The comet remained silent, only relentlessly unleashing heavenly tribulations.

Chapter 113 The Antarctic Immortal Emperor

Song Yi looked in the direction of the sound and saw dozens of bolts of lightning breaking through the air. The person in the lead was wearing a golden robe and surrounded by lightning. It was none other than the Golden Light Holy Mother.

Behind him followed dozens of thunder generals, each one imposing and menacing.

Upon seeing who it was, Song Yi actually breathed a sigh of relief.

He straightened his clothes, smiled, and stepped forward, cupping his hands in greeting, saying, "The Holy Mother usually prefers tranquility and rarely descends to the mortal realm. Why has she personally come to Jambudvipa today? Could it be that some terrible calamity has occurred here again, requiring the Holy Mother's personal intervention?"

The Golden Light Mother descended from the clouds and landed in front of Song Yi.

Her face was somewhat gloomy, but it wasn't directed at Song Yi; rather, it seemed as if she had a bellyful of anger that she couldn't vent.

Hearing Song Yi ask, she snorted coldly and said, "That old man from the South Pole actually went to heaven and became a god. He was given the title of the Antarctic Longevity Emperor and occupied the Divine Firmament Thunder Palace. I felt disgusted by that old man, so I simply took a random job and went down to the mortal realm to relax and clear my mind, out of sight, out of mind."

Song Yi suddenly understood and nodded, saying, "I see."

After the Investiture of the Gods, the Twelve Golden Immortals of the Chan Sect had their three flowers on their heads and their five qi in their chests scattered, resulting in a severe loss of vitality.

However, the true great beings such as the Antarctic Immortal, Yun Zhongzi, and the Burning Lamp Daoist were unharmed. In particular, the Burning Lamp Daoist obtained twenty-four Sea-Stabilizing Pearls, and his strength increased greatly.

The foundation of the Chan sect was not fundamentally damaged.

Thanks to their merit in educating the human race after the Investiture of the Gods, the Twelve Golden Immortals have gradually recovered their full strength over the years. The fortune of the Chan Sect has not declined but rather increased, becoming even more prosperous than before the Investiture of the Gods.

But decades ago, a sudden change occurred.

The Taoist Ran Deng, along with the Taoist Ci Hang, Manjushri, Samantabhadra, and Ju Liusun, betrayed the Chan Sect and joined the Western Sect.

Although Yun Zhongzi did not betray the sect, he disappeared without a trace, and no one knows where he went into seclusion to cultivate enlightenment.

This greatly damaged the fortunes of the Chan Sect, and its years of accumulation were almost cut in half.

In contrast, although the Jie Sect was nearly wiped out in the Investiture of the Gods war, most of its disciples were listed on the Investiture of the Gods and became the righteous gods of the Zhou Dynasty. However, it was precisely because of this that the Jie Sect firmly controlled the various departments of the Heavenly Court, occupied the laws of the gods, and held power over the Three Realms.

If the Jade Emperor wants to issue a decree, he must first ask the Eight Heavenly Venerables for their approval. If the Eight Heavenly Venerables do not agree, the Jade Emperor's decree cannot be issued.

The fortune of the Jie Sect was re-coalesced through incense offerings and religious practices.

Seeing their sect's fortune dwindling, the Antarctic Immortal and the Taiyi True Man of the Chan Sect had no choice but to set aside their lofty status as great beings and ascend to heaven to become gods in order to reverse the decline and suppress the Jie Sect.

To prevent the Jie Sect from becoming too powerful in Heaven and completely sidelining him, the Jade Emperor naturally went along with it.

With the authority of Heaven in his mouth, he directly bestowed the title of Antarctic Immortal as the Antarctic Longevity Emperor and Taiyi Zhenren as the Eastern Azure Flower Emperor, thus transforming the original system of four emperors into six.

The position of the Antarctic Immortal Emperor, in particular, wielded terrifying power.

He resides in the Divine Firmament Thunder Palace, in charge of the Thunder Department, and also commands the Supreme Star South Pole, ruling over all the celestial constellations.

In one fell swoop, he took away a significant portion of the power of the Thunder Department and the Fighting Department.

As for the Eastern Azure Flower Emperor, who was appointed by Taiyi Zhenren, he was no less impressive. Upon taking office, he immediately took control of some of the powers of the Netherworld, completely eliminating the possibility that the Jie Sect had previously wanted to interfere with the Six Paths of Reincarnation.

No wonder the Golden Light Mother was so angry that she descended to the mortal realm to clear her mind.

Song Yi pondered for a moment, then said in a low voice, "So, the Heavenly Court is now—"

"It's a complete mess!" The Golden Light Mother chimed in, scoffing. "We, the gods of the Intercepting Sect, are unwilling to have our power divided. The twenty-four Heavenly Lords submit petitions daily, saying that the Antarctic Longevity Emperor is overstepping his authority. The Battle Department is even more chaotic. You know the Golden Spirit Mother's temper; she almost got into a real fight with the Antarctic Immortal. The Jade Emperor, on the other hand, is happy to watch them fight, pretending not to see it."

Song Yi understood; this was indeed an opportunity.

The more chaotic the Heavenly Court became, the less attention people paid to insignificant government offices like the Purification and Turbidity Bureau.

He could take advantage of this chaos to continue expanding his power in Jambudvipa.

"What mission did the Holy Mother undertake when she descended to the mortal realm?" Song Yi asked.

The Golden Light Mother waved her hand: "It's just a formality to inspect the evil spirits causing trouble in the Southern Continent. As for you, you interfered with that serpent's tribulation. Although you said you were cleaning up the Thunder Department's ranks, if someone with ulterior motives seizes on this and impeaches you for disrespecting the Thunder Department's laws and interfering with the heavenly tribulation, it will be troublesome."

Song Yi cupped his hands and smiled, "The Holy Mother's teachings are correct. However, that serpent has heavy karma, having devoured no fewer than a hundred humans. If it is allowed to successfully complete its tribulation, it will surely become a great calamity in the future. The Thunder Department is busy with affairs and may not be able to take care of such a minor demon. I am merely acting on behalf of Heaven."

After leaving the mountain range, Song Yi continued his tour of Jambudvipa with the Golden Light Mother.

However, the Golden Light Mother's mood has clearly not been very good lately.

Along the way, whenever she discovered any evil spirits causing trouble, whether they were mountain demons or ghosts and evil spirits lurking in dark corners, none of them could escape her discerning eyes.

Often, all it takes is a raised hand and a point, and thunder will descend from the heavens.

The roar echoed for miles around.

The evil spirits didn't even have time to scream before they were reduced to ashes in the lightning.

During this period, several ferocious demons at the Xuanxian realm occupied the mountain as kings, relying on their great supernatural powers and disregarding the Thunder Department.

As a result, the Golden Light Mother simply snorted, and five-colored thunderclouds swept across the sky, with billions of thunder snakes surging down.

In a short while, those Xuanxian demons were cleaved in two, their bodies and souls destroyed, and even their true spirits were not able to escape.

Song Yi followed behind the Golden Light Mother, watching all this, secretly marveling at it.

This Thunder God's temper was indeed as bad as his reputation suggested; he was decisive and ruthless.

After traveling and stopping for seven or eight days, the two gods arrived near a large, densely populated city.

From afar, Song Yi could see a magnificent cluster of buildings in the eastern suburbs of the city, with rising clouds and swirling incense smoke. Countless people, with their families in tow, were climbing the mountain path, their expressions devout, chanting prayers.

He looked closely and realized that it was actually a temple of considerable size, with a golden plaque hanging above the mountain gate bearing three large characters: Jin Yuan Temple.

"People from Buddhism?" Song Yi frowned.

The Southern Continent has been a place of Taoist teachings since ancient times. The Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, the Immortal Path and the Demonic Path, all originated from the Taoist foundation.

Although the Western religion also has saints in charge, they have always been based in the western continent of Niuhe and rarely set foot in the eastern territory.

It is no small matter that such a flourishing Buddhist temple has appeared in the heart of Jambudvipa.

The Golden Light Holy Mother's face instantly turned cold, and lightning flashed in her eyes as she said murderously, "The Buddhist sect's claws have stretched too far. Are they taking advantage of the fact that the Taoist sect has no one to rely on? It's time to chop them off!"

Song Yi didn't say much, only nodded. Although he didn't have much ill will towards Buddhism, he knew that the Southern Continent was the foundation of Taoism. If Buddhism were allowed to spread its teachings there, the consequences would be unimaginable if its foundation were shaken.

Moreover, although those truly powerful beings in the Three Realms are well aware that the rise of Buddhism is the inevitable trend of Heaven, and that the spread of Buddhism to the East will one day be a great event, that will definitely not happen now.

Today, Jambudvipa is still the era when the ancestors of humankind believed in the orthodox teachings of Taoism. How could it be the place for Western monks to meddle here?