Counterattack System appeared when I'm already At The Mahayana Realm

Chapter 365: Chapter 364: Creating a Gap in the Underworld

Jiang Li understood now. Although the Jiuzhou world was thriving, the worlds beyond Jiuzhou were all entangled in the schemes of the Heavenly Demons, consistently reducing the human population.

Despite his attempts to save a few worlds, their numbers were insignificant compared to the countless worlds that existed.

Too many worlds had fallen, some even desolate and lifeless.

People were dying in increasing numbers and the opportunities for rebirth were decreasing, making it impossible for ghosts to find footing in the Underworld.

With the Immortal Realm not intervening, Jiang Li would eventually have to confront them about this issue.

“After drinking Meng Po’s soup you still have foggy recollections of your previous life?” Du Ping was surprised. If one could not completely forget their previous life, it implied that cultivators could retain memories of their past lives after reincarnation.

This would lead to huge ethical controversies and the Underworld would not allow such a thing to occur.

Xiao Fang shook her head: “Meng Po’s soup is not the final step of reincarnation, we ghosts must pass through an Immortal Artifact called the ‘Six Paths Reincarnation Tablet’ to be reincarnated.”

“The Immortal Artifact ‘Six Paths Reincarnation Tablet’ contains the way of reincarnation through life and death, it would purify our souls, thoroughly sever our ties with our past lives, make us forget everything, and start anew.”

“However, this is all told to us by the well-intentioned ghost attendant. Whether it’s true or not, we can’t be certain.”

“We were about to enter the cycle of reincarnation when the fight began. The people in front of me were cleansed by the Six Paths Reincarnation Tablet and reincarnated successfully. I was next. But we were interrupted.”

“A fight broke out?”

“I don’t know. The situation was very chaotic. All I know is that someone above us attacked, puncturing a hole in the Underworld. That’s when the two honorable Black and White Impermanence hurried over. They activated the Six Paths Reincarnation Tablet, intending to send us toward reincarnation. However, the process was interrupted. We fell unconscious and didn’t know how much time passed. When we woke up, we found ourselves in your world.”

“It seems that we didn’t successfully reincarnate, but instead exist somewhere between spirits and living beings.”

“How are you able to conceal yourselves?” Du Ping was confused, the concealment technique used by these common ghosts was surprisingly advanced, even his Divine Sense could not see through it.

“It’s due to a trace of the power of reincarnation left on us by the Six Paths Reincarnation Tablet. We’re surviving up until now relying on this bit of power.”

The power of life and death reincarnation? Jiang Li, hearing the familiar words, took out a book from his Storage Ring.

“Are you able to activate this?”

“Is this a replica of the Life and Death Book?” Several relatively lucid ghosts exclaimed in surprise. The Underworld had several incredibly important Immortal Artifacts, such as the Three Life Stones, Naihe Bridge, Six Paths Reincarnation Tablet, and the Book of Life and Death. Because there were so many ghostly beings, even the shared Life and Death Book of the Yamalords wasn’t enough, so reproductions were permitted as an exception. Even so, there were only a few replicas of the Book of Life and Death in the Underworld.

Why should there be a replica of the Book of Life and Death in the realm of the living?

Neither Du Ping nor Ji Kongkong expected Jiang Li to possess such an item.

“I happened to meet the Black and White Impermanence once, borrowed it to take a look. I wanted to return it to them, but they left in a rush and forgot to take it.”

Xiao Fang looked puzzled. The Underworld is not supposed to interfere with matters of the living realm, and it should be impossible for the esteemed Black and White Impermanence to lend out the Book of Life and Death.

What’s more, they left in such a hurry, they forgot to take it. It all seemed highly unusual.

Several ghosts looked at Jiang Li with peculiar glances. Could this Life and Death Book have been seized from the esteemed Black and White Impermanence?

“May I ask, what’s your cultivation realm?”

“Mahayana Realm.”

The ghosts looked at each other in blank dismay, not having heard of this realm before.

“Activating the Book of Life and Death requires profound understanding of the way of Reincarnation of Life and Death. What we possess is not even considered skin-deep, hence, we can’t activate it.”

“Then, do you know how to reach the Underworld?” Jiang Li found it strange. He had been holding the Book of Life and Death and had been waiting for the Black and White Impermanence to guide him to the Underworld, but no one came.

“We also don’t know where the Underworld is.”

“Who created that hole in the Underworld? Was it caused by external forces or was there internal strife?”

Xiao Fang shook her head: “I’m not sure, it was an immortal figure that made the move. The impact was enormous, we weren’t even qualified to witness the battle, our only concern was to escape.”

Another ghost suggested: “I suspect it was a conflict among the Ten Halls of Yama. A few of the Yamas have been expressing that there are too many of us ghosts and that we’re disrupting the order in the Underworld. They wanted to send the excess ghosts to other worlds and establish new Underworlds.”

“But most of the Yamas disagreed, stating that there’s only one Underworld. Establishing new ones would tarnish the majesty of the Underworld.”

“When I first arrived in the Jiuzhou world, I thought that it was a newly established Underworld. It was only later that I realized it’s a realm of the living.”

Xiao Fang added: “This ghost here had accumulated a great amount of virtues in his previous life and should have been reborn in a wealthy family. However due to the fact that the number of living beings has decreased and wealthy families are scarce, he has waited in the Underworld for more than a hundred years, so he’s more senior than I am.”

“I heard that a few Yamas were saying that there were too many ghosts, why not just destroy some of us? Could that be the reason for the discord among the Yamas, leading to a huge conflict that subsequently affected us?”

“Nonsense, no matter what the Yamas wouldn’t kill us, I think it was an outside power that attacked the Underworld.”

“Ridiculous, we’ve been told by the ghost attendants that all beings across the Ten Thousand Realms who die are bound for the Underworld. Only the Immortal Realm is qualified to be on par with the Underworld. Who would attack the Underworld, the Immortal Realm?”

“Not impossible, maybe someone’s loved one in the Immortal Realm died. In their grief, they might have gone to retrieve them from the Underworld.”

The few ghosts with relatively clearer senses were arguing each holding on to their own views, their quarrel escalating. The muddle-headed ghosts continued to be muddle-headed, with no reaction, as if they were used to these quarrels.

“I’ve been dead for a hundred and twenty years. You should listen to me.”

“Talking about seniority? I’ve been dead for a hundred and eighty years, have I said anything?”

“Look at your arrogance. If we didn’t know better, we’d think you were going to reincarnate in the Heavenly Realm.”

“We’re all going to reincarnate in the Human Realm. What’s the point in comparing who’s been dead the longest?”

Only Xiao Fang stood to the side obediently, not saying a word.

She was someone who said what she knew and didn’t speculate about what she didn’t know.

“Sounds like you’re all quite familiar with the Immortal Realm?” Ji Kongkong found the bickering ghosts fascinating and amusing.

She had initially thought all ghosts were terrifying but seeing that some could be so lively, her fear of them was significantly reduced.

However, looking at the muddle-headed ghosts, she still felt her hair stand on end.

Xiao Fang rolled her eyes: “The Underworld makes us drink Meng Po’s soup precisely so that we know less. We hardly know anything. They’re just spouting off about the Immortal Realm and Yamas from overhearing idle chatter from the ghost attendants, it’s just hearsay. We don’t even know who the Ten Halls of Yama are.”

Ji Kongkong was speechless, it turns out these ghosts were just boasting.

Jiang Li had been listening for a while and suddenly asked: “Haven’t you considered that it could be the work of the Heavenly Demons from outside the realm?”

“Heavenly Demons from outside the realm? Never heard of them.” None of the ghosts had heard of the concept of Heavenly Demons from outside the realm.

Jiang Li didn’t expect to gain any useful information from this group of ghosts as they didn’t even know about the Mahayana Realm or the Heavenly Demons from outside the realm, so he wasn’t disappointed.