Chapter 367 Splitting the Realms, Conspiracy
Yuecha and the others quickly thanked Li Nianfan again. Yun Yiyi was leaning on Jiese. They stood at the bridge to look at the view. They were publically lovey-dovey for a while before they were satisfied. They drank the Meng Po Soup and went to reincarnate.
Li Nianfan looked sentimental as they left. That goodbye was final. He wondered if he would ever see them again. Even if he did, they would not recognize each other anymore.
Black and White Impermanence moved their heads closer to the pot. They gulped and asked, “Granny, this Meng Po Soup… Would there be any issues if we drink it?”
Meng Po gave them a friendly smile and said, “Nope. Don’t delay, hurry up and drink it.” Black and White Impermanence were instantly disinterested. They moved away from the pot and said, “It doesn’t matter. We have self-control.”
Li Nianfan looked at Meng Po. He did not expect the old granny to be so evil.
“Little Ziye, how’s the Heavenly Palace?”
Meng Po put down the ladle and simply passed it to an Oni. She wiped her hands and said, “Let’s go. Everyone, why don’t we find a place to sit? Have a chat with granny, okay?”
Li Nianfan nodded. “Sorry to intrude.”
Everyone was about to head out. The Oni who took the ladle finally caved into temptation and tried the soup. Black and White Impermanence were instantly intrigued. They stared at the Oni excitedly and asked, “How is it?”
The Oni smacked his lips. He looked at Black and White Impermanence in a daze. Then, he scrunched his nose up and said, “Huh? Why’s there a pot of soup here? It looks delicious.” Slurp!
A moment later.
“Huh? Why’s there a pot of soup here? It looks delicious.”
Slurp!
“Huh? Why’s there a pot of soup here? It looks delicious.”
“Stop drinking it. Your brain will melt if you keep drinking.”
Black and White Impermanence hurriedly stopped him. “Guards, drag him away. This comrade caved in to temptation in the end. Send him away to reincarnate.”
An excellent Oni dragged him away in the blink of an eye. He left peacefully while thinking of that pot of soup. They went back to the main hall. Female ghosts immediately served them tea.
Li Nianfan naturally did not drink it. After the Meng Po Soup incident, he made a mental note to himself that he should not eat or drink…the food from the Underworld.
He took out the wine gourd and a lot of fruits. “Drink my wine, everyone. Fruits, too. I also brought tea leaves, it tastes quite nice.”
“Mr. Li, I feel sorry about this,” the General of the Bloody Sea apologized while he stood up to respectfully take the stuff from Li Nianfan. “You’re a guest of the Underworld but I troubled you to bring your own food and wine. It’s a sin, it’s our fault!”
“Mr. Li, there’s a serious lack of food in the Underworld. After the catastrophe, we… Sigh, let’s not mention it.” White Impermanence shrugged it off. “Anyhow, thank you so much for your food. We’ll shamelessly take it.”
“Shameless,” scoffed Nanan. She also poked her tongue out at Black and White Impermanence. “Hehe…”
“Nanan, don’t be rude.” Li Nianfan hurriedly smacked some sense into her. He ruffled her head. The little brat did not understand the importance of civilized manners yet. It would be bad if she offended the Sires.
Everyone drank wine, ate fruits, and chatted. They were bonding. Finally, the conversation was back on the main topic. Meng Po enjoyed the tea made by Li Nianfan. She instantly felt comfortable. Even the wrinkles on her face went away. She asked again, “Little Ziye, how many people are left in the Heavenly Palace?”
V
m
“Not much.” Ziye shook her head. “That year, I was the youngest. My sisters and everyone else protected me. Luckily, I survived the catastrophe. Not long ago, I had the chance to return to the Heavenly Palace but I realized… everyone had been turned to stone.”
Her voice became hoarse when she talked about it. Tears were in her eyes. “As expected.” Meng Po sighed. She calmed herself down and said, “The Primordial Spirits have been sealed, permanently. It’s not hard to guess who’s able to do that.”
Ziye was utterly nervous. She asked the most important question, “Are they salvable?”
“Too difficult.” Meng Po unconsciously looked at Li Nianfan. If the expert was willing to help, they would eventually be saved. For example, Ox-Head and Horse-Face were unsealed because of the expert. They got lucky. But of course, she could not say it.
“If I was still at my prime, I could’ve woken them up with the power of Reincarnation. It would take a long time though.” Meng Po sighed softly before she continued, “I’m just glad that it’s just a seal. It means they’re still alive and we have a chance to save them.”
Ziye sighed in relief when she heard that they were alive. It was considered good news. They could find a solution.
Li Nianfan listened to their conversation. He was intrigued. He remembered that in the legendary stories, a part of Meng Po’s soul was split from the Houtu Empress. ‘What if… Really?’
He had to ask, “Granny, may I know if you’re the Virtuous Houtu?”
Meng Po shook her head and smiled awkwardly, “Mr. Li, as Reincarnation was shattered, the Virtuous Houtu no longer exists.” ‘She really was the Virtuous Houtu!’
Li Nianfan jolted. He was riled up because he was with a famous Saint!
He was prepared to meet the bigshots in his legendary stories but he did not expect to meet one so sudden. Black and White Impermanence were famous, too, but they were just errand-runners, the cameos of the fantasy realm. It felt different to meet a main character.
Li Nianfan went serious and said, “Houtu Empress, you sacrificed yourself for Reincarnation and blessed countless spirits and souls. No one would dare forget it! I respect you!”
Among all the Saints, Li Nianfan was only impressed by two of them. One of them was Houtu Empress, the other was Goddess Nuwa.
They were also the only two female Saints amongst all the Saints.
It was not an exaggeration to say that Li Nianfan grew up listening to stories of how Goddess Nuwa patched the sky and how she made humans with clay. The Humans were forever indebted to her generosity. Even Wukong was born from the stone left by Goddess Nuwa.
As for the Houtu Empress, she was one of the main characters. In the end, she had sacrificed herself for the sake of continuing Reincarnation. She also left a deep impression on Li Nianfan. Those two were his idols.
“That’s an exaggeration, Mr. Li,” chuckled Meng Po. She humbly waved it off but she could not stop smiling.
She could tell that Li Nianfan genuinely respected her. It was hard not to be happy after receiving such a great comment from the expert. The expert understood her! However, when Li Nianfan said his next sentence, she truly felt an unexpected sting in her heart.
“Houtu Empress, you must have endless Deluxe Merit!”
Meng Po gradually stopped smiling. ‘Endless my foot.
‘If this sentence was said by someone else, I would’ve believed it. But to come from you? That’s just mean.
‘You have the Deluxe Merit Flesh. My Deluxe Merit compared to yours is like a strand of hair. You complimented me so much just to show off in the end. I want to cry, this is bullying!’
It was as if a rich guy told the hardworking worker, “Wow, you’re so hardworking and you earned five hundred dollars. Awesome, I respect that.”
Then, the rich guy ate a meal worth more than five hundred dollars…
‘Was it even a compliment?
‘No. I can’t think about it anymore. My heart hurts.’
Ziye was more concerned with the Heavenly Palace. She continued to ask, “Granny, what happened during the catastrophe?”.
Meng Po sounded sentimental. She slowly said, “About the catastrophe, I wasn’t planning to talk about it. However, the Underworld’s now back on track. I don’t have to hide these things anymore. It’s going to be a long story.” Everyone went serious. They listened attentively. Meng Po picked up the kettle and refilled her cup of tea. Then, she slowly sipped on the tea and enjoyed it. Once she was satisfied with the suspense she had created, she put down her teacup and started the story.
“Buddhism was destroyed in the first place because someone incredible suddenly appeared in the realm. He was more powerful than the Saints!”
Meng Po looked scared. She took a deep breath and said in a low voice, “This person also caused the First Tribulation of the Dragons and the Phoenixes, His name was Luohou. He’s on the same level as the Buddha.”
The Fire Phoenix slightly furrowed her brows. She asked, “He caused the First Tribulation of the Dragons and the Phoenixes?”
She had to look at Li Nianfan. Not long ago, Li Nianfan talked about the First Tribulation of the Dragons and the Phoenixes in his stories. He claimed that the First Tribulation was caused by war among the three species. The two stories did not add up. “Don’t look at me, Houtu Empress is indeed right.” Li Nianfan shrugged. “The fight of the three species was the main reason, but secretly, Luohou was the one who instigated it. Luohou was sneaky and wanted nothing more than to cause havoc. It was beneficial to him that more people died.”
Li Nianfan finally pieced together the last plot piece when he heard the name Luohou. Demons were created by Luohou. Lawless seemed powerful but in reality, he was just a chess piece for Luohou.
He remembered that Luohou had two famous items. One of them was the God Killing Spear. The other one was the Destructive Black Lotus. He was a bigshot in the same era as Hongjun.
Meng Po was excited. She asked, “Mr. Li, you know Luohou? What exactly is he?”
She was an ancestor but she only appeared after the realms split. She did not know what happened.
Li Nianfan groaned for a moment. He pursed his lips and replied, “I…will have to start from when the realms split apart. Of course, this is just a story I heard. The accuracy of it is yet to be confirmed.”
“We get it.” Everyone nodded at the same time. They had oranges in their hands. They were excited to listen to his stories while eating them.
‘The expert’s going to start storytime. Take notes, everybody.’ ‘The splitting of the realms, how majestic!’
Everyone slowed their breaths down as their hearts clenched.
Meng Po was more excited than the others. That was probably the story of her father! She did not expect that the expert was from the same era as her father. No, perhaps he was someone more ancient than her father!
‘Scary, terrifying!’
Li Nianfan cleared his throat. He said, “So, the world was still in chaos before the realms were split apart. The chaos birthed three thousand Demon Gods. Each Demon God represented a
power!
“Pangu, Luohou, and Hongjun were amongst the three thousand Demon Gods. One day, Pangu, with the Power of Law, achieved maximum cultivation. He was planning to split the realms apart to create a new world. He wanted to level up his cultivation. However, it was opposed by all the other Demon Gods,” Li Nianfan said casually. He did not speak in a dramatic tone. However, everyone could not help but visualize it. They were immersed in the scary story.
Li Nianfan continued, “Pangu was powerful. When he split the realms apart, he was attacked by the other three thousand Demon Gods, but he single-handedly killed most of them!”
Meng Po asked nervously, “Mr. Li, what happened next?”
Li Nianfan shook his head and said with pity, “It was too bad that Pangu was exhausted. He could only choose to transform his body into a part of the new world. His mind created the mountains, lands, lakes, and oceans. His Primordial Spirit transformed into the Three Qings, which are also the three Saints. His body and blood transformed into the Twelves Ancestors, one of which was the Houtu Empress. The rest was transformed into countless Heavenly Spiritual Treasures.”
Aside from Meng Po, everyone’s eyes were wide. They felt their skin crawl and had goosebumps all over.
They had to look around. Everything around them was created by Pangu. They had the utmost respect for him while also being fearful.
‘Splitting the realms and creating all sorts of lives. What an incredible existence!’
“The realm was created…by a person.” Nanan gasped. She looked awestruck. “That’s so awesome.”
“Pangu was naturally powerful. His abilities, state of mind, and personality were awesome. You could say he was born to create realms. It’s a pity that…”
“What?”
“It’s a pity that someone exploited his work.” Li Nianfan shrugged it off. He was slightly emotional as he said, “Pangu created a new world by sacrificing his body. The new world was like a newborn baby. The three thousand Demon Gods were not all dead yet, so, of course, they started to fight for power to rule the world.”
Meng Po felt her heart sink. She realized something. She asked in a low voice, “Mr. Li, are you referring to Hongjun and Luohou?”
“Not just Hongjun and Luohou. However, I guess only the two of them managed to live until now,” Li Nianfan said as he nodded. “Hongjun’s the bigger winner. He cultivated into a Buddha.” Meng Po scolded, “That’s the result of stealing father’s work. He’s just a thief! It’s a shame that I didn’t know that in the past. Otherwise, I would’ve fought him!”
She felt sad when she thought of her brothers. Back when it was the prime age of the Twelve Ancestors, she could have fought him. However…she had nothing left.
Li Nianfan said, “It’s normal that you didn’t know about it. He didn’t dare to let you all know. He also tried to weaken your powers. After all, you’re all made from Pangu. A reincarnation of Pangu.”
Meng Po’s eyes widened at that. She was mind blown. She sat in place, dumbfounded.
Usually, the words of an outsider could snap a person out of it!
“The First Tribulation of the Dragons and the Phoenixes, the Cultivators and Demons War, and the Power Seal Tribulation. I get it now, I see!”
All the creatures, including Dragons, Phoenixes, cultivators, or even Demons were transformed from Pangu. Hongjun schemed, instigating the Pangu reincarnations to kill each other. They weakened each other and Hongjun simply waited to collect the benefits.
In the end, he successfully did it. Not only did he succeed, he also took in the Three Qings as his disciples so he could have all the power to himself. It implied that he basically stole everything created by Pangu!