All Heavenly destiny reduced to ashes
Chapter 533 - 140: Sun and Moon Gods, Illusion of Life and Death (2/3)

Chapter 533: Chapter 140: Sun and Moon Gods, Illusion of Life and Death (2/3)

"Subdue Evil, Subdue Evil, do you understand?"

Although An Jing had a vague inspiration himself, and it seemed like the Fate Pattern itself was telling him the reason, the simplest and fastest method was indeed to ask Subdue Evil: "Qinghan’s Mysterious Yin Star Mandate corresponds with my Moon-shining, and that’s not strange. Golden Bright Star Fate can also explain growth through great battles... But why do the two resonate together and enhance each other?"

"Ha, it happens that I am the Executioner’s Golden Immortal Sword, you’ve asked the right sword."

Upon this, Subjure Evil braced his Spirit: "Actually, the answer is quite simple, it’s just that the source is too ancient, so most people in this world are unaware of it."

"An Jing, do you know the origin of the Moon-shining?"

An Jing thought for a moment and realized his mind only contained some memories from his past life: "Chang’e... Guanghan Fairy? Changxi Moon Mother?"

"Eh, you actually know?" Subdue Evil was quite surprised: "It is not strange to know the latter, but you are aware of the second name derived from the Moon Mother... Your past life must have been some Immortal God, right?"

—Wait, how come I remember it was the former, Chang’e, who was more famous?

An Jing had long been vaguely aware that the mythology of his past life had some subtle connections with the so-called Great Antiquity history told by Embracing the Void, that is, those ancient classics and myths brought by the Great Immortal Embracing the Void. Now it seemed that the connection was probably deeper than imagined but with some slight differences.

"Explain in detail, please, Lord Subdue Evil Immortal Sword."

An Jing grew interested, mentally flattered, and Subdue Evil became even more eager: "The Sun is the origin of life from the east, and the Moon is the demise to the west. The most ancient gods of the sunset and moonrise were called The Queen Mother of the West, and the earliest gods of moonset and sunrise were called East Mother, both great goddesses presiding over the alternation of the sun and moon, as well as the Dao of Life and Death Reincarnation."

"But in the Divine Dao, change is essential, and in the world, there are no eternal and unchanging gods. Among them, East Mother’s mastery of life and death became increasingly profound, thus she later laid down ’the god of sun’s rise and moon’s set, the turn of life and death’ and passed her duty to her other half, ’East King’, transforming into ’Tai Mountain Saint Mother’, ’Bixia Yuanjun’, taking charge of the matters of the Netherworld and Ghost Gods."

"After that, the great goddess merged with the Dao and transcended the mundane world; her divine title was conferred upon the mountain god transformed from the essence of Mount Tai, ’East Emperor’. Since then, her name was hidden and she existed as one with the Dao."

—Isn’t this the origin of Taiming Sect?

Upon hearing this, An Jing realized the origins and history of the Taiming Sect—whether it was the heritage of the East Emperor or that of Tai Mountain Saint Mother, their fundamental inheritance came from such a lineage.

"What about The Queen Mother of the West?"

An Jing inquisitively pursued, and Subdue Evil did not hold back: "The Queen Mother of the West’s fame is even greater, and just like East Mother, this ’goddess of sunset and moonrise, of life and death’, also changed her Path several times. However, she did not easily relinquish her divine title but continued to expand her own Dao."

"From the Dao of life’s illusion and death’s disappearance, the Western Mother of the West mastered the earliest ’Immortal Law of Eternal Life,’ one of the origins of the Immortal Path. She was the first Great Immortal God who transited from the ancient Divine Dao to the Immortal Path, and revered as Heavenly Venerate."

"At that time, her name was ’The Queen Mother of the West’, holding sovereignty over the western Immortal Realm, the Elixir of Immortality, and the greatest Moon Authority."

"Then, whether it was emperors of the human world or Immortal Gods of the heavens, they all sought the Elixir of Immortality from The Queen Mother of the West, who generously shared with all the Immortal Gods through a grand feast. This magnificent banquet, even to this day, still has some traditions remaining, like the Turquoise Pool banquet, the Flat Peach banquet... The names are different, but the essence is the same."

"But..."

At this point, Subdue Evil stumbled a bit, obviously not remembering. After a pause, he continued: "Anyway, for some reason, The Queen Mother of the West sensed that holding so many divine rights at the same time affected her own Dao, and like East Mother, gradually sought emptying and reduction, dividing her authority."

"First of all, was the Moon Authority. The Queen Mother of the West divided it and handed it over to another Moon God, ’Changxi Moon Mother’, who takes charge of ’Moon Transformation’, becoming the pure Immortal God of longevity. But since the Dao of life and death share the same origin, the Dao of eternal life made The Queen Mother of the West’s ’manifestation of demise, the mastery over the Dao of life and death’ even more profound as well, evolving into ’Heaven’s Punishment and Five Disabilities’, similarly corresponding to East Mother’s Netherworld Reincarnation. One is mercy, the other is punishment; The Queen Mother of the West is the very first death penalty and the first weapon of execution."

"But the complete Moon Authority was indeed too powerful; Changxi could only maintain the essence of balancing the sun and moon, assuming another aspect of her Dao as ’Leap Month God’, the deity who ’presides over the cycle of seasons and order of time’. A portion of the Moon God’s authority transformed into the god of moon governance, ’Wang Shu’, while another part split in two, one part remaining in the Taiyin Star, and the other part left in the human world."

"Chang’e..."

Upon hearing this, An Jing had an epiphany: "Chang’e stealing the elixir and ascending to the moon to become the Guanghan Immortal... Did The Queen Mother of the West aid the fallen Moon Goddess’s daughter, allowing her to return to the Moon Palace and become the Guanghan Fairy?"

"Subdue Evil, you still love these kinds of gossip!"

Subdue Evil replied with a laugh: "Haha, we swords had little to do back in the Sword Pool, so what else to look for if not gossip? Especially those sword masters, they might avoid talking about the past of the ancient gods with outsiders— but why would they avoid their own swords?"

After saying this, Subdue Evil became serious and emphasized, "Of course, the reality is definitely more complex, but I don’t know any more complex gossip than this."

"Especially some gossip might be dangerous. Although the majority of these ancient deities have already merged with the true Dao and will not care about minor matters, if we go too deep, there may be great misfortune!"

"In summary, the source of the Sun and Moon Gods lies with the East Mother and the West Mother, the deities of life and death cycles, of sunset and moonrise. They and their successors are also the pioneers of the Immortal Path."

"The ancient scriptures say: ’He who encounters the Sun Lord shall gain Immortal Skills; he who meets the Moon Lord shall have all wishes granted, and those who receive, shall master the art of living through the ages without death.’ This is the legend that tells of the origins of the Immortal Path—East King and The Queen Mother of the West are mentioned in the same breath, and for good reason. However, they do not correspond to each other, for East King is the half-self of East Mother, while The Queen Mother of the West remains an everlasting Ancient God."

"Indeed so."

An Jing nodded slightly.

He seemed to have discerned that, unlike the derivatives of the East Mother Dao, the derivatives of the West Mother Dao are more numerous, more powerful, but also more turbulent.

"So..."

He pondered and asked, "The West... the West Mother... The path of the West’s Taibai is also derived from the West Mother’s power?"

"Precisely."

Subdue Evil looked through An Jing’s eyes, glancing at Bai Qinghan next to him, who was meditating with closed eyes, sensing the growth of his Fate Pattern: "The Sun represents virtue, while the Moon represents punishment; hence it is said that one nourishes virtue under the Sun and cultivates punishment under the Moon."

"The Moon represents Heavenly Punishment, and gold is the essence of the Weapon Fiend of punishment; Taibai is positioned in the west, moving with the Moon, and shares the same color as the Moon, both symbolizing images of decline and sharpness—this alone sufficiently explains the relationship between gold and the Moon."

"Moreover... in this legend, it hides a rebellion led by the West Mother herself against the ’Heavenly Emperor’ during an unnamed era of Great Antiquity!"

"Oh?"

Hearing this, An Jing was thoroughly intrigued, and as someone who enjoyed these tales of the Seven Fiend Tribulation, he asked, "What rebellion?"

Subdue Evil lowered his voice, seemingly nervous, but spared no detail in gossip: "Taibai is also known as the star that precedes the Sun, carrying with it a fiendish nature—if it’s righteous, it serves as the protective general star of the Emperor Star Sun Ziwei; if it’s rebellious... it’s a rebel infringing upon the Sun’s radiance!"

"This fiend is the Moon Evil, as the Sun rises from the east, the prevailing Golden Qi moves retrograde, in essence a vanguard of the Moon challenging the Sun’s authority, a harbinger of discord between the Sun and the Moon!"

"I speculate that before The Queen Mother of the West merged with the ultimate truth, she transferred her ’Heavenly Punishment Weapon Fiend’ to the Taibai Golden Bright Star and enabled a rebellion against the Heavenly Emperor... and even, for a time, replacing the ’Heavenly Emperor’!"

"To put it simply, the Golden Bright star, with the aid of the Moon-shining star, would possess the power to threaten the ’Sunshine Emperor’!"

"Look, this woman bears the Mysterious Yin Star Mandate, and she is secretly amassing power for you, threatening Da Chen, challenging the Emperor Star as dominant as the Mid-day Sun—and you, as the one with the Seven Fiend Fate, are perfectly in sync with both the Moon Evil and Gold Fiend!"

Subdue Evil was clearly excited, feeling that all this was preordained by destiny, too coincidental to ignore.

Had it not been for these reasons, it would not have even remembered these gossips.

However, while originally enthusiastic, An Jing remained silent.

What Subdue Evil had mentioned, if it was unofficial history, then it was too real;

But if it was official history, then it seemed too wild.

At this moment, a name emerged in An Jing’s mind.

The deity of the West’s Taibai, the Five-color Five-direction God... the founder of the Taibai Luminous Godly Ban...

[—White Emperor—]

Indeed, the Green Emperor guards the soul, White Emperor serves the spirit, Red Emperor nourishes Qi, Black Emperor communicates with blood, Yellow Emperor commands the center... and the foundation of Taibai Luminous Godly Ban in the Qi Refinement stage is the ’Seven Souls’!

This corresponds as well!

And Embracing the Void’s ten continents, southeast northwest center, azure, red, white, Xuan, and yellow, that is...

"Five colors, five directions..."

An Jing suddenly paused, "Isn’t this Embracing the Void’s ten continents?"