In the dilapidated Wide Hall, Zheng Que opened his eyes. Yin energy surged from his brow like a black waterfall, pouring nonstop into the open [Life and Death Book].
When he saw that he had suddenly entered the Underworld, Zheng Que's expression shifted. He hurriedly looked at his name in the [Life and Death Book] before him.
"...Zheng Que. Native place: Changfu Town, Taiping County, Tu Prefecture, Great Li Dynasty. Remaining lifespan: sixteen years, eight months, and twenty-eight days."
His remaining lifespan had increased by forty-nine days!
Zheng Que let out a long breath. He had finally survived this calamity!
But another calamity would come forty-nine days from now.
These calamities seemed to be coming a little too often. He wondered if other cultivators had the same problem.
Thinking of this, Zheng Que glanced at the black qi between his brows. He hadn't entered the Underworld this time because he'd absorbed yin energy while cultivating, but because he'd been knocked unconscious after yin energy invaded his body.
"So many names..."
"The other people in Changfu Town must all be dead by now."
"I wonder what kind of ghost that bone hand really was?"
As he pondered, Zheng Que began browsing the [Life and Death Book] before him.
The first page of the [Life and Death Book] was now densely packed with names. Starting with "Xu Houde," they had all been added that very night.
Just as Zheng Que was thinking this, the [Life and Death Book] began turning its pages by itself.
Rustle... rustle...
The yellowed pages stopped at the third page.
At the beginning of the page, a new record slowly appeared.
"Category: Wicked Sin."
"Species: Evil Shadow Play."
"True Name: None."
"Native Place: Blood Pass."
"Yin Lifespan: Exactly nine hundred and fifty years."
"Yin Profession: Yin Messenger (may be dispatched)."
"Term of Service: Half a jiazi."
Evil Shadow Play?
Staring at this newly recorded entry, Zheng Que paused in surprise.
But he quickly realized that this was the enormous bone hand that had nearly killed him earlier!
He had forcibly conferred a title on it just now, so its name had appeared in the [Life and Death Book]?
It was actually a "Wicked Sin"!
Unlike the other names, this record only had "Category" and "Species"—no true name.
Perhaps it wasn't a ghost formed after a living person died, but a ghost born that way!
Also, for some reason, this name hadn't appeared on the first page of the [Life and Death Book]. Instead, it had appeared directly on the third page.
At that thought, Zheng Que suddenly sneered. He immediately shouted at the name, "Evil Shadow Play!"
"Evil Shadow Play!"
"Evil Shadow Play..."
Afraid that [Evil Shadow Play] wouldn't hear his summons, he called out seven or eight times in a row.
Soon, a dense fog rose beneath the hall. As it quickly spread, a figure emerged from within: a pale bone hand with seven fingers, sinister and chilling to behold. It was [Evil Shadow Play]!
In the real world, [Evil Shadow Play] had looked enormous. With its seven fingers spread, it could easily cover the entire town. But in this dilapidated Wide Hall, it was only as big as an ordinary person's palm; a single brick was more than enough to support it.
The moment it appeared in this unfamiliar place, the bone hand swiftly surveyed its surroundings.
Before long, its entire frame stiffened.
Above it, the Sea of Blood surged, suspended in the sky like a vast, churning crimson dome. The dome spun like a gigantic funnel, its center an endless darkness, as if it were the Ruins of Return.
The towering Wide Hall was deep and dim. Countless grotesque faces of demons and evil spirits were carved into its enormous black pillars. Dense yin fog, solid as matter, churned all around, flowing like clouds and veiling the hall in gloom. The depths of the fog seemed utterly silent, yet also filled with every kind of voice. The scrape of chains drew closer, step by step, as if countless shackles would descend at any moment, pinning it down and dragging it into a forbidden abyss.
At the head of the hall, upon the Imperial Dais, vast as a mountain, sat a colossal and majestic figure!
That figure seemed the embodiment of the laws of Heaven and Earth, the final destination of all living beings. Boundless death, despair, and stillness radiated from him...
He sat there motionless, the hem of his Black Imperial Robe hanging like clouds spilling down a mountain. Even straining with all its might, the bone hand could see only the shoes beneath his robe.
Black with golden patterns, their red-gold lines shimmered with Karmic Fire.
[Evil Shadow Play] caught only the briefest glimpse before snatching its gaze away as if shocked. The entire pale bone hand felt as though it had burst into flames. It was as if that spark of Karmic Fire would follow its gaze through the void and burn it to ashes!
Death, despair, and the aura of the end shrouded it from head to toe. [Evil Shadow Play] was struck with terror. It immediately braced itself on its leftmost and rightmost finger bones, bent the five middle fingers until they touched the floor, and prostrated itself.
Overwhelmed by fear, [Evil Shadow Play] trembled uncontrollably. Clack, clack, clack... The sound of bone striking brick rang especially loud in the silent hall.
It hurriedly forced itself to stop trembling, not daring to move a muscle.
Outside, this ghost had been immensely powerful!
But here, [Evil Shadow Play] was no different from Qing Li, a Ghost Servant of [Tongue-Pulling Hell].
Smack!
At that moment, Zheng Que slapped the table and barked with imposing authority, "You insolent little ghost! Do you know your crimes?"
His voice rolled through the Wide Hall like thunder, echoes crashing one atop another and stirring up a tidal wave of might. Even the vortex in the Sea of Blood above the hall stirred in response. The Sea of Blood roared and churned, with countless corpses of the condemned, bones, and shackles bobbing on its waves. Faint traces of countless punishments flickered through the bloody water, radiating an immense, icy malice.
Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud...
[Demonic Shadow Play] didn't dare slack off in the slightest. It knocked its head against the floor ten times in a row before finally managing to speak in a trembling voice. "M-My... lord... spare... me... My lord... spare me!"
This "Wicked Sin" had reached a high level of cultivation and had long since gained sentience. But it seemed to speak very little; its voice was hoarse and halting, its enunciation strange.
Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud, thud, thud...
As soon as it finished speaking, [Evil Shadow Play] began desperately knocking its head against the floor again, as if it feared that if it slowed down, it wouldn't even be allowed to keep kneeling there.
A moment ago, this "Wicked Sin" had seemed capable of destroying the world in Changfu Town. Now it wished it could smash every bone in its body against the floor below the hall. It was as lowly as dust, no different from the lowest of "Resentful Souls."
Watching this, Zheng Que gave a cold laugh. He had nearly been killed by this thing outside!
How could he possibly let it off so easily now?
Zheng Que immediately rebuked it in a frigid voice. "Wretched ghost! Since ancient times, the paths of humans and ghosts have been separate. As a 'Wicked Sin,' you appeared without permission in a place where mortals live. That is your first crime."
"You invaded mortals' shadows and harmed the innocent. That is your second crime."
"You ravaged a town, leaving its people dead and its homes in ruins. That is your third crime."
"More importantly, you even persecuted a Person of Destiny, seeking to throw the world into chaos. With all your crimes tallied together, you bear a grave offense. Your actions run counter to Heaven and Earth; you are guilty beyond redemption, utterly unforgivable!"
"You shall be cast into the Eighteen Levels of Hell and subjected to every manner of torment, then condemned to the Animal Path, never to be reborn!"
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