I am a boss in the world of nine uncles

Qin Yao sighed: "Fool, this statement is only accurate in one specific situation, which is that there is no underworld, let alone an afterlife."

Since you believe those five guys are immortals, it means you also believe in mythology.

Within this system, as long as one remains within the Three Realms and outside the Five Elements, the rule of karmic retribution—good and evil—will inevitably be followed. Otherwise, how could the underworld carry out the cycle of reincarnation for mortals?

Cao Guojiu: "..."

A moment later, a thought suddenly flashed through his mind: "You are the Emperor of Fengdu, so don't you have the final say in everything that happens in Fengdu?"

Qin Yao: "..."

I'm telling you about retribution, and you're bringing up power with me?
What are you doing?
Taking a deep breath and forcibly suppressing the chaotic emotions in his heart, Qin Yao met Cao Guojiu's expectant gaze and asked in return:
“The five gods were right about one thing: I and they all come from hundreds of years ago. In that timeline, I was in charge of Fengdu, but in the current timeline, I’m not so sure.”

Cao Guojiu was silent for a moment, then asked in a low voice, "Could you take me to the underworld? Didn't you say there's reincarnation? I want to know if my brother has been reincarnated, and if so, whether his new life is good. If you can grant me this wish, I will believe you are a good person."

Qin Yao frowned slightly and fell into deep thought.

This request may seem reasonable, but it is actually quite risky.

the reason is simple.

Has the war against the heavens begun yet?

What will the outcome be?

The human world may not be greatly affected by this battle, but the underworld will be the first to bear the brunt.

In other words, he can "foresee" many things based on the current state of the underworld. Is this permitted by the Heavenly Dao?

He knew very well that he and the Six Immortals had inevitably ended up on the wordless Heavenly Book, in other words, he was under the supervision of the Heavenly Dao.

If the Heavenly Dao learns that it has "foreseen the future," will it revise the "future" written on the wordless book of heaven?
Therefore, this is a very sensitive matter, almost equivalent to a taboo and a red line!

"Is that not allowed?" Cao Guojiu asked in a low voice during his silence.

Qin Yao let out a long breath and said, "That's fine, but I can't take you directly to the underworld."

I can open a portal to the Six Paths of Reincarnation for you. Go to the Six Paths of Reincarnation and find a person named Yang Chan. Tell her that I sent you and ask her to arrange the relevant matters for you.

Furthermore, emphasize that I came from hundreds of years ago, and don't let her come to see me, to prevent any unexpected situations.

"What if she doesn't believe me?" Cao Guojiu asked.

Qin Yao raised his hand and summoned his personal folding fan, handing it to the other party: "This is a token, but you must remember to take the fan back. It cannot be lost!"

Cao Guojiu accepted the folding fan with both hands and nodded heavily: "I will definitely bring the fan back, please ask the Emperor to cast the spell."

Qin Yao nodded and directly opened a dimensional gate in the prison that led directly to the Six Paths of Reincarnation: "Go ahead. By the way, don't inquire about anything else. Just focus on what you need to do."

“I understand, I will not cause any unnecessary trouble.” Cao Guojiu nodded and strode into the dimensional gate.

at the same time.

Inside the Palace of Reincarnation.

Houtu Niangniang, who was sitting cross-legged in a grand hall, suddenly opened her eyes. Her gaze traveled across a long distance, landing on the dimensional gate in front of the Samsara Hall, her face filled with astonishment.

Even after Cao Guojiu walked out of the dimensional gate with his fan, the Earth Mother Goddess was still in a daze...

"My name is Cao Yi. I have important business to discuss with Miss Yang Chan. Please inform me."

As the sparks from the divine gate completely dissipated, Cao Guojiu, holding a fan, quickly arrived at the palace gate and bowed to the Yin God guarding the palace.

The Yin God watched him walk out of the dimensional gate, so he dared not be negligent and replied, "The Third Holy Mother is no longer in the Samsara Palace."

Cao Guojiu was dumbfounded: "Huh?"

Yang Chan isn't here, so who should I look for?
"What brings you to the Hall of Reincarnation?" Suddenly, Houtu teleported in and asked in a deep voice.

"Greetings, Your Majesty." The Yin God immediately knelt down and kowtowed deeply.

Cao Guojiu didn't recognize her, but upon hearing the words "Your Majesty," he roughly guessed her identity and humbly said, "I've come to verify something."

Houtu nodded and asked, "What is it?"

Cao Guojiu responded, "Has my younger brother Cao Jingzhi been reincarnated? If so, how is his life?"

Houtu summoned the Yin-Yang Scroll with a flip of her hand and said, "Tell me your younger brother's birth date and time."

Cao Guojiu was overjoyed and quickly told him his younger brother's birth date and time.

Houtu then used Cao Jingzhi's name and birth date as a guide to inquire about his reincarnation information. However, after a moment, she put away the Yin-Yang Scroll and said in a low voice, "He has not been reincarnated and is currently being tortured in the eighteenth level of hell."

Cao Guojiu's eyes widened suddenly, and he exclaimed in astonishment, "How could this be? Is this a mistake? My brother never did anything wrong in his life, so how could he be in hell, let alone the eighteenth level of hell?"

“Your brother didn’t do anything wrong, but you did.”

Houtu sighed, "He truly loves you, his brother, and after hearing about your evil deeds, he expressed his desire to forgive you."

At first, he was only tortured in the first level of hell. But as he committed more and more serious crimes and his karma grew, he gradually fell from the first level of hell into the eighteenth level of hell, where he suffered endless torment.

Even so, he never considered giving up, just so that you wouldn't have to suffer this pain when you go to hell.

Cao Guojiu's pupils dilated violently, and he seemed to have lost consciousness, frozen in place.

Houtu said nothing more, but instead stared intently at the fan in his hand, a look of reminiscence appearing on her face...

After an unknown amount of time, Cao Guojiu suddenly knelt down and cried out, "Your Majesty, I know I was wrong. I accept the punishment. I will accept all punishments. Please spare my brother."

Houtu shook her head and said, "You still don't understand. It's not that I don't want to let him go, but that he is wholeheartedly trying to forgive you. Every action has its consequences, and someone has to bear the guilt in the end."

Cao Guojiu said, "Then I will do it myself. Please let my brother be reincarnated."

"You have a destiny to fulfill, and you cannot come to the underworld to be punished before your destiny ends," Houtu said.

Cao Guojiu: "..."

Seeing his tear-streaked face, Houtu let out a soft breath and said, "Come with me, I'll take you to see him first."

Cao Guojiu quickly got up from the ground and followed closely behind the other person. Suddenly, Houtu asked, "How did you and Yang Jian meet?"

"It's complicated, even I'm confused about it."

Cao Guojiu said cautiously, "Because of the evil deeds I committed, the emperor imprisoned me in the Heavenly Prison. In the prison, five immortals I knew suddenly appeared and tempted me to fight my way out of the Heavenly Prison. Then the Emperor of Fengdu appeared and persuaded me to repent and turn over a new leaf."

Houtu nodded slightly: "Did he say anything else?"

“He said he came from hundreds of years ago and couldn’t come to the underworld in person. He also wouldn’t let me ask any questions and only focused on my brother’s affairs,” said Cao Guojiu.

Houtu immediately understood everything and sighed, "It's a pity that I can't see him one more time."

Cao Guojiu: "..."

He didn't understand what it meant, but he didn't care.

All he cared about now was his younger brother. In the blink of an eye, Houtu led Cao Guojiu to the eighteenth level of hell. Looking around, they saw countless souls stripped naked and bound to wooden stakes, being repeatedly slashed by a bloodstained saw. The scene was bloody and horrifying.

The thought that his younger brother was also suffering this punishment in his place brought tears to Cao Guojiu's eyes. He was in so much pain that he could hardly breathe.

Soon, Houtu led him to a pieced-together soul and pointed to the blood-covered figure, saying, "This is your younger brother, Cao Jingzhi."

Cao Guojiu knelt down in front of Cao Jingzhi with a thud and burst into tears.

Cao Jingzhi gradually regained some of his senses. Upon seeing his brother, he was filled with horror and cried out, "Brother, what are you doing here? Haven't I done enough?"

Cao Guojiu trembled and hugged the other tightly, saying, "Brother, I'm so sorry, I was wrong, so very wrong!"

Cao Jingzhi asked anxiously, "Brother, tell me quickly, why are you here?!"

Cao Guojiu choked up as he said, "I came here to find out which family you were born into, hoping to help you in this life; but I never imagined that you would take on all my sins in hell."

Cao Jingzhi breathed a sigh of relief and said, "That's good, that's good. As long as you weren't sent here too, everything I did was meaningful."

Cao Guojiu was deeply moved and immediately turned around and knelt before Houtu: "Please, Your Majesty, have mercy and allow my brother to be reincarnated."

Houtu shook her head and said, "I am very moved by your deep brotherly affection, but some things cannot be turned back once the arrow is released. Unless you perform good deeds for him in the mortal world to atone for his sins, he will not be able to leave hell before his punishment expires."

Cao Guojiu: "..."

“Brother, go back. This is not a place for you. As long as you are a good person and do good deeds, I will get out of here one day,” Cao Jingzhi said.

Upon hearing this, Cao Guojiu's desire to become an immortal surged to its peak.

When it comes to accumulating merit, what could be more convenient than becoming an immortal?

"Don't worry, little brother, I will definitely rescue you from this misery as soon as possible!" Cao Guojiu turned to look at Cao Jingzhi and said solemnly.

Cao Jingzhi nodded heavily and said, "I believe you, brother."

Houtu said, "Let's go, I'll send you back to the living world."

Cao Guojiu said in a low voice, "Thank you, Your Majesty."

Houtu waved her hand, cast a spell to bring him to the Gates of Hell, tore through the void with her bare hands, and looked at the human world on the other side of the rift, saying, "Please help me convey a message to the Emperor of Fengdu..."

Cao Guojiu mustered his courage and looked at the other person's face, only to see a complex expression on it that he couldn't understand: "What are you saying?"

"If you have time, remember to come and have tea with me," Houtu said.

Cao Guojiu: "..."

That's it?

Can't you say it yourself?
Could it be that the Emperor of Fengdu cannot return to Fengdu?

Despite his many doubts, he dared not voice them aloud, only saying, "I understand..."

"Go ahead," Houtu waved her hand.

Cao Guojiu immediately walked towards the space-time rift, thus appearing in front of the Heavenly Prison.

Inside the prison.

Upon sensing his presence, Qin Yao immediately teleported with the Six Immortals to the front gate and asked first, "Have you seen your brother?"

Cao Guojiu silently exchanged the fan with the other party and said, "I have seen it... I am truly a wicked person. I should not have done those bad things. Your Majesty, can I become an immortal? I want to accumulate more merits after becoming an immortal so that I can bring my brother out of hell as soon as possible."

"Of course, as long as you can overcome your greed and stop being troubled by money," Qin Yao said.

Cao Guojiu took a deep breath and said, "I will now distribute all the money in the treasury to the people and keep no more wealth for myself."

Qin Yao smiled and said, "Good~ I hope you can completely get rid of your bad habits after this incident."

"Oh, right." At this moment, Cao Guojiu suddenly remembered Houtu's instructions and hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, Lady Houtu asked me to pass on a message to you."

Qin Yao's smile faltered slightly, and he hesitated for a moment.

The main concern was that if this statement revealed a "heavenly secret," it would cause changes to the wordless book.

"This statement doesn't involve any event, does it?" After a long pause, he asked cautiously.

Cao Guojiu said, "It's just a very ordinary remark."

Qin Yao nodded: "Then you go ahead and say it."

He suddenly realized that unless he had a falling out with Houtu in the future, the other party, knowing his current situation, probably wouldn't try to trick him.

"The Goddess Houtu said that if you have time, remember to come and have tea with me," said Cao Guojiu.

Qin Yao: "..."

In fact, this statement still reveals some information. For example, regardless of whether the campaign against the heavens ultimately succeeded, by the time of the Song Dynasty, he might no longer be in this world…

Fortunately, there is no other information, so it shouldn't be enough to cause the Heavenly Dao to revise the wordless Heavenly Book.

Thinking of this, a strong desire to return to the normal timeline suddenly arose in his heart.

Unfortunately, there are too many restrictions and dangers for him in this timeline, and he might accidentally crash and burn.

"Your Majesty, let's go to the treasury."

In the midst of this silence, Cao Guojiu spoke again.

Qin Yao seemed to wake up from a dream and waved his hand, saying, "No, you should go back to the prison now. Since you've decided to repent and turn over a new leaf, you can't do good deeds while being a wanted criminal. That will only create a lot of obstacles."

Cao Guojiu's expression changed slightly, and he said, "But what about my sister..."

"Even if the emperor wanted to release you, he would have to consider public opinion, right? So, don't listen to the five gods' threats. They're just trying to get you into a bloodbath," Qin Yao comforted him.

Cao Guojiu pursed his lips: "Alright, I'll follow the Emperor's arrangements..."

under night.

Inside the palace.

After Empress Cao pleaded and begged, the emperor finally agreed to grant Cao Guojiu a pardon.

However, they also stated that in order to avoid causing a huge uproar among the public, they could not release the person immediately and would have to detain them for at least two more days.

Then demote him to a commoner and never employ him again, thus silencing public opinion.

Empress Cao was extremely grateful and thanked her profusely. A case that should have been tried jointly by the three judicial departments was thus easily dismissed and put aside.

a few days later.

As the turmoil gradually subsided, Empress Cao prepared to visit her brother in prison. Unexpectedly, her close female attendant, who had been very considerate of her recently, suddenly suggested:
"Your Majesty, the Heavenly Prison is a place with too much yin energy, and it is definitely not a good place to go. If you really miss the Imperial Uncle, why don't you summon him to the palace?"
"This will also let those who are observing the winds see clearly that the Cao family has not lost power, so they won't rush out to kick him while he's down just because the emperor's brother-in-law has been stripped of his official position and title..." (End of this chapter)