God had not prevented this pack of demons from living.
Yet they did not appreciate such mercy.
Instead, they had resisted to this very moment.
Such creatures no longer deserved to exist in this world; even someone as naturally kind as Dongfang Huaizhu could not bear it.
Thousands of pyrotechnic flames surged across the sky and ringed the whole of Aolai Country.
Then they converged into a single mass and rushed into the heavens.
The dim sea turned instantly to liquid gold, and a blazing radiance flooded the world.
Only then did people see the nature of that so-called Heavenly Court.
In the wake of Hui Yeji's sky-shattering strike, Dongfang Huaizhu's "fire to the heavens" likewise became a famed scene.
It was a world built among the clouds.
Within Aolai there yawned an open breach.
With that, the golden-armored celestial general plummeted to his death.
A host of heavenly soldiers fled with the flames at their backs, then crumbled into ash one after another.
"No… we are innocent—help…"
"Lord Jade Emperor…"
…
The heavenly soldiers wailed and screamed, but no answer came.
Watching their guardians die on high, the whole of Aolai fell into terror.
In an instant, the fearsome immortal came upon them.
But he did not even glance at Aolai's demons; he flew straight into the clouds.
The three Tushan sisters, naturally, followed hard after.
Not long after they ascended, a terrible clash shook the sky, the air thrumming with vibrations.
Countless currents of spiritual energy poured down from above.
The people who felt it most directly were the residents of Aolai and those who had already surrendered.
Faces blanched everywhere.
So the rumors whispered in the city had been true after all.
To secure their immortality, the Heavenly Court had indeed abandoned mortals and gathered ninety percent of the aura between heaven and earth.
"One day in the heavens equals a year on earth"—
this was no mere joke.
It was a grand formation wrought by hoarding spiritual energy. 973
That hoarding had bent time itself; the ratio had skewed. In truth, the celestials would have preferred otherwise.
With time slowed, cultivation slowed as well.
But if they did not do this, the advent of the Age of Dominion would strip the immortals of their former standing.
So they had done it out of desperation.
Above the clouds,
holy flame purified all.
Dongfang Huaizhu shone as bright as the sun, and with every stroke, a thousand fireworks trailed her.
Of course, the denizens of Heaven were no pushovers.
They were immortals who had survived since the ancient era.
A star-covering array spread across the sky.
Ten thousand arts channeled the Talisman of Extinction.
Tiangang's Six-Swords Qi.
…
An unending stream of techniques flew one by one toward the goddess.
At that moment, the entire immortal world had mobilized.
Five-clawed golden dragons, streaming golden phoenixes, auspicious qilin—
all the beings thought lost to history appeared one by one before the four women.
Tu Shanhonghong fixed her cold gaze on a ten-tailed celestial fox in the distance.
"So it wasn't only humans—you monsters also colluded to build this Heavenly Court of the immortal world."
"Elder Sister, enough talk. Kill them, and be done."
"Since they have chosen, they must bear the consequence!"
Tu Shan Yaya and Tu Shan Rongrong spoke in turn.
To aid evil was to share its guilt.
What else was there to say?
No one here would be allowed to live.
At the fore, Dongfang Huaizhu's face did not change. She murmured under her breath, and the flames obeyed.
"Fire-Dao sorcery—Blue Ice Flame—Dragon of Annihilation."
The golden blaze began to cool, turning to an ice-blue flame.
All of Heaven—and even the immortal realm—froze over.
Yet beneath the frost, a cold fire devoured their souls.
"Oh… such a beautiful one. Must she make such a spectacle of it?"
A sigh drifted out from within the Heavenly Court.
An instant later, a man in a white-jade robe appeared before Dongfang Huaizhu.
Seeing her sacred bearing,
greed flickered in his eyes.
What a stunning woman.
A pity he could not seize her for himself.
Dongfang Huaizhu's fury rose. She raised a sword with two fingers and slashed for his throat.
She was a woman of God.
For him to profane her with his eyes—
Knowing that resistance would only lead to mass slaughter, yet still choosing to struggle, this foul-mouthed creature disgusted her.
The flames scattered across the sky gathered at her sword fingers into a single firing line and crashed down upon the man in the white-jade robe.
"You women—why do you always act without a word!"
Seeing Dongfang Huaizhu attack without so much as a greeting, the man spat in rage.
This strike ripped through space itself.
He was no match for such an enemy.
He had no choice.
He could only throw the Heavenly Array into place for defense. If his star array had failed to attack, surely it could still defend.
The Grand Canopy Array had always been in his hands.
Otherwise, he would not be the Jade Emperor.
It was precisely by virtue of this formation that he had risen to become master of the immortal world.
But today, it would fail him.
Dongfang Huaizhu's anger was real; she struck with her full might.
It seemed a mere heavy flame.
In truth, all she had learned lay wrapped within it.
Nine layers of power stacked one upon another, smashing the formation the Jade Emperor relied on—and then carried straight on toward him.
"Don't!"
The Jade Emperor gave a strangled cry.
He flung out every magic treasure he possessed.
But those things
could not withstand the flying blade of fire-qi.
As the flames reached him,
he finally abandoned his body and let his primordial spirit escape. If that terrible thing entangled him, even a hundred lives would not be enough.
Boom.
The flame-sword pierced through the Jade Emperor's body.
The celestial soldiers and generals massed behind him were smashed to pieces.
And the escaping soul fared no better—it was encircled by the three Tushan sisters.
Aside from cutting down those who fled, the three women
had been waiting for this moment.
Tu Shan Yaya regarded the cringing spirit and smiled darkly. "Well, if it isn't the Jade Emperor. How did you end up so miserable? As I recall, you kept meddling in Aolai's affairs, didn't you?"
"No… I didn't—let me go… I'll give you anything—anything, all right?"
Driven to desperation, the Jade Emperor raved.
So long as he could live,
nothing else mattered.
Seeing that the three made no reply, he changed his tone in a heartbeat and pleaded, "I was confused at first, misled by slanderers. I beg you… allow me to join the Faith?"
"Hah… You still don't grasp the situation. Did you always think yourself above it all? Look at you now—groveling like a reptile!
"Do you understand?
"From the moment we arrived, it meant that everyone here would die.
"Do you think our God is asking you to join?
"Stop joking. Repent your arrogance. You have truly disgraced the name 'Jade Emperor.' Even the bald world's Jade Emperor is better than you.
"You… you're just a circus clown."
A circus clown?
Me?
The Jade Emperor's mind buzzed blank.
He thought back to a few days before.
When he'd heard the news from Aolai, he'd dismissed it—and even instructed them how to strike back.
Was it my arrogance that destroyed me?
His thoughts were cut off at once.
A jade-white hand clenched around his soul.
Tu Shanhonghong's fingers tightened slowly until the spirit crushed to powder, and her smile returned.
The three sisters exchanged a glance.
Then they joined the cleansing army in earnest, and at the same time, diffused the hoarded aura of Heaven down to the lower realm.
An hour later,
the women gathered in the Heavenly Court.
Tu Shanhonghong turned to Dongfang Huaizhu. "Goddess, how should we deal with this place?"
This was a heaven built from countless precious treasures; though it could not compare to the Eternal Shrine,
it was still a fine site.
In the Nether, decent materials were hard to come by.
Dongfang Huaizhu considered, then smiled. "What do you think of offering it up as a sacrifice?"
At those words, the three women's eyes lit.
It was a sound plan.
As Zhengzhou World rose in rank, they had little of worth to sacrifice—using this Heavenly Court would make up the shortfall.
Worthy indeed of being the goddess of their own world—
her heart leaned toward home.
Since the world was about to be promoted, Dongfang Huaizhu simply chose not to return, and instead shifted the Heavenly Court down with her magic, placing it above the city below.
This "heaven" had not been destroyed; it would become Tu Shan Rongrong's palace from now on.
Youngest of the three,
she still had to administer the world.
Tu Shanhonghong and Tu Shan Yaya needed to serve the God.
This had been their arrangement from the start.
As for the beings within Aolai and the surrounding circle—
without exception,
they were slaughtered. They had resisted stubbornly and threatened the world's people.
Such creatures, left alive—
there would be no reason in it.
Afterward, Tu Shanhonghong proclaimed the crimes of the Heavenly Court. Public anger surged—among both people and gods.
Many cultivators even looked skyward and cursed aloud in the streets.
There was nothing left in the heavens, but that did not stop them from venting.
Indoors,
Dongfang Qinlan clung to her sister's arm. "Then I'll serve the God too, all right?"
"Why this sudden idea!"
Dongfang Huaizhu was taken aback. How old was this girl?
Her little head barely reached her sister's shoulder.
She was only eleven.
Dongfang Qinlan pouted. "You're leaving, and Father has his own home. What about me… I can't stay here every day. I think it's better if I follow you and serve the God."
So that was it.
Dongfang Huaizhu had thought she was getting lovestruck.
Bah, bah, bah—
How old is my little sister?
How could she have thoughts like that—clearly I'm overthinking.
Still, the girl wasn't wrong.
Even if the world rose in rank, leaving her alone in the lower realm did not seem right.
Should I just bring her along?
But there were many rules in the Eternal Temple.
Could she truly accept them?
As her elder sister, Dongfang Huaizhu knew her temperament well.
She did not like being restrained.
"Think it through. There are many rules in the Eternal Palace. Many rules."
"But there are lots of goddess sisters, right? That must be fun."
"Fun?"
Dongfang Huaizhu remembered her previous ascetic training—and the day-by-day battles.
Forget it.
If she wants to go, let her go.
Since her sister had her own will, Dongfang Huaizhu would not forbid it.
And within the Shrine,
there were others her age as well.