When the underworld first came into being and reincarnation was not yet stable, cultivators from the world of the living roamed freely between the realms of yin and yang. Using supernatural powers, they seized the Book of Life and Death and secretly altered the fates of ordinary mortals. Some extended their loved ones' lives by a thousand years; others granted their descendants ten thousand more years of life. The order of the underworld teetered on the brink of collapse.
Then, one day, Li Hongyi, a lone cultivator, awakened the Underworld Order System. Wielding the Brush of Life and Death and bearing the Scales of Reincarnation on his shoulders, he established the Ten Courts of the Underworld in the depths of the Ninefold Abyss.
“Life and death are already ordained. Neither gods nor Buddhas may interfere!”
When a mighty king who had altered his fate a thousand years earlier was bound in soul-locking chains, he roared, “I had an agreement with the Great Emperor of Dongyue!”
With a stroke of Li Hongyi's brush, a bloody annotation appeared in the Book of Life and Death: “Colluding with underworld officials. Your sentence is increased by three grades, and nine thousand years are deducted from your lifespan!”
A Golden Immortal of Primordial Chaos who sought to defy fate slammed the Book of Life and Death onto the desk. “I offer half an immortal mountain as a bride price. Bring my son back to life!”
With a wave of Li Hongyi's sleeve, the Ninefold Abyss trembled. “An immortal mountain can be moved. The will of Heaven cannot be defied.”
From then on, the Six Paths of Reincarnation returned to order, iron-clad underworld soldiers guarded the Yellow Springs, and cultivators from the world of the living no longer dared cross the boundary.
And the figure standing beside the River of Forgetfulness would eventually uncover the shocking secret hidden on the very last page of the Book of Life and Death.
