Transcending two realms to become an earth immortal

Chapter 64 Mo Zhangmou on the Terrace of Longing for Home

The Looking-Home Terrace is located at the first gate of the underworld, under the jurisdiction of the Ten Kings of Hell. The terrace is three zhang high and is built of Nine Netherworld Black Stone. It connects the mortal world above and the Yellow Springs below, making it a place where Yin and Yang are linked.

At the top of the platform hangs the Three Lives Mirror. After the souls of the deceased cross the Bridge of Helplessness and drink the Meng Po soup, they can use this mirror to look back at the world of the living, see their relatives and friends one last time, and end their earthly ties. This is the final mercy that heaven and earth give to the deceased.

However, during this process, it is crucial to prevent the deceased from developing obsessions or delusions.

Otherwise, if the obsession remains and the delusions are hard to extinguish, the deceased, unwilling to enter reincarnation and yearning to return to the mortal world, will transform into an incomparably terrifying thousand-year-old ghost, a being formed from the obsessions of countless living beings, or even the ineffable hope and Yi of legend...

Once this being is allowed to reverse Yin and Yang, returning from the Netherworld to the mortal realm, defying the natural order of Heaven and Earth, then chaos will rage in the human world and a great calamity will befall Heaven and Earth!

Therefore, there are prohibitions in the Nine Netherworlds:

The journey to the Yellow Springs is not far; do not look back from the Terrace of Longing for Home.

"The journey to the Yellow Springs is not far, on the Terrace of Longing for Home... Do not look back." The three immortals spoke in hoarse, low voices, "This is an ancient rite from the Nine Netherworlds. Because once you look back, the deceased will develop an obsession and attachment, and from then on, it will be difficult for them to enter the Underworld again, and they will not be able to enter the cycle of reincarnation."

"We all know that the most terrifying thing in this world has never been any demons or monsters, or the filth of this turbid world, but one word—[attachment]."

"Billions of living beings created these unprecedented things in this world because of their obsessions. Cultivators are obsessed with immortality, demons are obsessed with their true selves, and evil spirits are obsessed with their bloodlines... Once a dead soul has an obsession and cannot understand it, it will fall into madness and become a ghost."

"Resentment before death can become a vengeful spirit for a hundred years; unresolved obsessions can become vengeful ghosts for a thousand years. Even more so, the obsessions that billions of living beings cannot resolve, and the endless longing of the deceased for the mortal world, can all transform into the terrifying [聻] and [希], escaping the order of Yin and Yang, returning to the mortal world, causing boundless calamities, and disrupting the order of humankind... This is the convergence of the obsessions of billions of sentient beings, enough to shake the order of heaven and earth and disrupt Yin and Yang!"

"When the old world existed, there were powerful figures from the underworld such as Ox-Head and Horse-Face, Black and White Impermanence, Meng Po, and the Ten Kings of Hell to suppress them. There were also things like the Three Lives Stone, the Other Shore Flower, and Meng Po Soup to resolve the obsessions of millions of people. Even if a fierce soul occasionally escaped, the Taoist sects in the mortal world could join forces to extinguish it, so that it would not cause a great disaster."

"But when the heavens and earth collapse, the universe is corrupted by demons, yin and yang are out of order, the underworld disappears, and reincarnation is severed..." Fang Chen continued the conversation of the three True Immortals, his expression gradually becoming solemn, even grim, "then these lost souls will no longer be bound by anything, their endless obsessions will have no way to be resolved, thus accumulating countless desires to return to the mortal world from the Netherworld?"

The three masters looked grave.

"It doesn't stop there. The old underworld has long since fallen and collapsed, and the cycle of reincarnation has stopped. The souls that should have been reborn are now trapped in the Avici Hell, suffering eternal torment from the scorching fires, the biting ice, and the mountains of knives and trees of swords, unable to escape, tormented for eternity."

"In this moment of despair, the glimpse of the mortal world that can be seen through the Mirror of the World on the Terrace of Longing for Home... even though the mortal world is also collapsing, there is still a glimmer of life, and there is no endless torment... what does this mean for the souls who are eternally tortured in hell?"

The three voices, spoken by real people, were deep and low, yet carried a chilling aura:

"That is the only salvation in an endless sea of ​​suffering, the only glimmer of light in the deepest darkness. How intense, twisted, and insane will the obsession that arises from this—the desire to return to the world of the living, to be human again, to plunder life—become?"

"When the Dao Realm's demonic tribulation descends, and the light and shadow of the old world merge with the Dao Realm of the Cave Heaven..." The Three-Headed True Man raised his eyes, his eerie gaze seemingly piercing through the Daoist temple, seeing that terrifying future, "The fierce and vengeful spirits formed from the obsessions of countless dead souls will follow this glimmer of hope, completely opening... the gate to return to the mortal world!"

Upon hearing this, Fang Chen felt a chill run down his spine.

He suddenly saw in the depths of that inescapable hell, billions of souls, suffering endless torment, gazing at a sliver of light in the mirror... that was their homeland they could never return to.

For these souls who have endured countless torments and eternal damnation, this has long since transformed into an indelible obsession, enough to gather into a torrent that would overwhelm the order of heaven and earth. Once the dam breaks... what a horrifying sight it would be.

It is feared that billions of vengeful ghosts will return to the mortal world, causing chaos and even the former underworld will be plunged into ruin!

"That's not all." The three immortals said solemnly, "What's even more terrifying is not only this endless tide of ghosts, but also the ghost messengers and judges from the old underworld!"

"The old underworld? Didn't they perish with the collapse of heaven and earth?" Fang Chen frowned deeply upon hearing this. "Not to mention these fierce spirits and vengeful ghosts, their endless obsessions are precisely what the ghost messengers are supposed to do. They should be helping us deal with these vengeful ghosts as well..."

"Most of the beings in Dao City escaped from the shadows of the old world. It's not surprising that some remnants of underworld ghosts and gods have survived," the Three-Headed True Man said solemnly. "And when the [Dao Realm Demonic Tribulation] begins, these strange ghosts and demons from the shadows of the old world, as well as those connected to the remnants of the Heavenly Dao, will regard us as irreconcilable enemies!"

"Hmm?" Fang Chen looked puzzled. "Why is that?"

"The reason is nothing more than one word—" The Three Immortals, their faces icy cold, slowly uttered a single word: "Hate."

"hatred?"

"Yes... how could I not hate it?!"

Even someone with the cultivation level of the Three-Headed Immortal, his tone revealed a deep-seated hatred, like a surging river, endless and unending:

"The ancient powerful beings enjoyed the immense fortune of countless eras, plundering the essence of heaven and earth without giving back. Instead, they exhausted the resources, monopolizing and plundering. This led to the collapse of heaven and earth, and the corruption of the universe by demons. Hundreds of millions of living beings struggled to survive in the apocalypse... How could they not hate them?"

"The anger, terror, madness, and despair within; the grief of a child being devoured by a demon; the hatred of a loved one being violated by an evil spirit; the pain of having to abandon one's closest relatives to survive; the numbness of being left to eke out a living when all friends and family have perished... birth, old age, sickness, death, being forced to be with those one hates, being separated from those one loves, not getting what one wants, and being unable to let go—all these converge into the eight sufferings of humanity and the hatred of all beings!"

The three immortals paused briefly, but their hatred only deepened:

"The earth, with its profound virtue, nurtures all things and gives birth to all living beings; it is the ancestral land of all life. Yet now it has fallen into ruin, its veins severed, its spiritual energy depleted, its mountains and rivers shattered, and its land a desolate wasteland. How can it not hate this? The earth's evil spirits are boiling, its dragon veins are weeping blood, poisonous miasma is spreading across the fields, and life is reversed... This is the hatred of the earth!"

"The heavens hang high, displaying their celestial phenomena, shaping the four seasons, and bestowing upon us the chance for longevity. They possess immeasurable grace and virtue. Yet now, heaven and earth have collapsed, yin and yang are out of order, the universe is tainted by demons, and the cosmos has crumbled. How can we not resent this? It is as if the heavens are upside down, the stars are dimmed, the winds of war erode the gods, and heavenly thunder strikes demons... This is the hatred of heaven!"

"The three hatreds of Heaven, Earth, and Man intertwine, and when the demonic calamity arises, they will materialize, sweeping in with the light and shadow of the old world. At best, the beings within will fight us to the death; at worst, the resentment and curses of Heaven and Earth will unleash boundless calamities... That is the true danger of perishing and destroying the path of cultivation!"

Fang Chen was silent for a moment before whispering:

"But this world has fallen to such a state, and it is not our fault..."

"Does this... really matter?" The Three-Headed Immortal smiled bitterly. "The ancient Daoist cultivators had already exhausted all their escape routes, leaving behind this world of collapse and destruction. Therefore, in the eyes of the remaining will of this shattered world, it is the existence of cultivators that has brought about today's consequences. Thus, with the onset of the demonic calamity, the only and most fundamental desire of this broken world is to make us cultivators..."

He looked up at the murky, oppressive sky, his tone unusually heavy, and said, word by word:

"Extinction, count, death, and annihilation!"