Chapter 49: Ink Shadow

The Lord of the Underworld put down the grinding stone in his hand, selected a brush from the pen rack, filled it with ink from the inkstone, and turned to paint on a folding screen. As he painted, he spoke, “Those first-generation Emperor-level cultivators have long secluded themselves; how could they easily reveal themselves? Back when Su Jin suddenly emerged, slaying dozens of Emperor-level foes, he terrified them all! Though Wan Yi inherited Su Jin’s legacy, without absolute certainty, if we let this matter become widely known, he would be the next Su Jin!”

With that, the Lord of the Underworld finished the final stroke. On the folding screen adorned with birds and beasts, a fierce tiger suddenly appeared. Turning around, he placed the brush back and continued, “Those old creatures have countless disciples. Even if they don’t appear in person, if their disciples come charging into our Underworld to cause trouble, have you considered the consequences? There are nine channels connecting the mortal realm to the Underworld. If even one is breached, allowing countless ghost cultivators to return to the living world, could we bear the consequences?”

Hearing this, Yan Wuji fell silent.

Seeing this, the Lord of the Underworld pressed on, “If you give him a hundred ghost cultivators, that brat would dare to tear a hole in the sky! So, the matter of those hundred ghost cultivators ends here.”

At this moment, the Underworld Emperor paused, as if recalling something, then asked, “Have you retrieved those twenty puppets?”

Yan Wuji hurriedly brought out twenty puppets, placing them carefully on the desk before them.

Looking at the palm-sized puppets, the Lord of the Underworld smiled faintly. “I once whimsically forged twenty-five puppets. Four were lost in battle, one was bought by Wan Yi, leaving these twenty. These things were never meant to exist; better to destroy them all.”

With that, he struck the desk with a palm in midair.

A loud “bang” echoed as the twenty puppets shattered into powder.

Startled by the sudden move, Yan Wuji’s pupils contracted sharply. He tried to stop him but was too late. Taking a sharp breath, he wore a troubled expression. “Your Excellency, if you neither assign ghost cultivators to him nor preserve the puppets, how is Wan Yi to proceed?”

The Lord of the Underworld shook his head and sighed, “You still don’t understand? Whether ghost cultivators or puppets, they are tied to the Underworld. Once involved in Wan Yi’s hunt for Emperor-level cultivators, they will bring trouble upon us.”

Yan Wuji urged, “Your Excellency, even if you destroy these twenty puppets, it’s futile; Wan Yi already has one. You might as well—”

Although his words stopped abruptly, the meaning was clear: since Wan Yi already has one, you might as well give him all.

The Lord of the Underworld smiled, “One or two is no matter, but too many is a problem.”

Yan Wuji frowned, helplessly saying, “Your Excellency, I promised Wan Yi I would fully support him. Now you do this, aren’t you making me break my word? How am I to explain this to him?”

The Lord of the Underworld glanced at the wooden box by Yan Wuji’s feet and smiled faintly, “Just tell him the truth. That brat is far more perceptive than you imagine. Isn’t that the best proof?”

Following the gaze, Yan Wuji looked down at the wooden box, which held the severed heads of Emperor-level cultivators Ge Honggen and Yao Cen.

Yan Wuji had intended to bring these heads to Wan Yi as trophies, but it backfired.

Sensing Yan Wuji’s thoughts, the Lord of the Underworld sighed softly, “He’s smarter than you think. Just tell him; he will understand. The reason I act this way is to prevent outsiders from knowing the Underworld’s involvement in hunting Emperor-level cultivators. But we will still provide covert assistance. The resources within the Forgetting River Pavilion are inaccessible to the outside world. Moreover, we will supply intelligence on those Emperor-level cultivators. How he accomplishes the hunt is not our concern.”

Yan Wuji hesitated, seeming to want to speak.

The Lord of the Underworld smiled faintly, “Say what you want.”

“Your Excellency, aren’t you afraid something might happen to him? That he might perish halfway? At his current cultivation, it would be difficult for him to escape trouble!”

The Lord of the Underworld raised a hand, tapping Yan Wuji lightly. “I knew you’d say that.”

Turning to the folding screen behind him, he said, “Come forth!”

At his words, the ink-painted qilin on the screen stirred.

In the blink of an eye, the ink qilin leapt from the painting.

Landing on all fours, it let out a fierce roar before transforming into a young woman dressed in black.

Yan Wuji was stunned, finally regaining his composure to say, “This is the ink qilin of the demon race!”

The Lord of the Underworld nodded and smiled. “Her name is Ink Shadow. Years ago, she was gravely injured and accidentally entered the Underworld, where I saved her. Now, she has reached the late Tribulation stage. I will have her protect Wan Yi from now on. What do you think?”

Yan Wuji was speechless, inwardly cursing, “You’re cunning indeed. Afraid of bringing trouble to the Underworld by letting ghost cultivators assist Wan Yi, yet you find him a demon beast as a bodyguard. Aren’t you just inviting the demon race’s hatred?”

The Lord of the Underworld seemed to guess his thoughts and laughed. “The demon race occupies the Primordial Forest in the mortal world, with many Emperor-level demon beasts. If we can stir conflict between them and the human Emperor-level cultivators to let them weaken each other, wouldn’t that be splendid?”

Upon hearing this, Yan Wuji looked warily at Ink Shadow beside him.

The Lord of the Underworld reassured him, “Don’t worry. Ink Shadow has a bitter enmity with the demon race. Since the day they hunted her, she severed ties with them completely. She is absolutely loyal to the Underworld.”

Even the cunning Yan Wuji felt a chill.

The Lord of the Underworld truly was a formidable figure; anyone under his command became a lethal weapon.

Seeing the matter settled and knowing the Lord of the Underworld would not relent despite his efforts for Wan Yi, Yan Wuji sighed and accepted reality.

Before leaving with Ink Shadow, he suddenly asked the Lord of the Underworld, “Your Excellency, don’t you intend to see Wan Yi?”

The Lord of the Underworld shook his head, “No rush; the time is not right.”

...................

At the Vast Sect,

In recent days, Wan Yi had become the hottest figure at the Alchemy Peak.

Every day, numerous disciples flocked to the cesspool area, seeking his guidance on new alchemical techniques.

Wan Yi welcomed them all, patiently explaining how to balance the five elemental spiritual energies within the alchemy furnace.

In an instant, all the disciples at Alchemy Peak completely changed their impression of the former “Fat Official.”

Several female disciples even circled around Wan Yi, much to the annoyance of Zhou Tong.

One day, while Wan Yi was discussing humanity’s future and the universe’s origin with a few female disciples, Zhou Zihao, a corpulent man, approached.

Before he arrived, his voice came first: “Old Six, hurry, come with me! The boss has emerged from seclusion, and San, Si, and Wu have all returned from their trials. I’ll take you to see them.”

Wan Yi’s face darkened, muttering inwardly, “You’re the real Old Six!”

To be continued...