Chapter 147: The Nine-Grade Lotus Platform

Lin Han blinked, half-believing as he instructed Qin Ye on how to use the card. Qin Ye appeared to be listening closely, but his gaze never once left the space beneath the bed.

Ten minutes later, Lin Han stretched his arms and stood up. "Going out for a couple of drinks? The cafeteria wasn't even open today, cheap as hell. I forgot to bring any local specialties back from Daishan either... Huh? Why did you bring such a huge suitcase back? Got any food in here?"

His mischievous hand reached out naturally toward the leather suitcase Qin Ye had left on the floor. The next second, with a face full of terror, he slammed the door shut with a loud bang, staring at Qin Ye in utter speechlessness. "Holy shit, you've got to be kidding me... Did you smuggle a kid in there?"

With lingering fear, Qin Ye gently stroked the suitcase, glaring vigilantly at Lin Han. He loathed idiots with excessive curiosity more than anything else!

Who the hell said the most dangerous place is the safest place? Who the hell said it's darkest right under the lamp?

There existed a creature known as the Husky, capable of unearthing whatever you least wanted seen with intense curiosity and a unique technique. No matter how dark it was under the lamp, it would arrive, it would wreck, and it would conquer. Lin Han was a prime specimen among them!

"Did you really smuggle a kid? I just wanna touch it... It won't come out?" Big eyes blinking with bright, puppy-dog curiosity, Lin Han stood behind Qin Ye, looking at the suitcase with keen interest. He reached out his evil hand once more. Qin Ye swiftly kicked him away and cautiously pushed the suitcase further under the bed, feeling Alsace let out another muffled, cramped groan within.

I am an Imperial Judge, for crying out loud! Can I have a shred of dignity left? I've already been forced to humiliate myself by hiding under the bed, and you dare shove a suitcase in here on top of that?!

Lin Han's body, just as he was about to squat down for a closer look, instantly froze. His thick brows furrowed as he scanned his surroundings vigilantly. "Wait... Did you seriously not hear that? Just now, it sounded like someone groaned again? And they sounded pretty pissed off?"

I'm going to be driven insane by you guys sooner rather than later... Looking defeated and ready to give up on life, Qin Ye pulled Lin Han up, walked over to the window, and slammed a heavy hand onto his shoulder. "Overbearing brat, you're pretty much the only person I'd consider a friend after all these years."

Lin Han: ???

Weren't we already friends ages ago?

"Do you know how I treat my friends?" Qin Ye pulled Lin Han toward him, dragging a good third of the man's body right out past the window frame, and didn't stop.

From this vantage point, a prosperous city view spread out below.

"See this building? Come on, step right up, take a little leap down. One jump solves a thousand worries, and you'll have everything you ever wanted. You won't have to stress about life anymore, and the entire Earth will gasp in awe at your jump. The meaning of this leap will even surpass Comrade Keqiang's famous leap back then... And after that, we'll be permanent best friends for all eternity."

The Chief Judge's throne is reserved just for you, don't be shy, come on up. The Underworld is desperately short on staff right now... Since we're friends, won't you help a brother out?

With a bull-like charge of his back, Lin Han forced away Qin Ye's ill-intentioned hand and silently retreated back into the room. Before pulling the door shut, he poked his head out and said, "The day after tomorrow, students arrive. Starting at six in the morning, various departments will welcome them. I checked the scheduling roster, and you're the first shift, six to nine. That's it, alright?"

Thud!

"Are you an idiot?" The moment the door closed, a silicone-skinned face bit out through grates of fury from beneath the bed. "Just shove him straight out the window and be done with it! Why waste so much breath?!"

"I couldn't bring myself to do it..." Qin Ye sighed. "All jokes aside, little Ah, take a look at this."

He inserted the card and the download indicator popped up. It took a full twenty minutes for the data to finish downloading. Opening Momo once again, he found that a new treasure chest-like icon had appeared right below the chat interface.

Database.

"What is this?" Alsace asked, puzzled.

"The treasures accumulated by the Special Investigations Office over thousands of years are all right here." Qin Ye took a deep breath and gave a gentle tap. Instantly, the entire phone screen turned pitch black, and item after item appeared on the screen in 3D patterns, resembling shelves in a store.

Alsace froze for a second before snatching the phone from his hands and flipping through the pages at lightning speed.

No one spoke. Qin Ye could only watch as Alsace's eyes grew brighter and brighter. After a full hour of rapid scrolling, when she tried to flip further down and the phone finally displayed the message, "Insufficient authority, please strive to raise your faculty rank," she let out a long breath of relief and handed the phone back to Qin Ye.

"Well? Can the Underworld use any of this?" Qin Ye asked immediately.

Instead of answering, Alsace closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and softly said, "The foundation of the National Protection Divine Guards? I've heard long ago that such an organization existed in the mortal realm, but it was too elusive. I thought it was just a rumor. Seeing these things today... I now know the rumors are true. Without thousands of years of accumulation, such a massive treasury could never exist."

She opened her eyes, her finger tapping gently on the phone screen as she navigated back to the Soul-Detention tier treasury and pointed at a lotus flower. "Look at this."

Qin Ye looked closely. The lotus flower was as plain as can be, with its only peculiar trait being its blood-red color. The redemption cost was ten thousand merit points.

"What is this?"

"The seed of a Nine-Grade Lotus Throne..." Even Alsace found it hard to believe. "These mortals simply don't know value when they see it... No, perhaps they have no use for it at all, but to the Underworld, this is an indispensable treasure."

"The Nine-Grade Lotus Throne is the lotus seat ridden by practitioners of the nine grades of rebirth. Riding this lotus throne, the flower closes upon entering the Pure Land, and upon arrival, the flower opens, and one's physical form is fully endowed. Only those who have accumulated great virtue and heroes of great renown are qualified to sit upon the lotus throne and ascend to the Blissful Pure Land. Ranging from the highest grade of upper birth to the lowest grade of lower birth, the lotus thrones are sequentially: the Vajra Throne, the Purple-Gold Throne, the Golden Lotus, the Lotus Throne, the Seven-Treasure Lotus, the Precious Lotus, the Lotus, and the Golden Lotus. The more merits accumulated in the mortal realm, the finer the grade of the lotus throne one rides, and the higher the realm of the Blissful Pure Land they reach."

Qin Ye said in disbelief, "Wait a minute... The Underworld has a setting for the Blissful Pure Land? How come I've never heard of it?"

"That just means you are ill-informed." Ming Shiyin also floated out, casting a deep glance at the phone as a line of text appeared: "I honestly didn't expect... the seeds of a Nine-Grade Lotus Throne cost only ten thousand... Has the mortal realm gone mad? They should sell it to the Underworld for at least fifty million!"

Before Qin Ye could speak, Alsace snatched the mirror and shoved it under the pillow, continuing, "What you know of the Underworld is merely the tip of the iceberg. I held a high-ranking position for hundreds of years, and even I only understood a fraction of it. But I can tell you responsibly that the Blissful Pure Land definitely exists."

"This world is divided into three realms: Heaven, Earth, and the Mortal Realm. The Underworld is equivalent to a transit station. Think about it, where do the dead eventually go? They still have to undergo reincarnation; some commit too much evil and enter the animal path, while others bestow widespread grace and are reborn into imperial households. And there are those who were great benefactors in this life—they head straight to the Blissful Pure Land."

"Without a lotus throne to carry them, it is impossible to be guided into the Blissful Pure Land. I remember back in the day, the Underworld Environment and Vegetation Company under Emperor Bao—abbreviated as the Under-Flora Ministry—possessed several thousand hectares of lotus seas. All the entry permits to the Blissful Pure Land in the entire Underworld were in their hands, giving them a complete monopoly. This item isn't used very often, after all, great benefactors who go straight to the Pure Land after death are encountered perhaps once every twenty years, but without it, the Underworld is incomplete. You can think of it as a company that only has paths leading downward, but no hope pointing upward. If we punish evil and promote good, how are we supposed to promote good?"

Qin Ye gasped, staring at that lotus flower, suddenly at a loss for words.

"That's not all." Taking advantage of her ability to speak, Alsace completely ignored Ming Shiyin, who could only type and lacked a microphone, pointing at another item instead. "There are plenty of good things in here; out of almost every ten items, two or three can be used by the Underworld... Look at this, Ghost Tears. Ever heard of it?"

Qin Ye shook his head.

"Ghosts don't shed tears; what they shed is only blood. But there is one exception: when a parasitical spirit is encountered—meaning the person is still alive, but their soul has died—only then might they shed tears. It is exceptionally rare, and in itself, it has no practical use. However... do you see the Rejuvenation Water over here? It is born from an extreme yang zone, you could say it's a solitary spring within the Flaming Mountains. And when these two are combined, they form the extremely precious Yin-Yang Treasure Vase."

"What is that again?" Qin Ye truly felt that as a future Yama, his understanding of the Underworld was still far too shallow.

A look of nostalgia surfaced on Alsace's face. "Yin spirits cannot touch physical objects in the mortal realm, unless they are Yin spirits of the Judge rank or higher. But... the water produced by the Yin-Yang Treasure Vase can actually be touched by Yin spirits. Moreover... its temperature is moderate, neither too cold nor too hot, allowing one to experience a sense of longing for their mortal days..."

Qin Ye blinked. "This thing couldn't possibly be..."

Alsace spoke with absolute finality. "That's right! Back when the wealthy Jiangnan merchant Shen Wansan died, the Shen Family Hot Spring Resort he operated in the underworld monopolized almost all high-end clubs in the southern division of the Underworld, and it all relied on the Yin-Yang Treasure Vase... Speaking of which, I haven't soaked in a hot spring for hundreds of years either..."

What the hell...

He felt like kneeling. Aside from remarking that the residents of the capital sure knew how to live, Qin Ye found himself utterly devoid of any other vocabulary.

"These aren't important, after all, they're optional luxuries. Even the Nine-Grade Lotus Throne is only used maybe once a century... However, this item right here, you must redeem it!" Alsace's voice turned solemn as she scrolled rapidly to the very end, pointing at a pitch-black seed displayed there.

Qin Ye was currently ranked as an outstanding mentor.

He was not yet official, and during the second round of mentor evaluations, someone might very well surpass him. But he was already able to view the redemption list for outstanding mentors. Furthermore... outstanding mentors enjoyed a very important privilege.

Once a year, they could redeem an item from a higher-tier treasury!

This seed was located in the third zone, bypassing the Heavenly Pivot vault for Ghost Messengers, the Heavenly璇 vault for Soul-Detention officers, and reaching all the way to... the Heavenly Ji vault of the Impermanence tier!

"Eight million Soul-Swallowing Grass." Alsace took a deep breath, her voice deep and grave. "This is the ultimate defense for a newly established county town or urban district!"

Qin Ye stared at the unremarkable seed. "What use does this thing have? Defense? Who am I defending against?"

The Three Dao Lords?

No, if they ever entered Bao'an, the mortal realm was probably finished for good. Defending against mortals? Even less necessary; by the time they reached the Underworld, they were already dead.

"Is it... to defend against a riot of Yin spirits?" he ventured tentatively.

Alsace fell into a rare silence for a moment, sighing softly after a long while. "Little ghost... you know nothing of the true Underworld. Sometimes... the enemy doesn't come from within, but from... your own kind."

Before Qin Ye could dwell on it further, she closed the interface of the phone. "For the next two years, you'll be teaching in Bao'an. Your defenses will be as tight as an iron barrel, and you won't be able to leave, so you shouldn't encounter such a situation. If you do... I'll tell you when the time comes. No matter what, this seed must be redeemed before your term of office ends!"

"Nurture it with blood, plant it in a place of extreme yin, it sprouts in one year, reaches minor success in ten years, and great success in fifty years... It is a plant, a plant unique only to the Underworld. It feeds on Yin spirits, and no matter what kind of Yin spirit it is, once discovered, it will swarm them en masse. Planting it around the periphery of Fengdu will be the Underworld's strongest defense at this stage!"

Her gaze was deep as she looked out the window. "After all... it's always better to be safe than sorry..."