Silence!
Eerie silence!
Hongjun and Yang Mei exchanged a glance and fell silent. Neither of them had ever been willing to speak of Luohu.
Perhaps sensing their hesitation, Xuan Yi quickly reassured them. "Father, please do not trouble yourself. If you do not wish to mention it, then I will not ask any further."
Seeing the slight disappointment in Xuan Yi's eyes, the two of them could not bear it.
In the end, Dao Ancestor Hongjun was the first to speak.
"Alas, so be it. You were bound to learn the truth eventually."
Xuan Yi had actually already guessed the identity of the other great expert. There had only been a few figures involved in that great battle; he simply could not be certain.
"The blood essence of the other great expert within your body belongs to Luohu!"
"Luohu!"
Nuwa cried out in shock. She had not expected a trip to the chaos to reveal so many explosive secrets. The succession of bombshells left her utterly dumbfounded.
"That is correct. Luohu did not actually die. He even established the Outer Realm Demonic Sect beyond the heavens."
An even more shocking piece of news followed.
"How is that possible? Did Luohu not perish in that great battle?"
Unlike Nuwa, Xuan Yi remained calm. After all, he knew the course of the Primordial World's development.
"Luohu did perish, but before his death, he swore an oath to the Great Dao to transform himself into an Outer Realm Sky Demon. His status is equal to mine. When the Dao Sect declines, Luohu will appear in the Primordial World. As the saying goes, when the Dao wanes, demons rise; when the Dao rises, demons wane. The Outer Demonic Realm is the dark side of the Primordial World."
At the mention of the demonic realm, Hongjun felt a headache coming on.
"Xuan Yi, the Dao Sect is currently flourishing, and Luohu cannot enter the Primordial World. But one day, he will discover your existence."
"Luohu is, after all, your father as well. You may acknowledge him, but you must never fall onto the demonic path."
Hongjun truly cared deeply for Xuan Yi and solemnly warned him.
"Rest assured, Father. I know what matters."
Xuan Yi had no interest in entering the demonic path and immediately promised Hongjun that he would never fall into it.
"Xuan Yi, it is time for me to leave as well. The Primordial World is not where I belong. I must continue traveling through the chaos, but I will come visit you often."
Having done everything he needed to do, Yang Mei chose to depart as well. The chaos was where Chaos Demon Gods belonged.
After bidding farewell to Yang Mei, Xuan Yi brought the still-reeling Nuwa back to Buzhou Mountain to refine the treasures Yang Mei had bestowed upon him.
Primordial World, Pangu Hall.
Houtu, who had been cultivating, was interrupted by a wave of irritability. She walked out of Pangu Hall, and only after sensing the aura of the Primordial World did her mood gradually calm.
"It has been a long time since I explored the Primordial World. I might as well take this chance to relax."
With that thought, Houtu no longer hesitated and set off alone into the Primordial World.
Houtu wandered as she traveled, taking in the famous mountains and great rivers of the Primordial World. She had even taken human form and lived in seclusion among human tribes.
While traveling everywhere, Houtu inadvertently arrived at the Sea of Blood.
The Sea of Blood resembled a ghostly realm. Blood mist filled the air, and the cries of ghosts and howls of spirits echoed across its surface. Countless souls of fallen beings were trapped within, unable to leave under the influence of the bloody baleful aura. They could only suffer in torment.
Seeing the tragic sight before her, Houtu revealed a look of pity.
As Houtu continued deeper into the Sea of Blood, more and more resentful souls appeared.
Watching countless resentful souls roll about within the Sea of Blood, Houtu felt a sharp pain in her heart and could not bear to watch any longer.
"The Primordial World is vast and boundless, yet these resentful souls have nowhere to rest. We of the Witch Race are descendants of Pangu, yet we are powerless to help them. We have truly disgraced Father God's name!"
Overwhelmed by grief, Houtu kept murmuring words such as "a place to go" and "a place to rest."
Suddenly, Houtu seemed to gain an insight.
Heaven and earth required balance, and resentful souls needed a place to rest.
Reincarnation must be established!
Having made up her mind, Houtu immediately swore an oath to the Heavenly Dao.
Meanwhile, the eleven Ancestral Witches, who were in seclusion within the Witch Race, suddenly felt an ominous premonition. They hurried toward the Sea of Blood.
"Heavenly Dao above, I am Houtu, descendant of Pangu. I have realized that after the beings of the Primordial World die, they have nowhere to rest and can only wander and suffer within the Sea of Blood. I am willing to transform my body as an Ancestral Witch into the Six Paths of Reincarnation, helping all beings escape suffering. May the Heavenly Dao bear witness!"
As Houtu's oath to transform herself into reincarnation fell, thunder roared throughout the entire Primordial World, while wild winds howled without end.
Countless beings fell to their knees and cried out, "Lady Houtu is merciful!"
Even the Sanqing, Xuan Yi, and Dao Ancestor Hongjun all cupped their hands toward Houtu and said, "Lady Houtu is merciful!"
Xuan Yi also brought Nuwa personally to the Sea of Blood, where Houtu was becoming reincarnation.
"Any being of the Primordial World may, after death, pass through the Six Paths of Reincarnation to be reborn and cultivate anew. Those with merit shall be rewarded, while those with sin shall be punished!"
"The Six Paths of Reincarnation are divided into the upper three paths and the lower three paths."
"Those who cultivate themselves, possess deep merit, and bear great merit shall enter the Heavenly Path; those with lesser merit shall enter the Asura Path; those without merit but also without sin shall enter the Human Path."
"These are the upper three paths of the Six Paths!"
"Those with lesser sins and no great evil deeds shall enter the Animal Path; those with heavier sins but no great evil deeds shall enter the Hungry Ghost Path; those burdened with grave sins who still refuse to repent shall enter the Hell Path to suffer, and only after cleansing themselves of their sins may they be reborn."
"These are the lower three paths of the Six Paths!"
"Six Paths of Reincarnation, arise!"
As Houtu spoke the laws of the Six Paths one by one, the Six Paths of Reincarnation slowly appeared beside her. Each time Houtu named one of the six paths, the corresponding section of the Six Paths of Reincarnation shone brightly.
With the establishment of the Six Paths of Reincarnation, the once-calm Sea of Blood immediately boiled like scalding water, and boundless merit descended from the void.
Houtu's transformation into reincarnation was a world-completing merit for the Primordial World, making its workings more complete. The merit bestowed by the Heavenly Dao this time surpassed all previous merit combined, truly the greatest merit since the creation of heaven and earth.
An incomparably vast power of merit flew toward Houtu and slowly merged into her body.
As more and more Heavenly Dao merit entered her, Houtu developed her own Primordial Spirit, and her aura continued to rise.
Boom!
An immense saintly pressure spread forth. From that moment on, Houtu became the third Saint.
"Houtu, you have become a Saint!"
The Ancestral Witches, who had arrived late, were overjoyed to see Houtu become a Saint.
But Houtu did not respond. She merely sent three drops of blood essence into Di Jiang's hand.
"Today, the Six Paths of Reincarnation are established, and the Underworld is founded!"
"I am the Lord of the Underworld. I shall use the Book of Life and Death and the Judge's Brush to suppress the Underworld's fortune."
"From this day onward, there shall only be Pingxin of the Underworld, and no more Ancestral Witch Houtu!"
Afterward, Houtu slowly vanished.
The eleven Ancestral Witches stared at the vanished Houtu in utter disbelief.
Di Jiang could not help but ask Xuan Yi, "Fellow Daoist Xuan Yi, please tell us what exactly has happened."
"Lady Houtu transformed herself into reincarnation and will henceforth be one with the Six Paths of Reincarnation. Although she has become a Saint, she can no longer leave the Underworld. The three drops of blood essence she gave you were likely so that the Twelve Capital Gods and Demons Array would not become unusable."
Upon learning the reason, the eleven Ancestral Witches looked utterly dejected.
Di Jiang gritted his teeth and said, "Thank you, Fellow Daoist Xuan Yi, for clearing up our confusion. We shall return."
Seeing that Di Jiang actually intended to leave, Xuanming could not help but speak.
"But Sister Houtu!"
"This was Sister Houtu's own choice. It can be said that she has lived up to the name of Pangu's descendants. When we wage war against the Demon Race in the future, even if we lose, I believe Sister Houtu will still be able to ensure that the Witch Race's bloodline endures."
The other Ancestral Witches found Di Jiang's words reasonable and returned to the Witch Race with him.
Di Jun and the others in the Heavenly Court were greatly pleased when they learned that Houtu had transformed herself into reincarnation, but Tai Yi remained calm.
"Elder Brother, although Houtu is trapped in the Underworld, the Heavenly Court's high-level combat strength is still inferior to that of the Witch Race. We should create a grand formation to unite the Demon Race's power."
Di Jun found Tai Yi's words reasonable and gathered the Demon Court's strength to begin creating a formation.
In the end, the Grand Formation of the Stars was successfully created.
As the ten-thousand-year deadline set by the Dao Ancestor drew ever closer, the final battle between the Witch Race and the Demon Race was about to begin.
Before you continue