Free Web NovelChen Shi walked into the temple. Everything inside was just as before, untouched by destruction.
Before the hall stood a stone tortoise, secretly filled with extraordinary power, as if it could come to life at any moment. On its back stood a stone stele, inscribed with the deeds of Lord Yue during his lifetime.
Beneath the eaves of the main hall, stone pillars coiled with dragons seemed to descend from the heavens, spiraling down to the mortal world. Inside the hall, the ceiling above was a dome pieced together from blue porcelain tiles, recording the story of Lord Yue’s youth—learning martial arts, refining a set of divine abilities, and subduing demons to uphold the Dao. Then came the tale of the Great Song’s crisis: the young man resolutely joining the army, forming the Beiwei Army, battling the Iron Buddhas, rescuing the Great Song from danger, and sweeping away humiliation beyond enemy borders. Various battle scenes were depicted, vivid and lifelike.
Then came the story of the Fengbo Pavilion, where the Song Emperor arrested him on trumped-up charges. He faced death with dignity, and ultimately, the common people deified him, honoring him as the Three Realms Demon-Suppressing Great Emperor and the Guardian Nation Demon-Subduing Bandit-Quelling Heavenly Lord. Above, he commanded the celestial soldiers of the Nine Heavens; below, he governed the guilty ghosts and lost souls of the Five Hells.
He withdrew his gaze and looked toward the shrine ahead. The shrine was also empty, without a deity statue.
Before the shrine lay an iron spear, over two zhang long and as thick as an arm, placed horizontally in front of it.
Despite over six thousand years having passed, the iron spear bore no rust, instead exuding an oily sheen.
Threads of battle intent and killing aura seeped from the iron spear, accompanied by the clashing sounds of armored horses and weapons.
Suddenly, clamor erupted from outside the temple. Layers of demonic domains descended, demonic energy surging like a flood, washing away the righteous path of the world, transforming righteous energy into demonic energy, and turning the orthodox path into the demonic way.
The demonic domains stacked upon each other, converging at the center—this Yue Wang Temple. Demonic energy surged, instantly causing the water-like thunder around Chen Shi to extinguish. The sky suddenly darkened, and the bright moon vanished.
Chen Shi activated Yin-Yang Purgation, the sun and moon circling around him, cleansing the demonic atmosphere to prevent the demonic energy and demonic path from corrupting the temple’s extraordinary power.
Yet the demonic energy grew heavier and denser, and even the rotation of the sun and moon in the Yin-Yang Purgation could not refine it all at once.
Around him, countless demon heads seemed to hide, whispering in secret, awakening various desires within him, interfering with his thoughts, making it impossible to concentrate.
Just then, a tidal wave of noise reached his ears, as if thousands of troops were charging, rushing past him. Strong soldiers and sturdy horses raised blades and spears, drove their Primordial Spirits, their battle cries shaking heaven and earth. A sincere will burst forth, sweeping everything away!
The demonic energy and demonic path were shattered and routed, melting away like ice and snow!
Chen Shi’s heart trembled violently. “This battle intent—is it from Lord Yue’s Beiwei Army? After more than six thousand years without a single offering, it still possesses such terrifying will to fight!”
A surge of respect welled up within him. He produced incense offerings and stepped forward to pay homage.
A wisp of incense energy rose, drifting toward the empty shrine.
The extraordinary power in the temple rapidly condensed, forming a series of golden feathers, each about two to three zhang long, neatly arranged to compose wings. They slowly floated past him.
Their speed increased, and suddenly a brilliant golden light shot into the sky, like a Golden-Winged Great Peng. As it flapped its wings, countless rays of golden light shot out in all directions, sweeping away all the demonic energy around!
In the instant of that wingbeat, all demonic words and demonic atmosphere were cleaved clean away by the golden light!
The miraculous phenomena in the temple grew even more magnificent. Chen Shi had not yet deified anyone, yet this battlefield war god, stimulated by the demonic energy and demonic atmosphere, seemed to be awakening on its own!
From outside the demonic domain, the child-faced elder saw from afar what seemed to be a Golden-Winged Great Peng soaring up from Yue Wang Temple. As it spread its wings, it broke through the demonic energy and tore apart the demonic path. A shock went through him. “Such powerful extraordinary power! This heretical god hasn’t even revived yet, and it’s already this formidable!”
He quickly called out for Wuxie but received no response. His heart sank. “Could Wuxie have gone into the demonic domain? He must have gone to intercept the Child Prodigy. He’s no match for the Child Prodigy!”
Despair Slope followed a master-disciple tradition: one master, one disciple. The master taught from childhood through example and word, carefully cultivating and passing on all their skills. Only when the disciple reached adulthood and could protect themselves, standing on their own, would the teacher choose the next disciple.
He had cultivated Wuxie for over a decade; their bond was deep.
Having spent all his time at Despair Slope, Wuxie inevitably looked down on everyone else, believing that besides his senior brother Zhong Wuwang, no one could contend with him. The elder had brought Wuxie on this trip to temper him and broaden his horizons.
The child-faced elder hesitated for a moment, then stepped into the demonic domain.
The moment he entered, he immediately sensed the demonic energy and demonic path beginning to affect him. Demonic nature sprouted in his heart.
Demonic transformation was the shift of heaven and earth’s righteous energy and great Dao toward demonic energy and demonic path. Despair Slope had long studied its mechanics. But research was research; even he could not avoid being assimilated by the demonic domain.
A single demonic domain had little effect on him, but with multiple demonic domains overlapping, even he risked demonization!
He headed toward Yue Wang Temple, thinking, “Wuxie must have been drawn by the thrill of the hunt and tried to challenge the Child Prodigy to prove himself. He chased Chen Shi, and Chen Shi headed for Yue Wang Temple, so he must have gone there too!”
His heart was on fire. Wuxie cultivated the *Xuanzhen Golden Court Immortal Scripture*, a celestial technique of immense power.
Even among Despair Slope’s techniques, this one was top-tier. Once mastered, a Golden Court would appear behind the practitioner’s head. As cultivation deepened, the Golden Court would receive celestial energy, raising the practitioner’s power.
When casting a spell, another Golden Court Immortal Palace would form above the enemy’s head. The caster’s own image would become the immortal within that palace, with devastating power.
This technique had the same exquisite subtlety as the Jade Emperor Nine Heavens Register.
But the child-faced elder knew Wuxie would lose.
Whether in adaptability, combat experience, or skill, Chen Shi far surpassed Wuxie. Moreover, Chen Shi had mastered the True King’s treasury; the techniques he practiced were likely celestial techniques as well.
“This brat Wuxie is too willful!”
Rage burned within him. “When I catch him, I’ll teach him a harsh lesson!”
Just then, he saw Wuxie’s corpse.
The child-faced elder’s heart suddenly convulsed violently. He felt heartache, an intensely powerful heartache.
“You unleashed the calamity, causing countless deaths. Is your heart pained now that you’ve lost a disciple?”
A Demon Seed approached. It was pitch black, with long arms and legs, and sprouted two upper bodies from its waist, like a conjoined twin. It looked down at him with a mocking smile and drawled, “You released us, causing countless deaths. Aren’t you pained for them? Ah, right—people like you only speak grand righteous words, but when it happens to you...”
Purple energy surged behind the child-faced elder, like a waterfall descending from the Nine Heavens. With a whoosh, the purple energy swept across and passed through that Demon Seed.
The Demon Seed couldn’t dodge in time. Its upper body vanished entirely, leaving only two long, thin legs standing on the ground.
Those two legs even took two more steps before wobbling and falling.
“Do I, Taoist Ji, need your commentary on my actions?”
A flash of purple passed across the child-faced elder’s face. His expression darkened as he walked straight toward Yue Wang Temple.
Around him, demonic flowers of all sizes bloomed, giving birth to Demon Seeds from their pistils. They began hunting the living within the demonic domain.
The demonic energy grew denser, and the demonic nature intensified. In this world, heaven and earth grew dark, the great Dao unclear, transforming toward the demonic path.
As the demonic transformation deepened, the Demon Seeds would grow stronger. After a hundred days, they would mature, surpassing the Mahayana stage and becoming beings of terrifying horror!
The child-faced elder felt his Dao Heart being tainted by demonic nature, becoming irritable and quick to anger. In the past, he would have carefully cut away demonic thoughts and cleansed the demonic nature from his Dao Heart. But now, his mind was filled with rage—only one thought remained: revenge for his beloved disciple.
He arrived before Yue Wang Temple, murderous intent filling the air. Just as he was about to enter, a dazzling light burst from within.
It was the light of the Mountains and Rivers Map, shining out from the temple, reflecting the geography of Western Ox New Continent’s fifty provinces onto the sky around Yue Wang Temple.
The child-faced elder’s heart jumped. He looked up at these geographical maps. Many areas were still dark, but some had already lit up!
For instance, Lingzhou, the province they were in, had its map illuminated!
The countless mountain peaks, villages, towns, and even county seats of Lingzhou now showed tiny points of light.
These were the lights emitted by the spirits, Godmothers, and Divine Manifestations of Lingzhou!
His heart sank. Chen Shi had already awakened the heretical god in the temple!
From within Yue Wang Temple came a deep, magnetic voice, carrying a touch of melancholy and poetry, imbued with romantic sentiment.
“Thirty years of renown, dust and dirt; eight thousand miles of clouds and moon. Don’t idle away your youth, turning your hair white...”
The child-faced elder sneered coldly. “Heretical worship, a false god! Corrupting the true god’s doctrines, using spells to confuse the people, wielding divine abilities to deceive the masses. You deserve death, deserve death!”
His murderous intent soared into the clouds. Behind him, purple energy drifted, and a Golden Court appeared within it.
In the sky above, another Golden Court formed. Within it, an immortal sat in solemn stillness.
The child-faced elder raised his hand and pointed. In the Golden Court of the Nine Heavens, the immortal stretched out a finger. As it descended, the sky split open. The fingertip blazed with intense flames, like a burning mountain falling from the heavens, smashing toward Yue Wang Temple!
He practiced the same *Xuanzhen Golden Court Immortal Scripture*, but he had delved deeper, reaching the level of receiving celestial purple energy from the heavens.
The Golden Court immortal he manifested was clearer, more powerful, and closer to a true immortal!
This strike—felling the mountain and destroying the temple—was effortless!
Just then, an iron spear thrust out from within the temple.
The spear’s shaft was gripped by a large hand, its tip spinning to meet the immortal’s finger.
The iron spear flew from the hand. That large hand struck the spear’s tail with great force.
The spear hissed and crackled, as if its seals were being broken. This divine weapon, the Demon-Suppressing Bandit-Quelling Artifact, unleashed its former power once more after more than six thousand years!
*BOOM!*
The immortal’s finger split apart. Rays of light bloomed along the cracks, spreading from the fingertip to the base of the finger, then to the entire hand, the forearm, and the upper arm!
The iron spear drove along that arm, unstoppable, reaching the Nine Heavens!
Within the Golden Court, the immortal seated there was pierced through by the iron spear. It flew backward involuntarily and was nailed to the Golden Court with a resounding crash!
In an instant, the Nine Heavens, the golden light, the Golden Court, and the immortal all dissipated.
The child-faced elder groaned. His energy and blood surged as he was blasted backward.
Behind him, the purple waterfall swept forward. Wherever it passed, everything turned to ash. The earth rumbled, gouged into a trench dozens of zhang deep, molten lava churning within it!
The iron spear howled down from the sky, sweeping across the purple energy.
The purple energy trembled violently but was held back before the temple, unable to sweep across it.
A tall, imposing general draped in a purple five-clawed dragon robe strode out of Yue Wang Temple. He grabbed the iron spear and, like a god of war, attacked the child-faced elder!
The child-faced elder activated the *Xuanzhen Golden Court Immortal Scripture* once more. Purple energy churned around him, like a long dragon twisting, sweeping, leaping, and pouncing—an awe-inspiring display of power.
The two clashed at lightning speed. The iron spear and the purple energy weaved up and down. With every collision, the residual force flew in all directions. Far away, the ground and sky exploded continuously. Even the demonic domain was punched through with large holes, revealing the outside world!
The demonic flowers the child-faced elder had arranged had already given birth to Demon Seeds. Many of them now rushed toward Yue Wang Temple. But seeing this fearsome display from afar, their hearts trembled, and they dared not approach.
*SHRIEK!*
The purple celestial energy was pierced through. The child-faced elder caught the spearhead between both palms, but the immense force crushed him, forcing him backward despite his resistance.
He roared. His physical body, Primordial Spirit, Divine Embryo, and Realm of Emptiness merged into one. His body stretched and grew into a thousand-zhang giant, his strength multiplying exponentially!
At the same time, the Three Realms Demon-Suppressing Great Emperor also manifested his golden body dharma form, matching him in stature, with even greater strength.
The child-faced elder’s face twisted with ferocity. A hairpin fastened in his topknot flew off, transforming into a small sword that stabbed forward.
Above them, in the Nine Heavens, a Golden Court appeared. An immortal raised a sword, which flew down from the heavens. It was over ten li long, descending toward the Three Realms Demon-Suppressing Great Emperor!
The Three Realms Demon-Suppressing Great Emperor poured divine power into the iron spear. With a *puff*, it passed between the child-faced elder’s palms and pierced into his chest.
The great spear lifted the child-faced elder into the air. With a flick, his body exploded into pieces!
The ten-li-long giant sword descending from the Nine Heavens vanished like a dream. Only a small hairpin-sized sword floated before the brow of the Three Realms Demon-Suppressing Great Emperor.
*Clang.*
The small sword fell to the ground.
The Three Realms Demon-Suppressing Great Emperor cast aside the spear. His body rapidly shrank back to its original size, and he turned to walk toward Yue Wang Temple.
Behind him, the iron spear rapidly shrank as well, returning to its former size. It shot through the air like a streak of light, piercing the brow of a Demon Seed in the distance. It carried the Demon Seed through the air and planted it into the ground.
Then the iron spear flew up again, weaving through the air, emitting a series of pleasant whistles.
Seeing this, the many Demon Seeds were struck with terror. They no longer dared to attack the Three Realms Demon-Suppressing Great Emperor and fled in all directions.
After a while, the iron spear flew back, passed through the hall, and returned to the spear rack before the shrine.
Chen Shi stepped forward, lit a stick of incense for the iron spear, and said, “Now, the mountains and rivers of Western Ox New Continent have been shattered and merged into the underworld. Although I have enfeoffed Lord Yue as the god of Lingzhou, it’s hard to say how many people will survive this Cataclysm.”
The Three Realms Demon-Suppressing Great Emperor stepped onto the shrine and sat down. “I will do my utmost to protect the people of Lingzhou. No guilty ghosts or lost souls will dare to harm them.”
His voice grew louder and more distant, and Yue Wang Temple grew more magnificent. Gradually, the temple roof seemed to become a blue sky.
In that blue sky, another bright moon hung in the sky, with stars shining all around.
Beyond this starry sky, in the original sky of Western Ox New Continent, another bright moon hung—though it was much larger, hanging low, gradually revealing itself to be a gigantic eye.
The two skies were completely different.
“When dawn breaks, sunlight will fall.”
Chen Shi offered a few sticks of incense to the Three Realms Demon-Suppressing Great Emperor, then walked out of Yue Wang Temple. Beyond the temple stretched thousands of li of plains. Many villages stood on the plains, with fields of crops beside them. But after days without sun, the crops had wilted.
Behind him, a recitation came from within Yue Wang Temple.
“Gazing afar at the Central Plains, beyond the mist, lie so many cities. I recall those years—flowers sheltering willows, phoenix towers and dragon pavilions. Before the Longlive Mountain, pearls and jades adorned the scene; in the Penghu Hall, songs and dances echoed.”
Chen Shi touched the withered leaves, thinking to himself, Tomorrow, sunlight will fall. Perhaps these crops will grow again, sprout ears, and be filled with the fragrance of rice. Perhaps the villagers here will have another good harvest.
The recitation from within Yue Wang Temple gradually grew impassioned and mournful.
“Where are the soldiers? Their blades feed the enemy. Where are the people? They fill the ditches and ravines. Alas, the rivers and mountains are as they were, but a thousand villages lie desolate.”
