Honghuang: My understanding is beyond belief. I am the first immortal of Jiejiao.

They wore all sorts of styles of clothing, from innocent and cute sailor uniforms to dignified and sexy nurse uniforms to professionally alluring secretary uniforms—there was something for everyone.

They are no longer weeping, wronged souls, but smiling young girls. Some are selling unknown snacks by the roadside, while others are dancing joyfully.

The vengeful spirits are no longer just wailing and howling ghosts.

Some played the erhu, producing cheerful music; others beat drums to accompany the dancing ghosts; still others held microphones and sang popular songs with deep emotion.

The entire underworld was full of life and joy, like a huge carnival party.

When the Tang Emperor saw all this, his eyes lit up and the corners of his mouth turned up slightly.

He originally thought the underworld was a terrifying place in people's imagination, but he didn't expect that the real underworld was a vibrant and fun place.

He even felt that the female ghosts' dance moves were full of unique charm, making his blood boil, and he even had an urge to join in.

He waved happily, wanting to say hello, but found that the Treasure Goddess beside him had frozen in place, dumbfounded.

The Treasure Goddess exclaimed inwardly, "When I left, the Underworld was still normal. How could it have changed so much in the blink of an eye?" She had no idea what to do; this was completely beyond her comprehension.

The three monks, who were hiding in the shadows, also saw the scene before them. Their eyes were filled with astonishment, and their minds went blank.

They opened their mouths wide, but no sound came out.

They didn't know what to do, because now was not the time for them to step forward, otherwise the Tang Emperor would become suspicious.

They could only watch helplessly as the Tang emperor strolled through "hell".

The Treasure Goddess and the Three Great Bodhisattvas secretly communicated, discussing what to do.

"Treasure Goddess, what's going on? Wasn't the Underworld perfectly fine when you left?"

Guanyin Bodhisattva asked anxiously.

The voice of the Treasure Goddess was choked with sobs.

"I don't know either! When I left, this place was eerily ghostly, how did it become like this when I came back? This...this is even more joyful than heaven!"

Samantabhadra Bodhisattva proposed.

"Sister Guanyin, why don't we go and capture the Ten Kings of Hell right now and make them reform! If this continues, the Tang King will not only not be afraid, but will actually fall in love with the underworld!"

Upon hearing this, the Treasure Goddess shook her head with a wry smile.

“Bodhisattva Samantabhadra, do you think this was something the Ten Kings of Hell did on their own? It’s clearly someone’s doing this behind the scenes! If we go and arrest the Ten Kings of Hell now, we’ll only be wasting our time and effort. Moreover, it’s obvious that they came prepared. If we make a scene, we’ll probably just fall into their trap!”

Manjushri Bodhisattva asked calmly.

"Sister Guanyin, what did the Buddha say?"

The expression on Guanyin Bodhisattva's face instantly turned to despair.

"I cannot communicate with Buddha! He...he has shut down his supernatural vision!"

All four of them wore expressions of despair.

At the crucial moment, Buddha went offline!

Guanyin Bodhisattva remained resolute; she gritted her teeth and said.

"Well, it's come to this, we have no choice but to grit our teeth and keep going. The underworld is so vast, there's bound to be a trial that will frighten him! We still have the tribulation of rebirth. As long as he goes through some trials, he'll know that only by converting to Buddhism can he achieve true liberation!"

The Treasure Goddess composed herself and turned to look at the Tang King, only to find him curiously strolling around the streets.

He would glance at the female ghosts singing and dancing, and then at the male ghosts selling snacks, his face full of curiosity.

The Tang Emperor was amazed by the underworld before him. He had imagined the underworld to be a place filled with ghostly aura and malevolent energy, where miserable ghosts wailed everywhere.

In reality, the underworld is a place where male ghosts are cheerful, female ghosts are alluring, the scenery is beautiful, and people linger there.

The Tang emperor even thought that these female ghosts were so cute, how could he possibly harm them?
The Tang emperor strolled around for a long time, discovering many more strange and unusual products. His face was full of oddities as he stroked his beard and pondered for a long time before speaking.

"So this is the underworld. It has a unique charm."

Just as the Treasure Goddess was completely at a loss, she suddenly saw the late Emperor Li Yuan, his late brother Jiancheng, and his late brother Yuanji rushing up, baring their teeth and claws at the Emperor, shouting.

"Li Shimin, you traitor who murdered your brother and father! Give me back my life!"

The Treasure Goddess was so moved by this scene that she almost cried.

She thought to herself, "This is finally going as planned, and things are finally getting on track!"

However, the next second, the Treasure Goddess completely collapsed.
The wronged spirits of Jiancheng and Yuanji, carrying the late Emperor Li Yuan, roared and charged toward the Tang King under the expectant gaze of the Treasure Goddess.

According to the original plan, this scene should have terrified the Tang Emperor, causing him to wet himself in fear. Then, the Heavenly Maiden of Treasures would step in to "save the Emperor," making him grateful and willingly agree to all the demands of the Western Paradise.

However, reality once again veered off course.

Facing the vengeful spirits rushing towards him, the Tang Emperor merely snorted coldly, and a blazing light, as intense as the sun, burst forth from his body.

That light was not ordinary yang energy, but contained a powerful imperial might, as if it could burn away all evil spirits in the world.

The wronged souls of Li Yuan, Jiancheng, and Yuanji, upon contact with this light, melted away like ice and snow, evaporating completely and turning into nothingness before they could even utter a wail.

The Tang king snorted coldly and said disdainfully.

"If I can kill you once, I can kill you countless times! The world belongs to the victor!"

After saying that, he turned his head and gave the Treasure Goddess beside him a gentle smile.

"Don't worry, with me here, no one can hurt you."

The Treasure Fairy was instantly stunned. She stood there blankly, feeling as if she were the one who should be grateful.

She looked at the Tang Emperor, her heart filled with confusion and bewilderment.

This is completely wrong how you're going to open the underworld!

The Bodhisattvas Guanyin, Manjushri, and Samantabhadra, who were hiding in the shadows, were all dumbfounded.

They originally thought that the wronged spirits of Li Yuan and others would surely frighten the Tang emperor.

Unexpectedly, the Tang King was so ruthless that he directly evaporated the wronged soul.

The appearance of the Tang King at this moment would frighten not only ordinary wronged souls, but even Yama, the King of Hell.

Guanyin Bodhisattva called upon the Buddha countless times in her heart, but the Buddha had long since shut down his supernatural powers and vision, and gone back to take a bath and go to sleep.

The Treasure Goddess and the Three Great Bodhisattvas felt lost and had lost their guiding principles.

They didn't know what to do, or what would happen next.

Just then, a pair of boys in green robes emerged from the depths of the underworld, carrying banners and canopies, and shouted loudly.

"The King of Hell invites you, invites you."

Guanyin Bodhisattva could only transmit her voice to the Treasure Goddess, instructing her to act according to the plan.

The Treasure Goddess was frantic, but she had no other choice but to take it one step at a time.

She turned around and found that the Tang King was dancing in the square with a group of middle-aged female ghosts. The Tang King had an extremely strong learning ability and quickly learned the square dance steps, and even danced them quite well.

"Anything that can't scare me will only make me more twisted!"

The Tang King said with a smile as he jumped around.

Seeing this, the Treasure Goddess completely gave up thinking.

She stepped forward, tugged at the Tang King's sleeve, and said.

"Your Majesty, the King of Hell has summoned us; we must depart."

The Tang emperor reluctantly left the square dance group and followed the boy in blue robes forward.

Seeing his reluctant expression, the Treasure Goddess felt even more confused.

The Tang King's behavior has completely deviated from the original plan.

They arrived at the Gate of Hell, where they saw a large sign hanging on the city gate with seven large golden characters that read "Gate of Hell in the Underworld".

The Treasure Goddess and the Three Great Bodhisattvas were completely dumbfounded, their faces turning green with shock.

Is this still the gloomy and terrifying underworld they knew?
The three Bodhisattvas were also at a loss. They discussed it among themselves, and the Treasure Goddess decisively suggested going back, feeling that the Tang King could still be saved.

"Shall we...shall we go back?"

"The Treasure Goddess spoke cautiously."

However, the Tang king was furious, saying that he had finally made it to the underworld and could not just go back like this.

His tiger-like eyes widened as he stared at the Treasure Goddess, making her scalp tingle with fear. The three hidden masters were also at a loss for what to do.

Just then, the Gates of Hell slowly opened, and twelve figures, treading on endless ghostly energy, walked in with graceful movements.

The three Bodhisattvas and the Treasure Goddess stared wide-eyed at the Gates of Hell.

Among the twelve figures were the Ten Kings of Hell and the Emperor of Fengdu, who were surrounding a white-clad figure in the center.

When the Tang emperor saw the figure in white, a smile appeared on his face.

From the Gates of Hell, a vast and imposing procession of ghost kings and ghost emperors escorted a white-robed immortal lord as he emerged.

The immortal lord was dressed in white, his hair as black as ink, and his face was so handsome that he seemed otherworldly. He exuded an aura of transcendence.

When the three Bodhisattvas saw this figure, their hearts clenched as if gripped tightly by a hand, and their heartbeats stopped abruptly.

The newcomer was none other than Lin Zhu, the most respected figure of the Fengdu Emperor, the ruler of the underworld and a nightmare of the Western Paradise. He was also the most handsome man in the Three Realms, who personally severed the evil hand of the Ksitigarbha forces that was eroding the underworld.
The three monks were terrified. They had planned everything, but they never expected Lin Zhu to appear here.

They looked up abruptly and saw the bright red banner.

It turns out that this banner wasn't welcoming the Tang Emperor, but rather welcoming Lin Zhu!
The three Bodhisattvas realized their rashness and became secretly tense and vigilant, feeling like little rabbits walking into a hunter's trap, completely at a loss. The key was that the Buddha and the three thousand Buddhas were all slacking off at the moment, and the three of them dared not confront Lin Zhu at all.

The Treasure Goddess's eyes turned red with shock and anger.

It was this white-robed immortal lord who caused Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva's invasion of the underworld to completely fail.

During that battle, the Asura clan seized the opportunity to attack and kidnapped several Ksitigarbha Bodhisattvas at the level of Great Luo Golden Immortals, severely damaging Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva's power, which has yet to recover.

It is easy to imagine how deep Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva's hatred for Lin Zhu was, and the hatred of Treasure Goddess for Lin Zhu was also obvious.

However, only one person in the arena welcomed Lin Zhu so faithfully as King Tang. King Tang's eyes lit up with excitement, and he quickly ran towards Lin Zhu.

"Lord Prison God, what are you doing here?"

Lin Zhu smiled slightly and said gently.

"I'm just here to inspect the work. By the way, what are you doing here?"

The Tang emperor complained.

"It's all because of them. I was perfectly healthy, but they forcibly took my soul to the underworld. But, Lord God of Hell, how did you manage to do that? The changes in the underworld are truly eye-opening, full of humanistic spirit and a new civilized atmosphere."

The Tang Emperor's face was filled with reverence as he looked at the Ten Kings of Hell and the Emperor of Fengdu beside him.

However, the Ten Kings of Hell and the Emperor of Fengdu looked at Lin Zhu respectfully and said in unison.

"This is all the wisdom of the God of Hell; we are utterly humbled!"

It turned out that Lin Zhu had filled the jade stones they received with wonderful ideas, which enlightened them and allowed them to see a completely new world.

After a meeting of all the high-ranking officials in the underworld, the reform was unanimously approved.

And so, the underworld we know today came to be.

The Ten Kings of Hell and the Emperor of Fengdu looked at Lin Zhu gratefully and begged him to unlock the hidden contents of the jade.

Lin Zhu waved his hand, indicating that those were for adults only, and they would talk about it later.

The Tang Emperor exclaimed in amazement.

"Not only is the Prison God incredibly powerful, but he is also a political reform prodigy, far beyond my reach!"

On the other side, the Treasure Goddess and the three great bodhisattvas gritted their teeth in anger, finally realizing that Lin Zhu was behind it all.

The three monks in the shadows had crazed eyes, and their aura was starting to leak out.

After Lin Zhu noticed this, he coldly looked into the void and said indifferently.

"Come out, aren't you three tired of hiding?"

The three monks were greatly surprised, wondering how he had discovered it.

Lin Zhu sneered, drew the God-Slaying Spear, pointed it at the void, and threatened them to come out.

Left with no other choice, the three Bodhisattvas revealed themselves in full: Avalokiteshvara, Manjushri, and Samantabhadra.

The Tang emperor was greatly surprised. He pointed at Manjushri Bodhisattva and said to Lin Zhu.

"The Prison Goddess, it's her! She's the one who stole my soul!"

The three Bodhisattvas were extremely anxious and communicated telepathically. Samantabhadra Bodhisattva gritted his teeth and said...

"It's over, it's over! Lin Zhu is extremely powerful, we can't resist him at all, and our journey to the West will probably have to be completely abandoned!"

Manjushri Bodhisattva's face turned ashen. He felt that he was doomed. He had been caught red-handed by Lin Zhu. How was he going to explain this to the Buddha?
Guanyin Bodhisattva said awkwardly.

"Perhaps...perhaps Lin Zhu didn't mean any harm."

Manjushri and Samantabhadra were utterly furious. Even at a time like this, Guanyin Bodhisattva was still speaking up for Lin Zhu.

However, at that moment, Lin Zhu spoke up and said something that surprised everyone.

The three Bodhisattvas and the Treasure Goddess were all on tenterhooks.

They all believed that Lin Zhu would sabotage the Western Paradise's plan, and that if he caught them in the act, the plan would surely be exposed.

The Treasure Goddess was even plotting in her mind how to launch a sneak attack to avoid Lin Zhu's God-Slaying Spear and avenge Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva. (End of Chapter)