The Spiritual Attainment of Minghe

Though he was living under Houtu’s Sage coercion, Heaven and Earth Taoist appeared completely unaffected. Houtu becoming a Sage was well within his expectations, so he was well prepared for it. And Houtu’s coercion was not weak in any way, so it was all thanks to the great Merit that he could withstand it.

The Seven Sages of Untainted Land were now complete. Laozi, as the head of The Three Pristine Ones, had the strongest cultivation being in Secondary Stage of the Sage. Though Primeval Lord of Heaven and Tongtian shared similar cultivation as Laozi, they were a little weaker. Jieyin was also in the same situation. The weakest of them were obviously Goddess Nvywa and Zhunti, who were in the Early Stage of the Sage.

Thanks to her great Merit of transforming into Six Path of Reincarnation, Houtu’s cultivation directly rose to Secondary Stage of the Sage when she became a Sage. But since she did not have an Original Spirit in the past, she was still weaker than Origin, Tongtian, and Jieyin. Therefore it was hard for her to demonstrate her full strength at the moment.

Just then, a voice came from the sky. "Houtu has gained immeasurable Merit for transforming into the reincarnation. The Six Path of Reincarnation is the vital center of Untainted Land and still needs to be perfect. A Sage is needed to make sure things go well and prevent any accidents. Before the occurrence of two Cultivation Tribulations, Houtu is forbidden to leave."

Houtu initially basked in joy after becoming a Sage. But Hongjun’s words made her scrunched up her face. To forbid her to leave while in the current Cultivation Tribulation, was it not equal to detaining her? How could she be satisfied with this? But Ancestor Hongjun now lived in the Way of Heaven and not someone that a newly ascended Sage like her could take on. She could only obey his instructions.

Heaven and Earth Taoist’s expression was also grim, but not due to Houtu’s detainment. It was because of Hongjun’s words exerted an infinite coercion on him, to the point where he felt like death was approaching. The coercion disappeared as quickly as it had appeared, but it was not something he could simply ignore.

Was this a warning from The Way of Heaven or Hong Jun? If it came from The Way of Heaven, was it to warn him for letting Houtu become the Sage or allowing Houtu to stay as a member of the Wu Tribe? If it was Hongjun’s warning, then that was even more confusing. Why did Hongjun warn him? Was it for the same purpose as The Way to Heaven or did he have other motives? This was quite the mystery.

While Heaven and Earth Taoist was lost in thought, two streaks of lights flying from the heart of Blood Sea fell in front of him. When he held onto him, he saw that they were the Book of Life and Death as well as the Judge Pen belonging to Ming He. Since the Six Path of Reincarnation was set, it was time to welcome the Nether World. For Ming He to hand him the two items, it was obviously an indication for him to set the Nether World and be its owner.

He held the two treasures and spoke to Heaven, "I’m Heaven and Earth Taoist, the Merit body of Ancestor Minghe. Now that reincarnation was realized, the Nether World should be built. As Great Deity of Feng Capital who wields reincarnation issues, now I use Book of Life and Death and the Judge Pen, the primordial spiritual treasures, to suppress the Nether World’s Luck. The Nether World is built!"

With his growl, the entire Blood Sea came to life. Endless blood flooded the Six Path of Reincarnation, beginning to form the Nether World. Cities were gradually constructed one by one. At the furthest point was a majestic outpost with bluestone walls. Three giant Chinese characters were written on the gate, which read the Gate of Death. The path before the gate was named the Yellow Spring Road, a road that separates life and death.

Within the gate was a massive city with any shop one could think of. Was it not for the red sky overhead, one would feel like he had stepped into an actual living city. Wang Xiang Terrace was built to ease the homesickness of the ghosts. It was a giant, lonely structure outside the city walls. Each day, there were many ghosts lurking around it. Inside the Department of Life and Death were the six reincarnation bridges that linked the Six Paths of Reincarnation.

It did not take long to form the Nether World. Heaven and Earth Taoist said, "With the Nether World built, there ought to be a place for punishment. We’ll build the Eighteen Great Hells. Those whose deeds outweigh their sins can enter the Six Paths of Reincarnation, while the rest will be cast to the hells and shall not enter reincarnation until they atone for their crimes. The Eighteen Great Hells set!"

The first level was the Hell of Tongue-Ripping, followed by the Hell of Finger-Slicing, the Hell of Hooks Torture, the Hell of Crime Mirror, the Hell of Cauldron, the Hell of Metal Cylinder, the Hell of Mountain of Knives, the Hell of Mountain of Ice, the Hell of Oil Cauldron, the Hell of Cattle Pit, the Hell of Stone-Pressing, the Hell of Braying, the Hell of Pool of Blood, the Hell of Unnatural Death, the Hell of Skinning, the Hell of Mountain of Fire, the Hell of Grinding, and finally the Hell of Dismemberment.

The type of punishment and amount of time sinners had to spend in the hells were determined by the severity of their crimes. Each level of hell was twenty times more painful and ten times longer than the level before it. There was also a special space under the Eighteen Great Hells, called the Relentless Hell. Once a person entered it, he can never hope to reincarnate.

Since the Nether World had been built, Heaven and Earth Taoist opened the Book of Life and Death and growled, "Creatures of Untainted Land, whoever is not a Sage-to-be, is in the six realms of existence and his name on Book of Life and Death. All the Creatures’ Karma, including luck and sin, will be written in this book."

Numerous lights from Untainted Land flooded into the Nether World. A black gas emerged from the Book of Life and Death, absorbing all the lights. Suddenly, endless names appeared in the book, including all creatures were not Sages-to-be, even Zenith Heaven Golden Immortals.

One could amend the book using the Judge Pen, but he has to pay the price based on the amended creature’s strength and luck. If one amends carelessly, he may not only be held by Karma but be punished by Heaven and suffer the Disintegration of the Soul as well.

After the Nether World was built, thunder burst above the sky and a golden light of Merit fell directly on Heaven and Earth Taoist. The Merit awarded was not little, as much as one-tenth of Houtu’s. He took out his Ruler of Heaven and Earth and collected them.

As a Top Grade Primordial Spiritual Treasure, the attacking power of the ruler was already strong enough. Now embedded with so much Merit, it had an even greater force. What was more, after becoming a Spiritual Treasure of Merit, the ruler could kill without incurring Karma.

However, as the Nether World was still empty, Heaven and Earth Taoist brought millions of Clones of Blood God here and designated ten Blood God Doppelgangers as kings of their respective hell. Now that the Nether World was being to operate. He also introduced Ox Head, Horse Face, and Impermanence to be the soul bringer, arresting and guiding ghosts in Untainted Land.

The Nether World was a place for them to gain long-term Merit. Taoist of Heaven and Hell would naturally not hand it over to anyone. Except for the soul bringer, the Clones of Blood God filled the other positions. The kings of hell, held by Blood God Doppelganger, handled the daily affairs. Therefore, he as Emperor Feng Du became the most leisurely person in the Nether World.

Was this a warning from The Way of Heaven or Hongjun? If it came from The Way of Heaven, was it to warn him for letting Houtu become the Sage or allowing Houtu to stay as a member of the Wu Tribe?

Nevertheless, Houtu did not remain idle. She used the primordial spiritual treasure converted by Blood Sacrifice she previously used to refine her Merit body, Meng Po. Meng Po permanently resided by the Naihe Bridge and provided Meng Po Soup (Five-Flavored Tea of Forgetfulness) to every soul who crossed the bridge towards their reincarnation to eliminate their memories. While Houtu was living in the Nether World, she planned to focus on her cultivation. But before this, she had to deal with Ancestor of Sorcery who had come here in a rush.

Heaven and Earth Taoist had no interest in Houtu’s discussion with Ancestor of Sorcery. He only cared for the Six Paths of Reincarnation. Though there were births in his Heaven and Earth, there was no such thing as the Six Paths of Reincarnation for them. Now that it had appeared in Untainted Land, he as Great Deity of Feng Capital could take advantage for enlightenment. If he could comprehend the Law of Reincarnation, then the Divine Law of Heaven and Earth would be completed.

Of course, he also needed to build the army of ghosts. He could not depend on Minghe’s Clones of Blood God for everything. The Nether World nevertheless required its own force, the same way Heavenly Court had its celestial soldiers. Though the army would not be able to handle the big issues, they would still be capable of dealing with trivial matters.

Since Six Path of Reincarnation was just set, and the Nether World is an important place in Untainted Land, though newly built, it took a large amount of luck of Untainted Land. As Houtu took 40% of the luck by reincarnation, the rest, of course, fell upon Heaven and Earth Taoist.