Mythical Scroll Artist: Starting with the God of Wealth, Zhao Gongming

Chapter 415 A New Look for the Underworld

Upon entering the territory of the Underworld Outpost, the operation of the laws of heaven and earth was noticeably more stable and perfect than before.

On the banks of the River of Oblivion, a large bronze-scaled serpent leaps out of the dark waters.

Upon seeing that it was Wu Xian and his group, he silently relaxed his guard and exchanged pleasantries with Wu Xian for a while.

“Now the Underworld outpost has become a gathering place for the power of the surrounding heaven and earth, and some powerful demons from the strange realms often come to invade and covet this outpost’s territory,” the giant snake explained with a light laugh.

Wu Xian smiled knowingly, signaling the giant snake to do its job well, and then landed at the head of the Naihe Bridge.

Yao Xueer seems to have gotten used to the job of "Meng Po".

At this moment, they are leisurely preparing the Meng Po soup for the souls who are queuing to be reincarnated.

"Master, you're back?" Yao Xue'er greeted him with joy.

"Hmm," Wu Xian nodded and smiled, "Has the outpost encountered any trouble recently?"

“With Grandmaster in charge, what trouble could there be?” Yao Xue’er chuckled. “Not long ago, a powerful demon of the royal level attacked, but Grandmaster smashed half of its body and forced it to flee in disarray.”

Wu Xian nodded slightly and gave Yao Xue'er a brief word of encouragement.

Now the order and procedures of the underworld have officially entered the right track, and the power of "merit" generated is also invisibly nurturing the entire underworld.

The club members have also gotten used to the daily work at the outpost.

They all worked with more enthusiasm than the last.

Even without contributing points, they would proactively perform their respective tasks.

Clearly, everyone has experienced the benefits of "merit," but they are still unaware of the existence of this power.

"By the way, Master," Yao Xue'er reported in a low voice, "everyone's Netherworld Scrolls have improved a lot recently, especially in terms of spirituality."

“Spirituality?” Wu Xian asked in surprise.

“That’s right,” Yao Xue’er said excitedly, “After completing the Underworld’s duties with the Underworld Scroll, it seems to subtly increase one’s spirituality. Moreover, it’s not just an increase in spirituality at the level of cultivation, but also a certain increase in basic spirituality.”

Wu Xian understood, and then used his divine sense to investigate carefully.

The merits of the club members seem to have been preserved in their underworld scrolls.

The improvement in skill level and spirituality is only a superficial phenomenon.

In Wu Xian's view, the improvement brought by merit is more like an improvement rooted in the painting spirit itself.

Simply put, merit does not directly increase spiritual value, but rather further optimizes and condenses the special existence of the painting spirit. The improvement in spiritual value is only an external manifestation.

Take Yao Xueer's portrayal of Meng Po for example; it's already subtly different from the original Meng Po on his side.

If Yao Xueer's role as Meng Po continues like this, she might become the true Meng Po of the underworld outpost in the future.

Next, I observed the connection between the [Meng Po] divine image imprint and Yao Xue'er's insights.

Sure enough, there have been some changes.

The peculiar transformation of Yao Xueer's Meng Po seems to be able to be reflected back onto Wu Xian's original Meng Po through a kind of "reverse deification".

However, the effect of this "reverse fall of the spirit" is still very weak at present.

Furthermore, this situation, where users turn around and project their power onto the scroll artist, can clearly no longer be described as "falling into godhood."

Or could it be called "forging a god"?
In a daze, Wu Xian vaguely understood some of the deeper logic of the scroll world.

The copyright mark of the scroll illustrator is like the root, while the copies and rubbings sold to users are like branches and leaves. If these branches and leaves can blossom and bear fruit in the future, they can eventually fall back and feed back to the root of the scroll illustrator in some way.

Wu Xian's comprehension and improvement of the laws' principles, as well as the law weight he will acquire in the future, will also affect the strength of the scrolls held by other users. Essentially, it's a mutually beneficial and virtuous cycle.

“Uncle Xiao recently completed the school enrollment procedures for his daughter, and he plans to let her develop her career here,” Yao Xue’er continued. “Now the workload in the underworld is getting bigger and bigger, and I definitely can’t handle it all by myself.”

Wu Xian was not surprised by this.

As a veteran player selected through layers of screening by the league, Xiao Changqing naturally understood which side had a brighter future.

Although a diploma from Xuantian Academy is highly regarded in the general public, it's nothing in the face of absolute power.

Later, under Tang Beng's guidance, Ma Tengyun visited various parts of the Underworld outpost, curious about everything he saw.

His ability to manage and handle the souls of the dead, in particular, amazed him.

Although he didn't understand the point of doing so.

But isn't being able to control the souls of the dead a sign of sophistication?

At least the necromancer scrolls in his collection didn't have this ability.

Therefore, he put the task of collecting the complete illustrated scrolls of the underworld on his agenda as soon as possible.

I feel that Wu Xian's scrolls are all excellent, and I need to collect them all as soon as possible.

Fortunately, his family was large and powerful, and with the Wanrong Chamber of Commerce's enormous supply capacity, he could easily gather most of the materials for the gold scrolls.

"Brother Tang, do you think it would be better for me to get a government position here after I obtain the Golden Scrolls of the Underworld series?" Ma Tengyun asked Tang Beng with great interest.

“Uh,” Tang Beng said with a strange expression, “Brother Ma, as the young master of the Wanrong Chamber of Commerce, is too busy with business to have time to stay in the underworld to do errands.”

“It’s alright. I don’t do business. There are plenty of people in the family who want to do it,” Ma Tengyun said nonchalantly. “Besides, my father is in his prime. He usually entrusts the business to me so that I can familiarize myself with the family business in advance and make it easier for me to take over in the future.”

His experiences along the way, and what he sees and hears now at the underworld outpost, have long since made him lose interest in doing business.

Little did he know that even if he wanted to go back to business later, Wu Xian had a suitable scroll waiting for him.

"By the way, what was that attic used for? And why are all those human spirits crying so pitifully?"

"That's the Terrace of Longing for Home, a final chance for the departed souls to look back at their loved ones in the mortal world," Tang Beng explained. "Brother Ma, would you like to go up and give it a try?"

Ma Tengyun went up to experience it with great interest.

Soon after, with red eyes and wiping away tears, she felt sad and helpless.

The family business built up over generations cannot be easily given up.

Perhaps this is the fate of this direct descendant of the young master?
……

Wu Xian and his master arrived at the Yama Palace and chatted with the old man and Xue Zhengying for a while.

Afterwards, the mentor sister returned to the club to take charge of its daily affairs.

Wu Xian stayed behind and chatted with the old man about what he had seen and heard on this long journey, as well as some news about the upper world.

"I was wondering how there could be so many laws and essences benefiting our lower world," Wu Mingchang exclaimed in amazement. "It turns out that the god of mechanical creation had taken a bite out of the heavens."

"As expected of the true will of a god, it is indeed powerful."

Wu Xian nodded and smiled, then changed the subject, saying, "Speaking of which, what are your thoughts on the situation in the Beast Realm?"

“Perhaps it’s related to the setback on the other side of Heaven,” Wu Mingchang analyzed. “Heaven almost controls the operation of the upper world. This setback will inevitably cause a series of chain reactions.”

(End of this chapter)