"Qi Heng's soul didn't fall into your hands?"
Ye Ling's brow furrowed slightly upon hearing the words of the Black and White Impermanence.
Although Ye Ling had killed Qi Heng, he hadn't caused Qi Heng's soul to dissipate. Instead, he had allowed the soul to descend to the underworld to await judgment from the Judge.
Logically, Ye Ling was a primary focus for the Black and White Impermanence. Anyone killed by Ye Ling would receive special attention from them, with their souls judged according to their earthly sins, whether it be imprisonment in the eighteen layers of hell or reincarnation into another life. In any case, these souls were always given a proper ending.
However, this time, Qi Heng's soul had been intercepted en route. The Black and White Impermanence had failed to collect the soul, which meant...
Qi Heng had narrowly escaped death.
The White Impermanence replied, "That's right. Just as we were about to collect Qi Heng's soul, a gust of yin wind swept through the underworld, and Qi Heng was abducted by a mysterious individual. We didn't even have time to react."
The Black Impermanence said grimly, "Your Majesty, the opponent's strength was able to affect the underworld. Their background must be considerable."
Ye Ling nodded slightly and said, "You two now both possess True Martial realm cultivation. Anyone who can forcibly snatch a soul from your grasp must be at least a Saint. I never expected that the mere Qi family would be entangled in so many matters."
Although Saints were nothing to Ye Ling, they were the peak existences in the entire three realms of Earth. Every Saint possessed an incomparably noble status.
The Qi family was merely one of the four great families in China. Even if they were a cultivation family with a celestial background, their history actually spanned only over two thousand years.
With the Qi family's strength, if they truly had a Saint among them, the Heavenly Emperor of the Heavenly Court would not have banished their ancestor to the mortal realm and imprisoned him in Mount Wuling.
Suddenly, Ye Ling seemed to recall something and immediately accessed the Heavenly Dao permissions to investigate the history of Mount Wuling and the Qi family.
After reviewing the information contained within the Heavenly Dao, a sharp glint flashed in Ye Ling's eyes. "As expected! There is no information about Mount Wuling in the Heavenly Dao at all. This mountain, and even the village at its foot, should not have existed in this world! Someone has been using magic to deceive the Heavenly Dao!"
Upon hearing Ye Ling's words, the Black and White Impermanence's expressions shifted slightly, realizing that the events unfolding here were far from simple. They quickly asked, "Then Your Majesty, what do you plan to do now?"
Ye Ling said, "No matter what the person hiding in the shadows is plotting, now that I have discovered it, I naturally will not turn a blind eye."
Ye Ling was currently the proxy of Earth's Heavenly Dao, and maintaining Earth's balance was Ye Ling's responsibility and obligation.
As for the Qi family, no matter what they were involved in, since the other party used a secret technique to deceive the Heavenly Dao, it meant that their actions were detrimental to Earth.
If Ye Ling had annihilated the Qi family due to personal grievances before, then now Ye Ling was annihilating the Qi family to act on behalf of Heaven.
The Black Impermanence respectfully said to Ye Ling, "Deceiving the Heavenly Dao is a grave offense. Your Majesty's willingness to consider the welfare of all living beings truly earns my admiration. I wonder if there is anything my brother and I can do to assist Your Majesty?"
Ye Ling said, "There's no need for flattery. If something happens to Earth, it won't benefit me either. I would know what to do even if you didn't mention it."
"However, you two brothers... I do have something I need you to do."
The Black and White Impermanence quickly clasped their hands in greeting to Ye Ling and said, "Please instruct us, Your Majesty!"
Ye Ling said, "You two go and borrow the Book of Life and Death from Judge Cui, and copy out the names of all the Qi family members for the past two thousand years, along with their life stories."
"The Qi family might be able to conceal themselves from the Heavenly Dao, but as long as any of them entered the cycle of reincarnation, their traces would definitely be recorded in the Book of Life and Death."
The Black and White Impermanence responded, "We shall do so immediately! Your Majesty, please wait a moment!"
With that, the Black and White Impermanence transformed into two wisps of smoke and vanished from their positions.
Seeing the Black and White Impermanence leave, Tian Ling also asked Ye Ling, "Senior Brother, shall I return to the Dark Shadow Hall and inquire? There are very few forces in the three realms capable of dispatching Saints. I suspect it might be the Dark Shadow Hall causing trouble from behind the scenes."
Hearing the words of this little mole from the Dark Shadow Hall, Ye Ling also shook his head and smiled, "There's no need for that. The Dark Shadow Hall meddles in everything. Even if they have a hand in this matter, the Dark Shadow Hall probably doesn't attach much importance to it. If you go back to inquire, you might end up being imprisoned yourself, which would be more loss than gain."
"But let's not talk about this for now. My dear girl, have you forgotten your identity as the young mistress of the Dark Shadow Hall? Why are you always siding with your Senior Brother?"
Tian Ling chuckled and said, "I just want to help Senior Brother... I don't like the Dark Shadow Hall anyway. Whatever they want to do is their business."
"You..." Ye Ling sighed with a smile, ruffled Tian Ling's head, and then looked at the trembling Qi family disciples kneeling on the ground.
To the Qi family disciples, they couldn't see the Black and White Impermanence, nor could they hear Ye Ling and the others' conversation.
They only saw Ye Ling talking to himself, and the manor was eerily silent.
The vast manor was so quiet that the fall of a needle could be heard. In such an environment, they were suffering immensely!
When Ye Ling's gaze swept over them again, their bodies trembled. They all pressed their foreheads to the ground, bowed to Ye Ling, and said tremblingly, "Please spare us, sir."
Ye Ling glanced at the Qi family disciples and sighed slightly. "This matter has nothing to do with you. Hurry down the mountain."
Upon hearing Ye Ling's words, all the Qi family disciples were overjoyed. They kowtowed to Ye Ling in gratitude, saying, "Thank you, sir, for your mercy! We shall descend the mountain now!"
The Qi family disciples didn't even have time to pack their belongings. They left with the joy of having escaped death, their faces filled with excitement as they descended the mountain.
All of this was witnessed by the local Earth God hiding within Mount Wuling.
At this moment, the local Earth God's eyes were grim. He looked at the image projected by the spirit mirror before him and cursed in a low voice, "Damn it... Ye Ling didn't kill these sacrifices, so the vital energy cannot be recovered. This is a huge loss."
"What loss? Tell me about it?"
Just then, Ye Ling's voice echoed in the local Earth God's ears, causing him to jolt violently. He sprang up and exclaimed in shock, "Your Majesty?"
Ye Ling transmitted his voice, "It seems you still know I am Your Majesty... Should I drag you out? Or will you come out on your own?"
The local Earth God was covered in sweat. He looked around and exclaimed, "Impossible... I'm inside the barrier. How did you find me? This is illogical!"
Ye Ling said, "It seems you need me to give you a hand..."
*Boom!!!*
As Ye Ling's words fell, a deafening roar erupted from within Mount Wuling. The local Earth God felt an immense force from beneath his feet, and then he was propelled upwards, shattering earth and stone as he flew upwards!
Soon, the local Earth God shot out from the marble slab of the manor and rolled in front of Ye Ling.
Ye Ling stepped on the local Earth God's stomach and narrowed his eyes, smiling, "Was it fun peeking?"