NOVEL WEB Chapter 50: Mindforce
In Eminence Heaven Palace, Di Jun's expression sank. From the Throne of Heaven, he detected that the Karmic Luck and Merit of Heavenly Court were drastically plummeting for some reason. "Go check to see if anything significant is happening in the Great Desolation. And if any demons are causing chaos without orders, kill them!"
The only reason he could think of for the luck or merit of Heavenly Court to weaken was if a demon was causing chaos and destruction to the Great Desolation or harmed the vitality of the Demon Clan. The first person Di Jun thought of was Kunpeng, but he quickly dismissed the idea. Kunpeng was standing in line and showed no suspicious reaction.
A demon official sent to discover the reason quickly returned. He kneeled and said, "Reporting to Your Majesty, ten suns have appeared in the land below!"
Another demon also rushed in and kneeled. "Your Majesty, it's the princes. They are causing havoc in the land below and are rushing toward the Titan Tribe!"
"What?!" Di Jun said as he shot up, losing his composure. Not just him, all the demons present exclaimed in surprise. Di Jun quickly looked at Taiyi. "Eastern Emperor, go and fetch those bastards back!"
"Yes!" Taiyi said as he cupped his fist before turning into a streak of red light rushing out of Thirty-Three Heavens.
Di Jun wasn't done yet either. "Prepare two legions, descend into the land, and dispatch someone to Penglai Immortal Island. I want to see who dares to scheme against Our children!"
"Yes!" The demon officials accepted the Heavenly Emperor's orders and mobilized with the utmost efficiency.
From the crater where it had crashed into, the Chaos Bell dislodged itself and returned to Taiyi. High in the sky, Taiyi slowly flew in front of the last golden crow, Luya.
"Uncle," Luya cried out bitterly. "Eldest Brother and the others,"
Taiyi nodded. "I know. Don't worry, the Titan Tribe will pay for their transgressions. Now step back."
Luya obediently flew a distance away but still close enough to rush to Taiyi if anyone attacked him. With Luya safe, Taiyi turned his attention back to Houyi. He didn't waste any useless words and directly rushed toward Houyi. Fire shrouded his body like armor.
Despite his physical prowess, Houyi was blown back by Taiyi's tackle. He gritted his teeth and punched back, but all he got was a scorched fist for his troubles. He knew when he was outmatched, and started to flee.
Taiyi intercepted Houyi’s attempted retreat, smashing the Chaos Bell into the giant. Its bronze hue burned a fiery red as it struck the giant and melted his skin. The air around Houyi evaporated, and even space burned from the devastating heat Taiyi had imbued into the Chaos Bell. Unlike his nephews, Taiyi perfectly controlled the range, preventing unnecessary damage to the Great Desolation.
Houyi's skin turned black from the char. He even spat out a mouthful of blood that soon evaporated from the heat. Just as the Chaos Bell smashed toward him a second time, a turbulent tornado smashed into the Chaos Bell and altered the trajectory.
Taiyi turned to see Tianwu flying towards him. "Damn bird, did you forget Hongjun's order?!"
Taiyi sneered. "Since he dared kill nine of my nephews, he must pay the price!"
"Those damn birds deserved to die!" Tianwu shouted. "Ravaging the land and even assaulting my Tianwu Tribe, if Houyi didn't kill them, I would!"
"Good, good!" Taiyi said. "Then you die too!"
He smashed the Chaos Bell toward Tianwu. Even if Tianwu had reached the Intermediate Quasi-Saint Realm, Taiyi had also grown stronger—as evident by how he infused the Solar Truefire into the Chaos Bell.
Tianwu grunted as the Chaos Bell crashed into him, burning him as it sent him flying several li. Taiyi sneered. "You needed five titans to fight me before. What can you do just by yourself?"
Deciding to ignore Tianwu for the moment, he rushed Houyi. Even without the Chaos Bell, he was more than enough to kill the giant. It would just take a bit longer, that's all. However, giants were not beings that accepted defeat so easily. Using the chance Tianwu bought for him, Houyi retreated a distance and notched another arrow. "Go!"
Houyi's words seemed to travel with the arrow as it soared towards the Eastern Emperor. Taiyi grunted and shifted his flight pattern, but the arrow actually curved as if it had a mind of its own!
Taiyi slapped the arrow just as it was about to reach him. Outside his expectations, the arrow pierced his palm, and from the point of injury, a mysterious energy seeped into his body. Neither his qi nor the Solar Truefire could slow it down, and it only disappeared when the energy reached his shoulder.
The Eastern Emperor's killing intent towards Houyi grew stronger. He didn't know what type of technique it was, but he could not let this threat grow anymore. Taiyi appeared in front of Houyi, and a burning sword appeared in his hand.
Houyi raised his bow and blocked the burning sword, but he was forced onto his knees under Taiyi's might. Furthermore, the sword was slowly incinerating his body, and it would only be a matter of time before the sword sliced through the bow and eviscerated him.
Taiyi increased his strength, his body burning with sparking flames. Just when it seemed that Houyi could no longer resist, his eyes lost all emotion. His aura suddenly surged, breaking through the limit of the Great Firmament Realm.
Upon discovering this, Taiyi pushed his body and qi to the limit, trying to kill Houyi before he fully entered the Quasi-Saint Realm. But to his shock, he discovered that Houyi was slowly pushing him back.
With a grunt, Taiyi retreated several steps back as Houyi repelled him. It seemed that his ascension to the Quasi-Saint Realm could no longer be stopped.
"Haha, our Titan Tribe has finally produced another Quasi-Saint master!" A voice from the distance shouted. Moments later, the Titan of Thunder appeared. "Taiyi, today is your death date!"
Taiyi snorted. "With just you three?"
"Not three, but seven!" Di Jiang said as he and several other titans, including Houtu, appeared. "Not even you can defeat all seven of us at the same time."
"He can't alone, but what about with Us?" Di Jun's voice boomed from above. Behind him were two legions of the Celestial Army.
"Haha, still no," Di Jiang said with a laugh. "It seems that the war between us will begin before the time limit is up."
"War? No, this is punishment for your blasphemous actions! We will have you accompany Our sons in their death!" Di Jun shouted. His eyes focused on Houyi, wanting to rip him to shreds at this instant.
Just as it seemed that the war between the Titan Tribe and Demon Clan would begin prematurely, a mighty coercion descended in the hundred thousand li.
Both Di Jiang and Di Jun snapped their heads toward the source with the same thought in their mind. 'Hongjun/Dao Ancestor?!'
It was not an old Daoist that appeared but a black-robed, middle-aged man, Jade Purity Yuanshi. Yuanshi glanced at both sides, his eyes pausing on Houyi for the briefest of moments. His stare froze Di Jiang and Di Jun from the sheer pressure despite him not taking any action yet.
"Have you forgotten the Dao Ancestor's orders? War shall not occur until the time limit!" Yuanshi said. "Return to Thirty-Three Heavens."
"Yuanshi!" Di Jun shouted. "They killed Our sons!"
Yuanshi just glanced at him. "Instead of worrying over your sons' death, you should worry about your decreased luck because of your sons. Return! I won't repeat myself!"
Di Jun gritted his teeth, but under absolute power, he could only comply. He shot daggers at the titans and Houyi one last time before leading the Celestial Army back to Thirty-Three Heavens.
Taiyi didn't glance at the titans or Houyi but gave one unwilling glance at Yuanshi before following his brother back.
Yuanshi didn't pay them any attention. All under Saints are ants. After he became a Saint of Heaven, he no longer cared about those unrelated to him, especially those targeting his sister. The Jade Purity also ignored the titans as his figure disappeared.
When Yuanshi left, Di Jiang and the other titans were conflicted. They had once been equal to the Three Purities, but now, the two groups were on completely different levels. Even if they defeated the Demon Clan, the Saints would always hover above them unless they could have one themselves.
Di Jiang shook his head and tried to rid himself of unnecessary thoughts. He, along with the other titans, surrounded Houyi. After slapping Houyi's shoulders, he said, "Not bad. We finally have another Quasi-Saint."
Houyi seemed to have awakened from a daze. He stared at his hands in disbelief, still burned from Taiyi's assault. "I've entered the Quasi-Saint Realm?"
"Yes," Tianwu said with a smile. Even with the deaths of his tribe members, the gains exceeded the losses. "But what should we call him now? Giant doesn't seem to fit anymore, and he's not a titan."
"Does it matter?" Qiangliang asked. "If he's not a titan, let's call him a gigant, a great giant."
"Houtu, what's wrong?" Jumang asked, seeing Houtu wasn't reveling in the celebration. His words alerted the other titans to the Titan of Earth's silence.
Houtu shook her head. "It's nothing, but I feel saddened by the number of deaths."
"Don't worry, we'll get revenge on the demons for the death of our tribesmen," Di Jiang said. The other titans roared their agreement.
Houtu opened her mouth to say it wasn't just the giants' death that concerned her, but upon seeing her sibling's expression, she stopped. She glanced at the scorched land and sighed.
Back in Eminence Heaven Palace, Di Jun cradled Xihe in his arms as she sobbed into his chest.
"My sons, my sons!" Xihe cried out, her words muffled in Di Jun's robes.
"Don't worry, We will make the Titan Tribe pay," Di Jun said as endless hatred filled his eyes.
"When will that be?" Xihe said as she removed herself from Di Jun's arms and glared at him. "I want him to pay, and I want him to pay now. If you can't get revenge for our sons, then I will."
Di Jun watched Xihe leave for the Supreme Yin Star. He sighed and slumped onto the Nine Dragon Throne. Days later, he looked up and saw Taiyi walking in. "Is it done?"
Taiyi nodded. "Yes, Nuwa agreed to take in Luya."
"Brother, how are you feeling?" Taiyi asked after some hesitation.
"How are We feeling? We will recover," Di Jun said, with a hint of frostiness in his words. "How much has the Demon Clan grown in these years? What will Our forces look like in a few eons?"
Taiyi sighed. "We will have over a thousand Golden Immortals of Golden Firmament and barely over fifty thousand Golden Immortals. The Starry Sky War Array should be able to reach its peak."
Di Jun nodded. "Anything else? Did you discover any weaknesses of the Titan Tribe?"
Taiyi shook his head, but Di Jun said, "Keep searching. We need something to gain an advantage over the Titan Tribe."
Tongtian opened her eyes and entered Three Purity Hall from Supreme Purity Hall. There, she saw the recently returned Yuanshi. "That wasn't like you."
"What wasn't?" Yuanshi asked.
"Intervening between the Titan Tribe and Demon Clan. Would it not be in your best interest for both sides to fall as soon as possible?" Tongtian asked. She also looked forward to the grand war between both forces because it meant the time of her consecration was near.
"I have my plans," Yuanshi said, avoiding Tongtian's question. "What other questions do you have?"
"What technique did Houyi use? No matter how powerful a Golden Immortal of the Great Firmament is, he shouldn't have been able to injure Taiyi to that extent," Tongtian said as she recalled the scene. Not just her but many other major powers who saw the battle were puzzled.
"It's mindforce," Yuanshi said. Before Tongtian could ask, he elaborated. "It's a technique realized by imbuing your attack with your thoughts. Of course, it's not that simple, the amount of will and heart needed directly excludes those with weak daohearts. Mindforce also exhausts the mind much faster than qi or essence."
"You sound as if you know the technique," Tongtian said.
"Of course," Yuanshi said. "I created it from Hongjun's Way of Three Corpses."
"Then why would Houyi know it?" Tongtian asked suspiciously.
"Who knows, perhaps he had chanced upon an epiphany," Yuanshi said. "Want to learn?"
Tongtian knew her second brother had avoided her query, but she still nodded. She didn't care about the relationship between him and Houyi. Everyone had their own secrets. After gaining the Daoheart Scripture from Yuanshi, Tongtian returned to Supreme Purity Hall.
When she left, Yuanshi gazed upwards. His eyes pierced through the roof and zeroed in on the Supreme Yin Star of the Starry Sky. "Don't let me down."