Primordial Era: The Witch Clan's Dog-Headed Strategist

There are countless connections between the benevolent corpse and the true self. When the benevolent corpse entered the divine path, the true self indirectly established a causal relationship with the divine path.

This cause and effect may not seem like much in ordinary times, but at crucial moments, it can become a bridge for the Pure Yang Immortal Court and the Divine Path system to join hands.

The Eastern King Duke played this move extremely cleverly.

Many powerful figures on the stage also noticed something amiss. Zulong narrowed his dragon eyes, Yuanfeng's lips curled up slightly, and Shiqilin stroked his beard. No one pointed it out, and no one even gave it a second glance.

The more powerful beings join the path of gods, the stronger it becomes. Whether they are good or evil corpses, being able to enter the path of gods is a matter of fate.

Moreover, the Eastern King Duke came in a benevolent form, not in his true form.

It preserved the legitimate relationship between Chunyang Immortal Court and Hongjun, while also expressing sincerity towards the divine system; this balance was struck perfectly.

The five Primordial Golden Immortals successively entered the three trials.

For beings at the Hunyuan Golden Immortal level, the difficulty of the three trials lies not in their cultivation level, but in the degree of compatibility of their Dao heart.

In the Netherworld Law Inquiry Formation, the Eastern Ghost Emperor used the Azure Dragon's Roar to draw upon the Netherworld energy, and in the Fengdu Illusion, he meticulously planned the operation of the Eastern Ghost Gate, successfully passing through the three trials.

The Southern Ghost Emperor, the Western Ghost Emperor, and the Northern Ghost Emperor each passed the test with their profound understanding of the laws and their sense of justice.

The Central Plains Golden Immortal, with the color of thick earth, was the last to step into the three trials, standing in the Fengdu Illusion facing a complex trial scene.

His calm and composed demeanor was completely different from the other four, clearly indicating that his ability to command far surpassed that of ordinary Hunyuan Golden Immortals.

When simulating the operation of the central area of ​​the underworld in the Fengdu illusion, he not only arranged his own jurisdiction in an orderly manner.

Furthermore, it proactively established a linkage mechanism with the jurisdictions of the other four Ghost Emperors, a comprehensive vision that made Pan Xuandu nod slightly.

All five Hunyuan Golden Immortals passed the three trials. Pan Xuan stood up, and the Twelve Ancestral Witches and the Three Pure Ones also stood up at the same time.

He solemnly announced to the five Hunyuan Golden Immortals that he was bestowing upon them the divine titles of the Five Ghost Emperors.

The Eastern Ghost Emperor rules Peach Blossom Mountain, guards the Eastern Ghost Gate, commands all the ghost messengers and judges of the East, and oversees the guidance and judgment of all the souls of the dead in the vast Eastern wilderness.

The Southern Ghost Emperor rules Mount Luofu, guards the Southern Ghost Gate, commands all the ghost messengers and judges in the south, and oversees the rebirth and rebirth of the immortal volcano in the south and the souls of the Phoenix Clan.

The Western Ghost Emperor rules over Mount Baizhong, guards the Western Ghost Gate, commands all the ghost messengers and judges of the West, and oversees the Western Mount Sumeru and the salvation of the souls of the dead in the West.

The Northern Ghost Emperor rules over Mount Luofeng, guards the Northern Ghost Gate, commands all the ghost messengers and judges in the north, and oversees the final rest and rebirth of the souls of the Xuanwu lineage in the extremely cold northern ice plains.

The Central Ghost Emperor governs Baodu Mountain, guards the Central Ghost Gate, commands all the ghost messengers and judges in the Central Region, and administers the highest judgment of Buzhou Mountain and the authentic souls of Pangu.

Each of the Five Ghost Emperors governs a region, overseeing the five Ghost Gates and commanding all the ghost messengers and judges within their respective jurisdictions. They are directly responsible to the Great Emperor of Fengdu and the Lord of Reincarnation.

After the investiture was completed, the divine law deities between the brows of the five Ghost Emperors lit up simultaneously.

Five beams of nether light intertwined in front of the Judgment Hall to form a majestic pillar of law, echoing the light of the Six Paths of Reincarnation.

The entire underworld was suddenly shaken at that moment.

With the establishment of the Five Ghost Gates, and together with the existing Ghost Gate Main Gate, all six gates of the Underworld are now in place.

The passages for the dead to enter the underworld from all parts of the primordial world were divided into orderly channels, so they no longer needed to crowd together at the main gate of the Blood Sea to wait in line.

The five Golden Immortals, sensing the authority of the underworld transmitted from the deity between their brows, bowed to Pan Xuan and Hou Tu, and then took their places in order to guard the five gates of the underworld.

When the benevolent corpse of the Eastern King Duke took its place, it looked up at Pan Xuan. Pan Xuan simply smiled at it and said nothing more; everything was understood without words.

The investiture of the Five Ghost Emperors had just concluded when Pan Xuan spoke again:

"The Five Ghost Emperors have been chosen; next, we will select Meng Po."

As he spoke, he looked at Houtu beside him. Houtu nodded slightly, and the Book of Life and Death opened automatically.

A wisp of netherworld law flew out of the book, transforming into a line of ancient purple-gold seal script above the plaza.

Meng Po: At the ferry crossing of the River Styx, in the Meng Po Pavilion, she washes away the memories of the deceased souls with the soup of forgetfulness, allowing them to enter the cycle of reincarnation with a pure body.

This divine position is of paramount importance, second only to the Five Ghost Emperors. If the souls of the dead cannot forget their past lives...

After reincarnation, one is reborn carrying the obsessions and resentments of the previous life. At best, this disrupts the order of reincarnation; at worst, it causes chaos in the cause and effect of heaven and earth.

Therefore, the position of Meng Po has strict requirements for its holders:

It must be a female cultivator, with a cultivation level of at least Great Luo Golden Immortal, and a sufficiently resilient temperament.

It is possible to brew the Meng Po soup day after day without being corrupted by the obsessions of the departed souls.

When facing each departed soul reluctant to leave their past life at the Meng Po Pavilion, one can compassionately persuade them to drink the medicine, but one cannot, out of compassion, allow the departed soul to escape forgetting.

More importantly, one's own understanding of the laws of the underworld must be profound enough to sense the dosage of the laws in each bowl of Meng Po soup.

If the soup is too bland, the past life will not be over; if the soup is too strong, it will damage the soul. Only when it is just right can the deceased soul enter the cycle of reincarnation in its most complete state.

The announcement caused a stir among the applicants.

Female cultivators already made up only two or three out of ten of the applicants, and female independent cultivators who could cultivate to the level of Great Luo Golden Immortal or above were even fewer.

Even so, after Pan Xuan finished his announcement, female cultivators continued to step forward to volunteer.

The first to try was a female cultivator at the peak of the Taiyi Golden Immortal realm. She survived for half an incense stick's time in the Netherworld Law Heart-Questioning Array before being sent out.

Subsequently, several well-known female immortals among the rogue cultivators entered the formation one by one, and all of them successfully passed the Netherworld Law Heart-Questioning Formation.

He performed quite well in the second trial, the Fair and Just Inquiry Illusion Array, but when he actually faced the daily operation of Meng Po Pavilion in the Fengdu Illusion Realm...

Their performances, however, were all a little lacking.

Some were moved by the sight of a mother holding an infant, unwilling to forget her past life; others hesitated when faced with a loyal minister who died unjustly.

Some, while upholding justice, appeared overly indifferent, making the deceased drink Meng Po soup as if they were being forcibly given poison.

Pan Xuan and the other examiners all saw this. Each of them had their own strengths, but the position of Meng Po required not only fairness but also a unique quality that combined compassion and steadfastness.

After several rounds, no one was able to pass all three tests.

Just then, a cool yet gentle silver-white light shone from the depths of the waiting area.

The light was not dazzling, but rather like the glow of moonlight reflected off the snow, slowly moving toward the center of the square.

Within the light was a female cultivator dressed in a plain-colored long dress, with a dignified and aloof face, radiating an aura that involuntarily calmed people's minds.

There was no mark of a law deity between her brows, yet her cultivation was at the level of a Primordial Golden Immortal. She calmly stepped into the first gate of law.

Within the Netherworld Law Inquiry Formation, she used pure Yin energy to sense the flow of the Netherworld Law.

The silvery-white moonlight around him intertwined with the ghostly energy within the formation, like a layer of moonlight spilled onto the River Styx.

She found the core of the formation with almost no effort.

It wasn't a forced breakthrough, but rather the natural affinity of the pure Yin body merging with the laws of the Netherworld, allowing one to calmly emerge from it, taking less than a third of the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.

The second challenge, the "Inquiry into the Heart" illusion, presented her with a more complex scenario than the other applicants.

The illusion array presented her with a rather controversial ghost.

He was a tribal chief who killed countless enemies in war to protect his people, and he himself perished in the flames of war.

His merits and demerits were almost evenly matched: killing countless people was evil, protecting his people was good.

Applicants need to find the perfect balance between good and evil, neither ignoring the sins of killing because of their merit in protecting their clan, nor denying their good deeds because of the excessive killing.

She stood before the judge's bench, her gaze calmly scrutinizing every merit and demerit of the deceased soul in his lifetime, before picking up her pen and writing her judgment in the Book of Life and Death.

When one enters the Asura Path, one continues to cultivate as a battle spirit, and only after all the sins of killing have been eradicated will one enter the cycle of reincarnation.

This judgment neither ignored the good deeds of the deceased nor condoned their evil deeds, striking a balance between leniency and severity. A flash of clear light appeared in the illusionary array, and she passed through smoothly.

In the illusion of Fengdu, she was assigned to Meng Po Pavilion.

In the simulated Meng Po Pavilion, countless souls line up to drink the Meng Po soup. Each soul has its own story, its own obsession, and its own reluctance to leave.

She brewed the Meng Po soup with pure Yin energy. When the soup boiled in the pot, it did not emit a bitter medicinal smell, but rather a cool and fragrant aroma similar to moonlight falling on a lake.

She used pure Yin energy to soothe the last turmoil in the hearts of the departed souls, making the bitterness of the medicine mild and palatable under the moonlight.

Those souls who had initially resisted being forgotten gradually calmed down under her soothing touch and willingly drank their share of the soup.

All three challenges were overcome.

Pan Xuan stood up, and all the examiners' eyes were focused on the female cultivator.

Although their true nature was concealed by secret methods, which of the great supernatural beings present wasn't a shrewd person who had lived for countless years?

That pure Yin energy was exactly the same as the aura of the Jade Pool Wonderland in Xikunlun; this was the benevolent corpse of the Queen Mother of the West.

The Queen Mother of the West was personally appointed by Hongjun as the head of all female immortals in the world, standing alongside the King Duke of the East, representing the highest rank of independent cultivators in Hongjun's immortal system.

Since her true self could not come, she participated in the selection as a benevolent corpse.

The benevolent corpse of the Eastern King Duke had just become the Central Ghost Emperor when the benevolent corpse of the Western Queen Mother came to apply for the position of Meng Po.

Pan Xuan walked up to her and solemnly announced the conferment of the divine office upon Meng Po.

Meng Po Pavilion is located at the Naihe Bridge, the ferry crossing of the River Styx. It uses the Soup of Forgetfulness to wash away the memories of the past lives of the departed souls, allowing them to enter the cycle of reincarnation with a pure body.

This divine office is not subject to the control of the Five Ghost Emperors, but is directly responsible to the Lord of Reincarnation and the Great Emperor of Fengdu.

The Five Ghost Emperors oversee the entire process of a soul's journey from entering the underworld to being judged, while Meng Po oversees the final step from the judgment to the reincarnation of a soul.

One is in charge of "reviewing," and the other is in charge of "submitting." The two work in parallel without conflict, each with its own focus.

After the investiture was completed, the Meng Po deity on the forehead of the Queen Mother of the West's benevolent corpse lit up. She bowed slightly to Pan Xuan and Hou Tu, then turned and walked towards the Styx River ferry.

The Meng Po Pavilion had taken shape on its own under the guidance of the laws of the earth, and the large cauldron inside the pavilion was now emitting wisps of smoke under the impetus of the laws of the underworld.

She picked up a ladle and began to brew the first pot of Meng Po soup, which belonged to her.

As the gods on the platform watched this scene, the First Dragon stroked his whiskers.

Yuan Feng and Shi Qilin exchanged a knowing glance.

Jieyin and Zhunti clasped their hands together and whispered a Buddhist chant. Fuxi and Nuwa exchanged a smile.

The benevolent corpse of the Eastern King Duke became the Central Ghost Emperor.

The benevolent corpse of the Queen Mother of the West became Meng Po, and the two leaders of the Pure Yang Immortal Court established karmic connections with the divine system in this way.

The male and female immortals personally appointed by Hongjun now hold divine positions.

Although the crack was inconspicuous, it was quite deep.

The inclusiveness of the divine system, the goodwill of the Eastern King Duke and Western Queen Mother, and the subtle loosening within the Hongjun Immortal System were all most directly reflected in this open selection.

With the Five Ghost Emperors and Meng Po returning to their positions, the framework for the underworld's divine offices has been initially established.

But the open selection process did not end there.

Judges, ghost messengers, ferrymen of the River Styx, guides to the Bridge of Helplessness, and countless other low-level divine positions await suitable candidates.

Respondents continued to enter the three trials in an endless stream, while Pan Xuan stood on the high platform, gazing at the Netherworld he had personally created.