Chapter 1496: Underworld Agent
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Chapter 1494: Underworld Agent
Another coarse, gravelly voice cursed darkly: “Idiot! Mortal eyes and flesh, how could they see through yin and yang to perceive our true forms? Unless his fate is already exhausted, and he’s about to die.”
“But…” the previously tall and slender ‘agent’ pointed at Mo Hua, “Big brother, look, isn’t this kid’s eyes watching us right now?”
The leader, called big brother, had a human-like body but a head resembling an ox, though not fully evolved, with two ox eyes but only one ox horn. He was tall and imposing, his eyes filled with malice.
He turned his head and looked at Mo Hua, indeed seeing Mo Hua’s clear eyes calmly watching them, causing his pupils to widen in surprise.
At that moment, Mo Hua actually spoke up and asked, “Where are you ghosts from? Are you local to Kun Province?”
As soon as these words were spoken, the four agents were both shocked and furious.
“He really can see us!”
“Such an impudent and arrogant mortal brat!”
“Only Underworld Agents have ever questioned mortals; no one has ever dared to speak up and question an Underworld Agent. He doesn’t know what death is.”
“Big brother…” the skinniest agent among the four turned to the ox-headed Underworld Agent and asked, “How about…”
He gave a vicious look.
The ox-headed Underworld Agent’s deformed eyes shifted as he pondered: “That wild ghost can’t be found. If we go back without completing our task, we’ll surely be punished. We need to find a Scapegoat Ghost… This kid’s eyes can see us Underworld Agents, so his lifespan is probably almost up, nearing his death, which is why he’s opened his Yin-Yang Eye… He’s perfect to be this Scapegoat Ghost.”
The skinny Underworld Agent drooled, “This kid looks pretty plump. Before handing him over, let’s cut off a few pieces of meat for ourselves to feast on. Then we can use some harsh torture to damage his Divine Soul, so he doesn’t spout nonsense in front of Judge.”
The ox-headed Underworld Agent scolded, “Stop the nonsense, hurry up and capture him before this Underworld Path disappears.”
The skinny Underworld Agent said “yes” and, along with the other agents, turned their gaze toward Mo Hua, each with eyes filled with sinister Yin Qi and chilling cold.
A muddy underworld path, seemingly stained with the Waters of the Nine Nether Depths, spread out before Mo Hua.
The skinny Underworld Agent’s face, pieced together from various animals, was already close to Mo Hua.
The Yellow Springs paved the way, and the Underworld Agent drew near.
For a moment, Mo Hua’s physical body seemed to be suppressed by some kind of Laws, unable to move.
This was the first time Mo Hua had ever felt suppressed by a ghost, and he found it quite novel.
At the same time, the skinny Underworld Agent reached out a bony, Yin-water-stained arm that pierced straight through Mo Hua’s chest, as if trying to extract something from within.
But it tugged and tugged, yet couldn’t pull anything out.
Mo Hua only felt a slight stir in his mind, and then nothing else happened.
The skinny Underworld Agent’s expression changed slightly, sensing something was wrong.
The other agents cursed, “Hurry up! The Underworld Bureau officials keep count. Don’t miss the timing.”
The skinny Underworld Agent tugged again but still couldn’t pull anything out. He glanced at Mo Hua, feeling something strange but unable to articulate it.
How could a dignified Underworld Agent like him fail to capture a mere mortal cultivator’s soul?
Just then, the ox-headed Underworld Agent, seeing the skinny one dawdling and struggling so much to capture a soul, grew annoyed. He cursed inwardly, “Useless,” strode forward, pushed the skinny Underworld Agent aside, and said: “I’ll do it.”
The ox-headed Underworld Agent extended his thick, strong arm and reached toward Mo Hua’s heart.
It was highly cultivated, with heavy Yin Qi, and its strength was much greater than that of the skinny Underworld Agent. Yet, even with a forceful tug, it couldn’t pull anything out. Its heart skipped a beat as it glanced at Mo Hua, thinking to itself:
“Strange, what’s going on with this kid? Can’t his Divine Soul be extracted?”
But with three underlings watching, if it, as the boss, couldn’t extract it either, wouldn’t that be a loss of face?
The ox-headed Underworld Agent hardened its heart and retrieved an iron lock from its chest. The lock was pitch-black, gloomy, and inscribed with an Underworld Imperial Decree Document, imbued with Divine Power. At its end was an iron hook, sharp and deadly.
The other Underworld Agents were shocked at the sight: “Boss, why use a sledgehammer to crack a nut? Why bring out the Soul-Hooking Chain?”
This Soul-Hooking Chain was used to capture and kill ferocious vengeful ghosts. It was a treasure of the Underworld, bestowed only by the Underworld Bureau’s officials upon senior ghost agents.
The ox-headed Underworld Agent simply said, “Finish this quickly, no delays.” Then, it hooked the Soul-Hooking Chain toward Mo Hua’s chest, truly locking onto Mo Hua’s Divine Soul.
Mo Hua sensed his Divine Soul being hooked and his expression changed slightly.
Seeing this, the ox-headed Underworld Agent rasped at Mo Hua: “Kid, life and death are fated, blame no one else. Blame only your sharp eyes for seeing what shouldn’t be seen, for becoming an unlucky ghost.”
The ox-headed Underworld Agent grinned viciously and pulled with all its might, channeling immense force into the Soul-Hooking Chain, truly shaking Mo Hua’s Divine Soul.
Mo Hua’s Divine Soul was also gradually pulled out of his body along with the chain.
The ox-headed Underworld Agent felt a flicker of joy and pulled even harder, wanting to seize the moment and yank Mo Hua’s Divine Soul out of his body in one go.
But as it pulled, it suddenly sensed something wrong with the feel in its hand. Looking down, its expression abruptly changed.
The Underworld Magical Treasure, the Soul-Hooking Chain, had cracked.
And not just an ordinary crack—its edges were half-crumbled, half-split, more like it had been corroded and decayed by some force.
A chill ran through the ox-headed Underworld Agent’s heart. It looked up and saw a slender, pale hand reaching for its ox horn.
The youth being hooked seemed to be trying to secretly break off its only ox horn.
The ox-headed Underworld Agent was both shocked and furious.
How could a mortal whose soul was being hooked by an Underworld Agent still move?
And how dare this mortal wretch covet its ox horn?
This horn had grown after centuries of diligent service as a ghost agent, accumulating considerable Underworld Merit.
With one more horn, it could become a commander among Underworld Agents, a true “Ox-Head” Underworld official.
If it were broken off by him, what then?
Although, in theory, a mortal’s flesh couldn’t break its ox horn, the ox-headed Underworld Agent didn’t dare take any chances. It immediately tilted its head back and retreated.
With this retreat, Mo Hua’s hand grabbed empty air.
Just as the ox-headed Underworld Agent breathed a sigh of relief, it looked up and saw Mo Hua’s other hand reaching for its Soul-Hooking Chain.
It seemed he coveted the iron lock and wanted to snatch it away too.
The ox-headed Underworld Agent was terrified. This Soul-Hooking Chain was bestowed by the Underworld Bureau’s official, more precious than its own life. How could it risk losing it?
It immediately recited a Yin Incantation, withdrew the iron lock, transformed the treasure into dense Yin Qi, and reclaimed it into itself.
Mo Hua grabbed empty air again—neither breaking the ox horn nor snatching the iron lock. His expression clearly showed displeasure.
But the ox-headed Underworld Agent was furious yet terrified, realizing something was wrong.
This kid could see the Realm of Death, ignore the Laws of the Underworld Bureau, grab the Soul-Hooking Chain bare-handed—what kind of “unlucky ghost” nearing the end of his lifespan was he?
The real unlucky ones were probably these few Underworld Agents themselves!
They must have gone out without checking the almanac and bumped into something truly sinister!
“Hurry, let’s go!” the ox-headed Underworld Agent shouted sharply.
The other Underworld Agents were still somewhat confused, but upon hearing this sharp rebuke, they instantly realized they had encountered something evil. Immediately, one after another, they chanted incantations, transforming into bone-chilling gusts of yin wind, preparing to retreat along the Underworld Path.
Mo Hua’s gaze turned cold. His room was not a place one could come and go as they pleased.
Seeing the Underworld Agents trying to flee without capturing any souls, Mo Hua immediately reached out to grab the nearest ox-headed Underworld Agent.
The ox-headed Underworld Agent’s distorted face changed expression.
Mo Hua was fast, his movements swift, his hand like a gust of wind. In an instant, he grabbed the Underworld Agent’s shoulder.
But in the blink of an eye, his hand passed right through the Underworld Agent’s shoulder, as if they existed in two different planes.
His physical body could not touch the existence of the Underworld Agent.
Having narrowly escaped death, the ox-headed Underworld Agent immediately stepped onto that Underworld Path, stained with nine netherworlds water and filled with bone-chilling cold.
Mo Hua frowned slightly, somewhat curious. He then rolled out of bed, wanting to step onto that Underworld Path and walk along it.
But as soon as his foot touched the Underworld Path, it stepped into empty air. He was a living being of flesh and blood and could not tread upon the path of the underworld.
In the blink of an eye, the yin wind reversed, the muddy water dried up, and the Underworld Path had already dissipated.
The four strange Underworld Agents also vanished from Mo Hua’s sight.
The room was empty, as if nothing had happened at all.
Mo Hua touched his chest. The sensation of his Divine Soul being tugged earlier was still there, but the Soul-Hooking Chain was gone.
“If only I had snatched that chain first.”
He shouldn’t have tried to break the ox-head’s horn first.
Although that horn seemed to contain quite a bit of yin virtue from the Divine Dao.
Mo Hua got out of bed, walked around, even opened the window to look, but still found no trace of anything. He couldn’t help but frown.
“Did they really… just disappear like that?”
It seemed those Underworld Agents were not hindered by earthly terrain or buildings and could freely travel between underworld and living world.
Wherever the Underworld Path extended, they could go there.
Ordinary Formations could not stop them either.
Although Mo Hua’s own Power of the Divine Dao was strong, as long as he did not enter a dream or step into the Divine Sense World—any virtual realm—separated by a layer of flesh and blood, he seemed to have little means to deal with these Underworld Agents.
After all, the physical body could not touch underworld entities.
He could not touch the Underworld Agents, nor could he tread upon the Underworld Path.
Mo Hua frowned, returned to bed, sat cross-legged, propped his chin, and couldn’t help but ponder:
“What exactly are these four Underworld Agents?”
“Could they be… ghosts with ‘official positions’ that conform to underworld Laws and can wield certain Law-based powers?”
Mo Hua thought it over and felt this explanation was relatively more reasonable.
Underworld Agents—without “official positions,” how could they be called “Agents”?
But where did these official positions come from? Who granted these ghosts their positions?
Does Kun Province also have a vast divine dao system?
And this system seems to be vastly different from the Divine Dao of the Great Wilderness?
Underworld Agents can open Yin-Yang Paths, freely travel between the two realms, use Soul-Hooking Chains to capture souls, and possess some inexplicable underworld Law-based powers.
This divine dao system is already quite mature.
In comparison, the Barbarian Gods of the Great Wilderness were like savages, knowing only of sacrificial offerings, doing nothing but eating.
“But…” Mo Hua thought again, “why would Underworld Agents appear here?”
“Does their appearance mean someone nearby has died? Are they here to capture the souls of the deceased?”
“Moreover, this kind of death might be rather unusual. If it were a natural death, the Underworld Agents likely wouldn’t need to make a special trip. Their presence usually indicates an unjust death.”
“It seems these Underworld Agents also mentioned something… about getting separated on the Underworld Path, losing souls, and looking for a Scapegoat Ghost.”
“They couldn’t capture the wild ghosts they wanted, and when they happened to run into me, they tried to seize me to use as a Scapegoat Ghost to close the case?”
“Is that even allowed? Isn’t this… dereliction of duty and bending the law?”
“If they can’t catch the real culprit, they just find a Scapegoat Ghost… It seems the Divine Dao in Kun Province isn’t as pure and upright as it should be. It’s more or less corrupted.”
Mo Hua sighed softly.
It was a pity he knew so little about the secrets of the underworld.
He had also studied very few methods of the Ghost Dao. Despite his profound understanding of the Divine Dao, he couldn’t put it to use.
Otherwise, if he knew even a bit of Ghost Dao techniques, those Underworld Bureau agents from earlier wouldn’t have escaped so easily.
And what was even more important…
Mo Hua’s pupils narrowed slightly.
“To save Master, I must reverse yin and yang, overturn life and death.”
“Could the Divine Dao of Kun Province’s underworld be connected to Master’s life and death?”
“When Underworld Agents capture souls, could it be that some of them have tried to seize Master’s Divine Soul?”
“What exactly is the world of the underworld like…”
The more Mo Hua thought about it, the more puzzled he became, and he couldn’t help but think to himself: “Next time I get the chance, I’ll capture an Underworld Agent to play with.”
…
The underworld.
A place beneath the earth, invisible to the eyes of ordinary cultivators.
Four Underworld Agents walked upon the Nether Soil, their expressions dark.
After walking for a while, the thin Underworld Agent said: “Big brother, are we just going back like this? We haven’t completed our task, and we won’t be able to explain ourselves. The Underworld Bureau official will punish us.”
The ox-headed Underworld Agent’s face was extremely grim. “First, we’ll beg the official for a few days’ grace. We’ll figure something out later.”
“If it really comes to it, we can just go capture another Scapegoat Ghost?” one Underworld Agent suggested.
“As long as we have a Scapegoat Ghost to close the case, it’ll be fine.”
“Right… we just need something to report,” the other two Underworld Agents nodded. “But… where can we find a Scapegoat Ghost at this point?”
Hearing this, the thin Underworld Agent’s mind began to stir. He said: “Big brother, while we still have a little time, why don’t we turn back and ambush that kid? We can catch him off guard and seize his Divine Soul.”
“When brothers unite, their strength can cut through metal. If we couldn’t capture him in one go, we can just try a few more times.”
“Only humans should fear ghost agents. Since when do ghost agents fear humans?”
“It’s not like we haven’t done this before. We’ve dealt with plenty of tough nuts this way.”
“Exactly,” another Underworld Agent said coldly. “We brothers, favored by the Underworld Bureau official, became ghost agents after death, roaming between yin and yang, capturing lonely souls and wild ghosts, ignoring mortal rules. When have we ever suffered such humiliation? How can we let some brat who’s cultivated who knows how many years insult us like this?”
The ox-headed Underworld Agent, still smarting from his earlier defeat, was filled with a mix of anger and shame. Fearing punishment from the Underworld Bureau official for failing his task, he found himself tempted by the idea of capturing Mo Hua for revenge.
But the broken Soul-Hooking Chain still lay in his embrace.
That power capable of corroding Yin Qi made its heart tremble.
Recalling the appearance of that youth, the Ox-headed Underworld Agent felt a chill rising within, calming down a bit as it shook its head and said: “Forget it.”
The other Underworld Agents still harbored some resentment.
The Ox-headed Underworld Agent then spoke coldly: “You don’t understand. That kid is someone we can’t afford to provoke.”
The thin Underworld Agent frowned and couldn’t help but ask: “Brother, in all my years as a ghost agent, I’ve never encountered such a figure. Do you know what this kid’s background is?”
The Ox-headed Underworld Agent furrowed its brow deeply, finally shaking its head: “I can’t see through his origins either… I only sense that he is neither fully human, nor fully ghost, nor fully divine. Those eyes of his can traverse the boundaries of yin and yang, seeing life and death… He must have a significant background.”
Hearing this, the other Underworld Agents also wore solemn expressions.
The Ox-headed Underworld Agent grew increasingly apprehensive the more it thought about it, sighing involuntarily: “From now on, all of you must act with caution.”
“Such beings—neither human, nor ghost, nor divine, unbound by the laws of yin and yang, indescribable—can now appear and walk the world. It shows that the times have truly changed.”
“From the mortal realm to the underworld, Kun Province is likely to face great storms. The living may die, and the dead may not stay dead.”