The youth named A Yu was silent for a moment, then nodded in agreement.
He led Qin Ye Xuan to the back of the wooden house, where a long flight of stairs suddenly appeared.
Qin Ye Xuan smiled, "You can create mountains, rivers, and everything else in this small world, but you seem unable to create life, and the price is sufficient souls... Am I right?"
A Yu also smiled, "You understand the rules of the operation of hell. Souls are equivalent to energy. Without energy, I can't do anything. Of course, I also cannot create life like plants and animals in the human world from scratch; they need to be brought in from outside."
Qin Ye Xuan pondered, "It's a pity that the outside world is a peaceful one, and the wars have long passed. In the past, you loved to start wars the most, didn't you?"
"King Zhou was like that before. In ancient times, wars happened every year, and all the souls that died then were gods and demons, whose power was immeasurable."
A Yu gave a wry smile, "Nowadays, even a hundred thousand human souls are not comparable to one from back then."
"So back then, with billions of souls, you could create infinite space and worlds, but why were you subdued by King Zhou and even locked underground by him?" Su Dan Novel Network.
A Yu's face turned red, "Because those souls were dissatisfied with my enslavement and began to resist. Ten thousand souls were released, my world was shattered, and the human world completely lost the concept of hell. King Zhou Di Xin was just lucky enough to subdue me when I was at my weakest!"
He was unwilling to talk more about this matter, but from the current situation, he had lost interest in collecting human souls to rebuild his world.
The avatar of the Heavenly Prison had surprisingly become rather low-key.
At this moment, they had already ascended a peak along the stairs, from which they could overlook the entire small world.
Fields, mountains, forests, lakes, rivers... but no sign of life.
"All living beings, there are almost none here. I just want to accompany my mother and live here peacefully. If souls from the outside wish to enter, it's not impossible, but they need to pass certain tests and screenings!"
A Yu said earnestly, "They must willingly enter!"
Qin Ye Xuan thought for a moment, "There's a mysterious monk outside holding a map of hell's torments, and he's frantically collecting souls."
A Yu was dismissive, "That thing is just a pirated imitation, a failed magical space. It can only accommodate souls after death, and living people cannot enter. Moreover, it depicts the so-called eighteen levels of hell, which is something the Buddhist sect concocted to scare the world and make them dependent on Buddhism, ideally leading them to sincerely believe in Buddha. How can it compare to my place?"
He was proud, "Here, the living and souls can coexist without distinction."
Qin Ye Xuan had deliberately tried to elicit information.
Now, at least two things were clear.
First, the map of hell's torments was a counterfeit magical artifact with serious flaws.
Second, the one controlling the map of hell's torments was indeed a scoundrel from the Buddhist sect.
At this moment, A Yu suddenly said, "I want to find a gatekeeper. Only with the gatekeeper's permission can souls enter this world. I can grant the gatekeeper sufficient authority, allowing him to manage this entire small world just like me."
This was already a hint.
Qin Ye Xuan's eyes flashed, and he immediately said, "I'm sorry, I don't want to be this gatekeeper."
In his consciousness, the mysterious power that coexisted with him was about to exclaim, "Why would you refuse such a good thing?"
Qin Ye Xuan ignored the mysterious power.
A Yu was still pleading, "This place must also be helpful to you. I can sense that a huge conspiracy is unfolding outside, targeting you. Don't you want to leave a fallback?"
Qin Ye Xuan looked into his eyes and, certain this was neither a test nor a conspiracy, nodded, "Alright, I will temporarily be the gatekeeper of this world, but I need the puppet body of the Heavenly Intelligence Jade!"
"This is too simple." A Yu casually made a move, and a square jade stone with holes appeared.
"This is the Heavenly Intelligence Jade that King Zhou used back then. I can get as many as you want; it was just a puppet jade I hid in at the time."
Qin Ye Xuan gently took it.
Although this jade was useless, it could confuse those outside and was crucial for his future plans.
Among the three great mysteries, the stone that was like jade but not jade had been completely solved.
But Qin Ye Xuan still had questions.
"May I ask, what exactly is the map of hell's torments?"
The young A Yu recalled, "For thousands of years, I was sealed underground. But one year, a monk who called himself Dong Ling sensed me through some strange method. He asked me to open hell, and I refused, but I gave him a copied set of hell's diagrams. Although it was a fake, it was actually drawn by someone, and that became the map of hell's torments."
Qin Ye Xuan suddenly realized, "The founder of Dong Ling Temple, that monk... the one the Thirteen Guards of Dong Ling are protecting now... No wonder!"
Everything made sense now.
At least part of the legend of the map of hell's torments was true.
The abbot of Zhao Jing Gong Temple back then was that Dong Ling monk.
He first commissioned countless famous artists to paint diagrams of hell, but no one could complete them, not even the master painter Wu Daozi.
Then, a young man named Huangfu Sheng unexpectedly discovered a method to communicate with the Heavenly Intelligence Jade.
So, the Dong Ling monk killed Huangfu Sheng, established a connection with the Heavenly Intelligence Jade, and thereby obtained fragments of the hell diagrams.
Finally, the map of hell's torments was completed. The Dong Ling monk killed all the monks in the temple to silence them, set fire to the temple, and fled.
After that, he became the abbot of Dong Ling Temple, and he might even still be alive.
Qin Ye Xuan thought of Xu Chunyang, this great Celestial Master of the Taoist sect, a complete waste with an undeserved reputation, clearly a puppet. Could the one controlling everything behind the scenes be the Dong Ling monk?
Qin Ye Xuan descended the peak, A Yu by his side, and reaffirmed their agreement.
"This small world has already formed a connection with you. No matter where you are, as long as you call out in your heart, I can open the passage."
Qin Ye Xuan thought of something and asked in a low voice, "If my school is in danger, and I need to bring tens of thousands of people in to seek refuge, can that be done?"
A Yu smiled, "Then you'll have to support yourselves. I don't mind."
Qin Ye Xuan clapped his hands, "That's great, I'm starting to find being a gatekeeper interesting now."
The two returned, chatting and laughing. Wang Yulan and Zhu Xiaoqing were stunned.
"Dean Zhu, the matters here have been resolved, and at the same time, we've also solved the strange issue of unmarried births at the school and the mystery of the three missing girls. What do you think about cooperating with me?"
Zhu Xiaoqing sincerely clasped his hands, "Chao Ge Academy can do without me, but it cannot do without student Qin as the head of the student union!"
Qin Ye Xuan laughed heartily, "I like to hear that."
He bid farewell to Zhu Xiaoqing and Wang Yulan, and after stepping out from behind the stone monument in the valley, a scolding and fighting sound erupted from the middle of the mountain path.
They heard Wang Jiaqian's voice, "Qing Lu, you're injured, fall back. Let me try this!"
Then came Di Xin's astonished voice, "Beauty... what kind of sorcery is this? Are you conjuring soldiers from beans? Why is it different from what Wang has seen?"