Volume One: The Calamity of the Lich Chapter 136: Death Is Also Rebirth, The Six Paths of Reincarnation Appear in the World

“Fellow Daoist Minghe, you may rest assured. Since I have spoken, I will not go back on my word.”
Upon hearing Minghe’s words, Houtu replied without hesitation.
Minghe’s expression eased somewhat at this response.
“Very well, since even the Ancestral Witch Houtu has said as much, if I were to object further, it would be unreasonable.”
With Minghe’s agreement, Houtu gave the matter no more thought. Her mind was fully focused on the Blood Sea and the task she was about to undertake.
Suddenly, Houtu spoke.
“In that case, I shall begin. Fellow Daoist Minghe, be prepared.”
She gave Minghe a gentle reminder, then produced the Wheel of Reincarnation.
As Houtu brought forth the wheel, Minghe immediately sensed an immense threat radiating from it.
He felt that the supreme innate treasures, Yuantu and Abi, in his own hands would likely be damaged if they clashed with this artifact.
Seeing this, Minghe retreated at once, withdrawing to a great distance from Houtu. Only when the oppressive sensation faded did he stop.
At this moment, the Wheel of Reincarnation in Houtu’s hands had fully recovered its radiance.
No sooner did it appear than it was drawn irresistibly toward the depths of the Blood Sea.
Houtu, seeing this, hesitated no longer and followed swiftly into the heart of the crimson waters.
When the wheel stopped at a particular spot, Houtu sensed that a nascent space was taking shape there.
Only now did Qingxuan notice this budding world. Though he had searched before, he had found nothing.
“It seems so many things are fated,” Qingxuan sighed softly.
And now, Houtu began to proclaim to the vast wilderness:
“Before the Great Dao above, before Father God above, and Earth below. I, Houtu, descendant of Pangu, Ancestral Witch of Earth, sense the flaw in this world, the incompleteness of reincarnation.
Today, I, Houtu, use the chaotic treasure, the Wheel of Reincarnation, as a guide. I offer myself to the Dao, transform my body into the cycle, let the Six Paths of Reincarnation emerge!”
As her words fell, countless living beings throughout the world of the Great Desolation became aware of what Houtu was doing.
In that instant, the Eye of the Dao descended above the Blood Sea, and the Wheel of Heavenly Law manifested briefly, revealing its presence before vanishing again.
Then, an aura nearly identical to the Wheel of Heavenly Law descended upon the world—the awakening of the Earthly Dao.

“The Earthly Dao has truly awakened!”
Qingxuan murmured in awe, his gaze piercing countless layers of space to fall upon that pitch-black wheel.
“So this is the manifestation of the Earthly Dao? It does indeed resemble the Wheel of the Six Paths!”
Qingxuan chuckled quietly, muttering to himself.
With the advent of the Earthly Dao, it stood silently behind Houtu, while the Eye of the Dao above the Blood Sea showed no reaction at all.
Meanwhile, within the Zixiao Palace, as Hongjun sensed the full awakening of the Earthly Dao, his face changed dramatically.
‘How can this be? The message from the Heavenly Dao claimed the Earthly Dao had no chance to emerge. Could it be…’
As this thought took root, Hongjun sent his divine sense sweeping across the Great Desolation, targeting the Blood Sea.
But as his consciousness reached the Blood Sea, before it could glean any information, it was blocked by a dazzling, ghostly black light and immediately bounced back.
The instant it returned to his own body, Hongjun let out a muffled groan.
He thought to himself that he was fortunate the black light bore him no malice, or he might not even still be sitting here.
Yet, Hongjun’s heart was anything but calm. Countless chaotic thoughts arose; were it not for his status as a sage, he might have already succumbed to them.
At the very moment the Earthly Dao appeared, Minghe—nearest to the event—suddenly found that his former sluggishness in sensing the Dao was gone.
He knew clearly this had nothing to do with the appearance of the Eye of the Dao.
Rather, it was Houtu’s actions and the sudden manifestation of the Earthly Dao that brought about this change.
For a moment, Minghe’s feelings were indescribably complex.
At the same time, Zhenyuanzi, who was opening a blessed land in a faraway mountain, felt exactly the same.
“Strange, why do I suddenly find no more obstacles in my comprehension of the Dao? Could it be because I have persisted in cultivating this blessed land?”
Zhenyuanzi, too, sensed what Houtu was doing, but as he was at a critical stage, he did not pay much attention and remained unaware that the Earthly Dao had fully awakened.
At this moment, Qingxuan watched with mixed emotions as Houtu’s Ancestral Witch body gradually merged into the cycle of reincarnation.
“Is there truly no way to change this? Then what is the meaning of all I have done?”
In an instant, Qingxuan felt lost, failing to notice that Houtu’s state was not as he imagined.
Almost mechanically, he reached out and extracted a droplet of Ancestral Witch blood from Houtu’s vanishing form, enclosing it with the power of creation for safekeeping.

At the foot of Mount Buzhou, within the Hall of Pangu,
the other Ancestral Witches were shaken to their core, gazing sorrowfully toward the Blood Sea.
“Houtu, little sister, how could you not think of your elder brothers and at least discuss this with us?”
“That’s enough. Since this is Houtu’s choice, we can only respect it. She, too, is making a tremendous contribution to the world Father God created. This is the greatest honor of our tribe.”
Dijiang silenced the others’ complaints, then spoke with grave solemnity.
“Brother Dijiang, Houtu is our youngest sister. How can you say such things?”
The other Ancestral Witches looked at Dijiang, some angry, some disappointed, some incredulous, as if seeing him truly for the first time.
“Then how do you think Houtu should have chosen? Should she have watched the world Father God created remain incomplete, even though she had the power to perfect it, yet did nothing? Have you considered her own feelings?
And if it were you, what would you have done?”
At his words, the hall fell into silence.
Yet, neither Dijiang, Qingxuan, nor the others knew that, deep within the Blood Sea, in that nascent space—
where once all was gray and lifeless, shrouded in death—
a figure was now emerging at the very center of the world.
Her eyes were closed, but her exquisitely beautiful features were unmistakable: a flawless face like carved jade, an aura of grace and quiet dignity, clad in splendid royal robes that set off her beauty all the more. Yet now, a new gentleness softened her expression.
When her eyes opened, her beauty became even more transcendent.
“What is this? Was I not merging myself into the cycle of reincarnation? Why do I find myself here?”
Then, countless messages surged into her soul.
Only now did she realize that, after fusing herself with the cycle, the Dao of Reincarnation she had comprehended was completely integrated with the Six Paths Wheel, and thus the Earthly Dao was born.
This allowed her to be reborn, and this place was the very origin of the Earthly Dao.
“So, I am to be the Mistress of the Earthly Dao?” Houtu murmured.
“Where there is life, there is death; death is but a new beginning.”
This was the ultimate truth of reincarnation that Houtu had grasped, and the very key to her enlightenment. Only by abandoning her former body could she be reborn. It was only through her boundless compassion that she could achieve what others could not.