Chapter 897: Take the Stage!

Chapter 897: Take the Stage!

A drama was playing out in the god domain as Sunfire’s voice swept through the withered world like turbulent waves.

A tempest formed, reaching every corner of the god domain, purging the lingering spiderwebs and driving away the dust that had built up over the years. Then, in one particular location, in the spot of a ruined planet, an ancient stone stele appeared. It was mostly intact, although the words carved on the surface weren’t completely legible. In fact, there were only four words that could be read using divine will.

North Immortal Emperor World.

That was the name of this world, which had long since been lost in the sands of time. It had its glory days. And given that it existed in a universe that also contained gods, it was no surprise that it had stories related to gods. Naturally, there were names associated with its rise to prominence.

Now, though, all that remained were desolate ruins, the lonely tomb of the emperor, the depressing devastation, and the mindless godly entities. This world fundamentally didn’t have anything to do with the Revered Ancient mainland. In fact, taking in the starry sky as a whole, this world was actually immeasurably far away from Revered Ancient.

It was only after the immortal emperor died that the spider god invaded the place and infected its aura. At that point, this immortal world of the north turned into a god domain. And then, because the broken face came... the North Immortal Emperor World appeared in the rifts of Revered Ancient. It came to be a game board that various players conspired over. You could also say it was an embodiment of god karma.

As the stone stele floated in the dust and rubble, a hand of moonlight reached down from the starry sky to fish it up and pull it to the very center of the god domain, to the black hole, where the three gods were.

The three gods looked at it silently.

What happened next was possibly because of how Xu Qing and the Captain had entered the emperor’s corpse, or perhaps it was because of the power of thēir godly might. Either way, thēir gazes contained a special energy that cleansed the stele.

As that happened, the illegible words were restored to their ancient form.

“When the emperor knew his longevity neared its end, and the Arbiter of Destiny was about to perish, he realized that catastrophe was imminent. In order to leave a way out, on the day of his death, he violated the commands of the ancestors. He consumed the god karma and refined sun, moon, and star into three souls. He took the initiative to deal with his own soul.

“Using his body as the joss flame, he sent the three souls into reincarnation, severed providence, and concealed karma. Afterwards... people were people, immortals were immortals, gods were gods. The emperor perished... and his soul departed.” [1]

The ancient text recounted a secret history. Before Sir Firedark and the other Firemoon chosen could read the text with their divine will, it vanished again.

The stone stele was the same stone stele from before. The history it represented was now truly buried in time. However, the beauty of the moment, and the karma buried within, had returned silently into the fates of the three gods.

And thus, in that moment, authority over the god domain was split into five parts. One went to Sunfire. One went to Moonfire. One went to Starfire.

As for the other two, one part went into the Mountain and Sea Region, while the other went... into the emperor’s corpse.

“The portion that went into the emperor’s corpse is locked,” Sunfire said coolly. “But the lock is opening.”

“Do they have enough time?” Starfire asked.

“The opportunity has arrived,” Moonfire replied calmly, “so it’s not important. We can start.”

Starfire smiled faintly. “Our big sister is still wrapped up in hatred. But I have the feeling... they have enough time.”

The three gods had been waiting for an opportunity.

Beneath the surface of the Mountain and Sea Region, the grand steward, who had stabbed Ninedawns in the back and taken complete control of the Darkheaven Archmages, had been waiting for that promise from within time.

Now, the moment had come that thēy had all been waiting for. A curtain that had remained in place for countless years was now being opened. The stage was being revealed. The play was about to begin.

Next to the sword was a soul clad in an imperial robe and wearing an imperial crown. Its face was completely expressionless. At first glance it looked like an emperor, but at the same time, it resembled a god. It would look like an emperor, then suddenly seem to be a spider. It was currently looking at The Emperor’s Sword, eyes full of praise.

“A wonderful sword for an emperor!” It turned to look murderously at Xu Qing. “You want me to serve as the spirit automaton? As the heavenly dao? To be able to control this sword?”

The soul lifted its hand and reached out toward The Emperor’s Sword.

“No one can use that sword without my permission,” Xu Qing said quietly. The Emperor’s Sword trembled, emitting a thrum that caused heaven to dim. Sword light shone out in all directions.

The hand of the emperor’s soul stopped moving, then retracted.

“You can’t use it either,” the soul said, then blurred into motion toward Xu Qing.

A battle of souls was about to take place! The Emperor’s trove filled with rumbling sounds that spread out to fill Xu Qing’s body. Of course, his body couldn’t move, which made the situation very dangerous.

Meanwhile, the Captain was really going crazy. Whether in the fleshly body or the discarnate soul, whether in the dantian region or the forehead, intense violence had broken out.

Xu Qing’s childhood experiences taught him to be decisive. His life in Seven Blood Eyes taught him to be deceptive. In Sea-Sealing County, he mastered how to be strategic.

But it was his Eldest Brother that taught him how to fight! Fight heaven. Fight earth. Fight people. Fight gods! And also to fight fate.

And thus, as the emperor’s corpse fell through the abyss, a voice echoed in its dantian region.

“Open my seals. Awaken the Nine Serenities. Summer Immortal leaves the world. Everything frosts over!”

A blue ice flower emerged from the dantian region, rapidly spreading to cover the emperor’s corpse, from its torso to its limbs.

At the same time, Xu Qing’s voice echoed out in the fallen emperor’s forehead. “In my swordsage days, I cultivated a certain magic. It’s an art that all swordsages learn, which can be cultivated by anyone. But it was in my Emperor’s trove that I came to understand its true nature.

“So listen up. The truth is... I can use that sword!

“I have a sword....

“Its name is The Emperor’s Sword!”

The sword rose up in the trove, disdainfully slashed through the void, piercing into the abyss, unstoppable on its way to the forehead of the emperor’s corpse. The forehead caved in, astonishing space-time and slashing the fictional! The emperor’s corpse shivered and lurched to a halt. It hovered in the middle of nothing. And as the sword light grew dazzling, the corpse’s eyes opened! They did not belong to the immortal emperor, nor to the spider god.

They were the Captain’s eyes and Xu Qing’s gaze. The void rumbled as a return was declared. The abyss shattered as a new lord was proclaimed. The fifth aspect of the authority over the North Immortal Emperor World, which had turned into a god domain, fell into the fates of Xu Qing and the Captain.

In the Mountain and Sea Region, the person who had been walking forward looked up.

In the god domain, the three gods looked down at the black hole.

“Looks like I was right,” Starfire said with a slight smile.

1. What I’m rendering as ‘providence’ is essentially a fancy word for fate or destiny. Its function in the story doesn’t necessarily correspond to its real-life usage. I’m assigning it ‘providence’ so that it sticks out among other usages of words like destiny or fate. ☜

2. This is one instance in which I’m not worrying about converting the ancient Chinese measurements into modern-day measurements. The whole point of this passage is to contrast the 4 and the 7 and to make it sound impressive. ☜