Chapter 344: with translation of chapter title

344. Chapter 344: Disaster! Jieyin and Zhunti selling Xifang Dalu?

By the time Di Jun arrived, he already saw Taiyi vividly describing to Qi the scene they had just witnessed, that blissful expression so lifelike it could be called perfect.

Qi clapped happily at the side, seeing Di Jun rush over, he lightly laughed and said: "You two are deeply devoted as husband and wife, and it's not something shameful; why are you so flustered, not even noticing, your hairpin is a mess—where's the bearing of a Heavenly Emperor?"

Di Jun heard this, slightly startled, quickly reached up to adjust his jade crown, but found nothing wrong, instantly realizing Qi was teasing him, anger rising from embarrassment, he said:

"Between gentlemen there are no false words; you, despite being the Heavenly Emperor of the Heavenly Court, how could you engage in such childish play? It's utterly immature!"

"I was in a hurry and actually fell for your trick, becoming a laughingstock—you're acting less than human!"

Qi and Taiyi were already amused by Di Jun's flustered attempt to fix his crown; hearing his words, they burst out laughing even louder.

Taiyi laughed loudly: "Qi, look at him—he's flustered over something utterly ordinary; seeing him like this, it's as if he's ashamed to be seen, suggesting there's something you and I don't know."

Di Jun, in response, angrily said:

"You didn't report, barged in without saying, and upon seeing us you immediately turned and fled—any normal person would be upset, yet now you come to accuse me!"

Di Jun's words failed to draw Qi and Taiyi's attention; only Taiyi vividly said: "It's a pity you didn't see it, Qi—just now Elder Brother's demeanor, together with Changxi, was like a divine couple; I don't know what method he used, but Elder Brother actually allowed him to gently touch his head."

"We've been acquainted so long, never have we seen such a demeanor; even when I arrived, Elder Brother didn't notice, showing how absorbed he was at the time."

Qi could barely suppress the smile at the corner of his mouth, but considering Di Jun was right before him, he didn't dare laugh too loudly, lest he provoke him.

Seeing Di Jun's face gradually reddening, Qi could only affect a light cough twice and said: "This is your fault, Taiyi—Di Jun and Changxi, as a married couple, being intimate in private is normal; you didn't report and barged in, which is truly improper."

Having said that, Qi could hardly restrain himself; his laughter distorted his words, but he forced himself to endure and continued: "Di Jun, you too—now that the world is bright and clear, you and Changxi should also be mindful of the influence, cough cough."

"Moreover, even though you are in the Heavenly Court, as the Heavenly Emperor, an innate god of the Mixed Yuan Dao, Taiyi arrived without any concealment, yet you showed not the slightest awareness."

"Such laxity is not the way of cultivation; although, cough cough, this is Taiyi's fault, but you also bear some responsibility."

After Qi finished speaking, seeing no reaction from the two, he himself started laughing first; Taiyi likewise said:

"Qi's words are reasonable; this is indeed the brothers' fault, and Taiyi owes an apology to his elder brother—he should not have disturbed the elder brother and his sister-in-law's enjoyment."

Taiyi put on a sincere appearance, but the smile at the corner of his mouth and his twisted expression showed not the slightest remorse.

Di Jun merely looked at the two before him, his face reddening further; after a while, he somewhat embarrassedly said: "We were not doing what you imagine! In fact, a happy event has occurred, and in the moment we couldn't help ourselves."

As he spoke, the red on Di Jun's face faded, the little anger he had dissipated, and instead a hint of joy showed.

Qi and Taiyi were shocked by Di Jun's change; in their past interactions, Di Jun had always been most concerned about his dignity, yet today Taiyi exposed his private matter and the two teased him so, yet he still showed this change.

In that moment, Qi and Taiyi had their hearts drawn to the happy event Di Jun mentioned, and Qi hurriedly asked:

"Come on, tell us quickly—what happy event could make you lose composure like this? Even the dignity you used to care about most, you don't even care about now."

Taiyi's eyes were also full of joy for Di Jun; although he still didn't know exactly what it was, being able to make Di Jun like this, the surprise must be considerable.

Qi felt the same, his eyes full of anticipation, while Di Jun, under their gazes, happily announced:

"Xihe and Changxi have both conceived; before long, I shall become a father."

Qi and Taiyi immediately rose in astonishment; Qi hurriedly said: "Really! Congratulations! Congratulations! Although we had expected it, we never thought it would come so soon—Taiyi, before long we too will become uncles."

Both felt genuine joy for Di Jun and looked forward to his forthcoming offspring; Taiyi added: "Elder brother, since your child is about to be born, the position of Heavenly Emperor of the Heavenly Court naturally should also have a share for him."

"Perhaps he cannot inherit the Heavenly Emperor's exalted rank, but there should be a regional emperor for him, and the remaining siblings should also have positions as heavenly kings and princesses."

Qi also nodded in agreement, and Di Jun said with great confidence: "This is natural; we founded the Heavenly Court, so our descendants naturally should enjoy its honor—being children of the sun, moon, yin and yang, they must certainly be extraordinary."

"Moreover, with our careful guidance, their achievements will surely surpass those of the myriad clans' offspring in the primordial era; even if the Nine Sons of the Dragon established great fame, they would still not match our descendants."

Qi also saw no problem with this; inheriting the lineage of the sun, moon, yin and yang, their foundation is outstanding, and they have the guidance of myself, Taiyi, Di Jun, Fuxi and other top innate gods.

In the future, they will surely become the pillars of the Heavenly Court; reaching the half-sage stage is merely a definite step in their destined goal.

Qi laughed: "As the heavenly prince and princess of the Heavenly Court, if they were inferior to the Nine Sons, that would actually be remarkable."

"Who knows if among them there might be someone of extraordinary talent capable of inheriting your Golden Crow bloodline; if such a person exists, perhaps after the great calamity we could even take the Sun Star with us."

As Qi spoke thus, the smile on his mouth could hardly be concealed, as if he were picturing them someday rolling away the Sun Star.

Di Jun felt the same, while Taiyi, chuckling beside him, added: "Even if no Golden Crow is born, having someone who can carry your sister-in-law's Jade Rabbit bloodline would be fine; though the Moon Star is lighter than the Sun Star, bringing it along would still be worthwhile."

Everyone, upon hearing this, burst into laughter, hearts filled with immense anticipation.

Yet what Qi, Taiyi, and Di Jun never expected was that Xihe and Changxi would prove so promising, and their offspring at present are all Golden Crows and Jade Rabbits.

The degree of their delight far surpasses what the three had imagined at this time.

After the three chatted a while longer, Di Jun then happily departed, preparing to share his present joy with Fuxi.

In the primordial wilderness, atop Five Zhuang Observatory on Mount Longevity, Hongyun and Zhenyuanzi, together with eight others, had already made preparations and set out for Xifang Dalu.

Among the ten people, four are Innate Gods of the Mixed Yuan Dao, six are Half-Sages; such a luxurious assembly, all just to receive Jieyin and Zhunti—whether it is their honor or misfortune remains unknown.

Within the Wu Clan's Zhurong tribe in Xifang Dalu, Jieyin and Zhunti were preaching in a small tribe when suddenly their hearts trembled, feeling that great calamity was at hand.

At this moment the two were separated; Jieyin felt a sudden intuitive prompt and hurriedly turned to look for Zhunti.

Not long after, the two met in a mountain hollow; Zhunti, upon seeing Jieyin, exclaimed anxiously: "Senior Brother, disaster! I was just preaching when suddenly I felt an intuitive urge, and that's when I observed our qi flow. I saw only black with a hint of red—truly a blood-light calamity; judging by this omen, it is extremely perilous, and our lives are in danger!"

Jieyin also wore a solemn face: "Don't hide it, Junior Brother; I too sense it—this danger surpasses even that maleficent being we encountered in the Sea of Blood and the Nether River back then."

"Back then, our qi flow merely had some ups and downs, and it also concealed a bit of opportunity, indicating that fortune and misfortune depend on each other."

"And the result was as expected: we survived that calamity unscathed and even subdued the six demon heads Eyesee and others, making them our guardians."

"But looking at today's signs, death's fate clings to us, blood-light shows—it's dire; you must quickly join me in deducing heavenly secrets to seek a way to avoid the calamity."

Zhunti hastily said:

"Good."

As the words fell, Jieyin and Zhunti's vital energies intertwined; a glint of gold flashed in both their eyes, yet within their gaze there was nothing to be seen—only the Five Aggregates were empty.

The technique used by Jieyin and Zhunti was jointly created by the two, comprising six divine abilities; this is one of them, called the Heavenly Eye.

It perceives the birth, death, suffering and joy of all beings, and all myriad forms in the world, without obstruction; it can even see scenes of the past and future.

In Jieyin and Zhunti's vision, they saw ten people setting out from Mount Longevity, heading westward in migration; what they perceived was only a vague shadow.

Although they could not see the details, Jieyin and Zhunti immediately understood the source of danger; since they could set out from Mount Longevity, it must involve Hongyun and Zhenyuanzi as well.

Moreover, given Hongyun's extensive friendships, gathering ten Half-Sages and Mixed Yuan Dao adepts is not difficult.

Now, in the wilderness, aside from the Heavenly Court, only Hongyun possesses such power; as long as Hongyun takes part, Zhenyuanzi will surely be involved as well.

With their Earth Scripture's ability, in trapping enemies and defense, few under heaven can surpass them; such a lineup, it's no wonder their fortunes have changed so dramatically! The thing that could draw them into action, the only thing Jieyin and Zhunti can think of, is the Primordial Purple Qi they possess.

Both Jieyin and Zhunti were filled with indignation over this, and Zhunti even burst out scolding:

"I foolishly thought these two were among the rare virtuous ones in the wilderness, never expecting them to be such profit‑driven scoundrels!"

"They pretended to be friends, putting on a show of repairing the earth veins of Xifang Dalu, bestowing kindness all over the wilderness, when in fact they were merely coveting others' treasures!"

"We regarded them as friends, so we could not bear to go to Wanshou Mountain's Five Zhuang Temple to do things that would harm that friendship; the result was that they meant us no harm, yet they harbored malicious intent toward us!"

"Despite our six great divine abilities, we have never seen their true hearts!"

Jieyin was also furious, but compared to Zhunti's outburst, he retained a bit more composure; after shaking his head, he said in a deep voice, "Junior brother, you are fixated on appearances; although we now face crisis, we must not lose our calm—we have simply misjudged them."

"Moreover, the Primordial Purple Qi is priceless; now that the five sages of the wilderness have taken their seats, opportunities are scarce, and those wolves and tigers are naturally anxious about it."

"Being anxious inside, they cannot hide their superficial benevolence; their true nature is revealed."

"Facing such danger, anger solves nothing; we must look ahead and consider how to break the impasse—that is the proper way."

Upon hearing Jieyin's words, Zhunti could only nod, striving to calm himself; Jieyin waited a moment, and seeing Zhunti recover, he then continued:

"At present, we are no match for them; the only recourse is to bring in a new force, whether friend or foe, for only when the situation falls into chaos do we have a slim chance of survival."

Zhunti nodded and said, "Senior brother, your words are sound; I am fixated on appearances, but once this crisis is over I will purify my speech to restrain my heart."

Jieyin pressed his palms together and said, "Good."

The two fell silent, beginning to ponder how to break the impasse; with Hongyun and Zhenyuanzi now within sight, attempting to flee to other continents is clearly too late.

Within Xifang Dalu, the only force capable of resisting such power is the Wu Clan.

The twelve ancestral witches each possess strength comparable to the Primordial Dao, even ranking among the elite; if we could persuade them to act, this predicament could be resolved.

Both Jieyin and Zhunti thought of this, exchanged a glance, and knew the other was considering the same; Jieyin said with some difficulty, "Junior brother, the Wu Clan and the twelve ancestral witches are indeed a way to break the impasse, but how are we to summon them? After all, we have been enemies for so long, only now easing slightly."

"But that is limited to merely meeting without fighting; to ask them to lend their aid against such a formidable foe is nothing short of a fantasy."

After a long silence, Zhunti's face flashed with a hint of ruthlessness, and he said:

"Senior brother, at this point we can only go to the Wu Clan for help; if we do not, we are in danger."

"We are able to preach our Dao among the Wu Clan, which is a tacit understanding between the twelve ancestral witches and us; its purpose is to have the Wu Clan integrate into the myriad peoples of Xifang Dalu."

"Today we have met with great calamity and need their aid; the price we must pay is nothing less than Xifang Dalu itself."

Jieyin's expression suddenly changed, and he refused, saying:

"This is inadvisable; the twelve ancestral witches harbor great ambition, and we are bound to the beings of Xifang Dalu—how could we, for our own safety, push the myriad peoples of Xifang Dalu into the abyss?"

Zhunti retorted, "Senior brother! Without us in the myriad peoples of Xifang Dalu, how could there ever be a day of peace for them?"

"For now we still have room to negotiate with them; but if we suffer this calamity, the beings of Xifang Dalu will truly have no hope."

"Xifang Dalu needs the birth of a sage! Without sages, without us, how can Xifang Dalu talk of revival? How can it compete with Dongfang Dalu?"

"If we attain sagehood, with our hearts set on Xifang Dalu, how could the Wu Clan dare to ravage its peoples? Senior brother, you are fixated on appearances!"

"In extraordinary circumstances, extraordinary measures are required; surely the myriad peoples of Xifang Dalu will understand us!"

Jieyin gazed at Zhunti before him and fell into silence. (End of chapter)