# 982
Chapter 983: Celestial Venerable's War Declaration
Egypt.
Sun City.
The blazing sun hung above this ancient and magnificent city like a roaring furnace. Brick and stone buildings stood tall among the clouds, shining like gold bricks under the sunlight.
At the highest point of this sun city, at the center of the nine soaring divine pillars, the phantom seated on the Sun God Pillar slowly opened its eyes.
Its brow furrowed slightly.
"Why… is my heart so unsettled?"
Its gaze swept across the ancient city at its feet, finding nothing amiss, then lifted to gaze into the distant void.
The other eight Ennead gods noticed the异样 (anomaly) of the Sun God and opened their eyes one after another, seemingly puzzled.
"Is it Great Xia?" Shu, the god of wind, speculated. "Could the threat come from the fact that Heavenly Court descended and slew Takamagahara?"
"Though the Takamagahara divine system may not match the strength of our ancient god realms, it remains a great divine system in this world. Heavenly Court defeating it so easily truly exceeded our expectations." Another Ennead god said.
For the past hundred years, Takamagahara had remained in seclusion. Besides the Great Xia gods, many other divine realms did not know that Takamagahara had already fallen beneath the Red Moon, nor that the god realm Yuanshi Tianzun had destroyed was now nothing but an empty shell..
From their perspective, Heavenly Court's immediate destruction of the nearest divine system upon its descent was truly terrifying.
The Celestial Venerable's single sword strike had completely maxed out the deterrence of the Gods of Great Xia in the hearts of the other divine systems.
"Even as ancient god realms, how much stronger can the Gods of Great Xia possibly be?" The god of life shook his head. "Now our Egypt Sun City has formed an alliance with Norse Asgard, the Indian Divine Temple, and Greek Olympus. Four great god realms united, no matter how strong Heavenly Court is, they simply cannot win.
Moreover, Heavenly Court's destruction of Takamagahara must have damaged their foundation. Perhaps they're just bluffing now."
"Though the four great god realms have allied, whether they're truly of one heart remains uncertain."
"In my view, we should take this opportunity to unite other god realms, march directly to Great Xia, and flatten Heavenly Court."
"Heavenly Court just descended and used swift雷霆 (thunder)手段 (means) to destroy Takamagahara. Their momentum is at its peak right now. If they're determined to defend Great Xia to the death, even the four-nation alliance may not easily break through… I think we should not rush. Unite other god realms and slowly erode the foundation of the Gods of Great Xia. Wait until the timing is成熟 (mature), then strike and break through."
On the nine divine pillars, various Ennead gods held differing opinions and debated.
On the central Sun God Pillar, the phantom remained silent, brow furrowed in deep thought before slowly speaking:
"Nu, you shall represent our Sun City and visit the other three god realms. See what plans they have. Nephthys, you shall secretly investigate Heavenly Court's movements along Great Xia's borders. Do not go deep, do not make direct contact with the Great Xia gods. If you sense danger, return immediately."
"We obey the Sun God's decree."
Sky God Nu and Death God Nephthys received their orders simultaneously, transforming into two streams of light that vanished beyond the horizon of Sun City.
The phantom seated on the Sun God Pillar slowly closed its eyes, but the unease in its heart grew ever stronger…
…
Sky God Nu and Death God Nephthys flew out of the Egyptian god realm, crashing through the mist, heading in different directions.
As Nu flew, she contemplated how to discuss this matter with the Norse Gods upon arriving at Asgard.
Unknown how much time passed, a figure flew toward her from within the mist ahead.
Nu looked closely and, upon recognizing the person, was slightly taken aback.
"Nephthys, why have you returned?" She gazed at the familiar figure, puzzled.
Nephthys, upon seeing Nu, was also stunned. "Why are you here?"
"I was flying toward Asgard."
"I was heading to Great Xia… but aren't those two different directions?"
The two looked around茫然 (blankly), the hazy mist rolling through the air, making it impossible to determine their location.
Suddenly, above the gray heavens, points of starlight began to glow, the countless stars spreading across the sky like prairie fire, rapidly covering the entire sky.
A subtle and profound aura emanated from beneath the starry sky.
"That's…"
Upon witnessing this scene, Nu's pupils contracted slightly.
…
Norse.
Asgard.
Odin's throne hall.
In the pristine and sacred great hall, a blonde goddess in white robes stood quietly beneath the divine throne, her eyes closed, mysterious light and shadows flowing around her, and terrifying divine power fluctuations emanating outward.
After an unknown time, her eyes slowly opened. Those beautiful eyes gazed remotely toward the sky beyond the great hall, as if trying to pierce through the threads of fate.
She was Frigg, queen of the Norse pantheon, wife of the king of gods Odin.
Behind her, two men waited quietly—one in black robes with black hair, his temperament cold and eerie; the other with blonde hair and red robes, handsome and strong.
After a long while, Queen Frigg收回 (withdrew) her gaze, her beautiful eyes无奈 (helplessly) closing.
"Frigg, did you see clearly?"
Upon the divine throne, the one-eyed weathered old man slowly spoke.
"…No." Frigg shook her head. "Great Xia's fate has been deliberately obscured. The heavenly mechanisms are chaotic and impossible to divine. It must be the Three Pure Ones of Great Xia who acted."
"I still think they're bluffing." Behind Frigg, the black-robed, black-haired cold man眯眼 (narrowed his eyes) to speak, his gaze cold and sharp as a serpent's. "Heavenly Court蛰伏 (lay low) for two years yet chose to descend now, and so张扬 (arrogantly) destroyed Takamagahara… There's definitely something deeper behind this.
Perhaps, knowing they cannot对抗 (resist) the united four great god realms, they're already secretly plotting some other scheme…"
The one-eyed old man upon the divine throne沉思 (contemplated) for a moment, his gaze falling upon the blonde red-robed man beside him.
"Thor, what do you think?"
"…I don't want to participate in this matter." Thor spoke calmly. "I don't even understand why Asgard must be an enemy of Great Xia. We gods of Great Xia seem to have never had any grudges."
Loki's eyes narrowed slightly.
The one-eyed old man seemed to have anticipated Thor's response long ago, not answering his疑惑 (question), but speaking expressionlessly:
"If that's the case, let us take the initiative to attack and probe Great Xia's…"
Before the one-eyed old man could finish his sentence, his remaining eye contracted sharply. He lifted his head abruptly and gazed at the sky.
A streak of blue light swept across Asgard's sky, crashing through the temple doors like a fleeting swan,携 (carrying) terrifying Daoist大道 (great way) aura, and charging directly toward the one-eyed old man on the divine throne!
Loki and Thor's expressions changed simultaneously!
"Hmph."
The one-eyed old man coldly snorted. His right hand lifted and heavily struck the armrest of the divine throne. A surge of majestic divine power erupted forth, shocking the blue light from mid-air down onto the ground before the throne.
It was a wooden sword.
The sword's edge deeply embedded into the earth. At the end of the hilt, a thin cloud note fluttered in the wind.
On that cloud note, neatly written in Chinese characters, though the four present did not recognize this script, they could clearly感知 (sense) the意念 (intent) it conveyed.
"In ten days, this贫道 (humble Taoist) shall visit to retrieve the sword and question the Norse Gods."
—Taiqing Daode Tianzun.