Chapter 65

In the Yao calendar, 368 yuan, ten hui, twelve yun, Xihe gave birth to ten golden crows; the Heavenly Emperor was greatly delighted, and thus widely invited the renowned figures of the wilderness to celebrate his son's birth.

Attendees ranged from the Six Saints down to scattered immortals, including members of great teachings, descendants of great clans, Heavenly Court immortals, and even ancient powerhouses such as Zhenyuanzi, Hongyun, and the Twelve Ancestral Witches.

The scale of the gathering was such that it could be called rarely seen in ancient and modern times!

And since you are both the chief of Shouyang Mountain and a disciple of Taiqing, you naturally were also on the invitation list…

You temporarily entrusted your current affairs to Xuandu and others who had been specially trained as backup successors, repeatedly urging them to make sure they caused no trouble; only then could you reluctantly rest easy and ascend to heaven.

Upon arriving at the thirty-three layers of heaven, both familiar and unfamiliar, you were filled with emotion for a moment, and then received a warm welcome from the Heavenly Court.

You gave a slight smile, but in your heart you had already made your plans.

After the formalities, you couldn't help but ask your master your doubt: why, though you are clearly usurping the Heavenly Court's authority, does the Heavenly Emperor not take action against you?

The Heavenly Emperor laughed heartily, then encouraged you, telling you to continue governing the people well in the wilderness for him, and if you needed any support, just speak up in the future.

Faced with everyone's eagerness for "progress," you quickly tried to cool them down, for in the previous two lifetimes Di Jun had variously slaughtered humanity, and if humanity were exposed now, it would be doomed.

Huanglong Zhenren's mouth was practically splitting from smiling; ever since he authorized you to let you raise his banner and sweep the Eastern Sea, his merit has never ceased—though exactly how much is hard to gauge—but it has already propelled him from a Taiyi Golden Immortal to a Great Luo in just these two great cycles!

It's obvious that everyone wishes they could pounce on humanity every day and ruthlessly rack up merit!

The two Western Saints chatted with you at length, taking particular interest in how you had the people engage in poverty relief and literacy campaigns across the lands while neglecting your own cultivation; the two saints praised you as a sage, and the Zhunti Saint even remarked that, had it not been for the eldest senior brother beating them to it, he would truly have wanted to take you as his disciple, etc.

Xihe pushed a baby carriage, silently passing by…

Thinking of this, you couldn't help but feel that your inadvertent success had turned out well—you had originally given up cultivation to save humanity, and now your low cultivation had unexpectedly become a protective charm for yourself!

In your plot to seize power, the hardest part is ensuring you aren't taken down by the Heavenly Emperor before your merit shines across the wilderness; but once you truly cast your light upon the world, you will become unstoppable!

Furthermore, the core of power in the wilderness ultimately lies in cultivation; as a mere True Immortal, you hardly look like someone capable of rebelling against the Heavenly Court…

As for why he suddenly abandoned his usual composure and became so agitated, it was naturally because of Huanglong Zhenren, who was being tightly surrounded by the disciples of the two teachings in the center, drawing envious, jealous, and hateful glances from all sides.

Well, now there are thirteen suns in total!

From afar you could see the six saints, and this was also the first time you had witnessed all six saints gathered together.

You had hidden your ambitions deep down; before the Heavenly Emperor you were a loyal, steadfast minister whose loyalty could be gauged by the sun and moon, and in the eyes of the myriad tribes of the wilderness you were also a wholeheartedly dutiful official who governed with integrity.

You: …

It is clear that after wiping out the feudal order of the three ancient tribes, the Heavenly Emperor was immediately blessed with ten sons, and he was overjoyed at this double delight.

Everyone was already a bit crazy, and now with this concrete example before them, they became even crazier…

This…… is it too strange? I am clearly usurping his authority, so why isn't he dealing with me?!

"Senior brother, I really want to make progress!"

The myriad tribes know only of that person's deeds, and have not heard the Heavenly Emperor's orders…

Originally you and they had agreed to exchange one person per yuan-hui; by now two yuan-hui have passed, so several batches have already been rotated, but first, given humanity's current state, it's hard to find tasks for them to help with, and second, a yuan-hui is still too short, so thus only Huanglong's progress remains obvious.

Then, when such a subject is placed alongside the Heavenly Emperor, who exactly is the true Heavenly Emperor…

One is gaunt—this is Jieyin; the other is portly—this is Zhunti; you paid your respects to each in turn.

Although the disciples of the Sect of the Cutting and Elucidation are followers of the saints, attaining the Great Luo realm is ultimately difficult; to date only a few such as Guang Chengzi and Duobao have managed it, yet Huanglong has now surpassed them, and this is entirely due to the effect of merit.

Donghuang:?

If such a person existed—one whose public virtue is faultless, whose private virtue is unmatched, whose governance of the world yields remarkable results, who is revered by all the people, and whose praise is heard everywhere, even the officials of the Heavenly Court would acknowledge his person and his achievements.

The Heavenly Emperor and Donghuang personally received you, and they praised you as the Heavenly Court's foremost loyal minister whose loyalty cannot be spoken of, saying that with you present, the great ideal of equality among the myriad tribes of the wilderness will surely be realized one day!

You harbored the delusional scheme of overthrowing superiors and overcoming the strong with the weak, yet you secretly concealed all such fantasies.

Taiqing stared at you strangely, falling into contemplation…

Waiting, waiting.

You naturally dared not claim credit, feeling humbled and fearful, and merely called yourself an agent of Heaven governing the people, for there is no second sun in the sky, and your heart holds only the Heavenly Emperor as your sun!

You naturally first paid respectful respects to your master, the Taiqing Saint, and then proceeded to pay respects to the other saints in turn.

Yuqing appears as a gentle middle-aged Daoist, Shangqing as a sharp-edged youthful Daoist, after which come Nüwa and the two Western Saints.

"Why do you think the Heavenly Emperor would target a mere True Immortal?"

Of course, the Heavenly Emperor could easily use his supreme divine powers to suppress any rebellion, but what if the billions of demon folk across the wilderness did not deny his throne, instead merely shouting the merits and name of some person, demanding that person come to rule the world?

Nüwa you had already seen before, so you mainly observed the two Western Saints whom you had never met; in your three simulations, those two Western Saints seemed to be offline—whether it was the witch–monster war or the monsters slaughtering each other, you never heard them take part, and their presence was almost negligible…

The ruler of the world is not necessarily secure just because of high cultivation; although power stems from strength, ultimately it depends on whether the governed populace accepts the ruler.

But…… does low cultivation truly mean one cannot rebel?

This is a matter of great importance!

Indeed, although in this life you have seized the basic authority of the Heavenly Court, first, the human vanguards you appointed are all legitimate registered officials of the Heavenly Court; nominally they are still Heavenly Court personnel, only directly under your management, and in a sense you are merely a regional governor.

Acting upright, sitting properly, loyal above to the Heavenly Emperor, winning over the hearts of the people below, you intended to use pure popular sentiment to shake this unshakeable Heavenly Emperor's position…

After much persuasion, this lot eager for progress finally reluctantly settled down, whereupon Guang Chengzi and the other disciples of the Sect of the Cutting and Elucidation led you, a senior disciple of the Three Pure Ones of the Mystic Gate, to go pay respects to the saints…

You quickly corrected yourself: "There is no third sun in the sky; my heart holds only the Heavenly Emperor and Donghuang as my two suns!"

Upon hearing this, Taiqing instantly gave him a gentle look…

Guang Chengzi excitedly pushed his way out from among his fellow disciples, grabbed your hand, and earnestly expressed his longing for merit—no, his yearning to contribute to humanity!

Shortly after leaving the Lingxiao Treasure Hall, you encountered a group of familiar people.

Loyalty! Sincerity!

You kept having doubts in your heart, but ultimately you didn't dare to ask this vital question directly…

Therefore, you must not voluntarily propose any overreaching ideas, for before Di Jun, who holds absolute power advantage, any trick is futile; he could crush you as easily as squashing a bug, so you can only passively await the myriad demons to vent the people's will.

Nüwa couldn't help but laugh, and you suddenly realized: it was simply because you were too weak!

Awaiting that distant, unattainable moment…

…

(End of chapter)