Chapter 715: Dao Ancestor Arrives!
In the royal hall of the Shang Palace.
Before he realized, Di Xin aged and was no longer young. Although he was still in his prime, he was sitting on the throne at that moment. His burly figure was a little hunched, and he had many white hairs overnight.
More than ten ministers sat behind two rows of short tables. They remained silent and did not dare to say anything.
After an unknown period of time, Di Xin asked in a hoa.r.s.e voice “Do you want a letter?”
Bi Gan stood up and said, “Your Majesty, Xi Qi is far from Chaoge. We also need the Fire Beacon to send a message…”
“Report…”
A general suddenly ran out of the hall. He cupped his fists and shouted,
“The Grand Tutor, Wen Zhong, led the army to attack Xi Qi City. However, the rebels from the north and south happened to rush over and surround the Grand Tutor in Xi Qi City. He… died in battle. The rear army has already returned to various pa.s.ses. I will follow the Grand Tutor’s orders and defend the Zhou Nation! ”
“Huh?”
“Grandmaster, why?!”
“Your Majesty, I’m willing to lead the troops to seek justice!”
The expressions of the ministers changed drastically. A few of them even panicked. They stood up and knocked over the short table.
Di Xin closed his eyes and was silent. His body trembled a few times, but he did not lose his composure.
When the hall quietened down, Di Xin spoke. His aura could not help but tremble.
“Someone, bring the Grand Tutor in and give him to your ministers.”
A few armored soldiers immediately walked over and placed the bamboo slips in their arms in front of the ministers.
Di Xin said, “The Grand Tutor is trapped in Xi Qi. At the end of his life, he visited his dreams and offered six strategies to save the country. Apart from the first plan, the other five plans were discussed. The Grand Tutor said that he would be the one to bear the blame. What about me? What about Shang? Chaoge City is mourning the death of the Grand Tutor for ten days. Anyone who disobeys would be executed. Uncle w.a.n.g.”
“Your Majesty.” Bi Gan bowed.
“You will temporarily take on the role of the Grandmaster in the internal affairs. You will order Fei Lian to temporarily take on the role of the Grandmaster in the external affairs. The various battles will temporarily stop. Find one or two small countries to pardon them and show the benevolence of the Shang Dynasty. Uncle w.a.n.g, you have the Heart of Seven Orifices. Everyone knows that you are smart and intelligent. You are also the most famous person in the royal family. If you come to correct my mistakes and write a memorial, you can scold me for my mistakes and flaws at will. I will naturally admit my mistakes.”
Di Xin sighed weakly.
“The Grand Tutor said that we did not take the wrong path. It’s just that the method we used was wrong and the goal was unknown. It was too radical. If it were any other day, I would naturally not believe what the Grand Tutor had said. How could I believe it? However, the Grand Tutor had asked me in a dream before he died. What else could I say? After that, everyone carefully listened to the Grandmaster’s words. I will temporarily return to the palace to rest. From now on, the Shang Dynasty will have one less pillar of support. There are also outsiders who want to plot against us and cause trouble for the Shang Dynasty. The path ahead is vast, and the destiny of the country is troublesome. I want to settle the foundation of my ancestors. I need everyone’s full help. The Grand Tutor has fallen. The Great Shang Dynasty cannot fall.”
The King, who was still in high spirits a few days ago, stood up. His bloodshot eyes were fixed on the dozen or so important ministers below. Then, he sighed and walked to the side of the platform with his hands behind his back. He walked out of the side hall.
The officials bowed in unison. They picked up the bamboo slips in front of them and carefully read the words engraved on them.
Star-Picking Inn.
Di Xin’s body was stuck in the soft couch. His eyes were a little empty. He was silent and did not know what to say.
A beauty walked over leisurely from the side. A pair of slender hands gently pressed on Di Xin’s shoulder and called softly, “Your Majesty, don’t work too hard…”
“My beloved concubine, let me be quiet for a while.”
“Your Majesty…”
“Leave.”
“Yes.” Daji hurriedly took half a step back and bowed slightly to Di Xin. She turned around and left the bedroom.
She did not go far. She rested on the soft couch by the pool at the side of the pool. She released some immortal senses and paid attention to the empty pavilion. Di Xin sat there like a clay statue.
On the G.o.d-Conferment Platform, Wen Zhong stood quietly in the southeast corner. He stared at the faint clouds outside the universe and did not move for a long time.
In the distance, there were endless songs in the hall. The immortal banquet that was meant for Wen Zhong to welcome him had already become a segment of the poetry presentation of a disciple of Jie School.
Life is short, one should enjoy whenever possible.
No one paid attention to Wen Zhong, the protagonist who was being welcomed. He could not help but feel desolate.
…
“Sister, what are you thinking about?”
In Yun Xiao’s boudoir on the Three-Immortal Island, the fairy who was leaning against the window and staring at the jade statue outside the building retracted her attention when she heard that. She turned around and smiled warmly at Qiong Xiao, who was holding a cup of wine.
Yun Xiao said gently, “I’m thinking about how Brother is doing on the G.o.d-Conferment Platform.”
“How can it be bad?”
Qiong Xiao covered her mouth and chuckled. She teased, “Now, our brother must be extremely arrogant. If we kill the Sixth Saint, won’t the Heavenly Courts treat him like a treasure? I seem to have heard Eldest Senior Brother say that Eldest Brother is now tenth on the Heavenly Dao Sequence. Brother-in-law is also just ninth on the Heavenly Dao Sequence.”
Yun Xiao smiled and shook her head. As her dress fluttered, she had already arrived behind the short table. She stared at the clear wine and fell into a daze.
Qiong Xiao blinked and did not ask further. She picked up her wine gla.s.s and took a sip.
A moment later, Yun Xiao chuckled and whispered, “Qiong Xiao, tell me, did he arrange everything or did something change?”
“This…”
Qiong Xiao could not help but tilt her head and moan softly. “It’s hard to say. From the situation at that time, it seems that he killed the Sixth Saint in a fit of anger. However, Brother-in-law is cunning. Hmph! He has deep foresight and is always making arrangements. He can see everything that happens behind him with every step he takes. If he really killed the Sixth Saint in a fit of anger, this Saint would be too easy to kill. He should have been prepared. Moreover, how could the twenty-four heavens have evolved just like that? There is also the Heavenly Dao hierarchy. Brother-in-law has been busy for hundreds of years. He had dealt with the dragon race and helped the Netherworld. He had forcefully pulled the Heavenly Courts to its current position and obtained the tenth place in the Heavenly Dao hierarchy. Brother’s authority in the Heavenly Dao was only slightly inferior to Brother-in-law’s. It was higher than Ksitigarbha, who had completed the Six Paths of Reincarnation. That was not something that could be done easily. Only Big Brother foolishly felt that Brother-in-law was angry for his brother. This must be Brother-in-law’s plan.”
Yun Xiao looked at Qiong Xiao reproachfully and said seriously, “Changshou only schemed so much to save Big Brother.”
“Yes, yes, yes. I said something wrong.”
Qiong Xiao’s eyes curved into crescents. “Sister, you haven’t married him yet. You don’t want me to say that he’s not. Ah, whatever sisterhood is fake. The companions.h.i.+p over those few hundreds of years is also fake.”
Yun Xiao could not say anything. She felt that what her sister said made sense. She had indeed neglected her two sisters. Her heart was worried about the immortal G.o.d in the sky.
“This is my mistake.” Yun Xiao sighed softly. “However, I can’t do anything about it. Love is bittersweet. There are many benefits. If you can find someone you like in the future, you will naturally understand.”
Qiong Xiao made a face and complained, “Sister, you’re being too high-sounding. How are we going to find the person we like? It’s probably difficult to find another extraordinary person like Brother-in-law.”
“He’s actually not an extraordinary person.”
Yun Xiao thought carefully and smiled. Her eyes were filled with gratification and joy. She was clearly a Connate mighty figure, but her heart sank.
“He just has some extraordinary and unbelievable thoughts. The principles that he believes in often makes me ponder. I will gain something out of it every time.”
As she spoke, Yun Xiao picked up the wine cup with her slender fingers and took a sip. She said gently, “At this moment, I only want to wait for the Great Tribulation to pa.s.s and be able to accompany him. I don’t need to endure such invisible suffering.”
Qiong Xiao was speechless.
Her sister was almost hopeless.
“I wonder how the next Great Tribulation will work.” Qiong Xiao looked at the clouds outside the window. “I keep feeling that this Great Tribulation is different from what we think. Although the world is filled with killing intent, there is much less baneful aura. Moreover, it is only limited to us and Chan School. The ancient Great Tribulations are terrifying. There are living beings everywhere. It’s difficult to distinguish them from each other. The world might shatter at any time.”
Yun Xiao said, “It’s not a good thing if there are casualties. Don’t look forward to a huge scene.”
“Oh.” Qiong Xiao agreed and placed her elbows on the short table. She turned her body and looked out the window.
…
How long could those countermeasures help the Shang Nation?
It was difficult for Li Changshou to make a judgment.
He had actually lied to Wen Zhong a little and coaxed him to say that the situation in the world had changed. He needed the king of the Shang Nation to resist the Heavenly Fate for a while.
Actually…
After killing the Sixth Saint, the power of living beings in the world retreated. Many of the power of the Great Tribulation dissipated. The att.i.tude of the Chan School and Jie School had changed.
Although the change of royal authority in the mortal world of the South Continent was still extremely important to the luck of the world, it did not have much weight in the battle between Li Changshou and the Dao Ancestor.
The reason Li Changshou attacked was purely to see how the Heavenly Dao and the Dao Ancestor could break through the situation and deepen their understanding of the Heavenly Dao and the Dao Ancestor. It would be good if he could increase his chances of winning.
The matter of Chan intercepting the merger was really difficult to deal with.
The theory was very rich and the actions were very orthodox.
The difficult part was how to make Second Uncle-Master and Third Uncle-Master accept his philosophy and promote it to the Chan School and Jie School.
The Dao Ancestor would definitely not sit back and do nothing. He would use various methods to pressure and split the Dao Sect.
That was the biggest problem he was facing.
In the straw hut by the lake, Li Changshou placed his hands in his long hair and stared at the dozens of jade talismans in front of him. One moment, he would set the jade talismans in the shape of a snake, and the next moment, he would set up a “wooden jade hut”.
No matter how he thought about it, he had to get rid of the Dao Ancestor if he wanted to complete the Chan segregation.
That is, I have to kill the Dao Ancestor first before I can rescue Chan School and Jie School from the Great Tribulation.
That is too difficult.
Is the Dao Ancestor the Sixth Saint? Can he be slapped by my teacher so easily that he almost fell off the throne?
Most importantly…
It was just like when he played video games in his previous life. If he wanted to conquer the monster, he would have to deplete the monster’s health bar, right?
It was one thing if he could not defeat them. Now that the Dao Ancestor had Dao Integration and the Heavenly Dao, the Dao Ancestor was the Heavenly Dao.
He could not barge into the Purple Cloud Palace and shout, “Grandmaster, show your health bar!”
He reckoned that the Dao Ancestor could directly condense the power of the world. Even if he could not kill the “one who escaped”, he could still shake himself into a half paralyzed state and find a dark and cold corner to stuff himself.
The reason the Dao Ancestor did not deal with him was actually for another reason. It involved the deepest game between them.
Li Changshou flicked his finger and the jade talismans in front of him scattered on the table. He casually fiddled with them.
According to the current line of thought, the Chan School and Jie School unification had to happen after the Great Tribulation and become an important method to protect the Dao Sect’s destiny and teachings so that the philosophy of the Dao would not dissipate in the world.
That was the game content for the next stage.
Stage?
That’s right. Li Changshou’s game with the Heavenly Dao would be divided into four stages.
The first stage was the acc.u.mulation period. It began at the beginning of the Great G.o.d-Conferment Tribulation. His master, Qi Yuan, died.
At that time, he needed strength and sufficient Dao Realm. He needed to be able to see through the many secrets of the world, the Heavenly Dao, and the Dao Ancestor. He needed to perfect his fighting outline and formulate the follow-up plans and various backup plans.
The second stage was the period of forbearance. It began when he conquered the Kun Peng Ark.
At that time, he did not even dare to mention the rebellion. He did not even think about it. He was focused on increasing his strength and secretly accepting Senior Lang’s inheritance. It was actually a loophole of the Dao Ancestor’s Life Gate and the Heavenly Dao.
The third stage was the stage of tactical confusion. It began after he had made arrangements for Nezha.
At that time, Li Changshou had already become the biggest variable after taking in the variables of Yang Jian and Nezha. At that time, he was focused on hiding and kept talking about escaping from the Primordial World every day.
Anyway, the truth could not be distinguished.
At this stage, Li Changshou could not avoid opposing the Heavenly Dao, but he tried his best to confuse the Heavenly Dao.
At that moment, he was in the late stage of tactical confusion.
Li Changshou had basically confirmed that in another five to ten years, the Great G.o.d-Conferment Tribulation would completely end. There would definitely be a battle between Saints. He would have to face the Heavenly Dao and enter the fourth stage.
After careful consideration and comprehensive a.n.a.lysis, he counterattacked appropriately.
What would the Dao Ancestor do next?
In fact, the Dao Ancestor had nothing to do. Just like Li Changshou, their respective arrangements had been completed. They were waiting for the results of the matter before directing the results in a direction that was beneficial to them.
Just wait.
If the Dao Ancestor did not move, he would not move.
As long as the Dao Ancestor moved, his chances of winning would increase by at least 0.1%.
Hence, in the next few years, Li Changshou lived quite leisurely. It was also the most active year of his main body.
He would go to the Moon Palace to teach Chang’e and the others dance. He would also drink and play with old officials like General Dongmu and Elder Moon.
He would go to the Lingxiao Hall to listen to the court session. He would stand at the head of the platform, scaring some old officials until they trembled.
He nurtured a team and handed the refinement method of the “live broadcast” bronze mirror to the Heavenly Courts. At the same time, he set the rules for the “green live broadcast”.
He was concerned about the Queen Mother’s body. He gave her a few Spirit Conception Pills that he had obtained from the Grand Supreme Elder and asked the Jade Emperor to gather the Seven Dragon Pearls and seven fairies as soon as possible.
He would also go to the South Continent to take a look. He would stroll in the mortal land for half a day and rest in the mountains and rivers for a few days.
In fact, he even brought Ling’e to visit the town twice. He told Ling’e earnestly that she would not have a chance to play in such places in the future.
Of course, the place that he went to the most was the G.o.d-Conferment Platform which had become a training inst.i.tution for immortals and immortals.
He mostly drank and chatted with Zhao Gongming, hoping that the two little guys would be extremely cute after the G.o.ddess of Golden Spirit gave birth to them.
However, the G.o.ddess of Golden Spirit wanted to give birth after the Great Tribulation.
Connate mighty figures were just that mystical. There was no need to follow the rules of mortals. The longer the children were born in their bodies, the higher the starting point of their birth.
There was no way to compare. He could not afford to offend him.
Li Changshou did not observe the changes in the Shang Nation of the South Continent carefully. He roughly looked at the meaning.
Wen Zhong repeated the few strategies that he had given Wen Zhong to Di Xin.
Wen Zhong’s death touched Di Xin greatly. It also made Di Xin directly bear the pressure from the immortals and mortals.
There was also a “traitor of the G.o.ddess’s Palace” beside Di Xin.
The deeper his relations.h.i.+p with Daji, the more obedient she would be to him. She even said things like Chan School, Jie School, the Immortal Tribulation, and so on that should not have been said to the mortal human emperors.
Dixin was depressed for months. However, when he issued a series of new policies, his spirit was filled again.
In the beginning, the va.s.sals did not take the new government seriously. Most of them felt that the Shang Nation was already on the decline. Wen Zhong’s death was a sign that the Shang Nation was about to fall.
In the new government, Di Xin had crippled more than ten tortures to weaken the ties and strengthen the rules of punishment and law.
He would reduce some taxes and give some money to the merchants who released the slaves.
He established the military merit system and the medal system for the people. He gave corresponding rewards to the merchants who did good, eliminated evil, and were loyal and filial.
If a slave saved a merchant, the slave would be free.
The slaves who had been farming for ten years could obtain a piece of land in a remote area.
He would visit old and weak merchants regularly…
The list goes on.
At the same time, Di Xin also posted a notice to the outside world, stating the purpose of his series of actions—to inherit the will of his ancestors and establish a brand new Shang Dynasty.
The elderly and children had some reliance. They value righteousness and morals. They set the rules and draw the area.
Di Xin still said those words at the royal court.
“Since the Shang Dynasty has conquered the va.s.sal states once, they can conquer them again.”
Di Xin completely gave up on roping in those rebellious va.s.sals. He transferred his troops to guard various places and focused his superior troops to deal with the greatest calamity of the Jiang Family in the east.
In that case, in just a few years, the situation in the Shang Dynasty unexpectedly stabilized again.
The voices of opposition against Di Xin in Chaoge City became softer and softer. The old officials began to think about the way to survive. The merchants were more and more eager to enter the Shang army. Food and fodder were continuously transported to the border.
In contrast, the Zhou Nation joined forces with the va.s.sals and gathered the troops of the va.s.sals. They held the first military parade in the mortal world of the human race in the Land of Meng Jin. Hundreds of va.s.sals were summoned, and the army was continuous.
The va.s.sals formed a blood pact with a concubine and Ji Fa was called the Martial King whose focus was on the richest land of Shang.
Behind him, there was naturally the constant help of Chan School. Many va.s.sals had even been persuaded by the immortals of Chan School to join the Zhou Nation’s array.
The new government of Di Xin.
Meng Jin Alliance.
In just a few years, the mortal human race had completely split into two factions. Moreover, Di Xin’s side still had the advantage.
Similarly, because Jie School had changed their strategy, they had greatly reduced their support for the merchants. In the past few years, only a dozen immortals from Jie School and Chan School had fought to their deaths. The G.o.d-Conferment Platform had not improved at all.
What will the Heavenly Dao do?
What method would the Dao Ancestor use to restrain the Great G.o.d-Conferment Tribulation?
Li Changshou was a little curious.
That day, he rode a cloud out of General Dongmu’s Immortal Abode and returned to his Grand White Palace and Little Qiong Peak. Just as he stepped into the door of the Grand White Palace, Li Changshou suddenly felt a Dao rune slide down from the Nine Heavens and descend towards the Little Qiong Peak.
Li Changshou glared and flashed out.
This extremely obscure Dao rune!
This mysterious aura!
There are also strange ripples that appeared in the universe!
Li Changshou’s figure flickered a few times and entered the array formation that he had set up. He rushed into the array formation outside the Pill Chamber and appeared in front of the wooden sign. He frowned and looked at the “guest room” in the forest in front of him.
A burly Daoist stood in front of the wooden sign and calmly sized up the words on it.
Broad robe, long hair, Dao Headband…
Ling’e, who was trapped by the Chaos Bell in the straw hut,
In the spiritual beast enclosure and lake, the spiritual beasts and spiritual fish were trembling…
Li Changshou quickly adjusted his expression and took a few steps forward.
“Grandmaster, why didn’t you tell me that you were coming? I can clean and tidy up the place.”