In the Hall of Yama

Someone is going to die.

Upon seeing Black and White Impermanence, this was Lu Bian's first thought.

Who is going to die?

Lu Bian fully unleashed his magnetic perception, scanning the life signs of everyone present.

It was not just one person destined to die, but several!

There were seven people on the verge of death.

"I told them not to drink that swill."

Lu Bian flashed to the side of the seven dying men, striking each with a Cell Reconstruction Fist, forcing their bodies back into a state of perfect health.

Before Black and White Impermanence could react, the seven men who were supposed to be dead suddenly stood up and scrambled to the corner, vomiting violently until they had purged the lethal poison from their systems.

"What are you doing!!"

Black and White Impermanence glared at Lu Bian.

"I cannot let them die like this, not in this place," Lu Bian told them.

"Their lifespans have ended! You have violated the Heavenly Laws!!"

"Today, not only will we drag their souls down to the Underworld, but we shall take you as well!!"

Black and White Impermanence flanked him, one wielding a Mourning Staff and the other holding a Soul-Hooking Chain.

"Fine, then come and get me!!"

Lu Bian kicked a long wooden bench, swinging it toward the pair.

The bench passed straight through White Impermanence's body; it could not touch them at all.

"What!"

While Lu Bian was stunned, Xie Bi'an's Mourning Staff landed on his shoulder, and Fan Wujiu's Soul-Hooking Chain bound his feet.

"Wooo~~~!!"

Sorrow surged from the depths of his heart. The most painful, depressing memories of his life flooded his mind, forcing Lu Bian to burst into uncontrollable, sobbing tears.

This was the power of the Mourning Staff.

It did not force a person to cry through physical pain; it compelled them to weep from within.

The Soul-Hooking Chain bound Lu Bian from below, but to Fan Wujiu's horror, Lu Bian seemed completely unaffected, snapping the chain into several pieces with his sheer physical strength.

"How is this possible!!!" Fan Wujiu's eyes nearly popped out of his skull.

"Ultimate Palm Thunder!!!" Lu Bian roared through his tears.

"Gwah!!! Flee!"

Lu Bian thrust his palms outward, but before the Ultimate Palm Thunder could strike, Black and White Impermanence vanished into the earth, fleeing at top speed.

Losing his target, Lu Bian retracted his power.

He wiped away his tears as the effects of the Mourning Staff gradually faded.

Lu Bian steadied his emotions and took a deep breath.

He had gotten himself into trouble again.

"Sigh~!"

He had intended to save one person, but the result had nearly led to the deaths of seven; that was something Lu Bian could not accept.

Since he was able to save their lives, it meant their fates were not as written in the Book of Life and Death.

Now that he had scared off Black and White Impermanence, what should he do next?

One option was to stay and see if the ghosts would return to claim their souls; the other was to leave the village immediately to ensure his own troubles did not implicate them.

"I cannot leave just yet."

"I will wait a while and keep watch."

Shaken by the encounter, Lu Bian had no desire to sleep. He kept his eyes open, monitoring everyone's condition to prevent the two ghost messengers from using some unknown method to harvest their souls.

Lu Bian pondered silently.

He wondered how many people died on this earth every day and if Black and White Impermanence could even keep up. Were the two he encountered mere clones, or the real entities? Or perhaps the Underworld possessed countless such ghost messengers?

The fact that they fled at the mere sight of his Ultimate Palm Thunder—did these ghosts fear lightning techniques?

He practiced Magnetic Rotation, yet the local mountain gods and earth spirits always mistook his cultivation for lightning arts.

What exactly were lightning arts?

Aside from the Four Seas Dragon Clan, who naturally controlled wind, rain, and lightning, lightning arts were the hallmark of orthodox Taoism. Ordinary rogue cultivators had no way to access such training.

As dawn broke, the hungover villagers returned to their homes to continue resting.

Lu Bian left A-Quan's village the next day as planned, but after traveling some distance, he circled back, hiding in the distance to secretly observe the situation.

If Black and White Impermanence returned to claim any souls, Lu Bian could reach the village in a single breath.

A day passed, and Black and White Impermanence did not return.

Two days passed, and nothing happened.

Black and White Impermanence simply did not come back.

Lu Bian could not say he was disappointed; he mounted his donkey and continued his travels.

In the Hall of Yama within the Underworld, Black and White Impermanence knelt before the throne, reporting their recent encounter in detail.

"Grandpa Yama, that is exactly how it happened!"

"Hmm? Such a thing could actually occur!? Let me check it myself!!"

"..."

"..."

"Strange..."

"How could the lifespans of these few people have been extended by twenty years for no reason? They are mere village folk, destined for a life of toil and short years; how could this be?"

"That man, he arrived at Chai Family Village just this day, correct?" Yama asked Black and White Impermanence.

"Yes, Great King!" Black and White Impermanence replied immediately.

"What, there is no record of this person at all?!!"

Yama widened his eyes, muttering to himself.

What is going on? Is the Underworld haunted too?

Yama chuckled at the cold joke he had just thought of, then cleared his throat twice to regain his stern expression.

"Ahem... let us leave it at that. You two may go; you are no longer needed."

"Yes, Great King." Black and White Impermanence withdrew from the hall.

The two ghost messengers looked at each other, guessing in their hearts that they had likely encountered someone they could not afford to offend again.

After Black and White Impermanence left, Yama flipped through the Book of Life and Death repeatedly, his desk piled high with ledgers covering the three realms, six paths, and ten categories of beings.

Yama searched the Book of Life and Death from cover to cover, yet he could not find this "omission" named Lu Bian.

Back then, the Great Sage Equal to Heaven had ordered Yama to strike out all monkey-kind; even monkeys without names were recorded in the Book of Life and Death. But now, Lu Bian was completely absent from the book; even if he wanted to strike or cross out a name, he could do nothing.

"..."

"This matter is of great importance. Should I report it to the Jade Emperor?"

"..."

"Better not."

"That man seems to have defied the heavenly laws, yet the natural order shifted to accommodate him, which in itself follows the Heavenly Principle."

"It is better not to invite trouble with someone who possesses such great divine power."

Yama closed the Book of Life and Death and moved the stacks back onto the bookshelf behind him.

Searching for this god-like man, Lu Bian, had certainly kept Yama busy.

Lu Bian continued toward the capital of Dali, enjoying the scenery along the way and sharing photos of the landscape to the Chat Group.

He arrived at a large lake. The water was so clear that the fish swimming within seemed to be gliding through the air.

"Hee-haw!"

"What is it, you silly donkey?"

The donkey gazed toward the distant lake surface, where a large crowd had gathered on the opposite shore, seemingly performing a sacrifice.

On the lake, a small boat drifted toward the center...

"Huh? Huh? Huh?"

Lu Bian's magnetic vision saw a small boy sitting on the boat in the middle of the lake, with fruits and gold and silver piled beside him.

"Are they performing a human sacrifice?!"