“Ahhhhh! Ahhhhh! Ahhhhh! Ahhhhh! Ahhhhh!!”

Thousands upon thousands of lives, belonging to those he once thought had long since been refined, died, and would never return.

However, under the shroud of the [Inner Realm], it formed its own rules.

"The Taoist concept of hell was learned from Buddhism and then adapted."

Watching coldly as the yakuza elder was devoured by his own flesh, Qi Xing said indifferently,

"Heaven is within me, and hell does not depart from the heart—in Taoist concepts, hell is 'non-existent'; it is merely a delusional dream. Hell appears because 'the world's hearts are deluded, and the six dusts are all tainted.'"

"But I do not like this concept."

Simply put, in the Taoist worldview, hell is insubstantial. It exists because the evil thoughts of the dead during their lives manifest after death, all being illusions of the mind. According to the "Nine Nether Hell Salvation Method," hell is born from various sins, and sinful karma originates from a single heart. Hell is the delusion of the departed soul, merely a self-sought cage.

To put it another way, or rather to put it bluntly, theoretically, even if a person committed every evil in their life, betrayed their sovereign and father, killed and stole, owed lives and debts, as long as their Taoist heart was firm and they were able to settle their mind and cut off delusions, they would not fall into hell.

Of course, this is just a pure theory; in reality, even Taoist priests themselves would certainly not dare to say such things. In specific religious practice, the modern Taoist view of life and death still emphasizes rewarding good and punishing evil, and when people die, funeral rites still include rituals to resolve grievances and cleanse karma.

Religious theory and religious practice are two different things!

—However, at least in Qi Xing's view, there is no justice in such a theory.

Perhaps this world is inherently dark.

The foolish loli who created this world is neither evil nor kind. She is like Azathoth blindly eating fish; she doesn't care about good, evil, or justice at all.

But Qi Xing cares.

So, within his [Inner Realm], there are new rules of his own.

In this underworld that flowed from Qi Xing, under Qi Xing's judgment, every blood debt must be settled; those who take lives will eventually have their own lives taken.

Even if the deceased has already been devoured clean by the evildoer, they will return to bite back.

This is not a curse.

This is justice.

Evil deeds must have evil retribution… Evil deeds must have evil retribution!!

"Does it hurt, Yatsufusa Eiichi?"

Flying in the sky like the sun, Qi Xing looked down at the yakuza elder on the ground, "This pain is what you gave to others in the past. And today, it is your turn."

"If this world is not black and white, then I will create a world that is!"

Establishing and maintaining laws, creating a new world operating under new rules.

This is what a Demon King pursuing [silver coins] can do, and the ultimate realm that will be reached after collecting all the [silver coins].

—Although Qi Xing spoke with considerable spirit, Yatsufusa Eiichi actually didn't have much strength left to listen now.

After all, all the flesh on his body was rebelling, trying to crawl out and tear him apart; even an ordinary immortal could not withstand this.

The feeling of death surged into the elder's heart like an electric current. It made him tremble, made him afraid.

He was going to die. He didn't want to die. He didn't want to die! No matter what, he didn't want to die! What should he do?! There was only one answer. There was only one way to survive.

"I don't want to die yet! I don't want to die!"

Thus, Yatsufusa Eiichi suddenly knelt down. He knelt on this underworld earth illuminated by the scorching sun, knelt under the judgment, prostrated himself completely, and slammed his head heavily into the flesh and ashes!

"Master Leipu!! I… I surrender! I submit!"

"I was wrong, I deserve to die!! But I beg you to spare my life!"

"The entire [Yatsufusa-kai] belongs to you! All my money, everything I've cultivated, I give it all to you!"

"I can make up for my crimes! I can tell you all the information on the [Greed Demon], I know his secrets in [Magic City Tokyo]!"

"I… I can be your dog!!"

He kowtowed, kowtowing until his scalp split and his face was covered in blood.

Yatsufusa. Where did the surname Yatsufusa come from? Interested friends can Baidu "The Legend of the Eight Dog Warriors." In a nutshell, Yatsufusa… was originally the name of a dog. It is a story that cannot be told between a dog and a princess.

Literally, it really is just a dog.

He crawled, like a dog, trying to avoid the scorching sunlight, but the sunlight was like a verdict, leaving no shadow to hide in.

"Didn't you say you wanted to create a black-and-white world? I was wrong! From now on, let me live, even if it's just to be a negative example!!"

"I beg you, Master Leipu… I beg you, spare my dog's life…"

Sentence after sentence, he pleaded obsequiously, crying with snot and tears, lying on the ground like a dog.

Even though the flesh on the ground was still roaring, devouring him and pulling at his bones, he was still struggling—kowtowing, begging for life. Because—he was afraid of death. He wanted to live, he wanted immortality.

But Qi Xing just watched him, looked at him coldly, and then smiled.

"You haven't done anything to me, why are you begging me for mercy?"

"I am not the one who can forgive you."

"Go find the person you should be begging for mercy from—you piece of trash."

Qi Xing didn't even need to make another move. In his [Inner Realm], the yakuza evil immortal could only be burned by the sun and gnawed on by the people he had killed and devoured in this desperate way.

The leader of the [Kanto Yatsufusa-kai], the yakuza evil immortal Yatsufusa Eiichi, was thus gnawed and eaten up by his own flesh.

After everything ended, Qi Xing reached out and grabbed his soul, starting to search and check the memories inside.

Searching the soul memories of the dead is actually not that convenient; at least it's more troublesome than the living. But Qi Xing still quickly found some information related to the [Greed Demon]. One of the things even surprised him.

Meanwhile, the night was deep, and on the elevated bridge in the suburbs of Tokyo, traffic was sparse. Streetlights passed by outside the car window one by one, like tired blinking eyes.

The Solar Magical Girl Soleia—no, she was no longer "Soleia." She was no longer the Solar Magical Girl.

The civilian Hinata Haruna sat in the Onmyoryo's armored vehicle. The car was soundproofed extremely well; she couldn't hear the engine, nor could she hear the wind. There was only silence.

She was being escorted by the Onmyoryo, leaving Tokyo.

"Master Leipu said we must carefully protect you."

The guard sitting next to her was none other than the head of the Onmyoryo, the demon-slaying, beautiful, voluptuous fox spirit Tsuchimikado Hyougen.

As one of the strongest in the Tokyo righteous path, being sent to protect such a young girl was truly surprising.

However, Hyougen was not angry, nor did she put on airs. She just smiled, turned her face, and spoke in a relaxed tone, with a hint of teasing: "Why is Master Leipu so worried about you? Even Artemina's parents only sent ordinary Onmyoji to escort them."

Hinata did not answer, and her expression did not fluctuate. She just looked quietly out the window, as if she had already accepted all of this.

But her eyes still reflected the night sky of distant Tokyo—there, people were still fighting.

However, she could only sit in this car, being protected, being taken away, like a useless burden.

So at this very moment, there was some kind of emotion constantly churning in the bottom of her heart.

She did not answer.

But Tsuchimikado Hyougen still saw something more dangerous in her expression at that moment. Not sadness. It was anger. It was hate.

"That's not very good, little girl."

So the fox-eared Onmyoji raised her eyebrows, "Do you think only you hate those bad people? But, eliminating evil is an adult's business. Don't let hatred hurt your own heart. Go back to a normal life with your family who is still alive."

She was speaking adult words, adult reasoning.

So Hinata did not respond; she didn't say anything. She knew that even if she spoke, it would be useless.

What a joke? How could she not let hatred hurt her heart? How could she possibly "go back" to a normal life?

Her "daily life" had long since been torn to shreds last night.

Adults—adults who speak high-sounding words are the most annoying.

But she still didn't say anything.

For a moment, there was only a heavy silence in the car.

…Until a short while later, the armored vehicle's walkie-talkie suddenly rang: [Report… This is the lead car, Lord Tsuchimikado, the road ahead is suspected—someone—]

Before the sentence was finished, a scream of "Wahhh!" came over the radio, along with the sounds of glass shattering, the vehicle twisting, and being crushed flat.

The atmosphere inside the car instantly froze.

Tsuchimikado Hyougen's fox ears twitched slightly, and the smile on her face finally faded. "Stop the car," she ordered.

The accompanying Onmyoji immediately stopped the car on the elevated bridge without hesitation, and raised a spell barrier to protect the car and Hinata inside.

And Hyougen herself had already pushed the door open and got out, her footsteps light as a cat, and the spiritual power on her body was surging silently.

The night wind blew across the elevated bridge, but the headlights could not pierce the dark shadow ahead.

A figure walked slowly out of the darkness. He was a burly man, at least 1.9 meters tall, with broad shoulders and long legs, dressed in a sharp suit. Despite his elegant attire, his posture carried an unsettling sense of oppression.

Even more bizarrely, although his face looked only in his early thirties, he had grey-white hair. His expression was gentle and calm, as if he were not arriving on a battlefield, but preparing to discuss a business deal.

Tsuchimikado Hyougen frowned, her tone becoming rarely solemn: "…[Greed Demon]."

How is that possible?