The entire sect is obsessed with love, but I'm the only one who's truly insane.

The underworld has five ghost emperors and ten kings of hell. The person Lin Du wants to see is the one who holds the Book of Life and Death, the judge, not the king of hell.

The ghost led Lin Du from the border all the way to Fengdu. Along the way, they could see many rogue cultivators and evil ghosts. If it weren't for the ghost official's clothes, Lin Du would have been devoured long ago.

The ghost messenger was afraid of Lin Du, but not hostile. He chatted with her about trivial matters of the ghost realm all the way.

Until they encountered a barefoot ghost cultivator, the ghost messenger shuddered, "That, that one with ridiculously high cultivation, a demon who fought his way out of the River Styx, who eats demons, you..."

As he spoke, he glanced at the empty space, then darted forward, shouting as he ran, "Someone's trying to pass the test! Kill the ghost!"

The barefoot ghost cultivator immediately fixed his gaze on Lin Du.

Lin Du: ...Oh no, she's turned into a demon.

The soul and the ghost stared at each other for a moment. Lin Du raised his hand, his divine sense condensing into a golden divine talisman, which he then struck directly at the evil ghost.

The evil spirit also made its move in an instant, smashing a bone in its hand towards Lin Du, while ignoring the pain of its soul being devoured by the divine seal, it crushed the golden character with its other hand.

The skeletons, carrying a dense aura of yin energy, instantly surrounded Lin Du, including the ghost messenger who had fled.

The ghost messenger looked back at Lin Du in despair. He should have known better than to use this trick to attract the evil spirit's attention. Why is the evil spirit even surrounding the ghost messenger?

Lin Du remained calm. "Brother, you're joking again. Look, you've attracted some evil spirits."

The ghost messenger laughed, "You're right, I was just joking. I'm warning you, I'm directly under the King of Hell, I have a number. She's a proper ghost too, we're just playing around."

The moment the evil spirit turned to stare at the ghost messenger, Lin Du raised her hand again. The Tai Chi Fist technique could borrow the power of Yin and Yang from heaven and earth. Since this place was full of Yin energy, she could naturally use it.

The yin energy surged, and with a single punch, he absorbed the evil spirit's attack into his palm. Then, he quickly switched his stance, flipped his fist, and sent the evil spirit flying more than ten feet away.

Taking advantage of the situation, Lin Du turned and ran, burning away the Yin energy cage with a divine talisman. "Are you going to run or not? What are you standing there for?"

The ghost messenger took off after him, and was incredulous to see Lin Du still walking briskly.

On his first day as a ghost, he was completely clumsy, let alone able to fight ghosts. How did Lin Du manage to do that?

Are ghosts this eerie?

The two "ghosts" only stopped when they reached the city gate.

"Still running?" Lin Du turned to look at the ghost messenger.

The ghost messenger was stunned. "I'm not running anymore. We've arrived at the city. I'll take you directly to the King of Hell's palace."

When Lin Du arrived at the Yama King's Palace, she found that the place was heavily guarded. As a stranger, even with a ghost messenger leading the way, it would be difficult for her to enter.

But Lin Du's mouth could deceive heaven and earth, and he was never afraid of anyone.

"Why did you bring a living ghost in? Aren't you from the Remnant Soul Division? Does a ghost want to enter the King of Hell's palace?"

The guards stopped the two "ghosts," but Lin Du remained unfazed. "I am more important, so I am here to be judged by the King of Hell."

"How heavy are you...?"

"She is Lin Du," the ghost messenger said nervously, with the blade of divine sense pressed against his back.

A brief silence fell over the air. "Aww! That Lin Du!"

"I know you. You made all the underworld ghost messengers work overtime for several days. More than 10,000 souls came down to me in just half an hour. We were almost exhausted."

"But now that you're here, the judge probably really wants to see you. He's been so worried for centuries because tens of thousands of people and demons have mysteriously disappeared from the Book of Life and Death that he's been losing sleep and hair. You've helped him settle the score for tens of thousands of people."

Lin Du fell into deep thought. Was she really that famous in the Ghost Realm?

"Go in, go in, just this once." The guard let them through.

Before Lin Du could say anything, a gavel struck.

A powerful ghostly force shot straight at Lin Du's concealed vital point. "Lin Du? What were you doing here, abandoning your life?"

Lin Du, feeling his vital point being pinched, remained unfazed. "Naturally, I want to borrow the Book of Life and Death to take a look. I want to see the changes in the population of the Dongming Realm and the Spirit Realm over the years, and I want to know whether the decline of the Dongming Realm's rules and the decrease in spiritual energy concentration are related to the population."

"I also want to ask how those who died unjustly due to external interference will be reincarnated. Will the Insight Realm suddenly welcome so many new creatures? Will the rules collapse as a result?"

Too many people have died unjustly in the Realm of Enlightenment, and the Underworld is not a place where you can fill up as many ghosts as you want; those people will be reincarnated sooner or later.

Wen Fu's plan to create a demon was never intended to release these souls into the cycle of reincarnation. The fact that tens of thousands of people escaped the Book of Life and Death and died, only to simultaneously enter the cycle of reincarnation, will inevitably bring immense pressure to the Dongming Realm.

Lin Du wanted an answer: was the population related to the decline of the rules of the Insightful Realm?

Is it necessary for someone to offer sacrifices to the heavens?

The judge, though scholarly in appearance, was dignified. After listening to Lin Du's account, he said, "That's it? Just because of this? You risked never returning and just went to the underworld to challenge Yama?"

"You weren't born from a rock, nor are you unburdened; how dare you be so audacious?"

The judge was almost amused by Lin Du's frank yet empty reason.

Lin Du stood below the hall, neither flinching nor avoiding the question. "Otherwise what? I do have concerns. My concerns are my fellow disciples, the people, and all living beings. If I don't go to hell, who will?"

"What you're trying to peek into is the secrets of heaven! It will shorten your lifespan! Do the math yourself; you don't have much life to begin with, and you only manage to add a year or two to your life each year by taking medicine. Where do you get the confidence to dare to look up at the heavens?"

The judge, unusually harsh, spoke to this highly capable and promising cultivator, "You think that just because you've investigated the matter of those mysteriously disappeared people, I'll repay you..."

"I dare not only look to the heavens," Lin Du interrupted him. She only had seven days. If she didn't go back in seven days, she would never be able to go back.

We must persuade the judge as soon as possible. It took almost a whole day just to get into the city, and she still needs to fetch water from the River Styx and return, which will also take a considerable amount of time.

"I dare to steal from the heavens. If you don't let me see it or let me go back, I'll become a ghost cultivator in the underworld. I inquired before I came here, and there are many ghost cultivators in this underground who choose not to reincarnate. If I can't become a celestial immortal, I'll become a ghost immortal and turn this underworld upside down."

Lin Du said frankly, "I must get the answer I want, whether it's from an ancient book or a celestial book, I only want one answer."

The judge took a deep breath. "You are not allowed to look at the Book of Life and Death, and the rules of the world are not something someone of your cultivation level can know."

A shadow of gloom appeared in Lin Du's eyes as he weighed his chances of winning a fight with the Judge. "Isn't it precisely because you can't tell us the rules of this world that I want to see the Book of Life and Death?"

"Because we cultivators are bound, we must rely on cultivation and enlightenment, step by step, through trial and error, through guessing and repeated trial and error, in order to verify the truth and unravel the secrets of heaven. But are we, born as ants, really only able to react when the thread of the sword hanging over our heads is cut and the blade falls on our heads?"

"Even ants struggle to survive. If a cultivator, having reached such a level of cultivation, still cannot ensure the safety of all people, maintain the balance of heaven and earth, or lay the foundation for peace for all generations, then what is the purpose of their cultivation?"

"Just to continue the legacy of the longsword? Just to reach the pinnacle of martial arts? Just to surpass predecessors in debate?"

Lin Du looked at the judge, his pale and thin face displaying a resolute and stern expression, like a lone snowflake on a high mountain. "This may be done, but it is not what I would do."

The judge was speechless, as if he were seeing the Dao Ancestor of the past, who opened up the chaos, spread the truth, and saved all living beings.

But Lin Du... Lin Du's destiny book only had thirteen years of life. If he hadn't become a disciple and entered the Dao, his lifespan would have slowly increased, and he would have died long ago.

Compared to cultivators of the same cultivation level, her lifespan has always been unusually short.

This was her fate, yet she was so willing to risk her life for her principles.

He couldn't help but ask, "Are you really not at all concerned about your own life?"

"I cherish my life, but if I do not follow my path, this life is not worth cherishing."

Lin Du knew that after choosing his path, all the cultivation techniques, mental methods, and rare treasures he had acquired before would not allow him to advance to the next level; they would only accumulate spiritual power. From then on, each breakthrough in his cultivation level would require a leap in his own cultivation method.

Anyone can absorb spiritual energy, and it takes time to accumulate it. However, the understanding of the rules and the breakthroughs in the Dao can not be achieved by following the rules in cultivation.

Therefore, many senior brothers and sisters in the sect travel around all year round, using everything they encounter in the mortal world to temper their Dao heart.

Lin Du came not only for the sake of the common people of Dongming Realm and for the sacrificial ceremony for his fellow disciples, but also for his own Dao.

To truly understand the truth, one must naturally conduct personal trials.

Having chosen this path, one should forge ahead without hesitation.

"If you touch this, you will lose a hundred years of your lifespan. You must not touch it." The judge looked at the divine book. He was only a user, not the master. Even if Lin Du really went head-to-head with him, he might not be able to completely suppress Lin Du.

But he couldn't tell Lin Du.

"Shorten my lifespan? I have a long lifespan! Can you shorten mine?" A clear female voice rang out.

Lin Du turned around in surprise, and a group of people filed in, with Ni Jinxuan at the head, followed by Yan Qing, Yuan Ye, and Hou Cang with a stern face.

They were clearly shrouded in yin energy, yet with just one sentence, it was as if they brought the vibrant energy of the human world into the dim, candlelit underworld, infusing it with the brilliance and spirit of humanity.

"What are you doing...?"

"Of course we came to see you, Junior Uncle. Fourth Uncle said you weren't doing well and was a little worried. It just so happened that Second Sister wanted to ask Granny Ma again if there was any secret technique that could completely cure your illness, Junior Uncle, so the two of them got together."

Ni Jinxuan's eyes crinkled into a smile. "You were right, Uncle-Master, remember to bring bodyguards when you go out! I brought them for you!"

Yuan Ye looked at the stunned judge and said, "Judge, let's make a deal. How about we divide our lifespans and deduct them separately? I'll pay twenty years, and it will be recorded in Yan Qing's account."

Yan Qing, holding a pen and booklet, immediately said, "I will also contribute for twenty years, recorded in Yuan Ye's account."

Ni Jinxuan nodded vigorously, "I'll pay twenty years! Since Ni Jinxuan of the Supreme Sect and my Fourth Martial Uncle are both highly skilled, perhaps we can pay double!"

Hou Cang: Can't you at least ask the person involved for their opinion? Is this reasonable?