chsdbacks Chapter 241 Above the Nine Heavens, the Southern Heavenly Gate!
Chapter 241 Above the Nine Heavens, the Southern Heavenly Gate!
Su Fan looked at Tang Sanzang and asked:
"Master, do you know what the War of the Gods is?"
Tang Sanzang remained silent for a moment, then sat down by the bed.
"That was a long time ago. So long ago that there isn't a single word about it left in the world today."
"Simply put, in ancient times, a war broke out between the gods of the East and the West that affected the entire world. The cause of the war is unknown, and the result was that both sides suffered heavy losses."
"The Eastern pantheon has disappeared without a trace, and the mythology and history of China have been erased by Western gods."
"The Western pantheon is not much better, but the history of Western mythology has been preserved."
"Until a hundred years ago, when spiritual energy revived, the mythical arena appeared, and the system of divine wielders was established, the power of the gods reappeared in the world in an indirect way."
Su Fan was deeply shaken upon hearing this.
"So, the Mythical Arena is actually a continuation of that divine war?"
Tang Sanzang nodded.
"That's one way to understand it, but not entirely. The Mythical Arena has rules and restrictions, making it more like a form of competition between civilizations. The real God War, however, is a war of destruction without any rules whatsoever."
Tang Sanzang looked at Su Fan with a serious expression.
"Benefactor Zhao relayed Judge Cui's words, saying that you are the key to the divine war. This humble monk does not know the specifics of what he meant, but Judge Cui is in charge of the Book of Life and Death and can see some causal lines that ordinary people cannot see. Since he said so, there must be a reason."
"What you need to do now is become stronger as quickly as possible. Only by becoming strong enough can you survive the storms of the future and figure out your own mission."
Su Fan nodded emphatically.
"I've got it."
For the next two weeks, Su Fan stayed in the Forbidden City to recuperate and cultivate.
With the blessing of Tang Sanzang's Buddha light and the abundant resources provided by China, Su Fan's injuries recovered quickly.
His cultivation level has stabilized at the peak of the fourth rank, and he only needs one opportunity to break through to the fifth rank.
During this period, the external situation changed dramatically.
The Western League suffered three consecutive losses, and the penalty in the last game in particular caused the internal conflicts within the league to completely erupt.
Several small and medium-sized countries have publicly criticized the US and other core countries for their decision-making errors and demanded to withdraw from the alliance.
The alliance was in turmoil, and clear cracks appeared in what was once a united front.
The European Temple, the Indian Vedic Council, and other forces began secretly sending envoys to contact China.
Although the attitude remains ambiguous, it has at least sent a signal of easing tensions.
Meanwhile, in China, everything was thriving.
Under the Buddha's light, a new generation of divine beings emerged like bamboo shoots after a spring rain.
The average cultivation speed is three to five times faster than in the West, and the gap is visibly widening.
In Kyoto and several other major cities, large-scale construction of golden statues of the monk Xuanzang began, with incense burning day and night.
Tang Sanzang's faith grew stronger day by day, and the halo behind his head became increasingly brilliant. One could even vaguely see the phantoms of Bodhisattvas and Arhats chanting sutras within the halo.
Everything seems to be getting better.
Until one late night two weeks later.
Su Fan was meditating in the quiet room when he suddenly sensed something and opened his eyes.
The moonlight outside the window was beautiful, but the shadows in the yard seemed darker than usual.
Su Fan remained calm and continued in his meditation posture.
"Click—"
Su Fan's eyes sharpened; something had come in.
To be able to bypass the layers of security around the Forbidden City and sneak silently to the vicinity of his quiet room, he is definitely not an ordinary person.
Su Fan remained silent, continuing to meditate with his eyes closed, his breathing steady, as if he hadn't noticed anything.
But his right hand had already quietly slipped back into his sleeve, where he grasped a jade talisman hidden inside.
That was an emergency distress talisman given to him by Master Mo; crushing it would instantly alert the entire Forbidden City's defense system.
Time passed second by second.
The shadows outside the window slowly crept along the wall, spreading towards the window of the quiet room.
Just as the shadow was about to touch the window frame.
"Amitabha."
A peaceful Buddhist chant rang out in the small courtyard outside the meditation room.
A faint golden light, like mercury spilling onto the ground, instantly filled the entire courtyard.
When the shadow touched the Buddha's light, it immediately emitted a hissing burning sound and quickly melted away.
A muffled groan came from the shadows.
Immediately, three dark figures tumbled out of the shadows and landed on the ground.
They were completely covered in tight black clothes, with only their eyes showing, making it impossible to tell whether they were male or female.
Each person held a short blade, its blade gleaming with a ghostly blue light, clearly coated with potent poison.
"A cowardly rat hiding its head and tail."
Tang Sanzang appeared at the entrance of the courtyard. Under the moonlight, his monk's robes fluttered, and the halo behind his head was gentle yet carried an inviolable majesty.
The three men in black exchanged a sharp look, then suddenly sprang into action!
Instead of rushing towards Tang Sanzang, they split into three directions and broke into the quiet room through the window!
Their target was clear—Su Fan!
"Stubborn and obstinate."
Tang Sanzang shook his head and gently tapped his nine-ringed staff on the ground.
thump.
A visible golden ripple spread out from the point where the staff landed.
The three men in black had just leaped into the air when they were swept away by the golden ripples.
Their movements froze instantly, as if they had been frozen in place, and then they fell straight down from the sky, crashing to the ground, unable to move.
Only his eyeballs could still move, and they were filled with terror.
It's not immobilization, it's a much stronger force—
Buddhist mantra!
Combined with the power of faith, it directly sealed off the divine power circulating around them.
The door to the quiet room opened.
Su Fan walked out, glanced at the three figures on the ground, and then looked at Tang Sanzang.
"Master, shall we spare them?"
Before Tang Sanzang could speak, one of the men in black on the ground flashed a resolute look in his eyes and gritted his teeth.
Su Fan's expression changed: "He's going to take poison!"
But it was too late.
A trickle of black blood escaped from the corner of each of the three men in black's mouths, their eyes quickly dimmed, and their breath ceased.
"Death squad".
Tang Sanzang sighed.
The commotion caused by Tang Sanzang was quite loud, and soon, Mo Lao, Yuan Qingsheng, and others were alerted and rushed over.
Upon examining the body, there was nothing that could identify it.
The clothes were the most ordinary night clothes, and the weapon was a standard poisoned short blade without any markings.
"Sent by the United States?" Ma Tao guessed.
"It doesn't seem like it," Old Mo shook his head. "It's too crude. It's more like they're deliberately letting us know that someone wants to harm Su Fan, but don't want to expose themselves."
"To intimidate others?" Yuan Qingsheng frowned.
"It could also be a diversionary tactic," Tang Sanzang said slowly. "Using these three assassins to distract us, the real killing move might be elsewhere."
The voice just fell.
A deafening explosion suddenly erupted from the southeast of the Forbidden City!
Flames shot into the sky, illuminating half of the night sky!
"It's in the direction of the archives!"
Old Mo's expression changed drastically.
The Archives of Chinese Mythology houses countless ancient documents, rubbings of stone carvings, and relics of deities unearthed from various historical sites across the country!
It is a treasure trove for studying the Chinese pantheon and searching for clues to awaken more deities!
"Their target is the archives!" Yuan Qingsheng roared. "Old Ma, come with me!"
He and Ma Tao transformed into two streaks of light, heading straight for the direction of the explosion.
Mo Lao looked at Tang Sanzang:
"Master, please stay here and protect Su Fan. I'll go check on him."
Tang Sanzang nodded: "Be careful, Benefactor Mo."
Old Mo also left in a hurry.
In the courtyard, only Tang Sanzang and Su Fan remained, along with three gradually cooling corpses on the ground.
Su Fan looked at the towering flames in the southeast and the faint sounds of battle cries coming from behind, and slowly clenched his fists.
"They want to destroy our foundation."
"As expected." Tang Sanzang said calmly, "If they can't win in a direct confrontation, they resort to these underhanded tactics. Unfortunately, they miscalculated one thing."
"Which point?"
"This humble monk is here."
After Tang Sanzang finished speaking, he raised his hand and pointed towards the southeast.
As a deity, Tang Sanzang's divine power could easily cover the entire Chinese land.
A small wisp of Buddha's light separated from the back of Tang Sanzang's head, transforming into a golden stream of light that instantly traversed several miles and disappeared into the night sky in the direction of the archives.
The next moment, a scream of shock and anger could be faintly heard from the other side, and then the explosion and shouts of killing quickly subsided.
Su Fan was dumbfounded.
"Master, you..."
Tang Sanzang withdrew his hand.
"It is merely an embodiment of faith. Although it possesses only thirty percent of my power, it is sufficient to deal with petty villains."
Sure enough, less than ten minutes later, Elder Mo sent back a message.
There were eight enemies who attacked the archives. They were all assassins, extremely powerful, and all were sixth-tier Divine Masters.
They used a powerful special bomb to blast open the outer defenses of the archives, and just as they were about to rush in and destroy the core storage room, they were stopped by a golden Buddha figure that suddenly appeared.
Buddha Shadow only made three moves.
One palm shattered one, one finger exploded another, and the final Buddhist chant shook the remaining six, causing them to bleed from all seven orifices and faint.
All eight attackers have been captured and are currently being interrogated.
The archives suffered minimal damage; only the outer buildings were damaged, while the core storage area remained intact.
When the news reached him, Su Fan breathed a sigh of relief and looked at Tang Sanzang with even more gratitude.
"Thank you, Venerable Master."
Tang Sanzang looked at Su Fan.
"It's my duty. After this incident, they shouldn't dare to make any rash moves for a while. But a venomous snake in the shadows is often more dangerous than a tiger in the open. Young friend Su, you still need to be careful."
"I see."
The commotion that night was quickly quelled.
The official statement was that criminals attempted to sabotage important facilities, but all of them have been apprehended.
The general public is unaware of the specific details, but those at the top are well aware that this is a desperate counterattack by the Western alliance.
Although they couldn't invade China, they still had countless other underhanded tactics to target any particular person.
The next few days were calm and peaceful.
Su Fan's injuries were completely healed, and his cultivation level naturally broke through to the fifth rank.
At the moment of breakthrough, Su Fan felt that his control over the divine power of the contract within his body had become even more profound.
In particular, Zhulong's divine power, although still vast and immeasurable, is at least not as strenuous as before, where even a trace of it felt difficult to draw upon.
That afternoon, Su Fan was going through some newly compiled materials sent by the archives when Old Mo suddenly came to see him in person.
"Xiao Fan, there's a place I'd like you to visit."
"Where?"
"Above the nine heavens, at the Southern Heavenly Gate!"
Old Mo's voice wasn't loud, but it sent a jolt through Su Fan's heart.
Nantianmen?
Isn't that the necessary gate to enter the Heavenly Court in the myths and legends of Blue Star China in Su Fan's previous life?
However, the Southern Heavenly Gate of this era has long since disappeared since the fall of the ancient Heavenly Court and the collapse of the divine path.
Su Fan asked curiously, "Elder Mo, how did you know about the South Heavenly Gate?"
After hearing this, Master Mo replied, "It is recorded in the Divine Treasure Mirror unearthed at a certain divine site, and I have always doubted that it exists."
As he spoke, Old Mo paused for a moment, walked to the window, and looked at the western horizon.
"But a week ago, China's divine artifact, the Sky-Surveying Mirror, captured an image in the western Kunlun Mountains... no, at the edge of the stratosphere above the western sea of clouds."
"The appearance of the image matches the description of the South Heavenly Gate in the divine manual in the archives by about 70%."
"The image only appeared for three seconds before disappearing, and it could not be tracked down afterward."
"But based on the trajectory at the time, its last disappearance was over that thunderstorm area known as the death cloud vortex."
Su Fan knew that place.
That's a no-go zone for aircraft worldwide, perpetually shrouded in raging lightning and chaotic gales; any modern instruments that venture deep inside will malfunction.
Some skeptical expeditions and research aircraft went in, but never came out again.
Even seventh-level Divine Masters dare not enter easily.
"You want me to go there?" Su Fan asked.
"Not now." Old Mo turned around.
"That area is too dangerous, and after the signal disappeared, we tried everything but couldn't locate you again. There's another reason we're sending you there."
Old Mo walked up to Su Fan and took something out of his pocket.
It was a palm-sized fragment that was neither gold nor jade, irregularly shaped and very rough, as if it had been broken off from a larger object.
The fragment itself is a dull grayish-white, but its surface is covered with an almost invisible iridescent halo.
If you look closely, you can see extremely tiny golden runes appearing and disappearing within the halo.
"This was found on a suicide soldier the night the archives were attacked. It was hidden in his undergarments, in a mithril box that could block out the smell."
"During interrogation, he refused to speak even under the threat of death, but we used some kind of artifact to trace the scent of the last item he came into contact with, and the source pointed to the west."
Su Fan took the fragment.
It feels cool to the touch and is not heavy.
But when his fingers touched those faint lights, several silent deities in his sea of consciousness simultaneously sent extremely faint signals!
The divine figures of Nezha, Yang Jian, and Sun Wukong, in particular, were most noticeably shaken.
Su Fan raised his head, his tone certain.
"There is the aura of the Heavenly Court here. Although it is very faint, it is not wrong. The divine images of the several Chinese deities I have contracted with have all reacted."
Old Mo's eyes revealed an expression of "I knew it."
"Therefore, we speculate that the real objective of the attack on the archives that night may have been more than just destruction."
"They might be trying to find clues or a way to locate the fragment in the archives."
"And what they are willing to expose their assassins for must be of paramount importance."
"The South Heavenly Gate is very likely located behind that deadly thunderstorm zone. This fragment might be the key and the token."
Su Fan gripped the fragment tightly.
"When do I leave?"
Old Mo pressed down on his shoulder.
"Don't rush, you need to prepare. The dangers in that area far exceed what ordinary people imagine; not only are there natural forces at play, but there might also be..."
"Other things!"