Chapter 178 — Swallowing the Heavenly Sun!

The head of the dignified Eastern Radiance Emperor just rolled down the steps like that. Every immortal and god upon the thirty-three heavenly steps possessed enough cultivation to clearly see the unwillingness upon this Emperor’s face. Immediately, quite a few deities quietly sucked in a cold breath, their scalps tingling as shock rose within their hearts.

The Central Heaven Northern Pole True Lord Dangmo? 

Since when had the Northern Pole Exorcism Court produced such a ruthless butcher? 

That was the Eastern Radiance Emperor—not some insignificant minor deity—and he was simply beheaded on the spot! 

The old yellow ox quietly inhaled, his expression grave. This was precisely why he was unwilling to have any dealings with the Northern Pole Exorcism Court. Once matters grew serious enough to provoke that group into taking action, they simply did not care about personal ties whatsoever. The dignified Great Emperor who governed the immortal registers could be said to be the very first existence every immortal paid respects to after ascending, with incense ties and goodwill spread everywhere—yet wasn’t he still cut down all the same? 

Building good relations with them was useless. 

You might even end up being remembered by certain people. 

It was not as though there were no extremists among them. 

Better to keep one’s distance, better to keep one’s distance. 

After making up his mind, the old yellow ox carefully wrote all of this down, intending to inform little Yun Qin and little Wuhuo afterward. Though Wuhuo still remained in the mortal world, whether in the future he received talismanic decrees as a True Person, ascended to the Jade Firmament as an Earth Immortal, or one day cultivated to the realm of Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown and Five Qi Returning to the Origin, becoming one of those gods and immortals likewise addressed as a True Lord, sooner or later he would arrive here. 

When that time came, he absolutely had to avoid these killing maniacs! 

Under no circumstances could he get involved with them. If they were civil officials of the Northern Pole Exorcism Court, that was one thing, but every single one of those war generals bore the title of war god. Damn it all, not one of them could be touched. 

Especially Yun Qin! 

In the blink of an eye, she had actually run into one of the most murderous among those killing maniacs?! 

Really now, how had he never realized before that this little girl was so good at running into people? 

The old yellow ox maintained a solemn and dignified expression like the other gods, yet inwardly, he was already thinking about how to properly tutor this little girl. This time, no matter what she said, he absolutely would not secretly let her run out to play again. This time, she encountered a Dangmo—next time, was she going to introduce him to one of the Northern Pole Saints instead? 

The various gods and immortals each harbored their own thoughts, while among the Four Great Emperors, the South Pole Longevity Great Emperor slightly nodded and said: 

“Acceptable enough. Though decisive in slaughter, such brutality nevertheless harms the harmony of Heaven, and is not good.” 

The Gouchen Great Emperor merely gave a faint nod and said nothing. 

The Sovereign Earth Deity Hou Tu was likewise the same. 

The Northern Emperor’s voice was deep and calm as he said, “To only deliver and not kill is merely indulgence toward evil demons.” 

The South Pole Longevity Great Emperor smiled and replied, “All living beings seek survival; the immortal Dao values life.” 

The exchange between the two lasted only two sentences, yet it already caused the hearts of the assembled immortals and gods to sink slightly. All of them restrained their Primordial Spirits, not daring to continue listening. 

The young Daoist held his sword after beheading Eastern Radiance. Taking advantage of the opportunity, the Blood River Sword greedily swallowed a mouthful of that golden imperial blood. Perhaps blood at the Emperor level was simply too rare—after only a single gulp, it was already overstuffed, nearly bursting itself to death. 

The little peacock within the sleeve had long ago been warned by Qi Wuhuo that today it absolutely could not make any sound. 

So it behaved extremely obediently, not uttering even the slightest noise. 

Especially in this place, where every corner seemed filled with vast and overbearing auras. Even though all of them had already been restrained, for the incomparably young little peacock, it was still simply too terrifying. 

The little peacock’s feathers had completely puffed up. 

Weak and helpless. 

Yet earlier, when Qi Wuhuo severed the head of the Eastern Radiance Emperor, although his cultivation had already been crippled, he had nevertheless borne the position of Solar Emperor for countless years. Streams of aura scattered outward, and Qi Wuhuo naturally bore the brunt of it. 

The little peacock endured it several times, but in the end, when a strand of Solar Essence flew into the sleeve of the robe, it could no longer hold back. 

Opening its mouth, it swallowed it in a single bite. 

Weak, helpless— 

but able to eat. 

The exchange between the two of the Four Great Emperors sounded light and casual, yet every word concealed a sharp confrontation. 

Meanwhile, the white-haired divine general Dangmo stood at the highest point, silently waiting. 

The white-haired divine general Dangmo stood at the highest point, silently waiting. 

For a time, the atmosphere became somewhat oppressive and heavy. Suddenly, Qi Wuhuo felt as though a gaze had descended from the highest point of the seventy-seven-layered golden palace, falling upon him. Then a lofty and distant voice came from above, calmly saying: “Good.” 

It was the Jade Emperor Great Heavenly Venerable. 

The voices of the Northern Pole Purple Subtlety Great Emperor and the South Pole Longevity Great Emperor both paused slightly. 

The South Pole Longevity Great Emperor smiled faintly and said no more, merely stepping into the layers of radiant, auspicious light. 

Meanwhile, the Northern Emperor said calmly: 

“Dangmo, return to the Northern Pole Exorcism Court.” 

“Yes.” 

The young Daoist understood that with a single sentence from the Jade Emperor, those immortals and gods who had thought his beheading of an Emperor today too ruthless and merciless all fell silent as well. Clad in heavy armor, he merely cupped his hands slightly toward the seventy-seven-layered golden palace above. 

Then he turned and walked step by step down the heavenly stairway until he reached the place where the Northern Pole Exorcism Court stood. The war generals of the Northern Pole Exorcism Court all revealed approval within their eyes and voluntarily made room for him nearer the front. 

That sword strike of the young Daoist today had been utterly satisfying and incisive, deeply winning their hearts. Even some of the war generals who previously felt this kid should not have been allowed into the Northern Pole Exorcism Court had now changed their minds. 

With such a temperament, he was destined to join the Northern Pole Exorcism Court! 

At this point, after the Jade Emperor had spoken, the grand ritual had already reached its final conclusion. What remained afterward was merely the tedious formal process according to protocol. The immortals and gods gradually dispersed as auspicious clouds flowed and shifted. Those immortals and deities whose great names echoed through the mortal world, upon facing the young Daoist, either avoided him ahead of time or merely cupped their hands with a smile and greeted him with a single “True Lord”. 

Then they departed at an even greater speed. 

No matter what, after today, the appearance and title of the Northern Pole Dangmo True Lord would resound throughout the Thirty-Six Heavens. 

As for whether it would be a good reputation or an infamous one, that remained unknown. 

The Great True Lord Tianyou spoke concisely: “Well done.” 

Ling Sheng, meanwhile, burst into hearty laughter, reaching out to slap the young Daoist on the shoulder. “Hahahaha, well done indeed! When Eastern Radiance stood up earlier, I thought you’d be intimidated by him and not dare make a move. Yet you still drew your sword and chopped him down right there, hahaha! Excellent, excellent!” 

“Your cultivation has only reached the level of Innate One Qi. Your Primordial Spirit has not yet cultivated to the Yang Spirit stage, so you cannot remain separated from your body for long.” 

“You should remove this armor and return to the mortal world.” 

Within Lianyang Temple, Yue Shiru yawned as he basked in the sunlight. Gradually, however, he began to feel that the sun was a bit too large, somewhat beyond what winter sunlight ought to be. It was becoming a little too hot. 

So he moved a small stool beneath the eaves and sat there squinting his eyes. Even the Three-Yellow Chicken had curled up inside the chicken coop woven from wild grass. 

All the living beings of the mortal world were enjoying this rare warmth. 

Yue Shiru closed his eyes and gradually began to doze off. The warm sunlight, the gentle breeze brushing across his face, the crackling sounds of burning firewood, and the fragrance of food slowly rising together with curling cooking smoke—everything made one’s mood relax and ease, making people wish such lazy days could continue forever. 

Suddenly, Yue Shiru sensed that something was wrong. 

The sunlight had abruptly changed. 

It was no longer warm, no longer comfortable. Instead, it carried a feeling of oppression that pressed down upon the heart. 

Yue Shiru’s ears were exceptionally sharp. 

He heard the clang-clang-clang sounds of people beating on basins and bowls. Opening his eyes, he said: “What’s going on? Why is everyone making that noise everywhere?! Did some monster enter the city?” 

The Daoist, unhappy at having his nap disturbed, opened his eyes. Yet before his words had fully fallen, he froze. 

The sky was already completely different from when he had closed his eyes moments before. 

Layer upon layer of heavy clouds spiraled upward, circling around the great sun. The blazing sun that originally radiated scorching brilliance suddenly seemed to dim and thin away. Then the sea of clouds surged upward and abruptly turned blood-red, obscuring the radiance of the sun. Looking upward from the ground, those crimson clouds resembled a river of blood winding around the sun itself! 

The sun was gradually being concealed. 

Outside, the people panicked in confusion, thinking they had encountered something like the Heavenly Hound Devouring the Moon from the old tales. In their panic, they instinctively followed the methods from mortal legends, desperately banging pots and bowls in hopes of frightening away the heavenly hound swallowing the moon. 

But this was the sun! 

Within the flowing blood river, Yue Shiru vaguely saw a bird slowly opening its mouth. 

In a single gulp, it swallowed the great sun whole! 

And thus heaven and earth sank into dim darkness. 

The Daoist abruptly stood up, staring blankly, unable to speak for a long time. “T-This is…!” 

Upon a teahouse somewhere far from the Central Plains, the gray-robed gentleman was leisurely chatting while holding a beauty in his arms. Suddenly sensing something amiss, he lifted his head and saw the scene of sun and moon losing their light. His pupils widened slightly as he muttered: “The sun is like blood… What happened in the Heavenly Court?” 

“Could it be that even the Solar Emperor Eastern Radiance has fallen?” 

“No, no. How could I possibly miss something this interesting? I must take a look.” 

The gray-robed gentleman began divining with great interest. His pupils contracted slightly, as though he could see all things beneath Heaven and hear matters across the four directions. 

Thus, from afar, he witnessed the scene of Dangmo beheading Eastern Radiance. Even while inwardly astonished, the corners of his eyes twitched. 

“Hm?” 

“Dangmo?” 

“I remember the names of every killing maniac in the Northern Pole Exorcism Court to avoid getting entangled with them. How could there suddenly be someone with the title Dangmo? Hm? Don’t tell me those baleful stars have gained another one? I’d better see exactly who this fellow is, lest something happen later on… Even dared to chop apart Eastern Radiance. That old fellow might not necessarily be able to protect me from him.” 

The gray-robed gentleman raised a hand, intending to divine further. 

Yet before he could cast the hexagram— 

His spiritual intuition suddenly jolted violently. 

It felt exactly like a mortal stepping into empty air in the middle of a dream and plunging off a cliff— 

Only millions of times more intense. 

Cold sweat instantly poured from the gray-robed gentleman’s forehead, streaming down almost without pause. After a long silence, he slowly released the hand he had been using for divination. This time, he finally listened to the warning from his innate spirit and muttered: “A baleful star… and one with an extremely terrifying origin…” 

“Forget it, forget it.” 

“I won’t calculate it…” 

Yet even without deliberately calculating, as an existence whose innate spirit was incomparably pure—surpassing even Clairvoyance and Clairaudience—his mind produced the answer faster than his own conscious judgment. [TL_Note: The two deities that ear all and see all]

The most recent existence he had been warned not to calculate was that of the young Daoist.  

The corners of his mouth twitched. 

The beauty beside him looked curiously at this unfathomable gray-robed gentleman, only to suddenly see his face turn pale as paper. Muttering a few words to himself, he abruptly raised his hand and smacked himself across the face, wailing mournfully: 

“You, you, you—why did you have to remember it?!” 

Then he looked toward the beauty beside him, who had been thoroughly frightened, and said expressionlessly: 

“My apologies, but please buy three sticks of incense for me.” 

“The thickest and longest kind.” 

Meanwhile, within the domain of the Earth Deities, Lingmiao Gong looked at the message sent from the First Primordial Lord under one of the Four Great Emperors, Sovereign Earth Deity Hou Tu, his expression complicated. 

He had already ordered all the senior Earth Deities of the Central Plains who had previously met with the Northern Pole Exorcism Court to gather here. Those Earth Deities who had personally witnessed the Exorcism Court’s judgment arrived one after another. The last to arrive was the Land God of the Central Plains prefectural city, who asked curiously: 

“Lingmiao Gong, why have you summoned us here?” 

Lingmiao Gong lifted his eyes and slowly said: “Everyone, do you still remember the matter of the Northern Pole Exorcism Court several days ago?” 

The expressions of the gathered Earth Deities changed drastically as they exchanged glances. The Central Plains Land God said in a low voice: “How could anyone not remember? The dignified Northern Pole Exorcism Court neglected to capture the true culprit, instead venting its anger upon ordinary Earth Deities like us. The old Dragon King was benevolent and kind-hearted, having previously saved millions of lives. This mistake was not his fault either, yet in the end he was sentenced to have his soul scattered and destroyed.” 

“Hmph, the Northern Pole Exorcism Court!” 

“Ao Wulie is living a fate worse than death. The Northern Pole Exorcism Court—what a ‘Northern Pole Exorcism Court’ indeed!” 

The many Earth Deities had all fought on the front lines that day. 

And all of them harbored indignation toward the Northern Pole Exorcism Court’s judgment. 

Lingmiao Gong said: “The Northern Pole Exorcism Court has already investigated the god behind this matter. He was the head of the Dipper Department, leader of the Eleven Luminaries Star Officials, the Solar Emperor, and also that Eastern Radiance Shaoyang Emperor who governs the immortal registers…” 

The expressions of the Earth Deities abruptly changed. None of them had imagined this affair implicated someone of such immense stature. 

Lingmiao Gong said: “He has already been executed.” 

He raised his hand and passed over the message sent from the Heavenly Court. Upon it was only a single, simple line of text. 

【Eastern Radiance resisted punishment. Dangmo personally executed him.】 

A chilling aura of slaughter filled the air. Amid the trembling disbelief, they found it hard to imagine that the Northern Pole Exorcism Court truly was this ruthless—that even if an Emperor violated the heavenly order, they would still execute him without mercy. They were not merely bullying the weak while fearing the strong. 

Suddenly, an Earth Deity muttered: “Dangmo is…” 

They abruptly recalled the events of that day. 

Recalled that young Daoist carrying a medicine basket through the city, treating the sick. 

Recalled their own attitudes toward him before. 

And thus, only boundless dead silence remained. 

“Ahhh! What do we do?! What do we do?! The sun—the sun got eaten! Waaah!” 

“Senior Yue! Master! What do we do?!” 

Little Daoist Mingxin stared at the changes in the sky, so frightened that he stammered. Yue Shiru himself was somewhat terrified as well. This represented a change in the celestial signs. Seeing the great sun obscured, while above the heavens the light of the Seven Mansions of the Black Tortoise blazed brilliantly, what that represented, he simply did not dare think about. 

Xuanwu eclipsing the sun?! 

Don’t think about it. Cannot. Absolutely cannot. 

Yet amid his fear, the little Daoist suddenly felt that the bird which had swallowed the sun looked strangely familiar, and said: “Th-that bird looked so much like Huntun…” 

“Huntun? You mean Fellow Daoist Qi’s bird? How could that possibly be?” 

The old Daoist raised his head and could not help laughing. Children truly were children—their imaginations were simply too rich. So he merely comforted the little Daoist and Yue Shiru: “Still, it’s only a celestial phenomenon. There’s no need to worry so much…” 

“Look, the sunlight has returned again.” 

Sure enough, the blood river gradually dispersed, and the obscured great sun once more revealed its radiance. It simply no longer possessed the earlier warmth, returning instead to the thin coldness of winter sunlight. Only then did the sounds of banging gradually fade away outside, replaced by waves of cheering, as though they truly had driven away the thing that devoured the sun. 

Yue Shiru also let out a sigh of relief and wiped his forehead. 

He only felt that he had witnessed a scene unlike anything he had ever seen before. 

Suddenly, he heard the creak of a door opening. Turning his head, he saw the wooden doors of the scripture pavilion swing open. The young Daoist with graying temples stepped out, his gaze gentle. His water-cloud patterned Daoist robe was spotless, untouched by the slightest speck of dust. Seeing Mingxin’s relieved expression, he gently asked: “What’s wrong?” 

“Ah, Martial Uncle Qi, you’re awake!” 

“Mhm.” 

“What a pity! Martial Uncle, you were sleeping, so you missed something huge and incredible!” 

“Did I?” 

The young Daoist smiled, his hair bound with a wooden hairpin. Then he reached out and rubbed little Daoist Mingxin’s head before replying: 

“That really is a pity.”