The Awakening of the War God

The Yellow River roared onward, its golden waters surging into the sea. After the Ancestral Dragon's soul plunged into the ocean, the river itself seemed unchanged. Xiao Chen followed its course, passing his own home without stopping, pressing westward.

Changyang Mountain, in the west of the Nine Provinces, had been renamed Qiuchi Mountain over the ages. Legend held it to be the birthplace of the Flame Emperor in antiquity, separated from the Yellow Emperor's birthplace by only a single ridge. The land was steeped in significance, tied to many great figures.

The ancient mountain range, though not tall, exuded a desolate, timeless grandeur—as if the very source of the divine land lay hidden here. The peaks rose only a thousand or two thousand meters, yet they radiated an overwhelming majesty that demanded reverence.

The moment Xiao Chen arrived, he felt an atmosphere utterly unlike the rest of the Nine Provinces.

A magnificent primordial mountain crouched there like a sleeping ram, its head facing east, its tail pointing west. For reasons he could not explain, the instant he laid eyes on it, Xiao Chen felt it was somehow alive—an ancient beast sealed in stone.

“You've come.”

Before the colossal mountain, Chiyou stood with his hands behind his back, gazing at Changyang with a furrowed brow. Now restored to his peak, Chiyou gave off the weighty presence of a mountain or an ocean.

“No progress?” Xiao Chen asked.

Chiyou shook his head. “The sealing power is ten times stronger than in that ancient year. I cannot move it.”

Xiao Chen was astonished. As ages passed, seals should weaken, not strengthen. How could the opposite be true here?

“Who sealed this place?”

“The Yellow Emperor, Xuanyuan,” Chiyou answered calmly.

“Him…” Xiao Chen was startled. “Was the Yellow Emperor's power so formidable? A seal from antiquity should be breakable now.”

It was hard to believe. The Yellow Emperor had neared the Ancestral God realm in ancient times, but Chiyou was above the Half-Ancestor level. The gap should not be so vast that Chiyou could do nothing against his seal.

Then Xiao Chen guessed who must be imprisoned here, and his shock deepened. That figure was renowned throughout the Nine Provinces, a name known in every household.

“It is no longer the Yellow Emperor's sealing power. Another mysterious force has replaced it,” Chiyou said, still gazing up at Changyang with a contemplative look.

“How could that be? Did someone later add a heavier seal?” Xiao Chen was puzzled but could offer no help; his knowledge of antiquity was limited.

Keke yawned lazily, then gestured with a babbling sound, muttering that it was a big wild sheep.

“A big wild sheep… that rings a bell.” Chiyou, who had been pacing at the foot of the mountain, suddenly stopped. He had undergone many transformations, swapping body after body, and would not have recalled even a fragment of his past without the Yellow Emperor's awakening. “I think I need to find some ancient half-ancestor relic to ask about the origins of this mountain.” With that, he tore open space and vanished in an instant.

Xiao Chen circled Changyang Mountain. It was indeed extraordinary; a mysterious, fearsome power rippled gently within it, impossible to budge.

Chiyou returned after only one day, his face grave. “Legend says this mountain was formed from the body of a great power from the Age of Ignorance.”

“This…” Xiao Chen looked at Changyang again, and more than ever it resembled a giant ram in repose.

“It is said to be the Earth Ram, one of the twelve champions of that age: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Serpent, Horse, Ram, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Boar. They shook the world for endless years. In raw power, they could rival Ancestral Gods.”

Xiao Chen was genuinely shaken. The Twelve Earthly Branches and the Heavenly Stems had such an origin? He could hardly believe it.

Even knowing its origin, Chiyou could do nothing. He struck Changyang with all his might but could not shatter it. His iron halberd's edge curled, yet he could not split the mountain.

Xiao Chen produced the War Sword, but it was useless; even Chiyou could not unleash its terrible power. In his hands, it was merely a lump of hard iron.

Xiao Chen did not leave. He began a secluded meditation near Changyang, hoping to see the seal broken and meet the legendary figure inside.

“Uncle Chiyou, we're here!”

“Don't be mad at us, Uncle Chiyou. We forgot to give you something—Father told us to bring it.”

Half a month later, two cheerful little girls appeared at Changyang Mountain like a pair of sprites. They laughed and chattered, clearly enjoying themselves.

Facing these two exquisite porcelain dolls, even Chiyou was helpless. “What have you brought me?”

“The Xuanyuan Sword!” The two girls tore open space and retrieved a golden sword blazing with light. “Father said there's a sword hole in Changyang Mountain. This sword can break it open.”

Xiao Chen opened his eyes, rising from meditation. He flew over. Keke, seeing the two little girls, got a headache and fled in a streak of white light.

“Don't run!” The girls did not pester Xiao Chen this time but chased after the little beast.

Chiyou caressed the Xuanyuan Sword and sighed. “Having survived the death ordeal on Dragon Island, he fell from a peak near Ancestral God to a lower level. Now he has returned to that realm again—he may be close to breaking into Ancestral God.”

A half-ancestor's lifebound treasure would advance with its master's cultivation. Chiyou could feel the Sword's terrifying power.

Together, they searched and indeed found a sword hole halfway up Changyang Mountain. Chiyou drove the Xuanyuan Sword into it with all his might.

A beam of golden divine light shot straight into the heavens. Then, to their astonishment, blood-colored light sprayed from the hole—like flowing blood, though it was only luminous mist.

“It… awoke?” Chiyou was shocked. He murmured, “I understand now. The Yellow Emperor's sealing power awakened its life force, gradually stirring it back to consciousness. Absorbing the Xuanyuan force, it slowly grew and revived.”

BOOM!

Heaven and earth shattered. All the mountains around them began to tremble. Colossal boulders hurtled into the sky like an endless meteor shower.

That was only the beginning. Changyang underwent a great upheaval; the surrounding land seemed caught in a deluge. The nearest peaks were pulverized instantly, like sandcastles washed away by a tidal wave.

In the rumbling thunder, mountain after mountain was torn from the earth, ripped apart by a tremendous force and hurled into the sky.

It was like a volcanic eruption, like the apocalypse itself. Everything around Changyang was destroyed. The vast primordial mountain range collapsed—every peak shattered. Except for Changyang itself, the entire area within five hundred li was transformed into a golden desert.

Blood light shot skyward as Changyang split slowly from the sword hole. Black lightning lashed down in waves; thunderclap after thunderclap followed. The mountain cleaved in two.

“Even a dead body not of an Ancestral God can have such power…” Chiyou marveled.

Changyang Mountain was rent open, blood-colored light billowing forth like true crimson mist.

“Xingtian, why do you not awaken?! Now!” Chiyou roared.

From deep within Changyang, a mighty surge of power erupted, shaking the entire earth. Boundless energy rushed into the heavens; even the stars in the void trembled.

In that moment, the whole Nine Provinces seemed to quake. Every cultivator felt it. Many elders knew that an unimaginable powerhouse had awakened.

BOOM!

Changyang Mountain convulsed. Multicolored divine light shot into the sky, connecting with the countless stellar rays above. A head soared upward, bathed in the starlight of the vast universe.

Several beams of starlight descended, falling upon Xingtian's severed head.

It was a face of ruthless courage—eyes closed, yet radiating an heroic aura that dominated heaven and earth. This was a figure who commanded the world, unique and supreme.

Xingtian danced with shield and battle-axe, his fierce will ever steadfast.

This was the War God of the Nine Provinces! A peerless hero who, in antiquity, neither revered heaven nor bowed to earth, who could contend with the Yellow Emperor—himself nearing the Ancestral God realm.

From the billions of stars, endless radiance condensed, reforming his flesh. A towering figure gradually materialized. His tightly shut eyes slowly opened, releasing a gaze that dimmed the moon and stars.

Xingtian stood proud and imposing, preserved in the prime of youth. Yet his eyes held profound depth, gleaming with wisdom.

There was not a trace of the madness of one sealed for ages. He was calm. Turning his mighty frame, he faced Chiyou and nodded. “At last we meet again.”

Xiao Chen watched in silence, filled with respect. Xingtian was the War God of this land. A man like him would surely break into the Ancestral God realm before long.

Xingtian’s hair streamed wild. He threw back his head and gave a long cry that rolled across a thousand li. Then he frowned. “The spiritual energy of this land has dried up.”

“Endless ages have brought many changes…” Chiyou sighed.

“I sense more than a dozen powerful divine wills spying on me.” Xingtian swept his gaze across the horizon, a cold smile on his face.

“They come from the World of Immortality and the Cultivation World. Right now, they are encouraging their disciples to seize the sacred mountains of the human world,” Chiyou explained.

To Xiao Chen, Chiyou had always seemed fiercely dominant—a man among men. But compared to Xingtian, Chiyou was overshadowed. Xingtian was even more overbearing, looking down on the world, as one who defied heaven itself.

Xingtian's tone was calm, but his voice carried immense force. “What do they take the human world for? Tell them to go back where they came from!”

Chiyou shook his head. “Half of them attained enlightenment right here in the mortal realm.”

“Their roots are in the mortal world, and if their hearts remain here, they may stay. But if their hearts are in other realms and they come to plunder this land, I will personally send them back.” Xingtian's words rang like hammered iron.

Chiyou's hair streamed wildly. “Good! Let us gather our old comrades and fight for this world once more!”

A cold snort came from the distant horizon. Xingtian and Chiyou both looked east.

Xingtian's body, formed of starlight, shook once. The billion starbeams shattered and vanished. He strode over to Xiao Chen and looked at him. “I cultivate battle strength. In your body, I feel the same power.”

Then he stepped into the void, striding eastward. His voice rolled across a thousand li: “Today, I, Xingtian, will slay a half-ancestor to establish the might of the mortal realm!”