Chapter 925: 幽冥帝君

Ji Yuan was respectfully invited into the Underworld Palace by several ghost cultivators. He hadn't been there for so many years, and the changes were even greater than those in Dazhen. If the outside world was flourishing, then this ghost city was simply revitalized.

The most striking change, of course, was the scale of the entire Underworld City, which had expanded more than tenfold. And then there was the Underworld Palace itself; Xin Wuya's former Underworld Ghost Manor had been transformed into a grand palace.

Ji Yuan had initially heard that Xin Wuya was in seclusion, and even though he thought his arrival might cause Xin Wuya to emerge early, he didn't expect him to arrive so quickly. He had only just sat down in a palace and eaten two pieces of exquisite tribute offered to him when Xin Wuya's aura rapidly approached.

Xin Wuya hurried over, and as soon as he entered the palace where Ji Yuan was, he saw him sitting there. As he expected, even though his own cultivation was now more than ten times greater than before, Mr. Ji still showed no hint of an immortal's presence.

Before even getting close, Xin Wuya, who had been the Underworld Emperor for many years, showed no imperial demeanor. He approached with deference, bowing deeply in a grand salute when he reached Ji Yuan.

"Xin Wuya, respectfully greets Mr. Ji!"

The Yin Marshals, Ghost Generals, and Ghost Officials behind Xin Wuya all followed suit, bowing to Ji Yuan.

"Greetings, Mr. Ji!"

Only half of these seasoned old ghosts were part of the original Unending City personnel. Many had been newly promoted; some already displayed divine light, becoming ghost deities, while others had profound auras and greatly increased cultivation, and still others appeared ethereal yet possessed extraordinary presence.

These newly appointed ghost cultivators and some palace guards were actually extremely shocked. Although they had long known of the Emperor's great respect for Mr. Ji, they had not expected such a reaction upon meeting him, especially within the Underworld Palace and in front of so many of the Emperor's subordinates.

Ji Yuan was actually slightly surprised as well. The current Xin Wuya was no longer the "old ghost Wuya" that Gao Tianming had once mocked. Even if Ji Yuan felt his maturity wasn't quite there yet, he still held the title of Underworld Emperor. As the revered lord of the underworld, a certain degree of majesty was normal, and Ji Yuan wouldn't overthink it; in fact, there was no need for him to humble himself so much before Ji Yuan.

Yet, Xin Wuya did it anyway. Ji Yuan, though surprised, couldn't help but regard Xin Wuya with higher esteem. He had initially thought the old ghost might have become somewhat conceited, having claimed the title of Emperor so early. But it turned out this salute was truly sincere, not put on.

Ji Yuan accepted the salute, then bowed in return and walked over to Xin Wuya to help him up.

"No matter what you were before, you are now the Underworld Emperor, presiding over the main hall of the Underworld. From now on, there's no need to humble yourself with such a deep bow before me."

Xin Wuya felt much more at ease and said with a smile,

"I will remember that, Mr. Ji. Have you come this time to inquire about the matter you previously entrusted to me? I have already ordered records to be compiled into books, and for each person, a dedicated ghost official secretly monitors and records every detail of their lives, without missing a single thing!"

Ji Yuan nodded.

"Then please take me to see them first."

"Very well, Mr. Ji, please wait a moment!"

With that, Xin Wuya turned and looked at an official standing nearby.

"Go and bring all those registers, and have the supervising official come personally. Tell them that I…"

"No need, no need, there's no need for such trouble. I'll simply go with you. It'll also be a good opportunity to observe how official duties are handled here."

Since Ji Yuan had said so, Xin Wuya naturally had no objections. Moreover, he was eager to impress Ji Yuan. A few years prior, he had specifically transformed himself to visit the Yin family mansion and had even purchased many books on Yin clan governance. By drawing analogies, he felt he could demonstrate his administrative achievements to Ji Yuan.

"That works well too, Mr. Ji, please!"

Without lingering in the palace, Xin Wuya personally led the way for Ji Yuan, with Yin Marshals in front and Yin Officials behind, and ghost officials clearing the path on both sides. They proceeded through the palace and the administrative offices of the Underworld City to the relevant location.

The ghosts they encountered along the way all held some official rank, at the very least being ghost runners or ghost officials. Witnessing this scene, they were all astonished, secretly wondering what was happening and who the person next to the Emperor was.

"Mr. Ji, this area is the Merit Records Hall, which includes the Underworld Records Office, Human Records Office, and Ghost Records Office… Over there is the Training Hall, where ghost runners and ghost officials are assessed for their skills and virtue. By the way, our Underworld's ghost runners and officials are selected one in ten thousand and then gradually promoted level by level, all being skilled ghost cultivators… That area is the Judgment Hall, presided over by various Judges and their subordinate officials. They determine the virtues and crimes of ghosts based on their life's achievements and various records. Some cases are even personally judged by a Judge. Oh, and there's also a Hades Hall there, where I will preside over cases if necessary!"

When Xin Wuya said this, he had a proud look on his face. Earthly emperors would not humble themselves to personally judge cases, but he could.

Ji Yuan looked at the Hades Hall with interest, then turned to Xin Wuya.

"So, have you ever judged any major cases?"

Xin Wuya smiled.

"Only half a case, really. The judges had already determined the guilt, but the individual's status was special—he was the Emperor of the Tianbao Kingdom. So, I just came to go through the motions and get a feel for it. There aren't many cases that require my direct intervention."

Ji Yuan also smiled. He didn't think Xin Wuya had established this hall purely for show. Instead, he found it a rare display of sincerity that he could candidly share these amusing anecdotes with him, so he teased him in return.

"Indeed. After all, for you, the Supreme Emperor, to personally judge a case, the other party must be worthy of such a privilege."

"Hahahahaha, Mr. Ji is absolutely right, that's exactly what I think."

Ji Yuan was indeed somewhat surprised by how orderly the main hall of the Underworld was. Moreover, it operated independently of the traditional underworld system and was capable of innovation, which was truly remarkable.

Soon, Xin Wuya and Ji Yuan arrived at the place specifically responsible for recording the matters Ji Yuan had entrusted. From a distance, Ji Yuan saw a large plaque above the hall, shrouded in Yin energy.

"Hall of Rebirth. A good name."

"Thank you for the compliment, Mr. Ji. This name was the result of everyone's discussion. Please, Mr. Ji!"

The two quickly reached the Hall of Rebirth. The officials inside seemed to have received no prior notice and were busy at work. Then, a ghost official suddenly noticed Xin Wuya arriving with Ji Yuan and quickly went inside to inform their colleagues.

The next moment, many ghost cultivator officials rushed out and bowed in unison.

"Greetings, Emperor!"

Xin Wuya, who had already received Ji Yuan's instructions, simply nodded and invited Ji Yuan inside.

Soon, Ji Yuan sat at a desk in the Hall of Rebirth, while Xin Wuya insisted on standing. The desk was piled with scrolls carefully brought by ghost officials, each glowing with spiritual light, clearly indicating they were far from ordinary books.

"Records of Reincarnation—Lu Yong…"

Ji Yuan took a book, looking at the three large characters and two smaller ones in the title. As he read it aloud, he slowly opened it. The text within carried a hint of divine intent; it wasn't limited to superficial records but could, to a certain extent, aid understanding, making each page incredibly rich in content. A brief sentence of a few words summarizing an event would reveal its causes and effects.

The book was divided into "Past Life" and "Rebirth," with the title named after the person's current life. As the name suggested, every discoverable detail of Lu Yong's previous life, until his death, was recorded. Similarly, every discoverable detail of his current life, from birth onward, was also recorded.

This book was unlike normal underworld registers, which automatically displayed a person's general life events and major merits or demerits. While similar functional registers surely existed, this was definitely not one of them. The Records of Reincarnation were incredibly detailed, even clearly noting how many times someone had urinated, making Ji Yuan's eyebrows twitch occasionally as he read.

Upon reaching the end, Ji Yuan also noticed that the pages were glowing faintly. Immediately, a wisp of dim light flew down from above the hall and landed on the book, adding new textual records.

Evidently, a ghost official was recording and adding information from somewhere using a special method, though it likely wasn't real-time but rather transmitted by some spell.

Nevertheless, thanks to the book's meticulous detail, some easily overlooked particulars were also laid out.

"So, this Lu Yong sometimes might show traces of his past life. For example, in his previous life, he was saved from danger by a spiritual rooster, and in this life, he unconsciously dislikes chicken meat…"

"Yes, please look here, Mr. Ji. In his previous life, Lu Yong never married and had no money to visit brothels. In this life, he has an obsession with women and is determined to marry early…"

The speaker was the ghost official specifically in charge of Lu Yong. Ji Yuan smiled.

"I believe that even if he had married in his previous life, he would most likely still be fond of women in this one, unless he reincarnated as a female."

"Uh… Mr. Ji is absolutely right!"

Having been a man and now being a male ghost, the ghost official couldn't, and dared not, refute it.

"Mr. Ji, there are generally two types of people who undergo such reincarnation. One is those who encounter a significant shift in their destiny or had some extraordinary encounter in life, coming into contact with things that didn't seem overly exaggerated but could have an effect. The other is those with intense obsessions… However, even so, there are millions of people in the world who fit these two criteria, yet only one in ten thousand can actually reincarnate."

Ji Yuan closed the books in his hands and calmly looked at Xin Wuya.

"To be honest, your meticulous records, detailing everything, along with various conjectures and confirmed results—all well-substantiated and evidenced—are truly surprising and, more importantly, gratifying to me. To have achieved this is already excellent!"

Ji Yuan had originally intended to subtly assess Xin Wuya by questioning his resolve, but what he saw today was already gratifying enough.

Compared to a ghost who had been completely beaten into submission, such an Underworld Emperor met Ji Yuan's expectations. Furthermore, judging by Xin Wuya's cultivation, he clearly hadn't relaxed for a single moment.