Chapter 41 Gongkong I

　　—Extraordinary kinsmen, indifferent strangers.

　　The dwellings of the Tianyou Clan lay within the caves of the Immortal Valley of Qiongling; the valley itself was situated upon the sunfacing cliff of the great mountain on the western side of the Misty Mountains.

　　After Gongkong arrived among the Tianyou Clan he received guidance from Great Master Tianyouzi in the use of spiritual power and made rapid, tremendous progress, quickly mastering the great art of the primordial spirit leaving the body.

　　In only a few days Gongkong had been completely transformed. Possessing a third eye, he was like a treasure awaiting excavation, containing infinite possibilities.

　　One day, while Gongkong and Tianyouzi were meditating together, Gongkong proposed that he wished to see where Great Chieftain Gongdian was at present. The two therefore first used the celestial eye for remote viewing to locate Gongdian, then both their spiritual bodies left their physical forms and in an instant were above the forest.

　　Gongkong looked down and saw a human column moving through the woods. In the party he saw Gongdian and also Gong Hui; they were walking in the direction of Wangqiu City.

　　Gongkong found it rather strange and wondered why Gong Hui of the Western Pass was also in the column. He called downward “Father!”

　　Gongdian upon the ground seemed also to hear the voice; he raised his head and looked toward the sky, yet saw nothing, then shook his head, thinking it an illusion.

　　Gongkong was about to descend and meet Gongdian when Tianyouzi stopped him: “Young Lord, ordinary people cannot see us. If you go down like this to meet Great Chieftain Gongdian you will only frighten him.”

　　Their spiritual bodies floated above the forest. Gongkong proposed that he wished to look at the capital of the Green Clan; Tianyouzi stopped him: “You must not. Although ordinary people cannot see our spiritual bodies and ordinary weapons of the mortal world cannot harm them, in the eyes of the Green Clan celestial gods our spiritual bodies have nowhere to hide.”

　　“Can the Green Clan of Evil Gods harm our spiritual bodies?”

　　“Of course they can. Their magical implements can injure our spiritual bodies, and the formations they set can also trap them. Once the spiritual body cannot return to the physical form the matter is serious.”

　　“Old Granny, what happens if the spiritual body cannot return to the physical form?”

　　“The spiritual body is the root of wisdom of the physical body; a physical body without a spiritual body is like a walking corpse. Therefore the great art of the primordial spirit leaving the body must not be used lightly. If in battle one encounters an opponent stronger than oneself the outcome will be extremely tragic; it must be employed with caution.”

　　“Old Granny, we shall not linger long above the capital—just a glance and we leave at once.”

　　“Since the Young Lord’s mind is made up, this old one will risk her life to accompany you. But there is one condition: we must stay far from the great pyramid of the capital.”

　　They arrived above the capital. Under the sunlight the great pyramid in the distance shone with golden radiance, appearing especially dazzling.

　　This was the first time Gongkong had seen the scene of the capital. The streets of the capital were filled with carriages and horses; the markets were extremely prosperous.

　　The capital had originally been named Sun City and was the old nest of the Green Clan celestial gods.

　　After the War of the Gods the celestial gods of the other clans had either died or fled; the common people of the continent of Mu had all sworn allegiance to the Green Clan celestial gods, who had unified the world. Therefore Sun City was also called the capital.

　　Even at night the great pyramid could illuminate the capital as brightly as day; therefore the capital was also called the “City Without Night.”

　　Upon the streets of the capital one could see BullHeads, humans, dwarves and people of every race. The BullHeads held citizen status in the capital and were the most numerous; humans and the other races were mostly slaves driven by the BullHeads.

　　The BullHeads answered directly to the EagleGod Clan. The EagleGod Clan upon the continent of Mu were called halfgods, ranking second only to the celestial gods; their motto was “Halfgod glory, walking with the Lord.”

　　In the capital there were also Giants. The Giant Clan served the Green Clan celestial gods directly; upon the continent of Mu, apart from the celestial gods themselves, the Giants were subject to no other race. Their motto was “Divine strength that splits mountains; the earth trembles.”

　　After surveying the entire capital, under Tianyouzi’s urging the two spiritual bodies were about to leave the sky above the capital when, at that moment, a humanoid being suddenly flew from the distant air.

　　Gongkong concentrated his spirit and looked carefully; he discovered that it was a monster with the head of an eagle, a human body and wings. In its hand it held a hammershaped scepter whose head was a sphere.

　　“Young Lord, that is a member of the EagleGod Clan. Do not be afraid—he cannot see our spiritual bodies.” Tianyouzi whispered.

　　It was a young EagleGod. Flapping its wings it flew past the spiritual bodies of Gongkong and Tianyouzi and headed toward the northern mountains. Its flight was extremely swift and its expression very tense, as though pursuers were behind it.

　　Gongkong looked remotely behind it and indeed discovered four more EagleGods also flying rapidly in this direction.

　　These four EagleGods held scepters known as “Hell Scythes”; the heads of the scepters were shaped like scythes, the lower halves long metal shafts. The EagleGod Clan used them both as scepters and as weapons.

　　The Green Clan celestial gods had bestowed the scepters upon the EagleGod Clan and at the same time placed spells upon them, endowing the scepters with a certain divine power.

　　When the EagleGod Clan used the scepters as weapons they could emit invisible bladeenergy from them; ordinary weapons of the mortal world that met the bladeenergy immediately snapped.

　　A leader of the celestial gods was equivalent to the president of a nation, while the EagleGod King, leader of the halfgod EagleGod Clan, was equivalent to a prime minister.

　　The EagleGod Clan, holding the scepters, governed the world in place of the celestial gods. When the other races of the continent of Mu saw the scepter it was as though they saw the celestial god in person and they were required to kneel.

　　Gongkong was still young after all and his curiosity was strong; he wished to see what exactly was happening. Tianyouzi had no choice but to follow behind Gongkong and move to the side of the young EagleGod who held the hammershaped scepter.

　　By then the young EagleGod had already flown beyond the borders of the capital. He looked back and saw that the four EagleGods pursuing him had not slowed their flight but were still chasing him desperately.

　　The young EagleGod shook his head helplessly. Just as he was about to increase his speed and shake off the pursuit he discovered that four more EagleGods were rapidly approaching from his left front and right front respectively.

　　Seeing that there was no longer any path of escape, the EagleGod holding the hammershaped scepter halted in midair. In a short while he was completely surrounded by the eight EagleGods holding scythescepters.

　　“Who are you? What do you want?” the young EagleGod demanded sternly.

　　“Hehe—Prince Hes, you should know very well who we are. Well then—come with us.”

　　“Where to?”

　　“His Majesty the Eagle King long ago ordered that the vassal princes stationed in the outer regions, without his permission, may not leave their fiefs and return to the capital of their own accord.”

　　“Today is the anniversary of my father’s death; what is wrong with my going to pay respects at the tomb?”

　　“The purpose of your unauthorized visit to the capital can wait until you see the Eagle King and explain it to him in person. We are responsible only for bringing you back to see His Majesty. I advise you to throw down your scepter obediently and come with us.”

　　“Humph—how is it so coincidental that the one time I secretly visit the tomb I meet you? Presumably you have been lying in ambush in the mausoleum for a long time upon the orders of that false king? If you wish me to submit obediently, that depends on whether the scepter in my hand agrees.”

　　The EagleGod named Hes struck first. Raising the hammershaped scepter in his hand he thrust it toward an EagleGod on his right; a tremendous force surged from the hammerhead and that EagleGod was struck flying.

　　The remaining EagleGods raised their scythescepters one after another and engaged Hes in midair.

　　Gongkong carefully observed the combat power of the EagleGod Clan and discovered that their strength was mainly emitted through the scepters; the scepters were their magical implements. The one named Hes who held the hammershaped scepter possessed spiritual power clearly higher than that of the several EagleGods who held scythescepters.

　　Although Hes successively killed four opponents, two fists cannot defeat four hands; gradually he fell into disadvantage. His arms and body had been gashed in several places by the invisible bladeenergy of the “Hell Scythes”; blood continually flowed down the arm that gripped the scepter.

　　The EagleGods surrounding him seemed to have received a death order; they were employing their full magical arts, desperately trying to subdue Hes.

　　Hes was also struggling to the death. When he struck one EagleGod holding a scythescepter he was himself cut upon the wing by another EagleGod beside him. He instantly lost balance in the air, plummeted rapidly, and crashed heavily upon the ground. At the same time the scepter in his hand left his grasp and was flung several meters away.

　　Hes struggled to crawl toward the scepter; the remaining three EagleGods had no intention of giving him that chance. They rapidly descended from the air, confiscated Hes’s scepter, then raised their scythescepters, intending to end Hes’s life on the spot.

　　At this critical moment Gongkong acted. Tremendous spiritual power shot from Gongkong’s wrists; several sharp cracks were heard and the necks of the three EagleGods were instantly twisted; their corpses toppled beside Hes.

　　Hes stared in astonishment at the corpses upon the ground; for a long while he could not react to what had happened.

　　He forced himself to stand, picked up his hammerheaded scepter, and pressed the spherical part of the scepter against the wounded place upon his wing. Strangely, before long the bleeding stopped.

　　He clasped his fists toward the four directions: “I do not know which celestial god has saved this humble one’s life. I offer my thanks here. The green mountains do not change, the green waters flow forever; when opportunity arises in future I, Hes, shall certainly repay the favor of saving my life.” With that he slowly flapped his wings once more and flew toward the north.

　　“Young Lord, just now you should not have acted to save him. The EagleGod Clan are the claws and fangs of the Green Clan. In former times one of the most outstanding masters of our Tianyou Clan died at their hands. They are our enemies; every member of the EagleGod Clan deserves to die!” When Tianyouzi reached this point her expression suddenly became ferocious.

　　“Old Granny, do you know who this Hes is?”

　　“Young Lord, you manage the scouts of the Gongyou Clan; you must know that this is the son of the previous EagleGod King.”

　　“Correct. Popular rumor holds that the previous Eagle King died at the hands of the present Eagle King—is there truth in it?”

　　“According to this old one’s conjecture the matter is nine parts true out of ten. The present Eagle King is this Prince Hes’s uncle. Originally after the previous Eagle King’s death the succession should have gone to his son; yet against all expectation his younger brother ascended the throne of Eagle King. The fight just now further proves that the popular rumor is not false.”

　　“Therefore, Old Granny, my intervention just now brought more benefit than harm. Perhaps one day we shall need this Hes’s help.”

　　“That is not necessarily so. This is the territory of the Green Clan. You used spiritual power; if the Green Clan celestial gods should detect that upon this world there exist, besides themselves, enemies of powerful spiritual force, the matter would be serious.”

　　“Old Granny, no sooner had we arrived above the capital than you urged me to leave; now you again blame me for acting. I do not know why you fear the Green Clan so greatly.”

　　“It is not that I fear the Green Clan. Like you I have a deep blood feud with the Green Clan. I am afraid that if I remain here a moment longer my emotions will go out of control; that is why I urged you to leave.”

　　“Old Granny, you also have a deep blood feud with the Green Clan?”

　　“Ah! That is a long story; I shall tell you another day. Young Lord, we had better return at once.” Without further argument Tianyouzi pulled Gongkong away; their spiritual bodies returned to their physical forms in an instant.