Chapter 582: Playing the Move in the Northwest

In the pavilion, the Daoist sat cross-legged with closed eyes.

The sun, moon, and stars turned outside the window.

Within the Daoist’s heart, there seemed to be sun, moon, and stars as well.

The two closest and brightest among them, one to the left and one to the right, hung just above his head.

One was a deeper level of the Dao of life and death, namely the further advancement of “Life-Death Creation”; the other was “Heaven-Earth Creation,” known even to the Old Man of Heaven—both were within arm’s reach.

To reach up and pluck the stars was to grasp the Great Dao.

It was not that the act of raising one’s hand was difficult, but that the Daoist deliberately refrained from reaching, continuing instead to delve deeper into insight.

Unawares, a letter appeared upon the table before him.

The envelope bore no name, simple and elegant.

Lin Jue opened his eyes, and the fox lying beside him immediately said:

“It was Pu Mei who brought it back! Pu Mei waited three years right in front of the Lady Waistflower’s cave for this letter!”

“Took long enough…”

Lin Jue spoke, then opened the envelope.

Inside the letter was only one line of text:

If you can defeat the God of Floating Pool, I will come to aid you.

“Of course…”

Lin Jue thought to himself.

The cave in Qingyan County was indeed once the cultivation site of Lady Yao Hua; though the one inside was likely not Lady Yao Hua herself, she was directly connected to her.

Thus, when the time was truly necessary, one could use it to contact Lady Yao Hua.

But whether that time would come, and whether Lady Yao Hua would respond, depended on your own ability.

Previously, Lin Jue clearly lacked this qualification.

Now, he was nearly there.

Yet this “of course” went beyond that.

Lin Jue was also reflecting on another matter—

In the Old Man of Heaven’s divination, Lin Jue had never once seen Lady Yao Hua appear, even when the God of Floating Pool finally came to his door. Lin Jue had originally speculated the reasons might be many: perhaps the time gap was too great, making the Old Man of Heaven’s divination increasingly unreliable; or perhaps Lady Yao Hua, as a great being of the demon race, was beyond his divination or deliberately obscured from it.

Or perhaps Lady Yao Hua had other schemes.

Now it seemed the last possibility likely held the greatest weight.

Lady Yao Hua had been personally defeated by the Old Man of Heaven—he was her old adversary, her former acquaintance, and he knew her well.

Having planned and waited for years, she would not act rashly. Looking back, she likely realized that in the illusion, Lin Jue was still no match for the God of Floating Pool, let alone the Purple Emperor. At such a moment, even if she emerged to help, victory was not assured—so she chose to watch, to let the lives of herself and her fellow disciples wear down the Purple Emperor’s strength—

For instance, the God of Floating Pool had already retired; even if summoned again by the Purple Emperor, it would be at most once more.

For instance, Lin Jue’s prestige among mortals was immense; when clashing with the Purple Emperor, beyond direct confrontation with the God of Floating Pool, he would inevitably erode the Purple Emperor’s mortal worship.

For instance, the southern pantheon might rise again.

For instance, the natural law of rise and fall, union and division, dynastic change.

Only when the time was ripe would she emerge.

“Hmph.”

Lin Jue let out a soft snort and tossed the letter into the air.

Puff! A burst of flame instantly erupted.

This caught the fox’s attention; it leapt up, clawing at the floating fire, then at the falling ashes.

Only when the ashes became dust, then powder, did it stop, turning its head curiously: “Why burn it? Why not keep it in a box?”

But the Daoist had already closed his eyes again, continuing his meditation, utterly ignoring it.

In the Yuanqiu Immortal Realm, someone played chess with the Old Man of Heaven.

On Yishan’s Scissors Peak, someone else played chess with the Heavenly Emperor.

The Heavenly Emperor listened to the spirits’ reports, weighed his thoughts, closed his eyes briefly; though he lacked the Old Man of Heaven’s ability to see ten thousand years in a glance, he could still, like any mortal, speculate on what lay ahead.

“The Daoist of Yishan…”

A pair of eyes gazed upon the mortal world, then suddenly shifted westward.

The Purple Emperor played his move in the northwest.

In the thatched hut atop Scissors Peak, the blind Daoist sat cross-legged, his fellow disciples gathered around him, including the fourth elder, who had not yet attained true enlightenment.

“Lady Yao Hua has replied, and our youngest brother has prepared to confront the God of Floating Pool. Time is on our side—the longer we wait, the more advantageous it becomes,” said the sixth elder, shaking his head. “But the Purple Emperor is too tyrannical. We share the same sect; even if we have no ties to demons, he still won’t tolerate us. He won’t let us delay.”

“How so?”

“Mount Tian!”

The sixth elder turned his face northward; though his eyes were closed, within his mind lay a chessboard, the pieces like stars across the heavens, and one ominous star moving toward the northwest.

“What?”

“Several of our brothers have attained true enlightenment; all who cultivated Golden Cores owe their success to the Old Ancestor of Mount Tian.

“The Purple Emperor has never tolerated non-human spirits, and with his tyrannical nature, combined with the Nine Heavens’ suppression of the Spirit Law Sect and their fear of immortals, he has long feared us. Before acting against us, he first targeted distant natural spirits, demons, ghosts, and spirits capable of true enlightenment. Mount Tian was first.

The sixth elder smiled faintly:

“This move is clever—it forces us to act, giving him grounds to punish us; it clears the borders before purging the interior; it seizes Mount Tian and its thousand-year snow lotus, cutting off the Four Directions and Five Elements Golden Core pills that aid Spirit Law Sect Daoists in attaining enlightenment and boosting combat power—all in one stroke.”

“Then what should we do?”

“Don’t rush,” said the sixth elder. “This may harm us—but it may also aid us. Regardless, the Old Ancestor of Mount Tian has been kind to our brothers. We cannot ignore her. Our youngest brother is in deep meditation; he cannot go. So let the elder brothers go. If we can save the Old Ancestor, when the Purple Emperor goes mad, they might lend us a hand.”

“Hmm…”

The eldest brother still pondered.

Mortals have positions and affections; even if the Purple Emperor eradicated other demons or spirits—even righteous, kind ones—we wouldn’t necessarily intervene if we had no ties to them.

But the Old Ancestor of Mount Tian was different.

She had ties and kindness toward our youngest brother and all of us. Our ability to cultivate Golden Cores is inseparable from her. Just as the mountain spirit of Yishan—if one day the Purple Emperor went mad and tried to destroy him—we could never stand idly by.

“Then I, the second elder, and the third elder will go.”

“How are your Bean Soldiers refined?”

“Since attaining enlightenment, we’ve been refining them continuously.”

“Take them with you,” the sixth elder instructed. “Remember, though the debt is great, sometimes you must be cunning. Choose the critical moment to appear.”

“Understood.”

Three immortals summoned Bai Yun and headed northwest.

But as soon as they reached Mount Tian, they found the sky already dark with clouds and war drums.

Boom… boom…

The entire heavens were filled with dark clouds, teeming with heavenly soldiers and divine officials—some beating war drums, others descending to the mortal realm.

Heavenly soldiers clashed with Mount Tian’s demon and spirit troops like a massacre, while divine officials stood atop the clouds, pouring fiery liquid from fire pots, melting ice and snow, burning palaces, and turning snow lotuses that had grown for millennia into ash, swallowed by the flames.

At the forefront stood a divine lord, sword in hand:

“Old Ancestor of Mount Tian, I spare you for your years of no evil deeds. Lay down your resistance and return with me, lest I turn your snowy peaks into a volcano and your sanctuary into a hell!”

Below, an elderly woman in splendid robes cried out in fury and disbelief:

“I have done no wrong! Why seize me without cause? Is this how the current Heavenly Emperor acts?”

“You are not human, yet you receive mortal worship! You do not honor the Nine Heavens, yet you occupy mortal mountains! Though you have never rebelled against the Nine Heavens, you refuse the Heavenly Emperor’s commands, and every fifty years you gather demons, ghosts, and spirits here—what do you discuss? Is that not a crime?”

When the eldest brother arrived, he was momentarily stunned—

In the illusion, the Purple Emperor had ended exactly like this.

Whether good or evil demon, whether famed natural spirit, if they honored the Nine Heavens, they were deposed; if they did not, heavenly soldiers immediately descended, shattered their sanctuaries, killed or captured all disciples and descendants, and those who associated with demons were dragged into the purge.

Until they reached Huoshantou.

It wasn’t then that the Purple Emperor went mad…

He had always been like this—only before, the timing wasn’t right, so he began with evil demons, then lesser ones, slowly advancing.

Whoosh! Bai Yun surged forward!

“Divine Lord, stop!!”

“Who are you?”

The sword-wielding Snake Divine Lord spun around.

Only now could one see: the divine lord was tall, clad in armor, yet strangely, a pair of small hands grew from his eyes, palms pressed flat, each palm bearing an eye—both palms slowly rotated, studying the three newcomers.

“We are Daoists of Yishan, acquainted with the Old Ancestor of Mount Tian, who once hosted and aided us. We know her to be kind and hospitable. We beg you, Divine Lord, show mercy!”

“This is the Purple Emperor’s command—there is no mercy to show,” the heavenly lord replied coldly. “I merely take her back. Whether her heart is kind or not, the Heavenly Emperor will judge. If you truly knew her, persuade her to surrender and return peacefully.”

“Divine Lord, please remain calm.”

The eldest brother maintained his courtesy.

“Friends! Has Master Lin arrived?” came the aged voice from the peak of Mount Tian. “Your Heavenly Emperor is too tyrannical, purging non-human spirits in the west. Please save me.”

“My younger brother is still in seclusion. He specifically sent us to aid the Old Ancestor,” said the second elder. “Old Ancestor, rest assured—you have been kind to us. Today, my three brothers and I have come to protect you with all our strength.”

“Hm?”

The Snake Divine Lord’s expression hardened; his hand gripped his sword tightly: “What do you mean? Do you dare defy Heaven’s will?”

Though three immortals stood before him, he was a northern true lord, a martial deity skilled in battle; to him, ordinary true immortals were like mortals to warriors—he feared none of them.

“Divine Lord…”

The eldest brother turned his head, his face filled with resignation and reverence—though in truth, he merely remembered the sixth brother’s words: “Delay.”

"We know the Divine Lord has been ordered to come, and military orders are as firm as mountains, but we indeed have old ties with this Elder of Mount Tian, and have been blessed by her grace. Today, we simply cannot stand idly by while she is taken away by the Divine Lord. We humbly beg the Divine Lord, considering her advanced age, to investigate thoroughly before making a decision."

"There's nothing to investigate! Those not of our kind must have different hearts!" The Long Snake Divine Lord gripped his sword hilt. "You are immortals of the mortal realm—why side with such naturally born spirits and deities against the Heavenly Emperor?"

The eldest brother did not refute him, nor did he divert the topic; he simply said:

"Repay kindness with kindness; repay hatred with hatred."

"Good! Excellent—repay kindness with kindness, hatred with hatred! Then let us see what you’re made of today!"

The Long Snake Divine Lord let out a loud laugh, facing the three immortals and the Elder of Mount Tian—yet showed not the slightest fear; his aura alone was far stronger than that of any True Lord under the former Heavenly Elder.

With a thunderous boom, the war drums, silenced moments before, began to beat again.

Dark clouds rolled forward, densely packed with celestial soldiers and divine generals, their ranks orderly and imposing.

"Heh! So that’s why half the celestial troops descended while the other half stood above watching—it was all meant for us!"

The third brother unslung a sack from his waist.

At the same time, the white clouds beneath his feet instantly spread out, extending for dozens of li.

Without reaching to grasp, he merely pointed his finger—and thousands of beans spilled forth from the sack: some his own, others passed down through generations of Fuxiang Monastery; some the size of soybeans, others as large as pigeon eggs.

Some transformed into armored soldiers, wielding swords and spears, holding lances and bows, carrying hammers and flails; their armor styles bore the distinct flavor of different dynasties, and they swiftly formed neat battle formations upon the white clouds.

Twelve wooden beads became towering armored giants, resembling the legendary titans, standing among the army like cranes among chickens.

The two sides faced off, and for a moment, it was impossible to tell which side held the greater aura.