PD -Chapter 66 War of the Gods

A massive flood of images surged into my mind. I knew immediately that it was because Di Ting had directly projected his memories into my consciousness with spiritual power, in order to make the truth of the situation clearer to me.

It was an extremely tragic scene—heaven and earth plunged into boundless darkness. In the midst of it stood Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, holding a staff and glaring furiously like a vajra guardian deity. His gaze was fixed on a man and a woman not far away.

The man had the appearance of the “effeminate” Marcus, while the woman bore some resemblance to Tang Shanshan—but her aura and expression were completely different.

Both of them were gravely injured, black blood trickling from the corners of their mouths.

Floating alongside Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva were four beings with pure white wings and golden armor. They were the four archangels of the West: Gabriel, Michael, Raphael, and Uriel.

“Ksitigarbha, ruler of the Eastern Underworld gods, Shen Tu, you, as a divine being of the netherworld, have violated the natural order and brought calamity upon all beings. You attempted to overturn the cycle of reincarnation using the power of the underworld. Today I will seal your primordial spirit. When you have truly repented, you will be judged again.”

The voice of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva rang like a heavenly bell. With that, he manifested a black ancient jade and sealed away the woman’s primordial spirit.

At the same time, the four archangels wielding different divine weapons charged toward Lucifer to deliver final judgment. Michael’s flaming sword pierced his body, and in the next instant, a massive iron cage descended from the heavens, locking him in place.

Thus, the catastrophe that had overturned yin and yang hundreds of years ago was finally suppressed.

As time passed, neither the underworld nor the mortal realm remembered this event anymore. The black jade that sealed the primordial spirit of Shen Tu was suppressed by Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva deep within the eighteenth level of hell.

However, no one expected that remnants of the defeated forces had already infiltrated every corner of the underworld.

These remnants staged a shocking coup within the netherworld and stole the black jade that once sealed Shen Tu’s primordial spirit. But the uprising was soon suppressed by Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva and Emperor Fengdu, yet the jade itself had vanished without a trace—lost in the human world.

The jade changed hands countless times among mortals. Many tried to break its seal, and without the continued power of Ksitigarbha, the seal weakened over time. This allowed the imprisoned spirit within to slowly regain strength over centuries, waiting for the right moment to reemerge—and for a suitable body to carry it.

That vessel was Tang Shanshan.

She had always celebrated her birthday according to the solar calendar, but I had only just learned that she was born at the exact hour of the Ghost Festival—July 15th, a pure yin constitution. For a being like the Ghost Emperor, it was the perfect vessel.

Everything felt like destiny. I had accidentally obtained the extremely yin ancient jade, and Tang Shanshan had accidentally come into contact with it. As a result, the Ghost Emperor’s primordial spirit naturally entered her body.

Meanwhile, something nearly identical had happened in the West. Because of the temptation of the fallen angel Lucifer, demons from hell broke the seals, allowing him to escape. He then re-established contact with the Western underworld and launched a counterattack against Heaven.

These images replayed in my mind for a long time before I could slowly process them. For an ordinary person like me, it was too shocking—this was truly a real-life war of the gods.

But in the face of such overwhelming power, what could someone like me—who couldn’t even save Tang Shanshan—possibly do?

“Mr. Qiu, you are very important to us. If you want to save your girlfriend again, you must pull yourself together and cooperate with us!”

As expected of Di Ting, who could discern hearts and minds. My thoughts were once again seen through effortlessly. Standing before him, I felt like a naked infant—every emotion exposed without concealment.

“She’s not my gi—” I started, then swallowed the words back and sighed. “How do we cooperate?”

Di Ting did not answer immediately. Instead, he studied me for a moment.

“First, you must recover from your injuries. Second, it is right to acknowledge your enemy’s strength—but you must also regain your confidence. You are not facing this alone.”

“Now… we need you to describe in detail everything that happened inside Lucifer’s domain. The more detailed, the better.”

I closed my eyes and organized my chaotic thoughts. The scenes replayed clearly in my mind.

Then I suddenly noticed something. I opened my eyes and looked at Di Ting.

“In that domain… Marcus—no, Lucifer—referred to the thing awakening inside Tang Shanshan as the ‘Five Directions Ghost Emperors.’”

According to The Record of Heavenly Mystery, the Five Direction Ghost Emperors were not a single being, but rather five regional rulers of the underworld, divided into east, west, south, north, and center. Each direction had one or two Ghost Emperors governing important regions of the netherworld:

• Eastern Ghost Emperors: Cai Youlei and Shen Tu, governing Peach Stop Mountain and Ghost Gate Pass
• Western Ghost Emperors: Zhao Wenhe and Wang Zhenren, governing Buzhong Mountain
• Northern Ghost Emperors: Zhang Heng and Yang Yun, governing Luofeng Mountain
• Southern Ghost Emperor: Du Ziren, governing Luofu Mountain
• Central Ghost Emperors: Zhou Qi and Ji Kang, governing Baodu Mountain

“I remember… the Five Direction Ghost Emperors aren’t just one title, right? During the ancient battle just now, the sealed spirit was clearly Shen Tu of the Eastern Ghost Emperors. What did Lucifer mean by calling her that?” I asked.

Di Ting frowned slightly, not answering immediately. Instead, he murmured to himself:

“So… they really succeeded.”

“What succeeded?” I asked in confusion.

He turned to me. “Did you see the Five Yin Jade Stones when the Ghost Emperor awakened?”

I recalled the scene and nodded. I had been shocked—besides the one I carried that Tang Shanshan had touched, Marcus (Lucifer’s disguise) actually had four others.

“This is why I said they are more dangerous than they were hundreds of years ago,” he said slowly, eyes sharp as blades.

“Hundreds of years ago, she was only Shen Tu, the Eastern Ghost Emperor. But now… she has become the embodiment of all Five Direction Ghost Emperors’ primordial spirits.”

“What?!” I was completely stunned.

A single Ghost Emperor already required Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva to seal him—yet now the being inside Tang Shanshan was the fusion of all five Ghost Emperor spirits?

Just how terrifying was that power?

“Hundreds of years ago, Shen Tu of the East and Lucifer allied together, but the other Ghost Emperors opposed them. In the end, they were slaughtered by Shen Tu and Lucifer’s combined power. There were even rumors in the underworld that the remaining Ghost Emperor spirits were offered by Shen Tu as a token of alliance to Lucifer. In return, Lucifer offered countless slain angels and their severed wings as his own tribute.”

He continued speaking slowly, his voice heavy with implication.