NOVEL WEB Chapter 54: The Underworld
"What is the meaning of this?" Di Jun demanded as he looked at the slowly descending Tongtian.
"Exactly as I said," Tongtian said as she flew in front of Wutian.
"Daoist Tongtian, don't meddle in business that is not yours," Di Jun said. "If you don't move, then don't blame me for being impolite."
Tongtian's lips quirked upward as she looked at Di Jun and his half-battered army. "Impolite? I really want to see how impolite you can be."
"Besides, Wutian here is my disciple. I won't let you kill him," Tongtian said.
"Do you want me to stop him?"
Tongtian frowned when she heard Yuanshi's words. She glanced towards Kunlun Mountain and said, "Don't interfere."
Her anger had been building while watching the demons slay the humans. If she didn't vent her frustrations, they would stay with her for a number of years and disrupt her mood, slowing down her cultivation.
Di Jun frowned upon hearing Tongtian's words. He was wary of Tongtian not because of her strength but because of the two Saints of Heaven behind her. The Saints shouldn't take action if he didn't kill her.
The Heavenly Emperor focused on Wutian, and the killing intent within his eyes intensified. He feared Wutian's potential. Being able to form a different path like the Immortal Path cultivated by the majority of the creatures of the Great Desolation or the Strength Path cultivated by the Titan Tribe represented infinite potential.
If Wutian were allowed to grow, then it would be truly a disaster for the Demon Clan. He had to die!
"Celestial Army, kill the human!" Di Jun ordered.
After a moment of hesitation, the demon army charged forward while Di Jun occupied Tongtian.
"If it were Taiyi, I would have to be more careful, but you aren't him," Tongtian said. She waved her hand, and ten thousand swords appeared around her. "Arise, Myriad Sword Formation!"
The ten thousand swords formed four layers and formed a field filled with sword light. Any demon who entered was instantly shredded. "Even Quasi-Saints don't dare to enter my Myriad Sword Formation, much less mere Profound Immortals. No matter how many of them enter, it's useless."
Di Jun frowned. He raised the Celestial River Diagram and started flipping through the pages one-handed. A miniature Starry Sky appeared behind him. He waved his hand, and three hundred and sixty-five flags appeared and flew towards the three hundred and sixty-five major stars of the miniature Starry Sky.
The miniature Starry Sky seemed to resonate with the true Starry Sky above the land, dramatically increasing its power. "Although your Myriad Sword Formation is powerful, do you think that I don't have a way to nullify it?"
Tongtian's eyes widened in appreciation. "I never expected you to merge the formation flags of the Starry Sky War Array with your Celestial River Diagram."
The miniature Starry Sky clashed against the Myriad Sword Formation. Sword light and starlight clashed against one another. With the starlight occupying the sword light, the Myriad Sword Formation came to a standstill.
A black lotus full of cracks appeared above Tongtian's head; it was the Twelfth-Ranked Black Lotus of Destruction she traded from Kong Xuan. A black aura seeped out from the lotus and enveloped the Myriad Sword Formation and the miniature Starry Sky. Everything within disintegrated, breaking into tiny particles.
Di Jun covered himself in a layer of Solar Truefire to protect himself, but even that was slowly withering under the destructive domain of the Twelfth-Ranked Black Lotus of Destruction. The Heavenly Emperor gritted his teeth, and after a moment of hesitation, he said. "Retrea–"
Before he could finish, Tongtian appeared in front of him and unsheathed the Qingping Sword.
Di Jun bit back a groan of pain as he retreated, covering the large gash on his torso. "You–!"
He still didn't get a chance to finish as Tongtian disappeared. This time, she reappeared behind him and lacerated his back. He screamed in pain. From there, no matter where Di Jun tried to flee, Tongtian would reappear in front of him, preventing his escape. And he was helpless in front of Tongtian's superior strength and techniques. He could shrink down the miniature Starry Sky to defend, but that would put the demon legion at risk.
However, Di Jun didn't have to make a choice, as Tongtian increased the destructive power formed from the black lotus, killing all the Profound Immortal demons.
"You bitch!" Di Jun shouted upon seeing this.
Tongtian froze for a moment, but soon, a smile more beautiful than any flower blossomed on her face. It was a smile that Yuanshi would flee from, no questions asked. Di Jun only felt the chill of death creeping up on him.
"GAH!" Di Jun screamed as Tongtian appeared in front of him and stabbed her sword through his chest.
She paused for a moment, allowing Di Jun to blast her away and put some distance between them. He pressed his palm against his wound, stopping the blood from flowing out.
Tongtian halted her attack. She released the Myriad Sword Formation and stored the Twelfth-Ranked Black Lotus of Destruction. "Why are you staring at me like this? Do you wish for me to end you right now?"
Di Jun continued to glare at Tongtian, but he flew backward. When she remained hovering where she was, he stored the formation flags and the miniature Starry Sky and fled. "I'll remember this!"
Tongtian felt the corner of her lips twitch. 'Do you want me to kill you that much?'
She shrugged. Even if she wanted to, the price would be too high. The Heaven Opening Merits she possessed would likely disappear as punishment from the Way of Heaven. Tongtian flew toward Wutian and asked, "How are you feeling?"
Wutian looked down at the land, where the corpses of his fellow human lay. "Master, is there no way to save them?"
Tongtian sighed. "I don't possess the ability to resurrect them. Right now, you should lead the rest of humanity at Kunlun Mountain since the other human ancestors are dead. They need you more than ever now."
"How many are left?" Wutian asked, dreading the answer.
"Of the remaining, less than a million are left. Over ninety-five percent died," Tongtian answered. Wutian clutched his heart as he wailed in pain.
"Demon Clan, you will have your retribution!" Wutian roared into the sky. Thunder roared as if the heavens were answering Wutian’s words.
Tongtian shook her head. "Let's go."
She carried Wutian back toward Kunlun Mountain. During the journey, she taught him the rest of the Nine Revolution Arcane Art and the method to sever the Corpse and enter the Quasi-Saint Realm.
Halfway there, Tongtian stopped. "You go back alone. In the current world, only Quasi-Saints can threaten you."
After saying those words, Tongtian left. She didn't worry about humanity anymore because the Saints of Heaven had already issued a warning to the Heavenly Court that they could no longer massacre any more humans.
Tongtian wanted nothing more than to return to Kunlun Mountain and improve her comprehension. Through her connection to the Kongtong Seal, she realized that the luck of humanity had stabilized and even showed the potential to exceed its previous peak. Furthermore, as Wutian's master, she also gained a portion of the Martial Path's luck. But she just received notice that Houtu had started to roam the Great Desolation.
'Is it finally time to form the Underworld and Six Paths of Reincarnation?'
After the Saints prevented Heavenly Court from slaughtering any more humans, Houtu decided to traverse the Great Desolation. Since a while ago, her heart had grown restless, aching as if there was a hole..
After leaving Chiyou in charge of the Houtu Tribe, she left to wander the lands. Compared to the Great Desolation of a few eons ago, restless souls and ghosts filled the land. Their grievances condensed into miasma, damaging the land even more and causing it to be unlivable for most life forms.
Killing and death had always existed in the Great Desolation, so for this unbelievable amount of miasma to form, a vast amount of life with spirituality had to be slaughtered. Before Nuwa created humans, all life that attained spirituality were at least Earth Immortals and above. However, they only composed a small percentage of all current life.
Humanity was different. Although they were Later Heaven lifeforms, they were born with spirituality. After death, their remnant desires and emotions could form ghosts and phantoms. And humans had populated many lands and areas in the Great Desolation. Heavenly Court had slaughtered over ninety-five percent of them, causing the current dilemma.
The more Houtu saw, the more she sighed. All twelve titans had belligerent natures, including Houtu, but she possessed something the other titans did not. A heart of compassion for all life. Houtu could cast aside her compassion when fighting and killing the demons of the Heavenly Court, but a large loss of life still saddened her.
"If only there were a place for these lost souls to return to." As soon as Houtu said those words, her eyes brightened. She began to search for a place that could store remnant souls and ghosts.
She searched high and low but couldn't find a place to hold these lost souls. Everywhere, the Supreme Yang Star shone, which curbed and damaged these souls. Once they were completely burned away by the sun's rays, the soul would cease to exist forever.
Eventually, Houtu followed a trail of remnant souls and ghosts to the Blood Sea. There, ghosts merged with the miasma of the Blood Sea, but they lost all reason and only knew how to war with each other. Just like getting burned by the sun's rays, such an environment would lead to their destruction.
It was not the place she was looking for.
Houtu turned her head as the space next to her suddenly distorted. Moments later, a figure clad in red emerged, and space calmed down.
"Daoist Tongtian," Houtu said as she greeted the Supreme Purity.
"Lady Houtu," Tongtian replied.
"I wonder why Daoist Tongtian is here?" Houtu asked. Although the Three Purities and the Titan Tribe weren't enemies, they weren't allies either.
"It's nothing. It's just that I felt a chance here," Tongtian said.
Although her words were vague, Houtu's eyes lit up. Those who cultivated the Immortal Path understood heaven and earth better than those who cultivated the Strength Path. Perhaps Tongtian could enlighten her.
"Daoist Tongtian, do you feel that the Great Desolation is missing something?" Houtu tested.
"Of course," Tongtian said without hesitation.
Houtu's eyes shone even brighter. "Then what does Daoist Tongtian think is missing?"
"Reincarnation!"
When Tongtian said reincarnation, Houtu felt her heartbeat quicken. The fog blocking her thoughts disappeared. "So, it's like this…"
Tongtian watched Houtu mutter to herself. The Titan ignored Tongtian and revealed her true form, dwarfing the immortal. She stepped into the Blood Sea. With each step, blood rumbled and parted as if awaiting Houtu's arrival. Houtu waded deep into the Blood Sea but not toward the core area. Tongtian followed along and continued to watch Houtu. Not long later, she saw Minghe flying over.
"Daoist Tongtian, Houtu, what are you doing?!" Minghe roared. He had already noticed Houtu when she appeared, but he did not dare to reveal himself after losing his Twelfth-Ranked Red Lotus of Karma alongside the Yuanti and Abi Swords.
Minghe's wariness had increased when Tongtian appeared. However, he could no longer hide when he felt himself losing control of the Blood Sea despite being its master.
"Don't attack her," Tongtian said as he blocked Minghe. "Don't worry. It's a good thing for the Great Desolation and you as well."
Minghe gritted his teeth. Why would he believe Tongtian's words without any proof? Furthermore, he could feel the Blood Sea’s level decreasing as it was absorbed by Houtu's body. Still, with Tongtian blocking him, there was nothing he could do without heavy retaliation. So, unwillingly, he could only watch Houtu continue to move and absorb parts of his Blood Sea.
Houtu continued to wade through the Blood Sea until she reached the edge. The edge did not connect to any land of the Great Desolation but the chaotic boundary. Once there, Houtu said. "Heaven and earth lacks reincarnation. I, Houtu, will use my body to form the Underworld and Reincarnation to house all life that has died!"
Her words reached throughout the Great Desolation carried by the Way of Heaven.
Houtu's body expanded, transforming into a dark and gloomy world that neither sunlight nor moonlight could reach. The newly formed Underworld had several landmarks, such as the Nine Nether Springs, Nether Capital Youdu, and the Bridge of Forgetfulness.
The River of Time appeared above the Underworld and started to change. It started to tremble as part of it split beneath it. Thus, the River of Reincarnation formed under it. Tongtian stared at the River of Time and River of Reincarnation without blinking, engraving the exposed law of heaven and earth into her very soul.
Endless merits descended from the Way of Heaven. Ninety percent of the merits merged with the Underworld and River of Reincarnation, causing the speed of their creation to increase. The last ten percent split into two and flowed to Tongtian and Minghe.
The Underworld was complete.
In Kunlun Mountain, Laozi and Yuanshi stood up from their prayer mats and made a half bow in Houtu's direction. As the most exalted personage in the Great Desolation, Saints of Heaven did not need to bow to anyone, but Houtu was an exception. Her actions benefited the Great Desolation and perfected the world.
Not just them, even Nuwa, who held a grudge with the Titan Tribe, lowered her head. Alongside her, Redcloud Ancestor, Jieyin, and Zhunti also bowed.
Inside Eminence Heaven Palace, Di Jun looked away from his refinement of nascent artifact using human souls. At first, he furrowed his brows at Houtu's action but quickly brightened up. Houtu used her body to form the Underworld and River of Reincarnation, which meant the Titan Tribe had one less titan, preventing them from forming the Pangu Genesis Formation.
In Pangu Temple, all the titans fumed. They didn't care that Houtu's action benefited the Great Desolation because it meant they could no longer make use of the Pangu Genesis Formation. After a quick discussion, all of them decided to make their way to the newly formed Underworld.