Inside the Jade Green Glazed Tower were sealed Chiyou Dajun’s fingernail and Gonggong Dajun’s skull! Baize Dijun flew into a towering rage—how dare they attack his beloved!
Having nothing useful at hand at the moment, he immediately took off one shoe and threw it forcefully, forcibly blocking the attack. Unexpectedly, he then saw that the other hand, which had just been shattered by Zhuxuan Dijun’s horsetail whisk, had also finished condensing. It no longer tangled with Zhuxuan Dijun near the Azure Jade Platform, but instead turned to pounce toward the Jade Green Glazed Tower.
Divine power vibrated throughout Baize Dijun’s body. He removed the pearl string from his wrist and was about to throw it out when he suddenly felt several degrees lighter from head to toe—Zhuxuan Dijun had finally completely removed all the restrictions on the Divine Bright Manor!
Baize Dijun had no more misgivings. He gently tossed out the pearl string. This lustrous pearl string, which had been nurtured and cared for by a catfish demon in the lower realm for twenty thousand years, grew immediately upon meeting the wind. Each pearl grain became as large as a water vat. After circling in mid-air, before the gods could even see clearly, those two pitch-black giant palms had already been bound together by the pearl string and fiercely smashed to the ground, knocking down who knows how many exquisite golden agate pavilions.
Zhuxuan Dijun, who hurried over, watched as a good half of his magnificent Yuyang Manor became like ruins. His heart ached so much that the flesh on his face continuously trembled.
“Too terrible! This Fangfeng Clan is too terrible!” He was practically incoherent. “If you’re going to fall to the lower realm, why not just fall properly! Why must you ruin my Zhuxuan Yuyang Manor!”
Baize Dijun said: “Little brat Zhuxuan, look at these hands. They’re rather strange.”
He snapped his fingers, and the pearl string binding the two giant palms immediately tightened. The pitch-black demonic evil energy and flesh were once again squeezed into fragments, dispersing hazily. But they didn’t completely scatter. Before long, they re-condensed together, stirring restlessly.
Zhuxuan Dijun was somewhat shocked: “They can actually heal repeatedly?”
These giant hands were neither quite alive nor quite dead—who knew what kind of thing they were? If someone was controlling them, they hadn’t seen a body. This was even more puzzling to them than if the Fangfeng Clan had truly been resurrected.
Baize Dijun once again manipulated the pearl string to bind these healed giant hands. They were still unwilling to give up, desperately using their fingers to claw at the ground, reaching for the Jade Green Glazed Tower so close at hand.
It looked like the target really was his beloved.
“Little brat Zhuxuan, quickly take the things from the seventh level out.” Baize Dijun turned his head to look at the thick black night sky to the west. All things were utterly silent, stars and moon without light. The strange quietness was like the harbinger of an even greater disaster. “Never imagined that right under the noses of the gods, such monsters would be born.”
No matter what was now hidden in the Sea of Regret, they absolutely could not let Chiyou Dajun’s and Gonggong Dajun’s relics fall into it. The Fangfeng Clan’s bones and remains had become such monsters—who knew what those two items would become? One demonic clan Dajun was already enough to give them headaches. If two emerged, he would rather fall to the lower realm tonight together with this Sea of Regret.
Zhuxuan Dijun swept his horsetail whisk, and two white jade boxes appeared in his palm. Even though they were covered with cinnabar true words, having lost the divine power suppression of the Jade Green Glazed Tower, the white jade boxes still continuously trembled, as if something wanted to break out of the boxes.
“Let this venerable one hold them.” Baize Dijun shamelessly reached out his hand toward him.
At a time like this, Old Man Baize was still pulling this stunt! Zhuxuan Dijun could no longer care about respecting his elders. He glared at him viciously, about to solemnly express his firm determination as the owner of the treasures, when he suddenly heard a terrifying humming sound. The ground shook violently like boiling water. The various magnificent pavilions atop it swayed unsteadily, and with clattering sounds, several more collapsed.
In the western direction of the Sea of Regret, like a volcanic eruption, two pitch-black hurricanes suddenly shot up violently. Even from such a distance, they could hear the teeth-grinding sound of these two masses of turbid energy hurricanes rubbing and colliding with the divine realm’s pure energy.
Two of the divine officials who had been sent forward to investigate escaped back, shouting hoarsely: “Three hundred li north of the Sea of Regret, a piece fell down! Turbid energy has surged up!”
A trace of extremely pained expression flashed across Zhuxuan Dijun’s face. Like a warrior severing his own arm, he suddenly ordered sternly: “You several—go take down Houyi’s arrows and the spirit stones! Don’t bother with anything else! Everyone, quickly leave here!”
The gods didn’t wait for him to speak before already flying eastward like a tide. The eight golden qilins pulling the giant carriage were even faster. In the blink of an eye, they rushed out of Zhuxuan Yuyang Manor, whooshing up into the cloud sea with a sound. They stopped on the clouds, waiting for Baize Dijun, who was still bickering with Zhuxuan Dijun.
Inside the carriage, the disciples were talking over each other, releasing the shock brought by this turn of events. Zhi Xi asked timidly: “Do you think the Sea of Regret will fall down?”
Gu Ting said urgently: “Teacher and the Dijun will surely do their utmost not to let it fall to the lower realm, right? Otherwise, wouldn’t the innocent mortals of the lower realm suffer a catastrophe!”
Tai Yao sighed: “Divine realm land is the foundation for constructing Five Elements yin-yang divine power. Once it falls to the lower realm, its might is no less than the opening of heaven and earth. Even the great emperors above the Thirty-Three Heavens can do nothing about it. If this entire Sea of Regret falls, I’m afraid we’ll also suffer along with it. Below, when pure and turbid energy currents collide, that experience will surely be extremely terrible.”
He spoke so terrifyingly that the disciples fell into a new round of frightened chatter.
Fucang gazed intently out the window. In the distance, the huge black dragon-like hurricanes brought up by the turbid energy had multiplied by several. The piercing shrieking sounds caused severe pain in the ears even from such a distance. A vague ominous premonition stirred in his heart—they should leave this place as quickly as possible and not linger any longer.
Xuan Yi in front of him suddenly moved. Only then did he realize his hand had been pressed on her forehead the whole time. That embarrassment and helplessness from before slowly surged up in his heart again. He silently withdrew his hand. After pausing for a long moment, he said in a low voice: “I’m sorry.”
Xuan Yi suddenly whipped her head around, her two eyes widening to glare at him: “And then?”
Her utterly illogical response made Fucang’s long eyebrows furrow again: “What ‘and then’?”
Xuan Yi said angrily: “The places where you’ve offended me are too numerous to count. You think one apology can wipe it all away?”
He suddenly suspected whether he was still drunk, that he would actually apologize to her. Regarding the matter beneath the Imperial Daughter Mulberry Tree earlier, he had indeed been completely wrong. He clearly should sincerely apologize to her. However, looking at this dragon princess’s arrogant appearance, he didn’t want to at all.
Fucang’s face was like frost. Gripping her chin, he twisted her head back: “Sit properly!”
Xuan Yi used her fingernails to fiercely scratch at the back of his hand. He paid no attention. Later, when she scratched too hard, he simply used one hand to grip each wrist, forcibly crossing them and restraining them in front of her. Suddenly, he heard Baize Dijun’s voice explode outside the carriage: “The Sea of Regret is about to fall! Quickly go! Quickly go!”
The eight golden qilins pulling the carriage let out terrified cries. The giant carriage rode the wind and trod on clouds, racing forward madly. They hadn’t run for long when they heard tremendous sounds like mountains collapsing and earth splitting coming from the distance, continuous and unending. The huge and terrifying momentum shook their chests, even causing these young celestial beings to feel tearing pain inside their bodies.
The next moment, an extremely great force fiercely struck the giant carriage. The disciples inside instantly rolled into a heap with no ability to resist. The world spun. Tai Yao’s shouting voice seemed so small amid the sharp shrieking sounds: “We’ve collided with the pure and turbid energy! Quickly go!”
Go? Where to go? How to go? The giant carriage had already been swept into an incomparably enormous mass of pitch-black turbid energy. The eight golden qilins didn’t even let out a scream—in just an instant, they were torn into fragments by the intersecting force of pure and turbid energy. The giant carriage shook like tattered catkins in the vortex. Xuan Yi only felt herself flipping over one moment, rolling over the next, jolted until she nearly vomited.
The tremendous sounds of mountains collapsing and earth splitting drew nearer and nearer, faster and faster. In the violent jolting, Fucang slid from the carriage roof to the window. Outside the carriage, whether up, down, left, or right, all he could see was pitch blackness. Only very occasionally would a crack of intersecting pure and turbid energy flash past. He glimpsed the collapse and disintegration of land. Under the collision of pure and turbid energy, the divine realm land shattered into countless extremely fine black and white bi-colored sand grains.
The sound of the giant carriage’s walls cracking mingled with the deafening roar, simply breaking the disciples’ hearts and livers—if the giant carriage was crushed, they would directly encounter this violent energy current! It was all that unreliable teacher! All because they waited for him! The disciples’ resentment had never erupted as violently as in this moment. Even Zhi Xi furiously roared: “I’m withdrawing from school!”
Just as she finished shouting, the giant carriage’s trembling and rolling suddenly stopped. The disciples who had been rolling about in a jumbled heap inside the carriage dubiously propped up their bodies. Baize Dijun’s voice transmitted from afar with difficulty: “Everyone go to the corners! Protect yourselves! Don’t move!”
The disciples hurriedly obeyed, each finding a corner. The nine-headed lion was so frightened it couldn’t even manifest its mount form, small as a cat. Its four paws desperately dug into Fucang’s thighs and wouldn’t let go no matter what. Tears streamed from all eighteen eyes as it continuously wailed pitifully.
Fucang scooped it up and tossed it into his sleeve. Xuan Yi in his arms was soft and completely motionless—this delicate dragon princess had actually been jolted unconscious. He used his waist sash to bind Xuan Yi to his chest, focused his mind and recited true words, summoning a barrier. Unexpectedly, a hand suddenly lightly patted his shoulder.
Shao Yi’s voice rang out almost against his ear: “Fucang Shidi, even if it costs your life, you must protect Little Loach well. Protect her for me.”
For him?
Fucang was noncommittal. The giant carriage began to shake violently again. They were jolted inside the carriage like beans in a hot pan. Suddenly, the carriage shattered into fragments, transforming into countless golden lights that wrapped around the disciples one by one. In the cracks of the rubbing and colliding pure and turbid energy, the golden light splashed open like shattered water droplets, each being flung away separately.
That day was the Yiwei day of the Renzi month of the Dingyou year. Two quarters past the hour of midnight, the Sea of Regret fell into the lower realm. All divine realm land within five thousand li of the Far West fell completely. The extravagant and magnificent Zhuxuan Yuyang Manor ceased to exist. The entire four wilds and eight wastelands continuously trembled for several days due to the might of the fall. Of the gods who were guests at Zhuxuan Yuyang Manor that day, only a small portion escaped. A total of three hundred and twenty-eight divine beings were swept into the pure and turbid energy currents and fell to the lower realm, their fortune or misfortune unknown.
*
Author’s Note: I’ll try writing my comments in the main text here—after all, it hasn’t gone on sale yet. Legend has it that Chiyou belonged to the Jiuli tribe, and Gonggong was actually truly a celestial god, but I’ve set them both as members of the demon clan.