Gu Hai turned to look at Vairocana. “Vairocana, can I trouble you to open the entrance to the eighteen layers of hell here?”
Vairocana nodded, then took out the Reincarnation Lotus and activated it.
Buzz!
A pair of Yinyang fishes appeared from the Reincarnation Lotus and swam around. Suddenly, a tear ripped open in space.
The large tear was over thirty-three meters tall, and the group could see some dark energy in it.
“The eighteen layers of hell?” Kong Xuan narrowed his eyes slightly.
However, the Unborn Man stared at Vairocana. The method Vairocana used earlier utilized the Taiji conception?
“Unborn Man, stand guard outside. Prepare to receive us at any moment!” Gu Hai instructed.
“Yes!” the Unborn Man answered.
“Vairocana, how long can this entrance remain open?” Gu Hai asked.
After all, the Reincarnation Lotus could last for only thirty minutes. Would this entrance vanish as quickly?
“Opening the entrance does not have much to do with the Reincarnation Lotus. As long as there is a constant supply of energy, I can keep it open forever,” Vairocana explained.
“That’s good. To prevent sudden changes, can I trouble Vairocana to wait at the entrance? We will go in and scout the place first.” Gu Hai looked at Vairocana.
“Alright. I will monitor the entrance to prevent Jiang Gautama from escaping.” Vairocana nodded.
“Let’s go!” Gu Hai said.
“Yes!” the two hundred thousand Divine Demon Army soldiers answered, then followed Gu Hai and Kong Xuan into hell.
No matter what method one used to enter the eighteen layers of hell, one could only arrive in the first layer.
Gu Hai’s group entered the first layer of hell.
The place was dark, and black energy lingered in the surroundings.
“This place is extremely remote. There are only a few insignificant ghosts in the distance?” Kong Xuan said, feeling curious.
Gu Hai also did not know where he was in the first layer of hell. Surveying the area, he said, “Scout the surroundings and find the Yama Palace. At the same time, be wary of Gautama. Search for Jiang Gautama’s lackeys. Report the moment there’s any information.”
“Yes!” the two hundred thousand Divine Demon Army soldiers shouted in answer.
Rumble…!
Two hundred thousand was still a massive number. The Divine Demon Army soldiers rushed into the surroundings.
They immediately captured the nearby ghosts. Unfortunately, those ghosts knew nothing; they were all in muddled states.
The Divine Demon Army soldiers slowly searched the first layer of hell while Gu Hai waited patiently.
Time in the first layer of hell did not correspond to the time outside. Only one day would pass in the Divine Continent after one thousand years passed here.
Gu Hai waited three days in the first layer of hell before a Divine Demon Army officer returned with news.
“Your Reverence, we discovered something strange in front. We…” That officer showed a stiff expression.
“Strange? What is strange? Why are you showing such an expression?” Kong Xuan asked with a serious expression.
“Milord, Your Reverence, you had better see for yourself. We do not dare to overstep,” that officer said with a bitter smile.
Gu Hai and Kong Xuan exchanged looks of puzzlement.
“Let’s go!” Kong Xuan picked up that officer.
Then Gu Hai and Kong Xuan headed into the distance, moving in the direction the officer indicated.
Kong Xuan and Gu Hai were significantly faster than the officer. What took the officer a long time to fly was just an instant to the two. Soon, they arrived at a mountaintop.
There were already five Divine Demon Army soldiers waiting there. When they saw Gu Hai, they felt slightly startled at first. Then they looked at the officer and saw that officer nod. Finally, the five saluted respectfully, “Salutations, Your Reverence!”
Gu Hai nodded, noticing the strangeness of the group.
“Your Reverence, over there. Please look!” The officer pointed to a distant valley.
The valley seemed like a place where evil ghosts gathered, like a small town with many ghosts wandering around.
A man stood on a high platform in that town as if searching for a specific ghost.
However, Gu Hai’s pupils constricted when he saw that man. Even Kong Xuan’s expression changed.
“Your-Your Reverence, that person looks exactly like you?” Kong Xuan said in shock.
“Divine blood replication?” Gu Hai narrowed his eyes.
Jiang Gautama used Gu Hai’s blood to replicate a Gu Hai?
That fake Gu Hai looked around and suddenly called out, “Little Tang, are you here? Father has searched for you for a long time!”
The fake Gu Hai continued shouting, but the surrounding ghosts ignored him after glancing at him.
The fake Gu Hai did not give up, continuing to shout.
Far away, the real Gu Hai raised his eyebrows. “He is looking for Little Tang? Could it be that the White Emperor rescued Little Tang but could not send him out of the eighteen layers of hell, so she got him to hide among the billions of ghosts?”
“Given that, it means Crown Prince Gu Tang’s souls are among the many ghosts?” Kong Xuan said as his expression changed slightly.
“That’s why Jiang Gautama wanted to replicate us, to trick Little Tang into showing himself?” Gu Hai snorted coldly.
“However, why did Jiang Gautama go to all that trouble? He could simply capture all the ghosts or even kill them until he finds Crown Prince Gu Tang,” Kong Xuan said in confusion.
“Have you forgotten the properties of the eighteen layers of hell? The ghosts come back soon after dying,” Gu Hai said.
“No wonder Jiang Gautama could only resort to this clumsy method,” Kong Xuan said.
“He truly lives up to being our son. He managed to guess Jiang Gautama’s plan and remain hiding among the ghosts, not letting Jiang Gautama find him,” Gu Hai said with a cold smile.
Smiling, Gu Hai stepped forward and instantly arrived in front of the fake Gu Hai.
Buzz!
The fake Gu Hai’s expression changed at the sudden appearance of a person in front.
“You-you…it’s you?!” the fake Gu Hai exclaimed in shock.
“We want to see how capable you, the replica, are.” Gu Hai’s expression turned stony.
The fake Gu Hai made the first move, drawing a saber and swinging at Gu Hai.
“The Sixth Cycle?” Gu Hai exclaimed.
Boundless saber qi formed a domain before gathering at the manifested saber swinging at Gu Hai.
“Die!” the fake Gu Hai roared ferociously.
Boom!
The humongous manifested saber shattered the valley as it arrived before the real Gu Hai.
“Middle Heavenly Palace Realm?” Gu Hai extended his right hand as he narrowed his eyes.
Bang!
Gu Hai grabbed the blade of the manifested saber with his right hand, catching it between his fingers.
“You!” The fake Gu Hai’s expression changed.
“Middle Heavenly Palace Realm? This means Jiang Gautama collected our blood during the battle eight hundred thousand years in the past. Hah!” The real Gu Hai’s eyes turned cold.
Ding!
Gu Hai applied some strength and snapped the blade in half.
“What?” the fake Gu Hai said in shock.
“Replication? It can only replicate the person at best, not their treasures. Furthermore, it will cost a lot to replicate us. We need much more beneficence, power of faith, and Divine Energy than others, so there should not be many of you, right?” Gu Hai sneered.
The fake Gu Hai’s expression changed. Indeed, there was no way to replicate the Life Killer Saber, the Life Executioner Saber, the Life Trapper Saber, and the Life Ender Saber. He could only use a regular saber.
However, the fake Gu Hai was unyielding. It seemed that Gu Hai’s personality had also been replicated. He showed a ferocious expression as he charged forward.
Whoosh!
Gu Hai flung his sleeve out, pulling that replica into the Gu’s Immortal Firmament.
The moment the fake Gu Hai entered the Gu’s Immortal Firmament, he would have no way to bring out any of his means, no matter how powerful.
Gu Hai did not kill this replica, as his officials were present; it was not convenient to make a move. Even if that replica was an enemy, it was a replica of him. How could he spill this blood before others?
It was just like how Kong Xuan and the Divine Demon Army soldiers felt conflicted about fighting and killing the fake Gu Hai, despite knowing he was not the real Gu Hai. Thus, Gu Hai could only take personal action.
Whoosh!
Kong Xuan and the others quickly flew over.
“Your Reverence, was that your replica earlier? Why is his strength…” Kong Xuan frowned slightly.
“Jiang Gautama is still too insufficient to replicate us. Continue searching!” Gu Hai said.
“Yes!”
The two hundred thousand Divine Demon Army soldiers continued searching the surroundings at a rapid pace.
Yama Palace, the first layer of hell:
Many ghost soldiers stood guard outside the Yama Palace.
Jiang Gautama sat on a black lotus platform in the center of the palace. His eyes suddenly opened, and he bolted out of the building.
Jiang Gautama stood at the Yama Palace’s entrance, turned his head to look into the distance, and saw a few Divine Demon Army soldiers flying around.
“Oh? They came in? To think Gu Hai did not enter using the Reincarnation Pool?” Jiang Gautama’s expression changed.
As Jiang Gautama looked into the distance, the Divine Demon Army soldiers discovered the Yama Palace’s location and quickly reported it to Gu Hai.
Gu Hai opened his heavenly eye, saw the Yama Palace, and met Jiang Gautama’s gaze.
“Your Reverence, have you found Jiang Gautama?” Kong Xuan asked, appearing anxious.
However, Gu Hai narrowed his eyes. “Jiang Gautama’s wounds have all healed?”
“Gu Hai, you dared to chase after me? Humph!” Jiang Gautama shouted coldly.
As Jiang Gautama shouted, his figure flashed, instantly arriving near Gu Hai.
After extending his hand, a golden manifested palm pressed down towards Gu Hai. It was the Gautama Divine Palm.
“Divine Dao domain! Six-colored divine light!” Kong Xuan shouted.
Countless azure peacock plume feathers manifested out of nowhere, and ten thousand Kong Xuan clones suddenly appeared, each flinging out a six-colored divine light. The beams of six-colored divine light rushed at the Gautama Divine Palm.
Boom!
A loud report rang out, shattering space. Kong Xuan had already prepared a second full-powered attack, but a strange scene appeared.
The Gautama Divine Palm clashed with the six-colored divine light, and the attacks of both sides exploded.
“What? Why did the Gautama Divine Palm become so weak? To think it is only of equal strength to my attack?” Kong Xuan said in shock.
“Jiang Gautama’s wounds have not fully healed yet, so he is weaker?” Gu Hai said doubtfully.
Jiang Gautama looked at Kong Xuan and sneered, “Ninth-layer Upper Heavenly Palace Realm? Kong Xuan, following Gu Hai is simply burying your talent. How about you follow this buddha instead?”
“Hah! Hahaha! Jiang Gautama, to think you are not embarrassed to say that at such a moment? Your Spirit Mountain Holy Land’s five million disciples are already prisoners of my Han Nation. You are the only one left. You are at the end of your road. To think you dare say such bold words?” Kong Xuan sneered back.
“The Spirit Mountain Holy Land’s five million disciples? Hah! It does not matter to me whether I have them or not. You have no idea what I have!” Jiang Gautama retorted coldly.
“Oh? We have no idea?” Gu Hai said coldly.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Suddenly, four beams of golden light shot over from a distance and instantly arrived before Gu Hai.
Boom!
Four golden figures came to an abrupt stop next to Jiang Gautama, kicking up strong winds.
When the four appeared, Kong Xuan was taken aback.
The four looked identical, all Jiang Gautamas.
“Five Jiang Gautamas?” Kong Xuan exclaimed.
As Kong Xuan spoke, he rubbed his eyes. “It’s not the divine Dao domain? Could it be the divine blood replication?”
“No matter who he replicates, he would not be as proficient as replicating himself. Jiang Gautama has replicated himself, bringing the strength of replication to its greatest effect.” Gu Hai’s face sank.
Five Jiang Gautama replicas?