Chapter 281 89: Achoo
He said nonchalantly,
"Niu'Er."
"MOO!" The lazy Cyan Bull opened its eyes and responded respectfully. It then lifted a hoof and brought it down with deceptive lightness.
The hoof blotted out the sky, shattering the palm. Then, carrying the immense weight of endless Chaos, it descended unerringly upon the Upper Celestial Venerable's head, crushing him and the entire Immortal Corpse Peak into oblivion!
"MOO!" the Cyan Bull mooed again at Lu Xuan, its tone simple and honest, as if seeking praise.
"Good Niu'Er." A faint smile appeared on Lu Xuan's face.
...
High above in the clouds, within the Five Directions Celestial Court, a long, dead silence fell, followed by an uproar that shook the heavens!
The Immortal Gods erupted into chaos. The Immortals of the North Pole Celestial Palace trembled, the gods of the South Pole Celestial Palace cowered, and the Immortal Officials in the East Pole Celestial Palace unconsciously lowered their hands. The West Pole Celestial Palace, however, remained deathly silent.
Within the Central Celestial Court, the Immortals exchanged glances. After a long moment, the Three Altars Meeting Sea God shrank back, hesitating and looking bewildered as he spoke:
"Is that... is that the robe and crown of the one from Douluo Palace?"
No Immortal answered.
After a while, the Celestial Official Emperor, ranked just below the Celestial Emperor, suppressed the chill running down his spine and muttered to himself,
"It is indeed the robe and crown of the one from Douluo Palace... Is this... is this the Direct Lineage of the Supreme?"
Beside him, another Upper Celestial Venerable who had reached the level of the [Celestial Realms] spoke in a terrified mumble, his eyes wide with horror.
"It's true. And that Cyan Bull... it's His mount!"
A shiver of fear went through them. Although they knew the Cyan Bull was the mount of a Great Celestial Venerable, it usually kept a low profile. Who could have imagined it could crush an Upper Celestial Venerable with a single stomp?
The Cyan Bull at his side, the Supreme's robe and crown on his body...
Instinctively, this group of Immortal and Divine Officials didn't dare to look up at the Thirty-Three Celestial Realms above. Instead, they glanced sideways at a Daoist Palace floating in a certain part of the Celestial Vault—the Xuandu Daoist Palace.
That personage was also of the Supreme's Direct Lineage. No, not just the Direct Lineage, but the Supreme's Chief Disciple... yet even he had never been bestowed the robe and crown!
One had to understand, the Daoist Robe and Hat... they represent the mantle of succession!
Was the mantle being [passed on] to him, or was he being [commanded to inherit] it?
The Immortal and Divine Officials all had a moment of sudden realization. No wonder he was so audacious! No wonder he dared to announce the heavens' sins and depose a Celestial Court!
'Could this be the Supreme Profound Clarity that the old man himself announced to the Celestial Realms just a few days ago?'
The crowd of Immortals was silent, but the Emperor Corpse on the Emperor's Throne suddenly laughed out loud, drawing respectful sideways glances from countless Immortal and Divine Officials.
Although the Emperor Corpse's shell was constantly crumbling and breaking, leaving it almost unrecognizable, its Dao Foundation was severely damaged. Its body was covered in gaping, bloody holes, and a vicious Dao Fruit Killing Intent clung to the wounds, preventing them from healing.
But in the eyes of the Immortal and Divine Officials, this was no Emperor Corpse. It was the solemn and majestic Celestial Emperor, an Ancient One seated upon the Dao Fruit.
Yet this Celestial Emperor—who had overlooked all of the past, witnessed all of history, and held the great seat of the [Lord of Celestial Court], nominally commanding the heavens, the Human World, and the underworld—was laughing heartily.
"A variable has emerged... a variable has emerged!"
A flicker of delight crossed the Emperor Corpse's eyes. His gaze fell to the west, fixed on the West Pole Celestial Court, and he muttered to himself in a voice inaudible to the Immortal and Divine Officials,
"Conspiring with the Buddha, only to end up being deposed from the position of Emperor. Not bad, not bad at all."
His eyes shone, worlds of deathly stillness and desolate realms floating within them. His smile widened, and ignoring his own crumbling body, he forcefully used [Death] to interfere with the flow of real time, his voice booming like a grand Daoist hymn:
"If the West Pole Celestial Court cannot appease the wrath of the Human Dao, then We shall join the Human Dao in deposing you."
The hearts of the Immortal and Divine Officials trembled. The voice, however, drifted toward the West Pole Celestial Court, vast and mighty.
...
In the West Pole Celestial Court, the Great Immortal Officials were speechless for a long time. Above the Gouchen Emperor's Palace, at the center of the Celestial Court, an aura of bloodlust and war churned violently, revealing the extreme turmoil in the Palace Master's heart.
Three hundred thousand Celestial Soldiers and Generals!
Three hundred thousand Immortals!!
Even for a Celestial Court, this was an undeniable, colossal loss!
It caused the fortune of the West Pole Celestial Court, already in decline from being deposed, to plummet once more!
The aura of bloodlust and war churning outside the Gouchen Emperor's Palace grew even more turbulent. The Palace Master could barely maintain his Divine Techniques, nearly causing the entire West Pole Celestial Court to fall from the clouds.
After a long moment, an irrepressible roar came from the depths of the Emperor's Palace.
"Su... Supreme!!"
The roar had barely escaped before the Palace Master reached out a palm and snuffed it out, terrified it would reach the Thirty-Three Celestial Realms.
But the hand that reached out from the Emperor's Palace was a mangled mess of flesh and blood, constantly dripping Emperor's Blood. The injury was worsening, the palm continuing to fester!
Gouchen was about to go mad with rage!
Suddenly, accompanied by a rumbling Dao sound from the Central Celestial Court, a brilliant golden Decree drifted over.
On the Decree, a few powerful, sweeping characters shone with a splendid radiance, illuminating the entire West Pole Celestial Court!
[WEST POLE CELESTIAL COURT, HAVING ANGERED THE HUMAN DAO, IF THE WRATH OF THE HUMAN DAO CANNOT BE APPEASED, YOUR STATUS AS A CELESTIAL COURT AND YOUR POSITION AS EMPEROR SHALL BE REVOKED!]
As this Decree descended, the status of the Western Celestial Court, which the Gouchen Upper Palace Emperor had been struggling to maintain with his Great Divine Techniques, began to slip and decay once more!
An enraged roar echoed from within the Gouchen Emperor's Palace:
"Haotian! Good, good, very good... Excellent!!"
The entire Western Celestial Court rumbled as the grand Immortal Light floating over its pavilions and terraces began to fade. The invisible fortune shrouding it was also dissipating!
Rage consumed Emperor Gouchen, and a vicious glint appeared in his eyes.
"The Taishang Lineage does not protect its disciples..."
"In that case..."
In the next instant, a look of grim resolve flashed in Emperor Gouchen's eyes. He was about to strike, to attack the Human World.
But suddenly, "ACHOO!"
From the Thirty-Three Celestial Realms, along with the sound of a sneeze, a shower of sparks scattered down from the Douluo Palace, transforming into terrifying fireballs, each one powerful enough to annihilate an entire era, and they came crashing down!
Within the fireballs floated worlds of deathly silence. With Heaven-Reaching, overwhelming momentum, they smashed downwards, shaking the very Thirty-Three Celestial Realms!
Emperor Gouchen's expression changed. He pulled forth great swaths of rules and time to form a barrier, but the fireballs pierced through them all.
He unleashed various Innate Great Divine Techniques and even turned to flee, escaping into the river of years and time, running along the timeline toward the past and future.
But the hundreds of fireballs simultaneously smashed into every version of Emperor Gouchen that had ever existed throughout all of time!
In the end, he was forced back into his Emperor's Palace.
And then, hundreds of fireballs crashed into the Gouchen Emperor's Palace, causing it to collapse. They all struck the Emperor, nearly shattering his already battered body completely!
Gouchen coughed up mouthfuls of blood. His injuries spanned all of eternity; from the Gouchen at the Creation of Heaven and Earth, to the Emperor Gouchen of the Shang and Zhou Dynasties, and even all future versions of himself—every one of them was simultaneously grievously wounded, beaten half to death by the hundreds of fireballs!
If not for a Buddhist radiance that suddenly appeared and enveloped him, this Emperor Gouchen—who held the [Position of an Emperor] and was at the level of [Eternal] and [Daluo]—would have likely died on the spot!
The strongest handful of individuals beneath the Dao Fruit were no different from unruly children before one.
Under the terrified gazes of countless Immortal Gods of the West Pole Celestial Court, Emperor Gouchen lay amidst the ruins of his Emperor's Palace, his body erupting with blood!
"There will not be a next time."
A leisurely voice drifted from Douluo Palace.
"I... was wrong," Emperor Gouchen said with great difficulty.