Chapter 508: 幽都神子

"The King of Hell wants to interrogate you? What crime have you committed?" Inside Wenyuan Hall, the cult masters of various generations frowned deeply. Cult Master Zuyang asked, "Is it a major crime or a minor one? If it's a major crime, why don't we revolt?"

The other cult masters immediately grew excited, brainstorming plans on how to revolt, how to incite the other deceased residents of Fengdu, and even coming up with dozens of slogans for the rebellion.

Qin Mu quickly explained, "It's not a major crime, just a trivial matter; no need to revolt. During the battle where I intercepted the gods of the High Heavens in the Divine Broken Mountain Range, I simply snatched the souls of a few fallen individuals from Fengdu and revived them."

All the cult masters fell silent simultaneously. After a moment, Cult Master Hujun suddenly slapped his thigh and said, "Where were we just now? Oh, right, the flags for the rebellion! I think we should use the Martial God banner..."

Qin Mu chuckled, "Just a trivial matter..."

"A trivial matter? Stealing people from Fengdu City is a trivial matter?" The many cult masters spun around in unison, glaring at him with angry eyes, and sneered, "Snatching people from the Bridge of Helplessness? Even we were scared witless, thinking Fengdu was coming to kill us! This is no small matter at all; the King of Hell will surely execute you!"

Si Yuanwei said, "If it were a minor issue, we wouldn't bother with you. We'd let the King of Hell give you a few spankings and then release you. But this is a major crisis for Fengdu; revolt is the only path forward!"

Outside the hall, the voice of the divine being Chi Xiu came, sounding a little impatient. "Cult Master Qin, if you don't come out soon, I'm coming in!"

The Young Ancestral Master suddenly asked, "Cult Master Qin, why didn't the King of Hell directly interrogate you? Instead, he let you wander around the city? If you truly committed a serious crime, shouldn't you have been locked up in the celestial prison under strict guard?"

At his question, everyone realized that Qin Mu showed no signs of being a prisoner. Instead, he had gone around Fengdu visiting relatives and friends, and even beaten them up.

The Young Ancestral Master further asked, "Before interrogating you, did the King of Hell interrogate anyone else?"

Qin Mu nodded and replied, "He interrogated Xing'an and the Divine Shaman Kui. Xing'an was released, while the Divine Shaman Kui, because he possesses Youdu's magical abilities, was surrounded by many ghost kings for study. The King of Hell also wanted to research the Divine Shaman Kui's powers, so he let me leave first."

"Then your crime must be a minor one." The Young Ancestral Master smiled and said, "I know about Xing'an; his crime was very serious, yet the King of Hell released him. The Divine Shaman Kui is a god of Youdu, so his crime would only be greater. Interrogating them first indicates that their offenses are more severe than yours; your crime is much smaller than theirs. Go with the divine being Chi Xiu; the King of Hell won't make things difficult for you."

The many cult masters nodded in agreement, saying, "Go ahead. If the King of Hell tries to kill you, we'll storm the execution ground and seize the reincarnation passage!"

Qin Mu felt relieved. He walked out of Wenyuan Hall to find the divine being Chi Xiu standing with one leg on the head of a stone lion in front of the door, tilting his head to preen his feathers. Seeing Qin Mu emerge, Chi Xiu pulled his bird-beak from his feathers and said, "Come with me."

Qin Mu followed him and said, "Senior Chi Xiu, this time the King of Hell's summons..."

"Don't speak. You smell of the living," Chi Xiu interrupted. "I detest those who still breathe. Only when you've stopped breathing will your words sound pleasant. And the King of Hell isn't summoning you; he's interrogating you."

They arrived before the Hall of King Qin. Qin Mu looked towards the front of the hall and saw a pile of fleshly spheres still struggling and fighting. Xing'an had still not discarded the bodies of others, clearly unwilling to abandon his path.

"Even a wise man like Xing'an finds it hard to let go of the benefits he's gained, to the point of being blinded by greed." He couldn't help but shake his head. Xing'an's inability to make a decision was costing him his life. It was understandable, however; he had spent his entire life diligently cutting up and claiming others' bodies. For him to abandon that now would mean abandoning his past path and negating his entire life, which he truly found difficult to accept.

The greater a person's achievements and willpower, the more difficult it is for them to change themselves, to alter their perceptions, and to admit mistakes.

"Daybreak is coming!" Suddenly, piercing screams echoed through Fengdu City. Qin Mu quickly followed the sound and saw colossal beasts sprawled on the ridges of the great halls, gazing up at the sky. They cried out sharply, "All prefectures and cities, be careful! It's almost dawn!"

Inside Fengdu City, wandering souls darted and scattered everywhere. On the ground, numerous majestic gods and devils rushed about, scrambling for cover.

Qin Mu paused for a moment and asked Chi Xiu, "Divine Being Chi Xiu, what happens when day breaks?" Chi Xiu replied indifferently, "When day breaks, the sun will emerge. They'll need to hide, otherwise the sun's pure Yang fire will burn them. This sun is different from the one you see outside."

Qin Mu felt bewildered. Suddenly, the darkness outside Fengdu rapidly receded, and the misty Youdu abruptly became incredibly bright!

It was the first time he had witnessed Fengdu at daybreak. The bustling scene of gods and devils dancing wildly in the streets instantly turned deserted. All gods and devils closed their doors, wandering souls plunged into the abyss, and the colossal beasts on the hall ridges also retreated into the halls. The entire Fengdu fell silent in an instant.

Then, the white light turned red, and an immense, blazing sun, burning with raging flames, rose from the distant horizon of Fengdu. Instantly, a torrent of fire surged forth from the east, a rolling ocean of flames that covered everything, filling every street and engulfing all palaces and dwellings.

The fierce pure Yang fire submerged the divine cities of Fengdu, so intensely hot that space itself seemed to warp!

Qin Mu bathed in the pure Yang fire, and observed that his skeletal body faintly began to show flesh and meridians. He looked down and could even see his internal organs through his ribs!

As he looked at the gods and devils hiding by the windows of the various palaces, their flesh gradually became ethereal, revealing their stark white bones!

This true solar fire seemed completely ineffective against him; it only affected the gods and devils of Fengdu, capable of scorching their physical bodies and incinerating their souls and primordial spirits!

In the east, the enormous sun grew hotter and more crimson. Faintly, colossal palaces could be seen standing within the sun, immense in size. In front of the divine temples within the sun, giant drums stood upright, and gods and devils with imposing physiques were furiously beating the great drums, causing the sun's pure Yang true fire to continuously surge towards Fengdu.

Within the sun, thousands of divine temples, thousands of great drums, and thousands of giants furiously beat their drums, causing true fire to gush forth and engulf Fengdu!

"This is..." Qin Mu's mind reeled. Suddenly hearing screams, he quickly turned around and saw the large ball of flesh that was Xing'an burning fiercely in the true solar fire. Dozens of faces contorted, struggled, screamed, and writhed in unbearable pain.

The true fire burned their forms into phantoms, faintly revealing Xing'an's true body.

Xing'an was also in unbearable pain. At that moment, he suddenly leaped up and splashed into the River Nai. The mist on the great river under the Bridge of Helplessness churned, and demonic creatures surged, submerging Xing'an.

"Xing'an!" Qin Mu rushed to the riverbank. The mist in the river grew denser, battling the sun's flames, making it impossible for him to see any trace of Xing'an.

"He has fallen into Youdu." The divine being Chi Xiu flapped his wings twice; the true solar fire was also ineffective against him. He urged, "Hurry, the King of Hell is still waiting for you!"

Qin Mu composed himself and followed him into the Hall of King Qin.

Inside the Hall of King Qin, the King of Hell was still draped in a black robe and black cloak, his face and body completely enveloped in darkness. Qin Mu looked around but saw none of the ghost kings.

"Chi Xiu, you may leave," the King of Hell's voice resonated from his high throne in the Hall of King Qin.

"Yes," replied the divine being Chi Xiu, withdrawing from the Hall of King Qin.

On his throne, the King of Hell was perusing a scroll, the rustling sound of turning pages filling the air. At this moment, only he and Qin Mu remained in the hall. He seemed entirely unaffected by the rising sun.

Qin Mu felt uneasy. After a moment, the King of Hell rose, and the lights in the Hall of King Qin grew dim. Qin Mu suddenly felt enveloped by darkness.

"You are from Wuyou Township, correct? Who is your father?" Qin Mu was slightly taken aback, not understanding why he suddenly asked this. He replied, "My father is Qin Hanzhen. His ancestral home should be Wuyou Township, but I was not born there..."

"Qin Hanzhen?" The King of Hell paused, then murmured, "Has it reached the 'Han' generation? Yu, De, Chang, Ming, Han, Feng, Huan, Zhen. The Qin surname, by your generation, should be over a hundred generations."

He picked up the book he had been perusing, found the character 'Han', and said, "'Han' is the 106th generation, 'Feng' is the 107th. Your given name isn't Qin Mu; there should be a 'Feng' character in your name."

Qin Mu nodded but did not reveal his given name. Ever since encountering the Great Venerable, he had realized that stating his true name was very dangerous, especially to an entity like the King of Hell, who controlled Fengdu.

Although there was the Hall of King Qin here and the King of Hell possessed the Qin family's ancestral records, he still had to proceed with caution.

"You are right not to tell me your name. This world is indeed treacherous." The King of Hell said, "My surname is also Qin, but it was a bestowed surname. I am an adopted son. I was originally nothing, an orphan, solitary and without support. His Majesty permitted me to be entered into the Qin clan's ancestral records, and my name is there."

Qin Mu understood that "螟蛉子" (mínglíngzǐ) referred to an adopted son. He meant that he was not originally a member of the Qin family but was later granted the surname Qin and adopted.

"It has been a long time since I've seen a visitor from Wuyou Township." The King of Hell walked past him, came to the hall entrance, and gazed at Fengdu, which was submerged in flames. "I originally thought His Majesty would return here from Wuyou Township, but after twenty thousand years, I still haven't waited for him, only for His Majesty's 107th-generation descendant. You used Youdu's divine abilities to snatch a few souls from me. I noticed your appearance bore some resemblance to His Majesty's, which is why I didn't stop you."

Qin Mu still harbored doubts and cautiously probed, "Do you mean to say, Emperor Kai is still alive?"

The King of Hell's face remained shrouded in his black robe, and even the intensely bright flames could not penetrate the darkness beneath his black robe and cloak. "His Majesty is still alive. After Wuyou Township was established, he led the last remaining gods to leave this world, preserving their strength and awaiting a counterattack. His Majesty, with his great vision and strategy, realized very early that danger was approaching. Therefore, he ordered me to establish Fengdu, so that the gods who couldn't leave in time could go dormant and enter Fengdu, waiting for a resurgence. This wait has lasted twenty thousand years... You just said you weren't born in Wuyou Township. Then where were you born?"

Qin Mu was silent for a moment, then hoarsely replied, "Youdu."