The Song Dynasty was the king for thirteen years before he knew that he was Tianlong.

Chapter 469 The Former Chief Secretary (Seeking Monthly Tickets)

"I... I'm afraid you won't succeed..." Kui Niu finally spoke, his words still defiant, but his face had already changed color.

“Didn’t you claim to be a human being and an immortal being, not a demon or a monster? Whether you’re a human or an immortal, you have a sense of shame. We’ll strip you naked and hang you up high in public, so the people can see that you’re just a monster. What are you pretending to be, a human being or an immortal?” Zhao Ti said.

"You, what kind of skill is this? As expected, your sect is despicable, shameless, insidious and vicious. I'll fight you to the death!" Kui Niu roared, twisting his body and desperately trying to break free from the talisman's restriction.

Seeing this, Lin Lingsu hurriedly slapped a few more yellow paper talismans over, and the Kui Niu immediately became unable to move at all.

"Shameless scoundrel, shameless scoundrel, I want..." Kui Niu was so angry that white smoke rose from his forehead, his eyes turned blood red, and his face turned ashen.

"How dare you speak so rudely!" Zhao Ti said, "Write its name on the notice next to the bell tower, it shall be Kui Demon... Hmm, Kui Demon seems not good, and the common people do not know what it is, so let's just call it Ox Demon. There are water buffalo, yellow buffalo, and blue buffalo. This kind is rare, so let's name it Mountain Ox."

"Mountain ox? You're the mountain ox, you're all mountain ox..." the Kui ox roared angrily.

"Hurry up and take him out, strip him naked and hang him in front of the bell tower!" Zhao Ti sneered.

The soldiers hurriedly obeyed, and dozens of them worked together. The Kui Niu was completely immobilized and was lifted up and carried away.

Murong Longcheng said, "Junior brother, let's go and take a look too. Otherwise, this beast is so powerful that if it makes any mistakes, ordinary soldiers won't be able to subdue it."

Zhao Ti and the other two nodded, got up, and followed him out.

It was early morning, and as the saying goes, "the day's work begins in the morning." The city was bustling with people, especially near the clock tower in the city center, where crowds thronged and vendors came and went in an endless stream, making it a very lively place.

When the soldiers carried over a strange human figure covered in yellow paper, the people stopped to watch, curious about what it was.

The soldiers threw the Kui Niu on the ground, and then one of them turned to the people and explained that it was a monster, a mountain ox that had become a spirit and had harmed countless people, and that it should be hung up as a warning.

The people were half-believing and half-doubting when they heard this. They believed it because they all knew that the world had changed drastically and that demons and monsters had appeared. They doubted it because they saw a big man with a human face and body, who did not look like any kind of demon.

A soldier lifted the yellow paper from the messy hair on the forehead of the Kui Niu, revealing its single horn to the people. The horn was so fierce and menacing that it terrified them. The people immediately cried out in alarm, no longer having any doubts.

At this point, some bold people stepped forward and spat on it, and then people who bought or sold vegetables in the morning threw out some rotten vegetable leaves, which were all hung on the head and body of the Kui ox.

Kui Niu's face contorted with rage, and he was so angry that he seemed to be spitting fire from his seven orifices.

An elderly woman sighed, “My grandson went hunting in the mountains to the north and was eaten by wild beasts that had become spirits. The neighbor’s son was chopping wood when a monster gnawed off half of his arm. These demons all deserve to die.”

As she spoke, she picked up a rotten egg from the basket slung under her arm and threw it forcefully, hitting the Kui Niu squarely in the face. The black, foul-smelling egg liquid flowed down the Kui Niu's face and covered its body, emitting a pungent odor.

Kui Niu's eyes widened, and he couldn't catch his breath, so angry that he fainted.

Zhao Ti and his group arrived at this time, and the soldiers began to strip the Kui Niu of its clothes. Because it had talismans on it, they were very careful and it took them a long time to clean it completely. Then the soldiers on the bell tower began to suspend it forward.

Kui Niu slowly awoke, feeling his body floating in the air. A gust of wind made his hair stand on end uncomfortably cold. Looking down, he was horrified and cried out, "What, what are you doing? Quickly put me down..."

The onlookers were frightened by what they saw and took a few steps back, whispering among themselves: This demon can actually speak human language? It must have harmed a lot of people, otherwise where did it learn to speak human language from?

Kui Niu's face turned from green to white, then to crimson, and finally to a purple like an eggplant. He dared not look at himself, nor at the onlookers, his eyes like those of a thief. Suddenly, he saw Zhao Ti and his companions and shouted, "You despicable and shameless scoundrels, put me down right now! Me! Me..."

Zhao Ti said calmly, "Still calling yourself 'this venerable one' at a time like this? The people all know you are a demon, a mountain ox spirit that harms humans. Shouldn't you be calling yourself 'this demon' instead?"

"I, I..." Kui Niu's voice changed in his haste. He was most afraid of being called a demon. Although there were many birds and beasts under the Jie Sect who cultivated, he was a primordial being and had to be distinguished from them and have a hierarchy. However, his body was like a bull and was not quite the same as other primordial holy spirits. Instead, he was more like a beast. Therefore, he was most averse to such things. He would get annoyed and angry if he heard about them.

But at this moment, there was nothing he could do and he could not resist. He was so angry that he almost fainted again, seeing stars and uttering incoherent words.

"What do you mean, 'you'? Don't you admit you're a demon?" Zhao Ti said, "If you hang this up for all to see, it won't be long before your name as the Mountain Bull Demon spreads throughout the world, known to everyone."

"Ahhh, put me down right now! I am a primordial spirit, not a monster at all! You treacherous villains, how dare you ruin my reputation with such means! It's utterly shameless..." the Kui Niu roared.

"Now that the world has changed so drastically, the fact that you are completely naked and have been hung up for all to see might spread throughout the universe, becoming a legendary tale and a topic of conversation among the immortals and gods," Zhao Ti said calmly.

"Put me down, put me down..." The Kui Niu's voice was mournful, so loud that the bell in the bell tower hummed, frightening the people into taking several steps back.

"Put you down?" Zhao Ti stroked his chin. "Putting you down isn't impossible, but you have to tell me what exactly happened, what major event occurred in the Pangu Universe that made you travel to the stars and come to this place, and what exactly is the situation with the Ten Thousand Immortals Formation before the capital city."

"I... I'll tell you, okay..." After roaring, the Kui Niu seemed exhausted, its tone becoming weak and feeble. It stammered, "I'll tell you everything, please put me down quickly."

Zhao Ti smiled slightly, glanced at Xiaoyaozi and the others, and then ordered the soldiers to put the Kui Niu down and take it back to the Marshal's Mansion.

In the main hall of the Marshal's mansion, Wang Yuyan brewed tea and filled everyone's cups, then curiously looked at the Kui Niu.

Kui Niu sat on the ground, and Lin Lingsu took off a few talismans. He looked indignant and kept panting heavily.

Zhao Ti took a sip of tea and said slowly, "Tell me, what happened to the Pangu Universe?" "The Pangu Universe..." Kui Niu stuck out his long tongue and licked his nose, "What Pangu Universe is there anymore? The Pangu Universe was destroyed countless years ago."

As expected! Zhao Ti and the others exchanged glances. Just as predicted, the Pangu Universe was indeed gone.

"How was the Pangu Universe destroyed? How long after the Investiture of the Gods was it destroyed?" Zhao Ti narrowed his eyes and leaned forward.

Murong Longcheng and the others were also focused intently on the Kui Niu, their eyes fixed on it without blinking.

"How was it destroyed? How long after the Investiture of the Gods was it destroyed..." Kui Niu snorted out two puffs of white breath and muttered, "That was forty-nine eras after the Investiture of the Gods."

"What?!" Zhao Ti frowned upon hearing this. "What did you say? The forty-ninth era since the Investiture of the Gods?"

An era is 1.296 billion years. The 49th era after the Investiture of the Gods means that 49 1.296 billion years have passed.

How much time has passed!
Every era is accompanied by a great cataclysm, with chaos re-emerging in the universe. The Heavenly Dao resolves and digests the chaos, and in the long process, life is annihilated, the source of life is destroyed, and countless planets disappear.

Even the most powerful beings live cautiously, daring not to confront chaos head-on, lest they be devoured and assimilated by it, carefully preserving their own and the seeds of some other life forms.

With forty-nine such cataclysms, it can be said that the era of the Investiture of the Gods world has long been submerged in the dust of the universe, becoming a prehistoric event. Not to mention in the forty-ninth era, even in the second era, there would be no more Investiture of the Gods, including some records from the previous era.

Zhao Ti looked rather unwell, and Murong Longcheng and the others also looked quite grim.

It was forty-nine epochs before the Pangu Universe was destroyed. He traveled away about three thousand years after the Investiture of the Gods, and when he reappeared, Tongtian and others had already been operating here for tens of thousands of years.

So, I've been drifting in the vast starry sky for forty-nine epochs? In the blink of an eye, forty-nine 1.296 billion years have passed?
The group remained silent, processing the information. After a long while, Zhao Ti spoke again: "Why was the Pangu Universe destroyed?"

Upon hearing this, Kui Niu blinked: "Do you think a universe can exist forever?"

"Isn't that right?" Zhao Ti frowned.

"Yes and no," Kui Niu said. "Whether the universe can exist forever depends on whether the Heavenly Dao will decay. Whether the Heavenly Dao will decay depends on whether it was the true will that created the universe in the beginning."

"What do you mean?" Xiaoyaozi stared sharply at Kui Niu.

"It means that the beings who created the universe, whose will becomes the Heavenly Dao that governs the universe, are the most solid Heavenly Dao. Each era is infinitely long, and a powerful will can even cause an era to be replaced and cease to exist. But such a universe is extremely rare. After all, the beings who created chaos are mostly exhausted after they have completed it. Their bodies, blood vessels, and bones disintegrate and scatter into the void, turning into stars, rivers, and seas. Their will is extremely weak. After bringing the universe back on track, it gradually dissipates and turns into the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, which is difficult to see with the naked eye."

Kui Niu said, "On the contrary, if the will of the beings who created the universe did not become the Heavenly Dao, then this universe would have the change of eras, and there would be great destructions after many years. If there were innate great beings who merged with the Heavenly Dao and presided over its operation, it would be more stable than the Heavenly Dao that the universe itself generated. Each era would also last longer. The Pangu universe is like this. However, neither the Heavenly Dao of such a universe nor the Heavenly Dao of a self-generated universe is immortal. With the infinite passage of time, it will gradually weaken."

Zhao Ti pondered for a moment and said, "Even if it weakens, it can't possibly be completely destroyed in the end, can it?"

“It certainly won’t lead to complete destruction…” Kui Niu said, “If the Heavenly Dao begins to weaken, it can gradually shrink the universe, keeping it within its control, or even shrinking it to a size countless times smaller than the original universe. This would almost temporarily slow down the decay. In such a universe that is countless times smaller, it is possible to stop decay and continue to exist.”

"Then the Pangu Universe..." Murong Longcheng asked in confusion.

"The Pangu Universe was formed by the fusion of Hongjun Saint with the Heavenly Dao, making it one of the most powerful Heavenly Daos after the advent of the Heavenly Dao. It took forty-seven epochs before it began to weaken. In the forty-eighth epoch, the disciples of the Three Palaces and many sages and powerful beings advised Hongjun Saint to shrink the universe to ensure the eternal existence of the Heavenly Dao. However, Hongjun Saint said that he would wait until the fiftieth epoch before starting to shrink the universe," Kui Niu said.

"Why is it the fiftieth era?" Wang Yuyan asked, puzzled.

“The Great Evolution reaches fifty, the Heavenly Journey reaches forty-nine, and one escapes. Sage Hongjun said that we must find that sliver of opportunity and fortune in the darkness…” Kui Niu shook his head and said, “So we must gather fifty to see if we can find it, and then decide whether to shrink the universe.”

“The number of the Great Derivation is fifty, and its use is forty-nine. Cultivators all know this saying, but it has different interpretations and requests under different circumstances. But what does Master Hongjun mean by a sliver of luck?” Lin Lingsu asked.

"No one knows what the Sage meant, and even the Sage Hongjun himself has not explained it," Kui Niu exhaled. "But just as the forty-ninth era was about to end, and everyone was preparing to face the catastrophe of the Great Annihilation of the Era, a sudden change occurred..."

"What changes? Is it related to the destruction of the Pangu universe?" Zhao Ti raised his eyebrows and asked.

“That’s right.” A look of pain appeared on the Kui Niu’s face, and it suddenly roared, “Aaaaah…”

Zhao Ti looked at the Kui Niu without urging it, and waited until the Kui Niu calmed down before continuing to ask, "What kind of change could lead to the destruction of the universe?"

"It's an enemy, an enemy..." Kui Niu's voice changed from excitement to a low murmur, as if he had thought of something terrifying and felt a chill run down his spine. He dared not speak loudly, and said in a low voice, "Perhaps... it cannot be called an enemy. It, it is just passing by..."

"An external enemy? Just passing by?" Zhao Ti took a deep breath: "What exactly is it? One or a group? Human or immortal, or some kind of monster or celestial beast?"

“No, none of them…” Kui Niu shook his head again, but even more forcefully than before: “There is only one, not human, not immortal, not monster, and not some kind of giant beast. Perhaps it is a god, or perhaps it is not.”

"Only one?" Zhao Ti was shocked. It was neither human nor immortal, neither monster nor beast. What was it? How could it cause the destruction of the entire Pangu Universe?

Although the Heavenly Dao, which was Hongjun's incarnation, began to weaken in the 47th era, there were still the Three Pure Ones, the Buddha, other religious leaders, and so many powerful Golden Immortals in the universe. How could they possibly fail to stop an outsider?

His face was grim as he looked at the Kui Niu and said, enunciating each word clearly, "Tell me, what exactly is that thing?"

(End of this chapter)