As soon as Mao Xiaofang heard that the major sects did not intend to pursue the matter, his hanging heart finally settled.
Primarily, since Shangqing was organizing the major sects to hunt down the Ba this time, there would be some compensation for solidarity.
"Fortunately, the major sects did not deeply investigate Shangqing Sect's responsibility, otherwise, we would have suffered heavy losses."
After dealing with the remaining matters, Mao Xiaofang, Ah Wei, and Li Xuyan went their separate ways, seeking their future livelihoods, as the era of zombies was about to become history.
The war had completely ended and was almost at its conclusion, and the resentment of heaven and earth was also weakening.
As the major sects handled supernatural events faster and faster, ghosts and zombies were basically wiped out, and there were very few malevolent spirits and zombies appearing recently.
Except for the Demon Infant not being completely eliminated, all other malevolent creatures were extinct, including creatures like the Banana Spirit and Huang Daxian, which had achieved sentience as animals and trees.
This also meant that the supernatural era was about to end, and Ah Wei and Li Xuyan’s iron rice bowls were no longer secure, forcing them to seek other avenues to support their disciples.
However, zombies and ghosts could still exist for about another ten years, after which there would be very few supernatural events.
"Soul escort official, we have arrived at Niujia Town. We will first collect the three souls and seven spirits. Please wait a moment, esteemed official."
Black and White Impermanence stopped the carriage beside a mansion. The two ghosts entered the mansion holding their mourning sticks.
Then, an exclamation from an old man echoed from within the mansion!
In less than three seconds, the sound disappeared. Black and White Impermanence also emerged from the mansion.
The old man was in a spiritual state, and his voice would not be heard by the living, so no one inside the mansion knew that the old man had passed away.
"One more taken care of. There is only one other spirit in Niujia Town. The next stop is..."
After dealing with the old man in Niujia Town, Black and White Impermanence drove the carriage to the next destination, following the names on the Underworld Book.
During this time, Shi Jian sat comfortably in the carriage, leaving the soul-collecting tasks to Xie Bi'an and Fan Wujiu.
He would only intervene when Black and White Impermanence encountered situations they couldn't handle.
It was not until the two ghosts and the divine being arrived at the familiar Wangjia Town that Shi Jian voluntarily alighted from the carriage, intending to meet an old acquaintance.
"The soul escort official intends to collect souls personally?"
Seeing Shi Jian step down from the carriage, Fan Wujiu immediately wiped his eyes, doubting if he was seeing correctly.
"It seems the soul escort official is restless and wishes to take a stroll!"
Xie Bi'an was not overly surprised and trotted behind Shi Jian, following him into the Wang family mansion.
"Wait for me!"
Seeing the two enter the mansion, the Black Impermanence quickly ran in, wanting to establish his presence. If Shi Jian became one of the Ten Kings of Hell in the future, their lives would be a little easier.
Although Black and White Impermanence were considered Yin Commanders, they were the ones who handled the dirty and arduous work.
After collecting souls, they still had to stay in the Fifth Palace to assist the King of Hell in processing spirits. Their merit was only slightly greater than that of ghost attendants, but in reality, it was far less comfortable than being a ghost attendant.
The two ghosts and the divine being entered the mansion and, for a moment, couldn't discern where Old Master Wang's room was.
So much time had passed that Old Master Wang's mansion had more than doubled in size, and it had been completely renovated, looking nothing like the Wang family mansion during his lifetime.
There were countless guest rooms, and its scale was more than half that of the Jiang family mansion.
Fortunately, they had the Underworld Book. Following its guidance, they found Old Master Wang’s location, otherwise, they would have had to circle the Wang family mansion for a significant portion of the day.
Upon entering the room, Shi Jian, with Black and White Impermanence, quickly approached Old Master Wang on the bed and spoke first, "Old Master Wang, wake up quickly! This humble Taoist has come to take you home!"
Old Master Wang, lying on the bed, frowned. Then, his three souls and seven spirits left his body and appeared before Black and White Impermanence.
Seeing this, Fan Wujiu was about to raise his mourning stick to collect them but was stopped by Shi Jian.
"This is my old acquaintance!"
Old Master Wang was incredibly fortunate to be the last person on the Underworld Book, the final deceased individual on this journey.
After collecting Old Master Wang's three souls and seven spirits, they could return to the Underworld.
Fortunately, it was still early, allowing Shi Jian to catch up with Old Master Wang and give him a big surprise before returning to the Underworld.
"Eh, Daoist Shi, why are you still so young? You show no signs of aging. Could it be that I'm dreaming?"
Old Master Wang, in his soul form, opened his eyes and looked at Shi Jian’s face, extremely shocked, and at one point suspected he was dreaming.
"The people behind you are wearing such strange clothes. I seem to have seen them somewhere before, but I can't quite recall."
Before him, Old Master Wang saw the Black and White Impermanence behind Shi Jian and felt a sense of familiarity, as if he had seen them in some book.
"This is... isn't this the Black and White Impermanence from the Underworld?"
After thinking for several minutes, Old Master Wang finally recalled seeing an introduction to Black and White Impermanence in a Taoist study somewhere.
The realization, instead of being helpful, made him break out in a cold sweat.
"Old Master Wang, your lifespan has come to an end. This humble Taoist is here specifically to escort you back to the Underworld."
"Daoist, you mustn't joke with this old man. My body is very strong, how could my lifespan have ended?"
With no other choice, Shi Jian pointed to Old Master Wang's physical body on the bed.
"This!!!"
Old Master Wang looked in the direction Shi Jian pointed and saw a person who looked exactly like him lying on the bed.
Combined with the presence of the Black and White Impermanence, he finally believed that his lifespan had ended and his life had reached its conclusion.
"Daoist, I don't want to die yet! You were so powerful in life, you must hold some important official position in the Underworld. If you spare me, I will definitely offer you half of the Wang family's fortune."
A flash of inspiration struck Old Master Wang. He tried to bribe Shi Jian with gold to continue living.
"Old Master Wang, you jest. As a soul escort official in the Underworld, why would I need the wealth of the living?"
"That's right, but I can burn more ghost money for you. I implore you, Daoist, to spare my life."
Seeing that gold was useless, Old Master Wang changed his approach and immediately made a promise: if Shi Jian spared his life, he would burn a large amount of ghost money for them.
However, ghost money only had some effect on ghost attendants, allowing them to purchase some things in the netherworld within Fengdu City and Youdu.
Usually, after judgment by the Ten Kings of Hell, if a departed soul has no crimes, they are temporarily arranged in Fengdu City and Youdu and do not suffer the torments of hell.
If they are fortunate, they might be selected as ghost attendants; if less fortunate, they might be arranged for reincarnation after several decades.
"Old Master Wang, these things are of no use to us. You should come with me to the Underworld."
"As the saying goes, if you haven't done anything guilty in life, you have nothing to fear from the judgment of the Ten Kings of Hell."
But who among people has never committed any wrongdoing, let alone a wealthy gentleman like Old Master Wang?
"Very well, I will not trouble you, Daoist. Take me to the Underworld!"