"Tsk! I'll beat you up before you'll tell me."
Hao Yun cracked his knuckles, rushed to the foot of the Black Mountain Demon, and punched the mountain.
Boom!
The Black Mountain Demon's body instantly collapsed into a large chunk, with rubble rolling off its body.
A scream rang out as the Black Mountain Demon cried out in terror.
"Who exactly are you? I've never heard of immortals existing in the mortal realm!"
Chapter 229 Book of Life and Death
The Black Mountain Demon lived for a very long time, and the reason he was able to live so long was entirely because he knew how to develop his strength in a sneaky and underhanded manner.
After all these years, this was the first time he had encountered an immortal. He had originally thought that all the immortals had died out.
"You don't need to know who I am. I'm asking you, what's the current state of the underworld?"
Standing atop the Black Mountain Demon's true form, Hao Yun adopted a posture that suggested, "If your answer doesn't satisfy me, I'll kill you."
"I'll talk, I'll talk!"
The Black Mountain Demon is a bully who preys on the weak and fears the strong. He is also cautious, otherwise he wouldn't have lived this long.
At the critical moment of life and death, he resolutely chose to follow his heart.
"The underworld completely collapsed three hundred years ago. The judges, Ox-Head and Horse-Face, and the emperors of the Yama Palace all disappeared suddenly for some unknown reason."
"Disappeared suddenly?"
Hao Yun found it strange, so he continued to ask.
"Were there any unusual signs before the people in the underworld disappeared?"
The Black Mountain Demon remained silent for a long time, seemingly recalling events from three hundred years ago.
"Speak up! Stop beating around the bush."
Hao Yun raised his hand and threw another punch, causing another piece of the Black Mountain Demon's body to collapse, and the mountain itself to shrink a bit.
"Don't hit me! Don't hit me! I really don't remember what happened back then. I was just a wandering ghost back then, and I wasn't strong. I didn't dare to get close to the interior of the underworld."
"waste!"
Hao Yun let out a low shout and couldn't help but kick again.
"Yes, yes, I'm useless. Please spare me. I promise I'll stay obediently in the underworld and not go anywhere else."
The two commanders were dumbfounded. The Imperial Preceptor was too powerful. The Black Mountain Demon's cultivation was unfathomable in their eyes, but in the hands of the Imperial Preceptor, it was as easy as crushing a chick.
"You stay put and behave yourself. I'm going to check on things in the underworld. If you're not here when I come out, you know what will happen to me."
Hao Yun cracked his knuckles and threatened the Black Mountain Demon.
“I will absolutely not leave. I will stay here and wait for you. You can go in peace.”
The Black Mountain Demon's deep voice sounded extremely honest and simple at this moment.
"I hope you don't wander off, or I'll turn the underworld upside down to kill you!"
Hao Yun leaped off the Black Mountain Demon and headed into the underworld.
Walking across the Bridge of Helplessness and passing the Terrace of Longing for Home, Hao Yun felt that this underworld was very strange, especially after he entered.
Accompanied by two commanders, Hao Yun rushed to the Yama Palace, but there was still no one inside.
"So this is the underworld? No wonder the soul-summoning spell didn't work. It turns out the underworld no longer has the function of reincarnation."
The Kunlun Sect leader had a complex expression. The underworld was of paramount importance to the human world.
If there is no reincarnation, what happens to the dead? Wouldn't they be trapped in the human world forever, becoming wandering ghosts?
"No, reincarnation is still useful, it's just become incomplete."
After saying this, Hao Yun sat on the throne of Yama, the King of Hell, and opened the Book of Life and Death.
Strangely enough, the Book of Life and Death, which was originally covered in dust, quickly lit up with golden light after Hao Yun opened it.
At the same time, Hao Yun, sitting on the throne, fell into a daze as an image entered his mind.
"Imperial Advisor! Imperial Advisor!"
The two commanders below noticed that Hao Yun was acting strangely and hurriedly stepped forward to wake him up.
"Oh no! The Imperial Advisor seems to have been affected by something. What should we do?"
The two commanders exchanged a glance, somewhat at a loss.
Just as the two were considering whether to try to awaken Hao Yun using Taoist magic, Hao Yun's eyes began to glow.
"Phew~"
With a sigh of relief, Hao Yun finally understood why the people in the underworld had disappeared.
This world originally had a Heavenly Way, but three hundred years ago, the Heavenly Way went astray, and this error caused the Heavenly Way to collapse and dissipate.
The underworld is dependent on the Heavenly Way. When the Heavenly Way disappears, the underworld will naturally cease to exist as well.
Before the underworld perished, Yama, the King of Hell, sensed something was wrong, so he left a message hoping that someone would see it someday.
No one had discovered this information before because they were not strong enough. Hao Yun, who had the cultivation of a Golden Immortal, accidentally opened the Book of Life and Death, thus triggering the restriction left by Yama.
"This has really given me a difficult problem."
Hao Yun rubbed his temples, feeling a terrible headache.
To ensure the proper functioning of the underworld, Hao Yun needs to bestow titles upon the spirits of the underworld.
The problem now is, where can Hao Yun find any spirits? He can't just grab a few evil ghosts and let them become government officials; that would be too easy on them.
"Imperial Preceptor, are you alright?"
Hao Yun glanced at the two commanders, stroked his chin, and an idea popped into his head.
"Let's go back."
After leaving the Yama Palace, the three returned to the entrance of the underworld, where the Black Mountain Demon was still waiting.
Hao Yun glanced at him and nodded in satisfaction.
"They're fairly obedient."
Just as he was about to leave, Hao Yun had a sudden thought and turned to look at the Black Mountain Demon.
Hao Yun chuckled as he opened the Book of Life and Death.
"Conferring the title of Black Mountain Demon as the guardian of the eighteen levels of hell, a divine gatekeeper."
call out!
A golden light flew out and landed on the Black Mountain Demon.
What did you do to me?!
As the golden light entered his body, the Black Mountain Demon cried out in terror, realizing that the Yin energy within him was dissipating and his strength was rapidly diminishing.
The Black Mountain Demon's physical form began to collapse, and the soul imprisoned within him was freed.
"You broke your promise, so even if I die, I'll take you down with me!"
With a roar, the Black Mountain Demon swung his arm and smashed it down at Hao Yun.
Boom!
With a loud bang, before the Black Mountain Demon's arm could even fall, it disintegrated into rubble in mid-air.
"Tch! This is a reward for you, a huge benefit!"
Hao Yun gave a haughty snort, and soon the Black Mountain Demon's entire body collapsed, revealing a black-clad, blue-faced, fanged demon emerging from the mountain.
"I...I'm not dead?"
Staring blankly at his own body, the Black Mountain Demon was somewhat at a loss.
"Go and guard Hell. You shall never leave without my order!"
At his command, golden light enveloped the Black Mountain Demon, who swiftly vanished into the eighteenth level of hell.
"Not bad, it can be considered a way to make use of waste."
Hao Yun muttered to himself, "Guarding Hell is no good job. Hell is a place where evil spirits are imprisoned."
Going there without sufficient strength would be suicide. The Black Mountain Demon has committed numerous evils, and this can be considered his punishment.
"Imperial Advisor! What just happened?"
The Kunlun Sect leader stared at Hao Yun in shock.
"It's nothing, just the appointment of a priest. What, you want one too?"
Hao Yun turned to look at the two men, who shook their heads frantically. They were perfectly fine and wouldn't seek death to become ghosts.
"Tch! Forget it, let's go back."
With the Book of Life and Death tucked into his robes, Hao Yun led the two out of the underworld.
After leading his team back to the capital, Hao Yun asked Zhi Qiu Yi Ye to bring over the list of Dali Temple personnel who had died in battle.
Upon receiving this order, Zhi Qiu Yi Ye was completely bewildered, having no idea what Hao Yun was planning to do.
"Master, what do you need the list of fallen soldiers for?"
You'll find out soon enough.
Hao Yun was too lazy to explain and waved for Zhi Qiu Yi Ye to hurry up and get it.
A few minutes later, Hao Yun stood in the open space, opened the roster, and began to call roll.
"Wang Hua, Li Erniu... come out here!"
Using the Book of Life and Death, he employed the Soul-Binding Technique, instantly summoning dozens of deceased souls.
"Huh? How did I get here? Wasn't I in the underworld?"