Chapter 61 Atone for a Crime with Death, Suffering Together

Within the depths of hell, down in the eighteenth layer, the cruel sound of whipping echoed throughout the entire underworld, striking a chill in anyone who heard it.

Yet the one enduring the punishment remained completely silent. Even covered in wounds and soaked in blood, he did not utter a single groan.

"Smack—" Bai Chang tossed the whip to the ground, her expression turning utterly icy.

"What a fine Immortal Bai Yan. None of us knew the structural flaw in this dungeon, yet you knew it down to the smallest detail?"

"And you even colluded with the little highness of the Heaven-tier dungeon, Lu Qing of the Demon Clan, to break out of prison?"

"If not for Lady Meng Po, were you planning to make fools of us Ghost Clan members?!"

Bai Yan lowered his head, the pain from his injuries making it impossible for him to stand straight. "...How could I dare?"

As a disgraced immortal cast into imprisonment, how would he ever dare to play tricks on the Ghost Clan?

Bai Chang gave a cold sneer and said darkly, "If you want to die, I can grant your wish, but don't drag our entire underworld Ghost Clan down with you!"

With that, she turned with cold-blooded ruthlessness and left.

The dungeon door behind her slammed shut immediately, followed by the falling of an indistinct, trapping barrier.

Upon stepping out of the dungeon, Bai Chang looked at Meng Po, who was leaning against the wall outside, and said in a low voice, "Thank you for your help this time."

"You're too polite." Meng Po curved her lips into a smile, though her eyes turned icy cold as she recalled the images displayed within her magical artifact.

When they were at the Heaven-tier dungeon, both she and Bai Chang had actually noticed the deliberately concealed anomaly on that wall, though they hadn't known the specifics.

Therefore, she had left her magical artifact, the Shadow-Tracker, right against that wall.

That was how they discovered that a section of the wall in the Heaven-tier dungeon had a flaw, one that bypassed the control of hell and connected directly to the Peach Wood Spring outside.

The Shadow-Tracker had followed the little highness's figure right out of the dungeon and into the Peach Wood Spring.

Naturally, that had captured the scene of the little highness being struck by a whip.

"Still, because of you, I've redeemed myself with a meritorious service. I swear I never want to step foot into this damned dungeon again for the rest of my life."

Meng Po chuckled, raised her eyes to look at her, and said, "Let's hope so."

Bai Chang continued, "I've left the dungeon, and now Bai Yan has been locked up again in the Xuan-tier dungeon. Who do you think would be best to keep watch over him?"

"I will," a cold voice suddenly came from behind, startling them both.

Meng Po and Bai Chang turned around to see Meng Hui walking up to stand before them.

"This person went missing on my turf, so it is naturally my responsibility. From now on, he should be placed in my custody. If he escapes again, I shall pay with my life."

"Meng Hui?" Bai Chang felt her words were a bit too severe. "His Majesty the King of Hell did not blame you, and besides, with him locked in the very same dungeon as me, I still managed to lose him, let alone you."

"This is my responsibility, and I ought to bear it. When all is said and done, I must thank you both for bringing him back to the eighteenth layer."

Meng Po smiled. "We are all doing this for the good of the Ghost Clan, so let's dispense with the pleasantries."

"It's getting late. I'm going to check on the little highness and then head back."

Bai Chang nodded and walked along with Meng Po. "I'm coming too."

"Wait," Meng Hui suddenly called out after they had taken only a few steps.

"What is it?" Both of them turned around, looking puzzled.

"I just came from the little highness's dungeon. His Majesty the King of Hell has already gone there."

The two of them: "?!"

Terrified, Bai Chang spun around and began to walk away. "I'm not going anymore. I have matters to attend to."

Meng Po froze for a moment, then stammered, "Oh... I suddenly remembered I have a VIP of reincarnation waiting for me. I—I'm not going either, I'll go next time."

Meng Hui raised an eyebrow with amusement. "Not going anymore?"

Both of them waved their hands dismissively, walking faster than anyone, chanting, "Not going, absolutely not going."

...

Heaven-tier dungeon.

Behind the screen.

The little ball of fluff cowered there, shivering as she listened to the conversation outside, feeling entirely as though her life would not survive the night.

"His Majesty the King of Hell?" Lu Qing looked at the person before him, feeling quite astonished.

Even though they had never met, the moment he laid eyes on him, he sensed that this person possessed an extraordinary status and a noble aura unlike anyone else.

Yan Yi stood opposite him, yet his gaze was not fixed on Lu Qing. Instead, it pierced right through the magnolia, bird, and peach wood screen, landing squarely on the little ball of fluff.

She hastily squatted down, not daring to look any longer, though her two adorably foolish, pinkish-white ears stood rigidly upright.

"What are you looking at?"

Yan Yi withdrew his gaze, casting a cold, condescending look of derision at him. "What marvelous cultivation you have, to be able to bore a crack even through my heavily sealed eighteenth-layer hell?"

"What is Your Majesty the King of Hell implying? This humble one does not understand."

"You don't understand?" Yan Yi let out a soft chuckle. Turning around, he raised his hand and swept it toward the wall, instantly revealing a blank fissure.

The fissure connected to the Peach Wood Spring outside the underworld. Going through this crack led directly to a damp cave filled with perpetual dripping water and spiritual energy.

Emerging from the cave revealed the most breathtaking and stunning peach blossom forest of the Peach Wood Spring, followed by evergreen bamboo groves, streams cascading from high mountains, deep valleys fragrant with secluded orchids, and vast, boundless highlands.

How could this not be considered a marvelous route for escape?

Furthermore, escaping this way meant surely no one would ever find out.

The expression on Lu Qing's face faltered. He turned his head back and asked, "How did you find out?"

This cleared fissure was indeed his own handiwork, a shortcut he had carved out specifically for escaping hell and practicing his cultivation arts.

He hadn't been surprised at all that they could guess there was a path leading out of hell from his dungeon.

What shocked him was how the person before him knew that this path was created by him.

Yan Yi did not tell him how he had figured it out. Right before his eyes, under his very watchful gaze, Yan Yi personally and irrevocably sealed up the fissure, leaving no way out. He imprinted his own aura onto it and layered it with his own barrier, making it exceptionally solid and indestructible.

"No matter how you opened this fissure, now that it is reinforced with my cultivation, absolutely no one can get out."

Lu Qing took a fierce step forward. "Isn't His Majesty the King of Hell going a bit too far?!"

For keeping him imprisoned in this dungeon for millions of years without him turning hell upside down, he had already shown the utmost respect to the Ghost Clan.

Now, the man actually wanted to cut off his last resort and seal up his escape route?

Yan Yi turned around, unleashing his aura to its absolute fullest. An oppressive weight bore down on Lu Qing, making it difficult for him to breathe. "I will give you three choices. First, escaping prison in secret is a capital crime."

"Second, go to Meng Hui to receive your punishment, walking through every single torture of the eighteenth layer. As long as you manage to stay alive, I will not pursue the matter further."

"Third..."

"Three, three, three!!" Lu Qing sprang up to answer first, his face turning nearly pale with fright. "I choose three, alright?!"

The little ball of fluff: "..."

Yan Yi curved his lips slightly, the corners of his eyes lifting with a trace of cold certainty. His thin lips parted to utter, "Third, I seal your fissure, and from this day forward, this path is no more."

"Very well!" Lu Qing nodded hastily, without a second thought or the slightest hesitation.

Nonsense, going out to cultivate was far less important than preserving his own life.

The little ball of fluff: "..."

"Because of your father's transgressions, the crime does not extend to you. Considering that you have committed no major offenses or grave taboos throughout the 3.6 million years you have spent in this dungeon, I grant you permission to leave prison and depart from the Ghost Clan."

"Grant me permission to leave prison and depart from the Ghost Clan?!" Lu Qing was so happy he almost laughed out loud, then asked with disbelief, "Really... you're really letting me leave the Ghost Clan?"

"Naturally. You are not a member of the Ghost Clan, so you may leave this place."

"Then... what if I choose not to leave?"

"You possess half Ghost Clan bloodline, so a place for you naturally exists here. I cannot dictate your choices of staying or leaving."

Lu Qing burst into a genuine, joyful smile, blooming like a flower in full bloom, utterly delighted. "Does Your Majesty mean I can leave, and I can also return, is that right?"

"Naturally." Yan Yi nodded, his expression solemn and serious, not looking like he was lying in the least.

"Ah, that's wonderful, truly wonderful!!" Lu Qing ran happily behind the screen. "Did you hear that, little ghost?!"

"I can leave hell!!"

"And I can come back!!"

"Mm-mm," the little ball of fluff stood up with a smile as well. Who would have thought that before she could even finish being happy for him, she would hear her lord father coldly utter a single sentence.

"However, if you wish to leave this hell, you must make amends for the trouble you stirred up this time."

"Huh?!" Lu Qing was dumbfounded. Going straight from heaven to hell felt precisely like this.

"And..."

The little ball of fluff had a terrible premonition. She turned her head in a panic just in time to see her lord father look straight at her and continue.

"Yuan'er, you will accompany him and endure the punishment together."