Chapter 606 | Demonic Beings? Obviously Auspicious Omens!

The goddess wore a long green dress, its hem trailing on the ground like a flowing lake.

Her features were gentle and radiant, her eyes curved in a smile. Her long black hair fell like a waterfall to her waist, held in place by a jasper hairpin carved into the shape of a lotus. The petals were as thin as a cicada's wing, trembling slightly in the breeze.

She stood atop a high mountain, looking down upon an ancient kingdom nestled below.

The ancient kingdom was vast, its cities stretching for hundreds of miles. Houses were packed closely together like fish scales, and streets crisscrossed in an orderly grid.

A river flowed through the city, its water so clear that schools of fish could be seen swimming within.

Outside the city lay sprawling farmlands where the crops flourished, the heavy ears of grain bowing the stalks toward the earth.

Mulberry, jujube, and peach trees were planted along the edges of the fields, their branches heavy with fruit.

The people of the ancient kingdom wore clean, tidy clothes and carried smiles on their faces. They bowed and greeted one each other with clasped hands upon meeting, creating a scene of perfect harmony.

In her hands, the goddess held a piece of glowing clay.

The clay was earthy yellow with a smooth surface, emitting a faint golden shimmer like a clump of solidified sunlight. it flowed slowly within the goddess's palm.

With every movement, wisps of golden mist seeped out, drifting into the air and transforming into spiritual rhythm that nourished the land.

The clay rotated slowly in her palm. With every revolution, the spiritual rhythm of the ancient kingdom grew stronger.

The crops grew better, the rivers became clearer, the air grew fresher, and the people became healthier.

Eventually, even the ancient beasts of heaven and earth were drawn to the place.

The scene shifted.

Chen Zhou saw a vibrant Nine-Colored Deer running through the mountain forests outside the city. Its magnificent antlers reached toward the sky, and with every step it took, a white flower bloomed beneath its hooves.

As the Nine-Colored Deer bounded into the city, it looked up to see a five-colored bird circling above. Its wingspan reached ten zhang, and its long tail feathers trailed behind it. With every flap of its wings, it showered the city with a rain of multicolored light.

Outside the city, a golden tortoise crawled out of the river and slowly made its way to the city gates. It lay there basking in the sun, and the townspeople would stroke its shell as they passed, saying it brought good luck.

Upon the city walls, a nine-tailed fox strolled leisurely. The tips of its tails flickered with pale blue flames that were not hot but instead carried a refreshing chill. The people were not afraid when they saw it; some even tossed it bits of food.

These auspicious beasts settled there, living in harmony with the people and becoming a part of the kingdom's landscape.

Protected by the goddess and accompanied by auspicious beasts, the people lived in peace and prosperity, blessed with favorable weather and bountiful harvests.

Such a place would be a paradise for anyone in any era.

Chen Zhou watched silently. After an indeterminate amount of time, the scene suddenly changed.

A torrential rain began to fall.

The rainwater was turbid and reddish, pouring from the sky in sheets and carrying a foul, fishy stench.

This red rain was visually very similar to the one Chen Zhou had seen when the Golden Buddha descended upon the world.

Where the red rain touched the crops, they withered and died. Where it hit the houses, they collapsed. Where it fell on people, their skin began to rot, breaking out in sores and oozing pus.

As the rain persisted, floods surged down from the mountains, breaching dikes and destroying cities, sweeping away countless people.

The ancient kingdom was transformed into a vast, watery graveyard.

The people struggled in the floodwaters, some clinging to driftwood, some huddled on rooftops, and others climbing into the high branches of trees.

But the rain would not stop. One by one, people were swept away by the deluge, vanishing into the murky depths.

It seemed as though a long time passed again. The goddess stood in the storm, drenched to the bone. Her long hair was plastered to her face, and her expression was one of agony and despair.

She held the clay high. It suddenly emitted a brilliant light, attempting to disperse the storm. But the rain was too heavy, falling as if the heavens themselves had collapsed; it could not be stopped.

The goddess knelt in the mud, her hands clasped in prayer as she bowed toward the heavens, seemingly pleading for something.

But there was no response from above.

There was only the storm, the flood, and death.

After another long period, the image shifted once more.

The goddess was locked in a life-or-death struggle with a gray-white ancient beast amidst the torrential rain.

The beast was massive, like a small mountain, covered in gray-white scales with edges as sharp as blades that glinted coldly in the rain.

Its head was enormous, and its eyes were blood-red. It had no pupils, only two spheres of burning crimson light that glared fixatedly at the goddess.

The beast's tail was long, ending in a bony mace-like club covered in sharp spikes. It whistled through the air with every swing.

The corpses of several auspicious beasts lay on the ground nearby, their bodies mangled. Some had their necks bitten through, some had their bellies ripped open, and others had limbs torn away.

The corpses had already begun to rot. Their flesh was peeled back to reveal gray-white bones marked with black patterns, as if something were squirming inside the marrow.

A thick, nauseating stench of decay hung in the air, mixing with the rain.

The goddess was also wounded. Her long green dress was torn in several places, revealing her fair skin marked by deep claw gashes. The edges of the wounds were blackened, suggesting she had been poisoned.

Her hair was disheveled, and her jasper hairpin was nowhere to be found. Her wet hair clung to her face, obscuring half of her features.

The battle had clearly been raging for a long time.

The surrounding terrain was utterly devastated. Hills had been leveled and rivers dammed, leaving behind only a muddy wasteland filled with craters of stagnant water where the shredded flesh and scales of auspicious beasts floated.

The goddess took a deep breath and held the clay high. Chen Zhou heard a faint, crisp sound—like something shattering—and the clay transformed into a beam of golden light that shot toward the beast.

The beam struck the beast's head.

The beast let out a pained shriek. The scales on its head shattered and flesh sprayed everywhere, exposing a gray-white skull with a large hole from which black liquid leaked.

But the beast did not die.

It shook its head, letting out a low growl, and then lunged at the goddess with its jaws wide.

The goddess could not dodge in time; the beast clamped its teeth onto her left arm.

The vision began to blur. It seemed some form of resistance was preventing Chen Zhou from peering further into the events of the ancient era.

Chen Zhou focused his mind, pouring in more death qi to maintain the divination technique. When the image finally cleared, the two heavily wounded beings had been at a stalemate for a long time.

Finally, the beast let out a low snarl and turned to flee. Within a few steps, it vanished into the storm, leaving behind a trail of deep footprints and a line of black blood.