Mysterious mirror hanging high

Chapter 1086 Seeking Survival in the Underworld

Consciousness, like a wisp of light sinking to the bottom of the sea, drifted aimlessly in absolute nothingness and deathly silence for an unknown period of time.

Then, some kind of traction force came.

Like a drowning person finally being pulled to the surface, a glimmer of light begins to rise, piercing through layers of darkness.

Am I...dead?

A thought, like a bubble, floated into my mind.

Following that, more senses returned.

Yun Xuance opened his "eyes".

She didn't physically open or close her eyelids, but she did "see".

What came into view was a dimly lit, shadowy world.

Ahead stood numerous pavilions and palaces, where countless semi-transparent ghosts lingered. Some were still in a state of ignorance, while others, like Yun Xuance, had already awakened, looking bewildered.

"Is this...the Nine Netherworlds?" Yun Xuance's heart sank.

"Splash—"

Two chains suddenly bound Yun Xuance's arms. Yun Xuance struggled with all her might, but found that her whole body was light and she could not exert any strength. Looking at the source of the chains, she saw that the ones binding her were two demons exuding ghostly energy.

One is a bull's head, and the other is a horse's face.

“Hmm… a newly deceased soul, but it wakes up quickly… after all, it’s a cultivator from the Immortal Realm, so we need to take special care of it. Brother, come with me to take it to the Judgment Division.” Ox-Head said in a deep voice.

"Enough talk. The time has come. Take Judge Sun away." Horse-face's voice was indifferent, as if he were handling business.

Ox-Head and Horse-Face, one on the left and one on the right, pulled the chains, leading Yun Xuance, who was now only a soul, towards the Netherworld City ahead.

Finally, they stopped in front of an exceptionally tall and majestic palace.

The palace doors were open, and the interior was dimly lit. Only two rows of ghost soldiers with indistinct faces, holding various strange weapons, could be seen standing solemnly, and deep inside the hall, there was a huge, dark desk.

Ox-Head and Horse-Face led her into the hall. With a twitch of the chains, Yun Xuance's soul involuntarily floated forward a few steps, stopping precisely beneath the desk.

She looked up.

After the case was closed, a person sat upright.

This man was dressed in a dark black official robe, wearing a judge's hat, with three long strands of beard, and his eyes were half-open and half-closed.

His left hand rested on a thick, black-covered book, while his right hand held a uniquely shaped iron pen with a gleaming tip.

“Judge Sun, this man was a high-ranking cultivator in the celestial realm before his death. We cannot handle him directly, so we must ask you to make the decision. That is why we brought him here.” Niu Tou cupped his hands to the judge behind the table and said respectfully.

The judge's gaze fell on Yun Xuance's soul, his eyes filled with scrutiny, yet also with a hint of caution.

"What was this person's background? And how did he die?"

Horse-faced said at this moment: "An ascended cultivator from the Immortal Realm, at the Cave Heaven Realm."

"Oh? Cave Heaven Realm? That's not weak."

Judge Sun involuntarily sat up straight. The judges of the Nine Netherworld Court ranged in cultivation from Nascent Soul to Ghost Immortal, but he was currently only at the Cave Heaven Realm. Naturally, he dared not be too negligent when encountering a cultivator of the same level. He smacked his lips and said:

"Since you are a cultivator from the Immortal Realm, I reckon you come from some powerful force. I doubt you would tell the truth if I asked you, so I'm too lazy to waste my energy investigating. How about this: I'll let you be born as a human again in the next life, in the first heaven of the Immortal Realm?"

"Don't think I'm not taking care of you... You want to go to the second or third heaven, or even be reborn into a powerful force? You'll have to pull some strings. Besides, no one dares to manipulate the identities of the offspring of those great supernatural beings. They are all newborn souls personally created by the great supernatural beings to ensure that they are not reincarnations of their predecessors."

"By the way," Sun Pan rambled on for a while, then suddenly seemed puzzled: "At the Cave Heaven Realm, and not having reached the end of lifespan, how did he die? If he was fighting with someone else, shouldn't his true spirit still be alive? How could your enemy be so careless?"

Niu Tou then added, "Judge Sun, you haven't finished yet..."

"This cultivator was killed by the Immortal Realm True Immortal [Yuwen Tianfu]. He was affected by the True Immortal's divine power that day, so his true spirit escaped by chance. It was just that the Immortal was too lazy to hunt down this cave cultivator."

"what?!"

Sun Pan shuddered, his expression changing drastically: "Died from the influence of a True Immortal's divine power? This cultivator had a True Immortal enemy in his previous life?"

"We've investigated, and Yuwen Tianfu isn't just an ordinary True Immortal. It's said that he's progressed rapidly in recent years, and seems to have the potential to become a Golden Immortal..."

Come on!

Judge Sun threw down a ghostly divination stick and shouted, "This person committed countless sins in her lifetime. Send her to the eighteenth level of hell, where she will never be reincarnated!"

"Understood!" Upon hearing this, Ox-Head and Horse-Face immediately twisted the chains in their hands, preparing to escort Yun Xuance out.

"Wait a minute."

Judge Sun frowned and said, "The longer we wait, the more things may go wrong. Forget it, let's just kill this ghost right here in court and extinguish its true spirit. Then send a ghost messenger to inform the Yuwen family in the Immortal Realm."

"what?!"

Yun Xuance's mind went blank. Seeing the two ghostly guards under Judge Sun approaching, wielding their killing clubs, a chill ran down her spine. In a moment of quick thinking, she shouted:

"presumptuous!"

"Who do you think you are, daring to take such drastic measures against a true disciple of the Immortal Selection Hall?"

"and many more……"

Upon hearing this, Judge Sun shuddered. With a single wave of his hand, he pulled the ghost divination stick that had been thrown to the ground back into his palm. He gritted his teeth and said, "A true disciple of the Immortal Selection Hall? You want to deceive me? How could a true disciple of the Immortal Selection Hall be killed so easily by a mere True Immortal!"

"This matter involves the schemes of all the officials. Do you really want to know?" Yun Xuance sneered.

"I was reincarnated into the mortal realm with my memories intact. In my first life, I didn't follow the path of the underworld at all... I think you know what that means, right?"

Judge Sun was also half-believing and half-doubting: "It's not difficult to verify whether you are a first reincarnation... but not all cultivators who are reincarnated with true spirit memories are true disciples of the Immortal Selection Hall. There are also many corrupt officials in my Underworld who can secretly let people reincarnate with their memories..."

"Never mind..."

The judge tossed down another ghost divination stick, then turned to a ghost messenger and said, "Go and fetch Judge Liu. He is a ghost immortal and can use secret methods to determine whether this person is a second reincarnation..."

Before long, a judge whose aura was significantly stronger than that of Judge Sun arrived. Without saying a word, he directly activated a secret technique and cast a beam of spiritual light over Yun Xuance's head.

The judge nodded slightly the next moment: "Indeed, he has been reincarnated once with his memories intact."

"It really is?"

Sun Pan was taken aback. His initial skepticism turned into a degree of doubt. He stared at Yun Xuance, his tone softening considerably, and asked:

“Fellow Daoist, it’s not that I don’t believe you, but logically speaking, if a true disciple of a celestial palace were to fall into the underworld, it’s possible that the elders in the palace might try to rescue them…”

"Could you tell us which Immortal Selection Hall you came from? We can pass on the message and inquire about your future plans... Will you honestly reincarnate, or simply register your name in the Underworld and find a job, or perhaps use your remaining true spirit to condense a ghost body and try your hand at the path of ghost cultivation?"

Upon hearing this, Yun Xuance's heart skipped a beat.

Her earlier threats were merely a means to protect herself, but others may not understand, but doesn't she understand herself?

I am not a chosen one of any celestial palace at all!