Volume One, Chapter 102: Turmoil on All Fronts

Chapter 102: Stirring Forces from All Sides

Tian Bang was one of the guardian divine weapons of the Purple Forbidden Enclosure, an artifact spirit like Tian Qiang and Xuan Ge. However, Tian Bang commanded more stars and led more formidable warriors than the other two.

Tian Bang had five main stars, each supported by a great artifact spirit, along with ten auxiliary stars, each led by an artifact spirit. In contrast, Tian Qiang had only three main stars and three great artifact spirits; Xuan Ge had one main star, two auxiliary stars, and two artifact spirits.

Strictly speaking, the three great artifact spirits of the Purple Forbidden Enclosure belonged to the rank of Artifact Spirit Kings; their main stars should be classified as Great Artifact Spirits, and their auxiliary stars as mere Artifact Spirits.

Generally, artifact spirits hovered around the pinnacle Saint realm or the early Emperor realm; Great Artifact Spirits would be no lower than the early Emperor realm, with some reaching mid-Emperor level; Artifact Spirit Kings would be at least mid-Emperor, with Xuan Ge being the lowest among them.

Yet, in practice, the gap in power at the same realm could be vast. For example, Xuan Ge, at mid-Emperor level, could easily defeat three to five artifact spirits of equal rank.

Thus, realm and strength were not always perfectly aligned, unless the difference was too great, making low-level challengers unlikely to take on higher-level opponents.

Regardless, even the unruly Tian Qiang and the shrewd Xuan Ge had to show Tian Bang some respect—not merely because his territory was vast and his forces numerous, but because among his subordinates were artifact spirit kings who posed a serious threat to both of them. Moreover, Tian Bang himself had reached the high Emperor realm, making him a formidable figure among the many Emperors of the Three Enclosures.

Tian Bang offered a slight nod in return and said calmly, “That youngster just now is no ordinary one. We might cross paths again in the future. What do you two intend to do about him?”

Tian Qiang replied, “Kill him on sight next time to avoid trouble.”

Xuan Ge hesitated before saying, “We’ll act according to the situation; if we want to eliminate him, it doesn’t have to be with blades or spears.”

Tian Bang nodded. “Since enmity is established, we might as well kill to the last and send souls westward. If you don’t cut the grass at the root, the spring wind will make it sprout anew. Report any news about him to me immediately!”

After speaking, Tian Bang turned and, with a single step, vanished thousands of miles away.

Tian Qiang and Xuan Ge exchanged a glance.

Xuan Ge said, “Now that Tian Bang is gone, our goal has been achieved. The marauders from the Wasteland Star Cluster will inevitably enter the Fairy Great Nebula. Let us await what we anticipate.”

At that moment, as Tu Zhe unleashed his solar barrier, drawing down a meteor shower to strike Tian Qiang and the others, in the Tai Wei Enclosure within the Three Enclosures, there was a great star called Ling Tai. As the center for managing celestial calendars and forecasting the rise and fall of future dynasties, the Celestial Observatory was located upon this star.

The Celestial Observatory was a colossal mountain, atop which stood an astronomical tower reaching toward the heavens. Day and night, personnel monitored various celestial phenomena within the Three Enclosures and Four Symbols, recording and analyzing valuable signs to report back to the Celestial Court.

On duty, the staff noticed a large gathering of meteors between the northern polar constellations Kui and Bi. The twin stars Rahu and Ketu shone brightly, their orbits slightly shifted.

The on-duty staff did not dare neglect this and promptly reported to the Observatory Supervisor, the highest official there.

Upon hearing this, the Supervisor immediately convened a meeting with officials responsible for celestial bodies—such as Yin Yang Manager, Constellation Overseer, and Time Officer—but they could not deduce what was occurring.

The Supervisor said, “This is suspicious. I must report this upward to see what the higher-ups think.”

Being only a third-rank official, he dared not conceal or delay the report. Recently, there had been talk of downgrading the Celestial Observatory to a fourth-rank office. If anything went wrong due to negligence, it would give others grounds to criticize them. Better to report and have no issue than to conceal and cause disaster.

Whether reporting without incident was a matter of competence; failing to report was dereliction of duty.

In truth, Tu Zhe’s orchestrated meteor shower had also drawn the attention of some concerned parties within the Three Enclosures and even the Nine Heavens.

For example, the Thunder Ancestor Celestial Venerable, Xuanyuan Huangdi, who was cultivating within the Azure Mist Brahma Qi thousands of miles from Thunder City, sensed the disturbance in the star trajectories.

What sort of being was a Celestial Venerable? One of the greatest emperors of the Nine Heavens, part of the Supreme Emperor rank. This title was not a mere cultivation realm but a noble rank.

As for the true cultivation level of the Thunder Ancestor, it was said he had reached the Celestial Venerable stage.

What was a Celestial Venerable?

To put it simply, starting from the northern pole, there were native Qi practitioners at the Qi Refining stage, with many others progressing through Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Nascent Soul, Tribulation Crossing, and Spirit Transformation stages.

Reaching Spirit Transformation was to become a Sage, generally ascending through Sage, Great Sage, Divine King, Emperor, Celestial Venerable, True Lord, Perfected Immortal, and True King.

Starting from True King, one entered a mysterious realm beyond ordinary cultivators’ comprehension, said to be the realm of the Three Caverns: Cavern Spirit, Cavern Profound, and Cavern True.

It was said only the three great founders of Daoism, Lingbao, and Primordial faiths had reached these levels. Which of these three caverns was the most powerful was a matter of legend, not to be taken literally.

Might I ask, what about Huangdi—the Thunder Ancestor Celestial Venerable?

The Thunder Ancestor’s position in the Celestial Court was Emperor, on par with the Purple Emperor of the Purple Forbidden Enclosure; the Longevity Emperor of the Tai Wei Enclosure; and the Four Symbols’ Four Divine Beasts—the Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Black Tortoise, and Vermilion Bird.

Only the Supreme Jade Emperor of the Golden Palace, King of All Gods, ranked above the Emperors.

Thus, the Thunder Ancestor was a noble of the highest class beneath the One God.

As for the title of Celestial Venerable, it referred to his cultivation level, though to call him truly a Celestial Venerable was somewhat exaggerated.

Though he commanded the gods of the Thunder Division of the northern heavens and the Five Directions Thunder Kings, whose power and influence were unmatched, his personal cultivation was likely at the peak Emperor realm, brushing the edge of Celestial Venerable but still far from truly reaching it, let alone achieving True Lord or higher.

Xuanyuan had accepted the title of Celestial Venerable more as an honorific. Even the genuine Celestial Venerables would smile at this, and he himself felt it was an overstatement.

The title was more a reflection of his role as Thunder Ancestor, matching the expected cultivation level. In some ways, it was almost a mockery.

There were rumors that the mysterious departure of the True King of the Nine Heavens’ Thunder Division, the Originating Thunder Voice Supreme True King, and the vacancy of his position were directly related to Xuanyuan.

The Originating Thunder Voice Supreme True King was the ninth son of Pangu, the primal True Lord founder. While he handled administration of the Thunder Division, Xuanyuan managed military affairs—a powerful combination. Now Xuanyuan bore both responsibilities.

It must be said that Xuanyuan Huangdi’s unification of the Huaxia in the mortal realm had long forged him into a political master and schemer. When it came to intrigue and cunning, even the northern heavens had few to rival him.