Swallowing the Heavens

Although it was still early in the morning, Capital Wu was bustling in the twilight. Looking from afar, within that tall, profound and aged wall, there was smoke rising out of the chimneys. All kinds of chaotic noisy sounds mixed and spread to the surrounding areas, waking up the animals in the forests.

Looking into the interior part, through the clouds and fog, you could faintly see golden buildings shining in the twilight. That was the palace of East Yue Wu, a forbidden place for ordinary citizens as well as a place where Wu Yu grew up.

“Capital Wu…”

At dawn, wearing the ‘Demon Monkey Mask’ and carrying his heavy Demon Emperor Staff, Wu Yu arrived in the forest outside the capital. He stood on the branch of a giant tree, looking at the capital from afar.

“The city looks thriving, but hiding in the dark there are some demons creating chaos.”

Wu Yu clearly remembered how he was forced to swallow the Soul Severing Powder, banished from the capital and chased by a demon snake.

“Sister Wu You.”

Thinking of that cold carriage in the winter night, and that person who chased the carriage. It had been a long time since they had seen each other.

There was a reason that he didn’t ride the Heaven Cloud Roc in to the capital. Before the all-out fight, he had to slip inside and find Wu You first.

“Hao Tian Shangxian has already condensed his qi for some time now, so he is more difficult to deal with than Situ Minglang. I must approach him as the Celestial Kingdom Supervisor and get a rough understanding of his strength before I can start my revenge.”

To kill your enemies, you need to apply your brain. It would be folly to rush in blindly while shouting curses.

“Let’s go.”

He put his Heaven Cloud Roc in the forest and speeded into the capital. In a mortals’ eyes, he was just a flicker of light, disappearing in a flash. Without detection, he had entered  the capital, walking in the bustling streets.

Whoosh!

The capital was very big, but to Wu Yu now, it seemed small.

“Wu You Palace.”

Looking up, the most prominent palace in the eastern part of the Royal Palace was the Wu You Palace, granted by the former emperor to Princess Wu You. Standing there, Wu Yu was a bit nervous. He knew Wu You’s personality, and Consort Xi wouldn’t tolerate her. Who knew what had happened during the time when Wu Yu was gone.
[TN: Previous translations use transliteration—Xi Fei. But Fei(妃) is a t.i.tle of ruling monarch’s wives (not empress or queen), so we used Consort here]

“Sister, please be safe…” Wu Yu was a grown man and not afraid of anything, even death. But when he stood in front of Wu You Palace, his heart was shivering.

He slipped into the palace secretly. Inside the palace, guards were normal and maids were working as usual. Wu Yu felt a bit relieved. He pa.s.sed her chamber, but he didn’t see her yet.

“Should be there.”

Since childhood, Wu You’s only hobby was reading. Although she was young, she was already one of the top knowledgeable people in East Yue Wu. Unlike her, Wu Yu liked Martial Arts. He didn’t like to read those poetry and literary books at all.

Study room.

Wu Yu stood behind the yard. Through the paper window, he saw a girl’s’ outline beside the desk, wearing a court dress. She was writing with a brush held in her snow-white hand. Wu Yu’s powerful eye looked through the paper window, and finally saw her clearly. She was Princess Wu You.

A gentle and beautiful girl.

She focused on the white paper on the desk, regardless of her long hair slipping from behind her ears. There seemed be some tears in her pretty eyes and her face was a bit gaunt.

A maid stood beside her, grinding the ink while wiping tears.

This scene was peaceful and somewhat desolate…

Anyways, she was still alive and healthy. This was the best news for Wu Yu. His tense mind finally relaxed.

Seeing her, that sister who accompanied and took care of him since childhood, Wu Yu’s eyes turned red too. In that winter night, she was running and chasing the carriage. Wu Yu would never ever forget that thin and weak figure.

After a while, the white paper was filled. The characters were dense, but there were actually only two characters there, ‘Wu Yu’.

Perhaps, she was writing his name to express how she missed her departed brother.

When the news, that Wu Yu was devoured by the snake demon during his escort to the border, reached back to the capital, Wu You became ill and still had not recovered even till now.

At this moment, Wu Yu really wanted to go to her and let her know that he was back, safe and sound.

“I can’t. I don’t know Hao Tian Shangxian’s strength yet. He is still more powerful than me, I have to wait patiently for some time. If Wu You knew about me, I’ll be exposed.

Wu Yu was still rational.

“Sister, I will repay you later.”

Staying here only made him sympathize her more, but what he wanted now was revenge! Therefore, after confirming Wu You was safe, he left resolutely. This time, he wanted to show up in the capital above board and confront Hao Tian Shangxian face to face!

Supervising Celestial Kingdoms was between the Sword to Heaven Sect and Zhongyuan Daoist Sect. According to the rules of the two sects. As long as Wu Yu didn’t expose his ident.i.ty, Hao Tian Shangxian wouldn’t dare to do anything against him.

After leaving Wu You Palace, Wu Yu prepared to go out of the city first and then return riding on

his Heaven Cloud Roc. He had to arrive in the capital while flying in the sky, so he could show himself as a Celestial in front of the citizens.

When running through the city, he faintly heard people talking about a name–Yuan Chen.

After Wu Yu was deposed, Consort Xi’s oldest son, Yuan Hao, became the Emperor of East Yue Wu. In Wu Yu’s eyes, that Yuan Hao was a complete piece of trash.

While the name of Yuan Chen…Wu Yu had a bit impression of. Consort Xi had given birth to twin brothers. Yuan Chen was the other one.

But Wu Yu had never seen him before. People said he was missing. Anyways, his existence was confidential in the royal family.

He stopped and listened.

“Empress Dowager Xi gave birth to twins. Prince Yuan Chen was one of them. But us plain citizens didn’t know it! No one would have expected that Princess Yuan Chen was sent to the celestial palace by Hao Tian Shangxian to become a celestial!”

“This time, Prince Yuan Chen came back to see the mortal world!”

“It’s unbelievable that our East Yue Wu has another celestial! Thanks G.o.d! Now our kingdom will become stronger from generation to generation. Those neighboring royals will be scared to death!”

Now Wu Yu understood what had happened. After Yuan Chen was born, because he had some foundations, he was sent to the Zhongyuan Daoist Sect directly by Hao Tian Shangxian.

“Senior Brother Mo said, Hao Tian Shangxian has actually forcibly occupied East Yue Wu for a long time. Even though two sects both agreed to change supervisors every ten years, but East Yue Wu didn’t send anyone here in the past years.”

Because disciples of the Sword to Heaven Sect thought East Yue Wu was too poor and had no benefits for them, so they didn’t bother to care. This time, someone did want to take  over the supervisor role.

“The day I returned back to the capital of East Yue Wu was exactly the same day Yuan Chen returned from the Zhongyuan Daoist Sect. I am wondering how powerful he is after over ten years of cultivation in the Zhongyuan Daoist Sect.

It seemed that there was one more enemy beside Hao Tian Shangxian now…

“I thought Prince Yu was the most capable prince in this world. It turns out that Prince Yu to Prince Yuan Chen is like s.h.i.t to sun! That Prince Yu even raped his stepmother! He deserved to die! It was the heavenly G.o.d who sent a snake demon to devour him!”

Wu Yu also heard these comments.

“Even though that snake demon didn’t devour me, I guess she was afraid Hao Tian would punish her, so she claimed that she had devoured me. Plus, the escaping soldiers didn’t see Master save me…”

It was actually good news, easier for him to disguise himself, so they wouldn’t suspect him. Poor Wu You! She had to endure the miserable news that Wu Yu was dead. No wonder she looked so sad.

“Hao Tian, Consort Xi…” Wu Yu burst into anger.

At this time, people in the capital all cheered. It was so bustling. Wu Yu looked up. In the northern sky, a dark spot enlarged quickly and showed up above the capital instantly.

A national celebration for Prince Yuan Chen’s return.

In the sky, constant horse roars shook the world. To mortals’ shock, two tall and beautiful horses flew in the sky. They were as white as snow. The most amazing part was that they even had wings! Their wings were the same as  the Celestial Cranes’. It was because of their wings that they could fly in the sky!

“This is the Crane Horse cultivated by the Zhong Yuan Daoist Sect.” Wu Yu had read the Atlas of the Dongsheng Divine Continent before, so he knew it. Its flying and bearing capability was similar to his Heaven Cloud Roc.

Two Crane Horses dragged a splendid and magnificent chariot, flying in the sky. The person inside the chariot must be Prince Yuan Chen. It was not a big thing for Wu Yu. But for mortals, it was like a Celestial descending to the mortal world!

A celestial chariot and unbelievable winged horses…

“Shangxian!”

In a moment, hundreds of thousands of people ran out from their houses. When they saw the flying winged horses, they shouted out from excitement. They kneeled on the ground, threw themselves down towards his feet with sincere admiration!

In Wu Yu’s view, there were so many people kneeling on the street, shivering excitedly. They had an expression of reverence, which was their deepest veneration to Celestials. Once upon a time, they had begun to worship Hao Tian Shangxian. It was because of the mortals’ veneration to celestials that Wu Yu was expelled easily from East Yue Wu.

“Ignorance is actually so scary.”

Wu Yu was happy that he finally was rid of the mortal world.

“Yuan Chen!”

In a flash, that Crane Horse’s chariot landed on the Royal Palace. Mortals were not qualified to see Prince Yuan Chen’s real face. But having an opportunity to see the Crane Horses was enough for them to boast of.

“He returned at the same day. But, with much more splendor.”

Wu Yu distinguished kindness and hatred clearly. Yuan Chen was not his enemy, so he didn’t want to put his anger on him.

“Unless, he goes against me and is on Hao Tian Shangxian’s side…”

Actually, this was an a.s.sured thing. Wu Yu couldn’t change it. He only knew that he would kill everyone who blocked his road.

“Yuan Chen, stop putting on airs. It’s my turn now.” Wu Yu adjusted his Demon Monkey Mask, and went out of the city. He then stepped on his Heaven Cloud Roc and rushed into the sky!

The Heaven Cloud Roc was a spiritual beast with a Celestial Beast’s bloodline. Its wing was over 15 meters long. It was much bigger than the Crane Horse and also much more domineering.

Boom!

The Heaven Cloud Roc pierced the clouds and stopped above the capital city.

“Zhong Yuan Daoist Sect’s disciple, Hao Tian! I am from the Sword to Heaven Sect and have been granted the Celestial Kingdom Supervisor position here. Come out and meet me immediately!”