Seeing they remained silent, Luo Yingbai continued, “Everyone knows my character. I’m here for personal, not public reasons, and don’t want conflict. I know my arrival is improper, and I’ll take full responsibility. But one thing: my mother’s mortal life isn’t over, and her soul shouldn’t be in the Underworld. Let me take her away. I’ll accept any conditions.”
He was someone who rarely showed emotions, always preferring to smile regardless of circumstances. But now, though his tone was calm, his chest seemed to burn with raging fire.
Since being reborn and first seeing his mother, Luo Yingbai, and even Xia Xianning and Luo Qiao, believed her unconscious state was due to physical reasons.
They didn’t know that Jiang Yugai’s inability to wake was actually because her spirit had fallen into the Underworld for some reason.
In the magical function of Weibo before it was activated, Jiang Yujia’s body had not been repaired, and her connection with her soul was not complete. So Luo Yingbai and the others would not detect this even if they reached the underworld. But now that Weibo has completed the body repair and stimulated the soul connection, Luo Yingbai could vaguely sense his mother’s existence through his bloodline from the moment he entered the underworld, and the closer he got to the Tenth Palace, the clearer the feeling became.
After seeing the dispersing ghost butterfly and realizing this, Luo Yingbai angrily broke open the door of the Tenth Palace with a knife. Although he did not know why the underworld would do this, he was determined to make them release her, no matter the reason.
The scene became somewhat awkward. After a moment, the Defying Official King sighed and said, “What exactly is going on? Even I haven’t fully understood. Wheel King, you were the one who said Luo Shangjun came looking and urgently summoned everyone to your palace. Now, won’t you explain?”
The Wheel King paused, his tone softening, “Luo Shangjun, fellow colleagues, there is more to this matter.
Luo Yingbai stretched out his legs, crossed his arms, and coldly said, “You just said something pointless.”
The Wheel King’s face stiffened, and he could only pretend not to have heard, continuing, “Everyone present knows that my palace directly faces the Five Turbidities of the world, and inside is the Yin Desolate Stone. Beneath the Yin Desolate Stone is the most sacred and pure place, called the Southern Jambudvipa Abyss.”
After a brief pause of explanation, he quickly continued, as if afraid Luo Yingbai would call him out again, “And twenty-five years ago, the Southern Jambudvipa Abyss underwent a demonic transformation.”
At these words, even Luo Yingbai was shocked. The other Yama Lords did not show much surprise, apparently this was no longer a joke among the high-ranking underworld officials.
“Ghosts and demons can transform in myriad ways… But the most terrifying type of transformation was the complete transformation of an entire region. The Southern Jambudvipa Abyss, being an extremely important place of spiritual energy in the underworld, would release demonic energy a hundredfold or thousandfold if transformed – a matter of no small consequence.”
Luo Yingbai was quick-witted, and upon hearing this, he suddenly understood how the rift between the Yin and Yang realms came to be – most likely eroded by demonic energy.
His face darkened as he guessed, “Is my mother’s soul in the Southern Jambudvipa Abyss?”
The Wheel King smiled bitterly, “Your mother is a living soul. If she was accidentally separated and brought to the underworld, she would not be sent to reincarnation but might have gone to the Southern Jambudvipa Abyss. In the past, we would have been willing to help retrieve her, but now that place is barely suppressed, entering to find her would be inconvenient.”
Luo Yingbai asked, “Why send her to the Southern Jambudvipa Abyss? Shouldn’t she be sent back to the Yang world?”
The Wheel King remained silent.
Luo Yingbai stood up from his seat and spoke softly, “You clearly know the truth but have been trying to prevent me from discovering it, merely afraid that my attempt to rescue my mother from the Southern Jambudvipa Abyss would destabilize the entire underworld. But I’ll say this: I cannot leave her unsaved. If we can’t negotiate, I’ll take action. There’s nothing more to discuss.”
Now in the underworld’s domain, the underworld officials were not to be trifled with. If Luo Yingbai were alone and so stubborn, a fight might indeed break out.
The Wheel King had already received news that Xia Jianing was waiting at the entrance of the Five Turbidities world, ready to provide support. Moreover, even if they managed to subdue Luo Yingbai and Xia Jianing, there were still Luo Xiao, Xia Changyi, and the two factions they represented – the Long Flow Sect and the Intent-Form Sect, leaders of the Buddhist and Taoist sides respectively. This would only escalate…
The Song Emperor King took a deep breath and said sternly, “Luo Yingbai, I’ll ask you one thing: are you going to disregard the lives of all beings for one person? Your Luo family has never produced such a selfish individual! If you insist on entering the Southern Jambudvipa Abyss, have you considered that the demonic energy we’ve struggled to suppress could collapse with the slightest disturbance? This would be a catastrophe for the world!”
Luo Yingbai descended the golden steps and drew his knife, his pale fingers tracing the blade, saying nothing.
“Luo Shangjun, this official can guarantee that the Song Emperor King speaks no falsehood.”
If the Purple Micro North Pole Great Emperor and the Ghost Extreme Great Emperor had not met with mishap, there might be room for negotiation. But now, the Yin realm can only be supported by the Ten Palace Yama Lords…
The Purple Micro North Pole Great Emperor originally connected the Heavenly Court and governed the Yin realm, with extensive authority. Unfortunately, he was caught in someone else’s thunder tribulation, suffering soul damage and having his head damaged, constantly scheming to steal an immortal lord from the Heavenly Court. The Ghost Extreme Great Emperor was the evil god who had previously created Yue Huan from soul fragments.
Legend has it that the Heavenly Court’s Chongchen Upper Palace Heavenly Emperor had a son, outstanding in talent and beautiful in appearance, sealed as the Ming Lang Yuan Jun. During a past underworld rebellion, he was dispatched to quell it. The Ming Lang Yuan Jun’s weapon, contaminated with demonic energy, unexpectedly transformed into human form – the later Ghost Extreme Great Emperor.
The Ghost Extreme Great Emperor ultimately became a being of both righteousness and evil due to demonic transformation and became the nemesis of the ghosts during that underworld rebellion.
He was removed from the Ming Lang Yuan Jun’s side and sent to guard the underworld. Later, due to an incident, he rebelled and perished together with Ming Lang Yuan Jun, leading to the underworld’s current state.
Luo Yingbai knew that Wu Guanwang had been reasonable, and he did not blame him for the obstruction. He said seriously: “I know that everyone has their opinions. I have been in the Changliupai since I was young, and my father taught me that since I entered the path of cultivation, I should accumulate virtue, do good deeds, and think of others… But if you say I should sacrifice myself for the benefit of millions of families, that’s impossible. I can’t do that.”
Song Diwang snorted: “The chief disciple of Changliupai is actually so selfish. I’ve really learned something today.”
Luo Yingbai said calmly: “As a human being, if I can’t even protect my own family, how can I protect the people? Prioritizing one’s family before the greater good has always been common sense. I am not a saint, how can I be selfless? Moreover…”
