Chapter Ninety-Two: The Divine Court of the Northern Wilderness (Part One)

The City of the Gods had already opened its gates in welcome to the myriad gods of the Northern Wastes, and so the gods of the North could not tarry any longer. Led by the nine great clans of the Northern Wastes, they advanced toward the grand gates of the City of the Gods.

There were four gates to the City of the Gods: the Gate of Eastern Triumph, the Gate of Southern Majesty, the Gate of Western Valor, and the Gate of Northern Radiance. Each of these four divine gates was guarded by a god-lord, commanding an army of a million divine soldiers, to protect the city. These four guardians were known as the Four Pillar Lords.

Among the four gates, the Gate of Southern Majesty was the entrance designated for this grand Peaches of Immortality Banquet, through which all the assembled deities would pass. Naturally, the gods would not permit the Northern Wastes' deities to enter and exit the four gates at will. One could easily imagine the chaos if countless beams of divine light surged unruly through all the gates—a scene that would be most undignified and a blemish upon the gods’ authority.

Thus, the gods of the North were lined up and made to enter only through the Gate of Southern Majesty. This not only facilitated order and control but also displayed the majesty of the divine race.

As for why it was the Gate of Southern Majesty, Nanluo gave the reason: "The Gate of Southern Majesty, sacred and solemn, is fitting for the gods to display their dignity before those of the Northern Wastes." This was merely the superficial explanation. In truth, upon seeing the Gate of Southern Majesty, Nanluo was reminded of the Southern Heavenly Gate of the Celestial Court. The Southern Heavenly Gate was the portal that connected the heavens and the earth; thus, the Gate of Southern Majesty could likewise serve as the conduit between the City of the Gods and the myriad clans of the primordial world.

Though the other gods were unaware of the thoughts in Nanluo’s mind, such a detail was too trivial to provoke their objection, and so they readily agreed to Nanluo’s decision. From then on, the Gate of Southern Majesty became the sole entrance and exit for all external deities passing into the City of the Gods.

Led by the nine great clans, the gods of the Northern Wastes arrived at the Gate of Southern Majesty—and at first sight, they were utterly awestruck!

The Gate of Southern Majesty was an arched golden portal, engraved with billions of stars and radiating boundless golden light. It was indeed sacred, majestic, and unassailable, like the heavenly gates themselves, vast and supreme.

Yet it was not the sanctity and majesty that astonished the gods of the Northern Wastes, but rather the gate’s diminutive size.

Indeed, diminutive.

For a gate that was one of the four main entrances to the City of the Gods, the Gate of Southern Majesty was a mere thirty feet tall. One must understand—the City of the Gods soared millions of miles high and stretched millions of miles across, a bastion unrivaled beneath the heavens. How could its gate be so small?

Accustomed to seeing gates towering ten thousand feet, the gods found this thirty-foot gate almost comically paltry.

Nevertheless, these gods were all knowledgeable and worldly. They understood that the Gate of Southern Majesty surely employed spatial compression or similar arrays, which was why it appeared only thirty feet tall. Otherwise, how could those colossal divine beasts, thousands of feet long, possibly pass through such a narrow entrance?

While those below the rank of god-lord marveled at the gate’s humble size, the god-lords and greater powers marveled at its might.

God-lords were already half-manifestations of divine law, acutely attuned to its presence. At first glance, they clearly sensed the vast currents of law and the inexhaustible power of the stars flowing within the gate.

Xuantian Wu gazed upon the thirty-foot Gate of Southern Majesty. Sensing the intricate laws upon it, he silently estimated, "This gate, modest in size, perfectly suits the gods’ penchant for defying convention. Yet its defenses may well rival those of the Gate of Black Tortoise."

The Gate of Black Tortoise was the main entrance to the city of the Black Tortoise, ten thousand feet high and forged entirely from jet-black tortoise crystal, weighing a million catties and utterly unbreakable.

While the god-lords were captivated by the power woven into the Gate of Southern Majesty, their followers behind them could not help but grumble about the arrogance of the gods. "The gods are truly overbearing—not a single one has even come out to greet us!"

Indeed, the gods of the Northern Wastes had been waiting before the gate for a full hour. Yet the gate remained tightly sealed, and not a god appeared to receive them.

It was as though they had come to a deserted city, waiting foolishly for the gate to open. Even with the gods’ might pressing upon the North, such discourtesy seemed excessive.

The god-lords themselves cared little for this slight, but their followers grew increasingly restless, secretly cursing the gods.

Just as this restlessness reached its peak, wisps of white mist drifted down from above the gate, fragrant and pure. The instant it touched them, their minds cleared, and all impatience vanished.

"Literary Qi!" Xuantian Wu recognized the mist instantly. "Fang Yan has arrived!"

Boom.

The Gate of Southern Majesty slowly opened. Amidst swirling golden light, a gentleman clad in snow-white robes, holding a white fan, appeared out of thin air before the nine clan leaders of the North.

"Forgive me for my tardiness," Fang Yan said with a gentle smile, bowing to the nine clan leaders. "I beg your pardon for failing to welcome you sooner."

Though Fang Yan’s salutation was addressed only to the clan leaders, every being below the rank of god-lord felt his goodwill and broke into smiles of delight.

"Fang Yan—one whose words can summon clouds and turn the skies to rain. He is not to be underestimated," Xuantian Wu thought to himself, taking the full measure of Fang Yan’s subtle craft.

To make the assembled gods wait at the gate—arrogant and discourteous as it was—was itself a form of supreme confidence.

Even powers as great as the god-lords found themselves waiting meekly before the gods. What a blow this must be to the gods of the North who revered their own lords above all!

Though the gods of the Northern Wastes had complaints, they were only made more keenly aware of the gods’ might.

Then, the baptism of Fang Yan’s Literary Qi washed away all resentment in their hearts, and gratitude toward Fang Yan and the gods arose in its stead.

Xuantian Wu could see clearly that at a mere word from the gods, any force lacking the cohesion of the great clans would be instantly swallowed by the gods, leaving no trace of resistance. In this primordial world, might makes right.

If even the revered god-lords were lesser than the gods, who would continue to serve them? Surely all would rush to offer their allegiance to the gods—none would dare lag behind.

Thus Xuantian Wu thought, "Fang Yan—one whose words can summon clouds and turn the skies to rain. He is not to be taken lightly."

Yet whether the lesser factions were devoured by the gods was no concern of the nine clans. The nine clans would never expose the gods’ designs.

Among the nine clans of the Northern Wastes, the Black Tortoise clan reigned supreme.

"Not at all! We have just arrived ourselves—there is no need to ask forgiveness," Xuantian Wu replied with a smile, leading the other eight clan leaders.

With a gentle smile, Fang Yan extended his hand to the gate and said, "Please, honored lords, proceed to the Peaches of Immortality Banquet."

"Please!" the nine clan leaders replied in unison, smiling.

Guided by Fang Yan, the nine clan leaders transformed into beams of divine light and led the way to the banquet.

Afterwards, under the guidance of the God of Poetry, the gods of the Northern Wastes began to file steadily and in perfect order through the Gate of Southern Majesty.

Yet perhaps things were going too smoothly—perhaps even the heavens wished to trouble the gods.

In the end, an incident occurred before the Gate of Southern Majesty.

"Please show your invitation," the God of Poetry said to a god-lord clad in black-feathered armor.

"Hmm." The Roc God-lord produced a golden invitation from the gods and handed it to the white-robed God of Poetry.

The God of Poetry smiled as he opened the invitation, but his expression changed instantly. In his hand, the invitation turned blood-red.