Chapter 619: Seven Days' Time: I Shall Restore a Clear, Bright Sky Over Hongze

Among the four Hongs, only the Eastern Hong has never known any strife.

Apart from the fact that this group of purple-bearded white dragons does not delight in killing, their strength—so fierce it inspires dread—also leaves other powers utterly unable to muster the thought of challenging them.

It is said that when the Eastern Long Wang was young, he once left Hongze to travel through Shenzhou; his temperament differed from the other Dragon Kings as well. Compared to the title Eastern Long Wang, he preferred others to call him True Person Zixuan.

A dragon demon of the Dao Realm, standing proudly at the very peak of Hongze!

At this moment, within the Eastern Hong Long Gong.

The middle-aged man wore a plain blue robe, with not a single ornament on his person; only his mottled hair was gathered up with a purple bamboo pin.

The great hall too differed from other dragon halls—there were no long flights of steps or treasure seats, only identical, clean desks, arranged in neat rows as in a schoolroom.

The middle-aged man simply sat behind one of those desks.

Rather than a Long Wang whose fame shook Hongze, he looked more like a schoolteacher.

True Person Zixuan gazed in silence at the two dragon seals on the desk.

On the other side of the desk, the Crown Prince Ziyang, who had hurried back, poured himself tea as he described what he had seen and heard on this trip to the west.

"Father truly should meet this one. This boy is no ordinary person—he seems like an immortal or god reborn."

"Of course I must meet him."

A look of reminiscence surfaced in True Person Zixuan's eyes. He trusted his son's eye for character, and trusted Nanyang Sect just as much.

Whoever comes from that place—whether Jiaoyang or Xuanqing—may have many flaws in temperament, but one thing they all share: they are good people.

Xuanqing is still alive, and if he has acknowledged this boy and made him Sect Master of Nanyang, then this young man surnamed Shen must, like them, be incapable of true wickedness.

It is only that our older generation was useless—we failed to turn Hongze into a peaceful, prosperous age, and instead left it in this wretched state, forcing good people to become butchers just to scrape by.

Thinking of this, True Person Zixuan took a sheet of paper covered in writing from his sleeve and carefully smoothed it flat.

Every character, every sentence upon it, was the result of careful deliberation.

For this was a "petition of grievance," accusing Hongze's parents—the immortal who had come bearing a jade decree.

A red seal had long since been pressed upon the petition.

True Person Zixuan drew a deep breath and reached out to touch the other two dragon seals. The five fingers that could easily lift a mountain now trembled, just slightly.

It was not fear of Hongze Daxian, but because he knew full well that these two seals represented the will of the countless living beings across two domains of water and land.

To take up these seals, one must possess the resolve to plead on behalf of all living things under heaven.

Ignorant beings do not know where their suffering comes from; they run themselves ragged merely to survive. They do not even know who Hongze Daxian is, nor have they ever seen how the people of Shenzhou live in peace and contentment—so much so that they believe living in daily dread is normal, and that if they offend a powerful being and have their clan wiped out and their household ransacked, they deserve it.

But True Person Zixuan had seen Shenzhou, and knew that in the lands governed by immortals, none of this was normal—nor was there any reason for it!

They needed a voice to weep their grievances to the heavens.

And he himself, of no great use, ought to be the one to do this.

Boom! Boom!

The two great seals fell in succession. True Person Zixuan said not a word, carefully folded the petition, and tucked it into a jade envelope.

For a full hundred thousand years, he had done nothing else—only forging a path, a path that could lead straight to the Immortal Court.

Countless kin and friends, countless loyal followers.

After such long ages of preparation, this path was now complete enough to reach its destination in only seven days.

In seven days' time, he would swap out an immortal for Hongze!

The jade envelope transformed into a streak of light and fled. Upon that long-dormant heavenly road, countless figures all wore solemn expressions—from Hongze to Shenzhou, from countryside to court, and at last to the Immortal Court—delivering this petition into the hands of the immortal officials at the greatest speed.

"Come, your father is going to thank this young friend Shen."

True Person Zixuan rose slowly and walked toward the outside of the great hall.

"I haven't even finished my tea."

Crown Prince Ziyang hurriedly drained his cup in one gulp, hastened after him, and said in a lowered voice: "Didn't you hear what I told you about that matter…"

Shen Yi still intends to slay an immortal—and Father shows no reaction at all to such an outrageous thing?

"……"

True Person Zixuan halted his steps, turned his head and pondered for a moment, then gently patted Ziyang's shoulder and said with a smile: "Those are not matters for you youngsters to worry over. Relax your hearts, enjoy the things you ought to have had, step out beyond this narrow place, and see what the true world is like."

"He is a favored child of heaven and earth; he should not become a fiend hunted by the Immortal Court."

"Do you understand?"

"Let us old things whose days are numbered handle these thankless tasks."

Hearing this, Ziyang fell silent, and a bitter look crossed his face.

This petition could at most get Hongze Daxian transferred away, but the man remained an immortal nonetheless. Once he returned to the heavens and received his punishment, he would naturally learn who had been scheming behind the scenes.

And for an immortal of such stature, dealing with a mere wild dragon of the mortal realm with no backing—was that not a task held firmly in hand?

……

Western Hong, Banshan Sect.

Ji Jingxi played the qin, Ye Jiu drank, Deng Xiangjun fiddled with the pebbles on the ground, and the rest kept them company.

They had left Nanhongqi Sect, and the great scholar tree was no longer there.

Shen Yi leaned back in a reclining chair, savoring a hard-won moment of leisure.

Of course, though he lay there, the many Suppressing Stones under his command pursued the remnants of the Western Long Gong in the water day and night without rest—though the haul was slim… at least compared to the demon-lifespans of millions of years they used to reap, these scraps of mere tens of thousands of years could no longer rouse Shen Yi's interest.

Until a blue robe swayed into view, stepping unhurriedly into Banshan Sect.

All six Sect Masters of Nanhongqi Sect stopped what they were doing and rose in unison. Even the proudest among them, Ye Jiu, now wore a face full of respect and bowed with hands clasped in proper form.

"We pay our respects to Senior Zixuan."

Even though Nanyang had fallen and the Seven Sects were trapped on the frontier, they had never hated this aged purple-bearded white dragon.

Everyone understood clearly that he had already done the utmost within his power, and had always kept the Seven Sects in his heart—so much so that he had even used Princess Ziling's prestige as a tiger's skin to intimidate the immortal. One must understand that for True Person Zixuan, this was an immense disgrace.

The middle-aged man looked at these few with tender affection. Though among them were not lacking Heaven-Realm experts, all of them Sect Masters holding down treasured ground, in his eyes they were like a group of children who had not yet grown up.

He gave a slight nod of his chin, walked to the reclining chair, and gently pressed Shen Yi down as he tried to rise.

Beneath that somewhat rough palm, Shen Yi felt his entire body pinned so he could not move — not a hostile suppression, but like the seep of warm water, easing the weariness and injuries across his whole body.

"The great hero of my Hongze can lie down and talk with anyone — and that includes this wretched old man."

Zixuan Zhenren laughed and tossed out a teasing remark, and at once the faint, awkward stiffness in the hearts of the several Nanhong Sect masters faded, smiles appearing on every face.

He casually pulled over a stone stool and sat down beside Shen Yi.

"This old man won't ask how you managed it."

"But I know that along the way, you must have suffered no small amount of hardship."

He bent a finger and lightly tapped it against Shen Yi's brow.

"Mm?"

Shen Yi was still seriously pondering how to bridge the gap between himself and the Dao realm — whether summoning the Greedy Wolf Star Chart could break free of this East Long Wang's restraints — when the next moment he felt his thoughts gradually scatter, sinking into an unprecedented stillness.

His brows knit tightly, and instinctively he tried to resist.

He even began, by reflex, to mobilize the power of Nanhong.

But the East Long Wang had already withdrawn his finger and was looking over with an expression full of complexity.

Though he had once traveled through Shenzhou, Zixuan Zhenren had never seen a person who resisted relaxation so fiercely — as if that heartstring must remain taut at every moment, and the instant it slackened, he would be cast into an irrecoverable plight.

"Sorry, I'm not really used to it."

Shen Yi forced a smile and still sat up from the reclining chair.

"It's fine, lie down a while longer. A few more days and you'll be all right."

Zixuan Zhenren shook his head apologetically, and without waiting for the other to ask, changed the subject: "Do you know what Shenzhou beyond Hongze looks like?"

"..."

Shen Yi had been waiting here to learn about immortals, so as to make his own future actions easier.

He hadn't expected to be met with an East Long Wang like this.

The other seemed to be deliberately avoiding the matter of Hongze Daxian, and was working hard to create an atmosphere of peace and ease.

Enough — if he won't speak of it, I won't press him.

Judging by the meaning of those words, the East Long Gong should have already sent the petition up.

Even if it doesn't succeed, even if it only causes the immortal some small trouble, that's enough to create an opportunity for me to set foot in North Hong and gather the remaining demon lifespans.

But if I want him to turn a blind eye to my stealing immortal power, that still needs to be discussed properly.

After all... just from that brief contact a moment ago,

Shen Yi had already understood that trying to seize it by force — even throwing in his entire fortune — the odds of success were vanishingly small.

"What does it look like?" He tilted his gaze over.

For some reason, though it was their first meeting, Shen Yi truly hadn't had the kind of stress response he used to have when encountering the powerful.

"Down below there's a Human Emperor seated at the imperial court, controlling all the temples and shrines of the world, the sects and Dao lineages. If you enter the Dao realm, you can go try it — do things like summoning rain or averting disasters, and receive a share of the imperial court's incense offerings. It's just that our Hongze is too obscure, with no famous lineage to speak of, so you'll probably have to rely on your own ability."

Speaking of Shenzhou, the East Long Wang visibly grew enthusiastic, and pointed up at the sky.

"Of course, an even better destination is the Heavenly Court. Generally, if you want to ascend, there are many ways — for instance, being recommended by the imperial court, or having an elder in your sect who holds a post up in heaven, or when immortal officials come down on business and happen to take a liking to you and bring you back up with them."

"If you make it to heaven, then that's something else entirely."

The East Long Wang beamed with joy, as if he could already see Shen Yi stepping through the gates of heaven — or perhaps he was seeing in Shen Yi the shadow of his once son-in-law: "Do you know that our immortal here holds a seventh-rank post in heaven, wields the Bai Xi official seal, and can govern all of Hongze, becoming the parents of you and me?"

"If you could reach a fifth-rank immortal official and obtain the Taiyi Dao Fruit, then even when you descend to the mortal world, you wouldn't need to bow before the Human Emperor."

"..."

Shen Yi had only meant to go along with it for a bit — after all, the matter of his own life wasn't even resolved yet, so where was the mind to think of anything else.

No matter how splendid it was out there, it had nothing to do with him.

But as he listened, he actually grew a bit interested — immortals in heaven still had to bow before mortal emperors?

He sat up a little straighter, curious: "Back then, when Princess Ziling ascended, was she working for an immortal of what rank?"

The moment those words left his mouth, the whole place fell silent.

Even Ye Jiu, the laziest when it came to thinking about human relations, had his eyelid twitch.

You say Shen Zongzhu doesn't know how things work, yet he still knew to swap "mount" for "working for."

And yet say he does know how things work, and he really does pick the one pot that shouldn't be lifted.

The smile slowly faded from Zixuan Zhenren's face, his mood sinking. After a long while he said: "It was Hongze Daxian's direct superior — Qingluan, the General of Declared Might. He's the very one who banished Hongze Daxian to this place. I hear he's an upright immortal general who can't tolerate a speck of grit in his eye."

"Enough, let's not speak of this."

"I only believe that evil men will meet their evil end — those who climb over others will, one day, fall back down."

Those present remained silent.

Almost everyone could tell that those words were pointed at none other than the East Long Wang's own daughter — the one who had climbed the branch and become a phoenix.

"You will surely walk out of Hongze. This old man has two presumptuous requests."

"When that time comes,"

"could you... also take Xuanqing to see it." A trace of embarrassment crossed the middle-aged man's face — hard to imagine this was a Long Wang who had lived so many years.

He did not keep the East Long Wang waiting long.

Shen Yi stood up and shook his head: "There's no need for Senior to say more. Senior Xuanqing helped me greatly; Shen Yi would not dare forget."

This was something he could agree to, and it didn't even need the East Long Wang to bring it up. The reason he stood was that he had roughly guessed what the other's next words would be.

"..."

Hearing that "Senior Xuanqing" slip out so readily, Zixuan Zhenren gave Shen Yi a long, deep look.

He had originally meant to tell the other to rest a few more days, but now he said no more.

One who knows to repay kindness — how could he forget the grudge of Nanyang, how could he forget the torment Xuanqing endured for a hundred thousand years?

"Sometimes, when it comes to revenge, there's no need to rush. Once you step out and see a wider world, you'll realize there are so many ways. If you hold an important post in the imperial court, or if you're appointed Taiyi in the heavens, settling this matter would only take a word."

True Person Zixuan stood up, patted Shen Yi's back, and said with a smile: "My Dao is not alone… you've already done very well, far surpassing us old fellows. Be careful not to wear yourself out.

"This old man will head back first."

Along with his words, a figure in a blue robe slowly vanished within the Banshan Sect.

"Huu."

Shen Yi stared silently at the spot where the other had been standing, then suddenly let out a long breath. He understood now—this East Long Wang could never possibly watch him go slay an immortal.

To be precise, the other did not wish for him to bear any stain on his name, but rather to walk out of Hongze with a clean slate.

As for stealing immortal power, there was even less need to discuss it—not even worth opening his mouth.

The old fellow truly was stubborn… and genuinely kind-hearted.

Perhaps his own temperament really was the problem.

A rare trace of helplessness flickered through Shen Yi's eyes. Even with such a kind old man, he still found it hard to place all his hopes in the other.

Enough, let's gather the lifespans of the demons and monsters first.

The white robe of Nanyang lifted lightly, and calm returned to Shen Yi's eyes. Under his command, the great demon Town Stone and the various hall masters began harvesting the lives of the West Long Gong remnants even more swiftly.

Once the matter of Hongze is settled, it won't be too late to settle things with this old friend.

(End of chapter)