Chapter 64 World Tree Sapling
"Alas! Nine children have died in a row; no wonder Lei Ze is so sad!" With a sigh, Feng Zichen first took away the Nine Heavens Thunder Palace before heading towards the Ninth Thunder Swamp.
As for why he took away the Nine Heavens Thunder Palace, it was because seeing it reminded Feng Zichen of something: this Nine Heavens Thunder Palace was the residence of the Antarctic Longevity Emperor of later generations.
The Antarctic Longevity Emperor, also known as the Jade Purity True King and the Heavenly Venerable of the Supreme Primordial Saint, resided in the Antarctic, attracting the power of all stars, the ancestor of thunder, and the source of the thunder god's laws.
As one of the Four Emperors, he ruled over all spirits, controlled the four seasons and their climate, could summon wind and rain, command thunder and lightning, and control the pivot of the fortune and misfortune of all things. The
Ziwei Emperor, also one of the Four Emperors, ruled over all stars, controlled the celestial and terrestrial order, and led the star gods of the Three Realms and the gods of mountains and rivers. He was the sovereign of all phenomena, able to summon wind and rain, and command thunder and lightning.
The Great Emperor of the North Pole, Ziwei, rules over all stars, surrounded by celestial beings. The Great Emperor of the South Pole
, known as the Jade Purity God-King, is surrounded by gods. All the gods' power originates from him; he is the source of their divine law. No matter how you look at it, their powers overlap. Moreover, one is the lord of the North Pole, the other the lord of the South Pole; if Feng Zichen were to attain enlightenment through the stars, he would inevitably have to go through the South Pole.
Now that they have encountered the Nine Heavens Thunder Palace, regardless of the future fate of the Great Emperor of the South Pole, taking away the Nine Heavens Thunder Palace, severing one of his major powers, and weakening his strength is ultimately harmless.
As for whether this will create a karmic connection with the Great Emperor of the South Pole?
Isn't that a joke? Their powers overlap so severely that they are inherently entangled in karma; what difference does adding or subtracting one karmic bond make?
When the Heavenly Court is established, there will inevitably be a struggle between them. Weakening his strength now increases his chances of winning in the future; why not?
"I never knew before I thought about it! The appearance of the Four Emperors and Six Emperors in later generations—are they just superseding the Jade Emperor? Or are they just superseding the Ziwei Emperor?" On his way to the Ninth Thunder Marsh, Feng Zichen's mind was filled with thoughts.
Leaving aside the Jade Emperor and the later Heavenly Sovereigns, the Gouchen Emperor, while ruling over all the gods, also assisted the Ziwei Emperor in controlling the celestial order.
The Antarctic Longevity Emperor superseded the Ziwei Emperor's ability to wield thunder; the Eastern Azure Flower Emperor resided deep within the Underworld, saving countless ghosts. And the Ziwei Emperor, incarnated as the Northern Yin Fengdu Emperor, governed the Underworld.
These three superseded the Jade Emperor and Houtu, and even superseded the Ziwei Emperor himself. Considering the powerful beings behind them, it was truly terrifying to think about!
"Alas! The waters of this primordial world are truly deep, and the hearts of sages are truly..." As if thinking of something unpleasant, Feng Zichen stopped talking and flew silently towards the Ninth Thunder Marsh.
"No wonder no one has been able to obtain the Thunder Tribulation Dao Fruit since the birth of Thunder Swamp!" Standing before the ninth level of Thunder Swamp, gazing at the boundless, destructive divine lightning before him, Feng Zichen gasped. "If a Taiyi Golden Immortal could overcome this on their own, what need would they have for the Thunder Tribulation Dao Fruit? They could attain the Great Luo Dao on their own!"
As the destructive divine lightning moved, destructive energy overflowed, space was destroyed, and all things ceased to exist.
"With the Chaos Pearl being merely a high-grade innate spiritual treasure, it might be able to protect itself from the attack of the destructive divine lightning, but protecting me is probably out of the question!"
After thinking for a moment, Feng Zichen decided to summon the Primordial Dao Bell. With the power of its top-grade innate spiritual treasure, it should be able to block the destructive divine lightning, right?
"Buzz!"
Before Feng Zichen could summon the Primordial Dao Bell, the innate merit in his sea of consciousness suddenly flew out, hovering behind his head, releasing boundless light that illuminated the ten directions of the world.
Wherever its light reached, the destructive divine lightning seemed to have encountered its nemesis, retreating and making way for it.
"The Great God Pangu truly thought of everything!" Feng Zichen secretly praised, then stepped into the Ninth Layer of Thunder Swamp, heading deeper into it.
As the saying goes, extremes beget their opposites; the gathering of boundless destructive energy will naturally give birth to endless creative energy. Within the Nine Layers of Thunder Swamp, divine thunder of destruction gathers, and within its depths, an opportunity for creation must surely be born
. Decades later, illuminated by innate merit, Feng Zichen traversed the vast sea of thunder, arriving at the deepest part of the Thunder Swamp—the Source of Creation! Rumble!
Streaks of white lightning flashed in the sky, incomparably sacred, and a dense aura of creation swept over, invigorating Feng Zichen.
Creation Divine Lightning, the source of all things, the creator of all things! Only this could obliterate the innate malevolent energy without harming the World Tree seed!
Without hesitation, Feng Zichen tossed the Chaos Pearl into the sea of Creation Lightning before him. Instantly, a tremendous suction force emanated, drawing the Creation Divine Lightning into the Chaos Pearl and bombarding the World Tree seed.
"Sizzle!"
Under the bombardment of the Creation Divine Lightning, dark black chaotic malevolent energy emerged, constantly swirling on the World Tree seed, frantically devouring its essence to resist the bombardment.
"Not enough? Then make it even stronger!" With a thought, Feng Zichen's Chaos Pearl suddenly expanded, transforming into a colossal object thousands of miles long, absorbing the Creation Divine Lightning from hundreds of thousands of miles around.
Like a thunderous storm crashing down, the Chaos Pearl instantly boiled, with chaotic energy and divine lightning of creation surging towards the World Tree seed.
With this assistance, the World Tree seed shone brightly, its multicolored light flowing endlessly, and various Great Dao rules transforming into chains of divine order that coiled around it. Amidst a humming sound, the chaotic malevolent energy rose inch by inch, forced out of its body by the World Tree seed.
. Seeing this, Feng Zichen quickly squeezed the Chaos Pearl, generating nine streams of chaotic primordial energy, which he then injected into the World Tree seed.
"Crack!"
A Daoist sound resounded, as if chaos had shattered and heaven and earth had been created. The World Tree cracked open, sprouting three roots, symbolizing the three meanings of all things.
These three roots, thin as hair, were incredibly fierce. Upon their emergence, they swept towards the innate malevolent energy, taking root upon it and absorbing its power to strengthen themselves.
The pitiful, chaotic, malevolent energy, suppressed by the divine lightning of creation, could not resist and could only watch its origin slowly drain away.
"Tsk tsk! This World Tree really holds a grudge!" Feng Zichen, watching the scene, secretly marveled. The World Tree could devour all power in the world, including Chaotic Qi.
Previously, Chaotic Qi was powerful, and the World Tree, weak and alone, could not contend with it. Now, the situation had changed drastically. Chaotic Qi had become a source without roots, and the World Tree, aided by the Divine Lightning of Creation, had greatly increased its strength, so naturally it wanted to "compensate" itself.
"Not good!"
However, a moment later, Feng Zichen's expression changed drastically. He couldn't help but shout and throw the World Tree out of the Chaos Pearl.
It turned out that after absorbing the Chaotic Qi, the World Tree was not satisfied. As its roots swayed, it plunged into the source of the Chaos Pearl, absorbing its source power.
Even though Feng Zichen reacted quickly and threw the World Tree out in time, severing its connection with the Chaos Pearl, the World Tree still took away a considerable amount of Chaotic Source.
With two bangs, the two innate divine restrictions within the Chaos Pearl shattered, and its radiance dimmed considerably.
(End of Chapter)