Chapter 440: The Underworld's Spokesperson

I, I, I…

Lu Tu opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but the words stuck at his lips and he couldn't utter them; after a long while he took a deep breath, exhaled a heavy gust of foul air, and with a complicated expression said:

That mysterious person summoned a Guimen Guan?

The Stone Gate before Wang Ping'an was engraved with characters; even though the script wasn't the mainland's common language, for some reason, when Lu Tu saw it, the words "Guimen Guan" involuntarily rose in his mind.

He knew.

The gate before them could very well be the legendary Diyu zhi Men—the Guimen Guan; the characters carved on the Guimen Guan were probably the script that existed when heaven and earth first opened.

Divine words!

It is said.

Each character harbors an extremely terrifying power; anyone who can comprehend them can wield a force capable of destroying heaven and earth.

Whether within Daxia or elsewhere, many people, generation after generation, study the divine script and obtain one terrifying power after another from it.

He knows all this because he learned from one miscellaneous book after another, some of which contained illustrations of the Guimen Guan; he previously thought that an anonymous author had visited the Underworld, seen the Guimen Guan, and thus could draw its likeness in the books.

Now that he thinks about it…

It is quite possible that the person never went to the Underworld, but encountered a situation similar to his, which allowed them to know the Guimen Guan and depict it clearly.

Yu Die sneered, "Lv Qianhu, why do you ask a question you already know the answer to?"

"It's not that I know and ask; it's that I have little experience and this is my first time encountering such a situation…"

Lu Tu snorted, unashamed, and before he could finish speaking, Tang Anzhi's soul drifted out of his corpse, did not plunge into the wide-open Guimen Guan, but snarled and lunged toward Wang Ping'an; shaking his head, he said:

"That fool Tang Anzhi, blinded by hatred, had his mind clouded; others could have beaten you to death, and now you're dead, merely a wandering soul, not even a vengeful ghost. You couldn't even muster a one‑percent—no, a one‑ten‑thousandth—of your former ability, yet you still dare to seek revenge, unafraid of being smashed to pieces!"

Before Lu Tu could finish, Wang Ping'an, far away, faced the flying soul of Tang Anzhi without showing any fear…

Wait, if you aren't scared of the living Tang Anzhi, how could you possibly fear the already dead Tang Anzhi?

Instead of using a spell against Tang Anzhi's wandering soul, he opened a massive blood‑stained maw and swallowed Tang Anzhi's soul in one bite.

"How is that possible?"

Lu Tu shouted in shock, his face full of horror, "He, he, he is clearly a Paper Person—how could he possibly swallow Tang Anzhi's soul in one bite? Is he truly a Paper Person, or a disguised real person?"

He considered himself already looking up to Wang Ping'an; in his experience, there was hardly any Evil Cultivator—one who could control Paper Persons or puppets—capable of reaching Wang Ping'an's level.

He didn't know whether it was a terrifying concealment technique or a dreadful art of controlling Paper Persons that allowed him to slay Tang Anzhi.

Don't think he never regarded someone like Tang Anzhi; back then he did cross a single‑plank bridge with thousands of troops, passed the Daxia Immortal Official, and became the Immortal Official of Qingyang County.

Even while holding the Immortal Official position in Qingyang County, he wasted half his life without promotion, only to await retirement.

Yet Tang Anzhi, having served as Immortal Official of Qingyang County for so many years, would become a monster even if he were a pig; his cultivation could not have made no progress. Wang Ping'an slaying Tang Anzhi with a Paper Person shows just how terrifying Wang Ping'an is!

How could he not think of Wang Ping'an as superior, yet never consider that Wang Ping'an's Paper Person could devour souls?

Many Evil Cultivators can devour souls, but relying on Paper Persons or other puppets to do so is exceedingly rare; even those with Mastery of Paper Persons or puppets find it hard to achieve such a feat.

"Not to hide from Lv Qianhu, when I first saw this, I was startled too!"

Yu Die's face was filled with unmistakable surprise.

She works in the Capital City Demon‑Suppression Office, receiving far more information than a mere Fengyin County Demon‑Suppression Office, and has learned about countless Evil Cultivators.

Among them are many Evil Cultivators who have incurred heaven's wrath and people's hatred, yet none like Wang Ping'an.

Of course.

Honestly, compared with those genuine Evil Cultivators who have earned heaven's wrath, Wang Ping'an is a minor witch before a great one.

Only.

Among the many Evil Cultivators she has heard of, none have been able to use a controlled Paper Person to devour another's soul, let alone reflect the Guimen Guan; such a thing is virtually unheard of.

Lu Tu frowned, "Yu Baihu, do you mean you know this Evil Cultivator?"

This novel you...

"I know him, and not only know him; he has saved my life!"

Yu Die retorted, "If you call him an Evil Cultivator, I am the first to disagree. Have you ever seen an Evil Cultivator summon a Guimen Guan?"

"Yes, he doesn't know what technique he used to summon the Guimen Guan, but the problem is that he swallowed Tang Anzhi's soul…"

Lu Tu hadn't finished speaking when Yu Die interrupted, "The Imperial Attendant Tang's soul being swallowed—do you, Lv Qianhu, think this blames him?"

Lu Tu opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but the words stuck; realizing Yu Die was right that Tang Anzhi's soul was swallowed, he could only blame him for his own folly and sneered:

"Tang Anzhi, having served as an Immortal Official for so many years, should understand what the Guimen Guan signifies.

This Evil—this person kindly summoned the Guimen Guan to perform Soul Salvation for him, reducing his sins so he could be reborn into a good family.

Yet he didn't know right from wrong, still dared to seek revenge, and now, not only is revenge impossible, he even lost the chance to be reborn!

"At the moment of death, his mind was already clouded by hatred; to control that hatred and not seek revenge is truly a rarity!"

Yu Die was indifferent, for most cultivators speak of this life; few discuss the next life, and even if one is reborn into a good family, the future self is not the present self. Changing the subject, she said:

"Lv Qianhu, you are an old veteran, my senior; perhaps you can discern this person's identity?"

"Yu Baihu, doesn't this person owe you a life‑saving debt? Don't you know him?"

Lu Tu instinctively spoke, seeing Yu Die's expression and apparently understanding the situation; before she could answer, he continued:

"I don't know who he is, but I think he must be the Underworld's spokesperson on Earth!"

(End of Chapter)