Chapter 419: Sun God Kingdom's Lord

The waves in the Southern Ocean surged, their surface like a shattered mirror. A sharp sensation pierced through the rising and falling waters.

The proud silver divine steed lowered its head, its golden spear plunged obliquely into the seawater, saluting the newcomer.

The sword spirits around Ning Changjiu hummed continuously. Sensing their agitation, he immediately turned, seeing in the distance on the sea's surface that the fiery steed pulling the chariot had stopped. The figure of the golden-masked deity solidified before the chariot, his imperial robes billowing over the water.

Months ago, in Broken Realm City, Ning Changjiu, empowered by his master's authority, had fought against Bai Zang's projection. At that time, under the city's suppressive effects, neither he nor Bai Zang could clearly claim victory. Later, Bai Zang's projection and true form reversed, defeating him with a single strike.

But Tianzang possesses only one divine heart; Tianji's true form could never have appeared personally. Though a divine lord is powerful, a projection is merely a projection.

It was unknown, however, whether this Asura body, which had once directly confronted the Sin Lord, could withstand Tianji's iron hooves without the suppression of Broken Realm City.

Tianji raised his hand; the fiery steed burned to ash, solidifying in his palm and transforming into a long, sharp halberd with a crescent-shaped blade.

"I thought you would have been worn away long ago in the Immortal Realm," Tianji said. "I never imagined you were still alive in this world."

Tianji's previous existence was human; only after death was he tainted by the demonic nature of war, becoming the leader and embodiment of divine steeds. Therefore, his words were calm and steady, devoid of the Sin Lord's eerie tone, more akin to a grizzled, battle-hardened general.

Ning Changjiu stared at him and said calmly, "I don't remember you."

Tianji showed no anger or annoyance, merely asking, "Is your old kingdom still there?"

Ning Changjiu stood slightly sideways, gripping his silver sword tightly, its tip pointing towards Tianji:

"The sun's light remains," he said, "so of course it is."

Tianji nodded slowly and gravely. The prominent cracks on his golden mask made his dignity appear somewhat comical.

He gazed at Ning Changjiu and said, "To have grown to this extent in just a few years, Chang'e is truly remarkable."

Ning Changjiu replied, "My master is indeed remarkable, but I am merely searching for what I have lost."

Both of them had lived for three or four millennia. Though their words evoked remembrance, there was no mutual appreciation between them.

Ning Changjiu's sword tip subtly moved. As the ethereal short-haired girl behind him opened her eyes, on the other side of the Southern Ocean, Tianji similarly wielded his divine halberd, forged from fire, with effortless grace. The seawater, encountering the fire, did not evaporate; instead, it danced with the halberd's tip, rising like a dragon's head.

The Sixth Asura Path, symbolizing defiance, met the Divine Lord who upheld the order of each year. Fundamentally different divine powers erupted and collided.

Lu Jiajia currently lacked the ability to intervene in a battle of this caliber. She didn't force herself, immediately withdrawing to avoid distracting Ning Changjiu. Simultaneously, she turned her sword tip, aiming its sharpness directly at the silver divine steed, confronting it to provide Ning Changjiu with a secure rear.

The Western Kingdom was now peaceful. Zhao Xiang'er leaned on her couch, frowning at the blurred image in the water mirror. *Is a fight really so unspeakable?* she wondered.

Above the Central Lands, the bronze divine steed was galloping wildly, pulling the red pavilion. Soon, it would cross the red line.

Ye Changong's body was growing colder, and she slept for longer periods each day. While she was asleep, Bai Zang would creep low, sneaking in an ambush posture characteristic of felines, trying to ambush her. But midway through, she would be stopped by Si Ming and dragged over to endure humiliating rubs.

In Bai Zang's mind, Si Ming was already the worst woman in the world.

While bullying Bai Zang, Si Ming also noticed that her master's age seemed to be decreasing. Her body was becoming increasingly petite; the clothes bought earlier that fit perfectly now seemed too large on her.

An ominous premonition arose in Si Ming's heart.

The moon in the sky was consistently dark, and the proud sun that rose daily failed to bring her true warmth.

Time flew by, and twilight deepened in the blink of an eye. When Ye Changong awoke, the bronze divine steed had already crossed an invisible barrier, rushing into the distance.

The patterns of human buildings grew tiny in her eyes.

They had crossed the red line and were truly heading south.

Ye Changong touched her sleeve and took out a piece of moon branch from it.

When Ning Changjiu fought the fox demon, he had accidentally taken it from his sea of consciousness. Afterward, when Ning Xiaoling dreamed, she saw a tree, and she herself was a fox curled up in its shade.

That tree was actually the shadow of the moon laurel.

This moon branch was the moon laurel itself.

Now, the moon branch had dulled again, losing its luster, like a plant on the verge of wilting.

Bai Zang sat on the floor of the red pavilion, gently wagging her tail. She looked at Chang'e, then at the moon branch, seeming to understand something.

Si Ming couldn't bear it any longer. She unusually went upstairs and brought a red quilt, wrapping Ye Changong in it, hoping to make her feel warmer.

"It's useless," Bai Zang meowed.

After spending a few days together, Si Ming had developed some ability to understand Bai Zang's cat language. She looked at Bai Zang, frowning, and said, "Don't give me your sarcastic remarks."

Bai Zang snorted coldly, turned her back, and silently licked her paws while gazing at the approaching night and the starry sky.

After taking care of her master, Si Ming came up behind her and said crossly, "You're a divine lord, after all; you should still have some insight. Can you tell what's wrong with Master?"

Bai Zang meowed a few times, righteously declaring that she knew nothing.

Si Ming's icy eyes glinted with coldness. She crouched down, leaning closer to Bai Zang, gripped her by the scruff of the neck, and asked with a threatening tone, "Truly know nothing?"

Bai Zang cried out innocently a few times, implying that if she knew so much, she wouldn't still be a prisoner.

Si Ming angrily threw her onto the ground and said, "You're a big tiger, why do you meow like a cat all day?"

Bai Zang lay on the ground, seeming to recall something, her pupils slightly unfocused.

That was a very long time ago.

She only remembered that when she was very young, being too thin, she was kept with a group of kittens. Over time, she learned a new language, one that was hard to unlearn.

Later, she escaped, found an opportunity, and cultivated into a human form. She never spoke in her true form again, fearing ridicule from her own kind.

She also remembered that at that time, she had a cat master who taught her everything it knew, giving her the ability to hunt.

But the cat master never taught her how to climb trees.

She had a special affection for trees, because in the courtyard where she and other wild beasts were kept, trees were the only things taller than the thick courtyard walls.

She once asked her master, "Did you deliberately not teach me how to climb trees because you feared I would betray you once I learned?"

The cat master shook its head and said, "Because trees are too tall. Once a creature reaches a high tree, it can't help but gaze into the distance, and gazing too long inevitably breeds ambition. In this era of contention among gods, demons, and ancient immortals, for beasts like us, ambition will push them into an abyss of eternal damnation."

The cat master also told her that climbing a tall tree to gaze into the distance was the most painful thing in its life.

Those grand possibilities were not meant for fragile lives like theirs to covet; an ambitious body like this was constantly aging.

From that day on, however, Bai Zang felt she had found what she desired: to climb up, gaze into the distance, and then find something called ambition.

After that, she began practicing tree climbing.

Bai Zang could no longer remember her feelings the first time she climbed a tall tree and saw the distant mountain mist.

But she was certain that she had truly grasped something called ambition. She couldn't precisely describe it, but her trembling body and frantically beating heart unequivocally declared its existence.

From that day on, she clearly recognized the difference between herself and those wild cats. She was not a cat; she was a tiger. She didn't need to castrate her strength and ferocity to blend in with them. She was meant to destroy these courtyard walls, fight through mountains and seas, and roar into the clouds.

It was a feeling she had never experienced before or since.

By then, the cat master was very old. It died that night in the chaos of the courtyard, as blood and fire spread, seemingly from the courtyard owner's enemies. Bai Zang placed her master's body on the tree, then, amidst the chaos, she used the tall tree to escape the courtyard walls.

She should have forgotten these past events long ago...

Many years later, she sat in the White Emperor's old kingdom, clad in silver robes, enjoying boundless prestige. But the thing called ambition had decayed on the divine throne over thousands of years.

"Hey, what are you spacing out for?" Si Ming tugged her ear and asked, "Dreaming big dreams again?"

Bai Zang let out a soft growl.

The recent memories had brought back a youthful feeling. Spurred by her wild nature, she bit Si Ming's palm.

Si Ming frowned, thinking, *What's this white cat gone crazy about now?* With a press of her palm, she easily subdued Bai Zang.

Bai Zang howled under her palm, appearing very weak and pitiful.

But at this moment, a sudden realization sparked in Bai Zang's heart.

In her youth, her greatest goal was to become the invincible Divine Lord of the world, and her entire life had been dedicated to achieving this.

Though she was now in decline, becoming a Divine Lord was something she had already accomplished, so it no longer held much attraction for her.

How could she surpass that ambition?

A terrifying thought surfaced in Bai Zang's mind. She stared at the sky, her pupils slightly narrowed, but her heart burned with trepidation.

The scale of the battle over the Southern Ocean was far greater than imagined.

Without any suppression, in Tianji's year, the power displayed by Tianji's projection had reached the legendary Third Realm.

Although there wasn't much difference in power between the peak of the Five Paths and the legendary Third Realm, their understanding of the profound mysteries of heaven, earth, and the Great Dao was astonishing.

Ning Changjiu and the sword spirit became one.

The ferocious golden body of the Asura and the pure form of the short-haired girl overlapped, creating a mystical beauty. His sword, stripped of its flourishes, delivered each strike like the head-on charge of heavy armored cavalry, aiming to kill the golden-armored deity.

This battle was like a clash of pure power; the effect of the Yin Eye was weakened.

Fortunately, the authority Tianji possessed was not a weapon of destruction like Bai Zang's sealed power.

Having died once, Tianji feared eternal death deep down. His divine kingdom also encircled a red line at the center of the star, thus his ability was "Endurance."

Endurance meant enduring forever with the world.

Back then, Emperor Jun had uttered the four characters "endure forever with the world." The speaker might not have meant anything by it, but the listener paid close attention.

After becoming a Divine Lord, Tianji bound himself uniquely to this star, making him immortal and indestructible unless the star itself was destroyed.

Of course, Tianji later also questioned the Dark Lord and thus regretted his initial decision.

But this was irrelevant. He could at least be certain that on this star, even if a Saint personally arrived in his divine kingdom, they absolutely could not kill him, because he *was* the world.

The Southern Ocean during the outbreak of the divine battle was truly a scene of overturned rivers and seas.

The light in the sky was blocked by their domains, and phenomena like wind, rain, thunder, and lightning lost all meaning. They fought from the sky to the seabed; the vast sky dimmed, the seabed collapsed, and nothing else existed in this space between heaven and earth, only pure victory or defeat, life or death.

The sword spirit seemed to return to the chaotic skies of Broken Realm City many years ago.

The oppressive presence of the Divine Lord's projection was as powerful as ever. At this moment, Ning Changjiu, with his enlightened Asura body and peak five-path cultivation, was repeatedly at a disadvantage, pressed into the seabed, and deeply embedded within the earth's veins.

The sharp edge of Tianji's divine halberd seemed ready to slice open his flesh at any moment.

The storms of the Southern Ocean raged. On the other side, Lu Jiajia and the heavily wounded silver divine steed were also locked in an indecisive struggle.

This intense battle lasted for an entire day and night.

The long night passed. The sun rose from the east and, after traversing the sky, set in the west.

Night came again; the passage of time was startlingly swift.

Ning Changjiu and Tianji had fought bitterly for a day and a night. His Qi Sea was severely depleted. Though his and Liu Xiwuan's sharpness remained fierce, Tianji, however, had not a single scratch on him. Only the gaping crack on his golden mask grew larger, severely marring its beauty.

"So you haven't gained the old kingdom's recognition," Tianji said, watching him indifferently. His halberd shot forth, piercing a hundred zhang in an instant to appear before Ning Changjiu.

Ning Changjiu blocked the divine halberd with his sword but was still pushed back by the immense force, crashing through the seawater and instantly plunging into the deep-pitted seabed.

He parried with his sword, deflecting the halberd's remaining force and knocking it away. After the halberd flew off, Tianji's figure appeared demonically at its landing point. In an instant far shorter than a blink, Tianji seized the halberd and thrust it down again.

The seawater was pushed aside, and wherever the halberd's tip passed, everything was utterly destroyed.

Although Ning Changjiu could withstand this terrifying power, he was still sent flying backward by the spear's impact, unable to stabilize himself for an effective counterattack.

"If this continues, we're sure to lose!" Liu Xiwuan's voice echoed in his mind: "Divine lords are all monsters; a mortal body simply cannot kill him!"

Ning Changjiu hummed, saying, "I know."

The depletion of spiritual energy in his Qi Sea was faster than he had imagined. At this moment, he was at his peak, capable of overwhelming all masters in the human realm except for the Sword Saint, yet when facing the exceptionally endowed Divine Lord's projection, he still felt powerless.

Tianji's golden mask appeared in the seawater. The divine halberd swept over, colliding again with the silver sword. The impact created a momentary vacuum, then the seawater rushed back. Ning Changjiu's body shot up like lightning, stepping on the divine halberd as he lunged at Tianji, striking for the throat with one swift sword.

Tianji stood unmoving, blocking the sword with his palm.

On the mother star, in a place unknown to them, a desolate mountain exploded into dust, but Tianji was unharmed.

Just like Ye Changong, Tianji also used "Endurance" to transfer the opponent's irresistible sharpness to this world. This star was his shield.

Authority existed above laws. To break it, one must drag the opponent into their own divine kingdom. Earlier in the Western Kingdom, Zhao Xiang'er could cleave this mask because both she and the mask were within the Three Thousand Worlds.

Liu Xiwuan asked, "Then what exactly are you waiting for? Why not ascend to the Golden Crow Divine Kingdom and directly suppress this projection with true divine power?"

Ning Changjiu replied, "Although the fifth divine pillar has been built, it's far from stable. Ascending to the divine kingdom now would be like draining the pond to catch fish. If the divine pillars collapse, all previous efforts might be in vain."

Liu Xiwuan said, "I know... but is there any other way?"

"Master should be on her way," Ning Changjiu said after a moment of silence.

Liu Xiwuan shook her head and said firmly, "The moon is obscured... You're waiting for Chang'e, but maybe she's waiting for you too."

The divine halberd thrust down again, sending Ning Changjiu crashing into the seabed. His Qi Sea and Purple Mansion surged tumultuously as the Golden Crow within him shrieked incessantly, as if also calling for him to open the divine kingdom.

The seabed was a battlefield where he and Tianji fought fiercely. Silver and gold converged, and the sharp light that burst forth was like lightning-spreading axons, illuminating every dark and terrifying detail of the deep sea.

Liu Xiwuan's words struck him.

He trusted, or rather, relied too much on his master. Over the years, his master had done many things. Whether it was Yuan Fu, who once declared herself invincible, or Bai Zang, master of the Silver Divine Kingdom, all were killed or subdued by his master. Her mere presence could bring peace of mind, and even in desperate situations, she always carried a ray of light.

He had been blessed by this light for too long, almost forgetting that the moon had now lost its pure radiance.

Killing Yuan Fu, scheming over the world, subduing Bai Zang... looking back over twelve years in the human realm, Ning Changjiu couldn't be sure if his master was also approaching her limits.

Perhaps she was also waiting for him to take her sword, but stubbornly refused to say so.

In the seabed, the golden spear's light flared again, illuminating Ning Changjiu's face.

Amidst a ringing crash, he and Liu Xiwuan's spiritual body were together smashed into the seawater, crashing through the seabed and plunging into immeasurable depths.

Suddenly, Ning Changjiu felt something behind him...

It was a familiar sensation.

Some kind of consciousness seemed to be buried beneath the seabed, and this consciousness was similar to what he had seen in the Ruins of the Bone Tower. *Who left it? Was it the Candle Dragon, fabled to have died in the Southern Ocean?*

Ning Changjiu did not touch it.

Time did not allow for him to ponder.

The seawater was like straw that could be ignited at will. Golden flames burned down through the medium of water, enveloping him, with the deadly halberd tip hidden within, thrusting down along with them.

It was at this moment that Ning Changjiu made up his mind.

Miscellaneous thoughts were instantly cleared away, and the Golden Crow flew through his Purple Mansion, releasing an even more scorching light.

Ning Changjiu entered the world of the Golden Crow