Chapter 748 - Heavenly Edict
“Sisters! What should we do?” immediately asked River Goddess Trident, the youngest among them.
“We received a stranger’s help when making a breakthrough that time and promised to do him a favor! We each swore upon our own Deity Position, and it was witnessed by the heavens and the earth. We mustn’t break the promise!”
“This person doesn’t seem like the one who helped us!”
River Goddess White Water said bitterly, “But the oath we took only applies to the one who can mention it, and it was stipulated as part of the promise. This feels strange, but it may be an ingenious scheme!”
“It seems that this scheme was impressively far-reaching! In this situation, our Deity Positions will be irreversibly destroyed straightaway if we break the promise!”
River Goddess Flowing Sand bowed, the hope in her eyes dying out. “The Three River Goddesses are willing to acknowledge you as the alliance leader!”
“It’s you?!” On the other hand, after that short conversation, River Earl Jing looked furious, but he bowed anyway. “I will keep my promise and help you once!”
“What about you, Mountain God Huo?”
Fang Yuan stood with his hands behind his back, staring at Mountain God Huo with an inscrutable smile.
Who would’ve thought… that River Earl Surging Waves fooled so many Gods and concealed himself in such a flawless manner…
Mountain God Huo shivered at the thought of the stranger that had offered him help.
All this only implies one thing, that somebody must have been scheming for the Three Mountains and Five Rivers. Even this River Earl might be a mere pawn used by an unfathomably potent God!
Sigh… Since I killed that Heaven Immortal, I absolutely won’t be spared if I refuse to kneel today!
Without further hesitation, he knelt. “I will comply with the order of Alliance Leader!”
“What?” Mountain God Peace and Mountain God Cloud Top were both stunned by this series of unforeseen events.
How could all these arrogant Gods with their own networks regard this foreign God as the alliance leader? It felt as if an illusion had befallen them.
But they sensed the absolute danger upon recollecting themselves.
“Could the six Gods have conspired against us?”
“This is a huge trap! We shouldn’t have come here today.”
The two Mountain Gods felt awfully regretful.
However, it was incredible that they were not clever enough to detect the conspiracy!
“Five Gods among the Three Mountains and Five Rivers have chosen me as the alliance leader!” Fang Yuan looked at the two Gods calmly with that unchanging, gentle smile. “What’s your opinion?”
“Our opinion is surely…”
The two Mountain Gods exchanged glances, and their magical strength suddenly exploded.
Not only that, but like two dragons darting out of the sea, two sharp swords flew swiftly from their hands toward Fang Yuan.
The Sword Qi was fierce enough to annihilate a God within a single strike!
This was the Sword Qi of Heaven Immortals!
Beyond all doubt, these two Gods were both associated with the Spiritual Flying Sword Sect, even possessing the most powerful technique of their Heaven Immortals.
The sudden move just now was palpably meant to kill Fang Yuan once and for all!
Poof!
The Sword Qi concentrated before penetrating Fang Yuan’s body and leaving behind two tiny holes.
“Excellent swordsmanship… This is the true swordsmanship of Heaven Immortals. Returning to the basics and appearing mediocre only to explode close to the target…”
Fang Yuan’s figure became transparent, but his voice was still full of energy.
“An incarnation? An illusion?”
Realizing that Fang Yuan had fooled them, the two Mountain Gods had an unpleasant look.
The real Fang Yuan casually walked out from the other side and said in a chilling voice, “It’s no wonder you two could be so bold in my God Palace… So you were depending on the Immortal Dao for protection!”
He had merely used an incarnation to elicit the most potent techniques of these two Mountain Gods.
“Traitors! Kneel!”
At this moment, Fang Yuan stretched out his palm indifferently.
Splash!
The deafening noise of torrents immediately flowed from his body.
The inexplicable power struck heavily on both Mountain Gods, forcing them to kneel.
“River Earl Surging Waves… How dare you?”
“You betrayed the Divine Dao and turned to the Immortal Dao. No one in this realm can save you!”
…
Having lost their trump card, the two Mountain Gods were immediately surrounded by a stream of water and forced to kneel.
Despite their posture, they kept on cursing.
Upon hearing that, both River Earl Jing and Mountain God Huo looked slightly uneasy.
It was true. Even the Heavenly Court would not tolerate such an act.
Although the Heavenly Court belongs to the Divine Dao, it isn’t actually heaven’s will! Fang Yuan dismissed it with a cold sneer, and then said seriously, “Since you have all greeted me as the alliance leader, I’ll take over and merge your authority.”
Meanwhile, a small golden token with glistening ancient characters appeared in his hand.
“This is… from ancient times. Why is it carrying an aura of the Heavenly Dao?”
The Gods were all astonished and overwhelmed.
“This is a token of the Heavenly Dao. With this token, we’ll take an oath to collaborate as an alliance!”
Fang Yuan glanced over the Gods, but not one dared to stare back at him.
At this moment, the eldest sister of the Three River Goddesses gritted her teeth and surrendered first.
“The Goddesses of the Flowing Sand River, the White Water River, and the Trident River are willing to be your subordinates, Alliance Leader, and will be punished for any disloyalty!”
Three streams of divine light suddenly emerged from their bodies and fused into the token in Fang Yuan’s hand.
“I’m willing to regard you as my master!” Seeing no other choice, River Earl Jing surrendered as well. The golden talisman of a Deity Position emerged from the top of his head and fused into the token.
“Greetings to Master from Mountain God Huo!”
Mountain God Huo thought of his Heaven Ritual Altar at the sight of the golden token, but did not dare utter a word about it as he kowtowed. His half-gold, half-jade divine seal appeared, and a stream of light flowed into the token.
Rumble!
With so much authority, the golden token was transiently submerged in five-colored light before transforming into an green token with a translucent image of the Three Mountains and Five Rivers on it.
“Is this… the Deity Position?”
All the Gods stared wide-eyed. “It’s the Deity Position ruling the Three Mountains and Five Rivers… How could this be?”
Such a Deity Position could not be readily formed, not even with the merger of the Deity Positions surrendered by the eight Gods.
Fang Yuan was only able to do so with the power of the Heaven Ritual Altar fragment.
What is a Deity Position? In essence, it’s nothing more than the manifestation of authority. The Heavenly Court can delegate it, so can the Immortal Dao. What matters is how much control it has… A true Deity Position is concentrated from the power of the heavens and the earth. In this respect, the Heavenly Court is inferior to heaven’s will.
Even the true Son of Heaven had to pray toward heaven before enthronement, much less Gods.
Right now, Fang Yuan was utilizing the power from the ancient Heaven Ritual Altar fragment and fusing it with the authority of the Three Mountains and Five Rivers to create a new Deity Position.
“God of the Mountains and Rivers?”
“This Deity Position… rules the Three Mountains and Five Rivers. It’s equivalent to a Heaven Immortal!”
“No… It only rules one mountain and five rivers. As long as we refuse to give in, this Deity Position can never be complete!”
Mountain God Peace and Mountain God Cloud Top shouted aloud in an attempt to encourage each other.
However, they saw the pity in each others’ eyes.
“I’m in charge of the Three Mountains and Five Rivers, and there is sufficient evidence that the both of you betrayed the Divine Dao and turned to the Immortal Dao. Thus, as the master of mountains and rivers, I will deprive you of your Deity Positions!”
Fang Yuan reached out his hand, grabbed the translucent green token, and waved it at the two Mountain Gods.
Rumble!
All of a sudden, the two Gods started wailing in agony. A stream of golden light gradually emerged from their transparent figures.
“You’re so ruthless… How dare you extract our Deity Positions?” The two Mountain Gods were furious. “The Heavenly Court won’t spare you!”
But Fang Yuan’s resolution was as firm as iron, impossible to be shaken by their words.
Furthermore, even a Heaven Immortal of the Spiritual Flying Sword Sect was bold enough to kill Gods for Deity Positions. There was no reason that Fang Yuan would not have the guts to do the same thing.
Therefore, he proceeded without any anxiety.
As time went by, the two Mountain Gods became desperate. “Please have mercy… We’re willing to regard you as our master. Please don’t take away our Deity Positions…”
“It took so many years of hard work for us to acquire our positions today! I’m not willing to lose it! I hate you!!!”
The air of grievances concentrated and became tangible, transforming into a ferocious beast.
“It’s already too late to repent!”
Fang Yuan certainly would not let them off. With a swing of his hand, crimson flames engulfed the two Gods.
All their grievances were immediately dispersed by the flames, turning into golden lotuses.
“Refining golden lotuses with flames… This is indeed a superior technique used by a Marquis!”
Mountain God Huo felt uneasy at the sight of that technique. When did this River Earl advance to the level of a superior god of the Heavenly Court?
This technique was the reason why the Gods of the Heavenly Court could be worshiped by people all around the realm without any backlash!
Whoosh!
Both Mountain Gods were burned down to ashes, leaving behind only the golden Heavenly Edicts delegating their Deity Positions.
“Green Mountain, Black Water!”
Fang Yuan pondered for a moment and then summoned the giant green bull and black tiger demons. “You two have been working rather hard recently. Taking your foundations into account, I’ll now delegate you each the position of the Mountain God Peace and Mountain God Cloud Top.”
As he swung his hand, two streams of divine light fell into these two demons.
“Ah… Thank you so much, Master! We will lay down our lives for you!”
Both of them were exhilarated.
They had fought so desperately for the River Earl Deity Position, but were instead subdued by the River Earl and became his slaves.
Who would have expected that they could become so fortunate all of a sudden!
Black Water, as a black tiger demon, was especially excited. Tigers had the reputation of being the kings of mountains, so the position of a Mountain God suited her even better.
Even though the two demons had become Gods, they still took the wise action of taking an oath to display their loyalty.
With the last two streams of divine light, the green token glowed in five-colored light, and the image of the Three Mountains and Five Rivers flashed in turn. Finally, it transformed into a complete Heavenly Edict!