Da Zaojun

Once the Rabbit is gathered, there are no other zodiac animals in the Heavenly Palace, since the Dragon, Tiger, Ox, and Horse have all descended to the mortal realm amidst the chaos.

Without these four zodiac earthly branches, Song Wuji's [Yuan Chen Siming] ritual would be incomplete.

However, after the sacrificial ceremony at the Altar of Heaven and Earth, one could complete the rituals for a sixth-rank official and assume the duties of the Imperial Chef, so Song Wuji was not too worried.

They rushed from the Moon Palace to the Sun Palace.

The Rooster said, "In the Sun Palace, there is the Sun Fusang, which is the innate Bing Fire spiritual root. Originally, it was inhabited by Golden Crows. Later, nine of the ten Golden Crows were shot down, and the remaining one was filled with fear and could not live a day without going out into the world."

"The Heavenly Court then appointed the Sun Emperor and other officials, and put into operation the Zhou Tian Star Array, with the Pleiades Rooster of the White Tiger constellation in the west assisting them."

"After the Sun Emperor ascended to the throne, he raised celestial chickens on the sun. The celestial chickens are no less than the Golden Crows in bloodline; they are my family's ancestors."

Shenhou said, "No matter how powerful that celestial chicken is, isn't it still a chicken? And a chicken is meant to be eaten, isn't it? Celestial eggs, celestial wings, celestial drumsticks—which immortals and gods haven't eaten their fill of them?"

"Don't try to associate yourself with phoenixes or golden crows. We're from the Earthly Branches, so let's do something down-to-earth."

Upon hearing this, Song Wuji also became interested: "You're not a spirit made of iron, but is this golden rooster a kind of clan like the jade rabbit clan?"

Song Wuji actually saw that the twelve zodiac animals and earthly branches all had the potential to be used as ingredients, but he simply suppressed that thought.

Speaking of dragon meat, Song Wuji also personally processed it.

As for dog meat, even immortals would tremble at the thought of it. Legend has it that Lü Dongbin stewed Erlang Shen's Howling Celestial Dog.

However, there are too many stories about Lü Dongbin, so it's hard to tell which ones are true and which ones are fake.

For example, the sword of the True Martial Emperor only has a scabbard, not a sword. It is said that Lü Dongbin borrowed it. There are also stories of Lü Dongbin teasing the White Peony three times and the Yellow Millet Dream, etc.

Erlang Shen is no small figure either; he is the Master of Meishan and the God of Hunting.

Although Chinese civilization has long since transformed into an agricultural civilization, the ancient activity of hunting has been passed down and has existed since the dawn of humankind.

Among the many gods, Erlang Shen is truly the only one who purely seeks power. His Howling Celestial Dog is no ordinary dog ​​either; it can even bite the Great Sage.

Whether Lü Dongbin could cook and eat the Celestial Dog is another matter entirely.

As for snake meat, chicken, beef, horse meat... as long as it's meat, no one will refuse to eat it.

Even tigers are sought after, simply because some believe that tigers possess pure yang energy. Not only are tiger bones used in medicine, but tiger penises and all that, even a whole body of blood, are used to make tiger blood wine.

If the Jade Rabbit of the Moon Palace were to be seen in the Sichuan and Chongqing areas, they would be overjoyed.

However, if the Heavenly Chicken is too hot, people in the Guangdong and Guangxi regions will probably need to add some medicinal herbs to reduce its heat.

After all, in the Guangdong region, one's entire life is a struggle against internal heat and dampness.

Even before reaching the Sun Palace, Song Wuji could already feel the intense heat.

But the Vermilion Bird became restless and could no longer restrain itself. It changed its form, became the Vermilion Bird, and flew to the Sun Palace.

Having received the [Fire Virtue Mandate], Song Wuji's fire virtue aura is even stronger than before. The Vermilion Bird is also the divine bird of the Li trigram, in charge of the Southern Bright Divine Fire, and is the master of the Seven Mansions of the South. Although Song Wuji is not the real Vermilion Bird, he has also received the fire of the human world, and has the divine aura of pursuing light and breaking through darkness.

All that could be seen were golden-feathered celestial chickens, which, upon seeing the Vermilion Bird, excitedly cried out: "Oh oh oh!"

"Lord Suzaku!"

"Lady Suzaku is so beautiful!"

"Lord Suzaku, you are so beautiful!"

"No!"

"If I look at it one more time, I'm going to explode!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a celestial chicken exploded, turning into a huge fireball and a mushroom cloud.

Song Wuji landed on the Fusang tree and asked, "What is the current situation of the Sun Palace?" The leader of the Heavenly Roosters said, "Lord Vermilion Bird, since the Zhou Tian Star Array has lost its divine presiding, a large amount of Yang Qi from the Yin and Yang Qi created by the Chaos Qi has fallen into the Sun Palace."

The sun is getting bigger and bigger, and we celestial chickens, absorbing its fiery heat every day and laying eggs non-stop, are no match for its efforts to comb our hair.

"On the Fusang Divine Tree, a golden crow's nest appeared. It seemed to be a secret realm that had absorbed a lot of fire poison and had begun to nurture the golden crow."

"Although no golden crows have appeared now, there are a large number of fire crows vying for territory with my celestial rooster!"

"Lord Suzaku, have you come to take over the Sun Palace?"

"Golden Crow?"

"Fire poison?"

Song Wuji immediately had a bad feeling: "Are we going to start the Ten-Day Sky Patrol instance?!"

When did this Golden Crow's Nest appear?

"I don't know, it seems to have suddenly appeared after the great changes in the world."

"It also gave rise to a secret realm. We entered the secret realm, only to be chased by the fire crows!"

Song Wuji did some quick calculations and was shocked: "This is the Ten-Day Celestial Patrol, the Nine Purple Flames! It's going to destroy the world with heavenly fire and reshape it!"

Song Wuji immediately learned how to use the Sun Needle.

He brought out the Golden Needle of the Sun and said, "Now that we've arrived at the Sun Star, you can take good care of yourself."

"I was forged within the eyes of the Great Sun Tathagata, and the Golden Crow is perfectly suited for nourishment!"

The Sun Golden Needle said excitedly, "I might be able to absorb enough primordial creation from the Sun Golden Crow, shed its physical form, seize the Golden Crow's body, and rebuild myself anew."

Song Wuji replied, "That's not allowed."

He immediately asked the celestial chickens, "Are there any treasures on the sun?"

"Originally, most of the treasures were lost when the Sun God Palace fell to earth."

"If we're talking about treasures, the hibiscus tree is the greatest treasure."

"I mean, are there any sun ships or anything like that?"

"No."

"The Sun God Ship has long since sailed into the void; it's no longer on the sun."

At this moment, another celestial rooster said, "There is a treasure, a large bell. I don't know where it came from. As soon as the Golden Crow Secret Realm was born, it crashed into it, emitting a buzzing sound, stimulating the solar core and producing more fire poison."

"This fire poison has nurtured many more fire crows!"

“Our Heavenly Chicken Clan was not afraid of him at first, but we were put at a disadvantage because of that bell.”

Upon hearing this, Song Wuji immediately opened his mouth wide: "Could it be that big clock?"

He then asked the Sun Needle, "Do you know the origin of that bell?"

The Golden Needle of the Sun said, "The Great Sun Treasure was originally a bell called the Golden Bell of the Sun. It was held by the Taiyi God. The Taiyi God later transformed into the Taiyi Salvation Heavenly Venerable, and took the primordial spirits of his nine sons as the Nine Spirits Primordial Saints, which were transformed into nine pure yang little lions."

"But we don't know if it was a rare treasure that Taiyi Jiuku Tianzun possessed before he attained enlightenment."

Upon hearing this, Song Wuji thought to himself: According to the Great Dao Diagram, everything here is a counterfeit. Taiyi Jiuku Tianzun is the Eastern Azure Flower God, how could he be related to the Sun God? Someone must be impersonating him to prove the Dao.

(End of this chapter)