Chapter 3084: The Troubles of Being Small

Why is it that only great immortals who have attained the Dao for a long time, military commanders, and mountain and wild gods bestowed by the state are allowed to establish temples and accept offerings?

The former possess profound merit, while the latter hold official positions that protect them; ensuring peace in one region is merely the fulfillment of their duties. Any third party who privately accepts incense offerings is easily entangled by countless karmic bonds of the mortal world.

This is quite fair—where in the world is there a blessing without consequence?

Bai Zhan Tian has many temples in the Hall of Ten Thousand Gods on Mount Xushan and among the common folk of the Bekka people, with incense burning vigorously every day. Yet however much incense he accumulates, he also accumulates that much karma. Thus, when he descended to the mortal realm and was swept by the karmic flood, the impact upon him was immense.

In contrast, the celestial demons before us are not true gods, nor are they great celestial demons; the incense they enjoy in the mortal realm amounts to less than one percent of Bai Zhan Tian's, and thus the karmic entanglements they involve are naturally far lesser.

This is what is meant by "the more one takes, the more one stains; the less one takes, the less one stains."

Therefore, the impact of the karmic flood upon them is far less than that upon Bai Zhan Tian.

Fortunately, the great army behind the Nine Nether Great Emperor is not to be trifled with; taking advantage of their momentary confusion, they launched a sudden charge!

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That night, the mortal realm knew no sleep; all beings gazed upon the starry sky, hearts filled with dread.

Thirty li to the northwest of Shen State lies Bi State. This small country covers only one-seventh of Shen State's territory, its land dominated by mountains. Though its agricultural yield is not abundant, it possesses the Wind Chime Mountain Range, which produces a variety of unique medicinal herbs, all native to the region.

For example, one such herb, Bone-Strengthening Grass, when ground into feed and fed to livestock, makes their tendons strong and bones sturdy, reducing illness; another, Dragon's Blood Grass, when made into a potion and sprayed on the body, repels mosquitoes and blood-sucking insects. Know this: after the spiritual qi of heaven and earth becomes dense, various insect species multiply wildly and mutate, some livestock cannot withstand the bites and die, causing great losses in animal husbandry.

Relying on the export of these widely useful medicinal herbs, Bi State has enjoyed a decent life for nearly ten years.

Until today.

On the day the celestial demons descended, could the King of Bi sleep? He remained with several senior ministers in the council hall, sitting and standing uneasily.

As the night deepened, the imperial nectar descending from the heavens grew ever more abundant, striking the eaves, tiles, and plants with a crackling sound.

Yet its spreading fragrance could no longer soothe the restless hearts of men.

The King of Bi paced to the window for the tenth time, lifted his gaze to the heavens, full of hope—would it be delayed?

Even if this unwarranted disaster could not be avoided, he hoped it would come as late as possible.

Several ministers silently thought: How could it be? The Holy Venerable of Lingxu has not yet descended—how could he break faith with the mortal realm?

Yet Minister Yuqing still followed his words: "This is not impossible. After all, the descent of the celestial demons is a great matter; perhaps they have not yet fully prepared, or perhaps the War Alliance has taken some action, causing them to delay their descent?"

The King of Bi rubbed his hands: "If that is the case, that would be wonderful."

As his words fell, the palace attendant outside suddenly called out: "Your Majesty, look to the heavens!"

The heavens?

The ruler and ministers together looked up, and saw specks of starlight appear in the sky. Tonight's cloud layer is thick, and by rights no stars should be visible, yet now the entire expanse of cloud seems to be on fire, like the clouds before and after sunset.

After just a dozen breaths, the imperial nectar suddenly ceased, and the thick clouds above dispersed without explanation; the night sky became clear, with not a trace of obstruction.

Yet the ruler and ministers alike stared wide-eyed, faces drained of color—for the heavens had burst open with a meteor fire rain!

The entire celestial canopy was occupied, surging and magnificent, bearing the grandeur of the apocalypse.

"The gods descend!" Yuqing's voice hoarse, "The true descent of the gods has begun!"

Their last sliver of fortune was shattered; what should not have come, still came.

The surging heavenly fire continued for a quarter of an hour, not yet finished descending. Under the light of the meteor fire rain, the entire sky blazed as bright as noon, also casting the faces of the ruler and ministers into a pallid, lifeless hue.

"The scale is actually this great……" the King of Bi said with a choked voice, "Exactly, exactly how many celestial demons have descended? Could it be…… could it be as many as three or five thousand?"

No one dared to respond, for judging by the momentum of the meteor shower, the true number must certainly exceed that.

"So many celestial demons have descended? The mortal realm is truly about to usher in a great calamity!"

Minister Xia Liejie immediately said: "Your Majesty, we must immediately contact the War Alliance. Now, seeking their protection, perhaps there is still time."

"Still time?" Yuqing countered, "Now is precisely when they are overwhelmed and distressed—where would they still have the capacity to attend to us?"

Xia Liejie said with a stern face: "The last time the War Alliance sent a message, Your Majesty did not reply but also did not refuse. Now declaring allegiance would also be natural and proper."

"What good would joining do?" Yuqing objected, "Do you know how many nations have joined the War Alliance? Can it possibly manage them all?"

"But once the celestial demons attack……" Xia Liejie had not finished speaking when Yuqing cut him off.

"Celestial demons attack? The mortal realm is so vast, with countless neutral states—how could the celestial demons possibly have the leisure to come seek misfortune with us?"

"When the celestial demons descend, the War Alliance resists, so the celestial demons should first attack the War Alliance." As the saying goes, "the arrow strikes the leading bird," the King of Bi also nodded, "Our state is but a tiny pellet, dwelling in a remote corner of the world, small and weak, utterly insignificant. What need would the celestial demons have to seek us first?"

Yuqing quickly echoed: "Your Majesty's wisdom is precisely this principle. On the contrary, if we were to first seek refuge with the War Alliance, we might still have to obey its commands and even dispatch troops for it. If, when the time comes, we directly provoke the celestial demons on the battlefield, that would truly be 'drawing fire upon oneself.'"

Xia Liejie pressed his lips together. He had already offered counsel many times, but the ruler's heart was set on remaining aloof, utterly unwilling to involve himself in the mortal realm's conflict with the celestial demons.

In truth, Xia Liejie knew in his heart that this country does not care who truly controls the world, as long as it stays far enough away.

For this world-shaking war, whether the celestial demons win or the War Alliance wins—what benefit or harm does it bring to Bi State?

Are they not still living their own lives, selling their own herbs?

As long as they remain distant from the war's center, how different could the future be from the present?

On the contrary, if Bi State were to prematurely involve itself in this turmoil, that would be called 'uncertain life and death, unpredictable future.' Mao State and Cangyan State are strong and wealthy; the celestial demons cannot devour them—would they not turn and retaliate against these small allied states?

By then, could the War Alliance truly protect them?

Xia Liejie said in a deep voice: "The War Alliance has already conquered two barbarian vassal states; its leader, the Nine Nether Great Emperor, has personally slain several great celestial demons, and now the War Alliance is still summoning true immortals and great powers from sects and nations across the mortal realm. Joining the War Alliance now is still not too late. After victory, our state's status will surely ascend. Do not forget our specialty— in this great war, it too can be put to use."

The War Alliance has a need for Bi State; otherwise, why would it have previously invited Bi State to join?

He turned his gaze to the King of Bi, speaking earnestly: "Your Majesty, do you truly resign yourself to remain merely the ruler of a small state?"