Chapter 611: Five Direction Ghost Emperor, City God and Land Deity!

"Houtu" stepped within heaven and earth, yet at this moment it was as if she trod upon the deepest recesses of the boundless sentient beings' souls.

Accompanied by this peak powerhouse who could shout down the Honghuang, she raised a crystal-clear, translucent longsword and fiercely cleaved the void—

"Boom!"

The tremendous sound of heaven splitting open!

The resonant tone of world creation!

At this moment, it was as if all beings were led back to the time when heaven and earth first opened, plainly witnessing a supreme ancient god who, with devastating ease, destroyed the entirety of Chaos and unleashed the primordial divine radiance!

Merely.

Pangu's opening of heaven and earth was a great destruction and reorganization external to himself.

But at this time, at this moment, "Houtu"'s actions were within the souls and spirits of the sentient beings' hearts and minds!

"She" took each human Dao sentient being's souls and spirits, which were originally perfectly fused beyond the true spirit, and treated them as the murky Chaos before heaven and earth, splitting them apart!

This is the ultimate great destruction!

It can be said that, if Houtu now harbors even a slightly ill thought, nursing wickedness in her heart, she could accomplish a great feat—

Slay all beings!

Of course, this "slaying" only cuts the acquired consciousness of the human Dao; it is difficult to harm the innate true spirit… which ultimately stems from the soul essence of a Pangu.

Moreover, if anyone were to carry out this earth-shaking feat, wiping out in one fell swoop the will of the human Dao's acquired free evolution—

Then, congratulations.

Acquired defilement swept away, the innate spirit platform shines.

When humanity is driven to desperation, it will awaken the "lost" memories.

By then, the demon god who has accomplished the great deed of slaughtering the myriad beings, when directly confronting a Pangu's war, will likely… die in an unsightly manner.

Humanity can accept its own self-destruction without harboring too much resentment.

But being slaughtered by others… that nature is different.

Revenge!

Absolutely must take revenge!

And the narrow-minded nature of humanity, many ancient gods and sages have expressed that they witnessed… being able to block a Pangu outside the Honghuang heaven and earth—what boldness and fortitude!

This is a taboo, the taboo of slaughter.

As one of the higher-tier powerhouses, Houtu also understands… moreover, even if she didn't, she would not act in this way.

The actions of "She" at this moment are not to annihilate the world, merely to reshape the new order of heaven and earth.

Beneath the sword-light strike that shatters the acquired souls and spirits, what follows seamlessly is perfect and flawless great creation!

Just as Pangu split Chaos's disorder, establishing new rules and regulations, breaking free from impermanence and unpredictability, leaving behind order and reason.

Only after great destruction can great establishment arise!

Now, Houtu establishes the three souls and seven spirits, a grand move capable of inaugurating a new era, naturally following this precedent!

Although compared to Pangu the difference is unknown how great, it is merely a small incision upon the souls and spirits of humanity.

Even so, the magnitude of her spirit power and the strength of her ability are evident.

However.

Speaking of spirit power, Houtu possesses it.

Speaking of ability…… one who hides and conceals, not revealing it, the subtle "Houtu" toward humanity, is lacking a bit.

But, it's fine.

If ability is insufficient, authority can make up for it.

"Creation!"

In the dark void a soft cry rang out—it was "Houtu" commanding the fundamental of the universe, activating the supreme Dao that endures between heaven and earth—Creation, driving the evolution of humanity's souls and spirits, following "her" will, transforming them into three souls and seven spirits.

But……

"Reincarnation"'s authority "she" has, "Creation"'s authority though…… whether it will obey commands, this is a problem.

Far within the human clan's royal court, "Yandi"'s tiger-like body shuddered—once, twice, thrice—his eyes widened round, and he was left speechless.

"How could this be!"

Yandi ground his teeth, hissing as he drew in a cold breath, "Little Fengxi, your path has narrowed!"

"I let you go ahead and do it, but you… not only smashed my Houtu authority, you also tried every way to drive my Creation authority?"

"You mortgaged my property deed—fine—but now you want me to stake my personal reputation to prop you up?!"

"Yandi" suffered a setback, feeling as if ten thousand alpacas were running wild in his heart.

"Do you have anyone who teaches me to work like this? Even striking first and reporting later should have a limit!"

"Yandi" muttered incessantly, complaining nonstop.

However, even so, "he" still gritted his teeth and endured—there was no way out!

Having invested so greatly, with three thousand years yielding no results, Houtu would end up on the list of the untrustworthy; given the enormity of the collateral, humanity must occasionally proactively greet her, fearing that if Nüwa feels unwell, it would delay earning money to repay debts… it's too awful!

"Yandi"'s mouth twitched; averting his gaze, he closed his eyes and commanded the Dao of Creation, temporarily obeying "Houtu"'s summons.

"Houtu" was not polite either.

When a blade of light rose again, the profundity of Creation spanned past, present, and future, the four extremes and eight wildernesses!

It transformed the shattered Chaos in the hearts of sentient beings, reborn anew in destruction, recondensing the souls and spirits!

But this time, the newly born souls and spirits were different from before.

The souls and spirits divided; the soul split into three, the spirit into seven.

A new soul order was established, seamlessly linking with the past, bringing only a single shocking soul perception to all beings, without harming their lives in the slightest.

The power of a Great Luo, displayed to perfection at this moment.

Granting life and death, seizing and killing, laughing proudly through myriad ages.

……

「Three ethereal souls？」

「Seven corporeal souls？」

Countless ancient gods and sages focused their attention, watching Houtu's brush of wisdom splash across the human dao's souls and spirits, elaborating thereon to redefine the rules of life and death.

Their wisdom boundless, their authority limitless; at a glance, the soul's complete transformation was clear to them.

「Is the spirit attached to form the corporeal soul? Is the spirit attached to qi the ethereal soul？」

「The three ethereal souls are three: one called fetal light, two called bright spirit, three called dark essence; they can also be called heavenly ethereal, earthly ethereal, life ethereal。」

「The seven corporeal souls are seven: the first named Corpse Dog, the second Crouching Arrow, the third Bird Yin, the fourth Swallowing Bandit, the fifth Non‑poison, the sixth Eliminate Filth, the seventh Stinking Lung。」

「This classification is quite detailed, but what use is it？」

The ancient gods furrowed their brows in thought, gauging the subtlety within.

Why does Houtu dare to go so far, even putting up their own identification as collateral?

They pondered the mystery within, not believing Houtu would do something useless.

However, some of the divinities' points of focus are rather odd.

Perhaps because they have no direct stake, they aren't too concerned about how Houtu stirs up reincarnation and reshapes souls and spirits; instead, they focus their attention on the weapon Houtu wields at this very moment.

「Hey hey hey… that sword looks awfully familiar, doesn't it？」

「It's not the 'Heavenly Crystal' sword commonly used by Princess Nüwa, but rather seems to be the Law Sword of the former Emperor of the Eastern Splendor。」

「What significance does that have？」

They gossiped enthusiastically.

「Maybe it's just because of resentment！」

Some irresponsible divinities were spouting nonsense: 「Once, the Emperor of the Eastern Splendor fell due to the human dao and died right before Princess Nüwa。」

「Thus, at this crucial moment of reshaping the human dao's souls and spirits and establishing the rules of life and death, Princess Nüwa, harboring strong vengeful intent, deliberately took this sword to cleave and then reorganize the human dao's souls and spirits—it's understandable, right！」

One told ten, ten told a hundred, and all the gods rather accepted this reasoning.

After all, Nüwa's brother sacrificed his trumpet to Heaven, becoming a laughingstock; taking this opportunity to clear his name is completely fine.

But is that really the case?

No, it isn't!

When the blade forged of law and order was driven by Houtu, it split the primordial chaos of souls and spirits, establishing the ironclad rule of the three‑seven.

In the somewhat desolate tomb of the Emperor of the Eastern Splendor deep in the Kunlun Mountains, a faint scraping sound could be heard, as if someone were reviving, feigning death, trying to push open the coffin lid to rise from the grave!

But in the end, it did not succeed.

The scraping of the coffin lid lasted only a brief moment before stopping abruptly.

Perhaps it was because the conditions weren't sufficient and the timing wasn't right.

The netherworld was in turmoil, the underworld in chaos; this called for supreme sages to balance with law and order, to quell the unrest.

The flames of former days were extinguished in the Heavenly Court; the remaining spark, however, will blossom in the cycle of rebirth, an alternative new birth.

A wraith wanders above the human dao, ever awaiting the call of rebirth.

But for now, all we have is Houtu's bragging, claiming results will be visible in three thousand years.

Can it truly be carried out?

This is a question!

Perhaps, on the day Houtu's grand blueprint is truly realized, the Emperor of the Eastern Splendor will, to many's surprise, crawl out of the grave with a new look, then randomly pick a fortunate soul, trap them at home, and jeer while beating them half to death.

Now?

Or perhaps it's best to just lie low and honest.

The dead are the easiest for people to overlook.

Having finally died, one ought to make their death as worthwhile as possible.

……

「Houtu」 quietly admired their own creation, the Great Dao of Creation turning around them, driving and adjusting it.

One side idly contemplated the arduous creative way Nüwa had worked out, while the other side, "she" had a distant thought, silently confirming the next steps in mind.

The souls and spirits split, three hun and seven po…… this was not a random arrangement.

Each has its function…… besides arranging the lives of the myriad peoples, it also designed the overall strategy for all of humanity and the Wu Clan, further expanding authority.

All this is so that, in the end, we can more perfectly solve the problem of reincarnation!

【When alive, having a household registration makes management easy。】

【But… when dead, why can't there be a household registration, just as convenient for management？】

「Houtu」's gaze was deep and unfathomable, making it hard to discern their intentions.

【Once registered, it's easy to get to the root…… since myriad ghosts cry out, demanding justice, freedom, and feasts…… then I'll give you this stage。】

Thus came the differentiation of hun and po.

What is hun?

Hun refers to the spirit, capable of existing apart from the flesh. If the spirit is lost, the remaining flesh is merely a "walking corpse."

In other words, from now on, the root of ghosts is the hun within the hun‑po.

And po…… is something that depends on the flesh, bearing the body's functions, sustaining life's operation, manifesting various emotions; separated from the flesh it cannot endure. When a living being dies, the po vanishes as the flesh disintegrates.

However, while the corpse still exists, the presence of po cannot be ruled out. This also leads to some burial grounds being prone to raising corpses, called corpse‑nurturing grounds; their po may still linger, the corpse remains uncorrupted, merging with the po, enabling spirit communication and rebirth—these are aberrations.

Compared to hun, po seems insignificant as the confirmed carrier of life‑spirit…… but that is not the case.

Because, though a living being perishes in the yang world, it is reborn in the yin realm…… surely there must be a place of birth, right?

Po, bearing this responsibility!

Po, bearing this responsibility!

The bones are buried underground; the seven corporeal souls seem to have dissipated, yet they are registered and recorded in the underworld, and the departed souls naturally obtain a household registration.

Translation: "The corpses were buried underground; the seven po seemed to have dissipated, yet they registered again in the underworld, and the wandering souls naturally obtained household registration." Need to keep meaning. Let's produce: "Corpses were buried underground; the seven po appeared to have dissipated, yet they registered again in the underworld, and wandering souls naturally obtained household registration."

So from now on, where one dies… matters greatly.

So from now on, where one dies… involves many particulars.

After all, if one dies in their hometown, the ghost registration will be with their ancestors; if not, there will be old ghosts to look after them.

Translation: "After all, dying in one's hometown means the ghost registration is with the elders; otherwise, an old ghost will look after you." Let's translate: "After all, dying in one's hometown means the ghost registration is with the elders; failing that, an old ghost will look after you."

Dying away from home, dying in a foreign land?

Dying away from home, dying in a foreign land?

They are registered in a strange place, with no relatives in sight, truly lonely souls and wild ghosts!

Translation: "Then they are registered in a strange place, with no relatives in sight—truly lonely ghosts and wild ghosts!" We'll translate: "Then they are registered in a strange place, with no relatives in sight—truly lonely ghosts and wild ghosts!"

And ghost registration… this is a very delicate matter.

Translation: "And ghost household registration… is a very delicate matter."

The seven corporeal souls dwell with the life master from birth to death.

Translation: "The seven po dwell with the life master, following from birth to death."

What does this mean?

Translation: "What does that mean?"

This means that it can likewise record a living being's lifetime experiences, and also… merits and demerits!

Translation: "This means it can likewise record a living being's lifetime experiences, and moreover… merits and demerits!"

Some spirits wail, dying with unresolved grievances.

Translation: "Some departed spirits wail, dying without peace."

Now they seem to have a chance for revenge.

Translation: "Now they seem to have a chance for revenge."

However, revenge is possible, but the Houtu will not let them run wild; everything must follow regulations.

Translation: "However, revenge can be taken, but Houtu will not let them run wild… everything must follow regulations."

"So, we must centralize rule!"

Translation: "'So, we must centralize power and govern!'"

"Connecting yin and yang, linking the mortal world and the netherworld; humans have the human way, ghosts have the ghost way."

Translation: "'Linking yin and yang, connecting the yang world and the yin realm, humans have the human dao, ghosts have the ghost dao.'"

"In the primordial era there is a heavenly court, at its peak, to govern and control the myriad beings of the human realm."

Translation: "'In Honghuang there is the Heavenly Court, at its pinnacle, it ought to govern the human dao and all beings.'"

"Then… the underworld has the netherworld's government, which should be the supreme authority over all ghosts and gods!"

Translation: "'Then… the Netherworld has the Underworld, which should be the ancestral shrine of all ghosts and gods!'"

"It is said that the Heavenly Emperor has five directions, with five holy emperors guarding the five directions… the Eastern Heavenly Emperor, Western Heavenly Emperor, Southern Heavenly Emperor, Northern Heavenly Emperor, and the Central Heavenly Emperor."

Translation: "'I have heard that the Heavenly Emperor has five directions, the Five Directional Holy Emperors guard the five directions… the Eastern Heavenly Emperor, the Western Heavenly Emperor, the Southern Heavenly Emperor, the Northern Heavenly Emperor, and the Central Heavenly Emperor.'"

"Thus this netherworld should also be divided into five directions, as the five ghost emperors!"

Translation: "'Then this Underworld should also be divided into five directions, as the Five Directional Ghost Emperors!'"

Houtu, having pondered, suddenly moved.

Translation: "'Houtu' having pondered, suddenly moved."

She raised her sword, lifted her arm, sword light like a sea, bearing the most stern legal authority, cutting across the entire underworld.

Translation: "'She' raised the sword, lifted the arm, sword light like a sea, bearing the utmost stern legal authority, sweeping across the entire Netherworld."

The vast yin earth was at once divided into five parts by the fundamental order.

Translation: "The vast yin soil was, in an instant, cut into five parts upon the fundamental order!"

In each part, at its core stands a divine mountain, with towering, connected palaces arising, suppressing the qi numbers, corresponding to the five directions and five phases of the mortal world.

Translation: "On each portion, at its core stands a sacred mountain, with towering palaces arising in succession, suppressing fate, corresponding to the yang world's five directions and five elements."

The Five Direction Ghost Emperors—Eastern Ghost Emperor, Western Ghost Emperor, Southern Ghost Emperor, Northern Ghost Emperor, Central Ghost Emperor.

Translation: "The Five Directional Ghost Emperors—Eastern Ghost Emperor, Western Ghost Emperor, Southern Ghost Emperor, Northern Ghost Emperor, Central Ghost Emperor."

Among them.

Translation: "Among them."

Eastern Ghost Emperor, seat at Duosuo Mountain.

Translation: "Eastern Ghost Emperor, seat at Mount Duoshuo."

Western Ghost Emperor, seat at Banner Mound Mountain.

Translation: "Western Ghost Emperor, seat at Mount Fan Zhong."

Southern Ghost Emperor, seat at Luo Fu Mountain.

Translation: "Southern Ghost Emperor, seat at Mount Luofu."

Northern Ghost Emperor, seat at Luo Feng Mountain.

Translation: "Northern Ghost Emperor, seat at Mount Luofeng."

Central Ghost Emperor, seat at Embracing the Calf Mountain.

Translation: "Central Ghost Emperor, seat at Mount Baodu."

The Five Direction Five Emperors suppress the underworld, forming the five major regional governments of the netherworld, commanding countless wandering souls and ghost folk, as the supreme authority over all ghosts and gods!

Translation: "The Five Directional Five Emperors suppress the Netherworld, as the five major local regimes of the Netherworld, commanding countless wandering souls and ghost folk, as the ancestral shrine of all ghosts and gods!"

They need to register ghost households, determine ghost registers, govern the yin world, handle disputes, mediate conflicts…

Translation: "They need to register ghost households, determine ghost registries, govern the yin world, handle disputes, mediate conflicts…"

Numerous affairs.

Translation: "Myriad affairs are complicated."

Such work could not possibly be borne by a few ghosts alone; it requires a whole huge organization.

Translation: "These tasks could not naturally be borne by a few ghosts and gods; what is needed is a huge organization."

Houtu weighed her authority as sovereign of the earth, considered the connections under Nüwa, and smiled faintly.

Translation: "'Houtu' weighed its own sovereign authority over the earth, calculated the connections under Nüwa's command, and smiled slightly."

Thus, a vast ghostly force took shape here.

Translation: "Thus, a huge ghost-god force took shape here."

"The Ghost Emperor holds great power, capable of being the central authority of a region."

Translation: "'The Ghost Emperor holds great power, capable of being the center of a place.'"

"Since there is a central core, there must also be local officials… let us call them City Gods."

Translation: "'Since there is a central core, there must also be local officials… let them be called City Gods.'"

Houtu inscribed law upon the underworld; the great Dao of creation flows, letting the yin world change as she wishes.

Translation: "'Houtu' inscribed legal principles in the Netherworld; the Great Dao of Creation flows, letting the yin world change as it wishes."

After the Ghost Emperor, the position of City God arises accordingly.

Translation: "After the Ghost Emperor, there arises the position of the City God."

This City God connects yin and yang, rooted in the underworld yet appearing in the mortal world.

Translation: "This City God links yin and yang, rooted in the Netherworld and appearing in the yang world."

They register ghost households, understand the condition of living beings in their jurisdiction, providing basis for judging good and evil in the underworld; they are the combination of mortal world guardian deities and netherworld local officials… currently limited to the vast lands of mountains and rivers, because Houtu's jurisdiction is only this small, cannot expand further, being suppressed by the heavenly court.

Translation: "They register ghost households, understand the situation of living beings in their jurisdiction, provide a basis for judging good and evil in the Netherworld, and are the union of the yang world's guardian deities and the netherworld's local officials… for now limited to the vast lands and rivers, because Houtu's jurisdiction is only this small; wanting more is impossible, being suppressed by the Heavenly Court."

The City God's position is set, yet not uniform; according to jurisdiction they are granted ranks—king, duke, marquis, earl… receiving heavenly favor, thus receiving vast heavenly grace.

Translation: "The City God's position being set, yet not uniform, according to jurisdiction divided into ranks—king, duke, marquis, earl… receiving heavenly favor, is vast heavenly grace."

Below the rank, some places are too small, but because there are living beings, an establishment must be made… status slightly lower, as the Lord of the Territory—master of one territory.

Translation: "Below the rank, some places are too small, but since living beings exist, institutions must be established… the position is slightly lower, as the Realm Lord—the lord of a realm."

Below the Lord of the Territory comes the smallest unit—the Land!

Translation: "Below the Realm Lord, the smallest unit is—land!"

Houtu, ultimately, is the sovereign of the earth!

Translation: "Houtu, after all, is the sovereign of the earth!"

Through the transformation of reincarnation, expanding authority, the earth god controls the mortal world… this is a yang plot!

Translation: "Through reincarnation reform, expanding authority, the Land God controls the yang world… this is a yang plot!"

(End of chapter)