Chapter 79: The Struggle of the Heavenly Emperor, Reincarnation Begins

Ke Hongjun's actions were ultimately too late; he could not manipulate the power of the Human Dao as Zhu Qingyun could.

By the time he used a portion of the Heavenly Dao's power to send the Xuanmen immortals to the summit of Mount Buzhou, Di Jun and Donghuang Taiyi had already opened the gate to the heavenly realm, unleashing the thirty-three heavens!

Di Jun and Donghuang Taiyi's imperial destiny manifested, and streams of imperial aura lifted the two from the first heaven straight to Great Luo Heaven! Their first ascent to the upper world, a sudden entry into paradise. Ten thousand golden rays rolled into crimson rainbows, auspicious qi burst in a thousand violet mists. The Southern Heavenly Gate appeared, made of deep azure glass, its bright jade ornaments gleaming.

Each layer of heaven has a celestial palace, and each palace is a primordial spirit treasure, arranged in rows and columns according to the numbers of the celestial gang and earthly fiends.

Counting carefully, the celestial palaces and treasure halls total 108 main structures.

Within Great Luo Heaven lies a celestial palace called Mi Luo Palace, which houses the Lingxiao Treasure Hall, the office of the Heavenly Emperor and the place where his ministers pay audience.

Inside are golden towers, silver lanterns, and the Purple Mansion, with exquisite flowers, jade grass, and jade blossoms.

A nine-tiered heavenly throne of jade and gold sits at the very top center of the Lingxiao Treasure Hall; the breath of the Heavenly Dao permeates it. Sitting upon it makes one supreme over the primordial chaos! "Elder brother, does securing this seat make one the lord of heaven and earth?"

Donghuang Taiyi was deeply stirred and hurriedly urged Di Jun to take the seat.

Di Jun did not hesitate; with a single step he sat upon the Heavenly Emperor's throne, a surge of bravado rising within him.

"My name is Di Jun; I shall be the lord of the thirty-three heavens, titled Heavenly Emperor. My brother Taiyi is the Eastern Emperor; my master Yin‑Yang is the Imperial Teacher!"

Di Jun's voice echoed from the thirty-three heavens throughout the primordial chaos; having sat on the Heavenly Emperor's throne, he possessed that authority.

"A mere Great Luo, relying on the support of the Three Saints of the Celestial Islands, dares to call itself Heavenly Emperor?"

Atop Mount Buzhou, the Eastern Prince, whose pure Yang qi had taken the form of an imperial destiny, said thus.

"Taiyi is the Eastern Emperor; then what am I?"

The titles Eastern Emperor and Eastern Prince differ by a single character, but the emperor outranks the prince; by name alone, I am a step below Donghuang Taiyi.

If it were merely a matter of strength, that would be fine, but I am a direct disciple of the Immortal Ancestor Hongjun, and my cultivation has reached the mid-stage Mixed‑Primordial Golden Immortal! "Junior brother, no need to worry; the master descends to the mortal realm this time to help you ascend the Heavenly Emperor's throne!"

Yuanshi Tianzun, as Hongjun's most beloved and trusted disciple, is the sole one entrusted by Hongjun.

"The Three Saints of the Celestial Islands, the master and Demon Ancestor Luo Hou will join forces; even a mere dispute among disciples guarantees our victory!"

The unremarkable Supreme also said so, regardless of how much Yuanshi Tianzun is favored by Hongjun.

But don't forget, he is the senior brother of the Xuanmen sect and Yuanshi Tianzun's actual elder brother!

Lately, Yuanshi Tianzun has been paying less attention to his elder brother, so the Supreme naturally steps forward to seek some sense of presence.

"Tong Tian, you will lead the nine outer‑door junior brothers, take the vanguard, and assault the Southern Heavenly Gate!"

Tong Tian, unaware of the overt and covert struggles between the elder and second brothers, nodded earnestly in agreement.

"Yes, elder brother!"

Yuanshi heard Tong Tian's swift acceptance and felt a bit displeased.

After all, anyone with eyes can see that the master intends to hand the Xuanmen sect over to himself.

But since the Supreme and Tong Tian are his brothers, Yuanshi Tianzun could only brood silently.

"Yuanshi, the elder brother has arranged these; for the rest of the deployment, leave it to you!"

The Supreme did not overreach; after asserting his presence, he returned the initiative to Yuanshi.

Yuanshi naturally took the reins and began assigning each Xuanmen immortal their respective targets.

"Zhen Yuanzi, Yun Zhongjun, if the Celestial Island disciples attack, the two of you together should block the Heavenly Luck disciple Ao Tian!"

"Eastern Prince, the Queen Mother of the West, you two intercept Kun Peng!" "Elder brother, you and I face Fuxi!"

"Ran Deng, you arrange the outer‑door disciples to intercept Di Jun's other aides!"

Yuanshi's arrangements were orderly, but he missed one point: the primordial chaos does not grant the imperial destiny solely to the Eastern Prince and a few others.

Indeed, another bearer of the imperial destiny, Di Jiang, is now arguing with Zhu Qingyun that he too wishes to vie for the Heavenly Emperor's seat.

"Di Jiang, your imperial destiny should not reside in the Heavenly Court; it belongs elsewhere!"

Zhu Qingyun looked at Di Jiang with a slight headache, his gaze inadvertently catching Hou Tu standing nearby; his eyes lit up, and he instantly found a pretext.

"Not in the Heavenly Court, then where?"

Although Di Jiang lacks a primordial spirit, it does not mean he is entirely brainless; he was not entirely convinced by Zhu Qingyun's argument.

He took it as elder brother's favoritism, valuing his brotherly bond with Yin‑Yang.

He believed the elder brother could certainly see that he bore the imperial destiny.

If he could become the lord of heaven and earth, he would surely break through to the Mixed‑Primordial Great Luo Golden Immortal in a very short time.

The lord of heaven and earth should not be inferior in stature to a saint within the primordial chaos! "Ask little sister; has she recently sensed a subtle force urging her?"

Both the Heavenly Dao and the Human Dao have already manifested; now Hou Tu has reached the late stage of Mixed‑Primordial Golden Immortal, so the emergence of the Earth Dao is not far off.

Three is the most stable number; the three Dao—Heaven, Earth, and Human—advancing together should be the most perfect path of ascent in the primordial chaos! "Elder brother, I truly sense a wondrous force in the west pulling me, seemingly linked to the power within my mortal body!"

Hou Tu's eyes brightened; she had long felt the pull.

However, since the emergence from Mount Buzhou, the siblings have risen and fallen together, and now, during this crucial clash between the elder brother and Hongjun's Xuanmen, Hou Tu suppressed the sensation of the pull.

She intends to wait until the dust settles, then investigate the west.

She did not expect the elder brother to have even noticed this.

"Hou Tu, the power of Reincarnation lies hidden within the little sister's mortal body; the primordial chaos splits into the three Dao—Heaven, Earth, Human—so the Earth Dao should sit atop Reincarnation!"

"When Reincarnation emerges, the Earth Dao appears; Di Jiang's imperial destiny should reside within the Underworld corresponding to the Earth Dao!"

Zhu Qingyun paused at this point, then continued.

"However, the power of Reincarnation is stored in the little sister's mortal body; to draw out the Earth Dao, her body must become Reincarnation!"

Hou Tu's transformation into Reincarnation is a necessary condition for the Earth Dao's appearance; Zhu Qingyun truly is not without options.

For example, the Blood Pool in the Pangu Divine Hall could fully replace Hou Tu's mortal body.

But the Pangu Blood Pool concerns the birth of the Wu Clan; using it as a condition, Hou Tu would never agree! "If the Earth Dao emerges, the primordial chaos should be more complete, right?"

A light shone in Hou Tu's eyes.

"If I can perfect the primordial heavens and earth, I, Hou Tu, am willing to emulate the Father God, transforming into all things, becoming Reincarnation!"

Zhu Qingyun, looking at Hou Tu's resolute gaze, mentioned a few other solutions he had thought of.

Little sister, listen to me finish speaking.

The body undergoes reincarnation; this is necessary. Little sister will also, with the help of the Earth Way, condense out a primordial spirit and become the master of the Earth Way, but thereafter she will no longer be a shaman and will forever be unable to leave the underworld!

(End of chapter)