Chapter 303: with translation of chapter title

303. Chapter 303: The Gods' Attitude, Pingyi Meets a Beauty

"Brother Minghe Dao, please hurry and take a seat; the banquet is already prepared, the guests have arrived, awaiting you, Dao brother, and the fellow Daoists accompanying you are the same."

Shaohao wore a smile across his face, leading many clansmen to summon a gale to welcome them; heaven and earth were pure white, with not a trace of cloud, leaving only a brilliant golden wind hue.

Minghe forced out a smile, walking side by side with Shaohao, and they entered together upon invitation.

Since his conversation with Fuxi in the Lingxiao Treasure Hall, Minghe has taken on this duty, wandering through the wilderness to inform and audit the tax affairs of all clans.

He never imagined that one day, after painstakingly earning a fearsome reputation in the wilderness, he would actually be forcing a smile and sharing drinks and merriment with others.

At the banquet, Minghe feigned patience, silently listening to Shaohao's complaints, which were a mix of truth and falsehood, not yet grounded in reality; their exchange was essentially empty talk.

Fortunately, Minghe had also undergone considerable tempering in the wilderness; at first he felt some sympathy, after all they were both innate deities, and the other's demeanor did not seem feigned.

But after an investigation, Minghe discovered that, having previously dwelt in the Sea of Blood, his perspective had been rather narrow; the taxes levied by the Heavenly Court were truly not many.

Each mansion's treasury piled up like mountains; compared to him, they were simply rolling in wealth.

Although Minghe possessed many spirit treasures of excellent quality—whether the Twelve‑Grade Karmic Fire Red Lotus or the Dual Swords of Yuan Tu Avīci—they were rare peerless items in the world.

Yet his own Dao Chang, the Sea of Blood, is unsuitable for cultivating innate spiritual roots; aside from a few strange items, it basically holds no treasures.

Take the Snake Clan, for example: Minghe had thought their claimed poverty meant they could not eat their fill after paying taxes, but upon closer look he found they held so many spiritual roots they could not use them all.

Among them were more than ten superior innate spiritual roots, nearly a hundred medium grade, and countless inferior ones; this opened Minghe's eyes—was poverty really like this? Facing Shaohao's lament, Minghe merely smiled silently, cursing in his heart:

"You occupy a vast area surrounding the Qi Huang Yunmze Marsh, which is the essence of humanity in the wilderness, and your prosperity is famed throughout the world."

"Moreover, the Tiger Clan is spread far and wide, covering almost the entire Eastern Continent and much of the Northern Continent—all prime lands—yet you still claim hardship; truly shameless!"

"Back during the war of the three clans, I had heard the Tiger Clan reaped abundantly, taking most of the Qilin Clan's inheritance; I wonder if I could see it now."

Shaohao saw that Minghe never revealed his stance, and thus knew the Heavenly Court's tax reform was already settled; feeling bitter, he also secretly pondered:

"If I calculate correctly, after this reform the taxes paid will nearly triple, showing how great the Heavenly Court deems the loss from this wilderness heavenly change."

"Therefore, seeking to draw resources from the wilderness to compensate its own losses will surely hurt the bones and sinews, yet its past accumulations are deep, so now is not the time to move."

"But if we pay in full, once the Heavenly Court eases this pain, might we Tiger Clan have future opportunities? Could we still have a chance at the wilderness hegemony?"

"But if we refuse, the Heavenly Court will surely launch a major military campaign, killing a chicken to scare the monkeys, to intimidate the wilderness; the Tiger Clan could resist, but must not be the first to do so."

"Among the myriad clans of the wilderness, I do not believe they will all submit to the Heavenly Court; with more than thirty thousand years until the next tax payment, there should be someone to take the lead."

"Just like the Wu Clan, which has always been the most barbaric; their taxes are even the average of the three continents, and they certainly cannot tolerate it."

"If the Wu Clan leads the rebellion, I could lead the Tiger Clan to contend with them, and then we could renegotiate the taxes."

"Moreover, by offsetting with innate items, we could reduce a lot; if the Wu Clan agrees, our clan possesses many innate items, so we could also pay considerably less."

Shaohao never imagined helping the Wu Clan oppose the Heavenly Court; at least he cannot be the leader, for he is an outsider—he may die, but he cannot bear the blame of ages.

Moreover, the Tiger Clan also has many personnel within the Heavenly Court, mostly in the Military Department; news has long spread that the Heavenly Court is already addressing the heavenly change, seemingly having achieved some results.

Shaohao is no fool; initially he exchanged Ao Xing's true spirit for the chance to live in the Yunmze Marsh, willingly discarding a superior innate spiritual treasure to move from the Western Continent to the Eastern.

Naturally, he had early on discerned the situation, and after the great calamity he could shed his mortal skin, before anyone reacted, lead the charge to devour the three clans' legacies, completing the Tiger Clan's initial accumulation—clearly a very wise individual.

Now, facing the Heavenly Court's mishap, Shaohao, though ambitious, will not lose his wits, opposing the existing order and standing against the wilderness.

Shaohao's current plan is more to wait for the Heavenly Court to fall into disorder, then be the first to break the present order, or for someone to step forward and break the Heavenly Court's order.

Then, Shaohao will take the initiative, leading the Tiger Clan to vie for the position of hegemony over heaven and earth.

Shaohao has long since made up his mind: if the Heavenly Court survives the next round of the heavenly great calamity, he will join it and seek the position of a regional emperor.

After all, after the calamity, whether victorious or defeated, someone must bear its responsibility; if the Heavenly Court wins, the emperor's position will necessarily be vacant.

As for the Heavenly Emperor, Shaohao never considered it; his foundation is insufficient, and forcibly occupying it would only lead to an early abdication, which clearly runs counter to his interests.

Until the banquet ended, Minghe never let loose, and Shaohao never mentioned tax relief; since his earlier complaints had not softened Minghe's heart, Shaohao would not seek embarrassment for himself.

For a moment, at their parting, the two lost their former closeness, becoming as plain as water, devoid of flavor.

Minghe was not annoyed either; he had long grown accustomed to the faces of the myriad clans, and once there was no benefit, he would immediately revert to his former self, as if they would never interact again.

At first Minghe felt a little uncomfortable, but now he even finds some enjoyment in it; this shift in attitude strikes him as quite interesting.

At this moment in the heavenly realm, Qi gazed at the formation diagram in his hand and smiled satisfactorily: the Great Chaos Transmutation Formation is complete!

Although the consumption is considerable, the good thing is that Chaos is boundless, and the chaotic qi it contains is likewise vast; as long as the transmutation succeeds, Qi does not mind wasting a bit more.

Having secured the diagram, Qi turned and headed toward the Lingxiao Treasure Hall; such good news naturally ought to be shared with Fuxi, so he can organize personnel to refine the formation base.

"Fuxi, take a look—what is this? Does it please your eye?"

Before Qi had even entered the hall, his voice came from afar; Fuxi quickly raised his head, saw Qi tightly gripping the formation diagram, and couldn't help but laugh: "Qi, you are truly a person worthy of trust; the time it took to complete this formation is far shorter than I expected."

Qi merely gave a faint smile and said: "Having fulfilled my mission without disgrace, the Great Chaos Refinement Formation is accomplished; judged solely by scale, it far surpasses the Innate Yunmze Star Array."

"According to my reckoning, once the great formation is established, the heavenly realm will have no worries; its sole drawback is that its scale is overly grandiose, and it also creates considerable commotion."

"If one wishes to build it, one would likely need to exhaust the Heavenly Court's strength to make it possible; past accumulations would largely be unable to be retained."

Upon saying this, a flicker of pain crossed Qi's eyes; after all, the accumulation of over a hundred yuan meetings vanished in an instant—how could outsiders possibly know that feeling!

Fuxi could only let out a long sigh, but then immediately spoke with a smile:

"If it's only this, it's no problem; once the tax reform succeeds and the new round of tax revenue arrives, we can compensate for all our losses."

"Moreover, the wilderness order has long been established, and the opportunity for large‑scale construction has greatly diminished; surely after waiting another ten or so yuan meetings, this consumption can also be made up."

"At present the myriad clans of the wilderness are abundantly wealthy, their hoards as vast as smoke and sea; rather than letting them gather dust in treasuries, it is better to entrust them to the Heavenly Court to bring welfare to the wilderness."

Upon hearing this, Qi felt somewhat relieved; after thinking, he added: "This time, refining the great formation also requires many spirit‑mountain boulders; I see that the newly born stars are plentiful, so let Nüwa and I go together to forge them into formation bases."

"Otherwise they would merely reflect a little sunlight and moonlight, adding a few colors to the night sky—a terrible waste; we must not do such a thing."

"Coincidentally, I observe that the present night sky gains a sense of unfamiliarity; refining them would also restore a patch of purity to the heavens."

Fuxi thought it over; now that the Chaos Refinement Great Formation is complete, continuing to gather formation methods in the wilderness would be of little use, and summoning Nüwa back is likewise no problem.

Moreover, with Qi accompanying her, Nüwa could also relax her emotions a bit; she has labored too long in the wilderness, so a brief rest is fitting. Thinking thus, Fuxi said: "This is excellent; Emperor Jun Taiyi also sent word back, saying the stellar affair will be settled, and thereafter in the wilderness, aside from the Yunmze Marsh, no further power of the three lights will be poured down."

"They will also wait a while to see if the starry sky produces any anomalies; if nothing occurs, they can then return to the wilderness."

"Then let Taiyi go with you, so you can look after each other; those newly born stars are far apart, and with Taiyi present you can also locate them."

Qi nodded; it had been a long time since they last met, he also felt a bit of longing for Great One Di Jun and the others; taking advantage of the time before their return, he could rest a moment and ease his long-taut nerves.

"In that case, I will wait a while in the Heavenly Court, also to familiarize myself with the refining of formation bases, and take a brief rest."

Seeing that the matter had been settled, Qi turned and walked toward his own palace; after laboring for so long, he ought to get a good sleep, to create a new grand formation—even with countless formations for reference, it is still mentally and taxing labor.

In the starry sky, Great One Di Jun and the many star gods gazed at the thin trickle flowing into the Wilderness, its hue like purple crystal, which was the stellar power of each star.

Its destination is precisely within Cloud Dream Marsh.

The fact that stellar power can still flow down is not because Great One Di Jun and the others consider Qi's feelings, but because the Innate Cloud Dream Star Grand Array in Cloud Dream Marsh is too powerful for the many star gods to stop.

However, compared to the past, the present thin trickle is already enough to satisfy the many star gods; formerly, the stellar power poured into the Wilderness like a heavenly river waterfall, and compared to that, they naturally have no objections.

Moreover, its destination is His Majesty Qi's Dao Chang, which can be said to be "watering one's own field."

Di Jun turned to Xihe and Changxi behind him and said, "Since Cloud Dream Marsh already possesses stellar power, why not share a thread of moonlight with His Majesty Qi? I and the Great One will add some, so that it may continue to hold the Three Lights Divine Water."

Xihe and Changxi naturally had no objection; Xihe spoke with a slight smile at the corner of his mouth:

"His Majesty Qi and the Heavenly Emperor are close friends; since His Majesty harbors this intention, we naturally wish to repay His Majesty's kindness."

Changxi also said, "His Majesty Qi is the Emperor of the Heavenly Court, a sovereign ruler; his Dao Chang naturally ought to differ from the ordinary, and this thread of moonlight will be our embellishment for him—also a fine thing."

Di Jun smiled with satisfaction, quite pleased with Xihe and Changxi, and said, "Then I will thank these two goddesses on behalf of His Majesty Qi."

The three smiled; the Great One in the distance pursed his lips, waved his hand, and a ray of sunlight shone forth from the Sun Star toward Cloud Dream Marsh.

Where it passed, space twisted slightly, but as it neared the Wilderness it gradually returned to normal, revealing a glimpse of the solar power it contained.

In the Wilderness, Pingyi still wandered about outside Cloud Dream Marsh; with some time left before the next Golden Core refinement, he ought to go out and have some fun.

The heavenly-earthly change that had drawn the gods' attention in the Wilderness seemed to affect Pingyi not at all, and he remained indifferent to it as well.

At that moment, Pingyi quietly gazed ahead and saw a young woman leaning on a blue stone by the stream, washing clothes in her hands.

Her pair of jade hands continually slid in the icy stream water, and the clothing moved with the flow, washing away the adhered soapberry foam.

Her fingers, soaked in the stream, turned slightly white, and the faint wrinkles on her palm contrasted with her smooth skin, making Pingyi unable to look away.

The woman was barefoot; her pair of small feet soaked in the stream, and behind her a fox tail swayed slightly, its tip dampened by the water, making it look less fluffy.

The fox ears on the woman's head stood high, and even with her long, thick hair they could not be concealed.

Just as Pingyi wondered how to speak, the woman suddenly turned her head and said:

"You young sir are so shameless; I am washing clothes here, and if you merely glanced it would be forgivable, but why do you stare so intently without any restraint!"

"If this continues, which decent family would allow their daughter to follow a young man like you? If you weren't handsome, I would have people seize you."

Pingyi merely laughed and said, "The young lady is so beautiful, and to be out washing clothes in this cool weather shows she is also a diligent, respectable woman."

"Moreover, with autumn's high skies and falling leaves, the beauty's attire—having seen it, how could I not linger my gaze?"

"If I were to glance and then leave, would I not be wasting such beautiful scenery and also the young lady's beauty?"

Upon hearing this, the woman's face flushed red; she involuntarily gave a light spit, placed the washed clothes in a wooden basin, and said to Pingyi:

"What a frivolous rake! I originally thought you were handsome, yet clueless and unaware of how to conceal yourself, your attire also outstanding—I had assumed you were a pure young man from some family, but I never expected you to be so wanton!"

"This place is my Red Maple Fox Tribe; you wandering rascal, where do you come from and why are you here? Please step aside—I must go."

Having said that, the woman tried to go around Pingyi toward the nearby hill, but Pingyi reached out to block her and said, "You miss are also impatient; I was merely observing from afar for a moment, without disturbing you—though my words were blunt, are they not still rather frivolous?"

"Moreover, since we have fatefully met, how could you withhold your name, causing me to be longing and dreaming?"

That woman had never heard such words; her cheeks instantly flushed crimson, she hastily pushed aside Pingyi's blocking arm, went around his obstruction, and hurried away.

Just as Pingyi stood smiling in disappointment, watching the woman's retreating back, she suddenly turned and shouted:

"I am a member of the Crimson Maple Fox Tribe; if you are sincere, you may come to the tribe to find me, and when we meet again I will tell you my name."

As her words faded, the woman leapt away, her silver‑bell‑like laughter echoing in the maple forest, leaving Pingyi dazed.

Just after the woman vanished into the maple forest, Pingyi finally came to his senses, smiling: "Crimson Maple Fox Tribe, we will surely meet again; the young lady is adorable, and I will not be one to break a promise—let her escape for a moment."

Having said that, Pingyi turned and left; although he knew the tribe was not far, he wished to give the woman a little buffer time so her mood could settle.

Moreover, would a chance encounter a few days later not be more delightful than his painstaking search? And just as the woman rushed back to the tribe and stepped through the door, her face looked somewhat better—though having run, her flush became even brighter, like a mountain berry.

Upon entering, she heard an elderly voice ask, "You girl, at this age you still act like a clueless little fox, running about—if you bump into the tribesfolk, wouldn't that cause trouble again?"

"If it were only the adult tribesfolk, that would be fine, but you must know that the elderly and young in the clan can no longer withstand your collisions."

Hearing this, the woman's face flushed red, and she said shyly:

"Father! I am no longer like I was as a child! Even if I run now, I will remember to open my eyes and watch the road, avoiding passersby!"

The elderly voice sounded again, this time accompanied by the creak of the door opening; an old man stepped out from inside and said, "Such recklessness, with not a trace of ladylike deportment in your gait, and you are over twenty—so ignorant of propriety, how could this old man rest easy entrusting you to anyone?"

"If left unchecked, allowing you to continue running about and playing, would it not ruin your future husband?"

Upon hearing this, the woman instantly flushed with shame and indignation and said:

"What's wrong with me? Judging by my appearance, has anyone in the tribe ever been more beautiful than I? How could I spoil a future husband?"

"If they were with me, that would be a blessing they cultivated; Father, if you spout such nonsense and ruin my reputation, I will have nothing to do with you!"

The old man heard this and burst out laughing, saying, "My daughter has finally grown up; she knows to care about her reputation!"

The woman then cried out shyly, "Father~!"

PS: A 5000‑word chapter, the 1000 owed from last month has been repaid! (End of chapter)