On the other side, Yama thought his trick of deceiving heaven and crossing the sea would allow him to safely navigate this crisis. Little did he know that his decision to persist in the wrong course had already set off a chain reaction.
Greater troubles followed one after another.
“How dare you! Are you blind, you little ghost, to dare bump into this king! Guards, tie this wretch up and throw him into the boiling oil!”
Yama was already in a foul mood. On his way back to Yama’s Palace, he was bumped into by a ghost officer who stumbled and crawled, nearly causing him to fall.
With pent-up anger and nowhere to vent it, this ghost officer had walked right into the line of fire. Without another word, Yama decided to make an example of him.
The ghost officer knelt and pleaded for mercy: “Lord Yama, please, please spare this lowly one! It’s just too… too terrifying!”
Yama roared angrily, “In this Underworld, there are only ghosts! You’re a ghost yourself—are you afraid of ghosts now?”
The ghost officer shook his head frantically, stammering in panic, “R-reporting to Lord Yama, it’s not ghosts! It’s… it’s the Book of Life and Death!! The Book of Life and Death has gone mad!!”
Hearing “Book of Life and Death,” Yama’s heart skipped a beat, though his face remained stern and furious. “What nonsense is this? Get out of here now!”
“Thank you, Lord Yama! Thank you, Lord Yama…” The ghost officer felt as if granted a great pardon. He hastily kowtowed a few times, scrambled to his feet, and fled.
At that moment, the entire underworld suddenly shook violently, as if the earth were trembling and mountains swaying. The ghost officer, having only taken two steps in his escape, stumbled and fell again.
Seeing this commotion, Yama felt an ominous premonition rise within him, a sense that great disaster was about to befall him.
With no time to spare for the ghost officer, he transformed into a wisp of black smoke and instantly flashed back to Yama’s Palace.
All the Books of Life and Death seemed to have been stimulated by something, growing restless and trembling in waves, as if afraid of something.
Inside the hall, the three judges were in a frantic state, trying every means to suppress these increasingly terrified and violently shaking books, fearing that in a moment of carelessness, all the Books of Life and Death would fly away.
Yama stood rigidly at the entrance. For the first time in tens of thousands of years, he witnessed such a scene. Wide-eyed and seemingly dumbfounded, he didn’t know how to react.
The next second, an agonized scream exploded in his ears.
Yama, startled, finally regained some composure.
The judge he had painstakingly pried off the wall earlier now had every tendon and vein in his body ruptured inch by inch, his form distorted and compressed by some unknown force.
The sound of his bones breaking and grinding echoed through Yama’s Palace, chilling enough to make even ghosts shudder, let alone humans.
“—Ah! It hurts! It hurts so much!! Yama, save me!!! Lord Yama, save me quickly…”
He was just an intern. He hadn’t done anything wrong, and Yama had even promised to make him a full judge upon his return. How could this suddenly…
As the judge’s wails grew fainter, his body exploded with a “bang” right before Yama and the other two judges.
In an instant, his soul scattered and his form turned to ashes.
He vanished completely from the Three Realms, never to enter the cycle of reincarnation.
Yama was stunned.
As for the other two judges, who were also ghosts, their legs had already gone weak, unable to support them. Their knees buckled, and both fell to the ground.
As that judge turned to dust, a Book of Life and Death fell from his embrace, trembled a few times, and slowly rose into the air, hovering mid-height.
A sudden fierce wind swept through Yama’s Palace. The Book of Life and Death opened on its own, its pages flipping rapidly before finally settling on one.
On that page, two names, along with all related text, turned golden, shining with a dazzling, flickering light.
Yama’s legs trembled, his face deathly pale as he staggered back a step. His heel caught on the high threshold, and he fell with a thud.
There was no time to engage his wise mind.
The names Shen Yuanling and Shen Fuxing burst forth one after another, radiating ten thousand beams of golden light, dazzling and brilliant.
Like the legendary Ultraman rays, they swept indiscriminately in all 360 degrees, instantly destroying over seven hundred thousand Books of Life and Death in the underworld.
Then the light retracted, and the last Book of Life and Death floating in the air exploded on the spot, not leaving even a scrap of paper for Yama.
The air fell silent.
The two judges clung to each other, huddling in a corner and trembling.
Yama’s expression was dazed; he felt this must be fake, that everything was just a dream.
Thinking this, he picked up a brick and “smacked” it heavily against his own forehead. His eyes rolled back, and he fainted on the spot.
After a long while, seeing no further disturbances in the hall, the two judges released each other and cautiously crawled over to Yama, who had already closed his eyes.
“Grandpa Yama, Grandpa Yama?”
The unlucky judge pushed him. Seeing no response, the other judge tentatively placed a finger under Yama’s nose.
Cold.
No breath!
The two held Yama’s “corpse” and began wailing like ghosts and howling like wolves, tears streaming down as if they cost nothing, a pitiful sight indeed.
“Quick, come here, ghosts! Grandpa Yama has passed away!!”
The series of disturbances in the underworld were still unknown to the Heavenly Court.
Yama struggled to open his eyes a slit, mustered a breath, and ordered all ghost officials to seal off the news. After speaking, his eyes closed again, and he lost consciousness once more.
With his last words delivered, the ghosts kneeling around him burst into loud wails again.
In contrast, Shen Fuxing, residing in the Cloud Tower Palace, revealed her first genuine smile since ascending to the Heavenly Court.
Her grandfather finally had news!
The Jade Emperor promised that when the time was right, he would allow them to reunite.
Both as Immortal Bodies, sharing the same lifespan as the heavens.
She no longer had to worry about being separated from her grandfather!
Celestial Master Zhang, seeing Shen Fuxing so happy, felt somewhat sorry for her.
But he said nothing, faithfully relaying every word the Jade Emperor had instructed. With a wave of his Fly-whisk, he returned to report.
However, one cannot always have smooth sailing; showing one’s edge often invites hardship.
No sooner had Celestial Master Zhang left than Heavenly King Li, who had been eavesdropping on their conversation, emerged from behind a pillar.
Those who come with ill intent are not well-intentioned. Seeing Li Jing’s gloomy and angry expression, Shen Fuxing’s good mood dissipated greatly.
Nezha had descended to the mortal realm to vanquish demons and would not return for at least three days. Li Jing seeking her out now was undoubtedly to settle scores.
Shen Fuxing stopped smiling, lowered her eyes, and clasped her hands in salute. “This humble immortal greets—”
Li Jing looked down on her from above. Before she could finish her sentence, he raised his foot and kicked Shen Fuxing heavily in the stomach.
Although Shen Fuxing also possessed an immortal body, her magical power was weak and she could not withstand Li Jing’s kick. She fell forward in pain, supporting herself with one hand on the ground.
A cold male voice sounded above her head: “You have not yet taken the ascension examination and are merely the lowest-level Celestial Attendant. When you see this Heavenly King, you must kneel in salute. Did Nezha not even teach you this basic rule?”
Enduring the intense pain, Shen Fuxing forced a smile at the corner of her mouth. “The Crown Prince is burdened with heavy tasks of subduing demons and eliminating evils, unlike the Heavenly King who has leisure. Naturally, he has no time to instruct a mere Celestial Attendant.”
As soon as the words fell, Li Jing’s eyes darkened, and he kicked her stomach again. Shen Fuxing let out a scream, clutching her stomach as she lay curled up on the ground.
Now he’s been placed under house arrest by His Majesty, and she dares to mock him with the word “leisure”—she’s simply asking for death!
But Li Jing wouldn’t execute her so easily. He intended to torment Shen Fuxing slowly, making her pay a hundredfold, a thousandfold for her actions!
“Hmph! Relying on a bit of petty cleverness, with Nezha protecting you, Taibai Jinxing helping you, and His Majesty shielding you—do you really think this Heavenly King is a soft persimmon to be squeezed?”
“You’ve gone to great lengths to please Nezha, just so he’d help you find your grandfather, haven’t you? Why don’t you go ask around—in the Heavenly Court, which Heavenly Soldier doesn’t answer to me?”
“Anger this Heavenly King, and you still dream of reuniting with your family? A pipe dream!”
“Once this Heavenly King finds out where he’s stationed, I’ll immediately cast him down to the mortal realm to be reborn as livestock!”
“And you—don’t even think about seeing him again in this lifetime!”
Holding his treasure pagoda, Li Jing vented his fury. Before leaving, he even kicked Shen Fuxing, his gaze cold and contemptuous, before turning and striding away.
In the Third Prince’s palace, Shen Fuxing’s face was as pale as paper, her temples soaked with sweat. Her almond-shaped eyes stared fixedly at Li Jing’s retreating figure, their color dark as ink, icy and filled with a murderous chill.
She had expended so much effort, only to finally receive news of her grandfather today, and now Li Jing threatened to destroy it all.
Restless and turbulent emotions erupted like a volcano, lava swallowing her reason.
If anyone dared to harm a single hair on her grandfather, she would grind their flesh and blood into mud, making them wish they were dead!