Everlasting Immortal Firmament

Book 08: Han Heavenly Dynasty

“Chiyou? Ji Dihong dismembered First Brother?” Gu Hai’s face turned cold.

Gu Hai could not believe it. He had been gone for less than a year, and Chiyou had previously made it all the way to Xuanyuan City. It seemed impossible for Chiyou to have been killed in the Nine Li Imperial Dynasty.

“It’s true, Your Reverence. Prime Shangguan, Prime Ao Sheng, and the second crown prince were gravely wounded. Furthermore, Ji Dihong’s people have surrounded our Borderless Heavenly Capital!” a palace maid said hurriedly.

Creak! Gu Hai immediately pushed open the doors of the study and looked out.

Outside, a green mist shrouded the area beyond Borderless Heavenly Capital.

The citizens were frightened, staring at the roiling green mist.

Beyond the fog, black insects seemed to flutter, surrounding Borderless Heavenly Capital. However, they did not dare to intrude, chary of the deadly fog.

“Where is Gu Hai? Does he not dare to come out? Or is he not in Borderless Heavenly Capital?”

“Little kid Gu Hai, the Han Nation is finished. Surrender!”

“No one can save you. The Huang Heavenly Dynasty is flourishing. Stubborn resistance is pointless!”

Loud taunts came from outside the green fog.

“How presumptuous! How dare they come to Borderless Heavenly Capital and spew such audacious words?” Kong Xuan’s eyes bulged, and he made to rush out.

Gu Hai held Kong Xuan back with a wave of his hand.

“That’s a poison fog outside, set up by Xianer. Those people can’t get in. They can only shout and cause a ruckus.” Gu Hai shook his head.

Long Wanyu was astounded. “What a powerful poison fog! It must be one of the deadliest in the poison Great Dao!”

“Is this poison really that powerful?” Long Wanqing asked.

“Yes,” Long Wanyu confirmed. “Anyone unprotected by a Great Dao who touches this poison fog will die instantly. No one can break through. If they try—”

Boom!

Before Long Wanyu could finish her speaking, a massive whip burst out from the poison fog, swinging toward the Soaring Palace Hall’s plaza.

“How is this possible?” Long Wanyu cried out in surprise.

Gu Hai’s expression darkened. He turned to look towards the Soaring Palace Hall.

His eyes widened at the sight that greeted him. There, Chen Xianer and Gu Qin were confronting the enemies with the rest of the officials. The long whip was charging directly at Chen Xianer.

“Watch out, Xianer!” Gu Hai shouted.

Kong Xuan, the Mosquito Daoist, and Long Shenying all tried to intercept the whip.

However, it was too fast, reaching Chen Xianer in an instant. The end of the whip was a black hook, tearing through the air as it lashed at her.

Chen Xianer did not move; instead, Vairocana rushed forward, striking the hook with a palm.

Boom!

A Gautama Divine Palm clashed with the black hook.

The hook recoiled, but Vairocana’s hand suddenly turned black.

“He’s been poisoned?” Gu Qin and the others cried in surprise.

Far away, Gu Hai’s face darkened at the sight.

Whoosh!

The giant hook swung back, apparently targeting someone else.

“Life Trapper Saber, change!” Gu Hai commanded, waving his hand.

The Go Dao ritual array of Borderless Heavenly Capital immediately moved frenetically. A fog arose, and space changed, preventing the hook from finding its next target.

“Ninth Cycle!” Gu Hai swung his Life Executioner Saber.

Boom!

With a thunderous report, the whip and its hook were repulsed, expelled from Borderless Heavenly Capital.

“The Ninth Cycle? Gu Hai?” A cold, furious voice came from outside the poison fog barrier.

“Husband!” Chen Xianer’s voice rang out from a distance, full of joy.

Vairocana, his hand now black and his body emanating a purple glow, sat cross-legged, working to expel the poison from his body.

Gu Hai stepped forward, instantly arriving at the Soaring Palace Hall’s plaza.

When Kong Xuan and the others appeared, the Han Nation officials rejoiced.

“Welcome back, Your Reverence!” the officials cheered.

During these troubled days, the constant harassment had left the officials and citizens at a loss. If not for Empress Chen and the first crown prince maintaining order, Borderless Heavenly Capital would have descended into chaos.

“Has His Reverence emerged from seclusion?” a voice cried out in surprise from within the city.

“This is great! His Reverence is back. Now, these villains are doomed!”

“Long live Your Reverence! May Your Reverence live for ten thousand years!”

The city’s citizens cheered.

Gu Hai made his way to Vairocana.

Chen Xianer waved her hand, and black liquid seeped out of the wound on Vairocana’s hand.

Sizzle! Sizzle! Sizzle! Sizzle! Sizzle! Sizzle! Sizzle! Sizzle! Sizzle! Sizzle!

The liquid dripped onto the ground, which corroded, emitting poisonous smoke.

Thankfully, Chen Xianer was skilled in the poison Dao; she quickly neutralized the deadly substance.

“Phew!” Vairocana breathed deeply.

“Thank you, Empress Chen, and thank you, Mister Gu,” Vairocana said gratefully.

“What was that just now? Even you couldn’t withstand it, Vairocana?” Kong Xuan asked, astounded.

Everyone had witnessed Vairocana’s strength before. Nevertheless, a single whip—a single poisoned hook—nearly took him down?

“Poisoned Whiplash,” Vairocana replied in a grave tone.

“Poisoned Whiplash? What’s that?” the Mosquito Daoist asked in surprise.

“A scorpion’s tail!” Chen Xianer clarified.

As they spoke, Chen Xianer glanced at the two sisters—Long Wanqing and Long Wanyu—who had followed Gu Hai.

“You must be Younger Sister Wanqing. I’ve heard so much about your beauty. I’ve waited a long time to meet you,” Chen Xianer said, beaming.

“Greetings, Elder Sister Chen,” Long Wanqing greeted, bowing slightly.

“Humph! What a farce!” Long Wanyu sneered, watching Chen Xianer coolly.

To Long Wanyu, Gu Hai was her brother-in-law—her elder sister’s husband. The sudden appearance of a woman vying for her elder sister’s husband naturally rubbed her the wrong way.

“This must be Younger Sister Wanyu, right?” Chen Xianer said with a smile.

“I’m not your younger sister! I only have one elder sister!” Long Wanyu replied icily.

“Wanyu, did you forget what I told you?” Long Wanqing said, her brows furrowing.

“Humph!” Long Wanyu turned her head away from Chen Xianer in obvious rejection.

“Wanyu, you promised!” Long Wanqing exclaimed anxiously.

However, Chen Xianer shook her head, signaling for Long Wanqing to stop. “It’s alright. Wanyu is young and wears her heart on her sleeve. I actually find it endearing. There’s no need to worry. Let me talk to Wanyu.”

“Hah… Wanyu has always been pampered. Please forgive her, Elder Sister Chen,” Long Wanqing sighed.

Evidently, even Long Wanqing was at a loss as to how to change Wanyu’s attitude.

However, Chen Xianer approached Long Wanyu.

“What do you want?” Long Wanyu frowned.

“I have something to tell you. But it’s for your ears only. If Younger Sister Wanyu still dislikes me after hearing it, you don’t need to address me as elder sister,” Chen Xianer said, a gentle smile on her face.

“Humph! Your words, not mine. My elder sister might have asked me to address you as elder sister, but I don’t like it one bit. Speak your piece and be done with it. And don’t come crying to me later!” Long Wanyu said, her face set in a serious expression.

Chen Xianer nodded, leaned over to Long Wanyu, and whispered something into her ear. The words were spoken so softly that no one else could hear.

The conversation was over as quickly as it began. Gu Hai watched anxiously as Chen Xianer finished speaking.

Worried that Long Wanyu, who tended to speak without thinking, might say something disrespectful, Long Wanqing was preparing to stop Long Wanyu from saying something rude.

To everyone’s surprise, Long Wanyu’s eyes widened in shock as she looked at Chen Xianer, momentarily speechless.

Chen Xianer simply smiled gently at Long Wanyu.

Long Wanyu glanced at Gu Hai, her face flushing a faint pink. Then she showed a somewhat incredulous expression before looking back at Chen Xianer.

“Is… Is what you said true?” she asked, her voice tinged with disbelief and embarrassment.

Chen Xianer nodded with a small smile.

Suddenly, the hardness in Long Wanyu’s eyes melted. She greeted Chen Xianer warmly and said with some shyness, “Elder Sister Chen, please forgive my earlier rudeness. I…I…”

“There’s no need for formality among family,” Chen Xianer replied, smiling.

“Elder Sister Chen, you truly are my wonderful elder sister. I can’t believe I didn’t meet you sooner!” Long Wanyu said, hugging Chen Xianer affectionately.

Gu Hai: “…”

Long Wanqing: “…”

Lady Houtu: “…”

All the officials: “…”

What exactly had Chen Xianer whispered to Long Wanyu? How did a single sentence transform Long Wanyu’s attitude? Long Wanyu was so hostile earlier, practically picking a fight. Why did she turn so nice so quickly? Even Long Wanqing was mystified.

Gu Hai was initially concerned but decided to dismiss it, pretending he had seen nothing. Turning away, he focused his attention on Vairocana.

The officials exchanged stunned glances, thinking, Empress Chen truly is remarkable!

“You said it was Poisoned Whiplash? It’s so powerful that even you couldn’t handle it?” Gu Hai asked, frowning.

Vairocana nodded. “Indeed, it was powerful. This is the second time I’ve fallen victim to Poisoned Whiplash.”

“The one outside is an expert in poisons,” Chen Xianer said. “He enveloped his scorpion tail with the power of the Great Dao to allow it to pierce my poison fog. Although his poison isn’t as potent as mine, his use of it is superb. I doubt anyone else besides me can withstand it.”

“The one outside is the Divine Scorpion Heavenly Demon, the Heavenly Demon Holy Land’s Number Four. His cultivation is supposedly almost at the consummation of the spiritual souls,” the Mosquito Daoist suddenly recalled.

“Divine Scorpion Heavenly Demon? Number Four?” Gu Hai’s face darkened.

“A scorpion spirit at the consummation of the Upper Heavenly Palace Realm? No wonder it’s so powerful,” Vairocana said grimly.

“By the way, Vairocana, you said this was the second time you encountered Poisoned Whiplash. How did you neutralize the poison the first time?” Chen Xianer asked, clearly intrigued. She was under the impression only she could neutralize the poison.

“Last time, it wasn’t a scorpion spirit at the consummation of the Upper Heavenly Palace Realm, just a female scorpion spirit. Actually, Mister Gu is aware of this matter,” Vairocana said with a wry smile.

Vairocana’s words were layered with meaning, and a flicker of understanding flashed across Gu Hai’s face.

He suddenly remembered he had read a book called Journey to the West on Earth a long time ago. The narrative described an encounter between Tang Sanzang and his three disciples and a scorpion spirit. Time and again, Sun Wukong was defeated by the poisonous stinger of the scorpion spirit.

After a series of investigations, they discovered that the scorpion spirit had once listened to Vairocana’s lectures on Spirit Mountain. There, even Vairocana himself had been stung by the scorpion spirit’s Poisoned Whiplash, causing unbearable pain. However, he had endured it. Although he summoned a guardian to capture the spirit, it managed to escape.

That event underscored the terrifying potency of the scorpion spirit’s venom—and that scorpion spirit had yet to reach the consummation of the Upper Heavenly Palace Realm. Now, the one they faced was. It was far more formidable than the one from Vairocana’s past.

“Small wonder that the Gautama Heavenly Demon could only secure the seventh rank, while this Divine Scorpion Heavenly Demon ranked fourth,” Gu Hai remarked with a dark expression.