Boundless starry sky.

The dharma body sat cross-legged in the center. Though its enormous figure was not as vast as the sun, it still, through a particular angle, obscured the light en route to the stars.

Song Lin held his hands in a supporting gesture as the Ancient Green Candle Lamp floated before him, releasing sunlight toward the stars ahead.

Infinite Pure Yang power continuously poured into his body. His cultivation in the Harmonization Realm escalated without pause, improving with each passing day.

The more pivotal the moment, the less he could afford to leave easily.

In those days, the Candle Dragon faced the same predicament, able only to suspend itself in the heavens and watch helplessly as the mortal world descended into uncontrollable chaos.

After all, leaving prematurely could result in all efforts coming to naught. Song Lin dared not take that risk.

Of course, he had one advantage over the Candle Dragon—he possessed avatars.

Many matters could be handled by his avatars.

After a long while, Song Lin opened his eyes, his gaze turning toward the Human World Demon Country's location.

Tianji, the Divine Turtle, and others had already led their forces to the Immortal Emperor Court, temporarily sealing Ghost Gate with an array.

Looking down from the heavens, a massive black hole was visible, layered over with golden chains.

However, on closer inspection, one could still see traces of yin energy leaking out, as well as numerous stray remnants.

The Heavenly Court needed to station heavy troops and routinely clear out these escaped ghosts and monsters.

Moreover, Ghost Gate continued to expand. Someday, it might breach the array and unleash another calamity onto the world.

"Ghost Gate... Netherworld—truly not an undeserved reputation," Song Lin thought.

After all, even the Xiezhi, Moyu Qilin, and Chiyou—several powerful forces in the Harmonization Realm—joining hands had been unable to entirely destroy Ghost Gate, leaving latent dangers of its escape intact.

Thinking about this, Song Lin couldn't help but sneer at the Taishi Demon Emperor.

That fool opened Ghost Gate, yet had no means to close it, still deluding himself that after perfecting his Harmonization, he could resolve the issue.

What a ridiculous notion. By the time the Taishi Demon Emperor achieved Harmonization Perfection, this world might already have become the underworld.

By then, Taishi would amount to nothing more than a low-ranking Ghost Emperor in the Netherworld.

The solution lay with him alone.

Once he freed up some time, he could strike Ghost Gate with his full might—perhaps this plan was viable.

So thinking, Song Lin turned his focus to the information recorded within the Monster Chronicles.

Name: Song Lin

Realm: Harmonization Stage

Taoist Realm: 5,300 years

Divine Skills:

Natural Dao, Heavenly Water Dao (unmastered), Three Emperors Secret Seal Principle, Star Immortal Nine-Transformation Mysterious Skill, Qiankun Treasure – Twelve Yuan Chen, One Hundred and Eight Celestial Star Pivot Thirty-Six Cloud Seal Talismans, Three Emperors Scripture, ...

Blessings: [Emperor Seal][Moon Cultivation Great Witch][Golden Crow Yang Pattern][North Pole Ziwei Dao Pattern]...

Items: Ancient Green Candle Lamp, Kunlun Seal, Heaven and Earth Xuan Sect, Chiyou Skeleton, Heavenly Burial Coffin, Supreme Elder's Eight Trigrams Furnace, Eight Horses Sun Jade Chariot, Emperor Sword, Dragon Mansion Jade Gourd...

"In the previous world, I comprehended two Daos in total—Natural and Innate Water. The former can be gradually advanced, but the latter…"

The latter remained without a clue.

As he thought of this Great Dao, Song Lin suddenly had an idea.

"Innate Water, capable of life and death, might hold unexpected benefits."

Song Lin suddenly understood this thread of thought.

If Innate Water could govern life and death, could it perhaps guide souls, forming a new Netherworld—one belonging uniquely to this world?

The Netherworld, after all, was fundamental to the flow of Heaven, Earth, and Man.

This world also held the concept of reincarnation.

But reincarnation was exceedingly rare. Most simply vanished between Heaven and Earth, while some became malevolent spirits.

A very small handful, their True Spirits unextinguished after death, would lose their memories and wander the realms before the chance occurrence of reincarnation into human form.

Having endured countless trials, such reincarnated beings were innately gifted and were often referred to as prodigies.

If their former selves were cultivators, they were considered lineage-bearers.

But such instances were exceedingly rare, and the vast majority of beings came into existence naturally, with an even lower chance of success through these individuals.

If replaced with a Netherworld, the Netherworld could cleanse the ghosts, then deliberately reincarnate them—this realm would someday see a surge of far more talented individuals.

This was modeled on the management of other Heavenly Courts.

Unlike other Heavenly Courts, however, his Netherworld would be absolutely under his own control, not a partnership splitting the Ghost Realm as an equal entity to the heavens.'

Historically in various mythologies, the Heavenly Emperor rarely governed the Netherworld or had very limited authority over it, as the Netherworld was inherently an independent institution.

If he truly succeeded in creating a Netherworld, the benefits would be manifold.

Thus, mastering Innate Water was imperative.

After all, using Innate Water to combat Ghost Gate seemed far more feasible. A violent resolution might either utterly destroy it or expand the Netherworld's entrance entirely.

Song Lin's Divine Thought returned to the Palace of the Polestar once more.

He summoned his upper echelon again.

"What's the situation?"

"Reporting to the Divine Lord, Ghost Gate has been successfully sealed. We have also organized the three armies to sweep the world's remaining ghosts and reclaim lost territories."

"Environmental conditioning is nearly complete, but fully absorbing the Immortal Emperor Court will still require another two to three years to adjust the array."

Seizing the Immortal Emperor Court meant controlling 80% of the world's territory.

By then, the Kunlun Heavenly Court would swell to unprecedented strength.

"You've all worked hard. Let's resolve the most pressing issues first, and rewards will follow later. Let none of you be impatient."

Once the Kunlun Heavenly Court unified the stars, and Song Lin was free to act, he would then organize ceremonies to distribute merits and confer titles.

His next round of preparations would begin thereafter, using the next few centuries to confront the Upper Pure Demon Tribulation while attempting to break out of the Small Thousand World. He would either communicate with the Sanmao Heavenly Court or merge with the West Queen Mother's Heavenly Court.

Centuries were plenty of time to handle many matters; he still had ample time.

After dismissing the crowd, Song Lin resumed his cultivation.

With experience gained in the story realm, his progress in the Harmonization Realm surged rapidly. The Innate Yang Qi Dao reached 70% mastery in no time.

Meanwhile, he did not remain idle, sending avatars to wander the Mortal World.

He sought treasures that might assist in comprehending the Water Path.

Another decade passed.

During these ten years, the Undying Demon Court merged into the Heavenly Court, doubling Kunlun's power.

Song Lin's comprehension reached 80%.

Although his avatars had traveled extensively, they discovered no artifacts resembling Heavenly Water. However, they did locate a number of ancient nations.

Among them was the White-Eyed Country in the Extreme North, the Sangshan Country in the East Sea's depths, and even over a dozen Fan Countries in the desolate west.

These Fan Countries were not true members of the Buddhist Sect but were instead corrupt offshoots combined with local sorcery—debauched, gory in their spells, extravagantly living off the exploitation of impoverished citizens.

After gaining some understanding, Song Lin eradicated their heretical legacies, leaving the common people under the administration of Xia Country's envoys.

Never again would such lineages appear in this world.

This was not merely a rivalry over Taoist inheritance but a purge of sinister sects. Even genuine Buddhist Sect members, upon spotting such practices, would have acted more ruthlessly than he.

At least Song Lin granted them a swift end.

"Since nothing exists locally, perhaps I'll try exploring outer stars," his avatar pondered, then set off toward the domain of Heavenly Stars.

Deep within outer regions lay countless ancient lingering demons—but therein also lay opportunity.

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