Chapter 603: Persuasion

Below Fuqiu Peak, beside the hot spring, the moonlight was like water, and the floating light jumped like silver.

Lin Jue was followed by Fuyao, Xian Zhu, and several protectors, and the Xiao Xiao Shimei was followed by her disciples and grand-disciples and Little Flower. Several people stood on a five-colored auspicious cloud.

"Is the Third Shixiong here?"

"..."

There was no response from the forest.

"I am about to leave Mount Yishan and return to Mount Feng, so I have come to say goodbye to the Third Shixiong."

"That's probably not right, is it?" A voice came from the first mountain, and it was immediately on point. "With your current abilities, how long would it take to go from Mount Feng to Mount Yishan? Moreover, you have my divination talisman. If you want to find me, you can use divination to contact me at any time. Why come to say goodbye?"

"Haha! There is indeed a matter I would like to ask the Third Shixiong."

"What matter?"

"I wonder if the Third Shixiong has heard of any treasure, or some kind of spell or miraculous power, that can change a person's natural talent and destiny, making those who cannot cultivate the Dao able to cultivate?"

"Things in the world, although there are variables, also have fixed numbers. Changing natural talent and destiny is not easy, and making those who cannot cultivate the Dao able to cultivate is not simple either," the voice continued from the forest. "Throughout the ages, I have heard that some immortals once had this ability, but there were only a few. This kind of ability, before becoming an immortal, everyone wants to use it, but after becoming an immortal, it is often of little use."

Lin Jue nodded repeatedly after listening.

This statement made sense.

Most immortals, before becoming immortals, were often deeply involved in the red dust of the secular world. However, becoming an immortal was not an easy task. Those immortals who had already become immortals often spent decades or a hundred years, and by that time, looking back, they were mostly surrounded by immortals, Daoists, spirits, and spiritual children, while the people of the red dust had long since gone far away.

"Does the Third Shixiong know who has this ability?"

"There were only a few in total, and they all passed away in the great catastrophe. The last one, named True Person Master Meng Hua—heh, it is said that to protect his own spiritual beast and yaoguai child, he was beheaded by Yili Shenjun Long Snake."

"Is that so..."

"You can only ask other spirits and monsters, or realize it yourself!"

"Thank you, Third Shixiong."

Lin Jue bowed to him and said goodbye again.

Immediately, the five-colored auspicious cloud rose slowly, drifting past under the moon. Mortal people could not see the people on the clouds, only feeling that the moonlight had dyed an ordinary white cloud into a colorful one.

Mount Feng.

The pavilions remained, the immortal trees still existed, and a giant snake that could swallow a house in one bite wandered between the immortal trees and the mountain forest. The immortal trees emitted brilliant light, reflecting on its scales, outlining its somewhat terrifying appearance.

There was also a white heron standing on a tree at the top of the mountain.

Ziyun had already returned to Red Leaf Temple—now she was the Temple Master there—while the Xiao Xiao Shimei brought Little Flower and Lin Jue to continue cultivating here.

There was an extra pavilion on the cliff, which was hers.

The five-colored auspicious cloud drifted toward the pavilion.

"I don't know when the Third Third Shixiong and Second Third Shixiong Xiao Shimei will return," Lin Jue said.

Xian Zhu was wondering why Master only mentioned the Third Third Shixiong and Second Third Shixiong Xiao Shimei, and not the Junior Third Shixiong, when she heard Master say again:

"How much have you learned of the cooking skills of your Third Third Shixiong and Second Third Shixiong Xiao Shimei?"

Xian Zhu was immediately vigilant in her heart.

"Master! I am a rabbit, I eat grass! I don't cook!"

"Haha..."

Several people continued to cultivate on Mount Feng.

Just as Daoist Jiang said—

Not many days later, deities from the south came to visit.

It was a white cloud, coming from the sky.

Here, apart from True Person Lin, who was at the Emperor level, an eight-tailed white fox, a Five-Element Great Ji Xianren, and two True Person yaoguai, Wan Xinrong and Xian Zhu, the divine officials naturally paid attention to etiquette, and the white cloud stopped far away.

The protectors of the cave mansion looked carefully and saw that although the leader was not Daoist Jiang, he was an old acquaintance of True Person Lin.

It was precisely True Person Qingxuan.

The masters who confer registers for the Fulu Sect all have official records in the heavens, meaning that after death, they can ascend to become gods. However, in most cases, ordinary Daoists cannot become divine officials or spirit officials; they are merely minor gods or petty clerks, and they might even have to wait a long time for a vacancy. Daoist Qingxuan is naturally no ordinary person.

He followed Daoist Jiang and performed great service during the end of the previous dynasty, so after his death, he became a divine official under Lord Yi Li. Later, he left Lord Yi Li's command and became a divine official before Emperor Yu Jian.

At this moment, he was accompanied by several high immortals and great gods, some of whom might even hold higher status and position in the Southern divine system than Daoist Qingxuan, to show the importance they place on Lin Zhenren.

The Wan Hufa came to inform Lin Jue, and Lin Jue immediately went to welcome them in person:

"Daoist brother, we meet again."

"Haha, indeed. I have been thinking quite a lot about the thousand-day wine of yours, Daoist friend Lin, that day."

"Since an old friend has come, there will naturally be plenty of fine wine."

Meeting an old friend should be a joyous occasion, but the reason for Daoist Qingxuan's visit was a distraction for both him and Lin Jue, so naturally, it was not as happy as the previous days.

After drinking and chatting for a while, a divine official glanced at Daoist Qingxuan.

Daoist Qingxuan immediately understood, sighed, and began to speak of the main business.

"Daoist friend Lin, the Heavenly Emperor was too overbearing before. He not only indiscriminately eliminated Yaoguai without regard for good or evil, implicating mortals and even immortals, but he also viewed anyone who opposed him as an enemy. He even oppressed the human world, forcibly seizing the power to confer gods from the people and the imperial court. This was nothing more than forcibly consolidating his own divine power and extorting incense, violating heavenly laws and divine decrees. It can be said that he has lost both virtue and the hearts of the people."

Daoist Qingxuan paused:

"Now that he has been defeated and trapped by you, Daoist friend, the Nine Heavens cannot be without a master. I wonder what your view is?"

"I do not agree with what you say, Daoist brother," Lin Jue said. "The human world indeed cannot be without a master, because the people are mostly dull and human nature is selfish. But divine beings are based on virtue and conduct; even if the Nine Heavens were without a master, it would not affect its operation for a short time, as it is full of outstanding figures."

"But the Purple Emperor has already lost his virtue. The Heavenly Lord of the Nine Heavens should be occupied by someone with virtue."

"That is indeed true." Lin Jue nodded, sat up straight, and discussed with this old friend, "However, looking at the Purple Emperor's actions, although he is overbearing and stubborn, and especially excessive in eliminating demons and Yaoguai, his virtue is still acceptable. He has not done too many things that harm the human world; on the contrary, eliminating demons and Yaoguai is beneficial to the human world. If he could be persuaded to correct his mistakes and be urged to eliminate demons and evil Yaoguai, it would undoubtedly be a blessing for the human world."

As soon as these words were spoken, several high immortals and great gods looked at each other.

"Does Lin Zhenren still want to welcome back the Purple Emperor?" an old god in yellow robes asked.

"He is, after all, the Heavenly Emperor. How could I, a mere cultivator, dare to depose a Heavenly Emperor?" Lin Jue replied with a smile.

"Zhenren, you must know that above the Nine Heavens, immortals and gods have always had the tradition of raising spirit beasts, keeping mounts, and taking in Yaoguai children. There are also many Yaoguai and spirits in the heavens serving as Dharma Protectors or holding the positions of Star Lords and Martial Gods. In the human world, many local gods were not originally human, and many mountain and river gods are spirits born of heaven and earth. But most of them have been dismissed or implicated because of the Purple Emperor. Now, apart from the gods the Purple Emperor brought from the north, the number of gods in heaven and earth who oppose the Purple Emperor is countless. The emperor of the human court is young but has great ambitions, and he no longer respects the Purple Emperor. How can you still welcome the Purple Emperor back, Zhenren?"

That old god in yellow robes said politely.

The other high immortals and great gods also spoke up hurriedly:

"The Yili Shenjun speaks the truth."

"Since our Emperor has virtue and prestige, and his incense in the human world is the greatest among the emperors, originally, if not for Yili Shenjun Fuchi, our Emperor should have been the Heavenly Lord in the previous dynasty... You originally cultivated in Huizhou, Zhenren, and have friendships with our Emperor, Yili Shenjun Yi Li, Lady Yue Zhao, and even Yili Shenjun Fuchi. Why not help our Emperor take charge of the Nine Heavens?"

"That's right. Emperor Yu Jian is benevolent and generous, and he has governed the south in an orderly manner. Even in the chaotic times of the previous dynasty, the Yaoguai and ghosts were the most well-behaved in the south. If he takes charge of the Nine Heavens, he can eliminate demons and evil ghosts just like the Purple Emperor, but he will not act recklessly without distinguishing good from evil like the Purple Emperor, not even sparing the Yaoguai raised by immortals or those already subdued by gods. He will surely govern very well."

"Our Emperor can also be considered an old friend of yours, Zhenren. Previously, when you fought the Purple Emperor, Yili Shenjun Yi Li and Lady Yue Zhao under our Emperor both offered help, and there were divine officials mediating above the Nine Heavens. Later, our Emperor even personally intervened to stop Emperor Miaoming of the West. If you have a give-and-take relationship, Zhenren, in the future when our Emperor takes charge of the Nine Heavens, you, your immortal foxes, the mountain gods, and all the kind spirits in the world will be able to rest easy. The human world will also usher in a golden age."

Lin Jue knew in his heart that most of what they said was true.

He could indeed be considered to have a friendship with Emperor Yu Jian, and among the gods of the four directions, he also had the best relationship with the gods of the south;

The gods of the south were indeed very good at managing things, and Emperor Yu Jian had indeed governed the south very well. During the chaotic times at the end of the previous dynasty, the south was indeed relatively the most peaceful;

If Emperor Yu Jian took charge of the Nine Heavens, he would likely continue his previous ideas and propositions, and he would probably govern the Nine Heavens and the human world quite well;

Of course, the main thing was that even when that time came, if Emperor Yu Jian's ideas and propositions changed and the Nine Heavens once again eliminated demons and Yaoguai, this fire would likely not burn Lin Jue or Mount Yishan again, and it would be even less likely to burn the immortals of the Nine Heavens. Emperor Yu Jian was much better at managing things than the Purple Emperor.

Only one thing was slightly off.

Emperor Yu Jian stopping Emperor Miaoming of the West did help Lin Jue, but in essence, he was doing it to help himself.

Of course, one could not pick too many faults with this; it did indeed help Lin Jue.

It was just a pity that Lin Jue had already stood with the Southern Heavenly Master.

There was no other reason—

Just uprightness and justice.

Since the establishment of the Nine Heavens, there have been several dynasties and generations, and several Heavenly Lords have been changed, as if it were a process of selection or evolution.

Perhaps such a Heavenly Lord, who has no factional foundation and only possesses uprightness, justice, and the respect of all, is what the Nine Heavens truly needs.

Perhaps only then will the divine system of the Nine Heavens truly stabilize.

"What you say, Daoist friends, is reasonable, but I have just finished fighting with the True Gods of the Nine Heavens, so it is really not good for me to get involved in the struggle for the orthodoxy of the Nine Heavens again. Otherwise, others might think that I fought the Purple Emperor just to overthrow him," Lin Jue said to Daoist Qingxuan. "Besides, I have already become chess friends with Yili Shenjun Fuchi, and I have agreed with him that I will not compete with him again."

"Do you mean, Daoist friend..."

"I am naturally grateful for Emperor Yu Jian's help to me, but I have also helped Emperor Yu Jian, so I do not feel indebted," Lin Jue said. "Now the human world is relatively stable, and the faith in the Heavenly Emperor still remains; it is not yet time to change the world again. And even if it really reaches that time, the gods of the Nine Heavens and the people of the human world will naturally choose the next Heavenly Lord."