Chapter Forty-Four: Donghuang Taiyi Battles Across the Nine Heavens

As the tale goes, Hao Dan was possessed by the Celestial Soul of the Eastern Emperor Taiyi, who descended upon the Eighth Heaven. The Grand Marshal of Heavenly Patrol, Yan Lietian, gazed upon Hao Dan without fear, utterly composed. At this moment, he understood that Hao Dan was not truly the Eastern Emperor Taiyi himself. Had the real Taiyi stood before him, given his inflexible nature, he would still have fought tooth and nail to defend the authority of the Sect of Severance. Since its founding, the Sect of Severance had been the strongest among the Three Teachings, with the strictest rules. As the Grand Marshal of the Three Realms, personally appointed by the Jade Emperor, Yan Lietian was bound to uphold his own authority.

“In my memory, before I ever ascended to the heavens, it was you who nearly killed me with three strikes. Today, I shan’t bully you either—let us resolve this with three moves!” Hao Dan, now possessed by the Celestial Soul, radiated a sinister and overbearing aura. As the ancient Celestial Emperor, the Eastern Emperor Taiyi, he had never endured such provocation.

The Celestial Soul appeared visibly excited, each word echoing with a bewitching resonance that reverberated across the entire Eighth Heaven.

“That remains to be seen. Let’s find out if you truly possess such skill!” Yan Lietian's face was steadfast and unflinching. He did not regard Hao Dan as the true Eastern Emperor Taiyi.

“Very well! Your courage alone is worthy of my genuine effort!” Hao Dan’s eyes, once filled with wickedness, now grew serious as he looked at Yan Lietian.

“Enough talk. If you wish to fight, then fight!” Yan Lietian seemed even more eager for this battle than Hao Dan. With those words, he unleashed the divine body of Heavenly Gang, his spiritual energy erupting as he charged at Hao Dan.

Yan Lietian was known for his unyielding and straightforward temperament, acting without hesitation or empty words—a style that suited him perfectly.

“Heaven’s Blossoms Fall!”

With those simple words from the Celestial Soul, he stamped a foot upon the top of the Eastern Emperor Bell. Instantly, the bell’s chime sent out a formless ripple, sweeping out to cover the heavens. The dense clouds and billowing immortal mist of the Eighth Heaven were shattered by this wave, which bore the mark of a power wielded in utmost seriousness by the Celestial Soul—a power that even the Eastern Sovereign himself had not displayed at the height of the Celestial Draw.

The bell’s ripple pierced through all the clouds beneath the Eighth Heaven, opening a gaping chasm through which one could see directly into the mortal realm.

Yan Lietian was not repelled by the bell’s might. On the contrary, he borrowed its force, charging upward. The Celestial Soul, standing atop the Eastern Emperor Bell, showed a rare flicker of surprise in his eyes.

“To think you could withstand a single stomp from me?” The surprise in the Celestial Soul’s gaze vanished as quickly as it came. He left a trail of afterimages in the air and vanished.

Yan Lietian, surrounded by the swirling script of his Heavenly Gang divine body, called forth the Sky-Splitting Tyrant Dragon Halberd. The tail of the dragon on the halberd met the residual ripple from the Celestial Soul’s stomp, dispersing the force with a flick. Yan Lietian stood firm in midair, his stern eyes fixed above.

“So fast!” In his pride, he looked toward the position of the Eastern Emperor Bell, only to find the Celestial Soul had vanished. As Yan Lietian prepared to pursue, afterimages streaked across the sky, and the Celestial Soul’s face appeared mere feet before him, wearing a smirk of mocking charm.

“Cleave the Void!” Again, just two words, spoken with dark allure.

No sooner had he spoken than a spatial rift opened behind Yan Lietian, split open by a single kick from the Celestial Soul’s afterimage. The kick was not aimed directly at Yan Lietian; instead, his body was suddenly surrounded by golden light, as if all the gods in heaven had gathered. But the rift was only a feint. The true attack came in that instant.

“Divine Seal of the Heavens!”

The four words rang out, but still, the Celestial Soul’s true body was nowhere to be seen. Suddenly, a colossal, formless palm descended upon Yan Lietian, trapping him beneath its overwhelming might, rendering him immobile.

For centuries, he had presided over the heavens and enforced the laws of the Sect of Severance, never before meeting such a formidable foe. For the first time, he felt true mortal danger. As the immense palm came crashing down, Yan Lietian did not hesitate. He erupted with heavenly might, breaking free from the bonds and raising the Sky-Splitting Tyrant Dragon Halberd above his head. Though his defense in midair was desperate, he could sense the hand’s world-shattering force.

“Tyrant Dragon’s Resolve!”

With a roar of bitter defiance, the halberd became a colossal red-gold dragon, soaring to meet the descending hand. But as the dragon reached the palm, it was frozen in space, then gradually faded to nothing before Yan Lietian’s very eyes.

Yan Lietian raised his weapon to meet the hand, and in that moment, time itself seemed to halt. The wind and clouds stilled.

A sudden, icy power surged forth, spreading so rapidly that words could not describe it. Frost-blue ice was about to engulf the entire cloudscape.

This was the Celestial Soul’s final move, launching both the Divine Seal of the Heavens and a secret art of the mystical gates—Wounding Door: “Frost Dominates the World!”

With his right hand, he invoked the Divine Seal; with his left, he unleashed Frost Dominates the World. First, the Divine Seal stopped time and space, then the frost would freeze Yan Lietian, after which the Divine Seal would easily shatter him to dust. It was a treacherous and deadly stratagem, one only the Celestial Soul could devise. With such malice hidden within open attacks, there was no defense—ferocious and cruel.

Just as the frost was about to envelop Yan Lietian, a distant, melodious voice resounded through the Eighth Heaven.

“I beseech Your Majesty the Eastern Emperor to show mercy for my sake!”

The voice came from the Vault of Heaven, from the Master of the Sect of Severance, the Celestial Lord of Spiritual Treasures. He, fully aware of what was occurring, sent his voice from the highest heaven.

His words easily dissolved the frost’s power, sparing Yan Lietian’s life.

“And who might you be?”

The Celestial Soul seemed to find the voice familiar, yet could not recall the memory.

“That was my master speaking!” Yan Lietian, shattering the frost about him, immediately shifted his attitude and addressed Hao Dan politely.

Though stern, rigorous, and impartial, Yan Lietian knew that with the Master’s intervention, continuing the battle would only jeopardize himself and bring shame to his teacher.

“Oh?” The Celestial Soul in Hao Dan nodded as if somewhat understanding, giving Yan Lietian a wicked, amused smile at his sudden change of manner.

“Your Majesty has already bested me. Xiao Bailing is just above, on the Ninth Heaven!” Yan Lietian stepped aside and gestured respectfully, clearly unwilling to continue the fight. If not for his teacher’s intercession, he would already be nothing but ice shards, lost forever in the Three Realms.

“If you can withstand three of my kicks, I’ll spare your life!” These were Hao Dan’s words. The humiliation of the past had to be repaid, or else a demon would forever nest in his heart.

“I am willing to endure it!” Yan Lietian’s eyes hardened as he spoke solemnly.

At once, Hao Dan, drawing upon the Celestial Soul’s power, left several afterimages in the air. One kick, two kicks, three—without pause, he sent Yan Lietian flying high. Then, with a flash, he struck his jaw, and with the final kick, shattered Yan Lietian’s armor, sending him crashing to the steps of the Hall of Heavenly Patrol, blood at his lips, his face expressionless.

“To bend and endure is to reach greatness one day.” With his fury spent, the Celestial Soul, now back in control, looked upon Yan Lietian with a trace of admiration.

To survive three moves against him was enough to stand proud among the heavens. Though he did not know who had just spoken, he sensed that the one who had sent their voice was a true sage, a power he could not yet contend with. The Celestial Soul, possessing self-awareness and self-preservation, had no wish to end up humiliated like Yan Lietian.

“My thanks, Your Majesty, for your undeserved praise.” Yan Lietian struggled to his feet.

The Celestial Soul paid him no further heed, but looked toward the Ninth Heaven and the Execution Platform, a flash of spiritual light passing through his demonic gaze as the real Hao Dan regained control.

With a single step, he soared skyward, the Eastern Emperor Bell spinning in place, then darting away like a mysterious flying object toward the Execution Platform.

At that moment, atop the Ninth Heaven, a Black Tiger Hall stood amidst the clouds, swathed in immortal mist. Compared to the heavens below, it was of much greater grandeur; the hall, the clouds, the sacred birds and beasts gathered above all presented a rare and majestic scene. Yet there were no disciples or immortals in meditation.

To have so many immortal creatures in his care, the master here must be close to the power of a sage. Still, no immortal appeared before the Eastern Emperor Bell. Hao Dan, borrowing the Celestial Soul’s power, wasted no time on the scenery, but stamped his foot and sent the bell spinning rapidly toward the Execution Platform.

With a whoosh, he arrived near the platform, where the figure who haunted Hao Dan’s dreams stood, her beauty marred by exhaustion, tear-stained cheeks betraying her suffering.

At that moment, within the Eastern Emperor’s world, a surge of spiritual will seized control of his body. Before this, Hao Dan had just regained mastery, but the Celestial Soul had clearly left this move in reserve. Back in the Eastern Emperor’s world, the Celestial Soul murmured to himself, “I have aided you thus far—do not let me down!”

The true story began during the battle of the Celestial Draw and the Ten Lords, when Hao Dan, losing consciousness, sent a secret message to the Celestial Soul—something even the Eastern Lord could not know.

“Help me! Once I rescue Xiao Bailing and my foster father, everything will be yours.”

“Done!” The Celestial Soul had eagerly agreed.

This was the pact between Hao Dan and the Celestial Soul: he had sold his soul, agreeing to yield himself entirely. When the three souls finally merged, the Celestial Soul would be dominant, and even if Hao Dan’s memories of his past life returned, those of this life—of Xiao Bailing and his foster father, Cheng Tang—would be obliterated.

In other words, Hao Dan would cease to exist, becoming the true Eastern Emperor Taiyi, with no memory of this lifetime.

But to return to the present, when Hao Dan regained himself, he stepped off the Eastern Emperor Bell and flew to the Execution Platform. Xiao Bailing was gravely weakened, her sect-treasure, the Sea-Calming Pearl, taken by the Black Tiger Immortal Zhao Gongming. After being punished by the ‘Four Swords of Execution’, her spirit was diminished, her mind clouded. Only by sheer force of will had she not lost consciousness entirely.

Now, her vision blurred, she gazed at the figure before her, unsure if she was dreaming. She had not truly believed Hao Dan would come to rescue her, yet in her heart, she had yearned for his arrival. Time in the heavens was agonizingly slow, and every day she wished for Hao Dan to appear, though she knew it was only her own wishful dream.

So many times she had gazed toward the horizon from the Execution Platform, longing to see that figure riding a rainbow cloud, descending like a hero to her side and saying softly, “I’m sorry for your suffering.”

Even an immortal maiden has the heart of a mortal woman; once in love, daydreams are inevitable.

Her fantasy revealed how deeply she was entangled in love, unable to extricate herself. Even as an immortal of the Ninth Heaven, she was no different from a mortal. To fall in love is to be human, and immortals are no exception.

Of all things in the world, love wounds most deeply. For ‘love’ is a word even the Way of Heaven cannot resolve.

Now, the figure she had waited for day after day had finally come. In disbelief, the wounded beauty reached out a trembling, delicate hand to touch Hao Dan’s face. He seized her hand, drawing her into his arms, tears in his eyes, rage in his voice: “Bailing! Who did this to you? Tell me!”

She did not answer, still unable to believe.

“Is it…is it really you?” Her voice was frail, but lying in Hao Dan’s embrace, she felt at peace. It was the only time she had ever been held by him. In the Phantom Spirit Illusion before, she had not experienced this. Now, at last, she believed he had truly come, even though she knew it must have been an arduous journey.

She could never have known Hao Dan was the reincarnation of the Eastern Emperor Taiyi. Without selling his soul, even with his abilities he could never have reached the Execution Platform. He had faced the Ten Lords of the Nine Heavens, unable to resist, and with Sword Immortal Miao, he was no match. Against Yan Lietian, only the Celestial Soul’s ruthless power had kept him alive.

“It’s me, it’s me! I’m your Good Egg!”

That was the nickname Xiao Bailing had given him in the Phantom Spirit Illusion—only she called him that, a play on his name.

At the sound of “Good Egg,” a faint, sorrowful smile broke through her pallor.

Her fragile beauty was heartbreaking—no one could fathom the pain in Hao Dan’s heart! A beautiful face with a smile veiled in sorrow, and he, Hao Dan, was wracked with grief. Once a bold youth, now helpless to protect the woman before him.

Who among us hasn’t been reckless in youth? Who would not brave the heavens for a beloved’s smile? Who else would dare to challenge the heavens for love?

“Through hardships heaven has witnessed,
Battling ten lords, my soul I relinquished.
Winning the favor of immortals above,
Yet all’s exchanged for a stranger’s love.”

He feared his time was short. Even if he rescued Xiao Bailing, perhaps their fate—

After rescuing her, Xiao Bailing fell into a coma. Just then, Fairy Yanruo arrived, bowing respectfully to Hao Dan. “Let me tend to Little Sister for now. Senior Brother Zhao is already returning, and he will surely try to prevent Your Majesty from taking Bailing back to the mortal realm.”

“Then let him come! I was just thinking the last fight wasn’t enough!” The Celestial Soul, regaining control, looked up with excitement, sensing a powerful aura approaching swiftly through the clouds—a black shadow speeding their way.

With that, Fairy Yanruo cast a spell and took Xiao Bailing down to the Hall of Immortal Music in the Third Heaven below. Meanwhile, a quasi-saintly figure raced toward them with the force of a rampaging tiger.

Calmly, the Celestial Soul drew a crimson “one” on his brow, stamped his foot upon the cloud-stone beneath the Execution Platform, and with a swish, the Eastern Emperor Bell materialized and descended quietly through the nine layers of heaven.

Stepping onto the bell, the Celestial Soul faced the black shadow, which landed like a streak of black lightning amid a billow of demonic aura. In a stern voice, he demanded, “Who dares trespass upon the forbidden Execution Platform of the Ninth Heaven?”

It was none other than Zhao Gongming, the Black Tiger Immortal, the quasi-saint guardian of the Ninth Heaven. He had not noticed the Celestial Soul’s abnormality. Having long been in seclusion, he knew only the ancient stories of the Eastern Emperor Taiyi and did not recognize the figure before him as the ancient Celestial Emperor himself.

“You of the Sect of Severance are truly arrogant, one after another!” The Celestial Soul replied with a wicked smile. “But I rather like that!”

Zhao Gongming’s broad face darkened. He could not sense any spiritual might from this person and did not recognize him. Only after a moment did Zhao Gongming realize that this was the same young man, Hao Dan, whom Yan Lietian had nearly killed outside the capital of the Great Xia in the banyan woods.

The Celestial Soul, sharing Hao Dan’s memories, was well aware of all that had passed. But he was heartless; he cared nothing for Xiao Bailing, only for battle. It was his nature—anything related to combat excited him.

“It seems the Black Tiger Immortal is indeed forgetful,” said the Celestial Soul, stepping forward, his wicked smile brimming with anticipation.

As he advanced, Zhao Gongming’s heart filled with dread. Just moments ago, this man had seemed harmless, but now he radiated alarming strength. Suddenly, Zhao Gongming remembered the scene in the mortal realm. “You—you’re the mortal whom Yan Lietian almost killed?”

“You, you fat oaf! You don’t even recognize me?” The Celestial Soul laughed, unleashing his spiritual might.

Zhao Gongming’s black tiger aura blazed up, and a great tiger phantom roared behind him.

“Fatty!”

“Look—what’s beneath my feet?” the Celestial Soul taunted, stamping once more atop the Eastern Emperor Bell. An invisible ripple spread out.

“My heavens! The Eastern Emperor Bell?!” At the sight of this artifact spinning beneath his feet, Zhao Gongming was dumbfounded. Never had he imagined that the man before him was the Eastern Emperor Taiyi.

“N-no! His Majesty the Eastern Emperor perished a thousand years ago!” Zhao Gongming stammered in terror.

He summoned his tiger phantom and charged at the Celestial Soul. The Celestial Soul, riding the bell, soared into the clouds to open the distance, then stomped down again.

“Heaven’s Divine Seal and the Eastern Emperor Bell—let all gods fall before me!”

This time, the Celestial Soul held nothing back, unleashing the bell’s full might. The outrage in Hao Dan’s heart had affected him—Xiao Bailing had been so grievously abused, and her own senior brother had been so ruthless. The Celestial Soul, influenced by Hao Dan’s emotions, gave Zhao Gongming a thorough beating.

The clouds exploded in every direction as the bell’s shockwave raged, sending the beasts and birds of the Black Tiger Hall fleeing in terror. The hall itself trembled on the verge of collapse.

Zhao Gongming cried out, “Your Majesty, have mercy! I did not recognize you. Please, spare me!”

He fled on his cloud, the tiger phantom long gone, but the Celestial Soul pursued mercilessly. The Eastern Emperor Bell closed the distance in an instant, and with a wicked sneer, the Celestial Soul intoned, “Shatter the Void!”

With each step, ripples burst in the sky, the words “Shatter the Void” echoing beneath his feet. Zhao Gongming, terrified, hastily summoned his treasure: the twenty-four Sea-Calming Pearls. “Twenty-four pearls—move mountains and calm seas!”

Suddenly, blue pearls spun before the Celestial Soul, radiating the power of endless oceans.

“Not bad, fat man. You coveted these pearls so much you ignored the bonds of kinship and nearly killed your own junior sister. How vicious you are!”

“Your Majesty, please understand! The twenty-four Sea-Calming Pearls are the sect’s treasure. I was merely following orders to retrieve them! Please, judge fairly!” Confronted with the Celestial Soul’s overwhelming might, Zhao Gongming had no will to fight. It was not for lack of strength, but guilt. Were it anyone else, he would fight, but not now—his immortal dignity was in tatters.

As the Celestial Soul’s footsteps thundered, another distant, melodious voice echoed, unmistakably the same as before—the Sect Master.

“Your Majesty, please do not trouble my disciple. He was only obeying orders. Spare him, won’t you?”

“You again?” The Celestial Soul was impatient.

The havoc wrought by the Celestial Soul was unmatched. Yet after the Sect Master’s voice, peace returned; all was calm.

The Sect Master’s message was clear: “Take Xiao Bailing down to the mortal world; I will not pursue her punishment. Let bygones be bygones—will you accept this?”

Zhao Gongming fell to his knees, giving thanks to the Sect Master.

“If that’s how it is, so be it,” the Celestial Soul replied with a carefree laugh. Perhaps even Hao Dan’s heart was mollified. The Eastern Emperor Bell shimmered and flew toward the Third Heaven.

Moments later, Hao Dan regained control, the Celestial Soul leaving him with a final reminder before falling silent inside the Eastern Emperor’s world.

“Don’t forget our agreement!”