As one of the Eight Ancestors of the Three Realms, Meng Po had literally nothing to do. The owner of the Spiritual Conflux, the principal center of transport bridging the Three Planes together into a unified and cohesive structure, found herself staring into the depths of the void looming from over the edge of the warped space that formed the Underworld.
After hundreds of millions of years devoid of any necessary conflict and an unimaginable bastion of power to manipulate spatial coordinates within her territory, who of their rational mind wouldn't divert the majority, of not all of their workload onto either an automated system or others to bear?
At the least, the owner of the Spiritual Conflux was such a 'rational' person.
She forced the unruly residents of the Demon Plane – particularly the western succubus and incubus creatures – into highly unfavorable gambling conditions, prompting themselves to hand over their liberal rights in exchange for a limited freedom as her employee, or to suffer being permanently imprisoned in a spatial coordinate underneath the Underworld Bridge. Similarly, she transformed the deformed prototypes of the mortal soul into ghosts, wraiths, and other secondary spiritual beings.
Utilizing her gambler's spirit and ultimate ability as one of the mysterious Ancestors of the Three Realms, the Lady of the Underworld Bridge abused her authority to its limits to obtain her mechanized and systematic workforce.
The succubus creatures boiled the carefully curated soup of oblivion to the respective degree designated upon the mortal soul by the immortals presiding over their territories, sometimes adding their own alternative ingredients to play around with the occasional unfortunate soul. Given that the lascivious creatures did not overstep their boundaries when venting their frustrations onto the pitiful mortals, Meng Po didn't care too much for it.
Alas, she couldn't care too much about their occasional – ahem, often – rowdy behavior, for she too made unforeseen and unreasonable altercations to the degree of oblivion prescribed onto the mortal souls at times depending on her mood.
If she had just returned from a horrendous outcome after a heated gambling match…
Sorry, your ticket to the Dragon Gate and a life of luxury, beauties, and wealth – that was all destined to vanish!
At least, for the next dozen lifetimes, the Pain Gate was free estate for prospective residents…
The incubus were responsible for maintaining order amongst the mortal souls as they transferred onto the unforgiving and sadistic rails of the Underworld Bridge, as well as interviewing each and every individual mortal soul for their respective list of crimes committed, benevolent deeds, or perhaps a specifically intense wish conferred upon their wills.
When the mortal souls' queue was called, the incubus was to hand over the detailed list to the succubus, whom would then perform the prescribed altercations to the soup of oblivion.
The spirits and wraiths were responsible for eliminating any dissenters, as well as enforce the security of the Underworld Bridge from any naughty immortal beings wishing to obtain a permanent guarantee to the Dragon Gate for their vacations.
Indeed, over the time of her tenure as the owner and principal manager of the Spiritual Conflux, Meng Po had revolutionized her system to require as little manual input from its manager as possible. As the Ancestor of Spirits' inherent nature was grossly different from that of her fellow peers, the following manner in which she conducted her lifestyle was bound to witness several changes.
The Ancestors responsible for the successful propagation of the basic elements could witness their power and influence surge as their subordinates and descendants advanced in their understanding and comprehension, but she was different. The Lady of the Underworld Bridge could only magnify her influence over the Three Realms by ensuring the constant and perpetual operation of the Spiritual Conflux – which resulted into the development of a healthy personality.
A healthy personality when combined with utter laziness and the lack of an intense gambling challenge from a reckless fellow, nonetheless, resulted in…
"That grumpy Old Xuan, when is he going to deliver his first Bloody Mary? It's been seventeen years already since he went on vacation, and I haven't spotted a single soul!"
Upon hearing Meng Po's mutter, all of the servants 'employed' and 'volunteering' at the Spiritual Conflux couldn't help but witness their lips twitching at a fervent rate. Deeply wishing to maintain the status quo and prevent any discord, the servants immediately intensified the efficiency of their duty.
…the Lady of the Underworld Bridge had become annoyed once more due to the Flame Ancestor.
Ultimately, nonetheless, the fault did not lie on Shang Xuan's inherent reclusive personality or laziness from killing to meet his quota, but that the mortal body his soul inhabited simply lacked the ability to massacre with impunity.
Not only was the physical body weak and devoid of the strength required for such an act, the environment was stable and modernized to forbid and condemn the act of murder.
…such a restriction was only due to the fact that the Flame Ancestor had not drunken the soup of oblivion as a mortal imprint of his soul; though he stepped through the Dragon Gate, albeit his environment and future was bound to be illustrious, he had not obtained any cheat-like abilities or fortune.
Shang Xuan had merely decided to step into a mortal world to seek a momentary breather from the walking calamity that was the Jade Emperor's daughter. The reclusive hermit whose total number of cordial acquaintances did not exceed seven, most definitely did not seek a brilliant future of a mortal sweeping through what he could proclaim as the heavens.
Even Meng Po was aware of such a circumstance.
However, was she actually serious to expect Shang Xuan to uphold his deal of the agreement, and begin a torrential influx of mortal souls into the bottomless cataclysm that was the Spiritual Conflux?
The answer was simple.
Oh, hell yes!
"Damned Old Xuan, daring to declare an agreement of Bloody Mary's, but not actually dispatching over once you get your vacation," the old lady hissed with frustration.
"Just you wait! When you return, this Ancestor will proclaim her approval towards the dreams of that bigot of a lass! Let's see how you fare –"
"Old Lady! Old Lady!"
Meng Po's rampant thoughts were brutally destroyed and shattered as a frantic succubus rushed from her post besides the edge of the Underworld Bridge residing over the clear river. The servant from the Demon Plane clasped an object in her hands as her attractive chest heaved from her exertion.
"What is it?"
Meng Po raised a baleful eyebrow at the servant who dared to ruin her miserable pastime of daydreaming. The owner of the Spiritual Conflux glared at the bubbling bosom that was bound to attract the feverish attention of men, wondering whether she was allowed to deduct the wages of her succubi servants once again.
"This… Old Lady, just as you had requested…"
The succubus quickly deposited the object into the old lady's hands, before fleeing to her post with great haste. Meng Po quizzically stared at the cloudy sphere deposited in her hand for a brief moment, before her expression immediately brightened with an enormous smile.
Positioned atop her palm was a mortal soul devoid of consciousness, the only sentient aspects remaining comprising of trace emotions magnified in their concentrations to the maximum sustainable by a mortal soul. When Meng Po tapped the surface of the glass-like sphere, the surface of the clouded sphere rippled with a faint wave of resentment and devotion.
To describe it in a few words, the specimen of a mortal soul before her was perfect according to her requirements. Regardless of the purity of the soul or the remnant trace emotions fluctuating underneath, the proportions were exactly to her wishes.
Furthermore, she could spot a crest of a flame engraved at the base of the sphere, which raised a curve onto her lips.
"Ah… Old Xuan, you never let your old friends down, ah."
Meng Po cackled in delight; in her hands was a soul that could be readily converted into a Bloody Mary of the finest quality. If she dared to wager this in a gamble with Chujiang, that devious Demon King was bound to lose a portion of his flesh in losses!
The issue of not carving a spiritual imprint into the mortal soul made her wonder if she had missed any souls – only, what was the Flame Ancestor doing now?
The Lady of the Underworld waved her sleeve in the air, generating an invisible current of spiritual intent to coalesce into the smooth surface of a mirror. As the mirror solidified its reflective surface, the scene projected from within was enough to cause the old lady to gape in surprise.
A dashingly handsome young man was stripping his clothing and replacing it with an exquisite set of fashionable modernized clothing.
A young girl of astonishing beauty and temperament flitted from side to side of the young man, her delicate fingers gently adjusting the collar and arrangement of the neatly fitting clothes.
But that wasn't the issue; the Ancestor tasked with the responsibility of the Spiritual Conflux couldn't believe her eyes.
"Their aura is the same…" Meng Po whispered.
"Their aura is the same, and I can't detect the presence of that mysterious fourth fire spirit that Old Xuan requested when his spiritual imprint departed into the mortal world. Then, then… - that means!"
If they possessed the same spiritual trace, then that young girl had to be a fire spirit! A fire spirit that was created from Shang Xuan's hands!
If the relationship between that young girl and young man was as she thought it were to be by their intimate actions and expressions… what did those modernized mortals call it again?
Self-cest?
The Flame Ancestor was the evolved and fulfilled manifestation of a narcissist's dreams!
With an elated shout, the dignified and ruthless Lady of the Underworld Bridge leaped into the air, her heart exploding with joy. Meng Po ignored the confused glances directed from her subordinates, her figure racing into the crevices of the infinite void encompassing her.
"Old Luo, Old Tian, come here, lah!" the old woman cried with tears of laughter.
"Let me tell you a secret, it's about Old Xuan, ah…"