I have a relic of heaven

Chapter 343 This time, I'm here to fish for immortals and Buddhas.
"We have gained another fellow Daoist."

The mortal realm.

It is the Buddha beneath the Linglong Pagoda, the Earth Goddess in the Eight Views Palace, the Emperor Jun pressed down by the Supreme Taoist robe, and the Taiyi at the base of the high platform.

The three great Buddhas, Jingli, Maitreya, and Amitabha, are still suppressed by the incense burner, the Eight Views Palace Lantern, and the Taiji diagram.

At this moment.

Of the seven supreme beings beneath the Seven Treasures, apart from Empress Houtu, the other six great deities were all puzzled and frowning.

They clearly saw that outside the "chessboard of the Dao" that runs through all of ancient history and all existence and non-existence, the thirteen great positions symbolizing "Heaven's Will" suddenly had an extra position and an extra futon!
This means that Daozheng has gained another 'chess partner' in this game.

The Linglong Pagoda trembled, the Taiji diagram swayed, and the high platform roared.

The supreme beings are attempting to break free from their seal.

"Who is that unknown fellow Daoist?" The one-armed Buddha muttered to himself beneath the tower, vaguely sensing a dramatic change taking place in the Nine Netherworlds of the Great Heaven and Earth!

"So...it's related to the Nine Netherworlds?"

"Nine Netherworlds, has changed hands?"

The Buddha frowned, sighed deeply, and chanted the Buddha's name, offering salvation to all beings in heaven.

………………

Nine Netherworlds.

Everything seemed to have returned to calm.

"You've grown up."

The graceful woman slowly poured a pot of wine, took a sip, and let out a satisfied sigh.

Before her, a young man sat alone before a small chessboard, gazing intently at the game, seemingly engrossed, yet still managing to find time to answer:
"Sister, you're cuter when you're curled up in your turtle shell."

"That's a pot."

The woman chuckled softly, her neck long and fair, her face filled with emotion, yet also tinged with a hint of dazedness.

She still couldn't understand how that silly, simple-minded guy had suddenly become so amazing.
Named Little Phoenix, she was innocent and ignorant, but she was a Xuan Bird, a Xuan Bird that returned to the early eon after the end of the Third Era, and stood on the shoulder of the Primordial Celestial Venerable, witnessing an entire era.

Naturally, things are no longer the same as before.

just
"So, in a sense, we've never been apart?"

she asked.

"Well, you could say that."

The young man stared at the chessboard and nodded slowly and deliberately:

“Zhou Mu is me, and Yuan Shi is also me. Sister, you watch the rise and fall of time from the shoulders of the Heavenly Venerable, and you also watch the tides rise and fall from my shoulders.”

As they were talking, Zhou Mu picked up a chess piece from somewhere and placed it on the chessboard.

Just then, a booming sound echoed from outside the imperial palace of Fengdu City, accompanied by commotion and screams.

"What did you do?" the older sister asked.

"It's nothing, I'm playing chess."

Zhou Mu spoke casually, and one chess piece after another landed on the small chessboard.

With each move he makes, each piece he places, a tiny, seemingly insignificant change occurs in the course of history.

For example, in the most ancient and ultimate ancient land, the Four Swords of Zhuxian appeared; and when the Ancient Alliance was established, a member named Shennong appeared.

For example, on the eve of the arrival of the Goddess Houtu in the Nine Netherworlds and the creation of the Six Paths of Reincarnation, the Primordial Heavenly Venerable stepped into the Yellow Springs, unified the Nine Netherworlds, and left behind one after another unalterable and indelible rule of heaven and earth.

Those rules of heaven and earth transformed into stone tablets, nailed to the four corners of the Nine Netherworlds, eternally immortal and indestructible.

Zhou Mu is gathering momentum.

This is also to 'consolidate' his position as the new master of the Nine Netherworlds.

He is both the new and the old master.

As the elder sister walked out of the Fengdu Imperial Palace, she looked up and saw a stone tablet reaching to the heavens and the earth in the far south, upon which was inscribed only a single sentence and a decree.

[This place is not suitable for attaining enlightenment or becoming a saint.]

She looked again and saw that the powerful beings who had achieved the divine level in this era had disappeared at some point—in their place were many powerful beings who stood at the peak of the True King level.

"This is.?"

The black bird murmured, reached out and stroked, pouring a massive amount of divine essence into the back of a top-tier True King. This was originally intended to allow the opponent to directly enter the realm of divinity.

But in the end, that true king remained a true king, as if the upper limit of his realm had been fixed there, and all kinds of methods were powerless to move forward.

The black bird looked westward again, where a stone tablet read, "No Buddha is allowed here."

She blinked, gazing towards the Ksitigarbha Hall, once the residence of Ksitigarbha Buddha, but saw nothing—the Ksitigarbha Hall had vanished.
All the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas in the hall had vanished completely, as if they had never existed.

The black bird continued to look east and north, gazing at the ancient and upright characters on them.

The people of this place are prosperous.

[No bloodshed occurs here.]

The black bird turned its head and gazed at every inch of the Nine Netherworld, where every inch was inhabited by humans. Then it looked at the ultimate ancient land hidden in the darkest place, where the sea of ​​blood that had blocked its way had disappeared.

Only the Lord of the Blood Sea sat alone, with the Abyssal Demon hanging from his hair, looking utterly alone.

She returned to the imperial palace and saw her younger brother still sitting in front of the chessboard, studying something. Xuan Niao walked over:
"Why not kill the Lord of the Blood Sea?"

"Keeping it will be more useful."

Zhou Mu raised his eyelids, smiled and spoke, pointing to the chessboard and then to a 'small game' in one corner of the board.

He explained:

"This small game is a match between me and Fellow Daoist Houtu."

Upon hearing the name Houtu, the black bird subconsciously shrank its long, white neck. The peacock, the golden emperor, Zhujiuyin, Zhenyuanzi, and others standing not far away also changed color slightly.

She then raised her head, gazing at the small game unfolding in one corner of the chessboard, and said softly:

“I don’t know much about chess, but it looks like Houtu Niangniang has already exhausted her moves and you have completely destroyed her.”

"Do not."

Zhou Mu shook his head and tapped on the chessboard:

“I left a sliver of hope for Fellow Daoist Houtu—it lies with the Lord of the Blood Sea.”

Why should we spare His life?

"Only if there is a glimmer of hope will Fellow Daoist Houtu feel that she has a chance to turn the tide, will she have the thought of reclaiming the Nine Netherworlds, and will she not overturn the table."

Zhou Mu lowered his eyes, making it impossible for others to see the expression in them, and said in a cryptic tone:
"Fellow Daoist Houtu understands that this was a sliver of hope I left for Him. It was a calculated move, yet He gladly entered into it and chose not to overturn the table and destroy the Nine Netherworlds."

"That is why you can still see the Nine Netherworlds flourishing as always, with numerous cities standing tall, the Yellow Springs flowing gently, and countless ghosts living and dying."

Standing to the side, Zhen Yuanzi couldn't help but say:

"But as far as I know, looking back over the years, after you ascended to the position of the new master of the Nine Netherworlds, some changes occurred in history."

"Throughout those historical upheavals, the connection between the Lord of the Blood Sea and the Ultimate Ancient Land has become increasingly close, with the two complementing each other. Both the Lord of the Blood Sea and the Ultimate Ancient Land are much stronger than they were before you became the new Lord of the Nine Netherworlds."

After pausing for a moment, this oldest being, known as the Lord of Earthly Immortals and a master of great supernatural powers, took a deep breath before continuing:

"This is not a good thing. It is possible that the Goddess Houtu could seize your position as the Lord of the Nine Netherworlds by relying on the Ultimate Ancient Land."

Having betrayed his master, Zhen Yuanzi feared more than any other powerful being that Zhou Mu would lose his position as Lord of the Nine Netherworlds—he feared being purged by Houtu.

Zhou Mu stared intently at the chessboard, not glancing at Zhen Yuanzi, and nodded slightly, saying:
"I understand, but I have to give up this sliver of hope. I'm leaving a sliver for Fellow Daoist Houtu, and also for myself."

He smiled meaningfully and didn't continue. Zhen Yuanzi and Zhu Jiuyin looked bewildered, Kong Que frowned in confusion, and only Jin Huang had a strange expression.

In a sense, the Golden Emperor was one of the founders of the Ultimate Ancient Land, so he naturally knew whose Ultimate Ancient Land it was and whose bloodline the Lord of the Holy Land was.
She couldn't help but sigh, feeling a pang of pity—pity for that Empress Houtu.

It seemed like there was only a sliver of hope, a sliver of chance for victory.

In reality, it was a true dead end, the deepest part of a trap.

Zhou Mu shifted his gaze from the chessboard, which was small yet infinitely vast and encompassed everything in the Three Realms and throughout history, and slowly looked at Zhu Jiuyin.

"Giving Houtu a glimmer of hope, ensuring she won't overturn the table, is enough. And what about you, Zhujiu Yin?"

The Zhongshan Mountain held in Zhujiuyin's hands was dim and dark, and his expression was very heavy. The Nine Nether Candle was gone from his mouth—it had been brushed away by the peacock.

Zhou Mu asked again:

"Could you become a second chance for Houtu's life?"

Peacock, Golden Emperor, and Zhen Yuanzi all turned their heads and stared intently at the Lord of Zhongshan.

The latter felt a chill run down his spine, and subconsciously glanced at the suppressed Shen Tu and Zhou Qi, before quickly speaking:
"I am willing to offer my loyalty!"

"How to prove it?"

"I don't know."

Hearing Zhu Jiuyin's reply, Zhou Mu smiled:

"It's alright, fellow Daoist, I believe in you."

Zhu Jiuyin was taken aback, a hint of suspicion and unease flashing across his face—this person's origins were a mystery, resembling Laozi, Yuanshi, yet seemingly neither—but she truly surpassed Houtu Niangniang!

He said he believed in himself, but has he unknowingly fallen into a trap and been caught in a web of schemes?
Zhu Jiuyin was surprised and simply gave a cautious bow.

Zhou Mu withdrew his gaze, having made up his mind. He continued to stare at the chessboard, picked up a piece of chess, and placed it on the board.

This time, the move will not be made in the netherworld, but in the human world.

"It's time to go back."

This newly ascended Emperor of the Nine Netherworlds, a great supernatural being, spoke thus, his gaze profoundly deep, containing the very essence of the Nine Netherworlds.

The Great Emperor continued:

"The Black Bird has broken free of its seal, and the Bridge of Helplessness no longer leads to the human world, but I want the Nine Netherworlds to remain connected to the human world."

"Then it was through that gate of hell."

Zhen Yuanzi reminded him:

"Your Majesty, there's a barrier beyond the Gates of Hell."

He abruptly stopped speaking, as if suddenly remembering that the Jade Void Palace blocked the way behind the Gates of Hell.

Zhou Mu smiled, his gaze deep:
"The demon race is destined to be the protagonist of the fourth era. I have just made a move and lifted the ban on the Great Luo Immortals in the mortal realm. There should be some chaos in the mortal realm now."

He is already the Supreme Celestial Venerable of the Great Purity and Morality, and he can lift the ban with a single word.

"The Fourth Age is approaching, and there will be a great upheaval in the human world, which will turn the demon race from its worst state to its best."

After a moment of pause, Zhou Mu's gaze suddenly sharpened:

"I want to see just how the forces of heaven and earth will be reversed, and how the entire human world will be overthrown."

The powerful beings in the imperial palace looked at each other in bewilderment, and then saw the great emperor rise leisurely and issue orders.

"Issue my decree to rebuild the Ten Courts of Hell and re-establish the Ten Kings of Hell. This matter will be handled by Bao Zheng."

"Issue my decree: remove the five Ghost Emperors of the East, West, North, and Center, and move Zhongshan to the mortal realm."

"Issue my decree: establish Xuan Niao as the Emperor of the Nine Netherworlds. In my absence, Xuan Niao may govern the Nine Netherworlds. Establish Hua Ling as the Lord of the Yellow Springs, who will control the Yellow Springs and the life and death of all beings."

The powerful figures in the palace were somewhat bewildered—who was Hua Ling?
How come I've never heard of it before?
One decree after another was issued, both to restore the Nine Netherworld to its former glory and enhance its power, and to restrict Zhu Jiuyin so that he would not truly become Houtu's second lifeline.

Of course, the most important thing is to add the power of the Nine Netherworlds.

Zhou Mu is the Lord of the Nine Netherworlds. The stronger the Nine Netherworlds are, the stronger he becomes. He occupies one-third of the Great Heaven and Earth.

With three imperial decrees issued, accompanied by the peacock, the black bird, and the golden emperor, Zhou Mu walked out of the imperial palace.

He gazed upon the entire Netherworld, where countless ghosts were born and died, and humans walked about, before a smile finally appeared on his face.

The mortal realm is about to change. Zhou Mu is unsure whether the human race can truly defy the predetermined course of fate and the prophecy inscribed on the Eternal Monument.

The Nine Netherworlds were his escape route for the human race.

If we suffer a final, crushing defeat, then let the human race rule the Nine Netherworlds, and I will...
He then became the ruler of the demon race.

They can still rule the world.

But before that, we should at least give it a try.

"Zhu Jiuyin".

“Great Emperor, I am here.” Zhulong carried Zhongshan forward.

Zhou Mu looked at him, slightly dazed, and suddenly asked:
"Several years ago, did you forcibly glance at the mortal realm?"

Zhu Jiuyin paused for a moment, recalled for a second, and nodded woodenly:

"It seems there is such a thing. I sensed that a Candle Dragon had appeared in the mortal realm, so I forcibly stared at it for a moment."

Zhou Mu laughed, a sense of感慨 (gan3kai3, a feeling of deep emotion or reflection) washing over him. He recalled how, when he transformed into the Candle Dragon, those eyes that gazed upon the mortal realm turned night into day, placing immense pressure on him at the time.
Now, the once-powerful Zhu Jiuyin is now bowing and scraping before me.

Life.

Shaking his head, Zhou Mu stopped overthinking and said gently:
"I command you to lead the Nine Netherworlds through the Gates of Hell into the human world, openly and righteously, to awe all."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"Furthermore, after you enter the mortal realm, I need you to go to the [Boundary Gate]. The Biyou Palace is blocked in front of that gate. Knock on the palace gate three times, and the Biyou Palace will move open on its own. At that time, some immortals and Buddhas from outside the realm will also be able to return to the mortal realm."

Zhou Mu's gaze deepened as he continued:

"However, when the immortals and Buddhas return, you must not speak of the changes in the Nine Netherworlds to them, understand?"

Zhu Jiuyin, not understanding why, simply nodded:

"Respect the Great Emperor's decree."

"go Go."

Watching Zhu Jiuyin depart, Zhou Mu remained indifferent. In the past, out of fear, he had used three Dao Palaces to block the three gates, stopping all those powerful cultivators.

But now, having attained the status of a Great Luo Immortal and become the Lord of the Nine Netherworlds, he himself is already a "Great Supernatural Being".

Don't be afraid.

It's time for the world to get lively again.

"Without immortals and Buddhas, the Heavenly Court could not have been established." He turned to Zhen Yuanzi and the peacock, explaining why he had released the immortals and Buddhas.

After pausing for a moment, Zhou Mu continued:
"I will fulfill my promise to my two fellow Daoists regarding the positions of the Antarctic Longevity Emperor and the Western Gouchen Emperor. The matter of rebuilding the Heavenly Court should also begin."

The peacock performed the ceremony, and Zhen Yuanzi bowed in respect.

"Let's go back to the human world and make less noise."

Zhou Mu smiled:

"So as not to frighten the returning immortals and Buddhas, or scare away these fish."

He recalled the fishing platform he had seen beside the Heavenly Gate in the Heavenly Court—a place where immortals and Buddhas used to fish in the mortal world.

This time, immortals and Buddhas can enter the mortal realm but not the celestial realm; it's his turn to fish for them.

(End of this chapter)