Chapter 30 – Emberless Horizon

“God of War Yinglong?” Fang Yang asked with some doubt.

No one answered him.

The God of War, Yinglong.

Hao Chen repeated this name to himself. He suddenly realized a small mistake in his previous thinking. What he’d said about all gods being born naturally was not entirely correct.

This statement was only correct up until one thousand years ago.

Gods must not only have power over mortals, but have a meaning or responsibility to justify their existence. 

Something that possessed only power was not qualified to be called a god. The meaning of a god’s existence was bestowed upon them by the Heavenly Dao at their moment of birth.

Most gods were born for the purpose of protection. Some protected very small things, such as a piece of land or a home. Others guarded very large things, such as the four seasons, the wind and rain in the mortal world, and the orbits of the sun, moon, and stars.

What Hao Chen guarded was the boundless North Sea, from which he took his title.

In this world, there were a limited amount of things worth protecting, and therefore a limited amount of gods. It was impossible for a new god to appear out of thin air.

But this absolute impossibility was overturned by one person a thousand years ago.

No, strictly speaking, it should be one dragon.

It was an ordinary dragon, a jiao, which could be found everywhere in the southern sea.

If there was one thing that was different about this jiao, it was that he was unlucky enough to accidentally enter the Emberless Horizon.

The spiritual energy in heaven had always been pristine, but as long as there was life in this world, absolute purity was impossible.

Hatred and resentment, the same as joy, were emotions that all living beings experienced.

Most resentment would slowly dissipate over time, but some resentment was so strong that time could not disperse it entirely.

But in order to maintain the purity of heaven, the Heavenly Dao naturally came up with a solution.

It opened up an additional space outside the three thousand worlds to accommodate the resentment that could not be dispersed.

Since the beginning of the world, all of the resentment that could not be dispersed had been dumped into this space like garbage.

Over tens of millions of years, this resentment had only grown larger and more terrifying.

It had grown to a scale comparable to that of a world.

At last, it was given a name – The Endless Horizon.

It was a world made of resentment, evil spirits, and every dark thing in existence.

There were three thousand worlds in existence, but the Endless Horizon was different from any of them. In this world formed from resentment and hatred, there was no sun, no moon, no stars – no light at all.

There was only darkness. 

Absolute, perpetual darkness.

The unfortunate jiao mistakenly entered such a place. Generally speaking, there should have been no return for him.

The word “endless” in Endless Horizon referred to endless darkness.

This was a world where only darkness could be seen. But there was another way to say its name. The word “endless,” 无尽, could be written as 无烬, or emberless.

In this world, besides the sun, moon, and stars, what else could shine?

Fire.

Fire able to ignite within the Endless Horizon could not be ordinary fire.

Soul fire was something that all living beings possessed. It was the radiance of the soul.

Only soul fire could be ignited within the Endless Horizon, emitting a brief burst of light.

It could only be brief, because in the Endless Horizon, the immense, heavy resentment would devour the souls that strayed into it and assimilate them into its uniform blackness.

The soul fire was swallowed by the darkness, then extinguished.

Once the embers of the flames dissipated, no light would remain.

Therefore, this place was also called the Emberless Horizon.

Anyone who strayed into it would have only one fateful outcome: they would be devoured and assimilated, without exception. No one had ever been able to escape from the Endless Horizon.

That jiao disappeared for three hundred years within the Endless Horizon. 

Three hundred years – more than a thousand days and nights, over a million shichen.

After such a long time, he should have been assimilated by the Endless Horizon like everyone else, his soul fire extinguished.

But contrary to expectations, this was not the case. Three hundred years later, he did something that shook heaven and earth.

Hao Chen still remembered it to this day. Even in the North Sea, which was thousands of li away from the southern sea, he could distinctly sense the unusual movement.

The North Sea was the northernmost point of heaven, a place of extreme cold. The monsters and spirits living there had long been accustomed to the biting cold there, and had their own ways to resist it.

But the coldness coming from the south still threw the creatures of the North Sea into a panic. Schools of fish were frightened and lost their way, whales were beached on glaciers, and shrimps and crabs floated to the surface.

Because that coldness was different from the chill in the North Sea. No matter how cold the North Sea was, it was just an external cold. But that chilling coldness penetrated into the bone marrow.

Hao Chen, who was sleeping as usual on the sea’s surface, awoke from his slumber the instant he felt that coldness, instantly transforming from a Kun fish to a Peng bird. He flapped his wings, creating waves three thousand li high.

He soared straight upward, and didn’t stop until he reached 90,000 li.

This was his defensive state. The fear brought on by the biting chill was not just felt by weak little creatures – he felt it as well.

He was already one of the greatest gods in heaven, and whatever could terrify even him was destined to be a disaster that swept across the entirety of the heavens.

He gazed far into the distance from the clouds. Although he didn’t know what sort of incident had taken place in the south, he could clearly see black qi rising into the sky.

This was the source of the coldness, resentment and evil so strong that it shook the heavens…..

Hao Chen immediately discovered the source of this black qi. There was only one place that contained such deep resentment…..the Emberless Horizon.

Someone had opened an entrance from the Emberless Horizon into heaven!

At this realization, Hao Chen immediately flapped his wings, a storm gathering beneath them as he formed a barrier. Whatever had escaped from the Emberless Horizon was undoubtedly an unprecedentedly powerful monster, a monster composed of all the resentment that had refused to dissipate since the beginning of the world. It wasn’t difficult to imagine what this monster would do upon reaching heaven.

Slaughter. Endless slaughter. This would be the doom of all of heaven.

All gods, big and small, were looking toward the south. Their reactions were exactly the same as Hao Chen’s. Upon realizing the terrifying nature of this newcomer, they did their utmost to protect the land they guarded.

However, before they could finish their arrangements, something unexpected occurred yet again.

Light appeared among the clouds obscured by black qi, breaking through the clouds and the darkness.

It shone almost gently upon the filthy clouds composed of resentment and hatred.

Iridescent clouds suddenly appeared on the horizon, and the divine bird symbolizing good fortune seemed to take inspiration from them. It spread its wings in the sky, spiraling and dancing.

A distant, solemn bell sounded in the sky, ringing in the hearts of all heavenly beings.

Hao Chen listened to the bell in shock. This was…..

Deification!

The Heavenly Dao had acknowledged this thing that had escaped from the Emberless Horizon!

It had acknowledged this utterly filthy person!

How could this be possible?

No matter how long these gods had lived, they were all stunned by this scene.

This was a miracle that had never happened before in the history of the world.

A common jiao that could be found everywhere had been deified? If this was told to the jiao in the southern sea, they wouldn’t believe it.

However, no matter how little everyone could believe it, it had already come to pass.

Moreover, this dragon was no longer a jiao. It had grown wings, and could fly across the earth and sky.

There were two horns atop its head, and sharp spurs on its tail. Its scales, which should have been green like other dragons, had turned black – exactly like the darkness of the Emberless Horizon.

Three hundred years.

Three hundred years in the Emberless Horizon.

He had thoroughly transformed from a jiao into an indomitable Yinglong. 

And he was recognized by the Heavenly Dao and bestowed a title…..

The God of War!

Hao Chen had never dealt with Yinglong before, partly because there was such distance between them. He didn’t have the leisure to visit him in the southern sea. 

His second reason was…..Yinglong had a bad reputation.

Although he was a god, an orthodox god acknowledged by the Heavenly Dao, he was ultimately different from an innately born god.

The other gods were born in heaven, and the source of their divine power was heaven’s pure spiritual energy. But he had been born in the Emberless Horizon, and the source of his power was the evil energy and resentment therein.

The resentment wasn’t too obvious, but the unconcealable evil energy was terrifying. One didn’t even need to get close – just seeing him from afar would make one’s mind and body tremble.

And Yinglong’s personality…..perhaps it had been influenced by the enormous resentment of the Emberless Horizon, because he was arrogant and cold, fierce and cruel.

In the thousand years since he became a god, he had conquered numerous lands and participated in battles of all sizes. Countless lives perished under his sword. And without fail, he emerged victorious in every battle.

His dissimilarity to other gods was reflected in every facet of his being.

The most prominent one was his title.

Other gods were born to protect, but he was born to kill and conquer.

The title “God of War” was well-deserved.

Hao Chen hadn’t expected this matter to be related to Yinglong.

He lamented to himself, Prime Minister Turtle is obviously a turtle, so why does he have such a crow mouth? Prime Minister Turtle had been worried that the thief was one of Yinglong’s people, but Hao Chen hadn’t taken him seriously at all.

Now, it seemed that although it was still unclear how the thief was related to Yinglong, the thief had stolen a drop of water – a drop of cold water from the abyss in the far north. This was too similar to what Administrator Zheng had said about the Xuanming water that condensed from the cold air of the snow-capped mountains on the northern border, which was used by Ling Yun to irrigate Jianmu.

Hao Chen was certain that the thief must have something to do with this past event, which was related to Yinglong.

This time…..we’re in big trouble….. Hao Chen thought with some anxiety.

While Hao Chen was lost in thought, the scene on the jade slip continued. When Yinglong appeared amongst the clouds, he gazed down at the mortals who were ascending to heaven via Jianmu.

The miniscule figures of the mortals reflected in those golden eyes.

So resplendent, so indifferent, so…..intolerant of even a speck of dust.

He suddenly raised his arm, and in his palm, light gathered into the shape of a dazzling, eye-catching sword.

However, this sword that shone on the surface actually contained a core of evil energy hidden inside the light.

This sword was made from a spur on Yinglong’s tail, and like Yinglong, the true source of its power was the resentment in the Emberless Horizon.

The light was just a cover bestowed by heaven when Yinglong became a god. But his essence was, after all, that of a filthy thing from the Emberless Horizon.

A dark, terrifying energy surged fleetingly through the sword.

Hence, the sword’s name – Fleeting Shadow.

When Fleeting Shadow was fully unsheathed, Yinglong swung the sword without hesitation. He cared not for the mortals on the tree, nor the disaster that would follow if it collapsed.

He was cold and determined, with an unshakable will.

The towering Jianmu tree was cut off at the waist.

The lower half of the tree remained standing on the island made of Living Soil, but the other half began to tilt and collapse.

Those who at the beginning were trying to be the first to reach heaven were now filled with terror. They wanted to run and hide, but there was nowhere to go.

In the end, they could only fall along with the collapsing Jianmu.

The falling Jianmu began to burn in the air, and the sound of ear-piercing wails met the others’ ears.

No matter how desperately they screamed, no matter how hard they wailed, the expression on Yinglong’s face never wavered. Fleeting Shadow disappeared from his hand, and he remained standing there after severing Jianmu.

He watched the heavenly flames falling to the ground, as well as the devastating tsunami caused by Jianmu’s fall into the eastern sea.

He stood there and observed this tragedy until…..the passage opened by Jianmu slowly closed, and Yinglong vanished from the sky.

The scene recorded on the jade slip was about to end. The last scene was that of lingering wails amongst a sea of flames.

Perhaps there were more sounds than that, but with so many people struggling within the sea of fire, they were difficult to distinguish.

Administrator Zheng put away the jade slip. Nobody spoke for a long time.

After a while, Fang Yang thought to say: “It’s so tragic…..” His voice was somewhat subdued. He had never witnessed such a tragic scene.

Some of those who climbed Jianmu fell to their deaths, and some burned alive. Human-shaped charcoal put up a last struggle before death, trying in vain to extinguish the flames on their bodies.

In the end, they could only die in burning agony.

There were some who survived by chance, but their numbers were very few.

“By the way, where is Ling…..the sect leader?” Fang Yang asked in sudden realization. He didn’t see Ling Yun on the recording.

But despite asking, he could probably guess Ling Yun’s ending.

Administrator Zheng confirmed his guess: “He’s dead.”

“He shared a connection and a heart with Jianmu. Jianmu burned to ashes, so he naturally died along with it.”

Fang Yang’s expression grew even more subdued, and he asked a question he had been wondering about: “Then why…..can’t we mention his name?”

Administrator Zheng glanced at Fang Yang and answered: “Because he committed a sin. He is a person condemned by history, an eternal sinner. It was his act of planting Jianmu that brought about this disaster.”

Fang Yang was momentarily stunned. Then he retorted angrily: “How can this be! He clearly did nothing wrong. What was wrong with him planting Jianmu? So many people wanted to climb to heaven on Jianmu, so why accuse him of a crime in the end?”

Hao Chen couldn’t help but send Fang Yang a glance when he heard this, thinking with some amusement: Why accuse Ling Yun of a crime? Isn’t the answer obvious?

Administrator Zheng made the answer clear: “Because he lost, so he was in the wrong.”

“Lost…..” Fang Yang repeated blankly.

It was a simple truth that right and wrong were determined by the victor.

Feng Ye also looked over at Fang Yang. When he heard Administrator Zheng’s words, he pursed his lips slightly.

“Yinglong…..why did he want to chop down Jianmu?” Fang Yang murmured after a moment of silence.

How could mortals guess the mind of a god? But…..since he’d already shared so much today, Administrator Zheng might as well share his own hypothesis: “Because he would not permit mortals to offend their superiors by trying to ascend to heaven.”

Hao Chen nodded in agreement. Based on what he’d heard of Yinglong’s character, it wasn’t surprising at all that he would chop down Jianmu. 

How could such a cold and arrogant god tolerate humans as tiny as ants trying to ascend to heaven?

Feng Ye didn’t speak, just staring at the floor in a trance.

“But…..but…..” Fang Yang grew angrier the more he thought about it: “But it’s clear that that disaster was entirely caused by Yinglong. If he hadn’t chopped down Jianmu, how could there have been so many casualties? Why did you all confuse right and wrong and put all the blame on Ling Yun!”

Due to his anger, he blurted out that taboo name.

He said it too fast, and Administrator Zheng didn’t have time to stop him. He could only cover Fang Yang’s mouth after he spoke.

“Mm, mmn!” Fang Yang glared at Administrator Zheng resentfully.

Still covering Fang Yang’s mouth, Administrator Zheng looked up fearfully. When he didn’t see anything unusual, he released Fang Yang with a sense of relief. 

He wiped his forehead, and his hand came away covered in cold sweat.

Seeing the furious look on Fang Yang’s face, he said tiredly: “Never mention that name again. If Yinglong hears it…..”

He didn’t continue, but it was easy to guess what would happen if Yinglong heard it.

After Yinglong severed Jianmu a hundred years ago, people harbored awe and fear for this great god, but was there no hatred among them?

Of course there was.

But they didn’t dare display it or speak of it.

In order to prevent Yinglong from taking his anger out on them, everyone tacitly pushed the blame onto Ling Yun. Such a heinous crime had been committed by Ling Yun alone.

It was just so. If Ling Yun hadn’t had the crazy idea to plant Jianmu, who else would have thought of it? If Jianmu hadn’t been planted, how could Yinglong have been drawn out?

In order to shirk responsibility, as well as to please that great god in heaven, Ling Yun was branded as an eternal sinner. In order to not upset Yinglong, no one dared mention Ling Yun’s name for fear of infuriating him. 

However, Administrator Zheng’s warning only made Fang Yang even angrier. He felt that what Ling Yun experienced was unfair. Ling Yun had done nothing wrong, yet he was accused of such a crime.

It was all because of that arrogant Yinglong.

With this in mind, Fang Yang clenched his fists and vowed: “One day, I’ll defeat Yinglong and make him admit his mistake!”

Upon hearing this, Hao Chen couldn’t help but shake his head with some mockery. Newborn calves really weren’t afraid of tigers.

How powerful was Yinglong?

He was so strong that there was likely nobody in the heavens who dared to stand up and say that they could definitely defeat him. Hao Chen also didn’t dare.

Yet Fang Yang, a human at the third level of Qi Refining, said he was going to defeat Yinglong?

This was probably the funniest joke he had ever heard in his life.

Even the absent-minded Feng Ye couldn’t help but smile. Unlike Hao Chen, his smile contained no mockery, but was more like an elder looking upon a boastful child with a smile of tolerance and helplessness.

“Then you must become very strong,” Feng Ye said softly. “Very, very strong.”

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Chapter 29 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 31