Chapter 564: Dark History

His Book of Life and Death was obtained from Kui Wushen. Those aware it was in his possession included Xing An, Ban Gongcuo, and the demonic monks from Leiyin Temple.

Kui Wushen is likely a Celestial Official or Terrestrial Official of the Celestial Court, a deity who governs souls.

Kui Wushen's Book of Life and Death was likely not forged by him, but rather a bestowed treasure. The Celestial Court probably possesses very few such artifacts. Each volume of the Book of Life and Death has an owner, which is why the old Soul Ferryman stated they would soon trace it to Qin Mu.

Tracing the Book of Life and Death's whereabouts was far simpler than tracking Qin Mu himself.

“The name that just appeared in the Book of Life and Death was Huang,”

Qin Mu lifted the yellow talisman, revealing half his face, and asked, “What kind of deity is Huang?”

“Huang is a deity from the Yellow Springs. With his breath, floods cover all heavens, harvesting the souls of the world. He is one of the four great commanders stationed by the Celestial Court in Youdu.”

The old Soul Ferryman said, “You are being sought not only by him, but also by the other three great commanders: Xuanming, who controls souls; Han, who controls calamities; and Luoli, who controls prisons. You shouldn't have taken out the Book of Life and Death; it won't be difficult for them to trace it back to you.”

Qin Mu fell silent, then after a moment, said with difficulty, “It seems it would be equally easy for them to discover if I handed the Book of Life and Death to the Great Venerable or Xing An, pushing the blame onto them...”

The old Soul Ferryman said, “You are only eighteen years old; you can only frame someone of a similar age. The two people you mentioned are too old. Moreover, after the four great commanders harvest the souls of boys your age, they would discover that the person isn't you, so it's not that easy to frame someone… Bah! Why am I helping you come up with such bad ideas?”

Qin Mu put down the yellow talisman, covering his face, and said shyly, “A righteous cause attracts much support, while an unrighteous one finds little. The Prefect must know I am honest and simple-minded, which is why you are helping me. Since I cannot frame anyone, can these four deities leave Youdu and enter Taihuangtian or Yankang?”

The small boat drifted leisurely towards Taihuangtian. Onboard, the old Soul Ferryman still had the lantern hanging from the pole at the bow. He sat down and said with a hint of resignation, “Their power is too great for them to easily enter other worlds, but there are always ways for them to capture you. When you cultivate to the Life and Death realm, and your Life and Death Divine Treasure opens, connecting to Youdu, they might be able to find you and invade through your Life and Death Divine Treasure.”

Qin Mu shivered at the thought. Invade through his Life and Death Divine Treasure?

Wouldn't practitioners who opened their Life and Death Divine Treasure be in extreme danger?

“However, Youdu has its own rules. Invading through the Life and Death Divine Treasure to take your life violates Youdu’s rules. They won’t easily do that.”

The old Soul Ferryman, adopting a devil-may-care attitude, decided to reveal more information. He continued, “Although their true forms cannot descend, they are capable of sending their disciples to Taihuangtian or Yankang, or finding others to act as their pawns and kill you. Alternatively, they could wait until Taihuangtian is conquered by the demonic tribes, perform a blood sacrifice on Taihuangtian, dedicate the entire world, and connect the demonic world with Yankang. At that point, with no world barriers, they could directly enter Yankang.”

Qin Mu relaxed, smiling, “It's not that easy to kill me, nor is conquering Taihuangtian. Taihuangtian has endured for twenty thousand years, and now with Yankang as its backing and continuous reinforcements, supporting it for another twenty thousand years would be effortless.”

The old Soul Ferryman sneered, “You underestimate the demonic tribes too much. It's hard to say how long Taihuangtian can hold out… We've arrived at Taihuangtian. You can remove the yellow talisman and return.”

Qin Mu quickly looked around, seeing that it was still the battlefield of Taihuangtian, vaguely the place where he had been taken. He then jumped off the boat.

“Give me back the yellow talisman!” the old Soul Ferryman shouted.

With the yellow talisman still on his face, Qin Mu took off running, like a thief who had been caught.

“Darn it!”

The old Soul Ferryman watched him vanish in a flash, feeling a surge of anger. Just as he was about to give chase, he suddenly stopped and laughed wryly, “It’s just a yellow talisman. As long as he doesn’t cause trouble, he can keep it.” The small boat then receded, disappearing into the darkness.

Qin Mu ran over ten li, then looked back. Seeing that the old Soul Ferryman and the boat were not pursuing him, he finally relaxed. He took off the yellow talisman from his face, examined it, and carefully put it away.

“This yellow talisman is a good item. Even gods and devils wouldn’t recognize my true face if I wear it. This trip to Youdu wasn't without its gains after all.”

He looked up, slightly startled. In the sky, he saw several multistory ships returning towards Licheng, only a few hundred li away. The ships' alchemical furnaces spewed intense flames, allowing them to fly.

“I've clearly been away from Taihuangtian for a long time, at least three hours. Why have these ships only flown a few hundred li? At their speed, they should have traveled several thousand li by now. It seems as though only a quarter of an hour has passed…”

Qin Mu broke into a frantic run, quickly catching up. He first overtook the ground forces, and not long after, he reached the fleet of multistory ships, arriving at the main vessel. Imperial Preceptor Yankang and the Black Tiger God stared at him blankly, and everyone around them also showed shock. They had just been discussing Qin Mu being summoned to Youdu by the Soul Ferryman, wondering what would happen, when they saw Qin Mu running up from behind them.

Qin Mu smiled, “I’m back. How long was I gone this time?”

“Less than half an hour,”

Sang was utterly astonished, stammering, “You were taken by the Soul Ferryman, and then you just returned from Youdu?”

“The Soul Ferryman is a Prefect of Youdu. He took me to other worlds and found a Divine Bridge realm expert named Han Zhen, saying he would harvest his soul in three days. Then he took me to meet Earth Count, where I explained the karma. Earth Count said he would settle accounts with me after I die, and then he sent me back. We also encountered some gods and devils from Youdu who tried to capture me.”

Qin Mu recounted his experiences, finding it strange himself that he had accomplished so much in such a short time. In the mortal world, it would probably take three to five days.

Yet in Youdu, the time spent was very brief, while in the mortal world, only less than half an hour had passed.

“Youdu is like a dream. Your trip there was akin to entering a dream.”

Imperial Preceptor Yankang’s eyes flickered. He said, “It's good that you returned alive. Is Earth Count very terrifying?”

Qin Mu shook his head and said, “Earth Count is very agreeable, and so is the Soul Ferryman.”

Everyone present had strange expressions. Earth Count and the Soul Ferryman were agreeable? Only Qin Mu would dare to say such a thing!

Anyone, even gods and devils, would turn pale at the mention of Earth Count and remain tight-lipped about the Soul Ferrymen of Youdu, not daring to speak much.

“Maha!”

The young dragon on Qin Yu quickly slithered down and cozied up to Qin Mu, rubbing against him. Qin Yu was disgruntled, thinking, “I hadn't even warmed him up, and he's already been lured away again…”

Qin Mu stroked the little dragon. The little dragon then hung onto his ear, its head drooping downwards, its whiskers swaying back and forth.

Qin Yu felt a pang of jealousy.

“Brother Qin Yu, I’ll borrow this little dragon from you for a while. I might even take him on a trip to the Great Ruins. When I return him to you, I guarantee he’ll give you a big surprise!”

Qin Mu smiled, “I was captured by Furi Luo, then fled for my life, and even took a trip to Youdu. I’m truly exhausted, so I’ll go rest first.”

Qin Yu watched him leave with the little dragon, thinking, “I wonder if my little dragon will still be mine in a few days? My soul has been stolen by him…”

Youdu.

The old Soul Ferryman returned to the Palace of the Benevolent Saint King of Heaven's Qi. He sat down and opened a thick scroll, the very one he had given to the Lava Earth Count to read.

Qin Mu had originally wanted to read this thick book as well, but the Lava Earth Count was too tall, and Qin Mu was too short. At the time, he also had to pretend to be well-behaved, so he couldn't see the contents of the book.

The old Soul Ferryman opened the first page. On it was a swirling image: a dark continent, a woman giving birth, and Youdu's boundless demonic energy and resentful remnants of souls flowing wildly towards that small birthing chamber.

That small birthing chamber seemed to conceal a terrifying demon king, who was devouring Youdu's evil thoughts, demonic nature, and demonic energy like a whale.

Outside that continent, countless demon gods were startled, hiding in the darkness, nervously observing the first creature ever born from childbirth in Youdu's history.

“A divine child is born!” a demon god exclaimed at the edge of the first page.

Above the birthing chamber, crimson eyes opened: one, two, three.

The old Soul Ferryman turned to the second page. The scene in the book had changed. A chubby baby boy leapt from the woman's arms, revealing his true three-eyed form. He was rampaging across a dark continent. His two chubby hands crushed two demon gods who were about to ambush him. His three eyes opened, and three beams of light shot out, incinerating the continent and burning countless Youdu demons to death.

On that continent, great devils, lesser devils, and ghost kings scattered and fled, their hideous faces contorted in terror, creating a vivid image.

The infant put a demon god to his mouth and gnawed off half its head, showing extreme bloodlust.

The old Soul Ferryman shook his head and continued turning pages. Subsequent images showed the infant, after devouring countless souls and two demon gods, growing to an absurd size and committing evil deeds everywhere. He revealed his vicious nature, destroying layer after layer of the underworld, and causing the demon gods who pursued him, his mother, and their kin to abandon their armor and flee for their lives.

However, this infant seemed to be born with an incredibly strong malevolence. Whether it was the demon gods chasing him and his mother, or other ghosts dwelling in Youdu, he killed and devoured them all upon encounter.

From the scene on the second page, the old Soul Ferryman also saw panic and fear on the mother's face. She was somewhat afraid of her son, afraid of his demonic nature.

However, at the end of the image, after the infant had eaten his fill, he transformed into a tiny baby, extending his arms, asking his mother for a hug.

The old Soul Ferryman turned page after page. The events recorded later in the book were even more horrifying. The infant defeated wave after wave of demon gods who pursued them, then crushed the gods and devils who came to subjugate him. He massacred everywhere, alarming the hidden magnates of Youdu.

The magnates campaigned against the infant, and the battle shattered the heavens and rent the earth.

Later in the book, the infant, through his rampant evil deeds and brutal nature, had become a tyrant of Youdu. One day, he arrived at the edge of Youdu, using his enormous, demonic crimson eyes to peer into the mortal world, revealing an excited expression.

At the other end of the scene, the magnates of Youdu were explaining something to the great Earth Count, while the mother also pleaded with Earth Count.

The three-eyed Earth Count removed a piece of jade from his horn and refined it into a jade pendant. The mother, with tears in her eyes, left her imprint on the pendant, called her son over, and hung it around his neck.

The infant's demonic nature was suppressed, and his divine nature was also suppressed. His body returned to normal, becoming an ordinary baby, a tiny tot, lying in swaddling clothes, gurgling and raising his hands and feet, earnestly sucking his toes.

The mother picked him up, kissed him a few times, then reluctantly placed him in a basket. A woman carrying the basket departed on a paper boat.

Behind them, ghost kings of all sizes, great devils, lesser devils, and faintly visible demon gods were beating gongs and drums in farewell.

The old Soul Ferryman turned to the last page. The image showed Qin Mu in the ominous land, long hair flowing over his shoulders, wielding his sword to perform a ritual, opening the Gate of Inheriting Heaven to summon the spirits of the underworld.

At that moment, the jade pendant on his neck floated up.

“Eighteen years have passed.”

The old Soul Ferryman closed the scroll, hid it, and exhaled a long breath. “This brat shows no resemblance to his former self. I only hope his demonic nature won't awaken and he won't be controlled by it again… Fortunately, Earth Count sealed him and banished him to the mortal world. Otherwise, who knows what Youdu would have become? Perhaps if he had stayed in Youdu, he wouldn’t have even lived to be eighteen, having been devoured by Earth Count for all his evil deeds…”