A powerful figure

"What a joke." The man smiled coldly. "Even if all Eight Great Underworld Enforcers came... could they stop me?"

Horse-Face plastered a smile across his face and hurried forward. "May I ask what immortal rank you two exalted immortals hold... and which great Luo golden immortal you serve?"

"Get lost," the man said coldly.

"Oh my!" Horse-Face smiled faintly. "You certainly have a fiery temper, exalted immortal... Then this humble immortal will take his leave..."

Horse-Face cupped his hands and bowed his head. At once, something long and slender shot from his back, hurtling straight toward the man's face.

Startled, the man reached out and caught the slender black shadow. On closer inspection, it was a black snake formed from yin energy.

"Mysterious Yin Snake, explode!"

Horse-Face roared, and the black snake burst apart in the man's hand. A tremendous surge of yin energy engulfed him.

"Third Brother, now!"

Horse-Face turned and shouted. At his signal, Ox-Head channeled his energy, doubling the size of his horns, then charged straight at the man within the mass of black shadows.

"Here comes old Ox!"

A tremendous crash rang out. A hand emerged from the yin energy and firmly seized Ox-Head's horn. With a sweep of his other hand, the man dispersed all the yin energy surrounding him.

"Parlor tricks." The man tightened his grip slightly, and faint cracks actually appeared in the horn enveloped in immortal magic.

"Ow, ow, ow!" Ox-Head's face blanched in fright. "Let go of me!"

Cui Jue knew things were going badly. This man's cultivation was clearly above his own, and even with Ox-Head and Horse-Face helping, they could hardly drive him back. But since Du Yu had sent a distress signal, Seventh and Eighth should arrive soon. In a contest of magic alone, neither was any weaker than he was. What he needed to do now was hold these two here. With that thought, Cui Jue drew out the Soul-Reaping Brush again.

"Infinite Hell Formation!"

Cui Jue traced several runes with his brush and sent them flying toward the man. Instead of attacking him directly, the runes landed around him, their lights answering one another as they outlined an encircling formation. The moment it took shape, the man felt something wind around his body, seemingly draining all his strength. Involuntarily, he released Ox-Head's horn, and Ox-Head seized the chance to roll out of the formation.

"The Infinite Hell Formation..." The man surveyed his surroundings coldly. "Do you know where I cultivated to become a Yin Immortal? What does a hell formation like this amount to before me?"

Step by step, the man walked toward the edge of the formation, where the runes Cui Jue had conjured with his magic hovered. He swept his hand, and the runes shook violently. But Cui Jue had clearly poured tremendous power into them, and the formation could not be broken anytime soon.

"Hehehe." The sinister, alluring woman suddenly laughed. "How interesting. Cui Jue has no intention of killing you. He's using all his magic to maintain this formation, as though he wants to buy time."

With that, the sinister woman slowly stepped forward, pure black light immediately rising from both hands. With a forceful strike, she shattered one of the runes, and the formation collapsed without another attack. Then she smiled. "But sorry, little brother Cui Jue. Time is precisely what we don't have. If you keep getting in our way, we really will have to deal with you."

"Everyone, stop!"

A cold shout came from the sky.

Cui Jue looked up, delight crossing his face. "Excellent! They're here!"

Two figures, one black and one white, slowly descended and stood among them.

"Old Seven, Old Eight, hurry and join us against these two!" Cui Jue roared, preparing to reconstruct the formation. But when he looked closely, Black and White Impermanence ignored those engaged in the magical battle. Instead, they walked around Du Yu and went straight to Dong Qianqiu.

"Old Seven, Old Eight... what are you doing?"

White Impermanence fell silent for a moment, then slowly said:

"Assistant Dong, go with them..."

"Huh?" Dong Qianqiu thought she had misheard. "Seventh Master, what did you say?"

"Old Seven, what nonsense are you talking about?" Ox-Head roared. "Old Eight, do you agree with him? These two came to the Legend Management Bureau to abduct someone. Five of the Eight Great Underworld Enforcers have turned out, and we're still letting them take her?!"

"Third Brother." White Impermanence, Xie Bi'an, looked at Ox-Head. "This is more serious than you imagine. Everyone, stop fighting. Old Eight and I will stake our heads on Assistant Dong's safety."

Black Impermanence sighed. "Assistant Dong, as Xie said, the two of us will guarantee your safety. But this time, you must go."

"Seventh Master, Eighth Master, you..." Du Yu could not help feeling angry, but when he saw Black and White Impermanence's expressions, he quickly realized something. "Do they have someone powerful behind them?"

"Very powerful. More powerful than you can imagine," White Impermanence, Xie Bi'an, replied with a nod.

"Who is it?" Du Yu asked. "Unless I know where they're taking Qianqiu, I won't agree, no matter what."

Xie Bi'an turned to the man and woman. "Chi Ghost, Mei Ghost, may I tell him?"

The sinister woman called Mei Ghost smiled faintly. "It was supposed to be a secret, but now that things have reached this point, we won't be able to leave without telling them, will we?"

Xie Bi'an nodded slightly and addressed everyone. "Assistant Dong, Brother Du, Eldest Brother, Third Brother, Fourth Brother, please stand down. These two are Chi Ghost and Mei Ghost of the Chi, Mei, Wang, and Liang ghosts. Their mistress is the founder of the Underworld, Lady Houtu."

"Lady Houtu?!"

Everyone paled in shock, but Du Yu was the most stunned of all. Dong Qianqiu had once explained the Underworld's divine hierarchy to him. She had explicitly told him that although Lady Houtu had founded the Underworld, she disliked managing it, so she had handed its administration over to the Northern Yin Great Emperor of Fengdu and the Eastern Peak Great Emperor of Mount Tai. The two governed the Underworld's northern and eastern regions respectively. Later, the Heavenly Court had appointed the Ten Courts of Yama and the Five Directions Ghost Emperors beneath them, while Lady Houtu herself lived in partial seclusion. Why had she now appeared here to forcibly take Dong Qianqiu away?

"Lady Houtu wants to see me...?" Dong Qianqiu asked blankly.

"Correct." Chi Ghost nodded. "This was supposed to be confidential. Now so many people know that I'll have a hard time reporting back."

"You have the nerve to say that!" Mei Ghost kicked Chi Ghost. He did not budge, but she still cursed him. "It's all your fault, you idiot! Why couldn't you talk to them properly? Why did you have to fight?"

"I'm no good at talking. Fighting is quicker," Chi Ghost replied coldly.

"But... why?" Dong Qianqiu was bewildered. "I don't even know Lady Houtu."

"We can't tell you the reason." Mei Ghost stepped forward and patted Dong Qianqiu. "But little sister Qianqiu, you must trust us. Lady Houtu certainly hasn't summoned you to hurt you. Otherwise, with our cultivation, you wouldn't still be alive."

Though harsh, those words were not without reason. As Lady Houtu's personal guards, their cultivation was probably on par with the Ten Courts of Yama. Naturally, ordinary Yin Immortals like them could not contend with these two. Taking her head here would be as easy as reaching into a sack and plucking something out.

"All right... I'll go with you..." Dong Qianqiu nodded, then turned to a staff member. "If you see the director, remember to let him know."

"One more thing, little sister Qianqiu..." Mei Ghost smiled faintly at her. "Lady Houtu said that once you leave, you won't be coming back anytime soon. If the new Operator wants you back sooner, he'd better do Lady Houtu a favor. Here's a jade pendant..."

Mei Ghost turned and handed the jade pendant to Du Yu. "Keep this on you, then descend into the legends of the Eight Great Underworld Enforcers. At the critical moment, Lady Houtu will send you a voice transmission."

"If I want Qianqiu back sooner... I have to do her a favor? Why does this feel so strange?" After taking the pendant, Du Yu looked at Chi Ghost and Mei Ghost. "Is Lady Houtu using Qianqiu to threaten me? Are you taking her away to hold her hostage?"

"It's not quite a threat, but it's more or less the same idea." Mei Ghost giggled. "Just take your work seriously."

"Take my work seriously?" Du Yu snapped. "I don't know what that Lady Houtu is trying to do, but how am I supposed to work without Qianqiu?"

"That I don't know. It's your Legend Management Bureau's business, after all." Mei Ghost shook her head. "I've delivered everything I was told to say. The rest is up to you."

Mei Ghost waved her hand, taking Dong Qianqiu and Chi Ghost with her. In a flash, all three vanished where they stood.

"What on earth is going on..." Du Yu stared blankly at the spot where Dong Qianqiu had disappeared. "Seventh Master, Eighth Master, will she really be all right? Do you know Lady Houtu?"

"Not just the two of us. Every one of the Eight Great Underworld Enforcers was personally chosen by Lady Houtu," Fan Wujiao said with a sigh. "But only we know Chi and Mei."

"Then..." Still uneasy, Du Yu pressed on. "What kind of person is Lady Houtu? Why did she take Qianqiu away?"

"Lady Houtu..." Fan Wujiao thought for a moment. "I don't know why she took Assistant Dong away either, but I know Lady Houtu isn't a bad person. Assistant Dong should be fine. And Du Yu... that Eight Directions Ghost Record you carry was actually entrusted to me by Lady Houtu to give to you."

"Huh?" Du Yu remembered Dong Qianqiu saying that the Eight Directions Ghost Record was the cultivation art Lady Houtu had used when she established the Underworld. Yet she had now given it to him through Fan Wujiao. What exactly was she planning?

"Look, if that old woman wanted to harm you, she wouldn't have needed to give you the Eight Directions Ghost Record, would she?" Xie Bi'an said. "So let's trust that old woman."

Du Yu was in a bind. Dong Qianqiu would not be back anytime soon. Could his work descending into legends still continue?

Seeing that the matter had been settled, Ox-Head and Horse-Face said goodbye to Du Yu and left. Only then did He Suoyi's figure come hobbling over from the distance.

"Director!" As though he had spotted his savior, Du Yu rushed forward and gave He Suoyi a rough account of what had just happened.

"Oh?" He Suoyi's expression visibly changed. "You're saying Lady Houtu took Dong Qianqiu away?"

"Yes... What should we do?"

He Suoyi considered it, then said, "Very well. I imagine Little Dong will be safe. We'll simply carry on with our work as usual."

"But... without Qianqiu, who'll send me voice transmissions?"

"Don't worry. We have plenty of voice transmission staff. Xiao Qi, whom you know, is one of them. Lady Houtu rarely issues orders. Since she's made a request, let's hurry and prepare the legends of the Eight Great Underworld Enforcers. Currently, the legends of Chief Judge Cui Jue and Black and White Impermanence have developed problems, and we've sealed both. The remaining legends—Ox-Head and Horse-Face, Military Judge Zhong Kui, and Cangue Master and Lock Master—have shown no problems," He Suoyi said calmly.

"Director... do you really trust that Lady Houtu? Why do you seem as though nothing happened? Or rather... as though you knew this was going to happen all along?" Du Yu stared at He Suoyi as he voiced his doubts.

"Me?" He Suoyi stroked his beard and smiled. "How could I possibly have known?"