Chapter 306: 306. Chapter 306: Refusing Hongjun, the Starry Sky Matter Concludes

306. Chapter 306: Refusing Hongjun, the Starry Sky Matter Concludes

The spiritual qi is mixed, transforminging the innate into the acquired, yet unexpectedly it has made the human Dao a bit more flourishing, the qi fortune is rich, and it actually possesses the ability of heaven-man induction.

Qi sighed slightly, and Di Jun beside him also nodded, speaking: "From now on, matters of heaven's wrath and human resentment can even reach the heavens directly, falling into our ears; those great clans will no longer have the ease of the past."

Di Jun, speaking to this point, curled the corners of his mouth slightly; the flourishing of the human Dao naturally pleased him to see this sight, the Wilderness is too vast, myriad living things too many, even with the power of the Heavenly Court, it is absolutely impossible to attend to every place.

But the emergence of heaven-man induction now gives a path to survival for the lowest beings of the Wilderness; in the future, their days will likely be much better.

And the Heavenly Court's interference can also cause those great clans to restrain themselves somewhat, allowing those mundane beings to retain a little breathing space.

Nüwa smiled beside him and said: "This is very good; it can also be counted as a rare piece of good news since the heavenly change. In a few days, when we set up a banquet, we can also spread the word."

Those great clans have been free for too long; we must put a halter on their necks, not let them run loose with the reins. The significance of the Heavenly Court to the Wilderness is precisely shown here.

Taiyi, on the other hand, is not concerned about this; his only regret is that, when the Donghuang Bell previously gave rise to an induction, there were no those who answered the summons to let him act.

Just like that strike on Penglai Island before, if it could be reproduced, within the Wilderness over the next dozens of primordial cycles, as long as no sage emerges, the Heavenly Court may roam freely.

Fuxi did not particularly pay attention to the heaven-man induction matter; he merely informed Di Jun and Taiyi of Hongjun's arrival, saying there were matters concerning the starry sky to discuss.

Di Jun felt helpless about this, but after a slight hesitation, he spoke: "Since the Dao Ancestor has come, we ought to go pay our respects, and follow me together."

Everyone agreed, but just as they were about to rise, they saw a strand of purple qi coming toward them, with Hongjun standing firm in the middle of the hall.

Before he could speak, Qi and the others simultaneously bowed and saluted: "We pay our respects to the Dao Ancestor (teacher)."

Hongjun merely waved his hand and said: "No need for many formalities; I, the humble Daoist, have come this time for the starry sky matter. Amid the changes of heaven and earth, I too must focus wholeheartedly, so I failed to notice others' scheming; the change in the starry sky is my fault."

Qi and the others, upon hearing this, could not help but ask:

"Others' scheming? I don't know if the Ancestor has any guesses; could you tell us one or two?"

Hongjun shook his head and said: "Guessing is natural, but I, the humble Daoist, cannot be certain either; this time I came hoping you all could lend a hand, to detach the entire starry sky from the Wilderness."

Qi and Di Jun were suddenly startled; Di Jun even said: "Detach the entire starry sky from the Wilderness! The starry sky has changed, but why to such an extent!"

Hongjun's face grew solemn; he had already anticipated Di Jun's astonishment, and merely said: "At present, great danger lurks within the starry sky; I, the humble Daoist, cannot enter, therefore I have come to ask you."

"The Heavenly Court encompasses all the star deities; only by relying on the power of the Heavenly Court can this matter be handled."

"I, the humble Daoist, ought not speak further; the only thing I can tell you is the danger nurtured therein, which even a sage's power must not take lightly."

Di Jun fell into silence; Qi, Fuxi, Nüwa, and Taiyi did not speak, for this matter ultimately required Di Jun to make the decision.

After a long while, Di Jun let out a long sigh, his eyes filled with resolve, and directly refused Hongjun's request, saying: "We naturally believe the Dao Ancestor's words, but the starry sky is of utmost importance; it is an indispensable part of the Wilderness, and also an indivisible part of the Heavenly Court."

"Please forgive my noncompliance; the matter of detaching the starry sky, Dao Ancestor, do not speak of it again—the Heavenly Court absolutely will not allow this to happen!"

Di Jun's voice carried the weight of a firm resolve; Hongjun could only reply helplessly: "Do you not know that once the starry sky becomes abnormal, the Wilderness will instantly face annihilation? As the lord of heaven and earth, you should know the priorities—how can you be so indecisive?"

Di Jun paid no heed, continuing to refuse:

"The starry sky matter has many star deities existing; the Heavenly Court will also handle it; the three powers of Heaven, Earth, and Human must not be lacking, otherwise heaven and earth will surely become abnormal!"

"Only then will the Wilderness face danger of annihilation; if the three powers are incomplete, the Great Dao will cease—this is not that Di Jun lacks decisiveness, but that the three powers are paramount."

Although Hongjun had already anticipated this in his heart earlier, he still couldn't help but turn his gaze to Qi and the others, asking:

"You are also Heavenly Court Emperors; the starry sky matter concerns the Wilderness—what is your decision as well?"

Taiyi spoke: "In the Grand Chaos there is the Dao; gods and the Dao are one; the starry sky matter will naturally be decided by the star deities themselves; this has been the eternal principle since ancient times."

Fuxi also spoke: "I also support Di Jun and Taiyi; their words are reasonable, the three powers must not be lacking, and the eternal principle must not be broken."

"Otherwise, if the starry sky becomes abnormal today, we would detach the starry sky; if one day the Wilderness' land becomes abnormal, how could we then detach the land?"

"Reducing by one each day, how could the Wilderness have any continuation? If the hand hurts, lengthen the hand; what if the head hurts later?"

Qi likewise spoke:

"The starry sky matter, the star deities naturally are the most knowledgeable; as Di Jun and Taiyi are star deities, they surely must have confidence."

"I, taking humanity as my kind, naturally understand all changes in the Yunmze Marsh; I believe it is the same for them; since Di Jun and Taiyi are unwilling, I naturally support them."

Hongjun could only focus his gaze on Nüwa; as his disciple, although he knew hope was slim, he still wished to hear a different answer.

Unfortunately, the result ultimately disappointed Hongjun; only hearing Nüwa speak: "Although I am not a heavenly god or earthly deity, I cultivate the Way of Creation; I know full well what consequences the loss of the three powers would bring; the starry sky must not be abandoned."

Hongjun, too, could only let out a long sigh and, feeling disappointed, said: "If so, then let the Heavenly Court seal the starry sky; I will afterward reinforce it. Since the starry sky must not be abandoned, but isolation is necessary!"

Hongjun's gaze turned stern; an invisible pressure spread over everyone's hearts, and Qi, Di Jun, and the others knew this was Hongjun's bottom line.

Fortunately, they had previously considered sealing it; although different from Hongjun's complete isolation, not so extreme, but fortunately they could still accept it.

Di Jun thought it over and said: "We can seal it; the Dao Ancestor can also reinforce it further, but the Heavenly Court, or rather the star deities, should have the freedom to come and go."

"The starry sky is the Dao Chang of all the star deities; how could there be no reason to let those who travel outward return home? Moreover, since we are isolating it, the star deities also need to frequently explore it, to guard against the unexpected."

After a slight hesitation, Hongjun nodded, agreeing to it, then instantly transformed into a strand of purple qi and departed, leaving only his final admonition.

"Since you have already decided, I, the humble Daoist, also believe you will not cause trouble; if later the starry sky becomes abnormal, the matter of detachment must not be debated again."

Qi, together with Di Jun, Taiyi, and the others, spoke: "We respectfully see off the Dao Ancestor; this is proper principle."

After a moment, everyone returned to their seats; Qi laughed and said: "Now that the Dao Ancestor has issued an order, sealing the starry sky and cutting off star power also gives us an external reason; at the end of this primordial cycle, we can convene a great assembly to inform all the deities."

Di Jun also laughed: "That is excellent; if the deities have any objections, they may go seek the Dao Ancestor themselves; if they can persuade the Dao Ancestor to lift the starry sky's seal, we will naturally comply." Upon Di Jun's saying this, everyone burst into laughter; they had originally been thinking how to explain to the deities, perhaps even having to pay considerable benefits, but now, thanks to Hongjun's arrival, the matter is settled, and they naturally ought to be happy.

But Fuxi suddenly spoke:

"Since the starry sky matter is settled, we too should give good thought to the new heavenly statutes; after all, the innate sages are too scarce, and since humans and gods cannot fall in love, how should the feelings among the gods themselves be resolved?"

Qi glanced at Fuxi, somewhat doubtful, and spoke:

"We merely prohibited love between humans and gods, yet we never stopped love between immortals and gods; those who can become immortals are all sincere people, with immense devotion to the Dao, able to withstand the polishing of time."

"Only by enduring the wear of time can their feelings last long, not ending in tragedy; only then is it the proper way."

"Even without speaking of outsiders, just taking Pingyi as an example, have such regrets ever been rare on him?"

"If I were to speak, had it not been that in the past we felt this matter too intimate, and the Heavenly Court was unwilling to interfere excessively, we ought long ago to have issued a clear order to prohibit it."

"To avoid such matters that provoke heaven's wrath and human resentment from occurring frequently; now that the human Dao's qi fortune flourishes, this gives the Heavenly Court a reason; otherwise, given the nature of those innate sages, they would likely cause trouble again."

Nüwa also spoke in agreement:

"Exactly this principle; the personalities of the deities born after the Heavenly Dao are mostly lax, lacking the former innate sages' devotion to the Dao; like the regret occurring on Pingyi, in the Wilderness this is not a small number."

If this continues long, these resentful energies will gather and inevitably give rise to some sort of spirit monster, which will also harm the Primordial Wilderness.

Taiyi laughed and said: "If outsiders were to find out, several Heavenly Court emperors actually discussing male-female matters in this Lingxiao Treasure Hall would surely be shocked."

"Look at you all, you hardly look like emperors, innate divinities; you're clearly just resentful men and women, clearly never having experienced it, yet you speak as if it were your own affair."

Qi laughed and scolded:

"This also concerns the wilderness; it's no trivial matter. If you keep causing trouble like this, I'll have Di Jun kick you out of this Lingxiao Treasure Hall."

Everyone burst into laughter.

The return of Di Jun and the others could naturally not escape the eyes of the wilderness gods, especially since Di Jun and his companions made no attempt to conceal themselves.

In Kunlun Mountain, the Daoist of Virtue looked at the nearly withered spiritual root in the spiritual ground, feeling a pang of distress, and hastily lifted it from the ground with his hand, then spoke to the Daoist of Primordial Beginnings beside him:

"How is it that, despite many heavenly gods returning, there is still no starlight descending in the wilderness? If this continues much longer, my astral grass will surely not survive!"

The Daoist of Primordial Beginnings walked among the spiritual grasses, occasionally sprinkling sweet dew, seemingly oblivious to the Daoist of Virtue's words.

On the other hand, the Daoist of Spiritual Treasure replied: "At the end of this aeon, the Heavenly Court will likely convene a great assembly; then we shall both attend and inquire there."

"Furthermore, elder brother, don't mention your astral grass—it's merely a low-grade innate spiritual root, not worth much."

"However, if you don't even take a look, the cloud-vine transformed from star rain beneath the cliff is a high-grade innate spiritual root, and it's about to die imminently."

The Daoist of Virtue hastily turned and walked toward the cliff edge, for these were all the wealth he had accumulated over a long time; if lost, the loss would be great.

Moreover, on the shore of the Western Sea, Jieyin and Zhunti felt heartache, gazing at the shells below that inhaled and exhaled moonlight, their hearts filled with sorrow.

Zhunti, seeing the dwindling number of star-moon clams, felt heartache and spoke:

"Senior brother, we hardly managed to find this source of income; looking at it now, I fear it will be cut off!"

Star-moon clams feed on starlight and moonlight; each shell produces twelve star-moon pearls per aeon, a kind of luminous pearl.

When hung in a quiet chamber, they aid cultivation, assist in entering tranquility, and ward off heart-demons; they are rare treasures for cultivation in the wilderness.

After the Heavenly Court built the Heavenly Emperor's villa on Mount Sumeru, Jieyin and Zhunti no longer returned; they especially sought this treasure land on the Western Sea shore to serve as their Dao Chang.

The main reason is that this place has many star-moon clam populations, which can bring them considerable income to support their cultivation.

It is not far from Penglai Immortal Island; nowadays many loose cultivators follow them and survive in this half of Xifang Dalu.

Just the star-moon clams alone have brought many benefits to the Western beings who follow them.

But now, having lost starlight and moonlight, the star-moon clams that merely rely on inhaling and exhaling moonlight can barely survive; let alone producing star-moon pearls, even maintaining their population is difficult.

Regarding this matter, Jieyin and Zhunti have racked their brains; facing Zhunti's words, Jieyin could only respond with a sorrowful expression:

"The West is impoverished, yet I never imagined that even this sole source of income would now leave us; oh heavens, how harsh you are to the West!"

Having said that, Zhunti picked up a shell from the sea, extended his divine sense into it, and found only a pearl the size of a grain of rice, whereupon he spoke even more sorrowfully:

"This place is doomed; feeding on moonlight alone, without lunar essence and starlight, it cannot produce star-moon pearls at all; the West is poor, what shall we do?"

After a brief hesitation, Jieyin glanced at the distant Penglai Immortal Island standing tall, harbored the desire to occupy it, but thinking of the heavenly troops stationed above, he could only ask:

"Junior brother, the West is impoverished, we cannot go to Penglai Immortal Island either; it seems we can only resume our old trade, traveling more to the East."

"For now the wilderness is relatively stable; the Eastern Continent gathers many heroes, we could take on a few disciples to strengthen the West's influence."

"Moreover, the Eastern Continent has always been abundant, with countless spiritual roots and fruits; we could seek some to make up for the West's deficiencies."

Zhunti thought it over, nodded in agreement, and said: "It ought to be so; we are all people of the wilderness, we should not harbor sectarian biases; things of the world belong to those with affinity, and we too ought to seek out things with affinity."

The two exchanged a glance, each seeing resolve in the other's eyes: if they did not make a fortune from the Eastern Continent this time, they would not return! Unlike the Wu Clan, they do not enslave Western beings, and moreover they supplement them, so their life is naturally extremely hard.

And now, facing this predicament, Jieyin and Zhunti immediately recalled their old trade, preparing to go to the Eastern Continent to seek windfalls.

PS: I'm a bit busy today, so let me postpone by one day! Sorry, everyone, kowtow! (End of chapter)