Seeing Lin Qing leave, Meng Po returned to the ceramic bowl: "Alas, I hope the Dragon King can help Lord Yama resolve this!"
After flying for a while, Lin Qingfei spotted a huge building ahead and heard a sound before he even got close.
"Is that the Dragon King approaching?"
"It's me." Lin Qingfei flew in and saw the person who spoke. He was a big bearded man, and at first glance, he thought it was Yan Chixia.
Upon closer inspection, the man had a leopard-like head, piercing eyes, an iron face, and a bushy beard; his appearance was quite unusual. Lin Qing recognized him immediately—this man was none other than Zhong Kui.
"Are you Zhong Kui?" Lin Qing asked.
"Haha! Yes, I didn't expect that the Dragon King would also know my name." Zhong Kui laughed heartily.
"Hehe, those behind you are Ox-Head and Horse-Face, and Black and White Impermanence, right?" Lin Qing didn't answer, just looked at the four figures standing behind Zhong Kui.
"Greetings, Your Majesty the Dragon King." All four bowed.
"You're too kind. Is there something you need me for?" Lin Qing asked.
"Please come in, Your Majesty Dragon King. Yama is waiting for you," Zhong Kui said, making a gesture of invitation.
"What a hassle. Why can't you just say so? Why do I have to see the King of Hell in person? Why can't I see the King of Hell?" Lin Qing was getting impatient.
"My lord, Yama cannot leave the underworld at the moment. Please forgive me," Zhong Kui said helplessly.
"Hmph! Lead the way!" Lin Qing snorted coldly.
"Please come in, please come in." Zhong Kui led the way.
Then, led by Zhong Kui, Lin Qing passed through the Underworld Palace and entered the palace.
Along the way, Lin Qing didn't see a single ghost. How could there be no ghosts in the underworld?
You should know that the underworld is where ghosts are reincarnated or sent to the eighteen levels of hell.
"It seems I'll have to ask King Yama for some answers later." Lin Qing made up his mind not to help unless he explained things clearly.
"Your Majesty, please come in. Yama is inside. We will wait here!" Zhong Kui led Lin Qing to the door of a room.
"Hmm! -- Creak!" Lin Qing watched the door open automatically and then entered the room.
After Lin Qing entered, the door closed automatically, and a weak voice came from behind: "Dragon King, please come in."
Lin Qing didn't answer, but walked inside. After a while, he came to a bed and saw a person lying on it.
"Are you Yama? Yama, the King of Hell?" Lin Qing asked in surprise, looking at the man who seemed to be about to die.
"Ahem! I am Yama, please excuse my poor appearance." Yama said, barely managing to sit up and lean against the headboard.
"What's going on?" Lin Qing never imagined that this sickly-looking person was Yama.
"You also know about the disappearance of immortals, gods, and Buddhas a thousand years ago, right?" Yama asked.
“I know, but I don’t know why. I also want to know why they all disappeared,” Lin Qing said.
"I can't say the specific reason, because if I do, my soul will be scattered and I will never be reincarnated."
"My body is the way it is now because I didn't 'disappear'."
"My reincarnation will take place in seven days," Yama said casually, showing no concern for his impending death.
"Could it be caused by something even more terrifying?" Lin Qing thought he would finally know the reason.
Lin Qing thought to himself, "It seems I still need to get some luck points to ask the Book of the World."
"It cannot be said, it cannot be said. I invited you here this time because I want you to do me a favor."
Chapter 124 The Four Ghost Emperors
“Since you invited me here, you want me to help you, but you won’t say anything, so it’s very difficult for me,” Lin Qing said.
"Ahem, don't worry, Dragon King, I won't let you make a wasted trip." With that, Yama took out a token from his pocket.
"This token is for you. It will open the entrance to Heaven when you reach the South Heavenly Gate," said Yama.
"The Heavenly Court is now sealed by the Jade Emperor with great power. Unless one is stronger than the Jade Emperor, only my token can open the seal of the Southern Heavenly Gate."
"The token was left to me by the Jade Emperor, allowing me to eke out a living in the Heavenly Court."
"But I am unwilling, for in seven days it will be the day I am reincarnated."
"If I were not in the underworld, there would be great chaos. The cycle of reincarnation would cease, and the human world would also be thrown into chaos as a result," Yama explained.
Lin Qing felt a headache coming on. Just as Yama had said, chaos was brewing in both the underworld and the human world. People died, but their souls remained, and the world was truly in turmoil.
By then, my own mission will be far from completion, so I'll have to help now, especially since I have a token to go to Heaven.
Tell me what kind of help you need me to provide.
"I hope the Dragon King can help me eliminate the four Ghost Emperors of the Underworld, who are about the same level of power as my subordinates Zhong Kui and Meng Po."
"It's because of my current weakness that they were able to take advantage of me. Now even the gates of hell have been occupied by those four ghosts."
"Once I die, the entire underworld will probably belong to them, and even Zhong Kui and Meng Po won't be able to stop them."
"It's because of the obstruction of the Four Ghost Emperors that even the ghosts that are reincarnated after death can no longer enter the underworld to be reborn."
"As long as you, Dragon King, eliminate the Four Ghost Emperors, Zhong Kui and Meng Po will be able to maintain the operation of the Underworld," Yama said weakly.
"It's nothing serious, I'll help you with this." After saying that, Lin Qing directly sucked the token into his mouth.
"By the way, why did I only see Meng Po, Zhong Kui, Ox-Head and Horse-Face, and Black and White Impermanence in the underworld, and not even a single ghost soldier or ghost general?" Lin Qing was very puzzled.
"Ahem, I've sent them to seek refuge with those four Ghost Emperors," Yama said helplessly.
"You've really failed as a Yama, actually sending your subordinates to breed enemies. By the way, what's the deal with these four Ghost Emperors?" Lin Qing asked.
"Cough cough! There's nothing I can do about it. These four Ghost Emperors were ghost kings who used to roam the underworld. I didn't pay them any attention until I was too weak."
"These four ghost kings joined forces to declare themselves emperors and then attacked the underworld. Their cultivation was only slightly inferior to that of Meng Po and Zhong Kui."
"Even if the four of them join forces, Meng Po and Zhong Kui are no match for them. The day my underworld dies will be the day it perishes."
"Therefore, I implore the Dragon King to annihilate these four little devils," Yama said, clasping his hands in a fist salute.
"Don't worry, it's not a big deal. Since I've already promised you, I'll wipe them out."
"Thank you for your help, Dragon King. Also, I hope you will show mercy to those ghost soldiers and generals. We will still need them to manage the underworld in the future."
Lin Qing pondered for a moment, then said, "Okay, I understand. You rest now, I'll be going now."
"Okay, take care, I won't see you off."
Lin Qing pushed open the door and flew out: "I've agreed to Yama's request. You can wait for my good news!"
After saying that, Lin Qing flew away, while Zhong Kui and the others looked at each other in bewilderment, and then entered the room with joyful expressions to meet King Yama.
Lin Qing had originally planned to devour all those ghost soldiers and generals, but after Yama's explanation, he understood.
If Lin Qing were to devour these ghostly soldiers, then frankly speaking, even Zhong Kui and his few companions wouldn't be able to manage such a massive underworld.
Although he had lost many evolution points, Lin Qing was relieved. There were always more evolution points to be earned, and besides, he didn't lack any at all.
After all this time, Lin Qing's evolution points have reached over 800,000, and it's estimated that he'll reach one million evolution points in a while.
Lin Qing crossed the Bridge of Helplessness and arrived at the Gate of Hell. At this time, there was not a single person in front of the Gate of Hell, it seemed that the four Ghost Emperors were still unaware.
Lin Qing immediately unleashed his divine sense. He planned to find the four Ghost Emperors, devour them, and then return to the Demon Extermination Palace to await the completion of the mission.
After flying for a short while, they saw a group of ghost soldiers, led by a ghost general, heading towards the Gate of Hell.
Lin Qing walked directly in front of them and then released his pressure, pinning them to the ground so they couldn't move.
"Whose men are you?"
"Hmph! Damn it, who are you to dare to stop us? We are subordinates of the Eastern Ghost Emperor. Release us at once."
"Otherwise, His Majesty will lead his army to skin you alive and throw you into a vat of boiling oil," the ghost general said fiercely to Lin Qing, showing no fear whatsoever.
"Hmph! How arrogant! Then you have no reason to exist."
As soon as Lin Qing finished speaking, he saw the ghost general explode and disappear.
"My lord, my lord, spare our lives!" A group of ghostly soldiers cried out and begged for mercy.
"Tell me where the four Ghost Emperors are?" Lin Qing asked expressionlessly.
"I know, I know, they're all on Yinshan Mountain, five hundred miles away. They're just waiting for King Yama to reincarnate so they can attack the Underworld," a soldier said.
"Yes, yes, it's on Yinshan Mountain," the soldiers chimed in.
Lin Qing ignored the soldiers and headed straight for Yinshan.
The soldiers looked at each other, and suddenly felt the pressure on them disappear. They all breathed a sigh of relief.
A massive black mountain stood tall, Lin Qing estimated it to be about 1,500 meters high.
At the foot of the mountain, a large contingent of ghostly soldiers and generals were stationed, while on the mountain stood four magnificent palaces, which appeared to have been built by four little devils.
Lin Qing scanned the area with his divine sense and discovered that the four of them were currently in the palace of the Eastern Ghost Emperor and were discussing matters.
"I am in charge of the Underworld; you may choose other places," said the Eastern Ghost Emperor, seated in the main seat.
"Hmph, who doesn't know that there are eighteen levels of hell and six paths of reincarnation in the underworld? You're thinking too highly of yourself!" The Southern Ghost Emperor was very displeased.
“Yes, Feng Pu, you’ve got it all figured out. You’ve already asked for the Underworld right off the bat. What about us?” The Northern Ghost Emperor disagreed.
"We haven't even conquered the Underworld yet, so what's the rush? At worst, we'll rotate every ten years, with the four of us taking turns ruling the Underworld," said the Western Ghost Emperor.
"Hmph! Then I want to be the first to rule the Underworld." Seeing that all three opposed him, the Eastern Ghost Emperor had no choice but to settle for second best.
“Fine, if you want to be the first to rule the Underworld, then go and kill Zhong Kui. Whoever kills Zhong Kui will be the first to rule it,” said the Northern Ghost Emperor.
"agree."
"agree."
"Alright." The Eastern Ghost Emperor was not intimidated. His cultivation had recently increased, making him stronger than the Ghost Emperors present. Otherwise, he wouldn't have dared to make such outrageous remarks.
Chapter 125 Familiar People (Third Update)