The light shot up into the sky, causing the waters of the Forgetfulness River to form a vortex.
Zi Linling, on White Bone Mountain, watched the scene with a face full of vigilance.
However, she soon sensed Ye Lingyuan's familiar aura from it.
What was he doing?
Zi Linling was somewhat curious.
But since she was sure it was Ye Lingyuan causing the commotion, she felt a trace of nervousness along with her vigilance.
In the Forgetfulness River, countless souls began to roar.
The roars were clearly tinged with extreme fear.
Meng Po, who was scooping soup, dropped her ladle into the pot again. "This is... the Hades Seal! He's back! He's back!"
Her aged face was filled with elation.
A moment later, ten figures dressed as emperors appeared beside Meng Po. Their gazes fell upon the vortex, their faces beaming with joy.
But when they saw White Bone Mountain next to the vortex, their expressions turned peculiar.
As kings of hell, how could they not recognize White Bone Mountain?
The appearance of White Bone Mountain indicated that the Demon of Infatuation, Yue Hua, had broken free.
However, who was the person standing on White Bone Mountain?
These ten individuals, as rulers of the underworld, possessed terrifying cultivation.
How could they not sense that the person standing on White Bone Mountain was not the Demon of Infatuation himself?
Even Meng Po couldn't help but feel surprised and curious.
She knew about Yue Hua's escape, but what was with White Bone Mountain?
However, since Yue Hua had even given White Bone Mountain to the other party, it meant that person had a close relationship with Yue Hua.
Recalling Yue Hua's previous inquiry about Yue Wu Mei, Meng Po suddenly had a bold guess.
Could the person on White Bone Mountain be related to Yue Wu Mei?
With this thought, Meng Po focused her divine power on her eyes and carefully observed Zi Linling.
Soon, a look of "as expected" appeared on her face.
Zi Linling was carefully observing the churning vortex when she felt ten powerful divine senses sweep over her.
Her brow furrowed, and her expression turned somewhat displeased.
Regardless of whether the other party had ill intentions, using divine sense to pry into someone was a rude act.
Of course, the strong did not care about the feelings of the weak, so the ten emperors were unaware that they had already incurred Zi Linling's displeasure.
"Who exactly are these people? Why does each of their cultivations far exceed the Saint King realm?"
"Girl, they are all powerful beings at the Minor Deity realm."
Old Du's voice rang out at the opportune moment.
"Minor Deity realm?"
Zi Linling's surprise was evident.
"Yes, they should be the Ten Underworld Lords of the netherworld."
In the Nine Spirits Ring, Old Du's expression was solemn.
"Ten Underworld Lords? Not the Ten Palaces of Yama??"
A hint of curiosity appeared on Zi Linling's face.
Although she was known as someone who could contend with Yama for lives, she had never actually seen Yama before!
She wondered what the Ten Palaces of Yama looked like, and if they were as fierce and intimidating as legend had it.
"Ten Palaces of Yama?"
Old Du paused, then nodded. "That title is indeed more fitting than Ten Underworld Lords."
As they were chatting, Zi Linling felt a strange gaze.
"What powerful mental energy!"
She couldn't help but exclaim.
"Is this... Meng Po?"
Old Du's voice held a trace of surprise.
"What about Meng Po?"
Zi Linling was somewhat confused. Since this place had the Yellow Springs, the Forgetfulness Flower, the Bridge of Helplessness, and the Ten Palaces of Yama, wasn't it natural for Meng Po to be here? Why was Old Du so surprised?
"This Meng Po's origin is far from simple!"
A hint of reverence appeared in Old Du's eyes.
"Not simple? What's not simple about her?"
Zi Linling was taken aback.
In the legends of her previous world, wasn't Meng Po just the old woman boiling soup at the Bridge of Helplessness? What was so extraordinary about her?
In the Nine Spirits Ring, Old Du rolled his eyes and said, "The reason she's not simple is because she's a true god! A god from the God Realm!"
Zi Linling was somewhat confused. "What do you mean?"
Old Du, through the Nine Spirits Ring, gave Zi Linling a disdainful look before saying, "Do you know what place this is?"
"The underworld!"
Zi Linling rolled her eyes.
She might not have eaten pork, but she had seen pigs run, hadn't she?
Although she hadn't been to the underworld, the legends had described it quite clearly.
Why would Old Du ask such a foolish question?
"Yes, but did you know? This place was not called the underworld before; it was called Youdu."
"Youdu?"
Zi Linling frowned. This she wasn't very clear about.
Old Du said, "Yes. Previously, this place was overcrowded with ghosts, lacking any order. For a place to stand, these souls fought to the death, and many were annihilated."
Zi Linling frowned. "It seems that no matter the place, there is conflict!"
Old Du said, "Who says not? Youdu was limited in space and couldn't accommodate so many souls. If they didn't fight, they wouldn't even have a place to stand."
Zi Linling was shocked. "That's not right, how can there be so many ghosts?"
Old Du said, "Because, at that time, Youdu had no reincarnation. All souls that arrived here either found a stable footing or were annihilated."
"No reincarnation? Why?"
Zi Linling's shock was unimaginable.
A netherworld without reincarnation, what a terrifying prospect.
Old Du: "Because, at that time, no one had comprehended the laws of reincarnation."
Zi Linling was astonished. "Laws of reincarnation?"
"Yes, until one day, a couple of astonishing talent descended from the heavens, their immense power deterring all the souls in Youdu."
Zi Linling was shocked. Thinking about how terrifying souls that had experienced slaughter must be sent shivers down her spine.
To deter such souls, the required strength must have been absolutely immense.
"They established order in Youdu, and selected ten powerful souls from among them. Through a special method, they purified their ferocity and kept them by their side."
"Then, they went into seclusion for half a year and, using Youdu as a foundation, forged a massive divine artifact. This divine artifact was the nascent form of the current netherworld."
"Nascent form?"
Zi Linling's shock was beyond words.
"Yes, it's called a nascent form because, although this divine artifact had vast space, its capacity was still limited."
"They divided the divine artifact into ten cities, and had the Ten Great Souls guard them, then went into seclusion again."
"This time, they went into seclusion for a thousand years. When they emerged again, they held a strange object."
"They placed this object in the last city, and with immense magical power, drove most of the souls into it."
"There was a strange power within this object that could reshape bodies for souls, but it also had a drawback."
Zi Linling paused and asked, "What drawback?"