Shrine (II)
When the world was born, so too did its laws. Later generations gave it a familiar name: "Heavenly Way."
Over time, Tian Dao became curious about the worlds he ruled. He traveled through various worlds, encountering different creatures, including some that resembled his own, yet were incredibly weak.
The Heavenly Dao gave them a name, calling them human beings.
Humans are not like demons who have strong physiques; nor are they like demons who can manipulate magic power; nor are they like ghosts who can travel through various worlds without restraint.
They are so tiny and fragile that Tiandao often wonders if he can just snap his fingers and these puny humans will be reduced to ashes.
To ensure the survival of humanity, He added several laws. From then on, the four realms became independent.
Because communication was inconvenient in human life, He created writing, allowing the four realms to have a circulated language.
He was curious about human beings.
After learning how to build a temple like humans, he suddenly found that the huge temple seemed too quiet.
But then he thought, there are no people like him in this world, so it is normal to be quiet.
But life was too boring, and finally, he chose to bring back something from the divine realm.
A tree.
He had found this sapling in a region outside the four realms, a weak and helpless one, with no one of its kind in that region.
A patch of land was naturally carved out in front of the shrine, specifically for its growth. The divine land was filled with spiritual energy, and it grew tall and strong, blocking out the sun.
Tiandao touched the trunk and smiled, "There is only one tree like me in the divine realm, so I will call you Wutong."
The sacred Wutong tree stayed in the temple, accompanying Tiandao through the lonely days and nights.
One day, birdsong could be heard from outside the shrine. Having nothing better to do, Tian Dao opened the shrine's gates, and a fiery red bird flew in.
Tiandao found it novel.
The divine realm is so difficult to find, so how did this bird get in? He stared at the bird with great interest, watching it circle around and finally land on the branch of a sycamore tree.
Tiandao smiled.
The fiery red feathers rested on the branches, shaking occasionally. He raised his hand to catch the falling feathers.
"I will never stop except in the Divine Realm, and I will never rest except in the Wutong Tree. What? Are you here to accompany me too?"
He moved his fingers and wrote two words.
"Let me give you a name too. The king of birds, the Phoenix."
Tian Dao welcomed two residents of the Divine Palace, and finally he was no longer lonely. But as time went on, he felt bored again.
He thought of humanity. He hadn't known when he'd begun to favor them. This wasn't a good sign; the laws of the world shouldn't favor anyone.
He also wrote down the laws, giving the human world the opportunity to become stronger.
Granting the human world an opportunity, allowing humans to transcend the ghost world after death and gain eternal life. As long as the person's reputation in the human world is high enough and their mind is strong enough, they can coexist with Him.
He thought that anyone who could become famous in the human world must be extraordinary. Only such a person could enter the divine realm.
But He did not realize that even if one becomes hateful enough, one can still gain eternal life.
A new god was soon born, and the divine realm finally ceased to be silent. The Heavenly Dao was very satisfied; it had truly created a kind for itself.
The new gods follow the will of heaven, but gods are humans who have ascended from heaven, and humans always have their own selfish desires.
The Heavenly Dao was aware of this. As the Law of the World, how could He not know that such selfishness was unfair to the other three realms?
He also wrote down the law, requiring God to treat the four realms equally.
But there was a flaw in His laws. A devil emerged from the human world, tyrannical, bloodthirsty, and disregarding family ties. His reputation was tainted to the extreme, yet it met His demands.
He ascended into the realm of the gods and became the demon god Qiu Ji.
The Way of Heaven was the law of this world, and He possessed absolute power, so He didn't pay much attention to the Demon God. In His view, the Demon God ascended because of Him, so how could He harbor evil thoughts?
He still underestimated people's malice.
The Demon God was naturally no match for the Heavenly Dao, but he was incredibly ambitious. Having become the Human Emperor in the human realm, he also wanted to become the Divine Emperor in the divine realm. By becoming the Divine Emperor, he would be able to satisfy his selfish desires.
After all, only the God-Emperor can grant humans eternal life.
He wanted to give a man eternal life.
Tian Dao has extremely high prestige in the world and is the ruler of the divine world. Most of the newly ascended gods are full of respect for him.
But as time went on, the gods discovered that the way of heaven seemed to be no different from their own.
Ever since humans ascended to heaven, the Heavenly Dao rarely left the Divine Palace. He naturally arranged for the gods to manage the world, but this only fostered their ambitions.
Seeing that the other gods were swayed, the Devil plotted again. He began to incite the gods to rebel against the Way of Heaven, attempting to overthrow it.
How could Heaven not know of His wolfish ambitions? He simply didn't bother to care, thinking He couldn't stir up any trouble.
So, Tiandao still stayed in the temple all day long, with the Wutong tree, the phoenix, and the blue bird, Qingluan, which was released by the phoenix at some point in time.
The Qingluan and the Phoenix looked alike, but with green feathers. Tiandao often tilted his head and watched them playfully, smiling.
"Cousins who are born from the same origin look really alike." Tiandao said with a smile.
He knew that they were not ordinary birds at all, but were the result of the leakage of spiritual energy from the divine realm, which was absorbed and evolved by a certain race in the mortal world.
But these two are so extraordinary that they can actually fly here.
The Divine Realm is filled with spiritual energy, allowing the gods to absorb it and achieve eternal life. The Divine Realm's spiritual energy is most abundant in the Divine Palace, and the creatures raised in the Divine Palace naturally develop spiritual intelligence.
At some point, the shrine began to be filled with laughter and noise, accompanied by the occasional lazy persuasion of the Heavenly Dao. The paulownia tree grew bigger and bigger, and its crown broke through the walls of the shrine, becoming lush and green.
But the Way of Heaven gradually grew quieter. Riots raged across the world, and His divine power began to weaken.
He had no intention of interfering. Everything, every effect, has its cause and its reason. This was the inevitable trend of world development, and the world was bound to be in chaos.
The devil seized this opportunity and incited the gods, wanting to seize the throne while the Heavenly Dao was weak.
There are also gods who are unwilling to fight. They are well aware of the ambitions of the devil and believe that the way of heaven can solve all this, so they choose to hide.
The battle for the divine realm is about to begin.
Even though the Heavenly Dao is weak, it is the embodiment of the laws of the world. How could it fall because of the resistance of the devil?
However, how can the few defeat the many?
Among the gods who sought the throne, the demon god was the most powerful. The Heavenly Dao, ruthless, dealt with the troublemakers all at once. The divine realm lost several more gods.
The Demon God was filled with excitement. It seemed that dealing with those gods had consumed a great deal of Heaven's energy. Once He made a move, the throne of the Divine Emperor would be within reach!
The shrine is no longer magnificent because of the war between gods. Most of the branches and leaves of the phoenix tree have been burned, and the phoenix and blue phoenix have not sung for a long time.
Tiandao's strength was not at its peak, and he had to deal with several previous gods, which seriously damaged his vitality.
The Devil's schemes were far more complex than this. He abused his divine power, causing even more suffering in an already chaotic world.
The divine power of Heaven was weakened a little bit by Him.
The devil thought his trick was about to succeed, and the gate of the temple was already open to him.
However, the Heavenly Dao burst out with divine power and suppressed Him.
Those hidden gods returned their divine power to the Heavenly Dao.
The paulownia tree quickly dried up, and it burned the spirit it had cultivated with great difficulty, wanting to lend a helping hand to the Heavenly Dao.
The phoenix screamed, and attacked the demon again and again until its spiritual power was exhausted and it fell to the ground.
The devil is at the end of his rope, but he is unwilling to give up. He is about to succeed and is just one step away from that position.
It was obvious that Heavenly Dao, like his useless brother, was the most compassionate and caring for the common people. It was obvious that he should be no match for him, just like his brother.
Blood gushed out of His mouth and He fell on the ground of the shrine.
Tiandao stumbled slightly, barely stabilizing himself by holding onto a tree trunk. He lowered his eyes to glance at the dying phoenix on the ground, then clenched his fists, feeling the dry bark beneath his hands.
The Way of Heaven is God. God cannot cry, but God also understands what it means to be helpless.
He himself was a little unsteady on his feet, but he still dragged himself and carried the phoenix under the tree.
He slumped down on the ground, calming his breathing. After a while, he raised his hand, and two soul threads gathered in his palm: the Wutong and the Phoenix.
He divided a portion of his divine power to nourish them. Once their souls were nurtured and took shape, they would be able to reincarnate into the mortal world and become the human beings they longed for.
Qingluan was trapped under the barrier by Fenghuang, who would not allow her to come out to fight. Fenghuang went to fight with the intention of dying, as he wanted his sister to live.
Tiandao released the barrier, rested his forehead against Qingluan's, and murmured softly, "You're the only one left. Qingluan, stay here and take care of…" He paused and continued, "Take care of home."
The shrine is indeed home to him, to the two birds and the tree.
He regained some strength, stood up, and slowly walked towards the demon lying beside him.
The devil's eyes were open. He was handsome, but his face looked sinister.
Tiandao was too lazy to deal with him. He looked at him for a few seconds and walked out of the temple.
He is the only one left in the divine realm again.
He closed his eyes, wanting to take in the world. Due to the demonic influence, the four realms were now in chaos, with blood and corpses everywhere.
His hand gripped the gate of the shrine, gradually tightening.
Tiandao stood still and raised his hands to form a seal.
For a moment, time paused. The blood on the ground slowly dissolved into the earth, and the incomplete body pieced itself together.
The souls of those who had died unjustly gathered together and flew towards the heavens. The souls of the gods he had killed were still there, and he also collected them.
The Heavenly Dao opened the Mirror of Rebirth, sent these souls into it, and silently changed their path to rebirth.
I hope the souls of those who died tragically will be safe and happy in their next lives, and I hope those gods will no longer be competitive.
He was exhausted, barely managing to save the world. A tiny wisp of soul slipped out of the demon god's body and blended into the ranks of the mortal world's tragically deceased souls.
He didn't notice that he was about to give up.
After dealing with the soul, he collapsed on the ground again. After a while, he looked at the corpse of the demon god.
"I hope you won't be obsessed."
He whispered, and in the end, his soul was not destroyed.
He was once a member of the mortal world, blessed by Him, and respectfully called the Way of Heaven. He was sealed in the divine realm, forbidden from escaping forever, and forced to atone for his actions for eternity.
The demon's corpse gradually dissipated. Tiandao finally gave up and lay on the ground.
He raised his head, looked at the branches and leaves of the sycamore tree that had long since withered, and smiled silently.
"Qingluan, take a nap. Just think of it as a dream. Go to sleep."
As He said this, He closed His eyes and fell into a deep sleep.
The divine realm began to shake, the ground cracked inch by inch, and abundant spiritual energy surged into the lower realm.
The divine realm fell, spiritual energy surged down, and monks appeared.
The purest spiritual energy of the divine realm converged to form an ancient secret realm, preserving the final memories of the divine realm. Qingluan's soul was sent in and remained in the ruins of the divine palace, where it was well protected.
Lin Zhuo didn't know from what perspective he watched this dream and saw the truth about the fall of the divine realm.
Her eyelashes trembled and she covered her heart.
Consciousness gradually returned, and when she opened her eyes again, Lin Zhuo saw Qingluan sitting in front of her.
The girl tilted her head and looked at her: "Do you remember?"
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