Chapter 1628: The Underworld

Ye Chen felt his consciousness drifting away, pulled by a mysterious force toward a dark, bottomless abyss that seemed endless.

"Is this what death feels like?" In the darkness, he murmured softly, unable to open his eyes, his body cold and utterly weak.

He did not resist, letting himself float aimlessly through the dark void.

His memories were still fixed on Zhutian, filled with longing for Da Chu.

The mountains and rivers of his homeland, the people there, every flower and blade of grass, every tree and branch—they were his final comforts.

Alone and isolated, he lingered in the recollections of his past life.

Time seemed stretched out, becoming incredibly long, as if the river of years had no shore or end.

He did not know how much time passed before he finally stopped and slowly opened his eyes.

The first thing he saw was a pitch-black, frigid world of endless scorched earth, devoid of any light.

It was truly like Jiu You, with howling yin winds and the wails of vengeful ghosts.

Bloody ravines crisscrossed the land, where resentful spirits struggled, and half-buried skeletons lay on the charred soil, weathered by time.

"Is this the underworld?" Ye Chen's eyes, once clouded with confusion, cleared as he stared blankly at the scene before him.

He had been here before, years ago, in search of Lin Shi Hua's missing soul and three spirits.

Although most of his memories had been erased by a supreme being in the underworld, a few fragments remained: this was indeed the underworld.

"How did I end up in the underworld?" Ye Chen frowned involuntarily.

He recalled what Long Yi had said: In his later years, Tai Xu Long Di had used a world-defying divine ability to communicate with the underworld and glimpse its realm, where beings rivaled emperors.

After death, people typically vanished into smoke, and only a rare few might find rest in the underworld—but such cases were almost nonexistent.

Clearly, he was one of those rare exceptions.

"Is this my true destination? My final resting place?" Ye Chen muttered to himself, his laugh tinged with sorrow.

"Don't just stand there, keep moving." As Ye Chen spoke to himself, a rough voice suddenly rang out, accompanied by a deep bovine bellow.

Ye Chen instinctively turned around and saw two figures standing behind him.

The one on the left had a human body but a bull's head, with an iron ring through its nose—clearly a person, yet with a full bovine face.

The one on the right had a human body but a horse's face, which at first glance resembled a donkey, with two large, straight front teeth.

"Cow Head and Horse Face?" Ye Chen was stunned, recalling the stories from the mortal world used to scare children.

They were the underworld's guards, who rushed to the homes of the deceased to capture wandering souls, never failing to catch their targets.

"What's with the staring? Move it, don't miss the time." Cow Head barked gruffly, with a bad temper, and shoved Ye Chen.

Horse Face was no less busy, pulling out shackles and locking Ye Chen's hands and feet securely, clearly dedicated to his duty.

"Where are you taking me?" Ye Chen couldn't help but ask, glancing at Cow Head and then Horse Face.

Neither Cow Head nor Horse Face responded, just shoving and barking at him all the way.

It was as if they were bailiffs and he was a prisoner, his shackles dragging with a clanking sound.

Getting no answer, Ye Chen cleared his throat and looked elsewhere.

The underworld was like Zhutian Wan Yu, with mountains, rivers, trees, and forests, all pitch-black and ice-cold, without any warmth.

Occasionally, a lone wandering ghost would drift by, swaying unsteadily, their expression dull and eyes vacant.

Beyond that, the underworld harbored many terrifying presences.

For instance, in a patch of forest, someone was chopping wood.

Or under an ancient tree, an infant was squatting and crying.

Or on a bloody river, a stone coffin floated.

The most chilling were the wails of vengeful ghosts, their sobs making one's heart tremble, as grudges and malice wove into grotesque faces.

Even though he had been here once and was somewhat prepared, coming again still made Ye Chen shudder—it was too eerie.

Soon after, a pass came into view: a grand archway with the bold characters "Gui Men Guan" inscribed on it.

In front of Gui Men Guan stood a gatehouse marked "Yin Cao Di Fu."

Ye Chen looked up at the three characters of Gui Men Guan, then glanced sideways at the Yin Cao Di Fu gatehouse, feeling a strange sense of familiarity.

The pass was heavily fortified, like an iron wall, guarded by eighteen fearsome ghost kings with grotesque appearances, exuding a sinister terror.

After passing Gui Men Guan, they walked for an unknown distance before another massive palace appeared, dark and imposing, yet chillingly cold.

Above it hung a plaque with three prominent characters: Yan Luo Dian.

In front of Yan Luo Dian, two rows of figures stood: all Cow Heads on the left and all Horse Faces on the right.

At that moment, a group of people was filing into Yan Luo Dian.

Like Ye Chen, they all wore white prison garments and were bound in iron shackles, their chains clanking as they walked.

"I died unjustly, with my revenge unfulfilled—let me go!"

"My child hasn't even been born yet—let me see him!"

"I'm the Jiao Long King—screw this, send me to reincarnation!"

The area in front of Yan Luo Dian was far from quiet, with people weeping, shouting, and making all sorts of noise in a chaotic din.

"Noise!" A Cow Head roared fiercely and cracked his whip.

With that strike, all the sounds ceased.

No matter who you were in life or how powerful, once you're here, you'd better stay obediently submissive.

Ye Chen kept quiet too; those Cow Heads were too aggressive.

His eyes sharpened as he listened clearly: the captured souls were being sent for reincarnation, to be reborn as humans.

"I can still be reincarnated." He was so excited he nearly jumped up.

This was completely unexpected. Even someone like him, who had slain two emperors, couldn't believe reincarnation was real.

He had thought only Da Chu had a cycle of rebirth, and that the idea of reincarnation was just a mortal fabrication.

But now, it seemed Da Chu wasn't the only one; the underworld had its own cycle, and it was even more systematic.

"I can go back." Tears welled up in Ye Chen's eyes.

"Step forward and line up." Another Cow Head with a deep bovine voice shoved him, then left with Horse Face.

Ye Chen wiped away his tears and hurriedly joined the line at the back.

"Where are you from?" The person in front of Ye Chen turned around—it was a leopard-headed spirit with round, bulging eyes.

"Zhutian Wan Yu." Ye Chen replied with a smile, not hiding anything.

"We're not from the same place then. I'm from Ling Yu."

"Ling Yu?" Ye Chen raised an eyebrow. "What's that?"

"It's what you folks in Zhutian Wan Yu call the Spirit Realm. Your people aren't exactly trustworthy—they're always summoning us for no reason, mostly to fight, and I got called once and beaten badly."

"Not everyone there is untrustworthy." Ye Chen chuckled awkwardly.

"Actually, Ling Yu used to be part of Zhutian Wan Yu, just one domain among many. But after a great heavenly upheaval, the domains shattered into countless smaller planes."

"There's that history?" Ye Chen stroked his chin thoughtfully.

"Do you know about the three realms—heaven, earth, and human?" The leopard-headed spirit seemed bored, a real chatterbox who couldn't stay silent.

"You do?" Ye Chen perked up at the mention.

"Of course. Heaven is above, the underworld below, and in the middle is the human realm, which is our Zhutian Wan Yu."

"That's news to me." Ye Chen sighed in amazement.

"So, when people from Ling Yu die, do they all come to the underworld?" Ye Chen asked the leopard-headed spirit, full of curiosity.

"Not at all! People just vanish after death, and those who end up in the underworld are almost none—a whole domain might not even have one."

"So, what's the principle behind it? How does someone end up here?"

"You're out of the loop on this. Before the three realms separated, they were all one, with countless connections and cracks between them. It's just that we died at the right time and got pulled in through one of those cracks."

"What about reincarnation then?" Ye Chen probed.

"Basically, they toss us back through those cracks."

"That's a straightforward explanation." Ye Chen coughed.

"It's all just my guess." The leopard-headed spirit scratched his nose.

"Your guess? I..." Ye Chen nearly kicked him.

You old fool, you've been stringing me along?

If this weren't the underworld and those Cow Heads and Horse Faces weren't so vicious, he would have pinned the leopard-headed spirit down for a good beating.

"Enough talk—it's my turn." The leopard-headed spirit shook his head and even smoothed his hair before proceeding with an air of grandeur, as if marching to his execution with noble resolve.

"Hurry up." Before he could finish his pose, a Cow Head kicked him inside. Even in death, still trying to show off.

Ye Chen took a deep breath, watching with a meaningful expression.

Most people cried and begged when they died, but this leopard-headed spirit was optimistic, spirited, and proud about it.

With no one to chat with, Ye Chen glanced behind him.

Behind him was a beautiful woman—not a stunning beauty, but still quite attractive. She kept her head down, looking sorrowful.

"Beautiful, where are you from?" Ye Chen asked with a smile, just as the leopard-headed spirit had asked him—maybe they were from the same region?

"Huo Yu." The woman replied softly, her tone flat, without lifting her head, her messy hair covering half her face.

"Huo Yu—that must be what Zhutian Wan Yu calls the Flame Realm." Ye Chen muttered quietly; it was still part of the human realm's domains.

The woman seemed disheartened and didn't want to talk. Ye Chen didn't press further and just tiptoed to look behind.

Many from Zhutian Wan Yu had died in the recent events; maybe besides him, someone else had come to the underworld, and he might even know them.

Regrettably, he didn't spot anyone. The line was long, but he was the only one from Zhutian Wan Yu.

Soon, he was pushed inside by a Cow Head, nearly stumbling.

Once he steadied himself, he realized Yan Luo Dian resembled a mortal courthouse, with rows of lesser ghosts standing on either side.

At the center, behind a desk, sat a figure like a county magistrate—or rather, the underworld's judge, fierce and intimidating.

Flanking the judge were two others, one in black and one in white, wearing tall hats with their tongues lolling out—it was clearly Black and White Impermanence.

Overall, Yan Luo Dian could be summed up in two words: sinister and foreboding.

Ye Chen stepped forward and stood still, saying nothing.

The judge's eyes were sharp as torches. He glanced at Ye Chen and flipped open the Book of Life and Death to see how much good and evil he had done.

The underworld was thorough; upon arrival, a ghost's memories were extracted and recorded in the Book of Life and Death for judgment.

The standard was based on good and evil: those who accumulated virtue would be sent back peacefully.

As for evildoers, they would face severe consequences, learning the true meaning of retribution.

Ye Chen remained silent, curious to know how the Book of Life and Death would judge him—good or bad, virtuous or wicked.