Chapter 1322: Reincarnation Inquiry

Shortly after Bai Chen left, a jade tablet stamped with the Hall of the Departed's emblem was promptly delivered by a attendant to the Quiet Thought Pavilion. Yan Buji's divine consciousness sank, and a flood of information surged.

First came preliminary intel on that "anomaly," vague in detail, only noting that recent unknown fluctuations have arisen deep within the Reincarnation Well; its aura is ancient and chaotic, bearing a strong "neither life nor death" trait that can warp nearby souls and even interfere with the normal reincarnation sequence. The Hall of the Departed has dispatched elite scouts many times, all returning empty‑handed and with casualties, and its power's attribute shows a faint resonance with the ancient divine Dao rhythm on Yan Buji's body.

Next is a resource list and permission grant. The Hall of the Departed opened usage rights to several cultivation secret realms within the inn, and supplied a batch of pure Nether Soul Crystals, pills that stabilize the soul body, and even a few non‑core texts covering the foundations of the Nether Law and an overview of Reincarnation. The handout is sizable, revealing the depth of a great power.

Finally, a seemingly advisory "itinerary" that actually hides a demand: three days later, proceed to the deep "Judgment Hall" of the Reincarnation Inn to undergo a "Reincarnation Inquiry" test.

The jade tablet explains this is the Hall of the Departed's routine procedure for important collaborators, intended to assess temperament, eliminate hidden risks, and also let participants more clearly recognize their own reincarnation marks, which benefits cultivation. Yet Yan Buji understands this is more likely a deep probe targeting him as a "variable"; the Hall of the Departed will never fully trust an unknown being bearing Chaos.

"Reincarnation Inquiry…" Yan Buji tapped the tabletop with his fingertips, his eyes flickering. This is far from an easy matter; the Hall of the Departed excels at manipulating souls and reincarnation, and a slight misstep could expose his core secrets, even have hidden restraints planted.

But he has no room to refuse. Since he boarded this vessel, some storms must be faced head‑on.

In the following three days, he did not rush to use those resources to boost power, but devoted himself to studying those few Reincarnation texts, while continuously simulating and deducing the operation of reincarnation laws with his own Chaos Force, especially the various scenarios the "Inquiry" might involve. Using the "Way of Being and Non‑being" he grasped in Return to the Void as a foundation, he attempted to construct within his core a layer that could confuse heavenly mechanisms and shield against probing—a Chaotic Labyrinth.

After the three days elapsed, a silent black‑robed guide appeared outside the Quiet Thought Pavilion, indicating Yan Buji should follow.

Passing through the inn's core area, they arrived before a magnificent hall built entirely of dark, accursed mirror stone. Above the hall's gate hung a massive bronze ancient mirror, its surface cloudy as if veiled by millennia of dust, yet it gave a terrifying sense of being able to see through past and present lives. This is the Judgment Hall.

Inside the hall was vast and deep, with only a uniquely shaped stone platform standing in the center, surrounded by seven lamps flickering green ghost‑fire, arranged along some arcane trajectory. An elder dressed in a deep black official robe, with a stern face and holding a Judgment Pen, had long been waiting there. His aura was profound, like a rock, and he was one of the hall's custodians.

"Step forward, ascend the Inquiry Platform," the elder's voice was icy, devoid of any feeling.

Yan Buji obeyed and stepped onto the stone platform. In an instant, the seven ghost‑fires flared brightly, their green light interweaving into a net that enveloped him. The platform seemed to come alive; countless fine Reincarnation runes lit up, and an irresistible force began pulling his consciousness, trying to drag him into a reincarnation illusion.

"Hold fast to your true heart, reflecting the genuine self," the elder said, then closed his eyes, the Judgment Pen hovering, activating the Hall's Law Force.

Yan Buji only felt heaven and earth spinning, the scene before him changing abruptly!

He seemed to become an ordinary scholar, studying by a cold window, repeatedly failing the imperial exams, eventually dying in poverty and illness… an unrelenting obsession gnawed his soul like a poisonous snake.

The next moment, he turned into a battlefield general, slaughtering countless foes, his horse‑skin wrapped his corpse, after death his resentment surged skyward, turning him into a fierce ghost that roamed… the brutal killing intent almost drowned his reason.

In the blink of an eye, he became a lovesick woman, betrayed and tormented by those she trusted, finally ending her life in hatred… endless sorrow and despair shrouded his heart.

Lifetimes of reincarnation experiences, like raging tides, battered his will's defenses. These were not merely phantasms but also interlaced with real reincarnation fragments collected by the Hall of the Departed, bearing strong emotional imprints, intended to trigger any latent weaknesses, obsessions, or demonic hindrances deep within him.

If his resolve wavered, or if a massive mental void existed within him, he could easily sink here, lose himself, even be assimilated by the illusion, exposing all secrets.

"Such petty reincarnation phantoms, daring to shake my Chaotic Heart?"

Within Yan Buji's core, that ash‑tinged, cyan‑hued Chaos current erupted! Not a hard resistance, but like an invisible vortex, it began to devour and disintegrate those incoming reincarnation phantoms and emotional imprints!

His Chaos, even capable of encompassing and evolving the "nothing" of Return to the Void, let alone these concrete "being" obsessions? He treated those phantoms as nourishment, refining them with the Chaos Path, extracting the Law Fragments concerning life, death, love, hate, and honor, strengthening his own understanding of reincarnation while utterly eradicating the chaotic emotional impurities!

On the Inquiry Platform, Yan Buji's figure stood as steady as a rock, his expression calm, even a faint, almost imperceptible smirk at the corner of his mouth. The green ghost‑fire net around him surged violently, as if encountering an incomprehensible existence.

The black‑robed judge below suddenly opened his eyes, his stern face showing surprise for the first time. He rapidly tapped the Judgment Pen, attempting to amplify the illusion's power, invoking a deeper level of reincarnation interrogation.

The scene shifted again!

This time, what appeared were Yan Buji's own memory fragments! From being trapped in the Demon Abyss, to struggling under the Order Light, to the Silence of the Return to the Void's sea eye… these real experiences were twisted and magnified by reincarnation laws, trying to provoke his fear, resentment, and madness!

"Trifling tricks!"

Yan Buji's mind moved, the layer of Chaotic Labyrinth he had long built quietly activated. Those real memory fragments, the instant they touched his core, were twisted and blurred; their intense emotions were neutralized and soothed by the Chaos Force. To outside observers, he seemed a cold, detached onlooker, examining a past unrelated to himself.

He even deliberately guided the illusion, fabricating wholly fictitious "past‑life memories" fitting the "Chaos Walker" identity, interwoven with the true memories, blurring truth and falsehood.

The Hall's Law Force spun wildly, the green ghost‑fire burning to its limit, yet it could not penetrate that seemingly thin yet fundamentally "being‑non‑being" infused Chaotic Labyrinth, nor could it provoke Yan Buji's genuine emotions into violent fluctuation.

A long while passed.

The green ghost‑fire's glow gradually dimmed, finally returning to calm. The Reincarnation runes on the stone platform also slowly faded away.

Yan Buji opened his eyes, his gaze clear and deep, as if he had only undergone a brief meditation.

The black‑robed judge's face grew grim, the tip of his Judgment Pen poised, a drop of thick ink about to fall but not yet. He stared deeply at Yan Buji, his voice hoarse:

"Inquiry… passed."

"Indeed, your heart is like Chaos, unfathomable, beyond the ordinary logic of reincarnation. See to yourself."

Having spoken, he swept his sleeve, and a gentle force sent Yan Buji out of the Judgment Hall.

Standing outside the hall, Yan Buji felt a slight increase within himself, and a modest rise in his affinity toward reincarnation laws, the Chaos Force tingling; a faint curve lifted the corner of his mouth.

This Reincarnation Inquiry not only failed to pry into his details, but became an opportunity for him to temper his will, comprehend reincarnation, and successfully mislead the Hall of the Departed.

Yet he also knows that the Hall of the Departed will not stop here. This test is more like a beginning.

Sure enough, shortly after he returned to the Quiet Thought Pavilion, Bai Chen reappeared, his face bearing the usual gentle smile, as if nothing inside the Judgment Hall had ever occurred.

"Congratulations, Daoist companion, on passing the Inquiry," Bai Chen said with a smile, "It seems your Dao heart is as solid as a rock, far exceeding our expectations. Thus, our cooperation becomes even more anticipated."

He produced a new jade tablet: "This is a detailed star map of the latest emergence zone of the 'anomaly' fluctuations, located deep within the 'Forgotten Swamp' on the border of the Nether. The area is harsh, the space fragile, and teems with fallen soul spirits and ancient Nether beast remnants, precisely needing a practitioner of your extraordinary caliber to investigate."