From north to south, from east to west.
They walked through the scorched earth burned by Zhurong Southern Bright Li Fire, through the swamps washed away by Gonggong Profound Nether True Water, and through those places that were once fertile fields, but now only cracked wasteland remains.
I don't know how long the three of them walked, and I don't know how many dead souls they saved.
Merit Golden Light in the hands of Xuande was bright and dazzling at first, but later became gentle and restrained.
The number of times he has been saved has become too numerous to count, and each time he has been saved adds an imperceptible halo to his Merit Golden Body.
Houtu's technique has become more and more proficient. Earth Dao and the method of salvation gradually merged into one in her hands, forming a unique rhythm:
It has the weight of the earth that carries all things, and the compassion of Western Wondrous Dharma that liberates Obsession.
Randeng follows at the end.
Along the way, he saw countless dead souls gain liberation through salvation.
At first, he just watched silently, occasionally taking action to help those weak thoughts that could not even be touched by Houtu and Xuande.
But gradually, he began to see something else in the disappearance of these dead souls.
The moment those dead souls are saved, their resentment dissipates, Obsession disintegrates, and they return to the world Origin Essence. That is not death, not an end, but a deeper peace.
He cultivated Nirvana Dao. In the past, he always thought that annihilation was the end, that everything would return to nothingness.
But at this moment, he suddenly felt that maybe something was wrong.
Annihilation is not death, but another form of peace, just like these dead souls are not eliminated but liberated in salvation.
They are no longer bound by Obsession, no longer driven by resentment, but have returned to the most primitive state of heaven and earth.
The process of saving the dead souls itself is a manifestation of Nirvana Dao.
This thought made his heart move slightly. He felt that he was one step closer to something, but still a little short.
It was only a matter of time before he could truly see this path clearly.
Unconsciously, the three of them went further and further off the road, deeper and deeper.
The surrounding Spiritual Energy gradually became thinner and viscous, the air was filled with a vague smell of blood, and the ground under the feet also changed from normal brown to dull red.
I don't know since when, there is no longer a living creature around.
The sky was so low that it seemed to be pressing down, and a few bloody lightning flashed occasionally among the dark red clouds.
The earth is cracked, and a thick dark red liquid oozes from the cracks, exuding the smell of decay and filth.
Blood Sea.
Xuande stopped.
The boundless dark red sea in front of us is the end point of all the filth in Primordial Wilderness, and it is also the final destination of all the ownerless souls.
The waves above Blood Sea are rolling, and each wave carries the wails of countless dead souls.
Those souls attracted by the evil spirit of the Blood Sea are floating in the blood waves. Some have been mostly swallowed by Blood God Avatars, leaving only a trace of residual thoughts struggling. Some are still wandering on the edge, trying in vain to escape from the abyss;
Most of them are those weak existences that have given up their struggle, floating like dead leaves in the waves of blood, being silently dissolved bit by bit by the Blood Sea.
The air was filled with a strong smell of rust, and every breath seemed to swallow countless broken lives.
Randeng stood at the Edge of the Blood Sea, looking at the surging dark red, and Glazed Lamp in his hand trembled slightly.
He had seen countless dead souls along the way, but the sight of the Edge of the Blood Sea still made his heart sink.
The number of dead souls, the weight of resentment, and the depth of pain here are far greater than any battlefield we have ever visited before.
Some of the remnants struggling in the blood waves still retain the vague outlines of their lives.
He saw the phantoms of the Witch Clan soldiers, the remnant souls of the Demon Clan soldiers, and countless innocent creatures affected by the flames of war.
They are all firmly sucked by the evil spirit of the Blood Sea, like trapped animals trapped in a quagmire. The more they struggle, the deeper they sink.
They have no destination, no reincarnation, and no peace. They can only float and sink forever in this sea of filth until they are completely swallowed by the Blood Sea.
He has practiced Nirvana Dao for many years, and he always believed that annihilation is the end of all things and the absolute end of existence.
But at this moment, he suddenly thought, if Nirvana is just a simple death, will these dead souls still exist after being swallowed by the Blood Sea?
They disappeared, but they once existed, and the pain and struggle they experienced have not been erased just because they disappeared.
Annihilation should not be death. If annihilation just makes everything return to nothingness, then Nirvana Dao is meaningless.
Because nothingness does not need "Tao".
True silence should be a kind of peace.
It is a kind of peace that allows all pain, resentment, and Obsession to find their home.
Just like those transcended dead souls, they are not destroyed, but liberated.
They have returned to the world Origin Essence, no longer bound by Obsession, and no longer driven by resentment. That is what Nirvana should be like.
He looked at the still struggling souls in the Blood Sea, and suddenly felt that he was one step closer to an answer.
But there is still an opportunity left for this step.
Houtu stood at the Edge of the Blood Sea, looking at the surging dark red, and suddenly his whole body was shocked.
That's a very subtle feeling.
Not sound, not light, not smell, but a vague call coming from the deepest part of the Blood Sea.
It penetrated the surging sound of blood waves, the wails of the dead souls, and the Earth Dao barrier around her.
It fell directly into the depths of her Primordial Spirit, like the oldest pulse deep in the earth calling her name.
"Brother Xuande," Houtu's voice was a little tight, "There is something in the Blood Sea that is calling me."
Xuande turned to look at her. Blood Sea What could be in the depths?
The answer is self-evident: the prototype of Six Paths of Reincarnation. In other words, it is the position prepared by Great Dao for Houtu.
That is Houtu's fate and her way.
The call she sensed did not come from the Blood Sea itself, but from the unformed land of reincarnation deep in the Blood Sea.
He knew that Houtu would one day go there, push open that door, and fulfill her destiny of reincarnation.
Only this time, she had Primordial Spirit. He didn't know if Houtu, after having Primordial Spirit, could walk out again after pushing the door open.
According to the legend of later generations, after Houtu transformed into reincarnation, he was trapped in Underworld forever, and no one except Immeasurable Tribulation could be born again.
But today's Houtu is no longer the legendary Houtu.
She possesses Primordial Spirit, possesses the method of salvation, and possesses the unique insight resulting from the blending of Earth Dao and Western Wondrous Dharma.
Her path is no longer simply about martyrdom, but has more possibilities.
Maybe she won't be trapped in Underworld forever, maybe she can travel freely between Underworld and Primordial Wilderness, maybe her ending will be completely different from the legend. But these are just guesses.
Xuande pondered for a moment, and his voice was as steady as ever. "Since there is something in the Blood Sea calling fellow Daoists, let's go in and have a look."
At this moment, Blood Sea suddenly surged up. Waves of dark red blood rose into the sky, exploding countless bloody splashes on the sea.
A suffocating pressure rose from the depths of the Blood Sea, like a sleeping giant finally opening its eyes.
A huge blood wave rose slowly, and a figure stood on the top of the wave.
It was a Daoist priest wearing dark red robes, with a sinister face, a thin figure, high cheekbones, and deep-set eye sockets.
His eyes were dark red, and there seemed to be countless Blood God Avatarss swimming in his pupils.
The blood around him surged like a tide, and the Blood Sea beneath his feet seemed to blend into one with him.
Every rise and fall of the blood wave rhythmized with his breathing.
Under his feet was a twelve-grade fiery red lotus flower. The whole body was red, with twelve petals spread out layer by layer, each one burning with blazing fire of karma.
Karmic Fire Red Lotus, Supreme Innate Spiritual Treasure, come from the same source as Xuande and Merit Golden Lotus, but they go to completely opposite extremes.
Merit Golden Lotus is about defense and is invulnerable to all means; Karmic Fire Red Lotus is about killing and burning the body with karma fire. If it touches even a trace, it will be backfired by its own cause and effect, burning Primordial Spirit until both body and soul are destroyed.
The Daoist holds a killing sword in each hand.
The left-hand sword has a long and narrow blade, and is as white as bone. There is a soul-stirring cold light flowing on the blade. It is Yuantu;
The sword in the right hand has a thick blade and is dark red like coagulated plasma. There are countless Wronged Souls lingering and wailing faintly on the sword, which is Abi.
Two innate killing weapons, killing people without causal effects. Only one person among Primordial Wilderness has such a killing weapon.
Minghe.
He stepped on Karmic Fire Red Lotus and held Yuantu and Abi Swords, rising slowly from the blood wave.
Mid-Quasi-Saint's coercion was released unabashedly, causing the surrounding blood mist to collapse inward.
Blood Sea surged endlessly under his feet, and countless Blood God Avatars emerged from the sea, densely arrayed behind him, like a silent army that had been sleeping for countless years, stretching to the end of the sky on the bloody sea.
Houtu's expression remained unchanged, and he nodded slightly to Minghe: "Fellow Daoist Minghe, you are well."
Minghe looked at the three people in front of him coldly.
He didn't want to come out.
After Nuwa became enlightened, he has been in seclusion deep in the Blood Sea, devoting all his strength to the embryo of the Asura Clan.
In order to give birth to the Asura Clan, he tried countless methods.
The initial forcible kneading caused Blood God Avatars to eat each other in the embryo, and the subsequent stimulation of sperm and blood made the embryo too fragile to withstand the evil energy of the Blood Sea.
He repeatedly adjusted the ratio of blood essence and Blood Sea Origin Essence, but failed again and again, and each failure made him more anxious.
It only took Nuwa a few thousand years to create Human Race, and it took him countless thousands of years, but Asura Clan was always just a half-formed embryo.
Now is the most critical moment. He has finally found a ratio that allows the embryo to exist stably. As long as he is given tens of thousands of years, Asura Clan will be born. How can he have the free time to deal with a few idle people hanging around the Blood Sea?
He has seen Houtu and Xuande in the Zixiao Palace, and he has also seen him in the Wa Huang Palace. They are all characters with the same name as Primordial Wilderness.
Houtu is one of Twelve Ancestral Witches, and Xuande is one of the three giants West. None of them are bad.
But as long as they don't step into the Blood Sea, he won't be too lazy to come out. Let them wander around the Blood Sea, and they will leave naturally when they are tired of shopping.
But just now, he sensed that instead of leaving, these three people began to explore deeper into the Blood Sea.
Blood Sea is his territory. No one, whether Ancestral Witch or West, is allowed to step into his territory, let alone pry into anything deep in the Blood Sea.
The embryo of the Asura Clan is hidden in the deepest part of the Blood Sea, which is his entire hope for enlightenment.
If it was discovered, if it was destroyed, if it was robbed... He didn't dare to think about it.
"Xuande, Houtu," Minghe's voice was like the cold wind blowing from the ice cellar, and every word was filled with undeniable coldness.
"This is Blood Sea. This is not the place where you should come. Go away quickly. I can pretend I have never seen you."
Xuande didn't move. Houtu didn't move either. Randeng stood behind the two of them, holding Glazed Lamp in his hands.
Houtu took a step forward, his tone still calm. "Minghe, fellow Daoist, I sensed some kind of call in the Blood Sea and wanted to go inside to find out. No offense intended, I hope fellow Daoist can do it for me."
Minghe's pupils shrank slightly. He stared at Houtu for a long time, his eyes as sharp as knives, as if he was judging whether her words were true or false.
There is indeed something in the Blood Sea. As Lord of the Blood Sea, he knows better than anyone else what is hidden deep in this sea of filth.
Since Creation of Heaven and Earth, Blood Sea has become more than just a backwater.
It was breathing, growing, and pregnant with something that even he couldn't explain.
That power is hidden in the deepest part of the Blood Sea, connected to the entire circle of evil spirits in Primordial Wilderness, invisible and formless but everywhere.
For countless Kalpa times, he has been trying to take that power for his own use, to use it to create Asura Clan, to break through Mid-Quasi-Saint's bottleneck, but that power has always been unwilling to be controlled by him.
He tried using Blood God Avatars to corrode it, tried using Karmic Fire Red Lotus to refine it, and tried using Yuantu and Abi Swords to forcibly split it, but undoubtedly all failed.
That power seemed to have its own will and was indifferent to every temptation he put in.
However, he quietly interfered at the critical moment every time he created Asura Clan, preventing his embryos from truly coming back to life.
Now Houtu said that she sensed a call. What power is calling her?
Why? She is just one of Twelve Ancestral Witches, an alien who was barely born even Primordial Spirit. How can she perceive the mystery that he has not been able to fully understand?
Or is there some kind of connection between her and that power that he hasn't noticed yet?
"There is nothing in the Blood Sea," Minghe said coldly, "only dead souls and filth.
Houtu, you are Ancestral Witch, Blood Sea has no chance with you. Don't make the mistake of yourself.
As for what you said about summoning Blood Sea evil spirits to confuse people's minds, even if Daluo Golden Immortal stays here for a long time, they will be corroded by Sea of Consciousness evil spirits and produce all kinds of hallucinations.
What you perceive is just an illusion of the evil spirit eroding Primordial Spirit."
"Whether it's an hallucination or not, you won't know until you go in and see it." Houtu's voice was still calm, but the firmness in his tone was undeniable.
"Pindao does not want to be an enemy of fellow Daoist, he just wants to prove something. If fellow Daoist insists on blocking it, Pindao will not give in."
Minghe was silent for a moment, his eyes sweeping back and forth between Houtu and Xuan Merit Body.
Since it doesn't make sense, let's speak with strength. Blood Sea is his home court.
Here, he has 480 million Blood God Avatars, the blessing of Blood Sea Origin Essence, the body protection of Karmic Fire Red Lotus, and the Yuantu and Abi Swords in his hand.
No matter how strong Xuande is, no matter how tough Houtu is, it is impossible to defeat him in the depths of the Blood Sea.
He held Yuantu Abi Twin Swords tightly.
"Since you are determined to break in, there is nothing more to say."
His voice was like the cold wind blowing from an ice cellar, "Minghe is here, anyone who breaks into the Blood Sea without permission will be killed without mercy."