After some inquiries, it was learned that the deceased was a Taoist from the Celestial Master's Mansion. Furthermore, the Mirror of Sin showed no evidence that he had committed any unforgivable crimes during his life.
"The City of the Dying is short of ghost messengers. You shall remain in the city and serve as one!"
"Thank you, King Biancheng, thank you, King Biancheng!"
Upon hearing that he could be a ghost messenger in the City of the Dying, the Taoist from the Celestial Master's Mansion nodded his head eagerly without a second thought, fearing that Shi Jian might change his mind at any moment.
He had not achieved much in the mortal world, unlike Uncle-Master Jiu who printed money for the underworld. Now, he could even serve as a ghost messenger in the underworld after his death.
To be appointed as a ghost messenger now, without having to undergo the judgment of the Ten Yama Kings, was truly a stroke of incredible luck.
"You shall first familiarize yourself with the City of the Dying and the duties of a ghost messenger with Hei Bai Wuchang."
With that, Shi Jian instructed Fan Wujiu and Xie Bi'an to escort the Taoist from the Celestial Master's Mansion away.
He then remained in the Yama Hall, cultivating non-stop.
A few days later, the four presiding officials of the Six Cases Officials, acting on the command of Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha, came to reclaim the City of the Dying. After a fierce battle, none of them survived, all perishing under Shi Jian's Purple Cloud Divine Thunder.
Following this event, Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha's forces were forced to abandon their claim over the City of the Dying.
"Killing four presiding officials of the Six Cases Officials. This will make Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha's Palace much more subdued."
After handling all matters in the City of the Dying, Shi Jian began to advance towards the Grand Unity Golden Immortal realm.
Approximately one cycle later, Mao Xiaofang in the mortal world successfully broke through to the ninth level of Purple Cloud Divine Thunder and the sixth level of Exorcising Divine Thunder, officially ascending to the immortal ranks.
Subsequently, his cultivation advanced by leaps and bounds, eventually stabilizing at the late Golden Immortal stage, where he took on the position of one of the Twenty-Four Heavenly Lords of the Thunder Department, also known as the Guardian Heavenly Lords.
Among the three, Li Xuyan also entered the Heavenly Court. With the help of Erlang Shen, his cultivation broke through to the early Golden Immortal stage.
As for Ah Wei, he entered the Underworld. Under Shi Jian's diligent cultivation, he broke through to the mid-Xuan Immortal stage and served as a Judge in the Underworld.
As for Zhong Bang, the Man of Extraordinary Fortune for Five Generations, after finding a suitable successor for the Mao Mountain Pure Yang Sect, he ascended to the Heavenly Court. He was noticed by the Heavenly Venerable of Universal Salvation of Thunder from the Nine Heavens and intended to be trained as the successor of the Five Directional Thunder Emperors.
Thousands of years passed. Due to the lack of four presiding officials for the Six Cases Officials, the workload of the Ten Yama Kings significantly increased.
The Great Emperor of the Northern Yin Fengdu and the Great Emperor of Mount Tai each selected two individuals to serve as presiding officials for the Human, Earth, Ghost, and Nether departments respectively.
Among them, Lin Fengjiao broke through to the early Golden Immortal stage and became the new presiding official for the Human department, while Sikong Yu, having just broken through to the late Golden Immortal stage, became the new presiding official for the Nether department.
Furthermore, with the accumulation of merit, Shi Jian's Three Flowers Gathered at the Crown, and he advanced from Grand Unity Golden Immortal to Grand Unity Golden Immortal.
"Five Qi Facing the Primordial enters Grand Unity, Three Flowers Gathered at the Crown reaches Grand Unity. After staying in the City of the Dying for over a thousand years, I have finally reached the Grand Unity Golden Immortal realm through accumulated merit."
As soon as he spoke, three figures appeared within the City of the Dying. Their cultivation was all around the early Grand Unity Golden Immortal stage. The old Taoist in the middle, holding a whisk, had reached the mid-Grand Unity Golden Immortal stage.
Shi Jian, within the Yama Hall, saw three familiar faces and couldn't help but exclaim, "Three Ancestral Masters, why have they come to the City of the Dying?"
Without time to think, Shi Jian quickly used teleportation to appear before his three Ancestral Masters.
Even though he had reached Grand Unity Golden Immortal, equivalent to the San Mao Zhen Jun realm, he had not forgotten the rules due to his increased cultivation.
If it weren't for the assistance of his three Ancestral Masters from behind, he wouldn't have been able to reach Grand Unity Golden Immortal so smoothly.
"Well done, reaching Grand Unity Golden Immortal so quickly. You have not shamed your three Ancestral Masters."
"Coincidentally, the Southern Ghost Emperor among the Five Directional Ghost Emperors is still vacant. I shall now go find the Sage Emperor Tianqi and appoint you as the Southern Ghost Emperor, to jointly govern Mount Luofu with Du Ziren."
Mao Ying, the leader, seeing Shi Jian break through to Grand Unity Golden Immortal, couldn't help but praise him and prepared to search for the Great Emperor of Mount Tai.
Among the many official positions in the Underworld, the Five Directional Ghost Emperors were extremely special, jointly held by two individuals rather than one.
Therefore, excluding Shi Jian, there were a total of nine Five Directional Ghost Emperors, all at the early Grand Unity Golden Immortal stage and above. Below the Great Emperor of the Northern Yin Fengdu and the Great Emperor of Mount Tai, they were the officials with the greatest power.
"No need to go to Mount Tai, this Emperor is already here!"
Just as the San Mao Zhen Jun were about to head to Mount Tai, a golden light suddenly illuminated the entire City of the Dying.
Following that, a man clad in red and gold, wearing a golden crown, appeared in the city. His cultivation was at the Quasi-Saint level, and he was a hundred zhang tall.
"Dharma Aspect Heaven and Earth?"
Seeing the Great Emperor of Mount Tai unleash his Dharma Aspect Heaven and Earth, Shi Jian suspected his own Dharma Aspect Heaven and Earth was a counterfeit.
This was because techniques had varying degrees of strength, and his Dharma Aspect Heaven and Earth was far inferior to the Emperor's divine power. The Dharma Aspect Heaven and Earth he transformed into was only fifty meters high.
Furthermore, using Dharma Aspect Heaven and Earth would turn him into a moving target, so he had never used it in combat.
He estimated that the Great Emperor of Mount Tai's Dharma Aspect Heaven and Earth was only slightly inferior to the Heavenly Emperor's.
"We pay our respects to the Great Emperor of Mount Tai!"
Upon seeing the Sage Emperor Tianqi, the San Mao Zhen Jun and Shi Jian all cupped their fists and paid their respects.
"You may rise. The matters concerning Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha's Palace and the Great Emperor of the Northern Yin Fengdu have been concluded by the Three Pure Ones and Empress Houtu, the God of the Netherworld."
Hearing that Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha's Palace had been dealt with by the Three Pure Ones and Empress Houtu, Shi Jian found it hard to believe.
The reason Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha's Palace had managed to establish a foothold in the Underworld was due to the support of the Two Sages of the West. The Great Emperor of the Northern Yin Fengdu and the Great Emperor of Mount Tai dared not offend them greatly.
Only the Three Pure Ones, who were also Saints, and Empress Houtu, who governed the Underworld, could contend with the Two Sages of the West.
"Great Emperor Qing Jia of the Northern Yin Fengdu has been reassigned by Empress Houtu, the God of the Netherworld, to serve as the Southern Ghost Emperor among the Five Directional Ghost Emperors. Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha and his group have withdrawn from the Underworld."
"You were originally appointed as the Southern Ghost Emperor, but plans do not always keep pace with changes."
"By the way, when you ascended to the Immortal Realm before, that white-haired old man was Taishang Laojun. To compensate you, the Three Pure Ones and Empress Houtu, the God of the Netherworld, have also promoted you to Great Emperor of the Northern Yin Fengdu, in charge of Fengdu City."
Standing beside the San Mao Zhen Jun, Shi Jian was overjoyed to hear that he had been promoted to Great Emperor of the Northern Yin Fengdu.
However, before he could rejoice for long, he realized that his cultivation was still at the early Grand Unity Golden Immortal stage, which was utterly unworthy of the position of Great Emperor of the Northern Yin Fengdu. His expression immediately fell.
"Great Emperor of Mount Tai, I am merely at the early Grand Unity Golden Immortal stage. How can I be worthy of the position of Great Emperor of the Northern Yin Fengdu!"
"You need not worry about this. Before the Three Pure Ones returned to the Thirty-Third Heaven, they bestowed upon me a large amount of merit and instructed me to pass it on to you."
With that, the Great Emperor of Mount Tai gathered the Heavenly Dao Merit bestowed by the Three Pure Ones in his hand and then controlled the light cluster to fly into Shi Jian's body.
"This Heavenly Dao Merit is enough for you to advance to Quasi-Saint!"
As the Heavenly Dao Merit entered Shi Jian's body, his cultivation rapidly increased, soaring from the early Grand Unity Golden Immortal stage all the way to the early Quasi-Saint stage. Relying on the Heavenly Dao Merit, he successfully severed his upper corpse.
Thus, Shi Jian became the new Great Emperor of the Northern Yin Fengdu, the master of Fengdu City, commanding the Ten Yama Kings, the Six Cases Officials, and the Six Heavens of Luofeng.
(End of book. The subsequent attacks by the three major forces were too tedious to write!)
(This book still has many shortcomings. Coupled with the fact that I've started a new book, the author needs to learn from the experience and go into seclusion to cultivate, striving to write a better book next time.)
(Also, to the reader who suggested the book title last time, you're amazing. The author thought of three titles, but none were as good as yours.
The author hereby thanks the reader Tang Guannan, who loves eating winter melon stewed chicken, for suggesting "Transmigrating as Shi Jian, from Earth Master to Immortal"!)
(The above is the alternate title of this book!
May Infinite blessings be upon the Heavenly Lord. Fellow Taoists, this humble Taoist is going to further his studies. We shall meet again if fate permits!)