The mention of the words ‘Necropolis Emperor’ left Zu An in a daze. For a moment there, he felt as if he was fulfilling his destiny.
In the future, he'd stepped into the Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons, entered the Netherworld, and obtained the Necropolis Emperor’s legacy. But now, he had returned to the past. In order to not influence the timeline, he'd decided on a whim to use ‘Necropolis’ as his alias. Little had he expected to become the Necropolis Emperor in history.
In other words, I'm my own successor?
Even the most dimwitted person could feel the inexplicable pull of fate here.
“I never expected myself to become the Necropolis Emperor. I wonder what happens to the Necropolis Emperor in the future,” Zu An remarked. By the time he inherited the other party’s legacy, the Necropolis Emperor had already gone missing. That mystery made him hesitant to take on this position.
But rejection wasn't an option. The world needed the Netherworld and the Necropolis Emperor to ensure the functioning of the Six Paths of Reincarnation. There was no better candidate than him right now.
Sensing his thoughts, Houtu said, “Don’t worry about being bound to the identity of the Necropolis Emperor. You are the Necropolis Emperor, but the Necropolis Emperor doesn’t have to be you.”
Zu An narrowed his eyes. “What do you mean?”
“I can’t reveal the secrets of the future.” Houtu didn’t elaborate. Her silhouette began to thin as specks of light flew out of her and into the Six Paths of Reincarnation. The Six Paths radiated a sacred glow—that was the amalgamation of life and death. It slowly began to spin. Despite its smaller size, it felt vast and enigmatic like the stars in the sky.
A peculiar resonance rippled outward, and the Netherworld began to change. The tangible, grayish-white death energy greatly thinned, revealing the previously concealed Oblivion River and Yin Mountain. The terrain also began to terraform, collapsing and rebuilding itself. Everything soon began to resemble the Netherworld Zu An remembered in his memories.
Upon noticing the commotion, Ox Head, Horse Face, and the Asuras rushed in. With terrified faces, they asked, “What happened?”
“Lady Houtu has become one with the cycle of reincarnation.” Zu An summarized what had happened earlier, and that caused the Shaman race to burst into tears.
Since their defeat in the war between the Shamans and the Fiends, they had been hiding in this dark place. Ancestral Shaman Houtu was their final pillar of support. Now that even Houtu was gone, how could they not suffer a mental breakdown?
Zu An consoled them, “You need not grieve. Lady Houtu isn’t dead yet. She’s merely living in another form. She has already attained Sainthood and became one with the world. You should be happy for her.”
Despite his words, he didn’t know whether it was an evolution or a death for a living being to turn into the unfeeling Six Paths of Reincarnation. He dispelled those thoughts from his mind and continued, “Lady Houtu has planned a way out for you. I’ll be establishing the Netherworld here to govern ghosts from different worlds and facilitate the Six Paths of Reincarnation. You'll become deities of the Netherworld and enjoy the worship of the mortal world.”
The knowledge that they could become deities assuaged the Shamans’ sorrow. Ox Head and Horse Face bowed to Zu An. “Lord Necropolis, Lady Houtu has also told us about this matter. We’re under your command now!”
“You’re being too polite.” Zu An supported them upright before turning to the Asuras. “Asura King, Princess Ni Huang, once the Netherworld is established, I’ll be able to use the Six Paths of Reincarnation to open a path back to the Asura World for you.”
The Asura King voiced his doubts. “Won’t we be reincarnated if we travel through the Six Paths of Reincarnation?”
Zu An explained, “I don’t mean for you to reincarnate through the Six Paths of Reincarnation. Rather, I plan to use the Six Paths of Reincarnation’s power to open a corresponding world. Given how you have the complete Asura World’s power insignia, it shouldn’t be too hard.”
A thought suddenly popped into his mind. Can’t I use this power to open the Celestial Court world and look for the Mermaid Queen and the Goddess of Wu Mountain?
He quickly gave up on that thought, however.
The Asura King had the complete Asura World’s power insignia. It remained mostly intact even after Houtu used it in the forging of the Six Paths of Reincarnation. That was why Zu An could use the Six Paths of Reincarnation’s power, with the Asura World’s power insignia as a medium, to open up a passageway to the Asura World.
In contrast, he had only received a fragment of the Celestial World’s power insignia from Zhuanxu, and it had been completely consumed for the forging of the Six Paths of Reincarnation. Without the Celestial World’s power insignia, he wouldn’t be able to open a passageway to the Celestial World.
That filled him with regret. I should have stolen the complete power insignia from Zhuanxu!
Of course, that could only remain a thought. Zhuanxu, as a Celestial Emperor, could easily crush him just by the sheer disparity in their cultivation. Attempting to steal the Celestial World’s power insignia from Zhuanxu would have been tantamount to suicide.
The Asuras cheered in delight. Only Princess Ni Huang appeared to be brooding.
For the next few days, Zu An drafted up the Netherworld’s blueprints based on his memories. Fortunately, he didn’t need to draft it out comprehensively on paper the way architects had in his previous life. All he needed to do was to create a projection to show the buildings.
The Shaman races enthusiastically commenced construction. Their superior strength allowed them to build with exceptional efficiency.
The Asura race also lent a helping hand for the construction. They worked with the Shaman races to erect a massive sculpture at the entrance of the Netherworld.
Even the Ocean races cooperated with them to construct a complementary palace for the sculpture in the Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons.
Zu An was embarrassed, but the Asura King, Ox Head, and Horse Face insisted he needed a sculpture to emphasize his exalted standing. Besides, the sculpture had the pragmatic effect of encouraging faith and intimidating troublemakers. Knowing that the sculpture existed in history, he reluctantly accepted it.
Later, however, it suddenly struck him that he'd forgotten to instruct them on the sculpture’s design. By the time he checked on the sculpture, he realized that it didn’t have distinctive facial features, the same way he remembered it in history.
He asked the Asura King about it, and the latter replied with a chuckle, “It was my little sister’s idea. She said a deity’s appearance shouldn’t be casually revealed, and we thought her explanation made sense. She was the one who designed this sculpture.”
After explaining the sculpture, the Asura King took his leave to give Zu An some private time with Princess Ni Huang,
“Thank you, princess.” Zu An could tell that much thought had been put into the majestic sculpture.
“You’re still being so polite with me,” Princess Ni Huang remarked with conflicted eyes. She sighed softly before continuing on, “Big brother Necropolis, I wanted to stay here with you, but I’m a member of the Asura royal family. I enjoyed a privileged life, growing up with luxuries and the best cultivation resources. I can’t abandon my clan when its fate is uncertain. I have to aid my royal brother in settling the new world. Do you blame me for that?”
“No, I only respect you more. A woman who doesn’t lose herself to emotions will only charm more men,” Zu An replied.
Princess Ni Huang was delighted to hear that. She patted his shoulder and said, “As expected of the man I've set my eyes on. Once things in the new world settle down, I’ll return to look for you.”
Zu An briefly hesitated before revealing his true background. “Actually, I'm not from this world.”
“I guessed as much.” Princess Ni Huang wasn’t disappointed to hear that. “Can you tell me your true identity?”
Looking into her sincere eyes, Zu An chose to divulge his identity to her.
Princess Ni Huang murmured his name to etch it into her mind. All of a sudden, she leaned in and kissed his lips before fleeing. “Big brother Zu, I’ll definitely find you in the future!”
Shortly after she left, Pei Mianman popped out of nowhere and remarked, “You can keep her with you if you can’t bear to part ways with her.”
Zu An shook his head as he looked at Princess Ni Huang’s departing figure. “She has her own mission to fulfill.”
Pei Mianman sighed. “I used to think that you’re a horrible philanderer who went around seducing women, but your life seems pretty tough too.”
“Manman, I’m glad you finally understand my struggles!”
“Don’t push your luck!”