Chapter 329 - The Monument Engraver

The Soul-Chasing Judge, Wang Fu, and the other two judges scanned their surroundings, their expressions shifting dramatically. The Twelve Great Void Realms spanned a thousand miles, teeming with boundless energy, while colossal figures of primordial spirits descended from the heavens, converging from all directions. These were the primordial spirits of the Void Returning Realm experts, moving like titans, causing the Twelve Great Void Realms to pulse, exuding an oppressive aura. Simultaneously, above them, the sky transformed into something resembling transparent glass. A towering figure, a hundred zhang tall, stood slowly, holding an azure gauze like a fishing net. Twisting its body, it cast the net with force. "Swish—" Azure light filled the sky, descending to form an enormous azure net that enveloped the vast land within a thousand miles. Dozens of hundred-zhang giants descended from the sky, wielding massive flags that fluttered in the wind. Upon landing, they embedded the flags around the azure net. Electricity crackled fiercely from the flag surfaces. Azure dragons composed of lightning climbed out and ascended upwards, their bodies stretching for miles. The dragons' electric charge proliferated, and their bodies extended relentlessly. Chen Shi recalled witnessing the Xia family's Heavenly Dragon Demon-Sealing Formation in Xinxian, though that formation was minuscule compared to the one before him. Evidently, the formation the Xia family acquired was incomplete. Their Heavenly Dragon Demon-Sealing Formation aimed to imprison an evil Bodhisattva, yet this one wielded greater power, intent on ensnaring the three judges and their entourage of netherworld attendants. "Does such an inescapable net also seal off the human world?" Chen Shi pondered, "If not, can one escape through it?" The Soul-Chasing Judge and his companions couldn't enter the human world, but the Heiguo could traverse between realms. Suddenly, one of Wang Fu's subordinates transformed into azure smoke, attempting to escape. A sizzling sound echoed as the smoke collided with the azure net, struck by numerous bolts of lightning, before plummeting back down. "Don't bother trying to escape." A white-haired elder approached, smiling, "Soul-Chasing, Sin-Karma, Blade Mountain, esteemed judges, the Yan Family has sought you for long. Today, we shall capture you all in one fell swoop." Blade Mountain Judge Zhu Shun sneered, "Your Yan Family thinks to detain us so easily? Without the Judge's Brush in my hand, you won't control the Blade Mountain Hell!" He brandished the Judge’s Brush, his form enlarged instantaneously into a colossal apparition of a thousand zhang, gleaming like pure gold. Surrounded by aromatic incense, the chants of thousands echoed, and in a thunderous shout, a vast and unending Blade Mountain Hell emerged. Within that hell, innumerable spirits traversed the bladed mountains, anguished and bloodied, emitting harrowing cries. This unique realm of ghostly deities subjected spirits to endless blade torment, their forms endlessly regenerating to face the punishment anew. Zhu Shun's Judge's Brush harnessed the power of Blade Mountain Hell, his mystical energy overwhelming, his voice thunderous: "Under the true king's command, Xinxian Prefect Zhu Shun seeks to purge the netherworld of demons today!" Zhu Shun, a cultivator since the era of the true king, held the office of Xinxian Prefect, revered by the common folk who built a shrine in his honor after his death. His spirit frequently appeared, demonstrating miraculous interventions. When the avatars of the Ten Kings of Yanluo descended upon the netherworld, enshrining the netherworld's principles, such meritorious cultivators were chosen as netherworld judges. King of Yanluo selected him as the Blade Mountain Judge, handing him the Judge’s Brush. Soul-Chasing Judge Wang Fu laughed heartily, assuming his golden thousand-zhang form, wielding his Judge’s Brush, declaring ferociously, "Under the true king’s command, Deputy Minister of Justice Wang Fu purges demons in the netherworld today!" Likewise, emerged as a formidable figure from the true king’s era, honored with a temple, deified posthumously in the netherworld. Tasked with pursuing souls, he commanded the netherworld's operations with authority over ghost kings and other netherworld commanders. Sin-Karma Judge Jia Yuan let out a powerful cry, taking on a massive golden form, brandishing the Judge’s Brush, brimming with killing intent, "Under the true king’s command, Gontian Prefecture’s officer Jia Yuan vows to guard the nether's tenets unto death! The deity endures, and the doctrine persists!" He, too, was a figure of great merit, serving as a just official, redressing false accusations, later appointed the Sin-Karma Judge, tasked with evaluating the sins of cultivators. Chen Shi watched the three judges, noticing their golden forms emanated dazzling divine light, sweeping away the netherworld's gloomy mist, causing ghosts and demons to retreat in fear. He was somewhat awestruck. While these judges had long perished, they exuded no specter of death; instead, a righteous aura, a sacred presence. Unlike the oppressive shadows of most netherworld spirits and gods he encountered, their morbid air engendering dread, the judges were paragons of divine virtue—deities posthumously elevated through merit, embodying righteousness despite their spectral status! "With the three judges commanding the power of their brushes, I expect they can handle the Yan Family's encirclement." Chen Shi felt slightly relieved. The twelve Void Returning Realm experts, though formidable, paled before the might of the three judges. Perhaps the battle might end with the Yan Family's finest buried here! At that moment, a monstrous surge of white bones erupted like a tidal wave. Amidst it, countless bones amalgamated into a lengthy whip, seized by an immense judge standing sky-high, swinging it through the air. That judge, who once clashed with Zhong Kui, was the Earth Judge, his prowess extraordinary, his voice thunderous, "Soul-Chasing Judge, beyond facing my family’s young ones, you face us in this battle!" No sooner had he spoken, the earth split apart, spewing forth molten lava as the Fire Judge emerged, reigning over the molten rivers with lethal intent. This Fire Judge, alongside the Earth Judge, had once besieged Zhong Kui. Chen Shi felt a stir within, "The Fire and Earth Judges belong to the Yan Family? So, it was they who pursued Zhong Kui back then?" As he pondered this, numerous formidable Netherworld Commanders arrived, though weaker than the Fire and Earth Judges, they were far from ordinary, totaling seventeen in number. Wang Fu, Jia Yuan, and Zhu Shun grew increasingly grim. Over the years, the Yan Family had meticulously undermined the Yanluo Hall since the true king’s time, poised today for total domination. In the distance, amidst the spectral clouds, the Young Master of the Xia Family, Wei Yue, stood atop a red ghost’s shoulder, surveying with a smile: "Today, the Yan Family finally clears all obstacles for my father, Wei Ling. The goal of the Thirteen Families advances another step. These obstinate old deities are hindrances, destined for removal for the future golden age... Yet, how has Chen Shi found his way here?" He furrowed his brow slightly. He had deduced Chen Shi's presence in Xiandu, deploying specters to bar him at his Yuancheng Palace, only for the lad to elude the city and barge into this spectacle. "Once the formation activates, his doom is certain." Wei Yue murmured, "He possesses talent, but alas, unclaimed by our cause." The red ghost remarked, "Young Master, Chen Shi harbors over a hundred demon deities within. If he perishes, these demons might erupt..." Wei Yue chuckled, "This is the netherworld, teeming with demon deities; let them be. The Yan Family's grand strategy, tempered over millennia, shall not be halted by one Chen Shi!" Upon his utterance, battle ensued. The Fire and Earth Judges’ long whips lashed out at the three judges, while Yan family’s commanders and attendants unleashed their magical artifacts in assault. Simultaneously, twelve paramount experts struck from the human realm! In this long-coveted siege, the Yan Family intended to seize control of the Yanluo Hall. The Soul-Chasing, Sin-Karma, and Blade Mountain Judges bore their gravest mien, amplifying their godly force to the utmost, standing defiantly against them! These battle-hardened survivors of a blood-stained past, who had witnessed the flourish of the true king’s reign, never perceived successors to covet their divine authority for personal ambition! Wang Fu wielded his brush like a spear, severing the Fire Judge’s magma whip, cleaving it into thirds before launching skyward, the spear aimed at the Fire Judge’s skull. Before his brush could strike, an onslaught of magical arts and enchanted treasures battered his form from all angles! Within the azure net, terrifying energy churned endlessly. As it threatened to engulf Chen Shi and Heiguo in its destructive might, a massive stone stele crashed through the azure net, descending to the ground with a thunderous roar! The stone stele upheaval jettisoned netherworld attendants with its impact’s shockwave, propelling them back. The stele stood firm before Chen Shi, shielding him from residual magical turbulence! Initially intent on retreating to the human realm with Heiguo, away from the netherworld’s conflict, Chen Shi found himself momentarily stunned by the stele’s presence and dismissed his retreat, instead gazing upward along the monumental stone. The stele, with a pedestal of hewn granite, polished to a sleek finish, carved with a grand frame, suggested its purpose—a grave memorial. The deceased’s name would be inscribed within the frame. If descendants took care, they might engrave an epitaph or narrative of the departed's life. Presently, a freshly carved line graced the stele’s surface. "Yan Shiji, born in the 6587th year of the Jiajing calendar, died in the 6643rd year, at precisely the fourth watch on the fourth day of the sixth month." As Chen Shi glimpsed this, a powerful Yan family cultivator received a strike from Jia Yuan, aged rapidly, and succumbed, spewing blood onto the ground. "Shiji!" lamented an elder nearby. Chen Shi blinked. "The fallen was Yan Shiji? Aligning with the time on the monument exactly!" His gaze followed the monument skyward, resting on a gnarled and calloused hand, each knuckle pronounced, every finger elongated, craggy with years of toil and calluses. His eyes continued the ascent until they fell upon a face weathered by time and adversity, an expanse of craggy complexion that seemed colossal against the sky. "The quarryman from before!" Chen Shi felt a jolt within. Combatants caught sight of the descending stele amid the skirmish, each bewildered. Yet, gripped by momentum, they could not pause, forced only to fight on. "Dispatch men to the human realm, kill that elder!" the Earth Judge commanded. At once, Yan family experts returned to the human realm. A melodic clinking echoed through the sky, resembling hammer striking stone, followed by a venerable voice from above. "Yan Shichuang, born in the 6592nd year of the Jiajing calendar, died in the 6643rd year, at precisely the fourth watch on the fourth day of the sixth month." The sound of carving ceased, and another massive stone monument plummeted, and as it struck earth, another elder from the Yan family shrieked, blood trickling from the seven orifices, dead where he lay! The carving resumed. Once more, the ancient voice pronounced, "Yan Jing, born in the 6582nd year of the Jiajing calendar, died..." Another stone fell from the heavens. An elder who had driven Zhu Shun to bleed from his seven orifices suddenly fell to her knees, motionless as her head drooped, lifeless! "Quick, kill him!" bellowed Uncle Six, Yan Qinghu. The clinking continued. Yan Qinghu, contorting with rage, abandoned the three judges, darting into the human realm. There, amid the ice and snow, an elder surrounded by unearthed stones engraved epitaphs on stele after stele. "Cease!" Yan Qinghu unleashed divine powers, halting every fleck of snow in a hundred-mile range, each flake turning razor-sharp, hurtling toward the elder! This art, the Ice Heart Demon-Slashing Technique, chronicled in Yan family lore. As the elder finished inscribing one stele, he murmured, "Yan Qinghu, born in the 6556th year of the Jiajing calendar, died in the 6643rd year, at precisely the fourth watch on the fourth day of the sixth month." Yan Qinghu abruptly felt all vitality within withdrawn, his form aging and decaying visibly, ultimately succumbing. "You—carver among the Five Villains, Du Yiran! "Mercy's Book is with you!" Straining with effort, he moved toward the elder, his words fervent, yet unable to finish the plea before collapsing. His supernatural feat unraveled into a swirling storm, snowflakes swirling, the blade-strike’s force exhausted. The elder remained indifferent, chisel continuing its tireless dance over the next stele. "Boom!" Yet another monument descended, crashing into the netherworld, accompanied by the elder's resonant call from above, claiming another Yan family life on impact! Chaotic dread gripped the onlookers. The Fire Judge roared, summoning his molten whip toward the elder as their stele descended upon the netherworld. From behind the elder emerged a crescent luminescence, his enormous spiritual hand spanning several miles, meeting the molten whip. The elder staggered slightly but caught the whip with resolve. "Grand Transcendent Realm!" The Fire Judge recoiled, retracting his weapon and declaring, "Everyone, retreat immediately!" Whirling up the beleaguered Yan family, he commandeered a fiery dragon's fervor to retreat. The Earth Judge and other attendants, realizing the disadvantage, hastened their withdrawal! In the meantime, another monolithic stone dropped, though futilely, for the Fire Judge had steered the Yan remnants beyond its fatal radius. Soul-Chasing, Sin-Karma, and Blade Mountain Judges subsisted look battered and shaken, scarcely regaining their senses. Chen Shi grinned, saying, "You three stay here for now; I'll be back!" He was about to retreat into the human world with Heiguo, but a cunning thought paused his retreat as he glanced at the defunct stele: "Judge Wang, would you kindly safeguard this monument for me?" As Wang Fu began to respond, Chen Shi dashed into the human world astride the hound. Amidst the snow, the elder had vanished, leaving a field bristling with stone memorials. Swiftly, Chen Shi reached the quarry, announcing, "Grandson of Chen Yindu, Chen Shi, seeks an audience with Uncle Du!" From within, a voice seasoned by years replied, "That scoundrel Chen Yindu never taught you better? You should call me Grandpa Du! Unlike Granny Sha, I accept my years gracefully." —The monumental entrance of Du Yiran, the last of the Five Villains, and perhaps the most formidable aside from Chen Yindu, has finally come! Here's to Old Du making a grand entry—may I ask for your votes! ------