Yellow Skinned Taoist Master

Chapter 117: Give Me Back My Head

"Great King, isn't your head right there on your neck?"

"It's gone, it's gone!"

The assembled ghost officers had no idea what to do when they heard this.

In their eyes, the Yama's head was sitting perfectly fine on its shoulders.

Why had it suddenly declared it missing after giving it a feel?

Chen Huangpi said with malicious intent, "It's not just his head that's gone — yours are missing too! If you don't believe me, feel for yourselves."

The moment these words left his mouth.

The ghost officers all reached up and touched their own heads.

"My head is gone — how come yours is still there?"

"I was about to ask you the same thing. Your head looks perfectly fine. I'm the one missing mine."After several rounds of debate.

Every last ghost officer fell silent.

Even the headless Yama ceased to utter another word, merely sitting upon the dragon throne like a corpse.

"So in each of your eyes, everyone else's head is still there — but in reality, none of you have heads at all!"

Chen Huangpi's eyes widened with sudden realization. "You're all dead, yet you still think everything looks the way it did when you were alive. You didn't even know the Yin Emperor had perished, or that the Underworld Yellow Spring had undergone a mutation."

"That's right — just now, you said the Heaven and Earth Mutation hadn't started yet."

"But it began long ago."

"So tell me — when exactly were your heads severed?"

Inside the empty Yama Hall, only Chen Huangpi's voice echoed.

The ghost officers and the Yama never made another sound.

If not for the shackles on his body and the iron chains binding his hands.

Chen Huangpi would have thought everything that had just happened was a hallucination.

And right at that moment.

The Brass Oil Lamp's excited voice rang out: "Chen Huangpi, I've figured out a way to save you! You'll never guess — I'm actually the Nine Nether God Lantern!"

"..."

Chen Huangpi responded in surprise, "If you're not the Nine Nether God Lantern, what — could you possibly be the Golden Top Heavenly Lamp instead?"

The Brass Oil Lamp replied, "It's not like that. Anyway, it's complicated. I'll explain everything once we're back. By the way, how are things in there? They didn't torture a confession out of you, did they?"

"Almost."

Chen Huangpi said, "But they didn't know their own heads were missing. Once I pointed it out, every single one of them turned into corpses — not moving at all... Huh?!!"

"The Yama is moving again..."

"So what if it's moving? Just expose the truth again."

"I already am, but it's demanding I give its head back."

"Then stall for time — wait for me, wait for me!"

...

Outside the Yama Hall.

Huang Er had reverted to his true form — a lamp covered from top to bottom in green patina, burning with netherfire. At this moment, his heart was nearly splitting with terror.

Overhead, the flame of another Nine Nether God Lantern was growing dim.

Because the lamp oil within it was disappearing.

Earlier, when Chen Huangpi was about to be cast into the eighteenth level of hell.

Huang Er had been driven to utter desperation.

He couldn't think of any other solution, so he went to find the Nine Nether God Lantern.

Never mind who was the clone anymore.

If this Nine Nether God Lantern truly was the Nine Nether God Lantern.

Then all he had to do was tell it that Chen Huangpi was the Guanzhu's beloved disciple, and it would surely not dare refuse to help.

But the moment Huang Er's consciousness attempted to make contact with the Nine Nether God Lantern, he discovered something unexpectedly smooth — there was no resistance whatsoever. His mind simply... supplanted it.

And then, a flood of memories surfaced.

He understood now. The Nine Nether God Lantern here was indeed his clone.

Moreover, it was one of ten clones the Guanzhu had left behind after bringing him to the Underworld Yellow Spring to create Yin Gods.

One day in the mortal world equaled one year here.

Over an inconceivably long stretch of time, this clone had naturally grown formidably powerful.

The clone had been enlightening Yin Gods while also keeping watch over the world beyond the ghost gate — a world that resembled the old temple.

But there was a difference.

This clone had already begun showing signs of degenerating into a malevolent spirit.

Otherwise, the moment Huang Er laid eyes on it, the clone would have immediately submitted to its original's control instead of maintaining a tenuous independence.

"This time we're truly done for!"

Huang Er gritted his teeth. "That entire Yama Hall is a malevolent spirit. The Yama itself is a malevolent spirit too — it's only been held in check by the Decadirectional Bone-Illuminating Mirror. That's the only reason it's maintained its current form."

"Now it's demanding Chen Huangpi give it a head."

"Once it has a head, the Decadirectional Bone-Illuminating Mirror will no longer be able to restrain it. It'll transform into a full-blown malevolent spirit on the spot."

Hearing this, the Life-reaping Ghost roared in shock and fury, "Then what are you waiting for?! Isn't this Nine Nether God Lantern your clone? Drain its power and go rescue the contract master!"

"What if I become a malevolent spirit too?"

Huang Er murmured. "I've already absorbed a third of its power, but going up against that Yama would still be a death sentence. The Divine Light of Escape won't work either. Damn it — I need to drain at least two-thirds to be safe."

"A Gui, if I turn into a malevolent spirit, will I still try to save Chen Huangpi?"

"You and the contract master depend on each other for survival. How could you not save him?"

"You're right."

Huang Er gave a faint smile and spat out a lamp wick, handing it to the Life-reaping Ghost. "But I'm worried that after I save him, I'll want to devour him instead. Hold onto this — when the time comes, no matter what I say, don't believe me. Just light this wick."

"And one more thing — tell Chen Huangpi for me: I wasn't bluffing. I truly do have boundless potential!"

With that, Huang Er opened his mouth wide and inhaled ferociously toward the clone.

A stream of lamp oil, thin as a creek, flowed from the clone into his maw.

But the oil was black, exuding an ominous aura.

"I am the Nine Nether God Lantern!!!"

...

Inside the great hall.

No matter how Chen Huangpi called out.

He could no longer hear the Brass Oil Lamp's voice.

Unease gnawed at his heart. 'Could something have happened to Huang Er?'

But there was no time left for him to ponder.

The headless Yama, seated upon the dragon throne, had slipped into some eerie state, muttering ceaselessly, "Give me back my head. Give me back my head. Chen Huangpi, give me back my head."

"I'm not the one who cut off your head. What does it have to do with me?"

Chen Huangpi still tried to buy time.

But the flanking guards seized him directly and hauled him forward.

"What are you doing?!"

"This is against the law!"

The ghost officers remained coldly silent.

They dragged him before the dragon throne. Then, a ring-pommel broadsword appeared in one ghost officer's hand — its edge gleaming cold, wickedly sharp.

Judging by their intent, they were about to chop off Chen Huangpi's head.

"Let's not do this."

Chen Huangpi protested, "Look — I'm just a child. My head isn't even as big as your fist, and your Yama's neck is that thick. The sizes don't match at all."

The words had barely left his mouth before the blade came swinging down.

"Ahhh!!!"

Clang!

The blade shattered on impact, sparks flying in every direction.

Chen Huangpi, however, merely swayed on his feet.

Forget having his head chopped off — not a single strand of hair had been harmed.

"Doesn't hurt!"

Tears glistened in Chen Huangpi's eyes. "Give it up. I've had tough skin and thick flesh since birth. Your blade can't cut through my neck."

He was indeed tough-skinned and thick-fleshed — even true fire couldn't refine him.

But that had been before he began cultivating.

After taking up cultivation, although his body remained just as resilient, his six senses had grown far sharper and more sensitive.

Accordingly, what had once felt like a mosquito's bite had become genuine, searing agony.

The ghost officers said nothing.

They simply raised the blade in stoic silence and brought it down on Chen Huangpi's neck once more.

Blow after blow.

Clang, clang, clang...

The gloomy hall erupted with flying sparks.

"Doesn't hurt!"

"Doesn't hurt at all!"

Chen Huangpi sobbed as he spoke. "Stop wasting your effort. You just want a head, right? I'll mold one out of mud for your Yama — guaranteed to be the exact same size, identical to the original."

"Give me back my head. Give me back my head."

The headless Yama's stiff, hollow voice continued reverberating through the hall.

It could not leave the dragon throne.

Because the Decadirectional Bone-Illuminating Mirror overhead was shining down on its body, keeping its range of movement fixed firmly to the seat.

And so, it could only direct the ghost officers to act.

Boom, boom, boom...

The ghost officers wheeled out a dog-head guillotine.

The guillotine was not sharp — its edge was blunt, in fact.

Dried bloodstains covered its surface, their residual aura dark and unsettling.

Even after countless ages had passed.

It still radiated an overwhelmingly terrifying presence.

Chen Huangpi shook his head frantically. "I don't want that one! I am the future lord of the Great Qian Immortal Dynasty — bring me a dragon-head guillotine instead!"

He said as much.

But the ghost officers paid him no heed whatsoever, pulling the dog-head guillotine open.

Then they shoved him toward it.

Chen Huangpi didn't dare look, squeezing his eyes shut as tightly as he could.

He desperately channeled the Five Viscera Spirit Refining Art, desperately channeled the Yin-Yang Harmonization and Spirit Transformation Art.

But the power within his body remained suppressed by the shackles.

Inside the Kidney Temple, the Magic Tree's power was being frantically drained.

Billowing black smoke slammed against the Kidney Temple gates with all its fury.

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

But once the Kidney Temple gates were sealed, they could not be opened until the Five Viscera Spirit Refining Art was complete.

What other option was there?

Chen Huangpi kept trying to force the Kidney Temple gates open. But just then, the Liver Temple — or rather, his liver — which he had been ignoring all this time, began to throb.

The stream of vital energy that had been only as thick as a pinky finger suddenly surged to more than double its size.

Yet this vital energy did not follow the pathways of the Five Viscera Spirit Refining Art.

Instead, it rampaged wildly throughout his body.

'Am I about to succumb to qi deviation?'

Chen Huangpi felt an unbearable itch engulfing his entire body.

Every single pore was crawling with irritation.

He even felt the urge to claw his own skin to shreds.

The ghost officers ignored his condition, knowing nothing of his current state. They coldly pressed his head down onto the dog-head guillotine.

Another ghost officer gripped the chain on one side of the guillotine.

With a rattle.

The chain was pulled taut.

And then, the blunt-edged dog-head guillotine blade came crashing down.

A tearing hiss...

Before the guillotine even touched Chen Huangpi, the sheer keenness of its aura split a fissure across his scalp.

A dark cyan eye burrowed out from inside his scalp.

That eye was remarkably alive, crystalline in its clarity, yet devoid of all emotion — as pure and pristine as a newborn infant seeing the world for the very first time.

At the same time, an overwhelmingly terrifying aura erupted from Chen Huangpi's body.

Chen Huangpi jerked his head upward.

The dark cyan eye immediately slid to his cheek.

Chen Huangpi snarled through clenched teeth, "Freeze!"

At his command, the dark cyan eye snapped wide open. Ripples spread across its pupil, and a wave of eerie energy expanded outward in an instant.

The descending dog-head guillotine froze in midair.

But this act seemed to drain the eye's power enormously.

Its light dimmed at once, threatening to close — as though it had not yet fully matured, and Chen Huangpi had forced it awake prematurely.

"Go absorb the black smoke!"

Chen Huangpi shouted, and the eye snapped wide once more.

The black smoke that had been frozen motionless around his body instantly surged toward the dark cyan eye as though it had found its home, plunging into it without hesitation.

With that, the eye blazed with brilliant radiance.

Boom!

The shackles and chains exploded on the spot.

Chen Huangpi's figure flickered, and the Void-Piercing Sword emerged from the Soul-Hooking Manual in an instant.

The next second.

A sword light of dazzling, absolute brilliance illuminated the Yama Hall.