Gu Qing Shan continued to walk down the hallway.
After a short time, some light could be seen at the end of the hallway, which turned out to be a few dozen mountains of piled-up treasures.
Everything was arbitrarily placed into piles.
Evidently, nobody had come here to organize things for a while.
Gu Qing Shan casually walked around, digging for things he might be able to use among the huge piles.
“So messy…”
He couldn’t help but mutter.
——the rank D vault consists of the lowest ranked treasures, and they’re being handed out for free, so there’s probably nothing particularly good here.
Gu Qing Shan was just strolling around aimlessly and finally saw a barely passable suit of armor.
He casually picked it up and evaluated it.
I have a sword and [Death God’s Summon], so maybe I should choose a defensive item?
Suddenly, the Delimitation Divine Sword’s voice resounded in his mind:
「 Careful, somebody is monitoring this place 」
Gu Qing Shan’s expression remained unchanged as he looked straight at the armor as if he was really intrigued by it.
“Oh? How can you tell?” he asked in his mind.
「 Have you forgotten? I can see through all that is hidden in the void of space, there are several hidden formations here with people inside them monitoring the situation 」the Delimitation Divine Sword explained.
Gu Qing Shan was surprised.
The sword does indeed possess a Thaumaturgy that allows it to see all that had ever occurred and is being hidden in the void of space regardless of location, called [Behold].
Even a rank D vault is so strictly monitored———
It seems the Deities of Huang Quan weren’t willing to organize such a large amount of outsider treasures, so they posted a few people here to monitor this place and immediately notify them if any extraordinary treasure shows up.
Additionally, in the case that somebody doesn’t follow the rules, or is capable of some technique that allows them to bypass the badge and take more than one treasure, they’d also know right away.
With that in mind, Gu Qing Shan didn’t want to bother with choosing anything else.
He mobilized his spirit energy and patted the suit of armor.
——-you’ll do.
Click!
The armor immediately gave off a metallic clink and scattered into a few dozen components before sticking themselves onto his body.
This was a suit of armor that was relatively suitable for his current identity.
[Battlemage anti-demon specialized armor]
[Characteristics: Intermediate sturdiness, Basic spell resistance, Nimbleness]
Gu Qing Shan tried moving his body a little bit and felt natural on him, the armor didn’t feel like it restricted his movement in any way.
It’s a mystery whose armor this used to be, but now it belongs to the Samsara.
Well, it’s mine now though.
After he finished equipping it, Gu Qing Shan turned around and followed the hallway back outside, the gates opened for him on their own.
「 A suit of armor? A good choice 」the official smiled and said.
“I also think so” Gu Qing Shan replied.
「 Very well, you are now free to do anything you wish for a day; or you can choose an organization to belong to right away and start accruing Merits by completing various jobs 」the official told him.
“What’s Merit?” Gu Qing Shan acted confused.
「 Do you want more powerful treasures? 」
“I do”
「 Do you want higher standing and authority in the afterlife of the fused world? 」
“I do”
「 Do you want to obtain a Huang Quan Divine Artifact and become a Deity of Huang Quan? 」
“Of course”
「 Then you must accrue Merits, only by earning enough Merits would you be recognized by the world and be granted the corresponding authority and treasures 」
The official brought him back to the main palace hall and pointed in a certain direction.
As Gu Qing Shan looked at it from a distance, he saw a few Daemons who seemed like they were specifically there to receive newcomers.
The Professionists who had awakened from the River of Death, went through the Metamorphosis Pond, and had chosen their treasures, were all gathered in that section to talk with the Daemons.
After a glance at them, Gu Qing Shan’s gaze slightly changed.
The Chosen Saints of the Human realm had all lost their Divine Artifacts and even had their powers sealed away.
But in Huang Quan, all of the Daemons of Huang Quan have retained their Divine Artifacts.
In other words, they are still Deities.
Right——
Gu Qing Shan suddenly recalled something.
During his battle against the Eternal Mind Seizer, he entered Huang Quan for a very short time, and saw how the Deities flew in the sky before taking refuge on top of the Tie Wei mountain while silently observing them.
Even back then, they were already Deities!
——no wonder this official asked him if he wanted to become a Deity.
However, why is the Samsara so strict with the Human realm while it’s so lenient with the Huang Quan realm?
Why is the treatment so different?
Just to make it more convenient for them to resolve the matters regarding the Twin Rivers of Life and Death?
The official began to explain: 「 In Huang Quan, we have 6 departments, which are respectively the Gates of Hell, the Bridge of Life and Death, the Tie Wei Mountain, the 18 Hells, the Forgetting River, and the Hall of Reincarnation 」
「 The Gates of Hell is responsible for combat; the Bridge of Life and Death is responsible for espionage and secretive acts; the Tie Wei Mountain is responsible for defense; the Forgetting River is responsible for large-scale wars; and the Hall of Reincarnation is responsible for all affairs 」
Gu Qing Shan muses: “I think you missed one”
The official flashed a self-deprecating smile and replied: 「 You mean the 18 Hells? Tch tch, the 18 Hells’ responsibility is to imprison and torture the most ferocious beings in all the realms, but the current Samsara doesn’t really require it; and also, there are some issues with the primary Divine Artifact of Hell, so you can look and see——-」
He pointed at the center of the recruitment area where the Daemons of each department were stationed, each of them had their hands full trying to deal with the many Professionists from the River of Death who had just awakened.
Only the area sectioned off for the 18 Hells department was completely empty without a single Professionist trying to enter.
Only one Deity of Huang Quan was boredly sitting there by themselves.
This Deity was a young girl who was wearing a casual green robe with a set of poker cards in her hand, apparently playing a card game by herself.
Gu Qing Shan’s gaze became focused.
——-she was Gou Hun of the Twin Snakes of Black and White, and a pair of sisters that he had gotten acquainted with in the past.
He didn’t think that she would be here of all places.
The official continued: 「 The 18 Hells doesn’t have an especially powerful Deity, and very few jobs to actually do, so their Merits are naturally limited, because of this nobody is willing to go there 」
“Is that so…” Gu Qing Shan muttered.
「 That’s right, you can see right there, as the other departments earn more and more Merits, the 18 Hells will be left behind and eventually become the weakest department of Huang Quan 」the official replied.
“I understand now, thank you for your explanation” Gu Qing Shan earnestly said.
「 You’re very welcome, I’m a registrar of the Hall of Reincarnation, it’s my responsibility to provide an explanation to the Combatants of the River of Death, I can earn Merits through this 」the official replied.
“Then have you earned it already?” Gu Qing Shan asked.
「 Not yet, I’ll need to complete your identification badge before I actually earn it 」the official took out a badge.
He started writing on it while listing: 「 Rhode, Necromancer of the River of Death, adept with magic to summon the dead—— is there anything else you’d like to add? 」
“I’m also an expert with cold weapons” Gu Qing Shan replied.
「 Very well, it’s recorded, anything else? 」the official asked.
“None” Gu Qing Shan answered.
The official handed him the identification badge and said: 「 My job here is done, and I’ve earned my Merits 」
“Thank you again” Gu Qing Shan replied.
The two of them then clasped their fists.
The official turned around and left to receive the next River of Death Combatant who qualified for his reception.
Gu Qing Shan stood still for a while, observing.
His surroundings were filled with yelling as the Professionists all tried their best to join the department they wanted, only the green-robed girl’s table was completely empty.
The girl then yawned and decided to just lay her face on the table to sleep.
Gu Qing Shan pondered for a little bit before making his way to the table, knocking on it.
“Huh?”
The girl looked up with misty eyes, only to see that the one standing in front of her was a middle-aged man.
——-Gu Qing Shan was currently using the identity bestowed to him by the Devil of True Antiquity, so he didn’t have his original appearance.
“Excuse me, I’d like to join Hell” Gu Qing Shan said.
“There’s practically no Merits to be earned in Hell right now, are you an idiot?” the girl replied without minding her manners.
Gu Qing Shan just smiled and handed her his identification badge: “I’m personally quite suitable with Hell”
Seeing how serious he was, the girl casually took the badge and gave it a look.
“Rhode?” the girl asked.
“Yes” Gu Qing Shan confirmed.
“You… why do you want to join Hell?” the girl asked doubtfully.
“While I was alive, I was accustomed to sending people to Hell” Gu Qing Shan explained.
The girl looked straight at him, then at his identification badge.
“Summoning the dead… as well as combat with cold weapons… These abilities are exceptionally suitable for the Huang Quan realm, you’d be able to earn a suitable position no matter which department you join——- Aren’t you going to try a different way of living for once?” the girl asked.
“I just want to send people to Hell, it is my life’s calling” Gu Qing Shan replied.
The girl slowly realized something and stood up:
“Summoning the dead… so that was it…”
Gu Qing Shan smiled and said: “Do you get it now?”
The girl stood up and patted his shoulder: “You really do have quite the ideal, uncle——- I can let you join us on behalf of everyone, if there are Merits to earn, the three of us can split it evenly”
She then tapped her finger repeatedly on Gu Qing Shan’s badge and completed the contract.
“Come——”
The girl pulled Gu Qing Shan’s arm and left the Hall of Reincarnation in a flash.
When Gu Qing Shan regained his senses, the two of them had already appeared at the foot of the Tie Wei mountain.
Just a bit ahead of them was the entrance to the 18 Hells.
“Wait a minute, did you just say that the three of us will split it evenly?” Gu Qing Shan asked.
“Yeah, since you’re one of us now, I can tell you this without worry—— there is zero Merit to earn in Hell right now, the other Deities have all transferred to the other departments, only me and my younger sister are left” the girl explained.
“How did you manage to endure?” Gu Qing Shan asked with intrigue.
The girl appeared a bit embarrassed and dryly laughed: “Ha-ha… we were playing cards all the way into the night so we overslept, and then the Samsara Clash for Supremacy began…”
“…What happened in Huang Quan back then?” Gu Qing Shan asked.
“At the time, the Laws of Huang Quan changed, so the other Deities of Hell quickly joined the other departments, leaving only us sisters behind”
“So you two… decided to remain and take care of Hell?” Gu Qing Shan asked with an impressed tone.
The girl lowered her head: “The Laws of Huang Quan dictated that there must be a Deity to watch over Hell, and we woke up too late on the day that was decided… Once we realized what had happened, the only Deities left in Hell were the two of us… we couldn’t escape…”
Gu Qing Shan: “…”
That was really an unfortunate story.
Hearing him sigh, the girl worriedly looked up and asked nervously: “Are you still willing to send people into Hell?”
Gu Qing Shan looked at her expectant expression, then thought back to how she and her sister helped him in the past and felt soft-hearted: “Don’t worry… even though there aren’t many of us, as long as we put our hearts into it, it’s still possible for us to surpass the other departments in the future”
At this point, a white-robed girl appeared at the end of the road.
——–She was the other member of the Twin Snakes of Black and White, Duo Ming.
The white-robed girl first looked at the green-robed girl, then at Gu Qing Shan, and finally had a look of realization.
“Elder sister!”
She excitedly called out: “That’s great, you’ve finally found a youngster from the River of Death to replace us!”
Gu Qing Shan’s expression became stiff and slowly looked back at the green-robed girl.
“What nonsense are you saying!” the green-robed girl hurriedly shouted back.
She then turned to Gu Qing Shan and said apologetically: “I’m sorry, she thought that you were a Deity. She doesn’t know that you were actually so weak”