The Verdict of Time

Ji Ning had once asked Lord Yan to investigate the circumstances of his father Ji Yichuan and mother Yuchi Snow's reincarnation. However, the subsequent battle with the Shaoyin clan and Ji Ning's banishment to the Realm of Annihilation meant Lord Yan had never had the chance to tell him.

“I found it.” Lord Yan nodded.

“Excellent. That’s… that’s wonderful.” Ji Ning could not hide his excitement.

In Ji Ning’s heart, his father Ji Yichuan and his mother Yuchi Snow occupied the highest position. Even his Dao-companion, Yu Wei, could not compare to his parents! Even the parents from his past life on Earth were slightly less significant to him than Ji Yichuan and Yuchi Snow. His father in that past life had always been consumed by his career, seeing him rarely. His mother in that past life had worked diligently and tirelessly to take care of him, and he had always kept her in his heart.

But in this life…

His mother had been willing to risk her own life to give birth to him. To allow him to grow, she had refused to tell him anything about the enmity with Snowdragon Mountain or the great vengeance of the Yuchi clan.

Though his father had appeared cold on the surface, his concern for Ji Ning was no less than Yuchi Snow’s. He had personally taught Ji Ning swordsmanship, hand-in-hand, and had always protected him, until he could protect him no longer and died to rejoin Yuchi Snow.

Ji Ning could never forget!

Those early years were the happiest of his life.

“These are bamboo tomes,” Lord Yan said, producing two rolls of bamboo. “These records are from our current Netherworld archives. Anyone sentenced by a Judge is recorded here. This roll contains a vast amount of information, including that of your mother, Yuchi Snow. This other roll holds the information of your father, Ji Yichuan.”

Ji Ning took a deep breath before accepting them.

He immediately sent his divine sense into one of the bamboo tomes. An ocean of information came flooding in. After cultivating Heartforce, his control over his divine sense had become markedly stronger. He quickly sifted through the sea of information and found his father, Ji Yichuan.

“Ji Yichuan. Native of Yan Mountain, Anchan Commandery, Grand Xia World. Zifu Disciple. No Karmic Merit or Sin. Judgment: Reincarnate as a human. Reborn to the Liuhe clan of Huashan Commandery, Wuqiong World. Name: Liuhe Chuan. Lifespan: One hundred and eighty-two years.”

Ji Ning was no longer the ignorant child he had once been. Having studied common knowledge books at Mount Innerheart, he understood the meaning of this judgment. The judgment of where to be reborn, what name to take, and what lifespan to grant was generally determined by the natural flow of the Heavenly Dao. Unless a Judge deliberately altered it. Such alterations would generally consume a small amount of Karmic Merit, so it was only done when one had enough face to request the Ten Kings of Hell or the First Judge to order their subordinates to make the change.

In the past, Judge Cui had stated that altering a lifespan was a simple matter for him.

In reality, this lifespan was only for mortals. Once one became a cultivator, they had already embarked on the path of defying the heavens. The Three Calamities and Nine Tribulations would descend from the heavens, and how far one could walk that path was anyone's guess. If one remained a mortal, they might live for over a hundred years. But if one became a cultivator, say, reaching the Zifu stage within twenty years, they might be killed shortly after reaching that stage, their lifespan even shorter than a mortal's!

The judgment of the Netherworld regarding lifespan was only meaningful to mortals.

“Wuqiong World? Huashan Commandery? The Liuhe clan? Liuhe Chuan?” Ji Ning committed the name to memory.

He then took the other bamboo tome and probed it with his divine sense.

In a moment, he found the information for his mother, Yuchi Snow.

“Yuchi Snow. Member of the Yuchi clan of Dongyu Commandery, Grand Xia World. Possesses minor Karmic Merit. Judgment: Reincarnate as a human. Reborn to the Dongliu clan of Huashan Commandery, Wuqiong World. Name: Dongliu Xue. Lifespan: Two hundred years.”

After reading this, Ji Ning was overjoyed.

Both were in the Huashan Commandery of the Wuqiong World?

Lord Yan, standing nearby, spoke up. “The judgments of the Judges generally follow the Heavenly Dao and occur naturally. It seems your father and mother shared a karmic bond across multiple lifetimes. The Heavenly Dao, in its invisible way, has brought them together once more.”

“A karmic bond across multiple lifetimes?” Ji Ning nodded gently, then quickly asked, “Lord Yan, do you mean my parents are together again?”

“I also investigated their lives after their reincarnation. I went specifically to Huashan Commandery in the Wuqiong World to look into it. However, your parents have already died. All the information I found is recorded in this book.” Lord Yan looked at Ji Ning, a book appearing in his hand which he extended to him.

Ji Ning froze. “Dead? Then they should have been reincarnated again. Why isn’t there a record of another reincarnation…” Suddenly, a thought struck him. His face turned pale. He took the book and immediately swept it with his divine sense.

“No.”

Clutching the book, Ji Ning shook his head, his eyes filled with shock, fury, and pain. He refused to accept this result.

His father and mother had indeed possessed a karmic bond. Though this life had its share of trials, they had found each other again and both embarked on the path of cultivation…

“How could this be? How could this end like this?” Ji Ning shook his head, muttering to himself. “Why did this calamity befall them? Why not fall upon me? Although they had resumed their cultivation, they were only minor figures. Why did it have to be so bitter? Why did it have to be like this?”

“I don’t believe it! I don’t believe it!”

“This is false. False.”

Ji Ning’s expression held a hint of madness. When a fact exceeded the bounds of what one could accept, the instinct was to refuse to believe it! And since it was merely a written record, Ji Ning found it even harder to accept.

“Brother.”

“Junior apprentice-brother.” Yu Wei and Xiyue Commandery Princess were both worried.

But Ji Ning said directly, “I need to go to the Small Cycle of Reincarnation, right now! Senior apprentice-sister… although Anchan City is facing difficulties, I must leave now. If Anchan City truly encounters danger, crush the signal talisman, and I will use Greater Teleportation to return immediately.”

“Alright.” Yu Wei nodded quickly. “I’ll go with you.” She could feel Ji Ning’s urgency.

“No. I alone am enough.” Ji Ning looked at Lord Yan beside him. “Lord Yan, I need to go to the Small Cycle of Reincarnation first. I want you to reverse the flow of time. I want to see for myself the scene of the Judge passing judgment on my parents.”

Now, Ji Ning was suspicious of even the reincarnation records in the bamboo tomes. He had to rewind time and witness the judgment with his own eyes before he would believe it.

“Very well.” Lord Yan nodded. He remembered the Xia Emperor’s instructions well. Within the entire Grand Xia World, the Emperor was watching several individuals and constantly trying to win them over. Among them, the one he valued most was this ‘Ji Ning,’ who had not yet transcended his tribulation to become a Celestial Immortal. Lord Yan, of course, would not refuse a request from Ji Ning.

“Let’s go.” Ji Ning did not wish to wait.

“I’ll take you.” Lord Yan immediately took Ji Ning and swiftly flew out of the mansion. Reaching the high sky, they directly teleported through the void, and the two of them vanished.

Yuchi Xiyue and Yu Wei both looked up, watching the two depart.

“Grandfather didn’t tell me anything before this.” Yuchi Xiyue’s face was anxious.

“I hope everything is alright.” Yu Wei spoke softly.

The air was thick with the aura of the underworld.

A vast world stretched out before them. Looking out, they could see countless figures in white robes walking in a line, flanked by many Ox-Head and Horse-Faced ghost soldiers who were whipping them and supervising them. Some of the white-robed specters looked up curiously at the two figures that had appeared in the sky.

The two figures in the sky were none other than Ji Ning and Lord Yan.

“This Small Cycle of Reincarnation, compared to the true Netherworld Kingdom, isn’t that different. There are an immense number of dead souls here as well,” Lord Yan remarked. After all, the dozens of major worlds and countless minor worlds under the rule of Daofather Crimsonbright were all managed here, accounting for roughly one percent of all the territory within the Three Realms.

Ji Ning did not speak. He had no mood for small talk.

Lord Yan understood this after saying his piece. Without further chatter, he led Ji Ning directly to a massive city. Within the city were countless buildings and ghost soldiers everywhere. Lord Yan quickly arrived at a Judge’s Hall.

“This is the Judge’s Hall where your mother was judged.” Lord Yan led Ji Ning directly inside.

The ghost soldiers at the entrance dared not block them.

The Judge seated high within the hall was startled. He was but one of countless Judges, vastly inferior to the lofty Kings of Hell above him.

“Your subordinate pays homage to the King of Hell.” The Judge hurriedly knelt in reverence, and the surrounding ghost soldiers all knelt as well. Even the waiting specters were stunned into silence.

“Process this one quickly and send him on his way.” Lord Yan gave the order.

“Yes, yes, yes,” the Judge immediately replied. “Hurry, take him away. Send him to the Eighteenth Level of Hell.”

Immediately, two ghost soldiers took a specter away. The specter screamed in terror, but was still escorted out.

“All of you, withdraw. This Judge’s Hall is not to be used today.” The King of Hell commanded.

“Understood.” The Judge and the many ghost soldiers dared not speak a word. Though their workload was heavy, there were a vast number of Judge’s Halls, and having one shut down for a day was nothing. They all cast curious glances at the youth beside the King of Hell. They could sense that the King of Hell did not dare to slight the young man at all.

He must be someone of immense background! They all obediently filed out.

Soon, the Judge’s Hall was left with only Ji Ning and the King of Hell.

“Lord Yan, I have not yet transcended my tribulation to become a Celestial Immortal. I will require your aid for the Time Rewind spell,” Ji Ning said.

“It’s a trivial matter.” Though the spell consumed a significant amount of an Immortal’s Immortal power, it was nothing worth mentioning to Lord Yan.

Lord Yan immediately cast the spell.

Whoosh!

The surrounding scene began to change. The Judge and ghost soldiers who had just left returned at an incredible speed, resumed their judgment of the previous specter, and then the specter before that… The rewind of time grew faster and faster, even blurring into phantoms. Ji Ning and Lord Yan stood silently within the Judge’s Hall, watching.

These images of rewound time were all empty. Even if they were to pass through the figures of the Judge and the ghost soldiers, there would be no interaction.

One year, two years, three years… The timeline flowed backwards rapidly.

“It was on this day.” Lord Yan spoke.

Because the magical bamboo tomes had their own order—which Judge’s Hall recorded it, when it was recorded—Lord Yan knew the exact Judge’s Hall and the approximate time of the day.

The speed of the time rewind began to slow down, and each individual specter became clearly visible.

Ji Ning watched carefully. Among these specters, one should be his mother.

Suddenly—

Lord Yan sharply slowed the rewind of time, for the woman in white who had just appeared in the Judge’s Hall, being escorted in, was none other than Ji Ning’s mother—Yuchi Snow!

“Mother.” Ji Ning’s eyes stung. He even wanted to rush forward and embrace her.

How long had it been? How long…

But Ji Ning knew that what he saw through the rewound time had already happened in the past. They were all phantoms. He could not touch his mother.

“Hurry up, hurry up.” Two ghost soldiers were escorting Yuchi Snow and gave her a shove.

Yuchi Snow looked around, but she was not flustered. She immediately knelt down and paid her respects. “Your subject pays homage to the Judge.”