The Bullhorn King fixed his cold gaze on John Chou and me.
"This all began with the founding of the Animal Realm."
John Chou asked, and a flicker of doubt flashed in the Bullhorn King's eyes.
"Didn't you hear about it from the Infernal Judge? The monk split off a mature piece of land, creating the Six Paths of Reincarnation."
Faced with the Bullhorn King's counter-question, my confusion deepened. The fate of animal souls, as shaped by the Six Paths of Reincarnation, seemed even more uncertain.
"The First Tribunal Judge sent us here and explained clearly—once we arrived, we'd ask you and understand. That's why I came to find you first, since you're one of the twelve Zodiac lieutenants closest to the borderlands."
After scrutinizing us for a while, the Bullhorn King finally sat down. The Purelands, vast and ordered, still held secrets about the underworld and the animal spirits dwelling within.
"The Beast Lord is just something the twelve of us made up—to get all the ghosts in the Animal Realm to obey. Of course, we need real strength to back it up. That's why food kept growing in Purelands, and its vast expanse allowed animal souls to sustain themselves after death."
John Chou let out a laugh, then said: The Bullhorn King was one of the first animal ghosts to gain intelligence. Over time, more developed wisdom, but Purelands became overcrowded, and many animals perished from predatory habits or ghostly energy they couldn't digest.
"You twelve really are clever. Everyone here completely believes in the Beast Lord. But when Bloodbane Power seeped into the Sanzu Force, instability followed, and the Animal Realm was never the same."
The Bullhorn King let out a sigh, then leaned his head back, one hand pressing against his horn.
"It all began with the founding of the Animal Realm."
I sat down, but immediately asked a question.
"Could you get us something to eat first?"
My stomach was already aching with hunger. The Bullhorn King waved his hand, and a bundle landed before us, filled with food. I eagerly began to eat, and John Chou joined me.
After we had eaten for a while, the Bullhorn King began to speak.
In the era of Old Hell, there was nowhere to deal with animal souls, so the rulers of Old Hell used their power to grant Purelands a wild environment like the Living World, and set a restriction: other ghosts could not enter Purelands, and animal souls could not leave.
That’s why food kept increasing in Purelands, and its vast expanse made it possible for animal souls to be self-sufficient after death. Most animals became ghosts, and after staying a long time, some developed intelligence, but only a few.
The Bullhorn King was one of those few—one of the earliest animal ghosts to gain intelligence. To this day, they don’t know why they became sentient. As time passed, their wisdom grew, but Purelands became overcrowded. Animals kept dying, sometimes devoured by others due to instinct, sometimes destroyed by ghostly energy they couldn’t digest.
This misery continued until one day, a monk arrived and saw the animals’ suffering. Using his unique powers, the monk guided the animal souls to another space—a Buddhist domain.
Afterward, the monk chose twelve animals corresponding to the human Zodiac and carefully taught them. He hoped to establish a system that would allow all beings to reincarnate, so animals would not suffer tragic deaths in life and endless torment after death.
Centuries later, the monk left Purelands and traveled to a mountain in the Barrens, carving Buddha statues there. But this angered the rulers of Old Hell, who sensed the monk was trying to create a new place for souls outside Hell. They captured him and cast him into the deepest layer of Hell.
Hell eventually erupted in war, ending with Old Hell’s defeat. A brand new hell was established, called the Underworld Court.
The monk returned to Purelands and consulted with the twelve beasts he had taught. Using his powers, he split off a mature piece of Purelands’ soil, twisting it into a place unreachable by most powers—the current site of the Six Paths of Reincarnation.
Gradually, just as the monk had hoped, the Six Paths system was established. The twelve saw a glimmer of hope—for the first time, animals no longer had to suffer. After death, they could enter the Animal Realm, pass into reincarnation, and be reborn in the Heavenly or Human Realms, keeping the cycle running.
For many years, everything was peaceful. But over time, the Heavenly Realm’s power became overwhelming, suppressing the other five paths. Humanity exploded in numbers, and Hell became overcrowded.
These people had to be punished before entering the Animal Realm, but the Animal Realm was already packed. The balance of reincarnation could not be broken. In this dire situation, the Underworld Court made a decision.
They fused the souls of dead animals with those of humans, solving the problem of animal spirits unable to reincarnate and ensuring that sinners were punished—forced to live as animals until eaten, at which point their souls would be twisted out and sent for rebirth.
These souls could not reincarnate for a time—the only chance was to be eaten. Once devoured, their souls would be twisted out by the Six Paths and sent outward, waiting for rebirth.
But then something shocking happened—a Hungry Ghost named John Chou invaded the Sanzu Force. For reasons unknown, he injected Bloodbane Power into the Sanzu Force, causing it to gradually collapse and even risk total breakdown.
Through the efforts of all parties in the Sanzu Force, and with help from the Underworld Court and Ksitigarbha, Bloodbane Power was finally sealed evenly within the Hungry Ghost Realm, Animal Realm, and Hell Realm.
But then, something else happened. Afterward, the Hell Realm and Hungry Ghost Realm began to clash, their powers interfering and trying to consume each other—and even dragged the Animal Realm into it.
The Sanzu Force collided and squeezed together, and the Six Paths of Reincarnation began to fall into chaos. The Animal Realm was especially thrown into disorder—beasts entering reincarnation could even be born into human families, a terrifying prospect. Only when Ksitigarbha injected part of his own body into the Sanzu Force did things ease, but it was only temporary.
This chapter is not finished yet~.~ Please click next page to continue reading the exciting story!
The Hell Realm was protected by powerful restrictions, so its evil ghosts could not escape. But the Hungry Ghost Realm was different—when the Sanzu Force collided, its restrictions loosened. Hungry ghosts, smelling fresh food, flooded into the Animal Realm and devoured everything.
The twelve Zodiac lieutenants could only fight with all their strength. The realms drew closer, even showing signs of merging. At that moment, the sealed Bloodbane Power began to have an effect—under its influence, the hungry ghosts lost their strength and became weak. Those who had tried to overrun the Animal Realm were forced back into the Hungry Ghost Realm.
The hungry ghosts’ weakness was caused by their endless hunger. To solve this, the Boar King increased food production in Purelands. Originally, food from there was meant for some animals in the Animal Realm, to keep them from dying too quickly and strengthening the Hungry Ghost Realm. But now, in desperation, all the food was sent to the Hungry Ghost Realm to feed the ghosts.
This solution couldn’t last. Right now, the Animal Realm relies on the Bloodbane Power that once invaded the Sanzu Force to resist the Hungry Ghost Realm’s encroachment. When Ksitigarbha separated the Bloodbane Power, he used all his strength to isolate it, making the powers repel each other. For years, the Hungry Ghost Realm hasn’t been able to approach the Animal Realm at all.
"Now that Ksitigarbha is gone, if you take away the Bloodbane Power, the Hungry Ghost Realm will come closer."
I swallowed, while John Chou sipped his wine, looking relaxed.
"Isn’t this just an incomplete system? The Six Paths—when it was founded, the goal was to save all beings, but no one considered their numbers. Collapse was inevitable. Even if John Chou hadn’t intervened, the Sanzu Force would have had problems. Hell’s already overcrowded. All they did was lock hungry ghosts and evil spirits in the Hungry Ghost Realm and Animal Realm as the foundation, then use the Human and Animal Realms to balance things, and the Heavenly and Asura Realms to restrain them. Now it’s all chaos!"
"How do you know all this so clearly?"
The Bullhorn King stared at John Chou in disbelief. He put down his wine cup and stood up.
"I just deduced it from what you said. If I couldn’t, the First Tribunal Judge wouldn’t have sent me."
The Bullhorn King fell silent for a while, then stood up.
"I can’t decide this alone. I’ll send someone to contact the other ten lieutenants and ask them to come, or we’ll all gather somewhere and discuss it together."
Saying this, the Bullhorn King lifted the seal and left, telling us to rest.
"No wonder the Underworld Court was so evasive about you reclaiming the Bloodbane Power—they never gave a formal reply."
John Chou’s eyes grew cold as he stared at the doorway.
"I told you, brother, you can’t trust these creatures who’ve lived for tens of thousands of years."
My eyes widened. Suddenly, John Chou threw his wine cup toward the door. With a whoosh, I felt an unnatural chill—my feet were already soaking in icy water. Black currents swirled, radiating a suffocating cold.
John Chou and I found ourselves in a cold, damp dungeon. I was about to use ghost energy, but John Chou grabbed my hand.
"Brother, if you use your power now, the Sanzu water will melt it away."