Those Other Shore Flowers within the Samsara Passageways were quite mystical too, but one look at them told you they were treasures you'd want to pick and preserve. Their quality is simply on another level altogether," the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm said.
"Master, I finally understand where most of the souls have been going for rebirth since the Lunhui Sect and Samsara Passageways fell into decline. The vast majority must have been captured and brought to this Netherworld. Look, there are so many of them coming and going on this Yellow Spring Road. It's positively bustling. Meanwhile, the Samsara Passageways we entered before had hardly any souls; they were completely abandoned," Hu Miao said, observing the ever-increasing stream of spectral figures ahead on the path.
"Indeed, since ancient times, after the Lunhui Sect and its Passageways declined, most of the world's souls have undergone their cycle of rebirth and reincarnation through this Netherworld," Hun Lao nodded. "Moreover, even if those souls were unwilling to come here, they might be captured by Soul-Hook Envoys and dragged to the Netherworld."
"Master, you said earlier that these souls will be taken to the Hall of Yama for judgment, then sent to the corresponding hells to suffer punishment based on their merits and sins in life before they can be reincarnated. And those souls that can't endure the torment within the hells might vanish into nothingness, losing their chance at rebirth forever. Doesn't that mean whether these souls across the world can reincarnate or not is decided by the beings running this Netherworld?The Netherworld's members are essentially part of the Great Netherworld faction. By what right should the fate of the world's souls be in the hands of the Great Netherworld? That's far too overbearing! What if those beings are corrupt and fraudulent? Then wouldn't many innocent souls suffer unjust fates and lose their chance at rebirth? I think it's deeply unfair, as those from the Great Netherworld are evil in their ways and hardly paragons of virtue," Hu Miao protested.
"You're right. If the Great Netherworld's members indulge in corruption and favoritism, countless innocent souls will face injustice, dissipate into nothing, and lose their chance at reincarnation forever," Ye Yunfei nodded in agreement.
"A system that judges souls, rewards or punishes them according to their life's deeds, and then permits reincarnation could be acceptable if it's truly fair and impartial. But if it's unjust, then the world's souls are merely lambs to the slaughter. In comparison, the reincarnation cycle within the Samsara Passageways had far fewer convoluted hoops to jump through," Hun Lao remarked.
At that moment, the Soul-Hook Envoy under Ye Yunfei's control, gripping its black-and-white wooden rod, was herding a large contingent of souls along the Yellow Spring Road. Both the souls and the Envoy moved slowly, their actions stiff and mechanical, creating an eerie sight. However, all the Soul-Hook Envoys and souls on this path moved with the same halting pace.
Ye Yunfei released a tendril of his Soul Power to probe their surroundings, but almost immediately, he sensed a formidable aura surging toward his location.
"Not good! It seems a powerful entity is trying to trace the origin of my Soul Power!" Ye Yunfei was startled and swiftly withdrew his energy.
The terrifying aura swept past the body of the controlled Soul-Hook Envoy, lingered momentarily, then moved on to probe the other Envoys nearby. Through his puppet Envoy's senses, Ye Yunfei saw a tall, ghastly figure appear from a fissure in the void beside the Yellow Spring Road ahead. That fearsome aura was emanating from this figure.
"It appears using Soul Power for perception within the Netherworld gets detected immediately. Your Soul Power is no exception," Hun Lao whispered to Ye Yunfei.
"Indeed. Let me try Mental Force instead," Ye Yunfei replied.
He carefully released a wisp of Mental Force, allowing it to linger in the space outside the Phantom Tower for only a brief moment before recalling it. He then observed the tall figure by the road through his controlled Envoy.
To his relief, the figure showed no reaction.
"It seems Mental Force is more effective, being a more advanced form of energy," the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm noted.
Heartened, Ye Yunfei cautiously extended his Mental Force again, using it to scan their surroundings. Mental Force was more ethereal and elusive than Soul Power, possessing superior perception while being extremely difficult to detect.
Ye Yunfei noticed the tall figure by the road ahead was now gradually fading away. Clearly, it hadn't detected the Mental Force he had released. Reassured, Ye Yunfei began extending more threads of Mental Force, continuously sensing the various scenes around them.
The main features of the Yellow Spring Road were the numerous Soul-Hook Envoys herding vast numbers of souls, flanked on both sides by garish crimson flowers that looked as if the ground was drenched in dark, thick blood.
After walking on this path for what felt like an indefinite amount of time, they finally arrived before an enormous palace. This palace radiated a sinister aura of death. Lines of souls were being driven inside in a constant, busy stream.
The Soul-Hook Envoy under Ye Yunfei's control, with its cohort of souls, waited briefly at the palace entrance. Soon, it received an order and began driving the souls inside.
At the center of the hall was a high dais. Seated upon it was a majestic, tall middle-aged man of imposing authority. He wore a black gauze cap on his head, a rhinoceros horn belt around his waist, and held a ceremonial ivory tablet in his hand. His robe was richly adorned. On the table before him lay a thick ledger, its cover inscribed with three large characters in elaborate calligraphy: Book of Life and Death.
"It seems this is the legendary Judge," Hun Lao transmitted silently to Ye Yunfei. "According to lore, the judgment of merits and sins for all souls in the Netherworld is carried out by the Judge."
Surrounding the Judge stood over a dozen Ghost Bailiffs. Each had either an ox head or a horse face. Some held broadswords, others iron chains, and some gripped dark shackles. Every one was ferocious in appearance, their glaring eyes capable of sending chills down one's spine.
The moment Ye Yunfei's controlled Soul-Hook Envoy entered the hall with its souls, the dozen-plus Ghost Bailiffs around the Judge bellowed simultaneously, "KNEEL!"
The thunderous echo reverberated within the hall, booming and terrifying enough to shatter one's courage.
The Soul-Hook Envoy raised its black-and-white rod and immediately ordered the souls to kneel. In truth, the souls were already trembling uncontrollably under the force of the Bailiffs' shout, their forms weak and powerless as they thudded to their knees.
"Now, I shall pass judgment upon you based on the various evils and good deeds you committed in your previous lives, so that you may learn to respect the distinction between virtue and vice! Retribution has not been absent, only delayed! Once its time arrives, every good and evil act from your past lives shall receive its due consequence!"
The Judge seated upon the high dais swept his fierce gaze over the kneeling souls below before speaking in a voice brimming with authority.
The souls knelt, trembling violently under the oppressive aura of power emanating from the Judge, not daring to show even a hint of resistance.
Next, the Judge opened the thick Book of Life and Death on his table, accurately found the name of each soul, and publicly recited the various good and evil deeds from their past lives.
After finishing the recitation for a soul, judgment was pronounced immediately.
The verdict consisted of two main aspects. The first determined to which level of hell the soul would be sent and what specific punishment it would undergo.
The second decreed what kind of reincarnation awaited the soul once its punishment term was complete—where and into what status the soul would be reborn—all decided by the Netherworld's Judge.
In other words, once a soul entered the Netherworld, it was no longer master of its own fate. Its entire future destiny was controlled by this underworld court.
From within the Phantom Tower, Ye Yunfei used Mental Force to perceive everything happening in the hall. He listened as the lofty Judge recited the life's record of merits and sins for each soul, passed judgment, and declared the course of their fate.
"So this is the process of reincarnation within the Netherworld. Having witnessed it firsthand today, we truly know it now," the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm remarked.
"What we've seen is only the first half. There are many more steps afterward," Hu Miao said.
Before long, all the souls brought by Ye Yunfei's controlled Soul-Hook Envoy had been judged. The souls wore vacant stares and bewildered expressions. Though a few looked unwilling or resentful, they quickly accepted their lot, for once here, they possessed no capacity for resistance.
A short while later, Ye Yunfei's controlled Envoy began herding the judged souls out of the palace.
"The next destination is the various hells assigned to each of these souls," Ye Yunfei stated.
"Master, will we still follow them into those hells?" Hu Miao asked.
"Now that we're here, we might as well take a look. After all, we'll continue to oppose the Great Netherworld in the future. This Netherworld is an important stronghold of theirs. Let's seize this chance to understand it thoroughly—know your enemy as you know yourself—so we'll have a clearer plan when the time comes to deal with this place," Ye Yunfei replied after a moment's consideration.
He then directed his controlled Soul-Hook Envoy to drive the souls toward their respective hells, as sentenced by the Judge.
In the time that followed, Ye Yunfei bore witness to the horrific scenes of one hell after another. The first was the Hell of Tongue Extraction, where Bailiffs held down soul after soul, relentlessly ripping out their tongues amidst agonized, piercing screams.
Later hells proved even more horrifying and cruel—hells of skin-flaying, flesh-broiling, bone-crushing, oil-frying... One brutal torture after another was inflicted upon the soul-forms, sights gruesome enough to make one's blood run cold.
"Master, if these punishments were justly meted out, it would be one thing," Hu Miao said, unable to bear watching. "But if these souls suffer injustice and endure such savage torment for nothing... then it's truly a grievous wrong."