Chapter 341: with translation of chapter title

Qi immediately turned his gaze toward Di Jun, his expression growing somewhat solemn; after a long silence, he finally broke the slight stalemate and asked:

"Di Jun, we have been acquainted for so long, companions on the same Dao; now the situation has arisen, speaking as friends, I ask you this:"

"Regarding the Great Dao, there can be no false words; the Dao of the Taihuang Emperor—could it truly offer a chance to attain the Dao?"

"Since the fall of the Immortal Court, I can no longer see you clearly; from that time on, your impression on me has even surpassed that of Taiyi, and though I and Taiyi are roughly equal, I cannot discern you."

"But since the sages took their positions, I have noticed your strength seems to be waning; although you still appear not inferior to Taiyi, you have lost your threat—why is this?"

Di Jun remained silent; Qi, having received no explanation, spoke again:

"If you still believe there is a chance to attain the Dao, what harm is there in us aiding you once more in this great calamity?"

"Although the sages are exalted, we are not without a chance of victory; whether it is the formations in the starry void, or Nüwa and Kunpeng, we still have a fighting chance."

"But if there is no chance of success, how could the Heavenly Court simply cease? By shedding our flesh and preserving our origin, we could later rely on it to ascend the divine path again, perhaps even achieving the status of the Mixed Yuan Supreme Luo Heavenly Venerable God."

Qi's words were utterly frank, drawing sideways glances from Fuxi and Taiyi, the latter even exclaiming: "Elder brother!"

Di Jun gazed at Taiyi, then at Fuxi and Qi; after a long while he let out a long breath, as if a great stone had fallen from his body.

Facing Qi before him, Di Jun showed a faint smile, speaking rather relieved:

"Indeed, I could never hide it from you, Qi; you are too perceptive, too sharp—after all these years of affection, long holding high office, I still cannot deceive you."

"Perhaps, regarding the ancients, I ultimately placed too much trust; the achievements of the Three Sovereigns and their supreme authority still blinded me."

"Now I do not know whether I should thank Qi for unveiling my delusions, or hate him for shattering my hope of attaining the Dao."

Di Jun, speaking to this point, wore a half‑smile, then glanced at Taiyi and spoke softly: "Taiyi, you once said in Yunmze that it would come to pass, yet you never imagined it would actually happen now."

"People's hearts change; how could there be an unchanging person under heaven? Your Majesty Taihuang's conception is too beautiful, too illusory."

"Ultimately, one who has never seen the Great Dao could not possibly devise a method to attain the Dao; the success of the Grand Void Patriarch must have involved alterations to his practice."

"I simply lack such wisdom; following the steps to the end, I only realized this is a dead end."

"Now, letting it go, I feel light‑hearted; starting over is not impossible."

"As for the present power and the Heavenly Court, only when they are shattered do we realize they are external things; I am not one obstinately ignorant, nor would I let you sacrifice your lives for such external trappings."

"When I cultivated the Taihuang method at its peak, Qi, Taiyi—perhaps you do not know—I even felt that killing you two would take but a single thought; do you believe that?"

Di Jun's face showed a faint bitter smile; after exterminating the Immortal Court, in the primordial wilderness of that time, Di Jun even felt that not even the Grand Void Patriarch would inspire any fear in him.

The newly ascended sage Nüwa and Kunpeng, in Di Jun's view, were even inferior to him then; that was the time when Di Jun's prestige in the primordial wilderness was at its highest.

All the fortunes of beings and of heaven and earth were tied to him alone, yet as time passed and human hearts shifted, these powers likewise drifted away.

Di Jun had also considered attaining the Dao then, but he discovered that the fortunes converging on him were rootless duckweed, impossible to refine; only then did he realize that his cultivation of the Taihuang method might be incomplete, lacking its most crucial method for attaining the Dao.

Or perhaps the Taihuang path was inherently a dead end, with no method for attaining the Dao at all.

Di Jun did not think that Yang Mei would harm him, and when the Taihuang entered the Return to the Void, his realm was no more than that of a Luo Heavenly Venerable God.

Perhaps he truly was a heaven‑gifted genius, for at that time Di Jun indeed surpassed everyone in the primordial wilderness as imagined.

But people's hearts change; each individual thinks differently, each generation's thoughts differ vastly, and gathering the hearts of an entire generation is already extremely difficult—if one expects every generation to be the same, one can only sigh at such foolish day‑dreaming.

Di Jun then had no retreat, so he naturally held onto a sliver of hope until now; but now that sliver of hope has been extinguished by Qi, and Di Jun can only face reality.

Taiyi, meanwhile, began to recall repeatedly, trying to pinpoint when Di Jun had spoken those words; until he suddenly saw in his memory a scene where they sat discussing the Dao, and Taiyi said, "If one day Di Jun strays from the path and I fail to notice, then I too must already be walking a divergent road."

Taiyi gazed at the sun in the sky, then glanced back at everyone; not knowing where he had erred, he spoke: "Elder brother, Qi, Fuxi, I may also have strayed into a wrong path—only the great sun in the heavens can no longer guide me."

"You say, if the sun in the heavens has changed, would washing it make things better?"

Qi, Di Jun, and Fuxi were instantly astonished, not knowing why Taiyi would think of this, clearly unrelated to the previous topic.

The three stared at each other; after a slight hesitation, Qi spoke:

"Setting aside Taiyi's words for now, since you, Di Jun, have decided, then as we said, after preserving the source of the divine path, we shall together escape this great calamity."

"If it is truly impossible, discarding this divine‑path origin is fine; the way of immortals and demons is also a route to heaven."

"The green mountains remain; why worry about lack of firewood? After the sages take their positions, we shall simply hand over this primordial realm to them."

"But we must prepare early; the heavenly realm we built with painstaking effort—everything that can be taken away shall not be left behind."

"Ziwei and Taiyi are already confirmed, but for the Heavenly Court this is still too few; no matter what, in the subsequent Heavenly Court we must at least occupy three of the imperial sovereign positions."

"Ideally, besides the Heavenly Emperor, the Four Assistants should be chosen by us; before the great calamity begins, the focus of the Heavenly Court should also lie here."

"Taiyi and Ziwei should also make their voices heard in the Heavenly Court; otherwise they are mere empty posts, and we cannot guarantee the future of the divine path."

Fuxi and Di Jun exclaimed in unison: "Good!"

As for Taiyi, he waited for their reply, then continued: "If we were to drag the sun star into the primordial wilderness and wash it with the waters of the four seas, could that resolve the fiery poison that now troubles us so?"

"Because the fiery poison has too great an effect, the Dao of the sun in the primordial wilderness may already have deviated, and the Heavenly Court should also correct it."

Qi and Fuxi looked to Di Jun, for as the deity of the sun star, this naturally required his decision. Di Jun, after a moment's hesitation, then said: "If we wash the sun star with the four seas' waters, the fiery‑poison predicament should be dispelled, and now that the sages have taken their positions, the Heavenly Court ought to raise its own voice."

"For the sake of teaching all beings, in the primordial wilderness the Heavenly Court is the orthodox lineage; as for when the sages' era will arrive, at the very least we should wait until we withdraw."

Having spoken these words, Di Jun's whole being exuded unmatched confidence and domineering aura, as if he were the supreme one between heaven and earth, not those sages!

"The Golden Crow bathing the sun is both a great calamity and a great boon for the primordial wilderness—nothing more than some karmic tribulation; even if it befalls us, what harm is there?"

Seeing Di Jun thus, Qi pondered and then said: "In that case, we might as well push the great calamity forward a bit; as for the Wu Clan, we could loosen the ropes bound around their necks and calves."

"Moreover, humanity, as the future protagonist chosen by the primordial way of man, should also endure some tempering in the fires of war; otherwise heavenly intent may not be predetermined."

"Since the myriad clans of the primordial wilderness desire to contend, let us give them a chance to compete; even if we withdraw, the next hegemon of this primordial world should be a talent that stands unbroken amidst the flames and bones."

"Even we, the Heavenly Court, did we not back then risk being strangled by the three clans, actively venturing into the starry void to provoke the great calamity?"

"Although this was not my intention, our great undertaking ultimately arose from this, and the primordial earth should be entrusted to the tribes upon it."

"As for the future Heavenly Court, surely the eightfold heavenly realms would suffice; after all, with sages still present occupying such vast resources, what could they possibly accomplish?"

"Rather than letting it gather dust in the Heavenly Court, we might better leave it to the myriad clans of the primordial wilderness, letting us strive to see if we can forge a realm of clear and orderly heaven and earth."

Qi's gaze fell upon the primordial wilderness; a flash of immense heroic spirit crossed his eyes as he shouted: "As the initiator of the last great calamity, I naturally cannot shirk this one; as for the future, the fortunes of beings shall be left to the beings themselves."

Di Jun, Fuxi, and Taiyi all voiced their approval: "Good!"

In the sky, countless thunderclaps exploded; the wilderness was exactly the time of the Awakening of Insects, amidst the sky-filling lightning, Qi and the others stood with hands behind their backs.

After Qi and the others pondered for a moment, Fuxi opened his mouth and said: "After all the sages return to their positions, would the Heavenly Court no longer levy taxes in the wilderness? As for the reason, it is already evident—educating the wilderness is the duty of the sages."

"Now that the sages have emerged, the Heavenly Court naturally has no reason to carry out this duty; not fulfilling this duty, it naturally follows that there is no reason to collect taxes."

Qi added:

"Now that the sages have emerged, matters of the wilderness naturally fall under the sages' governance; affairs on the earth naturally ought to be handled by the myriad tribes themselves, or be mediated by the sages."

"From now on, regarding wilderness affairs, the Heavenly Court need only oversee the gods of the divine path, as long as it does not violate heavenly laws; matters of the myriad tribes naturally belong to the myriad tribes."

"The changes of clouds, rain, mountains, and waters under heaven follow their own principles; in the past, when all beings were under the Heavenly Court's governance, the Heavenly Court naturally had to take responsibility for them and manage them directly."

"Now that the sages have appeared, with all beings under the sages, it naturally falls to the sages to handle them themselves."

Di Jun, after a moment's thought, also added:

"Now that the sages have emerged and founded their teachings, the sages are the most exalted of heaven and earth; their followers ought to be overseen by the sages themselves, and the Heavenly Court bears no supervisory responsibility."

"The sages bear the fruition of heaven and earth's Dao; the Heavenly Court has no responsibility in the wilderness anymore; from now on, refining and transforming chaotic qi to supplement the wilderness should be handled by the sages themselves."

"As for the Heavenly Court, we should also revere the sages; within the Heavenly Court, we should establish a position of Heavenly Venerable, whose rank surpasses that of all imperial sovereigns, without authority over the Four Sovereigns, standing equal to the Heavenly Emperor."

Fuxi and Qi both turned their gazes to Di Jun, instantly understanding his intent; inwardly they sighed at his cunning, thinking that after they leave the Heavenly Court, the Heavenly Court will likely never be peaceful again.

Fuxi and Qi spoke together in praise:

"This is excellent; the sages are the most exalted of heaven and earth, and thus it should be so."

Taiyi looked at the three before him; he merely disliked participating in such matters, not that he didn't understand, having held a high position for so long—how could he not be skilled at this?

But precisely because he knows this, Taiyi then spoke with reluctance:

"Are we not being too inhumane in entrapping the sages like this? Moreover, such actions—toward the future successor of the Heavenly Emperor—are they not excessively unkind?"

Qi glanced at Taiyi with surprise, and after a long while he sighed:

"Indeed, your Great Dao has given rise to strangeness; you, who usually fear that the world will not be chaotic, how could you utter such pure and sincere words? Moreover, do your words not even measure up to the Di Jun you once trapped, leaving him speechless?"

Fuxi also nodded in agreement; his innate divine nature is extremely stable, and under normal circumstances he would not change, but now Taiyi actually has such words—it seems the matter of bathing in the sun cannot be delayed.

Di Jun, clearly understanding Taiyi well, merely chuckled and said: "Then, according to what you say, is there anything that needs to be supplemented?"

Taiyi suddenly found it hard to keep up the act; after a slight cough, he said: "I recall that the two individuals in the West also have the potential to become sages, right? Why not let them step forward, which would also give us some justification."

"Otherwise, if we simply push this onto the sages by force, it would inevitably seem far-fetched, with a whiff of scheming against the sages; the Heavenly Court has always been upright, and this must not be spoken of to outsiders."

"Furthermore, the Xifang Dalu has long been impoverished; after those two become sages, we could also add some embellishments to the collected taxes."

"For example, in the past, taxes were paid solely by the Wu Clan; the other half of the Xifang Dalu's myriad tribes have, up to now, still not paid taxes."

"All beings in the wilderness are equal; how could we allow such tax evasion to occur? As for the taxes that the Wu Clan ought to pay, that naturally cannot be changed."

"After all, this has been the precedent; the Heavenly Court cannot lightly alter it. To implement this is simple: just spread word that the other half of the Xifang Dalu fails to pay its taxes."

"The myriad tribes on the wilderness continent will naturally resolve this for us, after all, it is not scarcity that we fear but inequality—throughout history, it has always been thus."

"Moreover, the Xifang Dalu has overpaid these taxes; those two will certainly be dissatisfied, and as long as they come forward, this matter can be fully accomplished."

Qi, Di Jun, and Fuxi all stared at Taiyi with shocked expressions; they never imagined that Taiyi would be such a person! (End of chapter)