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chapter 356




Fortunately, Li Changshou quickly sent a voice transmission and stopped all the “work” behind! Ox-head, Horse-face, no, the Netherworld servants! They would barely succeed in everything they did and were the top three in creating trouble.
They would start with filling the sky with ferocious female souls, perfectly embellishing the place with the sinister and terrifying atmosphere of the Netherworld! Ox-head and Horse-face brought a few generals from the Netherworld with them.
When Li Changshou called them over, they smiled apologetically. Ox-head said firmly, “Water God, with your current identity and status, it would not be overboard to make the scene several times larger and grander.” Li Changshou really wanted to scold them, but to be safe, he only said, “I know that both of you are eager. I also feel the… passion of the Netherworld.
However, there is no need to do that in the future! Today, General Zhao and I came to the Netherworld because we have something important to do. Fellow Daoists, please introduce me to the judge who is in charge of the human book, or any Netherworld General who is free.”
Ox-head and Horse-face agreed immediately.
They immediately got the “incompetent” Horse-face to pull the cart while the few generals and Netherworld servants followed behind. Ox-head stamped his feet and ran. He brought a wisp of dust back to Fengdu City and shouted all kinds of things along the way. He made the “little surprises” that were lying in ambush everywhere retreat quickly.
They had practiced this welcoming ceremony a few times before. They had prepared more than just the “beautiful female ghosts”! On the ox cart, Zhao Dezhu, who maintained a faint smile, could not help but send a voice transmission. “Changgeng, is it appropriate for the Magi to be in charge of the important places in the Netherworld?” Li Changshou immediately saw that most of the Magi in the Netherworld were in danger… “Ox-head and Horse-face might be the Soul-Reaping Envoys of the Netherworld, but they don’t really care about the matters of the Netherworld. Their strength is not bad.”
Li Changshou replied via voice transmission, “The Netherworld’s Yama Lords, judge, the Book of Life and Death, and the Judge’s Brush are actually quite appropriate for presiding over the reincarnation. After all, they have been in charge for so many years…”
Just as he finished speaking, a few Qi Refinement cultivators happened to pass by on a cloud. They were still chatting enthusiastically. “I didn’t expect that it only took a few ordinary treasures to arrange for Aunt-Master’s reincarnation. It was worth it!”
“That’s right. It’s because we found a good channel.”
“This time, I understand how the Netherworld works. If I can’t handle the battle later, I can save my soul and leave a way out…”
“It’s indeed quite convenient.”
Zhao Dezhu was speechless.
Li Changshou hurriedly sent a voice transmission. “Of course, the Netherworld has many drawbacks. After we return to the Heavenly Courts, we still have to rectify them!”
Zhao Dezhu shook his head and sighed. “This situation is reasonable. The fact that the Qi Refinement cultivators can reach the Netherworld means that they have the possibility of interfering with the Six Paths of Reincarnation. However, I hope that there are no fixed number of spirits in the Six Paths of Reincarnation and that they will not affect the normal reincarnation of other living beings because of these shady actions.”
Li Changshou pondered for a while and said, “Don’t worry, Your Majesty. I don’t think that will happen. If it really affects the reincarnation of ordinary living beings, the Heavenly Dao will naturally have negative karma. I’m afraid the immortal officials of the Netherworld can’t bear it.”
“That’s good…”
As they spoke, the two of them spread out their immortal senses and looked at the scenery outside Fengdu City. The Jade Emperor’s incarnation also saw the City God’s Well that was in a mess. He saw the vengeful spirits that could not reincarnate and could only wait for the power of their souls to dissipate and turn into their True Spirits, floating around Fengdu City… He sighed again. “Back then, the Magi destroyed Mount Buzhou. The Heavenly Pillar collapsed, and the water of the Heavenly River flooded the Primordial World. In addition, during the Great Magi-Demon War, the world and the Blood Sea were filled with vengeful spirits that could not be dispersed. Therefore, the Lady of Earth turned into the Six Paths of Reincarnation to atone for the sins of the Magi and benefit all living beings. Today, there are still so many vengeful spirits beside the Reincarnation Wheel. I’m worried.” Li Changshou said, “There are many reasons why vengeful spirits cannot reincarnate. Previously, I tried to convert some vengeful spirits and obtained some merit. Clearly, the existence of these vengeful spirits has increased the burden of the Six Paths of Reincarnation to a certain extent…” In front of the ox cart, Li Changshou and Zhao Dezhu continued to communicate via voice transmission.
Long Ji, who was sitting diagonally at the back, curiously sized up the “foreign scenery” outside Fengdu City. Ao Yi looked into the distance at the hillside filled with pure white flowers and was slightly lost in thought.
A gentle breeze blew past…
Ao Yi suddenly stood up on the ox cart and looked in the direction of Fengdu City. His delicate face was filled with urgency.
“Brother Sect Master,” Ao Yi said, “Can I go to the city first?”
“Go,” Li Changshou said. “Fellow Daoist Horse-face, can I trouble you to lead him there first?”
“No trouble, no trouble! Neigh-“. Horse-face, who was leading the ox, immediately agreed. He patted the old ox’s head and threatened him with the spirit beef hotpot tonight. He wanted the old ox to pull the esteemed guest into Fengdu City obediently. Then, Horse-face led Ao Yi to Fengdu City. Zhao Dezhu asked, “What happened?”
“He should have heard the calls of some dragon souls.” Li Changshou sighed and said, “It’s good for him to meet them. Otherwise, he will definitely obsess over that problem for a long time.”
“Okay.”
Zhao Dezhu nodded slowly and continued chatting with Li Changshou via voice transmission. Not long after, he saw the city gate on the east side of Fengdu City. A large number of Netherworld soldiers surrounded a few burly men with extraordinary horns and strange faces. They were waiting outside the city gate. Even experts like Ox-head could only hide behind these burly men.
The burly men had black, red, purple, and blue skin. Each of them was extremely dignified. Just their looks alone could scare a timid mortal to tears. The blood energy contained in their bodies is quite astonishing
The most eye-catching thing was the Ghost Python robe on their bodies. It contained a little Heavenly Dao power. Clearly, it was a “Dharma artifact” bestowed by the Heavenly Dao. It had a little protective power. In the Netherworld, there were ten Yama Kings.
Li Changshou was the first to float down from the ox cart. Zhao Dezhu and Long Ji followed behind. The few Yama Lords revealed smiles that could make children stop crying. They bowed and addressed the Water God.
Li Changshou cupped his hands and returned the greeting. He addressed him as ‘Yama Lord’ and did not mention the word ‘Your Majesty’.
Ox-head went forward to introduce them. This time, the ones who went out to welcome them were King Qinguang, King Chujiang, the King Wuguan, the King Dushi, and King Pingdeng. They were all positions of divine authority bestowed by the Heavenly Dao. They were in charge of investigating the sins of ghosts and governing the eighteen levels of hell and the six realms of reincarnation.
Half of the Ten Halls’ Yama Lords arrived, and that was already considered due respect for Li Changshou. Ox-head quickly retreated after introducing the Yama Lords. He could not say anything after that and could only follow beside a group of generals. From time to time, he would turn his head to see if the streets were clean and if the Netherworld cultivators were behaving themselves… Li Changshou and the few Yama Lords chatted for a while. They officially got to know each other. King Qinguang gestured for Li Changshou to enter the city with Zhao Dezhu and Long Ji. Li Changshou did not introduce Zhao Dezhu, and they did not ask further.
The Magi were not good at making connections.
As he walked on the streets of Fengdu City that were rarely clean, King Qinguang asked directly, “Why did Lord Water God come to the Netherworld this time?”
“There are two things. They are under the orders of the Jade Emperor.”
“Oh?”
The few Yama Lords were instantly interested. Li Changshou smiled and said, “The first thing is to greet the Yama Lords in the Netherworld and see if the Netherworld needs the help of the Heavenly Courts.” King Wuguan smiled and said, “The Yin Sutra works as usual. Everything is fine in the Netherworld. There’s nothing we need help with.” Is he that straightforward?
Li Changshou said, “Well, you can actually…”
“I really don’t!”
King Chujiang’s burly figure was rather domineering. He waved his hand and said, “The Netherworld has been established since ancient times. The most troublesome times were during the battles between the Magi-Demon and Heaven and Earth. At that time, the Netherworld was almost crushed by the souls! However, we closed our eyes and slowly sent them into the Six Paths of Reincarnation. After enduring for thousands of years, we have returned to normal!”
Li Changshou did not know whether to laugh or cry. He did not ask about that…
Li Changshou continued, “As the saying goes, if you don’t plan ahead, you will fail. If you take more precautions, you can prevent any future troubles.” King Chujiang wanted to continue speaking, but King Qinguang had already reacted and smashed King Chujiang’s waving hand back. The crisp sound of bones cracking made Long Ji’s face turn pale… King Qinguang sighed slightly and put on a troubled expression.
“My Netherworld is really… having a tough time! There are remnants of the sea of blood outside, and spirits that are causing trouble. There are many difficulties inside. Now, I’m hoping that someone can help us.” The other Yama Lords immediately understood what King Qinguang meant. If the Netherworld did not have something to ask the Heavenly Courts for, how could the Heavenly Courts accept them? At that moment, the few Yama Lords started to complain. However, in their eyes, the Netherworld was already the best they could do. They stammered for a long time and only managed to say a few words… King Chu Jiang held his left hand that was drooping down and sighed. “A few days ago, a mighty figure fought in the Blood Sea. We were so scared that we were on tenterhooks!”
King Pingdeng said, “Recently, the Six Paths of Reincarnation have been a little unstable. It should be lacking merit. The merit is like oil on the door. It can’t be done without lubricant!” King Dushi said, “Our current defensive power is seriously insufficient. If a tragedy like the breaking of the Sea Eye happens, we will not be able to hold
on!”
There is no Sea Eye in the Netherworld!
After the few Yama Lords finished speaking, they looked at King Wuguan who had yet to speak. King Wuguan was speechless for a long time. His face turned red, and he could only say, “Netherworld, the Netherworld souls have stopped. Help us!” Li Changshou was rendered speechless. “Let’s talk about the second matter.” The few Yama Lords heaved a sigh of relief. They perked up and listened to Li Changshou’s second question.
Li Changshou set up an immortal power barrier around him. His expression was solemn as he said slowly, “All of you, should have originated from the Magi… Everyone, don’t be in a hurry to explain. I know that you have made a promise to the Heavenly Dao. From now on, you will no longer be a Magi. You will deal with the matters of the Netherworld and will not be biased towards the Magi. Now, I will not treat you as former Magi. I will only treat you as the Yama Lords of the Netherworld. I am here on the orders of the Jade Emperor to ask you. In recent years, have there been many Magi who reincarnated in the North Continent?”
“Why do you ask, Water God?” King Qinguang’s eyes were filled with confusion. Li Changshou sighed and said, “I was originally asked by my good friend to check out the situation of the Magi in the North Continent. After I went there, I did not go far. I saw that at the edge of the North Continent, where the Magi lived, a large number of villages had been abandoned. After that, I met the Grand Magus. Only then did I know that in the past ten thousand years, the Magi gradually found it difficult to reproduce. The number of pure-blooded Magi children that were born became lower and lower. It was difficult for Magihumans to be born even when the Magi were secretly married to the human race. I have already asked the Jade Emperor about this matter. His Majesty said that it is not a punishment from the Heavenly Dao. Moreover, the Jade Emperor is very concerned about this matter. He ordered me to investigate thoroughly. That’s why I rushed to the Netherworld to ask if someone has interfered with the reincarnation!”
The expressions of the few Yama Lords and the few generals in the boundary changed. “How can I interfere?”
King Chujiang said angrily, “Those demons must have secretly schemed against us! They want to kill the Magi! How vicious are they!?!”
“Where is Judge Zhong!?!”
King Qinguang’s face darkened. He shouted, “Prepare the name list of the Magi who have reincarnated in the past ten thousand years!”
“There!”
A judge with a full beard stood up and immediately flew out of the barrier to the land of reincarnation. Li Changshou noticed that the Grand Judge was actually a human. His eyes lit up. A few Yama Lords cursed. “It’s fine if we don’t help the people of the North Continent. However, they actually caused the Magi to fall into a trap right under our noses!”
“I’m afraid it’s not that simple. If there’s a problem with reincarnation here, or if the reincarnated Magi have fewer souls, how can we not know? Even if we don’t know that the Six Paths are imbalanced, that is a mistake. It will not be hidden for ten thousand years! Quick, go to the hall!”
In a hurry, a few Yama Lords brought Li Changshou and the others to the important place of reincarnation and went to the Yama Hall.
The other Yama Lords were also alarmed by this matter. They rushed to the office of King Qinguang and joined hands to flip through the stack of books that the Netherworld servants had brought over. Li Changshou and the Jade Emperor’s incarnation discussed via voice transmission.
Soon, there was an answer…
“There are no vacancies in the number of reincarnated Magi!”
“Most of the Magi have lived for more than ten thousand years. At this moment, there has yet to be a Magus who has reincarnated. That’s why he hid it from us!”
“Lord Water God, how should we deal with this matter? We have the responsibility of the Yin Sect and the Heavenly Dao…”
“Everyone, don’t worry!” Li Changshou stood up and flicked his horsetail whisk.
“Since the Heavenly Courts have already interfered in this matter, they must investigate to the end and give the Magi an explanation! I came to the Netherworld this time to figure out which segment had gone wrong. I still have some questions… How is the exact process of reincarnation? Do the Yin and Yang first fuse in the mother’s body to give birth to a living being’s embryo, and then send the True Spirit into the body, or must the True Spirit participate in every segment?” King Qinguang said, “There are both types, but most of them are the former. Magi and humans are born with the embryo of living beings. They would be born after there are True Spirits, then they will grow and their True Spirits would reincarnate and give the heart of the living beings a pulse. Only then would they be considered living beings! In the mortal world, it is often said that children are a piece of flesh that has fallen off their mother’s body. It actually makes sense.” Li Changshou nodded slowly and said, “In that case, I roughly understand. Thank you, Yama Lords, for clearing my doubts.”
“We have to thank the Water God for his help!”
Just as Li Changshou was about to bid farewell and hurry to the North Continent to find the Grand Magus for a deep conversation, he suddenly thought of some small details and asked questions again… Then, he suggested letting a few Magi from the Netherworld, who had good combat power and had some status in the race, follow him to investigate the matter.
He wanted the Netherworld officials to be a witness so that they would not think that he was exaggerating and kidnapping a few temporary live Dharma treasures.
They hurriedly agreed and felt grateful.
After waiting in the Yama Hall for a while, Horse-face brought Ao Yi over to meet up. At that moment, Ao Yi looked very cheerful and was no longer depressed. Then, the Yama Lords sent Li Changshou and the others away from Fengdu City. Ox-head and Horse-face had already led a few experts of the Magi to wait in front.
It was not convenient for the Magi to enter Fengdu City.
As he rode the cloud forward, Zhao Dezhu asked, “Water God, what do you think is wrong with this matter?”
Li Changshou smiled and said, “Why don’t we test Her Highness Long Ji?”
“Well…” Long Ji pondered for a while and quickly replied softly,” I should ask about the situation of the Magi. I don’t dare to answer randomly.”
Li Changshou and Zhao Dezhu looked at each other and nodded in satisfaction.
On the way, Ox-head had already led the three men and three women to wait quietly. As the Magi were not good at flying, Li Changshou had to lead them on a cloud.
When he left the Netherworld, the clouds were clearly much heavier.
At the same time… clouds lingered around the Three-Immortal Island. In the pavilion deep in the immortal realm, the white-robed fairy, who was sitting behind the curtains, opened her eyes and pinched her fingers to deduce. She could not help but chuckle.
What’s going on?
Previously, she thought that it had been hundreds of years since she had entered a meditative state and comprehended the Dao. However, she calculated with her fingers that only a few days had passed…
Calm your heart and focus. Cultivation is more important.
The fairy was about to continue her seclusion and comprehend the Great Dao. However, the wind chime at the window rang. A figure entered the periphery of the Three-Immortal Island. She could not help but look over. Although she knew that it was not that person, there were ripples in the corner of her heart.
Unfortunately… the ripples dissipated in the blink of an eye. “So it’s Big Brother…” With a soft sigh, the fairy closed her eyes and meditated. Her body was soon surrounded by clouds.