On the Dragon-Slaying Platform, I was executed and became Yang Jian's brother-in-law.

The scene shifts, and light and shadow intertwine.

While the immortals were still captivated by the complex and indescribable look in Nuwa's eyes, the scene that Laozi had been predicting had already quietly changed.

In the underworld, on the banks of the River of Oblivion.

This is the boundary between life and death. The red spider lilies bloom in a riot of color, as crimson as blood, yet they are the only bright spot in this gloomy world. The river flows on and on, a turbid torrent formed by the unresolved desires of countless departed souls, its destination unknown.

Su Bai, dressed in white, stood at the head of the Naihe Bridge. Although it was just a scene in the deduction, the aura emanating from him already made all living beings in the Three Realms feel trembling.

That was the ruthlessness of a Grand Marshal of the Army, and also the arrogance of daring to confront a sage.

Just then, the River of Oblivion suddenly stopped flowing.

A figure slowly emerged from the void. She made no earth-shattering phenomena or grand entrances; she simply walked in, as if she had always belonged here, or rather, as if she were the Netherworld itself.

Empress Pingxin.

Houtu, the ancestral witch, has been reincarnated.

In the real world, all the Buddhas of Mount Ling and the immortals of Heaven held their breath. Previously, when Lady Pingxin intervened to stop Ksitigarbha, it was a battle of magic from afar. Now that his true form has appeared in the simulation, the significance is completely different.

"Su Bai greets Your Majesty." In the scene, Su Bai bows slightly, neither humble nor arrogant.

Empress Pingxin looked at him quietly. Her eyes were as deep as black holes in the six realms of reincarnation, capable of swallowing all cause and effect in the world, yet they also exuded a sense of earth-like weight and inclusiveness.

"You've come." Her voice was soft, yet it resonated deep within Su Bai's soul. "I know what you want."

Su Bai straightened up, his gaze intense: "Now that Your Majesty is aware of this, would you be willing to lend me a hand?"

Lady Pingxin turned around, looked at the turbid waters of the River of Oblivion, and sighed: "My body is in the cycle of reincarnation. Although I possess the power of a sage, I am limited by the Six Paths. I must stabilize the order of the Underworld and suppress the turmoil in the depths of the Netherworld, and cannot directly participate in the struggle of the Three Realms."

"Over the years, although I haven't taken action, I've been watching closely."

The Empress Pingxin's tone carried a hint of coldness that was barely perceptible, "The Buddhist sect... has overstepped its bounds."

Upon hearing this, all the celestial beings in the Heavenly Court outside the frame felt a jolt in their hearts.

really!

Empress Pingxin had long harbored resentment towards Buddhism!

"Ksitigarbha's vow, 'I will not become a Buddha until hell is empty,' seems like a grand aspiration, but in reality, it's about driving a nail into the underworld, turning the six realms of reincarnation into the private property of Buddhism." Empress Pingxin turned around, her gaze sharpening. "Buddhism has long infiltrated and monopolized reincarnation through the merit system, gradually tilting this originally fair and just order. Those who believe in Buddhism, even with sins, can be lightly punished; those who don't believe, even with merits, will face difficulties."

"This is not the reincarnation I want."

Su Bai understood, and so did all the immortals in reality.

This is the Lord of the Underworld declaring war on Buddhism! But she is bound by the rules and cannot personally take action to settle scores, so she needs a knife.

A knife sharp enough to pierce the sky.

"I need an external force to break this deadlock." Empress Pingxin looked at Su Bai and said, word by word, "Su Bai, I can make a deal with you."

"Your Majesty, please speak."

"I will help you become a saint."

These five simple words, like a thunderclap from the heavens, instantly resounded throughout the three realms!

In the Tushita Palace, Laozi suddenly flicked his whisk, sending several silver strands fluttering down. At the Great Thunderclap Temple on Mount Ling, the Buddha's eyelids twitched violently, and his golden body became somewhat unsteady.

Help him become a saint?!

Lady Pingxin continued, "The Underworld will open the Six Paths of Origin to you, to aid your cultivation and to help you deduce the Great Dao. In future struggles, whether facing the Two Sages of the West or other obstacles, the entire Underworld will stand by your side."

"And in exchange..."

Empress Pingxin stepped forward, her aura of compassion suddenly transforming into one of unparalleled majesty: "After you attain sainthood, you must reshape the order of reincarnation! Completely shatter the Buddhist monopoly on the merit system!"

"I want you to establish a new law of reincarnation based on the equality of all beings, without distinction between immortals, Buddhas, demons, or monsters, and only regarding the cause and effect of good and evil!"

"Do you dare to answer?"

Su Bai laughed, a wild and unrestrained laugh: "Why wouldn't I dare? This is exactly what I wanted to do!"

"good!"

Empress Pingxin gave him a deep look, and in her eyes, besides admiration, there seemed to be a hint of something else.

The deal is done.

However, this scene caused a huge uproar and raised countless questions in the eyes of powerful figures in the real world.

"This...this isn't right!"

Someone couldn't help but gasp in surprise.

Putting aside how difficult it is to become a saint, Empress Pingxin's attitude alone is baffling.

Who is Pingxin? She is a true saint! In this small corner of the underworld, her status and strength are enough to rival that of Hongjun Daozu of Zixiao Palace!

Although she is restricted from going out easily due to her location in the underworld, if she is determined to help Su Bai occupy the west and mobilize the fortune of the entire underground passage, who can stop her?

The two Western Saints? They'll probably have a huge headache too!

But the problem is... why should I?

"The Goddess Pingxin is the incarnation of Houtu, the ancestral witch of the Wu tribe. Those barbarians of the Wu tribe have always only worshipped the Father God Pangu, and they are extremely xenophobic!"

"That's right! Su Bai is a Jiaolong in this life and an Yinglong in his previous life, both of which are dragons! Although the dragons and the witches did not have any great enmity in ancient times, they were definitely not friendly either, and even had friction due to their different positions."

"Why does Lady Pingxin trust him so much? She's even willing to gamble the entire fate of the underworld on whether Su Bai can become a saint?"

Laozi frowned, staring intently at the screen.

He didn't understand.

Even the Buddha himself didn't understand.

This completely contradicts the logic of exchanging benefits in the primordial world. Unless... there's some unknown personal relationship between these two? Or perhaps a deeper bond?

The immortals couldn't help but recall the complex look in Nuwa's eyes earlier.

Looking at Consort Pingxin now, her attitude, though dignified, exudes a strange sense of "indulgence."

hiss--

Many deities gasped in shock, a horrifying thought flashing through their minds: Could it be that Su Bai's past life wasn't just entangled with Yang Chan, the Three Immortal Maidens, and the Golden Spirit Mother, but also with Lady Pingxin...?

But how could that be?! That's Houtu Niangniang!

In the scene, with the deal settled, Empress Pingxin stopped wasting words and began to instruct Su Bai.

"Western Buddhism has a far-reaching strategy. To undermine their power, we must find that key point."

With a wave of her jade hand, Lady Pingxin caused a golden figure to emerge from the River of Oblivion—it was none other than Jin Chanzi.

"Jin Chanzi is the core of the Buddhist destiny. If he is reincarnated, it will mark the beginning of a great flourishing of Buddhism. What you need to do is not only to shake his Buddhist heart, but also to fundamentally rewrite his destiny."

"Although my underworld has been infiltrated by Buddhism, the origin of the Book of Life and Death is still in my hands."

Empress Pingxin pointed at the phantom of Jin Chanzi, her tone calm yet exuding an air of absolute confidence, "You must start with Jin Chanzi and dismantle the Buddhist sect's plans step by step."

Su Bai nodded: "I've already started working on that."

"Not enough." Lady Pingxin shook her head. "Although your current strength is rare among those below the Quasi-Saint level, you are still far from being able to face the schemes of a true Saint."

"You rely on the Lotus Lantern, and although you have the supernatural power of becoming one with the lantern, it is ultimately an external thing."

"You need to rediscover your own power."

Su Bai was taken aback: "My own power?"

The Goddess Pingxin smiled slightly, and this smile seemed to brighten up the gloomy underworld.

"In your previous life, you were Yinglong, who helped the Yellow Emperor slay Chiyou and assisted Yu the Great in controlling the floods. What unparalleled divine power you possessed! Although you died and your soul shattered, do you know that Yinglong was born with the destiny of heaven and earth? Its strength was so great that it stood at the pinnacle of the primordial world even before those sages attained enlightenment?"

"Your power has not completely dissipated, but scattered throughout the world. A portion of it has settled deep within the cycle of reincarnation."

"Today, I will borrow the power of the Six Paths of Reincarnation to help you reunite your soul and reclaim the authority that belonged to Yinglong in your past life!"

Before she finished speaking, Lady Pingxin formed a hand seal, and the entire Netherworld trembled instantly.

Six enormous vortexes appeared above Su Bai's head, representing the Heavenly Path, the Human Path, the Asura Path, the Animal Path, the Hungry Ghost Path, and the Hell Path!

As the six paths revolved, an ancient and vast, terrifying aura, seemingly from the primordial era, was drawn out from the depths of the vortex.

hold head high--!

A high-pitched dragon roar, seemingly traversing the long river of time, resounded above the underworld!

That was no ordinary dragon roar; it was the roar of Yinglong, the ancestor of all dragons, with wings on its back, who commands wind, thunder, water, and fire!

Endless golden light poured down from the six vortexes and flowed into Su Bai's body.

Su Bai's aura began to rise at an alarming rate!

The body that originally belonged to the dragon underwent an astonishing transformation at this moment. Behind him, a pair of golden wings that blotted out the sky slowly unfurled, and with each flap, they seemed to stir up a storm in space and time.

In reality, the Four Dragon Kings were already kneeling on the ground, tears streaming down their faces, their bodies trembling.

That was an overwhelming pressure emanating from the depths of their bloodline! It was the aura of their ancestor!

"Yinglong...it's Ancestor Yinglong!"

"Empress Pingxin actually helped him regain Yinglong's authority?!"

In the scene, Su Bai is bathed in golden light, his eyes slightly closed, feeling the familiar yet strange power returning.

When he opened his eyes again, his originally black pupils had turned into a pure, gilded color, majestic as a prison.

As Consort Pingxin watched this scene, a barely perceptible hint of nostalgia flashed in her eyes, and she murmured softly, "Now you have a bit of your original charm..."