louisehourcade Chapter 242 Arrival at the Southern Heavenly Gate!
Chapter 242 Arrival at the Southern Heavenly Gate!
"Other things?"
Su Fan looked at Elder Mo with a puzzled expression, as he didn't know anything about this.
Mr. Mo continued to explain:
"Based on the scattered records in that divine book, I speculate that the fall of the Heavenly Court may not be solely related to the divine war that broke out among the Western gods."
"It may also be related to some evil."
Su Fan was shocked upon hearing this. Having read so many mythological texts in his previous life, Su Fan knew better than anyone else in this world just how powerful the Heavenly Court was.
What level of evil could possibly force the Heavenly Court to fall?
This trip looks like it won't be simple!
Old Mo continued:
"I'll have Lao Yuan go with you. He can calm and guide the raging thundercloud energy to some extent through his connection with Gonggong, the water god of the contract."
"In addition, Master Xuanzang will also give you an even stronger protective Buddhist seal."
"We'll depart in three days. During these three days, try to familiarize yourself with this fragment and see if you can use it to establish a deeper connection with Nezha or other deities and obtain more information."
Su Fan nodded emphatically: "Understood."
For the next three days, Su Fan stayed indoors, focusing all his energy on that fragment.
He kept the fragment close to his body, constantly nurturing and communicating with it using his own divine power.
Most of the time, the fragment did not react.
However, at midnight, when the yin energy is at its peak and the yang energy is just beginning to emerge, the seven-colored halo on the surface of the fragment will become slightly more obvious, and the golden runes that appear and disappear will flash a few more times.
After several attempts, Su Fan seized the opportunity and immersed his consciousness into it.
In a daze, he seemed to hear a distant, grand, majestic, and ancient bell tolling.
Before my eyes, there seemed to be towering, boundless white jade steps flashing by, the blurry shadow of a golden-armored general standing solemnly with a halberd, and a fleeting glimpse of cranes swirling in auspicious clouds.
More than anything, Su Fan felt a sense of height.
A lofty position standing high above the heavens, overlooking all living beings in the three realms!
It gives me a feeling of being in control of everything!
This feeling is different from the order of the underworld, which carries the cold solemnity of reincarnation and judgment.
The order of the Heavenly Court is one of uprightness and majestic authority that governs all directions.
Stimulated by this scene, the divine images of several Chinese deities within Su Fan's body became increasingly active, even showing a faint tendency to break free from his sea of consciousness and resonate with the fragment.
On the evening of the third day, when Su Fan tried to communicate with the fragment again, Nezha's divine figure suddenly shone brightly!
A child-like divine figure dressed in lotus battle armor, riding on wind and fire wheels, and wielding a fire-tipped spear shot out directly from between Su Fan's eyebrows, circling the fragment that was floating in mid-air three times.
Shenying stretched out her small hand and gently touched the fragment.
Om-!
The fragment vibrated violently, and its surface emitted a brilliant seven-colored halo, instantly illuminating the entire quiet room!
The golden runes were no longer fleeting and uncertain, but clearly emerged, forming a small, incomplete proverb:
"...The Heavenly Guardian is flawed, guarding...the North...holding the talisman...may enter..."
The rest of the sentence was cut off.
But the four words "holding the talisman allows entry" are clear enough!
Su Fan was greatly encouraged.
Sure enough, this fragment is proof of entry to a certain place!
After completing these tasks, Nezha's divine shadow seemed to have expended a considerable amount of energy, becoming somewhat transparent. It nodded to Su Fan and then transformed into a stream of light, disappearing back into his sea of consciousness.
Su Fan carefully collected the fragments whose light was fading.
It seems that this fragment can not only guide the way, but may also serve as a key to open the legendary Southern Heavenly Gate.
Soon, it was time to depart.
On the square outside the Forbidden City, a small aircraft, specially modified and with light blue water patterns flowing all over its body, is ready.
This is no ordinary plane; it bears runes inscribed with the divine power of Gonggong by Yuan Qingsheng, which can soothe and penetrate chaotic energy fields to a certain extent.
Yuan Qingsheng was already waiting by the cabin door.
He changed into a dark blue combat uniform, his aura calm and composed, with faint ripples of water visible behind him.
Meanwhile, Mo Lao and Tang Sanzang were waiting beside the flying vehicle when they saw Su Fan arrive.
Tang Sanzang imprinted the Immovable King Seal, which he had been refining for a long time, into Su Fan's brow. The Immovable King Seal then transformed into a pale golden swastika symbol and disappeared.
"This seal can protect your soul and withstand three soul impacts equivalent to the peak of the ninth rank. It might even save your life when you encounter overwhelming evil."
"Thank you, Venerable Master."
Su Fan thanked him sincerely.
Finally, Elder Mo stepped forward and handed Su Fan a specially made storage ring.
"There are three Gui Water Divine Thunders inside, which are formed from the divine power condensed by Old Yuan. They are extremely powerful, so use them with caution."
"There are also some healing and recovery pills. Remember, safety first. If things don't go well, retreat immediately."
"I will, Mr. Mo."
The aircraft's hatch closed, and with a low hum, it rose vertically, adjusted its direction, and transformed into a blue streak of light, speeding towards the western horizon.
Target: Death Vortex.
The remnants of the celestial gate lie deep within that endless thunderstorm.
The further west the aircraft flew, the darker the sky became.
The mountains and land below were gradually obscured by thick clouds, which were no longer white and cottony, but turned lead gray.
Between the clouds, blinding bolts of lightning would occasionally flash, tearing through the darkness, accompanied by muffled, rolling thunder.
Inside the cabin, some of the pointers on the instrument panel began to jump irregularly, emitting a slight "buzzing" sound.
"We've entered the outer edge of the thunderstorm zone."
Yuan Qingsheng sat in the main control position, his hands lightly resting on the control panel, and light blue divine power flowed through his arms into the runes on the outer wall of the aircraft.
The runes lit up, creating a water-like protective shield that silently guided away the occasional stray bolts of lightning.
The aircraft continued deeper into the area.
The scene outside was becoming increasingly horrifying.
The clouds had become extremely thick, churning and swirling, forming countless enormous, slowly rotating eddies.
The massive bolts of lightning no longer appeared only occasionally, but grew and exploded wildly in the cloud vortex like a dense forest!
The deafening thunderclaps drowned out the sound of the aircraft's engines.
The aircraft's shield began to ripple noticeably, bearing immense pressure.
"Hold on tight, we're about to plunge into the main vortex!"
Yuan Qingsheng gave a low shout, maneuvered the aircraft to find a relatively weak gap between the two huge cloud vortexes, and suddenly accelerated and rushed into it!
In an instant, the aircraft seemed to have entered a thunderous inferno!
All around, from top to bottom, left to right, and in every direction, there was blinding blue-white electric light!
A bolt of lightning, as thick as a bucket, struck less than a hundred meters from the porthole, the violent energy turbulence whipping against the shield and making a creaking sound.
Su Fan gripped the armrest of the seat tightly, his palms sweating slightly.
This overwhelming power of heaven and earth made one feel even more insignificant than when facing Ares's distraction.
Just as the aircraft's protective shield was flickering and about to give way, the fragment in Su Fan's arms suddenly became scalding hot!
Immediately afterwards, it floated out automatically and hovered in front of Su Fan.
The iridescent light on the fragment was brighter than ever before, and the golden runes swirled wildly, projecting a thin but unusually stable beam of light towards the left front, towards an area that appeared to have the densest lightning and the most violent energy.
"there!"
Su Fan shouted, pointing with his finger at the same time.
Without hesitation, Yuan Qingsheng steered the aircraft toward the direction indicated by the beam of light.
Strangely enough, as soon as the aircraft entered that area, the lightning outside seemed to sense it.
Although the thunderstorms were still intense, the trajectories of the striking fragments strangely avoided them, as if they were afraid of some kind of aura emanating from the debris.
The aircraft, yielded to by the thunder, pierced through the last thick, wall-like thundercloud.
Suddenly, everything became clear.
The thunderstorm disappeared, and the clouds disappeared.
Su Fan and Yuan Qingsheng seemed to have entered another world.
Beneath my feet lies an endless, slowly flowing sea of pure white clouds, and above that, an incredibly clear blue sky, with sunlight streaming down without obstruction.
And directly in front of them, about several miles away.
A massive, indescribably broken white marble archway floats silently above the sea of clouds.
Less than half of the archway remains, its broken sections jagged and bearing the marks of charred evil and the horrifying traces of being cleaved by a sharp weapon.
The remaining part, however, remains majestic and towering, with carved beams and painted rafters, and lifelike reliefs of auspicious clouds and mythical beasts.
At the very center of the archway, on the broken plaque, three ancient seal characters, though incomplete, still exuded a powerful aura, catching Su Fan's eye—
Nantianmen!
It's been found!
The aircraft hovered in front of the damaged Nantianmen Gate, like a lone boat on a vast sea.
Up close, the broken Heavenly Gate is so enormous that it inspires awe.
The remaining pillar on one side is hundreds of meters high and is made entirely of warm, white marble.
It is carved with intricate patterns of dragons and phoenixes, celestial maidens scattering flowers, and stars in motion. Even though it is covered in dust, one can still glimpse the former glory and solemnity of the South Heavenly Gate.
The broken crossbeam of the South Heavenly Gate hangs diagonally, and besides being charred black, the broken surface is also surrounded by an extremely uncomfortable and evil dark aura, which is incompatible with the aura of the South Heavenly Gate itself.
Yuan Qingsheng shut down the engine, and the aircraft hovered silently.
He gazed at the Heavenly Gate for a long while before finally exhaling.
"I never thought... that I would actually see the legendary South Heavenly Gate in my lifetime."
Su Fan also stared in shock at the massive, dilapidated South Heavenly Gate before him.
It took him a while to come to his senses.
The fragment in Su Fan's arms was no longer scalding hot, but instead emitted a steady, warm glow that seemed to be calling out to him.
Su Fan took out the fragment, which floated forward automatically, its seven-colored halo gently scattering towards the broken entrance of the Heavenly Gate.
"Looks like this is it." Su Fan looked at Yuan Qingsheng. "Mr. Yuan, shall we go in?"
Yuan Qingsheng nodded, his expression serious:
"Stay close to me, something feels very wrong here. Although the Heavenly Gate is broken, its divine power still remains, but the darkness at the break point makes even the Gonggong divine power within me feel repelled and wary."
Su Fan nodded upon hearing this.
The two left the aircraft and flew through the air, slowly approaching the huge fracture entrance.
The closer you get, the brighter the halo of the fragment becomes. The previously empty fracture in front of you is now rippling with transparent water-like waves, as if there is an invisible veil.
Su Fan took a deep breath, holding the fragment, and stepped into the ripples first.
Su Fan felt as if he had passed through a layer of icy water, and the scene before him suddenly changed.
Behind him was still a sea of clouds and the broken framework of the Heavenly Gate, while in front of him was a white jade staircase that stretched upwards and seemed to have no end!
The steps are extremely wide, each step is nearly half a meter high, and extend into the high place shrouded in clouds and mist.
On both sides of the steps, there is a rolling, surging sea of pure white clouds, the bottom of which cannot be seen.
The white jade steps themselves were also damaged, with many places collapsed and broken, and scattered jade pieces floating above the sea of clouds.
The air was filled with a chilling, dark, and evil aura, more than ten times stronger than what was felt outside!
Yuan Qingsheng followed Su Fan in and, sensing the evil aura, frowned.
"This aura is filled with destruction and hatred, which is definitely not what immortals and gods should have. It seems that Elder Mo's speculation was correct. The fall of the Heavenly Court was indeed caused by evil."
Su Fan nodded; his senses were even stronger now.
In his sea of consciousness, the divine images of Nezha, Yang Jian, and Sun Wukong trembled simultaneously, conveying intense anger and fighting spirit. In particular, the divine image of Sun Wukong was so arrogant and violent that it almost burst out of his body!
"Let's go up and take a look!"
Su Fan took the lead and stepped onto the white jade steps.
As the foot landed, the white jade steps beneath its feet glowed slightly and emitted a clear, melodious sound, as if an ancient, slumbering object had been awakened.
The fragments shone even brighter.
The two continued upwards along the broken steps.
The surroundings were eerily silent, with only the sound of the wind howling among the sea of clouds.
Along the way, you can still see many traces of battle: the shattered remains of huge weapons are deeply embedded in the jade steps; bloodstains that have dried for countless years are still dark red and black; and in some places, there are still scorch marks left by magical attacks...
One can imagine how fierce the battle that took place here back then must have been.
After climbing for about half an hour, the clouds and mist in front of us suddenly dispersed, revealing a relatively intact platform.
In the center of the platform stands a huge incense burner, supported by three legs.
However, the incense burner was overturned on the ground, its body covered with cracks.
Beside the incense burner lay two enormous bodies!
A body clad in tattered golden armor, as massive as a small mountain, with wings on its back, but the wings were long broken, leaving only the skeleton.
The other form is slightly smaller, wearing a blue battle robe, and has a single horn on its head.
They had long since lost their vitality; their flesh and blood were dried up and clung tightly to their bones, as if they had been dried up for countless years.
However, the faint pressure emanating from them, as well as the intense dark and evil aura, indicated that they were no ordinary heavenly soldiers in their previous lives.
Yuan Qingsheng moved closer and examined him carefully.
"What is this thing? It doesn't seem like a god. The wings do resemble those of an angel from Western legends, but the aura is completely wrong; it's too evil."
The image of Sun Wukong within Su Fan's body became even more restless, and a blurry image and fragments of information surged into his mind from the image of Sun Wukong.
Twisted figures emanating black energy filled the sky, clashing with the heavenly soldiers and generals.
Some of these figures had wings on their backs, some had multiple heads and arms, and some were simply a writhing black shadow. They were frenzied and chaotic, knowing only destruction and annihilation.
Seeing it so clearly in his mind, Su Fan suddenly realized that they were exactly the same as the aura of the extraterrestrial creatures that had invaded Earth.
"It's an extraterrestrial being, or rather, an extraterrestrial evil god!"
Su Fan said in a deep voice.
No sooner had the words left his mouth than the clouds at the edge of the platform suddenly churned violently!
"Heh...heh..."