While Liuluo was slightly lost in thought, Meng Qi had already walked forward, passing through the scattered golden glimmers left by the collapse of the Six-Heaven Ancestral Dragon, delving deeper into the darkness of the celestial prison, resembling a divine being traversing the underworld.
Her will sharp as a blade, she severed the sudden surge of melancholy and followed, speaking up to remind him, “The Six-Heaven Ancestral Dragon was an innate spirit, the embodiment of the celestial realm’s dragon veins, long ago condensed into a divine form, imperishable and incorruptible. Yet now it has crumbled without a trace, likely having its essence drained by something, leaving only an empty shell.”
And this something was undoubtedly connected to the ever-watching eyes in the darkness, as well as the headless figure that had emerged from the divine form of the Six-Heaven Ancestral Dragon!
“I’m quite curious—what kind of monster is this?” Meng Qi said casually. “I wonder if it has any connection to the remnants of the celestial prison’s destruction during the battle at the Other Shore.”
What a pity. The remains of the Six-Heaven Ancestral Dragon have turned to dust. Otherwise, gathering a few similar corpses of ancient gods and ghosts might have brought hope for forging the Creation Longsword to pair with the Peerless Blade.
After crossing this boundary, massive and majestic steps appeared once more, descending endlessly. Meng Qi and the Mystic Maiden seemed to fly through a boundless void, nearly losing all sense of time’s passage.
After an indeterminable period, another golden glimmer emerged, flickering like candlelight. As they drew closer, the golden flame split into two, then four, then eight, transforming into countless blazing true flames that filled their vision—crimson-gold like the blazing sun.
Amidst the cluster of true flames was a strange bird with three legs, its feathers black with hints of dark gold, majestic in appearance, radiating scorching heat that melted the void and distorted time. Yet its vitality had long since faded, leaving only deathly silence and the weight of ages.
“The first three-legged golden crow after the division of heaven and earth in this epoch?” Meng Qi mused aloud, hands clasped behind his back as he observed the statue-like creature, already forming a conjecture.
“Indeed. Born from the essence of solar fire, it awakened its own intelligence, becoming the first three-legged golden crow of this epoch. In the early ancient times, it wielded the solar authority encompassing light, vitality, fire, time, and destruction, standing among the most formidable deities,” the Mystic Maiden of the Nine Heavens replied, her tone unchanged. “But later, it was defeated by the Celestial Emperor, stripped of its solar authority, with part of it bestowed upon Xi, earning him the title of Solar Deity.”
The sun and moon of the True World were not ordinary stars but born from different heavens of the celestial realm, projecting across myriad worlds as corresponding authorities, forming illusory natural laws. Thus, in the histories of many intelligent civilizations, the symbolic sun god was initially regarded as the Celestial Emperor.
The two conversed casually, as if seated in a teahouse, treating the surrounding darkness, the malevolent gaze, and the overwhelming presence of the primordial golden crow as nothing.
Suddenly, light erupted—blinding white—as solar true flames surged outward, igniting the void. The three-legged golden crow opened its eyes, gazing down with cold indifference, its pale flames flickering with the majesty of its prime when it had proclaimed itself emperor.
In the era of ancient myths, the titles of “Emperor” and “Sovereign” were not casually bestowed—they carried the supreme authority to rule over gods, mortals, and demons alike.
Faced with this overwhelming might, Meng Qi remained motionless, smiling as he turned to Liuluo, transmitting his thoughts through spiritual vibration: “Mystic Maiden, shall you handle this?”
Without a word, Liuluo’s crystalline eyes suddenly reflected the image of the three-legged golden crow, excluding the blinding light and solar flames.
In an instant, the bitter sea churned, time surged, and the terrifying three-legged crow abruptly froze.
As the pause manifested, a crimson sword light shot up from the Mystic Maiden’s hand, slashing forward. Along its path, it devoured every solar flame and absorbed all blinding radiance, leaving only a supremely bright and majestic red streak in the darkness.
As the sword light passed, the three-legged crow emitted a crisp sound—a fissure appeared, splitting it in two. Before it could even hit the ground, it crumbled into dust, its divine form scattering into motes of light. From within, another headless figure emerged, vanishing into the darkness behind.
“Superb swordsmanship, truly befitting the Great Deity who once presided over conquests in the ancient Heavenly Court,” Meng Qi praised, clapping lightly.
Liuluo sheathed her sword in her sleeve, neither accepting nor rejecting Meng Qi’s compliment. With a hint of solemnity, she said, “I believe I recognize the origin of that headless figure now.”
“Do enlighten me,” Meng Qi replied, turning to her.
“The former subordinate of my sword’s original master—Chiyou. Beheaded by the Celestial Emperor yet refusing to die. I never imagined he was later imprisoned here, now tainted by something eerie.” A clear sword chime resonated from her sleeve.
Meng Qi nodded slightly. “The Red Emperor?”
As expected, such figures had their roots in myth…
“Indeed. Though the Six-Heaven Ancestral Dragon, the primordial golden crow, and other ancient deities once vied with the Celestial Emperor for supremacy, his greatest adversaries were two others. One was the Red Emperor—both the sovereign of countless earthly beings and the ruler of half the celestial realm. In a sense, he could already be called an emperor. After a long and arduous war with countless twists, the Celestial Emperor gradually turned the tide. Yet it was only after he transcended the limitations of innate deities with the Seven Slaughter Stele that he finally achieved victory.” Liuluo’s tone carried a trace of nostalgia as she recounted these events.
After a brief pause, she continued, “The Red Emperor was too proud to submit. He transformed his body into a sword. Chiyou inherited his remnants but was eventually captured and beheaded as a warning. Yet his will was indomitable—able to distort reality, reverse life and death, seeing through his nipples and speaking through his navel, he survived and rebelled once more.”
Meng Qi nodded thoughtfully. “Yet the Celestial Emperor didn’t annihilate him completely, instead imprisoning him here, forbidding all deities from entering, and personally visiting the prison during his inspections. There must have been some scheme at play…”
Though their conversation grew grave, neither halted their steps. Their escaping light pressed forward, descending the steps, delving ever deeper.
Thereafter, they passed through countless layers where the Six-Heaven Ancestral Dragon, the primordial golden crow, and other ancient deities had once been imprisoned—all now empty. It seemed the watcher in the darkness had realized such obstacles were futile and ceased wasting effort.
On and on they traveled until Meng Qi felt as though epochs had passed. Finally, floating lights appeared once more.
The grand staircase ended here. Ahead, clusters of ghostly flames drifted, surrounding a black-robed emperor gazing down from above!
His aura was vast and terrifying, deathly intent surging like dark fire capable of burning away one’s innate spirit. A blurred Dao pattern intertwined at his brow, neither god nor ghost, neither immortal nor demon—clearly surpassing the remnants of the Six-Heaven Ancestral Dragon and the primordial golden crow, both stripped of their authority.
At this moment, the Mystic Maiden of the Nine Heavens, Liuluo, spoke with a sighing tone: “Cheng Tang…”
Cheng Tang, founder of the Shang Dynasty, said to be descended from the union of the Mystic Bird and humans—half-god, half-mortal, ruling over the earth with demons, humans, and earth deities alike bowing before him.
Under the gaze of the black-robed, high-crowned emperor, Meng Qi’s heart remained utterly calm. “According to your account, in ancient times, the title of ‘Emperor’ symbolized dominion over heaven and earth—synonymous with the Celestial Emperor. Yet every Shang ruler bore this title, even King Zhou, whose true name was Emperor Xin. It seems the Celestial Emperor’s other great adversary was this Cheng Tang of Shang. The Investiture of the Gods was never merely about replenishing the Heavenly Court’s deities.”
The Zhou Dynasty, succeeding the Shang, dared not claim the title of Emperor, settling for “King” until the fall of the Heavenly Court, the end of antiquity, and the demise of the Human Emperor. Only then did the titles of “Emperor” and “Sovereign” gradually lose their exclusivity.
“Cheng Tang, a demigod and descendant of the Mystic Bird, was backed by the Numinous Treasure Heavenly Lord and the Demon Emperor. He sought to oppose the Heavenly Court from the mortal realm, launching a counter-invasion of the heavens to dominate gods, humans, and demons alike—the final obstacle to the Celestial Emperor’s absolute rule,” Liuluo explained, observing the motionless Cheng Tang with a slight nod. “Furthermore, Cheng Tang’s ambitions ran deeper. He aimed to establish an eternal dynasty, willingly dissolving his physical form to be revered as a Ghost Emperor, creating the underworld to forge a nether realm with the intent to engulf the celestial domain. His vision was for every descendant of Shang to reign as kings in life and emperors in death, unifying heaven, the Nine Serenities, and earth.”
Meng Qi listened in astonishment, about to ask further, when the floating Ghost Emperor Cheng Tang opened his mouth, uttering a hoarse command: “Leave at once. Do not disturb.”
Do not disturb? Meng Qi and Liuluo exchanged bewildered glances.
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