The comet remained silent, only relentlessly unleashing heavenly tribulations.

Chapter 102 King Qin Guang

Song Yi looked up at the nine-story tower, but his divine sense was immediately repelled by a gentle yet irresistible force as soon as it touched the tower.

He withdrew his divine sense, remained silent for a moment, and then said, "While this Demon-Locking Tower is indeed a manifestation of the merits of Mount Shu, we must still be more vigilant."

If the demons within were to break free of the tower, it would be a disaster for Mount Shu, and indeed for the entire Southern Continent.

Master Qingwei stroked his beard and smiled, his tone full of certainty: "True Lord, do not worry. This tower was built by our patriarch himself. Although it cannot compare to the Heavenly Prison of the Heavenly Court, even a Taiyi Golden Immortal would find it difficult to escape once imprisoned."

After hearing this, Song Yi said no more. He just glanced at the Demon-Locking Tower again before turning and leaving with Qingwei Daoist.

Afterwards, Song Yi lingered in Shu Mountain for a few more days, discussing Taoism and drinking tea with Daoist Qingwei every day, and occasionally giving guidance to the disciples of Shu Mountain on their cultivation. He lived a leisurely and carefree life.

The mountain is rich in spiritual energy, and has a different atmosphere compared to the vast mountains, but he is ultimately a righteous god of the Heavenly Court and cannot stay away from the place of practice for long.

On the morning of the fifth day, Song Yi bid farewell to Qingwei Daoist, took off on a cloud, and flew towards Cangmang Mountain.

The vast mountains remained as peaceful as when I left, with spirit birds flying and spirit beasts running around, everything in perfect order.

Song Yi returned to the True Lord's Mansion and began preparations for the establishment of the Department of Subduing Obstacles and the Department of Relieving Calamities.

These two offices were his foundation.

All beings in the Three Realms are subject to misfortune and bad luck. If one can properly control the power to dispel misfortune and bad luck, one can wield more power.

The head of a department is called the Director.

Song Yi intends to temporarily assume the position of Director of the Department of Manifestation of Oblivion, as the matter of Manifestation of Oblivion is of great importance and any carelessness could bring about karmic consequences.

The position of Director of the Department of Relief from Calamities was entrusted to Song Yu, since it was more reassuring to entrust such a seventh-rank official position to someone he knew.

Under the Chief Justice, there are two Assistant Chief Justices who assist the Chief Justice in handling daily affairs and perform his duties in the absence of the Chief Justice.

Further down, there are two judges, one a chief judge and the other a deputy judge.

These two individuals are responsible for assessing the severity of the "bad luck" and the root cause of the "misfortune" of all beings in the three realms, and determining the appropriate degree of remedy to reduce bad luck or relieve misfortune.

There are ten guardian spirit officials and ten patrol spirit officials, for a total of twenty.

The spirit official of the Department of Misfortune-Bringing is responsible for "applying bad luck and bringing down calamities," while the spirit official of the Department of Dispelling Misfortune is responsible for "driving away bad luck and protecting peace."

More than a hundred messengers and executors were responsible for delivering orders or carrying out specific tasks.

Other roles include clerks and clerks, who are responsible for copying, verifying, and archiving various documents.

The two departments have to process an enormous amount of information every day, from reports of bad luck and misfortune from all over the three realms to records of the execution of warding off bad luck and misfortune, and files on various causes and effects and karma. All of these need to be sorted out and archived for future inspection.

Song Yi wrote down the structure of the two departments in the jade slips, and then repeatedly revised and revised them before submitting the memorial to establish the two departments.

The Heavenly Court's approval was extremely swift; within just a few days, the position of Director was finalized.

However, what happened next gave him a hard time.

The positions of Assistant Director, Judge, Spirit Officer, Messenger, Recorder, and Attendant, though not as prestigious as the Director, are all real duties with real power. These people will be the true backbone of the two departments when they start to operate.

It wouldn't be impossible to just randomly pick a few people from the Qingtianjian to fill the positions.

Song Yi had been in charge of the Qingtianjian government for many years and had many capable celestial officials and divine officers under his command. It was just a matter of transferring a few over.

The problem is that the Qingtianjian was, after all, his old subordinates and base. If these people were placed in the two departments, it would inevitably be suspected of nepotism and misuse of the imperial power.

With the two departments newly established, countless eyes are watching. If someone seizes this as a pretext to impeach someone, the trouble will be far more complicated than can be explained in a few words.

After much deliberation, Song Yi decided to make a trip to the underworld.

The celestial soldiers, warriors, fairy maidens, celestial officials, and many low-ranking divine officials in the Heavenly Court were mostly not born into the Heavenly Court system, but were selected from among the beings of the Three Realms through a series of screenings.

One of the most important sources is the Netherworld.

The person in charge of this matter was none other than King Qin Guang, the head of the Ten Kings of Hell.

King Qin Guang is in charge of the First Hall, which is responsible for life and death in the human world and governs good and bad fortune in the underworld. All those whose lifespan has come to an end must first enter the First Hall to have their merits and demerits examined before their next destination is determined.

Every so often, the underworld would select a portion of the souls who were virtuous, had accumulated good deeds in their lifetime, or had a foundation in spiritual cultivation, and send them to serve in the heavenly court.

After being officially recognized by the Heavenly Court, these wandering spirits can be freed from the cycle of reincarnation and become official celestial officials and divine servants of the Heavenly Court.

If Song Yi wanted to establish the Department of Subduing Obstacles and the Department of Resolving Calamities, the safest way would be to directly select suitable candidates from the underworld.

The simplest and most direct way to get to the underworld is to tear open the spatial barrier between the realms of Yin and Yang.

However, while this method sounds simple, in reality, it requires at least a powerful being at the Xuanxian realm to accomplish.

If even Earth Immortals and Celestial Immortals could freely tear through the void and enter and exit the Underworld, then the Underworld would never have a peaceful day again, and there would be no order to speak of.

Although Song Yi is now a sixth-rank True Lord, he is far from reaching that level, so this path is naturally impassable.

That leaves only the "path of the ghosts" as an option.

The so-called "ghost path" is a fixed passage between the Yin and Yang realms.

Most City God Temples in the mortal world have a Ghost Path, which is used by underworld officials to escort the souls of the dead.

When ordinary people die, the local earth god will escort their souls to the City God Temple, where the City God will take out the "Book of the Underworld" and erase the person's household registration in the mortal world.

After registration, the judges at the City God Temple will conduct a preliminary judgment on the deceased souls based on their good and evil deeds recorded in the "Book of Merits and Demerits".

Those who do good will be rewarded, and those who do evil will not escape punishment. This is the first just judgment of the underworld in the mortal world.

Once the trial is over, the City God will dispatch underworld officials such as Ox-Head and Horse-Face, Black and White Impermanence, Night Patrol Gods, and Soul-Capturing Messengers to escort the deceased souls through the Ghost Path into the Underworld, officially sending them to the netherworld.

The ghost path in the City God Temple is the most common and busiest, with spirits being sent into the underworld day and night.

Besides City God Temples, some popular mountain god temples also have ghost paths. For example, the ghost paths in the mountain god temples of famous mountains like the Five Sacred Mountains are even more spacious and grand than those in ordinary City God Temples.

Mount Cangmang is considered a famous mountain in the Southern Continent, and there is a ghost path in the mountain god's temple that leads directly to the underworld.

However, this ghost path has not been used for a long time.

After all, Cangmang Mountain had been occupied by the Yellow Wind Monster for three thousand years, and the surrounding villages and towns within tens of thousands of miles were desolate and almost uninhabited.

The mountain god temple naturally fell out of business, and there wasn't even a temple keeper left.

Since there are no worshippers to offer sacrifices, there are few souls to escort, and the ghost path remains closed year-round.

Upon hearing that Song Yi was going to the underworld, the mountain god of Cangmang dared not be negligent in the slightest and immediately led the way, taking him deep into the mountain god's palace.

He held up the Mountain God Seal with both hands, chanting a divine incantation, and beams of earth-yellow divine light continuously entered the seal.

As divine power was poured in, the Mountain God Seal slowly rose into the air, radiating a dark glow.

The next moment, ripples suddenly appeared in the void.

The once calm space began to ripple like water, and a crack about ten feet wide slowly appeared.

The passage was only a little over one person high and no more than three feet wide, and it looked quite narrow and cramped.

The inner walls of the passage were dark and deep, as if leading to an unknown depth. Gusts of cold wind blew out from inside, causing the incense and candle flames in the hall to flicker.