Zhou Qing didn't hear a single word Lord Cui said.
The moment he saw the Six Paths of Reincarnation, he entered a wondrous state.
In this state, he could sense a supreme power more clearly: the primordial source of space in the Chaos Universe.
In the span of a few breaths, countless insights into space welled up in his mind.
In an instant, his Space Power rose to the third level.
A look of delight appeared on Zhou Qing's face.
He had finally mastered another Primordial Power at the third level.
His Space Power had only broken through to the second level a mere century ago. He hadn't expected it to break through again so soon.
At that thought, Zhou Qing looked at the Six Paths of Reincarnation and couldn't help marveling.
Mother Nuwa truly was a World Realm expert, capable of creating a wonder like the Six Paths of Reincarnation, which encompassed all Daos.
No wonder the experts of the Three Realms said there were 108,000 Daos between heaven and earth, and Mother Nuwa had mastered 84,000 of them.
Beside him, Lord Cui and Granny Meng were secretly startled to see Zhou Qing's presence surge after he looked at the Six Paths of Reincarnation.
He broke through just like that?
They had long heard that True Immortal Taixu possessed remarkable talent and had reached Pure Yang in just a few centuries.
But hearing about it was one thing; they hadn't truly grasped what it meant.
Only now, after seeing Zhou Qing's aptitude with their own eyes, did they gain a direct sense of just how gifted he was.
"Congratulations, Great Emperor, on advancing another step along the Great Dao."
"My congratulations, Great Emperor."
Lord Cui and Granny Meng offered Zhou Qing their congratulations on his breakthrough in turn.
Now that they realized the man before them was not only a leader's disciple but also possessed talent rarely seen in the world, both of them grew much warmer toward Zhou Qing.
Zhou Qing responded modestly to their congratulations.
He had also sensed what these two influential figures in the Underworld were thinking.
Since they intended to draw closer to him, he would not deny them face.
Afterward, Lord Cui went over the various affairs of the Underworld with Zhou Qing as part of the handover.
Once Zhou Qing had gained a general understanding, he did not rashly interfere in the Underworld's operations, choosing instead to be a hands-off manager.
He now understood that Daoist Sanqing had most likely sent him to the Underworld so he could gain insights from the Six Paths of Reincarnation.
Now that he had achieved that goal, there was no need to waste his efforts managing the Underworld.
Besides, the Underworld had lacked a Great Emperor of Fengdu all these years, yet hadn't it continued to run perfectly well?
Since the Underworld's system had endured for tens of trillions of years after the destruction of the ancient era, it clearly had its own merits. Why should he rashly interfere?
With those thoughts in mind, Zhou Qing left everything in the Underworld unchanged, to operate as usual.
After dealing with official business, Zhou Qing summoned Lord Cui alone to the Fengdu Imperial Garden, where he was currently residing.
"Please, have a seat, Lord Cui."
Lord Cui accepted the tea poured by the ghost immortal maid at his side and slowly sat down.
"May I ask what important matter you wished to discuss with me in private, Great Emperor?"
"It isn't official business. I have some personal matters I'd like your help with, Lord Cui." In response to Lord Cui's question, Zhou Qing went straight to the point.
"Before I became an immortal, I traveled through the void with two old acquaintances. We unexpectedly ran into danger, and the two of them were accidentally lost. I don't know which minor world they ended up in."
"I came to you because I heard that you hold the Book of Life and Death, a Supreme Treasure of fate that can reveal the destinies of all living beings. I'd like to ask you to help me find my two old acquaintances."
"I was wondering what important matter you wanted to discuss with me in private, Great Emperor." Lord Cui chuckled. "So you're looking for people."
"Rest assured, Great Emperor. A small matter like this is no more than lifting a finger for me."
With that, he took out the ordinary-looking Book of Life and Death and said, "Tell me the names and places of origin of the people you're looking for, Great Emperor. I'll search for them right away."
Zhou Qing promptly gave him the names and places of origin of Immortal Wusui and Immortal Duohe.
After checking the information Zhou Qing had provided, Lord Cui's expression turned a little strange.
"What is it?" Seeing that something was amiss with Lord Cui's expression, Zhou Qing hurriedly asked.
"How strange." Lord Cui's expression was peculiar.
"What a coincidence. One of your two old acquaintances, Duohe, is right here in the Netherworld."
In a mountain range shrouded in mist in the Netherworld, countless mine tunnels crisscrossed in every direction.
Inside these tunnels, innumerable Primal and Void experts wielded pick-shaped magic treasures, their expressions numb as they chipped away at the hard ground.
Among these countless mining slaves was a middle-aged man with a head of white hair and a face full of exhaustion.
If Zhou Qing had been there, he would surely have been shocked to see that Immortal Duohe, who had once held sway in the Wujiang Immortal Mansion, had grown so old.
"Clang, clang, clang..."
As Immortal Duohe struck again and again, a black rock broke apart, revealing dark red metal inside.
Immortal Duohe was quick of eye and hand. He put the dark red metal into his sack, then forced down his exhaustion and began mining the next piece of ore.
It wasn't that he didn't want to rest, but the mine overseers had a rule: if the mining slaves failed to turn in a certain quantity of dark red metal, their monthly allotment of Nether-Dispelling Pills would be reduced.
The wilderness of the Netherworld was filled with Netherworld Qi, which was harmful to the living.
If an ordinary cultivator remained in it for a long time, their physical body would be completely eroded, forcing them to take the path of a Loose Immortal.
And if a Loose Immortal continued to suffer the erosion of Netherworld Qi, their soul would gradually decay, until it finally scattered.
To deal with this, the cultivators of the Netherworld had developed Nether-Dispelling Pills.
As long as they took a sufficient number of Nether-Dispelling Pills, cultivators could live in Netherworld Qi for extended periods.
By working desperately each month and barely meeting the mine overseers' demands, Immortal Duohe could obtain enough Nether-Dispelling Pills to make it through the following month.
If he slacked off even a little and failed to meet the overseers' demands, he would receive fewer Nether-Dispelling Pills. Then, on the days the following month when he had none, he could only endure.
If this continued, his soul would scatter before long.
This was no figment of Immortal Duohe's imagination. Countless such incidents had happened around him during this time.
Alas...
Immortal Duohe couldn't help sighing inwardly.
One misstep brings regret for a thousand ages!
Back then, he had been forced out of the Wujiang Immortal Mansion by that little fox Wu Xian and that brute Wu Sui, only to end up like this.
He was a dignified immortal, yet he was mining with his upper body bare, like a savage.
Immortal Duohe then thought of how he had lost his way in the spatial passage and eventually wandered into the Netherworld by mistake.
Back then, he had only just entered the Netherworld and had not even landed when a giant hand carried him off.
He had then been shut inside this dark, sunless mine and made to mine day and night for hundreds of years.
Thinking of this, Immortal Duohe comforted himself inwardly.
At least he had survived. Who knew where those two, Wu Xian and Wu Sui, were now?
Perhaps, if their luck had been a little worse, the two of them had perished in the spatial passage back then.
Deep within the mountain range stood a magnificent palace complex.
Inside its largest palace, a powerfully built man sat upright on a throne.
Below him, a man in golden robes spoke. "Three days have passed. I wonder what you've decided, Ghost Emperor?"
In response to the golden-robed man's question, the man on the throne slowly raised his head. "You want me to offer you the Annihilation Dark Gold mine. What price does your Seamless Gate intend to offer?"
"So it's a question of price." The golden-robed man immediately said, "You needn't worry. Lord Godking said that if you're willing to offer up the Annihilation Dark Gold mine in your possession, he can not only let you command a branch of the Seamless Gate, but will also personally take you as his disciple."
"Is that true?"
Hearing the golden-robed man's words, the man on the throne immediately stood up.
"Every word is true." Seeing that he seemed tempted, the golden-robed man immediately replied.
After hearing this, the powerfully built man sat back down.
The Annihilation Dark Gold mine was not something an Empyrean God or True Immortal like him could hope to keep. If the Seamless Gate could truly offer the terms the envoy had just described, then perhaps he could agree.
Just as the powerfully built man made up his mind, a commotion suddenly arose outside the great hall.