Chapter 104: The Birth of the Golden Crow

Translator: Transn Editor: Transn

Just a century into their marriage, Xihe gave birth to ten Baby Jinwus. Emperor Jun was overjoyed and Xihe herself was also elated. Though her marriage to Emperor Jun was forced by circ.u.mstances, they gradually fell for each other. His husband also treated her greatly. They became even more intimate after she gave him heirs. Naturally, they also dearly loved their ten Baby Jinwus.

These Baby Jinwus were cute fluffy birds similar to crows, with pure gold eyes, three claws, and golden feathers. Wisps of Solar Fire occasionally spouted from their pecks and feathers. They truly deserved to be called Three-legged Golden Crows, extraordinary as they were.

These Baby Jinwus were born with silver spoons in their mouths. Emperor Jun and Xihe very much doted on them and even Taiyi was fond of them. Under their ardent love, they gradually became fearless little things.

They were so fearless that they dashed madly about Heavenly Court. Because they were unable to control their Solar Fire, some weak demons were seriously injured and some were even burnt to death. Emperor Jun also had his hands tied about this. As they were still infants, their cultivations were not strong enough to control their fire. And with Xihe s.h.i.+elding them, Emperor Jun could only give them a talking rather than punis.h.i.+ng them. What was more, he could not bring himself to.

These Baby Jinwus caused a racket in Heavenly Court over time, turning it upside down. They only grew more unbridled and even made a mess of The Divine Wind Palace. This infuriated Emperor Ju and he had to confer with Taiyi and Xihe to find a solution.

Naturally, Taiyispoke up for his nephews. He had previously devoted himself to cultivation, but now that there were finally heirs to the Three-legged Golden Crow Tribe, he surely doted on them. "Brother, there's no need to be angry. They're just newborns. It's normal for them to be naughty. They'll mature once they grow up a little," he said.

Emperor Jun sighed. "Taiyi, you don't know how much Xihe and I worry about them. They just loaf around the Heavenly Court with nothing to do and they can't control their Solar Fire to boot. Many smaller demons have been injured, yet they restrain from complaining to protect my dignity. But it won't be good for our unity if this continues. I'm afraid we'll be put ourselves in a mess before our final battle against the Wu Tribe."

Xihe looked depressed to hear this. She could not bring herself to punish the Baby Jinwus. It would be like cutting a piece of her heart. She asked, "Husband, what should we do? We can't lock them up."

Her words reminded Taiyi of something and he said, "Brother and sister-in-law, I know of a good place. In my earlier years of roaming the East Sea, I came across an immortal island isolated from outside world, called Yingzhou Island. The island was converted from the Chaos fragments when Pangu first created the Heaven and Earth. There's a primordial spiritual root, World Tree, which is suitable for my nephews to live in."

Emperor Jun said, "Great, we'll do that. We'll lay down a Formation outside the island in case they roam around. This is also a good opportunity for them to cultivate carefully. We can release them when they can totally control their Solar Fire."

Though Xihe did not have the heart to do so, she had no other way to offer. The three of them sent the ten Baby Jinwus to the island and left after laying down a Formation. They visited them at regular intervals and guided their cultivations at the same time.

As time pa.s.sed, Honourable Ancestor's 10,000-year deadline inched closer. Emperor Jun, Taiyi and Xihe were occupied with cultivating and dealing with affairs of the Demon Tribe. They gradually came to neglect the ten Baby Jinwus on Yingzhou Island. However, someone began to scheme against them.

One day, the ten Baby Jinwus were playing on the island. Recently, the three figures who doted on them most had not visited. Bored as they were, they put aside their cultivation and played heartily. But the island was limited in size and they were unable to play to their hearts' content.

Suddenly a Baby Jinwu flew over and said, "Come and see! I found a little demon over there!" The other Baby Jinwus were also excited. There was no one on the island besides themselves. It was just right that a little demon had appeared. The demon could play with them.

They flew there and found the demon bathed in blood as if he had just survived a great fight. One of them asked, "Where did you come from? How dare you trespa.s.s on the dwelling place of the princes of the Demon Tribe. Do you want to die?"

The little demon trembled with fear and explained in a hurry, "I didn't know Your Highnesses are all here and accidentally intruded into your place. Please forgive me. I was chased by the Wu Tribe and was seriously injured. That was why I didn't realize I've trespa.s.sed."

Another asked, "The Wu Tribe? Are they powerful? Our Demon Tribe governs Heavenly Court and dominates Untainted Land. Who the h.e.l.l are they? How dare they chase one of our clansmen. Do they want to go against us?" No one had told the ten newly-born Baby Jinwus what the situation in Untainted Land was like. Naturally, they would not have heard of the Wu Tribe.

The demon answered in a trembling voice, "You may not know that our clan only governs Heavenly Court while the Wu Tribe dominates Untainted Land. Thousands of years ago, the Wu Tribe damaged our tribe terribly in a war. They're powerful indeed and our clan is no match for them."

One Baby Jinwu became irritated and said, "How dare you belittle our Demon Tribe? How infuriating! What's so good about the Wu Tribe? If we're not imprisoned here by father's Formation, we'd definitely show them a lesson and let them understand the strength of us Three-legged Golden Crows are."

Hearing this, the demon answered doubtfully, "Formation? What Formation? I didn't find any Formation when I enter just now. Perhaps the Formation laid down by His Majesty Demon Emperor has disappeared over time. Your Highnesses may check it yourselves."

Baby Jinwus became elated and immediately rushed out to find the Formation truly disabled. They laughed together. "There's no more Formation! We can finally leave!" One of them pointed at the demon with his wing and said, "You dared to belittle our tribe. Die!" He directed his Solar Fire at the demon, burning him to ashes.

After killing the demon, ten Baby Jinwus happily flew to Untainted Land. As they were still young, they could not regulate their Solar Fire well. However, their fire was so powerful and destructive that rivers, forests, and creatures where they pa.s.sed were all burned and killed. Playing all the way, they did not know they had killed numerous creatures and acc.u.mulated serious sins.

Sometime later after Baby Jinwus left, a golden light appeared where the demon was burned and turned into an illusion. It looked at the direction in which Baby Jinwus left with a smile. Then it transformed into a golden light again and flew to the West in a flash.

Shortly after the disappearance of the golden light, another person appeared on Yingzhou Island. It was Minghe who had not left Blood Sea for a long time. Looking towards the West, he smiled and said to himself, "Zhunti, oh, Zhunti. I know you couldn't help making your move. But that's only to be expected. I would've found it strange if you didn't act."

Ever since the ten Baby Jinwus were born and sent to Yingzhou Island, Minghe had been paying attention to them. Recently, someone had obscured the secrets of heaven. This only made him focus more on what was happening on the island. He realized someone had made their move after seeing the demon wipe out Emperor Jun's Formation. It could only be done by a Sage, for only Sages had the ability to do so.

After seeing the golden light flying to the West, Minghe confirmed the ident.i.ty of the perpetrator. Among the Sages, perhaps only Zhunti was capable of taking such degrading actions. Though it was undignified, he himself thought it did not matter. When it came to a strong mentality, no one in Untainted Land could be compared to Jieyin and Zhunti.

Ever since Luohou and the entire Devil Tribe exploded, the West became extremely barren and poor. Jieyin and Zhunti were devoted to the rejuvenation of the West, so what they had done was understandable. In contrast, the Three Pure Ones who enjoyed better conditions always struggled with internal conflicts, weakening the Religion of Taoism in the East while strengthened the West. Minghe was speechless to see this.

Of course, Minghe was not here to watch the show. He did not care for Zhunti's plan. He was here to find the World Tree on the island. The World Tree, yellow plum tree, Ginseng Tree, Bodhi Tree, and Peento Tree were called the Five Primordial Sacred Roots, corresponding to the primordial Five Elements. Having searched it for a long time, Minghe was surprised that it was on Yingzhou Island. He used to think it might be on the sun.