"Me?" Chen Xiaoqiu raised an eyebrow. "The Underworld no longer exists. My ability... are you asking me to..." As she spoke, her expression changed, and she looked at Han Yun in surprise.
I looked at the others. None of them seemed to understand what Chen Xiaoqiu had figured out, or what Han Yun wanted her help with.
Han Yun remained calm, as if he had lost all emotion. He spoke as though he were simply carrying out official business. "The Underworld used to be a way station. After it disappeared, the cycle of reincarnation changed. From what I've observed, every deceased person's soul goes through a stage of becoming a ghost. No matter what they thought when they died, they become ghosts afterward and continue to exist in this world. Once the last of their strength has worn away, they disappear. They may become a new kind of being, find an opportunity, and begin a new life. That's how animals reincarnate."
It sounded a little abstruse, but it wasn't hard to understand. The Underworld had simply been removed from the original cycle of reincarnation.
From what I'd seen of those chains, Han Yun's theory seemed to fit.
In this new cycle of reincarnation, the old restraints imposed by Heaven were gone.
Perhaps, in the future, Heaven would develop a stronger, more stable personality and possess the abilities of all the Ghost Kings. It would only need to control the Ghost Kings to command all life. There would be no need for the Underworld to serve as a way station, nor to shackle every soul one by one. As each soul grew and lived, it would naturally follow the general current and obey the rules of one or more Ghost Kings, becoming a life controlled by Heaven.
Once I understood that,