Chapter 21: Going into the Mountains Again
Resurrection—coming back to life after death—has been a power desired by people since ancient times.
The ancient Romans once said that the less one enjoys the pleasures of life, the less one fears death—but even they only said "less afraid," not "not afraid at all."
So, in this world, the only people who truly don't fear death are those who can come back to life.
As someone who possesses this ability, and who has finally experienced it firsthand, Hikigaya reports that—the whole thing actually didn't feel like anything at all! Because the moment that thought emerged in his mind, he was already damn well alive!
It wasn't even as vivid as sleeping—at least in sleep, you can dream.
Upon awakening, Hikigaya could feel his entire body wrapped in warm, thick soil. His body was filled with heat, comfortably warm. He was in a peculiar sensory state.
This was a world completely different from the surface. Here, there was no light, only darkness. Yet life was being enacted in a more intense and visceral way. The cycle of life and death played out here without any cover, shown in the most direct form.
Hikigaya could hear the roots of plants growing, water trickling between the fine grains of soil. The combination of earth, water, and heat led to the decay of all things—and yet, from that death, life was being born anew. He profoundly experienced the rise and fall of all things.
The cycle of darkness and light—that was the entirety of life. After all, light originates from darkness.
But back to the point: before dying, he hadn't managed to kill Hou Yi. Yet, he still successfully resurrected. This proved that the unknown fellow had indeed pulled through—not letting down the identity of a god-slayer, charging straight into battle upon seeing a deity.
This was the definition of "divine assist," and since it had been randomly assigned, it was even rarer. The process of resurrection was the greatest weakness of this authority—Hikigaya had once taken down Kuafu easily by exploiting this very fact.
Anyway, it was time for him to leave now.
In the next instant, the power of the earth lifted him up and pushed him out through the surface.
There wasn't a single wound on his body, and his clothes were perfectly intact. The latter detail especially pleased him.
The sky was dim, and the light of stars and moon illuminated the earth—it was night. Then again, it could be that Di Jun's power had already blanketed this area.
Either way, it didn't matter. He no longer feared the power of darkness.
Thanks to the authority acquired from Kuafu, he could maintain it for a full day. During this time, he would possess the complete cycle of solar power and could also use the divine weapons bestowed by Di Jun upon Hou Yi—the bow and arrows that could bring down the suns. These divine tools, symbolic of the ten suns, were now in his control. Even Di Jun couldn't casually reclaim them, and as for Hou Yi, he didn't even need to consider him. Like Hikigaya, Hou Yi was just a user.
Though the stars and moon were high in the sky, their light, too, became a source of Hikigaya's power. Beneath the illumination of the stars of the celestial dome, he had full awareness of the land.
Hou Yi was no longer here, and he hadn't been destroyed either. As for that unidentified, randomly assigned ally, he too wasn't here—most likely still in a frenzy of battle somewhere else.
And Hikigaya had no plans to interfere.
"Hoo…"
He exhaled deeply, and his form began to change.
Flames feathered his body swiftly, but this time he didn't become the three-legged Golden Crow—he became a Xuan Bird.
Compared to the infamous Golden Crow, the Xuan Bird was the true solar divine bird in every sense.
Since this wasn't his first time transforming, Hikigaya was much more at ease this time. With a flap of his wings, he soared into the sky, flying high above the heavens, the earth spread out beneath him.
Wherever the light of the Xuan Bird touched, snow melted, plants sprouted, and life burst forth from the soil with incredible speed.
This was what Di Jun should have demonstrated.
As Hikigaya beat his wings, storms gathered, and ancient divine might emerged between the flaps. The majesty of the Eastern Yi's original Sun God Bird was fully revealed.
But he also noticed that he could no longer use his own divine power. It seemed this was another weakness of the "Chasing the Sun" authority.
This made him resolute: unless he faced a god like Di Jun—so powerful that he had no other means—he would never recklessly use this power again.
Yet, the power of the Ten Suns was indeed formidable. At present, Hikigaya could use divine speed without any conditions and could control it nearly perfectly.
He was light, he was darkness, he was the master of the celestial dome. Everything on earth was under his command. The sheer strength of this power made him deeply aware of how lucky he was to survive an encounter with Di Jun.
Perhaps this was because Di Jun, now taking on the role of the "Heretic God" intended to proclaim his name as the Heavenly Emperor to the world. After all, the dead cannot appreciate his glory.
But that was exactly what made Hikigaya speechless—because if Di Jun kept doing things this way, over time, he would inevitably lead all life toward extinction.
Think about it: if Di Jun deprived the mortal world of the sun, before he even crafted a new one, human civilization would've collapsed. And when billions of humans died, who would still care about how impressive the perpetrator was?
Worse still, once civilization collapsed, myth would vanish, and with it, the domain of life and immortality constructed in ancient times. Divine status would cease to exist. The gods would return to their original forms—no longer gods.
In the end, reputation might not even be earned, but he would have definitely torn down his own house. Such a braindead way of farming prestige—one truly didn't know how to even begin commenting on it...
Hikigaya couldn't help but wonder whether Di Jun's divine colleagues knew how mischievous he was. Probably not. If he were in their shoes, he'd definitely gather a crew and beat the guy up.
As Hikigaya pondered this, Phoenix Mountain once again appeared before his eyes.
Its peak radiated with infinite light. Reproductive energy became visible as currents in the air, filling the sky, vast like an ocean. Within this sea of energy, ten suns were slowly merging. Their light formed yet another ocean.
Even though he had successfully simulated this power, Hikigaya ultimately failed to stop Hou Yi from handing the reproductive force to Di Jun. Yet he felt neither disappointment nor frustration—because it was never possible to stop it in the first place.
The moment Hou Yi revealed the Ten Suns, it meant Di Jun had already acquired sufficient power.
"God Slayer, we've waited for you a long time," said another Xuan Bird that flew out from the sea of light. "You are quite excellent. Why don't you become my child? Though you're but a crude human, perhaps someday others of your kind will be born bearing your name."
Hikigaya stopped at the edge of the sea of energy and light. He smiled faintly and replied, "Shouldn't the key point be whether I want to?"
"You don't want to?" Di Jun, in the form of the Xuan Bird, seemed surprised. "You humans—don't you care about the name left behind after death?"
"What century are you quoting from…?" Hikigaya rolled his eyes—the solar divine birds had expressive faces by default, and both he and Di Jun had no trouble displaying all kinds of expressions.
"It seems humanity has also degenerated. Even your one praiseworthy trait is gone. No wonder you've forgotten my glory," Di Jun sighed regretfully—but his words made one want to cover their face.
Gods are narcissistic—that didn't surprise Hikigaya. But to be narcissistic to Di Jun's extent? That was hard to accept.
"Clearly, I shouldn't have talked to you," Hikigaya sighed as well. But the breath he exhaled turned into light.
The object he had simulated was indeed the Ten Suns. But at that time, the one using them was Hou Yi—so he had also obtained a portion of Hou Yi's power.
Among that was the power of the God of Arrows.
The light he breathed out in the next moment transformed into a rain of arrows—shooting toward the sea of light.