"Lord Hades wants to interrogate you? What did you do?"
Inside the Hall of Literary Origin, the former Cult Masters all frowned deeply. Cult Master Zuyang said, "Is it something serious or minor? If it's serious, then let's just rebel!"
The other Cult Masters immediately became excited, offering ideas on how to rebel, how to rouse the dead of Nether City, even coming up with dozens of slogans for the uprising.
Quinn Shepherd quickly said, "It's not serious, just a trivial matter—no need to rebel. I only saved a few people by snatching their Primordial Spirits from Nether City during the gods' battle at the Godsever Mountains."
The former Cult Masters all fell silent. After a moment, Cult Master Hu Jun suddenly slapped his thigh and said, "Where were we just now? Oh right, the banners for our rebellion! I think we should use the War God Banner..."
Quinn Shepherd laughed, "Just a trivial matter..."
"Trivial? Snatching people from Nether City is trivial?"
All the Cult Masters turned to glare at him, sneering, "Snatching people at Naihe Bridge—even we were scared out of our wits, thinking Nether City was coming to kill us! This is absolutely not a trivial matter; Lord Hades is definitely going to take your head!"
Si Yuanwei said, "If it were a trivial matter, we'd just ignore you and let Lord Hades spank you a couple times before letting you go. But this endangers all of Nether City—rebellion is the only path!"
Outside the hall, Red Plume the Underworld Divine called out impatiently, "Cult Master Quinn, if you don't come out soon, I'm coming in!"
The Young Heavenly Demon Patriarch suddenly said, "Cult Master Quinn, why hasn't Lord Hades interrogated you directly, and instead lets you wander freely around the city? If your crime were truly serious, shouldn't you be thrown straight into the Heavenly Prison under heavy guard?"
With that question, everyone suddenly realized: Quinn showed none of the demeanor of a prisoner. Instead, he was visiting friends and even gave them all a beating in Nether City.
The Young Heavenly Demon Patriarch asked again, "Did Lord Hades interrogate anyone else before you?"
Quinn nodded. "He interrogated Starhound and the Ghost-Ear Witch God. He let Starhound go, but the Ghost-Ear Witch God, since he uses Netherworld arts, was surrounded by many ghost kings for study. Lord Hades also wants to study the Ghost-Ear Witch God's divine arts, so he let me go for now."
"Then your crime is a minor one."
The Young Heavenly Demon Patriarch smiled. "I know Starhound—what he did was serious, but Lord Hades still let him go. The Ghost-Ear Witch God is from the Netherworld, so his crime is even greater. Since Lord Hades interrogated them first, it means their offenses are above yours. Yours is much smaller. Just follow Red Plume—Lord Hades won't make things difficult for you."
The other Cult Masters all nodded. "Go on. If Lord Hades wants to kill you, we'll storm the execution ground and the reincarnation tunnel!"
Quinn felt relieved and stepped out of the Hall of Literary Origin. Red Plume the Underworld Divine was standing on one leg atop the stone lion outside the door, tidying his feathers. When he saw Quinn come out, he pulled his beak from his feathers and said, "Follow me."
Quinn caught up and said, "Senior Red Plume, about Lord Hades's summons..."
"Don't talk. You smell like the living."
Red Plume the Underworld Divine said, "I can't stand those who are still breathing. If you were dead, your voice would be much more pleasant to hear. And Lord Hades isn't simply summoning you—he's interrogating you."
They arrived at the Hall of King Qin. Quinn Shepherd glanced toward the entrance and saw a writhing ball of flesh still struggling—Aiden Starr still refused to give up the bodies he'd harvested, clearly unwilling to abandon his chosen path.
"Even someone as brilliant as Aiden Starr can't let go of the gains he's made; in the end, greed clouds his heart."
Quinn Shepherd couldn't help but shake his head. Starr's indecision was costing him his life. But it was understandable—he'd spent his whole existence carving up others and claiming their bodies. To let go now would mean abandoning his life's path, denying his entire existence. No wonder he couldn't accept it.
The greater one's achievements and willpower, the harder it is to change oneself, to shift one's beliefs, or to admit one's mistakes.
"Dawn is coming!"
Suddenly, a piercing cry rang out in Nether City. Quinn Shepherd looked up and saw giant beasts crouched atop palace rooftops, craning their necks to watch the sky and howling, "All districts, all cities beware! Dawn is coming!"
Inside Nether City, wandering souls swirled through the air in panic while gods and demons dashed about on the ground, urgently seeking shelter.
Quinn Shepherd was startled and asked, "Red Plume the Underworld Divine, what happens when dawn comes?"
Red Plume replied nonchalantly, "When dawn arrives, the sun rises. They have to hide, or the sun's pure yang fire will burn them. This sun isn't like the one outside."
Quinn Shepherd watched, confused, as the darkness outside Nether City retreated at lightning speed and the misty Netherworld (Youdu) suddenly became blindingly bright!
It was the first time he'd witnessed Nether City at dawn. The bustling chaos of gods and demons in the streets vanished in an instant—everyone slammed their doors shut, wandering souls dove into the abyss, and the giant beasts on the rooftops hurried inside. The entire city turned eerily silent.
Then, the white light shifted to crimson. A colossal blazing sun, wreathed in roaring flames, surged up from the distant horizon. Instantly, waves of fire swept in from the east, rolling like an ocean, flooding every street and drowning every palace and house.
The pure yang fire engulfed Nether City's divine districts, its scorching heat warping even space itself!
Bathed in pure yang fire, Quinn Shepherd looked down and saw that his skeletal body was faintly growing flesh, sinew, and veins. He could even see his organs nestled between his ribs!
He glanced at the gods and demons hiding by palace windows—their flesh was turning ghostly, revealing pale bones beneath!
The sun's true fire seemed harmless to him, but it burned the gods and demons of Nether City, scorching their bodies and incinerating their souls!
In the east, the sun blazed ever hotter and redder. Within its heart, Quinn Shepherd could just make out towering palaces, and before each palace stood a giant drum, pounded madly by gods and demons. Every thunderous beat drove torrents of pure yang fire down onto Nether City.
Inside the sun, countless palaces, countless drums, and countless giants hammered away, sending waves of true fire to engulf the city!
"What... is this?"
Quinn Shepherd's mind reeled. Suddenly, he heard screams and spun around—Aiden Starr's writhing flesh-ball was ablaze in the sun's true fire, dozens of faces twisted in agony, howling and struggling in torment.
The true fire burned their forms into shadows, and Starr's true body began to emerge from the flames.
Wracked with pain, Starr suddenly leapt up and plunged into the Nai River beneath Naihe Bridge. Mist and monsters surged up from the river, swallowing him whole.
"Aiden Starr!"
Quinn Shepherd rushed to the riverbank, but the mist grew thicker, battling the sun-fire and hiding Starr from view.
"He's fallen into the Netherworld (Youdu)," Red Plume the Underworld Divine remarked.
Red Plume flapped his wings twice. The sun's true fire did him no harm, and he urged, "Come on, Lord Hades is still waiting for you!"
Quinn Shepherd steadied himself and followed Red Plume into the Hall of King Qin.
Inside the Hall of King Qin, Lord Hades sat shrouded in a black robe and cloak, his face and body swallowed by darkness. Quinn Shepherd glanced around but saw no ghost kings.
"Red Plume, you may leave," Lord Hades said from atop his throne.
"Yes." Red Plume the Underworld Divine exited the Hall of King Qin.
Lord Hades sat on his throne, flipping through an ancient book, the rustle of pages echoing through the hall. The rising sun outside seemed not to affect him at all. Now, only he and Quinn Shepherd remained.
Quinn Shepherd felt uneasy. After a moment, Lord Hades rose, and the hall's lamps dimmed, darkness closing in around Quinn.
"You come from Carefree Haven, don't you? Who is your father?"
Quinn Shepherd was taken aback by the question. "My father is Hansen Keane. Our ancestral home is Carefree Haven, but I wasn't born there..."
"Hansen Keane?"
Lord Hades paused, murmuring, "So it's reached the 'Han' generation? Yu, De, Chang, Ming; Han, Fenix, Huan, Zhen. The Keane clan must be over a hundred generations now."
He picked up the book he'd been reading, found the character for 'Han,' and said, "Han is the 106th generation, Fenix is the 107th. Your real name isn't Quinn Shepherd—it should have 'Fenix' in it."
Quinn Shepherd nodded but did not reveal his true name.
Ever since meeting the Grand Exalted, he'd realized that revealing one's true name was extremely dangerous—especially before someone like Lord Hades, who ruled Nether City.
Even with the Hall of King Qin and the Keane Clan Genealogy here, Quinn Shepherd had to be cautious.
"You were right not to tell me your true name. The world is indeed full of danger."
Lord Hades said, "I also bear the Keane surname, but it was granted—I am a minglingzi, an adopted son. I was originally nothing, an orphan, alone and rootless, until His Majesty allowed me into the Keane Clan Genealogy. My name is written there."
Quinn Shepherd understood: minglingzi meant an adopted son, not originally of the Keane clan but later given the name and accepted as family.
"It's been ages since I've seen a visitor from Carefree Haven."
Lord Hades walked to the hall's entrance, looking out at Nether City drowning in flames. "I always thought His Majesty would return from Carefree Haven, but twenty thousand years have passed and he never came—only his 107th-generation descendant. You used Netherworld divine arts to snatch a few souls from my city. I saw your resemblance to His Majesty and recognized your Youdu techniques, so I didn't intervene."
Quinn Shepherd hesitated, then asked, "You mean the Pioneer Emperor is still alive?"
Lord Hades remained shrouded in darkness, untouched by the blazing fire. "His Majesty still lives. After founding Carefree Haven, he led the last gods away from this world to preserve their strength and await a counterattack. He foresaw disaster long ago and ordered me to build Nether City so the gods who couldn't leave could hide here, waiting for resurgence. We've waited twenty thousand years... You said you weren't born in Carefree Haven, so where were you born?"
After a moment of silence, Quinn Shepherd rasped, "The Netherworld (Youdu)."