Judge of Souls - Chapter 48

The Judge turned his head, scanning everyone behind him to confirm there were no abnormalities, then floated up toward the mountain.

The group of young Taoist priests remained frozen in place, unable to process what they had just witnessed.

After a long moment, one of them asked hesitantly, “Is there… a chosen one among us?”

Even their senior brothers couldn’t summon Underworld  soldiers, let alone a Judge.

One Taoist priest puffed out his chest and said, “I just felt a boulder pressing on my shoulders…”

Another immediately responded, “I felt Mount Tai pressing on my shoulders!”

“It doesn’t matter what you felt,” said someone more sensible. “Have you ever seen an underworld official being summoned and then going off to work without us even explaining anything?”

Everyone fell silent.

Up on the mountain, countless black chains extended from the ground, digging out all the little ghosts that had burrowed beneath the surface to hide, binding them together and suspending them in mid-air.

The scene resembled a chaotic dance of demons, profoundly intimidating.

“Judge?” Chu Xuanliang looked down the mountain and sighed in relief. “He must have come for the little Mountain God.”

The little Mountain God had been personally placed there under King Yama’s supervision. Now seeing it in such a ghostly state would surely infuriate him.

The two people at the mountain peak were also terrified. Even though they had committed many crimes, they never expected to see a Judge before their death. They immediately forgot about the little Mountain God and the evil ghosts, turning to flee.

The Taoist masters seized the opportunity, drawing their weapons to confront them.

Taoist Master Xuanyi, vigorous despite his age, stepped with the Seven Stars Formation under his feet, joining his fellow Taoists to intercept the fleeing men.

The two men couldn’t fight against so many opponents, and their skills weren’t particularly strong to begin with. After a few exchanges, they were subdued. The little ghosts they had captured were restrained by the Judge and could no longer be commanded; the chains binding them even began to cause a backlash effect. With the slightest movement, the two men felt pain in their internal organs and spat out mouthfuls of blood.

One by one, the little ghosts were bound together by the Judge, and the pain the two men experienced increased exponentially.

Chu Xuanliang and the others, seeing this, stopped their attack and stood aside watching as the two suffered from the magic backlash. Blood continued to pour out; they could only produce bubbles in their throats without uttering a word, let alone make any movements.

Thunder rumbled in the sky, lightning flashed faintly, as if a heavenly tribulation was about to break through.

The Judge was, after all, an Underworld  divine official with strong yin energy. His open appearance in the mortal realm violated the natural order.

The two men gritted their teeth, pale-faced but still resisting desperately.

Just a little longer, and the Judge would have to return!

The Judge would not let them have their way. With a wave of his sleeve, he gathered all the little ghosts together and threw them in front of the Taoist priests.

Chu Xuanliang understood, pulling his master to begin reciting the deliverance scripture. The Taoist priests worked together to undo the binding spells on the little ghosts.

“Ahhhh——“

The two men on the ground finally couldn’t bear it anymore, their eyes rolling back as they collapsed.

At the moment of death, two spirit forms floated out from their bodies. Because of the deep yin energy in the area, they were immediately stained with black energy, their eyes turning fierce as they lost their rationality. In the next second, they were bound by soul-catching chains, rendering them immobile.

The two souls struggled to raise their heads, only to meet the Judge’s dignified, blazing eyes, causing them to tremble all over. The iron chains around them made a crisp clanging sound as they tightened further.

They….were finished. Certainly finished. After descending to the Underworld, they would endure endless pain that they couldn’t bear.

But the Judge wasn’t done yet.

Among these refined little ghosts, some belonged to these two, but others did not.

That person should be here—who was it?

The Judge’s eyes surveyed the Taoist priests; they all appeared to be ordinary people, making it difficult to discern who might be harboring little ghosts.

Chu Xuanliang and the others didn’t understand why they were being scrutinized and remained anxiously silent.

“Master! Master, save me!”

“Master, run quickly!”

The middle-aged man kept his head down, hiding in the shadows without making a sound. He kept his body tightly closed, not giving himself away.

Wang Yeqin, hidden in the man’s sleeve, could hear clearly. He squeezed his fingers tightly, thrashing about in his small confined world.

Wang Yeqin’s resentment and anger grew, desperately wanting to tell those outside that this man shouldn’t be allowed to escape—a man who killed without remorse and deserved ten thousand deaths!

Why could such a person repeatedly escape judgment while he was condemned to never find peace? It was this old Taoist who had tempted him in the first place.

He couldn’t imagine spending his entire life killing people and living with illness and pain. What kind of life was that? Compared to hell, which was more painful? Both were excruciating.

He wanted release.

Even death would be acceptable!

Wang Yeqin found strength from somewhere, perhaps from the scriptures the Taoist priests were reciting for deliverance, or perhaps from the thick yin energy around the Judge that enhanced his power. He burst forth with a wave of energy, breaking through his restraints and emerging from the seal, biting the person beside him.

The old Taoist cried out in pain unexpectedly, raising his hand to cover his neck, but black energy still leaked from his body.

The Judge’s eyes moved, his gaze immediately fixing on that person.

Taoist Master Xuanyi jumped back a step in surprise and exclaimed, “Who are you? How dare you impersonate Taoist Master Tao? Where is he?! You old scoundrel, hand him over!”

No wonder he felt something was off about this person today, who had been standing quietly to the side without speaking, unlike his usual self. He had thought the man was worried about the little Mountain God, not realizing he was an impostor.

To be deceived right under their noses was truly shameful.

Thunder rumbled louder in the sky, and the purple color between the clouds grew brighter, with lightning about to strike.

The old Taoist ignored everything else, pushing aside the two people nearest to him and flying downward with the wind.

The Judge slammed down his giant hands heavily. “Presumptuous! Where do you think you’re going?”

The old Taoist was terrified. He had been cautious for years, careful not to reveal himself, rarely leaving home as if imprisoned, only to be utterly defeated here.

A mouthful of blood welled up in his throat—it was truly fate.

With one strike, the Judge separated the old Taoist’s physical body from his soul.

The old Taoist’s spirit form was different from ordinary people’s, surrounded by thick black energy that concealed his true features. Yet the black energy seemed contained by some transparent membrane, preventing it from dissipating, allowing him to live like a normal person without being detected.

As the old Taoist’s soul was forced out of his body, a bolt of lightning struck the Judge.

Taoist Master Xuanyi quickly said, “I’ll catch him, Divine Lord, please return to the Underworld  quickly!”

The Judge raised his hand, preparing to subdue the old Taoist’s soul and take him to the Underworld .

The old Taoist took something from his sleeve, blocking the Judge’s second attack.

The Judge felt excruciating pain in his palm, and before he could react, a second bolt of lightning struck. Due to the divine object’s appearance in the mortal world combined with the Judge’s presence, this lightning was twice as fierce as the first.

“The Judge’s Brush?”

A fierce wind swept the ground as the Taoist priests raised their hands to shield themselves.

After a flash of white light, everything became peaceful again, and the Judge had disappeared.

The old Taoist’s soul escaped, transforming into a black snake slithering down the mountain.

The lightning hadn’t fully dissipated, with residual electrical sparks still crackling in mid-air.

Wang Yeqin stared at the lightning, widening his eyes in a daze, then actively rushed toward it.

“Hey——” Chu Xuanliang couldn’t stop him.

Wang Yeqin, who had previously sacrificed his soul to devour others’ souls under the old Taoist’s bewitchment, had an unstable soul. Under the impact of the heavenly lightning, his soul ultimately scattered.

He had chosen “rebirth” out of fear, and now chose death for the same reason. Fate was truly a strange thing.

Chu Xuanliang couldn’t help but sigh.

Everyone was still processing when Chu Xuanliang was the first to react—one had escaped! His expression changed slightly as he commanded, “After him!”

Several elderly Taoist masters with mobility issues took out their phones, instructing the young Taoist priests below to be vigilant and set up the Heaven Net Earth Trap formation to prevent the ghost from escaping.

The signal icon on the phone spun around, and after two seconds, showed that the message had been sent successfully.

Everyone was secretly delighted. Technology truly changed the world!

The young Taoist priests received the message and stood ready at the bottom of the mountain. They confirmed there were no gaps in the Heaven Net Earth Trap formation and waited for their target to fall into the net.

Soon enough, the formation reacted. There was a flash of golden light at the edge—they had caught someone!

Everyone rushed over, but before they could use their magic treasures to capture it, the Heaven Net Earth Trap was torn open, a yellow talisman spontaneously burning to ash, and the black shadow escaped through the gap.

The Taoist priests were dumbfounded.

…What Heaven Net Earth Trap? This was just a big hole.

Chu Xuanliang, being mortal, couldn’t keep up with a spirit form. By the time he reached the foot of the mountain, he could only join the others in their bewilderment.

Well, nothing could be done about it now.

They cleaned up and went back up the mountain.

The entire mountain had been nearly destroyed. Yellow soil was turned outward, and vegetation had died. Most living creatures were gone, with hardly any good spots left. Even the mountain spirits that had come out to help fight were lying wounded and weak on the ground.

Chu Xuanliang felt the little Mountain God stir, with the sound of crying carried on the wind.

Taoist Master Xuanyi crouched down, touching the ground tenderly and said, “Don’t cry, little Mountain God. Grandpa will buy you the best plants and replant them for you right away.”

Another Taoist master said, “I observe there are still a few spiritual plants. Seeing that the spiritual energy is abundant here and the feng shui is excellent, we’ll move them here.”

Everyone whispered among themselves.

He had nurtured those spiritual plants for several years; they were his treasures.

Since his fellow Taoist was being so generous, the others couldn’t stand idle.

“I have some spiritual soil that I can bring over to help with the planting.”

“I don’t have anything particularly good, but I have many people. If the little Mountain God doesn’t mind, I can bring my unworthy disciples here regularly to give lectures.”

The little Mountain God stopped crying. He had no strength left and needed rest.

The Taoist masters made phone calls, calling in favors and asking people to come help clean up the mess.

****

The Judge returned the group of little ghosts to hell and personally interrogated the two captured disciples.

Although they called that old Taoist “Master,” they didn’t know much—they were merely pawns.

The two said that the Taoist was surnamed “Feng,” and they didn’t know how long he had lived. He had once been from a prestigious and righteous sect and had considerable talent.

Taoist Master Feng came from a poor background and had a pathological obsession with money. In his youth, he had done many biased things, taking money to do favors for others, which led to disaster.

By coincidence, he had created a Judge’s Brush. He thought he had discovered the secret to immortality, and from then on, there was no turning back.

“How did he create the Judge’s Brush?”

“We don’t know. Why would he tell us such things?” the two disciples said. “However, there isn’t just one fake Judge’s Brush, and they don’t obey him. They need to be fed regularly with spiritually awakened creatures and magic treasures to maintain their divine power. It’s a very sinister object. Because of this, in order to collect items with spiritual energy, he nearly emptied his savings.”

“What is Taoist Master Feng’s real name? What does he look like?”

“We don’t know! He never told us his real name, and he already looked like this when we met him!”

But the Judge couldn’t find any record of this person in the Register of Merits and Demerits.

Seeing no further information could be extracted, the Judge handed the two over to King Yama and returned to the mortal realm.

The Judge had originally left only a trace of his divine consciousness in Jiang Feng; this first summoning of his true form had caused significant impact. When he returned to Jiang Feng’s body, he could still clearly remember what had just happened.

Jiang Feng had a terrible headache. He tried to stand up from the table but slid back down. Only after sleeping for a while did he feel slightly better.

He prepared a few things and went to visit the little Mountain God.

When he arrived, the Taoist priests were still planning the reconstruction on the mountain. They replanted salvageable trees back into holes and filled in the soil layers. All useless garbage was removed.

“Every cloud has a silver lining, every cloud has a silver lining,” Taoist Master Xuanyi said, wiping cold sweat. “We’ll certainly make this place better than before. We’ll also assign a forest ranger to ensure nothing like this happens again.”

With so many people standing on him, the little Mountain God couldn’t take physical form. He could only call to Jiang Feng through his divine consciousness. “Dad, have you come to see me?”

He sounded quite happy, much better than before.

Jiang Feng: “Yes.”

Taoist Master Xuanyi was in tears. “I also want such an obedient big grandson.”

Jiang Feng: “…”

He probably doesn’t want to be my dad.