In the original story, Emperor Venerable had sent Longevity Heavenly Venerable to take control of everything in the Underworld. Now, however, Overlord Heavenly Venerable had taken his place.
Xiao Ping'an also spoke to Emperor Venerable about the Ninety-Nine Dragon Mountains in the Kunlun Secret Realm.
He hoped to go there to cultivate and comprehend the Dao when the time was right, and to live out a new lifetime there one day.
A complicated look flashed across Emperor Venerable's face when he heard this. "It seems Overlord Heavenly Venerable's knowledge of the Kunlun Secret Realm is truly surprising. You even know that the great formation of the Ninety-Nine Dragon Mountains can allow a Heavenly Venerable to live out a new lifetime."
"Since you know this secret, I naturally ought to help you fulfill your wish. I can promise that when you are old and frail, you may go there and try to live out a new lifetime," Emperor Venerable said, his expression complicated.
Mount Kunlun was one of only a few primordial divine mountains in the universe, and the birthplace of the Kunlun Immortal Bell.
It had also nurtured two immortal artifacts: the Cauldron of the Source of All Things and the Heaven-Penetrating Nether Treasure.
Although the original Shrouding the Heavens said that the Heaven-Penetrating Nether Treasure had evolved into an immortal artifact over a long period of time,
According to what Netherworld Venerable had said at this time, the Heaven-Penetrating Nether Treasure had indeed already evolved into an immortal artifact.
After some deductions, Xiao Ping'an felt that the Heaven-Penetrating Nether Treasure might have been damaged when the Mythological Era ended and heaven and earth underwent a great upheaval. It had fallen from an immortal artifact to an Extreme Dao Weapon, then slowly repaired itself over a long period of time and become an immortal artifact again.
Mount Kunlun, which had given birth to three immortal artifacts, had seized the fortune of heaven and earth, and no one knew how many opportunities it contained. On top of that, Emperor Venerable and Netherworld Venerable had joined forces to move the Ninety-Nine Dragon Mountains into the Mount Kunlun Secret Realm, creating an earth-shaking land of immortal ascension.
At this time, Ruthless Great Emperor had yet to break it, and the divine patterns of the Great Dao within it were at least at the True Immortal level.
Xiao Ping'an had already quietly resolved to visit the Kunlun Secret Realm when he found the time. Once Emperor Venerable's Heavenly Court collapsed, he would immediately seize Mount Kunlun and the Ninety-Nine Dragon Mountains.
But when he thought of later generations, Xiao Ping'an realized that no one had dared touch the Ninety-Nine Dragon Mountains of Kunlun even by Ye Fan's time. The Kunlun Secret Realm and the Ninety-Nine Dragon Mountains were still there. He felt there must be some unknown secret behind it.
Could it be that after Emperor Venerable's Heavenly Court collapsed, the place had become Netherworld Venerable's corpse-nurturing ground?
Otherwise, there was simply no explaining why so many Dark Supremes had never gone there. Why had none of them occupied it?
Not even the Ginseng Fruit and White Tiger Divine Medicine there had been seized by the Great Emperors and ancient emperors of later generations.
In any case, the place concerned whether Xiao Ping'an could use its formation to live out a new lifetime. He was determined to obtain that formation.
Xiao Ping'an soon reached an agreement with Emperor Venerable. Then he transformed into a streak of purple light, tore through the void, and headed for the Netherworld Soil.
Going with him was Chuan Ying, the Heavenly Court's foremost divine general at the time.
Emperor Venerable had invited Xiao Ping'an to join the Heavenly Court in a position akin to an ally or guest elder, on equal footing with Emperor Venerable. With Chuan Ying accompanying him, Xiao Ping'an theoretically outranked him, but in practice he had no authority to command him. Chuan Ying answered directly to Emperor Venerable, not Xiao Ping'an.
Thus the two were very courteous. Emperor Venerable's Chuan Ying took Xiao Ping'an to the Underworld, having been there before, though he greatly disliked its environment.
Along the way, Chuan Ying described the special relationship between Netherworld Venerable and Emperor Venerable, and solemnly told Xiao Ping'an that the Underworld was Netherworld Venerable's life's work. Emperor Venerable hoped Xiao Ping'an would not act recklessly there and would simply maintain the status quo.
Xiao Ping'an was somewhat speechless when he heard this.
Did Emperor Venerable actually distrust him?
Could Emperor Venerable have already seen through him?
To tell the truth, as a transmigrator who had read the trilogy, Xiao Ping'an naturally had a longer view than anyone in this world, and a stronger mindset as well.
Perhaps Emperor Venerable had sensed the pride deep in Xiao Ping'an's heart and felt slighted?
To tell the truth, that really was what Xiao Ping'an thought.
Xiao Ping'an felt that he was stronger than Emperor Venerable. Going along with his trick of making the entire organization ascend to immortality was already showing Emperor Venerable respect.
If he weren't worried about causing some adverse effect, he would have taken the Underworld by force himself. Why would he need Emperor Venerable to show him favor?
With Xiao Ping'an's current strength, he figured that even if he attacked Emperor Venerable's Heavenly Court, Emperor Venerable would probably have no choice but to withstand him head-on.
When Xiao Ping'an first met Emperor Venerable, they had had a small contest, and Xiao Ping'an had gained a slight upper hand.
He had already gauged the depth of Emperor Venerable's strength. If Emperor Venerable truly failed to recognize what was good for him, Xiao Ping'an might really crush him ahead of time.
He might even seize his Immortal Ascension Cauldron.
Emperor Venerable probably had not expected Xiao Ping'an to be so strong either, and was likely racking his brains over how to arrange things for him if Xiao Ping'an really joined the Heavenly Court.
After all, strength reigned supreme in this world. No matter how capable an organizer Emperor Venerable was, he couldn't beat Xiao Ping'an.
Emperor Venerable was probably also worried that Xiao Ping'an would pluck the fruits of all his arrangements.
Thinking of how Emperor Venerable had solemnly used Chuan Ying to say that this was Netherworld Venerable's life's work, Xiao Ping'an felt somewhat displeased.
For Xiao Ping'an already considered the Underworld his own territory.
My territory, my rules!
Since he was displeased, Xiao Ping'an decided to kill Prison-Suppressing Emperor and Yama Emperor as soon as he arrived and present Emperor Venerable with a grand gift.
Xiao Ping'an was openly taking charge of the Underworld, so he stopped and started along the way, passing one Life Source Land after another.
From time to time, Saints or Quasi-Emperors from nearby planets came to pay their respects to him.
There were many of them, and they made an impressive showing.
Xiao Ping'an had seen many such scenes, so he handled them with ease.
Xiao Ping'an also used these people to spread word that he was about to take charge of the Underworld.
If they were worried about having nowhere to bury their ancestors, or themselves after they died, Xiao Ping'an could provide them with a burial plot in the Netherworld Soil, free of charge.
He also told them of the various benefits of burial in the Netherworld Soil. For example, the Underworld was the final destination of all living beings, and the Netherworld Soil was a miraculous place where a new soul might be born within a corpse, perhaps allowing someone to revive after death.
Xiao Ping'an also told them that only experts at the Saint level or above, or people with special physiques, were qualified to be buried there.
Xiao Ping'an didn't care whether anyone else believed it. In any case, he believed it himself.
Chuan Ying said little along the way. In any case, entering the Netherworld Soil with Xiao Ping'an was merely like proclaiming an imperial edict: he was to tell the people there to follow Xiao Ping'an's orders.
If they refused, Xiao Ping'an would kill them, and Emperor Venerable would not spare them either.
The Underworld's location was extremely mysterious. It was a desolate expanse of Netherworld Soil shrouded in death Qi.
The Netherworld Soil was boundless, like a universe fallen from another world. Death was its eternal theme. The black earth stretched endlessly, and there were stars in the sky.
After Xiao Ping'an arrived, he sensed its peculiar Qi and the countless corpses faintly discernible beneath the ground. He couldn't help suspecting that it was very likely Burial Soil from the Perfect Era, formed when a small part of that Burial Soil had fallen into this world.
He made his way onward, stepping across the black earth. Blood-colored rivers and corpses lay everywhere.
"By Emperor Venerable's decree, Overlord Heavenly Venerable takes charge of the Underworld today!"
Everyone knew Chuan Ying was the Heavenly Court's foremost divine general. Standing in the Netherworld Soil, he sent his voice across the entire expanse.
"Overlord Heavenly Venerable has descended here in person. Yin soldiers and Yin Generals, come and pay your respects at once!"
Chuan Ying radiated divine might. All the Yin soldiers and Yin Generals immediately flew over, prostrated themselves, and kowtowed devoutly.
Among them were two incomparably powerful shadows, radiating dense death Qi.
When the death Qi dispersed, it revealed two handsome young men, both clad in Nether Iron battle armor and carrying spears and black-gold shields.
At the sight of Overlord Heavenly Venerable and Chuan Ying, their expressions instantly turned grave.
In particular, when they sensed the terrifying blood and Qi within Overlord Heavenly Venerable, they immediately felt their own blood and Qi surge. These two were Yama's Son and Prison-Suppressing Emperor's Son, Forbidden Zone Heirs of the Yama Emperor and Prison-Suppressing Emperor lineages respectively.
They were now both Quasi-Emperors of the Ninth Heaven.
One look told Xiao Ping'an that their origins were indeed powerful. But he could also tell that, strong as they were, they would probably advance no further in this lifetime.
Yama Emperor and Prison-Suppressing Emperor were in the Underworld at this moment.
Yet they had not come out to welcome him. Xiao Ping'an felt that the two of them could die now.
Xiao Ping'an could see at a glance that these two so-called Forbidden Zone Heirs were not actually descendants of Yama Emperor and Prison-Suppressing Emperor. They should be innate Yin gods born in the Netherworld Soil, or they could be called Saint Spirits born in the Netherworld Soil, naturally nurtured by heaven and earth, with heaven as their father and earth as their mother.
They had merely been assigned to serve under Yama Emperor and Prison-Suppressing Emperor.
The cultivation methods and secret arts they practiced were heavenly arts created by Netherworld Venerable, not the scriptures of Yama Emperor and Prison-Suppressing Emperor.
Everyone knew that Netherworld Venerable was the founder of the Underworld. He was also called Netherworld Emperor, and his strength far surpassed that of an ordinary Supreme.
Yama Emperor and Prison-Suppressing Emperor were only as strong as ordinary Supremes. Though they had once been called Supremes, they had also changed their titles to Emperor after Netherworld Venerable brought them into the Underworld.
Xiao Ping'an had originally thought that Undying Heavenly Emperor was the first person to use the title Emperor. He had not expected others to have used it long before.
On second thought, it wasn't strange.
After all, Dao Yan Great Emperor had already existed in the primeval years, and in the Desolate Ancient Era there were also people called Western Emperor and Taihuang.
Clearly, these titles were not fixed. As long as the one who had attained the Dao was happy, that was enough.
Xiao Ping'an looked at the two Yin gods. Having cultivated to the Quasi-Emperor Ninth Heaven, they were indeed powerful enough.
Although they could advance no further, they could draw on the power of the Netherworld Soil to wield strength beyond the Quasi-Emperor Ninth Heaven.
Though they could not battle an ordinary Supreme, they should have no trouble preserving their lives.
Of course, they were nothing before Xiao Ping'an. A single slap was all he needed to kill them.
"Greetings, Divine General Chuan Ying!"
"Greetings, Overlord Heavenly Venerable!"
Yama's Son and Prison-Suppressing Emperor's Son led the many Yin soldiers and Yin Generals in paying their respects to Xiao Ping'an with the utmost deference.
Though they were Yin gods, their manners were impeccable. Clearly, Netherworld Venerable had trained them well.
Xiao Ping'an also felt that, although they were Yin gods, their social dealings and their way of treating people and observing etiquette were actually no different from those of the human race.
They really knew how to read the situation. Knowing that Overlord Heavenly Venerable had just arrived and would likely want to establish his authority, they were all very courteous.
After giving them a reprimand, Chuan Ying told them they must obey Overlord Heavenly Venerable's every command, or be killed without mercy.
The Yin soldiers and Yin Generals all nodded and bowed respectfully.
Looking at how docile they were, Xiao Ping'an couldn't help clicking his tongue.
The Yin soldiers and Yin Generals of later generations had a thoroughly dark, imposing style and ran rampant across the universe. When had they ever been so docile?
Wherever they appeared, death was sure to follow, inspiring awe and dread.
Now that Xiao Ping'an had come here, every one of them was so docile that, though he wanted to refine and devour them all, he almost felt unable to bring himself to do it.
Chuan Ying was very satisfied with their conduct and prepared to return to the Heavenly Court. Before leaving, he said to Xiao Ping'an, "Prison-Suppressing Emperor and Yama Emperor are here. They are also among those Emperor Venerable invited to open the Road to Immortality together. I hope you can get along with them."
"It would be best if you each attended to your own affairs and left one another undisturbed."
"In a ghastly place like this, I don't want to stay a second longer than I have to. I hate the Qi here."
After exchanging a few courtesies with Xiao Ping'an, Chuan Ying flew away.
Xiao Ping'an watched Chuan Ying depart, then turned and told the Yin soldiers to return to their respective posts.
Yama's Son and Prison-Suppressing Emperor's Son, the two Yin gods, led Xiao Ping'an around the place.
Only upon entering the depths of the Underworld could one truly sense its peculiar Qi, as though it were another universe.
Moreover, after entering through the Underworld's gate, this world of Netherworld Soil was truly vast.
Xiao Ping'an silently surveyed the corpses and nodded in satisfaction.
Corpses and remains were everywhere, all of good quality. Sure enough, nothing that could appear here was ordinary.
Then Xiao Ping'an waved his hand, and Yongsheng flew out of his body.
He gazed at everything around him with covetous eyes and immediately moved to act, intending to devour not only the corpses but the Yin soldiers and Yin Generals as well.
Xiao Ping'an immediately stopped him and told him there was bigger work ahead.
Then Xiao Ping'an and Yongsheng followed Yama's Son and Prison-Suppressing Emperor's Son around, inspecting the arrangements of the Underworld.
Everything was indeed in perfect order, and Xiao Ping'an offered a few mild words of praise.
Yama's Son and Prison-Suppressing Emperor's Son immediately began showering him with frantic flattery.
Even Xiao Ping'an had not expected these two Yin gods to speak so pleasingly.
"Netherworld Venerable isn't here. How is this place usually managed?" Xiao Ping'an asked.
"Prison-Suppressing Emperor and Yama Emperor are both asleep and only wake occasionally. Usually, the two of us manage the place together."
"When Yama Emperor and Prison-Suppressing Emperor are asleep, we consult the Heaven-Penetrating Nether Treasure."
Prison-Suppressing Emperor's Son and Yama's Son, these two Yin gods, were indeed talented people, though they were not human.
They explained everything clearly, concealing nothing.
"Mm. From this day forward, I am the lord of the Underworld. You will obey me in all things," Xiao Ping'an said calmly.
"As for Prison-Suppressing Emperor and Yama Emperor, those two have neglected their duties and are no longer fit to share lordship over the Underworld," Xiao Ping'an said. "Take me to see where they sleep."
Xiao Ping'an spoke with an icy expression.
Beside him, however, an excited look appeared on Yongsheng's face.
(End of chapter)