First Move of the Lost Soul

Hearing Jieyin's words, Zhunti also sobered up.

Heavenly Emperor?

That was something only the Dao Ancestor could decide.

Even if they managed to drive Haotian down, it wouldn't necessarily fall to a cultivator from the Western Region.

And there was no guarantee they could even drive Haotian down in the first place.

Once sober, Zhunti's mind was crystal clear.

He then said to Jieyin, "Senior Brother! Later, we still need to refine spiritual treasures. Even if we can't match Haotian's craftsmanship, we should make some to improve the Western Region's environment. Let's start our calculations now."

Seeing Zhunti had come to his senses, Jieyin nodded and said, "Good."

Immediately, the two Sages began forming hand seals.

Streams of information flashed through their minds.

A moment later.

Zhunti's face flushed red, and his hand seals came to a halt.

No reason other than sheer fury!

After a brief silence, Zhunti even spoke out, "O vast Azure Heaven, why are you so unkind to me?"

Hearing this, Jieyin quickly stopped Zhunti from continuing.

"Junior Brother! Hold your tongue!"

At Jieyin's rebuke, Zhunti hurriedly shut his mouth.

In the Primordial World, cursing heaven and earth was an easy way to invite lightning strikes.

Even Sages were not exempt.

Above the Sages, there was still Dao Ancestor Hongjun.

After cutting off Zhunti's words, Jieyin began to console him.

"Junior Brother, no need for that! Among the Six Sages of the Primordial World, we're not the only ones without an Innate Supreme Treasure. Nuwa and Tongtian also lack one. Even if the Three Pure Ones are close, they each established their own Great Sects. Compared to them, we still have an advantage. At least we are two Sages."

Hearing this, Zhunti immediately felt much better.

He then nodded and said, "Forget it! Let's continue refining spiritual treasures!"

"Good!"

As for Haotian, after returning to the Heavenly Court, he began to ponder how to make a move and recruit some of the Demon Race to the Heavenly Court.

Just going up and acting directly didn't seem quite appropriate.

After all, Nuwa was still watching.

Even if he had to offend her, he needed to leave her with nothing to say.

After thinking for a moment, Haotian suddenly had an idea.

Take a stroll through the Primordial World!

There were so many demons in the Primordial World; by wandering around, he was bound to encounter some evildoers.

Now that the Demon Court was disbanded, the Heavenly Court hadn't yet taken over management of the Primordial World, and Nuwa hadn't imposed much restraint.

In a free-range state, could the Demon Race be expected to turn wholly to good?

Impossible!

Absolutely impossible!

But aimlessly wandering and suddenly tying it to the Demon Race was still too obvious.

He needed to find a suitable excuse.

Demon Purge?

Demon Purge my ass!

It's only been a few dozen epochs since the last Calamity ended.

A few dozen epochs for the long-lived—calling it a nap might be a stretch.

But still, it's nothing more than an insignificant stretch of time.

So if someone really wanted to start a Demon Purge right off the bat, anyone with eyes could see it was targeting the Demon Race.

After pondering for a moment, Haotian's eyes suddenly lit up.

Since the Calamity had only just passed, weren't there plenty of Lost Souls in the Primordial World?

True, the Underworld already existed.

But its specific functions and duties had yet to be established.

Lost Souls made their way to the Underworld solely by instinctive pull while still dazed and confused, shortly after their deaths.

Once a Lost Soul regained its awareness, it would linger in the Mortal Realm, unable to reincarnate.

As the Heavenly Emperor, how could Imperial We sit idly by while all beings suffered?

Deliver them!

They must be delivered!

Rescuing them from the sea of suffering—Imperial We will not shirk that duty!

Once the thought surfaced, Haotian could no longer contain himself.

He immediately closed his eyes, steadied his spirit, and silently began to deduce a scripture of deliverance.

For the matter of deliverance, it could certainly be done by wielding great Mana.

But as the Heavenly Emperor, Haotian's primary cultivation lay in the Imperial Dao Law.

With words becoming law, supplementing it with a scripture of deliverance was the wisest choice.

As for scriptures, Haotian still knew a few lines.

With fragments of memory and the deduction of his own Dao cultivation, he could edit and adapt them as he saw fit, making them his own.

Before long.

Haotian slowly opened his eyes. With a thought, he inscribed the scripture he had deduced onto several Jade Slips.

Rising from his meditation chamber, Haotian made his way to the Jade Pool Immortal Realm.

Once he found the Jade Pool, Haotian spoke: "Imperial We intends to descend to the mortal world to deliver the Lost Souls.

For the time being, the many affairs of the Heavenly Court will be in your hands. Do take care."

Hearing Haotian's words, the Jade Pool replied: "Your Majesty, rest assured!

This humble consort will surely keep the Heavenly Court in order.

But, Your Majesty, did you not say you were going to seek out personnel to fill the vacancies in the Heavenly Court?

Why...?"

At the Jade Pool's question, Haotian replied: "There is no rush for that!

Imperial We has our own considerations.

..."

After giving his instructions, Haotian left the Heavenly Court.

At the shore of the South Sea.

Haotian gazed out at the vast South Sea.

Though there were many Lost Souls within it, after some deliberation, Haotian chose not to venture deep into the South Sea.

This deliverance of Lost Souls was aimed at creating a pretext to target the Demon Race.

It was not a mission purely for the sake of deliverance.

Thus, Haotian's goal was clear.

He would travel from south to north, steadily accumulating records of the Demon Race's misdeeds.

Once he had gathered enough, that would be the moment to reveal his true purpose.

With that, Haotian sat cross-legged on the shore.

With a thought, the Imperial Dao Law manifested, and the Ten Thousandfold Amplification was activated.

With everything in place, Haotian began to chant: "In ages past, within Chaos, inside the Purple Cloud Palace.

Receiving Haotian's deliverance, the boundless supreme grade.

The Heavenly Emperor Haotian shall now speak this scripture..."

As Haotian's Dao Sound left his lips, under the Ten Thousandfold Amplification, the subtle tones of the Dao spread far and wide.

Within a radius of hundreds of thousands of miles, every Lost Soul could hear the Dao Sound.

Mountains, rivers, lakes, oceans, and seas.

Every mortal lost soul—whether a Vengeful Ghost, Spirit Binder, or Water Ghost—

broke free from their restraints and rushed toward where Haotian was.

Time passed slowly, and the place where Haotian stood was now packed with lost souls.

Dense masses of spiritual bodies, numbering no less than a million, stood orderly three zhang away.

As Haotian chanted sutras longer, the dazed lost souls regained clarity.

Those who had once borne fierce expressions now wore peaceful looks.

After chanting several times, Haotian was about to continue with the next scripture.

But unexpectedly, a furious roar suddenly came from afar.

"Hey!

What wandering priest is this?

How dare you steal the Vengeful Ghosts under my command?

Come forth and accept death at once!"

Hearing this roar, Haotian felt great joy in his heart.

He had originally thought he would need to travel far before encountering someone blind enough to provoke him.

But he never expected that today, just as he started, a Demon Race member would deliver himself to his doorstep.

Haotian swept his Spiritual Sense over and saw a Tiger Demon, transformed into a burly man, standing not far away.

Yet Haotian did not immediately acknowledge him; instead, he continued his chanting.

Since the one he was waiting for had already arrived, there was no rush to deal with him.

Haotian's expression remained calm as he recited the sutras, intending to finish the scripture and liberate the lost souls before handling the matter.

Unfortunately!

The Tiger Demon did not give Haotian that chance.

Ever since breaking through to the Golden Immortal realm an eon ago, when had this Tiger Demon ever suffered such disrespect?

Within a million li radius, who wouldn't bow and call him Great King?

Yet now, not only had a wandering priest stolen his Vengeant Ghosts, but he was also being treated so dismissively.

The more he thought about it, the angrier he grew. The Tiger Demon raised his great blade and shouted at Haotian: "You wandering priest!

Die!"