"Now, when the rite of delivering the dead is performed, their souls shall ascend to the Palace of Vermilion Mound and undergo refinement in the Court of Flowing Fire. According to the depth of their learning and accomplishments there, a term of years, months, and days shall be set. Once that term is fulfilled, the spirit shall return to its form and attain rebirth. Though outwardly they have perished and many years have accumulated, it shall seem no longer than a brief sleep, with no awareness of the long delay. From that point onward, they shall attain immortality."
Only after a thousand calls and ten thousand pleas did he finally appear. At that moment, everyone awoke from their chanting and turned to gaze at the hazy Nine Dragon Agarwood Carriage in the void. As for Yuanshi Tianzun upon it, scarcely anyone dared raise their eyes and risk offending him.
Zi Shou did want a better look at the Sage's true appearance. Unfortunately, he had no telescope.
Yuanshi Tianzun had now explained the entire transcendence ritual. This rite of delivering the dead involved chanting the scripture to summon the souls of the deceased to the Palace of Vermilion Mound, where they would undergo refinement in the Court of Flowing Fire to remove the corpse qi and impure matter. Whether they regained their forms or entered reincarnation would then depend on the depth of their learning and accomplishments.
This also completed the process by which living beings were reborn after death. Reincarnation had existed before, but it had not been strictly regulated. The destination of souls after death had collectively been called the Nine Hells or the Yellow Springs. When Su Quanzhong had headed north through the snow, he had said, "The snow is too deep to descend into the Nine Hells."