Just when everyone was celebrating, the Immortal Emperor's sudden intrusion and sharp words proved rather jarring.
Everyone tilted their heads up to look. Unbeknownst to them, the Immortal Emperor Supreme had arrived near the Dao Comprehension Platform. Looking down from above toward them, his expression was aloof.
Since Xu Ying had crossed his tribulation and ascended last time, the majority of the allotted time had passed. The Immortal Emperor Supreme had been searching for Xu Ying's whereabouts all along, waiting to reap his harvest; thus, under no circumstances could he allow Xu Ying to succeed in transmitting his Dao.
A scheme of six hundred thousand years could not be allowed to go down the drain.
Xu Ying looked up, meeting the Immortal Emperor's gaze. A flicker of murderous intent shone in both pairs of eyes.
Xiao Xixian took a step forward and shouted, "My master represents the new path! He has established new realms to benefit all living beings and is the Dao Ancestor of the new path! My master has yet to establish an Immortal Emperor for the new path—who do you think you are? Meng, you corpse-like squatter drawing a salary for doing nothing, you walking piece of dead meat, usurping the imperial throne..."
Xu Ying raised a hand to stop her, smiling. "Girl, stop cursing. You're making yourself sound even more educated than me. Your Majesty, have you come to learn the Dao, or to debate the Dao?"
The Immortal Emperor Supreme paid no heed to Xiao Xixian's scolding and asked leisurely, "What do you mean by learning the Dao, and what do you mean by debating the Dao?"
Xu Ying said, "Learning the Dao means I speak and you listen. Debating the Dao means letting our fists do the talking."
The Immortal Emperor Supreme laughed. "All under heaven is the king's land; all within the borders are the king's subjects. Xu Ying, your mother is my foster daughter, your father serves as a Heavenly Venerable in my court, and your lover is a Primordial Monarch beneath my command. You are my subject—how dare you speak of debating the Dao with me?"
Xu Ying's face darkened slightly.
With a single sentence, the Immortal Emperor had brought up three important figures to corner him. His arrival was neither to learn the Dao nor to debate it, but to reap his harvest.
The Immortal Emperor Supreme smiled faintly. "Xu Ying, only when We grant you the opportunity to debate the Dao do you have it. If We do not, you have none. As for the new path you speak of, it is nothing more than flowers in a mirror and the moon reflected in water. In this world, everything still comes down to cultivation and raw strength, not loose talk. With a flapping tongue, one cannot breach the Ziwei Ancestral Court, cannot wipe out the great Dao sects, and cannot overturn the old era!"
He smiled proudly. "The so-called new path, the so-called new dynasty—they are roads paved with the bones of countless cultivators! They were established in seas of blood through endless slaughter and clashes of arms, hacking down those decrepit old relics to build a new dynasty! Which leader of a new dynasty isn't a powerhouse who crawled out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood? Establishing a new path and toppling the old one with mere words? What was the point of our bloody battles six hundred thousand years ago, then?"
Daoist Taiqing and Daoist Yuqing looked toward Great Dao Lord Xuhuang with inquiring expressions. "Get rough?"
Great Dao Lord Xuhuang quietly shook his head and pointed into the distance.
The two Daoists looked over and saw Supreme Creation and Dao Lord Luofu standing not far away. Both had been pillars in establishing the new Immortal Court back then, members of the Six Supremes and Twelve Wondrous.
Their appearance now was clearly to back up the Immortal Emperor.
Supreme Creation was Great Dao Lord Xuhuang's disciple, a man who had always harbored grand ambitions. Back then, seeing the people plunged into misery and despair, he resented Xuandu Jade Capital Mountain's inaction—how those in power merely guarded their own wealth and saw no future—and so he rebelled against Xuandu, raising the banner of uprising.
Dao Lord Luofu had already been a Daluo Golden Immortal back then, enjoying great renown. Seeing the multitude of living beings struggling and dying in suffering, his Dao heart was deeply moved; weeping bitterly, he severed his hair and joined the rebellion.
Both men had trodden upon countless bones to attain their current achievements and stature; their reputations were by no means unearned.
If they resorted to force, those two alone would be enough to suppress the various ancestral courts!
The present ancestral courts were a shadow of their former glory. To deal with Dao Lord Luofu, Gu Bunian, who had suffered two severe injuries, had previously required every one of them to mobilize. Now, Dao Lord Luofu had likely fully healed from his wounds. If Supreme Creation Yin Yuan joined the fray, the ancestral courts would probably face utter annihilation.
Even with the Far Ancestor Big Dragon and that big bell thrown into the mix, at best it might be a draw.
If they wanted to use force, it could only happen when the Ancestral God returned.
Xu Ying's gaze fell upon Supreme Creation. From afar, Supreme Creation bowed slightly and laughed. "Dao Ancestor Xu's lecture was truly magnificent and extraordinary! Hearing it struck a deep chord within me; I wished I could sever my cultivation realms right away and cultivate all over again."
Xu Ying bowed slightly in return. "Brother Daoist flatters me."
His eyes then swept over Dao Lord Luofu.
Dao Lord Luofu praised, "Dao Ancestor Xu's new path opens a whole new horizon. In particular, making the Supreme Realm the fifth realm of the Immortal Dao provided me with immense inspiration."
He too had arrived to listen for some time. Hearing Xu Ying expound on the Bodhimanda and Dao Scenery realms and witnessing Xu Ying's duels against the Dao Ancestors had left him marveling in admiration, feeling profound respect for Xu Ying.
"Brother Daoist flatters me," Xu Ying said, returning the bow.
"I wouldn't dare."
Dao Lord Luofu, Gu Bunian, returned the courtesy, but his eyes fell upon Lou Mingyu behind Xu Ying, casting him a resentful glare.
He had been injured by Lou Mingyu manipulating the Daming Palace, and after that, it was as if bad luck plagued him continuously: first ambushed by the Immortal Emperor, and later gang-attacked by the supreme treasures of the various ancestral courts.
The Last Lord of Ziwei had even taken the opportunity to sever a leg of his Ziwei Demon-Subduing Tripod, greatly diminishing the supreme treasure's power so that it was no longer what it once was. Consequently, he harbored a bitter grudge against Lou Mingyu.
Noticing his glare, Lou Mingyu thought to himself, *Such is the duty of the Dao Protector of the new path.*
The Immortal Emperor Supreme spoke, "Xu Ying, your mother is my foster daughter, and your father is Our worthy son-in-law. We shall not use your parents to coerce you. We come solely to debate the Dao, to seek an authentic Dao for this world!"
His voice was impassioned and resounding, ringing like clashing iron: "If you win, We shall honor you as the Dao Ancestor, and your Dao teachings shall be promoted far and wide! If you lose, your body shall perish and your Dao shall dissipate, and this so-called new path shall never be mentioned again! In three days, at Heavenly Abyss, We shall await your arrival!"
With that, he turned and departed.
Xu Ying frowned slightly, feeling deep concern within.
The Immortal Emperor's repeated mentions of his parents made it impossible for him not to worry.
"Dao Ancestor Xu, let me share your burden," Daoist Yuxu stepped forward and said. "I will set off at once for the Immortal Court to see your mother and protect her safety."
Hearing this, Daoist Taiqing said, "Brother Daoist alone might not be enough to deter Mingzun. I shall go with you."
Daoist Yuqing smiled. "To the Immortal Court, both of you are rebels. If you go there, wouldn't the Immortal Court treat it as facing a deadly foe? I fear all Nine Heavens and Nine Emperors of the Immortal Court would be dispatched. You two won't be able to hold them off; you'll need me as well."
Great Dao Lord Xuhuang said, "The Immortal Court is full of hidden dragons and crouching tigers; it must not be underestimated. I too shall go and oversee the situation."
At that moment, purple qi arrived from the east. A small boat bearing the corpse of the Last Lord of Ziwei reached the place. The corpse sat up from the boat and said, "Fellow Daoist Xu has shown grace to Ziwei. Naturally, I must go and lend my aid."
The Ten Yama Kings also walked forward one after another. King Qinguang said, "We have yet to repay the debt of our revival. We are willing to contribute what modest strength we have."
Deeply moved, Xu Ying bowed deeply to the ground. "Thank you, fellow Daoists."
Great Dao Lord Xuhuang said, "If Fellow Daoist Xu does not have absolute confidence, you may pay a visit to the Heavenly Dao Ancestral Court."
A stir went through the crowd, and they all said, "Indeed, you should visit the Heavenly Dao Ancestral Court."
After offering Xu Ying their respective reminders and encouragements, they took their leave one by one, heading toward the location of the Immortal Court in the Earth Immortal Realm.
Ever since Qingxuan rose in rebellion six hundred thousand years ago, wiping out the various Dao sects and toppling the Ziwei Immortal Court, this was the very first time the new Immortal Court had ever faced an incursion by so many Dao Ancestors. Naturally, they treated it as a supreme crisis!
Just as Great Dao Lord Xuhuang, the Last Lord of Ziwei, and the others entered the Immortal Court, the Nine Heavens and Nine Emperors received word. Upon hearing the news, the newly appointed Yantian Great Emperor nearly dropped the imperial seal and sovereign bell to flee in panic.
"Are those old bastards staging a restoration?" he couldn't help but cry out.
The newly appointed Yantian Great Emperor was surnamed Zhao and named Dezhu. Because the Changsheng Emperor had rebelled, he was unwilling to inherit the Changsheng Emperor's title; however, the predecessor of the Changsheng Emperor, the earlier Yantian Great Emperor, had also rebelled and stirred up chaos, so the title of Yantian Emperor could not be inherited either.
In the end, he could only take the sovereign title of Emperor Dezhu—inspired by "those who possess the Dao find abundant help"—which sounded rather refined.
Before Emperor Dezhu could even pack his belongings, the other eight emperors descended aggressively from the Nine Heavens to Yantian. He had no choice but to bite the bullet and follow them toward the imperial court, thoroughly reluctant in his heart.
*I've only just ascended to the seat of Yantian Great Emperor and haven't even had the chance to enjoy it—am I about to die heroically? Well, I suppose that's fine too. My two predecessors both rebelled, while I alone will have died a martyr...*
When the Nine Heavens and Nine Emperors arrived at the imperial palace, they saw the emperors and Dao Ancestors of the old path—including Taiqing, Yuqing, Yuxu, the Ten Yama Kings, and the Last Lord of Ziwei—sitting solemnly in the sky above Weiyang Palace, with Great Dao Lord Xuhuang honored as the foremost among them.
There were indeed figures addressed as Dao Lord in the Immortal Court, such as Dao Lord Jiugong, but none could be called "Great."
Particularly in ancient times, rank and status were taken very seriously, and titles carried immense significance; whenever the word "Great" was affixed, the person almost certainly possessed extraordinary distinction.
However, this was the Immortal Court of the new path. The arrival of these Heaven and Earth Primordial Spirits and emperor remnants of the old path brought immense pollution to the Immortal Court. Around Weiyang Palace, the Immortal Dao ceased to exist; the fabric of space-time was filled with kaleidoscopic patches of color, mottled in every shade.
Furthermore, the copulation of the old Immortal Dao and the new Immortal Dao spawned bizarre organisms of indeterminate nature. They crawled across the void, growing in every direction—fleshy, slimy, resembling both plants and animals, like grotesque creatures crawling out of the deepest oceanic abysses.
"These old bastards are terrifyingly aggressive!"
Feeling a chill in their hearts, the Nine Heavens and Nine Emperors sat opposite Great Dao Lord Xuhuang and his companions. Neither side initiated combat, nor did they trade insults; instead, each activated their own Great Daos to counter the pollution of the other.
Seeing this, Daoist Taiqing chuckled to Yuqing, "Senior Brother, look at them. As expected of heretics and outer daos! What kind of Immortal Dao is that? It only pollutes the sky."
At this moment, Xu Jing and Lan Suying were residing within Weiyang Palace. Lan Suying asked, "Has Primordial Monarch Zitong been brought over yet?"
Xu Jing shook his head. "Not yet."
Lan Suying's face shifted slightly, and she urged anxiously, "Disaster! Hurry and fetch her!"
Xu Jing said, "From what I've seen, Ying'er has always been hot and cold toward this Primordial Monarch Zitong, not particularly fond of her. Instead, he seems quite taken with a woman named Qingbi in the ancestral court down below."
"It's not the same!"
Lan Suying spoke rapidly, "Primordial Monarch Zitong and Ah Ying fell together forty-eight thousand years ago. Their romance and entanglement spanning ten thousand lives have already woven a vast web of reincarnation around each other. Both of them are caught in that snare, inextricably affecting one another! If something happens to one of them, the power of reincarnation will drag the other in as well—there is no escaping it!"
Since the two of them could not easily leave Weiyang Palace, they immediately requested Divine Mother and others to search for Primordial Monarch Zitong. However, when Divine Mother and her companions arrived at Primordial Monarch Zitong's residence, the monarch was not at home, having vanished without a trace.
Divine Mother's heart sank. She attempted to divine Primordial Monarch Zitong's whereabouts, but could not divine an accurate reading no matter what.
She hurried back to report this to Lan Suying. Cold sweat broke out on Lan Suying's brow. This plot targeting the present Xu Ying had been laid by the Immortal Emperor Supreme forty-eight thousand years ago.
At the crucial moment of Xu Ying's battle against him, if Zitong was killed, the cycle of reincarnation would be triggered, dragging Xu Ying into it via the power of reincarnation!
"Does Ying'er know about this?" Xu Jing asked.
"He knows, but knowing is useless," Lan Suying said. "He has already been entangled with that girl for ten thousand lifetimes. It cannot be severed."
Meanwhile, Xu Ying entrusted the task of spreading the new path to Lou Mingyu, instructing him to cultivate while promoting the new path. He said, "If I fall in battle, you may serve as the Dao Ancestor of the new path."
Lou Mingyu was startled. "How could I possibly presume to take on such a mantle?"
"The torch is passed from hand to hand; there is no need to decline."
Taking leave of them, Xu Ying arrived at the Heavenly Dao Ancestral Court. Senior Brother Tian descended from the sky and said to Xu Ying, "Dao Ancestor Xu, follow me."
Xu Ying smiled. "Senior Brother Tian, you can just call me Junior Brother."
Senior Brother Tian shook his head. "Seniority must not be thrown into disarray. Dao Ancestor Xu is the Dao Ancestor of the new path. If I were to call you Junior Brother, the future great achievers of the new path would all blame you for demeaning your status."
Xu Ying had no choice but to let it drop.
Senior Brother Tian guided him to the emerald rock. The big bell and Big Dragon were still beside the emerald rock, painstakingly studying the secrets of the emerald rock cultivation technique. Seeing this emerald rock, Xu Ying was visibly moved. Stepping forward quickly, he examined it for a moment and exclaimed in surprise, "A cultivation technique for the Ninth Realm of the Dao—the Incorruptible Realm?"
Senior Brother Tian nodded. "Master Bell said the same."
Seeing him arrive, the big bell was overjoyed. "Ah Ying, what's recorded on this emerald rock is the Ninth Realm of the Dao! I've been poring over it for more than half a year! By now, your cultivation might not even surpass mine!"
Senior Brother Tian quietly mentioned that Xu Ying had founded the new path. The big bell was utterly astonished. Senior Brother Tian then told it that Xu Ying was about to duel Mingzun. The big bell grew alarmed and said hurriedly, "Ah Ying, I'll pass everything I've comprehended to you! The technique on this emerald rock is of the Ninth Realm—it will definitely beat that old rascal!"
Xu Ying laughed. "Rest easy, Master Bell. I do not fear that old rascal!"
He observed for a while longer, studying the Immortal Dao patterns and comparing them with the principles on the other side. After pondering for a moment, he said, "Though the technique inscribed on the emerald rock is wondrous and extraordinary, reaching straight into the Incorruptible Realm, it is of little practical use for my decisive battle in three days. Rather than wasting time trying to decipher it, I would do better to spend these three days stabilizing my cultivation. I'm going out for a walk."
The big bell said hurriedly, "I'll go with you!"
Xu Ying shook his head and walked outward, his figure drifting gracefully. "Master Bell, wait for me at Heavenly Abyss in three days!"
The big bell rushed after him, only to see that Xu Ying had already walked out of the Heavenly Dao Ancestral Court, his silhouette vanishing even as he spoke.
At this moment, the Immortal Emperor Supreme was not in the Immortal Court either.
Strolling with leisurely steps, he walked through the Yingquan World as if taking an idle promenade. Accompanying him was an elegant, lovely woman—none other than Primordial Monarch Zitong of the Immortal Court.
Primordial Monarch Zitong's appearance in this lifetime was different from her first lifetime. In this life, she bore the appearance of Yuan Weiyang, Yuan Rushi.
"My master, Qingxuan, often told me that once great deeds were accomplished in the future, if he were to retire, he would live in seclusion at Yanxia Mountain in the Yingquan World. This place may not be an immortal realm, but it surpasses one," the Immortal Emperor Supreme said leisurely. "The old gentleman loved this place. He once said that he was originally a seeker of the Dao, forced by circumstance onto the path of rebellion. In the future, he must never forget his original aspiration; after fighting for the lives of the common people, he would reclaim that original heart, living in seclusion here to seek the Dao and verify that supreme, unsurpassed truth."
As they spoke, the two had already arrived at Yanxia Mountain. Wisps of cooking smoke curled up from the mountain. In the courtyard of a household, a large pot was stewing some unknown meat, giving off a savory aroma.
Beside it, on a reclining chair, the good-for-nothing Qingxuan lay flat on his back, snoring away in deep slumber, his limbs splayed out on the ground.
The Immortal Emperor frowned slightly. This hardly looked like someone seeking the Dao.
Chapter 616