Chapter 359: Great Emperor Returns, Magistrate Cui
Can you tell me about matters in the Underworld??” Zhou Xuanji asked as he recovered from his injuries.
As a living person, he was naturally quite curious about the Netherworld.
The souls did not hide anything and told him everything they knew about the Netherworld.
No one knew how big the Netherworld was, but apart from the Northern Wilderness, there were many other places that connected here, even the Upper Realm.
The cycle of reincarnation for mortals occurred here, and Immortals who committed crimes would also be punished here.
The person who controlled the Underworld was King Yama, and he was incredibly powerful. Even Liu Wuji felt that he was not someone who should be easily offended.
The other souls also warned Zhou Xuanji about him.
Zhou Xuanji could not help but think of King Yama from Journey To The West. He had been quite pitiful, but his opponent had been Sun Wukong, the Great Sage Equal To Heaven; it was possible that King Yama had been putting on an act.
However, he was quite curious if there were experts more powerful than King Yama in the Underworld.
The nine souls only talked about the Netherworld generally and did not go into great depth, and Zhou Xuanji did not pursue the matter.
Knowing too much was not good sometimes.
Time gradually pa.s.sed, and with the help of the Tianxia Map and Holy Light Redemption Sword, Zhou Xuanji gradually recovered from his injuries.
Ten hours later, his body had returned to its normal state. However, his organs, bones, and muscles still needed healing, and this was especially so for his Inner Pellet and Astral Spirit.
“There are enemies.” Sovereign Xuan suddenly spoke, and Zhou Xuanji quickly took out his legendary swords, waiting in formation.
“Living person, you dare to cross between Yin and Yang without permission. Hurry up and give yourself up so that you can suffer a bit less,” a gloomy voice sounded from outside the ravine, and it sounded as if the person was speaking right next to Zhou Xuanji’s ears. He could even feel that person’s breath, causing gooseb.u.mps to rise on his skin.
Impermanences!
He felt quite curious as to just how strong the Impermanences were.
Just from their voices alone, he felt that they were not any weaker than Liu Wuji.
“Just give up; they’re stronger than Liu Wuji. You can make plans after you’ve recovered,” Emperor Zhao said. Following this, the nine souls all retreated into the Ancient G.o.d Sword.
Hearing this, Zhou Xuanji sighed and put away his swords before walking out of the ravine.
Right now, he could only rely on the Tianxia Map to heal himself.
Soon, he saw the two Impermanences. They were very similar to the image of Impermanences he had in his mind, except that their clothes were not black and white.
The two Impermanences took out chains and threw them, binding Zhou Xuanji’s hands and feet.
Zhou Xuanji did not resist and said, “I did not want to intrude into the Netherworld; there was someone causing chaos in the mortal realm and wanted to slaughter all living creatures. I fought with him and fell down here.”
He was not excited nor was he depressed, and he spoke quite calmly.
One of the Impermanences replied, “The Magistrate observes the mortal realm and will have his own decisions. If you have achievements and virtue, you will be sent back to the mortal realm. If you have lied, you can repent in the 18 levels of h.e.l.l.”
Hearing this, Zhou Xuanji felt at ease.
There were no grievances between him and the Netherworld, so there was no reason that he would be treated unfavourably.
Moreover, Liu Wuji was a corpse that had gained consciousness, and it was exactly the type of creature that the Netherworld would want to capture.
Just like that, he was taken away by the two Impermanences.
On the way, Zhou Xuanji asked about Liu Wuji. Before he had lost consciousness, he was not sure if Liu Wuji had died, so he was somewhat worried.
The Impermanences answered truthfully, telling him that they were also looking for Liu Wuji. However, that fellow was quite good at hiding and they had not found him yet.
Zhou Xuanji felt quite rea.s.sured; this meant that Liu Wuji was still in the Netherworld.
As long as he did not go to harm the Northern Wilderness and remained in the Netherworld, that would be good.
As they traveled, Zhou Xuanji found that they were moving incredibly quickly.
…
There was a strange energy covering him, making it so that he could not feel any wind resistance. It looked like the scenery around them was pa.s.sing by quite slowly, but they were actually travelling incredibly quickly.
Zhou Xuanji remembered this sensation, feeling that it was a very incredible power.
…
Within the Northern Wilderness next to the sea, Yang Di slowly walked on a beach. There were nine golden dragons wrapped around his body, and his expression was calm, looking like a Dragon Emperor who had come out of the sea.
A black-clothed man appeared in front of him and half-knelt, saying in a low voice, “Great Emperor, you’ve finally come back!”
Yang Di walked over to him and looked down as he quietly asked, “What happened?”
After receiving the legacy of the True Dragon, his strength had greatly increased. Every action of his was filled with domineeringness, resembling nature itself, like a pride that came from the depths of his soul.
…
“Sun Hill has been destroyed by Liu Wuji. The Sword Emperor defeated Liu Wuji, saved the Northern Wilderness, and has become number one in the world. You… have fallen to number two in the world,” the black-clothed man replied anxiously, worried that he would anger Yang Di.
However, Yang Di’s expression did not change and said, “Oh, interesting.”
He walked pa.s.sed the black-clothed man and headed towards Sun Hill.
The black-clothed man closely followed behind him, a look of expectation in his eyes.
He could sense that Yang Di had become stronger, and he would definitely reclaim his position as number one in the world.
…
Within the Nine h.e.l.l Netherworld, Zhou Xuanji followed the two Impermanences for half a day and arrived at a palace.
The surroundings was a barren land, and there were two rows of ghost soldiers in front of the palace. These ghost soldiers had ghostly qi around their bodies and did not have feet. Their heads were lowered as they silently floated.
After entering the palace, Zhou Xuanji saw a big, well-built man sitting in the main hall. He wore a Magistrate’s hat and had a big beard. His eyes were like those of a ferocious leopard’s, and they were full of an intimidating force.
Before coming here, the two Impermanences had told him that this Magistrate was called Magistrate Cui.
“Kneel!” One of the Impermanences said in a low voice, and hearing this, Zhou Xuanji frowned.
A man had gold under his knees; how could he kneel?
Moreover, he had done nothing wrong!
Seeing that he was unwilling to kneel, the two Impermanences walked forwards and grabbed his shoulders, preparing to force him down.
“Stay your hands, let him stand. The two of you can go down,” Magistrate Cui said in a low voice, and the two Impermanences immediately bowed and left.
Only after the two of them were left in the main hall did Magistrate Cui speak slowly.
“Zhou Xuanji, 58 years old, First Tribulation Scattered Immortal cultivation. It is very rare for the mortal realm to have an expert like this; your life is not simple at all,” Magistrate Cui said in a low voice as he looked at Zhou Xuanji. Zhou Xuanji did not feel surprised; Magistrates could read everyone’s lives so as to understand their past and present.
“In your previous life, you were just an ordinary mortal, living an unremarkable life and dying an untimely life. After reincarnating, there has been such a great change; it is simply curious,” Magistrate Cui muttered, sinking into his thoughts.
Untimely death?
Zhou Xuanji’s mouth twitched; his death in his previous life was a stain on his history.
However, this meant that Earth was a mortal realm. He did not panic and pretended that he did not remember his previous life; after all, who did not have a previous life?
“I’ll give you two choices. You can either reincarnate or be an official for the Nether world,” Magistrate Cui said calmly as he looked at Zhou Xuanji.
Zhou Xuanji frowned and asked, “Can’t you just send me back directly? I don’t believe that you’re unable to do this!”
Could it be that this old fellow wanted to keep him here?
Magistrate Cui also frowned and did not say anything.
“Magistrates do not have the power to reverse Yin and Yang, and King Yama is out on business and will not be back for dozens of years. You can choose to wait until King Yama is back and I will report your matter. However, living people cannot live in the Netherworld for a long period of time. You will only be able to stay in this palace and not be able to leave,” Magistrate Cui said slowly as he looked at Zhou Xuanji.
Dozens of years?
Zhou Xuanji’s expression fell as he asked, “If I stay here for dozens of years, how much time will have pa.s.sed in the Northern Wilderness?”
Magistrate Cui replied, “Time pa.s.ses the same way in the Netherworld as the mortal realm. The amount of time you spend here will be the same amount of time that pa.s.ses in the world of the Yang.”