011 Deadline

A beam of purple-hued flame shot out from Chen Hao's left eye, turning Ma Mian's soul-snatching spear into ashes.

Seeing this, both Niu Tou and Ma Mian were dumbstruck! Off to the side, Chen Che secretly rejoiced in his heart, hoping that the enchanted power on Chen Hao's left eye could help him escape another Jie.

Chen Hao, witnessing a purple flame shooting out from his own left eye, was agape and speechless, wondering if this could be the "mystic force" Ye Yuqiao spoke of?

"This is the Nether King's Power!" Ma Mian exclaimed in shock. Then, it retreated next to Niu Tou and whispered, "That just now must have been the Nether King's Fire."

Niu Tou snorted, unwilling to accept what Ma Mian said. He raised the long knife in his hand and said, "If it's as you say, then it must be the Nether King preventing us from taking this lad back to the Netherworld, so don't talk nonsense!"

Hearing Ma Mian cry out "Nether King's Power," both Chen Hao and Chen Che looked at each other, wondering if the mysterious power in his left eye was truly the so-called "Nether King's Power"? How could he possess the Nether King's Power?

Suddenly, Niu Tou swung his long knife, and with a loud shout, he charged toward Chen Hao, ultimately slashing at Chen Hao's face and cleaving his body in two. Niu Tou's long knife was a soul-bisecting blade; any Yin Soul split by this knife would be completely scattered, Primordial Spirit extinguished!

"Hao'er!" Watching his grandson being cleaved in half right before his eyes, Chen Che collapsed against the wall. Smelling the strong scent of blood and feeling dizzy and nauseous, he couldn't help but vomit, unable to stop the tears. It was futile now to even dream of seeing Chen Hao in the Netherworld, let alone in the mortal world. Chen Hao was completely gone!

"Ha!" Niu Tou knocked the handle of his long knife against the floor, creating several cracks and looking quite proud. But just as it turned and took large strides toward the dark purple gate to the Netherworld, something unexpected happened:

An obscure purple vortex suddenly appeared above Chen Hao's left eye, and as the substances within the vortex whirled at high speed, Chen Hao's body, which had been split in two, slowly began to merge, and the huge pool of blood on the ground was slowly retracting back into his body.

Chen Che, slumped to one side, stopped crying, his gaze fixed in amazement at the astonishing scene before him. He remembered that just last night, Chen Hao had been cut in two by the Heavenly Master, only to later revive silently. It seemed Ye Yuqiao was right; as long as this enchanted power remained, Chen Hao would be safe.

Seeing Ma Mian's incredulous expression, Niu Tou asked, "The person's soul has scattered, why the big fuss?"

Ma Mian was speechless, instead giving Niu Tou a shocked look and gesturing with his eyes. Baffled, Niu Tou turned his head, only to find that Chen Hao was already standing perfectly intact in front of him, albeit with his eyes tightly shut, seemingly not yet awake.

"Niu Tou, this is definitely the Nether King's Power!" Ma Mian whispered to Niu Tou.

"How could this kid possibly have the Nether King's Power?" Niu Tou still didn't believe it. Within the Netherworld, aside from the Nether King, no ghost, god, or Yin Soul could cross the Naihe Bridge to see Niu Tou and Ma Mian; nor could Niu Tou and Ma Mian cross the Naihe Bridge into the Netherworld unbidden. The last time the Nether King had met with Niu Tou and Ma Mian was thousands of years ago. If Chen Hao really possessed any Nether King's Power, it meant that the Nether King was no longer in the Netherworld, and that a disaster had struck within!

Niu Tou raised his knife once more, rushed forward, and decapitated Chen Hao with a single stroke. Chen Hao's head soon began to rise slowly, attempting to reattach itself to his neck. Seeing this, Niu Tou swung his long knife and smacked Chen Hao's head into the Netherworld gate, then quickly closed the gate.

"He can't possibly live through this!" Niu Tou said angrily.

Chen Che, standing to one side, watched in sorrow, not knowing if another miracle might occur.

With a "bang," Chen Hao's headless body fell to the ground, blood splattering and covering Chen Che's face. Chen Che's weakened body slid down along the wall to the floor; kneeling before Chen Hao's corpse, he sobbed uncontrollably.

Only then did Niu Tou let out a long sigh of relief. Although they couldn't take Chen Hao's Yin Soul back to the Netherworld, at least they had managed to capture his head, preventing him from living in the mortal world.

"Let's go!" Niu Tou said to Ma Mian.

"Mm!" Ma Mian nodded hesitantly, doubting Chen Hao was truly dead despite suspecting that he possessed the Nether King's Power.

Just as Ma Mian was about to summon another gateway to the Netherworld, a dark purple vortex suddenly appeared in the air between it and Niu Tou. As the vortex swirled larger and larger, Chen Hao's head flew out from within, reattaching itself to his neck. The blood that had splattered on the ground and on Chen Che also flowed back into Chen Hao's body.

Niu Tou was completely stunned! Chen Hao could actually summon the passage between the realms of the dead and the living!

A short while later, Chen Hao woke up, and the vortex above his left eye had vanished. He turned to Chen Che and asked in astonishment, "Grandfather, what happened just now? Why do I feel so tired?"

The haggard Chen Che stepped forward and held his grandson, who had returned from the dead, in a tight embrace, crying tears of relief.

Chen Hao gently patted Chen Che's back in comfort, secretly marveling at how his usually stubborn and proud grandfather also had such a tender side.

"What on earth is going on!" Niu Tou asked loudly. As his words fell, he pounded the handle of his long blade against the floor twice and shouted, "Earthly King, come out quickly, the Earthly King of this land, come out!"

The so-called Earthly King refers to a Netherworld official assigned to a particular region in the mortal world, primarily responsible for recording life and death within that region, as well as assigning specific tasks to soul reapers and Onmyoji.

It wasn't long before an old man with white hair holding the Book of Life and Death emerged from the floor of Chen Hao's house. Seeing that it was Niu Tou and Ma Mian, the white-haired elder was taken aback, then bowed respectfully and said, "Honorable sirs, I am the Earthly King of this land. May I ask why you have summoned me?"

Niu Tou had no patience for idle chatter with the Earthly King and stepped forward directly, pointing at Chen Hao and demanding, "Check this youngster's past life, as well as the illnesses and accidents he has encountered in this life."

The Earthly King nodded, then turned and walked over to Chen Hao. As he flipped through the Book of Life and Death, he muttered, "Chen Hao, right? Let me find his information."

Chen Hao gently freed himself from Chen Che's embrace and curiously watched the Earthly King and the Book of Life and Death. As he watched, his left eye once again flashed a purple light, but this time the purple light was very soft and shone exclusively upon the Earthly King.

The Earthly King hastily closed the Book of Life and Death, exclaiming in panic, "Where did this evil spirit come from!"

As soon as the Earthly King finished speaking, a "hiss" sound occurred, and white smoke emerged around him. Once the white smoke dissipated, what appeared was a long-haired Yin Soul in white robes. It turned out that the so-called Earthly King was a Yin Soul in disguise, revealed by the light from Chen Hao's left eye.

Seeing this, both Niu Tou and Ma Mian were greatly shocked. Niu Tou swung his blade, and the chilly edge landed on the Yin Soul's neck as he demanded, "A Nameless ghost dares impersonate an Earthly King, how audacious!"

"Mercy, my lords, mercy!" The long-haired Yin Soul knelt down and begged for mercy, "I'm not impersonating the Earthly King; I was appointed here by the Queen Mother herself."

Ma Mian questioned, "The Queen Mother? Where on this earth is there a Queen Mother? It seems to me you're fabricating everything!"

"Ah!" The long-haired Yin Soul exclaimed in astonishment, "I swear what I say is true; if there's a word of lie, may I be struck by lightning and never reincarnated! Half a year ago, thanks to an introduction by the Great Fairy of the Seven Fairies, I had the honor to meet the Queen Mother. Later, I paid some Joss Paper and bought this position from her!"

"Absurd, I never imagined that in the decades since I've been to the mortal world, there would be so many impersonators and charlatans!" Niu Tou was furious! With that, he swung his blade, severing the Yin Soul's spirit and Primordial Spirit.

After the Yin Soul dispersed, Niu Tou approached Chen Hao and Chen Che and asked, "Chen Hao, your earthly lifespan has ended, and you should report to the Netherworld for reincarnation. Unfortunately, we cannot move you, so what do you suggest we do?"

Suddenly, a light flashed in Chen Che's eyes, and he knelt before Niu Tou, beseeching them, "Honourable sirs, as the saying goes, a life for a life. I am willing to trade my own life for my grandson's."

Chen Hao was startled upon hearing this. He had never shown filial piety to his grandfather, how could he let Chen Che die for him? This was an act of great unfilial piety, and his conscience couldn't bear it. He also knelt before Niu Tou, pleading, "Sirs, I am ready to go to the Netherworld with you. If my Yin Soul cannot be summoned, let my flesh go with you. Rest assured, I have no thoughts of returning!"

"Haozi, you are still young, whereas grandfather is old!" Chen Che cried with a pained expression, "I could at most live another decade or so, but you, you could live another sixty or seventy years and continue the lineage of the Chen Family."

"Grandpa, life and death are predestined, and this is my fate. Please do not trouble these two great sirs any further!" Chen Hao argued.

Niu Tou sighed, waved at them, and then turned to consult with Ma Mian. After a long discussion, Niu Tou and Ma Mian reached a consensus. Niu Tou returned to Chen Hao and Chen Che and said, "Since Chen Hao has already overstayed in the mortal world by a few days, it's okay to let you stay for a little longer. However, we have one condition, can you agree to it?"

"Please speak, sir!" Chen Che said, his face brightening.

"We will take your grandfather's Yin Soul away first. If within half a year you can subjugate the charlatans in this land, such as the counterfeit Seven Fairies and Queen Mother just mentioned by that Earthly King, we will return your grandfather's Yin Soul to the mortal world; if not, we will take your grandfather's lifespan to cover yours!"

A shade of yin and yang instantly clouded Chen Hao's eyes. Catching ghosts and subduing demons, the arts of yin and yang, had never been taught to him by his grandfather. Expecting him to eliminate these so-called gods and ghosts within a mere half a year was a monumental challenge! Before he had a chance to think it through, Chen Che had already nodded and accepted on his behalf.

"Sir, very well, we accept the condition you've proposed!"

"Grandpa," Chen Hao's face darkened, "I have no knowledge whatsoever of catching ghosts and subduing demons. How am I to eliminate these ghosts and spirits?"

"There's a book on ghost-catching and demon-slaying in the drawer of grandpa's room, and the house has many tools for catching ghosts," Chen Che said as he stood up, thinking they had struck a good bargain with the terms offered by Niu Tou and Ma Mian. "Honorable sirs, let us go!"

Chen Hao quickly stood up, wanting to stop them. Suddenly, Niu Tou turned around and kicked him away, leaving him to awaken later...