Meng Po’s withered fingers gripped a bronze ladle, scooping water from the East Sea into a black earthenware jar. As the turbid broth began to boil, a hundred thousand spirits of the aquatic tribes surfaced from the crests of the waves, the witch-script character for "Oblivion" carved into every one of their foreheads. Nezha, riding his Wind and Fire Wheels, swept past the jar, and the Red Lotus Karmic Fire on his wheels was extinguished by the steam. Seizing the moment, the Black Lotus devoured the spirits, while three thousand eyes of the Hungry Ghost Realm opened across the surface of its Lotus Platform.
"This water... it is a tributary of the River of Forgetfulness!" Yang Jian’s Heavenly Eye pierced through the crashing waves with silver light, catching a glimpse of a deep rift on the ocean floor that connected directly to the Underworld. The God-Slaying Spear, sensing the presence of the netherworld, automatically etched the relief of the Saw-Tooth Hell onto its tip—the image depicted ghouls tearing apart the dragon soul of Ao Guang! Xiaotian Hound lunged at the jar, and the moment its teeth clamped onto the ladle’s handle, Meng Po shook a scattering of spider lily petals from her sleeve. The instant the petals touched the hound’s nose, the divine dog stood upright on its hind legs, its paws forming a Buddhist seal of rebirth.
Sun Wukong stirred the broth with his Ruyi Jingu Bang, awakening the memories hidden within the Mending Heaven Stone embedded in the staff: Nuwa…
Chapter 40