Chapter 180: Mount Li Holy Mother and Nezha
Ereshkigal, having descended from the primordial High Heaven, did not know what the stone standing at the island's peak truly was.
She only knew two facts.
It carried an absurdly dense divinity.
And it was intimately linked to the planet itself, as though it were a joint creation born from a god and the world.
Even without understanding its origin, Ereshkigal was still a goddess whose manifestation approached the level of a God King. She could tell that life was gestating within the stone.
She meant to accelerate its birth.
Yet what she unconsciously invoked was not a technique that hastened flesh and bone.
Instead, she reached into the river of time and pulled forth a body that was highly compatible with the power inside the stone, a vessel capable of bearing its consciousness and Authority.
Only after the act did she realize what she had done.
Ereshkigal's expression stiffened.
If this was a mistake, she could not even define the consequences.
But no matter how troubled she became, what happened could not be undone.
The boulder cracked.
Two beams of light shot into the sky, piercing heaven and earth. Clouds churned and rolled. The entire Eastern Sea trembled, as if answering a summons.
With a thunderous crash, the giant stone split apart completely.
A petite figure leaped out.
A young girl.
Short red hair.
A short red tunic that hugged a gently rising chest, an exposed abdomen warm and pale, the hem stopping above her thighs and revealing long legs that moved with an easy, almost careless grace.
Her face was pretty and delicate, framed by loose strands of hair. The slight lift at the corner of her mouth carried a wildness that looked like freedom and trouble in equal measure.
She was shaped like a human.
Yet she radiated the unmistakable air of a monkey.
Because if Ereshkigal had not intervened, this life would have been born as a Stone Monkey. It would have erupted prematurely, the instant it opened its eyes sending heaven and earth into uproar.
Ereshkigal did not care about any of that.
She cared about what came next.
"Sister, you finally came to call me!"
The red haired girl stood barefoot on the island peak, looking up at the foreign Underworld goddess who was slightly taller.
Ereshkigal went blank.
Who is she talking to?
Why did this child speak as if she had been waiting for her?
"You are Mount Li Holy Mother, my sister!" the girl said with complete certainty, eyes bright. "I knew you would come wake me while I was sleeping!"
Ereshkigal stared.
Silence stretched.
So she had mistaken her for someone else.
Ereshkigal's thoughts ran once, fast and clean.
She was entering the Divine Land. She needed a way to move without immediately drawing every ward, every immortal, every ancient grudge to her throat.
And this identity felt useful. Unreasonably useful.
Ereshkigal's mouth curved into a bright smile.
"That's right," she said, without hesitation. "I am."
At the same time, deeper in the Eastern Sea, further away and harder to reach, mist began to gather.
Three islands emerged from nothingness within that cloud, as if responding to the disturbance caused by the Stone Monkey's birth.
Penglai. Yingzhou. Fangzhang.
Overseas immortal isles where many immortals had resided in the ancient Age of Gods.
Penglai was foremost.
And on Penglai, someone opened her eyes.
Red pupils flickered. Long hair the color of wine, shading toward brown, fell on both sides of her face.
A cold and clear voice echoed across the island like an electronic tone.
"Heavenly Palace. Threat."
"Monkey."
The words repeated without pause.
…
In Qin, at East Flower Palace, the sacrifice to Heaven concluded.
The First Emperor's excitement had not faded.
The generals itched for movement. The civil officials burned with reform.
There were opponents, of course.
But in this atmosphere, who dared to speak?
Because Great Qin was in a frenzy.
The armies began to withdraw under their commanders' orders. Qin swords dispersed to their assigned locations. The Six Kingdoms had only just fallen, and remnants of restorationists still lurked everywhere. The army would need to suppress them.
Historians recorded everything that had occurred.
They recorded the descent of Pangu, formed by Azure Heaven.
They recorded what the people believed, and what they revered.
The Qin people revered Heaven and feared fate. In their thinking, Heaven had always been the father of all things.
So within every household's belief, Azure Heaven had long become an ancestral presence.
Paired with another figure.
The Earth Mother Goddess.
Mount Li Holy Mother, a name that had lived in the Qin people's imagination for generations.
Rowe knew this.
And he did not care.
As far as he knew, Mount Li Holy Mother was not an actual deity. She was a faith construct born from the Qin people's collective yearning and symbolism.
As for the First Emperor, he believed in himself even more, and cared even less.
Afternoon sun leaned toward dusk. Light deepened into the color of late day.
Rowe returned to Consort Yu's side.
On the dome, the young girl still watched him as if waiting for him to come back to her.
Rowe lifted a hand, about to slow his steps.
Then he froze.
In the next instant, sudden changes within the Eastern Sea entered his awareness.
As the Water Official Great Emperor, all matters of water within heaven and earth fell under his dominion. The disturbance at this moment could not be hidden from him.
His forward motion hesitated, but did not stop.
Consort Yu's eyes widened.
Rowe had abruptly moved close and collided with her.
Their bodies met head on.
Consort Yu's breath caught.
Warm scent and soft jade pressed into him. Rowe, in a reflex he did not consciously choose, wrapped an arm around her.
His palm rested at her waist.
Heat and delicate softness surged into his hand at the same time.
Rowe blinked once.
Consort Yu's voice came out flat, almost offended by the universe.
"You are… rude…"
Rowe's expression did not change. He released her as smoothly as he had caught her.
He stepped back half a pace. He did not give her time to say anything else.
"The Eastern Sea has changed," he said.
Consort Yu steadied herself and turned serious immediately.
"The Divine Land in ancient myth was surrounded by seas," she said quickly. "Now that the divine era has faded, the Southern Sea has shrunk into one expanse, and the Western and Northern Seas have sunk into the Sea of Stars. Only the Eastern Sea remains, forced to coexist with the turning era."
After the Star Hunter descended, the ancient immortals and gods had taken the Eastern Sea as their refuge.
Even if the Star Hunter's calamity did not sweep through the Divine Land directly, its impact had been planetary scale. This place was not exempt.
And because the Eastern Sea was unique, even though Rowe controlled the water mansions of heaven and earth, there were still hidden corners he could not directly explore.
The disturbance happening now was likely one of those corners.
Consort Yu's gaze sharpened.
"The three immortal islands overseas," she said.
She thought for a moment.
"Yingzhou, Penglai, Fangzhang. In ancient times they served as immortal caves for many immortals and gods. Penglai was foremost. It was said to be a gateway to heaven, one of the doors to the immortal realm. Even Lingbao Tianzun, one of the Three Pure Ones, once resided there."
If the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors represented the ancestral gods, then the Three Pure Ones were the apex of the immortal gods.
The fact that one of the Three Pure Ones resided on Penglai alone proved how special it was.
Consort Yu frowned.
"However, the three islands sealed themselves after the Investiture of the Gods. Even when I was at the Fusang Tree, I could not find any trace of them. Why would they appear now?"
Rowe grinned as though she had asked why lightning struck during a storm.
"Then do not think about it," he said. "Go and look."
The unknown had never frightened him.
He no longer sought death.
But using the craving for death as fuel to seek strength had become his current drive.
Penglai, where immortals and gods had once resided, would almost certainly contain ancient divine artifacts.
Even relics left by the Three Pure Ones could not be meaningless to him.
"Go look?" Consort Yu did not hesitate. "Then we go."
"And this time, you do not leave me behind."
…
A sword light rose, carrying them both toward the Eastern Sea.
Rowe glanced at Consort Yu behind him, brow lifting.
"How is it you still cannot fly?"
Consort Yu snorted.
"Who said one must be able to fly?"
"The Western White Emperor is associated with metal, killing, and sharp weapons."
"I only need to swing my sword."
She tilted her head, vermilion eyes narrowing with mischief.
"Do you want to try?"
Rowe brought his hands together with impeccable sincerity.
"I cannot afford to offend you."
Consort Yu's smile sharpened.
The Pure Yang sword light crossed the Divine Land, passed through Hangu Pass, entered Chu, followed the Yangtze, and reached the shores of the Eastern Sea.
The ocean reflected the blood red setting sun. Waves rippled across the surface, and mist rose ahead like a wall.
"We are close," Consort Yu said.
Rowe felt it too.
The immortal aura ahead was ancient and dense enough to be undeniable.
Through the water vapor, the outlines of islands began to appear.
Three massive shadows stood in a corner of the world, separated yet bound by the same silence.
But before they could draw nearer, the air trembled.
A clear and cold voice rang out, carrying an electronic edge.
"Heaven Gate is a sacred place. Outsiders, stop."
A clang followed.
A long spear wrapped in red light tore through the mist, breaking the air as it flew toward their approaching sword light. It was meant to block their advance.
Rowe did not move, only slowed their approach slightly.
The spear was fast and vicious. He could have brushed it away with a gesture.
He did not need to.
"Hmph. Do not misunderstand," Consort Yu said, already stepping forward. "I am not protecting you. I am protecting myself."
A black cloak billowed.
Consort Yu's fair figure shifted with it. Two long swords appeared in her hands. She struck.
A brilliant edge flashed. The spear was parried away with a shriek of metal, thrown off course as the blades trembled.
Consort Yu hovered in front of Rowe.
She could not fly, but she could float.
Her face was serious.
She did not want to be protected at all times.
She also wanted to protect him.
Even if Rowe did not need it.
"White Emperor…?" came a voice through the mist, confused.
The fog split to either side.
A hand caught the repelled spear.
The one who emerged stood on two blazing lights.
Not lights.
Wheels wrapped in flame.
A girl.
She wore a tight red tunic. Her body was balanced and strong. Her chest rose only slightly with breath, but her waist was slender, her lower garment loose and split, revealing full and taut thighs.
Long reddish brown hair flowed behind her.
A long spear in her hand.
Wind Fire Wheels beneath her feet.
And on her fair wrist, a silver white ring set into place as if embedded.
Red Tassel Spear.
Wind Fire Wheels.
Universe Ring.
"Nezha," Consort Yu said, recognizing her instantly.
The young immortal who had shone in the Battle of Investiture of the Gods.
The Divine General who guarded the gates of the Heavenly Realm.
"White Emperor… no," Nezha said, voice still clean and cold. She stared hard at Consort Yu. "That is not right."
"You are not the White Emperor."
Consort Yu's face fell into open disappointment.
"Tch. Did I fail?"
Rowe understood what she had attempted.
Heaven Gate was the entrance to the Celestial Realm, the domain where the Heavenly Emperor of the Age of Gods resided.
And the Celestial Realm did not hold only one throne. The Heavenly Emperor sat at its center. Other Emperors resided in the directions.
The White Emperor, as the Western Emperor, would naturally have the right to enter.
Consort Yu had tried to walk in wearing that authority.
Nezha saw through it immediately.
Nezha only recognized a specific category of existence.
She recognized the Emperors of the Age of Gods.
"Then I can only force my way through," Consort Yu said, grip tightening on her twin swords. Confidence returned to her smile.
Since deception failed, why waste time?
Charge.
How could the dignified Western White Emperor fail against a gate guarding Divine General?
Consort Yu lunged.
Then she self destructed.
Rowe choked on his own breath.
Nezha was caught off guard and blasted into a mess, soot and ash thrown across her body.
Fortunately, Consort Yu's strength, even improved, remained mainly conceptual and energetic. As a star spirit, her physical durability remained constant.
So Nezha was not destroyed.
She was simply covered in ash.
Rowe's gaze slid behind him, to Consort Yu, whose form reconstituted.
"Ugh… I am used to it," Consort Yu said, face flushing.
Rowe looked at her for a long beat.
Then laughed.
Consort Yu looked mortified.
Rowe walked forward anyway.
Nezha shook ash from her shoulders, re gripped her spear, and watched him approach with steady eyes atop the Wind Fire Wheels.
"Danger. Danger. Danger."
The warning repeated in her mind.
Nezha's face remained expressionless, yet the subtle tension in her brows and gaze revealed it.
She was ready to fight.
Rowe observed her.
"A soldier created by gods?"
Nezha was not a pure immortal or god. Her essence was something in between, not human, not divine, not demon, not beast.
She was born from the Spirit Pearl cast into the mortal world by Taiyi Zhenren of Kunlun, an immortal of the Primordial Beginning lineage.
She had once been reborn as a human, and her earliest nature was wild like a demon king. After bringing calamity upon her family, she was forced into suicide. After her body was remade, she shed that nature piece by piece.
Later, her body was reconstructed from lotus root cultivated by Taiyi Zhenren.
And her existence was also structured with the power of Shakyamuni from the West.
A soldier of the immortal path.
An existence akin to a machine.
Soldiers were born for battle.
So even now, feeling Rowe's presence as something vast and terrifying, something close enough to scrape the threshold of the Primordial Beginning itself, Nezha did not show fear.
She forgot fear.
She forgot death.
She tightened her grip.
Rowe had no interest in fighting her. It was unnecessary.
"Behind you is Heaven Gate," Rowe said calmly. "And I am the Heavenly Emperor."
"You have no authority to stop me, Divine General."
He manifested as Heaven.
Nameless chaos mist rose in the air. Invisible tentacles extended and coiled, twisting like an idea that had learned to move.
Nezha did not lower her spear.
"Heavenly Emperor?" she said, tilting her head. "That has nothing to do with me."
"I guard the Celestial Realm behind me."
"Unless you can prove you are also the Heavenly Emperor of the Celestial Realm behind me."
Rowe's tone remained even.
"I can only prove it once I enter."
Nezha's reply was immediate.
"You can only enter once you have proven it."
Silence.
Consort Yu was already biting back laughter.
Rowe exhaled and rubbed his forehead.
Just like Consort Yu's plan, his had failed.
Then there was only one method left.
He stepped forward.
Nezha spread her arms.
Her head shook. Hair whipped in the wind.
And three more heads grew.
Her arms extended, dividing.
One became three.
Two arms became six.
Nezha's Dharma Form.
A close combat technique refined into a single body, mimicking an encirclement of multiple opponents through one existence.
Three heads.
Six arms.
Each hand held a different immortal artifact.
Universe Ring.
Heaven Mixing Silk.
Yin Yang Twin Swords.
Golden Wheel.
Every one of them a famed killing weapon bestowed by Taiyi Zhenren.
Treasure light flared.
Space was sealed from every direction, locking Rowe's movement.
Nezha raised her spear.
Fire erupted at its tip.
She thrust forward.
Samadhi True Fire.
Born from the soul, fueled by the soul, burning things at the source so long as a soul existed.
Even high existences with countless methods would find enduring it directly troublesome.
Not fear.
Annoyance.
A desire not to be tainted.
Sealing with treasures.
Spear forward.
Nezha's opening move was a killing blow.
Rowe did not dodge.
He raised his hand and slowly reached toward the spear.
The fire went out.
The artifacts struck him.
A clang rang out, sharp and final.
They could not even tear his clothes.
Nezha's movement stiffened.
She stared at his hand.
Not flesh.
Not mere divinity made manifest.
A hand forged from steel.
"A soldier?" Rowe said, almost amused. "Coincidentally, I have a similar form."
Steel surfaced across his body only where the attacks landed. The machina god frame revealed itself in fragments, precise and controlled.
He released the spear.
Then clenched his fist and swung.
Clang.
The three heads and six arms collapsed at once. Samadhi True Fire vanished. The spear flew from Nezha's grip. She retreated again and again.
Soldiers were famous for strong bodies.
Yet at this moment, Rowe looked like the soldier.
Nezha looked like an ordinary immortal.
Invisible tentacles descended from above.
Nezha tried to move.
She could not.
They bound her like Immortal Binding Ropes crafted by the Primordial Beginning himself.
Rowe lowered his hand.
"Now," he said, voice calm, "can we speak properly?"
.....
[Check Out My Patreon For Advance Chapters On All My Fanfics!]
[[email protected]/FanficLord03]
[Join Our Discord Community For Updates & Events]
[https://discord.gg/MntqcdpRZ9]