"Me? Hehe, I shouldn't. I'm just a little crow, what kind of status could I have?" The multicolored crow was quite humble.
Wen Xishu hoped for some sort of text prompt to interpret this crow, but that was clearly impossible.
The crow continued:
"If you decide to take someone with you, then next, you will encounter a strange path."
"This path will lead you around the Middle Spirit District and the Lower Spirit District."
"The structure of the Lower Spirit District is very complex. Between the Lower and Upper Spirit Districts is the Middle Spirit District. Above and below are good and evil, while the middle represents all things."
"In traditional terms, it's the place where animals reside, called the Animal's Path."
"In that place, animals with spirit can reincarnate as humans. But they also have to suffer in the Lower Spirit District."
"As for the Lower Spirit District, it contains eighteen levels of Hell."
"Imagine having to carry a spiritual body, cross the Animal's Path, and then go through eighteen levels of Hell without being discovered—is that possible?"
"Moreover, we've been watching you for quite some time."
Wen Xishu thought to himself that this was really dark. But since this is already the underworld, being a little dark seemed fine.
"If I pass through the eighteen levels of Hell, can I reach the gates of the Netherworld? That void land?" Wen Xishu asked.
The multicolored crow shook his head:
"It's still a long way."
"The Netherworld is vast. Beyond the Upper, Middle, and Lower Spirit Districts, there's also the Ghost Gate. There are many guards there, and without pass documents, they won't let you through."
"After crossing the Ghost Gate, there's the Yellow Springs composed of many spirits who have been tormented to the point of giving up reincarnation."
"After traversing the Yellow Springs, you'll reach the Hall of Lost Souls, which causes all spiritual bodies to lose all their memories, similar to... what you call the Bridge of Helplessness and Meng Po Tang."
"After losing their memories, if they meet the allocation standards, they will be sent to the world of the living, but that isn't resurrection. You should know, that's called—rebirth."
Wen Xishu felt a shiver down his spine; the structure of the Underworld was too complex.
The multicolored crow continued:
"Of course, since you cooperated with our work and ultimately did not pursue it further, under the influence of the rules of the Obsession World, you chose to respect the rules of the Netherworld. That's good."
"The great Brother Crow has decided to offer you some help, allowing you to return directly to the gates of the Netherworld."
Wen Xishu breathed a sigh of relief.
He had already wasted a lot of time just getting to the gates, barely alive when he entered this world.
But entering was easy; returning was hard... In the Upper Spirit District alone, there are countless planes.
The Middle and Lower Spirit Districts are even more complicated, and the Lower Spirit District also includes eighteen levels of Hell to get through.
A Demon King of the Red House level could die easily there.
"Should I head back?" Wen Xishu asked.
The crow nodded:
"Yes, if you have any more questions, you can ask me. This is the great Brother Crow's second to last help to you."
Wen Xishu wanted to ask what the last help would be, but then thought, wouldn't that waste a question?
He didn't ask that question. After thinking for a moment, Wen Xishu said:
"I do have another question. In the Desire Tower, I've traversed time and changed some people's fates... Doesn't that count as altering life and death?"
The multicolored crow laughed:
"Actually, there are several types of resurrection. For example, you came from the Evil Land. That's one kind of resurrection."
"Another kind is called time travel. But that involves the multiverse. Like if you went back to the past and changed someone's death."
"Then the universe in which that person died and the universe in which that person didn't die are not the same."
"And then there's a third kind, the quantum life and death of the Obsession World."
"The Obsession World is a special world, also known as the Deceit Tower, a place that... can even invade the Netherworld."
"But it's considered a stable cooperative relationship with the Netherworld."
The multicolored crow flapped his wings, and a forbidden book appeared before him, though he couldn't browse it.
The multicolored crow perused it and said:
"For example, in the Three-Tower World, a guy named Horn was supposed to die, but because of your involvement, he didn't."
"But death in the Obsession World is called reserve death."
"Simply put, as long as there's a possibility of you changing the obsession, returning to the Desire Tower to save the other party, and as long as the completion isn't higher than Level 6..."
"Then the other party won't truly die. Although he's dead, his spiritual body is with us, in a state of 'parole' anytime."
"Once someone changes the future in the Desire Tower and involves his fate, we'll remove him from the death registry."
"Sounds like it does interfere with life and death, doesn't it?"
Wen Xishu nodded.
The multicolored crow said:
"Well, that involves the issue of active and passive. There's actually no problem with the ones we actively send back."
"Because for us, as long as they are actively sent back by us, even if they don't die at this point in time, they can die at another node."
"But if the way you save Horn isn't by changing Horn's quantum life and death state through the Desire Tower, but by coming to the Underworld and abducting him, tsk tsk tsk."
Wen Xishu pursued:
"What does that imply?"
The multicolored crow replied:
"That implies—Horn's rebirth didn't follow the regular process of the Netherworld. Horn would become one of the undead. An existence of immortality."
"We would still declare Horn dead. In the Netherworld, a spiritual body can die again, which is obliteration. But in the world of the living, once a physical body is gained... it becomes an eternal, immortal state."