“Alright.” Zu An was also perplexed as to why the current Houtu hadn’t created the Six Paths of Reincarnation.

Houtu continued, “I have conceptualized ideas about the Six Paths of Reincarnation, but there are still many details that I have yet to sort out. You told me that all entities can be categorized into six paths—the Celestial Path, the Human Path, the Hell Path, the Beast Path, the Hungry Ghost Path, and the Asura Path. That makes sense to me, so let’s go with that.

“You are now the Celestial Emperor, so you wield the power insignia of the Celestial Path. I am also the Underworld’s master, so I wield the power insignia of the Hungry Ghost Path.

“I have always thought the Underworld should differentiate between benevolent ghosts and vile ghosts. You mentioned the concept of eighteen levels of hell. It sounds reasonable to me. Since you are the future master of the Netherworld and govern the eighteen levels of hell, it stands to reason that you also wield the power insignia of the Hell Path.”

Zu An nodded. “Yes, that's right.”

On top of being the Netherworld’s master, he also wielded a portion of Death’s authority. It wouldn’t be too difficult for him to create the power insignia of the Hell Path.

Houtu continued, “The current human race was created by Nuwa, so she should wield the power insignia of the Human Path. I am on close terms with Nuwa, so I shouldn’t face many problems obtaining a portion of the Human Path’s power insignia from her.”

“The only troublesome ones are the Asura Path and the Beast Path.” She frowned. “The Asuras are obsessed with fighting, and they are on bad terms with the Shaman races. It won’t be easy to acquire their power insignias.”

“The Asuras...” Zu An recalled a beautiful silhouette, and that brought him a tinge of melancholy. “My future self has some ties with the Asuras. They are hot-tempered, but they aren’t that difficult to get along with. I’ll make a trip to the Asura race and see if I can secure their power insignia.”

Houtu was surprised. “You have been to many places. Someone of your strength is bound to have his ways. However, there is one more problem. The Beast Path has no power insignia.”

Worry flickered across her beautiful face as she continued, “The birds and mammals of the Beast Path are not sentient yet, and they have no king, either. There is no way to acquire their power insignia. How did the future me solve the problem of the Beast Path’s power insignia?”

Zu An replied with a frown, “The lower-ranked fiends in this world eventually moved to the Monster World and formed a civilization. However, I don’t know if the Monster World exists in this world yet.”

“The Monster World?” Houtu did some calculations on her fingers before shaking her head. “Based on what I know, such a Monster World doesn’t exist.”

Zu An was taken aback. Does this mean that the Monster World has yet to come into existence?

“I’ll pay a visit to Nuwa. I’ll trouble you to make a trip to the Asura race.” Houtu bowed to Zu An.

Zu An hurriedly returned the bow. “You don’t have to be so courteous, Lady Houtu. You have done me a huge favor in the future, so it’s only right for me to do what’s within my ability for you. However, the Six Paths of Reincarnation cannot be formed if the Beast Path’s power insignia doesn't exist yet. Our efforts might be in vain.”

Houtu smiled. “Aren’t we languishing if we put aside our immediate responsibilities with the notion that things will just work out in the future? Fate is capricious. You never know if our current effort might be what lays the groundwork for future success.”

Zu An nodded in realization. “Your words have enlightened me.”

Houtu directed acknowledging nods toward the others before she turned around and left.

Qiu Honglei and Xihe worriedly asked, “Are you heading to the Asura race?”

Zu An nodded. “Houtu is right. The future might not be realized if I don’t do anything right now. I’ll make a trip to the Asura race. Please help me take care of Yaoji in the meantime.”

Qiu Honglei spent a moment in thought before saying, “This place is layered with Shennong’s Mountain Protection Formation and your formations. I should be able to take care of Yaoji alone. I heard that the Asuras are belligerent and have never been on good terms with the Celestials. In particular, the Asura King is a powerful entity. It’ll be dangerous for you to head there alone, so it’ll be better if big sister Xihe accompanies you.”

Xihe was moved, knowing that Qiu Honglei was creating opportunities for them to be together since their time together was destined to be limited. However, she was too proud to accept such goodwill. “He is strong enough to travel across spacetime. Surely a mere Asura race wouldn’t be a problem for him. There’s no reason for me to accompany him.”

Zu An had gotten a grasp of Xihe’s personality. He replied with a smile, “Madame, please have mercy on your husband and help him out. I don’t even know where the Asura race resides.”

Xihe’s lips curled into a smile, but she quickly suppressed it. “Cough cough. In view of your sincerity, I’ll bring you to the Asura race before returning to accompany my little sister Honglei.”

Qiu Honglei secretly chuckled under her hand. I didn’t expect big sister Xihe to have such a youthful side.

Zu An and Xihe waved Qiu Honglei farewell before making their way to the Asura race's territory.

“Most Asuras reside on Mount Meru,” Xihe said.

“Mount Meru?” Zu An was surprised. When he met the Asuras in the future, they were already residing in the Underworld, fighting against the remnants of the Shaman races. He hadn’t expected them to originally reside on Mount Meru.

“The Asuras are a warring race. They have been at war with the Celestials for a long time now. Both sides are roughly equally matched, though the Celestials held the upper hand. You can tell from how Emperor Jun often brings his subordinates to kidnap the Asura race’s beauties,” Xihe spat. “Asura men are savage and hideous, but asura women are gorgeous. Most fairies in the Celestial Palace are asuras.”

Zu An hadn’t expected such enmity between the two sides. He had noticed that the Celestial Palace was filled with beautiful fairies, but he hadn’t expected them to be asuras.

“You shouldn’t head there as Emperor Jun, or else the Asuras will skin you alive,” Xihe said with a snicker, as if she couldn’t wait to watch the spectacle.

Zu An assessed Xihe from head to toe.

Feeling unnerved, Xihe asked, “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“I can put aside my identity as Emperor Jun, but your reputation as the Sun Goddess is resounding as well. The world knows that you have recently become the Celestial Empress. Won’t you give us away?”

Xihe harrumphed. “That’s easy to deal with.”

She transformed into a graceful gentleman holding a foldable fan. “This should be fine.”

Zu An was awed. “I finally understand why some emperors in history were into men. It’s because of people like you that some men are led astray.”

“Stop messing around...” Xihe spat, though she felt gleeful at the compliment.

It didn’t take long for them to reach their destination.

As soon as they stepped onto Mount Meru, tens of hideous asura guards surrounded them and roared, “These two must be spies from the Celestial Court!”

Zu An and Xihe were speechless.