Hu Le led Ziwei and the others into the Lingxiao Palace.
The space inside the palace was many times larger than usual, and cloud platforms were erected, arranged in a stepped pattern at varying heights.
At the very top stands a throne, upon which Taiichi and his wife are sitting side by side.
The cloud platform below the throne was now filled with various immortals and gods.
Emperor Jun and his wife, the goddess Wangshu from the Moon Palace, the siblings Fuxi and Nuwa, as well as Kunpeng, Hongyun, Houtu and Xuanming... are all a group of great supernatural beings.
On the cloud platform below them sat some Great Luo Dao Lords, some of whom Hu Le recognized.
For example, the human race's Grand Elder Chisongzi, as well as Yuanfu Immortal from the Heavenly Court, and some of the demon race's Great Luo Immortals also came.
The rest were all rogue cultivators, such as Yin Yang Dao Jun, Qian Kun Dao Jun, and Yu Su Dao Jun, all of whom were powerful figures who dominated their own regions...
The third row below the Great Luo Dao Lord sat those Taiyi cultivators who had condensed the Three Flowers and Five Qi.
Hu Le greeted Ziwei and the others, then went to the third row and found an empty platform to sit down.
The remaining brothers, including Ziwei, exchanged glances and shook their heads helplessly.
Although they were the biological children of Taiyi and his wife, they did not have any special privileges. Since the five elements in their chests had not yet been fully condensed, they could not be considered Taiyi and could not sit with Hu Le. They could only go down to find the fourth row of cloud platforms to sit down.
As all the gods arrived in turn, Taiyi ordered the golden bell to be rung and the temple doors to be closed.
Taiyi spoke first, and without any pleasantries, went straight to the point.
"Everyone, I have summoned you here today at the request of Fellow Daoist Houtu. We are here to discuss matters concerning the Netherworld. As for the specifics, Fellow Daoist Houtu will now speak on them."
Taiyi spoke succinctly, quickly handing the topic over to Houtu, while he closed his eyes to rest.
Houtu, upon hearing this, did not feign modesty and stood up, saying, "Fellow Daoists, since my master Yue Jianshi opened up the Netherworld, 1,742 Yuanhui have passed."
Over the years, countless beings have died in the primordial world, and their true spirits have all gone to the Netherworld, making the Netherworld now crowded and chaotic.
Some true spirits even received good fortune, reuniting their souls in the netherworld, cultivating their powers, and then transforming into wandering ghosts to wreak havoc in the netherworld. Some even broke into the mortal realm, committing boundless sins.
If this continues, one day the Netherworld may not be able to withstand it and will collapse.
Although I am the Lord of the Underworld, I am helpless. Therefore, I have specially requested that my elder brother, Emperor Taiyi, summon all fellow Daoists to lend me a helping hand.
Before anyone else could speak, Nuwa sneered, "Hmph! Since you don't have the ability, why do you insist on occupying the Netherworld?"
If you cannot resolve this matter, you might as well quickly hand over Youming and let a capable fellow cultivator take over.
The gods remained silent upon hearing this, as they all knew that the two women had been vying for the position of Earthly Sovereign, and that the Netherworld occupied most of the earthly fortune, so Nuwa probably wanted to replace Houtu long ago.
However, Houtu and Xuanming were not to be underestimated. Their magical power and cultivation were not much inferior to those of Fuxi and his sister, and they also had many experts in their human tribes.
Nuwa has never been able to do anything about Houtu.
Now that she has the chance, it's too lenient for her to just make sarcastic remarks; she'd love nothing more than to oust Houtu from her position as the Lord of the Underworld.
Houtu's face darkened upon hearing this. She glared at Nuwa and sneered, "Nuwa! Stop talking nonsense. The Netherworld was passed down to me by my master. How can I give it away to someone else without a reason?"
On the contrary, you not only stole my master's creation, but now you want to compete with me for the position of Lord of the Earthly Path. You are utterly shameless.
"Heh... That's nonsense. Now that the tunnel is unclaimed, anyone can build it. Who says it can only be passed down by your lineage..."
In front of all the gods in the hall, two of the most powerful goddesses in the primordial world engaged in a fierce verbal battle.
...
"clang!"
Finally, Taiyi couldn't stand it anymore and ordered the golden bell to be rung.
"Alright! Shut up. I've gathered you all here today to resolve the matter of the Netherworld, not to listen to you two arguing."
As the emperor of the gods, the lord of the heavenly court, and the highest achiever of the Heavenly Emperor lineage, he always upheld impartiality in the struggle for the position of Lord of the Earthly Realm, remaining unbiased between the two women and allowing them to use their own methods.
In any case, regardless of which of the two ultimately succeeds in attaining the status of Earth Emperor, they will both be members of the Divine Race. As long as the Earthly Dao's creation is not stolen by people from the Xuanmen sect, it will be fine.
He knew that the Xuanmen lineage had been secretly trying to win over Zhen Yuanzi, even offering him the prestigious position of the Ancestor of Earthly Immortals...
Upon hearing Taiyi speak, the two women felt it would be impolite to refuse, so they exchanged a resentful glance and fell silent.
Taiyi then began to call out Fuxi's name.
"Fellow Daoist Fuxi, as a wise man of my divine race, do you have any opinions on the matters of the Netherworld?"
Fuxi pondered for a moment and then said, "It's just two methods: one is to increase, and the other is to decrease."
"Fellow Daoist, please elaborate," Taiyi pressed.
"The so-called increase means to open up the Netherworld again, expand the space, and thus accommodate more true spirits and ghosts."
On the other hand, it involves taking some true spirits from the underworld, bestowing upon them some fortune, and reuniting their souls and bodies so that they can live another life in the mortal realm.
After listening to Fuxi's analysis, most of the gods nodded in agreement.
Even Houtu, who had always been at odds with Fuxi because of Nuwa, agreed with Fuxi's words.
It could even be said that she had planned this all along, and even if Fuxi hadn't said it, she would have told him.
The reason for inviting Taiyi to convene this conference was that neither opening up the Netherworld nor bestowing fortune upon the true spirits to return to the mortal world was something she could accomplish on her own.
She needs the help of many fellow gods...
The crowd was buzzing with discussion, but Hu Le remained seated, his eyes lowered and his face expressionless.
Although Fuxi's method was good, it was ultimately only a temporary solution and not a cure, and he also knew the solution.
It's just another cycle of reincarnation in the netherworld.
Once reincarnation is completed, countless true spirits will be able to cycle between life and death, and all the predicaments in the netherworld can be resolved, freeing them from previous suffering.
However, Hu Ledao lacks experience and has a low status and limited influence among the gods. Even if he were to propose this idea, how much benefit could he gain?
After all, opening up the cycle of reincarnation is a great act of merit, and the merit gained is enough to help a person achieve enlightenment, or to condense another Heaven and Earth Profound Yellow Exquisite Pagoda.
If he couldn't participate in such a meritorious and fortunate act and carve out a large slice of the pie, he would rather remain completely silent about it...
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