The Unruly Immortals

"Netherworld Hound?"

Upon hearing Yuan Er's words filled with confusion, the Second God continued, "That's right, I found this deep within the four repositories of the Astrological Bureau. Ordinary people don't know the Underworld has such a thing! Rumor has it that it has three heads and specializes in devouring human souls. If it emerges, none of us can escape!"

Suddenly, the Second God twisted his head, looking fearfully toward the darkness in the east, pointing at that chaos and saying, "Look! It's coming out! That Netherworld Hound is coming!"

Under the shocked and terrified gazes of all the Xinsu, a decaying creature, emitting black energy, walked out from within. Its presence was suffused with signs of death, instilling fear in all who watched from afar.

When the hound that the Second God spoke of appeared before her, Bai Lingmiao understood something, looking at the Book of Life and Death in her hands with an expression of bitter despair.

As she released her hold, the massive Book of Life and Death slowly slid to the ground alongside her body.

"She deceived you all..." Bai Lingmiao said in a dazed and lost tone.

"What?!"

Bai Lingmiao raised her trembling finger to point at the Netherworld Hound before them, "The Underworld doesn't have such a thing; this hound is just something she casually made up."

"If something she casually mentions can become real and walk out, haven't you realized something?"

Bai Lingmiao closed her eyes in pain, embraced her head, and shouted, "There's no such thing as the Underworld! There's no book that can determine life and death! You've all been deceived; this hound, this Book of Life and Death, and the Underworld—they're all manifestations of your own creation!"

"You are Xinsu; you believe this is real, hence all of this appears real. But if you believe it's all false, then it will all vanish!"

These words hit all the Xinsu like a sledgehammer to their hearts, and then a gust of wind swept past. The bodies of the nine Judges gradually turned transparent, even though they were constantly outlining the Book of Life and Death, no one died anymore, and they ultimately disappeared from everyone's sight.

Not only did the Judges disappear, but also the Underworld Officers and Ghost Generals watching, along with the entire Fengdu City, and lastly, the Netherworld Hound.

Watching the disappearing Book of Life and Death, Bai Lingmiao began to cry. Tears soaked the ribbon before her eyes, continually dripping to the ground.

The Second God showed a trace of impatience on his face, but eventually sighed and turned around, gently embracing her from behind to offer quiet comfort.

The two shared a single body; sometimes the other's issues are one's own, whether or not they truly are.

"I... I really..." Bai Lingmiao choked out, "I just thought they could be revived through the Book of Life and Death… I felt as though they died in my heart once again..."

"I know, I know. Don't be sad. Cheer up. Look, we've brought back eleven Xinsu." At this moment, the Second God could do little but use his forked snake tongue to lick all the tears away.

Bai Lingmiao's heart felt as though it was being cut by a knife, but thinking about the tense situation outside, she shook her head and tried hard to bury her emotions within, standing up once more.

She took a deep breath and said to the other Xinsu, "Let's head outside; I'll lead you out to free you from these days where truth and falsehood are thoroughly indistinguishable. No matter who deceived you, as long as you become mortal, no one will deceive you again."

Seeing that the result of their many years of obsession was but a bubble, the faces of the Xinsu carried various complex expressions. Regardless of what they were thinking, ultimately, they all followed Bai Lingmiao in silence.

As they went back, there was no Ghost Gate Pass along the way, nor was there any Yellow Springs Road, or any Bridge of Helplessness. Inside was what they created, and outside was all the same.

Perhaps one Xinsu couldn't maintain such an expansive creation, but eleven Xinsu managed to make it truly believable.

The only real distinction was perhaps that they truly didn't know what the Underworld looked like; everything was hearsay.

Returning back to that ruin, Bai Lingmiao followed the path back to the original place.

However, she didn't enter the basement but stopped outside of it.

"Wait for me here; I'll perform a ritual now. Once I finish chanting, a hole will open in front of me, and through it, everyone can escape the karma of Heart Turbidity."

Having said that, Bai Lingmiao sat cross-legged in place, forming the Lotus Seal with her hands and began to chant. "Rain Mandala, Manjusaka, Scent of Sandalwood, delighting all hearts... By these causes and conditions, the earth is peacefully purified… All the four crowds, happy and joyful, body and mind at ease, attaining the unprecedented… Light between the brows brightens the east, eighteen thousand lands, all golden in color...."

As Bai Lingmiao's chanting gradually grew louder, the space in front of her began to tremble, as though two forces were battling.

Following the rising volume of the chanting and its conclusion, accompanied by the sound of glass shattering, a circular opening appeared outside, leading not elsewhere but directly to the main hall of the White Lotus Sect in Capital City.

When Bai Lingmiao and the others stepped through, the connection between the two spaces instantly vanished.

"How come I didn't know that the Wonderful Dharma Lotus Sutra had such a capability? I remember this scripture is used for calming the mind, right?" The Second God asked curiously within.

Bai Lingmiao shook her head and turned to look at the eleven Xinsu beside her. "Whether you think it has this capability doesn't matter; as long as they believe it, it's enough, especially when it's eleven of them."

Having spent so much time with Li Huowang, Bai Lingmiao genuinely understood the Xinsu, not just casually talking.

Since they could construct an entire Underworld, creating a way out should naturally be easy.

"Miaomiao! How did you come out?" A surprised Chun Xiaoman, along with a group of White Lotus followers, approached Yang Na.

Bai Lingmiao shook her head, disinclined to say more, and spoke in a weary voice, "Put the Heart Turbidity in that room back into the coffin; I'm just conveniently taking it along with these Xinsu to the Astrological Bureau."

Just as she was about to say something further, Bai Lingmiao abruptly turned around to see Tuoba Danqing painfully collapsed on the ground.

Bai Lingmiao rushed over to support him up, finding that his robust body was visibly drying up, transforming toward skeletal.

"He's about to starve," the Second God discerned the issue.

Clearly, after being inside the karma without eating or drinking for so long, once outside, debts must be paid.

He couldn't compare to the other eleven Xinsu—if these Xinsu didn't feel hunger, they simply wouldn't experience it.