Stepping on the demon door, the witch becomes the strongest

Chapter 818 The world of adults is all about exchanging interests
After seeing off the four fans, Yan Yu was also somewhat emotional.

The growing power of folk cultivators is an unstoppable trend. My past life has proven that all attempts to stifle their rise are futile efforts to resist the tide of the times.

Are you so capable of draining all the spiritual energy from the atmosphere? If the sky wants to rain, or people want to cultivate, what are you going to do about it?
In this light, the importance of Chen Lingyun's plan to rebuild the Underworld may still be underestimated—the law cannot effectively restrain the behavior of these folk cultivators, but Hell can.

When a person dies, they go to hell. In hell, Chen Lingyun will be in charge. Even if you're not afraid of death, what about your relatives and family? Those without any ties are ultimately a minority; even if you don't think of yourself, you should at least think of them.

Strictly speaking, this thing is more terrifying and more deterrent than any existing law. Such a powerful weapon must not fall into her hands; a multi-person joint supervision model must be introduced, and the final decision-making power must be personally overseen by me.

After passing through the Pingxi Army's outpost, the group, led by Chen Lingyun, arrived at the entrance to the ley lines deep within the palace.

Chen Lingyun shook the Hell-Seeking Banner again, unleashing the Nine Heavens Yin Demon Divine Seal, which enveloped everyone and isolated them from the Yin energy. Then, she led the way and jumped into the earth's veins.

"In other words," Li Minghu suddenly transmitted to Yan Yu, "that the key to our future access to this place is in her hands?"

“Mm,” Yan Yu replied.

This is, strictly speaking, another dimension, where the Yin energy is too dense, making it extremely unfavorable for the survival of ordinary cultivators. Without Chen Lingyun's Nine Heavens Yin Demon Divine Seal for protection, only Golden Core cultivators who practice certain pure Yang techniques could move freely and avoid harm here.

If Chen Lingyun were to suddenly turn on them one day, it would mean that none of them would be able to enter the Nine Netherworld again. However, Yan Yu nodded, indicating that he fully trusted Chen Lingyun, so Li Minghu naturally didn't say anything more.

She had been to similar secret realms before, but compared to this one, they were nothing.

As the surrounding yin energy grew thicker and turned into fog, it was as if the water was gradually transitioning from pure cold water to a mixture of ice and water. Li Minghu was certain that if he still had his original weak and sickly body, he simply wouldn't have been able to withstand the harsh environment here.

The view finally cleared, revealing a vast and desolate wilderness, much like the coldest permafrost in Siberia, where even moss and lichen struggle to survive.

The only visible "moving object" is the staggering soul.

The group continued to follow Chen Lingyun on her sword, explaining the mechanics of the place to her. Originally, if the Gate of Hell still existed, it would be like a tall building that could be seen at a glance on flat ground. All the ghosts returning to the underworld could sense the existence of the Gate of Hell and thus accurately move in the right direction.

But not anymore.

"I've already started organizing people to rebuild the Gates of Hell," Chen Lingyun concluded. "But what's being built is just an empty structure, essentially no different from an orderly pile of wreckage."

"To restore the true effectiveness of the Gates of Hell, it is necessary to set up a large-scale restrictive barrier."

Upon hearing this, everyone turned to look at Ye Yun. When it came to array formations and barriers, no one present could compare to Ye Yun, not even Yan Yu.

"Let's take a look first," Ye Yun said.

Upon arriving at the original site of the Gate of Hell, one sees a formidable fortress already erected, with city walls extending to both sides until reaching the corresponding gaps—where countless ghosts are carrying soil and stones, firing bricks and mixing mud, primarily selecting raw materials on-site.

As Chen Lingyun said, the gate to hell built in this way is nothing but an empty shell.

"Let me hear your requirements first," Ye Jun said, arms crossed. "Do you want me to design a large-scale protective barrier centered on these passes and city walls, to guide all the ghosts within its coverage area here?"

“No,” Chen Lingyun shook her head and said, clearly having already prepared a plan. “I want you to design a protective barrier around the city wall, covering only the area where the city wall is located, and guiding all the ghosts you come into contact with to this pass.”

The two are clearly very different. The latter is limited to the area of ​​the city wall, while the former needs to cover as much as possible, so the design difficulty for Ye Jun is naturally not on the same level.

“If that’s the case,” Ye Yun pondered for a moment, “then these ghosts will only be guided to the Gates of Hell when they reach the city walls.”

"Yes."

"What if we don't reach the city wall?" Ye Jun asked.

“Then let’s wait until they reach the city wall,” Chen Lingyun said with a smile. “I’ve said it before, what I want is not a 100% replica of the original underworld, but to do what I can, to achieve the leap from nothing to something.”

Indeed. Yan Yu thought to himself.

The location where ghosts arrive in the underworld is uncertain, and their direction of travel is even more uncontrollable. Instead of simply expanding the area of ​​the protective barrier, it would be better to focus on the vicinity of the city walls and extend the walls as far as possible to increase the likelihood of ghosts encountering them.

As for covering the entire field like in the original version and immediately providing guidance upon entering the mortal realm, Ye Yun certainly cannot do that now, so she shouldn't be overly ambitious.

Ye Yun stayed behind to consider how to fulfill the requirements. The others continued on their way, passing through the Gates of Hell and the city walls, and soon flew to the banks of the River of Oblivion.

"Shouldn't there be a Meng Po (the goddess of forgetfulness) stall here?" Lin Ning asked.

“Yes,” Chen Lingyun replied. “I have subordinate ghosts who can serve as Meng Po, and they can use the water of the River of Oblivion as hot soup. The problem now is that the Bridge of Helplessness has collapsed, and ghosts have to wade across the river to cross. Not only are their memories erased, but their intelligence is also easily damaged and clouded.”

"Without the Bridge of Helplessness, there's no need for Meng Po's Soup; crossing the river is entirely a matter of luck."

The crowd looked at each other, wondering who would build the bridge.
"Sister Zhao, you come here." Yan Yu didn't keep them in suspense and called out directly, "You know how to forge weapons, so I'll leave it to you."

"Me?" Zhao Yuanzhen was baffled. "The River of Oblivion is as shallow as three thousand rivers, and even a feather would sink if it touched it. What kind of rare treasures could float on the River of Oblivion? You overestimate me."

"You don't need to worry about the materials; I'll provide them for you," Chen Lingyun said with a smile. "You just need to help me measure the width of the river and figure out how to build the bridge."

"Well, alright then," Zhao Yuanzhen sighed. "I can't guarantee anything, let's see how it goes."

This surprised Yan Yu quite a bit. He had originally thought that the demoness would refuse outright, and then he would use the reason of "merit for saving people" to persuade her... but he didn't expect that he wouldn't need to do it at all.

Zhao Yuanzhen stayed behind to survey the River of Oblivion. The group flew across the vast river on their swords, only to find that the opposite bank became increasingly rugged and difficult to traverse, with the mountains growing more and more treacherous.

“Black Dog Mountain and Golden Rooster Ridge,” Chen Lingyun said calmly. “These two places are too yin, making them prone to breeding evil spirits that linger and disturb the souls of the dead. They need to be patrolled regularly to ensure that those who are reincarnated can travel safely.”

"Let's leave it to the Sword Immortal," Yan Yu said. "Ningning, Minghu, what do you two think?"

"I'm fine with that, as long as I'm free," Li Minghu replied with a smile.

But if a task is assigned by a superior that takes up time, then naturally I can't come. "Of course I can too!" Lin Ning retorted, not to be outdone.

“Okay, once the Bridge of Helplessness is built, the ghosts’ routes will be fixed,” Chen Lingyun said with a smile. “At that time, please ask the two sisters to come and clean up the evil spirits regularly.”

"Ahead lies the ruins of Fengdu City. Currently, my manpower is mainly focused on building the Gate of Hell, so the restoration of Fengdu City will be postponed for the time being. Once the restoration is completed, I... and Yan Yu will be responsible for the trial, rewarding the good and punishing the evil."

"You're going to take charge personally?" Su Yunjin asked in surprise. "Lingyun, the number of people who die in Lu Kingdom every year for various reasons is astronomical. Are you going to investigate them all one by one?"

“Of course not,” Chen Lingyun denied. “Most of the ghost trials are handled by the Yin Ghost Judges. I just allow them to appeal if they disagree. If the appeal meets the conditions, it will eventually be reported to me, and I… and Yan Yu will make the highest-level ruling.”

"That sounds amazing!" Tang Xiaolian said cheerfully. "So, what about us? How can we help you?"

“If it is discovered that a ghost has committed many evil deeds in his life, then he must be sent to hell to serve his punishment. After serving his punishment, he can be reincarnated,” Chen Lingyun replied. “The eighteen levels of hell are also completely abandoned and need to be rebuilt from scratch.”

"Please have Yun Jin create a flood hell, Hong Yu create a fire hell, and Xiao Lian create a worm-eating hell. Also, please have Ruo Xi serve as the Hell-Suppressing King, so that these bad people will pay the price they deserve after death."

The girls looked at each other.

Given their current rank and status, it's impossible for them to have any pity or womanly compassion.

Becoming the Lord of Hell sounds like a very time-consuming task, unlike Ye Yun and Zhao Yuanzhen who are "doing a mission" or Lin Ning and Li Minghu who "come here occasionally." Most of them would have to stay here permanently.

Who wants to spend all their time in hell?
"Don't worry." Chen Lingyun naturally guessed what they were thinking and explained, "You don't need to stay here for a long time. Just come here occasionally to store water, set fires, and add insects. The Underworld King is even more leisurely. Unless there is a powerful ghost king that the underworld officials can't deal with, you can stay in the underworld even if you don't come here normally."

Since that was the case, no one had any reason to refuse, so they all agreed.

Rebuilding the underworld is not something that can be done overnight, so after briefly discussing the matter with everyone and reaching a consensus, Yan Yu took everyone back to the Jinling Villa.

The villa now houses ten people, and all rooms are fully occupied except for Anna's guest room in the North.

It's amazing that the villa Chen Lingyun chose had so many rooms on the second floor, and they were all used.

After visiting the original site of the underworld, no one was in the mood to continue chatting, so they all went back to their rooms to rest.

Yan Yu also had a rare night without being disturbed.

The next morning, he slowly awoke from his meditation and suddenly heard a knocking sound at the door.

"Captain," Xie Ruoxi said as she pushed the door open and entered, "I'd like to ask for a day off."

"What are you going to do?" Yan Yu asked.

"It's just for one day, can you not ask me what I'm doing?" Xie Ruoxi asked cautiously.

"No," Yan Yu smiled. "You tell me."

"Well, there's a comic convention coming up soon that I've been really looking forward to going to..."

"Don't go."

"Captain!" Xie Ruoxi burst out with a wail, sliding down to her knees and hugging his leg. "I really, really want to go! I haven't been to a comic convention in so long! My cosplay costume is practically getting moldy in my closet!"

"Don't get your tears on my pants." Yan Yu pushed her away and said earnestly, "Ruoxi, you're not just any ordinary public figure, you're a top-tier public figure now. Going to a comic convention? Aren't you afraid it'll turn into your personal autograph session? What if it causes a stir at the higher-ups and they call to ask me what I'm supposed to do to explain?"

"I can disguise myself," Xie Ruoxi quickly said. "I can also wear makeup, I guarantee no one will recognize me!"

"What if we get recognized?" Yan Yu asked, frowning.

"I guarantee with my integrity that nothing will happen!"

"No means no!" Yan Yu snapped.

Xie Ruoxi left, sobbing. Back in Zhao Yuanzhen's room, she hugged her and cried again.

“No wonder he doesn’t believe you.” Zhao Yuanzhen rarely spoke up for Yan Yu. “Ruoxi, ever since you joined the team, you’ve given people a strong impression that ‘this girl is unreliable.’ Do you remember that time you skipped training and secretly went to a comic convention…”

"Stop talking!" Xie Ruoxi quickly covered her ears with her hands. "The useless me of the past is gone. The current me is positive and full of positive energy. It's wrong of you to always judge people with outdated perspectives!"

"Then you have to prove that you've completely severed ties with your past self and are irreconcilable with him." Zhao Yuanzhen took a bite of a potato chip.

"How else do I need to prove it?" Xie Ruoxi was dumbfounded. "I've already given myself to him, I've already gone from a girl to a young woman, why do I need to prove it again?"

“Being a young girl or a young woman doesn’t equate to maturity. We’re discussing thoughts, understand?” Zhao Yuanzhen said emphatically. “Look at me, although I have a youthful and innocent face, my thoughts are an exemplary model of maturity.”

Xie Ruoxi looked at her helplessly, thinking to herself, "Your thoughts aren't much more mature than mine, except for your figure... no, it's more like you're too mature."

"Then tell me what to do." She decided to give up thinking.

“It’s simple,” Zhao Yuanzhen advised her. “The adult world is full of exchanges of interests. For Yan Yu, agreeing to let you go to the comic convention would only benefit you, but would be harmful to him. Of course, he wouldn’t agree to it.”

"If you really want to convince him, you have to make it profitable for him too."

"So what exactly does he want..." Xie Ruoxi said, then suddenly realized something.

If I remember correctly, there are a few cosplay outfits that the captain really likes. When I wear them, the captain's attack speed even increases significantly.

(End of this chapter)