"By the way, Judge, your ancestors asked me to send you something."
The ghost messenger scanned his surroundings, found no one, and waved his hand, conjuring a map of the Underworld.
The map was densely filled with text, their respective jurisdictions, and meticulously drawn.
The map of the Underworld lingered before Shi Jian for a moment, then transformed into a golden light that surged into his mind.
"Judge, your ancestors also warned you not to provoke anyone from the Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva Palace."
Seeing that his task was completed, the ghost messenger vanished within Fengdu City.
"The Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva Palace, that Bodhisattva who comes to the Underworld to convert souls and wants a share of the pie?"
Shi Jian muttered a few words to himself and, guided by the map in his mind, arrived at Guangju Hell.
The eighteen layers of hell are places where souls are punished, each with its own name and governed by eighteen judges.
The hell he governed was named Guangju, specifically punishing those who sow discord, slander, speak glibly, argue with honeyed words, and lie.
Souls sent to Guangju Hell would have their mouths pried open by ghost messengers, their tongues clamped with iron tongs, and painfully pulled out.
To better punish the souls, the ghost messengers would usually pull at the tongues with iron tongs, slowly, not all at once.
"Welcome, Judge!"
Shi Jian gestured for the other judges to step aside and then sat down, watching the ghost messengers pull at the tongues of the condemned souls with iron tongs.
The screams from the entire Underworld were incessant, and he found the sounds of these souls somewhat repulsive.
"All of you, shut your mouths for this Judge, or I'll let you taste the power of lightning techniques."
Unable to bear it any longer, Shi Jian yelled at the souls.
Seeing the Judge enraged, the souls no longer dared to scream, and could only silently endure the tongue-pulling punishment.
Under normal circumstances, souls had to spend ten years in Guangju Hell before they could reincarnate. (Originally, it was 10,800 years, but the author felt it was too long and not suitable for this book, so it was modified.)
"Judge, you are truly formidable. With just a word, you can silence hundreds of millions of souls. This subordinate is immensely impressed."
A ghost messenger immediately ran to Shi Jian's side, flattering him.
If he could curry favor with a judge at the Heavenly Immortal realm, his life in the Underworld would be a little easier.
"If I weren't formidable, could I be in this position?"
With nothing else to do, Shi Jian wandered aimlessly through Guangju Hell, wanting to observe the tongue-pulling punishment.
During this time, he spotted a familiar figure in the Underworld.
"Junior Brother Qianhe, didn't he kick the bucket? How is he here in the Underworld, working as a ghost messenger?"
"Could it be that Master's Dharma assembly guided Qianhe to the ancestors, and thus he became a ghost messenger?"
Shi Jian slowly approached the ghost messenger and, after confirming it was Daoist Priest Qianhe, called out, "Junior Brother Qianhe, I never expected to see you here!"
Daoist Priest Qianhe turned around and, seeing Shi Jian, appeared somewhat surprised.
"Eldest Senior Brother, how did you end up in the Underworld, and become a Judge, governing one of the eighteen layers of hell?"
In response to Daoist Priest Qianhe's inquiry, Shi Jian let out a long sigh and recounted the entire sequence of events.
When others ascended to immortality, they usually served as officials in the Heavenly Court of the Immortal Realm.
He, on the other hand, was assigned by an old man to the desolate Underworld.
It was fortunate enough that he became a Judge, governing the first layer of hell, rather than being a mere figurehead, chasing souls in the mortal realm.
"Eldest Senior Brother, you've reached the Heavenly Immortal realm immediately after ascending. Most people are at the Earth Immortal realm."
The realms in the Underworld are slightly different from those in the mortal world, namely Ghost Soldier, Ghost Immortal, Earth Immortal, Heavenly Immortal, Profound Immortal, Golden Immortal...
The first two realms are for those who did many good deeds in life after death and were rewarded by the Department of Good Deeds, becoming officials in the Underworld, essentially half-immortal and half-ghost.
Daoist Priest Qianhe was in such a situation, at the Ghost Immortal realm, and a standout among the ghost messengers.
"Junior Brother Qianhe, leave the tongue-pulling tasks to the other ghost messengers. You just supervise here."
Shi Jian didn't hide anything and used his position as Judge to find a lighter task for Daoist Priest Qianhe.
After all, he was the sole authority in Guangju Hell.
Apart from the Ten Kings of Hell and higher positions in the Underworld, no one could command Shi Jian, including the Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva Palace, which was not part of the Underworld's official hierarchy.
"Eldest Senior Brother, this might not be right!"
"If the Ten Kings of Hell discover you abusing your official position, we'll both be in serious trouble."
Daoist Priest Qianhe, mindful of his superiors, had no intention of slacking off.
Once discovered by the Ten Kings of Hell, his job as a ghost messenger would be over.
"Junior Brother Qianhe, you are too cautious. Why fear the Ten Kings of Hell? I have the final say in this first layer of hell, and I should be able to cultivate some trusted subordinates."
Within Guangju Hell, Shi Jian didn't take the Ten Kings of Hell seriously.
He had long wanted to leave the Underworld and wished for his position to be revoked so he could return to the Heavenly Court and enjoy life.
"Eldest Senior Brother, the power structures in the Underworld are quite complex. As newcomers, we should act with caution."
Daoist Priest Qianhe, having spent some time in the Underworld, was well aware of its intricate power divisions and didn't want to offend anyone unnecessarily.
The Underworld was roughly divided into three factions: one led by Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, one led by the Great Emperor of Fengdu, and one led by the Great Emperor of Mount Tai.
"What Junior Brother says is not without reason!"
Being new to the Underworld, Shi Jian suppressed his arrogance.
After all, the Underworld was not the mortal realm; there were many people far more powerful than him.
"By the way, Junior Brother Qianhe, have you seen our ancestors?"
Currently, Shi Jian's most pressing concern was the whereabouts of the ancestors of Mount Maoshan.
The purple-robed old Daoist was protected by the past generations of ancestors, so it was highly probable that he would not enter the eighteen layers of hell. He was likely enfeoffed and sent to serve as an official elsewhere.
"The three ancestors are still at the Palace of the Great Emperor of Mount Tai. Since the Great Emperor of Mount Tai rarely comes to the Underworld, some matters have to be handled by the three ancestors."
Beside him, Daoist Priest Qianhe shared all the information he knew.
The three ancestors of Mount Maoshan were known as the Elite of the Nine Palaces of Earth Immortals, which did not necessarily mean their current realm was Earth Immortal.
"So, our three ancestors from Mount Maoshan hold considerable power."
"Indeed, but we must also act with caution. The people from the Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva Palace are not friendly to us."
Daoist Priest Qianhe repeatedly cautioned him before continuing to punish the souls with iron tongs.
"The Heavenly Immortal realm is not enough in the Underworld. I must hurry to improve my strength."
With nothing else to do, Shi Jian began to diligently cultivate his lightning techniques within the eighteen layers of hell.
The Underworld, being the place with the heaviest Yin energy, made cultivation speed extremely slow.
Fortunately, lightning techniques were extremely Yang and strong, capable of repelling the surrounding Yin energy. Cultivating the three types of lightning techniques was not as slow as imagined.
The main thing was that after becoming a Heavenly Immortal, there was no lifespan, and one could rely on time to accumulate cultivation.