Killing Dao Fruit
Chapter 444 - 441 Meng Po Soup Is Really Such a Good Thing

Chapter 444: Chapter 441 Meng Po Soup Is Really Such a Good Thing

"Yama, recently there’s been a surge of souls from the Yang World, and the pressure on our transmigration system is enormous, with parts of the San Tu River getting blocked up," one of the Yin Officials said.

The flow of the San Tu River is determined by the deceased’s actions in life, automatically splitting into slow, normal, and fast streams.

The heavier one’s debt, the slower the ferry will travel.

"Yama, the laws of the Mortal World have crumbled and human hearts are not what they once were. In the face of this great calamity, the number of people dying with unresolved debts is countless, and their debts are overwhelming.

Our Calamity Bureau is already severely understaffed; by the time the Master of Heavenly Dao realizes what’s happening, it’ll all be too late!"

"Yama, our Jicai Bureau..."

As soon as Wang Yuan, supporting Huang Wu, stepped down from the carriage pulled by eight ghost steeds, they were immediately swarmed by a group of ghost officers and Yin Officials, mostly from the seventy-two bureaus.

They spoke over each other; every report from the Yin Officials was no small matter.

The great Cosmic Number is fifty, but only forty-nine are used, as one is kept hidden.

This means that while the perfect Dao is "fifty," all things born between Heaven and Earth can only follow the "forty-nine" evolved by the Heavenly Dao for survival.

Humans are called the most spiritually advanced beings because they are the only ones who can use their subjective initiative to break free from this system of absence.

It is the hidden "one."

It can also be seen as the "variable" that provides unpredictability to the entire system!

The Human Dao and the Heavenly Dao complement each other and together they thrive.

If there were no humans or other sentient beings, the world would be a savage wasteland, maybe even the will of Heaven would be barren.

Therefore, if one is bound by mechanical doctrines, unable to change with the times and correct oneself in time, major problems will inevitably occur.

Just like now.

Finally, there came a ghost god of the Heavenly Department with self-awareness.

The Yin Officials and ghost officers, who were in need of flexible solutions, all rushed to him without a second thought.

For a moment.

It was as though the quacking of thousands of ducks was all thrown at once into Wang Yuan’s ears, making his head buzz loudly.

He quickly expanded the Earthly Que Magic Light to hold back the crowd and promised them,

"Everyone, everyone, listen to me.

I, King Yama, assure you all.

Within half a month, I will ensure that at least half of the judges from the seventy-two bureaus are sent down to the Underworld, to share weal and woe with all of you and overcome the hardships together!

Please trust that under our completely new leadership, you will have Yin Morality, the favor of the Heavenly Dao, and you will enjoy great welfare...

By then, I guarantee that all of you will be content at work, eat whatever you want, drink whatever you want..."

With those words, he finally managed to convince these Yin Officials to return to work for the time being.

Only Huang Wu, listening behind Wang Yuan, couldn’t help but purse her lips slightly.

’What did Wang Xiaoyuan say again.

I advise everyone to immediately hire an anti-scam assistant, and given your very dangerous situation, please make sure to activate the super membership!’ she thought.

When the howling Yin winds finally dissipated, two female ghost officers from Naihe Bridge managed to get their chance to approach Wang Yuan and speak with him privately.

"This subordinate, Xiangsi (Forget Sorrow), greets Yama!"

It took a while for Wang Yuan to register the sight of the two ghosts bowing deeply.

These two robust female ghost officers were called "Xiangsi" and "Forget Sorrow."

Xiangsi Grass and Forget Sorrow Grass are among the ingredients used to brew Meng Po Soup.

Although Wang Yuan controlled his facial micro-expressions, his gaze lingered on their bulging biceps, arms strong enough to throttle a black bear, waist as sturdy as a grinding stone...

He couldn’t help but think to himself: Haven’t anyone ever told you two that names like Xiangsi and Forget Sorrow don’t match your imposing presence at all?

Seeing their solemn expressions, Wang Yuan took the matter seriously.

"Yama, the issues they just mentioned are but minor details.

We have been accompanying Meng Po at Naihe Bridge for years, and many souls and Yin Officials, before they forget their past lives and reincarnate,

would entrust us with secrets they believe to be of utmost importance.

Hence we know, the most urgent task for the Yin Department right now should be to swiftly remove... the ’Underground Master’ lurking behind Yin Mountain!"

Wang Yuan and Huang Wu exchanged glances, visibly excited.

They were just getting ready to take action against the "Underground Master" and "Yama Palace" when they received an unexpected assist.

Even though the high divine positions remained vacant, it was apparent that the ghost officers responsible for handling affairs were not ignorant of the events behind Yin Mountain.

It was just that there had been no channel for them to report until now.

No matter how much they knew, they were bound to know more than what he had learned from his brief observation.

Especially since he had a general understanding of the "poisoning plan" carried out by "Yama Palace" but still had no clear picture of the current state of the failed Corpse Dissection ’Underground Master’ or their realm.

He eagerly helped them to their feet and inquired:

"Please tell me in detail!"

Xiangsi and Forget Sorrow didn’t beat around the bush and began to explain earnestly:

"The Daoist Skills of the world don’t come from nowhere. The Corpse Dissection Immortal Technique, which allows one to attain an unblemished Immortality Dao Fruit, is no different.

After thousands of years of changes, Yama, are you aware that originally this Corpse Dissection Immortal Technique also had three levels—upper, middle, and lower?

This ’Underground Master’ had attained the middle level..."

Several people chatted by the Naihe Bridge for a long time, and the expressions of Wang Yuan and Huang Wu kept changing as they listened.

Eventually, the two simply copied all the memories they had inherited from various ghost souls and handed them over to Wang Yuan.

Beyond the intelligence already known, Wang Yuan finally had a general understanding of the current state of the "Underground Master".

How could he have the virtue and ability to steal a portion of the Yin Department’s power and create a false "Yama Palace"?

The "Corpse Dissection Immortal" seeks immortality through death of the flesh, with the Yin God surpassing death and achieving eternal life through corpse dissection transformation.

"The traces of flying birds, the shed shells of cicadas. The discarded scales of ascending snakes, the lost horns of divine dragons. Supreme individuals can change, exalted scholars escape the mundane."

"As for the cicada, which emerges reborn, the turtle shedding its shell, the snake sloughing off its skin, and the deer casting off its antlers, creatures shedding their shells and leaving behind bones and flesh, it can be said to have undergone corpse dissection."

"..."

"Rebirth" is just like the cicada’s larvae, which after shedding its skin, sprouts wings and is reborn anew.

The original "knowledge" of corpse dissection comes from the natural Daoist processes, namely the shedding/transformation behavior in the growth and development of various animals.

All Corpse Dissection Immortals must undergo a process of death to life and life to death.

There are three possible outcomes of corpse dissection:

Those who ascend during the day may become "Corpse Dissection Immortals", which is the only accepted achievement of the "Corpse Dissection Immortal Technique" by cultivators to this day after thousands of years since its creation.

Those who descend at night cannot come back to life after death, becoming fully transformed into ghosts; they are total failures and can only reenter the cycle of reincarnation.

Those who dissipate at dawn or dusk have gained a certain degree of immortality but cannot achieve "Immortal Heaven".

They can only remain trapped in the Underworld, unable to return to the Yang World, becoming like earth-bound spirits—Yin Spirits.

This is the "Underground Master," who sits between immortals and ghosts, the highest ranked among ghosts!

The pair had inherited memories from who knows how many ghost souls, seemingly an encyclopedia of the Underworld, their content far more than just this.

Even if it’s just the tip of the iceberg of the various secrets of the Yin Department, the description of that foggy expanse is not detailed, but without a doubt, it is a treasure of priceless value.

After returning, Wang Yuan only needed to study it in depth, and he would generally know his way around all aspects of the Yin Department.

He couldn’t help but be overjoyed and deeply bowed to the two:

"You two have truly done me a great favor. I do not know what you two require, but as long as it is within King Yanluo’s power, I shall fulfill any promise."

Yet upon seeing the two exchange glances, a hint of relief seemed to lighten their expressions, and they simultaneously cupped their fists toward Wang Yuan:

"Yama, we only have one request.

As subordinates to Meng Po, over the years, we have heard too many stories and witnessed too much of the mortal world’s suffering, joy, and sorrows of parting and reunion.

Through these stories, we have taken on too many emotions belonging to others and carried lives that are not ours.

After much thought, we believe that the role of a Yin Official is really not for us.

We wish to ask Yama for a favor, to release us into the cycle of reincarnation, to completely bid farewell to this existence as ghosts."

"This..."

Wang Yuan was truly surprised by this request.

He never expected these two seemingly hearty individuals to harbor such a sensitive side akin to that of a sentimental girl.

But upon reflection, he could empathize with their sentiments.

With the higher echelons of the Yin Department being filled with spiritual essence of heaven and earth, there is no such thing as taking leave or resigning from this work.

The repetitive nature of their laborious tasks is itself hellish, anti-human, and causes severe damage to both body and mind.

Furthermore, having shouldered the lives of too many ghost souls, it’s not surprising to harbor such thoughts.

Even if being reincarnated meant total obliteration, they seemed willing to pay the price, showing they truly could no longer endure.

Even if someone in the future could inherit Meng Po’s divine position, they would need exceedingly thick skin to bear all the secrets of the Yin Souls.

Seeing their determined gaze, Wang Yuan realized that he probably couldn’t dissuade them and slowly nodded his head in agreement.

Xiangsi and Forget Sorrow were immediately overjoyed:

"Thank you, Yama!"

Then, without delay, they turned and each received a bowl of Meng Po Soup from Meng Po’s hands.

Besides herbal ingredients, this soup contained eight special additives:

One drop of birth tears, two maces of old tears, three parts of bitter tears, four cups of regret tears, a five-inch measure of xiangsi tears, six toasts of sick tears, seven feet of separation tears, and eight flavors of Meng Po’s heartbroken tears.

Just one bowl would wash away their entire ghostly life, and two bowls would wipe clean the entire mind, leaving it as a blank slate.

Glug! Glug!

Without a moment’s hesitation, both drank down the Meng Po Soup in an instant.

The memories and emotions that had tormented them for many years, belonging to others, were all scrubbed clean.

After setting down their bowls, their eyes slightly vacant, they were about to instinctively reach for another bowl.

But suddenly, they discovered King Yanluo in his regal attire, smilingly blocking their way.

He handed them a freshly inked recruitment notice.

"You two, we’re short-staffed in the Yin Department, and we’re currently looking to expand our team.

Given your deep virtue, apart from drinking Meng Po Soup and undergoing reincarnation, you have another choice, which is to become a Yin Official assisting Meng Po.

Would you two be interested in taking on this role?

First come, first served."

Upon hearing this, their eyes immediately brightened:

"Becoming a ghost god without reincarnating? Us? Can such good fortune really exist in this world?!"