Chapter 1 The Ruins

The altar had been destroyed, and the entire village was in ruins, almost leveled to the ground.

But such a huge commotion couldn't shake Hu Ma from the shock. He remained on the ground, his mind filled with the image of that thing and its words.

"From the same place, remnants of civilization..." What strange words were these?

Most importantly, although the context was different and the content varied, there was a mysterious echo between these words and the words he had received from Da Hongpao.

Before that thing disappeared from this world, it "looked" at him intently and spoke of "forgetting the fundamentals, violating the contract, eternal suffering." This made one's heart heavy with contemplation.

He had come to retrieve the Hu family heirloom, and now the calamity in the Extinct Village had been resolved. But Hu Ma remained on the spot, unmoving for a long time.

Until a voice sighed softly, filled with emotion, "So, it's finally done?"

Hu Ma was startled by the voice and turned abruptly. He first felt a gentle fragrance of incense wafting over his face, as if diluting the coldness in his heart. A slow, warm breeze caressed his eyes, and he saw only an old tree stump.

Upon the tree stump, the Mountain Lord, in loose robes and a relaxed demeanor, quietly watched him.

In this village, a scene of ruins, the ghosts everywhere, all fell into his eyes, making him appear somewhat sorrowful.

"Senior..."

The Mountain Lord sighed deeply, waved his sleeves, and bursts of agitated incense energy surged out, comforting the desolate and sorrowful spirits, and making their cries even louder.

Because they didn't know where to go. Old Yin Mountain had no ghost caves, nor did it have anyone like Xiang Yatou who could guide souls. Therefore, they knew that this was no longer the world for them to remain in, but they didn't know where their home was.

"Mountain Lord."

"Is it strange?"

This was the original appearance of the Extinct Village. In life, it was just an ordinary village; in death, it was just helpless, resentful souls.

"Already escaped, hasn't it?"

Hearing that this thing had already escaped, and as Meng Family Old Ancestor, having been worshipped for so many years, Hu Ma was already panicked. Now, his curiosity was immediately piqued.

He wasn't sure if Bao Zhezhi knew that in this Extinct Village, besides the village full of vengeful ghosts and the Hu family heirloom, there was such a mysterious thing hidden. But if he did know, he would definitely understand more.

"And immortals, are also incomprehensible things."

He could hear a commotion in the village, and faint cries. It must be Seventh Master and the others coming over. Now that this place was cleaned up, he couldn't help but feel a little panicked.

Hu Ma listened, and shuddered slightly, turning his head to look in one direction.

"Who wouldn't panic?"

The Mountain Lord's face was blurred, but his eyes were clear as he looked at Hu Ma and said in a low voice: "You have indeed already seen it. It seems your grandmother underestimated you. You don't need my care, having seen something even more powerful, and survived."

Another thing was, the Mountain Lord said that this thing had consciousness, but the words he heard were clearly spoken to him when it had become pure.

Bao Zhe could sense Hu Ma's curiosity, and sighed softly, saying directly: "The Meng family wants to rebuild the heart of the Yin realm, it's already obvious. They are bestowing titles on gods all over the world, paying homage to the various City Gods, all for this one purpose."

As he spoke, he looked around.

"Fortunately, the world is incomplete now, waiting for a sovereign. The Yin realm is also incomplete, barely maintained by the local Yin bureaus. The Meng family's ambition exceeds their ability. To truly rebuild the Yin realm, they can only wait for the new emperor to appear."

Seeing the change in his expression, the Mountain Lord sighed softly: "Now, what you know is almost more than I do. I imagine you understand the importance of retrieving your Hu family's possessions."

The Mountain Lord was only speaking calmly, but in Hu Ma's heart, it was like a tsunami. If the Yin realm was rebuilt, would the Meng family's Old Ancestor become the master of the entire Yin realm?

"Then it seems your grandmother's worries were not wrong at all."

Hu Ma thought of the thing that Meng family Seventh Master kowtowed and invited down, and his mind couldn't help but tremble. He said in a low voice, "The Meng family's Old Ancestor does resemble that thing very much."

Being able to turn ordinary Yin souls into such terrifying things showed the power of that thing. But Bao Zhe called it "Mountain Lord"?

Hu Ma reacted and hurriedly turned to salute, feeling a little flustered in his heart.

The divine light dispelled evil curses, resolving their grievances and awakening their consciousness. Unlike other resentful souls, their three souls had never dispersed upon death. When shrouded in resentment, they were much fiercer than other ghosts. After the resentment dissipated, they were more spiritual than other ghosts.

Hu Ma listened to the Mountain Lord's words, and felt another wave of fear. That kind of thing was truly terrifying. Just touching the vengeful ghosts in this village had made it so powerful. If it encountered the Mountain Lord, who knew what would happen?

That kind of weird and terrifying thing as the master of the Yin realm... That...

"I have been watching the movements here from the mountain, and only came over to take a look after seeing the evil here dissipate."

Hu Ma also calmed himself down, quickly adjusted his emotions inwardly, and deliberately didn't hide the panic in his heart. He lowered his voice and asked the Mountain Lord, "Just now, just now what exactly was that thing in the village?"

As expected, when the Mountain Lord heard Hu Ma's question, it seemed he understood Hu Ma's panic. He quietly looked at Hu Ma, paused for a moment, and then slowly opened his mouth:

Bao Zhe took a low breath and said in a low voice, "The Meng family's Old Ancestor is a supremely evil and filthy thing. Even we cannot look directly at it."

Some were wandering aimlessly, standing blankly beside Hu Ma, seemingly not knowing where to go. There were also women holding their children, crying softly, just looking at them was not enough.

"When that time comes, with just an imperial decree from the new emperor, the City Gods of the forty-eight mountain Yin bureaus throughout the world will rebuild the Yin realm. By then..."

In the middle of the Extinct Village, which had already turned into ruins, all the houses and roads, stone walls and thatched roofs, had collapsed and were incomplete. Only the millstone remained intact. Above the millstone, a stone box was sitting there perfectly.

Chains.

If such a terrifying thing escaped and was unrestrained, then what would it do?

"Build the Yin realm."

"This thing was originally extremely impure, with consciousness, but it is said that it can enlighten and grant immortality, free from restraint. Some once called this thing one of the varieties of Tai Sui (spiritual fungus), but not the essence of Tai Sui. Consuming one pill of it would grant the wonder of ascending to immortality."

No matter how the Mountain Lord answered, Hu Ma couldn't be so shocked. However, such a title made him feel confused: "That kind of weird and terrifying thing can also be called Mountain Lord?"

Now, the gloomy and resentful aura in the Extinct Village had disappeared, but there were still orphaned souls everywhere. They floated back and forth in the ruins of the village, and the faint, wandering cries echoed in the wind, occasionally entering his ears.

"Or rather, it is simply the same kind of thing."

"After all, there are many capable people in this world, but who can stand against the Meng family's Old Ancestor?"

"Sure enough, it's him..."

"I... I really don't know how to describe that thing..."

When he said these words, there seemed to be a bit more mysterious and complex emotion in his voice, as he said in a low voice: "Not a god, not a ghost, not a demon, nor a spirit. It is said that it was originally high above the world, carefree and unrestrained, but now it has fallen into the mortal world, difficult for ordinary people to understand or imagine."

"I have always been content with my fate. Since she is unwilling to speak, I will not ask. However, there are times when I can't help but be curious. Now that I know about this from your mouth, I understand why the Meng family has been doing this."

"Yes, if we want to deal with the Meng family's Negative Spirit, we still have to rely on the Hu family's Soul Walkers!"

And that, represented that they were even more fearful and helpless.

"The best thing is..."

The Mountain Lord seemed to realize Hu Ma's worries, gently raised his sleeves, and a mist vaguely rose in the village, even obscuring Seventh Master and the others' calls. Then he sighed softly and said, "Escaped?"

"The Meng family..."

"Most importantly, he has been worshipped by the Meng family for a long time, but no one knows his origins. I once made a guess and asked your grandmother, but she didn't tell me, only saying that knowing about this was more of a curse than a blessing."

Hu Ma also took a deep breath and said, "I just feel that this thing is really powerful. If it escaped, I can't imagine what the outside world would become..."

Originally, the Mountain Lord couldn't come in. With the collapse of the four-way gate stones and the destruction of his altar, he was able to appear here. And when the gate stones collapsed, that thing had already been crushed by the huge weight and dragged to some unknown place.

But just now, while that thing was still here, this village was full of fierce ghosts. Even calling them fierce ghosts wasn't enough. They should be called Ghost Kings, Ghost Kings that even the Underworld might not be able to contain.

He could feel that there was some curiosity in Bao Zhe's words. Hu Ma had seen that thing, but didn't know what it was. He belonged to those who had heard of that thing, but had never seen it. Perhaps, he was rushing over with the idea of taking a look.

"Even we don't know how to call it, we can only call it: Mountain Lord."

The Mountain Lord also noticed that Hu Ma's expression was wrong, felt strange, spoke softly, and said faintly: "What? You seem a bit uneasy."

Then he sighed softly: "That thing is incomprehensible."