Chapter 54 Good Children

The Cangwu Tree.

Liu Jun was currently stabilizing his realm.

He constantly studied the power he had just unlocked, while secretly attempting to manipulate metal.

When he had nothing to do, he would tease the little swallowtail butterfly, summoning the little foodie, Die Chiyin, to prepare some delicious treats. This kind of life was exceptionally leisurely and blissful.

"O God, something terrible has happened!"

"The miracle we established, the Cangwu Milk Sea, has disappeared! It has been swallowed by the giants."

"Two colossal giant deities—one wreathed in flames with a fish tail, the other as azure as water with a snake tail—are entwined like serpents, weaving the lives of knots using the Cangwu Milk Sea within their bodies!"

"Vast numbers of lives are being born as they weave together!"

When Liu Jun heard this news, he was utterly shocked.

His mind was filled with question marks.

Before long, through the telepathic transmission, he perceived the scene.

One giant had hair like a burning sun, his entire body glowing red, overflowing with anger and agitation.

The other was as soft as water, resembling a crystalline azure jelly, akin to a deity from across the oceans, possessing a breadth of heart and compassion as boundless as the sea.

The two deities were still entwined in battle, resembling a spiraling DNA strand.

The third-stage species explosion seemed to be unfolding upon them.

...

Liu Jun was astounded by this disaster that followed the "Calamity of Wisdom."

What manner of calamity was this?

A calamity of water and fire? A calamity of the sexes?

Truly, each calamity was stranger than the last.

The Calamity of Wisdom had been formless, but this was a direct and intensely visceral natural disaster.

Liu Jun looked toward Die Luxin beside him. "Where is the Elephant God? He should have sensed what was happening here long ago."

Die Luxin was also extremely anxious. "I will go find him!"

Xu Changsheng hurriedly chimed in, "I'll go too!"

...

Meanwhile.

Inside the temple.

Heavy, thunderous snores, like howling gales from a deep cavern, continuously blasted out of the windows and sucked back in.

"O Great Elephantuoma, you are the king of prophecy, the destined ruler, the hero who quelled the calamities, the mighty hero of the high mountains, and the savior foretold by the God of Longevity."

"Please wake up."

The warrior generals on the sacred mountain could not help but feel immensely anxious, calling out to him repeatedly.

At last, the leader, Vedomo, spoke:

"A new calamity has been born. Those two fellows have lost their minds in the euphoria of battle; we cannot let this continue. They have destroyed many villages and tribes."

"I intend to fetch Elephantuoma's wind ears to bring them to their senses!"

Hearing these words, the holy guards around him moved to stop him.

"Anu, stealing sacred relics is the gravest of crimes and will incur the cruelest divine punishment!"

Anu was Vedomo's childhood nickname.

Vedomo possessed a wolf's head, olive-colored skin, and dark eyes. He was a giant wearing a black hair-crown, adorned with a necklace around his neck and metal bracelets on his arms. He said:

"The crime of stealing the wind god's power is one I shall bear hereafter."

He stepped into the howling wind of the temple.

The terrifying divine power whipped across him like a blade-filled hell, leaving him battered and bruised, the gales blinding him.

After enduring unimaginable pain and torment,

he finally severed Elephantuoma's ears, fashioned them into wings at his sides, and flew toward his destination.

Taking advantage of Elephantuoma's slumber, he had stolen the sacred treasure to save the tribes and people upon the earth.

When he arrived at the location, he beheld two super-giants even larger than Elephantuoma.

One was absorbing the earth's heat, transforming into a body of living fire.

One was absorbing the ocean's tides, turning into a form of living sea.

They embraced and churned against each other, absorbing various substances, growing ever more gargantuan, turning everything in their path into a natural disaster.

"They have been warped by euphoria and can no longer see the world outside."

"I must blow them apart."

After three days and nights, he finally managed to slice them apart with great difficulty, and Vedomo collapsed in sheer exhaustion.

"Ah, did we cause this?"

"It is our fault."

The two recovering Titan giants were panicked, offering apologies endlessly.

It was precisely at this moment.

From the sacred mountain came peals of deep roars.

"Who is it? Who?!"

"Who has stolen my sacred artifact!"

The most terrifying roar swept across the entire mountain.

Countless giants upon the earth felt that roar which tore through the firmament, pregnant with unbelievable fury.

O Elephantuoma, standing high in the vast heavens, how terrifying is this mighty power of yours!

Soon.

Three sinners arrived before the temple.

"The matter is thus..."

They began to recount the sequence of events.

Having just opened his eyes to listen for a moment, Elephantuoma upon his throne slowly closed his eyes once more, and the gentle sound of snoring resumed.

The giants present looked at one another in dismay.

"It's all because of you! All because of you!"

Inside the temple, Die Luxin was utterly enraged and heartbroken as she looked at her beloved, whose ears had been severed.

Her personality had always been somewhat arrogant and vain, and she had been fiercely protected by Elephantuoma.

Seeing the clever and steadfast lover of her youth reduced to this demented, somnolent state, a nameless fire rose within her heart.

Perhaps it was because his ears had been severed; perhaps it was because of the immense trouble brought upon her lover by those two fools brawling;

or perhaps it was because her lover, the Emperor of the Butterfly Clan, had cast aside his longevity and descended the mountain to save the masses of butterflies, only to face old age and death...

Why, why must she and her people bear the brunt of it all?

Now, this little swallowtail butterfly suddenly fluttered up into the sky, crying out in anger: "I will punish you!"

"I am going to the temple of Cangwu to petition the Great God of Longevity to arbitrate and pass judgment."

"I will ask the magnificent God of Longevity of the High Heavens to select which species deserve the gift of longevity and to exterminate the short-lived species that have no right to live."

"Let the deserving live, and let those who ought to perish be extinguished."

"This includes the three of you as well, regardless of whether you attain longevity or extinction."

...

Half a day later.

"The God grants you audience."

Before long, the three giants arrived at the legendary ancestral land of the Butterfly Clan.

At the Cangwu Tree, they beheld the God.

It was... a tiny, exquisite butterfly!

The butterfly's size was not even as large as a single hair of a giant, and even the entire colossal Cangwu ancient tree only reached up to their shoulders.

The three giants squatted down, looking aggrieved.

Like wronged little children, they hugged their knees, gazing cautiously at the tiny butterfly within the divine palace at the top of the tree.

Beside the Prophet was the beautiful Phoenix Emperor, draped in phoenix feather garments, radiating a solemn, dignified, and majestic beauty.

They saw the legendary Angel of Truth, with the burning flames of black wings behind him, standing close to the God of Longevity.

They also saw the four ancestral kings and lords of the Butterfly Clan.

Among them was Die Luxin, still simmering with anger, loudly lodging her complaint against the God of Longevity.

"O God, we have sinned!"

They lowered their heads in shame, nervously presenting a woven butterfly knot and hanging it upon the tree. "This is a gift we prepared for our journey!"

The butterfly knot they had woven was also immensely huge; hanging upon the Cangwu Tree, it looked like three giant kites.

This was, after all, the most majestic deity, their ultimate origin.

Now imbued with propriety, righteousness, integrity, and filial piety, and having grown up listening to the historical myths of bygone civilizations, seeing the existence of the God with their own eyes caused their emotions to surge uncontrollably.

To catch a glimpse of this legendary ancestral faith, perhaps even death would be worth it.

"You are all good children."

The Prophet smiled faintly, looking at the three colossal Titans squatting outside the Cangwu Tree, and first set the tone for the matter at hand:

"You have not turned evil; everyone here is a very good child."