Feeling the power within him being divided and scattered outward, Rovi could not help but smile.
In a sense, this was actually one of the reasons he had chosen to become Donghua Dijun of the Divine Land. A sun god who presided over sunrise was, by nature, the personification of the concept of the sun, and in the eyes of the people, the so-called sun was naturally a selfless existence that burned itself to bring warmth to the world.
Such a concept allowed Rovi to bloom with light between heaven and earth in this moment, and such power allowed Rovi to leave his true name in the hearts of all living beings.
Wei.
A single character was enough as proof.
He sought death, but he was not seeking only death. Seeing the suffering of the masses, Rovi still longed to save them with his own body—not for the sake of justice, but to uphold the bottom line of being human.
As a human, it was the empathy one felt when seeing other humans suffer.
Because he had no fear of death, when he encountered injustice, he dared all the more to divide his own power and shelter the people!
"Let's continue!" Amid the burning flames, Rovi raised his sword once more. The concept of Pure Yang manifested around him, and in an instant, light, heat, and fire surged forward with him like a spreading sea.
The old ghost of the Six Heavens remained strange and silent, but even wrapped in layer upon layer of sunlight, not a trace of that pitch-black eeriness diminished.
Yet even if the darkness remained deep, the light that had appeared still brought endless hope to the people on the ground.
The King of Chu wept with joy, and Xiang Yan looked up to the sky and bowed.
...
In Tanggu, Tamamo-no-Mae lifted a pale finger, swinging her softly rounded thighs as she smiled. "Wei—is it?"
"Fuxi exhausted his vital essence and blood to create the Eight Trigrams. Nüwa wept blood to form Xuanhuang. Xuanyuan established achievements that would last a hundred generations through painstaking effort. Shennong tasted the hundred herbs and died far from home... They were clearly gods, existences standing high above, yet they could always do things like this, all for those lowly mortals..."
"To burn oneself for all people—you really are orthodox Huaxia."
"But why could they not do the same for us!?"
Within her smile was venom, and mixed into it was also... an admiration so faint it was almost imperceptible.
Admiration for those people of the past. For those ancestral gods.
...
On the ground, atop a certain mountain, Yu Mei-ren stood in a fluttering black dress, gazing from afar at the "sun" battling the uncanny existence in the sky, her crimson eyes narrowing.
As expected... it's you, isn't it?
In that moment, Yu Mei-ren suddenly remembered that long, long ago, the ancestral god of Huaxia who presided over marriage ties in the Divine Land had once told her that in the future, she would meet someone exceedingly important to her.
That person would have a shell of steel, yet a heart as warm as any human's.
Before this, Yu Mei-ren had actually never remembered those words. Because she had never thought herself lonely before—or rather, she had never known what it felt like not to be lonely, and so naturally she had not known what loneliness was.
But now she understood, and those words from the past naturally surfaced beside her ear.
And so Yu Mei-ren suddenly became even more certain.
...
On the ground, the gods and people had their own varied thoughts, but for Rovi, who was fighting the uncanny in the sky, only one thought remained.
And that was—
Battle.
To fight it. To fight "Taiyi."
And even more, to fight "himself"!
BZZZZZ...
A faint hum emerged from the uncanny figure that had become the black sun. At first, it sounded like a low growl, but if one listened closely, it seemed possible to hear endless whispers, endless chaotic sound and color.
Rovi advanced against the darkness, and also against the invisible feelers and tentacles that attacked from all directions in that instant.
He raised his sword, his whole body still blooming with light. Before the sword even touched them, the darkness collapsed and scattered in an instant.
"Kakaka—"
The whispers changed, and the darkness swelled violently at the same time.
The old ghost of the Six Heavens, formed from Taiyi's reverse side, finally truly moved as well. That terrifying, pitch-black form stepped forward and swung a fist.
It blocked the burning sword in Rovi's hand.
And it also blocked the burning concept of the "sun" blooming from Rovi's entire body.
"Useless..." The whispers gradually became clear. Rovi heard that voice at the same time, and in the next second, that fist suddenly drove forward, pushing him back an inch.
Though it was only an inch, in that moment, Rovi had truly retreated.
With his burning light and heat divided and scattered to the world below, this body, its power gradually running dry, seemed no longer able to withstand the strangeness manifested by the old ghost of the Six Heavens.
More and more writhing tentacles spread out, like a surging torrent.
And so Rovi let out a delighted sound.
"As expected of a monster born from an ancient predecessor god—but today, I will not retreat!"
Rovi pushed forward against the pressure, but the tentacles spread toward him from every direction at the same time.
Burning.
Burning.
Burning.
Surging power accumulated within him at every moment.
Rovi was already preparing to unleash the last of the power within his body, using it to scorch the other party while also completely releasing all his defenses in that instant.
To give the old ghost of the Six Heavens a chance to kill him!
And so, in that moment, the thousand-li expanse of Chu flickered between light and darkness.
That was the manifestation of the struggle in the sky. The people on the ground could not see the details clearly, but from the alternation of light and dark, from the state of the blazing sun and the pitch-black uncanny sun, they could infer the outcome of this battle.
Sunlight was being wrapped by darkness from all directions. Though its radiance remained brilliant, the situation had clearly become grim.
"Is Donghua Dijun... going to lose?" In the palace of Chu, the King of Chu's beard and hair trembled.
The tall, powerfully built Xiang Yan furrowed his brows. "I fear... so."
Fear?
In the eyes of many, it was already inevitable.
"That Emperor-Lord burned himself to drive the darkness from this land. But the lands of Chu span a thousand li. There are too many places that need his protection, from the sky and earth to countless mountains, rivers, and streams..."
"He has expended too much power. He could have won, but now..."
"Now what!?" The King of Chu was frantic. "Is there any way?"
"There is one method that may be worth trying."
"What is it?"
"Have the entire nation believe in Donghua Dijun. Use the power of faith to make up for the Emperor-Lord's losses!"
"That... How could we do that on such short notice?" The King of Chu froze.
Reshaping customs and changing faith.
Whether he was willing or not, carrying it out would certainly not be easy.
Even when the King of Chu's prestige had been at its height, it would have been all but impossible to change the faith of the entire nation with a single royal order.
But now, there seemed to be no other way.
"No matter. We can only try!" The King of Chu let out a breath and hesitated no longer.
Xiang Yan received the order and was just about to go out and pass down the decree when, all of a sudden, his steps halted.
"Why are you not going, my minister?" The King of Chu was shocked, anxious, and confused.
"Your Majesty... there is no need." Xiang Yan seemed to want to speak, but stopped.
The King of Chu opened his mouth. He still wanted to say something, wanted to ask why, but then his words suddenly stopped.
Because in that moment, "smoke" had suddenly begun to rise into the sky over Chu.
It was not smoke from drifting water vapor, nor was it the wind and rain brought by the East Sea pouring backward into the Yangtze River, but the smoke and fire of the human world.
Within that smoke and fire were specks of faint light.
They were the embers of something burned.
They were... "faith."
"Your Majesty, I fear there is no need for you to issue the decree," Xiang Yan breathed out. "The people have already made their own choice!"
...
At this moment, in the wilderness.
An elderly man bowed his head to the ground. "I pray to Donghua Dijun, Fusang Great Emperor, Water Official Great Emperor..."
"We, the people, entrust ourselves to you. We pray that you may defeat this mighty enemy, protect our homes, protect us descendants of Yan and Huang!" A young man cut open his palm and poured blood and pain over the incense fire.
There were also slender-waisted Chu women dancing along the Yangtze River, offering rituals to the immortal-god in the sky who fought the uncanny for this thousand-li nation and its thousand-li people.
In this moment, the people had indeed made their own choice.
Those who had recovered clarity and calm looked up at the sunlight high in the sky as it was gradually wrapped by darkness.
That god was burning himself to drive away the darkness. He was burning himself to bring light to the world.
He had fallen into danger because of the people of this land.
Then the countless people of this land would not remain unmoved.
Sacrifice might not necessarily bring reward, but a selfless spirit would always be revered by the people.
Because a god was willing to shed blood for all people, the people would also weep blood to repay Heaven!
The King of Chu looked at the smoke and sparks filling the sky. After a moment of silence, he suddenly threw back his head and laughed.
"My Chu is saved!"
"My nation, my people—walk and act according to your own will!"
"Since the people are of one heart, then the nation shall walk with the people!"
"Pass down my order. I will hold a state ritual."
"For the sake of millions of living souls, I shall offer rites to Donghua Dijun, Fusang Great Emperor, and establish Donghua as Taiyi."
"Taiyi, the new god!"
No matter what, Chu was still a state... The great affairs of a state lay in war and ritual. Only military affairs and sacrifices could never be treated carelessly. For that very reason, Chu could absolutely not acknowledge that Taiyi had gone mad. They could only say... this was a struggle between Taiyi and Taiyi!
Of course, out of caution, what the King of Chu spoke of was only Taiyi, the new god, not Donghuang Taiyi. This was a matter of succession, not usurpation.
Xiang Yan froze, then bowed in submission. "Your Majesty is wise!"
The people were of one heart, and that shared will burned like fire. The smoke and clouds drifting toward the sky curled upward, passing through the thick darkness and crossing the layers of encircling strangeness.
Rovi stood with his sword in hand, watching the writhing feelers spreading ever farther around him.
The time had come.
The power within him was also slowly being raised.
He would die here in this body, and he also believed that he would be remembered by this land.
A god could not ascend to the Throne of Heroes.
But a human could.
"Wei" could.
"This is the end." Rovi held his sword horizontally before his chest, swept his long robe, and tapped his bent finger against the blade, stirring up red light like a shadow.
The old ghost of the Six Heavens gave no answer. It only let out a chattering, strange laugh, along with waves of indescribable whispers.
This truly was the end.
The end for Rovi, and the end for it as well.
"What a pity." At this moment, Tamamo-no-Mae suddenly felt somewhat regretful instead.
Because from that "Donghua Dijun," she saw the shadows of those people from the past.
Perhaps he too had the chance to reach the same step they had.
But now, he would not.
Although she had one less opponent, Tamamo-no-Mae found it difficult to feel happy at all.
This feeling was just like that year long ago, when she had yet to gather her nine tails and could only look up as those ancestral gods of the Nine Provinces departed one after another.
There was no joy. Instead, there was an inexplicable... melancholy.
Yet wind and fire both roared and gathered in this moment.
The water vapor of the Yangtze River boiled.
The vast earth flowed and turned.
Rovi swept his sleeve. Sword-light overlapped and rippled in his palm, and the blazing sun manifestation wrapped layer upon layer by the dark, uncanny sun suddenly swelled. Countless writhing tentacles snapped in response, cut apart by the sword in Rovi's hand.
Then, instead of retreating, he advanced, the sword-light in his hand stretching out like a dragon.
Layer upon layer of fire spread out. Surging flames erupted, turning a surface into a line. The remaining manifestation of the sun's concept condensed into a single thread, using a point to pierce the surface and forcing back the boundless darkness in an instant.
Body and sword became one, and the sword moved with light and shadow.
Rovi pierced through layer upon layer of depth and, in an instant, arrived before that pitch-black uncanny sun, before the old ghost of the Six Heavens.
Drums resounded, and invisible whispers rushed at him head-on.
More darkness, more accumulated power, surged from within the old ghost of the Six Heavens.
A roaring collision. Overlapping sword-shadows.
The old ghost of the Six Heavens struck back at the same time, and what it displayed was also the concept of the "sun."
Only it was an inverted blazing sun, a yin-natured and mad sun.
Layer upon layer of ripples spread.
This was Taiyi giving birth to water; water returning to nourish Taiyi and becoming earth; earth returning to nourish Taiyi and giving birth to heaven; and heaven, in turn, giving birth to all things.
No matter how overturned it was, this old ghost of the Six Heavens was still the "chaos" trait severed from Taiyi's true body.
It was not Taiyi, yet it could also be called Taiyi.
The power Taiyi once possessed, it possessed as well.
Rovi was not surprised. He was even delighted, and in the same instant, he displayed the Authority of the Water Official Great Emperor.
The East Sea shook. Clouds, rain, rivers, lakes, and seas—the concept of the threefold water cycle of heaven, earth, and man condensed around Rovi into a mass of mist-laden vapor.
The sun collided with the reverse-side sun.
Primordial water crossed with the cycle of water.
The sky darkened and the earth dimmed; brightness and shadow interchanged even more frequently. The sound of their collision rang between heaven and earth like roaring thunder. The old ghost of the Six Heavens howled without end. Its movements were chaotic and mad. It possessed no reason whatsoever.
Yet in this moment, Rovi seemed... even madder than it was!
Burning himself was not enough. At this moment, Rovi was squeezing every last bit of strength from this body. The turning of gears and the operation of a furnace core could faintly be heard, the firmament echoing like rumbling thunder.
The sword in his hand swung with dense threads of sword-light. Feelers were cut apart, and darkness was scorched away.
The old ghost of the Six Heavens let out a strange laugh.
But Rovi threw back his head and laughed at the same time, drowning out its voice.
The old ghost of the Six Heavens emitted whispers like beating drums.
Rovi kept laughing.
The old ghost of the Six Heavens cackled strangely.
Rovi still kept laughing.
And so the old ghost of the Six Heavens fell silent. Only the dark feelers continued to extend, displaying its chaos.
It sealed off Rovi's path of retreat.
But the overlapping firelight ignored it entirely and crashed forward!
Which one of us is supposed to be chaos!? If the old ghost of the Six Heavens had possessed enough consciousness, it would certainly have flown into a rage by now.
It instinctively tried to take a step back and avoid the burning sun.
Only to discover that the path of retreat behind it had also been blocked.
It was an invisible barrier.
It was the power of the "Key of Heaven" displayed by the primordial man!
"@!#$%^&(!@#$%^^&()"
Indescribable whispers manifested once more. Though this time, Rovi somehow felt that the sound seemed a little strange, there was no need to pay it any mind.
He simply laughed aloud again and raised his sword as he advanced!
To slay the demon with a single sword—Rovi completely let himself go. "COME, DRINK OF THIS SWORD!"
Red light surged and exploded.
At this moment, he had truly arrived before the old ghost of the Six Heavens. The sword he thrust out landed upon it.
The power within his body was on the verge of exhaustion.
Although he needed only an instant to recover again, Rovi forcibly suppressed that recovery.
Through death, he would seek proof of his place as a Heroic Spirit.
The old ghost of the Six Heavens let out roar after roar. Endless feelers spread, and the darkness clamped down at the same time.
It was about to die.
And Rovi was also about to die... but Rovi was fearless, without dread. Fighting with a human body, he should be able to enjoy himself to the fullest!
"We pray, we beseech—"
"Grant us protection. We offer all our faith!"
"The nation walks with the people... We offer rites to Taiyi, the new god..."
Voices suddenly entered Rovi's ears.
An invisible power abruptly surged upward.
This was faith.
It was the reverence of the people toward a true god.
At the same time, energy surged forth, and life force erupted as well.
In that moment, Rovi seemed to see the people on the ground praying. He saw their faith, saw their high-voiced rituals...
In that moment,
Rovi let out a "holy shit."
Fuck?!
Forget whether I can die or not... I was clearly fighting "Taiyi," so how did I become Taiyi?!
---
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