Primordial Era: The Great Celestial Venerable on the Road to Mythology

Chapter 21 Reactions from All Sides: The Sun Encounters Land Pressure

The world was shaken after the invitations were sent out.

Those gilded invitations transformed from the Heavenly Court into streaks of light, like shooting stars streaking across the sky, falling into various Daoist temples, grottoes, and famous mountains and rivers. Each streak of light was stamped with the Jade Seal of the Heavenly Emperor, containing the supreme Yang energy of the Heavenly Emperor, its imposing aura subtle yet impossible to forge.

Those who received the invitations reacted in different ways.

Longevity Hill, Wuzhuang Temple.

Zhen Yuanzi held the invitation card, examined it for a long time, smiled slightly, and then put it into his sleeve.

"This Heavenly Emperor is quite thoughtful," he said to his disciples Qingfeng and Mingyue beside him. "I'm going to the Heavenly Court. You two keep an eye on the house, and make sure to take good care of the ginseng fruit tree in the backyard."

Qingfeng asked curiously, "Master, how do the peaches of immortality from the Heavenly Court compare to our ginseng fruits?"

Zhen Yuanzi stroked his beard and smiled, "The original peaches of immortality and ginseng fruits each had their own strengths. However, now... they are indeed somewhat inferior. My journey here is not entirely for eating peaches."

He was the ancestor of all earthly immortals, living a carefree and uncontested life. However, with the Heavenly Court newly established and Haotian displaying astonishing power, he couldn't refuse the invitation personally. Moreover, he wanted to see for himself just what kind of person this Heavenly Emperor was.

Blood Sea, the Daoist temple of the Styx Ancestor.

The Styx Ancestor sat cross-legged in the depths of the sea of ​​blood, surrounded by two killing swords—though not as powerful as the Four Swords of Zhuxian, they were still rare innate spiritual treasures.

He opened his eyes, looked at the gold-embossed invitation in his hand, and a meaningful smile appeared on his lips.

"Interesting," he muttered to himself. "This Haotian certainly dares to invite me."

He cultivated the path of slaughter, had almost no friends in the primordial world, and was on bad terms with the Wu tribe. Haotian had just formed an alliance with Pingxin, and logically, they were enemies, not friends, yet Haotian still sent him an invitation. What was the meaning of this? A show of force? Or an attempt to win him over?

After pondering for a long time, the Styx Ancestor finally decided to keep the appointment. He wanted to see what the Heavenly Court was really up to.

When the Kunpeng Ancestor received the invitation in Beihai, he sneered and casually tossed it aside.

"A mere peach from the Heavenly Palace, dares to invite me?" He sneered, then closed his eyes again.

After a while, however, he opened his eyes again, picked up the invitation, and examined it carefully. The alliance between Haotian and Pingxin, and the joint efforts of the Heavenly Court and the Underworld, were not good things for him. Although he felt disdain, he had no choice but to go—only by knowing oneself and one's enemy can one remain invincible.

After much hesitation, Kunpeng finally put the invitation into his sleeve.

As for the Three Pure Ones, they decided to send disciples. The Two Sages of the West even brought their families, preparing to take advantage of the situation.

The powerful figures on each side had different thoughts, but the vast majority of those who received invitations decided to attend. After all, this was the first grand gathering held by the Heavenly Court, and no one wanted to miss this opportunity to observe the true nature of the Heavenly Court.

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The Heavenly Court was a hive of activity.

Venus and Yao Ji, accompanied by a multitude of celestial soldiers and generals, busied themselves with preparations. The peaches in the Peach Garden needed to be picked, the tables and chairs for the banquet needed to be arranged, the palaces needed to be cleaned, and the celestial music needed to be rehearsed… every single thing required meticulous attention. Fortunately, Venus was experienced and skillful, managing everything in an orderly and efficient manner.

As for Haotian and Yaochi, they went to the ancient starry sky.

The foundation of the Zhou Tian Xing Dou Transformation Array must be set up by the two of them personally. This is one of the foundations of the Heavenly Court's future, and cannot be taken lightly.

Deep within the ancient starry sky, Haotian stood suspended in mid-air, surrounded by twinkling starlight. With a wave of his hand, array patterns flew from his palm and disappeared into the surrounding ancient stars. These array patterns were based on the Heavenly Emperor's authority, profound and unfathomable, and deeply in harmony with the Heavenly Dao.

One star after another was planted with array patterns, and the foundations of one great array after another were laid out in the starry sky.

Haotian and Yaochi used their authority to inscribe the array patterns onto the ancient stars. Although there were many stars, the two of them were quite fast. By the time the banquet began, they would have been able to complete the foundation of the grand array.

On this day, as Haotian was recording the main star—the Sun Star—an unexpected event occurred.

The true fire of the sun in the sun star suddenly went berserk, with endless flames surging wildly, as if it were about to destroy the world.

From the depths of the Sun Star, a sharp and high-pitched cry suddenly rang out. The sound contained boundless majesty and rage, resounding throughout the heavens and earth, shaking the very soul.

A gigantic firebird burst forth from the core of the sun, its body surrounded by golden solar fire, its wings outstretched as if they could blot out the sky.

Each feather shimmered with a dazzling light, as if woven from pure flames and laws.

The firebird's aura was extremely powerful; wherever it passed, the space itself was scorched and distorted.

Those eyes, like two burning suns, stared intently at Haotian, revealing an innate arrogance and unruliness.

Haotian's expression hardened as he looked at the firebird. He had never imagined that there was a living being hidden in the Sun Star.

Upon closer inspection, it was an enormous, strange bird with three legs, its body engulfed in raging flames, as if it had merged with the true fire of the sun.

No wonder he hadn't noticed before; in an instant, Haotian had confirmed the other party's identity.

Lu Ya, son of Emperor Jun and one of the Ten Golden Crow Princes.

Back then, it was Lu Ya and the other Golden Crow Princes who defied the will of Heaven and appeared in the primordial world at the same time, causing the calamity of ten suns in the sky, which caused great damage to the earth, killed countless living beings, and thus suffered the backlash of karma, which also became the fuse for the war between the Lich King and the Demon King.

First came the great sorcerer Kuafu who chased the sun, then came the great sorcerer Houyi who shot down the sun, killing nine golden crow princes and extinguishing the last bit of life of the demon race. Thus, the great war between the sorcerers and demons broke out, and both races perished together.

In a sense, Lu Ya and his nine elder brothers were among the culprits in the destruction of the demon race.

Although Haotian knew that Lu Ya had survived, he did not expect that the guy had actually hidden in the Sun Star.

As he sized up Lu Ya, Lu Ya also nervously looked at Haotian, his heart filled with doubt and uncertainty.

Since the end of the Lich War, he has been hiding in the Sun Star, cultivating with the help of the Sun's True Fire and Daoist Rhyme.

When the Sun Star suddenly rioted, he thought it was the Witch Clan coming to kill him, but he didn't expect it to be someone he had never met before.

Lu Ya shouted angrily, "Heh heh, you lowly scoundrels, how dare you trespass on the Sun Star!"

Haotian gave a cold laugh: "I am the Heavenly Emperor of the Heavenly Court. Lu Ya, now that you have seen me, why do you not bow?"

Lu Ya was slightly taken aback upon hearing this, but then he realized—although he was cultivating in seclusion on the Sun Star, he was not isolated from the world. He naturally knew that Dao Ancestor Hongjun had appointed a new Heavenly Emperor.

Ever since he learned of this, he has been furious and even considered expelling Haotian from the Heavenly Court to uphold the orthodoxy of the demon race.

But before he could finish his cultivation, Haotian came to him on his own.

"What Heavenly Emperor?" Lu Ya shouted angrily. "There has only been one Heavenly Emperor in the entire Primordial World, and that is my father! Who do you think you are, daring to presume to call yourself the Supreme Heavenly Emperor!"

Upon hearing this, Haotian's face immediately darkened.

"How dare you, mere remnants of the demon race, be so arrogant! I am hereby appointed by the Dao Ancestor Hongjun, and crowned by the Heavenly Dao. To blaspheme against me is to defy the Dao Ancestor and disrespect the Heavenly Dao, and you are already destined for death."

He was no saint or a saint, and the primordial world was no peaceful place. Ever since he took over as Heavenly Emperor, he had known that he was about to embark on a bloody path.

One general's success is built on the bones of ten thousand; only a throne built on the corpses of enemies can truly command submission.

At this moment, Haotian felt a murderous intent rising in his heart.

What, the last golden crow? Is it related to the goddess Nuwa? None of that matters to him.

Anyone who dares to provoke him will die.