"Please, Your Majesty the Underworld King, calm down! If there's an issue, we can talk it out—no need to resort to violence!"
Just as Acha raised her whip to strike, Zhao Li suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Smiling warmly, he blocked the attack, grasping the whip mid-air to defuse the situation. Clearly, he didn't want the two to start fighting.
"Underworld King, shouting like that is rather unreasonable, isn't it? Since when did I become a heartless scoundrel?"
"If I ever wronged you, I'd remember it—but I don't recall ever having anything with you,"
Yi Tianxing said coldly, taking a deep breath to steady his mood. Still, a trace of anger flickered in his heart.
After all, being unjustly accused and yelled at without any reason would irritate anyone.
"Tch! Don't flatter yourself!" Acha snapped, snorting coldly."I'm not talking about me—I'm talking about Ah Qi! You know what you did to her! She's about to give birth, and you didn't even know. If that's not heartless, what is?! She must've been blind to fall for someone like you!"
As she spoke, her pupils twisted into swirling black vortexes, a sign of her wrath and agitation.
"So it is Ah Qi who's about to give birth…"
Yi Tianxing's expression changed subtly as he murmured to himself. The strange premonition he'd felt earlier had indeed been correct—a new child, a new bloodline connected to him, was about to enter the world.
Without replying to Acha, he walked directly toward the Yellow Springs Inn.
Meng Qi was about to give birth.
Even though he already had many children, every new one still filled his heart with joy and anticipation. Each represented not just a new life, but a continuation of his bloodline—a living extension of himself.
"Son-in-law, the mistress is in the back courtyard."
At the entrance to the inn, Little Skeleton greeted him with a flicker of excitement in his soul fire. He pointed Yi Tianxing toward the rear.
"Got it."
Yi Tianxing nodded and headed into the back courtyard.
This was Meng Qi's private residence, and as he stepped in, he saw a group of servant girls bustling in and out, carrying towels and basins of hot water.
"Hurry, the princess is about to give birth! Prepare the baby's clothes!"
"Warm water, clean cloths—everything must be perfect. The ancestor values this child immensely. He will be the future heir of the Yellow Springs lineage!"
Experienced midwives tended to the birth, while the entire place bustled with activity.
"Son-in-law has arrived!"
Upon seeing Yi Tianxing, the maids all bowed respectfully. Their tone and address made it clear that he was no stranger here. Their familiarity and lack of formal distance made him feel warmly welcomed.
"What's the situation?" Yi Tianxing asked, raising a hand to stop their greetings.
He was most concerned with what was happening inside. If it weren't inappropriate, he'd have rushed in to be by Meng Qi's side already.
"She's almost there. It should be any moment now,"
replied a refined middle-aged woman, evidently the lead midwife.
"Look! Something's happening!"
"In the sky! A celestial omen!"
Suddenly, one of the maids pointed upward.
In the air above Yellow Springs Inn, a pitch-black vortex had silently formed. Inside it swirled terrifying visions—howling ghosts, crying gods, collapsing suns and moons. Entire purgatories seemed to surface in the swirl. All manner of demons, devils, gods, and phantoms flickered within its depths.
It was a vision straight out of the Eighteen Levels of Hell—perhaps worse.
Even in the Underworld, this was a taboo omen.
"The Purgatory Phenomenon..." Acha murmured, eyes flickering with awe."So Ah Qi's child truly isn't ordinary. Born under such signs—he's destined to be a peerless prodigy. Perhaps even a monstrous-level genius."
"By the heavens," Zhao Li gasped, jaw dropping,"Could this kid be born with some kind of special constitution? He's definitely not your average child..."
Streams of mystic light burst from the vortex and descended into the room where Meng Qi was giving birth.
Moments later, the room echoed with a newborn's loud, clear wail.
Waaaah!
The door creaked open.
A beaming midwife stepped out, holding a newborn swaddled in soft fabric.
Though just born, the child's skin was flawless and radiant, warm like jade. Black hair, black eyes, yet those eyes shone like a night sky—dark and deep, pure and profound.
He was a boy.
In his gaze, one could almost see a vast prison—a prison that could suppress gods, devils, and immortals. It was chilling.
"The Prison Suppression Divine Body!" Acha gasped."That's the supreme divine body of the Underworld! I can't believe it actually exists!"
This body was capable of suppressing all demons and ghosts—his very existence was a living, breathing prison stronger than even the Eighteen Hells.
The more demons and ghosts he suppressed, the stronger his body would grow. It was unmatched and unstoppable.
Everyone was stunned.
But before they could react further, a shadow appeared out of nowhere and snatched the baby from the midwife's hands.
"How dare you!!"
"You're dead!!"
"Die!!"
Yi Tianxing, Acha, and Zhao Li roared in unison.
Yi Tianxing moved instantly. With a flick of his wrist, a golden brick flew out—so fast it tore through space and smashed into the shadow's head.
CRACK!!
The shadow's defenses shattered instantly—no protection, no divine arts could withstand the golden brick. The figure screamed in agony as it was blown to pieces.
But—
Just as the baby began to fall—
Another shadowy hand appeared from thin air, caught him, and flung him into a black vortex that swallowed him whole.
In the blink of an eye, the vortex disappeared.
And a new figure now stood in the air.
It was a young woman in black, her skin pale but her face breathtaking—eerily beautiful, with a twisted smile that made the skin crawl.
"Mother is watching you, Emperor of Great Yi," she said with a twisted grin."She told me to tell you: If you want your son back, come to the Ghost Cavern—if you dare. You have three days. After that... he'll be our little brother. Heeheehee!"
Her giggles echoed strangely as she vanished.
Yi Tianxing stood still, eyes cold, body trembling from suppressed rage.
His gaze burned with fire—as if ready to ignite the heavens.
But he did not move to attack.
"Fine. Very well."
His tone was calm—too calm.
"So… the world thinks I'm a pushover now? You dare steal my son? Ghost Mother, you want to die?"
He didn't need to verify the aura. That was undoubtedly the work of the Ghost Mother—and the girl was one of her Ghost Daughters.
But killing a ghost daughter was meaningless. According to legend, as long as the Ghost Mother lived, her ghost children could always revive.
Only by killing the Ghost Mother could it end.
And she wasn't easy prey.
"Ghost Mother!!" Acha's voice was frigid, her eyes flashing with murderous intent."You dare insult me, the Underworld King?! You'll pay for this disgrace! Zhao Li—gather the army. I want the Ghost Cavern razed, and the Ghost Mother destroyed!"
This was a slap in her face, a humiliation she could never accept.
"Understood, Your Majesty Acha."
Zhao Li nodded firmly. With a glance at Yi Tianxing, he turned to carry out the order.
"My child… my child...!"
The door burst open, and Meng Qi stumbled out, tears streaking down her face as she reached toward the empty sky.
Yi Tianxing stepped forward, gently grabbing her hand and pulling her into his arms.
"Don't worry. I'll bring him back—safe and unharmed. No one can hurt a child of mine. Not in the world of the living… nor the dead."
His voice was low but resolute.
The child had been taken in a moment of chaos—a total surprise.
But next time… they wouldn't succeed so easily.