But just one second later, the Shinigami broke free from part of the restraint.
It let out a piercing shriek. "Human! How dare you bind me, a Shinigami! Release me quickly! Otherwise, I will make sure you can never reincarnate!"
It seemed it hadn't spoken in a long time, its voice hoarse and unpleasant.
Shun's lips curled slightly, as if he had anticipated the current situation, a calm and composed smile gracing his face.
"Indeed, against a strong opponent like you, the soul-reaping rope's immobilization effect is still not enough."
He abruptly swung his right hand backward, like wielding a fierce venomous snake, and forcefully lashed out with the soul-beating whip.
Thwack!
With a crisp sound, the soul-beating whip struck the Shinigami's soul hard.
The moment the whip hit, dark red runic light flared, seemingly having some special effect.
The Shinigami instantly let out a shrill scream. "Ahhh... it hurts so much! What kind of evil weapon is this? Foolish human, how dare you whip me with such a thing?! You will regret this!"
In the face of the Shinigami's threat, Shun's eyes shimmered with excitement.
He mockingly said with interest, "Oh, you're quite arrogant, aren't you? It seems that whip wasn't painful enough, you still have the strength to struggle."
Upon hearing this, the Shinigami immediately felt something was amiss, and it struggled even harder to break free from its bonds.
As the Shinigami struggled, black mist continuously overflowed from its body, and its soul phantom began to shake violently.
"This time I've fallen, human! Please let me go!"
Shun was completely unmoved and gave it no chance to breathe, continuously swinging the soul-beating whip with his right hand. With each swing, the soul-beating whip made a crisp sound in the air before fiercely striking the Shinigami's body.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
Accompanied by a series of crisp whipping sounds, the Shinigami's invisible screams echoed throughout the entire space.
Each strike made the Shinigami's soul weaker and dimmer.
Suddenly, the Shinigami transformed into a ball of black mist, attempting to flee outwards.
Shun's gaze was as cold as ice. "Still trying to escape? You've already missed your chance to run."
His eyes sharpened, and the soul-reaping rope in his right hand was flung out again, precisely coiling around the core of the black mist.
At the same time, the soul-beating whip in his left hand wrapped around it like a nimble snake, tightly encasing the black mist, instantly re-condensing it into the Shinigami's form.
"Just accept your fate and come with me to a place for proper purification."
Shun clenched the soul-beating whip in his left hand and pulled the soul-reaping rope with his right, dragging the Shinigami before him, and once again opened a spatial gate.
He dragged the bound Shinigami, stepped through the spatial gate, and his figure vanished from the Ninja World.
When he reappeared, he was already in the Eighteenth Hell of the Ancestral Star Netherworld.
Black purification flames burned here, and as the flames danced, one could hear the faint sounds of sins being incinerated.
In the center stood a massive stone millstone, and as it turned, its stone teeth would grind evil souls into fragments.
The judge responsible for Hell, seeing Shun arrive, immediately hurried forward, his hands clasped at his sides.
"Throw it into the millstone and purify it until only pure energy remains." Shun raised his hand and pushed the bound Shinigami forward.
A ghost general immediately stepped forward, formed hand seals, and pointed his finger at the millstone. The millstone instantly began to turn, and black light shimmered between its stone teeth.
The Shinigami was pulled by an attractive force, involuntarily flying towards the millstone. It struggled weakly, black mist continuously impacting the ropes, but it couldn't even stir a ripple.
"No! I am the Shinigami! You cannot treat me this way!"
It let out one last desperate roar, but was still dragged into the millstone.
"AHHHH... AH..."
The moment the Shinigami was dragged into the millstone, its piercing screams echoed throughout Hell, but were quickly drowned out by the sound of the millstone turning.
The millstone spun faster and faster, and the Shinigami's soul continuously decomposed between the stone teeth, leaving only faint blue, pure energy.
As the millstone continued to turn, this pure energy slowly flowed out like a stream, following the grooves at the bottom of the millstone and merging into the land of the Netherworld.
Shun stood by, clearly feeling that the Netherworld's energy fluctuations were becoming more stable, and the Netherworld's land beneath his feet seemed to become more solid.
The soul-reaping rope and soul-beating whip in his hands also trembled slightly. The energy on the rope became more concentrated, and the runes on the whip glowed more dazzlingly. Clearly, the power of the two Divine Artifacts had also increased significantly.
He nodded slightly, his fingers stroking the soul-reaping rope, thinking to himself, 'Strengthening the Netherworld's energy was indeed the correct choice.'
But just then, in his mind, he compared the two 'gods'.
The Shinigami's soul was illusory, whereas the Sage of Six Paths's soul body, with the sleeves of his white robe fluttering with the airflow, looked almost like a normal person.
"The Sage of Six Paths's soul body is practically like a living person. He can actively appear in the Ninja World, and even condense Truth-Seeking Orbs and use various Ninjutsu."
All of this indicated how powerful the Sage of Six Paths had become, having lingered in the Pure Land for over a thousand years.
Even as a soul body, he far surpassed beings like the Shinigami.
"But what exactly is this Sage of Six Paths plotting? Is he preparing for retaliation from the Otsutsuki clan?"
He looked up at the sky of the Netherworld. The projections of the sun, moon, and stars were still bright.
Now, the Ancestral Star Netherworld was initially complete, and his strength had increased due to the Netherworld Divine Artifacts and the blessing of the Netherworld's rules. But against a formidable enemy like the Sage of Six Paths, he still wasn't 100% confident in defeating him.
As his strength grew, he could feel the terror of the Sage of Six Paths. However, he still had a chance.
In the future, the Ancestral Star's natural energy would become more concentrated, the Netherworld's rules would become more perfect, and his strength would advance another level.
At that time, he would accompany Kaguya to properly teach the Sage of Six Paths a lesson, letting him know what step-dad's love is.