711. Heaven and Earth Group Chat

The snow-white, divine and majestic beast emerged from the sea of clouds and slowly walked towards the celestial mountain.

It was like a divine beast descending from the heavens, walking step by step into the mortal world.

White mist rose from beneath its hooves, lifting it to walk through the void.

Buzz!

The air suddenly trembled, like ripples spreading across the surface of water, the ripples expanding downwards and outlining a bowl-shaped barrier that enveloped the continuous, layered celestial mountains.

The mountain-protecting grand formation… Baidi knew its own status was too lofty, triggering the Heaven Sect’s defensive formation.

At that moment, a gap opened in the formation, and a detached voice floated from it:

“Since you have come from afar, you are a guest. Fellow Daoist, please etnter.”

The horned head dipped lightly, and Baidi took a step forward with its hoof and disappeared into the air.

When it reappeared, it was already atop the celestial mountain, before the towering, majestic immortal palace.

Thick pillars supported a dome a hundred feet high, with carvings of cloud patterns, flames, and swift winds on their surface. The overall style, in all its grandeur, was tinged with coldness and solitude.

The palace was empty, without any adornment.

At the end of the pillars, atop a lofty pedestal, a nine-coloured luminous lotus platform slowly rotated, upon which sat an old Daoist with white hair and beard.

He sat with his eyes closed, head slightly bowed, as if half-asleep.

The old Daoist’s appearance and manner seemed ordinary and unremarkable, but in Baidi’s eyes, he straddled the line between reality and illusion, as if just a projection of history.

“You may call me Baidi. That is what the people of Yunzhou call me.”

Baidi spoke in human language, his voice deep and low.

“Why have you come to my Heaven Sect?”

The Heavenly Venerable did not bother with pleasantries, speaking directly, and showed no emotional fluctuation at the arrival of a god-demon descendant.

Baidi stood in the centre of the great hall, meeting the Heavenly Venerable’s gaze, and said:

“All those years ago, the Daoist Venerable drove every descendant of gods and demons out of the lands of Jiuzhou. Are you aware of this?”

“I pay no attention.” That was the Heavenly Venerable’s reply.

Baidi was not surprised by the Heavenly Venerable’s attitude, and said indifferently:

“Your bearing reminds me of Him from those days.”

He continued:

“I have been to the Southern Marches to see the Gu God. The Gu God told me that the Daoist Venerable may already have perished. For the Gu God to make such a judgement, the odds of Daoist Venerable’s demise are extremely high. Yet I cannot understand it. Back then on Jiuzhou, the only being capable of threatening Him was the slumbering Gu God.

“But the Daoist Venerable’s demise clearly has nothing to do with the Gu God, so what, precisely, could have caused a Beyond-rank to perish?

“If anyone in all Jiuzhou could answer me, it would likely only be the Gu God, the Warlock God, or the Buddha; if the Confucian Sage were not dead, he would count as well. Yet these Beyond-rank beings are either dead or sealed away.

“Perhaps, you can answer me.”

A breeze drifted through the great hall, and the mane about Baidi’s neck stirred gently. Its azure, vertical pupils gazed at the Heavenly Venerable:

“I heard from a second rank arcanist in Yunzhou that the Heaven Sect’s Heavenly Venerables would sometimes disappear without reason.”

He suspected that the Daoist Venerable’s demise and the Heavenly Venerables’ disappearances were of the same nature.

The Heavenly Venerable sat cross-legged, head lowered and eyes closed, but a voice rang out:

“What has it to do with me!”

Baidi did not become angry, seemingly thinking this attitude entirely fitting for the Heaven Sect, and asked:

“When I left the lands of Jiuzhou back then, the Daoist sect had many branches, but there was no Human Sect or Earth Sect. I heard those were founded by Him later? Does Heaven Sect have the cultivation methods of those two Sects? I would like to see the cultivation methods of the three sects ‘Heaven, Earth, and Human’.”

The Heavenly Venerable remained silent, but before Baidi, three tomes appeared, with blue covers. One was entitled Supreme Detachment from Emotion.

The other two were much slimmer by comparison, not even half the thickness.

As for the methods of the Human and Earth Sects, the Heaven Sect only had the opening chapters, and not the more advanced parts.

Baidi fixed its gaze upon the volumes of the Human and Earth Sects.

Rustle…

The pages turned rapidly, and before long, he finished reading. Baidi fell silent, a look of confusion flickering in its eyes:

“The methods of these two sects differ greatly from those of the Heaven Sect, and are full of flaws. When Daoist Venerable drove us out from Jiuzhou, he had already achieved Beyond-rank. So why did he go on to found the Human and Earth Sects?”

Still puzzled, its gaze landed on the tome Supreme Detachment from Emotion, and the pages rustled as it quickly read through, then again, and again, before closing its eyes.

After a long while, it reopened its azure beast eyes, and a great sigh echoed through the hall:

“I understand what has happened now.”

“You also think He has perished?” the Heavenly Venerable asked, exceptionally, for once.

Baidi was silent for a moment, then slowly said:

“The matter is too complicated for me to give a definite answer. But based on what we know, the Daoist Venerable has indeed fallen. The Confucian Sage was not the Gatekeeper, nor was the Daoist Venerable. So who, in the end, is the Gatekeeper…?”

It pulled its thoughts back and said, “I will not reveal what has transpired here.”

The Heavenly Venerable sat still and silent, giving no reply.

Baidi turned, transformed into white light, and vanished from the hall.

…

A small skiff, adrift with the current.

The sunlight on the sea was fierce, and Mu Nanzhi wore a wide-brimmed hat with a veil and a thin dress as she sat in the little boat fishing.

Baiji paddled doggy-style in the rippling emerald waves, circling the skiff cheerfully like a husky.

Her short limbs worked hard in the clear sea water.

Xu Qi’an was bare-chested, lying on the skiff, holding an Earth Book fragment, just as he used to play on his phone in bed in his previous life, reading the messages sent by the Heaven and Earth Society members.

After a period of training, the followers under Heaven and Earth Society’s members had acquired a certain level of fighting strength, not as strong as regular troops, but better than rabble.

Of these, Li Miaozhen’s army was the strongest, followed by Chu Yuanzhen, with Li Lingsu the weakest.

As for Hengyuan, because he could not bring himself to plunder wealthy merchants and landlords, he had not gathered refugees or formed an army, but instead only did what he could to help starving and freezing people.

Sometimes, clinging too stubbornly to principles is just another kind of obstinacy, Master Hengyuan.

Xu Qi’an made a silent assessment in his heart.

People could not always stick to the same principles forever, those who truly understood adaptability should know how to adjust their principles appropriately based on their environment and the situation.

Of course, this had to be within a certain reasonable range.

【SEVEN: The day before yesterday, I was besieged by government soldiers, and all of them were elite troops. I was unwilling to fight to the death with them, so I led my men to break out of the encirclement, but those soldiers kept pursuing us without stopping.】

Li Lingsu recounted his recent troubles. His main base had been raided by soldiers sent by the local authorities.

He had run into this kind of thing before, but previously it was always scattered irregulars with little fighting strength, or just militias raised by local gentry.

This time was different, the troops were elite, equipped with military crossbows and firearms.

【TWO: About five days ago, I too ran into elite imperial troops. What’s wrong with the little emperor, is his head muddled? We’re helping him stabilise the situation and appease the refugees, and instead of being grateful, he sends troops to crush us?】

Lady Flying Swallow struck a heavy blow within the Heaven and Earth Society chat:

【If he has so many troops, why not send them into Qingzhou? I say this little emperor is no better than his father, both are incompetents with titles and no merit. Just you wait, one day, I’ll stab him to death.】

【FOUR: That doesn’t make sense. Although Yongxing didn’t accept Erlang’s plan, he was intrigued by it and understood its merits. Now, with others shouldering the blame and plundering gentry to comfort refugees, he should be pleased.】

Chu Yuanzhen had not been attacked, mostly because his territory was not fixed. Periodically, he led campaigns against nearby bandit gangs, either wiping them out or absorbing them.

Wherever he fought, he stayed for a while, slowly pushing his route towards Qingzhou.

【ONE: Precisely because it wasn’t his idea, he feels uneasy.】

At this point, the brains of the Heaven and Earth Society, Huaiqing, sent a message:

【Since he didn’t approve it, then who is gathering the refugees and building up strength behind the scenes? Emperor Yongxing is likely suspecting that the real mastermind is a certain king, such as our own brother, king Yan.

【To an emperor, a brother coveting the throne is the same as a rebel army.】

The Heaven and Earth Society members were suddenly enlightened.

Chu Yuanzhen wrote: 【So that’s it. I’ve been away from court for so long, my instincts have dulled. Yongxing lacks drive, if it were me, I’d simply turn it to my advantage, first letting the brother who covets the throne help stabilise the refugees. Once the war in Qingzhou is won, I’d burn my bridges, either confine him or assassinate him, or make his schemes public.

【After all, for an emperor, dealing with a king isn’t that hard. As for the experts gathering refugees outside the system, if they’re originally from court, recruiting them is no trouble at all. Even if one or two get ambitious, they can be dealt with.

【If we can’t beat the rebels, then it’s all meaningless anyway, then there’s no need to worry about the refugees in the first place.】

Huaiqing added: 【Yongxing is a caretaker ruler by nature, in terms of capability, decisiveness, and skill, he can’t handle the current situation.】

Chu Yuanzhen said thoughtfully: 【By comparison, the fourth prince is indeed superior.】

In terms of ability, wit, and daring, king Yan, Huaiqing’s brother, was somewhat stronger than Emperor Yongxing.

Criticising the emperor even half-publicly was a grave crime.

But Chu Yuanzhen had already been out of court for years, and everyone in the Heaven and Earth Society was a rebel at heart, so there was no need for caution.

Annoyed as they were, there was nothing the members could do about Emperor Yongxing’s actions.

Firstly, this was exactly what a king ought to do, and secondly, decisiveness and boldness could not be developed overnight.

Yongxing was simply like this, no amount of cursing would help.

At this moment, Huaiqing sent another message:

【A few days ago, Emperor Yongxing bestowed a marriage between Lin’an and Xu Qi’an.】

The inside of the Heaven and Earth Society suddenly fell silent.

Xu Qi’an failed to hold onto his Earth Book fragment, which slapped into his face.

【TWO: What? The country is literally collapsing, and the little emperor still has time to meddle with his sister’s marriage. Truly a useless ruler. I must kill him!】

Li Miaozhen added Emperor Yongxing to her hit list, not because of the marriage, but because he was simply too incompetent.

【ONE: This is good news! I would have thought something so important should be reported to the National Teacher, but the National Teacher just so happened to be away from the capital recently.】

【TWO: Your Highness makes a great point.】

Did you actually send someone to Lingbao Temple to notify the National Teacher? Xu Qi’an’s heart sank, he thought, Miaozhen, you don’t need to bother, the National Teacher will handle it for you. But my little Lin’an will be in danger.

Still, he was not worried, for the National Teacher returning was the genuine model, the cold and dignified type, a kind and gentle little aunt.

Not the deranged young love, nor the careful young sorrow, and certainly not the demoness young malice.

The gentle little aunt would not do something like this.

【FOUR: Ningyan will be prince consort, then.】

Chu Yuanzhen sincerely offered his congratulations.

Pah, scum should just die… Li Lingsu also offered his heartfelt congratulations:

【Congratulations, Brother Xu, on becoming the current dynasty’s prince consort. By the way, recently I’ve gained some insights in Daoism and am itching to visit the capital to consult the National Teacher. Oh, by the way, Senior Xu, does Madam Xu know about this?】

The Holy Son gradually started getting sarcastic.

This rotten friend… Xu Qi’an’s mouth twitched and he glanced guiltily at the attentive Mu Nanzhi.

If the Flower God found out about this, she’d run straight into the Stupa tower again to practise Buddhism with the old monk tower-spirit.

【TWO: Yes, congratulations, Silver Gong Xu. Silver Gong Xu becoming a prince consort was a foregone conclusion, when’s the wedding? All of the Heaven Sect’s elders and villagers will join for food and drink.】

The fledging phoenix’s sarcasm was on par with the crouching dragon.

Li Lingsu added fuel to the fire: 【Why not just marry Her Highness Huaiqing as well, set a precedent in the Great Feng, and make it the talk of the age?】

After all, this was just online, it was not as if Huaiqing and Xu Qi’an could reach through the Earth Book to kill him.

Fine, when we return to the Central Plains, I’ll gather all your confidantes together so you can fully enjoy yourself… Xu Qi’an typed swiftly:

【The southern yao have driven the Buddhists out of the Southern Marches. The Nine-tailed Celestial Fox has rebuilt the Wanyao Kingdom.】

【FOUR: Well done.】

The Heaven and Earth Society members were not much moved, this was as expected, since they had long known Xu Qi’an would help the southern yao restore their country.

【SEVEN: Brother Xu, is this an attempt to change the subject?】

Xu Qi’an snorted, thinking, the best part is yet to come.

【THREE: On this trip to the Southern Marches, I have discovered something big, it concerns the Buddha.】

711. Heaven and Earth Group Chat

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