Heavenly Destiny

In the Taichu World, an aged golden crow beat its wings and soared high across the sky. The solar divine fire surrounding its body had grown old as well, radiating a deep crimson glow like a red sunset sun. Ruan Qi sniffed himself and found he was already half-scorched. He thought to himself, *Lord Jin forgot to rein in his flames again.* Zhu Chanchan's eyes sparkled with enthusiasm as she used Jin Buyi's solar divine fire to temper her Feilai Peak. The bronze bell hovered above Jin Buyi's head, rather enjoying the sensation of being roasted by the fire. Jin Buyi descended, drew back the roaring flames around his body, closed his eyes, and dozed off. Ruan Qi was understanding and said, "Lord Jin has forgotten where he was flying again. He's probably sleepy and needs to rest for a while. When he wakes up, we'll tell him." He paused and added, "Besides, I'm singed crisp. I need to channel my Mud Pill cave-heaven to heal my body." Everyone quietly waited for Jin Buyi to wake. Jin Buyi had carried them to the heavenly road, traced the heavenly road's spiritual roots of heaven and earth to locate the Taichu World, and brought them all the way here. Back when Xu Ying had been taken away, Jin Buyi had used one of his feathers to create an avatar and dived into the rift of spacetime to track Xu Ying's whereabouts. After finding Xu Ying, that avatar had burrowed into his glabella to awaken his memories. Through this avatar, Jin Buyi could also see what Xu Ying saw and know where Xu Ying had gone. But Jin Buyi was simply too old and constantly forgot things, wasting much time along the way. Zhu Chanchan looked around in bewilderment. "Why does this world have no yuan qi at all?" No sooner had she spoken than the sky before them parted as an ancient seal slowly opened, and five-colored qi surged forth from the sealed spacetime. Zhu Chanchan and Ruan Qi stared blankly at the sight, and the bronze bell was equally baffled. None of them had known there was such a celestial seal in this place—and right before their very eyes, no less. Even more astonishing, once the seal broke open, a vast and boundless world was revealed to them! The mountains and rivers stretched out magnificently. Huge divine weapons met their eyes, thrusting at haphazard angles across the wilderness. In addition, waves of powerful, sinister auras came crashing outward. This had once been an ancient battlefield, now teeming with malevolent vitality. "The Netherworld has invaded here too!" Ruan Qi blurted out, instantly recognizing the ominous aura of the primordial battlefield. Here, the boundary between the Netherworld and the mortal world had grown exceedingly blurred. Nether qi surged across, and ghosts crossed from the other side to latch onto the scattered skeletons of fallen warriors. Catching the scent of living flesh, they charged toward where the seal had unraveled. The people of the Taichu World were frail and powerless to withstand such a terrifying onslaught. Yet between the Netherworld and the mortal realm stood several dozen formidable humans whose fists and kicks wielded heaven-shaking, earth-shattering power. Locked in fierce combat, they held the mountain pass leading into the human realm. They were not Qi Refiners, nor were they Nuo masters; they did not even possess orthodox yuan qi within their bodies. Yet a single punch could unleash force across dozens of li, and a sweep of a leg could snap mountain peaks. Though not divine abilities, their strength surpassed them! These humans were actually holding back the onslaught of monsters and ghosts with sheer physical might! Ruan Qi and the others stared wide-eyed. Just then, Jin Buyi was awoken by the bloodshed on the primordial battlefield. His thunderous voice boomed, "Ah Ying, has the fighting started again? Have those heavenly gods caught up?" He beat his wings and soared forward, scattering boundless blazing flames that scorched the monsters to ashes. Suddenly diving down, his countless feathers transformed into golden blades that swept through the hills and rivers, chopping down the monsters like vegetables! In no time at all, Jin Buyi cleaved through hundreds of li, wiping out every monster and spectral creature in the area. He flapped his wings, and the countless golden feather-blades whistled back, settling onto his body. Ruan Qi and the others hurriedly rushed over and explained the situation. Only then did Jin Buyi recall what had happened before he went to sleep. In a muffled voice, he said, "I thought it was the great war from the Great Shang era again." At that moment, Zhai Wuxian led his warriors forward to express their gratitude to Jin Buyi. Jin Buyi looked at him with dim, aging eyes. Only after peering for a long while did he make out the faces of Zhai Wuxian and the others. "I've seen you before," he said. "You know Xu Ying." Zhai Wuxian felt uncertain and inquired closely. Only then did he learn that they were Xu Ying's friends. "Xu Ying headed for the Five-Colored Mountain. He broke the seal and allowed yuan qi to return to our Taichu World," Zhai Wuxian said, pointing out the direction. "He should have gone into the Netherworld." The golden crow thanked them and beat his wings, carrying Zhu Chanchan and the others into the sky. After a long flight, they arrived at the Five-Colored Immortal Mountain. Landing on the mountain, they encountered a white-haired elder who called himself Wu Tianzun. Jin Buyi recognized Wu Tianzun. Wu Tianzun told them of Xu Ying's whereabouts, saying, "I sensed he was coerced and headed in that direction." Jin Buyi took off once more, flying toward the direction Wu Tianzun indicated. Upon reaching the Cangwu Abyss, the golden crow suddenly remembered that his avatar had seen this abyss through Xu Ying's eyes. He chuckled and said, "I remember that if you cross this lake, there will be a giant eyeball in the sky." He beat his wings and flew across the great lake in the Cangwu Abyss. Emerging from the waters, everyone indeed saw a colossal eye as massive as a star. The giant eye shifted and turned toward them, instantly setting the earth ablaze with raging flames. Terrified, Ruan Qi and the others urged him to leave at once. Jin Buyi laughed, "What is there to fear?" Even so, he beat his wings and departed, returning to the Cangwu Abyss. His mind grew muddled again, and he could not clearly recall which direction Xu Ying had fled. In his haze, he carried Ruan Qi and the others straight to the Nether Court. The Nether Court was in utter chaos. Fallen Nuo immortals had been mobilized, and guardian statues of the Nether Court were revived one after another. Vice prefects from all across the realms rushed over to provide reinforcements. With only his upper body remaining, the Son of Heaven of the Nether Court was terrified and frantically summoned the winter crows. Jin Buyi led Ruan Qi, the bronze bell, and Zhu Chanchan in an assault on the Nether Court, nearly leveling it to the ground. Even the divine statues guarding the Nether Court were slashed down by his bladed wings! Suddenly, countless winter crows flew in, blanketing the sky in ash. The ash obscured the sky and the sun, suffocating the blood-dark sun above and plunging the world into dimness. *Whoosh—* A three-legged golden crow, decayed until only white bone and feathers remained, dragged a massive sun and flew before them. The skeletal golden crow beat its wings and came to a halt in mid-air. Within the ashen sun, an imposing figure slowly spoke: "Long time no see, Jin Buyi. Are you still searching for traces of your master? I have seen him." Jin Buyi looked on in shock and doubt, tilting his head to examine the skeletal golden crow. He felt a strong urge to fly closer. The skeleton gave him a familiar feeling, like that of a close blood relative. "Your master went that way." The figure in the ashen sun rose slowly, his body composed of countless pieces of joss paper. He pointed in the direction Xu Ying had gone, his voice booming like thunder. "Jin Buyi, go there. Do not disturb the peace of the Netherworld." Jin Buyi thanked him and asked, "Who was this golden crow skeleton?" The figure amidst the ashes replied, "Your ancestor. How did you think a barbarian youth living in a small village stumbled upon you all those years ago?" His voice was laced with haughty coldness. "That boy was closely monitored. How could he have had such great luck as to just happen upon a golden crow's egg?" At these words, the bronze bell felt a chill run through its core. Ruan Qi and Zhu Chanchan had never entered Jin Buyi's memories and did not know the backstory, but the bronze bell had entered Jin Buyi's memories alongside Xu Ying and watched him grow from birth to old age. *Jin Buyi was arranged to be at Ah Ying's side?* The bronze bell trembled and chimed softly, thinking to itself, *If Lord Jin was arranged, then what about Lord Bell... There's no way Lord Bell was arranged! I'm far too formidable! But that foolish snake was definitely arranged from start to finish!* Jin Buyi cast a deep look at the skeletal golden crow, then carried Ruan Qi and the others away toward the Nai River. They flew over a mountain range and landed on a peak. Ruan Qi thought Jin Buyi was tired and needed to rest, but Jin Buyi craned his neck to look down at a mountain stream. "Ah Ying has been here. He came twice; my memory of it is very vivid." Jin Buyi said in a deep, hollow voice, "Two people live in seclusion here. Let us not disturb them." He spread his wings and flew away, riding the wind. He continued flying forward along the Nai River. After a long while, familiar mountains and rivers gradually came into view, looking like the Hundred Thousand Mountains. Ruan Qi looked closely and suddenly cried out in surprise, "Lord Bell, isn't that small stone mountain down in the middle of the Nai River the very one where you used to hang?" The bronze bell swept its divine sense downward. Sure enough, the peak below was Little Stone Mountain, and on top of it stood a ruined temple! Following the Nai River downstream, they had actually returned to the ruined temple on Little Stone Mountain where Xu Ying and the bronze bell had first met! Ruan Qi was thoroughly bewildered and said, "Lord Jin, Lord Bell, Ancestor Chanchan, we flew here from the Taichu World, right? We flew all the way from the Taichu World without crossing any world barriers or spacetime tunnels—we just flew straight here, didn't we?" Zhu Chanchan nodded, puzzled. "What are you trying to say?" Ruan Qi said, "Doesn't that mean the Netherworld, Yuanshou, and Taichu are actually all part of the same world?" Zhu Chanchan and the bronze bell were shaken to the core. Only Jin Buyi was lost in thought and hadn't heard clearly. Zhu Chanchan said in shock, "It really is so! We flew straight here from the Taichu World!" Suddenly, Jin Buyi folded his wings and landed on Little Stone Mountain below. He looked around vigilantly and said, "A familiar presence is approaching." At that moment, waves of noise rang in their ears, distorting and deranging their thoughts and consciousness. A figure came walking across the surface of the river. Spotting Jin Buyi from afar, the figure came to a halt. The unbearable noise grew even more intense, driving one toward madness and loss of control! Jin Buyi tilted his head to look at the figure and suddenly asked, "Did I slash you before?" The figure replied, "You did." After a moment, the figure resumed walking forward, passing beside the stone mountain. He gave Jin Buyi a slight nod without making any unusual moves. When the bronze bell, Ruan Qi, and Zhu Chanchan looked over, horror seized their hearts. Behind that figure walked countless duplicates of himself, all striding forward in unison! He was not just one person, but a massive crowd—countless in number! The bronze bell said in a grave voice, "The outer god imprisoned in the Realm of Heavenly Dao has arrived in Yuanshou as well!" Zhu Chanchan stared at the figure's retreating back in shock and doubt, murmuring, "Heavenly Destiny... He is Tianshu..." Ruan Qi stared at the figure in utter shock and said, "The Tianshu of 'wealth, rank, life, death, misfortune, and blessing are all governed by heavenly destiny'?" Jin Buyi remarked impassively, "Just a deposed heavenly god, that's all. He is no longer an orthodox deity, but an outer god. There is bound to be another orthodox god of Heavenly Destiny in the Heavenly Dao world." Zhu Chanchan said with a grim expression, "Still, an outer god appearing in the mortal realm can never be a good thing!" Jin Buyi asked, "Should I hack him to death?"