Records of the Nine Heavens (Second Excerpt)

Records of the Nine Heavens – The Divine Kings, Tian's Rise to Power, Lady Jin FengHuang's Rebellion

As the years passed, a Second Generation of these Beasts of the Heavens appeared: four Beasts, sons and daughters of the Four Primordial Emperors, they would be called the Four Divine Beasts. Then, just like their parents before them, they would themselves earn the title of Lord, shocking the world as the Four Divine Kings.

Shortly after the birth of their offspring, the four Emperors disappeared one by one once more, leaving the affairs of the Heavenly Realm to the Jade Emperor. Left behind by half their family at a relatively young age, the four younglings banded together as a result.

The four powerful Divine Beasts soon grew close, even closer than real siblings. Partly because of that, their strength soared.

Unlike their parents, at least their heritage did not betray them, as very soon tales of their power spread among the planes of existence.

Their fight against the Behemoth of the Sword Lake Mountains? Simply magnificent!

The hundred-day plan concocted by the siblings is still taught today to aspiring Divine Generals: outside of the Emperors, there had been no records of “Eleventh Stage(First Ascension)” besting a “Twelfth Stage(Twice Ascended!)” in a fight!

Just like their parents before then, they became one of the two sole cases of Ageless defeating Immortal to date!

It must be said, of course, that their unparalleled inheritance, coupled with the well-oiled machine that were the four siblings, played a huge part in the battle.

The might of the Black Turtle, comprised of a body gifted with the strength to split mountains, and a durability deriving from the lands themselves that eased him into bearing the weight behind any attack. The reflexes and innate abilities of the White Tiger allowed her to bother and thread around her opponent to no end. Lastly, the mobility and supporting abilities of the Azure Dragon, coupled with the incredible damage potential of the flames of the Vermillion Bird: their foundations each played a crucial part in the more than thirteen-thousand steps of the hundred-day plan.

Nonetheless, at the time, it had been just the test of skill they had needed to rise to fame and leave the shadows of the Emperors; neglecting parents of theirs.

In fact, this newfound respect can be seen in a popular saying from that time that went: “Earth shifting, Ancient Beasts bowing, Oceans surging, Flames reaching the Heavens! Oh Emperors: am I against the Kings, or before the World?” [...]

“The Eldest amongst the four beasts, ruler of the Earth! The shield of the group, also holding the title of the strongest under the Heavens.”

They were the proud spawn of the two Primordial Beasts who were the rulers of all Lands. As such, be they the lands in the Heavens or in the Earth, just as their parents before them, they were the lords of all of all ground beneath the boundless sky!

They grew up[...]

“The Eldest Sister, ruler of everything that is alive, ruler of all Beasts! Due to her heritage and innate ability, few could refuse her orders as the ruler of all Beasts!”

However, things weren’t always like this: before an “unfortunate” encounter, she only had her exceptional agility, enhanced senses and incomparable instincts to rely on; mediocre to say the least, compared to her martial siblings.

One day that would all change: formerly a mere scout for the team, she’d eventually awaken her true power as a beast controller (a talent she’d later develop to attain the enviable title and status of Divine Gardener), as she was ambushed by[...]

“The ruler of the True Earth's Oceans, the one, true behemoth of the depths!”

He passed his youth learning cultivation from the Seven Leviathans, also rulers of the Seven Seas as his faithful subordinates. At times as calm and wise as a water surface with no ripples, yet at others as fierce and emotional as the hurricanes that sink ships and drown beasts!

Noteworthy were his Evergreen Coral Sandals, a gift from the Jade Emperor himself, giving the Sea King the power of going through great distances in the blink of an eye![...]

“The blazing dancer blessed by the highest flames.”

The youngest and yet at the same time the most unpredictable of the four: like a flame, she would burn at her highest when she was given more fuel to feed on! The more powerful the opponent, the brighter her flame!

Ninety-Nine Steps Burn Down The Heavens: the one ability that, after a hundred days, eventually brought down the Behemot. Or rather (quite horrifyingly), not quite Ninety-Nine, as even with all the necessary preparations, the actual amount of steps had really been a measly[...]

Primordial Beasts, Primordial Emperors and Divine Kings, a we saw, weren't the only ones who populated the Heavens. Rather, alongside the birth of the Four Kings, a new generation of beasts appeared....

After uncountable millennia passed, enough had appeared that a third generation could finally be said to have come into existence. From the third onwards, these beasts would no longer be called Primordial Beasts or Divine Beast, but would be simply called Heavenly Beasts, referring to their status as esteemed descendants of the Heavens.

Amongst them, a certain Heavenly Beast grew up, his greed for the throne of the Heavenly Realm unparalleled by any other... Born weakest of the Heavenly Beasts, he thirsted for power: Tian, “Heaven”, as he’d call himself (his true name lost to the ages) planned to acquire the throne!

Through countless subterfuges, deep scheming and profound planning, he somehow managed to fool and murder the all-powerful Jade Emperor (who had seen Tian as his own son).

Even then, it wouldn't have angered most Heavenly Beasts too much: after all, the world remained the world where the winner was King and the loser was Thief; they were much too used to that. Primordial Beasts especially so.

Still, Tian was born weak, and had been forced to act cautious and scheme his whole life to survive. First things first, he spent countless years, and eventually managed to kill Hundredth Xū's and steal his power! Then, as the foolish (or rather, indifferent) Heavenly Beasts believed what they were told without any questioning, claimed the throne with the claim that the jade Emperor had left this world... And left him in charge!

Tian became the Lord of the Heavens! He then went on and, to demonstrate his power, cleaved the heavens in two... Then slashed once again and the Heavens were not two anymore, but three! Then they became five, seven and, finally, nine! He slashed the Heavens in half five times, creating the Nine Heavens!

Fooled by his scheme, everybody pledged their allegiance through Soul Contracts, and the like, and were thus, from then on, completely unable to fight back! The four Primordial Emperors were told to have been banished from the Nine Heavens, while the four Divine Kings were publicly imprisoned on a flying island in the skies: Worldlords Island.

Soon, his true self was revealed and his figure as a just and rightful Lord of the Heavens was torn apart as he became a Tyrant. He placed a seal on Heavenly Beasts and Mortals alike, blocking their path to Immortality, unwilling to see anyone rise up to challenge his hard-earned hegemony!

Unable to rebel against the new Lord of the Heavens, the Four Emperors could only watch as they saw countless people get slaughtered if they didn't comply with Tian's demands...

[...]

A thousand and some hundred-odd years prior to the Saint's rise to power, a person couldn't hold it anymore... It was none other than Lady Jin FengHuang, the one Phoenix!

This individual was a Primordial Avifauna, and a fairly infamous one at that! During the Endless Slaughter she was even bequeathed the title of “Golden” Phoenix, as even more so than most other powerhouses of the time, her plumage had been dyed the color of Immortal blood: both her enemies’, and her own.

Born of the tears of the Primordial Fire Emperor, she and the Roc, Primordial Emperor of the Sky, fell in love once the conflict came to a close. As a result, the Divine Fire King was born.

In a way, the Divine Fire King (the Vermillion Bird Ren Hong) technically had the most ancient bloodline amongst the four Kings as she really had the blood of two of the Emperors. Amusingly enough though, destiny made her the youngest of the four siblings[...]

Just as all hope seemed to be lost, Lady Jin FengHuang attempted the impossible: to release the seal bearing down on the Humans and the Heavenly Beasts, to allow them a chance against Tian! Such a seal, created through the power of the first, true, Lord of Heaven, the Jade Emperor, an existence akin to a God, was supposed to last through the ages!

Yet, she didn't give up: she, with her own “low” cultivation, challenged this seemingly indestructible seal, laid down with the power of the strongest Primordial Beast... And won! She actually succeeded in lifting it!

According to some, this might have been because her talent and power was on par, if not higher, than the Four Emperors' themselves! Mostly, however, it should have been due to her special body, as it allowed her to regenerate so long as a single speck of her existence remained.

However, due to some twisted joke of fate, she did indeed successfully lift the seal... But she wounded her Being and exhausted her seemingly never-ending vitality in the process!

As time passed, she slowly began to fade into the world: her individuality gone with the fatal wound to her essence, the Qi within her body wished to merge back into the world. One day, her seemingly transparent and already faint figure suddenly... Disappeared.

The only thing that would be left behind would be a single silver feather... Grown dull due to the death of its previous owner, the only sign showing the great power of the glorious Golden Phoenix was the golden glow that emanated from within the silver body of the feather...

Hundreds of years passed peacefully: although the seal had been broken, the power of the first 'God' was no joke! Especially for those that had been under its light for so long, it would take a lot more than a couple laughable centuries for their essence to be cleansed of such burden. Only newcomers, born in a world free of any seal, had any hope to fully display their true capabilities against the Nine Heavens: even then, whatever traces inlaid in the karma of their ancestors would prevent them from acting too out of place.

Then... A certain human, the Heavenly Beast referred to her as the Prophet, prophesied of a person that shall bring chaos and destruction to the Nine Heavens, destroy the Tyrant and take the Throne as the Lord of Heaven!

This person would be not from the Earth, not from the Heavens, not from the Underworld: unlike all other beings whom, in a way or another, descended from the Heavens and Earths, Heavens, he would be born from nothingness. As a being free of any seal, he would be the sign of a calamity that shall befall the Nine Heavens!

The Prophet was a blind old human who, for some twist of fate, had been able to interact with Heavenly Beasts and peer into their path irregardless of the worldly laws. She was the one who gave the Divine Kings and the Primordial Emperors proper names beyond titles, introducing humans to the world they couldn’t see. Furthermore, in her long history of almost a hundred thousand years, she had prevented many catastrophes from falling onto the Heavens and Earth alike thanks to her ability of glimpsing into the future.

However, when he had first heard this, perhaps due to the long time having corroded away his characteristic wariness, Tian shrugged it off and didn’t offer the notion too much importance... well, it could be argued that that would have actually been the best course of action, in the end, but as the suppressed Heavenly and Primordial Beasts began to move about more and more menacingly, showing signs of rebellion… Tian couldn’t help but move himself[...]

Thus, he began to search all over the Nine Heavens, the Earth and even visited the Underworld, where Yama, King of Hell, he had once cheated out of two favors thanks to the Tyrant's sharp tongue and mellifluous words.

Even then though, he didn't find any trace of this potential threat. As such, the precarious state that the Nine Heavens were in after Lady Jin FengHuang's actions would persist... and for the centuries to come, the Prophecy would be like a beacon in the night, a light of hope for those who wished to rebel that only served to further incense their desire to act up to Tian!

And like so, as the years passed… and eventually, that hope appeared in the form of a child with blue eyes more beautiful than any gemstone, more starry than any night sky, deeper than any ocean: Xu Ling appeared before the Four Divine Kings.

Excerpts from the work: Records of the Nine Heavens

Author: Unknown