Chapter Two: Devouring the Golden Crow’s Essence

Li Tianfei ascended the parasol tree, and with a sweep of his sleeve, he collected the Chaos Bell and the Hetu Luoshu into his hands. After dripping a few drops of blood onto them, he felt a subtle connection form between himself and these two supreme treasures. Of course, this was merely a simple act of claiming ownership; to truly refine them, he would need to dedicate himself to a proper ritual.

The Chaos Bell was one of the three great primordial treasures forged from the Axe of Creation, later renamed the Eastern Emperor Bell by Donghuang Taiyi. Now that Donghuang Taiyi was gone, the name would naturally fade away. This treasure combined offense and defense, possessed the power to reverse time and space, twist fate, and suppress destiny—it was a rare and invaluable artifact. By comparison, the Hetu Luoshu was somewhat inferior, though it remained among the top ten primordial spiritual artifacts. It contained the ultimate principles of the cosmos and could be used to calculate celestial secrets. The later Zhou Tian Star Formation was derived from insights gained from the Hetu Luoshu, though it was clear Li Tian would not be able to comprehend it just yet...

Nonetheless, Li Tian had long planned his strategy. He intended to eventually gift the Hetu Luoshu to Fuxi, binding both Nuwa and Fuxi firmly to the chariot of the demon clan. When Nuwa attained sainthood, could she still bring herself to ignore the demon clan? Even in the worst case, if he asked her for protection, she would not refuse him—this was the fallback plan.

He placed the Hetu Luoshu inside the Chaos Bell, which, under the flow of his magical power, shrank to the size of a small bell and was fastened at his waist. Li Tian then turned his gaze to the enormous egg before him.

A sweep of his divine sense revealed that the egg contained boundless origin of the Golden Crow flame. Over ten thousand years, and with Li Tian’s deliberate interference, all signs of life within the egg had vanished; the entire egg had become pure origin, ready for easy absorption.

Li Tian sat cross-legged, placed his palms upon the shell, and began to absorb the essence within. Golden threads of flame origin entered his body, and his cultivation rapidly advanced, rising from the early stage of Da Luo Golden Immortal and only halting at the late stage.

At the same time, the egg lost its final trace of origin, crumbled to ash, and disappeared without a trace.

“From this moment, there shall be no more Taiyi or Dijun in this world!”

Having absorbed the essence of the second Golden Crow, Li Tian’s spirits soared. With his late-stage Da Luo Golden Immortal cultivation and the primordial treasure Chaos Bell, he could now stride unhindered through this era of the Great Desolation. Even when facing Quasi-Saints, he would not be without hope; after all, the first calamity had yet to pass, and even Hongjun was merely at the Quasi-Saint level!

“But what should I call myself in the future? Emperor? Imperial Sovereign?”

Li Tian began to ponder his name. He was now a figure who had achieved immortality and ancestral status, destined to rule the world. It would be inappropriate to retain his former mundane name; he needed something formidable and majestic!

Suddenly, inspiration struck, and Li Tian thought of a suitable name: “From this day forth, I shall be called Emperor Slayer...”

Before the final word left his lips, Li Tian felt a surge of dread. He had no doubt that uttering that last character would bring about a catastrophe of unimaginable horror!

“I nearly forgot—this is the Great Desolation, under the watchful eye of the Heavenly Dao…”

A cold sweat broke out as Li Tian realized the peril. To proclaim himself ‘Slayer of Heaven’ under the gaze of the Heavenly Dao was nothing short of courting death.

But what other name would suffice?

Li Tian recalled the names of gods and Buddhas from later eras, seeking inspiration. After much deliberation, he finally settled on his new title.

“Henceforth, I shall be known as the Supreme Sumeru Sublime Dharma Heavenly Emperor—abbreviated as Supreme Heavenly Emperor, or simply Supreme Heaven, or Heaven!”

As his words faded, a mysterious consciousness descended. Li Tian knew this was the world’s acknowledgment of his new name; from now on, whenever he met other great cultivators, they could divine that he was called the Supreme Sumeru Sublime Dharma Heavenly Emperor.

Next, Li Tian sat atop the parasol tree and began the ritual refinement of the Chaos Bell. As a companion artifact, the Bell resonated with his own magical power, making the process easier. Even so, it took him nearly ten years to fully refine it.

Of course, time was the least scarce resource in the Great Desolation—ten years passed in the blink of an eye.

“So this is the Solar Star?”

Li Tian stood in the void, casting a glance back at the massive, fiery Solar Star. He sighed in admiration, but lingered no longer, soaring toward the continent of the Great Desolation.

Seeing the Solar Star reminded him of the Lunar Star, also formed from Pangu’s eyes. There, two primordial deities—Xihe and Changxi, sisters—were born, the moon’s spirits, embodiments of primordial yin. They complemented Taiyi and Dijun, brothers of primordial yang; together, yin and yang were united. In the end, it seemed both sisters married Dijun and bore ten Golden Crows, though nine of them were later slain by Hou Yi, an event that became the catalyst for the final war between the witches and the demons.

Now, with Taiyi and Dijun gone, who could say how the future would unfold? This thought stirred Li Tian’s curiosity to visit the Lunar Star, though it was likely premature—Xihe and Changxi had probably not yet emerged.

“Never mind, Xihe and Changxi will be there regardless—they won’t escape.”

After some consideration, Li Tian abandoned his plan to visit the Lunar Star. At this moment, he regarded Xihe and Changxi as his own possessions.

…

At this time, heaven and earth had just opened, and the Dragon-Phoenix calamity was yet to manifest. It was the era when great divine beasts displayed their might. Originally, Li Tian intended to seek out Nuwa and Fuxi at Buzhou Mountain, but realizing the Dragon-Phoenix calamity had not yet begun and that the siblings had likely not been born, he abandoned the idea, choosing instead to roam the continent of the Great Desolation in search of treasures.

Li Tian traveled through the skies atop auspicious clouds, descending to explore strange lands and search for rare artifacts. Along the way, he discovered many valuable items. Occasionally, foolhardy monsters attempted to waylay him, only to be dealt with effortlessly, thus contributing further treasures to his collection.

At this time, Hongjun had not yet begun his teachings, and there was no orthodox cultivation system in the world. Apart from the divine beast clans, which had inherited methods, other races could only fumble their way through cultivation, resulting in extremely weak strength—the strongest among them no more than a Celestial Immortal.

Living freely, Li Tian wandered for several millennia, during which he witnessed many divine beast clans oppressing lesser demon beasts; ‘forcible seizure of maidens’ was a frequent occurrence. When in good spirits, he would intervene; when not, he would simply fly past. Even so, he managed to offend many divine beast clans, most notably the Dragon Clan.

A thousand years ago, he happened upon a dragon forcibly assaulting a young demon maiden and dispatched the dragon on a whim, only to discover that the victim was the sixth son of the Ancestral Dragon. From then on, he found himself at odds with the Dragon Clan, often pursued by their experts.

Yet he remained unafraid; with his cultivation, even if the Dragon Clan sent all their strongest, he could escape unharmed. Those pursuing dragons never managed to injure him; instead, they contributed to a number of delightful ‘dragon soups’ for his enjoyment.