A Soul Erased, A Brother Broken

“Ah.” Ji Ning revealed a look of joy.

“Grandfather, you’re one of the Ten Kings of Hell?” Yuchi Xiyue, standing beside him, was also quite surprised.

King Yan laughed heartily. “Merely one of the Ten Kings of Hell for a minor cycle of reincarnation, governing only this region controlled by Daofather Crimsonbright. There are nearly a thousand Kings of Hell in the Three Realms right now. I’m not one of the original ten from the Netherworld Kingdom… those ten were all at the True Immortal or Empyrean God level.”

“Grandfather, how did you become a King of Hell?” Yuchi Xiyue pressed curiously.

“When Daofather Crimsonbright rebuilt the cycle of reincarnation, he needed candidates for the Ten Kings of Hell and the First Judge. All the major powers began selecting people. Our Grand Xia world also had to send one… because I was a member of the imperial clan and had just become a Celestial Immortal, His Imperial Majesty had me take the position.” King Yan explained.

Ji Ning understood. Being of imperial blood and having just reached the Celestial Immortal stage made it perfectly natural for him to be chosen as one of the Ten Kings of Hell.

The Ten Kings of Hell for this minor cycle of reincarnation didn’t hold particularly exalted status. The original Netherworld Kingdom… which governed the countless lives of the entire Three Realms… that was true power.

“Ji Ning, you asked about this minor cycle of reincarnation. Is there something you need?” King Yan looked at Ji Ning.

“Yes.” Ji Ning nodded. “Senior King Yan, there is a matter on which I would like to request your assistance.”

“Speak.” King Yan said directly.

The imperial clan was extremely united internally. With several major powers lurking within the Grand Xia world, the imperial clan was more unified than ever under external pressure. The Xia Emperor had deemed Ji Ning someone to befriend, not an enemy, and even believed there was a high chance Ji Ning was a disciple of a Daofather. The Celestial Immortals of the imperial clan naturally knew of this message. King Yan’s attitude towards Ji Ning had changed from the time of the Immortal Fortunes Assembly; back then, he had treated Ji Ning as a junior, but now he placed Ji Ning on the same level as himself.

“I believe Senior King Yan is aware that my father, Ji Yichuan, and my mother, Yuchi Snow, passed away many years ago.” Ji Ning said. “I very much wish to know the current situation of my parents.”

“And what will you do even if you find out?” King Yan looked at Ji Ning. “After they are reincarnated, they won’t have memories of their past lives.”

“If they are living well and happily in their new lives, I won’t disturb them.” Ji Ning said. “I just want to see… to see if they are doing well now, and if there is anything I can do for them.”

“Mm.” King Yan nodded. “Alright. I’ll handle this matter. I estimate I can give you a reply within a few months.”

“A few months?” Ji Ning was surprised.

“You think that’s too long?” King Yan laughed.

Ji Ning nodded.

King Yan countered, “Do you know how many lives, from humans to various animals in dozens of major worlds and countless minor worlds, perish every single day?”

“But I heard that in the original Netherworld Kingdom, investigations were very fast.” Ji Ning said.

“The Netherworld Kingdom was built by Mother Nuwa. It even had the treasure ‘Book of Life and Death,’ which was perfectly attuned to the Heavenly Dao,” King Yan said. “The Book of Life and Death could split into countless avatars to manage all reincarnation, karma, and life experiences. But the minor cycle of reincarnation rebuilt by Daofather Crimsonbright… it doesn’t have a Book of Life and Death. Instead, all the minor cycles are much busier.”

“Just recording the reincarnation, karmic merit, and sins of countless lives generates dozens of treasured bamboo slip records every single day,” King Yan continued. “Furthermore, we only have records for the past hundred years or so. Everything before that is a blank slate.”

“A blank slate?” Ji Ning was stunned.

“Right. After the original Six Paths of Reincarnation collapsed, there was simply no way for us to investigate,” King Yan explained. “Although we could go to the First Judge of the Netherworld Kingdom, Lord Cui, to look up the experiences of hundreds or thousands of past lives, the information for a single person is already vast, let alone the records for the countless lives of billions of worlds. We simply couldn’t record it all, so we stopped.”

Ji Ning was speechless.

Back when he had met Lord Cui, the Judge had immediately known everything about his past life.

But for the current minor cycles of reincarnation, the Judges only looked at karmic merit and sin, not bothering to investigate past lives at all. This method was much faster.

“I will send people to search the archives. It will take a few days to find the treasured bamboo slips recording your parents’ information from among the vast sea of records,” King Yan said.

“Thank you, Senior,” Ji Ning said quickly, his heart full of gratitude. He now understood how difficult it was to investigate reincarnation in the current era.

A few months. He could wait for a few months.

“Senior, the First Judge of the Netherworld Kingdom, Lord Cui… where can I meet him?” Ji Ning pressed further.

“Looking for Lord Cui? He might be in the Heaven Realm, the Netherworld Kingdom, or somewhere else entirely,” King Yan shook his head. “Ever since the Six Paths of Reincarnation collapsed, Lord Cui hasn’t needed to handle trivial matters. Protected by the Book of Life and Death, he can go wherever he pleases. To find his whereabouts, I would need to ask around among the immortals of the Heaven Realm and the Netherworld Kingdom.”

The sky was overcast as Ji Ning left the Grand Xia imperial capital and returned to Anchan Commandery.

“In a few more months, I will know how my father and mother have been reincarnated,” Ji Ning thought, a burning hope in his heart. “I wonder if they are living well. Did they start cultivating in this life? In which world were they reborn? Are they still in the Grand Xia?”

Over a desolate wilderness.

Ji Ning flew towards a distant lake, and from afar, he could see the wooden cabin on its shore. It was the home of his junior apprentice-brother, Mu Northson.

“Sigh.”

Ji Ning’s heart ached.

His junior brother had never had many family members, and now his only Dao-companion was trapped within that tiny jade sphere. Every day, he just held the sphere and talked to it. Ji Ning was very worried about his junior brother’s Dao-heart. If this continued… once his Dao-heart collapsed, he would likely fall into a demonic trance, lose control of his elemental energy, and die in a self-detonation.

“He’s here.”

Hidden amongst the weeds by the lakeshore, the four Celestial Immortal Patriarchs who had been sitting cross-legged all opened their eyes, staring at the figure that had appeared in the distant sky.

The youth riding the wind through the air… he was the great scourge of their Shaoyin clan, Ji Ning!

“He’s arrived so quickly. It seems Ji Ning’s bond with Mu Northson is truly deep,” Ancestor Xuanji said with a cold laugh. “I thought we’d have to wait a year or two. Heaven helps our Shaoyin clan!”

“Heaven wants our Shaoyin clan to rid itself of this calamity,” Ancestor Kumu said in a low voice.

“The opportunity has come.” The man carrying the large bell also grinned.

Ancestor Chixin’s eyes flashed with a cold light.

This was the best possible scenario they had predicted. Given that cultivators could go into seclusion for a very long time, they hadn't known when Ji Ning would come to see Mu Northson. If they had had to wait decades or longer, they would have chosen to capture Mu Northson and use him as leverage. That would have forced Ji Ning to show himself, but it would have also given him time to prepare. He might have brought friends, like his fellow disciples from that mysterious sect, or the Diancai Immortal. That would have made killing him much more difficult.

“As it is, he’s completely unprepared,” Ancestor Chixin’s eyes held a cold glint. “This is our best chance.”

“Mm.”

The other three Ancestors nodded as well.

“Execute the plan we agreed upon,” Ancestor Chixin said, staring at Ji Ning as he flew towards the wooden cabin in the distance. “Now!”

From his vantage point in the sky, Ji Ning could see through the open door and window of the cabin. He saw Mu Northson inside, placing the jade sphere on the table in front of him as he drank wine and seemed to be talking.

“He’s still talking to Yu Xia’s soul?” Ji Ning’s heart ached at the sight. “How can his Dao-heart not be corrupted like this?”

Mortals could afford to be despondent.

But it was very dangerous for a cultivator. If he were a Fiendgod Body Refiner, even a violent eruption of elemental energy could be withstood. But his junior brother, Mu Northson, was solely a Ki Refiner. A violent eruption of elemental energy would be enough to kill him.

“Junior apprentice-brother!” Ji Ning called out loudly.

Mu Northson, holding the jade sphere, walked to the doorway and looked up. A smile broke out on his face. “Senior apprentice-brother!”

In that instant—

“Hong~~~”

A powerful and strange undulation instantly transmitted from a nearby location, like sunlight radiating out to envelop everything. This strange undulation blanketed the entire surrounding area, including Mu Northson, the jade sphere, and Ji Ning.

Ji Ning felt a powerful impact on his soul. But his Dao-heart was incredibly firm, and his soul, having perfectly merged with his Fiendgod body, was even more powerful and stable. Naturally, he was able to withstand the assault.

“Not good. Junior apprentice-brother!” Ji Ning was greatly alarmed.

He could withstand it.

But what about his junior brother? His junior brother had only recently stepped into the Void/ Earth Immortal stage. He was at most at the level of an ordinary Earth Immortal or Loose Immortal. Could he withstand it?

“Them.” As Ji Ning looked at his junior brother, he also noticed four figures appearing on the distant plains. He had long ago investigated the intelligence on the Shaoyin clan, and his heart trembled. “Ancestor Chixin, Ancestor Xuanji, Ancestor Goldenbell, Ancestor Kumu? Four Celestial Immortals?”

This soul-based attack had been personally launched by ‘Ancestor Chixin.’

The woman’s soul within the jade sphere, facing such a terrifying soul-based attack, could not withstand it. She was, after all, only at the Wanxiang Adept level. Her soul was far too weak.

Like snow melting under the scorching sun, her soul directly dissolved, turning into nothingness.

As it dissolved, she kept her eyes fixed on Mu Northson… staring at him…

When Mu Northson was struck by the soul-based assault, he naturally resisted with all his might. But his eyes saw the soul of his beloved within the jade sphere in his arms dissolve into nothingness.

“NO!!!” Mu Northson’s eyes turned bloodshot in an instant, blood vessels bursting, and two streaks of bloody tears flowed down his cheeks. He let out a miserable, inhuman roar, like a beast driven mad.

Under the impact of Ancestor Chixin’s soul-based attack, the three people who were struck reacted differently. Ji Ning withstood it directly; Yu Xia’s soul dissipated into nothingness; and Mu Northson was driven utterly mad.

Mu Northson raised his head and stared at the four figures in the distance, their auras radiating the immense power of Celestial Immortals. His eyes were filled with madness. “You! All of you will DIE!!!”

Boom!

A massive Immortal-Winged Puppet suddenly appeared in front of him. Mu Northson’s entire body instantly merged into the puppet. The aura of the Immortal-Winged Puppet exploded upwards. As a grandmaster of puppetry who had once personally crafted an Immortal-Winged Puppet, under the control of this insane master, the puppet’s wings swept outwards with a single motion— In an instant, raging winds tore through heaven and earth, shredding everything before them, and within that wild gale were specks of black light that could make one’s soul sink just by looking at them.