Chapter 2617: Predetermined Fate

“Wait!” Unsurprisingly, Houtu quickly called for him. “You would be helping yourself by helping me too.”

“What do you mean by that?” Zu An asked.

“Too much time has passed since that era, not to mention the Mermaid Queen is imprisoned in the Frost Palace. I couldn’t help you right now even if I wanted to,” Houtu patiently explained.

“What about Jiang Luofu? You were the one who sent her into the past. Don’t tell me you can’t do anything about that either.” Zu An suppressed his anger as he negotiated.

“Jiang Luofu’s strong emotions caught the attention of an exalted entity. That’s her fate, as well as her fortuitous encounter. You don’t need to worry about her.” Houtu’s voice quivered when she mentioned the words ‘exalted entity’.

Zu An recalled hearing similar words from Zhuanxu.

Looks like she isn’t in any danger for now.

Still, he asked, “Who is that entity?”

“You should already be aware that secrets are dangerous. You aren’t strong enough yet. Learning about that entity right now will only result in your destruction.”

Zu An fell silent. He knew about that rule, and he wasn’t a reckless brute either, so he didn’t continue harping on this matter. Instead, he changed the topic and asked, “Is that entity stronger than you and the Celestial Emperors?”

Houtu nodded. “His strength not only surpasses ours, but Saints too. This is our first time learning about beings stronger than Saints.”

Zu An was speechless. Sainthood was usually the peak for most myths and webnovels. He hadn’t expected there to be an even higher level than that.

He suddenly thought about the Time Scribe and the information he'd received from Mi Li, and a thought popped into his mind.

There must be countless worlds in the universe.

Entities like Houtu, even after attaining Sainthood, only command influence within the Six Worlds. Other worlds don’t necessarily recognize her, or there could be other deities in the same position as her.

The stronger entities could be some kind of conceptual god that exists across all worlds in the universe.

This thought sparked the fighting spirit in Zu An. Now that he had a goal in mind, his thoughts suddenly felt clearer than ever. He then asked, “Why bother stopping me when you can’t do anything to help me?”

“To help me is to help yourself.” Houtu got straight to the point. “If you help me in the forging of the Six Paths of Reincarnation, I can use its power to help the Mermaid Queen...”

She paused a second and glanced at Pei Mianman. “...As well as the Goddess of Wu Mountain’s incarnation.

“Reincarnation has to be impartial; it is bound to the laws of the world. What I can do here undermines the system. My main body will suffer a severe backlash because of it, but considering how much you have helped me, I am willing to pay this price.”

Pei Mianman’s heart skipped a beat. She had been wondering if the Goddess of Wu Mountain was truly her previous incarnation, and whether it could have been a coincidence that they resembled each other. Their personalities were vastly different, after all.

But Houtu’s glance appeared to suggest otherwise.

Zu An said grimly, “But they're different people to me. What you’re offering means nothing to the Goddess of Wu Mountain of that era.”

“You need to widen your perspective. Once you’re on a higher level, you’ll come to realize that a person’s appearance, personality, and experiences may change when reincarnated, but their core remains the same. They are still the same person.”

Zu An frowned. He didn’t agree with Houtu’s perception, which conflated two different people into a single entity.

Sensing his indignation, Houtu added, “You need to think it through. What will become of your current lovers if you refuse to let them reincarnate? Do you wish for them to cease to exist?”

“What?!” Zu An was taken aback to hear that. He instinctively glanced at Pei Mianman, only to see her usual reddened face looking a little pale.

𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

“You don’t have to feel so conflicted. A few things happened in that era afterward. Their only option was to reincarnate,” Houtu added.

“What happened?” Judging from the Goddess of Wu Mountain’s projection, Zu An had realized that a major incident had to have happened in that era, but the latter refused to elaborate on it. Houtu would no doubt know more about the matter.

Houtu shook his head. “Very coincidentally, I lost a portion of my memories and don’t remember what happened there. I only vaguely recall there being a major disaster.”

Zu An was startled.

Even an entity like Houtu can suffer from memory loss? Did she suffer an injury in that disaster?

He thought about how the Mermaid Queen and the Goddess of Wu Mountain had waited for countless years in vain for him, and eventually faced such a terrifying disaster by themselves. That made his heart ache. He asked, “Was it caused by the war between the Shamans and the Fiends?”

“I don’t think so. The war between the Shamans and the Fiends was a huge calamity, but it ended in mutual destruction for both sides, and they retreated from the front lines together. The human race began to prosper afterward. The two events should be unrelated,” Houtu deduced.

Zu An also remembered the Goddess of Wu Mountain’s projection mentioning that she had waited over tens of thousands of years, during which there hadn’t seemed to be any major disaster.

“I have offered you a solution, and this is the most I can do as well. Now, it’s just a question of whether you want to accept the deal or not. In the worst case, I’ll just take another nap and wait for the next person who is willing to help me. You should know that I succeeded in forging the Six Paths of Reincarnation in history,” Houtu calmly pointed out.

Time indeed had little meaning to an entity like her.

Zu An pondered hard, and he was forced to concede that her words made sense. He had no idea what disaster had happened in that era, but the only thing he could do for the Mermaid Queen and the Goddess of Wu Mountain was to prepare a way out for them. Thus, he took out the power insignias.

Houtu’s expression turned serious. She moved her hands around, creating a swirling vortex. This vortex was much smaller than the Eye of the Ocean, but it looked far darker and deeper. Intense death energy could be felt from it, but it carried hints of overflowing life energy too.

Houtu flicked her sleeves, and the six power insignias floated toward six different directions. They extended a ray of light toward the vortex, filling it with six different colors.

Zu An and Pei Mianman saw flickers of countless worlds in each of the colors. This was a sign that the Six Paths of Reincarnation was establishing its connection with the countless worlds in the Six Paths.

Houtu said, “I am about to be assimilated into the Six Paths of Reincarnation. You have accrued tremendous karma in aiding me in the construction of the Six Paths of Reincarnation. The will of the world will remember this. After the Six Paths of Reincarnation are formed, the Netherworld will be required for their functioning. You are fated to be the master of the Netherworld. Are you willing to take on this role, Necropolis Emperor?”