Primordial Era: Starting with the repair of Penglai Immortal Island

Houtu listened quietly to Huanglong's rambling without interrupting him.

Her gaze passed over the Yellow Dragon and landed on the Six Paths of Reincarnation Disc.

The Wheel of Reincarnation slowly rotates, and with each rotation, countless souls are reincarnated.

Guided by the wheel of reincarnation, those souls each entered their respective paths in an orderly fashion.

Her gaze swept over every corner of the underworld.

The figures of great shamans sit in the underworld... Some are inflicting various tortures in the eighteen levels of hell, some are judging good and evil, some are guiding the souls of the dead, and some are maintaining order.

A wisp of golden light of merit would occasionally fall upon each member of the witch clan, and that golden light was constantly eroding the karmic obstacles they were born with.

A hint of satisfaction flashed in Houtu's eyes.

The way she looked at Huang Long softened a little.

"Alright." Houtu's voice rang out, not loud, but clearly reaching Huanglong's ears. "I know how hard you've worked."

Huang Long's voice abruptly stopped.

He looked at Houtu with expectant eyes, his eager expression resembling someone waiting for their leader's promise to come true.

He said so much and complained so much, wasn't it all just to get this merciful and compassionate Goddess Houtu to spare him a little something he didn't need, considering how hard he had worked for a whole lifetime?

Houtu looked at Huanglong's appearance, her lips twitched slightly, as if she wanted to laugh, but she held it back.

"You have grasped most of the mysteries of the six realms of reincarnation in the underworld," Houtu said. "I have something quite interesting in my possession, but it is useless to me, so I will give it to you!"

As she spoke, a gray stone appeared out of thin air in Houtu's hand.

The stone was only the size of a fist, with a rough surface and a dull gray color, making it quite unremarkable.

It had neither spiritual light nor Taoist charm; it looked just like an ordinary stone.

Houtu casually tossed the stone, and it flew towards Huanglong.

Huang Long quickly reached out and caught it, holding the gray stone in his palm and examining it several times over.

He infused the stone with spiritual energy, but it showed no reaction.

He scanned the stone with his primordial spirit, but the stone remained completely still.

He even invoked the authority of the Lord of the Underworld, attempting to sense the mysteries of the stone through the power of reincarnation, but still found nothing.

This stone has neither innate spiritual energy nor original Daoist charm, nor even the slightest fluctuation of magical power.

It's just like a real, ordinary stone, so ordinary that no one would even give it a second glance if it were thrown on the ground.

But Huanglong knew that what Houtu Niangniang took out could not possibly be an ordinary stone.

"Your Majesty, what is this?" Huang Long looked up and asked with a puzzled expression.

Houtu smiled slightly, a hint of mystery in her smile: "Good stuff!"

Huanglong opened his mouth, wanting to ask again, but seeing Houtu's "you won't tell me even if you ask" expression, he wisely shut his mouth.

He carefully stored the gray stone into the Xuanhuang Realm.

If even he, with his current authority as the ruler of the underworld, cannot understand something, it is clearly not an ordinary object.

Its value is probably no less than that of a primordial spiritual treasure.

After putting away the gray stone, Huanglong looked at Houtu and a thought struck him.

A ball of purple light flew out from between his eyebrows. The ball contained infinite mysteries, including the Dao of Reincarnation, the operating rules of the Underworld, and the control over the Six Paths of Reincarnation...!

This is the authority of the Lord of the Underworld.

Huanglong held the ball of light in both hands and presented it to Houtu.

"Your Majesty, now that you have returned, my mission is complete."

Huanglong's voice carried a hint of relief, "The authority of the Lord of the Underworld is now returned to you."

Houtu stared at the purple ball of light and remained silent for a moment.

She reached out her hand and waved it gently.

The purple orb exploded in her hand, turning into countless points of light.

The points of light recombine in the air, coalescing into two distinct powers.

One is the position of the Lord of the Underworld, representing the supreme rule over the entire underworld.

One is the authority of the Lord of Fengdu, and the other is the qualification to rule the underworld, second only to the Lord of Youming.

Houtu reached out and grabbed the Lord of the Underworld's Wig.

The authority of the Lord of Fengdu was casually swept back to Huanglong by her.

"I will assume the role of Lord of the Underworld," Houtu said. "You shall assume the role of Lord of Fengdu."

Huang Long stared blankly at the scepter representing the Lord of Fengdu before him.

Although the Lord of Fengdu cannot compare to the Lord of the Underworld, he is still the highest authority in the underworld besides Houtu.

With this authority in hand, even a quasi-saint level being in the underworld cannot cause a ripple in his hands!

But Huang Long did not accept it immediately.

He raised his head, looked at Houtu, and said earnestly, "Your Majesty, I believe that the authority of the Lord of Fengdu should be held by the Ancestral Witch Zhurong. If he has the authority of the Lord of Fengdu, he will be able to accumulate merit for the Witch Clan and eliminate karmic obstacles."

Houtu shook her head.

"Zhu Rong is fiery and hot-tempered. He's good at fighting, but if he were to become the ruler of Fengdu, the entire underworld would surely descend into chaos."

Houtu's voice was calm and firm, "At that time, I will have to personally clean up the mess. Therefore, you are the most suitable person to be the Lord of Fengdu."

Huanglong wanted to say something more, but when he met Houtu's undeniable gaze, he swallowed the words that were on the tip of his tongue.

He was silent for a moment, then reached out and took the power.

"Your Majesty, I accept," Huang Long said. "But I have a request: if a more suitable candidate is found in the future, I hope Your Majesty will agree to let me relinquish this authority."

Houtu nodded: "At that time, as long as the underworld remains peaceful, it is up to you."

Huang Long felt relieved and absorbed the authority of the Lord of Fengdu into his body.

"Your Majesty, now that you have returned, the Underworld is at peace and the netherworld is functioning normally," Huanglong said. "This disciple must still travel to the Primordial World, where the myriad stars await my revival. I hope Your Majesty will forgive me."

Houtu glanced at Huanglong and nodded: "Go! You only need to spare a wisp of your avatar to stay here."

Huang Long nodded slightly, a thought forming in his mind.

The primordial energy of the underworld surged before him, coalescing into a body identical to his own.

That body had flesh and blood, sinews and bones, and was no different from the real body.

Huanglong separated a wisp of his primordial spirit and placed it within.

The primordial spirit clone came to life in an instant, exuding the majestic aura of the Lord of Fengdu.

He nodded toward the Yellow Dragon's true form, then his figure flashed and disappeared into the palace of the underworld.

Huanglong turned around and bowed to Houtu.

"Your Majesty, I'm off."

Houtu waved her hand.

With a thought, Huang Long vanished from the underworld.