Chapter 294: Black and White Impermanence

“Who cares, arrest them all!” The white figure barked impatiently. Who had time for questions? Drag them back to the Underworld first, ask later.

He was pissed. He realized that nearly everyone on this planet was a fugitive.

Billions of them!

Bold beyond belief—they clearly didn’t take the Underworld seriously!

He locked eyes on Luo Zhu.

She was the only one in the entire school still standing, staring at the intruders. Everyone else was huddled in corners, trembling in fear.

Truth be told, Luo Zhu was scared too. But her willpower far exceeded the rest. After fighting alongside her brother for six months, she knew hiding wouldn’t help. Only by fighting could one carve out a chance at survival.

“Still resisting?”

The white figure was furious. Usually, fugitives either fled or cowered when they saw them. He had never met someone so brazen!

“Get over here!” He hurled a chain like lightning, aiming to bind Luo Zhu.

The gap in power was too great. Luo Zhu wanted to resist, but she didn’t even have time to react to the incoming chain!

“Like lightning” wasn’t just a metaphor—the chain moved at near light-speed!

In Luo Zhu’s perception, time slowed to an eternal crawl. She saw the chain, then a large hand appear in front of her, grabbing it.

A familiar voice said, “Don’t be afraid.”

“Mr. Jiang?!” Luo Zhu’s face lit up with joy. She hadn’t expected Jiang Li to appear at the critical moment.

“Who are you?!” the white figure bellowed.

“I should be the one asking you that,” Jiang Li replied calmly, turning around. When he saw their attire, he remembered the legends that echoed across the myriad realms.

“Black and White Impermanence?”

The two figures—no, two ghostly spirits—clearly dressed as emissaries of the Underworld.

Now it all made sense. No wonder Luo Zhu and the rest of the school reacted the way they did.

Who wouldn’t fear the Soul-Harvesting Envoys? It was instinct.

“You know our names and still dare shield fugitives? That’s an extra charge!” White Impermanence snarled. He yanked on the chain, but it wouldn’t budge—Jiang Li still held it tightly.

“What crime did they commit?” Jiang Li suspected there might be a misunderstanding.

White Impermanence sneered. “Don’t pretend. They’ve escaped the cycle of reincarnation and returned to the mortal world. That’s a top-tier offense—punishable by the Avici Hell!”

Jiang Li understood now. Souls don’t just appear or vanish without reason. Luo Ying had turned back time by ten years and resurrected the dead.

Before their revival, those souls naturally resided in the Underworld.

This was essentially stealing souls from the Underworld!

But who was to blame—Luo Ying, or the Fragment of the Stairway to Immortality?

Black and White Impermanence couldn’t read Jiang Li’s mind. They struck in unison, aiming to capture this meddler and drag all these billions back to the Underworld.

To them, numbers were meaningless. They were masters of life and death, of reincarnation. No soul could escape their grasp!

“Die!” White Impermanence formed a hand seal—Death-Reversing Seal. Anyone hit would immediately shift from life to death.

And the dead were no match for them!

“Get down!” Jiang Li yanked downward, pulling White Impermanence to the ground.

Before the seal was complete, Jiang Li kicked him square in the face.

Furious, White Impermanence tried to curse him out—only to get bound up in chains. Jiang Li gave a powerful swing, flinging him like a spinning top.

Black Impermanence struck with his Soul-Striking Staff, aiming for Jiang Li’s head to knock out his soul. Jiang Li leaned back, then snapped forward—headbutting the staff.

But his soul was tightly bound to his body, so instead of Jiang Li, Black Impermanence was the one sent flying along with his staff.

Black Impermanence steadied himself, ready to counterattack—but Jiang Li dashed forward, seized the Soul-Striking Staff, broke it in two, whacked him on the forehead and back of the head, then smashed both pieces onto the crown of his skull.

Black Impermanence was knocked senseless, unable to tell north from south.

“Tough customer!” After just two exchanges, Black and White Impermanence realized this man was terrifyingly strong.

But it didn’t make sense. He was clearly infused with spiritual energy, clearly not an immortal—so how was he their match?

How could a mere Tribulation Stage cultivator be this powerful? They were proper ghost immortals with real status in the Underworld!

Both were secretly regretting this mission. If they’d known, they’d never have taken it—nothing but trouble.

The Underworld bureaucracy was bloated, slow, and inefficient. Reincarnation processing lagged so badly that ghosts often waited decades.

During a recent audit of the backlog, they discovered billions of souls had vanished—without a trace. No one noticed how they disappeared.

A total nightmare.

Nobody wanted to touch this case. Everyone kept passing the buck until it landed on Black and White Impermanence.

As soon as they investigated, they traced the missing souls to a certain planet in a certain world. So they used their mastery over life and death to travel here.

They hadn’t expected to find such a powerhouse.

“Mortal, your lifespan is determined by the heavens. We don’t wish to alter it. If you leave now, we won’t pursue this further!”

“Ridiculous. If you could judge my death, then go ahead and try!” Jiang Li was angry now. These two attacked him the moment they arrived, never bothering to understand the situation.

Now that they were losing, they wanted to talk it out? Did they think he was that easygoing?

“You won’t heed kind words? Then don’t blame us for being ruthless!”

They pulled out the Judge’s Brush and the Book of Life and Death from the Underworld.

The Book of Life and Death calculated natural lifespans and karmic merit. The Judge’s Brush could modify its contents.

They aimed to erase Jiang Li’s lifespan—declare him dead!

But these weren’t the originals—just replicas.

Black Impermanence held the Book toward Jiang Li. The pages lit up in a blinding brilliance. Neither of them could keep their eyes open.

“How can anyone have this much karmic merit?!” Black Impermanence cried. He’d been dead for tens of thousands of years and had never seen anything like this.

Had this guy saved the world? More than once?!

People like this—no way their lifespans could be altered by anyone!

Trying to do so would backfire, causing them to be utterly destroyed—soul and spirit alike!

“And his lifespan… It’s not right. Why is it so long? No way that’s normal for the Tribulation Stage! What realm is he actually in?!”

Jiang Li’s lifespan alone terrified Black Impermanence—even Celestial Immortals didn’t live this long.

Now curious, Jiang Li flew into the air and snatched the Book of Life and Death.

But once in his hands, the book turned into a blank tome—no words, no records.

“What’s going on?”

“Anyone who doesn’t comprehend the Dao of Reincarnation can’t read the contents,” White Impermanence explained. This guy had such immense karmic merit—he must be a benevolent soul. No need for a life-and-death struggle.

They were about to say more when a message came from the Underworld.

“What? Seriously?”

“Brother Daoist, something urgent’s come up in the Underworld. We must return immediately. Until fate brings us together again!”

They clasped their fists, gave a rushed farewell, and vanished.

“Hey, you forgot your book,” Jiang Li said, still holding the Book of Life and Death.

But the two had already activated the Dao of Life and Death and disappeared.