Chapter 563: Chapter 497: West Lake Gods, Heavenly Emperor’s Housekeeper
Immortal Emperor Court.
The essence of this court is the Taishi Demon Emperor. As the master of the Mountain Dao, the Taishi Demon Emperor finds it relatively easy to reshape landscapes. Therefore, he managed to establish this Heavenly Court in just a few decades.
This Heavenly Court is different from the Donghua Ancestor Court. While the Donghua Ancestor Court divides its authority into countless shares, allowing everyone to benefit from its resources,
the Immortal Emperor Court is not the same.
Looking down from the Nine Heavens, one would notice how the peaks of the mountains and the flow of the rivers form a humanoid shape.
The mountain ranges serve as the muscles, the vegetation as the skin, the rivers as the blood, and the Divine Court as the ancestral aperture.
The area spans tens of thousands of miles, forming a colossal giant.
This is the Immortal Emperor Court. All authority belongs to itself—so long as the earth remains undying, it too remains undying.
The Taishi Demon Emperor resides at the center of its brow, controlling the revolutions of all things and consolidating all power—a figure of ultimate magnificence.
It is entirely different from Kunlun, completely the opposite.
Once it is perfected, it will become the strongest being on this star. As its humanoid form expands, the Ancestor Star itself will become its embodiment.
If it expands even further, the Taishi Demon Emperor will embody the myth of the celestial sovereign whose eyes become the sun and moon, whose body forms the galaxies.
If he so desires, he could even reorganize stars and moons and forge new environments—becoming the legendary creator and the supreme existence in the Small Thousand World.
At such a level, one would naturally no longer fear the Demon Tribulation.
After all, as the strongest entity in existence, what tribulation could possibly overcome him?
Even in the event of catastrophic decay so severe that he could not endure it, that would likely happen millions of years later. In those millions of years, there might even be an opportunity to break out of the Small Thousand World.
During this time, the Taishi Demon Emperor would undoubtedly comprehend even greater Daos.
In short, once the Demon Court is established, he can withdraw to rule the Small Thousand World, building a Divine Court that will endure for ten thousand millennia.
Alternatively, he can advance outward, breaking through the Small Thousand World to pursue higher realms of the Great Dao across myriad heavens.
With such aspirations for the future, the Taishi Demon Emperor spared no cost in compelling the demon clans to partake in the construction.
The lower tiers of the Demon Clan suffered heavy losses, and although the higher tiers were discontented, the Demon Emperor was, after all, their leader, holding dominion over their lives. Thus, they had no choice but to comply.
Naturally, such a model operates smoothly in the absence of external pressure. However, with the Human Clan as an external force, this powder keg could not be easily suppressed.
After all, no one is willing to waste their efforts only to gain nothing in the end.
Chiyou and Song Lin’s avatars were heading toward this place.
...
The world of the story, Dongting Lake.
A thousand miles of Dongting Lake surged with towering waves.
Within the waters emerged a demon beast with the body of a tiger, nine tails, and a human head.
Beside it were other terrifying demon beasts. One resembled a white ram with four horns, known as Tulu, a man-eating demon. Another was a giant divine wasp the size of a mandarin duck, whose sting could instantly poison to death the White Dragons, Jiao-Dragons, and giant fish of Dongting Lake.
Amidst the monstrous waves stood two figures, a handsome man and a graceful woman.
They were the Dongting Water God Xiangg Jun and Lady Xiangg.
Xiangg Jun wielded a sword, while Lady Xiangg held a divine mirror. Together, they summoned the White Dragon, raising waves thousands of feet high to form a vast marsh that trapped Lu Wu’s movements.
Alas, none of it proved effective.
The marsh ran endlessly deep, yet Lu Wu altered the weather, freezing the entire Dongting Lake. The lake, filled with demons, was then brought to a boil by Lu Wu, cooking all the demons alive.
Spring, summer, autumn, and winter alternated at his whim, the temperature and weather shifting unpredictably.
He summoned fierce hurricanes one moment and drained the lake dry the next.
Xiangg Jun and Lady Xiangg, with only Primordial Spirit-level cultivation, could rely solely on the advantage of terrain to confront a Harmonization-level Great Demon like Lu Wu. But now that their terrain advantage was nullified, their defeat was inevitable.
Watching the lake’s lives perish, Xiangg Jun closed his eyes in anguish, overwhelmed by the devastation wrought by the demon beasts.
Why must such cruel beasts exist in this world?
"We must leave now, or it will be too late!"
Lady Xiangg urged.
They had no choice but to flee. While leaving their domain would weaken their mana significantly, it was still better than perishing.
Boom!
But it was already too late. How could Lu Wu allow them to escape so easily?
His enormous figure, towering like a mountain, obscured the sky. His nine tails lashed out, while his red-eyed, wild-haired human head burst into maniacal laughter, revealing rows of sharp fangs: "Heh heh, no one leaves!"
With that, he opened his mouth wide and inhaled sharply.
A whirlwind sucked the two of them into the air, drawing them toward Lu Wu’s beastly maw in the next moment.
Just then, a golden light streaked across the horizon.
The Eight Horses galloped at astonishing speed, covering a thousand miles in an instant.
Standing at the head of the chariot, Song Lin gazed at the scene ahead, recognizing it as the legendary Lu Wu.
It was nighttime, and the Candle Dragon should now be at rest. Even if he unleashed his divine power, the Candle Dragon likely wouldn’t notice.
The Candle Dragon governed the solar responsibilities, illuminating the world by day and recovering its Primordial Energy by night.
Just as Lu Wu was about to consume the two Water Gods,
the dark sky erupted into radiant golden light.
The golden light blazed like fire, reducing the demons it touched to ash.
At the same moment, Lu Wu felt a sharp pain in his head as a massive golden gate slammed heavily down on him.
The strike left him reeling, golden stars dancing in his vision, and he nearly stumbled. Taking advantage of his disorientation, Xiangg Jun and Lady Xiangg managed to escape.
"The East Lord?" The two gods exclaimed in shock.
They hadn’t expected someone resembling the East Lord to save them.
"Who?"
Lu Wu roared in fury, his nine tails whipping out to batter the Heaven and Earth Xuan Sect’s gates away.
Behind him stood a colossal golden giant.
The four seasons shifted simultaneously, the power of the seasons enhancing the golden body behind him.
Heat, cold, dampness, frost, thunder, ice, fire... With all these forces amplifying him, Song Lin’s Nine-Transformation Indestructible Body creaked audibly.
"Oh?"
Song Lin sounded mildly surprised.
Lu Wu’s mastery of the seasonal arts could actually harm a Nine-Transformation Golden Body—truly a rare feat.
It was remarkable given that these methods were targeted toward a single individual. If unleashed on a larger scale, they might devastate thousands, even tens of thousands of miles.
Even so, such minor injuries were insignificant to Song Lin.
Thirty-two Cloud Seals hovered in the heavens, their ancient glyphs unleashing supremely potent spells.
Crimson Dragons, Black Winds, Yellow Clouds, black flags, Heavenly Thunder...
The Twelve Yuan Chen seized Lu Wu’s tails.
A barrage of spells descended like meteors, striking Lu Wu relentlessly.
"Aaaah!!! I refuse to accept this!"
Boom, boom, boom...
A kaleidoscope of dazzling spells shattered Lu Wu’s defenses.
Yet Lu Wu’s assaults couldn’t even so much as shake the Heaven and Earth Xuan Sect’s gates.
Lu Wu’s abilities were best suited for large-scale destruction; when dealing with a single opponent, they seemed somewhat constrained.
Moreover, the demon beasts of this realm’s mountain and sea regions had yet to develop a civilization akin to the Demon Clan in the Real World, unable to refine their divine skills to a sophisticated degree.
Not just the demon beasts: even Xiangg Jun, Lady Xiangg, and the distant onlookers—including the Abnormal Soldiers—were utterly stunned by the scene.
The shock was akin to prehistoric tribesmen, armed with stone-tipped spears, witnessing the orderly armies of a later dynasty, equipped with gleaming weapons, steel swords, bows, and crossbow carriages.
While the ancient tribes might have possessed great physical strength, at equivalent cultivation levels, they would be mercilessly slaughtered by the trained soldiers of later eras.
The Twelve Yuan Chen promptly subdued the surrounding demon beasts.
The battle ended with Lu Wu being sealed inside the Furnace of Eight Trigrams.
Within the furnace, the Six Ding Divine Fire worked relentlessly upon Lu Wu’s body, his wails of agony echoing as his form began to melt away slowly.
In the boundless sea of flames, omnipresent Wind Eyes fanned the blazing fire intensely.
Song Lin parted the fiery sea, the flames unable to scorch his Golden Body, as he stepped closer and closer to Lu Wu.
Seeing Song Lin, unscathed and calm, Lu Wu realized the immense disparity between the two—and though fear filled his heart, he couldn’t resist retorting:
"If you think you’re so great, fight me again!"
He truly did not understand this mysterious person’s capabilities. If given the chance to fight again, perhaps he wouldn’t lose so miserably.
"Fight again? Even if we fought ten times, you’d lose every single time." Song Lin paused and added, "But I didn’t come here to kill you. I have a Heavenly Court to establish. How about becoming its steward? I can teach you all of my abilities! Refuse, and you can only die."
With that, he revealed the exquisitely wondrous Palace of the Polestar.
Lu Wu froze in astonishment.
Was such a favorable offer even possible?
Compared to death, the choice was obvious. Learning these skills would surely be worthwhile.
"What must I do?" Lu Wu asked.
"Drip a drop of your blood onto the Palace of the Polestar, split off a portion of your soul, and swear to eternally safeguard the Divine Court."
"Very well! Lu Wu bows to his lordship!"
Shortly after, a pact was formed between man and demon.
Thus, the illustrious Heavenly Emperor’s Housekeeper pledged his allegiance.
Afterward, Song Lin sought out Xiangg Jun and Lady Xiangg.
"By the decree of Taiyi, I have come to restore the Mortal World. You must assist me."
"We humbly accept the East Lord’s command!"
The gods naturally complied, both in spirit and words.
Song Lin gathered the West Lake Gods and dozens of Abnormal Soldiers. Then, he orchestrated a staged performance before the world, feigning being severely injured and defeated by Lu Wu.
Subsequently, Lu Wu "occupied" the West Lake, while Xiangg Jun and Lady Xiangg pledged their allegiance.
Real World.
Song Lin’s avatar suddenly opened his eyes and said to Chiyou, "I must enter seclusion for a while. Once I emerge, we’ll head to the Yujue Demon Country."
"But... the Demon Court is about to be established. By then, it might be too late."
"It won’t take long. When the time comes, I will bring my true body in person."