Chapter 1020: Chapter 1020

Chapter 1020: Chapter 62: Netherworld River Pirates

Seeing the ghost official being so tactful and perceptive, Xiao Jie was a bit surprised and couldn’t help but smile. It seems indeed, after becoming an Immortal, one does carry an air of prestige! Even asking a casual question receives such respectful and thorough responses, truly fulfilling the saying “there is a difference between immortals and mortals, and dignity shows naturally.”

His confidence in successfully “retrieving someone” increased a few degrees.

However, he did not directly state his purpose. Retrieving a specific living soul involves the laws of reincarnation in the Netherworld, and this small river patrol ghost official likely lacks the authority or ability, ultimately needing to find the true King Yan who manages the Book of Life and Death.

For now, he simply smiled slightly and asked, following the other’s words, “No problem, may I ask, what are you doing with such a large operation here on the Nether River?”

The ghost official, seeing that this Immortal seemed to harbor no malice, felt a bit relieved and hurriedly answered respectfully, “Reporting to the Immortal, the battle front of ‘Ghost City’ is currently intense, urgently needing troop replenishment. Therefore, the Lord King Yan dispatched us to this main stem of the Nether River and its tributaries to retrieve those relatively strong or intact wandering souls and wild ghosts, to train and prepare them to strengthen the city defense forces.”

Ghost City? Xiao Jie heard this unfamiliar place name and was puzzled in his heart, but combined with the background story he understood from the game before, he roughly guessed the reason.

Based on the game background information he had collected in the past, the Netherworld was generally divided into two major factions.

In the beginning, however, there was only one main force.

In ancient times, the Netherworld had always been ruled by successive Kings Yan, establishing order, managing the Six Paths of Reincarnation, and maintaining the balance between Yin and Yang. The “Establishment Faction,” led by King Yan, advocated for order in Yin and Yang, life and death cycle, with the Nine Provinces Yang World and Netherworld each maintaining their order, not interfering with each other. Original content can be found at novel⸺fire.net

However, starting thousands of years ago, the reincarnation path seemed to experience some error, causing an unusual increase in Yin energy in the Netherworld. Powerful individuals emerged, giving rise to many rebellious and unruly powerful Ghost Kings. These Ghost Kings fought each other and carved out territories, plaguing the Netherworld with chaos. Although King Yan raised armies to suppress them several times, he never managed to completely eliminate or subdue them. Often, a Ghost King would soon be replaced by a new, more powerful one in the chaos after being eliminated.

After such continuous turmoil for thousands of years, an unprecedentedly powerful existence finally emerged among the Ghost Kings. This ghost proclaimed himself the “Netherworld Emperor,” possessing boundless power and ambitions, vowing to flatten the Yama Hall and unify the Three Realms of Yin and Yang!

King Yan led his army in a protracted and bloody struggle with him but failed to achieve victory, eventually having to retreat into [Senluo Ghost City], relying on the ancient prohibitions and the powers of the Reincarnation Hall for barely-there defense.

The “Conquest Faction,” led by the Netherworld Emperor, firmly believed that the law of the jungle was the ultimate truth of the universe. They believed that the Netherworld should rule the Yang World, advocating for converting the vibrant Nine Provinces Yang World into a dead silent Netherworld. They even tried multiple times to open passages between Yin and Yang, launching invasions on the Nine States world, but were later repelled by the joint efforts of the Immortal Group of Nine States after detecting the anomaly.

Yet, within the native land of Netherworld, the Netherworld Emperor maintained a strong military force and broad influence. The battlefront of this “Ghost City” was likely one of the focal points of the ongoing long-lasting war between the two sides.

“King Yan has managed the Netherworld for ten thousand years and still hasn’t defeated that Netherworld Emperor?” Xiao Jie pretended to be curious and asked.

The ghost official, hearing this, showed a bitter expression on his face and sighed, “Alas, Immortal, you may not know, how could it be so easy! That Pseudo-Emperor Netherworld Emperor is not only immensely powerful but also possesses many brave generals. He excels in alliances and strategies, having subdued and recruited most of the strong Ghost Kings in the Netherworld, further allying with the ‘Asura Clan,’ ‘Yaksha Clan,’ and ‘Skeleton Fish Demon Clan,’ among many other powerful forces. His power is deeply rooted and vast beyond measure. Although my Lord King Yan holds partial control over reincarnation and can mobilize the orthodox Ghost Soldiers and Ghost Generals of the Netherworld, victory is hard to obtain, and the battle remains in a stalemate. Unless… unless there is strong assistance from the Yang World, the prospects are worrying under such depletion…”

As he spoke, he secretly glanced at Xiao Jie’s expression, cautiously asking, “This Immortal, with an extraordinary demeanor and pure Immortal light, from which Immortal Mountain Blessed Land have you descended? Are you possibly here to see my Lord King Yan? To be frank, my Lord King Yan has long issued a decree that if fortunate to meet an Immortal coming from the Upper Realm, he must be respectfully invited to [Senluo Ghost City] for a discussion on important matters.”

Xiao Jie thought to himself, indeed, this was the case, but his face remained unchanged: “I do have some matters to discuss with your Lord King Yan.”

The ghost official heard this, and his face instantly showed a look of great joy, as if seeing a savior: “That is wonderful! If my Lord King Yan learns of the arrival of the Immortal, he will surely sweep the couch to welcome you! Please, Immortal, wait a moment, we will turn the boat and return to report immediately! By the way, my name is Liu Tong, a Seventh-rank River Patrol Officer of Senluo Ghost City, may I know how to address the Immortal?”

“My Taoist name is Yin Yue Sui Feng.”

“So it is Immortal Suifeng! Nice to meet you! Please stand firm!” Liu Tong said and then turned around to order the ghost soldiers, “Quick! Turn the boat around and return to Senluo City at full speed! We have great news to report to Lord King Yan!”

The ghost head wooden boat emitted a muffled creak, the ferocious ghost head carved at the bow lit up with a faint green light, adjusted its direction, broke through the murky Nether River water, and sailed upstream at a speed much faster than when it came.

Xiao Jie stood at the bow with his hands behind his back, letting the yin wind blow his clothes, feeling quite expectant in his heart. He hadn’t expected everything to progress so smoothly. However, since Yama was so eager for the arrival of an Immortal, he probably had something to ask for. Most likely, he wanted to find an Immortal as a free helper to deal with that Nether Emperor. When meeting Yama, he must think of words to decline in advance, or else he might get stuck in this troublesome task of crusading against the Nether Emperor and deviate from his main goal.

“No wonder those Immortals in Gu Yun State hide and refuse to come out. As they say, the greater the ability, the greater the responsibility… As the top combat force in the Jiuzhou World, once an Immortal shows up, people from all sides are likely to come seeking help to resolve various troublesome affairs.

Especially if the request is for demon-suppressing and saving the world, such righteous matters are difficult for an Immortal to refuse. It’s indeed more convenient to hide away in a Painting Realm to avoid societal involvement.

This is probably what they call the power of cause and effect.” Xiao Jie mused inwardly.

But after thinking about it, it wasn’t all bad. Since Yama had something to request of him, if he later proposed to collect a few souls, something so minor, wouldn’t the other party, both emotionally and rationally, have to do his utmost?

While pondering, he suddenly heard panicked shouts from the Ghost Soldier responsible for lookout at the stern!

The Ghost Official Liu Tong hurried to the stern to check, his face turned pale instantly. He rushed back to Xiao Jie’s side, his voice tinged with a slight tremor:

“Im… Immortal, please be informed! It’s the ‘Netherworld River Pirates’! Those Skeleton Fish Demons who have sided with the Pseudo-Emperor are coming! They must have discovered us! They come with ill intentions, many dozens in number! Does the Immortal wish to retreat into the cabin to avoid the sharpness for a while? We… we could try to accelerate and escape!”

Netherworld River Pirates? Xiao Jie was astonished; he hadn’t thought there would be river bandits in this deathly still Nether River?

He looked up and followed the direction indicated by the Ghost Soldier. He saw the turbid Nether River water behind the sides churn violently. Seven or eight large, catfish-shaped but all-black monsters with exposed bone spikes were breaking through the waves and chasing swiftly! These monster mounts were called [Nether Corpse Ghost Catfish], extremely fast swimmers. On each ghost catfish’s back, two or three hunched but muscular monsters brandishing rusty yet eerie steel forks were riding.

These monsters were the [Skeleton Fish Demons] as Liu Tong mentioned. They vaguely resembled humans but had huge, ferocious fish-like heads, their mouths splitting to the ears full of sharp teeth, their dead fish eyes utterly lifeless. Their skin exhibited a kind of drowned pallor and bloating, covered with sparse, slimy scales, and at vital parts of their body like the chest, shoulders, and joints, they were adorned or inset with crude armor and ornaments made from various creatures’ pale bones. Some skulls even flickered with ghostly green soul flames, looking both fierce and bizarre.

Netherworld River Pirates (Skeleton Fish Demons): Level 44. Life Value 1600.

Netherworld Raiders (Skeleton Fish Demons): Level 46. Life Value 1800.

The leader of the group was especially conspicuous. Over ten feet tall, much bulkier than its peers, riding a particularly giant Nether Corpse Ghost Catfish, equipped with rusted metal ramming spikes. Its gigantic catfish head wore a crown-like helmet made from several twisted skulls, wielding a door-sized, spiky heavy bone hammer, exuding a violent aura.

Nether River Destroyer (Skeleton Fish Demon Leader): Level 52 Elite, Life Value 3300.

Although Liu Tong tried to remain composed, the fear in his tone was unmistakable; evidently, the strength of these attacking river pirates far exceeded that of their small river patrol ship. This was clearly evident from the comparison of the two sides’ monster levels.

“Haha, no need to avoid.” Yet Xiao Jie laughed, his eyes revealing a hint of excitement instead, “Just arrived in the Netherworld, and I was worried about having nowhere to stretch my muscles and bones, and indeed, my hands were itching. These spirits and monsters have come at the right time.”

This was not Xiao Jie being arrogant or polite. Ever since he reincarnated as an Immortal race and gained this extraordinary power, he hadn’t yet “leveled up by fighting monsters” in the true sense or experienced the practical combat abilities of an Immortal. The bizarre ghost types of the Netherworld before him, with suitable levels and considerable numbers, were precisely excellent practice targets, weren’t they?

Moreover, his experience bar was now stuck at the pinnacle of Level 39, just needing to kill some monsters to gain experience and hit the crucial threshold for Level 40. In the Nine Provinces Yang World, monsters above Level 40 were hard to find, often having territorial powers. This group delivered right to the door is perfect!

Hearing Xiao Jie’s calm and somewhat expectant words, Liu Tong immediately showed a hint of joyous disbelief, and quickly bowed: “If… if so, we will rely on the Immortal’s intervention! We will certainly cheer for the Immortal!”