Stealing The Heavens

Panda Novel

Above Pangu Continent were the Thirty-three Heavens, where the Heaven was situated. Further up, the world was divided into two sections. On one side were the Nine Heavens, the sacred land where the Dao League’s Primordial experts dwelt in seclusion; a place of calmness, leisure, and pristineness. On the other side laid the Great Gridhrakuta Mountain, the dwelling of Amitabha, the current Lord Buddha. Sixty percent of Buddhas also lived here in temples and cave abodes, while the rest were stationed in outer heavenly realms.

Above both of them, in the foggy void between Pangu World and Chaotic World, there was a colossal purple cloud that was shaped like a ganoderma and measured billions of miles in circumference. Sitting atop it was a blessed land that was several times larger than ordinary heavenly realms. Its scenery was magnificent; green hills and blue waters were everywhere; numerous exotic flowers and plants and ganodermas thrived here; rare animals roamed freely across the land. It was a place a thousand times better than any cave abode.

The natural energy here was not as vast as ocean like that in You Xiong Plain, but its purity was second to none. It was gentle and heavy, warm with the aura of pure Yang, and there was also a hint of pure Yin aura in it. The blending of both Yin and Yang auras had given birth to the infinite life force.

Nourished by this unique natural energy, even a patch of moss growing here was healthier, and the fungus beneath a thicket of pine trees was plump and full of energy. And those birds and animals benefited the most; all the hares and squirrels running and jumping here and there were as strong as Heaven Immortals. It was just that on this land, they were used to exist in their beast forms.

Beneath a lofty mountain in the center of the land, in front of a deep-blue lake loomed a cluster of wooden palaces. Occupying only about a thousand acres, they looked ancient, mighty, and magnificent. All the buildings, including the palaces, pagodas, pavilions, and even bridges and villas, were exquisitely built. The flowers and plants, stones, and trees between them were carefully arranged. Clearly, it cost a great effort to make them look so beautiful.

In front of the palaces was a white jade archway. ‘Palace of Empress Wa’ was written on top of it in an ancient script. The characters were primitive and heavy, surrounded by a strong aura of virtues. Surprisingly, the archway contained an immense amount of virtues, which made it a rare artifact of virtues.

Seven old men clad in ordinary monk robes sat cross-legged before the archway, facing the palaces and backing the lake. Their eyes were closed and their bodies motionless, while their auras were well concealed within them, which made them look like some dead men. Although they were dressed like monks, they had tied their hair into the daoist-style hair bun. Each one of them had jade hairpins poking through the bun—the first man on the left had one, and the last man on the right had seven.

At the moment, a beautiful girl wearing a suit of slim green armor, holding a pale green spear surrounded in gusts of wind, and stepping on two wheels condensed of wind, was seen pointing at the old men and crying out angrily, “Old bald donkeys, make way! Can’t I go out and get some fresh fruits?!”

The old men made no answer. They did not even bat their eyelids, as if they never heard the girl.

Flaring, the girl lifted her spear and thrust it toward the old man in the middle. Three small whirlwinds spun out of the spear’s tip, going straight at the old man’s forehead with a shrill whistle. As they traveled through the air, they rapidly compressed into three streaks of black shadows that were a thousand times finer than a hair, piercing through the void and filling the surroundings with a deafening rumble.

If it were in the outside world, a strike like this was powerful enough to destroy a freshly crafted Primordial Artifact.

The seven old men did not stir, but their bodies emanated sheets of Buddhist light at the same time, faint as the thinnest mist and swaying like water, wrapping around them. No matter how the girl stabbed at them, the lights did not budge, as if it were made of old cow leather that had been seasoned for ten thousand years, tough and unyielding. At most, she could push the tip of the spear half a centimeter deep, and then she could go no further.

In a flash, she had thrust three thousand times, but none of the old men was hurt. Instead, her wrists swelled and reddened from the backlash. The once fair and delicate hands now looked as ugly as braised pork legs, and she felt needles pinching in all the joints.

Her eyes turned red as if she was about to burst into tears. Pointing at the old men, she bellowed, “Old bald donkeys, you only know how to bully women!”

The old man in the middle slowly opened his eyes, patting himself on the head as he said, “We have hair…We are not bald donkeys!”

The girl snapped, “Since all your disciples and their disciples are bald donkeys, you are naturally bald donkeys too!”

The old man who spoke closed his eyes, while the leftmost one slowly opened his eyes and said dryly, “Girl, your parent gave birth to you, a girl. Does that make them both girls too?”

The girl was at a loss for words. She stamped her feet angrily, then turned the wheels and returned to the palace.

Not long afterward, another girl, wearing a long red dress and surrounded in flames, walked gracefully out with a flower basket in her hand. With a gentle smile on her face, she bowed deeply to the old men and said in a delicate voice, “Greeting, old misters!”

Together, seven old men flicked their sleeves, sending the girl back into the palace with a soft but powerful force. The old man in the middle said, “Polite or impolite, it makes no difference. For three years, Palace of Empress Wa is free to enter, but no one is allowed to leave. This was agreed by Empress Wa herself. Why are you still making a fuss here?”

The red-dressed girl staggered back into the palace as she stumbled on her feet and fell back on her bottom in the square behind the front gate. She gritted her teeth in pain. A group of girls, all clad differently, either in dresses or armors, hurried over and helped her up while shouting and crying. They were like a flock of birds whose nests had been seized by someone, chirping and chattering nonstop. But, no one could come out with an idea to deal with the seven old men.

The old men were the Seven Patriarchs of the Buddhist League, the seven Chaos Fiend Gods who founded the Buddhist League. While the world had seen thousands of Lord Buddhas, they were still dwelling in seclusion inside the Temple of Root on the Indestructible Mountain, controlling the various major affairs of the Buddhism League from the dark. Each one of them was an ancient Great Saint from the same era as Empress Wa. Now, with them blocking in front of the Palace of Empress Wa’s front gate, even Empress Wa herself could do nothing to them.

If they were to fight, how could Empress Wa alone defeat them? The Seven Patriarchs of the Buddhist League and the Nine Patriarchs of the Dao League were known to fight their enemies in groups. No matter if the enemy was alone or with a mighty army, they always fought as one group. But, as it was rare for Chaos Fiend Gods to join hands and form a group, so they had been bullying others in the past, mostly alone or in a group of seven or nine. As a result, those Chaos Fiend Gods who opposed either the Dao League or Buddhist League had all fallen. Scarcely did any Chaos Fiend Gods from the same era as them still exist today.

Deep inside the palace, in a great hall surrounded by countless restrictive spells, the Mother of the human race, Empress Wa, was sitting on a bed. The immense aura of virtues around her had condensed into a purple sun, constantly radiating a blinding light. Amidst the flickering purple light, a thick, heavy cauldron could be faintly seen, with an extremely powerful wave of energy spreading out of it every now and then.

The Yellow Emperor, Xuanyuan, clad in an emperor’s garb, and the Yan Emperor, Shennong, were sitting on a different bed to her left and right. Their eyes were looking down at their noses, and their bodies were surrounded in swirling purple aura of virtues, which guarded them like hundreds of little flood dragons.

Silence reigned in the great hall. After a long time, a loud boom suddenly echoed out of the cauldron suspended over Empress Wa. A beam of spirit light came sweeping out of it, putting a man in the center of the hall.

Emperor Haozun slowly opened his eyes. His skin had turned silvery-white, as if his entire body was condensed from the pure power of the stars. Without a word, he bowed respectfully to Empress Wa nine times, and then to Xuanyuan and Shennong nine times respectively.

The Yan Emperor, Shennong, who looked kind and compassionate like an old neighbor, looked up and said, “You’ve died once. The curse that you will be killed by your own sons has been lifted now. But, you still have to be careful…not because of your sons or any other people. In any case, as the Human Emperor, you need to be extra cautious during these troubled times.”

Emperor Haozun bowed reverently and answered, “I understand.”

The Yellow Emperor, Xuanyuan, gave a cold snort and said, “After this, I’ll rip the void and send you back. You should know what to do next. I spared that vile dragon’s life, and as a punishment, I forced him to serve Great Yu for eternity. I can’t believe he is harboring ill intentions once again. When you return, kill him and draw all his blood essence. It should be enough to produce a Dao Breaking expert. Find an able person and use the blood essence on him.”

Emperor Haozun bowed again, then smiled wryly and said, “The Buddhist League is cunning and treacherous. I don’t know who I can trust now.”

With a wave of her hand, Empress Wa conjured a light mirror in the void, showing them the happenings in Liangzhu. They saw Wu Qi wantonly defeating Suiren Di’s army, then arrogantly threatening to destroy Liangzhu with his army, and destroying the east gate with a sword strike.

When they saw Wu Qi’s behavior, Empress Wa, Xuanyuan, and Shennong exchanged glances, wordless. At length, Empress Wa finally said in a low voice, “This boy doesn’t act like a native of Great Yu. His origin…”

Xuanyuan said, “The Patriarchs of the Buddhist League and Dao League have joined hands to distract the Heaven Secrets. We can no longer figure out one’s origin. But, I know this boy’s root. He was from the wilderness, and had comprehended the method to absorb Pangu Sacred Energy and temper his fleshly body by accident. The True Body of Heaven and Earth Scripture he cultivates now is passed to him by Gu Sou and others, after they had carefully examined his nature.”

Empress Wa thought for a moment, then nodded slowly. “Haozun, return to Liangzhu and carry out the plan carefully. The boy’s ways of handling matters provide you the best cover. Hide in his army and spend some time identifying those in Liangzhu.”

The Yellow Emperor nodded in agreement. He reached a hand into his sleeve and fumbled for some time, then pulled out a sword that looked identical to the Xuanyuan Sword Emperor Haozun had lost. “The sword taken from you is not the real Xuanyuan Sword. This is the real one…Use it wisely.”

Emperor Haozun bowed respectfully and received the sword.

At that moment, Empress Wa pointed at the cauldron. A beam of light shot out of it and rolled up Emperor Haozun, vanishing into the void.

With a smile on her face, she looked in the direction of the front gate and lightly shook her head. Both Sacred Emperors shook their heads as well, and then closed their eyes without a word.

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