Killing Dao Fruit
Chapter 447 - 444 - Unexpected Gains

Chapter 447: 444 Chapter Unexpected Gains

Fengdu City, Yama Palace.

In the extremely spacious study, the floor was paved with ink jade that was so polished it could reflect one’s appearance, and beside him, yinchen wood beams, which required two people to embrace, supported the grand hall high above.

Many of the decorations in the palace were various "Earth Essence Treasures," crazily sought after by countless magicians in the Mortal World, yet unattainable.

Ghost oil, boiled from their own "Heart Punishment Hell," lit hundreds of bright lamps, blazing white and steady, lighting up the grand hall as bright as day.

A faint fragrance invigorated the mind and helped nurture the growth of Yin Gods.

What seemed luxurious was merely the inevitable daily routine for a long time to come.

By Wang Yuan’s side, Huang Wu wore a light blue gauze dress, her jade hand holding a writing brush, slightly furrowing her delicate brows over the documents on the desk.

She appeared somewhat like a delicate beauty of the willows, but the exquisitely crafted jade facial mask could not hide the color of fatigue.

At several other desks, avatars of Yama and Taibai, Lady Peach Fairy, Xing’er, and Nie Hongying were all in a similar state.

Inside and outside the grand hall, a group of Wang Yuan’s subordinates, all direct lineage Black Law Judges who had once served as county magistrates, continuously moved in and out, handling documents and heading to various places.

Even the main seat above, where Wang Yuan, whose Yin God had made considerable progress after breaking through the "Divine Transformation," had a slightly numb expression on his face.

Up until today.

It had been seven or eight days since they arrived in the Underworld, and the time had swiftly moved to the end of September.

During this period, they had gone nowhere.

They had been constantly buried in handling documents and taking over the Fifth Hall’s affairs from the original Yin Officials, in addition to addressing long-standing issues.

And it was not just the Fifth Hall, the Yama Hall.

The affairs of the other nine halls, any issues that proxy judges were unauthorized to solve, were also dumped onto the head of this "King Yama."

Yama Hall and the structure of the mortal county government weren’t much different, and since there was no need to manage political or civilian affairs, the structure was even simpler than that of the county government.

One judge assisted by a group of Yin Soldiers rounded up people, and three battalions of Yin Soldiers and Ghost Generals suppressed the evil ghosts in hell.

For many years, those judges assisting the ten Netherworld Monarchs were almost equivalent to acting as Netherworld Monarchs.

But their jurisdiction was only within their respective halls, lacking the authority of the Netherworld Monarchs, completely powerless beyond their scope, unable to handle anything slightly beyond the rules.

Because the ten halls were branches of the same tree, all ten Yamas were originally split from the authority of "King Yanluo."

Their affairs were something Wang Yuan was indeed capable and willing to involve himself in.

All this was in preparation to eventually consolidate the authority of the ten halls and properly reclaim the throne of "Yama Emperor."

After seven or eight relentless days and nights, he finally picked up the last memorial on the desk.

It was the issue first reported by a ghost officer on their very first day in the Underworld— "too many ghost souls, insufficient ferry transfers, and parts of the San Tu River being blocked by them."

Looking at the ghost officer across from him, whom he had once met, Wang Yuan thought briefly before writing down a decree.

"The Mortal World is currently plagued by wars, from today and for the next several years, there will be an excess influx of ghost souls into the Yin Department daily.

Since our manpower is too short.

Let’s simply... outsource the entire ferry business."

The ghost officer, who had never heard of this term before, looked up in astonishment, his face full of confusion:

"What is... outsourcing?"

For thousands of years, the will of the Heavenly Dao suppressed the Yin Officials, who adhered strictly to rules in everything they did, with no room for subjective initiative.

Faced with the unconventional thinking of "King Yanluo," he was momentarily unable to keep up.

Seeing that the ghost officer hadn’t grasped his intention, Wang Yuan simply prompted him again:

"Since this is a periodic increase in business and not a normal state for the Yin Department, direct expansion isn’t quite cost-effective.

Why not bring in a professional third party?

Just so happens, I’ve heard of a ’Cao Gang’ on the San Tu River, plentiful in manpower and skilled in the business, especially adept at handling all sorts of evil ghosts.

Their leader, in particular, is highly moral, upright in character, and full of integrity... an old ferryman.

I’ll set up a project for you; you can share resources, complement each other’s advantages, unite in purpose and effort, and expand and strengthen this project to benefit the local populace."

Finally, the ghost officer had an epiphany and joyfully took the decree:

"Brilliant! King Yan is truly wise. I understand now and will get on it!

And I think, once we smoothly get through the difficulties, it’s not impossible to discuss assigning them a few official positions."

Wang Yuan nodded slowly as he watched his hurried departure:

"Not bad, learning by analogy, a teachable child indeed."

As the old man’s business grew larger, so did the scale of the Cao Gang under him.

But finding a Yin Official with an official post was not easy.

This unconventional old man had secretly promoted quite a few virtuous ghosts in harmony with the "San Tu Yin Official Skill," and taught them the "San Tu Yin Official Skill."

Now, even if Old Man Wang didn’t recite a short essay "My King Yanluo" in front of people, his presence was still commanding attention.

As they say: The end of the Underworld is also a post.

Since the ghost officer was so sensible, the Cao Gang would certainly be united in heart and spirit, ready to do a good job on this task.

Old Master Wang’s noble demeanor of promoting the talented without favoritism was truly touching.

After all, the fertile water shouldn’t flow into others’ fields; it doesn’t matter who earns this "Yin Morality".

Of course, the Daoist Skills of the "Yin Mountain Taoism" are a unity of Magic; the process of executing tasks as a "San Tu Yin Official" is also the process of practicing.

The ultimate goal always falls back to Wang Yuan’s own cultivation.

To cultivate the "Earth Que Golden Book" is to create an "Earth Que" itself, commanding countless Yin Officials and Ghost Gods, offering one’s Primordial Spirit as a divine and holy Immortal.

To sit in Earth Que, and be worshipped as a deity!

In the system, the more qualified Yin Soldiers, Yin Officials, and Ghost Generals there are, and the stronger they are, the better.

At this time, Wang Yuan’s Military Judge, who is also one of the four great judges of the seventy-two Divisions in the "Punishment Department", Nie Renxiong,

was touring the lands of Yu State from one county town to another.

He raided various City God Temples, incorporating the Yin Officials there into his collective of "Black Law Judges".

This was both an expansion of power and preparation for Wang Yuan’s next step toward promotion to "Green Seal Sage".

Wang Yuan had already calculated, based on his current size, which far exceeded others,

that following the normal pace of the "Corpse Dissection Immortal Technique", completing the promotion ceremony to become a Green Seal would approximately require full staff of three camps of Daoist Soldiers, plus at least eight hundred Direct Lineage "Yin Officials".

Given the current pace, with "City God Temple" and "Blowing Horns and Connecting Camps" supplemented with sufficient "Ghost Medicine", the target could be reached by the end of this year.

However, if employing the "Soul and Body Unification" method, this number would need to be doubled.

Already somewhat indecisive, Wang Yuan felt even more troubled due to these stringent prerequisites.

"I have no interest in making money at all right now, I am only interested in dealing with ghosts, and the more the better!"

"On what basis can we amass so many Yin Soldiers and Yin Officials in a short time without weakening the strength of the Yin Department?"

At this moment, a clashing sound like metal on metal suddenly reached his ears:

"Yama, the backlog of cases in the ten courts has finally concluded.

The number of cases to be reported thereafter should return to normal.

The last big matter is fulfilling the promise you made to the seventy-two Divisions,"

Wang Yuan looked up.

Standing in front of him was an official in a bright red robe, embodying both scholarly elegance and the imposing dynamism of a military general, who was bowing to him with clasped hands.

Seeing this assisting judge from Yama Palace, his mood instantly improved.

He quickly stood and helped him up.

"General Qi, there’s no need for such formality.

My family has been part of the White Tiger Elite Soldiers for generations—my grandfather and great-grandfather both served under your command.

I grew up listening to stories about you from my grandfather.

General Qi, you are my elder; we are all family here. Just call me by my style name, ’Qianshan’."

Apart from being promoted to "Divine Transformation," the biggest gain from this journey was indeed this assisting judge, General Qi Yuanjing.

He was originally one of the renowned Martial Saints of the Great Yan Dynasty... a fifth-degree Martial Saint!

Also from the White Tiger Elite Soldiers, a lifetime at war, defending the nation, he returned to the Underworld only over thirty years ago.

Throughout various dynasties, there were not too few Martial Saints, and many military texts have remained.

But among the top ten Military Texts recognized during the Great Yan Dynasty were two authored by General Qi—the "Tiger Seal Scripture" and "Training Soldiers Chronicles Fourteen Volumes"!

Although he also took advantage of being a Martial Saint of this dynasty,

through the ages, General Qi Yuanjing was undoubtedly one of the formidable figures among all Martial Saints.

During his pinnacle period in life, he was truly the unparalleled number one.

Even compared to Xie Tianke of today, there’s an immediate and obvious difference.

That era was also the most glorious time for "Thirty-six Camps∙White Tiger Elite Soldiers".

Although after death he reconstructed his Ghost Body and re-studied Military Skill, currently, he is but a peak fourth-degree Military Leader.

But the Innate Divine Ability he awakened, the "Soul Capturing and Spiritual Communication", was the same as Wang Yuan, his biggest reliance before Enlightenment;

his command of Yin Soldiers retained immense power, no less than his peer during his lifetime.

Even if he couldn’t lead outside the Underworld, he could still serve as a trusted aide within.

When Wang Yuan first learned of his identity, he directly exclaimed, "General Qi is indeed my Zi Fang!"

He also realized that this Underworld truly was a treasure trove.

Although these historical figures must re-enter Reincarnation as their Ghost Life expires,

who knows, in some corner, there might quietly be squatting a big shot famous in the Mortal World?

He grabbed Qi Yuanjing’s arm and started walking out.

"General Qi’s arrival is timely.

Today is the end of September, the night of the new moon—accompany me to the Nine Abyss, to resolve a minor trouble."