Under One Person: I Opened the Age of Mythology

Chapter 604

"What a Yang Jian! What a cunning calculus! Daring to extend his reach into the underworld and disrupt the ironclad rules of reincarnation established at the dawn of time!"

King Qin Guang's voice was hoarse, like sandpaper rubbing against dry bones.

He abruptly threw the secret report onto the cold ground, and the jade slip shattered with a "crack".

"Who does he think he is? A celestial judge from Heaven, does he think he can interfere with the affairs of the Underworld and allow those blood-stained beasts to run rampant here?" His eyes blazed with venomous flames. "What atonement? It's clearly indulgence! It's erosion! It's trying to undermine the very foundation of the Underworld!"

A sinister-looking judge standing below bowed his head and spoke in a voice as low as a venomous snake's tongue: "Your Majesty, please calm your anger. Reincarnation has its own destiny, and resentment is necessary to maintain balance. Now, the one who sought redemption has forcibly driven away resentment, causing the swamp of vengeful spirits to become unbalanced, which may lead to unexpected changes. Perhaps... we should let nature take its course and guide it slightly? Let those who are 'uneasy' know who is the true master of this netherworld?"

King Qin Guang's wrinkled eyelids suddenly lifted, his gaze sharp as lightning: "Oh? How to guide him?"

"Your Majesty is wise. Simply hint to a few of the most arduous 'Soul-Refining Mines' to remove some guards, making those long-suffering vengeful spirits think they have an opportunity..." The Ghost Judge's lips curled into a chilling smile. "Then spread some words, stating that this chaos is due to the wicked ones who seized power in the Underworld, provoking the vengeful spirits to retaliate and cutting off their path to redemption. At that time, the ghosts will rise up, storm the Purification Department, and tear apart a few redeemers. Even if Yang Jian possesses extraordinary abilities, what can he do against the 'spontaneous rage' of thousands of vengeful spirits? Can the scales of the heart weigh the sins of one person, or the resentment accumulated over millions of years in the entire Netherworld?"

King Qin Guang remained silent for a moment, and the ghostly flames in the palace seemed to leap with excitement because of this conspiracy.

Finally, he squeezed out two words through gritted teeth: "Get it done!"

The Purification Platform of the Purification Department was orderly. Xiong Pi had just submitted a purification report, which was recorded by two ghost messengers on the light screen projected by the Heart Scale. The blood-red markings representing his sins on the screen visibly shrank slightly.

"Bear, your merit in recovering from the flood at Yunmeng Marsh has been recorded. Your karmic debt will be reduced for another hundred days," a ghost messenger announced expressionlessly. "Next item..."

Before he finished speaking, a sudden change occurred!
“Ouch——!!!”

"Charge out! Tear them apart!"

"These are all sinful beasts! They've blocked our path to liberation from our suffering! Let's fight them!"

"The scales of conscience are ruined! The Purification Division is ruined! By what right can they atone for their sins!"

A fierce and violent roar suddenly erupted from the perimeter of the Purification Division!

Like a landslide and a tsunami!

The billowing black clouds of resentment, carrying countless grotesque ghosts with twisted forms and bloodshot eyes, swept away the symbolic outer defensive barrier like a dam breaking.

The guarding ghosts were instantly overwhelmed and torn apart by this despair and anger that had accumulated over millions of years!
The horde of vengeful spirits had a very clear objective—to rush straight to Mingjingtai!
The first few blood-eyed fiends had their claws locked onto the bear's massive body!
"Protect the Cleansing Platform!" the ghost messenger shouted in terror. But the scale of the riot far exceeded expectations. Countless vengeful ghosts surged towards the other redeemers like a tidal wave, and some ordinary souls infected by the violent aura also joined the charge in a daze. The entire Cleansing Department was instantly plunged into a chaotic killing field.

At the critical moment, a clear and majestic shout, like a thunderclap from the heavens, pierced through layers of ghostly howls and exploded in the chaotic sky above the netherworld:

"presumptuous!"

"The scales of the heart are here; the laws of the underworld shall not be trampled upon by you!"

Silver light! Pure and dazzling silver light, containing the supreme will of law, instantly erupted from the illusory scales in the center of the Clear Platform!
Wherever the light reached, the surging tide of vengeful spirits seemed to crash into an invisible barrier, their momentum abruptly halted, and countless vengeful souls let out painful howls, their black breath rising as they were scorched by the silver light!
Time and space seemed to freeze for a moment.

A figure tore through the boundary between the Netherworld and the Heavenly Court, stepping on silver light, and descended directly above the Bright Platform!

Yang Jian!

The silver-white divine robe moved without wind, fluttering and rustling.

The "Heart Scales" divine mark on his forehead shone as brightly as a star, emitting a tangible silver light that instantly enveloped the entire chaotic Purification Division area.

That light was no longer just insight, but also carried the absolute power to suppress all evil and reshape the legal order!

"The God of Justice has personally descended!"

The ghost messengers, as if grasping at a straw, screamed hoarsely.

Yang Jian's cold gaze swept over the countless vengeful ghosts below, who were struggling in pain and had ferocious faces due to the suppression of the silver light.

His voice wasn't loud, but it clearly drowned out all the noise; every word struck the soul like a cold weight.

"The vengeful spirits have rampaged, defying the law, and their crimes are compounded! However—"

He abruptly changed the subject, his divine sense spreading like an invisible giant net, instantly capturing the "seeds" of rumors being spread amidst the chaotic ghost tide, secretly instigated by King Qin Guang.

"It's the Yama's Palace! It's King Qin Guang's men spreading rumors!"

"They say the Atoners have blocked our path! They're forcing us to rebel!"

"How cruel! They're using us as pawns!"

The angry roars came from several locations within the horde of vengeful spirits.

A flash of silver light appeared on Yang Jian's brow emblem, and several ghostly figures were frozen in place by an invisible force and dragged out of the ghost tide. These were the ghost judges and their henchmen secretly dispatched by King Qin Guang!
Their fragmented memories were instantly extracted and magnified under the silvery light of the Heart Scales, clearly reflecting the conspiracy in the Hall of the Demon King!

"hiss--"

The entire underworld fell silent for a moment. Countless vengeful ghosts and vengeful spirits, including the ordinary souls who had been caught up in the chaos, stared in disbelief at the few ghost judges who were frozen in place, like lambs to the slaughter.

The overwhelming rage of being fooled and used instantly overwhelmed the violence, and countless blood-red eyes stared intently in the direction of the Yama's Palace.

"King Qin Guang, Jiang Ziwen!" Yang Jian's voice, like the clash of ancient ice, resounded throughout the nine netherworlds with the solemnity of a judgment. "You, holding the position of Yama, do not think of upholding the order of reincarnation, but instead engage in treacherous and despicable acts, inciting vengeful ghosts to cause chaos, framing your fellow cultivators, and attempting to overthrow the law! Your heart deserves to be punished! Your crimes are unforgivable! Today, I, your sovereign, here on behalf of Heaven, execute the law! I strip you of your position as King Qin Guang! I remove you from your celestial register! I cast you into the deepest level of Avici Hell, never to be released! All Yama Kings, take this as a warning!"

The verdict was delivered like thunder! A silver-gray chain composed of pure laws flew out from Yang Jian's palm, ignoring spatial distance, instantly piercing through the many restrictions of the Senluo Palace, and tightly binding the pale-faced King Qin Guang in the palace!
Amidst the horrified gazes of countless ghosts, the Yama King, who had ruled the First Palace of the Underworld for ten thousand years, was dragged out of the palace like a stray dog, bound in silver chains, and led towards the legendary, terrifying abyss that even ghosts and gods trembled over!
"The True Lord's judgment is wise! The True Lord's judgment is indeed wise!"

The vengeful ghosts who survived the calamity erupted in deafening howls and shouts, kneeling down like a tidal wave towards the Mingjing Terrace.

The resentment suppressed by the Silver Radiance of the Heart Scales quickly dissipated in the face of the truth and absolute authority.

However, just as the demons were subdued and order was beginning to be established, an even sharper, more heart-wrenching voice erupted from a group of benevolent souls who had just been purified and whose soul fires had stabilized:

"I'm innocent! My Lord! I refuse to accept this! My scales are unjust!"

A young, benevolent soul, resembling a scholar but with an unusually solid spirit, suddenly broke out of the ranks, fell to the ground beneath the Mingjing Platform, and frantically kowtowed in the direction of Yang Jian, his forehead hitting the ground with a dull thud.

He suddenly raised his head, his eyes burning with overwhelming injustice and grief:

"In my previous life, I was a student of Cangwu Prefecture in the Southern Continent! I happened to witness Wang Chongshan, a Taoist priest from the local Qingyun Temple, forcibly taking a woman and attempting to commit adultery! I spoke out in defense of justice, only to be falsely accused by that evil Taoist of stealing a magical artifact from the temple! The abbot of Qingyun Temple, without distinguishing right from wrong, used a 'Soul-Searching Curse' to shatter my three souls! Furthermore, he colluded with the local immortal sect, the Lin family, to falsely accuse my entire family of seventeen members of evil and slaughter them all overnight! Lin Batian, a cultivator from the Lin family, personally beheaded my parents! This blood feud has remained unresolved for ten years! Wang Chongshan, the abbot of Qingyun Temple, and Lin Batian, relying on their immortal sect status, still roam free and even continue to receive offerings! True Lord! Why can't your scales reflect these wolves in sheep's clothing?! Why don't you weigh the sins of this immortal sect?!"

Every word is heart-wrenching!

It's like throwing ice water into a pan of oil that has just been simmering!
"And me! Li Mu, an outer disciple of the Qionghua Sect! Just because I refused to 'pay tribute' to my inner disciple with my family's ancestral spirit mine, he framed me, falsely accused me of stealing forbidden techniques, crippled my cultivation, broke my limbs, and threw me into the Ten Thousand Snake Cave to be devoured alive! I beg the True Lord to do justice for me!"

"I am from Hejian Prefecture..."

"I am..."

As if the scholar's accusation had ignited a fuse, one after another, the newly purified good souls, like avengers crawling out of their graves, rushed out of the ranks, knelt on the ground, and vehemently denounced the cruel persecution, injustices, and killings they had suffered in their lives at the hands of the high and mighty immortal cultivators or noble families!
The bloody crimes buried under the dust of time and the evils embellished by the radiance of the immortals erupted like a volcano from the deepest depths of the underworld at this moment!

Countless thoughts of injustice, anger, and despair soared into the sky, shaking the newly stabilized Purification Division once again and impacting the silver scales of the heart suspended in the air!

Yang Jian sat high on the Mingjing Terrace, his face, illuminated by the silvery light, resembling a cold jade statue.

Despite the overwhelming accusations of countless wronged souls and their tears, the divine symbol of the "scales of the heart" on his forehead did not dim; instead, it shone even brighter.

The silver light that pierced through all illusions was like the most merciless probe, piercing into the deepest part of every petitioner's memory. Countless bloody and cruel scenes—the arrogant faces of the immortal disciples, the cold and indifferent judgments of the superiors, the desperate struggles of mortals like ants, the slaughter scenes with flying flesh and blood... surged back at him like a raging sea, and were also clearly projected onto the huge light screen of the Bright Platform.

The entire spacetime of the underworld seemed to be frozen.

Countless ghosts, whether they were atoners or torturers, looked up in utter shock at the horrific scene on the screen that defied all comprehension.

It turns out that those high and mighty immortals, worshipped by mortals, actually harbor such hideous evil spirits beneath their physical forms!
"quiet!"

Yang Jian's voice finally rang out, like ancient, cold iron clashing in the netherworld, instantly overwhelming all cries and accusations, carrying a soul-chilling calm:

"With a clear conscience and discerning eyes, the laws apply equally to mortals and immortals, and good and evil are judged equally. Past injustices are redressed today; past sins are settled today!"

He slowly raised his right hand, and a point of extremely concentrated silver light shone from his fingertips:

"Judgment: All cultivators and scions of noble families involved in this lawsuit, regardless of whether they are currently in office, retired, or have already registered as immortals—"

"Immediately seize their souls and take them to the underworld! Their sins in life will be re-examined according to the laws of the underworld! Those who deserve to suffer the mountain of knives, shall go on the mountain of knives! Those who deserve to be boiled in oil, shall go in the boiling oil! Their sects and families, those who have shielded, condoned, or bribed the underworld officials, shall all be severely punished according to the law! All the celestial officials involved, regardless of rank, shall be immediately suspended from their duties pending investigation!"

"Furthermore, I hereby issue this decree: From this day forward, all souls entering the Netherworld, whether celestial, mortal, demon, or monster, may appeal to the Scales of the Heart to plead their grievances from their past lives! All bloody cases that have been buried, altered, or suppressed in the past may be retried! Anyone who obstructs the plea or destroys evidence shall be deemed to have committed a grave crime of harboring criminals and shall be cast into the deepest depths of the Swamp of Wicked Souls, to be eternally condemned!"

As he finished speaking, the silver light at his fingertips transformed into countless streams of light, instantly piercing the boundary between Yin and Yang and flying to all parts of the Three Realms!

Southern Jambudvipa, the Immortal Abode of the Lin Family.

The patriarch, Lin Batian, was accepting the congratulations from his clan members with great pride, celebrating his new concubine.

Suddenly, the smile on his face froze, and extreme fear erupted in his eyes!

A cold, piercing silver-gray chain emerged from the void without warning, ignoring his Xuanxian-level protective immortal light, and instantly pierced his chest, locking his primordial spirit!
Amidst the terrified screams of the clansmen, Lin Batian's soul was forcibly dragged out of his body, along with several core clansmen who had participated in the massacre, and was pulled into a void rift, disappearing without a trace, leaving only a few rapidly cooling bodies.

Inside Qingyun Temple, the abbot, who was meditating cross-legged in a secret room in an attempt to break through a bottleneck, suddenly had his immortal light dissipate!
The same silver chain came flying through the air, taking him and his trusted steward Wang Chongshan away together!
The Taoist temple, once filled with the smoke of incense, was instantly plunged into a deathly silence and panic.

Several celestial officials, who held sinecure positions in various celestial offices and had once accepted bribes from the Lin family or Qingyun Temple to suppress the wrongful convictions of scholars, were leisurely sipping tea in their duty rooms when their bodies suddenly stiffened. Their celestial talismans dissipated on their own, and a soul-binding chain silently coiled around them...

One after another, streams of light from the celestial realm were forcibly dragged into the netherworld!

Those immortal cultivators, family heads, and derelict officials who used to be high and mighty and looked down on the mortal world were now like pigs and sheep waiting to be slaughtered. They were dragged to the front of the Mingjing Platform in great fear and exposed to the cold gazes of countless netherworld creatures.

"Open the trial!"

Yang Jian's voice was like a key that opened the gates of purgatory, announcing the start of the reckoning.

The scales of the heart shine with silver light, and the sins of the past are no longer concealed before the judgment seat of the underworld!

The entrances to the hellish inferno of knives and fire, and the cauldron of boiling oil, slowly opened on both sides of the Clear and Bright Platform, emanating a terrifying aura that could freeze one's soul.

The entire underworld trembled under the cold and ruthless iron fist of this God of Justice.

Just as the Netherworld trembled due to the storm of cleansing, the foundation that maintains the flow of souls in the Three Realms—the Well of Reincarnation—quietly lost its balance due to this unprecedented "great purification."

(End of this chapter)