Surprise visit at 5:30

  Good fortune and bad luck are intertwined, and the affairs of the world are difficult to predict. In just less than a month's time, the Jiang family and the White Lotus Sect underwent a dramatic reversal of fortunes.

  The White Lotus Sect in Huainan had not yet recovered from the shadow of defeat, and was immediately pursued and killed by the Qin army across the mountains. The miserable appearance of the fleeing sect members was comparable to that of a bereaved dog. For those White Lotus leaders who narrowly escaped outside Jiangjia Village, Huang Shirong gritted his teeth and ruthlessly offered a large reward, openly buying lives with heavy money. Anyone listed on this high-reward list would be worth at least 50 guan and half a tael of silver for their head, a price that was hundreds of times higher than the ordinary soldier's battlefield beheading reward. How could it not move many people?

  To put it into perspective, this large sum of money is roughly equivalent to the economic income of a middle-class family for ten years. In any case, it can't be described as a small amount. From this, we can see how dangerous it was for all the leaders of the Huainan White Lotus Sect to be listed on the wanted list.

  Huang Shiren listed the rewards from high to low, apparently intending to use money to kill them. The tempting prices were right in front of them, and those poor Qin army soldiers who had gone crazy saw the White Lotus Sect's big brothers as if they were more excited than seeing a naked Huang Hua girl.

  One thing is certain, the White Lotus Sect won't have the leisure to seek revenge against Huang Shiren in the short term. Their top priority every day is figuring out how to keep their precious heads safe from those wolf-like Qin soldiers.

  The old mountain temple under Tianzhu Mountain is as quiet and serene as it used to be. The nearby mountain rocks and springs, which have undergone some renovation, are no longer desolate and quiet like when Lin Xiang first arrived.

  Recently planted flowers and trees of various colors are scattered in the mountains, a newly repaired stone path winds along with the stream, and the scenery here is like a peaceful and serene Shangri-La.

  As the Jiufeng Town Shanshen Temple was completed, due to environmental factors, believers of Huoshan God moved activities such as incense and vows to that side. The historic old mountain god temple of Tianzhu Peak has become Lin Xu's private villa, whenever he wants to be quiet for a while, he will come back here to stay for a few days, only when necessary to handle official business will he go to Jiufeng Town.

  Some time ago, after a bloody battle with the White Lotus Sect, Lin Xu lived here for recuperation.

  Lin Xue was not injured in the intense battle, but that inexplicable fatigue had always been lingering. After all, Lin Xue used to be just an ordinary office worker who worked from 9 to 5, and killing people was not his forte. At that time, when the war came suddenly, he didn't have time to think much, and he killed as soon as he said it. Afterwards, he couldn't help but feel a little uncomfortable in his heart. The spirit of cutting and killing like rolling up a mat, stabbing passersby eight times to silence them, was still beyond Lin Xue's reach for the time being.

  "Humming——"

  A low hum rose again, Lin Xu, who was sitting in a lotus position on the armchair with his eyes closed, opened his eyes and flashed a hint of sharpness, muttering to himself:

  "Here we go again?"

  Outside the main hall, Deputy General Zhang Xing strode in with big steps and bowed to Lin Xu, saying:

  "Reporting to the great master, the underworld passage has opened again, may I ask how should we handle it?"

  Lin Xu smiled ambiguously and stood up, saying:

  "Come on! Let's go and greet our guests."

  This time it was still an old acquaintance, and as soon as they met, the visitor paid his respects to Lin Xu and said:

  "Yuan Yu, the judge of the underworld, pays his respects to the god of Huo Mountain."

  "Haha, haha, haha, haha! No trivial matter can bring you to the Third Treasure Hall! I am Judge Yu. Your esteemed self has come here, surely there must be some urgent matter?"

  Facing Lin Xu's eloquent speech, Yu Yuan looked much more restrained, and he glanced around saying:

  "Your Excellency, this is no place for conversation, don't you think..."

  Hearing this, Lin Xu also couldn't say anything, and could only force a smile, saying:

  "Oh, it seems Lin has been remiss. Magistrate Yu, would you like to have some tea served in the inner court instead?"

  The gods and earth spirits in the metropolis have all transformed into golden bodies, basically not needing to eat or sleep. The inner courtyard, which should be the master bedroom, has a symbolic meaning greater than its actual use. Lin Xu led Judge Yu Yuan into the inner courtyard of the Mountain God Temple, catching a glimpse out of the corner of his eye as Yu Yuan threw a glance at Adjutant Zhang Xin, whose action seemed to have a deeper meaning. Lin Xu, who was familiar with human emotions and worldly affairs, had an epiphany: it seemed that this time there really was something unspeakable that needed to be discussed in secret! So, Lin Xu ordered Zhang Xin to go out and guard the entrance of the courtyard, and he walked alone with Yu Yuan into the inner room.

  He turned back to shut the door, Lin Xu stretched out his hand and gestured for Yu Yuan to take a seat, then opened his mouth to say:

  "I am but a humble judge, and I have come this time, surely it is because Your Highness, the King of the Five Officials, has some instructions to impart?"

  "No, I'm here on official business."

  Upon hearing this, Lin Xu felt unexpected and his eyes widened in surprise as he looked up and down at Judge Yu Yuan several times, temporarily not making a sound.

  Lin Xu thought that Wuguan Wang's early investment in himself must have had ulterior motives and couldn't be purely out of kindness. Therefore, when he saw Yuanyi with a sneaky look on his face, he thought it was time to uncover the truth, but unexpectedly, the other party replied that it was for official business.

  After a moment of silence, he stabilized his emotions and smiled, saying:

  "Oh, isn't it strange? Since it's for official business, why must you, Judge Yu, be so cautious?"

  At the sound, Judge Yu Yuan stood up slowly and said in a calm tone:

  "Zun Shen has just succeeded Huo Shan's position, I suppose it's been years since he took over the revered god's post and isn't familiar with the old ways, no wonder he asked this question."

  Born in a world dominated by technology, growing up in the 21st century where prosperity and decline are intertwined, Lin Xu fortunately inherited the position of Huo Shan God after his death in an air crash, achieving golden body. However, to be strict, he got this Huo Shan God position by chance.

  Even if the former Mount Hua God's last words said that he calculated how future events would unfold, seemingly leaving it specifically for Lin Xu, as a beneficiary, Lin Xu had always harbored great doubts about this point. The reason why he was suspicious is simple: try thinking about it - if the former Mount Hua God really had such incredible divine powers to see through infinite time into the future, then why would he end up falling and being reduced to nothing? Obviously, this explanation doesn't hold water, and there must be more to it.

  Lin Xu was already accustomed to others pointing out his lack of insight and smiled calmly:

  "Oh, then I'll have to ask Judge Yu for guidance next."

  At this time, Judge Yu Yuan said solemnly:

  "In that case, let's cut to the chase. The Heavenly Court may have abandoned this realm, but our Underworld has not given up yet..."

  When he heard this, Lin Xu suddenly stood up and stopped Yu Yuan's words, grabbing his shoulder and asking:

  "Wait, what did you say? The Heavenly Court is abandoning this place?"

  Judge Yu Yuan endured the pain in his body, raised his hand and pushed away Lin Xu's tiger-like big hands, saying:

  "I, a humble official, have never spoken falsely. Since the collapse of the Honghuang world, the numerous fragmented realms and outer domain fragments scattered in the void have become entangled like a messy ball of twine. The Heavenly Court has repeatedly gone to war with the gods and demons from outside the realm to compete for control over these fragments, resulting in victories and defeats on both sides. To minimize losses, the Three Pure Ones decreed that we should adopt a strategy of grasping the large and releasing the small, striving to preserve the structural stability of the Dacheng world. For example, this fragment where the revered gods reside is only about the size of a continent, with a population of mere tens of millions. Compared to the Dacheng world, it's like comparing fireflies to the bright moon. Yet, defending this fragment is no less difficult than competing for control of the Dacheng world itself, and so..."

  Yu Yuan's ending tone was full of an unspoken flavor, which actually made the atmosphere in the room a few degrees colder.

  After a long time, Lin Xu's voice sounded, and he muttered:

  "...So, this poor and remote place was abandoned by heaven, is that what you mean?"

  "The divine wisdom shines far and wide, this is indeed a true fact."

  The world is full of people seeking profit, the world is full of people pursuing gain. Even the benefits required by the gods are not on a level that ordinary people can fully understand, but this principle itself has no difference.

  Seeking profit and avoiding harm is the instinct of all wise lives. Once personal safety is threatened, abandoning petty gains and finding a way to protect oneself is the most normal choice.

  Actually, Lin Xu had vaguely guessed this result a long time ago. The Heaven's neglect for over 300 years, with such an overly passive attitude, is enough to make anyone who isn't an idiot guess the meaning behind this move. This time, getting formal confirmation of the bad news was different from simply speculating about the answer. It felt like being drenched in a bucket of cold water on a freezing winter day, a chill that couldn't be stopped!

  As Lin Xu was lost in thought for a moment, he suddenly burst out laughing and looked up at Judge Yu Yuan with a playful tone.

  "Since the Heavenly Court has already abandoned this realm, I ask you, Judge Yu, why is it that the Underworld refuses to give up? Could it be that the power of the Underworld surpasses that of the Heavenly Court?"

  This question was quite sharp, but Judge Yu Yuan seemed to have expected Lin Xu to ask this, and he replied without hesitation:

  "The Six Paths of Reincarnation are the foundation of my Eastern Divine Path and Immortal Path, and all living things in the world rely on it for their existence. Losing a piece of land is a small matter, but if one loses their soul's belonging as well, that would be a catastrophic event."

  After hearing this, Lin Xu nodded his head in agreement with a serious expression after careful consideration, and he understood the meaning of Judge Yu Yuan's words.

  In those abandoned realms of the heavenly court, the underworld had an inseparable core interest, doing what it knew was impossible.

  It's like on Earth, no matter what cultural system, they all mention the death world that humans will eventually go to and the soul's return. Various religions have extremely detailed descriptions of this. Suppose an external demon invades a certain realm and gains actual control, would it allow the underworld of the Eastern God System to collect souls in its own territory? I believe the answer must be no, they also have their own death gods and soul collectors coming to collect souls, there's no need to give Yan Wang Ye face.

  If this wind is allowed to grow and nothing is done, won't the vast underworld become a mere decoration? Moreover, the Six Paths of Reincarnation are one of the core systems of the Huaxia divine system, its importance is in no way inferior to the legendary Seal of the Gods. Losing control over the transformation of life and death is equivalent to surrendering on the battlefield, triggering an avalanche-like chain reaction, with consequences that cannot be estimated.