Chapter 594: Wishing He Could Grind His Bones to Dust and Scatter Them to the Wind

Tushan Xiancheng, the Hall of Deliberation.

Master Dinghai Master Dinghai Zhenjun sat at the head of the hall, eyes closed, silent.

"It's been three years. To this day, none of the regions have delivered spirit stones and heavenly materials and earthly treasures as tribute to the Immortal City. After deducting what the Ancestor needs for his daily cultivation, what remains for the rest of us is next to nothing. Our cultivation has ground to a halt…"

Hei Hei Chengwu and a dozen or so direct-lineage Jin Dan cultivators murmured among themselves.

Around them, several dozen direct-lineage Foundation Establishment cultivators sat ramrod-straight, occasionally stirred, casting curious glances around the clan's Hall of Deliberation — clearly their first time in such a solemn, austere place that decided how the General General Heishi's power ran. In the past, they could only wait for the outcome.

Now, however, they had the chance to take part in its decisions.

"Relying on the Immortal City's stockpiled spirit stones and heavenly materials and earthly treasures, we can hold out for a few more years. If the number of Jin Dan cultivators doesn't increase afterward, it'll just barely be enough…"

"No. Sitting idle and eating our way through the mountain, trapped in a corner of the grasslands — that's the road to ruin!"

"What ruin? With the Ancestor present, we are steady as Taishan."

The many Jin Dan cultivators argued back and forth, pulling the topic this way and that, none willing to be the one to truly pierce the veil.

"Honored uncles and elders, why be so timid, deceiving yourselves!"

After a long while, a younger direct-lineage Jin Dan cultivator rose in annoyance: "Summoning the foreign-surnamed Jin Dan cultivators from every region to the Immortal City, imposing restrictions, and provisionally acknowledging their status — this policy has already proven unworkable over the years. The foreign-surnamed Jin Dan cultivators who came to pay court are only a handful, and all of them are old and frail, Jin Dan cultivators of no real use."

"As things stand now, we can only, for the time being, fully acknowledge the status of the foreign-surnamed Jin Dan cultivators everywhere, in exchange for their loyalty."

"Tax revenue — split three-sevenths."

"By the Ancestor's power, these Jin Dan cultivators will surely submit. Even if occasionally there are unruly ones, a single written talisman decree sent out, with many Jin Dan cultivators answering the call, can wipe out their entire clan — without the slightest effort."

Naturally, there were also aftereffects, and very great ones at that.

Across the vast Black Snow Great Grasslands, Jin Dan cultivators no longer faced the fate of being hunted down by Nascent Soul cultivators at any moment. They could multiply freely, raise their own disciples and descendants, and within a few hundred years the number of Jin Dan cultivators would surely surge.

With such numbers piling up, prodigies would emerge one after another, and who knows, a Nascent Soul Master Dinghai Zhenjun blessed with great fortune might be born.

By then, the already-weakened Guishan Tie Clan would be unable to swiftly snuff out a newly risen Nascent Soul Master Dinghai Zhenjun, and the General General Heishi would immediately be plunged into a calamity of clan extermination.

If such a thing truly came to pass,

then the cultivator who proposed this decision would be a sinner for all ages!

"Impossible!"

"The laws of our ancestors cannot be changed!"

At once, a steady and prudent Jin Dan cultivator objected: "How can these lowly cultivators of foreign surnames be allowed to hold General General Heishi lands? They must accept our clan's soul restrictions — there can be no compromise or concession whatsoever!"

"Hei Chengxiu, you are too young, thinking wishfully…"

"Rogue cultivators, knowing nothing of rank or propriety, ignorant of ritual — how can they be so easily accepted…"

Many Jin Dan cultivators spoke out one after another to block it, but by their expressions, they all seemed to have breathed a sigh of relief.

Seeing this, Master Dinghai Master Dinghai Zhenjun felt a wisp of irritable killing intent rise in his heart.

"Let it be so!"

"As things stand now, there is no other way. Relying solely on the strength of our direct lineage, we can no longer control the Black Snow Great Grasslands. We can only wait and settle accounts in the future."

Peak Jin Dan cultivator Hei Hei Chengwu dismissed the Jin Dan cultivator who had spoken out, and said in a stern voice: "If the ancestors blame us, if the Tie Clan calls us to account, the two of us will bear the consequences alone!"

"Uncle Cheng, I…"

The young direct-lineage Jin Dan cultivator's eyelid twitched.

Just a few years ago, the Tie Clan had, on account of ritual propriety, executed a great number of branch-lineage Jin Dan cultivators. He had only the clan's greater good at heart, merely offering that one remark — he could not bear such a great blame.

"You may all withdraw."

Hei Hei Chengwu, however, paid no more attention to the crowd and waved his hand.

"…Yes!"

The many direct-lineage Jin Dan cultivators exchanged uncertain glances, glanced at Master Dinghai Master Dinghai Zhenjun, saw that he was still sitting with closed eyes, resting his spirit, looking utterly indifferent. Their hearts chilled at once, and they bowed and retreated.

The Hall of Deliberation fell quiet for the moment.

Without the stern demeanor he had shown before the cultivators, Hei Hei Chengwu stood with his hands bound at his sides, watching his father, the Nascent Soul Master Dinghai Zhenjun above, in growing unease.

Though they were father and son, he did not dare grow arrogant on the strength of that favor.

Moreover, a few years ago, disregarding stern warnings, he had taken it upon himself to contact the Guishan Tie Clan, inviting them to come and enforce propriety under a ten-thousand-year pact.

Though in the end it succeeded, it also caused the General General Heishi's strength to suffer greatly, and the future was a murky mess.

A silence like death.

After waiting a long while, Hei Hei Chengwu's heart grew cold, his body began to tremble, and he kept racking his brains for who else in the clan could take his place, so that the Ancestor would not lose patience again.

"Hei Chengwu, you did well."

Master Dinghai Master Dinghai Zhenjun said slowly.

"Quite the trick — a hundred years ago you had already arranged trusted men to stay behind in Guishan, and even self-sealed their memories. I could not detect a single trace, and could not stop it in time."

"Father, your son has erred…"

Cold sweat streamed down Hei Hei Chengwu's forehead, and with a thud he dropped to his knees on the ground.

"Err in what? You have not erred."

Master Dinghai Master Dinghai Zhenjun's expression was calm: "In those years, when I was clan head, I too schemed just as you do — any brothers and sisters who might threaten my position were quietly eliminated, by any means necessary. Only thus did I receive the clan's careful cultivation and the Nascent Soul inheritance, and only thus do I stand here today."

"Now, you have indeed succeeded."

"The branch lineage is wiped out, hearts are estranged, and they have committed bloody slaughter against my direct lineage, forging a blood feud from which there is no return."

"Among the direct lineage, you are the only peak Jin Dan cultivator left. Truly, there is no replacement to be found."

"Father, this was not your son's doing. If it truly was me, let heaven strike me down and the earth destroy me, never to be reborn across all ages!"

Hei Hei Chengwu did not dare grow complacent, and swore a binding oath.

"All the Nascent Soul opportunities accumulated by the clan to this day will be given to you." Master Dinghai Master Dinghai Zhenjun paid it no heed, and said lightly: "Tell me, how confident are you?"

"Your son dares not harbor such delusions…"

"Oh?"

Divine Crow Master Dinghai Zhenjun's expression hardened, a terrifying, savage killing intent settling over his face; his patience, worn thin by the other's continued posturing, was nearing its limit.

"One and a half tenths!"

"Father, one and a half tenths!"

Hei Hei Chengwu's body trembled: "If the clan's Soul-Washing Liquid, Black Crow Molt, and the rest were all in my hands, I could reach a one-and-a-half-tenths probability — I dare not deceive Father in the slightest."

"One and a half tenths? Only one and a half tenths."

"You truly are trash."

Divine Crow Master Dinghai Zhenjun was briefly stunned, then after a moment, sighed softly: "These heaven-sent treasures already bring a one-point-two-or-three-tenths boost on their own; your ability truly is unworthy of these heaven-sent treasures."

"Like a bright pearl in the hands of a beggar — the two were never meant to meet."

"Trash, absolute trash."

Hei Hei Chengwu trembled as he knelt prostrate on the ground, not daring to utter a single word in rebuttal.

"You hide your emotions very well — only the faintest sliver shows through."

Divine Crow Master Dinghai Zhenjun asked evenly.

"I remember you've always been one to repay every grievance. Right now, aren't you nursing a bone-deep, venomous hatred, wanting to grind my bones and scatter my ashes after I die?"

"Your son wouldn't dare…"

Hei Hei Chengwu kowtowed against the ground without pause, his forehead splitting open, fresh blood streaming down, staining a large patch of the floor red.

"That's fine."

"When I was clan head, I too disliked that undying old fossil sitting above my head."

Divine Crow Master Dinghai Zhenjun's face betrayed neither joy nor anger as he sighed: "You've indeed succeeded. I still have over a hundred years of lifespan left. Looking across the Jin Dan cultivators of the direct line, only you are fit to bear this burden. The others — those dozen-plus Jin Dan cultivators — whether in cultivation, talent, or bearing, are all mediocre, even worse than you."

"Once you've ascended to Nascent Soul, grinding my bones and scattering my ashes would be fine by me. I've killed countless in my life — who knows how many perished by my hand, reduced to ash, never to be reborn. I take a very dim view of such things."

"I won't kill you, but do you know what the consequence will be if you fail to ascend to Nascent Soul?"

He asked.

"Death, without question!"

Hei Hei Chengwu dared no longer hide his shortcomings or obscure anything: "Not just me — the entire General Heishi direct line will face a calamity of extinction. We could only rely on the Tushan Xiancheng formation to hold fast. With luck, we might struggle on for another hundred-plus years, waiting for spirit stones to run out. Without luck, if a Nascent Soul Master Dinghai Zhenjun attacks, it would spell the clan's total ruin."

"You are very clever."

Divine Crow Master Dinghai Zhenjun, listless, tossed out a token; it clattered onto the ground: "Get lost. Go to the clan's secret vault and claim the things you've been pining after all these years. I hope, as you wish, that one day you'll grind my bones and scatter my ashes."

Countless helpless feelings welled up in his heart.

Why, with such cleverness, couldn't there be a little more talent and bearing?

"Father, your son takes his leave…"

Hei Hei Chengwu took the token with trembling hands; at last, a gleam of unconcealable wild joy surfaced in his eyes.

Roar!

Roar, roar!

Suddenly, a roaring dragon's cry rang out across the four corners, shaking heaven and earth. The layered formations of the Council Hall could not stop it; tables, chairs, and teacups trembled without cease.

Layer upon layer of Jin Chong Guang spread across the space between heaven and earth.

From within the clouds, a golden dragon — boundless in majesty, boundless in grandeur — circled once between heaven and earth, then descended toward the earth, dragon qi rising in great billows.

"Wang Ting dragon qi of the General Heishi clan?"

Hei Hei Chengwu, token in hand, was stunned, suspecting his ears were ringing and his eyes were playing tricks.

"The General Heishi clan's dragon qi is being stolen."

"Lowly cultivators, humble ants…"

Divine Crow Master Dinghai Zhenjun slowly rose to his feet, overwhelming killing intent surfacing in his eyes: "Rats from the gutter, who can't even hide properly — how dare you show yourselves, coveting my Heishizu Sect's ancestral dragon qi, disturbing the ancestors' peace."

"You all deserve to die!"

Boom!

Divine Crow Master Dinghai Zhenjun spread his sky-obscuring wings, smashed through the great hall, tore open space, and flew toward the distance.

(End of chapter)