Honghuang: My understanding is beyond belief. I am the first immortal of Jiejiao.

Her human body was graceful, but her lower body was a snake tail covered with fine scales, winding and coiling in the void, exuding a heavy earthy aura.

Behind her, seven arms stretched out, some forming hand seals, others making loose fists, containing unfathomable power.

The two hands in front of his chest together hold a lifelike, constantly writhing phantom of a serpent, whose eyes are cold and seem to be able to freeze time and space.

Queen Mother Hou Tu!

Lin Zhu instantly realized that the reason he was able to survive that fatal blow must be because this being intervened to protect him!

Although he had never seen him in person, the legends about him were not a secret among the higher-ups of the Three Realms.

Houtu is the only one who survived among the twelve ancestral witches who were powerful and influential in the ancient primordial era!
In the past, the great war between the Lich King and the Demon King caused the heavens and earth to collapse, the primordial world to shatter, and countless lives to be lost.

When Houtu, the ancestral witch, saw this tragic scene, she was filled with grief and deep remorse.

With great compassion and perseverance, she relinquished her status as an ancestral witch, reincarnated, and used her body to complete the Heavenly Dao, thus establishing the Six Paths of Reincarnation that maintains the balance of the Three Realms, allowing countless lonely souls to find a place to belong. Her merits are immeasurable!
She thus broke through the shackles that prevented the witch clan from becoming saints, and instantly achieved the status of a saint!
However, the price of becoming a saint was that she had to merge with the Dao, eternally guarding the Six Paths of Reincarnation, almost never leaving the core of the Netherworld, and mostly remaining in slumber, detached from worldly affairs. Who could have imagined that today she would personally appear for Lin Zhu, blocking the killing calamity of the World Honored One, Ksitigarbha!
With the Sage Houtu standing here, even someone as powerful as the World Honored One Ksitigarbha, the strongest being in the Three Realms, dared not be the slightest bit presumptuous at this moment!
On the other side of the void, for the first time, a noticeable fluctuation appeared in the cold eyes of the World-Honored One, Ksitigarbha.

He expressionlessly and slowly withdrew the hand that was hidden by the light.

He stared at Houtu, his voice still booming, but it lacked some of the absolute authority it had before, and instead carried a hint of solemnity and... questioning.
"Fellow Daoist Houtu, your body is in harmony with reincarnation, maintaining the balance of Yin and Yang. You should know the importance of balance."

Why intervene today and provoke this conflict?

His words, seemingly asking for the reason, actually contained a hidden meaning, subtly implying that Houtu had disrupted the balance of the underworld.

Houtu Niangniang simply gazed silently at the World-Honored One, Ksitigarbha. In her deep eyes, it seemed as if all sentient beings of the six realms were reflected, their complex and unfathomable emotions flowing within them—

There was compassion, there was a sigh, and perhaps even a hint of... warning?
She did not directly respond to the question posed by the Buddha Ksitigarbha, as if everything was understood without words.

The Buddha Ksitigarbha and Houtu looked at each other for a moment, and he seemed to understand something.

Houtu has already seen through his intention to reconstruct the Six Paths and completely control the Netherworld. Her actions today are a statement and a check on him.

Continuing the stalemate, or even clashing with a Daoist saint, would be unwise, and the consequences would be unbearable even for him.

After weighing the pros and cons, the World-Honored One Ksitigarbha said no more.

He gave Houtu a deep look, then glanced at Lin Zhu, who looked bewildered and impatient, before turning around and enveloping his remaining forces in a grand Buddhist light.

"Returning to the Pure Land."

At a command, Di Ting, the Four Great Messengers, hundreds of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattvas, and countless Asura monks, like a tide, respectfully followed the World-Honored One Ksitigarbha and retreated back into the turbid and dark Five Turbid World, leaving only the gradually dissipating chanting echoing in the void.

When the Styx Patriarch saw that the Sage had intervened to mediate and even the World Honored One Ksitigarbha had retreated, he knew that it was impossible to fight again today, and that it might even backfire.

Although he did not personally engage in a bloody battle with the Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha, this whole ordeal—contacting Lin Zhu, deploying the Blood River Formation, and offering a reward for the Treasure Mirror—left him feeling utterly exhausted. He especially felt a pang of resentment towards Lin Zhu for appearing completely unaffected.

Traveling with this kid is like playing with fire; it's exciting, but it's too much of a drain on your energy and your precious treasure!
However, considering the heavy losses suffered by Ksitigarbha's forces, the fall of the two envoys, and the significant weakening of their strength, he felt somewhat more at ease, fearing that the Styx Blood Sea might truly see a turning point in the future.

Without lingering any longer, he gave a shout and led his massive army of hundreds of millions of Asuras, creating a monstrous wave of blood, to retreat into the depths of the Netherworld Blood Sea to lick their wounds and digest their spoils of war.

After both sides withdrew, Houtu Niangniang finally turned her gaze away from the direction of the Five Turbid World.

She glanced at Jiu Feng, who was following closely beside Lin Zhu with a look of dependence and curiosity in her eyes. Her gaze paused for a moment, but she didn't say anything.

Then, her figure began to fade slowly, as if merging into the void, and she left silently without ever exchanging a single word with Lin Zhu.

Lin Zhu looked at the spot where Houtu Niangniang had disappeared, scratched his head, and felt little joy at surviving such a calamity. Instead, a strange sense of unease rose within him. The grace of being saved by a sage—this karmic debt was no small matter!
Why did she save me?

Is it because I can't stand Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva's behavior? Or is it because I have Jiufeng, the last queen of the Witch Clan, by my side?

Or... is there something about me that she needs? This unprovoked protection made him feel very uneasy.

He shook his head, temporarily suppressing these chaotic thoughts.

There are more important things to do right now!

He subconsciously did some calculations with his fingers, and his expression changed slightly.

"Damn! Only two days left!"

He immediately composed himself, his gaze sharpening, and gave orders to the Three Realms Enforcers behind him, who were still in shock and bewilderment.

"All of you, listen up! Jiufeng will accompany me to the Southern Continent on business! The rest of you, led by the Primordial Eagle and the Golden Tortoise of the Abyss, shall immediately return to the Heavenly Court and report to His Majesty the Jade Emperor! Simply report the situation here truthfully!"

He specifically requested that Jiu Feng be brought along.

In this great battle, Jiufeng's performance was extremely impressive. Relying on her formidable strength as the ancient witch queen, she single-handedly fought against five powerful figures from the Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva's forces, including the surviving Angel of Deception, and did not fall behind, even gaining a slight advantage! Her formidable strength was evident.

Lin Zhu decided to take her under his wing and train her diligently, as she would surely be a great asset in the future.

It's worth mentioning that Lin Zhu's Three Realms Enforcers brigade suffered an outrageously low casualty rate in this earth-shattering battle! Apart from a very few unlucky individuals who were grazed by stray arrows or area-of-effect magical attacks and suffered minor injuries, there wasn't a single seriously wounded soldier!
This was entirely due to the "advanced tactical thinking" that Lin Zhu had instilled in them earlier – "observe from the edge, play passively and scrape the surface"!
In Lin Zhu's words, it's about "preserving your dog's life, harassing from a distance, shooting arrows from the shadows rather than engaging in open warfare, and hiding in the back and cheering rather than charging forward as cannon fodder!"
It was this "sneaky" fighting style that allowed them to miraculously survive almost all of them on the battlefield where the quasi-saint capital could perish.

As Lin Zhu gave the order, the enforcers of the Three Realms acted swiftly and began their orderly withdrawal. This Netherworld War, triggered by Lin Zhu's sneak attack on Dantuo Ksitigarbha, which shook the Three Realms and even drew the attention of saints, lasted from outbreak to end in... less than two days!
But its impact is far-reaching!
The Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva's forces have suffered a significant loss, with the loss of two half-step quasi-saints. The subtle power struggle between the World-Honored One Ksitigarbha and the Sage Houtu has also added tremendous uncertainty to the future格局 of the Three Realms.

Lin Zhu was focused on the "check-in" task that only had two days left and dared not delay it in the slightest.

He knew that this mission was crucial to his future accumulation of merit and enhancement of strength.

He grabbed the still somewhat bewildered Jiufeng, and with a flash of golden light around him, he used the Golden Crow Transformation Rainbow Technique to speed off towards the Southern Continent.

The uproar he caused was temporarily quelled by the intervention of the sage.

The news that the Blood Sea Styx and the forces of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva had launched a full-scale war outside the Netherworld, even prompting the intervention of a sage, spread like wildfire throughout the myriad realms. From the Thirty-Three Heavens to the Nine Netherworlds and Eighteen Hells, almost every cultivator with some cultivation and the ability to communicate with heaven and earth knew about it!
Heavenly Court, Lingxiao Palace.

Although it was not a court assembly, the various celestial officials and divine generals who had rushed to the scene had already packed the hall inside and out.

When detailed battle reports were transmitted back through various channels, the entire Heavenly Court was plunged into an unprecedented shock and uproar!

"My Three Pure Ones Dao Ancestor... Lin... Lin the Prison God... he really did it?!"

"Breaking through the Ksitigarbha Formation head-on! Slaying two half-step Quasi-Saints, the Treasure Goddess and the Angel of Deception, in front of the formation?!"

Is this...is this really the 'God of Hell' I know?

"He...he actually broke through in the heat of battle and stepped into the half-step Quasi-Saint realm?!"

"How long has it been?!"

The gods and immortals all gaped, their faces displaying a variety of expressions: astonishment, horror, disbelief, and even a hint of numbness.

They thought Lin Zhu's previous rampage at Mount Ling in the Western Paradise, forcing Buddha to back down, was already the limit of their worldview and extraordinary life. Little did they know, that was just the beginning!
This time in the underworld, he went even further, directly overturning the table of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva and killing his two core envoys right in front of the deity!

This can't be described as "outrageous" anymore; it's simply... like tearing a hole in the sky and then kicking away the five-colored stones meant to mend it!
Not long after, the Three Realms Enforcers, led by the Primordial Eagle and the Golden Tortoise of the Abyss, escorted a small number of minor figures captured on the outskirts of Ksitigarbha's forces who were attempting to resist, back to the Heavenly Court in a grand and spirited manner.

As soon as they appeared, they immediately attracted everyone's attention and were surrounded by countless immortals and gods who asked them all about the battle situation.

Faced with the crowd's persistent questioning, these law enforcement officers all stood tall and proud, but their explanations were surprisingly uniform and... "official."

"We are here by order of the Lord of the Prison to apprehend the wanted criminal in the Netherworld in accordance with the law."

“During the process, we had ‘friendly’ communication and exchange with the messenger under Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva.”

"In the end, under the wise leadership of Lord Prison God, both sides reached a profound 'consensus' on the matter of 'Danduo Ksitigarbha, Treasure Goddess and others violating the heavenly rules and committing unforgivable crimes'."

"Mission successfully completed! No one on our side was seriously injured, and there were no casualties!"

Listening to their cryptic descriptions, the surrounding deities couldn't help but twitch at the corners of their mouths, casting disdainful and skeptical glances at them.

One of the familiar heavenly generals couldn't help but punch one of the enforcers, laughing and cursing.

"Come on, you guys! 'Friendly talks' and 'reaching a consensus'? Do you think we're fools? The news's all over the place! Is that what you call 'talking'?"

They're clearly there to cause trouble! Judging by the practiced way you're attacking Ksitigarbha's lair, anyone who didn't know better would think you were going to... cough cough, to that building for some fun. The whole process is so smooth and seamless!

This remark drew a knowing chuckle, but it was also filled with emotion and amazement.

"However, Lin Yushen is truly extraordinary now! He's a half-step Quasi-Saint! He's already been imbued with sainthood, and his future is limitless!"

"His enforcement squad is even more remarkable! After this bloody battle, its strength, morale, and cohesion are now completely different from before! Not only can it enforce the law forcefully, but it can also almost 'escape unscathed' from a behemoth like Ksitigarbha!"

"From this day forward, the name of these enforcers of the Three Realms will truly resound throughout the universe, making them an existence that no one dares to easily provoke! From now on, the laws and regulations of the Three Realms will probably truly be in their hands!"

The immortals discussed amongst themselves, their tone filled with awe and a hint of complexity.

They knew that after this battle, Lin Zhu and his Three Realms Enforcers had truly risen to prominence, becoming a powerful force in the Three Realms that no one could ignore!

……

When the news reached the human world, especially in Jambudvipa, a continent teeming with demons and monsters, the shockwaves were devastating!
Countless demon groups that ruled over mountains and carved out their own territories, after piecing together the general outline of the situation through various secret channels, collectively had their worldviews shattered and fell into a state of great panic!

"What?! Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva's men were killed? And by officials from the Heavenly Court? Two of them, both near-quasi-saints, are dead?!"

"My goodness!"
That was Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva! How could someone dare to kill even his people, and do it so swiftly?
Is this Heavenly Prison God a reincarnation of a malevolent star?!

"It's all over! The Heavenly Court is really going to take this seriously! They even dare to be so ruthless in the Underworld, so what about us little demons who are just hopping around in the mortal realm? We'll be wiped out in no time!"

Some minor demons and monsters were so frightened that they were out of their wits and lived in constant fear.

A timid weasel spirit, upon hearing the news, felt hopeless about his demonic life and even lost the will to steal chickens. He found a crooked tree and prepared to hang himself, but fortunately, his companions discovered him in time and stopped him.

Some ghost kings who occupied ancient tombs and ruled over a region of ghosts were so frightened that they urged their ghost followers to polish the statues they had collected from some random temple until they shone brightly. They then worshipped together with utmost sincerity, chanting incantations and begging for forgiveness from heaven. They promised to strictly control their ghost followers in the future and never dare to harass the living again, only asking for leniency from the heavenly court.

Some powerful demon kings with even a modicum of intelligence and influence urgently convened a demon realm conference, organizing their subordinates to stop robbing and pillaging, and instead begin "repairing bridges and roads" and "helping old ladies cross rivers." (End of Chapter)