Volume One, Chapter Six: Breaking the Divine Restraint and Fleeing into Flesh

Chapter Six: Breaking the Divine Restraint and Fleeing into the Flesh

How vast are the myriad heavens of the Three Realms? None can say with certainty. The great ancestral deities of the East divided the heavens into nine layers, or nine firmaments, with thirty-six heavens laid out among them. The great Buddhas of the West, likewise, spoke of thirty-three heavens.

Who knows if the great ancestral deities and Buddhas of East and West ever convened to debate how the universe’s boundaries and its infinite spaces should be drawn. Yet, they were in accord in broadly dividing their worlds into the Realm of Desire, the Realm of Form, and the Formless Realm, each heaven finding its place therein.

The nine firmaments of the East are: Divine Firmament, Azure Firmament, Jade Firmament, Vermilion Firmament, Radiant Firmament, Jade Firmament, Lang Firmament, Purple Firmament, and Supreme Firmament. In the Divine Firmament, the Supreme Emperor of the Nine Celestial Courts presides over all matters of this plane. They are: the Supreme Celestial Jade Purity True King of Longevity, the Eastern Azure Emperor, the Celestial Lord of Thunder of the Nine Heavens, the Grand Thunder Ancestor Emperor of the Nine Heavens, the Celestial Emperor of the Violet Micro Jade Palace, the Deep Abyss Emperor of the Six Heavens, the Master of the Six Waves, the Venerable Elder Ke Han, and the True Lord Inspector of the Nine Heavens. Each wields boundless power, commanding fate on behalf of the heavens, ruling over all beings.

Of these, the mightiest is the Thunder Ancestor Emperor. It is said that when Lord Xuanyuan attained the Dao and ascended to immortality, transforming into a spirit of thunder, he took the throne of the Celestial Lord of Thunder at the Jade Palace of the Divine Firmament. Yet, he was not originally the Thunder Ancestor Emperor; that title belonged to the ninth son of the Primal Celestial of Fuli, the Jade Purity True King.

On the day Xuanyuan ascended to the Jade Palace, he paid a mysterious visit to the Thunder Ancestor Emperor. Afterward, the Jade Purity True King publicly announced he would yield the title of Thunder Ancestor Emperor to Xuanyuan. Thus, Xuanyuan became both the Celestial Lord of Thunder and the Thunder Ancestor Emperor. The Jade Purity True King departed with laughter, rumored to be pursuing eternal life.

When the other seven emperors heard of this, they were greatly alarmed.

With both thrones united in Xuanyuan’s hands, all instruments of force within the Jade Palace of the Divine Firmament were now directly under his command: the Five Thunder Emperors, the Five Thunder Kings, the Five Marshals of the Thunder Division, the Twenty-four Celestial Lords of the Thunder Division, the Thirty-six Generals of the Thunder Division, and even the myriad thunder soldiers and generals, including the Thunder Duke and Lightning Lady. The collective might of the remaining seven emperors could not compare to even a fraction of Xuanyuan’s strength. As for the civil officials of the Three Ministries and Nine Bureaus, who had no power over the instruments of force, they were not even worth mentioning.

It could be said that Xuanyuan’s authority in the Divine Firmament was absolute; his word was law, and none dared defy him.

The Thunder Ancestor cared little for the trembling of the other emperors. He worked in the Jade Palace but resided in the Jade Atmosphere of the Jade Firmament, two thousand three hundred miles from Thunder City, cultivating there. The affairs of the Jade Palace were managed by his three chief disciples: the True Lord of Divine Might and Demon-Bane under the Celestial Lord of Thunder, the Left Attendant General Azure Thunder, and the Right Attendant General Stone Thunder.

Now, the Thunder Ancestor’s celestial hall was shrouded in sacred mist, with immortal mountains looming, the Heavenly River arching across the sky. Phoenixes soared beyond the heavens or perched upon jade branches; white chi-dragons drifted on clouds or coiled through the air; countless celestial maidens, their robes fluttering, came and went.

Within the Thunder Ancestor’s celestial hall, Xuanyuan spoke with a figure that flickered in and out of existence like a mass of mist.

The Thunder Ancestor cast a cool glance at the figure. “You, Interviewing Spirit Boy, were dispatched by the True Lord Inspector at my behest to follow and report on the Southern Red Heaven’s Thunder Emperor Jiang You. What have you discovered?”

The Interviewing Spirit Boy replied respectfully, “Reporting to the Great Emperor: Since Jiang You arrived at the Southern Red Heaven’s Thunder Palace, he has remained in seclusion under the guise of cultivation, leaving an avatar to receive guests and declaring that none may disturb him. In truth, his real body quietly left the Divine Firmament and has been hunting down fragments of Chiyou’s soul throughout the heavens.”

Xuanyuan frowned. “Oh? Jiang You’s hunt for Chiyou’s soul is no shameful act—why conceal it?”

The Spirit Boy replied, “I was just about to report. Today, Jiang You caught up with a soul fragment of Chiyou and demanded the Undying Demon Body’s secret art and a drop of soul blood.”

Xuanyuan spun around, imperial authority radiating from him. “What is that villain plotting?”

The Spirit Boy trembled. “Great Emperor, please quell your anger. Jiang You is ambitious and, by chance, acquired a divine art to resist the drum of Kui. He must be plotting insurrection once his cultivation is complete.”

Xuanyuan snorted in fury, divine energy surging so that the celestial hall itself trembled.

“That villain harbors rebellion in his heart—he cannot be kept alive. Continue your report.”

The Spirit Boy, drenched in cold sweat, continued, “Yes, Great Emperor. After catching Chiyou’s soul fragment, Chiyou, seeking to protect a descendant’s soul, feigned a bargain with Jiang You, then tore open the void to send his descendant away, self-destructed his own soul fragment, severely wounding Jiang You and perishing himself. Jiang You quietly returned to the Red Heaven Thunder Palace.”

Xuanyuan laughed long and loud, then his brow furrowed. “And what of that lone soul of Chiyou’s descendant?”

The Spirit Boy answered, “That wandering soul is from the wild lands, though how it came to the heavens is unknown. It is accompanied by a dog of peculiar nature.”

“Strange, indeed,” Xuanyuan mused. He divined with his fingers for a moment, a smile breaking over his face. “You may go. Convey my thanks to the True Lord Inspector; I shall visit him in due course.”

After the Spirit Boy departed, Xuanyuan summoned his left attendant, General Azure Thunder, recounted the matter, and said, “Just now, I used primordial energy to work the Grand Cycle of the Mountain—calculations show that Chiyou’s descendant will soon reach the Western King City of Mount Sumeru and shall meet with fate there. My ambition is to unify the nine firmaments and rule all heavens; it seems this person will be key to my destiny. I shall teach you several arts for breaking the soul restraint, then send you into Sumeru King City, to be born as a prince and become sworn brother to Chiyou’s descendant. Act as you see fit—do you understand?”

General Azure Thunder replied in the affirmative. Xuanyuan waved his hand, sending a divine ray into Azure Thunder’s consciousness. Then, pointing westward, he conjured a vortex—an abyssal blackness without end.

Azure Thunder bowed deeply, then stepped into the vortex and vanished in an instant.

Within the rift Chiyou’s soul fragment had torn open, a soul storm thick as cream swept Tu Zhe and the dog relentlessly through layers of darkness. The vast, pure energy formed at the explosion of Chiyou’s soul enveloped Tu Zhe as it broke through the cracked outer shell of his soul, flooding him like a rising sea. In an instant, Tu Zhe felt his soul detonate with a thunderous roar; caught off guard, all that energy merged with his own soul. The force was nearly unbearable—his consciousness shattered into oblivion, then instantly reformed, the massive shock waves repeatedly tearing and mending his awareness. The agony was so excruciating that he howled in torment.

Meanwhile, the dog Yema was shrieking at his side, “Hey, Scoundrel—hold on! This is a great tonic—if you absorb it, your soul will become unimaginably strong! If you can’t endure it, you’ll end up a vegetable, you hear me?”

Tu Zhe could only see the dog’s mouth opening and closing, unable to hear sound. His screams were not for lack of willpower, but because the fusion of soul energies was incomparably intense and painful—far worse than being shot a thousand times. And this was but a fragment, only one percent of Chiyou’s complete soul. Had it been the full soul’s detonation, not even the strongest will could save Tu Zhe from annihilation.

After all, Tu Zhe possessed only a mortal soul. Faced with soul force so powerful it could form storms and shatter the void, he could not even have imagined such a thing. It was as alien to his experience as a summer insect trying to comprehend ice.

Yet, Tu Zhe was no ordinary “insect.” His will was far stronger than most. Though his soul shattered again and again under the energy, he stubbornly and defiantly kept telling himself to hold on—he would not let the ancestral soul’s sacrifice be in vain.

There is injustice in the world; a man must be prepared to kill.

The ancient ancestor’s heroic spirit shook the ages, slaying gods and Buddhas alike. Tu Zhe had already died once—what did it matter if he died again?

Let soul force merge—what harm could it do me?

Howling through his agony, he resisted the torment. Gradually, the energy enveloping him thinned, and his pain lessened. Gritting his teeth, he asked, “Dog...where...are we now...?”

The dog, nestled in his arms, replied joyfully, “Scoundrel, you can talk! That’s amazing. But as for where we are, your dog doesn’t know...”

Tu Zhe opened his eyes—no, not his eyes, but his consciousness. Casting his awareness about, he suddenly exclaimed in surprise.

Before him, the pitch-dark tunnel of space no longer confounded his senses. Though the shifting layers of space flashed by in dizzying array, his awareness now pierced millions of miles, seeing as if with the Hubble Telescope into infinite distance.

He gasped in awe.

Damn, does this mean I’ve gained some kind of supernatural power?

Even in the throes of agony, Tu Zhe had not let go of the dog in his arms. The dog, feeling a sweetness in her heart, realized he was awake and no longer screaming, and, seeing his surprise, understood his condition. She smacked a kiss on his cheek. “Scoundrel, can you see really, really far now?”

“Far is an understatement,” Tu Zhe replied. “It’s endless. Hey, Dog, does this count as having a mighty power now?”

The dog curled her lip. “Don’t get cocky. Can you see the highest, farthest reaches of the heavens? Can you see the barriers of space? The nodes of the heavens, the traces of the void? Scoundrel, even as a ghost, you have to take it one step at a time—you can’t expect to become a big shot overnight.”

Tu Zhe grinned sheepishly. “So what level is this?”

The dog thought for a moment. “It’s just the first layer of Heavenly Eye—nothing more.”

Tu Zhe cried out, “Just the first layer? How many layers are there to reach the highest?”

The dog bit at his mouth in exasperation. “You greedy scoundrel! It took me countless years to reach the first layer, and you just got there in one go! You make me so envious and jealous! And you’re still not satisfied?”

Tu Zhe grimaced. “How long did it take you to reach the first layer?”

The dog replied, “Who has the patience to count years? By your mortal reckoning, about five or six thousand years? Maybe seventy or eighty thousand? Anyway, a very, very long time.”

Tu Zhe nearly spat blood.

He looked the dog up and down. Just how old was she? Old enough to be the ancestor of his ancestors’ ancestors, with plenty to spare.

Damn it, this dog is supposed to be my little sister?

The dog saw Tu Zhe’s confusion and glared. “Keep staring and I’ll dig your eyes out for pickles. Am I that old? Your mortal lifespan is a hundred years, but one of our nights is your whole lifetime. Our lifespan is seventy-two thousand years—so how old do you think I am? You’re not losing out having me as your little sister…”

Stunned, Tu Zhe almost forgot he was hurtling through a space tunnel, his eyes vacant, mumbling calculations. Before he could finish, a thunderous boom sounded, and he and the dog were plunged into a mass of viscous, flesh-like mud.