Chapter 1 The Beginning

Chen Xiao didn't wait too long before Wu Guide's soul floated out through the roof.

Because only one *hun* and one *po* (soul and spirit) had left his body, Wu Guide looked like a mere shadow.

This man had always seemed dull, and in this state, he appeared even more numb, his eyes vacant and empty.

As soon as he floated out of the roof, he soared upwards, drifting away like a wisp of green smoke.

His speed was extremely fast, not like riding the clouds, but more like a breeze.

Chen Xiao summoned the Yitian Sword and quickly chased after him.

Wu Guide flew faster and faster, almost becoming a glimmer in Chen Xiao's sight.

Chen Xiao had no choice but to accelerate several times to match his speed.

At this speed, in less than half an hour, the soul and the man had arrived at Icefire Island, thousands of miles away.

Compared to Chen Xiao's last visit, Icefire Island looked even more dilapidated.

Perhaps because Zhu Jiuyin (name of a deity) had been beheaded by Chen Xiao, without the divine beast guarding the house, Icefire Island had become no different from a deserted island.

At this moment, Wu Guide began to descend, heading straight for the volcano in the center of Icefire Island.

"The Boundary Gate is indeed here!"

The last time he came, Chen Xiao had entered the magma of the volcano, and at that time, he felt that there seemed to be something beneath the magma.

Now it seemed that he was right.

Chen Xiao didn't follow him down, but instead increased his altitude and concealed his aura.

Because he discovered that Wu Guide was not the only *zouyinren* (soul envoy) who had come to collect the bounty.

Several streaks of light streaked towards Icefire Island, their state similar to Wu Guide's, obviously also *zouyinren*.

Chen Xiao looked down from the high altitude, and at this time, the *zouyinren* had all landed near the volcano.

There were more and more *zouyinren*, and at a rough glance, there were hundreds or even thousands of them.

They all had dull expressions, and there was no communication between them. They just stared motionless at the magma inside the volcano.

The whole scene looked very strange.

But Chen Xiao knew that they were just waiting for the Gates of Hell to open.

The Gates of Hell opened at midnight, and there were still seventeen minutes until midnight.

In these seventeen minutes, dozens more *zouyinren* swept down.

However, the number was decreasing, and it seemed that those who should have come had already arrived.

Finally, midnight arrived.

The bright moon in the sky was obscured by a dark cloud.

At this moment, the magma in the volcano suddenly began to spin rapidly.

Under the high-speed rotation of the magma, a void-like vortex appeared in the middle, like a black and blue gemstone embedded in the magma.

Whoosh—

At this moment, a young man dressed in an ancient yamen uniform flew out of the vortex.

He soared into the sky and finally landed on an open space next to the volcano.

The group of *zouyinren* were very respectful to the young man dressed as a yamen runner. After he landed, the *zouyinren* retreated one after another.

"Howl—"

The yamen runner let out a very strange cry.

Chen Xiao guessed that this was probably a ghost official working in the underworld.

And the *zouyinren* were serving him.

Under the induction of his divine sense, Chen Xiao felt a somewhat familiar aura on this ghost official.

He recalled it slightly and remembered.

When he fought Huangfu's father and son in the Zhushen Hall, the aura revealed when the father and son transformed into a ghost state was like this.

Chen Xiao continued to guess that this ghost official was very likely a cultivator living in the 'Netherworld', this 'Middle Thousand World'.

However, he was a ghost cultivator.

The strength of this ghost official was not very strong, and the intensity of his aura was not much different from that of a Yuan Ying stage cultivator.

He posed no threat to Chen Xiao.

However, Chen Xiao was a little puzzled. Were so many *zouyinren* receiving bounties from this one ghost official?

How long would that take?

While Chen Xiao was wondering, he suddenly saw another ghost official flying out of the vortex in the magma.

No, not one… two, three, four… a full thirty or more ghost officials.

After they flew out, they landed next to the first ghost official.

And the clothes on their bodies were slightly different from the first ghost official.

Chen Xiao thought that the first one to come out should be a scout or something.

After he confirmed that there was nothing abnormal, he would call out, and then the other ghost officials would come out.

The last two to come out were tall and mighty, more than twice as tall as the other ghost officials, and they were wearing armor and cloaks.

Their aura was quite extraordinary… if one could ignore their bull heads and horse faces.

Needless to say, these two were the legendary Niu Tou Ma Mian (Ox-Head and Horse-Face), responsible for hooking souls and claiming lives.

As soon as he saw these two, Chen Xiao began to analyze their identities again… Could it be that they were demon cultivators who cultivated the ghost path?

Well, it should be like this!

At a glance, these two had different identities from the other ghost officials and should be some kind of officer.

Then came the part of distributing the bounty orders. Although the *zouyinren* did not communicate and looked straight ahead.

But they spontaneously lined up and walked one by one to the ghost official to receive the bounty order.

After receiving the bounty order, they could leave.

Throughout the whole process, there was no verbal communication, not even eye contact.

Chen Xiao was thinking about whether to take advantage of these ghost officials issuing bounty orders and directly hide his aura and fly into the Gates of Hell.

Or kill these ghost officials one by one first, and then walk in openly.

These two choices had their own advantages and disadvantages. Just as Chen Xiao was hesitating, Wu Guide's turn had come to receive the bounty order in the team below.

Like other *zouyinren*, he received the bounty order like an assembly line and turned to leave.

But at this moment, the ghost official who issued the bounty order to him suddenly said, "Wait!"

This "wait" sounded particularly sharp in the quiet environment.

Everyone's attention was instantly drawn over.

Even the Ox-Head and Horse-Face, who were leisurely staying aside, also turned their attention over.

Wu Guide stopped and stood blankly in place.

The ghost official sniffed him and shouted fiercely, "Why is there such a strong human scent on you?"

"Did you bring a human over?"

Hearing this, a look of surprise appeared on Chen Xiao's face.

Is this ghost official a dog? How could his nose be so sensitive?

Wu Guide looked blankly at the ghost official and slowly shook his head, "I… didn't…"

It was not until this time that Chen Xiao knew that this was how souls spoke.

"Damn it, you still say you didn't when you have such a strong human scent on you?"

"Tell me honestly, where is that person hiding?"

The ghost official questioned Wu Guide fiercely.

"I… didn't…"

Wu Guide still shook his head.

Chen Xiao couldn't help but give him a thumbs up in his heart. This guy's mouth is really tough… whether in person or in soul!

"Damn it, you still dare to play dumb with me? I'll beat you until your soul is scattered, and I don't believe he won't come out!"

As he spoke, a whip suddenly appeared in the ghost official's hand and lashed out at Wu Guide…