Chapter 265

"Jiang Qu Lian, I've heard enough of your crazy talk. Every cause will lead to every effect. You know what you’ve done to fall into the Hungry Ghost Path. The existence of the Six Paths of Reincarnation is to uphold virtue and condemn evil. You only have yourself to blame. Even if someone has let you down, it is not the Heaven Path!" Xie Bi An shouted angrily.

Jiang Qu Lian laughed loudly: "That's not unreasonable, but I not only want Lan Chui Han to pay the price, but also want the Heaven Path to repay me. If not, I will pull you along to be buried with them, so you won’t be too lonely on the way to Hell.”

"What you have done cannot be tolerated by the three realms. Let me see Official Lord Cui!"

"Hehe, sure. Official Lord Cui wanted to see you too." Jiang Qu Lian flung his red sleeve, turned around, and wormed his way into a mist.

The two followed closely behind, passed through the Yin Yang Monument, and returned to the Underworld once again.

After passing by Huangquan Road, the familiar Ghost Willow appeared in front of them again. There was no wind, but the thin willow branches swayed gently, like silk, hair, satin, and catkins. Wisps of ghosts seemed to live in each twig. The sad cries of ghosts came from the forest from time to time, undulating among the willow leaves like butterflies carelessly bumping into the dense forest and could not find their way out. Any intruders would be lost in the dark Ghost Willow Forest, which was nourished by the blood-colored fertile soil, and become its nutrients in the end.

At this moment, Cui Jue, Bo Zhu, Day Patrol, and Night Patrol were suspended in mid-air with their torsos and limbs tightly bound by the catkins of the ghost willow. There were countless ghost generals standing in a row in the forest. They were as silent as one, and would turn into ferocious weapons at the command of their king.

Jiang Qu Lian sat on a thumb-thick branch. His red clothes were fluttering, and he was smiling forcefully. He was nimble like a raven passing by to rest.

"Little White Master." Bo Zhu was looking at Xie Bi An with teary eyes.

"Don't be scared, Bo Zhu. I came to save you." Xie Bi An said insincere words of reassurance, but in reality, he had no confidence at all.

Fan Wu She quietly squeezed Xie Bi An's hand: "Jiang Qu Lian, what you want is only Official Lord Cui. Why not let the others go? He's enough for you to blackmail us.”

"They are still useful. When I understand the secret of the six paths of reincarnation, I will try it on them first." Jiang Qu Lian said with a chuckle, "Maybe they will reincarnate well, and you'll have to thank me instead."

"Stop having delusions." Cui Jue said coldly, "I will never help the evil. Whether you want to kill me, cut me, scatter my soul, or make me go to the infernal hell, just go ahead."

"Official Lord Cui, do you think you are still controlling other people's destiny?"

"I have never controlled other people's destiny. I just use the Book of Life and Death as a tool to act on behalf of the Heaven Path. There are laws governing life and death, prosperity and decline, and the ups and downs of all things in the world. Even the gods cannot comprehend this law. If I abuse the Book of Life and Death, I will be punished."

"Stop prattling, I'm sick of hearing these stereotypes. Look at me." Jiang Qu Lian spread his arms and laughed wildly, "Do you think I'm still afraid of retribution?"

Cui Jue shook his head, "It’s never too late to make amends." He looked at Xie Bi An and said calmly, "You don't need to save us. You need to know which is more important."

Xie Bi An clenched his sword fiercely.

"It's admirable that Official Lord Cui would rather die than submit. In the past, I thought you were a hypocrite and that it’s impossible for you to abide by the law in everything when you’re holding the power of rewards and punishments for life and death, but I didn't expect that you have never used the Book of Life and Death for personal gain for hundreds of years. You and Heaven Master Zhong are the people I truly admire, even though both of you are always in my way." Jiang Qu Lian said mockingly, "You and Heaven Master Zhong were born in the Human Path. Although both of you had mortal bodies, you two were much more noble than those gods who are high above, treating all things like nothing. In order to stabilize their positions as gods and keep their vast spiritual power away from others, they disconnected the path between heaven and earth and used the six paths of reincarnation to wantonly toy with all things on earth. Only by following their Dao can we become one of them. What right do they have to decide what is the 'Dao'?! You talk about ‘helping the evil’. That’s equivalent to you helping them.”

“Jiang Qu Lian, no one decides what the 'Dao' is. There is more than one way to cultivate the Dao. The Dao that everyone wants to cultivate is only in one’s own heart. It will only be clear when you truly understand it one day." Cui Jue said in a deep voice, "How wrong do you have to be before you let go of your obsession? What you hate is not the Heaven Path, but that one God."

Jiang Qu Lian's pupils shrank, and his eyes condensed with a trace of fury: "You saw it."

"Why couldn’t I see it? I'm not as timid as you who don’t even dare to look."

Fan Wu She raised his eyebrows with interest: "You saw his and Lan Chui Han’s past lives on the Jade Policy?" But what's more interesting is that after listening to their conversation, Jiang Qu Lian didn't look at it?

"Timid?" Jiang Qu Lian's gaze became more vicious, "How am I timid? I'm just worried that I'll kill him in a fit of rage. Wouldn’t that be letting him off lightly?"

"You are afraid to relive everything that happened in your previous life, afraid to see that humble, awkward, and helpless self. You looked up to a god, but that god turned a blind eye on......uhhhh......" The ghost willow tightened suddenly, and Cui Jue let out a cry of pain.

Jiang Qu Lian said sorrowfully, "Was it nice to look at? You have witnessed the lives of so many people. Is this story particularly interesting?"

Cui Jue gritted his teeth and continued, "Now that the tables have turned, the god has become a mortal and you have become the Ghost King. Finally, he will no longer ignore or defeat you so easily. If you deliberately approach him, you can address each other as brothers, spend a good night with him, and throw him into the infernal hell to be tortured by every means possible."

Jiang Qu Lian laughed hideously, "Yeah, it's interesting, isn't it? He never 'saw' me, but now he must 'see' me. It’s delightful, it’s so delightful."

"Then have you ever wondered why a god, who has long since transcended reincarnation, would fall into mortality?"

"Naturally, he came to experience a tribulation." Jiang Qu Lian sneered, "What else can make a god condescend to reincarnate as a human? Unfortunately, no matter what kind of tribulation he experiences, he will not succeed because I will drag him into hell."

Cui Jue said sternly, "Why don't you see with your own eyes what kind of tribulation he is experiencing?"

Jiang Qu Lian was stunned, and then he revealed a strange smile: "He must have remembered everything in the Chamber of Nightmares. I will ask him personally what he saw there, whether he still remembers how he treated me at the beginning, what kind of tribulation he came to the human realm to experience, and whether he expected that one day, a condescending god would be trampled under my feet."

Cui Jue shook his head and laughed contemptuously, "Jiang Qu Lian, you are so stupid and timid. You don't dare to see Lan Chui Han's life with your own eyes. Are you so afraid to see your lowly and insignificant self from his perspective?!"

Jiang Qu Lian stretched his hand, and the ghost willow binding Cui Jue was delivered in front of him. Those slender white jade fingers instantly transformed into a coarse ghost claw and fiercely clasped Cui Jue's neck.

"Jiang Qu Lian!" Xie Bi An growled, "If you kill Official Lord Cui, you'll waste all your previous efforts."

Cui Jue looked straight at Jiang Qu Lian. His gaze was indifferent, yet it seemed to have the power to penetrate everything.

"What do you know?" Jiang Qu Lian murmured as he lifted his other hand and gently traced a circle with his fingertips over Official Lord Cui's heart, "What do you know?"

"Jiang Qu Lian, calm down. Don't you want to know the secret of the six paths of reincarnation? Only Official Lord Cui can help you." Xie Bi An's heart was beating extremely fast, but his voice was deliberately suppressed to be calm because he knew that Jiang Qu Lian got angry. Jiang Qu Lian was a hungry ghost, even though he had cultivated to the point where he no longer felt hunger and became the king of all ghosts. However, his irritable and bloodthirsty nature as a ghost had been engraved into his soul. Once he’s enraged, he would lose his mind and only have the instinct of swallowing and destroying.

Fan Wu She held the Heavenly Secret Talisman in his hand and muttered incantations, waiting for the opportunity to strike.

"Do you have a heart?" Jiang Qu Lian pointed at Cui Jue's heart and let out a forced smile, "You do, but the god doesn’t. Now that he's become a mortal, he has a heart too. I really want to pull it out and taste it again to see how different it is from everyone else's."

"It's not different, it's just that you don't dare to see it." Cui Jue mocked, "Coward, no wonder he ignores you and never paid attention to you."

Jiang Qu Lian's eyes were red. His ghost claw was tightening little by little. His fluttering dark hair was like a war flag, showing his anger.

The jade talisman in Fan Wu She's hand suddenly glowed, and the entire Ghost Willow Forest was swept by an invisible force, and the willow leaves that bound them suddenly loosen and fell softly.

A harsh sword energy came straight at Jiang Qu Lian's head. It came from the Junlan sword.

Jiang Qu Lian was startled and instantly regained his composure before realizing that Cui Jue was deliberately provoking him to give Fan Wu She the time to silently manipulate the Ghost Willows!

Bo Zhu and the Patrol couple fell to the ground. Jiang Qu Lian was still lifting Cui Jue in mid-air by the neck, but the sword energy that came forced Jiang Qu Lian to let go of his hand and retreat.

That sword sliced off pieces of tree trunks. The depth could reach more than ten feet and its power could be seen.

Fan Wu She flew up and caught Cui Jue.

Jiang Qu Lian's face was hideous as he gave the order. Countless Yin soldiers and ghost generals came towards them to kill like puppets that were instantly awakened.

"Supreme Demon, allow me to understand your Heavenly Secret Talisman. There are countless Yin soldiers here for you and me to dispatch, however they are my people who are willing to obey my orders, and you......" Jiang Qu Lian laughed loudly, "you can only exchange for the Heavenly Secret Talisman’s great power at your own cost. Will I be defeated by you, or will you repeat your previous life’s mistake and be counterattacked by the Heavenly Secret Talisman?!"

Fan Wu She scorned, "You say so much nonsense."

The Ghost Willow Forest, which was obediently trained like Jiang Qu Lian's cat just now, suddenly turned its spearhead and attacked Jiang Qu Lian's army. For a moment, the willow branches danced wildly like enchanted devils. The shouts of the ghost generals and Yin soldiers resounded through the forest, shaking all of the Underworld.

----

Edited on 23 July 21 (Emzie)

 

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