The Tenth Book Establishes the Underground Government (Part 1)

  Minghe was stunned by the sudden great merit in the sea of blood, and he couldn't help but blame himself for why he had obstructed Hou Tu. If not, he would have shared some of this merit too. Now, not only did he fail to obtain any merit, but he also made a great enemy of Kunpeng and Hou Tu. Even the 'Anbi Sword' fell into Kunpeng's hands. What happened next was even more infuriating for Minghe, making him spit blood in anger.

  The merits have just arrived, and the Heavenly Way has bestowed two more pre-heavenly spiritual treasures, which have fallen directly into Hou Tu's hands. These are the Pre-Heavenly Spiritual Treasure's Ming Book and the Judge's Pen. In the Primordial Chaos, there were three great spiritual treasure books of Heaven, Earth, and the Underworld. The Heavenly Book is divided into the Sealing Gods' List, which can seal heavenly gods; a great calamity is approaching, and all things in heaven and earth are on this list, but it has not yet been born, and is currently in the hands of Daozu Hongjun. The Earthly Book is transformed from the fetal membrane of the Great Earth, not only defending against infinity but also having the effect of regulating the land immortals; if the Heavenly Book does not come out, it will be the leader of all immortals, and belongs to Zhenyuanzi. The Ming Book, also known as the Book of Life and Death, records all living beings that are not beyond the Three Realms or in the Five Elements. It governs the life and death of all things in heaven and earth.

  From then on, the souls of all living beings in the vast wilderness had a place to rely on after death, and they could reincarnate and cultivate again. They no longer had to wander in the vast wilderness. At that time, all the creatures in the vast wilderness were grateful for the great virtue of Houtu's reincarnation and turned to face the Reincarnation Hell, kneeling down and saying: "Long live Empress Houtu!" Even those few saints far away outside the Nine Heavens felt it, their faces solemn, and they bowed towards the Reincarnation Hell.

  Houtu's reincarnation in the six paths of rebirth is a great matter, and her merits are only under Pangu's opening of heaven and earth. However, as the ancestral witch, she did not cultivate her primordial spirit and thus could not become a saint. Therefore, she can only follow Pangu's example and reincarnate into the hell of the ten thousand things, fortunately, the heavenly way still gave her a thread of life, allowing her to avoid destruction of both body and spirit.

  Kunpeng held the 'Nine Heavens Original Yang Merit Ruler', walked into the Six Paths of Reincarnation, and observed the Six Paths of Reincarnation transformed by Hou Tu's body.

  Houtu transformed the entrance to the Blood Sea of Youming into the Ghost Gate, and turned the distance from that place to the Blood Sea of Youming into a winding Yellow Spring Road. But the Yellow Spring Road was not just that long or short!

  Kunpeng walked alone on the Yellow Spring Road, and the six reincarnations had just been completed. Many ghosts had not yet returned to their places, so the Yellow Spring Road was cold and deserted. At the end of the Yellow Spring Road, there was a large river, several hundred feet wide, with blood-red water flowing through it, which was the water of the Naihe River in the underworld. The origin and destination of this river were unknown, but at the intersection with the Yellow Spring Road, there was a floating bridge leading to the opposite bank. The floating bridge had six layers: "gold", "silver", "jade", "stone", "wood" and "bamboo". Kunpeng thought that it must be the main body of the "Six Paths of Reincarnation", the Naihe Bridge.

  The six paths are actually the six-layered bridge, allowing ghosts to be reborn in different places, with the first layer being the highest and the sixth layer being the lowest. "Hell" is the carrier of the "six paths reincarnation".

  The first layer of Naihe Bridge is the Golden Bridge: for those who have practiced immortal methods, Taoist methods, and Buddhist methods during their lifetime, accumulated a large amount of merit, and can ascend to immortality or become a deity. The second layer is the Silver Bridge: for those who have accumulated merit, good deeds, and contributed to society during their lifetime, becoming gods in charge of land, such as the god of the earth, enjoying incense and offerings from humans. The third layer is the Jade Bridge: for those who have accumulated merit during their lifetime, passing through to be reborn as nobles, enjoying wealth and honor. The fourth layer is the Stone Bridge: for those whose merits and demerits are half-and-half during their lifetime, being reincarnated as ordinary people, enjoying a modest fortune. The fifth layer is the Wooden Bridge: for those who have committed more wrongdoings than good deeds during their lifetime, being reincarnated as poor, sick, and lonely people of low status. The sixth layer is the Bamboo Bridge: for those who have harmed heaven and reason, and are full of evil, being divided into four forms of reincarnation: one is birth, such as cows, dogs, pigs, etc.; two is eggs, such as snakes, chickens, etc.; three is moisture, namely fish, crabs, shrimp, etc.; four is transformation, such as mosquitoes, flies, ants, etc. Finally, there is the Blood Sea, also known as the Asura Path, guarded by the River Styx and the Asura tribe for eternity.

  As for the time of reincarnation, the sixth path takes the longest. Among them, those who are reborn as embryos can quickly be reborn as humans after death; those who are reborn as eggs need to go through several cycles before becoming adults; and those who are reborn as insects must go through multiple reincarnations before they can become human. However, it is still the most miserable for those who are reborn as transformed beings, because they have to transform into millions of mosquitoes, then split into three souls and seven spirits, and wait until they all die out, going through many cycles of reincarnation, before they can formally transmigrate and become human again.

  Kunpeng couldn't help but sigh: "Houtu is truly a great compassionate person. She transformed into the wheel of reincarnation, which is a great merit. With such great merit, at least the witch tribe's fortune can be extended for tens of thousands of years. Unfortunately, Gonggong was angry and crashed into Mount Buzhou, causing the heavenly river to overflow, and all living things suffered, exhausting the fortune brought by Houtu's merit. However, the merit obtained by Houtu's transformation as Mengpo will continue to extend the remaining witch tribe's fortune. Houtu is indeed a person of great passion and integrity, knowing that her transformation into the wheel of reincarnation would cause immense loss to the witch tribe, she was willing to transform into Mengpo to preserve part of the witch tribe."

  Kunpeng saw that the six reincarnations had just been established, but inside it was desolate and barren. Although the six reincarnations had countless heavenly souls, they were too cold and quiet. Moreover, there was no master in the reincarnation hell to maintain order, making it inevitable for them to be bullied by others in the future.

  Kunpeng looked at Meng Po, thinking to himself that since Houtu could use her body to transform the cycle of reincarnation for all living beings in the world, he should also do something for the common people. Moreover, controlling the hell of reincarnation could bring great merit and strengthen the fortune of human teachings.

  Kunpeng looked at the empty six reincarnations and exerted his magical powers to build a palace on a large vacant land behind the Ghost Gate. He waved his hand, and a rainbow light flew over, and the three characters "Yin Yang Si" appeared on the plaque. This Yin Yang Temple serves as the residence of Taiyi Emperor for handling yin-yang affairs, and it is also a place where various yin spirits rest and gather.

  Looking at the huge palace in front of him, Kunpeng felt like something was missing. He seemed to have missed something important, but he couldn't think of it for a moment. So Kunpeng stopped and tried hard to recall his impression of hell from his past life.

  "Right! This place is short of the eighteen layers of hell! Without the eighteen layers of hell, how can the underworld where the six paths of reincarnation are located intimidate the likes of Xiao and his ilk, to punish evil and promote good?"

  At this point, Kunpeng took out the 'Anbi Sword' from the Ming River and slashed it on the empty land behind the Yin-Yang Department, opening up a huge space. Soon, the eighteen layers of hell were established in this new space. The eighteen layers of hell were built, now only the selection of the Yin God remained.

  Kunpeng sighed: "It's time to discuss with Hou Tu how to manage these six reincarnations! Otherwise, relying solely on Hou Tu alone will eventually lead to trouble."

  Kunpeng arrived at the Naihe Bridge and said to Hou Tu: "Hou Tu, my friend, the Six Paths of Reincarnation govern the life and death cycles of all beings in the vast expanse. It's impossible for you alone to fully operate such a massive institution. Would it be possible to select some people from the Wu tribe to help you manage the Six Paths? This way, we can also preserve some of the Wu tribe's bloodline. What are your thoughts on this?"

  Houtu smiled wryly and said, "Although this suggestion is good, my fellow Taoist, the people of our Wu tribe are mostly straightforward and hot-tempered, I'm afraid it will be difficult for anyone to come to this six paths reincarnation."

  Kunpeng said: "Houtu Daoyou, if we don't arrange the personnel well now, I'm afraid that in the future, these six reincarnations will no longer be under our control. The great merit obtained from the six reincarnations, you have also seen it before. Do you think that after those people who listen to the Tao in the Purple Mansion become saints, they won't take charge of these six reincarnations?"

  Houtu said helplessly: "What you said, I also understand. In the Wu tribe, I can only select a few people from my own clan, but they are not good at management, so I still need a few of you Daoist friends to find suitable owners for this 'Life and Death Register' and 'Judge's Brush'." As she spoke, Houtu took out the two pre-heavenly spiritual treasures bestowed by the Heavenly Way.

  Kunpeng hastily declined, saying: "I appreciate the good intentions of Hou Tu Daoist friend. The 'Book of Life and Death' and the 'Judge's Brush' are two pre-heavenly spiritual treasures that are a recognition by the Heavenly Way of the contributions made by Daoist friends to the living beings of Honghuang. At the same time, they are also spiritual treasures born from the Six Paths of Reincarnation. With these two treasures in hand, one can grasp the Six Paths of Reincarnation. This is related to the status of this Daoist friend in the Six Paths of Reincarnation. In the future, even if someone is suitable for managing the Six Paths of Reincarnation, this Daoist friend must not give away these two pre-heavenly spiritual treasures, lest they be seized by others and lose control over the Six Paths of Reincarnation. Moreover, these two pre-heavenly spiritual treasures were bestowed by the Heavenly Way, so no one has any excuse to ask for them from this Daoist friend."

  Houtu saw Kunpeng facing such a huge benefit, still calm and composed, secretly sighing: "The demon master Kunpeng is indeed an upright person, it's really exciting to be friends with him. In the Hongyuan, people say that the demon master Kunpeng killed the old good man Red Cloud for the sake of the great Taoist machine, but who among them can clearly understand the cause and effect between Kunpeng and Red Cloud? At that time, in the Purple Mansion, I heard that because Red Cloud gave up his seat, he caused Kunpeng to lose the great Taoist machine. Even if Kunpeng really killed Red Cloud, it was just a settlement of their karma, and there's nothing wrong with that. If anyone is to blame, it can only be Red Cloud himself, who brought disaster upon himself due to a momentary kind thought. However, the matter between Kunpeng and Red Cloud doesn't seem to be as simple as the rumors say. Listening to Kunpeng's conversation with Minghe, it seems that Minghe also participated in that battle, and their affairs are not something that outsiders can understand."

  It's actually Hou Tu's own idea that Kun Peng didn't take over the 'Book of Life and Death' and the 'Judge's Pen', these two pre-heavenly spiritual treasures. It wasn't because he was kind, but rather he was considering Hou Tu's future. He was afraid that if he took over these two pre-heavenly spiritual treasures, it would attract the attention of Daozu Hongjun, and then he wouldn't be able to roam freely like now.