Chapter 176

The Jade Emperor paused briefly, then said to Li Li Changgeng: "Minister, go to the Eastern Seven Mansions of the Azure Dragon and seek the Golden Dragon of Kang; then to the Southern Seven Mansions of the Vermilion Bird and seek the Golden Sheep of Gui; to the Western Seven Mansions of the White Tiger and seek the Golden Dog of Lou; to the Northern Seven Mansions of the Black Tortoise and seek the Golden Ox of Niu—borrow a portion of the 'Metal' spiritual essence from each Star God."

The Wang Mu frowned: "The Five Elements generate and overcome each other, Your Majesty. To oppose Yu Little Fengxian, you need not obsess over the extreme of 'Metal Qi.'"

"I intend to meet her head-on!" said the Jade Emperor. "When the four directional 'Metal Spiritual Essences' unite, they will inevitably forge the most piercing sword technique under heaven."

Li Li Changgeng said: "Your Majesty, the Golden Dragon of Kang has recently become entangled in karmic bonds and must descend to the mortal realm to undergo tribulation. Perhaps we could assign her to accompany Your Majesty—just as a safeguard."

"The Golden Dragon of Kang," the Jade Emperor nodded, "let her serve as the white dragon protecting my avatar."

The Wang Mu said: "To know yourself and know your enemy is to be invincible in a hundred battles."

Since you are opposing Yu Little Fengxian, have you determined why she broke the Eight Trigrams Star Array and slew celestial deities?"

Even the most ordinary celestial soldiers and generals have purified their bodies and souls in the Pure Yang Pool."

Ordinary malevolent qi can wound them, even kill them—but it should not cut through them like slicing melons."

The Eight Trigrams Star Array is merely a simplified version of the Heavenly Court's divine array."

Ge Qing was naturally foolish and utterly unguarded—but how could an ordinary mortal, ignorant of arrays, launch such a sudden, devastating attack?"

The Jade Emperor said: "You haven't realized yet—the bright red sword qi covering her blade is Pure Yang malevolent qi. Even a trace of Pure Yang is enough to slay Ge Qing and the others."

After all, Ge Qing and Zhu Tong are not true Pure Yang Golden Immortals."

The Wang Mu said: "I saw it. I know her sword art is extraordinary, and her sword qi has birthed Pure Yang nature."

But the root of the malevolent qi still lies in the mortal martial art, 'Tiger Soul Seven Kill.'"

With that alone, she could never produce even a trace of Pure Yang malevolent qi—the Tiger Soul's malevolent qi can never reach even the Pure Yin realm."

To attain Pure Yang, one must first attain Pure Yin; only when Yin reaches its extreme does Yang arise."

Though she absorbed a thread of the blood-malevolent qi from the Investiture of the Gods, using it to perform Tiger Soul Seven Kill is easy—but subduing, refining, and even cultivating with it, extracting a trace of Yin through countless hammerings and temperings, is immensely difficult."

In truth, merely using the blood-malevolent qi from the Investiture of the Gods to perform Tiger Soul Seven Kill is no easy feat either."

Just as General Guan General Guan Tianyang envied Seeing Xiao Yu Yu's mastery of Tiger Soul Seven Kill, General Guan General Guan Chenghuang warned him: not everyone is worthy to touch the blood-malevolent qi of the Investiture of the Gods."

When the Investiture of the Gods erupted, filling four stories with blood-malevolent qi, even General Guan General Guan Chenghuang himself dared not approach within a hundred meters."

Ordinary ghost gods dared not even look directly at it."

If they dare not approach or even gaze upon it, how could they possibly control or utilize it?"

Of course, times change."

At that time, the ones discussing this were General Guan General Guan Chenghuang and General Guan General Guan Tianyang; now, it is the Wang Mu and the Jade Emperor."

Using the blood-malevolent qi of the Investiture of the Gods is astonishing, yet understandable—and Seeing Xiao Yu Yu's talent in this regard, they have long known."

What they do not understand is why powers and realms that should never appear on Seeing Xiao Yu Yu have inexplicably manifested."

"Refining blood-malevolent qi through countless hammerings and temperings is immensely difficult, requiring great courage and extraordinary talent, and consuming vast amounts of time and energy."

Then, extracting even a trace of Yin from the refined blood-malevolent qi is like a cultivator forming a Yin Spirit—far more difficult still."

To bring the Yin Spirit to perfection, reaching the Pure Yin Soul realm, is one in ten thousand."

Finally, from extreme Yin, generating a trace of Yang—even many Pure Yang Golden Immortals struggle to achieve it."

Even if Yu Little Fengxian possesses great courage and great wisdom, who taught her?"

The Wang Mu's final question was the key."

The powers and realms Seeing Xiao Yu Yu displayed were never the point."

How they came to be, how the Pure Yang malevolent qi arose from nothing—why they knew nothing of this process—that was the key!"

The Jade Emperor hesitated: "It seems no one taught her…"

If someone truly had, and he remained unaware, then that teacher must be a supreme elder."

But if a supreme elder wished to stir trouble—especially using the Heavenly Court or him as a pawn—they would usually give him prior warning."

"No teacher? Could she have learned it herself?" asked the Wang Mu."

The Jade Emperor said: "The original source of Tiger Soul Seven Kill can be traced back to the era of the Demon Race's Heavenly Court, when the Demon God Tiger Zun battled the Ancestral Wu."

Later, when the Three Sovereigns of humanity emerged, the Demon Lord Chiyou also studied the bones of Tiger Zun and mastered the Demon God's great art."

The Wang Mu said: "Even the Demon Lord Chiyou had to study Tiger Zun's bones—Yu Little Fengxian has never even seen the broken, minor demon tiger bones of the General Guan family."

The Jade Emperor uncertainly said: "Yu Little Fengxian is now technically a subordinate of Li Li Jingyu of Shu (Prince of Qinghe County), who intends to adopt her as his daughter and has gifted her the Jade Pendant and Golden Diadem Supreme Taiji Scripture to win her favor."

The Wang Mu pondered: "The Taiji Scripture is an ancient Qi-refining treasure text. Even in ancient times, it could only lead to the rank of Scatter Immortal (ps)."

The heavens and earth today are no longer the heavens and earth of that age."

The Three Thousand Great Daos change ceaselessly; most ancient treasure texts are now obsolete and cannot lead to immortality."

But they still contain some theories regarding Yin reaching its extreme to give birth to Yang, and Pure Yang concepts."

If Yu Little Fengxian could penetrate its secrets—if no one taught her, could she alone unravel the mysteries of an ancient treasure text?"

Even if she did, knowing is easy, doing is hard—how could she refine the thread of blood-malevolent qi absorbed from the Investiture of the Gods in such a short time?"

The Jade Emperor looked at Li Li Changgeng: "Minister, I entrust this matter to you—uncover the full story."

"Your servant obeys." The Lord of the White Star bowed respectfully.

The Wang Mu glanced at him and added: "The Pure Yang sword qi might be explained by the Taiji Scripture—but what of the Eight Trigrams Star Array?"

If no one taught her or revealed the divine array's secrets, how could she suddenly strike and slay the array's master, Ge Qing?"

The Jade Emperor said: "As for military arrays, I've long suspected the answer lies forty li east of Tianmen Town, in a bay called 'Wind Roar Bay.'"

The bay winds for two hundred li, with fierce winds and turbulent waves; beneath the water dwell dozens of shrimp soldiers and crab generals."

Their practiced array is connected to Yu Little Fengxian…"

"Li, you handle this—send the Four Value Merit Officials and Talisman Envoys to investigate."

"Your servant understands!"

The Lord of the White Star accepted the order to investigate Yu Little Fengxian, then inquired about the Jade Emperor's descent: "Your Majesty, this descent will not be solitary—you'll have Ge Qing, Zhu Tong, and other celestial soldiers with you."

"What kind of mortal origins should they be given?"

"Should they have virtuous parents, virtuous lands, and divine powers—"

He did not finish; the Jade Emperor's furious glare cut him off.

"The wager at Tianmen Town was judged by Heaven, witnessed by all gods, and known to mortals—if Yu Little Fengxian loses, she shall be crushed by the Golden Mace upon her head. She defied and insulted the Heavenly Emperor; her soul shall bear infinite sin. Ge Qing and Zhu Tong are executors of heavenly punishment—they have great merit to heaven and earth, and upon returning to the Heavenly Court, I shall reward them richly."

"If Yu Little Fengxian wins, then she represents Heaven's will, proving Heaven never blamed her. Henceforth, I shall never blame her. But Ge Qing and Zhu Tong have violated heavenly law, descended secretly to settle personal grudges, and forged divine edicts claiming to execute Heaven's punishment. Their crimes are immense—they shall bear infinite sin. Yu Little Fengxian killing them is merely upholding Heaven's justice."

The Jade Emperor closed his eyes, breathed deeply three times to calm himself, and sighed: "Even I am a witness to the wager—I accept the loss. Do you think Ge Qing and Zhu Tong are more honorable than I am, to openly betray a heavenly oath?"

"Now, they are the greatest sinners under heaven, burdened with infinite sin."

"Forget virtuous parents—forevermore, they shall never be human again."

"In countless future reincarnations, they shall be beasts."

The Lord of the White Star sighed: "Ge Qing and Zhu Tong surely never imagined that losing Yu Little Fengxian's wager would carry such a heavy price."

The Wang Mu said coldly: "Had they known, they would have been even happier—mocking and laughing at Yu Little Fengxian, growing even more arrogant and careless, and being slaughtered by her in utter ignorance, even more easily than now."

The Wang Mu said coolly, "If they find out, they'll be even happier, will mock and laugh louder at Yu Little Fengxian, grow even more arrogant and careless, and be slaughtered by Yu Little Fengxian as easily as cutting melons and vegetables—far easier than now."

Others may not know—but don't Ge Qing and Zhu Tong themselves know?"

They were truly the Heavenly Emperor's envoys, executing Heaven's punishment!"

—If they were destined to fail, how could 'Heaven' have arranged it this way?"

"Ge Qing, Zhu Tong, Luo Kai, and the other seven—will they all accompany Your Majesty in reincarnation? If they must be reborn as hunting dogs or oxen and horses to follow Your Majesty, eight of them is too many," said Li Li Changgeng.

When the Jade Emperor descends, he neither seeks power nor wealth—he prefers to be ordinary."

The more ordinary, the better."

But ordinary families can barely afford one dog; keeping horses or oxen marks them as wealthy."

The Jade Emperor said: "You arrange it—try to place as many as possible near me. If no place remains for oxen, horses, or hunting dogs, make them pigs or sheep—let my virtuous parents sell them at market for a few taels of silver to feed the household. That too counts as great merit."

"If they become pigs or sheep and are sold at market, how will they accompany Your Majesty to meet Yu Little Fengxian?" asked Li Li Changgeng.

The Jade Emperor said: "Didn't I say? Their sins cannot be cleansed—they shall forever be insects, birds, fish, or beasts."

"If they are pigs or sheep in one life, they may be so again in the next."

"By the time my avatar comes of age, I shall surely be able to afford several dogs and horses."

The Lord of the White Star nodded slightly: "Your servant understands—wait!"

He suddenly stirred, turned to the small water-mirror window before the Wang Mu, and exclaimed: "Ge Qing doesn't seem fully dead yet!"

The Jade Emperor said coolly: "He's not quite dead—his soul is scattered, his head is—damned Yu Little Fengxian! She's trying to save Ge Qing!"

His face darkened; he nearly lost control of his fury again.

"We still don't know if some supreme elder secretly taught her how to refine malevolent qi or military arrays—but now we know for certain: her medical skill comes from Min Min Genren of Tianmen Town (Seeing Xiao Yu Yu's medical teacher, the Divine Doctor Min)—"

The Wang Mu interrupted the Jade Emperor: "Heavenly Emperor, you are holy and impartial! Do not let anger stir. Min Min Genren did not participate in the Tianmen Town wager."

"Wang Mu, rest assured—I will not blame others," said the Jade Emperor, turning to Li Li Changgeng. "Li Li Changgeng, from now on, besides continuing to assign Talisman Envoys to watch Yu Little Fengxian, you must also slightly monitor Min Min Genren and record all his transgressions."

"And whenever Yu Little Fengxian uses her medical skill to cause death, half the karmic retribution shall be placed upon Min Min Genren, the one who taught her medicine."

Li Li Changgeng asked: "What if Min Min Genren and Yu Little Fengxian use their medical skill to save lives?"

"Saving lives is merit; causing death is grave sin," said the Jade Emperor. After a pause, he added: "I care only whether they use medicine to harm. Record merit for the Underworld to handle."

Some things weigh nothing until placed on the scale—then they become a thousand jin."

Merit is like this; sin is like this."

If merit is unknown to the Heavenly Emperor, it brings only posthumous reward from ghost gods—a better rebirth. But if known to the Heavenly Emperor, one may be granted a divine position in this very life."

If sin is unknown to the Heavenly Emperor, ghost gods follow the old rules."

But if weighed by the Heavenly Emperor, and judged strictly by heavenly law, even ghost gods will find it too cruel."

The Jade Emperor indeed has personal motives—but in principle, not a single flaw can be found."

The Jade Emperor indeed had personal biases, but legally, not a single flaw could be found.

The Star Lord of Tai Bai felt only a faint pang of emotion, and did not feel sorry for Min Min Genren.

The disciple committed a grave error using the secret art taught by his master; the master must naturally be punished.

This is only natural under the law of cause and effect.

His emotion was not directed at this form of punishment, but at whether punishment should be meted out at all.

He had already made his decision; as Emperor of Heaven, he must honor his promise and utterly end the incident of "Even God Cannot Save."

The mortal destined to descend to the mortal realm and become an adversary to Yu Little Fengxian was another who had karmic entanglements with her from a past life.

Yet this order still came from the Emperor of Heaven.

The Emperor of Heaven had broken his word.

If the mysterious great being who secretly taught Yu Little Fengxian the Pure Yang Sword Qi and the Heavenly Court's divine array were found, should they too be implicated?

Min Min Genren was merely a minor figure; even if implicated, no god or Buddha would speak for him.

If there truly was a mysterious master, and he was a great being, would he quietly swallow this injustice?

A man willing to suffer in silence would never secretly teach Yu Little Fengxian the Dao, nor deliberately oppose the Emperor of Heaven.

Would that not trigger new karmic ties and conflicts?

The Emperor of Heaven, supreme and unafraid of conflict, fears only conflict and defiance tied to "Heaven's Will."

Anyone may defy Heaven's Will—but not the Emperor of Heaven.

"Your Majesty, why monitor only Min Min Genren? What of Li Li Jingyu?" asked Tai Bai Jinxing.

"Of course Li Li Jingyu is included!" the Jade Emperor sneered. "He is Yu Little Fengxian's 'future adoptive father'—he said so himself; he also taught her the Taiji Golden Book. As both master and adoptive father, his crime is doubled!"

But he is not Min Min Genren.

Min Min Genren spent his life saving others and accumulating hidden virtue; he requires a Spirit Messenger to monitor him and Yu Little Fengxian's medical conduct for the rest of their lives.

Li Li Jingyu needs no monitoring of his future—his current sins are already enough to condemn him to the Eighteenth Layer of Hell.

Yet he possesses considerable celestial fortune and divine affinity.

He might have become an immortal in this lifetime, so he voluntarily abdicated his throne to his younger brother.

Now we shall first sever his celestial fortune and divine affinity, and observe the outcome!"

Li Li Changgeng hesitated. "Li Li Jingyu has considerable background."

"Does his background surpass mine?" the Jade Emperor raised his voice.

"Your servant means that some Earth Immortals of Wanshou Mountain may harbor resentment and speak ill of Your Majesty regarding Li Li Jingyu, for the Heavenly Will gamble is settled, known to gods and Buddhas, witnessed by heaven and earth."

Li Li Changgeng now fully agreed with the Wang Mu of the West's earlier assessment: the Emperor's heart, once free of selfishness and desire, had been disturbed; the ripples of wrath must be uprooted immediately and sent to reincarnation.

The Jade Emperor sneered. "The Emperor of Heaven is impartial and just; he does not punish the innocent."

I have just clearly stated the reasons for stripping Li Li Jingyu of his celestial fortune and divine affinity.

It is related to Yu Little Fengxian—and yet unrelated to her.

It is related to Yu Little Fengxian because it was through her that I noticed a mere mortal prince.

But his past deeds have nothing to do with Yu Little Fengxian—they are facts, not fabrications by me. Who dares to object?"

Li Li Changgeng could only sigh deeply again.