Refusing accidental death isn't about being unable to die, but about not being able to die suddenly.
Achieving this effect isn't difficult, at least not for Huo Yuhao.
All that's needed is to add a layer of authority protection to Medmos's soul, causing the Underworld to instinctively reject it.
Then, forcibly binding the body and soul, combined with his body's extremely high activity, makes it impossible for the Underworld to determine whether he's alive or dead.
Simply put, if Medmos were to die unexpectedly, he would be in a state between life and death; the Underworld wouldn't consider him dead. Since the Underworld doesn't recognize him, there's a possibility of a resurrection.
Medmos stood blankly at the entrance to the Underworld. Before his eyes stretched an endless golden river, from which countless spirits crawled.
A magnificent sea of flowers grew on the land, their soothing fragrance wafting with the river's waves.
In the distance, a crescent moon, emitting a faint glow, hung in the sky, cold and sacred.
Numerous figures in black robes and beast-like forms moved back and forth on the ground, methodically leading a large number of undead towards a dark mansion ahead.
The mansion was tall and imposing, its architectural style flamboyant, like a primordial beast dominating the earth, its jaws agape, devouring the world.
Medemos was familiar with this architectural style; it was developed in the western region of the Star Luo
Empire to showcase the lord's authority and reflected local customs.
It had once been considered for the Star Luo Empire's imperial city, but was ultimately rejected by the royal family as too eccentric and unsuitable for the imperial character.
The mansion also completely defied the laws of perspective, utterly shattering the concept of perspective; regardless of location or distance, it always appeared the same size.
The building Medemos saw was the Judgement Chamber, the core of the underworld's operation, designed and built by Star Luo Empire craftsmen.
If Huo Yuhao had designed it, it would likely have been another disastrous combination of purple and yellow.
He was fairly confident in his architectural design skills, so he didn't embarrass himself and delegated the design work to the spirits of the underworld.
To demonstrate the authority of the underworld and to intimidate the newcomers, Huo Yuhao had Xia Die modify the perspective laws of the building, distorting the rule that things appear larger when closer and smaller when farther away.
The black-robed figures coming and going on the underworld's land are ghost messengers; currently, there are no different divisions of authority, only a single title for them.
The main problem is that there are simply too many souls accumulated in the Underworld.
The primary task is to deal with the undead within the Underworld first.
Once the undead within are cleared out, they can try to differentiate the ghost messengers, creating Soul-Binding Envoys to control the souls of the dead, and patrolling Ghost Envoys, etc.
Whether they are ghost messengers or judges, they must strictly abide by the laws of the Underworld.
The laws of the Underworld were designed by Kelidestra and issued by Xia Die.
They are supervised by the rules of the Underworld. Violators will be whipped dozens of times by the power of death, or their souls will be completely destroyed, unable to be reincarnated.
Looking at the three majestic and powerful characters carved on the dark mansion in the distance—Judges' Court—Madmus felt a sense of unease.
"Judges' Court..."
"Is this the Underworld?"
All the signs indicate that this is not the Douluo Continent, and apart from the golden river and the boundless sea of flowers, the scene before him actually matches the outside world's imagination of the Underworld.
"Hey, you spirit over there, stop standing there! Come on up here, I'll take you to the court for questioning and to arrange your reincarnation."
A strangely familiar voice suddenly reached Medmos's ears; he felt like he'd heard it somewhere before.
He quickly remembered who the voice belonged to: Xue Qing, Xia Die's confirmed dead roommate.
Because of his close relationship with Xia Die, Medmos occasionally saw her and vaguely remembered her voice.
"Xue Qing?"
Medmos's questioning voice reached Xue Qing's ears. She froze, lifted her black robe, and stared wide-eyed.
"Wait a minute, that voice!!"
"Medmos?!?"
"No, really?"
"Why are you here too? What happened in the mortal world? Why are you dead too?"
"Has the Sea God Clan already invaded Shrek Academy?"
Xue Qing ran to Medmos's side in disbelief, circling him and scrutinizing his condition.
Medemos shook his head and said,
"Heh, the Sea God family isn't here yet.
I'm currently engaged in a fierce battle with a powerful enemy, and before I knew it, I was here."
"Is there any way to send me back? That idiot Bai'e should be caught in a pincer movement right now." Xue Qing
, as a ghost messenger, also sensed the strangeness in Medemos's soul, her tone filled with deep doubt.
"Theoretically, souls that come to the Underworld cannot return to the mortal world."
"However, your soul seems to be being rejected by the Underworld, creating a strong sense of incongruity with the surrounding spirits.
This is the first time I've seen this. I'll take you to see the Lord of the Underworld; she should know your situation."
"Come, follow me!"
Xue Qing gestured for Medemos to follow, and the two arrived at the Golden River Styx.
The power of death automatically formed a raft on the river's surface. Xue Qing gestured for Medemos to stand on it, then said,
"The end of the River Styx is the Land of Rebirth; the Lord of the Underworld is there.
This raft is very fast; be careful not to fall in."
"Hehe, the identity of the Lord of the Underworld will definitely give you a surprise."
Medmos steadied himself on the bamboo raft, which began to drift, carrying him swiftly across the River Styx.
The golden River Styx was essentially the highway of the Underworld; with the judge's permission, the dead could quickly reach their place of reincarnation via the river, greatly saving time.
The bamboo raft accelerated on the river, almost becoming a blur.
Medmos firmly maintained his balance, ensuring he wouldn't fall in.
Although he didn't know what would happen if he fell into the River Styx, he knew without a doubt it wouldn't be a good outcome.
Of course, reality was different from what he imagined. Falling in wouldn't actually cause any harm.
The golden River Styx was different from before; it was gentle enough to even nurture and repair souls.
Not all dead could arrive in the Underworld intact; many would show signs of wear and tear, perhaps from wandering the mortal realm for too long, or perhaps from encountering evil spirit masters.
The latter was uncommon in the Underworld because encountering evil spirit masters almost always left no soul intact; those guys were beasts who would devour even the bones.
This phenomenon will definitely need to be addressed by the Underworld in the future. The Underworld doesn't care about killing, but it does need to manage the fate of souls after death.
Evil spirit masters indiscriminately devouring souls is, in a sense, breaking the fairness of death and violating the rules of the Underworld.
Previously, the Underworld lacked a leader, so no one cared about this, but the situation is different now.
Once Butterfly Treasure has the time, she will definitely deal with this chaos.
The bamboo raft carrying Medmos quickly reached the end of the golden River Styx, a pale blue waning moon hanging high overhead.
An endless sea of flowers embraced all the souls about to be reincarnated.
Medmos's lion-like golden eyes narrowed slightly as he slowly stepped onto the land of the afterlife.
"Shalala~"
The sea of flowers before him suddenly swayed, drooping their petals and spreading out to both sides, revealing a narrow path.
At the end of the path was a beautiful purple figure, bathed in the cool moonlight with a layer of nobility and mystery; the fragrance of the sea of flowers surrounded her, exuding gentleness; the power of death bared its fangs, displaying its authority.
Medemos's pupils contracted slightly. He finally understood what Xue Qing meant by "surprise.
"Xia Die."
As a companion, even a glance from afar was enough for him to recognize her.
Not only him, but Bai E, Feng Jin, and the others would recognize her the same way.
Xia Die sensed Medemos the moment he stepped into the Underworld, because Medemos's soul was incompatible with the Underworld, exhibiting a subtle sense of repulsion.
Some force protected Medemos's soul, keeping him in a state of flux between life and death.
Xia Die came to Medemos's side, carefully sensing the power, confirming it was her father's doing.
"Xia Die, are you the Lord of the Underworld?"
Medemos couldn't help but ask. Xia Die hadn't returned to the academy since the competition.
Bai E and the others were worried, but thankfully, Director Aglaia told them that Xia Die had been taken by her family to a secret realm to receive inheritance and would return to the academy in a few months at most.
What Medemos hadn't expected was that the so-called secret realm was actually the Underworld—a truly vast realm.
"Well, for some reason, I need to maintain the operation of the Underworld."
"That must be worrying everyone,"
Medmos said .
"Feng Jin misses you a lot. She took many pictures of you with Little Ika, that little white horse that can eat even more than a glutton."
"Tibao has taken your notes for this semester. She'll tutor you when you come back."
"I won't go into the details. To make a long story short, is there any way to send me back to reality?"
"If you don't hurry, you'll soon see that idiot Bai E reporting here too."
Xia Die nodded her head and said,
"Of course."
"Your soul is rejected by the Underworld, but your body still attracts your soul.
Simply put, you are rejecting death."
"I can open a high-speed passage in the Underworld for you to return to the mortal world."
Medmos's golden eyes flashed with a light as he said,
"Okay, let's do it now."
Xia Die immediately began to activate her permissions to open a high-speed passage in the Underworld for Medmos.
A purple road stretching to the horizon appeared before Medemos.
He nodded to Xiaodie and stepped onto it, heading towards the mortal world.
(End of Chapter)
Read 15+ chapters ahead at Patreon
patreon.com/TaroYamato
patreon.com/TaroYamato