Immortality: Grinding Experience Starting as a Paper Craftsman

Chapter 96 All beings suffer; this body is for salvation.

Xiao Chen slowly woke up, not having heard Gu Yan's boastful words from before.

He followed Gu Yan's steps and stepped into the passage.

The passage was not carved by human hands; its walls were a dark, fleshy red, and they were slippery and warm to the touch.

Stepping inside is like walking through the still-living esophagus of some giant beast.

The smell in the air was like aged sandalwood mixed with rotting mud; inhaling it made one feel suffocated and short of breath.

"Junior Brother Gu."

Xiao Chen placed his hand on the sword hilt, no longer addressing him as an unfamiliar adult, but as a junior brother with a touch of intimacy.

His sword intent was concealed, and he cautiously surveyed his surroundings. "That old senior said this was cause and effect, but I feel that it is more like a road to hell."

Gu Yan walked ahead, his steps steady, without looking back. He simply said softly as he walked, "Hell and the human world are no different. Senior brother, you have just forged your sword heart, and the world in your eyes is only black and white. But this world is a delicate gray."

Xiao Chen was slightly taken aback. If he had heard this before, he might have argued back, but after experiencing those three dream illusions, he simply nodded in silence.

As the two ventured deeper, the passage became wider and wider, and the oppressive feeling grew heavier and heavier.

Gradually, abnormalities began to appear on the flesh walls on both sides.

At first, there were just some raised lines, like blood vessels or tree roots.

But upon closer inspection, they turned out to be not patterns at all, but rather distorted human faces.

Thousands upon thousands, densely packed.

Some were crying, some were laughing, some were roaring, and some were pleading.

They seemed to be sealed within this fleshy wall, or like festering sores growing from within it, emitting soft, noisy whispers as the cold wind blew through the passage.

"I'm so hungry..."

"Sir, please give me some food, the child is dying..."

"I'm innocent! I didn't steal anything! Don't cut off my hand!"

"Kill! Kill all these corrupt officials!"

These voices combined to create a terrifying psychological impact.

If their Dao hearts had not just undergone tempering, they would probably have already had their minds overwhelmed by this resentment.

Xiao Chen's face paled, and the longsword in his hand rang out with a clang—the instinctive reaction of a swordsman encountering evil spirits: "Are these all wronged souls who died in Changning County?"

"more than."

Gu Yan stopped and looked at the face of an old man whose face was only half visible.

Even though the old man was just a remnant of his soul, his eyes still shone with a longing for life.

"This is a portrait of all living beings."

Gu Yan's voice was deep: "It's also nourishment accumulated by the Burial Dragon Mountain Range over thousands of years."

"Nutrition?" Xiao Chen asked, puzzled.

"Why can the blood tree up there grow so big? Earth energy alone isn't enough."

Gu Yan reached out and gently touched the old man's face with his fingertips. "Only by eating people, eating their flesh, and even more so, eating their resentment, can one grow tall and vigorous."

The instant Gu Yan's finger touched it, the thousands of faces on the wall seemed to be stimulated by something. Their originally cloudy and dull eyes all turned and stared at Gu Yan, letting out a shrill scream.

"A living person! A living person!"

"I want to get out! Take me out!"

"Eat him! Eat him and we'll live!"

Countless black ghostly hands reached out from the wall, like drowning people grasping at a straw, frantically grabbing at Gu Yan's clothes, arms, and ankles.

Those arms were withered and dry, their fingernails were as black as knives, and they carried a strong corrosive corpse poison.

"Junior brother, be careful!"

With lightning speed, Xiao Chen unleashed a dazzling sword light.

This sword strike was as swift as a startled swan, carrying the indomitable sword intent it had just comprehended, and instantly severed more than a dozen ghostly hands.

"Sizzle sizzle—"

The severed hand fell to the ground, turning into black smoke and dissipating.

But soon, more ghostly hands surged out of the wall, and some faces even began to detach from the wall, transforming into ferocious ghosts that lunged at you with bared teeth and claws.

"Never all of them can be eliminated."

Xiao Chen gritted his teeth, and his sword light danced into a silver light screen, protecting the two of them inside. "The resentment here is too heavy; even a Foundation Establishment stage spiritual fire cannot burn it clean."

"No need to kill."

Gu Yan's voice was unusually calm.

He did not draw his sword or cast any talismans, but slowly opened his arms as if to embrace the oncoming demons.

"Junior brother?!"

Xiao Chen was shocked.

The next moment, a scene that Xiao Chen would never forget unfolded.

At Gu Yan's dantian, the towering structure began to tremble, and the divine and demonic Taiji diagram slowly rotated.

A pale golden light, yet mixed with a deep, dark aura, spread out from Gu Yan's body.

"By the City God's decree, the path between the living and the dead is opened."

Gu Yan spoke the truth, but he did not dispel the evil spirits. Instead, he said softly, "Since we can't get out, then come with me."

Those ferocious demons, who originally had hideous faces and only wanted to tear Gu Yan apart and devour him, suddenly stopped moving the moment they came into contact with this light.

That light contained neither sacred and inviolable majesty, nor the murderous aura of eliminating demons and protecting the righteous path.

There is only one profound understanding.

That was the desolation Gu Yan felt in the illusion, watching Liaoyuan being abandoned by the people; it was the resentment Gu Jiu felt when betrayed by his brothers; it was the helplessness he felt when looking back on his past life and watching innocent people die tragically.

He understands these ghosts.

He understood the pain of wanting to live but being unable to, and wanting to die but being unable to rest in peace.

"I know you are hungry, I know you are wronged, I know you hate."

Gu Yan closed his eyes, letting those ghostly hands grab his body.

The ghostly hands softened when they touched him, as if a wronged child had found a place to lean on.

"This world is unjust, and Heaven is blind. But I will remember this debt for you."

"Come to me, I'll give you a home."

As Gu Yan spoke, the phantom images of gods and demons behind him appeared and disappeared.

The tower's gates burst open with a roar, and the original bas-reliefs carved on the tower came to life.

Countless wronged souls and vengeful ghosts ceased their roars. They looked at Gu Yan, black tears of blood streaming from their eyes, before transforming into streaks of light. They were not destroyed, but rather actively entered Gu Yan's dantian.

They became a brick or a tile on Gu Yandao's foundation.

Gu Yan's face turned pale, and cold sweat beaded on his forehead.

This is not without cost.

If an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator were to accept such a massive amount of resentment and karma, they would likely immediately suffer a qi deviation, leading to their death and the dissipation of their cultivation.

But Gu Yan, having endured the baptism of three cups of tea, managed to withstand the impact.

He was using his own body as a boat to ferry people across.

"call……"

After a long while, the passage returned to deathly silence.

The faces on the wall disappeared, leaving only mottled traces, and those tormented souls were finally released.

Xiao Chen sheathed his sword and stood there, looking at the somewhat swaying yet upright figure in front of him, his eyes filled with unparalleled shock.

"Junior Brother Gu, what's wrong with you...?"

"Use the false to cultivate the true, use ghosts to cultivate the divine."

Gu Yan turned around, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and revealed a set of white teeth. "Senior brother, I, Gu Qingtian, must have some impressive skills, right? In the future, if the living can't solve the cases in Changning County, I'll let the dead solve them."

Xiao Chen looked at his nonchalant attitude and wanted to laugh, but found that his throat was a little blocked.

He knew Gu Yan spoke lightly, but only those who were in the thick of it could truly understand the danger and courage involved.

"Let's go, there seems to be something ahead."

Gu Yan didn't want to dwell on this heavy topic any longer, so he pointed to the end of the passage.

A faint blue light shone through there.

The two quickened their pace, passed through the last narrow passage, and suddenly the view opened up before them.

This is a huge underground cave.

The dome is hundreds of feet high, with countless huge stalactites hanging upside down.

In the center of the cave is a bottomless pool of black water.

The deep blue light emanated from the center of the pool.

The two stood on the edge, looked down, and immediately gasped.

In the center of that pool was not land, but a huge skeleton.

The skeleton was hundreds of feet long, winding and twisting, with each rib as thick as a beam and gleaming with a metallic sheen.

Even though only bones remain, the dragon's once overwhelming might still sends shivers down one's spine.

This is the remains of a real dragon!

And at the seven-inch mark of the dragon bone, where the heart was originally located, a sword was stuck.

A rusty, somewhat chipped bronze sword.

Nine thick chains extended from the sword, piercing deep into the surrounding rock walls and pinning the dragon skeleton firmly to the center of the pool.

"Is this the sword from the illusion?!"

Xiao Chen cried out in disbelief.

He recognized it at a glance; it was the same Rui, the human warrior from the illusion, the very sword he himself carried.

Yes and no.

Gu Yan looked at the sword with a complex expression. "The illusion is a projection of history from tens of thousands of years ago. The fact that this sword is here shows that what happened back then was more than just a legend."

He lowered his gaze, looking down at the area beneath the dragon bones.

The aura emanating from that sword seemed to be both suppressing and absorbing.

At the spine of the dragon bone, strands of golden liquid flowed down the bone, gathered at the bottom of the sword, and dripped into a jade plate that had been prepared beforehand.

A thin layer of golden-red liquid had already accumulated on the jade plate.

"Dragon marrow and phoenix blood, these are the most top-tier foundation-building spiritual treasures in the world."

Gu Yan narrowed his eyes, his tone meaningful: "It seems that the barrenness of Changning County and the deathly aura of Burial Dragon Mountain are all for the purpose of supporting this dish."

"Who did it?"

Xiao Chen clenched his fist, his tone indignant: "For something so small, you're willing to sever the earth's veins, causing the people of this region to suffer for thousands of years?"

"Who else could it be?"

Gu Yan sneered and took out the black dragon's reverse scale that Aman had given him in the illusion.

At this moment, the reverse scale was burning hot and pointed to the other side of the pool.

There, there is a man-made high platform.

On the high platform, a desiccated corpse sat cross-legged.

The mummified corpse was dressed in the long-decayed official robes of the Great Yuan Dynasty, with a black gauze hat on its head. Its skin and flesh were shriveled, but one could still vaguely see the majesty of its high position in life.

In front of the dried corpse lay an open jade slip and a broken official seal.

"Let's go take a look."

Gu Yan leaped into the air, lightly touching the water's surface with his toes, and in a few steps crossed the black pool, landing on the high platform.

"Let's go take a look."

Gu Yan leaped into the air, lightly touching the water's surface with his toes, and in a few steps crossed the black pool, landing on the high platform.

Xiao Chen followed closely behind.

The two men took a closer look and saw that the jade slip in the dried corpse's hand was covered with densely engraved characters.

The handwriting was messy, suggesting it was a final message written in extreme fear and despair.

Gu Yan, using the dim light, softly recited:

"In the 320th year of the Dayuan era, the disgraced official Zhao Wuxu wrote his final words."

"I am here by imperial decree to guard Changning, nominally to govern the people, but in reality to guard the tomb. The emperor, seeking immortality, has listened to the slanderous words of a wicked Taoist priest, using this place as a furnace and the people as fuel to steal the remaining fortune of the ancient dragon, attempting to recreate his godhood..."

"However, the ancient dragon's resentment was hard to dispel, and it turned against him. As the core of the formation, I suffer day and night from the torment of ten thousand ghosts devouring my heart, a fate worse than death..."

"Now, my time is drawing near. With this crumbling body, I seal the core of the formation. I hope that those who come after me will never covet the dragon marrow. Once the sword is drawn, the dragon's wrath will break the seal, leaving the land scorched and the people devastated..."

Upon hearing this, both Gu Yan and Xiao Chen fell silent.

Zhao Wuxu.

This name appears in the annals of Changning County. He was a county magistrate three thousand years ago who is said to have died from exhaustion while fighting floods and was enshrined in a shrine by the people.

Who would have thought the truth would be so cruel?

The so-called flood control was nothing more than suppressing the backlash of the dragon's resentment; the so-called death from exhaustion was because he himself was the key figure who aided and abetted the evildoer.

"I see."

Gu Yan closed the jade slip, looked at the dried corpse, his eyes filled with indifference, devoid of pity. "Since I've already..." "And yet, they want to erect a memorial archway. They aided and abetted evil in life, but after death, they want to leave behind a good reputation. These tactics in officialdom haven't changed a bit in thousands of years."

"Junior Brother Gu, what should we do now?"

Xiao Chen looked at the golden-red liquid beneath the dragon bones, then at the bronze sword. "Should I draw this sword, or not?"

If it is not removed, the earth's veins in Changning County will never be restored, and the people will forever struggle on the poverty line.

If it is pulled out, according to the last words, the Dragon's Resentment will break the seal, and the consequences will be unimaginable.

This is a dead end.

"Just because Zhao Wuxu couldn't do it doesn't mean I can't."

Gu Yan turned around and looked at the enormous dragon skeleton, two flames burning in his eyes. One was a golden divine fire, and the other was a black demonic fire.

"He fears the dragon's wrath, but I do not."

Gu Yan walked step by step toward the dragon bone in the center of the pool. With each step, his aura rose a little higher.

"I bear its Achilles' heel, the sword intent of its enemies, and the very thing it desires most, yet dares not eat the most."

Gu Yan pointed to his heart.

There, the Tai Chi diagram of gods and demons was spinning wildly.

"Besides, I have tens of thousands of hungry guests here."

A maniacal smile crept onto Gu Yan's lips, an expression he had only shown in his previous life when facing a certain death in a car accident.

"Senior brother, protect me."

"Today, I'm going to discuss a business deal with this mudfish that's been dead for thousands of years."

Before Xiao Chen could react, Gu Yan leaped onto the dragon's head and grabbed the rusty bronze sword!

"roar--!!!"

In an instant, a dragon's roar of extreme anger resounded from the underground cave that had been silent for thousands of years.

The once lifeless dragon skeleton suddenly had two eerie green flames ignite in its empty eye sockets, staring intently at the ant standing on its head.

An extremely terrifying pressure suddenly erupted!

"How dare a mere ant blaspheme the gods?!"

An ancient and majestic voice exploded directly in Gu Yan's mind.

Gu Yan bled from all seven orifices and swayed.

But his hand holding the sword remained motionless; instead, his smile widened, revealing a mouthful of teeth stained with blood.

"Gods?"

"You look like nothing more than a big piece of pork rib."

"Stop yelling, let's settle this. How much good fortune have you taken from Changning County over these thousands of years? Today, you'll pay it all back, principal and interest!"