Shi Pengpeng had considered that the deity’s origins must be extraordinary, daring to collude with the Longevity Island and possessing the capability to commit such heinous crimes it was certainly not something an ordinary minor deity could achieve.
However, the fact that it was a Gongcao Official still somewhat exceeded her expectations.
The underworld is managed by the Emperor of the Underworld, with the Five Ghost Emperors and the Ten Kings of Hell beneath him, followed by the Six Departments of Gongcao, each with its own responsibilities.
The Six Departments of Gongcao consist of three on the left side, overseeing the Heavenly, Earthly, and Nether Departments; and three on the right side, managing the Divine, Human, and Ghost Departments.
All documents that need to be submitted or delivered between the realms of yin and yang, including records of longevity, premature death, birth, and death, as well as the punishment of ghosts and their fortunes in the afterlife, fall under their jurisdiction.
If a Gongcao Official were to act out of personal interest, they could indeed alter life and death, smuggle guilty souls, and even invert right and wrong, turning evil into good.
Moreover, the Six Departments of Gongcao oversee the Three Bureaus and Three Envoys, namely the Bureau of Reincarnation, the Bureau of Judgment, and the Bureau of the Underworld; the Envoy of Ghosts, the Envoy of Soul Capture, and the Envoy of Demonic Nether.
The ghostly marshals and envoys are all part of the same chain.
No wonder Old Zhang and Duan Kefan, along with their group of underworld envoys, were bold enough to collude with the mortal world, doing favors for the living in exchange for benefits.
It must have been the Gongcao Official who secretly shielded them and provided the convenience.
As the saying goes, “Those above set the example for those below,” and they were all in cahoots.
No wonder the order of the underworld was in such chaos.
Shi Pengpeng’s expression turned grim: “As a Gongcao Official, why would he…”
She didn’t finish her sentence, but Yin Cong understood her question and sighed, saying, “Times have changed. Now, in the age of the decline of the Dharma, science reigns supreme.”
“Whether it’s the gods of heaven and earth or the spirits, the offerings and worship they receive are far less than before. It’s inevitable that some would develop crooked intentions…”
Shi Pengpeng understood immediately.
The reliance of deities on human spirituality is not just a simple description of their relationship.
The deities of this land all depend on the incense and worship of mortals.
Especially the underworld deities, many of whom were originally mortals who were elevated after death, inherently possess strong human traits and thus require even more the faith of mortals.
In fact, the changes of the times have affected not just the deities.
The practice of the mystical arts has also declined significantly, with no one achieving ascension in the past century.
These are normal developments, from the era of primitive shamanism and human sacrifice to the current cyber age where science is revered.
Just as dynasties change, the eras of slavery and feudalism have gradually faded from the stage of history, and overall, the mortal world is moving towards a better state.
It’s inevitable that some who once held great power and glory would feel the disparity, but it’s unexpected that it would lead to resentment and even straying onto a wrong path.
Yin Cong told Shi Pengpeng that the Gongcao Official initially only accepted offerings and provided convenience for Longevity Island, but as the saying goes, “Once you start, there’s no stopping,” and gradually, his appetite grew larger and larger.
Longevity Island set up facilities overseas, harming the living, and borrowed from ancient Qin evil arts to offer human sacrifices to the underworld deities.
The deities reaped great benefits and became so entangled with Longevity Island that there was no turning back.
Later, Longevity Island even established a mausoleum above the Meng River, creating clay effigies of corpses to serve the underworld deities.
The deities completely fell into the path of evil and went all out to assist Longevity Island.
At that time, Longevity Island was able to set up a formation with stones from a thousand miles away and abduct a living person, Yan Jing, from a thousand miles away, also with the help of the deities’ magic.
After Longevity Island was eradicated and the Grand Preceptor fled, only Zhao Xiwen, who had been turned into a rotting corpse ghost, remained to guard the mausoleum.
Feeling uneasy, the Gongcao Official specially split a strand of his divine consciousness and attached it to the evil deity’s stone carving, hoping to lend Zhao Xiwen a hand.
Little did it expect that Shi Pengpeng could harness the power of the Five Directions and Five Elements, reviving the lingering might of the First Emperor, and crush its divine essence with sheer force.
Without this turn of events, even if the Mystic Sect had suspected that there was a mole from the Longevity Island within the Underworld, conducting a thorough investigation would not have been so straightforward.
However, after the battle at the mausoleum, the Gongcao Officer was severely injured, and it became impossible to conceal.
The Mystic Sect escalated the matter to the heavens and the earth, finally inciting the wrath of the cosmos, leading to a comprehensive investigation by the Underworld.
Consequently, all the corrupt officials and ghostly clerks who had colluded with the Gongcao Officer were purged.
Thus, whether it was the Longevity Island in the mortal realm or the network of connections in the underworld, they were all eradicated.
Speaking of this, Yin Cong still felt a lingering fear.
Fortunately, the Gongcao Officer had only projected a wisp of his divine consciousness onto the evil deity statue at the time.
Otherwise, even if Shi Pengpeng had driven the stones to act as her chariot, she might not have been able to defeat a true deity of the Underworld, and their entire group might have perished in the Meng River.
Yin Cong patted Shi Pengpeng on the shoulder, “We’ve been burning incense and submitting petitions on your behalf these past days, and finally, justice has been served for you…”
Shi Pengpeng was surprised, “Really?”
“Of course,” Yin Cong winked at her, speaking with righteous solemnity, “You’ve exposed corruption within the Underworld and restored order. For this, you’ve damaged your spiritual veins, so the Underworld naturally has to compensate you and also give you recognition…”
Shi Pengpeng instantly understood and nodded vigorously, “Great, great.”
Yin Cong continued, saying that the Underworld had already responded.
Shi Pengpeng’s contributions this time were immense and of great merit.
From now on, whenever she prays to the heavens to borrow power, the Underworld will fully support her.
In addition, the Underworld will take full responsibility for repairing Shi Pengpeng’s damaged spiritual veins, though the specific method of repair is still undecided and will have to wait until the Underworld concludes the case.
This compensation was undeniably generous.
Shi Pengpeng knew that deities and spirits were not usually so accommodating.
It was just that this incident had caused such a huge uproar that if they didn’t make a statement, it might shake the foundation of the Underworld’s faith among the Mystic Sects in the mortal realm.
Moreover, the teachers of the Liangyi Academy had played a significant role in this.
And this was only the reward from the Underworld.
Shi Pengpeng’s performance had shocked the entire Mystic Sect, so naturally, the Mystic Sect also had to make a gesture.
“With special approval from the higher-ups, your official position has been confirmed,” Yin Cong smiled, showing her an internal notice, “And it’s a flexible position. You can choose which unit or department you want to be assigned to.”
This wasn’t a special favor for Shi Pengpeng.
On the contrary, so many units wanted her that the higher-ups couldn’t force an assignment, so they left the decision to her.
“Wow!” Shi Pengpeng beamed with joy.
From now on, she had a secure job.
She happily said, “I want to choose a flexible working schedule!”
After all, she still had her local specialty business, and this offer came at just the right time, allowing her to manage both.
Shi Pengpeng also solemnly expressed her gratitude to Yin Cong and the teachers of the Liangyi Academy, generously waving her hand, “From now on, whatever local specialties our school wants, I’ll take care of it!”
Yin Cong: “…Haha, that’s wonderful.”
He also sighed with emotion, “Pengpeng, you truly are an outstanding student of our school. Even selling local specialties has turned into a successful venture.”
Xiao Lingshu, who was standing nearby, couldn’t hold back and interjected with a hint of envy, “Teacher, you should look at me too. My entrepreneurship is also quite successful. I can add ten devotees on WeChat in a single day. Doesn’t that count as a successful venture?”
Yin Cong didn’t even turn her head, calmly replying, “I don’t dare look at you. I’m afraid you’ll take the chance to talk to me.”
Xiao Lingshu:”…..”
“Wow, teacher, you’re so heartless. I’m going to make a scene now…”
Xiao Lingshu was about to launch a verbal attack when Shi Pengpeng promptly raised a fist.
“Mute.”
Xiao Lingshu: “…..”
Xiao Lingshu pouted pitifully, casting a pleading glance at Yan Jing.
“Brother, look at how sister is treating me…”
“Shh.” Yan Jing gave him a cool glance.
“Don’t disturb Pengpeng.”
Xiao Lingshu:”…..”
Sigh, I must have chosen the wrong role back in the escape room.
Being the son is so unrewarding.
Shi Pengpeng ignored Xiao Lingshu’s resentful gaze and looked at Yin Cong.
After a moment of hesitation, she finally asked, “Teacher, you didn’t come to Xiluo just for my sake, did you?”
Her matter wasn’t insignificant, but it wasn’t major either.
It could have been handled over the phone.
Yin Cong mentioned that several teachers from Liangyi Academy had come to Xiluo, but today only Yin Cong had appeared.
It was clear the other teachers had other matters to attend to.
Or perhaps, that was the real reason they had made the trip.
“Correct.” Yin Cong nodded.
After the Biannan incident, there was no need to hide this from Shi Pengpeng.
In fact, at some point, they might even need her assistance.
“Although the Longevity Island facility has been dismantled, the Grand Preceptor is still at large. Based on the current leads, he has likely fled back into the country. Additionally…”
Here, Yin Cong’s tone grew heavier.
“There’s suspicion that Longevity Island’s influence isn’t limited to that overseas facility. There’s likely a vast network within the country as well…”
Shi Pengpeng pondered this, pursing her lips before uttering two words: “Xiluo.”
Yin Cong nodded.
“It seems you’ve guessed it too.”
It wasn’t hard to deduce.
The sinister artifacts created by Longevity Island and the captured spirits had almost all ended up in Xiluo.
Aside from Longevity Island’s targeted distribution, there must have been collaborators in Xiluo who created channels and opportunities for these things to enter smoothly.
Even locally in Xiluo, many incidents had occurred, with dark entities running rampant.
Now it seemed likely that Longevity Island’s domestic network was rooted here in Xiluo.
Yin Cong glanced at Yan Jing, hinting, “By the way, this matter also involves Cat’s Paw. I assume Mr. Yan has already received the news?”
Yan Jing’s expression turned cold.
“Yes.”
Shi Pengpeng: “What’s the situation?”
Yan Jing paused for a moment before speaking slowly, “Over the years, Longevity Island has laundered a massive amount of illicit funds through multiple layers of transactions, eventually funneling them back into the country.”
“One of their primary money-laundering methods was collaborating with MCNs, using Cat’s Paw’s live streaming platform to tip the money to streamers…”
Shi Pengpeng’s spirits lifted as she immediately thought of something.
“Yu Tian Culture?”
Yan Jing nodded.
“Exactly.”
Since its establishment, Yu Tian Culture had actively courted senior management at Cat’s Paw Tech, especially those in the operations and business departments.
Some executives even held shares in Yu Tian Culture.
The extent of their dealings was self-evident, but the internal relationships at Cat’s Paw were complex, making it difficult to address.
Yan Jing had been wrestling with them for a long time, removing many of the nails Yu Tian had inserted.
However, he only managed to curb their continued erosion of Cat Paw’s influence, never fully uprooting them.
It wasn’t until the fall of Longevity Island and the arrest of the park members that the anti-fraud department followed the trail, layer by layer, and eventually traced it back to Cat Paw Technology.
The disloyal executives at Cat Paw had accepted bribes, invested in Yu Tian Culture, and provided operational and business conveniences for Yu Tian Culture.
However, their most profitable business wasn’t from MCN advertising and traffic revenue, but rather from providing money laundering services for overseas criminal groups.
Yu Tian Culture had cultivated a large number of borderline streamers, who received millions in tips daily, even setting a legendary record of receiving ten million in tips overnight.
In reality, most of these tips were illicit funds from overseas, disguised through multiple layers and funneled back into the country under the guise of “tips.”
The management team at Cat Paw and Yu Tian Culture split the “service fees” earned from money laundering, making a fortune.
At the same time, they colluded to suppress competitors at every turn.
For instance, when Shi Pengpeng’s company was conducting a live stream to aid farmers, they were suddenly attacked by trolls.
The mastermind behind this was Yu Tian Culture, but it’s hard to say whether Cat Paw’s operations, under Yu Tian’s direction, deliberately turned a blind eye.
After the incident, Yan Jing used this as an excuse to fire a group of people, but the shadowy forces behind it continued to infiltrate Cat Paw like a persistent disease.
“So that’s how it was.”
Shi Pengpeng, while realizing the truth, also recalled matters of the underworld, and couldn’t help but sigh.
The realms of yin and yang were originally complementary, and the affairs of the underworld were also a reflection of the myriad phenomena of the human world.
At this moment, the two realms became intertwined, forming a single entity.