Chapter 88

As Qin Guangwang spoke, Wang Jun interjected and asked, "So, when the Third Prince of the Western Sea finally achieves his rightful status, he will turn around and seek to overturn this case?"

Qin Guangwang smiled and said, "This case involves the fairness and justice of the Heavenly Court. How could an ordinary person dare to speak out about it? It's just that the White Dragon, Ao Lie, has good fortune, and his senior brother is the audacious Monkey King. That's why Sun Wukong came to the Underworld."

Xuan Kong remained silent on the side. To be honest, if one of his fellow disciples from Laoshan Sect had a family member who suffered such an injustice, it would be one thing if he didn't know. But if Xuan Kong knew, he wouldn't be timid either!

Xuan Kong chuckled dryly, "Why didn't Great Sage Sun go to trouble Wude Xingjun, but came to the Underworld instead?"

Qin Guangwang smiled, "After five hundred years, this monkey has understood many things. He heard from somewhere that the Dragon King of Jing River was unjustly killed and refused to reincarnate, hiding behind the Dark Mountain. So he came to me to retrieve the old dragon's soul."

Xuan Kong was puzzled, "Didn't Brother Qin Guangwang know that the Dragon King of Jing River hadn't reincarnated?"

In the Underworld, the Ten Yama Kings were the highest authority. Was there anything that could escape their notice? Qin Guangwang sighed, "In the Underworld, there are three places not under the control of us Ten Yama Kings."

Wang Qi, curious, asked, "Which three places?"

Before he could finish his question, Xuan Kong slapped him on the back of the head and scolded, "Drink your wine! Don't meddle!" These matters involved the Underworld's secrets, and as outsiders, they had no business prying.

Qin Guangwang smiled and said, "It's no harm telling you. One of the three places is behind the Dark Mountain, a path leading to the Dark Abyss. After the collapse of the Fengshen Platform, it was sealed off by the sages."

"The second place is the Asura Realm in the Blood Sea, where the Great Sage of the Primordial Chaos, Mingshe Laozu, resides."

Xuan Kong thought to himself that these two places were indeed the seams of the Three Realms, neither belonging to heaven nor earth, naturally beyond the reach of the Ten Yama Kings. He recalled that Mingshe Laozu was a great deity he had heard of from his seniors, even said to be the creator of the Blood God's cultivation techniques in the later Shu Mountain era.

But what about the "Dark Abyss"? It sounded familiar!

He was lost in thought and didn't pay attention to Qin Guangwang's words: "As for the third place, it is the nineteenth level of the Eighteen Hells, the Avici Vajra Hell, where the most heinous souls from the human world are imprisoned."

"Those are either soldiers who have killed countless in battle or butchers from the human world. It is also the place where Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha recites scriptures day and night."

"Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva?" Xuan Kong was startled and respectfully said, "Is he the one who vowed, 'If hell is not empty, I will not become a Buddha'?" Qin Guangwang also clasped his hands and said, "The Bodhisattva's great compassion aims to save all beings, but it is a difficult task!"

Wang Qi and Wang Jun bowed their heads and murmured, "Homage to Ksitigarbha!"

Xuan Kong then remembered his purpose and said somewhat embarrassedly, "Brother Qin Guangwang, I have a request. May I?"

Qin Guangwang was a bit nervous and asked, "Do you also want to alter the Book of Life and Death?"

His expression surprised Xuan Kong, who asked, "Can't the Book of Life and Death be altered?"

Qin Guangwang replied, "It's not that it can't be altered, but do you know what the Book of Life and Death is made of?" People only heard of the Book of Life and Death but didn't know its origin.

Xuan Kong also asked, "Isn't it determined by you Ten Yama Kings?"

Qin Guangwang shook his head, "The Book of Life and Death is actually a manifestation of the karmic forces of all beings, recording their karmic retribution. Although we Yama Kings have the power to alter it, doing so would disrupt the cosmic order, increasing the world's karmic burden and hastening the Great Calamity."

Xuan Kong frowned, "The Great Calamity?"

In any story, the Great Calamity always involves divine battles, and countless lives would be lost to safely pass through it. Besides the main characters destined to face the calamity, who could confidently say they would survive?

The calamity is both a fixed and a variable factor. Under the Great Calamity, anything is possible.

Qin Guangwang explained the relationship between karmic forces and the Great Calamity to Xuan Kong. In the Pangu world, the accumulation of karmic forces would eventually lead to the Great Calamity to cleanse the karmic burden. If not handled well, it could even cause the entire Pangu world to revert to chaos, which was not impossible.

Qin Guangwang said, "Now you can tell me your purpose."

Xuan Kong swallowed, relieved that he wasn't planning to forcefully alter the Book of Life and Death to save Old Master Wang's life. But he was curious, "Why could Sun Wukong alter the Book of Life and Death? Is he not bound by karmic forces?"

Qin Guangwang covered his forehead and smiled bitterly, "That heaven-defying monkey was the main character of the previous Great Calamity. Naturally, he is immune to all laws. Moreover, at that time, the Great Calamity had already arrived, and the cosmic order was in chaos. It was a fortuitous moment that allowed him to alter the Book of Life and Death."

Xuan Kong said, "Fortunately, the Great Calamity has just passed. I still have time to enjoy my freedom!"

Qin Guangwang agreed. They didn't have the power of the sages to foresee the Great Calamity. Indeed, ignorance is bliss. The two of them continued drinking, oblivious to the impending Great Calamity.

As for Xuan Kong, the main character of this Great Calamity, he was still in the dark.

Xuan Kong said, "I came to the Underworld to borrow the Book of Life and Death." Qin Guangwang continued drinking, glancing at Xuan Kong and said, "I've said what I needed to. You decide how to handle it."

He instructed the阴判 (Yinpan) to bring the Book of Life and Death and handed it to Xuan Kong, who smiled and said, "I understand."

There is a theory among the seniors called the butterfly effect. A butterfly flapping its wings in the Pacific might cause a storm in the Atlantic. The karmic forces of all beings work similarly. The cosmic order is already predetermined.

If a person who was supposed to die suddenly extends their life, the effect would be much greater than a small butterfly, disrupting countless karmic connections and generating immense karmic forces.

Xuan Kong naturally wouldn't risk such a significant loss for a small gain. He nodded and said, "I understand!" Closing his eyes, he quietly channeled his true essence, flipping through the Book of Life and Death to the Ninghai County by the Northern Sea, and found the pages of the Zhang brothers.

The Book of Life and Death is a magical artifact that records the karmic actions of all beings in great detail.

Xuan Kong's divine consciousness quickly traced back to the ancestors of the Zhang brothers, but suddenly a black-gold lotus flower appeared before him, blocking the Book of Life and Death's investigation.