Chapter 58: Judge's Last Words
The massive portal, constructed of bones and blood, resembled the maw of a devouring beast, emanating an endless resentment and ominous aura that shuddered at the soul. "Is this... the Hell?" Mo Li gazed at the door, her usually fearless face now showing a flicker of fear for the first time. She could feel her precious mechanisms whimpering uncontrollably at the portal's aura. The laws of this place exerted a near-annihilating repulsion on anything from the mortal realm. "Be careful," Li Ge's voice was unusually hoarse. "The resentment here is so thick it's practically tangible. We won't be able to hold out in this 'half-alive, half-dead' state for much longer. Once completely eroded, we'll end up like the ghost army outside." "So, are we still going in?" Mo Li asked. Chu Yun remained silent. He glanced at the numb ghost army approaching behind him, then at the single "entrance" before him. Resolutely, he pushed open the heavy black portal that held all the sins of the underworld: "We have no other choice." The world beyond the portal made the three of them feel as if their souls were suffocating. There was neither sky nor earth here, but a boundless void of pure, ink-thick darkness. Countless twisted souls, riven with pain, resentment, madness, and despair, were trapped within like worms in amber. They were the ancient demons whose sins, even the eighteen levels of Hell, could not wash away. They could not speak or move, but their maddened, malevolent gazes fixed upon the three uninvited guests. Being stared at by thousands of these ancient demons felt like being pierced by poisoned needles. "Hold your mind!" Chu Yun shouted, pushing his remaining Taiyi Qi to its limit, transforming it into a golden shield that protected the three. Only this power, transcending all laws, could carve out a pure land within this lightless void. "Where is the Judge?" Mo Li demanded, swallowing the excruciating pain in his soul. "There!" Li Ge pointed to the very center of the dark void. The three of them looked over and saw a circular altar suspended there, even larger and more sinister than the outer portal. Constructed from dense masses of massive white bones and resentful thoughts, the altar exuded a sinister aura as thick as ink, its evil energy soaring into the sky. In the center of the altar, a three-foot-long, pitch-black brush was stuck. Though it emanated a faint aura of righteousness, it was tightly entangled in countless filthy black chains. The brush, as if alive, struggled relentlessly within the chains, each struggle causing the entire altar to…
The huge portal made of bones and blood looked like the mouth of a giant beast that wanted to eat people, emitting endless resentment and ominous aura that made people tremble in the soul.
"Is this... the Hell of Hell?" Mo Li stared at the door, her usually fearless face now showing a look of fear for the first time. She could feel her precious mechanisms whimpering uncontrollably at the aura of the door. The laws of this place had a near-annihilating repulsion against anything from the mortal realm.
"Be careful." Li Ge's voice was unusually hoarse. "The resentment here is so thick that it can become tangible. I'm afraid our 'half-alive, half-dead' state won't last much longer. Once it is completely eroded, we will end up like those ghost soldiers outside."
"Then should we go in?" Mo Li asked.
Chu Yun remained silent. He glanced at the numb ghost army approaching behind him, then at the only "entrance" before him. He resolutely pushed open the heavy black door that carried all the sins of the underworld: "We have no other choice."
The world behind the portal made the three of them feel like their souls were about to suffocate.
There was neither sky nor earth here, a boundless void of pure, ink-thick darkness. Countless twisted souls, filled with pain, resentment, madness, and despair, were trapped within like worms in amber. They were the ancient demons whose sins, even the eighteen levels of Hell, could not wash away. They could not speak or move, but their maddened gazes, filled with malevolent intent, fixed their gazes on the three uninvited guests. Being stared at by thousands of ancient demons like this, their souls felt like being pierced by poisoned needles.
"Hold your mind!" Chu Yun shouted, pushing his remaining Taiyi Qi to its limit, transforming it into a golden light shield to protect the three of them. Only this kind of power that transcends the laws can open up a pure land where they can stand in this lightless void.
"Where is the judge?" Mo Li asked hurriedly, suppressing the severe pain in his soul.
"There!" Li Ge pointed to the very center of the dark void.
The three looked over and saw a circular altar suspended there, even larger and more sinister than the outer portal. The altar was composed of densely packed giant bones and resentful thoughts, brimming with a sinister aura as thick as ink and a pervasive evil energy. In the center of the altar, a three-foot-long, pitch-black brush was thrust. Though it emanated a faint aura of righteousness, it was tightly entangled in countless filthy black chains. The brush, as if alive, struggled relentlessly within the chains, its every struggle shaking the entire altar.
"That's... the Judge's Pen!" Li Ge's eyes were filled with shock and indignation. "They're using the resentment of the Infernal Hell to refine the Judge's life-saving magic weapon!"
"What do they want to do?"
"They want to completely distort and contaminate the divine power of 'judgment' and 'order' within the Judge's Pen, turning it into the most evil power they can wield!"
At that moment, several cold, murderous intent emanated from the altar. The three looked over and saw several figures standing around the altar. Leading the group was a Ghost King, even more gloomy and powerful than the previous one. Behind him were several Shadow Pavilion masters wearing masks with the Chinese character "影" (shadow) on them. They were the altar's guards.
"It seems that we have broken into someone's 'treasure refining ground'." Chu Yun's mouth curled up in a self-deprecating and crazy arc. He knew that a more brutal and deadly battle was inevitable.
"Quick battle, quick decision!" Chu Yun ordered in the soul connection, "Mo Li! Use all the remaining mechanisms to blast a path! Li Ge! Entanglement that Ghost King at all costs! I'll go grab the pen!"
"Okay!" The moment the order was given, the three of them moved.
"A dragnet! A hundred contraptions!" Mo Li cried out with determination, unleashing every precious device in her treasure bag, painstakingly crafted. Locust stones, armor-piercing crossbows, thunderbolts, bewitching smoke… countless gleaming, cold-light contraptions erupted like a volcano, forming a vast web of death that enveloped the altar. This was her final, and most powerful, trump card!
"Ghost Dance: Night Parade of One Hundred Demons!" Li Ge erupted with an unprecedented chill and deathly coldness, and dozens of hideous ghostly figures appeared behind her. This was her most valuable forbidden technique, a ghost doctor's technique. At the cost of damaging her own soul, she summoned the powerful demons she had once subdued. "Go!" She commanded the demons, fearlessly charging towards the unfathomable Ghost King.
Chu Yun took advantage of the moment when Mo Li's mechanism, Li Ge's evil spirits and the guards collided and erupted with shocking energy fluctuations, and turned into a golden lightning and rushed towards the blocked judge's pen in the center of the altar.
The battle instantly entered its most brutal and intense phase. Though ingenious, Mo Li's devices were suppressed to their limits in the completely different laws of the Infernal Prison. The Ghost King ripped her "net" apart with a single blow, shattering her soul with a violent backlash, causing her to spit out a mouthful of golden "blood." Though valiant, Li Ge's demonic spirits, under the combined assault of the Ghost King and Shadow Pavilion masters, held out for less than ten seconds before being ripped into a black cloud. Li Ge herself was blasted away like a kite with its string cut. Their final, tragic "failure" secured Chu Yun's only chance.
Chu Yun finally rushed to the altar. Looking at the Judge's Pen that was close at hand and the powerful Ghost King who was mocking him with disdain, he knew that he only had one chance to take action.
"Ah--!" Chu Yun roared in extreme pain, no longer saving energy, and completely burned the last bit of golden Taiyi Qi in the origin of his soul that maintained his life - this was a fighting method that would damage his own Qi and lead to mutual destruction!
"Boom!" A golden imperial flame that was ten times stronger than the one on the Yinshan Road shot up into the sky. He looked like a small golden sun, shaking the entire Hell.
"You... are crazy?!" The Ghost King looked at this "mortal" who was willing to burn the essence of his soul in exchange for power, and for the first time, horror and fear appeared on his gloomy face. He wanted to retreat, but it was too late.
Chu Yun's fist, burning with golden flames, hit his chest hard!
"Bang!" There was no scream, no struggle. The powerful Ghost King, along with his armor, instantly vaporized like snow in the sun, turning to ashes.
After Chu Yun delivered this earth-shattering blow, the golden flames on his body instantly extinguished, and his soul became illusory and transparent, on the verge of dissipation. But he still used up his last bit of strength, stretched out his bloodstained, trembling hand, and grasped the judge's pen.
The moment his hand touched the pen, a vast divine thought, full of majesty and righteousness, yet filled with endless sorrow and unwillingness, rushed into his mind like a flood that broke through a dam!
"Those who come later..." A majestic yet weary voice echoed from the depths of his soul. "I am Cui Jue, the Judge of the Underworld. By the time you hear my final words, I will probably have already been annihilated. This change in the Underworld is no accident... This is the beginning of a catastrophe for the Three Realms..."
Along with this tragic voice, a series of broken yet extremely real pictures exploded in his mind like lightning.
He saw a darkened chamber. A figure dressed in the attire of an elder from the Tianshi Mansion's Law Enforcement Hall stood with his back to him, emitting a contradictory aura that was both upright and eerie. Standing before him was none other than the "new Yama King," wearing the imperial crown, and several key figures from the Shadow Pavilion.
"After this is accomplished, the underworld will belong to you, the human world will belong to Shadow Pavilion, and I..." the figure spoke slowly, his voice low and hoarse, filled with chilling enthusiasm, "...will utilize the power of 'Blood Moon Transforming the Sky' to peek into the secrets of the Heavenly Dao, break through the realm and ascend to become the first true 'Immortal' in thousands of years!"
"Elder Xuanchenzi, you're truly courageous," the Shadow Pavilion leader said with a hoarse laugh. "But the third fragment of the Evil-Suppressing Seal is the key to unlocking the ritual. How can we get it from the Grand Heavenly Master?"
The figure known as "Xuan Chenzi" sneered, "The Great Celestial Master has been in seclusion for years, unconcerned with worldly affairs. He's long been a living 'god statue.' The 'key' in his hand is no different from the one in the storeroom. Once the ceremony is ready, I'll naturally find a way to 'borrow' it from him!"
The scene suddenly shifted. Chu Yun saw the ancient border city built on a sea of corpses and blood, the eerie blood moon, and the massive altar devouring the essence of countless lives. "Blood moon replaces the sky..." Four words filled with evil and madness, deeply imprinted on his soul.
The divine thought's voice rang out again, filled with urgency and warning: "...Xuan Chenzi, the elder of the Law Enforcement Hall of the Tianshi Mansion, has long since fallen into the devil's way! In the name of 'law enforcement,' he commits acts of 'destruction,' a crime worthy of death! He has reached an agreement with the Shadow Pavilion and the New King of Hell. He intends to hold a grand ceremony called 'Blood Moon to Replace the Sky' in the resentful 'Jichuan Ancient City' on the border of the human world. He intends to use the essence of countless lives to pollute the very foundation of reincarnation and help him break the barrier between heaven and man!"
"And the core energy source required for the Grand Ceremony is precisely the third fragment of the Evil-Suppressing Seal you've been searching for..."
"I have exhausted the last of my divine power and sent this token away. I hope you can take it and go to the human world to stop this catastrophe..."
“Remember… remember…” The voice of the divine consciousness grew fainter and fainter, as if it would dissipate at any moment, but the warning grew stronger and stronger. “…The Tianshi Mansion is no longer a pure land…Xuan Chenzi’s power is overwhelming…Is there…something deeper behind him…”
The following words were interrupted by a violent energy surge, and could no longer be heard. After delivering its final message, the vast divine consciousness faded completely, like a lamp burning out of its last shred of oil. And the Judge's Pen, which had been struggling unyieldingly, snapped, its aura completely dissipating, transforming into an ordinary... ordinary brush.
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