Chapter 1

"Quickly, move on!"

"You are all dead, you have all become ghosts, hurry up."

"Are you a prince? With millions of subjects and thirty thousand iron cavalry? In the netherworld, you are nothing!"

Slap!

Slap!

One by one, the tall and imposing ghost soldiers, with their faces twisted in rage, roared and lashed out with whips that glowed with electric light, striking the ghosts. The ghost who had loudly proclaimed himself a prince was whipped dozens of times until his ghostly form became thin and almost dissipated before they stopped.

"I should be dead, so... this is the netherworld?" Ji Ning appeared out of nowhere, curiously observing the unfamiliar environment. Hearing the prince's outburst made Ji Ning even more puzzled, "Millions of subjects? Thirty thousand iron cavalry? Earth is in the modern era, where are there thirty thousand iron cavalry?"

"Quickly!" The tall and imposing ox-headed ghost soldier, glowing with a green light, roared at Ji Ning.

Ji Ning followed the line forward.

Countless white-clad figures formed long lines, slowly advancing. At the end of each line, a new white-clad figure would appear out of nowhere. These figures were either shaking their heads in sighs, wailing, shouting in anger, or looking bewildered.

"My father is the Great Snow Mountain Demon King, you dare to hit me! I'll eat you, roar!"

"Don't hit!"

"Ahh!"

These ghosts, upon entering the netherworld, still thought they were alive. When they were whipped, many of them shouted in anger, but soon they realized... they were dead. No matter how glorious their lives had been, after death, it was all for naught.

...

Time passed, and Ji Ning had been walking in the endless line of ghosts for a long time. He dared not speak, as speaking would result in being whipped by the ox-headed and horse-faced ghost soldiers. He had been walking numbly for a very long time, fortunately, ghosts do not feel hunger.

One day, after walking numbly for a long time.

"Ji Ning!" A voice like thunder echoed through the heavens, producing reverberations. Countless ghosts looked up at the sky, and Ji Ning also looked up. In the distance, a huge black cloud was rolling, and on the black cloud stood a giant ox-headed ghost god emitting black light.

The giant ox-headed ghost god was about ten thousand feet tall, like a towering mountain, riding the black cloud and instantly arriving from the horizon.

"Ji Ning." The giant ox-headed ghost god, standing on the black cloud high in the sky, looked down, his eyes shooting out two ten-thousand-foot golden beams that crossed the sky and enveloped Ji Ning, who was standing dumbfounded below.

The ten-thousand-foot golden beams from the giant ox-headed ghost god's eyes circled around Ji Ning, and he disappeared from the line. The ordinary ox-headed and horse-faced ghost soldiers all remained silent, and all the ghosts were in a state of shock, taking a long time to react.

...

In the endless black clouds high in the sky, the ten-thousand-foot ox-headed ghost god stood on the black cloud.

He extended his palm, and on it stood a tiny figure—Ji Ning.

Ji Ning was completely stunned.

Heaven.

A ten-thousand-foot ox-headed giant stood before him, and he was in his palm?

"Ji Ning." The ox-headed ghost god looked down at the tiny figure in his palm.

"I am here to receive you, as ordered by Lord Cui." The ox-headed ghost god said to the tiny figure in his palm, then waved his hand, and Ji Ning was taken into a void space. The giant ox-headed ghost god then rode the black cloud and disappeared into the horizon.

******

Inside the city of Fengdu in the netherworld.

This was a quiet study, with a bookshelf inside. In the center of the study was a desk, and a middle-aged man in a green robe was reading a book.

Ji Ning was standing.

"Why does Lord Cui want to see me?" Ji Ning thought. He had never met Lord Cui before, and as a mere mortal, he knew no deities. If he had a powerful background, he wouldn't have suffered from illness all his life. So why did Lord Cui send the ox-headed ghost god to bring him here?

"He summoned me, but he doesn't speak to me." Ji Ning observed the study.

The study was simple, with the only decoration on the wall being a painting.

"That is..." Ji Ning looked closely, and it was a painting of a woman, her feathered robe flowing with a natural rhythm, her face smiling, more inspiring than the Buddha in the temples on Earth. Almost instantly, Ji Ning was completely immersed in the painting. The woman in the painting, whether it was her face, long hair, or feathered robe, had an extraordinary charm.

"Oh?" The middle-aged man in the green robe looked up and glanced at the painting on the wall, surprised. "I didn't expect him to have such insight."

"Wake up!" The middle-aged man in the green robe shouted lightly.

Ji Ning felt his mind, which had been in a meditative state, suddenly shattered, and he was completely awakened. He realized he was in the presence of Lord Cui.

Lord Cui closed the book and looked over, and Ji Ning's expression changed. From his angle, he could barely see the cover of the book in Lord Cui's hand, which read "Book of Life and Death"!

Lord Cui was reading the Book of Life and Death?

"I have read your life." Lord Cui smiled at Ji Ning.

Ji Ning was stunned.

His life?

Scenes from his past life flashed through his mind. His father was the leader of a biological research project, earning a high salary, and his mother was a regular teacher. Born into such a family, he should have had a good life, but he was born with a terminal illness, and doctors predicted that living to sixteen or seventeen would be a miracle.

Thus, he couldn't go to school or play with other children. Even a half-hour walk each day would make him feel exhausted. His frail body and constant pain made him very isolated as a child. Moreover, he had overheard in the hospital that he would die in his teens, and the fear of knowing he would die early tormented him, making him even more isolated.

Fortunately!

Fortunately, there were books and the internet.

Books and the internet gave him a 'spiritual world,' preventing his character from becoming twisted. Through books and the internet, he voraciously absorbed knowledge and began to understand the world, broadening his horizons and becoming more calm and rational in his view of the world.

He knew there were even more unfortunate children in the world, after all, he still had parents and could eat and stay warm.

And he was also seeking his own value. He couldn't just wait to die. So, he asked his father for ten thousand yuan and, using the internet, began to strive. Originally, he wanted to add some color to his life, but unexpectedly, he achieved success.

Over several years, he earned a huge fortune.

As his terminal illness worsened, he realized he wouldn't live much longer. His parents didn't need his care, and the money would be wasted, so before he died, he donated all the money to poor and sick children across the country.

"I can't change my own fate, but I can change the fate of countless poor and sick children!"

This was the deepest cry in Ji Ning's heart!

When he donated all his money and waited to die, he never expected to die while walking on the street outside the hospital with his parents.

"Born in suffering." Lord Cui said softly, "Suffering did not twist you, but instead made you burst with astonishing strength, earning a huge fortune. More remarkably, you donated all your wealth!"

"Eighteen years, dead." Lord Cui sighed, "To be able to sacrifice oneself to save a stranger is rare."

Ji Ning said, "Lord, you flatter me. If I had a long life, I might not have done it. According to the doctors, I could only live for three months. With my less than three months of life, to exchange for a little girl's decades of life, it was worth it!"

Lord Cui smiled, then opened the Book of Life and Death, speaking softly but with infinite authority, "Ji Ning, in your life, you saved over ten thousand people, earning great merit. In the six paths of reincarnation, you should enter... the Heavenly Realm!"

"The Heavenly Realm." Ji Ning murmured.

Lord Cui sighed, "To enter the Heavenly Realm with great merit is rare, especially on Earth. You may not have known it, but by donating all your wealth to help children, you earned a lot of merit. Otherwise, you might not have entered the Heavenly Realm."

"What do you mean, Lord?" Ji Ning asked, puzzled.

"Human beings are born without inherent good or evil." Lord Cui said, "Children are mostly without good or evil, but their experiences gradually change them... If you had helped adults, you might have helped some good people. But it's hard to distinguish good from evil, and if you helped some evil people, your merit would have been reduced."

Ji Ning thought about it.

"Originally, the Book of Life and Death determined that you would only live to sixteen. But because of your merit, you lived to eighteen." Lord Cui sighed.

"What?" Ji Ning was shocked, "Can the Book of Life and Death be changed?"

"Of course it can be changed, why can't it?" Lord Cui smiled, "Even I can easily add a hundred years to someone's life. Not to mention the Book of Life and Death... even if the heavens want you to die, they will give you a chance to live. A person's fate is determined by their innate destiny, but it can still be changed."

Ji Ning thought about it.

Indeed.

The ancients said, "Heaven's punishment can be avoided, but self-inflicted punishment cannot be lived." Even if the heavens want you to die, they will give you a chance to live. The Book of Life and Death determines your innate destiny, but you can still strive to change it.

"I believe there are many with great merit, why did Lord Cui summon me?" Ji Ning asked, puzzled.

Lord Cui smiled, "Because, we are from the same hometown."

"From the same hometown?" Ji Ning was stunned, "You are also from...?"

"Yes, in your terms, I am from Earth!" Lord Cui smiled, "But from the Sui and Tang dynasties."

Sui and Tang?

Ji Ning was overjoyed, "I heard those ghosts talking about princes and demon kings, none of them are from Earth."

"It's normal for them not to be from Earth. The boundless space is divided into three realms: Heaven, Earth, and the Netherworld." Lord Cui explained, "Heaven is the Heavenly Realm! Earth is the Netherworld! And the Human Realm is the human world. The Human Realm has thirty major worlds and countless minor worlds... Each of the thirty major worlds is vast and grand, with immortals and demons appearing. The countless minor worlds are much smaller, with sparse populations. Our hometown is one of them. Even with the current population, it has only a few billion."

"Every moment, countless spirits from the thirty major worlds and countless minor worlds come to the Netherworld! Can you imagine how many ghosts there are in the Netherworld?" Lord Cui looked at Ji Ning.

Ji Ning was stunned.

Heaven.

Three realms?

The Human Realm is so vast, and Earth is just one of the countless minor worlds. As an Earthling, he always thought Earth was the center! But now he realized... Earth is just one of the countless minor worlds, not even among the thirty major worlds. He felt a bit disheartened.

"Among the thirty major worlds and countless minor worlds, there are many with great merit. But it's rare to find one with great merit from my hometown. Your innate destiny is weak, yet you have achieved this, which is remarkable! Since I have nothing to do, I decided to meet this little fellow from my hometown." Lord Cui smiled, "You are about to be reborn, and I will tell you about the six paths of reincarnation."

"The six paths of reincarnation are the Heavenly Realm, the Asura Realm, the Human Realm, the Animal Realm, the Hungry Ghost Realm, and the Hell Realm."

Lord Cui explained, "The Heavenly Realm and the Asura Realm are both in the Heavenly Realm."

"The Human Realm and the Animal Realm are both in the Human Realm."

"The Hungry Ghost Realm and the Hell Realm are both in the Netherworld."

"The Heavenly Realm, which you are about to enter." This made Ji Ning listen carefully, and Lord Cui sighed, "This is the best path. You will be reborn in the Heavenly Realm, born from the heavens and earth, becoming a celestial being. Born from the heavens and earth, you will be a celestial being! Only those born from the heavens and earth can be called 'celestial beings.'"

"Born from the heavens and earth, not from a mother?" Ji Ning was amazed.

"Of course." Lord Cui smiled, "Otherwise, how could you be called a celestial being? Strictly speaking, the heavens and earth are your parents!"

"After being born in the Heavenly Realm, you will advance in cultivation at an astonishing speed, and you can easily join the Heavenly Court, becoming a celestial soldier or general." Lord Cui sighed.

Ji Ning blinked.

Celestial soldiers and generals?

He would become a celestial soldier or general?

"Another advantage of being a celestial being is that when you turn sixteen, you will regain your memories from your past life." Lord Cui sighed, "I met you because of your great merit and because you are from my hometown. I didn't expect that when you came to me, you would be so captivated by the painting of Nüwa, showing great insight. To help you stand out among the celestial soldiers and generals, I will help you."

Ji Ning was overjoyed, help, how?

"Look at the painting of Nüwa." Lord Cui pointed to the wall.

Ji Ning looked.

The painting of the woman was actually of Nüwa?

"The painting depicts the supreme and holy goddess Nüwa, the only one who could reach the level of Pangu after his death." Lord Cui said with respect, "Nüwa can destroy the heavens and also mend them, and even create life. The most intelligent of all races, 'humans,' were created by Nüwa. She comprehended eighty-four thousand truths, making her the undisputed supreme being in the three realms."

"Supreme in the three realms?" Ji Ning was stunned.

Nüwa created humans, Nüwa mended the heavens, he had heard these stories in myths.

"This painting is a method of visualization, but you cannot fully understand its mysteries." Lord Cui smiled, "Although you will become a celestial soldier or general and can obtain a method of visualization, it won't be as good as this one. I will now transmit this method of visualization to you, to fulfill our connection."

"Thank you, Lord Cui." Ji Ning bowed deeply.

"There's no need to thank me, it's just a method of visualization, not a cultivation technique or a secret art of immortals and demons." Lord Cui pointed to Ji Ning's forehead.

Boom!

Ji Ning felt a loud boom in his mind, and a giant image of Nüwa appeared.

"Wake up." Lord Cui looked at Ji Ning, "Remember, visualize often, and it will strengthen your soul. Of course, you are about to be reborn and will need to drink the soup of forgetfulness, so this memory will temporarily disappear. When you turn sixteen, you will remember this method of visualization. This is enough to help you stand out among the celestial soldiers and generals! This method of visualization will give you more opportunities on your path to immortality, but to become a celestial immortal, there are still many trials... I hope you can achieve it. In the future, when I go to the Heavenly Court, we can meet again."

Ji Ning was filled with excitement.

Celestial soldiers and generals?

Immortality?

How exciting.

"Go." Lord Cui waved his hand.

Whoosh.

Ji Ning disappeared.

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{Piaotian Literature}