Chapter 301: with translation of chapter title

301. Chapter 301: Minghe enters the Heavenly Court, Di Jun's speculation

Minghe's brows furrowed slightly, but he did not object; he had come seeking the Dao, had long anticipated this, just did not know what conditions the Heavenly Court would give.

Looking at Fuxi smiling before him, Minghe forced a smile and said:

"Since I have the intention to join the Heavenly Court, what position and duties I will have naturally follow the Emperor and the Heavenly Court's arrangements; I have no intention of resistance."

"I have long been accustomed to dwelling in the Sea of Blood; if the Heavenly Court has business, just send a word; as for staying long in the Heavenly Court, I am unwilling."

"Your Majesty Fuxi should know my purpose; I am not good with words, inexperienced in socializing, cannot hide it, so let me speak frankly."

"I came this time to seek the Dao; since I cannot seize the opportunity to become a sage, I turn to the Heavenly Court to seek the method to prove the Hunyuan Dao; I hope Your Majesty will agree."

Fuxi hearing this was slightly surprised, never expecting Minghe to suddenly speak bluntly; after all, such a straightforward statement of one's own request is rare among the primordial deities.

According to usual convention, those like Minghe who seek something from the Heavenly Court and join it usually utter a few empty words, do some tasks for the Heavenly Court, then state their demands.

But Minghe, upon first meeting, after finding an initial pretext, then discarded it, speaking bluntly, which is uncommon.

Fuxi pondered, then said solemnly: "Minghe Daoist, the method you seek, I will not speak falsely; the Heavenly Court indeed possesses it; its source is surely guessed at in the Wilderness; I obtained it from the place of the Great God Yangmei."

"However, in the Wilderness it has long been said that the Dharma cannot be lightly given, the Dao cannot be lightly transmitted; how precious is the method to prove the Hunyuan Dao; how much are you willing to sacrifice for the Dao?"

When Minghe heard that the Heavenly Court truly had the method to prove the Dao, a flash of excitement crossed his face, but upon hearing Fuxi's question, he calmed again.

Indeed, the Dao Ancestor's Three Corpses Method can indeed point directly to the root of the Great Dao, offering a chance to prove the Dao, but its requirements are so high as to be astonishing.

Moreover, one must enter the Immortal Dao, join the Mysterious Gate, abandon the Divine Dao; not knowing whether there are any loopholes, this is not what Minghe wishes.

Thus far, Minghe has entered the Hunyuan Dao but has never practiced the Three Corpses Method; the reason is exactly this.

Merely having the title of joining the Mysterious Gate, Minghe does not feel this can exchange for the Dao-proving method; compared to the present scattered Mysterious Gate, Minghe believes that letting himself pay a price to exchange for the Dao-proving method with Fuxi is better.

After all, this at least does not incur karmic debt; even if deceived, it would only cost some time, and there remains a possibility to seek redress in the future.

But the Three Corpses Method originates from Hongjun; Minghe cannot afford to provoke him; if there truly is some scheme within, he has no room to resist.

Furthermore, practicing the Three Corpses Method binds one completely to the Immortal Dao of the Mysterious Gate, relating to the karmic of proving the Dao; Minghe does not wish to shackle himself.

Joining the Heavenly Court is different; at most one would experience a single turn in the great calamity; Minghe is confident that with the Sea of Blood, no one in the world can kill him.

Therefore, facing Fuxi's question, Minghe laughed lightly: "Before the next round of the heaven-and-earth great calamity arrives, I can serve the Heavenly Court; after the great calamity ends, I and the Heavenly Court will clear our karmic ties; how about that?"

Fuxi hesitated only a moment, then immediately answered:

"Then I hereby welcome Daoist Minghe's joining; fellow Daoist will not disappoint me."

Fuxi said, taking a jade slip from the case, handing it to Minghe, and said: "This is the Heavenly Court's most important upcoming matter; now I entrust it to you, Daoist; after you accomplish it, I will personally preside over your Heavenly Venerable Assembly."

"What you desire will naturally be bestowed upon you then; for now, I will await your good news in the Heavenly Court."

A flash of red light appeared in Minghe's eyes, his face full of smiles; he was quite excited about the impending Dao-proving method, until he saw the contents of the jade slip.

I thought the task the Heavenly Court entrusted to me would be to slay those who defy the Heavenly Court; Minghe never imagined it would be to preside over the Wilderness tax reform! Looking at the densely packed requirements in the jade slip, concerning countless great clans of the Wilderness, although Minghe considered himself well-versed, his scalp still tingled.

The innate deities involved number over a thousand; on the list, the Red Dust Guest of the Purple Dawn Palace, Minghe also saw many, almost making him wish to retreat.

Among them were figures like the Ancestor Snake, Heavenly Snake, and the likes of Shaohao, all renowned in the Primordial Wilderness; they were top-tier divine beings who had endured several kalpas and still remained.

It involved a wide distribution of tribes; in the coming time, it would almost have Minghe tread the entire Primordial Wilderness continent, the sheer workload causing him to sigh:

"This task is as heavy as moving mountains and filling seas; it is truly no easy feat, and the method of proving the Dao is indeed not lightly transmitted."

Fuxi paid no heed to Minghe's sigh, merely speaking with a smile:

"How about it, Dao friend? Retreating now is still possible."

Minghe understood that Fuxi's words were merely advising him; if he resolved to take it on and then wanted to retreat, it would no longer be up to him. Thus, Minghe only asked:

"These affairs involve too broad a scope; surely they won't be handled by me alone. How much support can the Heavenly Court provide?"

Fuxi smiled satisfactorily and said: "In the Heavenly Court, the Ministry of War will assist from the sidelines, but the leading person will still be you, Dao friend. Moreover, in the Primordial Wilderness, the various mountain and river deities are at your command to dispatch and punish."

"All who resist and defy shall be left to your disposal; executing them is justified."

Upon hearing these words, Minghe seemed to sense the hidden murderous intent lurking behind them, and in that instant he fully comprehended the Heavenly Court's overbearing and mighty nature.

However, it was fine; Minghe did not resent it, for he himself was now a party of the Heavenly Court, and this overbearing might actually benefit him greatly.

Holding the imperial jade tablet, Minghe turned and left; as he was about to step out of the hall, he said: "I will wait beneath Mount Buzhou; I hope those Ministry of War personnel arrive quickly, so as not to keep me waiting."

Fuxi merely laughed and said:

"That is only proper."

Having said that, he held a jade brush, wrote an edict, which turned into golden light flying toward the Ministry of War; in no time, a great host of heavenly soldiers and generals set off for Mount Buzhou.

In the Qi Emperor's palace, Qi took out each of the formations he had collected, constantly considering whether they could be borrowed from; Kunpeng and Bai Ze, meanwhile, searched at his side, also continually pondering.

In the hall, there were also dozens of Luo Tianzun Gods and Luo Golden Immortals; occasionally someone would shout:

"This formation is quite exquisite, with many uses; perhaps there is something to learn from it, Your Majesty might care to examine it." As soon as the words fell, an attendant stepped forward, took it, and presented it to Qi's hand.

But Qi merely glanced at it briefly before immediately responding: "This formation is rather mixed, appearing to have many marvels, yet it is merely flashy and useless; Chaos is perilous, not something ordinary methods can handle."

"Although there may be something to learn from it, it overlaps with what was previously taken, and even falls far short; thus we will not adopt it."

Having said that, Qi tossed the jade slip into a box and discarded it. Meanwhile, a huge light curtain slowly descended above the hall.

On the light curtain, dozens of formations were scattered densely, faintly combining into a grand formation, yet many conflicts existed within it, clearly not yet formed.

For a thousand years, Qi and everyone in the palace immersed themselves in this, while the formations on the light curtain gradually expanded; their vast scale could be glimpsed.

Outside, formations kept being sent; during this period, the Heavenly Court's collections from the Primordial Wilderness contained many duplicates, with few usable ones.

At this time, Qi no longer paid attention to the contents of the jade slips, but began continually reducing the grand formation on the light curtain, making it more streamlined.

Spiritual light flickered constantly in his hand; divine power used the formations on the light curtain as a model, running nonstop, with Qi frequently adding and subtracting, so that it became no longer bloated and cumbersome.

Of course, the number of failures was innumerable; had it not been for Qi's superior strength and the assistance of Kunpeng and Bai Ze from the side, this palace would likely have long been blown apart into utter ruin.

Meanwhile, as Qi painstakingly studied the formations, in the starry sky Di Jun, Taiyi, and others wore solemn expressions, a golden scroll in their hands emitting a faint glow, while those present remained silent.

Seeing the solemn faces of Di Jun, Taiyi, Xihe, and others, Qiming finally spoke: "Your Majesty, the matter of the starry sky is of utmost importance; it is the foundation of the Heavenly Court's establishment. Your Majesty still needs to make early plans regarding the suggestions of His Majesty the Qi Emperor."

"The source of the starry sky has been continually leaking, and the new stars born near the Primordial Wilderness are increasing; if not checked, I fear all the stars may face destruction."

Di Jun knows this well, which is why he is so torn; sealing the starry sky or cutting off the influx of innate spiritual energy transformed from the Primordial Wilderness are no minor matters.

A single fluctuation there would affect countless beings of the Primordial Wasteland, numbering in the hundreds of millions; should any mishap occur, the Heavenly Court would face the danger of overthrow.

But if we allow the source of the starry sky to drain away, it will surely cause the many star gods who are the foundation of the Heavenly Court to lose loyalty, for they are born of the stars, nourished by the starry sky's qi—how could we abandon the starry sky?

Di Jun himself is a star god; he likewise finds it hard to accept any change to the Sun, and feeling the expectant gazes of the many star gods, he shares their sentiment.

After a long while, Di Jun finally opened his mouth and said:

Return to your original hearts, retain the innate spiritual qi filtered by the cosmic membrane, and no longer let it flow into the Primordial Wasteland; above all, preserve your own stars.

Once the stars are stabilized, shift the starry sky, using the multitude of stars as a basis to set up the Primordial Cloud-Dream Star Grand Formation, severing the link between the starry sky and the Primordial Wasteland to form a separate realm.

Thereafter, although some stellar power will still leak from the formation and fall into the Primordial Wasteland, it will be no more than a faint glimmer; without the formation's pull below, the Primordial Wasteland will retain no stellar power at all.

Seeing Di Jun's agreement, the many star gods rejoiced greatly, hurriedly saying: 'We thank Your Majesty for your understanding; we will surely proceed with care, reducing our impact on the Primordial Wasteland and not harming Your Majesty's compassionate heart.'

It is merely a lack of some stellar power; besides, new stars already exist below, so we as such will surely be unharmed.

Di Jun merely let out a long sigh, waved his hand to dismiss them, and immediately turned and entered the Sun once more.

Countless flames and explosions kept arising, the pervasive toxic fire seeming impossible to suppress; Taiyi stood beneath the Fusang tree and asked:

Elder brother, the Sun's toxic fire is now intense; even the Fusang tree finds it somewhat hard to bear—when will you draw in the power of lunar radiance to dispel the toxic fire?

Di Jun fell silent for a moment, then spoke rather grimly: 'This matter should be done sooner rather than later; the Moon is also in turmoil now, and drawing away its lunar radiance benefits both, though it will cause some hardship to the Primordial Wasteland.'

Taiyi, however, replied dismissively: 'Although the roles of the stars and the Primordial Wasteland are important, they are not indispensable; otherwise, why would the starry sky have invited scheming this time?'

The innate gods of the Primordial Wasteland themselves do not care; why should we worry? They struck first, so we cannot keep laboring heart and soul for them, damaging our origin.

Having said that, Taiyi fixed his gaze on Di Jun and said: 'Elder brother, do not forget that the Heavenly Court was originally merely your tool for gathering the qi of Heaven, Earth, and Man, in order to verify the Dao.'

When we gathered that qi, as long as we did not fail or harm the beings of the Primordial Wasteland, we must not let the power contained within bewilder our hearts and minds.

Now an anomaly has arisen in the starry sky, and the Sun too has suffered severe damage—this is what we ought truly to heed, for it concerns the path of the Great Dao; which is more important, you must know!

Di Jun merely sighed and said:

What you say, I naturally know; brother merely laments that the beings of the Primordial Wasteland have endured much hardship, after all, the present Primordial Wasteland was built by our own hands—its heart and blood, how could outsiders know?

But now the situation in which many heavenly gods, earthly deities, and divine beings strive together is to be destroyed by those with ulterior motives—I am deeply grieved!

Moreover, the starry sky itself is unstable; it could cause all the latent dangers of the stars to erupt, and even let us detect not the slightest trace—how long it has been plotted, and how grand the scheme, is unknown.

Among these, how could there be many capable of such action? And who could understand the starry sky so well?

Taiyi heard this, was stunned; after a moment his face suddenly showed shock, his eyes full of disbelief as he said: 'You suspect that person? Yes, who besides us could understand all the stars so well and have the means to act without us noticing? How many such people are there?'

Taiyi recalled the various details of this experience; it seemed those hidden dangers had long existed, their duration so ancient that even Taiyi could not recall.

Di Jun merely gave a bitter smile and said: 'I hope it is only my suspicion, after all...'

Di Jun's words were not finished, but their meaning was self-evident; Taiyi even more so gazed silently at the Donghuang in his hand.

Di Jun could not understand, or rather dared not think; after all, the person he suspected had existed for too long a time, and had been active for too ancient an era, so ancient that Di Jun merely knew of this person's existence but had never seen him.

Perhaps before his birth, Di Jun and Taiyi had come into contact with him, but now it seems Di Jun and Taiyi truly hope it is only their own wild imagination.

PS: I got drunk yesterday, should have been over a catty; I'll slowly repay it later! (End of chapter)