Chapter 407

Alas.

Yuanshi Tianzun calculated the Heavenly Court's various hidden assets and allied partners, and let out a helpless sigh.

He watched the battlefield where the Taiyuan Jade Maiden had been thrown into utter chaos, imagining the siege she would face, and his mood turned grim.

The Pangu Banner appeared silently and unfurled, exuding a vast, ancient aura and also bearing the grand conception of the world's creation.

"I know, the Taiyuan is implicated in the rebellion," the Moral Heavenly Venerable said, understanding his intent, "but don't act too rashly."

"Impulsive... I wish I could be impulsive, but I can't," Yuanshi Tianzun sighed, feeling myriad emotions; the Pangu Banner trembled unwillingly and finally drooped powerlessly, "Our strength cannot match Nüwa's; even bearing the Saint's position's constraints, we can still slaughter in all directions."

"That venerable gave a bitter smile, 'Now I don't even know whether my original choice to become a Saint was right or wrong.'"

"Probably not wrong," the Moral Heavenly Venerable chuckled, "If we don't become Saints, the highest we can achieve is the level of the Ten Great Yao Marshals, possibly even a bit inferior."

"Moreover, they are professionally suited, able to command armies during the Great Calamity, and their strength will be further enhanced... what about us?"

"Just a few schoolteachers."

"To the Heavenly Court, they are hardly a threat."

The Moral Heavenly Venerable spoke gently, not minding that he was self‑disparaging.

Support roles have no rights; that's just the way it is.

"Now that we have become Saints, despite the many restrictions, at least our strength has increased, and we even have some face."

"The venerable's gaze drifted far: 'After enduring enough tempering in the Saint's position, accumulating sufficient work experience, and perfecting our wisdom and learning, we can make considerable progress even at the Taiyi Grand Luo level.'"

"Even the top Grand Luo at the Yao Marshal level, the Heavenly Court can afford to ignore our opinions; but at the Taiyi Grand Luo level? Even the Yao Emperor Heavenly Emperor would smile and call us fellow Daoists."

"After all, that is a candidate of Pangu."

"People often say that below Grand Luo everything is ants; but they don't realize that from the perspective of Taiyi, looking at the levels below Taiyi is much like looking at ants."

"So, even if the Wu Clan suffers a crushing defeat, relying on the face of us three, if you wish to keep Taiyuan safe and retreat into obscurity, it's enough to make a few simple exchanges of interest."

"Indeed... this is already not bad." Yuanshi Tianzun murmured, nodding in agreement.

Rebellion has always been a matter of risking one's head to work.

Failure leads to a miserable end.

Even if a Grand Luo cannot be killed, they cannot be wiped out completely.

They will surely be suppressed for ages, or forged into an innate spiritual treasure, forcing them to scroll away.

When they revive and return, they will find——

The market of Grand Luo contention is already mostly occupied; I can only start from zero and struggle!

Come on, workers!

Who knows how many years of this labor it will take to earn back my original fortune and master all the major industries.

Only by mastering industries and having a foundation can one grow faster to pursue Pangu's achievements.

Of course, nothing in the world is absolute.

The Great Derivation numbers fifty, using forty‑nine, leaving a sliver of life.

Even the most heartless, ruthless Heaven will not cut off a person's path, let alone the struggle among Grand Luos.

Hope still remains; a failed rebellion does not announce total bankruptcy, but rather liquidation and reorganization.

As long as one has strong strength or a powerful backer, there is hope to step down safely and cut losses in time.

If I am a Taiyi Grand Luo, or my backer is of that level, many issues can be discussed; the industries in my hand won't be wholly given up, and the foundation can still be preserved.

On this level, the ancestral witches of the Wu Clan who meet the standard……

Huh? Hmm!

Yuanshi Tianzun indulged in a brief reverie, and his expression turned strange.

Good fellow.

This rebellion is just outrageous!

Di Jiang, Nüwa, the Dragon Ancestor, Yuan Huang, Zhu Long... even if defeated, they are defeated but not destroyed.

I will surely die defending Taiyuan; Dou Mu naturally has Buddhist protection.

Xuan Su complains that Huangdi ruined her reputation, but if something really happens, will that person not intervene? Hard to say!

The Golden Mother Yuanjun, who shares a business‑partner friendship with the Donghua Emperor, will receive aid both emotionally and rationally.

Just Lei Ze, without much of a backer... but upon careful calculation, this person also has some connection to His Majesty the August Emperor.

Yuanshi Tianzun pondered, perhaps he had discovered some blind spot.

"Could it be that when Nüwa originally formed the twelve‑person battle team, she deliberately arranged it this way?!"

"It is not that they themselves are Taiyi."

"It is that they can connect with a Grand Luo of the Taiyi level."

"Thus, even if they ultimately lose, each can still have a dignified exit."

Yuanshi Tianzun stared blankly.

"Second brother, what's wrong?" the Numinous Treasure Heavenly Venerable noticed something amiss and asked softly.

"I'm fine, just feel..." Yuanshi Tianzun spoke halfway, then switched to mental transmission: "I might know the true forms of those two hidden ancestral witches."

The Numinous Treasure Heavenly Venerable was startled inside, but his expression showed no ripple; his scheming depth remained, as he pulled the Moral Heavenly Venerable into the group chat and whispered privately, "How so?"

"Look..." Yuanshi Tianzun told his two brothers his guess: "It's like this."

Blah blah blah.

"After the venerable finished speaking, he sighed with feeling: 'Having surveyed all active Taiyi Grand Luos in the present age, and then calculated those close to them, I can outline the scope.'"

"After that, subtracting those with confirmed relations, the remaining suspects are just the Tiānwú ancestral witch, the Zhurong ancestral witch... only a few!"

"The Taiyi itself, or its companion, confidant..." Yuanshi Tianzun's eyes flickered, his mental transmission full of deep meaning: "Which active Taiyi remain?"

"Báizé, Kun-Peng, Di Jun, Taiyi, the Nether River"

The River Styx first ruled out…… he has no presentable confidant, he himself has no partner, and given his strength, he doesn't need to hide too much.

Only a few remain.

Báizé, Kunpeng, Taiyi—these are the ones without partners; put bluntly, they are noble single dogs.

Yuanshi Tianzun's words betray a successful person's pride.

"What's wrong with being single?" Lingbao Tianzun glared, "Being single, what did we do to offend you?"

"I still have a group of female disciples…… and you?"

"Cough cough." Yuanshi didn't want to delve deeper into this issue, after all Daode Tianzun's gaze turned unfriendly, "My meaning is, their likelihood of supporting an agent is low."

Among them, Taiyi, as noble as a demon emperor, rebelling against himself is also unrealistic—the Wu Clan's authority is much less than that of the demon emperor.

As for the stakes of the Five Direction Heavenly Emperors, he might still give it a serious look…… splitting it among twelve people, better forget it.

Di Jun reasoned similarly.

"But Di Jun does have a partner!" Yuanshi Tianzun sent a meaningful mental transmission, "If they join forces, they also count as top-tier great divine abilities."

Finally, to sum up.

Báizé, Kunpeng, and the two ladies…… are quite suspicious, corresponding to the two hidden Wu Clan.

Moreover, from the perspective of exposure, they also fit the current embarrassing situation of hiding their heads and showing their tails, always on the road riding horses to rush over.

Yuanshi Tianzun judged from the detached perspective of an outsider; his expertise lies in this area—expounding heaven and elucidating the Dao, he is the best among the Three Pure Ones at gauging the situation, "Of course we can't rule out that these two Wu Clan might be related to the layout of the human Five Direction Heavenly Emperors……but judging by the level of suspicion, I still lean toward it being internal to the Heavenly Court."

"Ah……" Lingbao Tianzun listened, stunned, feeling his worldview had been shaken quite a bit, "I have some questions…… you say Báizé and Kunpeng are rebelling, I still believe it, after all there's still room to climb up, they're not demon emperors."

"But…… Xihe and Changxi, these heavenly consorts, they have no reason to rebel, right?"

"That's not necessarily so." Yuanshi Tianzun said calmly, "First, before these two goddesses married Di Jun, they were mainstays of female innate divinity, and due to work-related cooperation, they were on good terms with Nüwa, the Golden Mother, and Taiyuan."

Moreover.

I heard Taiyuan chatting with me about some secret matters of their circle; Xihe and Changxi married into it, Xihe will become the empress, taking charge of the Sun Star, managing the accounts of Di Jun's real-estate business and proxying part of his authority; in the Heavenly Court, the appointments and transfers of many female immortals and goddesses will pass under her review.

Changxi, as consort, still oversees the Moon Star, handling some logistical work…… in the Heavenly Court's palaces, all the consorts, attendants, and heavenly maidens respect her orders.

Yuanshi Tianzun laughed and sent a mental transmission, "Their power is not small."

Moreover, the key is that at that time both sun and moon were under their control, and their status was extremely exalted.

If they had a bit of ambition, contemplating going further?

With sun and moon in the sky, a female ruler of the world…… it's not impossible!

This is also the dream of many goddesses, promoted since the previous epoch…… although back then they faced the August Emperor August Emperor and were utterly defeated.

Back then the two leaders were the Phoenix and Nüwa, and they suffered a crushing defeat by being divided.

The Phoenix was sidelined, serving for many years as a tool phoenix and emblem leader.

Nüwa's fighting will was resolute, she simply refused to yield…… but her brother took care of her sister, that was a case of grabbing everything, directly confiscating even the home.

The Empress Nüwa cried to heaven and earth on the terrace, all her years of hard work went into making a wedding dress.

But!

In this era, wars never cease, goddesses raise banners and rebel, with tremendous momentum!

Yuanshi Tianzun was going on about it.

"Elder brother……" Lingbao Tianzun rolled his eyes, "Let me think…… you suspect the heavenly consorts of rebelling; these words are fine to say between us two, don't speak them to outsiders."

Otherwise, you're not a deity inside and out.

If guessed wrong, it's to drive a wedge between the Heavenly Court leaders' marital feelings, creating internal conflict…… from then on, our Kunlun mountain will likely never be peaceful, often being besieged by the demon emperor's army, constantly checking whether buildings violate codes, whether sanitation meets standards……

The fee for using spiritual energy keeps skyrocketing…… dare not pay, and they'll immediately cut off all spiritual meridian flow around Kunlun, building a spirit dam like a water dam to accumulate a spirit lake.

Moreover, graduated disciples will face a total ban, making any business unsuccessful, and resource channel merchants will wildly raise prices.

Our Dao lineage imparted alchemy, artifact, and formation techniques to each disciple, so that after graduation, even at worst they could earn a meal, be self-sufficient, and earn resources to support their continued cultivation progress.

This is good, but we also fear being targeted…… especially by the Heavenly Court!

Unless……

The Heavenly Court is the strongest organization, in its complete state, yet it governs heaven, earth, and air.

The Dao gate of the Three Pure Ones is essentially a company.

In the primordial wilderness, there are its own circumstances; how dare a mere company openly defy the Heavenly Court?

In ordinary times, we can let it slide.

At critical moments, if something disgusting pops up, they will definitely give a solid iron fist, leaving a lifelong memory.

Unless someday the rivers and mountains change color, the Daoist enterprise fully infiltrates the Heavenly Court, and behind every mountain stronghold there is a trace of the Dao.

Retired senior personnel are still hired by the Dao, to deeply understand the Heavenly Court's context, and incidentally use their connections to influence the incumbent department heads……

Investiture of the Gods, Investiture of the Gods— which god is being conferred!

Lingbao Tianzun has brought up some sensitive topics, but that ultimately is far from the present.

You guessed wrong, the consequences are very serious.

You guessed right……

Lingbao Tianzun's mouth twitched, "If you say it out and people find out…… elder brother, think hard about how you want to die."

As for the Wu Clan, they will definitely be very angry.

We took Nüwa's Pangu investment, and only then did we have today's enterprise, yet we ended up losing an army……

As for the Wu Clan, they probably all have the heart to crush your bones and scatter your ashes.

Lingbao Tianzun imagined his elder brother blasted to minced meat, lying as a corpse reading the statutes, not knowing how many years he couldn't be resurrected…… while feeling terrified, he suddenly realized he seemed to have some anticipation?

'Huh…… am I that evil? Expecting my elder brother to meet misfortune?'

He asked himself, blinking, 'Ah…… this must be the work of a heart demon, definitely not because the second brother went offline, causing my brothers' ranking to rise…… my apologies, my apologies.'

Yuanshi Tianzun didn't know, Lingbao was pondering some unspeakable idea.

He simply waved his hand calmly, "Don't worry, I won't seek my own death."

"Don't say it's merely speculation without solid evidence... even if it's true, I won't do something so offensive."

"On the contrary, we need to see if there's anywhere in here we can profit from."

"The times are too brutal, with one warlord after another charging onto the battlefield bare-armed, slaughtering until heaven and earth grow dark, making it hard for us who deal in teachings to get by..."

"Without sufficient support, how could we possibly become Pangu?"

"Only by becoming Pangu can one laugh at the rise and fall of storms, untouched by myriad calamities."

Yuanshi Tianzun let out a long sigh, and the Moral Tianzun and the Numinous Treasure Tianzun were likewise sorrowful.

With weapons and slaughter, thrashing all who resist, one could unify Honghuang and prove the Dao as Pangu.

To govern the world, bestowing blessings upon humanity and all beings, winning the people's hearts and hopes, one can prove the Dao as Pangu.

"Teachings... how do we handle this?"

"Be the teacher of everyone?"

"That's unrealistic!"

After all, Honghuang is a complete cultivation civilization, involving too many fields.

The Three Pure Ones are excellent, but can they teach all the Great Luo in every field?

Then only Pangu can do it!

But if one becomes Pangu, is it still necessary to do this?

This is a dead-end cycle.

"We need to break out of this cycle!"

The three Tianzun looked at each other, having reached a consensus.

"Perhaps..."

Yuanshi Tianzun glanced toward the battlefield, lingering a moment on the Mysterious Primordial Goddess and Fengxi.

(End of chapter)