Chapter 1221: The Reincarnation Path of the Netherworld Emperor
The Netherworld Divine Generals selected by Hu Mengdie, Yin Jiuzun, and Yu Wufei were all the most powerful beings in the Northern Heaven, with profound cultivation realms, each at the Yujing or Lingxiao level.
Their own strength was also extremely high, making them arguably the most powerful existences among all the heavens of the Northern Heaven.
The Netherworld Emperor appointed people based on favoritism, surrounding himself only with trusted confidants whom he carefully nurtured and cultivated. If someone was not his trusted follower, he would not bother to train them.
Therefore, even if other generals were prodigies of unparalleled talent, he would never entrust them with important tasks.
Hu Mengdie glanced at Yin Jiuzun and Yu Wufei, her eyes flickering with thought. "Yin Jiuzun is the teacher's son, Yu Wufei is the teacher's beloved consort, and I am merely a disciple. If this were a fair competition, it would be one thing, but fairness is utterly impossible! If I join forces with them to kill the Herder Lord, the credit will surely go to them, with no share for me!"
Thinking this, she spoke quickly, "It is said that the Herder Lord is cautious by nature. On this journey, he will surely conceal his tracks. Let us each split our forces and search for his whereabouts." With that, she led several Netherworld generals and flew away.
Yu Wufei smiled and said, "Mengdie speaks sense. The Herder Lord is but a child. However, that man is full of tricks and excels at escape. If we act together, he will certainly slip away. But if we split up, our chances of success will double!"
Yin Jiuzun laughed and said, "Madam is right. Let us act separately."
Yu Wufei led her divine generals away, thinking to herself, "The Netherworld Emperor favors his son more, and the new consorts who have arrived are more favored than I am. If I cannot claim this merit, it will be hard to say whether I can even keep my position in the harem!"
Yin Jiuzun watched them depart, sneered coldly, then turned around and returned to the fortress. He bowed to the Netherworld Emperor and said, "Father, the Herder Lord's skills are formidable. Your son fears he may not be his match. I beg Father to grant me a protective treasure."
The Netherworld Emperor couldn't help but laugh. "As expected of my son, you are shrewder than disciples and consorts, these outsiders. The Herder Lord is indeed extraordinary in his divine abilities and skilled in his methods. I will give you a treasure to counter him." With that, he took out a bell and handed it to Yin Jiuzun.
"This is a strange treasure I refined when I attained the Dao, called the Reincarnation Bell. In the past, my ambitions were too great. I wanted to forge the Netherworld Heavenly Gate, not only to control reincarnation but also to master other great Daos and become a Heavenly Lord. However, my skill fell short, and I was never able to complete the Netherworld Heavenly Gate."
The Netherworld Emperor instructed, "Later, I reflected deeply and focused solely on the path of reincarnation. I finally attained the Dao, cultivated the Imperial Throne, and sat in the Lingxiao Hall. My Dao laws condensed and forged this treasure. My ambitions are vast. Once this bell rings, it can cause anyone who hears it to fall into reincarnation, never to be reborn! Take this treasure of mine and go. With one strike of the bell, you can knock down the Herder Lord and claim the foremost merit!"
Yin Jiuzun was overjoyed. He quickly put away the Reincarnation Bell, kowtowed in thanks, then rose and walked out of the majestic fortress, leading his generals away in haste.
Qin Mu traveled through the Netherworld of the Great Void. Traveling from the Netherworld of the Great Void to the encampment of the Heavenly Court was very convenient. The Great Void was vast, and moving through the Netherworld was even more expedient.
From the Netherworld, looking at the Great Void, all mountains and rivers became hazy, shrouded in a layer of gray.
Lonely ghosts and wandering souls hid in the shadows, secretly sizing him up. They were the spirits of gods, demons, and cultivators who had died in battle.
Besides these, there were fragments of souls—the shattered spirits of gods, demons, and cultivators—which turned into gusts of black wind. These black winds gathered into massive tornadoes, howling and sweeping away everything in their path.
Where the black wind passed, even the primordial spirits of gods and demons could hardly escape, often being caught in the tornado and torn to shreds!
This black wind was the Soul Black Sand.
There were also black winds that burrowed into the corpses of gods and demons who had died in the Netherworld of the Great Void, gnawing away their flesh until only the skin remained, turning them into starving ghosts that wandered everywhere, devouring people—and even eating the black wind itself!
These starving ghosts grew stronger and stronger.
Qin Mu frowned.
This was clearly the Netherworld Emperor's deliberate plan, intending to turn this place into another Heavenly Yin Realm or Great Ruins.
"Don't go out after dark. The Great Ruins and the Heavenly Yin Realm of those days were all caused by the Netherworld Emperor. Many people underestimate him, thinking he only rose to the throne of the Black Emperor by flattering the Heavenly Lord Hao. However, the Netherworld Emperor is well-versed in the Dao techniques of the Heavenly Yin Realm and has also made great developments in the Dao techniques of the Netherworld. His strength can be considered the greatest among post-natal beings, second only to the Ten Heavenly Lords."
Qin Mu surveyed his surroundings. Some grotesque starving ghosts darted through the gray mist. Upon discovering the primordial spirit of a god, they swarmed over and devoured it.
"Back then, the Great Ruins became what it was because, at night, the Soul Black Sand surged from the Heavenly Yin Realm and other heavens, and at dawn, it returned to those worlds, like a funnel constantly shifting. The Heavenly Yin Realm also had such funnels, tools the Netherworld Emperor used to control the black sand. Besides that, there was also the Soul-Losing Bell."
Qin Mu thought to himself, "The Netherworld Emperor competing with my brother in Netherworld Dao techniques should not be able to surpass him, after all, my brother is the Netherworld Divine Son, another Lord Tu Bo. But if he turns this place into another Heavenly Yin Realm or Great Ruins, with the Soul Black Sand transforming into the Nether Sea, then my brother will be no match for him."
His eyes flickered. He stopped and carefully examined the changes in the Netherworld of the Great Void.
Together with Emperor Yi Yue, he had studied the Netherworld Heavenly Gate and had some understanding of the Netherworld Emperor's Dao techniques. The most important aspect of the Netherworld Heavenly Gate was the path of reincarnation.
"However, judging by the changes in the Netherworld of the Great Void, the reincarnation path within the Netherworld Heavenly Gate is not the complete path of reincarnation. The Netherworld Emperor's reincarnation path should involve the transformation between the three souls, seven spirits, and the Soul Black Sand, while also using the Dao of Creation to alter the structure of the physical body. In other words, the Netherworld Great Dao, the Heavenly Yin Great Dao, and the Dao of Creation combine to form the Netherworld Emperor's reincarnation path!"
Qin Mu closed his eyes. Dreams surged forth, and in countless dreams, countless tiny versions of Qin Mu began to frantically deduce.
He and Emperor Yi Yue had only studied ways to break the reincarnation path within the Netherworld Heavenly Gate. However, the Netherworld Emperor was cunning. The reincarnation path in the Netherworld Heavenly Gate was plausible but false, not his true skill.
His Netherworld Dao was inferior to Qin Fengqing's and the Netherworld Lord's, and was on par with Qin Mu's, perhaps even less than Qin Mu's.
His Heavenly Yin Dao was inferior to the Heavenly Yin Empress's, Qin Mu's, and others. His Dao of Creation was inferior to the two Red Emperors, also inferior to Qin Mu's, and even more so compared to Ling Heavenly Lord, who had pioneered the Unchanging Divine Ability.
Yet, by combining these three great Daos, he created the Reincarnation Great Dao—this talent was no small feat!
Previously, Qin Mu and Emperor Yi Yue had only seen the surface of the reincarnation path from the Netherworld Heavenly Gate. Now, from the changes in the Netherworld of the Great Void, Qin Mu was seeing the essence of the reincarnation path!
He was now attempting to deduce the true path of reincarnation, to understand the Netherworld Emperor's real ability!
He tried to merge the Netherworld, Heavenly Yin, and Creation Daos to evolve the reincarnation path. Only then did he feel the difficulty and hardship. Deriving the reincarnation path was incredibly arduous. Even with the Mahayana Infinite Sutra of the Great Brahma Heavenly King Buddha, it was still fraught with obstacles!
"The Netherworld Emperor is truly a great talent!"
He couldn't help but admire, "He falls short in every individual area, yet he can forge a new path. He is indeed a formidable figure, no wonder he is so ambitious! However, it is only natural that he has hit a bottleneck. If he could truly merge the three systems of the Great Dao and become the Netherworld Heavenly Lord, it would be easy! Unfortunately, his talent is insufficient!"