth.

Seeing this strange glow pierce the black river, Wei Xiaoping and his companions were filled with wonder. The entire river was shrouded in a grayish gloom, the water itself so dark one could not see a hand before one’s face. Why, then, did these pale blue beams suddenly break through?

Soon, the blue glow grew brighter and brighter, until even the area around Wei Xiaoping was bathed in its light.

Then, seven towering prison ghosts—each shaped like a man—rose from the spot.

Six of them walked in two rows ahead, each wearing a transparent helmet within which a blue light glowed.

The last, taller by a head than the others, wore a similar helmet. All seven advanced toward Wei Xiaoping and his group.

As they drew near, Wei Xiaoping and his companions could see each ghost in detail: long hair drifted down from each head to the waist; their faces were ghastly, corpse-like, some with torn flesh revealing the raw muscle beneath, some with broken jaws exposing dry, white teeth, some with no nose at all—just a protruding bone—some with sunken foreheads as if struck by a heavy blow, leaving bowl-sized pits. The sight was truly horrifying. All seven wore identical long robes and carried weapons, though not all the same; the six in front each bore a giant, fan-shaped, broken axe, about a meter long, held across their chests, while the one in back held a massive, scythe-like curved blade.

When the seven ghosts reached Wei Xiaoping and his companions, the tall one stepped forward, studied them intently, saluted, and, with a look of disdain, said, "Our lord invites the three of you to come with us. Please follow."

Wei Xiaoping returned the salute and asked, "May I ask your name?"

The ghost replied, "No need to ask. Just come with us."

Old Horse, offended by the lack of courtesy, interjected, "Who is your lord?"

"Why ask so many questions? You’ll know soon enough," the ghost responded with annoyance.

"Is your lord the king of Black River Prison?" Wei Xiaoping inquired.

"Of course. This is but a small place—would it need more than one king to manage it?"

"Excellent! We were looking for the king ourselves. Please, lead the way. Thank you," Wei Xiaoping said.

"Right this way," the ghost with the curved blade replied, turning back toward the spot from which they had emerged. The other six followed at once.

Wei Xiaoping, Old Horse, and Big Flower trailed after them.

"General," whispered Old Horse, "if they go back under the water, do we follow? We can hold our breath, but not for long."

"Don’t worry," Wei Xiaoping reassured him. "If their lord has summoned us, he’ll surely have considered that."

Soon, they reached the place where the seven ghosts had surfaced.

The seven formed a circle.

"Step into the middle," the tall ghost with the curved blade commanded.

"You want us in the center?" Old Horse asked skeptically.

"If you don’t stand inside, can you keep the Black River’s waters at bay?" one of the ghosts sneered.

"Oh—thank you," Wei Xiaoping replied, gesturing to Old Horse and Big Flower.

The three of them stepped into the circle.

"Stand still! Whatever you do, don’t move. If the Black River drowns you, it’s not our concern," the tall ghost warned.

Once they were steady, the seven ghosts called out in unison, "Descend!"

Thus, Wei Xiaoping and his companions, together with the seven ghosts, began to sink unmoving beneath the Black River.

Just as the water was about to engulf them, a transparent, blue, dome-shaped halo appeared around them, emanating from the seven ghosts, enveloping everyone. Once submerged, the blue halo repelled the black water entirely—not a single drop touched them.

Wei Xiaoping, Old Horse, and Big Flower were fascinated by this supernatural ability of the seven ghosts to ward off the Black River’s waters.

They couldn’t help but gaze beneath their feet, above their heads, and all around.

As they descended, they saw the black river water, pushed aside by the ghosts’ power, rolling quickly away on all sides and streaming upward at a speed greater than a man could run on land.

After about half a quarter of an hour, they saw, far off, beams of blue light filtering through the blackness, growing steadily brighter.

Another quarter of an hour passed. Their descent slowed, the blue light intensified, and soon they stopped.

Encircled by the seven ghosts, they found themselves before a grand gate composed entirely of shimmering blue phantom light.

Wei Xiaoping looked toward the entrance. Flanking the gate stood two prison ghosts, long-haired, with disfigured faces, each gripping a halberd of some unknown gray-white material.

"Keep an eye on them. I’ll go announce our arrival to the lord," said the tall ghost with the curved blade to the others.

He walked to the gate and paused. The two ghostly sentinels nodded at him, and, without a sound, the great doors of blue light swung open.