Chapter 64: The Underworld is Established, the Earthly Prison Emerges

  Houtu nodded and said, "I already know the words of Daozu." After that, she didn't say another word.

  "At this time, the original suddenly spoke up: 'Teacher, originally it was the reincarnation of Hou Tu, but now it has been altered, I don't know if there will be any impact.'"

  Yuanshuai finished speaking and Hou Tu immediately glared at him with anger in his eyes.

  Hong Jun said calmly: "The reincarnation of Emperor Jiang is more stable, recognized by the Great Way, and has great merit for heaven and earth." After a pause, he continued to say: "From now on, the matter of reincarnation will be managed by Hou Tu Dao You, you are not allowed to intervene." After finishing this sentence, Hong Jun disappeared again.

  Zhun Ti's face was filled with worry and hardship, originally he still wanted to carefully plan his reincarnation, but now seeing Hong Jun say this, he had dispelled the thought. The six saints waited in vain for no benefit, after bowing to Hou Tu, they all returned one after another.

  "Big brother, Houtu's sister." At this time, Zhu Jiu Yin finally arrived and saw that Emperor Jiang had lost his physical body and only his primordial spirit remained. He was very worried in his heart, but also very angry.

  "Just come, don't ask too much, wait for Gong and them to arrive." Di Jiang said.

  Jiǔ Yīn saw this and although she had many questions in her mind, she endured them all.

  Before long, the other ancestral witches also rushed over, all with joyful faces, without frowning like Zhu Jiuyin, but seeing that Emperor Jiang had lost his physical body, they were somewhat angry and asked for the reason. Emperor Jiang just gave them a casual explanation.

  "Nowadays, Hou Tu's sister has become a true immortal, but the Wheel of Reincarnation still lacks many positions. I hope some of you can take office in the Wheel of Reincarnation." Emperor Jiang explained and began to express his own thoughts.

  The other ancestral witches were somewhat unwilling, and they had just heard Emperor Jiang say that after entering the cycle of reincarnation, they could no longer go out at will.

  The Emperor Jiang saw their expressions and somewhat understood their thoughts, so he continued to explain that the reincarnation he had transformed into had the help of the Great Way, and was already a self-contained realm. Except for the lack of living spirits, it was no different from the outside world. Moreover, his witch tribe would continue to migrate people over to take office, and they would not feel suffocated.

  Upon hearing Emperor Jiang's words, the crowd nodded in agreement. Emperor Jiang didn't say much more and summoned the Nether Book and the Yellow Spring Flag, tossing them upwards.

  "The Netherworld is established, and the Yellow Springs emerge!"

  Suddenly, a loud rumbling sound echoed around the Wheel of Rebirth. Beneath the bloody sea and in the depths of the underworld, a vast expanse of heaven and earth suddenly took shape. However, this heaven and earth was somewhat dimly lit. A river flowed through the middle, called the River of Forgetfulness. On the river stood a bridge, known as the Naihe Bridge. Behind the Naihe Bridge lay the Yellow Spring Road, while in front of it stood an earthen platform called the Longing for Hometown Platform. The Emperor Jiang waved his hand and summoned a great shaman named Meng Po. Meng Po understood his intention and set up a cauldron on the edge of the Longing for Hometown Platform to brew the Meng Po Soup. On the banks of the River of Forgetfulness stood a Three Lives Stone, which recorded one's past lives. The Meng Po Soup made you forget everything. The vengeful spirits looked back at the mortal world for the last time from the Longing for Hometown Platform and drank a bowl of Meng Po Soup: "If there is no fate in this life, why force it?" Moving forward would lead to the Six Paths of Rebirth.

  "Wu Fang Gui Di Li!" Emperor Jiang roared again.

  "Dongfang Guidi Tian Wu, governs 'Taizhi Mountain' Ghost Gate Pass; Xifang Guidi Qiang Liang, governs 'Yueyong Mountain'; Nanfang Guidi Xi Zi, governs 'Luofu Mountain'; Beifang Guidi Xuan Ming, governs 'Luoyun Mountain'; Central Guidi She Bi Shi, governs 'Baodu Mountain'."

  In an instant, the five people of Tianwu's body shone with merit gold light and imperial purple light, their strength all reached the quasi-saint peak. The five of them chatted with other ancestors for a long time before leaving to manage their own affairs.

  Five people took their positions, and the Netherworld underwent a change. These five ancestors cultivated the laws of heaven, wind, thunder, lightning, and rain. Now that they have obtained the position of Ghost Emperor, their aura is connected, which has improved the Netherworld greatly. It is no longer as dull and dark as before, but now there will be rain, wind, thunder, and lightning. However, there are still two emperor positions that need to be filled: the Tianqi Rensheng Great Emperor and the Beiyin Fengdu Great Emperor. If they can find two people with day and month attributes to take these positions, the Netherworld will become even more complete.

  Having arranged for the five people, Emperor Jiang felt much more at ease. Now that the twelve ancestral witches had been arranged by himself, six of them would be safe as long as the cycle was not destroyed. Later on, Hou Tu and Tian Wu would be indestructible in countless kalpas, provided they did not go out to participate in the Great War of Witchcraft and Demons.

  Now that the Five Ghost Emperors have been established, they still need to go through the Ten Halls of Yanluo's judgment of the merits and demerits of the yin souls. Thinking of this, Emperor Jiang took out the Book of Life and Death and the Judge's Brush from Hou Tu, waved his hand, and summoned two great witches, Chi You and Zou Yi.

  "We have met before, Ancestor Wu!" Chi You and Zou Yi dismounted their horses and paid their respects to Emperor Jiang.

  Di Jiang took a good look at them. Chi You was full of evil energy, but he didn't lose his dignity. His thick eyebrows and big eyes had a somewhat ferocious appearance, which suited him well as the King of Hell. Zou Ji, on the other hand, looked like a man in his forties or fifties, with a scholarly image and a serious expression that made him look very cautious. He was a famous wise man among the Wu tribe, and it would be fitting for him to serve as a judge.

  "I plan to establish the underworld, and appoint you two as Yanluo Wang and Judge, to judge the affairs of the dead souls. How about it?" Emperor Jiang asked.

  "We'd be happy to share Grand Witch's worries." The two of them said in unison, responding very readily.

  After listening, Emperor Jiang nodded and handed the Book of Life and Death to Chi You, and the Judge's Pen to Zhou Yi. With a wave of his hand, many buildings suddenly appeared on the Yellow Spring Road, which was the underworld. In the center of the underworld, Chi You and Zhou Yi sat upright, looking very majestic. There were also nine temples around them, requiring ten Yama Kings to manage. Emperor Jiang did not hesitate and immediately summoned nine more witches who had reached the peak of the Golden Immortal realm. He appointed them as the Ten Yama Kings and bestowed upon them the titles Qin Guang Wang, Chu Jiang Wang, Song Di Wang, Wu Guan Wang, Bian Cheng Wang, Tai Shan Wang, Du Shi Wang, Ping Deng Wang, and Zhuan Lun Wang. The Ten Yama Kings were led by King Yanluo Chi You and Judge Zhou Yi.

  However, there are no eighteen layers of hell, and the ten temples of Yanluo only have the right to judge merits and demerits, but cannot directly punish. Thinking of this, Emperor Jiang furrowed his brow. The underworld is still incomplete, and he must first build the eighteen layers of hell. At that time, he can directly send over the evil spirits with deep sins from the hungry ghost path. Now Hou Tu is also a saint, and he is not afraid of the two people from the West coming to plot against him. Now that he has established the Five Directions Ghost Emperor, even if the "Hell is not empty, I will not become a Buddha" Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva comes, he cannot stir up any big waves.

  Thinking of this, Emperor Jiang no longer hesitated and built the eighteen layers of hell in a corner of the underworld. They are: Tongue-pulling Hell, Scissor Hell, Iron Tree Hell, Sin Mirror Hell, Steamer Hell, Copper Column Hell, Knife Mountain Hell, Ice Mountain Hell, Oil Pot Hell, Cow Pit Hell, Stone Pressing Hell, Mortar Hell, Blood Pool Hell, Wrongful Death Hell, Dismemberment Hell, Volcano Hell, Stone Mill Hell, and Saw Blade Hell. There is a poem that says:

  Hanging Claws Prison, Dark Prison, Fire Pit Prison

  Quiet and desolate, worried and vexed, all are the results of a thousand kinds of karma created in life, and suffering that comes later is called punishment.

  Ice Prison, Tongue-Pulling Prison, Skin-Stripping Prison

  Wailing and crying, miserable and pitiful, all because of disloyalty and unfiliality offending heavenly principles, a wolf in sheep's clothing has fallen into this door.

  Millstone prison, Mortar and pestle prison, Cartwheel prison

  Flaying skin and bursting flesh, wiping mouth and grinding teeth, is being deceitful to oneself and unjust, using clever words and flowery language to secretly harm others.

  Ice Prison, Shell Prison, Intestine Prison

  A dirty face and a disheveled head, with furrowed brows and squinting eyes, are all the result of being cheated by the cunning and deceived by the foolish, leading to disaster and suffering for oneself.

  Oil Cauldron Hell, Dark Hell, Knife Mountain Hell

  Trembling with fear, sorrowful and heartbroken, all because of the strong bullying the good, hiding one's head and shrinking one's neck in misery.

  Blood Pool Hell, Avici Hell, Steelyard Hell

  Stripped bare and exposed to the bone, with broken arms and severed tendons, all for the sake of seeking wealth and taking lives. Slaughtering livestock and taking lives, a downfall that will take a thousand years to explain, sinking forever without redemption.

  Established the eighteen layers of hell, Emperor Jiang continued to divide and conquer, assigning millions of Yin spirits positions in one breath. Among them were five million hellish ghost soldiers and five hundred million land gods. These millions of Yin spirits were all elite members of the Wu tribe, with powers that had reached the level of Taiyi Xuanxian. About a million of them had achieved Golden Immortal cultivation, and even among the peak Golden Immortals, there were over a dozen individuals whose powers were not much inferior to Yanluo's. Emperor Jiang had considered this in preparation for capturing the souls of cultivators in the future, fearing that his powers would be insufficient. Thus, he brought in over a dozen Golden Immortal Wu tribe members to fill the ranks. These dozen or so Yin spirits would later break through to the Daluo Golden Immortal and unleash their second form, becoming renowned figures in the future as Niu Tou Ma Mian (Ox-Headed Horse-Faced) and Hei Bai Wuchang (Black and White Impermanence). This was something that Emperor Jiang had not anticipated.

  The Wu tribe's elite was suddenly taken away by Emperor Jiang, with more than half of them entering the underworld, including six ancestors. The Hong Huang was shocked, and except for a few saints, no one understood the meaning of Emperor Jiang's move. Only Emperor Jun and Tai Yi were overjoyed, although the Wu tribe had produced a Hou Tu saint, they should not have been allowed to interfere with the affairs of the Hong Huang at will. However, Emperor Jiang had lost his physical body and his power had greatly declined, and now he had transferred so many Wu tribe elites away, leaving the two tribes' remaining strength in the Hong Huang roughly equal. The two of them couldn't help but start thinking.

  After assigning all the Yin god positions, Emperor Jiang discovered a serious problem. Although the underworld was not small, it could only accommodate these 10 million Yin gods. If more people were to enter, the yang energy would be too heavy, affecting the hundreds of millions of Yin souls and hindering the cycle of reincarnation. Emperor Jiang furrowed his brow, it seemed he still had to find a place for the Wu tribe to settle down.

  In the Purple Mansion, Hong Jun had been observing Emperor Jiang's actions. After seeing him divide and conquer one hundred million yin spirits, he closed his eyes once again.