Immortal Realm, Dou Department, Dakuai Palace.
Huo Changge and Si Chuanzhao lowered the great banners. It was their strike that had just repelled Xu Jing's assault and smoothed away the passage connecting the Immortal Realm and the mortal world.
A moment later, Yang Yanlong arrived at Dakuai Palace, covered in wounds. Utterly abashed, he said, "I tracked down the Divine Diviner Tian Chouchou in the Immortal Realm to calculate Xu Ying's whereabouts and went to capture him, never expecting an expert at his side. I suffered a terrible loss. Had the two Daoist brothers not stepped in, the Dou Department's face would have been dragged through the mud today."
Si Chuanzhao smiled. "It is only natural that Brother Yang was eager to render meritorious service; we understand completely. We, the Three Realized Ones of the Dou Department, are of one breath and branch, advancing and retreating together. When you are injured, Brother Yang, how could we simply sit idly by?"
Previously, they had maintained a wary guard against this Perfected Lord Yang, but seeing him suffer such a defeat, they finally regarded him as one of their own.
Yang Yanlong said with immense shame, "I do not know the origin of that scholar in the mortal world, but his strength was astonishing."
"That man should be the Xu scoundrel's father," Huo Changge remarked. "Back then, when the Xu scoundrel stole the three great immortal mountains and fled to the lower realm, it was likely to let his father cultivate and prepare for his eventual resurgence. Now, this father's cultivation and strength rival our own. He has become a formidable problem."
Yang Yanlong frowned. "The Dou Department has suffered loss after loss. Are we truly going to let the Xu scoundrel be? If the two Daoist brothers join forces with me, capturing him will be as easy as turning our palms."
Huo Changge and Si Chuanzhao burst into hearty laughter, shaking their heads in unison.
Deeply bewildered, his prior temper entirely gone, Yang Yanlong bowed and said, "May the two Daoist brothers enlighten me."
Si Chuanzhao said, "Brother Yang, in the Immortal Realm, who hates Xu Ying the most? Who wants him to never rise again? Is it our Dou Department? No. There are indeed those among us who hate him to the marrow of their bones, but our department as a whole has never hated Xu Ying."
Yang Yanlong quickly protested, "The Xu scoundrel rebelled and ran amok, slaughtered his way out of the Dou Department, gravely wounded the two of you, and left the department drenched in rivers of blood, its foundation crippled! Is that not a monumental humiliation? Is it not a blood-soaked feud?"
Si Chuanzhao smiled. "It is a monumental humiliation, and it is a blood-soaked feud."
Yang Yanlong grew even more perplexed.
Si Chuanzhao continued, "Yet the Dou Department's glory was at its absolute peak when that Xu scoundrel served as the head of our Three Realized Ones—when he was Celestial Venerable Xu. Back then, as glorious as Celestial Venerable Xu was, that was how glorious our Dou Department was. Under his hand, we suppressed the Thunder Department, Fire Department, Water Department, and Wealth Department! Imperial Monarchs and Primordial Monarchs alike had to step aside! Back then, our Dou Department conquered every foe and won every battle. Whomever we said we would strike, we struck!"
Huo Changge sighed with nostalgia. "The Dou Department back then was magnificent indeed. We were the foremost of the Six Departments."
Si Chuanzhao went on, "When the Xu scoundrel betrayed us, he certainly dealt our Dou Department a grievous blow, but the Immortal Realm has never lacked immortals; vacancies can always be filled. Yet ever since then, our department became a soft persimmon that anyone could squeeze. From that moment, I understood: our status as head of the Six Departments was never because the Dou Department was mighty, but because Celestial Venerable Xu was mighty."
Huo Changge chuckled. "The mightiest among us is gone. If we go hunting him, wouldn't we just be seeking our own deaths? Besides, he was our old superior; he knows our abilities inside and out. He taught his father, and didn't that father send the Northern Dipper Six Stars fleeing in disgrace?"
Si Chuanzhao added, "Others itch to drag him back and hack him into a thousand pieces, but I, on the contrary, miss the days he was in the Dou Department. When the sky fell, he could hold it up without us ever having to worry. Only after he left did life in our department take a turn for the worse, deteriorating day by day."
Yang Yanlong stood dumbfounded.
"The ones most anxious about his resurgence are not us, but the Heavenly Venerable and the Imperial Monarch," Si Chuanzhao chuckled. "Those two were the masterminds who plotted against Xu Ying and reduced him to such a state. As Xu Ying suffered in the lower realm for nearly fifty thousand years, their hearts remained suspended in terror, constantly fearing his comeback. Now that Xu Ying is rising again, the ones who ought to be terrified are them, not us."
Huo Changge said with a grin, "So you and the Northern Dipper Six Stars—one attacking Xu Ying and the other rushing headlong down to the lower realm—were merely doing the bidding of the Heavenly Venerable and the Imperial Monarch."
Si Chuanzhao leaned in close and said with a faint smirk, "Brother, you did their bidding, yet fought so miserably that someone pounded on your front door and stripped away your dignity. Do you think the one who backed your promotion will be pleased?"
A chill ran through Yang Yanlong. Bowing low, he said, "Brothers, Yanlong is thoroughly convinced!"
Huo Changge and Si Chuanzhao hurried to rise, each extending a hand to support him and preventing him from bowing all the way down.
Si Chuanzhao smiled. "Though our Dou Department is the largest, in recent years it has been bloated rather than strong, internally a scattered tray of sand. East, South, West, and North—each division acts independently and refuses to obey the Three Realized Ones. This time, by using our old superior's hand, we can rectify the various divisions and consolidate power into the hands of the Three Realized Ones."
Huo Changge said, "From now on, with the Dou Department united from top to bottom, it will surely prosper again under our hands. As for the Xu scoundrel, he is our old superior after all; let him be."
Huo Changge and Si Chuanzhao exchanged knowing smiles.
Full of admiration, Yang Yanlong said, "This little brother will follow your lead in everything."
***
Ancestral Court, Hunyuan Palace.
Fairy Qingbi wondered, "A monkey? What monkey... Ah, right, that Senior Golden Ape! Wasn't he a corpse?"
Puzzled, she stepped forward and saw many people gathered in Hunyuan Palace. Xu Ying, Xu Jing, Xiao Xixian, and Ling Siyi were rummaging everywhere for the monkey, turning chests and drawers upside down and leaving Little Celestial Venerable's belongings in utter disarray.
Zhu Chanchan and Foolish Ah Fu were busy studying how to erase the Imperial Monarch's imprint from the other half of the Purple Nether Saber so they could fuse the two halves back into one.
Fairy Qingbi walked up to Xu Ying and asked, "Wasn't Senior Golden Ape a corpse? How could he have vanished?"
Xu Ying shook his head. "When I recovered from my injuries and woke up, I handed the Purple Nether Saber and the immortal array chart to Chanchan and the others, intending to come check if you had awakened. But then I found the monkey was gone. I asked everyone, and no one saw him."
Fairy Qingbi whispered, "Stop calling him a monkey. That golden ape sat before the great rift in the Supreme Realm for who knows how long without undergoing Dao transformation. He must be an extraordinary senior. If he is truly alive and hears you calling him monkey over and over, offending him will bring you no good."
Xu Ying took this to heart and nodded in agreement.
The group searched for quite a while without finding any trace, and eventually gave up.
"How strange. Such a massive monkey..." Xu Ying muttered with lingering regret. "If we could refine him into a treasure, or hand him over to Heavenly Lord Pingnan, perhaps that corpse could have been put to good use."
Fairy Qingbi ventured a guess. "Could that mon... could that senior have been in a self-sealed state of suspended animation in the Supreme Realm? When we carried him out and the influence of the Supreme Dao faded, he revived. Seeing that we were in seclusion, he took his leave."
She had nearly slipped into calling the golden ape a monkey herself, influenced by Xu Ying.
Xu Ying replied, "That is likely the case. Still, we risked our lives to rescue him, yet he left without even a word of thanks. Quite rude of him."
Fairy Qingbi smiled. "Even if we had not rescued him, we would have faced the same danger. We did not risk our lives solely for his sake, so there is no need to brood over it."
Hearing her words, Xu Ying felt relieved and smiled. "Qingbi speaks reasonably. I was clinging to the matter."
Seeing that he agreed with her, Qingbi felt secretly delighted.
Zhu Chanchan and Foolish Ah Fu still needed several days to erase the imprint from the Purple Nether Saber. Xu Ying inquired with Ling Siyi and learned that the selection of the new emperor in the Demon Ancestral Court would take some time, which put his mind at ease.
He continued studying the Sovereign Cang Heart Sutra with Fairy Qingbi. When Qingbi entered the Supreme Realm to cultivate, Xu Ying's Primordial Spirit ascended into it as well to protect her.
Fairy Qingbi's cultivation advanced by leaps and bounds. The two grew increasingly close, their mutual affection warming imperceptibly.
Xu Jing took all this in, feeling quite gratified.
On this day, Foolish Ah Fu and Zhu Chanchan finally refined away the Imperial Monarch's imprint within the Purple Nether Saber, rejoining this momentous immortal treasure until it was restored as before.
Xu Ying then handed the Nine Heavens Ten Earths Extermination Immortal Array to them, along with the palace-guarding treasures he had confiscated from the various heavenly palaces of the Dou Department.
Taking the Purple Nether Saber, Xu Ying bade farewell to Xu Jing, Fairy Qingbi, and the others. "I promised Ling Siyi that I would accompany her to meet the Demon Ancestor. I will return in a few days."
Though Xu Jing hated to see him go, he had his own matters to attend to.
Fairy Qingbi had entered the Ancestral Court with the intention of seeking Imperial Monarch Cangtian, so she did not accompany him.
After a moment's hesitation, Xu Ying handed the Buddha Ancestor's prayer beads to Qingbi, saying, "You have no one to protect you, yet you must cultivate the Sovereign Cang Heart Sutra. Keep this treasure to protect yourself, lest you fall into the oblivion of sitting and forgetting."
Warmth bloomed in Fairy Qingbi's heart as she accepted the beads.
Xu Ying set out with Ling Siyi, departing Hunyuan Palace toward the Demon Ancestral Court.
Suddenly, Xu Ying remembered something and said, "Daoist Yuan and his Little Martial Uncle are probably still waiting for me at Tushita Palace in Lihen Heaven. But helping Lord Jin contend for the Demon Emperor's seat is urgent. As soon as I finish at the Demon Ancestral Court, I must go straight to Tushita Palace in Lihen Heaven to see them and apologize!"
He felt deeply guilty toward Daoist Yuan and that youthful martial uncle.
***
Lihen Heaven, Tushita Palace.
The young martial uncle felt thoroughly uneasy. He said to Daoist Yuan, "Lately, the way Daoist Taiqing looks at us seems off, as if he wants to devour us alive."
Daoist Yuan said, "Daoist Taiqing possesses profound virtue and immense cultivation far surpassing our own. He would not harbor mortal thoughts, much less eat people."
The young martial uncle retorted, "He is a Primordial Spirit of Heaven and Earth; how can you measure him as a man? Moreover, I heard that Xu Ying went to the Heavenly Dao Ancestral Court and did not come see us at Tushita Palace first! He has broken his word!"
Daoist Yuan hesitated, then offered, "Perhaps he had other difficulties. After visiting the Heavenly Dao Ancestral Court, he will surely honor his word and come to Tushita Palace to meet us. Young Master Xu is a man of his word."
The young martial uncle grew increasingly irritable. "If he kept his word, the first place he visited should have been us, coming as a guest to the Shangqing Ancestral Court! He has made us wait for four whole years!"
Daoist Yuan had a steady disposition. "We have already waited four years; what does waiting four more matter?"
The young martial uncle kicked away a bronze crane holding an incense burner in its beak and stormed off, cursing under his breath.
Hearing the commotion, Daoist Taiqing cast an unfriendly glare in their direction, thinking, *Were it not for fear of offending the two ancestral courts, I would have swept these two freeloaders out the door long ago!*
***
Just after Xu Ying and Ling Siyi departed, a streak of golden light plunged from the sky above Hunyuan Palace, crashing violently into the grounds.
Fairy Qingbi was just about to leave Hunyuan Palace to accompany Xiao Xixian in searching for Imperial Monarch Cangtian when a massive crater opened in the ground before her eyes.
Inside the crater lay that golden-haired ape. His clothes were tattered and he was soaked in blood, bearing dozens of wounds with flames still burning within them—a truly wretched sight.
The golden ape swayed onto his feet, casually swatting out the flames upon his body. A wisp of immortal fire lingered on his shoulder, which he blew out with a single breath.
Zhu Chanchan came running at the noise. Seeing the monkey blow out the immortal fire, she stamped her feet in frustration. "That kind of immortal fire is top-grade flame for refining treasures! You could have at least let me collect it!"
The golden ape said, "It was merely Great Luo Golden Flame. If you want some, I will fetch a few sparks for you from Great Luo Heaven another day."
Zhu Chanchan was overjoyed and smiled broadly. "It's a deal!"
Fairy Qingbi hastily took out a jade vial, poured out several immortal pills, and offered them to the golden ape. "Senior, please take this medicine to treat your wounds first."
Over the years, she had searched for immortal herbs and refined several life-saving immortal elixirs.
The golden ape accepted them and threw his head back to swallow them down, saying, "Though they are of little use to me, it was your good intention, so I must accept the kindness. By the way, where is the lad who was with you?"
Fairy Qingbi replied, "He just left. Senior, why did you leave without a word after waking up?"
The golden ape said, "When I woke, I wanted to stretch my legs and look up a few old friends to let them know I wasn't dead yet. They, on the other hand, wanted me dead, so we had a fight."
He declared triumphantly, "In the end, they still couldn't kill me!"
He sized up Fairy Qingbi and said, "Girl, your heart is not bad; you dared to risk your life to save me. I will grant you a boon."
He patted down his clothes, but his expression shifted slightly—he had not a single treasure on him. His face turned alternating shades of pale and blue.
Fairy Qingbi asked tentatively, "Were all of Senior's belongings dissolved by the Supreme Dao? Rescuing Senior was mostly Ah Ying's doing; this junior did very little."
The golden ape paced back and forth, muttering, "I am not used to owing favors; owing favors is too troublesome! Wait here for a moment!"
With a sudden bound, he leaped into the heavens. Thunder and lightning instantly clashed across the sky as the golden ape tore through the celestial canopy, revealing the Immortal Realm to everyone's eyes.
Before the astonished onlookers could recover, the golden ape leapt into the Immortal Realm, his figure vanishing without a trace.
Fairy Qingbi waited for a short while when a thunderous roar suddenly echoed from the sky. Another streak of golden light crashed down from the heavens into Hunyuan Palace.
When the dust cleared, the golden ape lay at the bottom of the crater, with a dozen new wounds across his body, his fist clenched tightly shut.
Just as Fairy Qingbi went forward to assist him, the golden ape sat up, opened his palm, and said with a laugh, "This is for you."
Resting in his palm were three lotus seeds emitting pure white radiance, floating gently upward from his hand.
"This treasure is a precious lotus born of a Dao fruit in Great Luo Heaven. I went to borrow some from a friend, but they refused, so I borrowed three myself," the golden ape said. "Consuming them will bring you immense benefits. Where did that girl who was shouting for Great Luo Golden Flame go? I have fire on me—aren't you going to harvest it?"
Zhu Chanchan hurried over and carefully harvested the Great Luo Golden Flame from his wounds, beaming with delight.
Once she finished collecting the flame, the golden ape got to his feet unsteadily and said, "I'm off to find that kid who rescued me. He went to the Demon Ancestral Court, was it? I shall wait for him there!"
Fairy Qingbi called out hurriedly, "Senior, we still do not know how to address you!"
The golden ape leaped into the air, transforming into a streak of golden light that vanished into the distance, his voice echoing from afar:
"When primal chaos first opened, there was inherently no nature;
To shatter obstinate ignorance, one must awaken to emptiness!"
Zhu Chanchan put away the Great Luo Golden Flame, gazed upward as the golden light receded, and said in astonishment, "So that senior's name was Mingwan!"
Chapter 473