Above the Great Dao

This matter is too absurd.

He still finds it unbelievable.

Gathering his thoughts, Commander Peng Ju reported, saying: "Your Majesty, Thunder Ape Clan Leader Lei Qu requests an audience."

Chen Shi rose from the incredibly luxurious throne, wearing a heavy fur cloak made from a material in the underworld that is a cross between ghost monster and demon skin, opulent yet filled with extraordinary power and various peculiar bloodline powers, likely refined through the sacrificial blood of various races.

On his head was a gold crown inlaid with various gemstones, and he held the scepter next to the throne, which was several times taller than him.

Chen Shi thought for a moment, put down the scepter, and said: "Let him in."

A moment later, Lei Qu entered the Royal Hall following Peng Ju, and seeing Chen Shi's disheveled attire, exposing his ribs, pelvis, and leg bones, he quickly raised a hand to shield his sight and said: "Your Majesty, please forgive this old minister's eyes."

Minister of Internal Affairs, Sang Xixi, quickly stepped forward to help Chen Shi tighten the fur cloak.

Chen Shi descended the steps to Lei Qu and smiled: "I am just a dry bone; it doesn't matter whether I wear clothes or not. Old Lei, I still don't understand."

In the eye sockets of his skull, two flames flickered faintly, gazing at Lei Qu.

Lei Qu's appearance was like an old ape, with all-white hair, wearing black clothes, moving like a human and speaking and behaving like one, said: "Your Majesty is puzzled by how you ascended to the position of King?"

Chen Shi nodded lightly, not daring to do so too vigorously.

He had no hair, only a bone skull. The crown would fall off.

Lei Qu smiled: "I know Your Majesty has this question, so the clan leaders of the one hundred and twelve tribes elected me to come here and explain this matter to Your Majesty."

The two walked and talked, arriving outside the Royal Hall.

Lei Qu said: "My Heavenly Pond Country is just one of many ghost countries in the underworld."

Chen Shi's heart was slightly stirred: "Are there other ghost countries?"

Lei Qu said: "There are a few other ghost countries within Yin Mountain, and there are also some beyond Yin Mountain. However, in the legends of all ghost countries, there is the same history, where the ghost country's civilization was prosperous, possessing various wondrous Daoist Skills and cultivation divine skills. The world was unlike the world today. The sky of the underworld had a sun, a moon, and stars could be seen at night."

Chen Shi stood before the Royal Hall, looking out at the various sizes of Heavenly Ponds, numbering in the hundreds, with Ghost Clan tribes scattered around these ponds.

"At that time, the sky had no leaks."

Lei Qu gazed at the Heavenly Waterfall a hundred miles away and said, "The heavens didn't have a large fissure, nor did the Heavenly Waterfall hang down, and there was no Fog Month phenomenon. At that time, we could cultivate and ascend to become immortals. But suddenly, for reasons unknown, all ghost clans became illiterate, unable to recognize the language and characters passed down through the generations. The sun and moon disappeared, stars hid, the Fog Month appeared, immortals vanished, and the deities died, hanging on the Infinite Cliff."

Chen Shi couldn't help but ask: "What happened?"

Lei Qu shook his head: "I don't know. In the legends of various tribes, there are only sporadic records of the golden age, passing down these legends through poetry. Now is the dark age, and what happened during that time is unknown."

Chen Shi's gaze fell on the Heaven Listeners atop the palace's eaves not far away, said: "Similar things have happened in the Mortal World."

He recalled the True King Sealing Immortals, which removed the realms of Tribulation Crossing and Ascension, which was very similar to the ghost clan's Forget Language.

Lei Qu said: "But Your Majesty understands the lost language of my ghost clan, even the big-headed ghost lady beside Your Majesty can wield the Magical Treasure left by our ancestors!"

Stone Rock Lady flew out in fury from the small temple behind Chen Shi, landing and grabbing Lei Qu by the collar, lifting him into the air: "Monkey, dare mention the ghost lady again! This lady will bury you with the old king!"

Lei Qu quickly pleaded, smiling apologetically: "Big-headed girl..."

Stone Rock Lady raised her fist, ready to send him on his way.

Chen Shi said: "Clan Leader Lei, this is Stone Rock Lady, a divine being."

Lei Qu quickly said: "This old man greets Stone Rock Lady! If I've offended, I beg for the Lady's indulgence."

Stone Rock Lady felt much more comfortable, put him down, and said: "The owner of that Copper Coin is an old acquaintance of mine. How did his Copper Coin end up here?"

Lei Qu shook his head: "I don't know."

Stone Rock Lady couldn't help but say: "What do you know?"

"In the poetry passed down from generation to generation among our tribes, our ancestors came from the world where the Four Great Continents are located, migrating here after being defeated to avoid annihilation."

Lei Qu looked at Chen Shi with admiration and fanatical reverence, said, "I also know that in these orally passed down poems, in the future of the dark age, there is an extraordinary man descending from heaven, deciphering the cultivation techniques of various tribes, teaching us the long-lost divine language, helping us emerge from darkness and bring back the light!"

Stone Rock Lady looked at Chen Shi suspiciously, thinking: "Extraordinary man? Could it be the Upper Envoy? Doesn't look like it..."

Chen Shi laughed: "I think the poems you pass down certainly aim to prevent your descendants from despairing at this world, thus creating the prophecy of a savior extraordinary man descending from heaven. I am not extraordinary at all, just an ordinary top scorer from the Mortal World."

"Perhaps so."

Lei Qu did not know what a top scorer was, his old eyes glimmering with light, smiling: "Perhaps the older generation lied to us, but as luck would have it, Your Majesty cultivated the Blood Lake Scripture, deciphered lost ancient characters, and understands lost divine language. Moreover, Your Majesty came from the Mortal World, exactly descending from the heavens."

The light in his eyes grew more fanatical, a sense of reverence rising, making Chen Shi feel a little fearful.