Chapter 116: Empress Thick Earth is a Half-Step from the Heavenly Dao; Empress Nuwa Can No Longer Sit Still

"Are you willing to become the Master of the Underworld of this World and shoulder the responsibilities of the Yin Office?"

There was even a stern tone in the words of Empress Thick Earth.

Being the Master of the Underworld is not just a form of authority; it is also a responsibility.

As the Master of the Underworld, one has the responsibility to ensure the Yin Office is orderly and that the Six Paths of Reincarnation operate normally in every way.

If it were like the Underworld in this World, either holding a position without doing the work or abusing power for personal gain.

This is absolutely not allowed.

Empress Thick Earth gave Nie Xiaoqian a chance, a chance to be the Master of the Underworld, a chance to manage the authority of the Six Paths.

But at the same time, it also means this is a responsibility, an unprecedented responsibility.

Nie Xiaoqian also understood this point; she took a deep breath and said respectfully to Empress Thick Earth, "I am willing."

This utterance was both accepting the power of the Master of the Underworld and simultaneously taking on the obligations of the Master of the Underworld.

Empress Thick Earth nodded, and in her hand, she condensed the Judge's Pen and the Book of Life and Death.

These were avatars of the Judge's Pen and the Book of Life and Death from the Honghuang Underworld.

The Judge's Pen and the Book of Life and Death in this World had already been lost; what the Underworld judges used later were merely things they had forged themselves, lacking sufficient power.

Perhaps it was precisely because of this that the Underworld Officials were inactive.

But this is absolutely no excuse for these Underworld Officials to abuse their power for personal gain.

How important the Six Paths of Reincarnation are in the operation of the World; there cannot be the slightest error.

Empress Thick Earth looked at Nie Xiaoqian and exhorted, "Nie Xiaoqian, since you are the Master of the Underworld, you must be selfless and perform your duties diligently. Do not forget your own responsibilities because of personal desire or personal feelings. Do you understand?"

Among the Fate Lines on this Nie Xiaoqian, one of them was actually about romance.

That is why Empress Thick Earth would speak such a warning.

Romance?

The Master of the Underworld cannot have private feelings.

This is just like the Heavenly Law of the Heavenly Court.

Once a deity develops private feelings and gives birth to private desires, that is a very terrifying thing.

The key is, if a deity can properly handle the relationship between their private feelings and their duties, that would be fine.

More people will abandon their duties for the sake of private feelings.

This is something Empress Thick Earth does not allow.

Nie Xiaoqian also said solemnly once more, "I will strictly follow the teachings of Empress Thick Earth."

"After you become the Master of the Underworld, you must promptly select Underworld Officials, re-establish the order of the Yin Office, and let all the ghosts of this World have a place to go, so they can enter the Six Paths of Reincarnation."

Empress Thick Earth looked at the scene in this World and gave Nie Xiaoqian a few pointers.

Because of the inaction of the Underworld in this World, many ghosts have not entered the Six Paths of Reincarnation.

Many vicious, wicked fierce ghosts, as well as thousand-year ghost kings.

They should have entered the Eighteen Levels of Hell to atone for their sins, but instead, they have been acting tyrannically outside all this time.

The Yin Office order of this World has completely fallen into chaos.

And the authority and prestige of the Underworld have long been lost due to the various actions of the previous officials.

People do not trust the Underworld.

Those former Underworld Officials did not stop to think that the Underworld was originally recognized by Heaven and Earth, a legitimate authority of Heaven and Earth just like the Heavenly Court.

The legitimacy of the Underworld comes from the recognition of Heaven and Earth, and also from the recognition of all living beings of Heaven and Earth.

And once these living beings of Heaven and Earth lose their trust in the Underworld, then the authority of the Underworld is no more.

The Underworld will eventually become no different from other factions in this World.

In this way, one day, the Underworld will move completely toward Destruction.

And as the new Master of the Underworld, the first thing Nie Xiaoqian must do is to reshape the authority of the Underworld.

Let all the ghosts wandering in this world return to the Underworld.

Let those fierce ghosts who commit all kinds of evil, as well as the thousand-year ghost kings, all receive the punishment they deserve.

Empress Thick Earth finished speaking and then prepared to leave.

But the many former Underworld Officials who had been watching from the side could no longer sit still.

Isn't it that you two directly appointed a new Master of the Underworld, so where does that leave us, the masters of this Underworld?

You want to directly reappoint new Underworld Officials, so what about us officials?

"Wait, who exactly are you people? We, the people of the Underworld, are still here! What kind of bullshit are you talking about?"

"That's right, we are the Underworld Officials; do we need you to appoint us?"

"You are too ignorant of what's good for you. Do you believe I will cast you directly into the Eighteen Levels of Hell?"

These Underworld Officials pointed their fingers at Empress Thick Earth, their words filled with accusations and curses.

Just any random person wants to strip them of their positions as Underworld Officials; what kind of logic is this?

Nie Xiaoqian looked at these Underworld Officials and only felt that they were extremely brave!

As the creator of the Six Paths of Reincarnation, Empress Thick Earth naturally has the right to strip any Underworld Official of their position.

Let alone these petty people who hold positions without doing work and abuse power for personal gain?

It was only because, during that great catastrophe back then, the powerful Underworld Officials all perished in order to resist the catastrophe.

They were able to take the opportunity to steal the authority of the Underworld.

Empress Thick Earth turned her head to look at these former Underworld Officials and said coldly, "You have usurped the authority of the Underworld Officials; those with heavy Karma shall be cast into the Eighteen Levels of Hell."

As Empress Thick Earth's words fell, those former Underworld Officials who had sins and Karma on them were directly cast into the Eighteen Levels of Hell.

Those who held positions without doing work lost their Underworld authority, while those who were diligent and conscientious and did not collude with the others continued to control the authority of the Underworld.

In the future, within the Underworld, these Underworld Officials would naturally be able to be put to good use by the new Master of the Underworld, Nie Xiaoqian.

After Thick Earth Niangniang finished all of this, she left directly.

Nie Xiaoqian then became the new Master of the Underworld.

The first thing Nie Xiaoqian did after becoming the Master of the Underworld was to switch to cultivating the Ruthless Path.

The Ruthless Path is not about sealing off emotions or locking away love, nor is it about disowning one's kin.

The Ruthless Path is a form of great love—great love for all living beings, great love for the heavens and earth.

"The heavens and earth are not benevolent, treating all things as straw dogs"—this is the ruthlessness of the heavens and earth.

Nie Xiaoqian feared that she would not have the ability to be a good Master of the Underworld, and feared that she might later abuse her power for personal gain due to private feelings.

Therefore, she switched to cultivating the Ruthless Path without the slightest hesitation, not giving herself a single chance to make a mistake.

Then, Nie Xiaoqian began to cleanse the Human Realm, capturing all the heinous evil ghosts and thousand-year-old ghost kings, and then Jieyin those wronged souls to enter the Six Paths of Reincarnation.

At the same time, Nie Xiaoqian also began to search for those in the world with great merit and souls of great merit to become Underworld Officials.

Under the leadership of Nie Xiaoqian, this World gradually recovered its clarity.

Originally, this World had almost been on the verge of heading toward extinction, heading toward destruction.

But because of the arrival of Thick Earth Niangniang, this World regained its vitality.

Within the Honghuang World.

The aura on Thick Earth Niangniang's body became increasingly heavy.

She walked among the Heavens and Myriad Worlds, establishing the Six Paths of Reincarnation for countless worlds.

The Six Paths of Reincarnation of countless worlds strengthened her own authority over the Six Paths of Reincarnation and strengthened her own Earthly Dao authority.

At the same time, the merit of the Heavens and Myriad Worlds was bestowed upon her body.

The massive amount of merit directly caused this Thick Earth Niangniang to break through.

She was now impressively at the Saint Great Perfection realm, and one could even say there was an aura of the Heavenly Dao Realm on her body, which could be called a Half-step Heavenly Dao.

Thick Earth Niangniang was already a Merit Sage to begin with.

When she first broke free from the Six Paths of Reincarnation, she had already accumulated a vast amount of merit.

Now, she walked through the various lower realms governed by the Heavenly Court, establishing the Six Paths of Reincarnation.

Thus, the merit on her body had long been very abundant, which gave her sufficient foundation.

It was precisely because of this that Thick Earth Niangniang reached the Saint Great Perfection realm and possessed the aura of a Half-step Heavenly Dao.

Above the Thirty-Three Heavens, a sliver of that Half-step Heavenly Dao aura on Thick Earth Niangniang leaked out.

It caused all the Saints to involuntarily pay attention to it.

At this moment, the Saints were truly driven mad.

Ever since they attained the Dao and became Saints, the Saints had always tried every possible method to break through to the realm above a Saint.

But let alone breaking through to the realm above a Saint, they had not even found the path above a Saint.

Or rather, Dao Ancestor Hongjun had demonstrated a Heavenly Dao path to them all, which was to merge with the Dao of the heavens and earth.

Only one person could merge with the Dao of the heavens and earth, and Dao Ancestor Hongjun had already merged with the Dao of the heavens and earth; he had already blocked this path.

Therefore, this path was basically blocked off.

The Saints could not see the hope of breaking through above a Saint, could not see the direction to break through above a Saint, and could not see the path.

Throughout the long years, let alone the path to break through above a Saint.

Many Saints could not even feel an increase in their strength.

The Saints all began to doubt whether their realm would forever remain stagnant at the Saint level.

The Saints schemed against one another and plotted for Qi Luck, all for that tiny sliver of hope to break through above a Saint.

Even if they couldn't break through, shouldn't they at least be able to feel an increase in their own strength?

Unfortunately, after such a long time, they still could not see the slightest bit of hope.

Many of the Saints had already become numb, or even desperate.

But now, they saw hope.

The Sage Dao aura on the Saints erupted continuously, and they all looked toward the location of the Thirty-Three Heavens.

"Thick Earth? Above a Saint?"

Taiqing Laozi could not help but stand up, his gaze filled with gravity and also a sense of disbelief.

"Is it truly the realm above a Saint? Above a Saint, the Heavenly Dao Realm."

Taiqing Laozi could feel the aura of being above a Saint from that energy.

That kind of aura made even him feel a sense of pressure.

And it was precisely this pressure that made Taiqing Laozi even more certain.

Even if Thick Earth Niangniang had not broken through to the realm above a Saint, she was not far off.

One must know that Taiqing Laozi was one of the Three Pure Ones and a powerful existence among the Saints.

Among the Saints, who could make him feel pressure?

But now, Taiqing Laozi felt pressure from that aura, felt the aura of being above a Saint.

"Perhaps she has not broken through to the Heavenly Dao Realm, but at the very least, within this Saint realm, she has taken a half-step forward and is not far from the Heavenly Dao Realm."

In Taiqing Laozi's gaze, there was an unprecedented envy.

"I did not expect that among the Saints, it would be Fellow Daoist Thick Earth who took this step first."

Taiqing Laozi sighed and said, "Perhaps, before long, I fear I will no longer be able to call her 'Fellow Daoist'."

"However, it is understandable that Fellow Daoist Thick Earth was able to take this step first."

In the past, when Dao Ancestor Hongjun gave lectures in the Purple Heaven Palace, three thousand guests of the red dust gathered there.

Most of these three thousand guests of the mortal world later became renowned Great Divine Ability of the Honghuang, such as Old Ancestor Minghe and the Great Immortal Zhenyuanzi.

Likewise, some became Saints, such as the various Heavenly Dao Sage of today.

But the twelve Ancestor Witch did not go to that lecture at Purple Heaven Palace.

The twelve Ancestor Witch were born proud; they only honored Father God Pangu and did not honor Dao Ancestor Hongjun.

They believed that Dao Ancestor Hongjun was merely a thief who had stolen the world from Father God Pangu.

Therefore, they were naturally unwilling to go to Purple Heaven Palace to listen to Dao Ancestor Hongjun preach.

Mother Thick Earth is the only Saint who did not listen to Dao Ancestor Hongjun teach the Sage's Dao at Purple Heaven Palace, but instead traveled through the Honghuang herself and comprehended the Sage's Dao.

From this, one can see how astonishing Mother Thick Earth's talent was.

On the contrary, those Saints who had listened to the preaching at Purple Heaven Palace back then obtained the Grand Primordial Purple Vapor.

By merging with the Grand Primordial Purple Vapor, they took a back door and became Heavenly Dao Sage.

But having sought momentary gratification and taken a shortcut back then, it has now become a shackle.

For these Saints, the path to breaking through beyond the Saint realm is even more difficult.

Taiqing Laozi, however, saw another point.

That Mother Thick Earth is now able to take a step forward from the Saint realm is inseparable from her own astonishing talent.

But at the same time, did the Heavenly Court play a role in this?

The three Sage Emperor of the Human Race, Old Ancestor Minghe, and Zhenyuanzi were all able to attain the Dao and become Saints because of the Heavenly Court.

For such a long time, since the seven Saints returned to their positions, no one had ever been able to attain the Dao and become a Saint.

They established a connection with the Heavenly Court and attained the Dao to become Saints.

The role the Heavenly Court played in this naturally goes without saying.

And what about Mother Thick Earth?

Did Mother Thick Earth taking half a step forward really have nothing to do with the Heavenly Court?

Taiqing Laozi expressed great doubt.

However, this made Taiqing Laozi feel extremely excited inside.

He had indeed guessed correctly; the Heavenly Court could truly help them break through to the realm above the Saint.

It was fortunate that he had been decisive back then and had joined the Heavenly Court early on.

If Mother Thick Earth could rely on the Heavenly Court to take that step forward.

He, Taiqing Laozi, could certainly do it too.

At this moment, Taiqing Laozi even wanted to hurry and take up residence in the Heavenly Court to properly consult the Heavenly Emperor.

Tongtian Jiaozhu looked at the aura of the Heavenly Dao above the Thirty-Three Heavens.

Behind him, an ancient aura of slaughter was reviving; that was the aura of the Immortal-Slaying Sword.

"The the Heavenly Dao Realm?"

Tongtian Jiaozhu closed his eyes and muttered to himself, "Soon! Soon!"

Inside his body, the sealing shackles of the Saint-Slaying Pill were being continuously worn away by the slaughtering power of the Immortal-Slaying Sword.

Yuanshi Tianzun also stood in the Heaven Beyond Heaven, his gaze incomparably complex; no one knew what he was thinking.

This former Sect Leader of the Chan Sect had run about constantly during the Great Calamity of the Investiture of the Gods, eventually winning the victory in the Great Calamity of the Investiture of the Gods.

Who would have thought that the fruits of the final victory would be stolen by the Western Two Sages.

A large number of Chan Sect disciples fled into the Western Sect, becoming the foundation for the Western Two Sages to betray the Mysterious Gate and establish Buddhism.

You could say that this Yuanshi Tianzun was shameless, bullied the weak, and was despicable.

But no one could deny that he had done everything he could.

Under the great catastrophe of the Great Calamity of the Investiture of the Gods, he protected the disciples under his command.

Almost no disciple of the Chan Sect ascended the Investiture of the Gods during the Great Calamity of the Investiture of the Gods.

And all of this was not because the Chan Sect disciples were highly skilled, but simply because they had a good master.

If it were you, would you rather have a master like Tongtian Jiaozhu, or a master like Yuanshi Tianzun who truly steps in when there is trouble?

Yet even so, after the Great Calamity of the Investiture of the Gods, these Chan Sect disciples fled in large numbers to the Western Sect.

After the Great Calamity of the Investiture of the Gods ended, the Jie Sect was wiped out.

But the Chan Sect also seemed to exist in name only.

Yuanshi Tianzun took a look and then closed his eyes, appearing to have no emotional fluctuations.

As for the Western Two Sages, they only felt increasingly anxious now.

How could the great trend of the world change so rapidly?

Wasn't the time after the Great Calamity of the Investiture of the Gods supposed to be the moment for their Fomen to flourish?

But now the great trend of the Honghuang was changing too fast, so fast that they could not react in time.

Zhunti Daoren said jealously to Jieyin Daoren, "Senior Brother, Thick Earth has actually taken a step forward."

"Indeed."

Jieyin Daoren only replied with two words, his heart filled with sorrow.

For other Saints, they could still continuously attempt to break through to the realm above the Saint.

But for them now, they did not even have the qualifications to challenge the realm above the Saint.

What they had to do first was to repay the loans to the world.

What lay before them now was that they did not even have the ability to repay the loans.

Before repaying the loans to the world, for the Western Two Sages to say they wanted to break through to the realm above the Saint was purely a pipe dream.

Therefore, at this moment, all Jieyin Daoren and Zhunti Daoren could do was envy.

They had absolutely no way to deal with it.

Speaking of the last Saint, that would be Nuwa.

Within this Great Desolate World, there are only two female Saints.

One is Nuwa, and the other is Thick Earth, and both of them attained sainthood by Proving the Dao with Merit.

Thick Earth created the Six Paths of Reincarnation and performed a service to all living beings of the entire Honghuang Continent.

As for Nuwa, she first created the Human Race and later mended the heavens with her own hands; her merit is also profound.

She has merit toward the Human Race and merit toward the entire Honghuang.

Nuwa and Thick Earth are like two twin lotus flowers competing on the Honghuang Continent, chasing after one another, eventually becoming Saints one after the other.

Thick Earth taking a step forward among the Saints made Nuwa feel somewhat restless.

A trace of barely perceptible impatience appeared on Nuwa's holy and elegant face.

"Has Thick Earth taken that step?"

Nuwa has always had an incomparably indifferent personality; it can be said that there is very little in this world that can stir her emotions.

Nuwa created the Human Race, but she has always believed.

The great trends of this world have their own laws of operation, and if the Human Race wants to grow, they must rely on themselves.

Along this path, they naturally must experience many hardships and obstacles.

Therefore, during the Wu-Yao Era, when the Slaughtering Witch Great Tribulation occurred, Nuwa did not intervene.

During the Investiture of the Gods, had Di Xin not been so audacious, she would not have interfered lightly either.

Unless it is a world-ending calamity for the Honghuang Continent, such as when Gonggong once struck Mount Buzhou in a rage, Nuwa will not take action.

For ordinary matters, Nuwa will not take action.

She is a Merit Sage, and she holds great love in her heart.

But her great love is not just for the Human Race, but also for all living beings of the Honghuang.

In her eyes, there is no difference between the Human Race and the living beings of the Honghuang.

(End of this chapter)