Chapter 219: Scheming in the Shadows During the Seal of Mount Tai [Happy Qixi Festival!]

"In about half a year, the truth will be revealed."

Sandalwood smoke curled in the air; Fang Longye stirred the misty vapor before him, his mood evidently quite good.

In the legends of his past life, in the first year of the Yuanfeng era, Han Wudi performed the Seal of Mount Tai, and after touring Mount Song of the Central Peak.

Not many days after returning to Chang'an City, on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, his birthday, he witnessed the Queen Mother of the West descend to the mortal realm and present several Flat Peaches.

It is currently the sixth year of the Yuanding era; if one follows the historical trajectory of his past life, once the page turns and next March arrives, after Han Wudi performs the Seal of Mount Tai and changes the era name to Yuanfeng, it will be the first year of the Yuanfeng era.

Therefore, in about six or seven months, Fang Longye will know whether the Queen Mother of the West will descend to the mortal realm in this world to celebrate Han Wudi's birthday.

To be honest—staying at Dongfang Shuo's residence and lingering here was truly not the result of deep deliberation, but rather the product of a sudden flash of inspiration he had just now.

After learning that Dongfang Shuo did not know the secret path he had taken to the Heavenly Palace as a child, Fang Longye had originally intended to leave then and there to take a trip to Huashan.

After all, Yang Chan's Divine Dao avatar was stationed there. It was just to improve their relationship; whether it was the original body or the avatar, it made no difference.

As it turned out, the moment the intention to leave arose, a flash of inspiration struck his mind, and he recalled the record from the legends of his past life about the Queen Mother of the West descending to the mortal realm on the seventh day of the seventh month of the first year of the Yuanfeng era to celebrate Han Wudi's birthday.

This legend was something Fang Longye was quite familiar with in his past life. After all, the anecdote of Dongfang Shuo stealing peaches three times was said to originate from this.

It is said that on the seventh day of the seventh month of the first year of the Yuanfeng era, the day of Han Wudi's birthday, a black bird descended from the sky in front of the palace, and the Emperor did not know its name.

Dongfang Shuo replied, "This is the mount of the Queen Mother of the West, 'Qingluan'; the Queen Mother is about to arrive to wish the Emperor a long life."

Sure enough, in an instant, the Queen Mother of the West arrived, drifting down with a group of female immortals, carrying 7 Fairy Peaches. Besides keeping two Fairy Peaches for herself, the Queen Mother of the West offered the remaining 5 to the Emperor.

After the Emperor ate them, he wanted to keep the pits for planting. The Queen Mother of the West said, "These peaches bear fruit only once every three thousand years; the soil in the Central Plains is too thin, and they will not grow if planted." She then pointed at Dongfang Shuo and said, "He has stolen and eaten my Fairy Peaches three times."

Based on this, the story of Dongfang Shuo stealing peaches began.

Of course, Fang Longye changing his mind was not entirely reliant on the memories of his past life.

It was because after he performed a divination, he discovered a void of Chaos, which was why he decided to linger in Chang'an City for a year or so.

It is easy to understand: if this event truly were not to happen in the future, even with the obstruction of Han Wudi's imperial fortune, he would not have been unable to catch even the slightest glimpse, to the point of risking a backlash and injury.

A void of Chaos only indicates that, even if it contradicts the records of the legends from his past life, that day in Chang'an City will absolutely be extraordinary.

Otherwise, Fang Longye would not be willing to stay in this Chang'an City any longer.

The suppression effect produced by that Dynasty Dragon Qi governing the fortune of the Human Race alone made him feel entirely uncomfortable.

This was only because the Dragon Clan had a close relationship with the Human Race, so the suppression effect on him was not obvious. If it were some other immortals or gods coming to this Chang'an City, they would likely not even be able to exert half of their strength.

"I truly wonder, with the Yu Huang Nine Tripods still in existence, what kind of forbidden land this Nanzhan Buzhou must be for a non-human existence like me?"

Fang Longye gazed through everything into the void and could clearly see a pillar of fortune-dragon rising straight into the clouds within the sea of National Fortune of the Great Han Dynasty.

A True Dragon coiled upon it, its scales distinct, exhaling purple and green, roaring back and forth, issuing decrees, containing a vast and irresistible power that swept away everything.

Ghosts and gods retreated, unable to block it.

As far as he knew, the Yu Huang Nine Tripods had been lost in the darkness and vanished without a trace long ago during the Immortal Qin's war against the heavens.

Otherwise, he would never have considered wandering into Nanzhan Buzhou while at the Golden Immortal realm.

"Thinking too much is useless; better to wait for the flowers to bloom! Let me first recover from my injuries; the backlash I received from divining the events of the seventh day of the seventh month was truly not small."

Fang Longye shook his head and closed his eyes to meditate.

Wait for the flowers to bloom.

Winter passed and spring returned~

In the blink of an eye, it was early spring.

The color of the hills was washed by the clear snow, delicate and bright, interspersed with stalks of pine and bamboo, the green and white reflecting each other.

Further away, in the Wei River, the ice began to melt, large and small chunks flowing downstream like shattered mirror shards.

Sunlight shone down, refracting brilliance, and like the light of a drawn sword, it had a cold, metallic chill.

Amidst the sunlight and water, a three-story pleasure boat lay horizontally, steady and calm.

On the third floor, the windows were wide open, and hundreds of rare flowers and plants were planted below, their fragrance drifting inside like colorful clouds.

Fang Longye wore an Imperial Crown, was draped in a Cloud Mountain Mist Dragon Pattern White Robe, had a Jade Belt hanging at his waist, and was rubbing a small Iron Pen in his hand, a faint smile on his face as if he were admiring the scenery outside.

"Dragon Lord—"

"His Majesty has indeed set the time for the Seal of Mount Tai for March."

Dongfang Shuo climbed the stairs, pushed open the door, walked in, and said respectfully to Fang Longye, who had his back to him.

This Dragon Lord truly possessed profound cultivation, being able to calculate even the future affairs of a Human King of such a level as His Majesty.

Dongfang Shuo felt an inexplicable sense of admiration in his heart.

In fact, long ago, His Majesty had already instructed his ministers to prepare for the Seal of Mount Tai.

After all, this was no small project.

But for this Dragon Lord to be able to directly calculate the specific date of the Seal of Mount Tai, that was no simple feat.

Because the preparations for the Seal of Mount Tai had been completed as early as last year. But when exactly to perform the Seal of Mount Tai was decided by His Majesty's word alone.

It is easy for others to guess, but to truly use divine abilities to perform a divination on a Human King like His Majesty is extremely difficult.

In any case, he could not do it.

Not to mention the protection of the Human Race's fortune, he could not even withstand the backlash from the Dragon Qi that the Human King carried himself against those who pry.

Fang Longye did not turn his head, but asked in return: "It should be time to set off, right?"

He was not calculating at all; he was simply giving an answer based on the history of his past life~ "We set off in three days," Dongfang Shuo replied respectfully.

"Hmm~" Fang Longye nodded, turned around, and smiled: "Since that is the case, I shall take the first step."

"The Dragon Lord is also going to Mount Tai?"

Dongfang Shuo asked curiously.

"The Human King sealing the heavens and earth, such a major event, how could I not go and join in the excitement?"

Fang Longye said with a smile.

In his past life, anecdotes between Han Wudi and the immortals and gods were already numerous.

In this life, since he had caught up to it, what harm was there in adding another stroke to these anecdotes?

Having said this, Fang Longye flicked his sleeve, brushing Dongfang Shuo off the storied boat. Afterward, vast and mighty clouds and mist surged forth from all around the storied boat.

This caused ripples of space to bloom ahead, and it plunged straight in.

The clouds and mist turned from thick to thin, and the massive storied boat vanished from sight.

Only the lingering resonance remained, long and unceasing.

This was actually a rare treasure that Fang Longye had traded for via his Golden Finger, specifically because he had experienced being caught up to several times and felt a lack of proper transportation.

After all, while having a Bishui Jinjing Beast pull a carriage was imposing, its speed was nothing to brag about.

Yet this rare treasure could travel through the torrents of space as if walking on flat ground; its speed was naturally self-evident.

This scene fell into the eyes of Dongfang Shuo.

It made his eyes turn red with envy, and he sighed, "The Dragon Clan is truly wealthy!"

He paused for a moment, shook his head, and turned back toward his own mansion.

This Seal of Mount Tai was his excellent opportunity to perform before the Emperor, so he had to carefully conceive how to write the rhapsody.

As for why he, a mere True Immortal, had to scheme so desperately in this imperial court.

It was simply because he was unsure if he could enter the gate of Donghua Dijun, so he had to open up another path as a backup plan for the future.

The current Han Emperor was no ordinary man.

According to other older peers, his Dragon Qi was catching up to that of the Great Han's founder, Liu Bang.

If he were truly unfortunate and failed to be accepted as a disciple of Donghua Dijun, he would go to the Underworld to seek refuge with his own Emperor.

At such a time, imperial favor naturally became precious, as it would directly determine his treatment in the Underworld later on.

How could he not scheme painstakingly?...

Inside Weiyang Palace, the lights were bright.

The interior of the palace was luxurious and magnificent.

High platforms of gold, thrones of white jade, and floors of white marble stretched to his feet.

Even the smallest Night-Shining Pearl was the size of a fist, and there were hundreds, if not thousands, suffusing the surroundings with the color of mutton-fat jade, bright as day.

"Your Majesty, are you really going to Dismiss the Gods when we go to Mount Tai this time?"

Wei Zifu was tidying the imperial robes for her Emperor when she suddenly hugged Han Wudi from behind, asking with a trembling voice.

Han Wudi had long eyebrows reaching his temples and eyes like lacquer; his gaze was bright. He turned around to embrace Wei Zifu and said, "Zitong, you know I have no other choice. These years, the immortals and gods have been too arrogant in the Southern Continent of Jambudvipa!"

"Can we not wait a little longer? Has Your Majesty not already sent people to search for the Yu Huang Nine Tripods?"

"The Nine Cauldrons?" Han Wudi smiled bitterly. "If they were so easy to find, that would be wonderful~"

"These years, I don't know how much manpower and resources I have spent in secret, yet there has been no progress at all."

"Zitong, are you afraid?"

Han Wudi said in a deep voice.

Wei Zifu raised her exquisite jade face and looked at Han Wudi, saying, "Your Majesty, your concubine is not afraid of angering these immortals and gods."

"Your concubine only fears that the retaliation of these immortals and gods will affect the Great Han, and consequently affect your strength in the Underworld in the future, Your Majesty."

For the current Great Han, it had not yet been completely isolated from ghosts, gods, immortals, and Buddhist practitioners, and there were still many records of what had happened in the past.

As the Empress of the Great Han, Wei Zifu naturally knew about the Underworld Dragon Court.

The strength of a mortal emperor's soul after entering the Underworld was entirely related to the growth or decline of the National Fortune during their reign and their contributions to the dynasty. "Hahaha! Zitong, do not worry. With the host of former emperors in the Underworld, they dare not go too far~"

"But, Dismissing the Gods can only affect those minor gods. As for those ancient immortals and gods, I fear they will be completely unharmed."

"Not only does it treat the symptoms but not the root cause, but it is also not worth the loss!"

Han Wudi stopped Wei Zifu's words and said, "But it can also serve as a deterrent to them, making them cause less trouble within the Great Han's borders~"

Seeing that Wei Zifu still had more to say, Han Wudi changed the subject: "Alright! Zitong~ We are setting off for Mount Tai in three days; check if there are any oversights in the inner court~"

Wei Zifu had no choice but to stop mid-sentence. After helping Han Wudi tidy his imperial robes and checking them, everything was perfect.

She retreated gracefully.

Watching Wei Zifu's back, Han Wudi's eyes flickered; he naturally had not told his Empress everything.

Just as Wei Zifu had said, his approach was entirely not worth the loss.

As the Son of Heaven of the Great Han and the Human King ruling over all people, he could naturally easily influence the masses, change hearts, and severely damage faith.

Wielding Dragon Qi, conferring gods with a word, or dismissing gods with a word, was not a problem.

With one imperial decree, he could knock most deities off their divine altars; even those not directly knocked off would suffer damage to their divine power and would not be in their prime state.

But it was impossible for him to use the Dragon Qi of one dynasty to fight against all the deities.

If you strike a snake but do not kill it, you will surely suffer from it later.

Those powerful deities who were only affected would inevitably launch a crazy retaliation against him after this matter.

Furthermore, immortals and gods were currently colluding.

Deities would be affected by the decree to Dismiss the Gods, but besides deities, there would still be immortals causing trouble within the Great Han.

Once he Dismissed the Gods, his Human King Dragon Qi would suffer a backlash, and even the National Fortune of the Great Han Dynasty would not be spared.

It could be said that the cost was high and the effect was small. What was the point of him doing this?

The significance lay in the Underworld Dragon Court.

This was a plan where the Great Han Dynasty in the mortal world and the Great Han Dragon Court in the Underworld coordinated with each other.

After he performed the Seal of Mount Tai, communicated with heaven and earth using the Great Han Dragon Qi, and issued the decree to Dismiss the Gods.

The Great Han Dragon Court in the Underworld would mobilize with all its might to strike at the Godly Soil of those Divine Immortal Path cultivators who had been severely wounded but had not yet perished.

Kill those who should be killed, block the gates of those who should be blocked, and negotiate with those who should be negotiated with.

Why such a massive undertaking? Naturally, it is to reduce the erosion of the Great Han Dynasty by Divine Immortals.

Those Divine Immortals who require the worship and faith of the masses often brainwash a great many followers who recognize neither ruler nor father, all for the sake of incense offerings.

Since that is the case—

If the invaders can go, so can I!

Killing a batch of gods and elevating some of the Great Han's deceased officials and generals to divine positions will benefit both the state and the people.

It can help the Great Han Dragon Court in the Underworld extend its reach into the world of the living.

It can also show some muscle to intimidate those Divine Immortals who harbor malicious intent.

However, by doing this, the backlash he suffers will naturally be significant. Not only will he offend those Divine Immortals, but he will also offend the current Haotian Yuhuang.

Engaging in mass Conferring of the Gods and replacing incense-fed deities touches upon the authority of this Heavenly Emperor.

I fear that as long as he remains on the throne, the Great Han will not have an easy time. But for the sake of long-term considerations, this is a step the Great Han must take.

Since that is so, it should naturally begin with him—

Moreover, to confer gods with a word and extinguish gods with a word is, by nature, the authority of the Human King. However, after the fall of the Qin Dynasty, this was constrained by others—

And the emperors of past generations, weak in power at the beginning, could only endure in silence; despite having the ability to dismiss gods, they dared not use it.

They were terrified of being unable to withstand the retaliation—

Right now, the Great Han's Dragon Court in the Underworld has already grown strong. It is time to reclaim this right for the descendants.

Therefore—Han Wudi's eyes shone brilliantly.

To perform the Seal of Mount Tai, dismiss the gods, change the candidates, and reorganize the rules of Conferring of the Gods.

He is determined to do it!

No one can stop him—as his thoughts turned, in the void, clouds swirled in circles, layer upon layer; within the purple and blue, a dragon's eye faintly opened, just a slit, cold and majestic, overlooking the four directions.

The divine dragon held the decree in its mouth, sealing ghosts and gods.

All monstrosities must not step even half a step beyond the forbidden line.

This caused the various hidden Divine Immortals inside and outside Chang'an City to cast their gazes over.

……

At the beginning of the third month.

The towering Mount Tai.

The Godly Soil residence of the Great Emperor of the Eastern Peak.

The magnificent palace had door pillars and floors made of green jade, spotless, and covered with Glazed Tiles. Under the eaves were three or five graceful white cranes, their slender shadows slanting across.

A light breeze brushed past—

In front of the palace, a red well with swirling purple mist bubbled with spring water. Misty bamboo clusters stood in the corners, making a rustling, clear sound.

And inside the palace.

Fang Longye was chatting with Huang Feihu and his son.

Cups clinked, and they talked quite happily.

In truth, he had not expected that as soon as he entered the vicinity of Mount Tai, this father and son would come out together to welcome him. They had impatiently ushered him into this Taishuan Fudi.

That eager posture made Fang Longye feel uncomfortable.

But thinking about it, he could understand it a little.

For one, this father and son were figures who stood out during the Conferring of the Gods Tribulation, and their social circle was quite broad.

For another, although Huang Tianhua had ascended the List of Conferring the Gods and switched to cultivating the Divine Dao, he was still a disciple of the Chan Sect, so it was easy for him to find out some secrets.

This father and son naturally had the means to learn the great name of Fang Longye.

At the very least, they knew he had a special karmic connection with the great Hongyun.

Of course, if it were only that, it wouldn't have come to this.

After all, he hadn't seen Yang Chan or Nezha act so subserviently toward him.

The more critical point was that this father and son had not been doing well these years, so seeing someone with such a bright future as Fang Longye, they naturally scrambled to curry favor.

There is no need to mention Huang Tianhua; despite holding the title of a Chan Sect disciple, having ascended the List of Conferring the Gods, he was basically considered half-crippled in the eyes of the Chan Sect.

And Huang Feihu was even more miserable; although he belonged to the rank of a Great Emperor, not only was he on the List of Conferring the Gods, but he was also the Great Emperor of the Eastern Peak, who nominally managed the Netherworld.

One must know that the Netherworld is not an easy place to mix in. Above, there are big shots like Houtu Niangniang who compare to a Hunyuan Saint, and below, there are a host of those with Great Divine Ability, thick as a forest.

There is the Dizang Wang Pusa, ancient ghosts and gods like Dibo, and the various masters of the eighteen levels of hell that Minghe Jiaozu planted there at the beginning of the establishment of the Six Paths of Reincarnation... and so on and so forth.

He could not defeat a single one of them.

For so many years, he had held the empty title of Great Emperor of the Eastern Peak. He hadn't gained many benefits, but he had taken plenty of blame.

Most importantly, his current position as Great Emperor of the Eastern Peak previously belonged to Jinhong Shi, the Lord of Mount Tai.

It was just that this great power had fallen in the ancient times, but Jinhong Shi, who had insight into the path of Life and Death and the Underworld, would return to the world sooner or later.

At that time, how should he handle it? Therefore—even though Huang Feihu had relied on this divine position of Great Emperor of the Eastern Peak to cultivate to the level of Taiyi over these years.

In front of Fang Longye, he still maintained a fawning, low posture, offering spirit fruits and treasures.

Fang Longye even suspected that if he said he was interested in his sister—the Imperial Concubine Huang of Zhou Wang—Huang Feihu would be able to send her to his bed.

Really—

This posture made Fang Longye feel a sense of sorrow.

It can only be said that in Honghuang, without a background or a backer, it is truly difficult to move even an inch.

Moreover, it wasn't that Huang Feihu and his son had no background; it was just that it was too thin, and facing him, they were in such a low posture.

It is hard to imagine how difficult it is for ordinary people to climb up in Honghuang? "Pah!"

Fang Longye sighed for a long while, until he glanced at the Qiongye Yuye in his hand and the immortal delicacies on the table, and he suddenly woke up.

He could not help but spit at himself in his heart.

"Fang Longye, oh Fang Longye, who do you think you are! You've only had a few good days, and you actually dare to pity the Great Emperor of the Eastern Peak?"

"It really is true, you haven't even seen a life of wealth and status, yet you've already caught a rich man's disease. Are you even worthy of pitying him?"

"Worthy Brother? Is there something on your mind?" After some idle chatter and drinking, Huang Feihu saw Fang Longye holding his cup and pondering for a long time, so he couldn't help but ask with concern.

Indeed, the one who called Fang Longye brother was not the son, Huang Tianhua, but the father, Huang Feihu.

Good heavens—Fang Longye's age didn't even amount to a fraction of Huang Tianhua's, yet he had become the uncle of this Duke Bingling.

It was no wonder he felt from the bottom of his heart that this father and son were being a bit too humble.

Fang Longye came back to his senses, just about to find an excuse to brush it off.

Suddenly, his heart stirred, and he looked outside the Godly Soil of the Great Emperor of the Eastern Peak, where a pillar of Dragon Qi, as bright as the midday sun, was slowly approaching, already near Mount Tai.

The pillar of Dragon Qi shot straight into the clouds, suffused with purple and cyan within the golden hue, noble beyond words.

"The Human King of this generation has arrived!"

(End of this chapter)