The List of Deities slowly descended, unfurling with the wind to reveal the divine names inscribed with faint Daoist patterns. Surrounding it, azure light coalesced into clouds, shifting endlessly, as if dragons and phoenixes encircled and revered it.
With every inch it descended, it drew the gaze of countless eyes—from the immortal caves, Buddhist paradises, and ancient homelands. They seemed wary of something or perhaps anticipating it.
Gao Lan had already appeared atop the Fengtian Platform, wearing the Crown of Equal Heaven, clad in the black-and-yellow imperial robes, with the ancient Human Emperor’s sword hanging at his waist. His stride was majestic, his bearing heroic, as if he could swallow the myriad realms whole.
Brilliant lights surged from the Fengtian Platform, resonating with the territory of the Great Zhou Dynasty, stirring tremors in the earth that condensed into a four-colored tapestry of mountains and rivers, shielding the platform from the interference of immortals and Buddhas. Meanwhile, Shao Xuan, Xi E, and others, each holding divine offices, steered the Ark of the End to stand guard.
As the reigning Human Emperor, Gao Lan took no chances. From the very beginning, he had exerted his utmost effort, laying out the best preparations he could muster.
Then, he did all he could and left the rest to fate.
Though Gao Lan had always been proud and ambitious, his current realm and level allowed him only to slightly influence the will of heaven through his status and the momentum he commanded, unable to intervene further.
A true emperor knows when to yield, when to endure, and when to strike back with courage.
Yet, he had always been a figure of contradictions—there were times when rage for a beloved would overtake him, and when endurance was no longer an option.
The List of Deities continued its slow descent, wreathed in golden and azure light, neither fast nor slow, as if nothing were amiss. Yet, in places like the Three Xiao Island, the Nine Immortals Mountain, and the earthly Buddhist paradises, mighty beings and great powers felt a sense of thrilling tension, as if every inch of its descent concealed fierce struggles, hidden schemes, and unseen bloodshed.
Perhaps, even as they sensed nothing unusual, history had already been rewritten countless times, only to settle into the form they now saw and “remembered.”
The golden light grew ever brighter, and as the List of Deities and the Fengtian Platform resonated, its descent suddenly accelerated. In mere moments, it traversed the vast distance, pierced through the tapestry of mountains and rivers, and landed in Gao Lan’s outstretched left hand.
No surprises. No turbulence.
The entire process was utterly calm, without a single ripple.
Could it be that, not yet fully awakened and returned, those great figures found it difficult to directly oppose the Green Emperor, who walked the mortal world, and thus chose compromise, retreat, and surrender?
Meng Qi sat cross-legged on the cloud bed in the Jade Void Palace, silently observing this scene, his thoughts swirling like a storm. Suddenly, he recalled a certain detail—one he had inadvertently noticed.
Could it be…?
If I were in Big Brother’s place, would I welcome such a situation?
Though it might affect his grand ambitions, it would also share the burden, sparing him from a direct confrontation with an enemy he could not yet overcome…
Thoughts raced through his mind, yet Meng Qi’s gaze remained profound, like the unchanging celestial statue in the temple, unmoving as he watched.
Under the weight of countless piercing gazes, Gao Lan raised the List of Deities in his left hand while his right hand drew the Human Emperor’s Sword with a resonant *clang*. Golden light shimmered, and the aura of kingship spread, intertwining with the List’s energy to complete the first step of “Humanity Governing Heaven.”
Then, shielded by the tapestry of mountains and rivers, he stepped forward to the core of the Fengtian Platform and thrust the Human Emperor’s Sword into its center. Light converged, forming an intricate altar adorned with the images of the Five Emperors of the Five Directions.
With solemn reverence, Gao Lan placed the List of Deities upon the altar.
**BOOM!**
A deep, muffled roar rose from the earth. Across the Great Zhou, every mountain, river, prefecture, and village trembled gently as streams of earthy energy surged forth, brown and yellow, weaving into dragon veins that stretched across the land. They seemed to come alive, surging toward Chang Le and converging upon the Fengtian Platform.
**CRACK!**
A soft sound echoed in the heavens as the shattered illusion of the Nine Heavens reappeared. Misty streams descended like rain or fine drizzle, falling straight or slanting, all drawn toward the Fengtian Platform.
**HUMMM!**
The illusion of the Nine Heavens trembled faintly, and Meng Qi’s gaze sharpened. He sought to sense the resonance, grasp the connection, enter the third layer, pass through the Hall of Gray Stone, break the seal, and step into the highest level of the Celestial Realm—to trace the whereabouts of the Primordial Heavenly Lord and uncover the ultimate secrets of the Celestial Emperor, all to elevate himself to the greatest extent.
But just then, the trembling of the Nine Heavens abruptly ceased. The descending mists darkened into a bloody hue, twisting into chaotic, irregular vortices—like countless terrifying, indifferent eyes.
Silently, the earthly dragon veins and heavenly auras that had surged toward the Fengtian Platform were thrown into disarray, on the verge of collapse.
“It’s here…” Meng Qi murmured, his expression unchanging.
The Heavenly Dao Monster had arrived, just as expected.
Suddenly, a beam of azure light shone from the infinite heights, within which faint shadows could be seen—an ancient Fusang tree, the Eight Treasures Merit Pond, a pure Buddha-land, and an ancient tree bearing countless fruits. The light enveloped the Heavenly Dao Monster completely.
As the light solidified like a mirror, the Heavenly Dao Monster was severed from reality, becoming a mere reflection—a thin sheet of existence, a mere description!
The Green Emperor, from the Eastern Glazed World, had personally intervened to immobilize the Heavenly Dao Monster.
**BOOM!**
The chaotic dragon veins and earthly energies returned to normal, climbing the Fengtian Platform to repair the ruined central layers and forming reliefs of true dragons along its outer walls.
The mists rained down, splitting into streams that bathed the List of Deities, causing it to blaze with light. Around it, the nearly destroyed upper four layers began to reconstruct themselves, and the divine names formed from faint Daoist patterns rose one after another, transforming into streams of light that poured into the List.
**BOOM!**
Heaven and earth darkened, plunging not only the real world but also the ancient starry skies and myriad realms into the same state.
Then, a golden light erupted from the Fengtian Platform, ascending against the heavens, tinged with azure, purple, and pure white—igniting the Celestial Realm!
**HUMMM!**
The signs of resonance appeared, and Meng Qi activated the Cause of All Effects.
At this very moment, in an ancient land, Han Guang—the “Demon Master,” as if awakening from a long slumber—smiled faintly and suddenly stood, appearing in the Nine Nethers.
A golden swastika glowed on his forehead, sometimes rotating forward, sometimes backward, shifting between black and red. Around him, the ethereal and majestic incarnation of the Celestial Emperor stood alongside the destructive form of Yama.
“Since we were once the Twin Stars of Radiance, how could I let you shine alone today?” Han Guang stepped forward, and the Celestial Emperor and Yama incarnations began merging into his true form.
Their separation in the past had been for this very moment of reunion.
For years, he had suppressed himself, waiting for this very opportunity—when the “Humanity Governing Heaven” would trigger changes in the Celestial Realm’s authority.
From the moment he stepped onto the path of the Dharma Body, his goal had been to become the sovereign of both the Celestial Realm and the Nine Nethers. That was why he had fused the Celestial Emperor’s form with the Yama incarnation.
The golden swastika pulsed with Buddhist light and demonic energy as the Celestial Emperor, Yama, and his true form clashed violently, as if struggling to overcome an insurmountable conflict.
Han Guang’s face twisted in strain before he suddenly shouted, “What are you all waiting for?”
The leader of the Myth organization was called the Celestial Emperor not just because he possessed fragments of the *Celestial Emperor’s Jade Scroll*, but also because he had gathered scattered remnants of the Celestial Emperor’s authority. Once he attained the Legendary realm, he could integrate them into himself.
In other words, before the completion of “Humanity Governing Heaven,” if he—who already possessed the Celestial Emperor’s true form—ascended to Legendary, he could seize a portion of the Celestial Realm’s authority amidst its upheaval, preventing the Green Emperor and Gao Lan from achieving their full goals.
Though he still couldn’t stop most of the List of Deities and the Fengtian Platform’s divine effects, he could render them incomplete, leaving flaws in “Humanity Governing Heaven.” The number of high-ranking deities that could be enfeoffed would drastically decrease, and the requirements would become far stricter. This would leave room for the returning Primal Sovereigns to maneuver and renegotiate the balance of power.
Thus, aside from the Green Emperor and the Moral Heavenly Lord—and excluding the ambiguous Golden Emperor and the missing Primordial Heavenly Lord—all other great figures would aid his ascension.
This was what the omens of recent years had hinted at.
If not now, when?
**HUMMM!**
In the Xuanyuan Sect, within the Jade Emperor Mountain, the shimmering long blade suddenly trembled, casting beams of pure white light. Within them, the shadow of an ancient seal tumbled before traversing the river of time, breaking free from the shackles of the ages, and merging into Han Guang’s Celestial Emperor form.
The Nine Nethers quaked violently as streams of dark demonic energy erupted from the void, forming phantoms of evil gods and demons from various races, all converging into Han Guang’s Six Annihilation Yama incarnation.
As they overlapped and fused, remnants of conflict and rejection lingered. Then, the void suddenly cleared, and two objects descended—a seven-colored glazed relic and a vibrant green bodhi seed. The relic flew into the golden swastika, while the bodhi seed transformed repeatedly, shifting from Buddhist to demonic, merging into the inverted Buddha’s bloody light.
A green pillar of wood descended from the heavens, piercing into the Nine Nethers to disrupt the process, but the Black Emperor, the Nine Chaos Heavenly Lord, the Profound Nether Ghost Emperor, and other pseudo-Primal Sovereigns joined forces to block it.
Han Guang, having discerned that these “gifts” bore no hidden dangers, finally achieved the complete fusion of his three forms. Unable to contain himself, he let out a triumphant laugh.
Today, the “Will of Heaven” is mine!
The phantom of the Nine Nethers manifested, resonating with the Celestial Realm as the two phenomena merged into one.
Within the Jade Void Palace on Kunlun Mountain, Meng Qi, peering through the Nine Nethers with the aid of the Origin of Life and Death, watched this scene calmly, neither pleased nor sorrowful. He merely sighed softly and said, “Truly a peerless overlord.”
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