Chapter 345: with translation of chapter title

345. Chapter 345 Zhunti enters the Wu Clan, a dilemma

Jieyin's silence made Zhunti increasingly anxious, and he could not help but speak:

"You and I are favored by the Western qi fortune; all our past struggles have been for this very purpose. Abandoning superficialities, discarding benevolence and righteousness, everything we do is for the West."

"What we seek is merely the revival of the West, for the sake of this continent; as for the peoples living upon it, we need only protect them from harm."

"In the past we fought the Wu Clan, wandering across the Eastern Continent—have we not already given enough? Now we merely wish to preserve ourselves; what fault is there in that?"

"Moreover, as long as you and I are here, if the Wu Clan still wishes to unify the Primordial Wasteland and become its hegemon, they cannot continue to oppress the myriad races."

"Otherwise, the world will be in constant turmoil; they may have temporary strength, but will they have lasting strength?"

Jieyin gazed at the agitated Zhunti before him, and finally broke his silence to speak:

"The Wu Clan are not Western beings, nor do they consider themselves Western beings; letting such a race rule the West, how could the West possibly revive?"

"Junior Brother, facing this calamity before you, you have lost your composure; even though the enemy is many and we few, we are not without a chance of survival."

"To let the Wu Clan rule the Western Continent is unacceptable; their past attitude toward the myriad races of the West has not changed to this day."

"How could such a rule be acceptable for the West? Now they are confined to a single place, yet still able to conceal themselves; if they ever get a chance to enter the East, the Western Continent will likely be abandoned."

"If enemies come, junior brother, just go ahead first; I will do my utmost to block them for you. Once you escape the predicament, until you attain sagehood, you need not appear again."

Zhunti heard these words and shouted loudly: 'Senior Brother! How could I be one who clings to life and fears death? Back then, you and I dwelt together on Mount Sumeru, barely getting by under the slight pressure of the demon ancestor Rahu; now you would have me abandon you—how could I do that?'

Jieyin merely shook his head and sighed: 'Sages cannot lightly interfere in the affairs of the Primordial Wasteland; the Three Pure Ones and the goddess Nüwa, after attaining sagehood, have never set foot in the Primordial Wasteland.'

"This precedent lies before us; it is also our shared consensus. Otherwise, like the Three Pure Ones establishing their teachings, we could have done so long ago."

Zhunti, flushed with urgency, seemed to think of something and quickly asked: 'Senior Brother, you previously said the Wu Clan does not acknowledge themselves as Westerners, so we cannot deal with them. If they were to declare themselves Westerners and abandon their ancestral land at Mount Buzhou, would you agree to ask them to act?'

Upon hearing this, Jieyin hesitated at once, looking at Zhunti before him and seeing the light in his eyes; Jieyin finally still nodded silently.

Zhunti was overjoyed at once and quickly said:

"Good, since senior brother has agreed, then I will go to the Wu Clan to consult with the twelve Ancestral Witches on how to proceed."

Jieyin continued to nod silently; Zhunti departed happily, having finally seen a glimmer of hope, and dared not delay any further.

After a few days, Zhunti arrived at Di Jiang's tribe and stood before its gate, looking at the Wu tribesmen blocking his way. Zhunti spoke: 'I, Zhunti from Mount Sumeru, have come to meet Ancestral Witch Di Jiang to discuss the affiliation of the Western Continent.'

The Wu tribesman at the gate did not know Zhunti, but seeing his extraordinary appearance, he dared not block him lightly and thus said: 'You, Daoist, wait here a moment; let me pass word, and after verifying your identity you may enter.'

Zhunti made a Daoist salute and said 'good'.

The Wu tribesman hurried to find the captain, saying the visitor was extraordinary, and immediately spoke of discussing the Western Continent's affiliation.

The captain also did not know Zhunti, but dared not delay; he pulled the gatekeeper and went to find the Grand Witch to report this.

When Zhunti entered Di Jiang's tribe, the high moon already hung in the sky. Looking at the Grand Witch Chi You leading the way, Zhunti asked: 'Grand Witch Chi You, I do not know when I may meet Ancestral Witch Di Jiang.'

Chi You glanced at Zhunti; on the battlefield back then, he had nearly been swept to death by a casual swipe from this Daoist, barely managing to save his life.

Now, having him receive Zhunti, Chi You naturally had no pleasant expression, and spoke impatiently:

"'Lord Di Jiang is just ahead; follow me—why so much talk?'"

Chi You walked ahead, muttering discontentedly:

"'I don't know why the lord values this fellow so much; clearly it's time to sleep, yet he insists on disturbing people's peaceful dreams.'"

Zhunti remained calm; Chi You's words fell on his ears and had no effect whatsoever.

He was merely a Grand Witch; although his strength rivaled that of a near-sage, in Zhunti's eyes he was no different from an ordinary mortal.

Without cultivating the Great Dao, his physique and witchcraft may be troublesome, but they are not unbeatable; it's merely a matter of wasting a little effort.

After walking for about a quarter hour, Zhunti finally saw Di Jiang himself; unlike Chi You's attitude, Di Jiang was extremely warm toward Zhunti.

Zhunti had barely entered the hall when Di Jiang eagerly walked to his side; though the rites were rough and not standard, they showed considerable sincerity.

Di Jiang invited Zhunti to sit, and after dismissing the attendants, he then asked:

"'Great God Zhunti, you have come this time to speak of discussing the Western Continent's affiliation; I do not understand what you mean.'"

When Di Jiang heard of Zhunti's arrival, his first reaction was disbelief; upon hearing that Zhunti had come to discuss the Western Continent's affiliation, he wondered whether the other side was preparing for a decisive battle with the Wu Clan. He initially thought it was false news, but seeing it reported by the Grand Witch, he shifted to half-belief, and after Chi You confirmed it, Di Jiang became overjoyed.

After all, Zhunti came alone to discuss this, showing his determination; Di Jiang naturally responded with utmost enthusiasm.

Zhunti first slowly sipped tea, then spoke: 'I have personally come this time to seek Ancestral Witch Di Jiang; naturally I am not here to cause trouble, coming alone to demonstrate our sincerity.'

"I can frankly say: the Wu Clan wishes to rule the West; we can not only refrain from opposing them, but even take the lead in persuading the myriad races of the West."

"With the prestige of my two master brothers, the Wu Clan could even seize the entire Western Continent without bloodshed; surely Ancestral Witch Di Jiang knows this as well."

Di Jiang nodded; they naturally knew this, for back when Jieyin and Zhunti stood forth with a roar, they directly united the scattered myriad races of the West into a battle line.

Regardless of losses, in the hands of Jieyin and Zhunti, the myriad races of the West could still work together wholeheartedly, setting aside their former petty squabbles.

On the battlefield, the myriad races of the West led by Jieyin and Zhunti caused the Wu Clan, including their twelve Ancestral Witches, to suffer greatly.

Looking at Zhunti before him, Di Jiang said without denial: 'This I naturally believe, Great God Zhunti; after all, we here have suffered quite a loss.' 'But since the Great God is willing to come and discuss with us, it is certainly not to show off martial might here, to display his prestige in the West.'

"Moreover, I also believe the Great God comes with sincerity; our Wu Clan also does not wish to recklessly wield weapons, to reignite war in the Western Continent. Therefore, the Great God may plainly state: what are the conditions for letting the West fall under our Wu Clan's rule?"

Zhunti did not directly answer, but merely asked:

"'The prolonged warfare has lasted too long, making me forget when the Wu Clan first arrived in the West; I do not know if Ancestral Witch Di Jiang retains any memory of this.'"

Di Jiang heard this and blinked slightly, not knowing what Zhunti was getting at, but after thinking carefully he said: 'So much time has passed that even I do not recall; but at least there have been over a hundred yuanhui. Nowadays, peaceful days are few; I do not know why the Great God would ask this.'

Zhunti let out a long sigh and then asked again:

"'If even Ancestral Witch Di Jiang does not remember, does he still recall how long the Wu Clan dwelt in the Eastern Continent?'"

Di Jiang furrowed his brows, but still explained:

"'The Wu Clan was born late; they did not linger long in the Eastern Continent before the Heavenly Court dispatched them to the Western Continent—probably only a few yuanhui, not exceeding ten.'"

Zhunti nodded again and then asked:

"'If so, has Ancestral Witch Di Jiang, together with the Wu Clan, after dwelling so long in the Western Continent until today, ever felt whether he himself is a Westerner?'"

Di Jiang stared blankly, looking at Zhunti before him, unsure how to respond; Zhunti did not wait for his answer and continued: 'Since the Wu Clan entered the West, they have enslaved myriad beings, wantonly slaughtered them, and regarded them as blood food—how could this not provoke desperate resistance from the myriad races?'

"The beings of the other continents, seeing such oppression upon the Western Continent, naturally must resist to the death; though the Western Continent is poor, it still possesses vigor, and cannot tolerate such a race."

Di Jiang fell into silence; only after a long while did they open their mouth to say: "Zhunti great god, what words do you have to say? Please speak frankly."

Zhunti nodded, speaking softly: "Di Jiang ancestor witch, today I come for peace, willing to give the Wu Clan and Xifang Dalu beings a choice: death battle or peace."

Di Jiang's brows furrowed tighter; Zhunti's firm attitude made them somewhat uncomfortable, but Di Jiang still continued to wait for further words.

"The Wu Clan's desire to unify Xifang Dalu, or to conquer the entire Honghuang earth, I think has never ceased."

"Today I have come specially to ask Di Jiang ancestor witch: do you choose death battle, or choose peace to unify Xifang?"

Di Jiang spoke in a deep voice:

'"What is peace? What is death battle?"'

Zhunti calmly said: "If the Wu Clan acknowledges itself as one of the myriad clans of Xifang, abandons Mount Buzhou ancestral land, takes Xifang beings as its own, and thereafter no longer enslaves Xifang beings."

"My fellow brothers can travel on behalf of the Wu Clan in Xifang, persuading them to submit to the Wu Clan's rule, enabling the Wu Clan to unify Xifang without moving a single soldier, a bloodless unification—this is peace."

"If the Wu Clan does not acknowledge itself as one of Xifang's myriad clans, still regards Mount Buzhou as ancestral land, and takes Dongfang beings as its own, then it comes as an outsider to invade Xifang Dalu."

"My fellow brothers will naturally lead Xifang beings to fight to the death, resist the foreign enemy, exhaust the last drop of blood of Xifang's myriad clans, and cannot allow the foreign enemy to ravage Xifang Dalu—this is death battle."

"Di Jiang ancestor witch should also believe that my two brothers have such ability; peace or death battle, please Di Jiang ancestor witch make a choice."

Di Jiang's brows instantly tightened; they felt Zhunti's words too thorny, death battle absolutely unacceptable, but if abandoning Mount Buzhou ancestral land and taking Xifang beings as its own, it would undoubtedly be a betrayal of oneself.

Yet the person before them possesses the ability to speak thus; with the prestige of Jieyin and Zhunti, they could absolutely lead the myriad clans of Xifang and the Wu Clan to fight to the end.

Zhunti's words completely put Di Jiang in a dilemma; no matter how they choose, it seems like a mistake.

Looking at Zhunti before them, Di Jiang hesitated a moment then spoke: "This matter is too great; not I alone can decide it, nor is the Wu Clan solely under my rule; it requires the twelve ancestor witches to gather together and discuss before a decision can be made."

"Zhunti great god may stay briefly among the Wu Clan; even if the matter cannot be done, I will also ensure the great god's safety."

Zhunti nodded, saying: "This is natural; to show the sincerity of we myriad clans of Xifang, I will later send a message to my elder brother, inviting him to enter Di Jiang's tribe together, to await your discussion of a result, how about that?"

Di Jiang naturally had no objection to this; as for the idea of besieging and killing Jieyin and Zhunti to undermine the resistance of the myriad clans of Xifang, they had never even considered it.

"If they did so, even if they later ruled Xifang Dalu, there would surely be continual trouble afterward, and it would even damage the Wu Clan's reputation throughout Honghuang."

"By then, let alone unifying Honghuang, merely avoiding being wantonly targeted by the infuriated innate divinities would already allow one to shout 'Father God bless us'."

"The other party comes bearing hope for peace; even if the Wu Clan does not agree to their demands, they must still guarantee their safety within the Wu Clan."

"Otherwise, the stain incurred cannot be washed away by a little blood; amidst the gods' dominion over Honghuang, even time cannot erase these stains."

After parting with Di Jiang, Zhunti finally breathed a sigh of relief, hurriedly sending a message to Jieyin to let them enter the Wu Clan for refuge.

"Regardless of whether the Wu Clan is willing to change allegiance and become a member of the myriad clans of Xifang, at least the present crisis can be temporarily delayed for a period."

"They can even accumulate strength within the Wu Clan, prepare for the verification of the Dao; even if things cannot be changed, they can also preserve hope for a sage in Xifang."

"As for verifying the Dao, that cannot be done within the Wu Clan; it requires heavenly timing, earthly advantage, and human harmony. Heavenly timing can be waited for; human harmony in Xifang Dalu needs no concern from them."

"But as for earthly advantage, it cannot be provided within the Wu Clan; the place of their origin should be Mount Sumeru, and verifying the Dao is likewise."

"Meanwhile, Di Jiang was frantically sending messages, summoning the remaining eleven ancestor witches to hurry over for a major discussion."

"Di Jiang at this moment did not want to wait any longer; Zhunti's words twisted their feelings into a tangled knot, making it impossible for them to calm down."

"At this moment, dark and windy night, which should be a time for deep sleep, instead had Di Jiang tossing and turning on their bed, unable to fall asleep."

"After a long while, Di Jiang suddenly rose, gazing at the sun gradually rising on the horizon, dawn's first light; such a beautiful scene, yet they uttered a curse. (End of chapter)"