Chapter 12: The Six Paths of Reincarnation, Ping Xin Niang Niang

  After Pangu opened the sky and earth, Pan Gu's belly squeezed his eyes into a bloody sea in Jiuyou, boundless and endless, which can be said to be the most polluted place in the three realms. Ordinary true immortals would rot and die if they touched a thread of blood water. The toxicity is extremely high! This boundless bloody sea gave birth to a pre-heavenly great god, who was precisely the Old Ancestor of the Underworld River. The Old Ancestor of the Underworld River was born with the bloody sea, and as soon as he came into the world, he held in his arms two great pre-heavenly treasures, the black and red swords, Anhui and Yuantu. His murderous aura shocked people, and he could kill without leaving any karma, second only to the Heavenly Master's Four Swords of Extermination. This Underworld River had also learned the Tao from the Purple Mansion Palace, so he cultivated great divine powers and great magical abilities, turning the bloody sea into 480 million blood god sons. As long as one blood god son remained unextinguished, he would not die, so he said that the bloody sea was not dry, and the Underworld River would not die. Moreover, he set up a great array of blood rivers under the bloody sea, making it difficult for anyone to invade. However, he deeply understood the way of low-key behavior and had never interacted with those who learned the Tao from the Purple Mansion Palace, so few people knew about his divine powers. Nüwa created humans and made them holy, and he also imitated her in creating the Asura tribe in the bloody sea. However, after all, the Asuras were not the main characters, so the heavenly merit was not enough to make the Underworld River become a saint, only allowing him to cut off two corpses. He established the Asura Sect and passed down the Asura Way, which is the demonic way, among the Asura tribe. Under his seat were four great demon kings, namely Mahesvara, Brahma, Desire Heaven, and Shiva, each with the cultivation of a Great Luo Golden Immortal. From then on, the Old Ancestor of the Underworld River dominated one side, not submitting to the witch's control or respecting the demonic decree.

  On this day, Hong Xuan arrived at the Jiuyou Blood Sea, his eyes fixed on the blood river array that was like a circular disk and the bubbling Blood Sea, speechless and silent, as if waiting for something. Thus passed a hundred years!

  The old ancestor of the Underworld River, who had been hiding in the depths of the Blood Sea, had already known about Hongyuan's arrival at the Blood Sea. However, he couldn't guess what Hongyuan wanted to do, so he continued to secretly observe Hongyuan's actions. But Hongyuan was motionless for a hundred years, not making any moves. Calculating with his fingers, he found that the heavenly machine was unclear and difficult to discern. This made him even more shocked. As someone who had killed two corpses and was second only to the saint, there were still things that he couldn't calculate, which was astonishing. Just as he was considering whether or not to go out and meet Hongyuan, Hongyuan suddenly spoke up: "Since fellow daoist Underworld River has been accompanying me for a hundred years, why didn't you come out to greet me? Isn't this a breach of the etiquette of treating guests?"

  Minghe had no choice but to emerge from the Blood Sea and approach Hongyuan, bowing his head in respect: "Greetings, fellow cultivator!"

  Hongyuan also returned the courtesy: "I have returned the courtesy! Fellow Taoist is carefree, under this boundless sea of blood, it's heaven doesn't care, earth doesn't collect, yet it's extremely carefree!"

  Minghe couldn't quite grasp Hongyuan's intention, so he cautiously replied: "Oh no, oh no! It would be embarrassing for me to laugh at you instead. But I don't know what you mean by 'come'?"

  Hong Xuan smiled faintly and said: "No other reason, but for the sake of fellow Taoist Asura's clan!"

  The old ancestor of the Nether River heard this and a sharp light flashed through his blood-red eyes, saying coldly: "Oh? I'd like to hear more!"

  Hong Xuan smiled and said: "Fellow Taoist, there's no need to be tense. This matter will actually bring great benefits to you."

  The Old Ancestor of the Nether River was even more surprised, but he also knew that there was no such thing as a free lunch in this world. He remained vigilant and asked, "What is it? Can you tell me, fellow Daoist?"

  Hong Xuan said calmly: "This is natural! I know that the Asura tribe created by my fellow Taoist cannot reproduce and it's hard to keep the tribe alive, so I came here today for this reason."

  The Old Ancestor of the Underworld River was greatly shocked and asked, "Brother Dao, do you really have a way to continue my Asura tribe?" How could he not be surprised? Since he created the Asura tribe, he discovered that all the males were ugly, while all the females were as beautiful as flowers, extremely seductive, and both males and females were lustful, indulging in carnage every day in the sea of blood. However, for some reason, there were no new births in the tribe, and the Old Ancestor of the Underworld River was powerless to stop the continuous deaths in the Asura tribe. Now that he heard Hong Xuan say that he could solve this problem, he was overjoyed.

  Hong Xuan smiled faintly and said: "This humble monk is indeed powerless, but there is someone who can."

  "Who is it?" asked the old ancestor of the Nether River.

  Hong Xuan smiled faintly and said: "Fellow Taoist, just wait a little longer and you will know." After speaking, he ignored Minghe Old Ancestor and closed his eyes to wait on his own.

  Minghe could only wait in confusion with Hongyuan on the Blood Sea Shore.

  Before long, the two of them simultaneously sensed that a great divine being was approaching from the direction of the Blood Sea. After a while, when they drew near, they saw that it was actually the Ancestral Witch Hou Tu Niangniang, who had seven hands on her back and two hands holding a snake in front.

  The story goes that Hou Tu Niang Niang didn't know why, but today her spirit was greatly disturbed, as if something in the depths of the underworld was calling to her. Unbeknownst to herself, she arrived at the Jiuyou Blood Sea. When she reached the edge of the blood sea, she was surprised to find that Xuan Qing Hongyuan and Minghe Laozu were already there. The witch tribe is born without a primordial spirit and does not know the art of divination, so Hou Tu did not know why Hongyuan would be here. She suppressed her doubts and walked up to the two men, bowing to say: "Hou Tu has seen the two Daoist friends!"

  The two also returned the courtesy. Hong Xuan asked: "Where did you come from, Your Highness?"

  Houtu replied: "But it's really laughable! Today, Houtu's mind was shaken and she unknowingly walked to this place."

  Hong Xuan smiled and said, "Your Ladyship should know that for great gods like us, our hearts are extremely firm and cannot be compared to ordinary people. If it weren't a matter related to ourselves, how could our spirits be shaken? Your Ladyship should think carefully about this!"

  Houtu heard this and slightly furrowed her brow, saying to Hongyuan: "Fellow Daoist, what brings you here again?"

  Hong Xuan smiled and said: "Your Majesty guessed correctly, I came for Your Majesty!"

  Houtu heard this and said: "Since that's the case, I suppose it's a matter of Houtu's own affairs. I still hope that you, Daoist friend, will inform me."

  Hong Xuan said calmly: "Since you want to know, I'll tell you. But I'm afraid that after you understand the cause and effect, you'll blame me!"

  Houtu frowned upon hearing this, and Minghe Old Ancestor was also perplexed and couldn't understand.

  Hongyuan said to her: "Pangu opened the sky and earth, with his body evolving into all things, and the vast wilderness was born. From then on, living beings emerged. Some of the pre-heavenly born spirits had great magical powers, knew how to cultivate immortality and seek the Tao, and from then on lived as long as heaven, roaming freely in the three realms. However, there were those who did not know how to cultivate, did not understand the heavenly way, their lifespan was limited, after death their souls could not rely on anything, and they could only drift away day by day in the world, wailing day by day until they dissipated. Under the heavenly way, there should be a place for such souls to return to. The twelve ancestral witches of the Wu tribe, with Pangu's bloodline in their bodies, must have had a compassionate person establish this path, so that you, Niangniang, can understand!"

  Houtu Niangniang's heart and soul flashed with a bolt of lightning, her mind suddenly clear and bright, yet she already knew what she was about to do. Two lines of clear tears fell down her cheeks, her face sorrowful, like a willow in the wind, blown down by the slightest breeze.

  Hong Xuan sighed and said: "Since Your Ladyship already knows, have you made a decision?"

  Houtu instantly put away her sorrow and said firmly: "As Houtu has the blood of Pangu, I should use my body to transform into the six paths and complete the unfinished task of my father god!"

  Hong Xuan nodded and said, "Since that's the case, I won't say anything more. Your Majesty can rest assured, after all, the Wu tribe is a descendant of Pangu. If there's anything in the future, I'll take care of it myself!" This was a message transmitted to Hou Tu, but Hong Xuan didn't want Ming He to know about it, lest he cause unnecessary trouble.

  Houtu heard the words and looked at Hongyuan deeply, then turned back to look at the world of Honghuang with nostalgia. She raised her head towards the sky and shouted: "Now there is Houtu, the descendant of Pangu, who will transform into a wheel of reincarnation. From now on, all souls will return to their rightful place!" As soon as she finished speaking, she flew up to the high altitude of the Blood Sea, emitting a turbulent black aura from her body. The black aura instantly filled the entire sky above the Blood Sea. Houtu shouted again: "The Six Paths of Reincarnation, appear!" Suddenly, those black auras transformed into six rotating disks. At this time, a large amount of merit fell from the sky, with one-tenth falling into Hongyuan's sleeve; six-tenths flew into the six whirlpools, and the whirlpools absorbed the golden light of merit, instantly emitting a faint aura that seemed to have existed since ancient times. Six identical bridges also appeared between the whirlpools and the shore, with the words "Naihe Bridge" written on them. Three-tenths of the merit fell into Houtu's true spirit, which was about to dissipate. With the help of the merit, her true spirit instantly transformed into a woman who looked 90% like Houtu, wearing a yellow phoenix robe and palace attire.

  The woman saw Hong Xuan and saluted him saying: "I have seen you, fellow Taoist!"

  Hongyuan returned the courtesy: "I have paid my respects!"

  Ping Xin Niang Niang nodded and immediately set up another palace beside the Six Paths of Reincarnation. She entered the palace, closed the door, and ignored the two people outside.

  The heavens were shocked by the merits of the thirty-three heavens, and the six mixed-yuan saints in the chaos and a group of great gods in the Honghuang world calculated with their fingers, and they knew that Hou Tu Niangniang had transformed into the wheel of reincarnation. They couldn't help but sigh at Hou Tu's compassion. As the souls between heaven and earth surged towards the six paths of reincarnation, all living things knelt down in the direction of the six paths of reincarnation, shouting "Hou Tu is compassionate!"

  Hong Xuan saw the six paths of reincarnation and said to Minghe Laozu beside him: "The six paths of reincarnation are divided into Tiandao, Rendao, Ashura Dao, Egui Dao, Chousheng Dao, and Diyu Dao. Each path has its own responsibilities, and the Ashura Dao is exactly where our friend Ashura's tribe comes from. We should congratulate our friend!"

  The River Styx Old Ancestor chuckled and said, "Nüwa's kindness is boundless, the Asura tribe can continue from now on. I must thank fellow Daoist for this."

  Hong Xuan shook his head and said, "Fellow Taoist is wrong! I have no merit, ashamed! The matter here is settled, it's time for me to return to the mountain, farewell!" After speaking, he bowed to Minghe River and left. Minghe River also returned a bow and re-entered the Blood Sea.

  It is: The six paths of reincarnation are now in the nine hells, a single point of true spirit no longer bewitched.