Chapter 562: Unpreventable (Third Update!)
Qin Mu widened his eyes in disbelief, his heart shaken with astonishment. His jade pendant was actually refined by Earth Lord!
This jade pendant should be a heirloom of the Qin family, worn by him since childhood. How could it be something Earth Lord had refined?
What connection did Earth Lord have with him?
Or was it that he had truly committed heinous deeds, and Earth Lord used the jade pendant to seal him?
But at that time, he was merely a newborn infant—how could he have done evil?
Moreover, he had no memory of this at all. Besides, in Yan Kang and Grand Heavenly Emperor, who didn’t know that Sect Leader Qin was noble and magnanimous? When had he ever done wrong?
“The seal must have loosened.”
The molten Earth Lord continued flipping through the book, saying, “Some gods and demons once tried to break the seal. Though they failed, it did loosen a bit, nearly releasing you. No matter, I’ll reinforce it later.”
He read at an incredible speed, quickly scanning through the recorded misdeeds of Qin Mu, and reached the last page, saying, “In the ominous land of Grand Heavenly Emperor, the Qin clan’s son, Feng Qing, used Soul-Pulling Incantation to disturb the Netherworld, forcibly seizing forty-eight thousand souls, and injuring the underworld messengers…”
Qin Mu replied honestly, “I did use the Soul-Pulling Incantation to guide forty-eight thousand souls from the Netherworld, but I didn’t injure the underworld messengers. That was the Seven Kill Star Lord, Wei Liao. If you want someone, go after him.”
The molten Earth Lord turned his head to look at the elderly underworld messenger, inquiring, “Was it the Seven Kill Star Lord, Wei Liao, who injured the messengers?”
That elderly underworld messenger was an avatar of the Heavenly Equal Sage King, and he replied, “The name of the Seven Kill Star Lord, Wei Liao, is in the Book of Life and Death, but he has been annihilated for twenty thousand years, removed from the book, and no longer under our Netherworld’s jurisdiction. This time, the forty-eight thousand souls escaped and the messengers were injured, all because Qin Feng Qing resurrected the Seven Kill Star Lord, reassembling his scattered soul. Therefore, the debt for injuring the messengers falls on Qin Feng Qing’s head, since he’s still alive and his name remains in the Book of Life and Death.”
The molten Earth Lord looked at Qin Mu, asking, “The debt is on your head. Do you accept it?”
Qin Mu said, “No!”
“Put it on his head.”
The molten Earth Lord said to the elderly underworld messenger, “We’ll settle it later.”
Qin Mu’s face darkened instantly. “If it’s going on my head anyway, why even ask me?” But the phrase “settle it later” from the molten Earth Lord gave him a glimmer of hope.
Settling later, not now, meant that this summons by the molten Earth Lord was indeed just to inquire about cause and effect.
The molten Earth Lord closed the thick book, looked down at the tiny Qin Mu below, and said, “Why did you disturb the Netherworld’s order and summon the souls? Have you remembered something? Have any images of the Netherworld flashed through your mind?”
Qin Mu was bewildered and shook his head, saying, “When I was sent out… exiled from the Netherworld, I was probably only one or two months old. How could I have images of the Netherworld flashing through my mind? As for summoning the souls in the ominous land, I had no choice.”
He recounted the cause and effect of using the Soul-Pulling Incantation, then stood there obediently, waiting for judgment.
The molten Earth Lord’s eyes were fixed on him, and suddenly he spoke, “Are you sure no images have flashed through your mind? You haven’t recalled anything?”
Qin Mu shook his head, smiling, “What could I recall?”
“If you haven’t recalled anything, then how did you become proficient in the Netherworld language?”
The molten Earth Lord was still staring at him, as if he could see through everything, speaking slowly, “Mastering the Netherworld language allowed you to start cultivating the Netherworld’s techniques and divine abilities, opening the demonic path’s divine treasury gates. Aren’t you curious why you could open the demonic path’s divine treasury?”
Beside him, the elderly underworld messenger said, “Demons are descendants of the demon gods born from the Netherworld, so they can open the demonic path’s divine treasury. Why can you also open it? Aren’t you curious about that?”
“Curious!”
Qin Mu showed a curious expression, asking, “Why can I open both the demonic path’s divine treasury and the divine path’s divine treasury?”
“Because you are a descendant of the Carefree Village, and also a being born in the Netherworld…”
As the elderly underworld messenger said this, the molten Earth Lord interrupted, “He doesn’t need to know this, and we don’t need to explain it to him. He was summoned for questioning, not to pry information from us.”
The elderly underworld messenger realized his mistake and laughed, “I was tricked into revealing a word by him. This kid’s expression is too infuriating; I fell for it without realizing.”
Qin Mu looked embarrassed, saying sheepishly, “I was just piqued by the Lord’s curiosity, so I asked. I didn’t mean to pry. I’m just an eighteen-year-old child…”
The elderly underworld messenger shook his head, “I can’t tell he’s lying.”
The molten Earth Lord nodded, “This is acquired cunning, learned from the people of the mortal world. It’s not his nature, but he’s honed it into his nature.”
The elderly underworld messenger asked, “So how much of what he says is true, and how much is false?”
The molten Earth Lord knew Qin Mu inside and out, saying, “When he recounted the cause of the soul resurrection in the ominous land, every word was true. After that, though he seemed to say a lot, he actually said nothing, instead asking questions to fish for information from us.”
The elderly underworld messenger thought about it and found it was indeed so.
Qin Mu said shyly, “My nature isn’t like this; it’s just that the elders in the village instilled some bad things in me, so I’ve become this way. I really haven’t recalled any images of the Netherworld.”
“That statement is true.”
The molten Earth Lord said, “The seal is still intact. It should be that only some linguistic memories have awakened, but memories of experiences haven’t.”
Sweat beaded on Qin Mu’s forehead, and he probed, “If I’ve committed some killings before, would that increase my guilt?”
“That statement is false; it’s a probe.”
The molten Earth Lord said, “But what he wants to ask isn’t a secret; I can answer him.”
The elderly underworld messenger said, “All evil deeds in life are treated equally after death. The Netherworld is not a place of judgment, but a destination after death. Unless one is extremely wicked or disturbs the Netherworld’s order, they won’t be eaten by Earth Lord.”
Qin Mu breathed a sigh of relief, and the elderly underworld messenger continued, “Extreme wickedness means being entangled by karmic debts. Even if one falls into the Netherworld, they suffer endless torment from karmic fire. So Earth Lord eats them, taking their sins and karmic fire upon himself. Disturbing the Netherworld’s order, like you did, keeping the dead from dying, also gets you eaten by Earth Lord.”
Qin Mu’s heart tightened again. The elderly underworld messenger carefully studied his face, showing satisfaction, and said, “But we in the Netherworld don’t interfere with the mortal world. You’re not dead yet, so we can’t deal with you now. We’ll wait until you die.”
“Lord, you’ve been tricked by his expression again.” The molten Earth Lord said.
The elderly underworld messenger was startled and exclaimed, “His real intention was to ask if he’d be punished this time? Unpreventable!”
The molten Earth Lord nodded, his gaze still fixed on Qin Mu’s face, and said, “Don’t speak for now. I’ll question him.”
Qin Mu stood obediently.
The molten Earth Lord looked at his docile demeanor, thought for a moment, and decided not to speak. Instead, he lightly raised his finger, and the jade pendant hanging around Qin Mu’s neck slowly floated up, landing in his palm.
The molten Earth Lord took off a nine-curved long horn from his head, inserted it into the jade pendant, and pressed down heavily. The entire horn sank into the jade pendant and disappeared.
Rings of firelight emanated from the jade pendant, slowly fading away.
The jade pendant flew back on its own, hanging around Qin Mu’s neck, still hidden under his clothes, close to his skin.
The molten Earth Lord waved his hand, saying, “This time, I only came to check the seal on the jade pendant. Since it’s stable now, send him back. Everything can wait until after he dies.”
The elderly underworld messenger quickly said, “But after he dies, won’t he still…”
The molten Earth Lord glanced at him, and he remembered the Lord’s order not to speak, so he stopped. The molten Earth Lord’s body rotated and disappeared into the lava beneath him, his voice coming from the magma: “Don’t let anyone touch your jade pendant! Lord, when you send him away, don’t talk to him!”
Qin Mu quickly called out, “Earth Lord, can I see my mother?”
The molten Earth Lord vanished.
Qin Mu stood there in a daze, feeling lost. After a moment, he said, “I just want to see my mother. I’ve never seen her face… Lord, do you know what she looks like?”
The elderly underworld messenger thought for a moment and nodded.
Qin Mu looked at him with eyes full of anticipation. The elderly underworld messenger was truly troubled. After hesitating for a moment, he finally spoke, “Earth Lord has commanded; I can’t reveal more information.”
Qin Mu said excitedly, “Lord, is my mother still alive?”
The elderly underworld messenger hesitated. Qin Mu’s expression was truly heart-wrenching, so he had to nod and said in a low voice, “Don’t ask anymore. I’m in a difficult position. Talking to you already goes against Earth Lord’s orders. Let’s go. It’s still not dawn in Grand Heavenly Emperor; I’ll send you back to the mortal world.”
Qin Mu had no choice but to follow him onto the small boat, the young man silent.
The boat drifted slowly, flying out of the broken continent of Earth Lord’s Horn and into the darkness.
Earth Lord’s true form was immense, beyond measure in height, size, and breadth. The boat floated in the darkness for a long time before finally leaving the two curved Yellow Springs.
The elderly underworld messenger cautiously looked around, occasionally raising a horse lantern to shine light in all directions. He tossed a yellow talisman to Qin Mu, saying, “Those who are looking for you won’t give up this chance. Stick this talisman on your face. No god or demon can see your true face. Even if they see something, it will be false, just like me.”
Qin Mu stuck the yellow talisman on his forehead and didn’t move.
“Why don’t you poke two holes in it?” the elderly underworld messenger asked curiously.
Qin Mu was utterly dejected, listlessly saying, “Not interested.”
The elderly underworld messenger laughed, “Childish temper.”
Just then, the boat suddenly stopped, no longer drifting.
The elderly underworld messenger stood up, holding the horse lantern, and said calmly, “Still not giving up?”
“Lord, please grant us a way out!”
A voice came from the darkness, sounding like countless voices overlapping: “We only want his face, his identity in the mortal world! We don’t want his life now!”
The elderly underworld messenger said coldly, “You’re overstepping your bounds. Retreat quickly, or my true form will descend, and you won’t even be able to become ghosts!”
On the boat, Qin Mu quietly took out the Book of Life and Death he had obtained from the Witch God of the Shadows and shone it into the darkness. His body trembled violently as he saw a name appear on the book.
“Hehehehe, you’ve shown your hand…” The strange voice in the darkness quickly faded away.
The elderly underworld messenger turned back, his gaze falling on the Book of Life and Death in Qin Mu’s hand. He sighed, “You’ve learned his true identity, and he’s learned yours. You’re using the Heavenly Court’s Book of Life and Death. Such treasures are rare; he’ll quickly trace it back to you. You… take care of yourself!”
Qin Mu was stunned, finally realizing where he had slipped up.
————Another two days of bursts. Zhai Zhu is taking a day off; there will be no update at midnight tonight. Everyone is welcome to participate in the tenth-anniversary celebration event!