Chapter 27

Xiwangmu thought very clearly. The reason she saved Dongwanggong was merely because their fortunes were intertwined, and she did not want his death to cause her own fortune to decline. In truth, their relationship was not very close. However, even if Dongwanggong died and her fortune declined, it would be better than being buried with him.

Moreover, although the Sun God lineage acted alone, don't forget that the Sun God lineage includes more than just Di Jun and his ten princes! The Sun and Moon are one, and since she, an outsider related to Dongwanggong, had already taken action, how could the Moon God lineage not act? If they were to raid her stronghold, it would be disastrous. Understanding this, Xiwangmu naturally no longer cared about Dongwanggong. She raised the Kunlun Mirror, immediately jumped out of the battle, and flew towards Kunlun Mountain. Even in this short time, she had already been burned by the ten golden crows, and she considered herself to have done her part, owing nothing to Dongwanggong.

Without Xiwangmu's help, Dongwanggong was naturally no match for Di Jun and his sons. Although the Dragon Empress was present, she had just fought with the Dragon King of the East Sea a few days ago. It was already good that she did not attack him, let alone help him.

Before long, Dongwanggong met his end at the hands of Di Jun and his sons. However, just as Di Jun was about to refine Dongwanggong's primordial spirit, a Taiji diagram suddenly appeared in the sky, enveloping Dongwanggong's primordial spirit. Di Jun immediately picked up the River Chart and Luo Book to stop it. But then a long banner appeared, tearing apart the surrounding space. Di Jun, concerned for the safety of his sons, quickly used the River Chart and Luo Book to protect them. Taking advantage of this moment, the Taiji diagram rescued the remaining primordial spirit of Dongwanggong.

Di Jun coldly snorted and no longer cared about Dongwanggong's primordial spirit. He picked up the Fuxiang divine wood left by Dongwanggong, threw it into the sea, and transformed it into a deep valley. He said to the ten golden crows, "The loss of the Sun Star's treasures is also due to your poor guarding. Now that the Fuxiang wood has fallen into the East Sea, transforming into Tanggu, you shall guard it here, with one of you patrolling the sky each day, rising from Tanggu and setting in Yuyuan. This will help you eliminate the toxic fire of the sun and atone for your sins!"

After saying this, Di Jun directly returned to the Heavenly Court.

The intentions of Taqing and Yujing were very clear. They allowed the killing, but not the complete erasure. After all, Dongwanggong had a significant role in the Immortal Path. This time, the Heavenly Court merely found a pretext to use Dongwanggong's moral failure to strike him down. But now that the cause and effect were settled, any further action would not be ignored by the Immortal Path.

The Dragon Empress, upon hearing Di Jun's words, had a mixed expression. The East Sea was the domain of the Dragon Palace. How could outsiders intervene so easily? Even if he was the Heavenly Emperor, the Dragon Clan had existed since ancient times, and even the Three Sovereigns of Antiquity had to show respect. They had tacitly accepted the seas as the domain of the Dragon Clan. Now, this Heavenly Emperor was ruthless enough to directly seize a part of the East Sea. The Dragon Empress was about to argue, but suddenly heard Di Jun's telepathic message, saying he would visit the Dragon Palace in three days. She suppressed her anger and returned to the sea, planning to discuss the matter with Di Jun in three days.

Dongwanggong's death greatly shook Feng Ye. After all, he was the master of all male immortals. If he could die, how much more so for Feng Ye, who was a nominal master of talismans?

Ignoring the panic and confusion of the other immortals, Feng Ye found a secluded cave nearby and contacted Yuan Kui, informing him of the situation.

"It's reasonable!" After a while, Yuan Kui replied, "Brother Dao, do you think why the Daozu appointed Dongwanggong and Xiwangmu to oversee male and female immortals? Was it really to protect the descendants of the Immortal Path? If so, he could have let the immortals seek protection from the nearest immortal mountains. Why go through the trouble of having one in the east and one in the west?"

Feng Ye was taken aback and hesitated, "Imperial aura?"

"Brother Dao, I am of the divine path, so I understand these things better! Dongwanggong possesses pure Yang imperial aura, making him a potential Heavenly Emperor, which naturally makes him a thorn in Di Jun's side. The Daozu appointed him to oversee male immortals to help him accumulate imperial aura, so he could eventually replace Di Jun as the Heavenly Emperor. This time, Di Jun merely used a pretext to find trouble with him."

"Doesn't Di Jun fear that the great immortals will seek revenge?"

"How? The Fuxiang wood is a treasure of the Sun God lineage, and Dongwanggong claimed it, calling himself the Fuxiang Emperor. This is cause and effect. As the Heavenly Emperor of the Sun God lineage, Di Jun using this pretext to find trouble with Dongwanggong, who can say anything? Even the Daozu behind Dongwanggong cannot say anything. As long as Di Jun's Heavenly Court does not lose its virtue and the Heavenly Emperor's position is not lost, even the Sages must respect him. After all, as the Heavenly Emperor, Di Jun acts on behalf of heaven and is favored by heaven, which even the Sages cannot defy."

"Moreover, by this, Di Jun has his ten sons patrol the sky from Tanggu to Yuyuan. This is a great virtue, greatly benefiting the Sun God lineage. Unless they lose their foundation, the ten sons will continue to patrol the sky daily and suppress the toxic fire of the sun. This accumulated virtue will ensure that Di Jun's position as Heavenly Emperor will not be easily lost. I even suspect that the Fuxiang wood was allowed to be stolen by Dongwanggong with Di Jun's tacit approval. Otherwise, with many experts on the Sun Star, how could it be so easily stolen?"

"Hehe! After all, the divine and the Dao are one, favored by heaven and earth, making the divine path's Heavenly Court very stable. How can it be easily destroyed by the small means of the Immortal Path?"

Although Yuan Kui and Feng Ye are one, Feng Ye did not tell Yuan Kui about the events of the future. He naturally did not know that later, the ten suns would rise together, causing a great calamity in the world. Then the divine archer Hou Yi would shoot down nine suns, restoring clarity to the world. Following that, the war between the Witches and the Divine Beasts would lead to the collapse of Di Jun's Heavenly Court and the retreat of the Witches. The Hongjun Immortal Path would then seize the Heavenly Emperor's position. Moreover, the Daozu's methods were not limited to Dongwanggong; Houtu was his hidden hand.

However, seeing Yuan Kui boasting about the divine path and belittling the Immortal Path, Feng Ye did not bother to respond, closing the mental connection and beginning to think.

Since Dongwanggong had died, his destination could not be reached. Now, the immortals of Penglai Island would surely begin to争夺木公遗宝。Feng Ye did not want to get involved, but he was also unwilling to turn back. Thinking of the fact that this place was by the East Sea, he had a sudden idea and decided to go to the Sui Ming Kingdom.

The Sui Ming Kingdom is where the ancient Sui Emperor understood the method of drilling wood to make fire. It is located by the East Sea, and within the kingdom is the Sui wood, a vast, coiled tree covering ten thousand acres, with clouds and mist rising from it, a primordial spiritual root. Since he was here, he naturally wanted to see it.

This time, Feng Ye did not use the Red Light Escape technique but instead used the Cloud Walking method, flying slowly to carefully observe the local customs and scenery. He did not expect that there were also humans living by the East Sea, and their living conditions were even better than those of his own Sui Ren tribe.

After several days of leisurely travel, Feng Ye finally arrived at the Sui Ming Kingdom. The Sui Ming Kingdom was inhabited by living beings, which were very peculiar. Their race had no death, with their entire lifespan tied to the Sui wood. As long as the Sui wood did not perish, its people would not die. Only when they were weary of the world would their souls return to the Sui wood to await rebirth. It was more accurate to say that they were an appendage of the Sui wood rather than an independent race.

In the canopy of the Sui wood, countless firebirds flew about, the Tongming birds, fire spirits born from the Sui wood. They resembled ospreys, feeding on fire but also able to eat fish. It is said that the ancient Sui Emperor was inspired by the Tongming birds to invent the method of drilling wood to make fire.