Chapter 34 Chapter 1 Nether City

In life, no matter who you are, you will always face death in the end. For many people, death is rather a very complicated symbol. In the vast sea of ​​people, the interaction between death and all living beings is often an elusive deep philosophy. Most people are afraid of death, but for some people, death seems to be a secret door to escape. As long as they encounter unsolvable things in life, there will always be people who choose death as a solution last trick. What's more interesting is that in some distant memories of human civilization, "regarding death as one's home" has become a praiseworthy virtue. Great excuse for your own life.

In such an era, there are a very large number of people who are not afraid of death, and even on some occasions, when they fail to catch up with a small life, it is enough to make an impassioned person beat his chest. During a siege operation in the Warring States Period, a warrior "Hou Zhong" stuffed himself into a fire ditch alive, just to allow his companions to step on his body to attack the city. In the novel "Worry for the Country" written by a Japanese writer, a military officer committed seppuku with his new wife just because he missed the bloody coup by his colleagues.

And there are too many Westerners who died under the duel gun just because of a dispute. Well, having talked about death, now a very interesting topic comes up. When a person dies, where will he go? Heaven?hell? Westerners believe that after death, those who do good deeds will go to heaven, and those who do bad deeds will go to hell. In ancient Greek and Roman mythology, it is believed that there is a Pluto underground, and all ghosts are under his jurisdiction. Occasionally, he will come up to the world to snatch girls and go back to be the queen of the underworld. Orientals mostly believe that after death, some people become gods and Buddhas, and most of them enter the six realms of reincarnation. Eight layers of hell, let King Yama repair it.

There is another group of atheists who think that when a person dies, he is dead, and everything ends, it's as simple as that. However, there may be another answer in front of Wang Chengfeng, Da Duo, and Zhuang Zhou at this moment, because the black giant "Hou Tu" who appeared in front of them said quietly to them: "This place of mine is called 'Netherworld', and it is in charge of the dead spirits from the three mountains and five mountains." Netherworld. The resting place after death has attracted everyone's imagination for thousands of years. Some people think that after death is a bleak and cold place, some people think it is a white sky with clouds floating in it, and pessimistic people think that there is life after death. Bridge of Naihe, City of Death in vain, and various tortures with 100% creativity.

It is said that Edison, the great inventor, was sober for a while before he died, saying that he saw a "beautiful place with singing birds and fragrant flowers and green grass". Not long ago, Wang Chengfeng, Da Duo and others were attacked by the black mist again in the space-time world of Shan Hai Jing. In the process of fleeing, another crack-like mutation appeared in time and space, which also brought Moses back to the Egyptian time and space to which he belonged. The three surviving people arrived at this moment, but it was a world similar to the afterlife "ghost".

Looking around, the color of the entire "Netherworld" is dim, with a faint sapphire blue luster in the distance, and a quiet atmosphere in the space. Everywhere you can see, there is a sense of darkness and silence. But it is very strange, although this space is called "Netherworld", it does not have a heavy death breath, nor does it have the cold and terrifying atmosphere that should accompany it in the impression. Strictly speaking, it is a bit like a forest in a silent night without moonlight. Zhuang Zhou and Da Duo looked at each other with doubts in their eyes. Da Duo was from ancient India and had a certain understanding of the recognition between life and death. At this time, he asked in confusion:

"Youming?" He turned his head and asked Wang Chengfeng in a low voice: "Is that what the afterlife means? Is he telling us that we are already dead and have entered the afterlife?" As soon as the words came out, Wang Chengfeng was taken aback for a moment. If it wasn't for Da Duo's question, he really wouldn't have thought of this possibility. The so-called "ghost" refers to the afterlife of course, which is why there is a saying that "ghosts have different paths, and humans and ghosts are different". And if I remember correctly, this is certainly not a trick of folk customs such as "viewing the yin" or "traveling in the underworld".

It stands to reason that living people should not come to this kind of place. If so, could it be... Thinking of this, Wang Chengfeng asked casually without hesitation: "Aren't we all dead?" He asked in a daze, "So our souls were all brought to this place by you, right?" As soon as the words were spoken, thinking of this weird way of asking, I felt a little confused for a while. The lord of the nether world "Hou Tu" smiled lightly, his voice rippling in the dark space like water waves. "This kind of question is also interesting, to be honest, most of the people who come here are ghosts and dead people, and visitors like you are really rare.

No, you didn't die, you just came to this place because of chance and coincidence. In my memory, the number of times that living people came to my 'gloom' can be counted on one's fingers. " "That's really good," Wang Chengfeng said with a smile, "The three of us have given enough face and become people with special abilities." I'm in a good mood. "So your place is what people call the underworld, right? No matter who it is, as long as it dies or dies, it will come to you, right?" Zhuang Zhou on the side listened carefully to the conversation between the two, but couldn't help but ask Da Duo in a low voice.

"Hung up?" He asked suspiciously, "What does that mean?" However, Da Duo knew that the chattering "Mr. Wang" was a character who sometimes babbled nonsense, so he just put his finger on his lips and made a silent gesture, signaling Zhuang Zhou to keep quiet and listen carefully to Wang Chengfeng. Dialogue with Houtu. "Hung up?" Houtu smiled softly: "I haven't heard this kind of statement for a long time. It's just that what you said is a little wrong. My place is not the place where everyone will come after death." "Won't they come to you?" Wang Chengfeng wondered, "You also said that you have dead spirits from three mountains and five mountains."

"correct." "But you said that this is not where everyone comes after death?" "yes." Hearing his answer, Wang Chengfeng rolled his eyes strangely, and said angrily: "Are you kidding me, brother?" He said a little discouraged, "What's the mess? One moment you say that there are dead spirits from all directions here, and the next moment you say that people won't come to you after death. I really don't understand your brother." Do you know what you're talking about?" Although the tone of the latter was always steady and calm, he couldn't help being a little stunned when he heard Wang Chengfeng's rebuke. Since ancient times, death and the underworld have been the unknown realms that humans fear the most. Houtu has lived in this dark time and space for countless years. He has seen countless undead. Although he has seen countless sorrows, joys and angers, But it was the first time in history to be scolded like this. If that blind Shanxi fortune teller knew about this, he would probably be more admirable for his straight-talking, right?Because at this moment Wang Chengfeng's "Unworldly Merit" has reached a higher level, not only covering the enlightenment mission of the pre-Qin philosophers, but also extending its tentacles to the Netherworld at this moment... This is not a casual talk. When have you ever seen a great man who beat the Lord of the Underworld to a daze? Fortunately, Hou Tu, the lord of "Netherworld", didn't think he was disobedient. After being stunned for a while, he still smiled gently and said, "Actually, as long as you use your brain to think about it, you have found that these two things do not contradict each other." Dado on the side thought for a moment and nodded. "Ok!" He said "hmm", but Wang Chengfeng glared at him. It seems that after scolding the Lord of the Underworld, this great man is about to shift his focus and start finding fault with "Buddha" Da Duo... The only person who can count down two divine figures at the same time in a short time is probably only Wang Chengfeng, an unborn genius and fool! "'um' what 'um'?" Wang Chengfeng said angrily: "Do you think what he said makes sense? It's a mess, it doesn't match up, I don't know what you are thinking." Da Duo said with a smile: "Actually, as long as you listen carefully, you will know that the two things he said do not conflict with each other. This is the 'logic' that Master said." Wang Chengfeng rolled his eyes strangely and scratched his head. "What logic? Can I trouble you to speak clearly." "Mr. Houtu said just now that in this nether space, there are souls from the three mountains and five mountains." Da Duo turned his head slightly, looked at the dark luminosity in the nether world, and said leisurely: "But he said , not all the souls of people will come here after death..." "Is it necessary for you to say such nonsense again?" Wang Chengfeng said with a smile: "It's not a tape recorder. You can understand it once you say it. Why do you have to say it a few more times?" "I just want to tell you that these two statements are actually not contradictory," Dado said, "That is to say, the nether space where Mr. 'Houtu' lives does contain countless souls in the world, but the world After the death of all the people on the road, not all of them came here, some went to other places, and some might not go anywhere at all.” With Da Duo's explanation, Wang Chengfeng suddenly realized, and finally realized the key point that he hadn't figured out just now. "I understand what you said, so it's like this," Wang Chengfeng said with a smile, "It's like a chicken must lay an egg, but the chicken that lays the egg is not necessarily the same reason, right?" Zhuang Zhou on the side also nodded, showing his crystal teeth and smiling brightly. "That's right, I've also heard the truth from my master," he said with a handsome face, and with a smile, it seemed that there was light shining in the dark world of the netherworld. "It can also be said that a man must be a person, but not all people are men." The three of them were discussing excitedly in front of the tall Houtu, but the Houtu seemed to be very patient, just listening to them quietly. After a while, the three realized that Houtu had been silent for a while, and suddenly realized that although they already knew where they were, this nether space was still full of many unknowns. It is still unclear whether "Houtu" is a human or a ghost, or a god or a fairy. Just when he was in shock, a gentle breeze began to blow in the entire huge nether space. The originally empty and quiet world seemed to wake up, and he began to feel a slight blowing sensation, and also began to hear almost inaudible sounds. Those voices were extremely soft and indistinct, but filled with melancholy, like the breeze in March, gradually filling the entire nether world. In the weeping breeze, Wang Chengfeng, Da Duo and Zhuang Zhou couldn't help feeling a little chilly, and shrank closer to each other. Because in the dark and dark space, it looks like floating light spots at this time, and many flying objects like clouds have appeared. Those mournful slight sounds seemed to come from these floating light spots, and when hovering in the air, these light spots were still drawing long traces in the dark space. Not long after this, the light spots in the sky became more and more, circling back and forth in the huge space of the nether world, the sound of weeping and whispering became clearer and clearer, and some of the light spots faintly appeared like It is the blurred light and shadow of the human face. In such a strange situation, Wang Chengfeng suddenly felt his right arm tighten, but it was Dado who held his arm unconsciously under the tension, and the grip became tighter and tighter. "Hey, hey, hey..." Wang Chengfeng said urgently in a low voice, "This is my hand, not the Vajra Pestle, it will hurt!" Seeing the terrified faces of the three of them, Houtu smiled lightly and said leisurely: "You don't have to be afraid. This is just the process of picking up the undead from my netherworld. They are all spirit bodies that have passed away and died. They won't harm people, so there is no need to be afraid." Although Houtu said it easily, but Wang Chengfeng and others are all mortals after all, and they have a fundamental fear of things like souls, not to mention the tens of thousands of undead that appear in front of them. The ghosts kept wandering back and forth in the sky, and some of them even approached curiously, and floated back and forth in front of their eyes with resentment. No matter how bold Wang Chengfeng and the others were at such a weird scene, they were still so frightened that it was difficult to breathe. Among the three, Wang Chengfeng is the most pussy. Although he has been fearless since he was a child, it is only effective in places with a lot of people under the sun. The "spiritual" scene in the haunted house is even more magnificent, but I was still so scared that my legs seemed to be filled with sour vinegar, and I was a little unstable. Just now it was Da Duo who was so nervous that he squeezed his arm tightly, but now it was Wang Chengfeng who desperately hooked his arm so that he could stand up. Looking at the sky, there are more and more spots of undead light, but the lord of the netherworld stands leisurely, occasionally stretching out his huge arms and gently brushing away a few wisps of undead that seem to be attached to the world and lingering, with a serene expression. These souls hovered in the sky for a while, and suddenly, there were countless black objects rolled up like giant eggs not far from Houtu, but at this moment, there was a monotonous and slow mechanical sound, like a soft sound of steam. "hiss……" The extremely large number of undead light spots were still lingering in the sky, and their directions were uncertain, but these huge black egg-like things seemed to have a great attraction for them. Gradually, all the light spots appeared in the way of traveling in the sky. Following the law, they gathered together like countless small rivers and streams, rushing towards those huge black eggs. I saw those gigantic black egg-like objects silently raising sharp objects one after another at the top at this moment, while those undead light spots were like docile flocks, converging into small eddies, obediently "Drilled" into the countless sharp beaks. All of a sudden, in the dark field of vision, there seemed to be thousands of small tornadoes, which turned into thin, pointed air currents and were "sucked" into those huge black eggs. After a while, all the light spots in the sky had been "sucked" into the giant egg, and the entire space returned to its original dead silence. And those extremely large number of undead, of course, have all entered the belly of the big black egg at this moment. It wasn't until this moment that Wang Chengfeng and the others let out a sigh of relief, and finally they were no longer so afraid. Wang Chengfeng closed his eyes, and was rejoicing when he heard Da Duo muffled. "Hey! Mr. Wang," his voice was indistinct, as if someone had covered his mouth. "Let go of me, please, I'm already strangled to death by you..." It turned out that when the situation was tense just now, Wang Chengfeng was still blaming Dado for holding him too tightly, but when the undead began to drill into the huge black egg, maybe it was because of fear or nervousness, and he He held Dado tightly, but Wang Chengfeng, who is called "Teacher Wang", was much more brutal. He unconsciously hid behind Dado, put his arms around his shoulders, and when he encountered a dangerous and tense place, , he simply "hanged" behind Da Duo, wrapped his arms around his neck, and used his hands without restraint, almost strangling the holy teacher who would create Buddhism by hand in the future. The two were struggling, but Houtu turned his head and looked down at them. "This is the way I collect undead in the Netherland." He said gently: "It's just because you humans attach great importance to this death and are extremely afraid of it, but the interaction between the undead and the Nether, It's not like what you imagine in the mortal world." Hearing what he said, Wang Chengfeng couldn't help asking curiously: "You said it so easily! Everyone knows that death is a terrible thing. Since you are the god in charge of death, these dead people It's all up to you, it seems that you won't die, of course it's easy to say." "Will I die? This is a very interesting question, but you are wrong in one sentence. The matter of 'death' is not in my control. I just built this ghost world and collected many ancient and modern things. Soul, but you don't have the ability to control 'death', you overestimate me." "Why is it that you don't care about people dying?" Wang Chengfeng said with a smile, "I thought you were so powerful!" "It's such a profound thing to be in charge of death," Hou Tu said with a soft smile, "I can't control it, at most I just observe it." After a pause, his eyes suddenly brightened, making his The big dark face added a bit of majesty. "Since you have come to this world, do you want to see the true face of 'death'?" Wang Chengfeng was stunned, and didn't know how to answer for a while, but Da Duo and Zhuang Zhou beside him were curious, and quickly responded: "Want to see, want to see." Houtu laughed softly, and led the three of them down a small hillside. At the bottom of the slope, what you see head-on is the huge black eggs that have just "sucked" away all the light spots of the dead spirits. Wang Chengfeng was the most impatient, and when he got to the bottom of the slope, he hurried over, and found that the black eggs were as big as buildings, and the color was light black, and he couldn't see the top even if he looked up. When I reached out to touch it, it was smooth and cold. Metal! In this space full of cold and ghostly atmosphere, there are so many metal objects! Wang Chengfeng touched it for a while, and after confirming that the touch on his hand was correct, he unconsciously yelled: "This... this is a metal thing! It's a machine, it's a machine thing!" Da Duo and Zhuang Zhou didn't quite know the true meaning of the metal, but they also walked over quickly and touched the huge black eggs as big as buildings, touched them a few times, and couldn't help being amazed. Dado frowned, touched the metal surface for a while, and leaned closer to smell it. "However, this is not like an iron and steel utensil, because it has no taste," Dado said in a low voice: "It feels very different from an iron and copper utensil, it is much smoother than iron and copper, but to say It is gold and silver, but the colors are quite different." Zhuang Zhou nodded after listening to his thoughts. "This wonderful thing is really extraordinary. As long as any gold and iron thing is bigger than a dog or a sheep, there must be casting marks. But this egg-shaped thing is so huge. I searched everywhere, but I still can't find it. At the seam, this underworld fetish is really extraordinary, it is incomprehensible." The two of them whispered in front of the huge black egg, and Wang Chengfeng became a little impatient, so he couldn't help but say: "What are you two arguing about? It's neither iron nor copper, nor gold nor silver. Have you never heard of alloy?" He thought for a while, and found that he could actually find this term from the fragments of his memory, and even more so. He was very proud, and seeing the dazed expressions of Da Duo and Zhuang Zhou, he was even more delighted to brag. "Although high-tech things like this are good, in my opinion, they are nothing special. If it is back to our twentieth century... Heh, I see hundreds of times a day at least, then It's even more incredible..." "Alloy?" Sure enough, Da Duo and Zhuang Zhou asked in unison, "What is that?" "Alloy...is an alloy!" Usually, Wang Chengfeng's knowledge level is about at the level of "one hit, you will float away" in martial arts novels. It's okay to talk about it, but if you want to ask Go on, and you will hear answers like the following. "Speaking of this alloy, it is a very remarkable scientific and technological civilization. Titanium alloys and aluminum alloys are all very remarkable things, and potassium alloys and sodium alloys are also extraordinary things (this is another thing that Wang Chengfeng did not learn without learning. technology nonsense that doesn't exist in the real world). Titanium alloys can be used to build spaceships, aluminum alloys can be used to make bicycles, sodium alloys... choke!I heard that this sodium alloy can cure high blood pressure..." The more he spoke, the more vague he became. Later, knowing that "sodium alloy" had absolutely nothing to do with the treatment of high blood pressure, he felt a little guilty as he spoke, and his voice became more and more blurred. Da Duo and Zhuang Zhou looked at each other in dismay. , Zhang Er King Kong couldn't figure it out, and when he was about to ask more clearly, he heard Hou Tu's gentle voice, as if saving his life, softly ringing in his ears. "Didn't you say that you want to see the real face of death?" "Yes, we want to watch." Da Duo and Zhuang Zhou said quickly, and Wang Chengfeng saw the opportunity, so he hurriedly said loudly: "Really, I want to see, I want to see." At this moment, Houtu, the Lord of the Nether, stood majestically in front of the huge egg-shaped machines all over the mountains and plains. He nodded, and a faint orange light glowed from his body. And the huge egg-shaped machine in front of him also seemed to have sensed the ground, gradually glowing with a faint orange light, gradually spreading out from the place where Houtu, Wang Chengfeng and others were, the light turned from light to thick, from light to light. Weak but strong, it slowly lights up the egg-shaped machinery all over the mountains and plains, from the original black lacquer to orange red, gradually turning on like a light bulb. Although the light became brighter and brighter, the light was not dazzling, soft but not abrupt, like paint, gradually rendering the whole world collapsed. When all the luminosity became stable, Wang Chengfeng took a closer look, only to find that he was already in an extremely large wilderness. Although the luminosity of this wilderness is brighter than that of the nether world, it is also a gloomy and gloomy color. Its terrain does not have ups and downs like the nether space, but it is just a flat field with no end in sight. The most important thing is that this far-off plain is covered with endless transparent giant eggs like the eggs of aquatic animals! These transparent egg-shaped objects are the same size as the pitch-black giant eggs just now, and they are fully displayed on the ground, and it is almost difficult to see any gaps. Wang Chengfeng opened his eyes wide, looking at the innumerable number of transparent eggs in front of him, he couldn't help being dumbfounded, his mouth opened wide, unable to close it for a while.