Chapter 421 – Ferryman of the Nether River

The path of immortality is one of solitary cultivation, while the divine path follows the way of gathering the masses. Both paths have extremely high ceilings, and ascending to their peaks leads to great power.

From the fact that gods and immortals are often mentioned side by side, one can understand the convergence of these two paths.

However, the divine path gathers the masses, and human imperial dynasties also follow the way of gathering the masses.

One mountain cannot accommodate two tigers. The divine path and dynasties of fortune are in intense conflict.

For this reason, within the Great Spirit Imperial Dynasty, deities not officially enfeoffed by the court are denounced as wild gods or licentious cults, with their idols smashed and temples destroyed.

Fortunately, Mu Lin is not currently in the heartland of the dynasty but in the disaster-ridden borderlands.

Here, ordinary people, and even soldiers, care little whether you are a god or a dynasty official. Whoever can ensure their survival earns their faith.

Zhang Hemiao and Sheng Cang… also do not concern themselves with such matters.

However, while they do not mind the people under their command believing in gods, they are very particular about Mu Lin’s divine office.

Not all deities are benevolent.

Some wild gods, in order to spread their faith, propagate paths of debauchery or sacrifice.

“Young Master Mu, may I ask what divine path you are practicing?”

Mu Lin fully understood Zhang Hemiao’s caution and thus provided a thorough explanation:

“The divine path I practice is to reward good and punish evil. I will grant peace to wandering souls and find ways to send them through reincarnation to begin new lives. While guiding these yin souls, I will also judge the sins of their past lives and mete out punishments or rewards according to their deeds.”

“My divine title is tentatively set as King Yama. However, King Yama oversees all. Under him, I will have a host of Civil and Military Judges, Yin Soldiers and Ghost Soldiers, local City Gods, and Day and Night Patrol Gods…”

“These many Orthodox Gods of the Nether Bureaucracy will assist me in safeguarding the peace of this land.”

“…”

When Mu Lin articulated the core principle of rewarding good and punishing evil, Zhang Hemiao and Sheng Cang accepted his intention to widely spread his faith within Tianshi City.

What they did not expect was that Mu Lin’s divine office was not a hastily conceived notion born of momentary inspiration.

From his words, they realized that the Underworld Nether Bureaucracy system Mu Lin was constructing had a strict legal tradition, complete doctrines, and accounted for every aspect.

‘The Military Judges capture ghosts, the Civil Judges conduct interrogations, and there are Day and Night Patrol Gods to inspect all directions, with City Gods overseeing each locality… This system is actually flawless. How did he conceive it?’

Zhang Hemiao and the others were astonished, and Mu Lin noticed their expressions, which brought a knowing smile to his face.

‘How could it not be strict? In my previous life, this system was built over thousands of years by countless sages…’

Of course, a system alone, no matter how complete, is merely a castle in the air, a flower in a mirror, or the moon reflected in water.

Only by filling and implementing this system with various abilities can the divine authority of the Underworld truly manifest.

Fortunately, Mu Lin’s various abilities could already fill a large part of the Underworld Nether Bureaucracy.

…

After confirming that Mu Lin was not practicing the path of an Evil God, Zhang Hemiao and Sheng Cang assisted him in spreading his faith.

Naturally, as Earth Immortals, they had no leisure to personally handle such matters.

Mu Lin… was no different.

After concluding discussions with Zhang Hemiao and the others, Mu Lin pushed Si Ye, Yan Yunyu, and Ji Lingsha to the forefront.

The three of them would travel between the Yang World and the Netherworld, manifesting before mortals to spread faith in Mu Lin.

“My divine duties and core doctrines—you should all be clear about them. Entrusting this matter to you, is there any problem?”

“None.”

“Don’t worry, Brother Mu, I’ll handle everything properly.”

“That’s good.”

After receiving their affirmative responses, Mu Lin stood up and began constructing his Netherworld.

As the primary base, this underground Netherworld was not something that could be considered complete once opened up.

Mu Lin needed to arrange Arrays and prisons within the Netherworld, isolating it from the outside.

“In the future, even if it’s an Earth Immortal, unless I agree, their Soul Reflection won’t be able to appear within the Netherworld.”

  To transform the Netherworld into a Forbidden Land, an isolated realm, Mu Lin busied himself.

What he didn’t notice was that after he left, Si Ye, Yan Yunyu, and Ji Lingsha were silently observing each other, and the hostility in their eyes toward one another was intense.

Such a situation… was entirely normal.

In the Netherworld divine system Mu Lin had established, his Avatar, King Yama, naturally stood high above, ruling over everything.

His sovereign status was unquestionable, and Yan Yunyu, Si Ye, and the others wouldn’t dare cause trouble in this regard.

But the position of Divine Master belonged to Mu Lin; the positions below were a different matter.

When their True Names were recorded by Mu Lin in the True Spirit Karma Diagram, these individuals automatically received divine duties.

For example, Xue Ying was the Lord of the Blood Prison.

Yan Yunyu was the master of the Avici Chains, and as Mu Lin’s secretary, she also held the authority of a civil Judge.

As for Si Ye… her name hadn’t been recorded in the True Spirit Karma Diagram yet, but Chu Lingluo was the master of the Manjusaka, or rather, the Other Shore Flower Sea, and could also be called the Dream Lord or the Lord of the Illusion Prison.

Lingluo was pure and innocent, wishing only to serve Mu Lin well, but as a mother, Si Ye had no choice but to consider her daughter’s interests.

Moreover, she had her own considerations.

‘Given Mu Lin’s talent, his Netherworld divine system is a path to the heavens. If my name is recorded in the True Spirit Karma Diagram, I might also attain immortality.’

‘However, because of what happened before, Mu Lin holds a great grudge against me. Under normal circumstances, it would be impossible for my name to be recorded in the True Spirit Karma Diagram.’

‘But if Lingluo becomes the Netherworld Empress, second only to one and above all others, then it would be different…’

For the position in the True Spirit Karma Diagram that was second only to one and above all others, Yan Yunyu and Si Ye developed a competitive spirit.

Ji Lingsha also desired to contend for it.

Currently, her advantage was the greatest.

This wasn’t because Mu Lin favored her, but because Prince Liang was willing to invest in his daughter, allowing Ji Lingsha to join with significant resources.

The Void-Crossing Ship she commanded was slightly more powerful than the Mountain River Great Cauldron.

Moreover, Ji Lingsha’s divine duties in the True Spirit Karma Diagram weren’t limited to being the Netherworld Ferryman; she was also the Marshal of the Netherworld Naval Forces—Mu Lin’s armies required the Void-Crossing Ship for large-scale, long-distance transportation.

Since he accepted the convenience, Mu Lin naturally wouldn’t treat her unfairly.

Yan Yunyu: “It’s true that Ji Lingsha is stronger for now, but this is an opportunity. By refining the faith of the masses, my strength could increase, and my position could become more important.”

Si Ye: “We can’t lose in spreading reputation. We must find a way to make Lingluo more easily accepted by ordinary people.”

Before they even began to act, the two of them were already contemplating how to make ordinary people believe in King Yama while also placing their faith in themselves.

As for Ji Lingsha, she did not make decisions on her own but instead consulted with her subordinates.

—Mu Lin had said she brought resources into the group, and this was no mere talk. The conveniences Prince Liang provided for his daughter extended far beyond just a Void-Crossing Ship.

Within the ship, there were a full six thousand armored soldiers, hundreds of palace maids and attendants, and even a team of strategists.

Upon hearing that Ji Lingsha had taken on the task of spreading faith, the strategists, after some deliberation, decided—to distribute eggs, rice, and flour.

“The Northern Lands are severely lacking in supplies. With the Void-Crossing Ship and the Black River, we can travel between the north and south, transporting goods.”

“By spending just a few eggs, along with rice and flour, we can easily make ordinary people believe in Princess Lingsha and regard her as the Queen of the Underworld.”

Someone proposed this suggestion, but another frowned and said, “If we only use material benefits to win them over, isn’t that somewhat improper? It could easily lead to impure faith.”

For ordinary people, Incense Offerings on the Divine Path are sacred, but those in Prince Liang’s Manor were well aware of the nature of Divine Path Incense Offerings and understood the dangers of impure faith.

“This is indeed a problem. A devout believer provides a hundred times more faith power than a casual believer… Wait, I have an idea—we can establish orphanages. The Northern Lands are plagued by disasters, and there are many orphans. Compared to adults, children are more malleable. If we nurture them from a young age, we can easily cultivate devout believers, even fanatics.”

It must be said, a princess is indeed a princess. While Yan Yunyu and Si Ye were still thinking about how to use divine duties to attract believers, Ji Lingsha had already resorted to using the power of Prince Liang’s Manor.

(End of Chapter)