Chapter 2: The Cataclysm of the Netherworld

“I am ordered by Lord Cui to escort Brother Ji to the Yellow Springs Path.”

High in the sky, a purple-robed woman held Ji Ning’s hand as they flew through the air.

Ji Ning looked around.

Just a moment ago they had been inside Lord Cui’s estate, and now in an instant they were in midair.

“May I ask who exactly Lord Cui is?” Ji Ning asked, puzzled. “I heard that before reincarnation, one must meet a judge, undergo a review of one’s past life, have one’s next life determined, and only then proceed to rebirth.”

“Haven’t you already seen a judge?” The purple-robed woman smiled. “Lord Cui controls the Book of Life and Death and is the First Judge! He personally judged you; there is no need for ordinary judges to decide.”

In the Netherworld Kingdom, the highest rulers were the Ten Kings of Hell, and directly beneath them was the First Judge, Lord Cui Jue.

His fame had long spread throughout the Three Realms.

The mortal realm was the most vast and boundless, comprising three thousand major worlds and countless minor worlds. The good and evil deeds of every living creature required judgment by a judge—an immense workload! Thus, within the Netherworld Kingdom there were billions of judges, each responsible for judging the souls of the dead from billions of worlds. Lord Cui was the leader of all judges, known as the First Judge, wielding the true Book of Life and Death. His authority was nearly equal to that of the Ten Kings of Hell.

“Look, that’s the Yellow Springs Path.” The purple-robed woman pointed ahead at a vast road, on which countless lines of ghostly souls slowly advanced. “Follow the Yellow Springs Path, and you will soon reach the Naihe Bridge. Cross the Naihe Bridge, drink Meng Po’s soup, and you can proceed to reincarnation.”

“Go.”

The purple-robed woman waved her hand.

Ji Ning, surrounded by golden light, flew downwards, landing far below and cutting directly to the front of the line.

The ox-headed and horse-faced ghost soldiers beside the line dared not utter a word when they saw the woman in the sky. A specific ox-headed ghost soldier even followed beside Ji Ning, treating him with great courtesy.

…

The Yellow Springs Path was shrouded in mist, with countless ghostly processions moving forward in parallel. Ji Ning walked among them.

“Hm?” Ji Ning looked ahead.

Ahead, the mist was thick. As soon as ghostly souls entered it, they disappeared.

“Go on. Ahead is the Naihe Bridge.” The ox-headed ghost soldier beside him said amiably.

Ji Ning nodded and did not hesitate. He took a step forward and entered the dense fog.

He felt space and time warp.

“Where is this?” Ji Ning looked around in confusion. Ahead was a narrow, winding path. Ghostly figures were sparse; he could see only a few dozen souls walking ahead. The path led to a river with murky waters.

“That must be the legendary River of Forgetfulness,” Ji Ning thought, walking forward.

“Strange.”

“Clearly there were countless lines advancing in parallel, but after entering the fog, it became so sparse?” Ji Ning was perplexed.

He did not know that time flowed differently at the Naihe Bridge than in the outside world.

As they said, one day in heaven equals a year on earth.

The time flow at the Naihe Bridge was even more exaggerated. A single day in the Netherworld might correspond to countless years at the Naihe Bridge.

“Ah! Ah!”

“I regret it!”

Walking on the Naihe Bridge, Ji Ning saw a pool of blood at the bridgehead. In the pool, venomous snakes, poisonous insects, and dogs were tearing at each other viciously. Most souls walked across the blood pool without issue, but some fell into it—clearly weighed down by sin, unable to escape the torment of the blood pool.

“If you had known this day would come, why did you act so in the past?” Ji Ning shook his head and looked at the opposite bank. “How beautiful.”

By the banks of the River of Forgetfulness, gorgeous flowers bloomed in clusters.

Not far from the bridgehead stood a crystalline stone, faintly flickering with scenes—the legendary Stone of Three Lives.

Near the Stone of Three Lives was an earthen platform, the Home Viewing Terrace. After souls passed the terrace, they arrived at Meng Po’s side.

Meng Po was a seemingly ordinary old woman, holding a bowl of soup, offering it to every passing soul. Those who drank it became dazed and automatically jumped into one of the Six Paths of Reincarnation behind her.

“Deva, Asura, Human, Animal, Hungry Ghost, Hell.” Ji Ning looked at the six unfathomable abysses behind Meng Po.

“I won’t drink! I won’t drink! I don’t want to forget! I don’t want to forget!”

Many souls struggled.

But struggle as they might, an invisible force compelled them forward. When they reached Meng Po, the force bound them to lift the bowl and drink the soup. Even if they howled in agony, they still drank… And after drinking, no matter how deep their emotions or how vivid their memories, everything was forgotten. At that point, you were no longer yourself.

“If I enter the Heaven realm, though I might awaken my past-life memories at age sixteen, by then, will the sixteen years of memories in Heaven dominate, or will my past-life memories dominate? At that point, will I still be myself?” Ji Ning’s eyes held a trace of sorrow.

He understood.

He had only lived eighteen years in this life. After sixteen years in Heaven, his self in Heaven would surely be far stronger. His past-life memories would likely be nothing but an appendage.

“But what can I do?” Ji Ning was bound, forced to move forward step by step.

The souls ahead drank the soup one by one. Six more souls, and it would be his turn.

“Meng Po’s soup!” Ji Ning looked at Meng Po ahead.

But suddenly, Meng Po raised her head.

This was the first time Ji Ning had seen her lift her head. Meng Po looked toward the distant sky and let out an aged, furious roar: “How dare you!”

Boom!

Heaven and earth split apart. Countless cracks appeared in the sky around them. The mist in the distance collapsed and dispersed, revealing the countless waiting ghosts outside. The souls near the spatial cracks were instantly annihilated—like bubbles popping, countless souls dissipated, wailing in agony.

“Boom!” “Boom!” “Boom!” “Boom!” “Boom!” “Boom!” In the high sky, countless black dragons roamed. Each dragon was as vast as a winding mountain range. Ji Ning could even see the terrifying scales that chilled his heart. The countless black dragons frolicked through the air, each spitting black lightning bolts toward the ground. In an instant, billions of lightning strikes rained down, each tearing open cracks in the fabric of heaven and earth. The scene was apocalyptic.

“The Two-Realm Calamity Dragon Birth-Annihilation Formation? How dare you attack the Six Paths of Reincarnation! This is supreme karmic sin!” Meng Po roared in fury, transforming into a streak of light that flew straight toward the countless black dragons high above. In an instant, masses of black dragons converged and encircled her.

Rumble~~~

The earth split. The murky waters of the River of Forgetfulness surged. Any ghost touched by the river was instantly howled into nothingness. The Naihe Bridge collapsed, and the souls on it plummeted into the river. The six bottomless abysses of the Six Paths began to tremble, emitting beams of light.

“Not good!” Ji Ning watched the apocalyptic scene in terror, but also felt the invisible restraints dissipate.

“I’ll risk it!” The moment the restraints vanished, Ji Ning was both shocked and overjoyed. He sprinted and leapt directly into the nearest reincarnation passage—the Human Path. The six abysses were located at different positions. Since the Human Path received the most souls, it was right behind where Meng Po had been, closest to Ji Ning. He naturally chose the nearest one and jumped.

Several other ghosts also frantically dove into the passages.

One ghost even tried to sprint toward the distant Deva Path.

Whoosh~~~

A blast of black lightning swept past. The ghosts that hadn’t jumped in time, including the one running for the Deva Path, were wiped from existence, reduced to ashes.

What had happened in the Netherworld? The sight of countless black dragons roaming the sky and billions of black lightning bolts wreaking havoc left Ji Ning stunned. But he understood that as a mortal soul, there was nothing he could do about it. Besides, he had no time to dwell on it—his head hurt terribly!

Ji Ning felt as though something was pulling at his head, tugging with all its might.

His neck ached; his body was crushed and uncomfortable.

“Whoosh!”

Suddenly he felt a sense of relief, followed by bone-chilling cold. At the same time, air rushed into his mouth and down his throat. For the first time since his death in his past life, Ji Ning was “breathing.”

“Waaah!” The air rushed in, and he let out a cry—the cry of an infant.

“It’s a boy! It’s a boy!” someone said in a slightly accented but still discernible voice.

“Ah, I’ve been reborn,” Ji Ning realized at once.

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