Chapter 228
Everyone froze.
Even the Southern Celestial Emperor himself stood stunned, his expression twisting in disbelief as he turned toward the source of that quiet voice.
The sound had come from within the mountain-protecting formation.
From the back hall of the Heavenly Master Hall, a man was walking forward at an unhurried pace.
He wore a dark crimson robe. His features were refined and elegant, the face of a gentle scholar—but the aura surrounding him made the soul tremble. Just one glance at him stirred terror in the depths of every being’s spirit, as though even their very existence bowed before his presence.
Each step he took caused a thick, tangible darkness to spread across the ground, swallowing everything in its path. The sky dimmed, the world itself seeming to draw a curtain over its own light, inch by inch falling into night.
By the time he reached the main hall, the heavens had gone pitch-black.
It was not the murky shadow that accompanied the Yama Kings’ descent—it was true darkness, one that erased all sense of space, form, and distance. The world itself seemed to vanish: trees, halls, mountains, light—all gone.
Though his lips carried a faint smile, the fear that he radiated was boundless. Every soul present felt an uncontrollable urge to kneel. It wasn’t the pressure of might; it was something older, something absolute—the awareness that their life and death rested in his hand.
“My Lord!”
The Yama Kings in the sky were the first to sense it. Their Yama Seals pulsed violently within their chests, trembling in reverence. In unison, their towering dharma bodies shrank back into ordinary spiritual forms, kneeling respectfully in midair.
“The Yama of the Netherworld pay respects to our master—Lord of the Underworld!”
All of them… except Bai Yu.