Chapter 39: The Underworld Judge's Book.
Lu Qingyang stepped on a broken half of the Bridge of Helplessness, his fingertips entwined with nether river water glowing with an eerie blue phosphorescence. The Hall of Punishments' lingering thoughts, stripped from the measuring heaven ruler last night, surged through his Meridians. Blood seeped from the Sword of Inquiry marks on the surface of the qingmu spirit pearl, congealing into the words "Youdu" in the morning mist. He spat half a mouthful of turbid wine into a tributary of the River of Oblivion, and his Middle Stage Nascent Soul Divine Sense actually glimpsed the judge's brush spirit curled up by the Stone of Three Lives: "Ye Wuchen's audacity in altering the Book of Life and Death is indeed three parts greater than that of the Yama's Palace scribes."
Yinghuo's silver bells on her wrist shattered the mist in the southeast, and nine layers of Yin soldiers arrayed from the Xun position. Lu Qingyang backhanded his wine gourd at the ghost soldiers. The Soul-Suppressing Talismanic Incantations peeling from the gourd's surface surged with Yin Qi, actually congealing into a fragment of the "Tai Xu Imperial Ghost Skill" in mid-air. He joined his fingers to extract three wisps of Nether Qi and stored them in a jade box. The dark patterns inside the box suddenly revealed the star patterns of the Reincarnation Well: "The ink made with this Nether Qi is much better for writing Talismanic Incantations than the Ghost Market's..."
The Stone of Three Lives at the head of the Bridge of Helplessness suddenly trembled, and three hundred sixty judge's brush shadows shot forth from the inscriptions. Su Li's Puppet Silk entangled a deviated ink trace. The moment the silver needle pierced the brush tip, the crumbling cinnabar actually congealed into a half-scroll of the "Discourse on the Laws of the Underworld." Lu Qingyang pinched the tattered page, sniffed its fishy smell, and suddenly spat a mouthful of bloody foam towards the northwest: "The old ghosts of the Hall of Punishments from Taiyi Pavilion are even more sinister at altering fate than Meng Po's soup."
At the third quarter of the hour of the horse (around 11:45 AM), the trio stepped into the Rebirth Alley of Youdu's outer city. A nine-turn interlocking paper money shop hung three hundred soul 引魂 lamps, each lamp wick imprisoning a past life memory of a Taiyi Pavilion Disciple. Lu Qingyang pried off a bronze ghost mask from a lamp base. The inner wall of the mask was not inscribed with Talismanic Incantations, but with dense "Fate-Stealing Curses." He flicked the copper bell on the lamp eaves, and the exploding Nether Fire actually revealed a scene of Ye Wuchen bribing an underworld official.
"Qian Palace five steps, Kun Earth suppresses evil!"
Yinghuo's chensha stone struck the Zhen position array eye, temporarily immobilizing the rampaging paper-man shopkeeper. Lu Qingyang seized the opportunity to pry open a secret compartment in the counter. Inside, it didn't contain Ghost Money, but half a jar of spiderweb-covered Revival Wine. He dipped his finger in the wine and drew a crooked Talismanic Incantation on the blue brick. As the wine Qi evaporated, it actually revealed the secret of the first Elder of Taiyi Pavilion's Hall of Punishments buying his life.
The inner city of Youdu showed cracks at the hour of Shen (3-5 PM), with nine layers of Ghost Gates steeped in never-dissipating resentment. Lu Qingyang picked up a wisp of a wrongfully deceased soul and pressed it against the surface of the spirit pearl. The blood patterns, encountering Yin Qi, bloomed into a thousand ink lotuses. He stepped onto a lotus platform and leaped towards the Judge's Palace. The evil-avoiding array patterns hidden in his boot soles reacted with the ghost Qi, and the exploding phosphorescence revealed the star map of Xuanji City God Temple.
"This deal isn't a loss!" He snatched a crumbling City God Seal in mid-air and stuffed it into his qiankun bag. The moment the seal's knob touched the blood patterns, a section of the "Underworld Obstruction-Breaking Melody" suddenly played. Su Li's Puppet Silk pulled open a crack, revealing half a page of the Book of Life and Death that perfectly fit the jade pendant in his embrace. The cinnabar annotations remaining on the paper suddenly came to life, spreading out the fate book of the Ten Yama Kings in his Sea of Consciousness.
At midnight, a sudden Yin wind arose, and ninety-nine Xuan iron evil mirrors emerged from the depths of Youdu. Lu Qingyang stepped on the mirror frame inscriptions and leaped towards the Reincarnation Bureau. The "Discourse on the Laws of the Underworld" in his embrace suddenly ignited, and golden powder Seal Script appeared in the ashes: "When Yin and Yang are in disorder, a Soul Transformation bone must be used as a guide." He backhanded the golden powder onto the bureau's Talismanic Incantation. The cinnabar-drawn Soul-Suppressing Texture suddenly wept blood, staining the entire evil mirror platform.
The murals in the Judge's Palace suddenly twisted. Lu Qingyang slid along a gilded pillar towards the epicenter. Seven Soul Locking Chains bound a skeleton entwined with a judge's brush. The indentation at the Dantian point was identical in shape to the spirit pearl. He pulled a half-page of the Book of Life and Death and wrapped it around his wrist. The moment the paper touched his skin, the Judge's decree suddenly boomed in his Sea of Consciousness: "Those who defy Yin and Yang shall suffer seven generations of Reincarnation tribulations."
The entire Reincarnation Bureau suddenly collapsed into a Nether vortex. Lu Qingyang dragged the two of them down towards the source of the River of Oblivion. The qingmu spirit pearl automatically activated the Tai Xu Swallowing Sky Skill, devouring the chaotic Yin Qi as fuel for breaking through. In the center of the vortex, he felt a warm object—it was an Inception Inkstone inscribed with the character "Ye." The ink, mixed with Soul Transformation blood, was slowly congealing into the eyebrows and eyes of the first Judge.
The drum for the hour of Yin (3-5 AM) sounded three times, and Youdu began to disintegrate. Lu Qingyang collapsed on the shattered evil mirror platform. The fragment of the Book of Life and Death entwined around his fingertips suddenly spoke: "The qingmu tribulation-bearer shall perish by devouring the Nine Nether Yin souls." He sneered, pressing the fragment into the gap of the spirit pearl. The Dragon soul within the pearl suddenly opened its eyes, but what it spat out was not a curse, but half a line from the "Youdu Querying Nether Rhapsody."
At dawn, a piercing brush whistle echoed from the depths of the River of Oblivion. Lu Qingyang backhanded the Inception Inkstone towards the source of the sound. The ink surged with Yin Qi, transforming into a Xuanming Black Tortoise, dragging the pursuing Hall of Punishments Elder's Dharma Idol into the Reincarnation Well. He raised the judge's brush spirit towards the dissipating morning mist. What flowed from the brush tip was not fate, but the complete qingmu spirit pearl from the forehead of the skeleton in the Xuan iron evil mirror.
