The people of the primordial era ruled the heavens and earth.

No, how could I think like that?

It's clearly Zhen Yuanzi who's too stingy. I'm his friend, so he should save me unconditionally.

It's just two magical treasures; at worst, I can find him a few more myself later.

With this in mind, Hongyun continued righteously:

"Zhen Yuanzi, what are you still hesitating for?"

"Cultivating the Tao begins with cultivating life. If you lose your life, what are you doing cultivating the Great Tao?"

"Hongyun, how can you say such a thing? Don't forget, if it weren't for saving you, how could I have gone against Qin Tian, ​​and how could I have ended up like this?"

Zhen Yuanzi could no longer contain his anger and roared at Hongyun.

Hongyun never expected Zhen Yuanzi to yell at him like that, and he stood there dumbfounded for a moment.

Immediately realizing what was happening, he yelled back, "Did I beg you?"

"You were the one who wanted to save me."

"You've ended up like this because you're incompetent; you only have yourself to blame."

"You...you..." Zhen Yuanzi was furious, pointing at Hongyun with trembling hands, unable to utter a complete sentence for a long time.

Qin Tian was initially quite engrossed in watching, thinking that such a bitter feud, where friends turned against each other, was a rare sight indeed.

But seeing Zhen Yuanzi like this after only exchanging a few words, I couldn't help but feel quite disappointed.

"Hey, you two, haven't you yelled enough?"

"I have no interest in watching you play house here."

"Hand over the treasure, or die!"

As he finished speaking, Qin Tian raised his left hand, his internal energy circulated, and an invisible force condensed, pressing down on the surrounding area.

Under the intimidation of this imposing aura, Hongyun selectively forgot her earlier displeasure and quickly shouted:

"Zhen Yuanzi, what are you still thinking about? Hurry up and hand over the Earth Book and the Ginseng Fruit Tree."

"Qin Tian is ruthless; what he says, he really does."

Zhen Yuanzi looked pained, his mind in turmoil.

Hand it over to him quickly, or you'll really lose your life.

No, we absolutely cannot hand it over. Without the Earth Book and the Ginseng Fruit Tree, we'll be nothing more than lingering on the brink of death.

We absolutely cannot let that ungrateful wretch Hongyun get away with it.

Zhunti was constantly preoccupied with the cause and effect of Hongyun. He saw that the palm force gathering in Qin Tian's hand was becoming more and more powerful, and it could fall at any moment.

He quickly called out, "Fellow Daoist Zhen Yuanzi, why are you so upset? It's just a few treasures."

"Hand it over and you'll live. Why not?"

Zhen Yuanzi remained silent.

Ultimately, his desire for life overshadowed his pursuit of the Great Dao, and he voluntarily dispersed the primordial spirit imprint within the Earth Book, handing it over to Qin Tian.

"The ginseng fruit tree is inside my temple. These are the array symbols for controlling the formation. Go and retrieve them yourself!"

After saying this, Zhen Yuanzi's face aged several decades in an instant, his youthful appearance vanished, and he exuded an aura of old age.

Qin Tian took the Earth Book and the Jade Talisman, and flew straight into the Wuzhuang Temple without even glancing at Zhen Yuanzi again.

A moment later, watching Qin Tian carry the ginseng fruit tree and fly out of his Wuzhuang Temple, Zhen Yuanzi closed his eyes in pain, tears silently streaming down his face.

Seeing Qin Tian leave, Jieyin and Zhunti did not linger any longer and drifted back to the West.

...

In the underworld, the Styx River looked at Qin Tian carrying the ginseng fruit tree back and asked, quite puzzled:

"Fellow Daoist Qin Tian, ​​I can tell you are not an indecisive person. Why not kill Zhen Yuanzi completely and eliminate future troubles?"

"Aren't you afraid that if you keep them around like this, they might cause trouble for the human race in the future?"

"Haha..." Qin Tian chuckled lightly, "I'm not afraid of them coming, I'm afraid they won't come."

"The cost of humanity is the tempering of blood and fire, and these are the first batch of people I selected for this tempering."

The Lord of the Styx was relieved and asked no more questions. He looked at Houtu with Qin Tian.

After Qin Tian handed the Earth Book to Houtu, Houtu inexplicably fell into a state of enlightenment, exuding a profound aura.

"Fellow Daoist Qin Tian, ​​when do you think the Empress will wake up?"

"It's hard to say." Qin Tian shook his head: "I didn't expect the Earth Book to have such a profound impact on Fellow Daoist Houtu."

Time flies, and several years have passed in the blink of an eye.

Since that day, Qin Tian has remained in the underworld and has not left again.

First, we should understand the laws of nature and strengthen ourselves.

Secondly, she wanted to see what Houtu had gleaned from the Book of Earth.

Suddenly one day, the tunnel shook, the cycle of reincarnation trembled, and the buildings inside and outside the underworld shook violently.

The entire underworld was plunged into chaos.

Many ghosts, unwilling to die, seized the opportunity to break through the blockade of the ghost soldiers, hoping to cause a ruckus and return to the human world.

But at that moment, a twelve-petaled red lotus flew out from Fengdu City, transforming into a peerless beauty, the Red Lotus Messenger.

With a gentle wave of her hand, countless red lotuses gracefully fell, scattering across the underworld and igniting a raging inferno.

The ghosts who took the opportunity to cause trouble could not withstand the karmic fire burning them. They cried out in agony and begged for mercy.

The Red Lotus Envoy ignored them and shouted, "Anyone who tries to cause trouble again will be thrown into the eighteenth level of hell and never be reincarnated!"

After speaking, the Red Lotus Envoy scanned the entire area and saw that all the ghosts were obediently lining up. He then planned to return to Fengdu to report back to the Styx Master and the Fengdu Emperor, who had created a clone using the Northern Xuan Yuan Water Control Flag.

But just then, the Emperor of Fengdu suddenly appeared in the air and looked towards Houtu, where the sea of ​​red spider lilies was.

The ghosts and spirits below, upon seeing the Great Emperor of Fengdu appear, immediately knelt down and bowed, saying, "Greetings, Great Emperor of Fengdu! Your divine powers are boundless, and your merits are limitless."

Awakened by the commotion, Qin Tian saw this scene and couldn't help but fly forward, teasingly saying, "Fellow Daoist, you are truly impressive. First you were the Asura Cult Leader, and now you are the Fengdu Emperor."

"At a single command, ten thousand people follow; I truly envy that."

"Haha..." Fengdu laughed loudly, "Fellow Daoist, please don't laugh at me."

"Fellow Daoist is also a Great Venerable of the Human Race; this situation is not what I desired!"

"That's just how the rules are; if we don't follow them, it'll be hard for everyone in the underworld to be of one mind."

"Indeed." Qin Tian nodded in agreement, echoing, "Without rules, there can be no order."

"If a force has two voices, then that force will certainly not last long and will find it difficult to grow stronger."

Fengdu nodded, just about to say something more.

But at that moment, a divine light suddenly shone brightly within the sea of ​​red spider lilies.

The two looked on and saw a goddess dressed in a pale yellow palace dress flying out from among them.

"Pingxin greets Fellow Daoist Qin Tian and Fellow Daoist Fengdu."

"Fine?" Qin Tian asked, a look of confusion on his face.

"It is indeed Pingxin. I must thank you two fellow Daoists. Without you two, I would not be where I am today."

Upon hearing this, Qin Tian understood, realizing that this must be a clone created by Houtu using the Great Dao Secret Technique of the Styx River and the Earth Book.

"Fellow Daoist Pingxin, where is Fellow Daoist Houtu?"

"Has she not left the pass?"

"I have gained some enlightenment and have fallen into a deep state of enlightenment. I am afraid I will not be born again in this great eon."