Chapter 271: The Bai People’s Kingdom, and the Chenghuang Beast
All of the dark and evil artifacts on Duku were destroyed by Li Yanchu. Such items, if used too much, could corrode the user’s mind, luring them into the Demonic Dao.
They were forged by harming living beings, and the heavier the resentment and the more tragic the victim’s death, the more powerful the artifact would become.
However, Duku carried with him a fragment of a map. It seemed that originally there should have been three pieces. The map was made from the hide of some exotic beast, and it was impervious to fire or water and very difficult to damage.
Even the old Daoist could not identify where the map came from.
In his words, the world hid crouching tigers and hidden dragons[1]; many Land Immortals of great power lived quietly in the mountains with their names unknown. It was not unusual for them to leave behind treasures or inheritances.
And it wasn’t just orthodox masters and eminent monks who did so, many powerful figures of the Demonic and Ghost Daos did as well.
But the old Daoist warned Li Yanchu that such maps, while they might seem to point to tempting treasures or inheritances, often held more traps than fortune.
When he was young, he too had once acquired an ancient map. It was said to lead to the ruins of an ancient nation, the Bai People’s Kingdom.
According to legend, in the Bai People’s Kingdom there dwelt the auspicious beast Chenghuang from the Classic of Mountains and Seas. It resembled a fox, bore a horn upon its back, and riding it could extend one’s lifespan by two thousand years[2].
But when the old Daoist went there, he discovered it was no ancient kingdom at all. Rather, it was the former headquarters of the Nine Nether Demonic Sect.
This sect worshiped and offered sacrifices to a great demon of the nether realm. It had been destroyed as far back as the Great Xia dynasty, supposedly by the hand of a Land Immortal.
Later, in his youth, the old Daoist had stumbled upon an ancient map and plunged headlong into the old mountain gate of the Nine Nether Demonic Sect. He had nearly been possessed by something lurking within, and only barely managed to escape.