Secular world: My destiny has no taboos

Chapter 581-591: Ruins of the Former Underworld
Hearing Zigu's confident assurance that there was absolutely no possibility of Zigu Goddess being resurrected, and her demonstration of the power of the Great Mortal God after absorbing Zigu Goddess's evil soul, Lin Beixuan reluctantly forgave Zigu's actions.

With the threat behind the door so close at hand, having another powerful deity would increase his chances of winning, which would be a good thing for him.

With the disappearance of the goddess Zigu, Changzhou quickly fell into the hands of the Northern Underworld Army.

From then on, Changzhou, Xuanzhou, Jiangzhou, and Minzhou, the prefectures under the command of the Evil Spirit True Lord and the Purple Maiden Goddess, officially fell into the hands of Lin Beixuan.

After conducting a population census in these four prefectures, Lin Beixuan discovered that, apart from Changzhou being an empty prefecture, the other three prefectures still had a considerable number of survivors.

These people were centrally organized by the Northern Underworld Army and concentrated in Luo and Liang provinces, while all four provinces became deserted and empty.

As for those who did not want to leave their hometown and wanted to die in their homeland, the Beiming Army showed them due respect and said that if they really could not stay, they could come to Liang and Luo Prefectures.

As the massive influx of people migrated from their original lands, only empty lands and rows of gates remained across the four states.

It is unknown when these doors will open, but it is foreseeable that even if they do open, they will not cause too many casualties in the short term.

Those who were unlucky have mostly died, while the lucky ones anticipated the danger and went to Liang and Luo prefectures.

In the entire mortal land of China, only two forces remain on the surface: the various dynasties and the Northern Underworld Army.

Just as the outside world began to discuss whether the Northern Underworld Army and the imperial courts of past dynasties would engage in a final battle.

Lin Beixuan then ventured alone into the depths of Fengdu to search for the ruins of the former underworld.

Before him floated an ancient mirror, its entire body emitting a faint glow, as if guiding him.

At this moment, Lin Beixuan stood in a dark and deep chaos, enveloped by dense yin energy.

These yin energies are not the mixed energies found in ordinary yin places, but rather carry a deathly stillness and majesty that has been accumulated over countless ages, as if they are the origin overflowing from the end of reincarnation.

This was different from the yin energy in the underworld he created; it carried a more ancient feel.

These yin energies tried to penetrate his body, but Lin Beixuan used the Desolate Universe Divine Body to block them out. However, he could still feel the bone-chilling cold at his fingertips, as if countless tiny yin spirits were gnawing at the barriers of his body.

The ancient mirror floating in front of him suddenly trembled slightly, and the fluorescence on the mirror surface became even clearer, revealing a pair of eyes floating out.

“If you keep following this broken road, you will reach the ruins of the Underworld.”

Yin Hu's voice came from the ancient mirror, guiding Lin Beixuan in the direction he was heading, his tone slightly excited.

Having been sealed in this dark and gloomy place for so long, how could he not want to get out?

Lin Beixuan silently walked forward along the path beneath his feet. In the hazy yin energy, a huge stone tablet spanning the chaos appeared before him.

The stone tablet is ancient, carrying an aura of wildness and savagery similar to that of the ancient ancestors. The ancient characters on the tablet are mostly worn away by time and are not very clear, but the three characters 'Yinmingjie' can still be vaguely discerned from their outlines.

"It seems this is the entrance to the Underworld!" Lin Beixuan's eyes narrowed slightly, and he walked unhurriedly, passing the stone tablet and heading inward.

With each step he took, the yin energy in the chaos would recede to both sides like a tide, revealing the ancient road paved with bluish-black stone slabs.

The stone slab was covered with fine cracks, and dark blue traces remained in the gaps.

Before long, a huge ditch appeared in front of Lin Beixuan, as if some great force had forcibly cut the road in two, blocking the entire way forward.

Upon seeing this, Lin Beixuan recalled a scene he had witnessed when refining the Four Symbols Dragon Horns.

He knew that the dead end had been cut off by the Lord of the Underworld himself.

"Even if it's just to defend against the world behind the door, it doesn't have to involve sacrificing the entire underworld!"

Lin Beixuan didn't quite understand why the Lord of the Underworld did this. He should have known better than anyone that once the Yellow Springs Road was cut off, the wandering souls in the world would have nowhere to go and would turn into evil spirits to harm the human world.

The thought flashed through his mind.

Lin Beixuan didn't like to delve into the causes and consequences of things, and quickly turned his attention back to the ancient road in front of him.

Although the road ahead was blocked, it still couldn't stop him.

The divine power of life and death cycle spread out from his feet and extended all the way to the end of the broken road.

Lin Beixuan stepped on the stone slab formed by his divine power, crossed the broken road, and entered the ruins of the Underworld.

Unexpectedly, as soon as he entered the ruins, countless twisted ghostly figures broke free from the yin energy and roared as they pounced on Lin Beixuan.

These ghostly figures are not ordinary vengeful spirits, but rather the evil spirits left behind and subjected to torture after the Lord of the Underworld left with the entire Underworld.

Over a long period of time, their independent consciousness has long since disappeared, leaving only their killing instincts from before they were born, and a faint aura of malevolence surrounds them.

Lin Beixuan frowned slightly, and an invisible pressure swept out from his body. The ghostly figures that rushed towards him were like leaves swept by a whirlwind. They paused in the air for a moment and then turned into wisps of green smoke and disappeared.

At this moment, the ancient mirror suddenly shot out a beam of light, which not only tore apart the ghosts blocking Lin Beixuan's way, but also illuminated his path forward.

While observing the ruins of the Underworld for anything suspicious, Lin Beixuan silently compared the differences in layout between the old and new Underworld offices.

The conclusion was that the old underworld focused more on reincarnation, while the new underworld created by Lin Beixuan focused more on punishment. All good and evil deeds were recorded, and there were eighteen levels of the Netherworld Purgatory waiting for mortals to be punished.

"Clang, clang..."

Suddenly, the sound of chains rattling echoed in the silent darkness.

At this moment, the ancient mirror image was summoned by some kind of power. With a whoosh, it left Lin Beixuan's side, shot out a beam of bright white light, and merged into something in the chaos.

Suddenly, a pair of huge eyes appeared in front of Lin Beixuan.

These eyes rotated slowly, like a yin-yang symbol, carrying the mystery between life and death.

"Tiger of the Tiger, Yin-Yang Mysterious Official!"

"We've finally met in person."

Lin Beixuan raised his head and looked at the massive body that was slowly moving in the gloomy mist. Every time Yin Hu moved, the chains would shake and make noise, restricting his movement.

"I didn't expect you to come here so quickly."

Yin Hu's voice was majestic like a booming bell. His body slowly stretched out in the chaos, and the mottled tiger stripes appeared and disappeared in the yin energy. Each stripe seemed to be formed by the cold energy of the netherworld, shimmering with a faint blue light.

Although Lin Beixuan had seen Yin Hu's eyes in the mirror many times, he had also seen Yin Hu walk out of the mirror in the form of a middle-aged man.

But none of these compare to the true form of Yin Hu that is now appearing before him.

Although Lin Beixuan had already passed the stage of being influenced by the aura of a mortal master and feeling as humble as an ant, he still felt inferior to the mortal master whenever they stood together. This was not a difference in strength, but a difference in their level of existence.

Although he had mastered the Desolate Universe Divine Body and his physical strength was almost on par with that of a mortal master, what he lacked was that aura and spirit.

Lin Beixuan looked at Yin Hu's limbs and saw that they were firmly bound by several thick chains. The chains were covered with dense runes. Whenever Yin Hu moved, the runes would light up red and emit a restrictive power to suppress the soul.

"Actually, I've always been curious about who could imprison you here, and why other mortals would rather watch you stay here than come to your rescue."

Lin Beixuan stared into Yin Hu's eyes: "I don't think your relationship is that bad."

"Hehehe..."

Yin Hu laughed, his voice like two pieces of black iron colliding, hoarse from the friction of metal.

"Guess it?"

Lin Beixuan raised an eyebrow and smiled faintly.

"Is it Chenlong?"

Yin Hu's eyes, which resembled the yin and yang of a Tai Chi symbol, suddenly narrowed. After a long while, he slowly turned his head and uttered two words.

"Boring."

His massive head lowered slightly, causing the chains to rattle and creak.

“After the Lu Chenjiang incident, I fought another battle with the Pig. In the presence of the other mortals, we fought almost to the death.”

"I told you before that I almost ate that pig, and I wasn't lying about that. Although I won in the end, I was locked up here by Chenlong, but it was all my own choice."

“He kept telling me that the world is like a game of chess, and all things are like pieces, and even the mortals cannot transcend it. The Lord of the Underworld blocked the gate with the entire Underworld, giving us a chance to prolong our lives, while we were fighting among ourselves.”

"As the group that knows the truth of the world best, instead of trying to make up for the torrential rain that may come at any time, they are engaged in their own ideological disputes, ignoring all living things. How tragic is that?"

Lin Beixuan remained silent for a moment, then said calmly, "You're not wrong either, it's a clash of ideologies."

"Is this one of the reasons why Venerable Tiangang is unable to leave his temple?"

Yin Hu nodded. He lay prone on the ground, his shoulder blades, pierced by chains, resembled a pair of wings that blotted out the sky in the chaos, with lingering divine power fluctuations still present.

"I am never influenced by what others think is right or wrong, and Chenlong doesn't think I'm wrong either, it's just that the timing is wrong."

"He sealed me here, making me guard everything in the underworld, saying that someone would come here in the future and take everything away."

As he spoke, Yin Hu looked at Lin Beixuan, his gaze seemingly directed at something.

However, Lin Beixuan deliberately changed the subject: "Is Chenlong really dead?"

Upon hearing this, Yin Hu paused for a moment, then a smile suddenly appeared on his face as he asked, "What do you think?"

Lin Beixuan did not answer, but instead circulated his divine power and unleashed a sword beam that slashed at the chains on Yin Hu's body.

Unexpectedly, the indestructible sword light was deflected when it came into contact with the chains, and the runes on the chains flickered, as if they were breathing with life.

"Perhaps you could try using the power of the Four Symbols," Yin Hu said with a faint smile, seemingly quite familiar with the chains that bound him.

Lin Beixuan frowned. The four dragon horns inside the temple flew out and hovered above his head. The divine power of the four dragons combined with the sword blade to slash out, and the chains broke instantly, as easily as if it were an act.

"..."

Lin Beixuan watched as Yin Hu slowly stood up, shook its black and white fur, and looked relaxed and carefree, without any of the joy that one might expect from someone who had been sealed away for many years and was now free.

"Is this the end?"

"Otherwise what? It's just a seal formed from the power of the Dragon. The Four Symbols Dragon Horns are the divine essence of the Dragon. Breaking a seal formed from power is a piece of cake." Yin Hu said matter-of-factly.

"So that means I could have helped you escape when I refined the Four Symbols Dragon Horns, why didn't you say so?"

"There's no need to say anything. When the time is right, my seal will naturally be broken."

Yin Hu shrugged, his divine power flowing through his body, creating a whooshing sound, and he absorbed all the Yin energy in the entire Yin Netherworld into his body.

As the Yin energy gradually decreased, the entire scene of the Yin Si Ruins was fully revealed before Lin Beixuan's eyes.

It looked more dilapidated than I had imagined. Dark red scratch marks remained on the broken stone pillars, and countless broken bronze lampstands were scattered in the distance. The wicks had long since gone out, but a faint, eerie light still flowed in the lamp holders, illuminating a winding ancient road to the underworld leading to an unknown abyss.

The Tiger strode through the ruins, its claws creating ripples of yin energy on the ground as it struck.

His strength recovered rapidly after absorbing the Yin energy within the Yin Netherworld, returning him directly to his peak condition.

"This was the central hub of the Underworld back then. Although the Lord of the Underworld took everyone away, quite a few evil spirits remained."

"After discovering that the Lord of the Underworld and all the people of the Underworld had disappeared, freed from the constraints of the Underworld's power, they broke free from their prison, destroyed everything in sight, and finally escaped to the human world."

Yin Hu pointed to a sunken open space next to him, where the ground was irregularly circular with scorch marks still remaining on the edges.

"Look here, this is the site of the Reincarnation Well. If you want to use it, just dig it out."

"Although those evil spirits wreak havoc everywhere, how could they possibly harm the underworld buildings with their meager strength? After years of being cleansed by the laws of reincarnation, these buildings are no longer ordinary objects, and are in no way inferior to the divine artifacts in the weapon legend encyclopedia."

Lin Beixuan bent down and touched the ground. A bone-chilling coldness came from his fingertips, as if he could feel the churning, dark water in the well below through the ground.

Then, Yin Hu pointed to the depths of the ruins, where a dilapidated platform stood, with three tokens hanging on top, each inscribed with the words "Suppressing the Prison".

"That high platform was once the place where the underworld sealed off evil spirits of mortal gods. The reincarnation power of the Lord of the Underworld gathered in the platform, constantly wearing down the ferocity of those criminal evil spirits."

Lin Beixuan frowned slightly upon hearing this, and asked in confusion, "Since those evil spirits are guilty, why not just destroy them?"

Yin Hu tilted his head and gave Lin Beixuan a meaningful look: "Back then, the Lord of the Underworld didn't have as much bloodlust as you. Although there were prisons in the Underworld, they were far less cruel and cold than the Underworld you built, which would destroy souls and annihilate life at the drop of a hat, making it impossible to even enter the cycle of reincarnation."

Lin Beixuan's face darkened, and he retorted, "Good and evil should be rewarded and punished accordingly. If evil people can repent after laying down their butcher knives, then who will seek justice for those who have been harmed by evil people?"

Yin Hu's eyes held a hint of a smile.

"That's why I like you in this way, unlike the Lord of the Underworld and Chenlong, who believe that most things in the world can be forgiven."

(End of this chapter)