This Official Is Merciful.

Zheng Que's voice was grand and vast, like surging floodwaters carrying an unstoppable momentum, striking the heart of Evil Shadow Play like a heavy hammer with every word.

Evil Shadow Play was so terrified that its very posture of kneeling shifted!

In the outside world, it had always been imposing and majestic. Wherever it went, whether human or ghost, all would flee at the sight of it or prostrate themselves in submission, not daring to act out of turn in the slightest. But now, facing that terrifying existence on the Imperial Dais, it felt itself to be insignificantly small, unable to even muster a single thought of resistance!

It had a strong intuition.

The one on the Imperial Dais could seemingly blow it into total annihilation with a single, gentle breath!

No!

This was the Underworld, which had been "missing" for a long time. Total annihilation would be the best possible outcome!

Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud...

Evil Shadow Play hurriedly kowtowed even harder, the loud sounds echoing through the great hall for a long time.

At the same time, it cried out in a very humble voice, "My Lord... spare me! My Lord, spare my life!"

After getting slightly used to speaking, Evil Shadow Play hurriedly begged bitterly, "This sinful slave knows its wrong! This sinful slave will never dare do it again! I beg you, My Lord, to show mercy and give this sinful slave one more chance..."

Zheng Que sat in the rickety armchair with a wide, imposing stance. Watching Evil Shadow Play kowtow incessantly as if it were about to weep and snot all over itself, he still felt his anger unassuaged. He really wanted to go down there himself and give it a good beating to vent his frustration, but he worried that even here in the Underworld, he might not be able to beat it...

After pondering for a moment, Zheng Que said coldly, "This official is merciful by nature, so I shall give you a chance for a lighter sentence!"

"You shall recount the crimes you committed on this trip from beginning to end, truthfully and without any omissions."

"If you do so, this official will consider it a voluntary confession and may appropriately reduce your punishment."

"But if you insist on concealing anything, that will be considered intentional deception of this official. For such incorrigible behavior and refusal to repent, you shall be punished severely—not a single torture from the Eighteen Levels of Hell shall be spared!"

Upon hearing that the punishment could be reduced, Evil Shadow Play immediately kowtowed a series of times again. Amidst the clanging sounds, it lay prostrate on the ground, trembling as it replied, "My Lord, spare me! This sinful slave did not intend to commit these crimes, but a while ago, while on the way to the Wuxiang Sea, I suddenly sensed an opportunity."

"Following the guidance of that feeling, this sinful slave arrived at that small town where over a thousand humans lived."

"In that small town, there lived a very powerful human cultivator."

"This sinful slave kept watch outside for a long time. At first, I only sent a few Shadow Puppets to sneak inside quietly to search for the opportunity..."

"Later, for some reason, that powerful human cultivator suddenly left."

"This sinful slave then tentatively sent in more Shadow Puppets."

"After that, since I still could not find where the opportunity was, and that powerful cultivator showed no signs of returning, so... so this sinful slave descended directly upon that small town..."

Following this, Evil Shadow Play provided many more details, including the process of infiltrating the town's defensive barriers, the process of turning the townspeople into Shadow Puppets, and the evolution of the Ghost Play...

The defensive barriers of the entire Changfu Town were nothing in the eyes of Evil Shadow Play. The only reason it had not forcibly broken through the barriers from the very beginning was out of fear of that powerful human cultivator—that is, Zheng Que's Master, Daoist Qu!

The townspeople Zheng Que had seen earlier who lacked shadows were all Shadow Puppets of the entity.

The Shadow Puppets did not know they were Shadow Puppets; they simply believed they were ordinary living people.

Any normal person touched by a Shadow Puppet would also become a new Shadow Puppet.

When Cui Ni'er touched him that day, he had nearly fallen victim to it, but his soul was powerful, and he had instantly broken free.

However, even though nothing happened at the time, the Shadow Control Thread of the Evil Shadow Play had still attached itself to his shadow.

The subsequent times he was pulled into those various different scenes were the Ghost Play of the Evil Shadow Play.

Within the Ghost Play, the Evil Shadow Play would assign him all sorts of identities to perform different scripts. As long as he accepted any one of those identities, he would immediately become lost within the Ghost Play and turn into a new Shadow Puppet.

From then on, even after the Ghost Play ended, the Shadow Puppet would still believe they were the identity assigned to them by the Evil Shadow Play, living in a false world, allowing the Evil Shadow Play to manipulate them at will and change their identities as it pleased...

And this meant that the person was truly and completely dead, with not even a wisp of their soul remaining.

Listening to the Evil Shadow Play's exhaustive explanation, Zheng Que quickly grasped the general methods of the Evil Shadow Play.

Those townspeople who had been converted into Shadow Puppets had not truly died at the beginning; their souls had merely been trapped within the Ghost Play, under the control of the Evil Shadow Play.

It wasn't until the Hour of the Dog tonight, when the Evil Shadow Play concluded all the Ghost Plays, that every living person in the town who had been dragged into the Ghost Play died simultaneously!

At this moment, the Evil Shadow Play, kneeling on the ground, suddenly added a trace of confusion to its fearful and panicked voice: "...That last human cultivator was extremely strange!"

"Given the strength of his soul, he should have been lost after two Ghost Plays at most."

"But this lowly slave manifested over a hundred Ghost Plays, and yet, I failed every single time!"

"Since the Ghost Play could do nothing to that human cultivator, this lowly slave had no choice but to enter the scene personally..."

Having said this, the Evil Shadow Play knelt on the ground and said cautiously, "This is the entire process of how this lowly slave violated the laws this time."

"This lowly slave already knows my crime. I beg you, my lord, to show mercy and give this lowly slave another chance."

"This lowly slave will definitely turn over a new leaf and be a good ghost!"

Hearing this, Zheng Que nodded slightly. Having already decided on a method of punishment, he immediately said, "Since you already know your crime, this official will give you a chance to redeem yourself."

"The human cultivator you spoke of bears a heavenly mandate and is of noble status beyond measure. He will surely attain immortality and ascend to the heavens in the future! His descent into the mortal world this time carries a mission of utmost importance."

"However, he is currently lacking an obedient mount."

"This official finds you, little ghost, to be just right!"

"For the next ten thousand years, you shall be a slave and a servant to that human cultivator, working like an ox or a horse, acting like a pig or a dog... and you shall not utter a single word of complaint!"

"If this official discovers that you are paying lip service while defying him, or if you dare to disobey the orders of that human cultivator, or cause that human cultivator any dissatisfaction, it will be considered a willful violation, and your punishment will be increased by one degree!"

"At that time, not only will you be apprehended and brought back here, but you will also suffer a penalty of one billion years, followed by being cast into the Eighteen Levels of Hell, never to be reincarnated for eternity!"

"Do you understand?"

Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump...

Evil Shadow Play was overjoyed. In one breath, he kowtowed dozens of times, saying with tears of gratitude, "This sinful slave understands! This sinful slave obeys!"

"Many thanks to you, my lord, for your mercy!"

"Your benevolence is boundless, my lord; this sinful slave will never forget it!"

Zheng Que nodded. Seeing that the black aura between the other's brows was fading, he quickly said, "Since that is the case, I shall spare you this time."

"Withdraw!"