Nine Heavens.
Yu Zhen and Ling Ruo, in their spiritual body state, were brought to their knees.
The surrounding area was filled with the immortal families of the Nine Heavens.
"Yu Zhen, you are this Emperor's师娘 (shī niáng - wife of master/teacher), and I should not have made you kneel. However, the evil deeds you have committed this time are too numerous, so we must proceed with official business and administer strict punishment." httpδ:/m.kuAisugg.nět
As Yue Zhiyin spoke, he lightly struck the gavel on the platform.
Yu Zhen, kneeling on the ground, seemed to have just regained her senses. She slowly raised her head, and after a considerable pause, shook her head and retorted, "I do not plead guilty. I have done nothing wrong. I did not truly betray the divine race and defect to the Blood Demon Fiend and Rakshasa Heavenly Venerable; I was all forced."
Her eyes widened as she looked at the crowd around her. "If you were in my situation, would you not have defected to Rakshasa Heavenly Venerable and the others? The circumstances at the time left me no choice."
"Your mistake from beginning to end was not in betraying and defecting," Sui You's voice was indifferent. "The reason for your mistake is every action you took before."
"The matter of the Illusory Painting Realm, it has something to do with you, doesn't it? Otherwise, why would Rakshasa Heavenly Venerable know so much about Qi Yu and Si Qing?"
"And, weren't you the one who repeatedly cooperated with the Blood Demon Fiend before?"
Yu Zhen was speechless, her mouth agape as she knelt on the spot, unable to move for a long time.
"Since you have committed so many evil deeds, you are no longer qualified to seek forgiveness," Sui You said, then turned to Yue Zhiyin, who was seated on the high platform, and bowed. "Your Majesty, this humble deity requests that High God Liu Yu be sentenced to abolish her own spiritual power, fall into hell to suffer eighteen layers of torment, and never find peace for all eternity."
"Your Majesty," Qi Yu suddenly stepped forward at this moment. "This humble deity believes that the punishment of falling into the eighteen layers of hell is not enough."
Yu Zhen looked at Qi Yu in disbelief, as if she couldn't believe these were her words.
"Then, how do you think she should be punished?" Yue Zhiyin looked at Qi Yu.
This was the first time in all the time he had known Qi Yu that he had heard her speak about punishing Yu Zhen.
"This humble deity believes that the way to severely punish High God Liu Yu lies not in the body but in the mind," Qi Yu raised her eyes and looked at Yue Zhiyin. "Whether High God Liu Yu betrayed and defected, or everything she did to my brother and me before, it all stems from her flawed thinking. To change this, I believe High God Liu Yu should undergo re-education."
"Oh?" Yue Zhiyin had expected Qi Yu to wish for Yu Zhen's demise, and was surprised to hear her say this, feeling a moment of confusion. "Then what is your meaning?"
Qi Yu's voice was faint.
"Let High God Liu Yu become an infant spirit, to endure hardship and trials in the mortal realm, to reshape her perspective and beliefs. When she sincerely repents one day, she may return to the Nine Heavens."
Si Qing had no objections.
Yue Zhiyin nodded. Seeing that no one else had any objections, he directly gave the order to take Yu Zhen away.
Yu Zhen cried out all the way.
The other immortal families around discussed amongst themselves, but they were not discussing how pitiful Yu Zhen was, but rather how benevolent Qi Yu truly was, to not have sent Yu Zhen to hell.
Qi Yu and Si Qing stood not far away, a faint smile on their lips, remaining silent.
Yu Zhen shook her head frantically, her gaze towards Qi Yu and Si Qing filled with pleading.
Benevolent?
What a joke!
Most infant spirits were children who had died in accidents before their time and became infant spirits after death.
These types of spirits were good spirits; if they accumulated enough merit through good deeds after death, they could ascend to immortality or be reincarnated.
As for the other part of infant spirits, they were those who had been demoted and needed to be educated. Therefore, after being demoted, they had no fixed abode in the Three Realms and had to run errands for everyone in the Three Realms, enduring their judgments and teachings.
During festivals and holidays, when other deities had sacrifices and could gather in the mortal realm for a small reunion, demoted infant spirits had nowhere to live. They could only stay alone in dark corners.
They could not have companions.
This kind of punishment was endless, essentially just a prolonged suffering.
In terms of status, they might even be inferior to Li Yu, the criminal slave of the Nine Heavens.
After all, although the criminal slaves of the Nine Heavens sounded insignificant, in reality, their status was much higher than the spirits and monsters in the chambers. Moreover, they had rest periods and were not beaten and scolded every day.
This kind of punishment was more agonizing than death for Yu Zhen.
Qi Yu watched Yu Zhen's figure, crying and unwilling to leave, her expression unchanged.
Only after Yu Zhen was gone did she and Si Qing shift their attention to Ling Ruo's spiritual body.
Ling Ruo, without her physical shell, was now a soul drifting in the Nine Heavens, and her soul still bore the appearance of a modern person.
Wang Lanqing watched silently from within the crowd.
So, what was written in novels was all illusory. Not all transmigrators lived good lives after arriving in another world.
The Ling Ruo before them was a living example.
"Ling Ruo, do you know your crime?" Yue Zhiyin asked Ling Ruo, whose soul was drifting aimlessly below, his voice deep.