Chapter 692 — The Carefree Village of the Netherworld

The other goddesses laughed as well, and the aged god-man said with a smile, "If the honored guest wishes to embrace them all, that too is simple: stay here, and be as we are—would that not be fine? In time, you may embrace every one of them; and not only embrace every one, but sleep with them as well."

Shen Mu laughed. "Be as you are? Then would I not also become a piao?"

"Piao?"

The aged god-man's expression changed drastically, and the goddesses surrounding Shen Mu changed too, their looks turning shrill and grim: "What piao? What do you know?"

"Is not a starved ghost a piao?" Shen Mu said with a smile.

At once his arms were pinned by the goddesses beside him, and he could not move. The aged god-man sneered, "So you know? Then it is too late! We are so hungry—"

The other goddesses gave shrill, wretched laughs: "We have eaten all the flesh from our own bodies—so hungry—"

"So, young honored guest, we have no choice but to eat you!"

"Carry him off—"

Shen Mu was lifted up by the goddesses and borne toward the center of the town; from all over the town god-men came pouring in, overjoyed, waiting for the meal to begin.

When they reached the center of the town, Shen Mu was set down. The aged god-man sat upon a throne before a great hall; two goddesses, lovely as flowers and jade, held Shen Mu's arms fast; below them stood god-men by the tens of thousands, every face wearing a look of ravenous hunger.

The aged god-man chuckled. "We have been trapped here for I know not how many tens of thousands of years, so hungry we could only eat ourselves—we ate even the bones, until nothing was left but skins. Now at last a living one has come, and we can taste meat again."

Below, the tens of thousands of god-men exulted, clamoring for the meal to begin.

The aged god-man said to Shen Mu with a smile, "Let the honored guest not worry. After we have eaten you clean, you will become one of us—though from then on, you too will only be able to go hungry."

Shen Mu laughed. "This is your Village of Bliss? Is this how one treats a guest? No wonder you never prosper."

"Oh? The honored guest is not the least bit alarmed, but jokes and laughs—surely he has something to rely on?"

The aged god-man smiled. "But in the Yin Realm, even if the Lord of Heaven himself shielded you, it would be of no use. The Yin Realm is not like the outside world; the Lord of Heaven's authority does not reach here, and Tubo cannot come here either! Here, you have no choice but to accept your death quietly!"

Shen Mu said, "Then what of the darkness of the Yin Realm? Why does darkness leak out from the Yin Realm? A man about to die is full of curiosity—could the senior speak of it, and satisfy this dying man's curiosity?"

The aged god-man smiled. "Such questions only Lady Yin can answer. But you will see her very soon. Lady Yin—heh heh heh..."

"Since you piao-ghosts will not answer..."

From beneath Shen Mu's arms four more arms suddenly sprouted, holding the Book of Life and Death, which he snapped open with a shua, shining it in all directions. He said calmly, "Then I shall have to go see Lady Yin myself."

"Aaah—"

Screams of utter agony pierced the heavens. Countless god-men clutched their faces with both hands as black smoke poured madly from their eyes, ears, mouths, and noses; one god-man after another, each seeming unspeakably mighty, shriveled at furious speed and fell to the ground as sheets of human skin!

The two goddesses who held Shen Mu's arms likewise shriveled in an instant into two skins.

Shen Mu turned and looked at the aged god-man upon the throne. He strode toward him; the aged god-man trembled from head to toe, and hastily rose from the throne, staring at the Book of Life and Death in his hand, trembling still.

"The Book of Life and Death of the Nether Capital... this is the Book of Life and Death of the Nether Capital!"

He kept retreating, murmuring, "You use the divine powers of the Crimson Bright era; you have six arms..."

Shen Mu walked over and sat down upon the throne. He said with a smile, "Indeed. You have a good eye—it seems that though you have become a piao-ghost, you can still retain a portion of the memories from your life. So now, can you tell me why the Yin Realm has become as it is? And what is this Lady Yin? And does this Yin Realm have some connection to the Nether Capital?"