“Ox, how much do you have left?” “A little. Horse, are we really not going to the Immortal Du Sect to try?” On the top of the cliff outside Fengdu City, two figures were lying crookedly on a rock. Their eyes gradually lost their light, and they let the wind of the Netherworld blow their soft mane.
Horse-face sighed weakly. “Hey, hey, hey, hey… The Grand Magus did not tell us to go to the Ren School to wander around. She also said that we should not trouble the Water God for no reason. Neigh~ Lord Water God is very busy. If we don’t have a suitable reason, how are we to find him?”
Ox-head picked up the clay jar at the side and looked inside carefully. Then, he sniffed… The intoxicating smell was already so faint.
The two of them had delicious spiritual beasts from the mortal world placed in front of them, but they did not have any thoughts of starting a fire.
“Bull, once Magi like us taste something better, we bring ourselves to settle for less anymore.” “Horse, why don’t we help Lord Water God check if those Magihumans are slacking off?” “I’m afraid we won’t be able to see the Water God.” Horse-face combed his dull mane. “Why don’t we see which cultivator from the Immortal Du Sect is running out of lifespan? Let’s go over and do something serious like hooking a soul? Then, we’ll visit the creator of these condiments, the disciple of the Immortal Du Sect, Master Li Changshou!” “Let’s wait then. We might have to wait a few hundred years before an immortal dies of old age! However, speaking of this…” Ox-head sat up and looked at the sky. He muttered softly, “Do you feel that the disciple of the Immortal Du Sect, Li Changshou, has a similar vibe to the Water God?”
Horse-face rested his head on his hands. “What vibe?”
Ox-head pinched his chin and muttered, “I can’t explain it clearly. Moo… Anyway, he doesn’t seem to be a human. Moreover, the two of them look a little similar.”
“Not human?” Horse-face was puzzled. “What else could it be? The Dao of the Immortal Du Sect disciple, Li Changshou, is similar to the Dao of the Water God, but the two are definitely different. Although we are Magi, we have to be intelligent and capable. We can’t just rely on our Magi instincts. Neigh.”
Ox-head scratched his horns and nodded in agreement.
“My instincts are indeed not reliable… Hiss…”
“Why are you sucking in cold air?” Horse-face stretched his long legs and said leisurely, “The Netherworld is about to be heated up by you!” “Horse, look over there. Is that Li Changshou from the Immortal Du Sect? Master! Moo ~” “Oh? It’s really that master! Hurry up and get the brothers to prepare to receive the Water God! There’s a chance for our condiments!”
Hence, a moment later…
Li Changshou brought Youqin Xuanya to the eastern border of Fengdu City. He could not help but raise his hand to his forehead, unwilling to move forward.
Youqin Xuanya tilted her head curiously. Although she had seen many Qi Refinement cultivators along the way and Li Changshou had told her in advance that the messengers of death from the Netherworld were actually very “cute”, this situation… The hundreds of Netherworld messengers divided into two paths. Each of them raised their flags high. A few women who were as gentle as water scattered pale white petals beside them. The sound of gongs and drums could be heard continuously.
Ox-head and Horse-face stood upright on both sides. Their eyes, which were beneath their headgear, emitted a strange light!
When Li Changshou rode the cloud forward again, he flew more than 100 feet away. With two whooshes, Ox-head and Horse-face left behind a few afterimages and appeared in front of Li Changshou and Youqin Xuanya.
Youqin Xuanya, who was at the Perfected Immortal realm, could not react at all…
When she returned to her senses, she turned to the side and saw the two Soul-Reaping Envoys from the Netherworld, who were rumored to be in the Primordial World, standing in front of Senior Brother Changshou.
The Soul-Reaping Envoy with the head of a horse was combing his smooth mane with a stone comb. The other Soul-Reaping Envoy was folding his arms. The two of them revealed their white teeth and began…
A sly smile.
Clang! The Fire Scale Sword Case was unsheathed a few inches, but Li Changshou pressed it back in time. Ox-head asked, “Little friend Changshou, why are you free to come to the Netherworld? Moo ~” “I want to ask the two of you for a small favor.” Li Changshou squinted and smiled. With a hint of respect, he took out two treasure pouches from his sleeve and handed them to the two Magi.
Li Changshou smiled and said, “Please accept it.” They were excited and their hands were trembling!
Ox-head and Horse-Face almost cried out. They slowly grabbed the treasure pouch and opened it to take a look. They were instantly extremely touched. “Master! Oh no, Fellow Daoist, the Netherworld really needs talents like you. Moo~”. “No matter what help it is, we will definitely help! Neigh!” “The two of you, here’s the thing.” Li Changshou took out the two Soul-Bewitching Pearls. “Please take a look.”
Ox-head and Horse-face instantly became serious. They put away the seasonings and frowned. “Negative karma? Such a strong negative karma, such a weak soul…”
Ox-head muttered, “Is this the ruler of the South Continent’s human race?”
“That’s right.” Li Changshou smiled and said, “Is there a way?”
“There’s indeed nothing we can do about that.” Horse-face said seriously, “This negative karma cannot be easily ignored. It cannot be offset by merit. We can only throw it into the 18 Hells and wear down the negative karma through suffering before it can continue reincarnating. Otherwise, we can only shatter his soul and allow his True Spirit to reincarnate, completely severing his connection with his previous life.” As he spoke, Horse-face took out the treasure pouch that he had just put away and prepared to return it to Li Changshou…
“Hey!”
Ox-head waved his hand and blocked Horse-face’s treasure pouch. He smiled and said, “Actually, there’s a way. It’s just that it’s very troublesome…”
Li Changshou squinted and smiled. He took out two more treasure pouches and handed them to the two Soul-Reaping Envoys.
“Thank you.”
“We can’t accept that. Ah! We can’t accept that. Look at this… We can talk things over.” Ox-head held the treasure pouch in his hand and stuffed Horse-face’s portion into Horse-Face’s pocket. Then, he said seriously, “However, there is one thing that cannot be avoided. The pain of the Eighteen Levels of Hell is unavoidable. Otherwise, the order of the world would probably be in chaos. We can only help and make him suffer less. When he is sent to the next level of hell, we will arrange his position in the corner. Fellow Daoist, how about that?”
Li Changshou looked at Youqin Xuanya and realized that she was frowning in thought. She was a little resistant to such matters, but at that moment, she did not stand out and put righteousness before family.
Has her toxicity really weakened!?! Li Changshou was inexplicably touched. He sent a voice transmission. “Junior Sister Youqin, let me deal with this matter. Don’t say anything.”
Youqin Xuanya nodded and agreed.
Li Changshou took half a step forward and muttered to Ox-head and Horse-face. He took the opportunity to ask about the details of the Eighteen Levels of Hell. He also understood why they did not dare to accept the job.
The rulers of the mortal kingdoms had relied on lifespan-extending pills to live for hundreds of years. When they died, they would often find one or two trusted Qi Refinement cultivators to bring their souls to the Netherworld to see if they could make arrangements for their next life. However, once it involved the ’emperors’ of the human world, the Netherworld would change their usual polite and friendly manner and reject them seriously and firmly. Ox-head explained, “There was such a thing a few years ago. In the end, the Heavenly Punishment was directly summoned. The bribed Netherworld servant and the judge who wrote the judgment were directly chopped into scraps. Not a single True Spirit was left behind. The rulers of the mortal world all have remnant luck on them. They had extended their lifespans without permission, which was equivalent to resisting the Heavenly Dao… Therefore, we can only throw him into the Eighteen Levels of Hell. However, they can still suffer less. That is within the Heavenly Dao’s permission.” Li Changshou nodded slowly and asked Youqin Xuanya, “Junior Sister, what do you think?” “I’m already making things difficult for the Lords of the Netherworld.” Youqin Xuanya cupped her fists and bowed. “Thank you, Senior Brother. Thank you, two mighty ambassadors.” “There’s no need to be so polite. Neigh!” Li Changshou looked at Ox-head and Horse-face and said, “Although he has to be sent to the Eighteen Levels of Hell, can you be more tolerant and let the two of us watch from the side?
It can be considered as letting my junior sister send her father off. She can use this opportunity to sever her mortal ties and be filial to him.” “Of course.” Ox-head agreed and said uneasily, “However, we can only help you with that. We have taken so many benefits from you… Fellow Daoist, please don’t tell Lord Water God about this.” “Fellow Daoists, don’t worry.” Li Changshou patted his chest. “I will definitely not tell Water God about this!”
Ox-head and Horse-face were finally at ease. They looked at the large amount of condiments that they had obtained and could not help but be overjoyed. They led the two disciples of the Immortal Du Sect to Fengdu City. Ox-head and Horse-Face had a small status among the Magi. In recent years, they had been close to the Heavenly Courts’ Water God and were on good terms with him. Therefore, the Netherworld valued them greatly. The two of them were the most popular in the Netherworld. It was not a problem for them to arrange for a king of a small mortal country to suffer less in the Eighteen Levels of Hell. When Li Changshou summoned the souls of the dozens of guards in the other Soul-Bewitching Pearl…
Perhaps it was because they had taken too many condiments, Ox-head and Horse-Face were especially enthusiastic. They even used too much force.
They immediately summoned a large group of Netherworld servants and instructed them to arrange for the normal souls to each reincarnate into a good family. Ox-head even asked the guards enthusiastically if they had any special requests. For example, if they thought it was too tiring to be a man in this life, they could change the Book of Life and Death and allow them to become a woman. True spirits were unpredictable.
Li Changshou blinked. There seemed to be a new project in the Jade Emperor’s reincarnation tribulation!
He could give the Jade Emperor some new tricks again.
Ahem, let’s talk about serious matters.
On the surface, the main point today was to deal with the old King’s soul. Li Changshou and Youqin Xuanya followed behind Ox-head and Horse-face and sneaked into a Yama Hall. Not long after, Youqin Xuanya’s father’s soul was escorted to a judge… Ox-head and Horse-face immediately went forward to whisper a few words. The Great Judge looked at Li Changshou, who was in the corner, and nodded calmly. “Since the disciples of the Immortal Sect of Ren School and the juniors of Ren School whom the Water God values have requested, I can save him from being shocked.” The Hall-Shocking Wood that was originally raised high gently landed. The Grand Judge also put away the pressure and said loudly, “Big Ghost, Little Ghost, stand down. The King of Honglin Kingdom, raise your head. Those on his left and right, verify his identity…” The interrogation process was carried out in an orderly manner. The Grand Judge quickly obtained a scroll and began to count the sins that the old man kneeling below had committed in his previous life…
Not long after, Youqin Xuanya pursed her lips and frowned. She looked at her father, her eyes filled with helplessness and guilt. The King had really committed all the negative karma that the ruler of a country could commit… Li Changshou listened for a while and could not help but shake his head. His immortal senses continued to scan his surroundings. He naturally did not come here as a disciple of Ren School purely for Youqin Xuanya’s father. Now, if he went to the Netherworld as the Water God, he would no longer see the various problems in Fengdu City. Every time the Water God appeared in the Netherworld, the Netherworld’s would clear the streets of Fengdu City. It was as if they were dealing with the supervision of their superiors, hiding some small problems. The hidden information was very important to Li Changshou. It was the key to Li Changshou’s plan to develop the Netherworld. Li Changshou deduced that there must be a huge merit in the Netherworld. However, the Netherworld was not like the dragon race. The latter’s loyalty to the Heavenly Courts had overcome many obstacles. His initial attitude was similar to that of Pan Jinlian being betrothed to Wu Dalang. (1. Pan Jinlian is a fictional character, an archetypal femme fatale and one of the most notorious villainesses of classical Chinese culture.)
The Netherworld versus the Heavenly Courts was completely like Pan Jinlian taking the initiative to push open the window and throw a rod at the Ximen Official who was passing by below… It was filled with initiative.
Li Changshou pondered for a long time and deduced for a long time. He realized that the merit of the Netherworld should be hidden in the various problems that the Netherworld had. If he was good at discovering problems and gathered all kinds of small problems in the Netherworld, it would become a big problem. Speaking of which, Master Zhao never returned. I wonder how the discussion with the Goddess of Golden Light is going. Li Changshou suppressed the matter for the time being and let a paper effigy wait in the rear hall of the Sea God Temple. It would not delay Master Zhao’s matter.
Perhaps, after Gongming and Jin Guang said that they were going to break up, they thought about each other’s attributes and decided to try again…
That is not impossible.
The Grand Judge counted the crimes of Xuanya’s father and directly judged him according to the normal circumstances. He sent her father into the Eighteen Levels of Hell to suffer for 3,000 years before allowing him to reincarnate. Next, the Netherworld servants carried the old King’s soul and flew towards the Reincarnation Immortal Island. Ox-head and Horse-face brought Li Changshou and Youqin Xuanya along and followed from afar. This time, they did not go to the Six Paths of Reincarnation. Instead, they arrived at the edge of the Reincarnation Immortal Island and arrived at a dark red cliff. Two rays of black light flew from the bottom of the cliff and turned into two pitch-black chains.
The Netherworld servant grabbed the chain and locked it on the wrist of the old King of the Honglin Kingdom. He looked at Ox-head and Horse-face.
“Moo!”
Ox-head said, “Say a few more words.” “Thank you,” Youqin Xuanya replied softly. She lowered her head and knelt down before the old King. The old King’s voice trembled. Only then did he see Li Changshou and Youqin Xuanya, who had been following behind him. He subconsciously wanted to ask for help, but he did not say anything. In the end, he only looked at Li Changshou and nodded at him. He turned around and opened his arms. The chain slowly slid down and let out an ear-piercing sound from friction. The old King’s figure was dragged into the endless abyss. Shrill cries sounded from below. It was as if a door had been opened and closed quickly. The cliff fell silent again. The low sound of the wind brought about a whimper from afar. Li Changshou stood beside Youqin Xuanya with his hands behind his back. She was already kneeling on the ground and silent. After a while, Li Changshou said, “Xuanya, let’s go back…”
Ring… The crisp sound of the wind chimes entered his ears. Li Changshou suddenly felt a little dazed. A scene appeared in his heart.
The lake was as smooth as a mirror, and white fog floated around it.
A woman in a black dress was lying on the surface of the lake. Her fair skin was like white jade. On a closer look, her ankles, wrists, neck, and waist were bound by thin silver chains.
For some reason, she closed her eyes and cried. Tears fell from the corners of her eyes. She muttered something, but Li Changshou could not hear her clearly… An inexplicable sadness lingered in his heart. Li Changshou, the paper effigy, was naturally fine. However, his main body, which was in a corner of the Immortal Du Sect, had tears in his eyes. He heard a weak and hoarse voice in his heart.
“Save me.”
“Senior Brother, let’s go back.” Youqin Xuanya’s voice sounded from the side. Li Changshou snapped out of his daze. The scene that he had seen instantly dissipated. However, the sadness in his heart lingered for a long time.