Chapter 70: Chapter Seventy: The Daojun of Taiwen Miaocheng

The old man, smoking a pipe, shuffled forward with a look of smug pride, grinning so wide his yellow teeth showed all over his mouth.

“This, this…”

His figure seemed like a vast emptiness, weightless; though stepping on the lake’s surface, it stirred not a single ripple or splash, and the cold, damp mist passed clean through his body without altering its form at all.

“Water ghost?”

The young fishmonger clutched his net tightly, lips trembling, then turned to gaze at the golden-bearded carp lazily blowing bubbles in the bucket:

“Fish… fish spirit?”

“What? Fish spirit! Are you talking about your old mother?!”

The golden-bearded carp, enraged, lashed out with its tail, smashing the wooden bucket to pieces, then transformed midair into a handsome youth with fiery red hair and a golden-threaded robe.

He strode over to the young fishmonger, scowling, pointing at himself:

“Damn it! I hate being called ‘fish’—come on, repeat after me!”

“…”

The young fishmonger froze in terror; only when he saw the red-haired youth’s fists cracking with tension did he snap out of it, nodding frantically.

“Ling, Ming, Jin, Xia, Yin.”

The red-haired youth spoke slowly, each word laced with hostility.

“Ling Ming… Ling Ming Jin Xia Yin.”

The young man stammered, drenched in sweat.

“Hmph! Not bad—you’re a Qi Condensation cultivator, yet you’re so crude? No worldly experience at all! Haven’t you even heard of Master Ling Ming?!”

The red-haired youth glanced sideways, then smirked again:

“You called me a fish spirit just now—and what did you call that old man? Come on, say it loud! Shout it out!”

The young man had planned to die before speaking, but the red-haired youth’s glare forced him to grimace, shut his eyes, and tremble out:

“W… water ghost.”

“Hahaha!”

The red-haired youth burst into uncontrollable laughter, clutching his belly: “Hear that? You called him a water ghost! Hahaha!”

“Not a water ghost.”

The white-haired old man shook his head, stepped forward—and instantly his form straightened, flesh plumped, beard and hair turned green.

In an instant, a beautiful youth stood calmly upon the lake, wearing a lotus crown and a crimson celestial robe, wide sleeves flowing, radiating profound Daoist aura.

His skin glowed like a newborn’s, his demeanor refined and scholarly, yet his gaze was as deep and dark as a primordial void, within which infinite starry universes were born and perished; each breath he took marked the full cycle of an aeon, hiding boundless grandeur!

“It’s the Taiwen Miaocheng Daojun of the Chichang Sect!”

He smiled faintly, revealing a row of pure white, even teeth, his expression gentle.

Meanwhile, the young fishmonger had long since fainted; even as the red-haired youth yanked his collar and shook him violently, he showed no sign of waking.

“Is he an idiot? Hey! You’re a top-grade Dao artifact with spiritual awareness—release your inner qi and you could shatter a whole realm! Even Golden Core and Nascent Soul cultivators couldn’t withstand it!”

Seeing the red-haired youth curiously press his finger to the young man’s third eye, as if attempting to transmit qi.

The Taiwen Miaocheng Daojun could no longer hold his composure; his aura of senior Daoist master vanished instantly—he became a furious private tutor driven mad by a mischievous pupil.

He grabbed the red-haired youth’s collar, hoisted him into the air, and roared:

“Jin Xia! This man fainted from fright, he’s not dead! Are you missing a brain cell? Transmitting qi to save someone is what mortals do—what’s it got to do with you?!”

“I know, I just wanted to play—what if he’s some legendary genius and absorbs my qi? Wouldn’t that be a great story? Chichang Sect would gain another prodigy!”

The red-haired youth shrugged indifferently.

Suddenly, his eyes rolled, and he grinned again:

“Daojun, if I unleashed my full power, could I destroy the entire Southern Region and blast open the corpse-liberated immortal buried in the earth abyss?”

“Go die, you idiot! You don’t look like a Dao artifact—you’re clearly a spy sent by the Six Demon Sects! If I’d known, I should’ve left you rotting in Wu Liuli Heaven—I wouldn’t have bothered hauling you out.”

The Taiwen Miaocheng Daojun shook his finger in exasperation:

“You can say this to me—I’m your master, I don’t take you seriously! But the other day, a Daoist from Yucheng Sect came to the Southern Region and played a game of Go with that corpse-liberated immortal himself. If he heard this nonsense, he’d urge me to erase your true consciousness and replace you with a more obedient one!”

“What?!”

The red-haired youth froze, instinctively shrinking his neck—he’d clearly suffered terribly at that man’s hands before.

But soon,

he frowned again, displeased:

“Daojun, didn’t we agree you’d call me Ling Ming? Ling Ming Jin Xia Yin—Ling Ming sounds so powerful! Jin Xia just sounds bad!”

“Jin Xia, Jin Xia, Xiazi.”

The Taiwen Miaocheng Daojun rolled his eyes: “Why so much whining? Just answer when I call you. Otherwise, one day I’ll rename you ‘Dogshit’—what’ll you do then? Jump up and bite me?”

With a flick of his sleeve, he vanished.

The red-haired youth called Jin Xia and the unconscious young man vanished with him.

…

…

Meanwhile,

in the boundless star-sea of the cosmos,

Bao Guang Land—

This land, whose distance from Xu Du Tian was incalculable, suddenly trembled with hundreds of different vibrations; five-colored lights surged like dragons, celestial flowers rained down, and sweet springs welled from the earth.

Such an omen

caused countless giants, thousands of zhang tall, to raise their heads, then sprint and shout, their cries shaking the four directions, faces alight with joy.

“The earth trembles, the void glows—our Daojun Lord is coming! Quickly, welcome his divine carriage! Quickly, welcome his divine carriage!”

Before the giants could prepare further, at the land’s center, a magnificent golden palace sealed its wards, then emitted a soft laugh.

“No need to welcome me, no need—just passing through for a stroll. Everyone, disperse!”

After that laugh, the golden palace rose from the earth into the deep clouds, leaving behind a host of prostrate giants still chanting without end.

…

“Since the Dao Court collapsed, cosmic laws have vanished. It seems everyone’s life has become hard indeed!”

The Taiwen Miaocheng Daojun withdrew his gaze from the prostrate giants, sighed softly, shook his head, and slowly walked toward the palace’s depths.

Along the way, he saw dazzling, grand scenes—treasures and wonders from countless realms.

Two rows of goddesses, radiant with halos and trailing long robes, approached gracefully to greet him.

The Taiwen Miaocheng Daojun didn’t need their service; he merely shook the unconscious young man from his sleeve, letting the goddesses catch him, then entered the main hall alone with the scowling Jin Xia, seating himself upon the cloud couch.

“Watch the show!”

He leaned back on the cushions, pulled out a flask of wine from nowhere, and smacked his thigh in delight. Instantly, a scene of light and shadow appeared in the hall, accompanied by sound.

Jin Xia sat sullenly below, poking at his ear.

The scene projected was Chen Hang and Wei Lingjiang…

No one knew how vast the Daojun’s power was—he had projected their current scene across countless star-seas and voids, treating it like a play, as if he were right there with them.

Jin Xia watched quietly, thinking these two were damn awkward.

He didn’t understand why the man just stood there motionless—shouldn’t he be leaning in to kiss her right now? Why all this hesitation and nonsense?

“Bring some snacks! You’re watching a show—just make me drink?”

As Jin Xia grew bored, a loud shout came from the cloud couch—he looked up to see his Daojun glaring at him.

“Can’t you change it yourself?”

Jin Xia was about to rage, then suddenly remembered something.

He cheerfully called for dishes, arranged them respectfully, and beamed with a wide smile.

“Say what you want.”

After swallowing a slice of dragon liver, the Taiwen Miaocheng Daojun smiled contentedly, lips curling:

“Your expression says you’ve got something rotten brewing.”

“Daojun, I don’t understand!”

Jin Xia pointed at the projected image of Chen Hang: “With your exalted, priceless body, why bother paying attention to some lowly Qi Condensation cultivator? What’s so special about him?”

“Do you know what matters most on the path of cultivation?”

“Being strong!”

Jin Xia flattered: “Like you?”

“Strong? What good is strength alone? In this world, you need connections, you need influence!”

The Taiwen Miaocheng Daojun sneered, pointing at Chen Hang’s image:

“Of the four words—Dharma, Companion, Land, Wealth—I care only about ‘Companion.’ My cultivation relies on forging good relationships, on human connections!”