Chapter 45: Discovering that I've Transmigrated into a Book
The Demon Realm gradually returned to its normal course, and the court assembly in the Great Celebration Hall regained its solemnity and order. The agenda for this day's meeting was originally to discuss tax incentives for newly cultivated demon fields, and the atmosphere was relatively peaceful. Officials from various departments presented their reports in turn, while Jiu Ya sat upright on her throne, listening attentively, occasionally asking questions or giving instructions.
However, this tranquility was abruptly shattered by an urgent military report from the border.
The messenger, travel-worn and with the marks of frontier sand still visible on his armor, strode into the hall, knelt on one knee, and spoke in a slightly hoarse voice: "Your Majesty! Commander Chang has urgent military intelligence to report!"
The hall fell silent instantly, all eyes fixed on the messenger. Jiu Ya's heart skipped a beat; anything that Chang Dong would urgently report in this manner was no small matter. She said in a deep voice, "Speak."
"Reporting to Your Majesty!" The messenger took a deep breath. "Three days ago, the entire 'Ghost Barrier' bordering the Demon Realm and the Underworld was suddenly enveloped by an incomparably powerful Netherworld force, far exceeding the power of any Ghost Emperor or Yama King recorded in the Underworld!"
"After that Netherworld power appeared, all the observation arrays our army set up along the fortress line became ineffective, unable to penetrate even a fraction. Even more serious is..." the messenger's voice lowered, "We subsequently discovered that all the spies and informants planted by the military and... as well as all the other forces within the Underworld, regardless of rank or how deeply they were hidden, all had their soul imprints extinguished at the same time!"
"All of them?" an official exclaimed in shock. The forces within the Underworld are intricately intertwined, and the various factions in the Demon Realm have cultivated their networks for many years. Although the number of their spies is not large, their network is extremely deep. How could they all be eradicated at the same time?
"Yes! All of them!" the messenger confirmed. "Commander Chang has confirmed through multiple sources that there were no survivors! Moreover, the times of death were remarkably consistent, as if they were all completely erased by some force in an instant!"
A collective gasp filled the hall. To wipe out all the deeply hidden spies in an instant—what terrifying control and methods!
Jiu Ya's face instantly darkened. The Underworld, this old neighbor of the Demon Realm, had always been chaotic and weak due to its internal divisions and the power struggles among its various kings. Although there were occasional minor skirmishes on the Demon Realm's borders, it generally held the upper hand and could even occasionally cross the border to "reap some benefits." Precisely because of this, she had focused her main energy on internal reorganization, limiting her attention to the Underworld to routine border defenses. Who could have imagined that this region, considered a chaotic land, would undergo such a dramatic transformation without her even realizing it?
"Do you know what happened inside the Underworld?" Jiu Ya's voice remained calm, but her fingertips tightened slightly.
The messenger replied, "Your Majesty, all investigative efforts within the Underworld have been cut off. However, Commander Chang used the highest-level 'Eye of the Abyss' demonic artifact, sparing no expense, to conduct an ultra-long-range surveillance operation, capturing some previously fragmented pieces of information... Combining this with some scattered rumors we received earlier that were not taken seriously, we can confirm..." He paused, his tone filled with disbelief and shock, "The thousands-year-long division and fragmentation of the Underworld has ended! The entire Underworld, the Ten Kings of Hell, and the myriad ghost realms have been completely unified! A new Underworld Emperor officially ascended the throne not long ago!"
The Emperor of the Underworld?!
A unified underworld?!
These two words resonated deep within the souls of every courtier. A divided underworld was not to be feared, but a unified underworld displaying such terrifying power and control meant unprecedented upheaval and pressure for the demon realm. Even Changdong, who reported through a demon general, could hardly maintain absolute composure.
Jiu Ya's heart suddenly raced. "Do you know who that Underworld Emperor is? What is his background? What is his title?"
"Your Majesty, the vision seen through the 'Eye of the Abyss' is blurry, only fragmented information can be gleaned. This new Underworld Emperor does not seem to be a Yama King from an ancient lineage of the Underworld. Based on the scattered information, he is likely a Ghost King who rose to prominence about ten years ago!" the messenger replied. "Rumor has it that his rise was like a wildfire, his methods unpredictable, sweeping away many ancient Ghost Emperors who had entrenched themselves in their respective regions with overwhelming force. As for his name..."
The messenger recalled briefly and confirmed, "All the ghosts under his command respect him as—'Rong Jiang' Her Majesty."
Rong Jiang?! Jiu Ya's head buzzed, and she even experienced a moment of blankness and dizziness.
The Underworld Empress Rong Jiang?!
How could it be her?! How could it be that name?!
Isn't that... isn't that the female protagonist of "The Blooming Path to the Underworld," the novel she used to follow while curled up on the sofa before she transmigrated? Isn't that her beloved daughter, whom she used to shout "Mommy loves you, my girl!" in the comments section every day? Isn't that Ranran (Rong Jiang's nickname), whom she always used to motivate herself?!
The opening of "The Journey to the Underworld": The female protagonist, Rong Jiang, refuses to enter the cycle of reincarnation due to immense resentment. While being pursued by ghost messengers, she jumps into the River of Oblivion, enduring the torment of being devoured by countless souls...
The book describes Rong Jiang struggling to survive in the lower levels of the underworld, growing stronger step by step, making allies, and turning her back on those who bullied her...
The reason she time-traveled: Water spilled on her charging phone, and in the instant she received an electric shock, she was still indignant about Rong Jiang's fate and left a passionate message...
The Demon Realm... The Underworld... The King of the Underworld...
All the clues instantly connected, forming a truth that chilled her to the bone.
She didn't transmigrate to an ordinary demon world of power struggles; she transmigrated into the novel "The Blooming Path to the Underworld"!
etc!
Jiuya's heart skipped a beat as she remembered something even more terrifying!
The later part of the story in "The Glory of the Underworld"... the Demon Realm! In the Demon Realm of the book, there is a villainous force! That villainous Demon Lord is arrogant, extravagant, tyrannical, and cruel. He repeatedly sends people to harass the borders of the Underworld, stealing ghosts to cultivate evil arts, and even once attempted to invade the Underworld... In the end, Rong Jiang, who had grown into the Underworld Emperor, personally led an army to invade the Demon Realm and broke his neck with her own hands amidst thousands of troops. Many demons in the Demon Realm actually applauded this.
Actually, before reading this story, Jiu Ya had stumbled upon a character design image: a woman dressed in crimson, with long, ink-black hair, upturned eyes, a half-smile playing on her lips, and eerily beautiful ghost masks scattered from her skirt. That captivating and alluring beauty was truly mesmerizing. While reading the book, she was drawn in by the heroine's resolute character and unparalleled strength, thus becoming a fan.
She kept calling him "daughter," what a devoted fan! Then she discovered she'd transmigrated into the villainous Demon Lord!
She still clearly remembers a passage from the text: "Those hands, fair and slender, like solidified white jade, beautiful and delicate, yet such a pair of slender and beautiful hands, with a slight tightening of their fingers, effortlessly snapped the neck of that arrogant and licentious demon lord."
Okay, so the cannon fodder demon lord in the story is actually Jiu Ya herself? No way? No way? Jiu Ya felt like crying. Was she just about to embark on a happy new life when she discovered she was stuck with a cannon fodder role? Was she going to face having her neck snapped before she even got a few days to enjoy it?
That villainous demon lord… Jiu Ya frantically recalled the details from the book. The book didn't seem to explicitly state his name, only vaguely mentioning that he fought his way through a power struggle among several siblings, and was known for his cruelty…
She suddenly jolted awake! No! That's not her!
The original owner, "Jiuya," may have been a background character in the book who didn't even have a name and was poisoned to death early on. The villainous demon lord who was killed by Rong Jiang was likely the fourth brother, Ao Li, who successfully eliminated all his brothers and sisters and then took the throne, or the equally ambitious ninth sister, Guan Shanyue, or even the sixth brother, Qi Mu, who only had a wisp of a soul left!
Shang Jiuya's transmigration was like a butterfly that accidentally flew into the plot, flapping its wings and changing the original trajectory—she survived, and killed Ao Li, Guan Shanyue, and Shiyi Niang, purged the elders such as You Chi, and secured her position!
However, this did not make her feel any relief; instead, it plunged her into even deeper panic!
Because she clearly remembered the plot development of the later part of "The Road to the Underworld" - no matter who was in power in the Demon Realm at that time, whether they were good or evil, in the end, the overwhelmingly powerful Underworld Emperor Rong Jiang, under the pretext of "rectifying order and settling karma", led his army south and trampled it flat. The entire Demon Realm was incorporated into the territory of the Underworld and became a "special administrative region" of the Underworld, the Demon Domain.
Rong Jiang's strength reached a level close to the rule in the later part of the book. Her chief judge Si Ge, the Ten Kings of Hell, the Four Ghost Kings... were all terrifying beings who could easily destroy a world.
With her current strength and influence, after suffering heavy losses in the internal strife, she wouldn't be able to fight against the Underworld Emperor Rong Jiang, let alone defeat Si Ge, the chief judge under her who is said to be able to judge life and death with a single stroke and who controls the Yin-Yang Book. He might not even need to come in person; he could just draw her name from afar, and her demonic energy would dissipate and she would die.
A tremendous sense of absurdity and powerlessness instantly gripped her. She fought desperately, battling her siblings and killing elders, finally unifying the demon realm and thinking she had taken control of her own destiny. But she discovered that she had simply jumped from a small tragic script into a disaster movie set destined for destruction.
Her enemy is no longer a political foe from the Demon Palace who can be schemed against and resisted, but a novel protagonist who is like fate itself, with superhuman abilities.
She felt a chill run from the soles of her feet straight to the top of her head; her fingers trembled slightly, and she instinctively gripped the armrests of the throne tightly.
"...Your Majesty? Your Majesty?" came the ministers' soft, puzzled calls from below. They noticed that the Demon Lord's expression changed drastically upon hearing the name "Rong Jiang," as if he had been greatly shocked and remained silent for a long time.
Jiuya snapped back to reality, forcibly suppressing the emotions that were threatening to overwhelm her. She took a deep breath and used all her willpower to make her voice sound steady, though it still trembled slightly: "I... understand. Commander Chang handled it well. Issue the order that the entire border be placed at the highest level of alert. Without my written order, no one is to initiate any border conflict! Also, order Duke Li that all research and development projects of the Bureau of Works be given higher priority, especially new magical artifacts and fortifications targeting the defense and attack of Yin energy. Speed up their progress at all costs."
Her orders remained clear and logical, but only she knew that these measures, in the face of absolute power, might be as flimsy as a paper wall. But she couldn't do nothing.
"Dismiss the court!" She practically spat out the words through gritted teeth, then abruptly stood up, ignoring the varied expressions of the officials below, and quickly left the Daqing Hall.
He left behind a hall full of ministers looking at each other in bewilderment. They only sensed that the Demon Lord seemed... somewhat out of control after hearing that name? The unification of the Underworld and the ascension of the Underworld Emperor were indeed earth-shattering events, but given the Demon Lord's usual composure, which remained unmoved even in the face of a collapsing mountain, why would he act this way?
Only Jiuya herself knows the truth.
What we glimpsed into the distance was not just the rise of a powerful neighbor.
They also saw through the script of her fate, instantly turning her from a victor in the power struggle within the Demon Palace back to her original form—a tiny being trembling in the face of an impending, overwhelming primordial force, unsure of how to survive.
Her "daughter" became an irresistible sword hanging over the entire demon realm.
This world is far more cruel and hopeless than she imagined.
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