Vishnu smiled faintly.
"Jostubha!"
"The Lotus Gem, the most precious of gems, a symbol of reason, sanctity, prosperity, and vastness!"
Vishnu spoke slowly.
As Vishnu's voice rang out, the Chintamani Jewel on his chest shone with a dazzling light, like the bright moon, like the morning glow, as though praying for the radiance of the Lord.
The gem called Jostubha hung brightly from Vishnu's chest.
Hmph!
Golden-Eyed snorted angrily and turned his head away, displeased.
What rotten luck!
Everything they had churned out had been taken by the Trimurti!
Golden-Eyed was in a foul mood, and the other Asuras did not dare speak.
At that moment, Golden-Eyed frowned, swept his gaze over the crowd behind him, and asked in confusion, "Where's Prahlad? Why is he gone?"
Vajra Body and Vipralambha both shook their heads.
They had not seen Prahlad either.
"King, I'm here!" Prahlad flew out from among the Asuras and descended, forcing a smile onto his face. "I saw that some Asuras in the rear were running out of strength, so I went back there."
Golden-Eyed shot a sidelong glance at Prahlad's sweat-soaked forehead, frowned, and snorted coldly.
"You're too lazy!"
"You broke a sweat just dragging a snake's head. When we return, cultivate hard!"
With that, Golden-Eyed ignored Prahlad and turned to stare intently toward the gods.
Prahlad finally let out a sigh of relief.
He narrowed his eyes and stared coldly in the direction of the gods.
"Indra?!"
Prahlad silently gritted his teeth.
Sukra's curse still rang in his ears. At the time, his mind had gone completely blank, and he did not even know how he had returned to the Asura army.
At the time, the gods and Asuras had still been churning the Ocean of Milk.
He had stood at a distance, secretly watching Indra all along.
To be honest, aside from working extremely hard while pulling the snake's tail, Indra looked like he was risking his life whenever he worked. There was no sign of any wisdom at all.
Just a brute!
Thinking of this, Prahlad gave a mocking chuckle and shook his head.
"Indra has nothing but brute strength. He does not even know to conserve his power against us. Nothing impressive!"
"Hah! As long as I become the Asura King, storm the Heavenly Realm, and kill Indra, the curse will not come true!"
"Teacher, I will not let your curse come true!"
Prahlad chuckled.
He raised a hand and proudly stroked his upturned mustache, pleased with his earth-shattering wisdom.
"By my calculations, Airavata should be emerging soon!"
"My ascetic practice is only fifty years away from completion!"
Indra calculated the time in his heart.
The next thing to emerge from the Ocean of Milk should be his mount, Airavata.
As for the final remaining items in the Ocean of Milk, they would be White Horse Uchchaihshravas, the Wish-Fulfilling Divine Tree, Halahala, and Amrita.
Other than Amrita, Indra had little interest in any of them.
"Vishnu will absolutely not allow Amrita to fall into the hands of the Asuras!"
"In that case, I might as well retreat a little, so I don't run into Halahala."
Indra thought to himself.
Whatever else could be said of Vishnu, he treated the gods rather well. It was with his help that the gods had obtained Amrita.
With that in mind, Indra prepared to step back.
"Heavenly Emperor, where are you going?"
Surya tilted his head and asked curiously.
"Cough! Cough!"
"While churning the Ocean of Milk, I saw that the snake tails at the very back were whipping up wind. Some Gandharvas could not hold onto them and were running out of strength, so I'm going to help them!"
"Yes, that's it!"
As Indra spoke, his words grew smoother and smoother, and he nodded.
"Because... of that?"
Surya looked utterly astonished.
He turned to look at the many Gandharvas in the rear. Sure enough, when Shesha's tail whipped up fragrant winds, some Gandharvas had been flung away and injured.
They would never have cared about such things before!
"Heavenly Emperor?!"
Moon God Soma opened his mouth wide, confused and shocked, unable to stop himself from speaking.
Now that he had returned, his awareness remained at the point when he had vanished from the Heavenly Realm. He had no idea what had happened to the gods during that time.
What had happened!
How many years had he been gone? What had he missed?
Priest Sage walked over slowly.
With a smile on his face, he looked at Indra approvingly and said with emotion, "Then let the Ashvins go with you. They are gods of medicine and can help treat the Gandharvas in the rear!"
"I'll go call them over!" Surya said.
"Of course. The more people, the better!"
Indra nodded.
He only wanted to go hide in the back for a while. He had not thought that far ahead!
Ashvins!
The two gods were named Sadhya and Dashra.
They were gods of the dawn glow and evening glow, as well as gods of medicine. They were also Surya's sons.
Soon, a pair of handsome young men came to Indra's side.
Their eyes gleamed as they pressed their palms together before Indra and lowered their heads reverently. "Praise to the compassionate Heavenly Emperor. Only you remembered these warriors!"
Indra: "..."
Indra did not know how to respond for a moment.
His skin was still too thin!
He coughed twice, raised his head and puffed out his chest, then tapped his chest as he said to the Ashvins, "This is the duty of the Heavenly Emperor. Let's go!"
"Praise to the Heavenly Emperor!"
"Praise to the Heavenly Emperor!"
Upon hearing this, the Ashvins grew even more respectful in their hearts and followed behind Indra toward the Gandharvas.
"The Heavenly Emperor is truly compassionate!"
Priest Sage watched the scene from afar, deeply moved. He took out his book and continued writing: "The compassionate Heavenly Emperor Indra sent the Ashvins forth, bestowed medicine upon the Gandharvas, and brought warmth..."
Soon, both sides were ready once again.
The gods and Asuras gathered at the snake's head and tail, once more beginning the great undertaking of churning the Ocean of Milk.
"Asura warriors!"
"Show the gods your strength! Seize the treasures of the Ocean of Milk! We are the true masters of the treasures of the Three Realms, and only we are worthy to possess all this!"
"I swear in the name of the Asura King that the next treasure to emerge will certainly be ours!"
Golden-Eyed rallied the Asuras.
Though arrogant, he was not foolish. They had missed out on two treasures already. If he did not raise morale now, perhaps he would be the only one exerting himself.
Encouraged by him, the eyes of the Asuras lit up.
"Ours!"
"Ours!"
The Asuras roared in unison, their momentum immense.
Indra looked toward the Asuras from afar and could not help sighing. These Asuras truly had spirit!
Unlike his own side...
"Compassionate Heavenly Emperor, I am willing to devote this life to you!"
A Gandharva warrior knelt on one knee, his eyes brimming with tears. With his palms pressed together, complex emotions such as reverence and gratitude flowed through his gaze.
As he spoke, the Gandharva lowered his head, raised Indra's foot in both hands, and placed it against his forehead in a foot-touching salute.
The other Gandharvas followed suit and crowded forward.
Indra hurriedly helped him up.
If hundreds of thousands of Gandharvas came one by one, who knew when it would end? He might even complete his one-legged ascetic practice.
"It is only what I should do!"
"Let's continue churning the Ocean of Milk!"
Indra said.
Rumble!
Mandara Mountain spun without ceasing. Rocks fell like meteors, while blazing fire burned atop Mandara Mountain, scorching hot.
Thirty years later.
The Ocean of Milk had become as thick as honey!
Whoosh!
A streak of white light suddenly flew out.
"One!"
The gods and Asuras all fixed their eyes upon it, but at that moment, another streak of white light shot out from the Ocean of Milk.
"No!"
"There are two!"
Before you continue