Chapter 373: Chapter 377: Doubts_1
Before Supreme Yellow Spring, the old woman lasted only a mere three breaths before dissolving into a wisp of black smoke, vanishing completely.
"Do you have any other doubts? Continue asking," Supreme Yellow Spring said calmly, though a hint of new indifference touched her voice and expression.
The old woman’s death had severed her memories.
Her heart was now dead.
"I wonder if Elder has any final wishes?" Qin Wudao asked, cupping his fists in salute.
"Final wishes?" Supreme Yellow Spring paused, then said indifferently after a moment, "I have no final wishes. If I had to name one, it would be to find the truth!"
"Please rest assured, Elder. I will do my utmost to find the truth!" Qin Wudao pledged.
He understood the truth Supreme Yellow Spring referred to was likely the secret behind the Heavenly Monarch’s fall. Moreover, he had a bold conjecture: the Heavenly Monarch’s demise and the final great war were directly linked.
"Then I can rest assured!" A wistful, beautiful smile touched Supreme Yellow Spring’s lips.
Then, with a wave of her fair hand, three streams of profound light shot out, suffused with Dao Rhymes and exuding an immensely powerful aura. The Void within the secret realm began to tremble violently, cracks spiderwebbing across it, as if unable to bear such formidable pressure.
"These are my armaments: the Evil Mirror Platform, the Soul Hooking Pen, and the Six Paths of Reincarnation!" Supreme Yellow Spring declared, entrusting the three items to Qin Wudao.
"Ding! Congratulations, Host, for obtaining the innate spiritual treasure, the Evil Mirror Platform. Sign-in reward: Origin of the Emperor’s Dao. Do you wish to use it?"
"Ding! Congratulations, Host, for obtaining the innate spiritual treasure, the Soul Hooking Pen. Sign-in reward: Earthly Immortal Li Bai. Do you wish to summon him?"
"Ding! Congratulations, Host, for obtaining the innate spiritual treasure, the Six Paths of Reincarnation. Sign-in reward: Divine Medic Zhang Zhongjing. Do you wish to summon him?"
Three successive notifications echoed in Qin Wudao’s mind, thrilling him.
Divine Medic Zhang Zhongjing! I can finally summon him! The Grand Dao curses afflicting Yuan Tiangang and Guo Jia could now be broken.
Simultaneously, information regarding the three innate spiritual treasures flooded his mind. A cursory glance left him astounded.
The Evil Mirror Platform: a world-suppressing artifact of the Underworld. All souls whose evil deeds outweighed their good were escorted to the Evil Mirror Platform to have their sins and punishments reviewed.
The Soul Hooking Pen: wielded by the arbiters of the Underworld. When used in conjunction with the Ledger of Life and Death, a single stroke could determine life or death, increasing or decreasing a soul’s allotted lifespan.
The Six Paths of Reincarnation: a spiritual treasure manifested from Supreme Yellow Spring’s own being. It encompassed the Heavenly Dao, Human Way, Ghost Path, Hell Path, Beast Path, and Asura Way, forming a complete cycle for the reincarnation of souls.
By the time Qin Wudao had familiarized himself with the functions of the three innate spiritual treasures, more than half a day had passed. The secret realm had begun to tremble, showing signs of imminent collapse.
"I should also depart. I trust you to change the course of the future!" Supreme Yellow Spring said. As she looked at the awakened Qin Wudao, her form started to grow faint, a trace of relief and liberation appearing deep within her eyes.
For one with no attachments to this world, departure is often the most fitting end.
"I respectfully bid Elder farewell!" Qin Wudao knelt, performing the grand ritual of three kneelings and nine kowtows.
BOOM!
With a tremendous explosion, the beautiful secret realm shattered like a broken mirror, fragmenting into countless pieces.
Amidst a dizzying whirl, when Qin Wudao raised his head again, he found himself back in the gloomy Underworld. In this pitch-black world, an extreme Yin aura permeated the air, and the tormented screams of countless souls echoed from the distance.
"It seems I can control this world now!" Qin Wudao exclaimed in astonishment, not rushing to leave.
The true name of this realm was the Yellow Spring Underworld, also known as the Netherworld—the legendary destination of souls after death.
In ancient times, Immortals warred ceaselessly, leading to innumerable casualties. Many powerful departed souls roamed between Heaven and Earth, wreaking havoc by night and slaughtering entire clans. This chaos peaked in the middle of ancient times. It was then that a valiant and formidable War God emerged. He swept across the eight desolates, treading upon the bones of myriad Immortals, and established the Heavenly Court. This War God was revered as the Heavenly Monarch, who was also the husband of Supreme Yellow Spring.
At that time, mortal souls ran rampant, and all living beings were plunged into suffering. The Heavenly Court dispatched a large army to eliminate these lost souls, but their efforts met with little success. Eight years later, the lost souls united to establish the Underworld Government and began to counter-attack the Heavenly Court. Although these souls were difficult to kill, slaying the lofty Immortals was an impossible dream. After a year of assaults, the Underworld Government failed to breach even the first defensive line of the Heavenly Court.
Meanwhile, the Heavenly Court was not idle. To completely eradicate the ghosts, the Heavenly Monarch gathered myriad Immortals. They worked day and night to devise a Cultivation Technique capable of restraining these spectral foes. Heaven rewards the diligent. After nine months of intense work, a ghost-exterminating Cultivation Technique was nearing completion.
Then, at the final moment, a heavenly calamity descended, slaying all the Immortals in the Heavenly Court who were devising the Cultivation Technique, including the Heavenly Monarch himself. The Cultivation Technique they had been developing was also mostly destroyed.
However, the power of this technique was undeniable. From its surviving fragments, a powerful new creed was born: Buddhism.
But the emergence of Buddhism was a later development. With the Heavenly Monarch and many high-ranking officials killed by the heavenly calamity, the Heavenly Court’s defensive line was breached by the Underworld Government. Billions of heavenly soldiers were in constant retreat. The Heavenly Court needed a new leader.
And so, the Heavenly Empress, still mired in grief, was elevated by the assembled Immortals to become the new Heavenly Monarch. The Heavenly Empress’s strength was no less than that of the Heavenly Monarch. Under her leadership, the Heavenly Court stabilized its position. Using the remnants of the Cultivation Technique devised by the late Heavenly Monarch, they managed to slay numerous lost souls.
It was at this juncture that an ethereal voice informed the Heavenly Empress that this world was incomplete and required the creation of a realm for the departed. Of course, what truly swayed the Heavenly Empress was the promise that creating such a realm would grant her immense merit, enough to resurrect the dead.
The Heavenly Empress desperately wanted to resurrect the Heavenly Monarch. Therefore, despite the fervent pleas of the Heavenly Court’s Immortals for her to remain, she renounced her imperial position. She journeyed to the subterranean world indicated by the ethereal voice and began constructing the Yellow Spring Underworld.
From that day forward, there was no Heavenly Empress in the world, only Supreme Yellow Spring.
Without the Heavenly Empress, the Heavenly Court eventually disintegrated. Billions of lost souls were subsequently sealed within the Underworld by Supreme Yellow Spring, suppressed beneath the River of Forgetfulness. Tens of thousands of years later, the Yellow Spring Underworld was preliminarily established, finally providing a destination for the souls of the mortal realm.
Peace returned to the world, yet the vast merit Supreme Yellow Spring had so desperately awaited never materialized...
Strange! After learning about the history of ancient times, Qin Wudao frowned deeply. It was all too bizarre.
Firstly, why did the Heavenly Monarch die? As the Lord of the Heavenly Court, the Heavenly Monarch’s cultivation was undoubtedly immense, his power capable of dominating all ages. It was inconceivable that he would perish in a heavenly calamity. Even if the Cultivation Technique the Heavenly Monarch was devising was a forbidden one, the heavenly calamity’s purpose should have been to destroy the technique itself, not to annihilate all those involved in its creation.
Secondly, there was the Heavenly Empress’s reason for creating the Yellow Spring Underworld. The Heavenly Court was the legacy left by the Heavenly Monarch. Why would the Heavenly Empress not strive to protect it, choosing instead to establish the Yellow Spring Underworld? Was it solely due to that ethereal voice? Could it be that, based on the unverified words of an unknown entity, the Heavenly Empress would forsake everything and recklessly create the Yellow Spring Underworld, regardless of the consequences? Was that truly possible? The Heavenly Empress wasn’t a fool!
Finally, why did the Heavenly Empress receive no merit after establishing the Yellow Spring Underworld? Qin Wudao knew that in ancient times, the laws of Heaven and Earth were incomplete. Anyone who made contributions towards perfecting the world—such as creating written language, saving lives, or discovering fire—would be granted merit and receive numerous benefits. The establishment of the Yellow Spring Underworld by the Heavenly Empress was an act of immeasurable merit. For her to receive none at all was simply unconscionable!
Wave after wave of questions flooded Qin Wudao’s mind. He sensed an unseen hand manipulating everything from behind the scenes.