BXBX NOVEL Chapter 507: 506
However, this power was quite feeble, inferior to the force that the system had used to drag his soul to the Eira World when he was chosen to become a mage.
Jiang Li voluntarily separated his soul from his body and, guided by the pill, floated towards the Underworld.
The Imperial Palace, the Nine Provinces Continent, the Nine Provinces World, the Void … Jiang Li was experiencing the sensation of death for the first time.
Jiang Li’s soul moved at an astonishing speed, reaching the Void in the blink of an eye.
“Even faster than tearing space apart, and Lord Liu can’t even see me right next to him. Is this the mysterious way of Reincarnation that the immortal elders speak of?”
It is said that the Underworld constantly invokes the Way of Reincarnation to pull the souls of the departed into its realm.
Jiang Li was traversing the boundless Void, releasing his Divine Sense to observe everything around him.
On the way to the Underworld, Jiang Li was not alone. Elderly folks from the Nine Provinces trailed behind him, with the souls of the deceased from other worlds devastated by calamities accompanying him on either side.
At any given moment, creatures from the Ten Thousand Realms faced their death. Jiang Li was unsure how things were before, but he felt that the number of dead souls was way too staggering.
He saw pure, young souls emerging from the front and heading towards various worlds. Comparatively, the number of newborn souls was pitifully lower than that of the departed ones.
“So, this is the perspective of a soul. It indeed differs from what a living being witnesses.” Jiang Li found it fascinating. “Even souls at the Transcendance Tribulation Stage cannot linger in the Void for long, yet these delicate souls can wander freely.”
“Great Emperor, could it be that even you…” The elderly man from the Nine Provinces saw Jiang Li and tears welled up in his eyes, sorrow gripping his heart.
Previously, when his family members had passed away, he was heartbroken; but now, upon beholding Jiang Li’s soul, his sobs were even more intense.
Jiang Li felt awkward and could only patiently explain that he wasn’t dead, he was just making a round trip to the Underworld and would return to the Nine Provinces.
Only then did the old man stop crying.
“Without you in the Nine Provinces, I truly can’t imagine what it will be like.” The elderly man was just a commoner who never had a chance to meet the Human Emperor while alive, but fortuitously encountered him after death.
Just as Jiang Li was about to reply, he frowned. He noticed something strange amidst the Void.
A small black dot.
Jiang Li clearly observed it with his Divine Sense. A small black dot abruptly appeared in the Void, inexplicably.
Everything would normally dissipate into the Void, but this tiny black dot seemed to be an exception, unaffected by the Void.
The black dot transformed, dividing into two, then four, only to suddenly disappear again without any justification.
“What is this?” Jiang Li encountered such a bizarre entity for the first time.
Jiang Li approached it to investigate, but found nothing. Not a single trace of its previous existence could be found.
…
Underworld, the capital of spectres.
“The assembly is now complete. Let’s start the meeting.”
“Can we not do this? Meeting every day – do you have any idea how many departed souls come to the Underworld every day, how many are in queue? I am too busy to cope.”
“King Yama, mind your language. Holding meetings is a tradition. Why does it become ‘this thing’ when you speak of it?”
“I just say what I feel. King Qinguang, you make the judgement. Everyday meetings – aren’t you tired of it?”
King Qinguang coughed once and winked at King Yama, “Today’s meeting is quite important.”
He didn’t mention anything about previous meetings.
Following King Qinguang’s gaze, King Yama was startled.
A dignified woman with an elegant demeanor was sitting at the end of the long table, dressed in a black fairy robe. Her dark hair was coiled into a complex bun. Her skin was as smooth as jade, her beautiful eyes expressive. Her lips curved into a faint smile as she calmly observed King Yama.
The ruler of Underworld, the only Houtian Unlimited Immortal of the Underworld.
Later Earth God.
King Yama felt his heart skip a beat.
He was only complaining in his usual manner, but he had never imagined that the usually elusive Later Earth God would attend the meeting.
Later Earth God slowly said, “King Yama, the Underworld is overflowing with ghosts. We are all burdened. Try to understand.”
“Of course, you are also right. We are all swamped with work, so frequent meetings are also inconvenient. Let’s do this; we’ll reduce the frequency of meetings to one-third of the previous one. What do you think?”
King Yama wouldn’t dare to disagree.
The Ten Halls of Yama gathered in the capital of spectres and looked at Later Earth God, realizing that today’s meeting was extraordinary.
Only then did King Yama seriously consider the agenda of the day and found that it was indeed of such importance that it required the consensus of the Halls of Yama and the ruler of the Underworld.
King Qinguang presided over the meeting: “Billions of lost souls in the Sealed Ink World have come back to life. Black and White Impermanence have identified the cause. Someone possesses a part of the shards from the Stairway to Immortality, causing the entire world to reverse time by ten years and innumerable souls, who were partying in the Underworld, have been resurrected.”
“The shards of the Stairway to Immortality… related to the Immortal Realm yet again.” No one wanted to hear the news of the Immortal Realm now. After the Heavenly Dao attained consciousness and brought them countless work, it destroyed countless worlds causing the Underworld to be swarmed by ghosts. Now, it is even attacking the Underworld.
They haven’t had a long break for a very long time.
Death was even more exhausting than life.
“How should we handle this matter?”
“Life and death are predestined and irreversible. I suggest we capture all these lost souls and bring them back,” said King Equality.
“But it will add a massive workload to the Underworld,” King Yama frowned.
“That’s not the point, managing the deceased is the duty of the Underworld. We can’t neglect our duty due to excess work, leading to souls slipping through the net. If you think the workload is heavy, I can share some of it,” said King Equality.
“What King Equality says is reasonable. It is indeed the duty of the Underworld, which can’t be shirked. However, our duty is derived from the Law of Life and Death cycle, while billions of lost souls coming back to life is due to the Time Law. Both laws are of the same order and neither is superior to the other.”
“Since it is a conflict between laws, which cannot be resisted, we should respect the Time Law and let the lost souls continue to live in the Sealed Ink World.”
“Moreover, our Underworld should not interfere in the affairs of the Mortal World. If we teleport these lost souls, it will lead to a major disorder on their planet.”
“I concur with King Qinguang. Be it out of respect for the Time Law or for maintaining the order of the Mortal World, those people needn’t face death again.”
The Ten Halls of Yama looked to Later Earth God, the only one qualified to make a definitive decision.
“There’s no need to recall the lost souls.”
King Yama sighed in relief. If he were to summon the lost souls back, he would need to re-determine their Virtues, re-register them, and re-allocate their residences.
Over the past many years, when lost souls were resurrected, some did good deeds, while some turned evil. Their previous Virtues could not be counted and they needed to queue up all over again.
If it indeed happened so, King Yama might even wish to reincarnate and change his own destiny.
“Now, let’s move on to the next topic. Black and White Impermanence have mentioned a living person named Jiang Li, who possesses a vast amount of Virtues. After his death, how should we deal with him?”
“King Yama, bring out the Book of Life and Death, and let everyone observe his life and Virtues.”
“Yes.”
King Yama threw the genuine Book of Life and Death into the air.