Whoosh!
Golden lightning erupted from Indra's body, transforming into a pillar of lightning that split the sky and clouds as it shot straight toward the Heavenly Realm.
Almost at the same moment.
The Throat Chakras of Vayu, Agni, Varuna, Surya, and the other gods also began to shine. Pillars of wind, fire, water, and light followed the lightning pillar, reaching straight into the Heavenly Realm.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Pillars of light containing the power of the chief gods shot toward the Heavenly Realm.
Indra's pillar of lightning arrived first and exploded within the Heavenly Realm.
Lightning writhed like dragons and serpents, striking down at the very center of the Heavenly Realm.
An indescribably vast city emerged amid the lightning.
The city stretched two thousand five hundred yojanas on each side and stood one and a half yojanas tall. Broad and level, its walls were forged from dazzling gold. A thousand gates stood facing the four directions, adorned with pearls, conch shells, coral, and emerald trees. White clouds drifted across the ground, soft to the touch like silk brocade.
Sudarshana City!
Indra's residence.
Immediately afterward, the cities and palaces of Vayu, Agni, Varuna, Surya, and the other gods also rose rumbling within the Heavenly Realm.
All kinds of divine power—wind, fire, water, and more—rose and spread throughout the Heavenly Realm, strengthening the gods' powers.
"My power is soaring!"
Feeling the explosive growth of power within him, Indra's heart pounded and hot blood surged through him. He could not help muttering to himself.
The Heavenly Realm was the realm of the gods, but even more so, it was the realm of the Heavenly Emperor.
Gods of the Heavenly Realm such as Vayu, Agni, Varuna, and Surya each divided the Heavenly Realm into their own Divine Realms, yet the entire Heavenly Realm was still the Divine Realm of Indra, the Heavenly Emperor.
Lightning flickered in Indra's eyes as he felt his mind tremble.
Power!
The power of the entire Heavenly Realm flowed through his body!
Powerful! Far too powerful!
Just as Indra was savoring his newfound strength.
Golden-Eyed suddenly opened his eyes. The beard at the corners of his mouth quivered upward in excitement, and his entire body trembled slightly.
His power had also fully recovered. As the Asura King, he was bolstered by the power of the Netherworld and had returned to his peak condition.
This power was enough to hold up the earth itself. Combined with the power of blessings...
"I am already invincible beneath the heavens!"
The Golden-Eyed Asura King swept his gaze around before instantly fixing it on Indra. His mouth split into a wild grin as he laughed excitedly.
"Hahahaha!"
"Let me see the power of the Heavenly Realm and test the worth of you, the Lord of the Heavenly Realm!"
Golden-Eyed laughed wildly and stepped forward. His massive body crossed a distance of ten thousand miles, while a colossal golden hammer descended from the sky and smashed toward the Heavenly Emperor.
A terrifying aura surged toward him. Indra instinctively stretched out his hand, fingers spread wide.
Amid flashing golden light, a Vajra Pestle appeared.
Violent lightning gathered atop the Vajra Pestle, bursting forth like the fire of the void before crashing down with a boom.
Rumble!
As the two collided, a vast wave of air erupted, and even space itself seemed to split apart.
After exchanging that single blow.
The powerful recoil numbed Indra's wrist and instantly cleared his mind.
Hiss!
Indra could not help drawing in a sharp breath.
With the power of the Heavenly Realm upon him, he had just thought himself invincible and charged straight in to fight Golden-Eyed Asura.
The Heavenly Realm was poisonous!
Once Indra regained his clarity, he immediately retreated, pretending to be outmatched as he withdrew into the crowd of gods.
Golden-Eyed looked arrogant. He raised a hand and pointed at the retreating Indra, sneering mockingly.
"Is that all the strength the Lord of the Heavenly Realm has?" Golden-Eyed shook his head and laughed. "Once we finish churning the Ocean of Milk, I will storm the Heavenly Realm. Just wait for it!"
With that, he turned around and headed back.
"It is only because Soma has not returned yet. Once Soma emerges from the Ocean of Milk, we will drink Soma Wine to our fill. Those Asuras will definitely be no match for us!"
Surya shone brilliantly with golden light. He slightly raised his left hand and approached sideways with an air of grandeur.
The darkness covering his body had now faded away, restoring his radiant appearance. He was handsome, clad head to toe in splendid golden robes, and every movement carried a faint air of pride.
"Yes. With Soma present, once we drink Soma Wine, our divine power will become even stronger!"
Vayu, wearing a golden circlet and light armor in the manner of a warrior, nodded.
Agni and Varuna had also regained their former splendor, covered in Golden Armor and golden ornaments as radiance continuously poured from them.
Indra fell silent for a moment.
Soma was the god of wine and also the moon god.
His name was also the name of the wine.
After drinking his Soma Wine, the gods would gain a tremendous increase in strength. Their divine power would surge, and doubling their combat ability would be effortless.
However...
Compared to blessings, the power gained from drinking Soma was truly somewhat lacking.
Simply put, drinking Soma Wine was outdated. The new era no longer had ships that carried Soma Wine.
Blessings were the answer to the current age!
"So the gods are all conservatives, while the Asuras are the reformists!"
Indra could not help letting his thoughts wander.
At that moment, beams of heavenly light suddenly descended from the sky. Vishnu appeared beside Goddess Lakshmi with a doting smile, and the two smiled at each other before vanishing in a flash.
Seeing this, Golden-Eyed snorted coldly. His face stiffened, and he was deeply displeased.
He had come to the Ocean of Milk precisely to take Goddess Lakshmi away. Yet everything had been disrupted. Now that Goddess Lakshmi had finally been churned out, Vishnu had taken her away again.
He clenched his fists as fury surged within his heart.
Just then, the Asura general Vipralambha suddenly came to Golden-Eyed's side.
"King, Goddess Lakshmi was not the only one churned out just now. Another goddess emerged as well."
"We asked around!"
"This goddess was just born. There was not much commotion when she emerged, and we found her."
Vipralambha whispered.
At this, the surrounding Asuras' eyes immediately lit up.
Goddess Lakshmi had left with Vishnu, meaning the gods had essentially gained nothing. Meanwhile, the Asuras had obtained a goddess first.
That was a good thing!
Sukra frowned, finding the situation somewhat strange.
Golden-Eyed was instantly overjoyed and hurriedly said, "Bring her here at once!"
"Yes!"
Vipralambha moved swiftly.
Before long, he returned with a goddess.
Hmm?!
Golden-Eyed frowned. He leaned forward, narrowed his eyes, and inspected the goddess from head to toe in confusion.
The goddess wore ragged clothes and had disheveled hair, antelope feet, goldfish eyes, cow teeth, and thick lips. Her appearance was ugly and bizarre to the extreme. If not for the divine power surging around her, no one would even have recognized her as a goddess.
Goddess Lakshmi was radiant and brilliant, so why was this one both ugly and shabby?
"Goddess, what is your name?"
Golden-Eyed was silent for a moment before finally asking.
The ugly goddess slowly opened her mouth, producing a hoarse voice like the scraping of a pot's bottom.
"Yashoda!"
The ugly goddess spoke slowly.
Golden-Eyed crossed his arms and thought, This Yashoda Goddess may be a little ugly, but she was born alongside Lakshmi, the Goddess of Wealth. She must be connected to her and certainly represents something good. We cannot let the gods find out. I must send her back to the Netherworld first.
With that in mind, he waved his hand and immediately summoned the Asura Holika.
"Holika, take this goddess back to the Netherworld now!"
Before you continue