Immortal of the Nine Realms

The Judge’s Record of Good and Evil?

Fang Chen’s gaze shifted, and he instructed Stone Dragon to take Shen Tucang to retrieve it. Not long after, Shen Tucang handed Fang Chen an ancient book filled with heavy yin energy.

Stone Dragon said, ”My lord, this item is not dangerous.”

Fang Chen nodded.

When he opened the cover of the ancient book, he saw that it contained a directory of officials in the Underworld’s various divisions. It even included the records of these officials’ entries and exits from the Underworld. His own name appeared on the first page.

”Is this how you know my whereabouts?” Fang Chen asked, looking at Shen Tucang.

Shen Tucang’s expression grew slightly unpleasant. ”The Judge’s Record of Good and Evil is given to every subordinate of the Judgment Division. Anyone in the Judgment Division can look it up. Your movements may have been leaked from the Judgment Division, but it has nothing to do with me.”

At that moment, Jing Xue and the others walked in. She said, ”Lord Shen is not lying.”

She glanced at the Judge’s Record of Good and Evil in Fang Chen’s hand and explained, ”This book is used by the Judgment Division to track rogue souls, including the officials of various divisions. If you do not wish for his movements to be revealed, Lord Fang, simply take care to store the Day Walker Monarch battle armor properly, and your name will be removed from the record.”

Fang Chen removed his battle armor and tucked it away. ”Why was this not mentioned to me earlier?”

Sure enough, his name began to fade from the list. This confirmed that the record uses the various battle armors worn by officials to track their movements.

It was only now that Fang Chen realized that his movements would be inevitably tracked and recorded by the Judge’s Record of Good and Evil since he had accepted an official title, allowing him to see the Forgotten Bridge.

If the battle armor were to be removed in advance, the official would not be able to see the Forgotten Bride or travel to the required cities. That was unless they paid a hefty sum of Yin Lifespan counts to someone with official status to take them across the bridge. However, even that wouldn’t be without traces.

But this wasn’t something Fang Chen needed to worry about. He could still see the Forgotten Bridge even without the battle armor.

”The Yin Monarchs are all aware of this matter. We thought you were already aware of it; that’s why we didn’t mention it,” Jing Xue said.

Fang Chen glanced at Du Yunxu. His expression was strange, clearly sharing the same thought as Jing Xue.

”Since the Judgment Division oversees rewards and punishments, they should have a rough idea of who made a move against me,” Fang Chen said casually.

Shen Tucang gritted his teeth and replied, ”Our abilities are limited. The other party was extremely cautious and left no clear traces. If you want to get to the bottom of this, you’ll have to find the Day Walker God you dismissed. Coincidentally... I know his identity in the Mortal Realm.”

Du Yunxu furrowed his brows slightly. ”Lord Shen, why didn’t you tell me this earlier when I asked repeatedly?”

Shen Tucang sneered. ”You’re just a mere Day Walker God. Why should I tell you?”

Du Yunxu snorted coldly and didn’t respond further.

Shen Tucang looked at Fang Chen and said, ”This Day Walker God is named Shangguan Tong, from a place called Qiufeng. If you wish to investigate, you can personally go and capture him for interrogation. In the Judgment Division’s prison, not even a Day Walker God will be able to keep his secrets.”

”Qiufeng...” Fang Chen nodded thoughtfully. ”Speaking of which, our Day Walker God found that Shangguan Tong had a close relationship with the Ying Monarch You.”

He looked toward You Fang and asked, ”I wonder how Yin Monarch You views this matter?”

”That was before you took office, Yin Monarch Fang,” You Fang said calmly. ”To avoid suspicion, after you took office, I have had no further contact with Shangguan Tong. If you don’t believe it, he can order an investigation. While I do not agree with some of your actions, Yin Monarch Fang, I would never go so far as to send people to assassinate a Yin Monarch.”

Fang Chen smiled and suggested, ”How about this? Why not send a message and invite all the Yin Monarchs currently in the capital to gather here? Perhaps we can find some clues in their presence.”

You Fang’s expression changed slightly. He immediately shook his head. ”That’s absolutely impossible. Yin Monarch Fang’s actions today are as close to rebellion as one can get. If we invite those Yin Monarchs here, wouldn’t that be like sending lambs to the slaughter? Just now, I’ve already sent a message to the Yin Monarchs of each Division. They should have already left the capital.”

”Not necessarily,” Fang Chen replied faintly.

Everyone froze for a moment and suddenly realized that the Yin Demon in the red wedding dress had quietly left without them noticing.

You Fang’s face paled, looking appalled.

Shen Tucang seemed to have realized something and immediately said in a deep voice, ”Yin Monarch Fang, if the Yin Monarchs of all Divisions are dead, the Underworld will surely descend into chaos. The Yin Monarch battle armor is not something just anyone can wear; it requires an imperial decree from Monarch Yan to be granted permission.”

”If you truly plan to rebel, what use would a chaotic Underworld be to you?”

”Who said I am rebelling?” Fang Chen countered with a smile.

Shen Tucang and the others paused for a moment, their expressions slightly awkward. If Fang Chen was openly breaking into the Judgment Division, wouldn’t that already be considered rebellion?

The most important Division in the Underworld was undoubtedly the Judgment Division, as the city lords were all under its jurisdiction.

Shen Tucang was about to speak but slowly closed his mouth, turning his gaze toward the hall’s entrance.

Behind Empress Ci stood a dozen Yin Monarchs, each with a complex expression.

You Fang and Jing Xue seemed moved. All the Yin Monarchs from the capital were essentially gathered here.

”Everyone, please come in and take a seat,” Fang Chen said with a light smile.

The Yin Monarchs exchanged glances, then filed in one by one. When they saw Shen Tucang in such a sorry state, they all fell silent.

”It seems we haven’t had the pleasure of meeting, so allow me to introduce myself,” Fang Chen said with a smile.

A rotund Yin Monarch forced a smile and said, ”I am Qi Tianran, the Lord of the Underworld Official Division. These two are my right and left hands.”

”Left Household Officer Liu Xuan.”

”Right Household Officer Zhang Gao.”

Fang Chen asked, ”And what are the duties of your Underworld Official Division?”

Qi Tianran glanced at Shen Tucang and You Fang. He then whispered, ”The Underworld Official Division is responsible for the ghost register and oversees the position of City God.”

Fang Chen chuckled, his tone casual yet probing. ”Why do I never see City God temples around? Even in the Underworld, I rarely come across any City Gods.”

Qi Tianran fell silent for a few moments, exchanging glances with his two subordinates, before he chuckled softly, ”With the day and night walkers, the position of the City God has become redundant. Therefore, aside from the capital, all the other City Gods have been removed.”

”Oh? Is this the will of Monarch Yan?” Fang Chen asked, curious.

Qi Tianran remained silent, only casting another glance at You Fang and Shen Tucang.

Fang Chen quickly understood. This was clearly the plan of the Nether Guards Division.

Other Yin Monarchs took their turns speaking. Some were from the Samsara Division, others from the Soul Capturing Division. Without exception, these Divisions no longer had much presence in the Underworld. They didn’t have the same influence as the Nether Guards Division and the Judgment Division, which maintained branches in every city.

These Yin Monarchs were powerful in cultivation but had little actual authority, as their powers had been absorbed by the Nether Guards Division and the Judgment Division.

”Yin Monarch Shen, Yin Monarch You,” Fang Chen called with a smile. ”You say that I want to rebel, but from my perspective, it seems that you two are the ones planning a rebellion. You’ve sidelined the various Divisions, consolidating power in the Nether Guards Division and the Judgment Division. Even these Yin Monarchs have to live off your favor. You are not Monarch Yan, but in many ways, you are more powerful than he is.”

Shen Tucang and You Fang’s expressions changed. Just as they were about to explain themselves, Fang Chen abruptly turned his attention to Qi Tianran and the others. ”I think you should all stick to your duties. It’s not good to hold official titles but not do the work.”

To Fang Chen’s surprise, Qi Tianran and the others looked pleased by his words.