The first to approach that expanse of Dao light was a wisp of a departed soul that had already lost its form.
It had sunk with the yin currents for a long time, its old soul energy almost entirely dispersed.
The last spark of spiritual light curled within it, letting the turbid current carry it onward.
Now, as the yin energy changed direction, it too veered away from the path to the Blood Sea.
Deep within the xuanhuang, six layers of dim light were separating and merging.
Following her own origin, Houtu joined the yin and yang that had yet to connect, inch by inch.
Her true body had already dispersed, but the Dao patterns that had merged into the Netherworld still answered her intent.
She sensed the world of the living.
Beyond the thick, heavy earth, mountains and rivers still breathed, and plants still flourished and withered.
Countless forms of life arose between heaven and earth, and when they perished, they returned here with the yin energy.
Now, she connected this ever-descending path to its other end.
Before Qing Xuan's palms, two currents of energy that had been separated finally touched.
Vast fluctuations spread along their boundary. The Dao intent of Chaos steadily supported the outer edges, while that small change at the center grew onward along Houtu's own Dao.
For the first time, the Netherworld held a breath leading to the world of the living.
The wisp of a departed soul paused before the Dao light. Its faint spiritual awareness trembled gently, then yin energy lifted it, slowly carrying it inside.
The turbid energy that had invaded the soul gradually peeled away and dispersed with the yin current.
The True Spirit that had not yet been extinguished followed the cycle onward, leaving the darkness where it had lingered