"Wonderful! You two fellow cultivators are compassionate at heart, your virtue towering and lofty, Virtue Matches Heaven and Earth! I am deeply grateful from the bottom of my heart! Dare I ask, Your Majesty—do you have a good strategy to give guidance?"
Haotian's insides churned like overturning seas, yet his face wore the warmth of a spring breeze. Toward Minghe and Fengdu, he lavished every flattery, his tongue blooming lotuses as spittle flew.
His ambition had always burned like flame, his schemes reaching far ahead. Now that he saw the three of them faintly joining hands, he immediately made up his mind: it was good to enjoy the shade beneath a great tree. Better to add fuel to the fire and draw them aboard the same ship, jointly taking command of this grand chessboard of heaven and earth!
The golden wheel behind her head shone ever brighter, scenes of the Six Paths of Reincarnation rising and sinking within it: hungry ghosts swallowing fire, beasts crawling low, asuras battling in fury, heavenly beings drunk on bliss... all living beings knelt and gave thanks for the grace of rebirth. Bathed in golden light, Empress Houtu resembled even more an immortal banished from the Ninth Heaven—untainted by dust, pure and flawless, her entire being exuding a sacred aura not to be profaned.
"Wondrous, wondrous! In years past, this humble one witnessed the tragic scene of wandering souls drifting helplessly and spirits scattering into extinction. Pity rose in my heart; unable to bear seeing them forever fall into nothingness, with nowhere to return, I transformed my body into reincarnation, carved open the netherworld, took command of the underworld, ruled over a hundred ghosts, commanded the hosts of evil, and bestowed blessings upon all living beings. Now Calamity Fire blazes fiercely in the mortal realm,