Chapter 598: Acting on Heaven's Behalf

The young Jiang Guo walked out of the fairy mountains and followed Chen Shi, only to see that youth leading the black dog toward Yian Immortal City.

He followed Chen Shi to Yian Immortal City, watching as a small temple emerged behind Chen Shi's head. Chen Shi left the small temple beneath the city walls, muttering incantations under his breath.

The young Jiang Guo looked closely and saw that the immortal city floated in the air, with the small temple hidden in the city's shadow.

Beside it, the black dog took out a bundle of incense, which Chen Shi lit and planted before the small temple. Then the man and dog departed.

The young Jiang Guo waited until they had gone far, then approached. He saw that although the temple appeared small, it had every necessary part, floating serenely within the energy of incense offerings.

Even more peculiar was the small plot of land before the temple, where a purple gourd vine grew, suspended in midair, its tendrils piercing into the void.

"What is this fellow disciple doing?" Jiang Guo was quite curious.

At that moment, thunder rumbled from outside.

Yian Immortal City.

Outside the city came the sound of weeping, along with piercing suona horns. Even high above on the floating immortal city, the sounds could be heard clearly, causing Yian's guardian Chao Huang to feel growing unease in his heart.

This Clay Bodhisattva Incident had claimed far too many lives.

The surrounding lands were all his territory, his subjects, and many of them had died as well. Now, quite a number of families were holding funeral rites.

The divine officials of the Thunder Ministry had come this time under the divine lord's decree to reprimand Chao Huang, ordering him to do everything in his power to treat the injured civilians, soothe the people's hearts, and provide money and grain.

Chao Huang listened quietly, occasionally responding with acknowledgment.

After the divine officials departed, he listened to the weeping that reached his ears and sighed softly to himself.

"In prosperity, the people suffer. In ruin, the people suffer. These words do not deceive me. Whether in rise or fall, the people always bear the hardship. This time, the people suffer once again."

Chao Huang sighed again, then summoned the cultivators of the city and ordered them to go out to all regions as quickly as possible to heal the sick and rescue the wounded. For households that had suffered severe casualties, he waived three years of corvée labor. He also ordered granaries opened to distribute grain and relief to the people.

After making all the arrangements, he returned to the Chao Manor, his footsteps growing lighter with each step.

His heart gradually lightened as well. Inside the manor, many immortals bowed to him: "City Lord!"

"City Lord!"

"We pay our respects to the City Lord!"

Chao Huang was in excellent spirits, nodding to each of them with a smile.

"Our Feng'an Commandery has suffered a great calamity this time, and all of you have narrowly escaped death. Today, I shall hold a banquet at my residence to honor you all." He smiled.

The assembled immortals all voiced their agreement, delighted. They were all immortals of Feng'an Commandery, mostly members of Chao Huang's own clan, and many bore the surname Chao. Even those with different surnames had countless connections to the Chao family.

There were also some immortal sects within Feng'an Commandery. Though few in number, they did have immortals among their ranks, but they had long since been pushed out of Feng'an Commandery, only managing to visit once in a while. As for the sects they had left behind, even if their disciples crossed tribulation and cultivated to the Ascension realm, they had no place to achieve Dao Unification.

Any place in Feng'an Commandery where Dao Unification was possible had long since borne the surname Chao.

The entire Chao Manor bustled with activity. The kitchens prepared all manner of delicacies—dragon liver, phoenix gall, qilin palm—with immortals using their own true fire to refine the dishes, their exotic fragrances wafting through the air. Fruits from various immortal trees were laid out plate after plate.

There were also fine wines aged for who knows how many years, stored in jade bottles, held by beautiful women fair as celestial maidens who warmed the wine against their chests. When the aroma was just right, they would pour it for the immortals to savor.

Should the wine cool even slightly, those heavenly beauties would return it to their bosoms to warm once more.

Before the hall, goblets clinked and passed back and forth. Within the hall, song and dance flourished.

A Chao clan immortal swayed unsteadily as he rose, raising his cup with three parts drunkenness, and laughed: "Chao Shuang offers a toast to the City Lord! Ever since those great monks from the Western Paradise came to our Feng'an Commandery, life has grown worse and worse! The great monk's territory pays no taxes, contributes no grain, performs no corvée labor, and there's no one left to do any work in Yian! Those poor wretches would sooner sell themselves into slavery at Mahāsthāma Monastery than work for Yian! But now, the great monk has taken his monks and fled, so those poor wretches have to work for us again!"

Chao Huang frowned and rebuked him: "Chao Shuang, you're drunk. Watch your tongue!"

Another Chao clan immortal laughed: "Why must the ancestor be so cautious? Mahāsthāma Monastery has already moved away, and there are no outsiders here. Isn't Feng'an Commandery ours to command? Apart from the gods of the Thunder Ministry in Thunderclap Mystic Province, we are the heavens in Feng'an Commandery!"

Chao Huang slammed the table heavily and roared: "Enough!"

The hall fell silent instantly. Everyone set down their cups, and the singing girls stopped their dancing.

The assembled guests held their breath, not daring to make a sound.

Chao Huang's face darkened as he swept his gaze across the room. His bearing was solemn, his voice resonant as he said gravely: "This Feng'an Commandery is not the Chao family's Feng'an Commandery. It is the Thunder Ministry's Feng'an Commandery, the Celestial Court's Feng'an Commandery! I, Chao Huang, was favored by the Celestial Court to be appointed guardian of Yian in Feng'an Commandery. All my life, I have been diligent and devoted, never daring a single day of negligence. That is loyalty!"

His tone was earnest, carrying the feeling of one disappointed in those who failed to meet expectations, and he continued at length: "It is loyalty that has earned the Celestial Court's trust in me! Do you think you became immortals through your own abilities? Wrong! It is through loyalty to the Celestial Court that you were able to become immortals! My Chao family has received heaven's grace, and we must devote ourselves wholly to the Celestial Court, sacrificing the smaller self to achieve greater accomplishments!"

"The land of Feng'an Commandery is the Celestial Court's land, the Thunder Ministry's land, not my Chao family's land! After Mahāsthāma Monastery relocated, this Feng'an Commandery still does not belong to my Chao family—it belongs to the Celestial Court, to the Thunder Ministry!"

He swept his gaze across the room once more: "Now, do you understand? Do not put the Chao family first. Loyalty to the Thunder Ministry and the Celestial Court comes first! The Celestial Court and the Thunder Ministry will never let down anyone who serves them with dedication and duty!"

The assembled crowd suddenly understood and voiced their agreement one after another, and the atmosphere immediately livened up.

Song and dance resumed, and all was peaceful and prosperous once more.

Chao Huang raised his cup and celebrated with everyone before settling back down. Watching the joyful crowd, his mind wandered slightly: "Without Mahāsthāma Monastery, without the Bodhisattva of Great Strength, without those monks, the land of Feng'an Commandery is still mine. These subjects are still my subjects. The grain and money I gave out today can still be reclaimed!"

Those monks were truly detestable, competing with him for Feng'an Commandery. But fortunately, Chu Xiangxiu had returned, seeking vengeance against Mahāsthāma Monastery and causing the Clay Bodhisattva Incident.

It was also fortunate that the Celestial Court had sent the Fire Battalion to investigate the case, driving away the Bodhisattva of Great Strength and Mahāsthāma Monastery.

"In the Celestial Court, I've reached my ceiling. I'll always be just the guardian of Yian in Feng'an Commandery, and I'll never rise higher in this lifetime. If I can't rise, then my descendants can't rise either. I'm just a guardian, so my descendants will at most be guardians. As long as the Thunder Ministry and the Celestial Court remain above me, I have no hope of further advancement."

He thought to himself silently, "So, the Thunder Ministry must be eliminated. And the Celestial Court must be overthrown too. This time was a good opportunity, but what intel did the Celestial Court catch wind of that they sent a heavenly soldier camp?"

His expression shifted unpredictably.

Had it been an ordinary heavenly soldier camp, they would all be dead in the Dao pollution by now. But he hadn't expected that among this camp there would be someone called Chen Shi, who was truly formidable—he had even forced the Bodhisattva of Great Strength to concede and relocate Mahāsthāma Monastery, foiling many of Chao Huang's plans.

"If the Western Paradise and the Celestial Court were to clash, then I would have rendered great service. When merits are rewarded, I could become a Tai Yi Golden Immortal and be appointed as a provincial governor. My descendants' ceiling would then be provincial governor as well."

He sighed softly to himself. Man proposes, heaven disposes. He had done well enough, but he still hadn't anticipated such a turn of events.

A monumental achievement had vanished into thin air.

Just then, a rumbling sound echoed from the sky. The immortals in the hall remarked in surprise: "Thunder? Could the gods of the Thunder Ministry be summoning clouds and rain? Didn't it just rain here not long ago?"

Even as they spoke, the thunder grew louder and more frequent. A torrential downpour poured from the heavens. Looking out from the hall, all that met the eye was a vast white curtain of rain, and the other buildings of Yian Immortal City were hidden behind the rain.

Moisture drifted into the hall from outside, and the scent of it was refreshing to the soul.

In the heavy rain, figures braved the downpour, approaching. They looked like two people at first, but as they drew closer, the assembled crowd could see it was one man and one dog. The dog stood upright on its hind legs, wearing heavenly soldier armor, walking just like a person.

The man and dog arrived at this immortal hall, and the Chao clan immortals inside finally recognized him as the heavenly soldier Chen Shi who had made such a stir in the Clay Bodhisattva Incident—a youth who had ascended not long ago, with a handsome face and the sharp spirit of youth.

The black dog shook its body vigorously before the hall, splattering rainwater everywhere.

The immortals inside hurriedly activated their mana to shield themselves and the dishes from the spray, avoiding embarrassment, but the singing girls and dancers lacked such cultivation and were drenched by the water flicked from the dog, letting out startled cries.

Chen Shi carried a large purple gourd on his back. The gourd looked as though it had been carved from purple jade, without a single trace of impurity.

Chen Shi wore a smile as he walked toward Yian's guardian Chao Huang, chuckling: "Lord Chao, as a divine official of the Thunder Ministry, you must surely be well-versed in the arts of summoning clouds and rain as well? What do you think of my spell?"

Chao Huang glanced left and right, and immediately two Chao clan immortals rose from the banquet on either side, both walking toward Chen Shi simultaneously. One extended his left hand, the other his right hand, reaching for Chen Shi's shoulders. The man on the left laughed: "So it's Lord Chen! We've heard so much about you..."

"Shhk!"

Two beams of sword light flew out from the purple gourd, flashing past the necks of the two Chao clan immortals. The pair only saw a blinding flash of light before freezing in place involuntarily, beads of sweat forming on their foreheads.

On their necks, droplets of blood also flew out. At the same moment, a line of blood appeared on the necks of their Primordial Spirits.

Their Dao Realms were also split open by a sword aura, the two halves slowly separating!

In the immortal hall, at the banquet, everyone was dumbstruck.

Suddenly, Black Pot burst out laughing. The Heavenly Cycle Fire Domain erupted, crackling as it activated the Heaven-Measuring Iron Ruler. With a thunderous boom, he swung it about, lightning and fire surging, sending the crowd of immortals flying.

"Thud!"

The Heaven-Measuring Iron Ruler smashed down on an immortal's head, and brains splattered everywhere!

At the same moment, Chen Shi grabbed a strand of Profound Heaven Sword Qi in each hand and charged forward, sword techniques erupting from both hands.

The azure sky is dead, the Yellow Springs arise!

The rear wall of this immortal hall shook with a tremendous rumble and shattered into pieces!

Chao Huang flew backward through the broken rear wall, his hands covered in blood, doing everything he could to dodge that killing intent!

The Profound Heaven Sword Qi was too powerful. Just now, he had merely brushed against it with his hands and had been wounded!

But he wasn't flustered in the least. After all, he was at the Golden Immortal Realm. Even if he had only just stepped into the Golden Immortal Realm, he was far beyond the reach of a mere newly ascended Celestial Immortal like Chen Shi!

Outside, rain poured in torrents, shrouding the entire Yian Immortal City in water. At the base of the city walls, bronze dragon heads protruded, spewing water outward to drain the flooded streets.

Suddenly, buildings throughout the city exploded one after another. The yang and yin sword energies crisscrossed, and amid the pouring rain, they formed a scene of vast desert sands, sweeping forward!

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Chao Huang retreated frantically through the sword energy, crashing through one palace after another. With a thunderous boom, he smashed through the city walls of Yian Immortal City and flew out beyond the city.

More than a dozen new sword wounds covered his body, each one cutting deep into his immortal body, reaching all the way to his Primordial Spirit, damaging his Dao patterns!

He let out a long cry and mobilized his Dao Realm.

His Dao Realm was Feng'an Commandery itself. As long as he could mobilize the heaven-and-earth Dao power of Feng'an Commandery, he could draw upon the power of the Thunder Ministry gods stationed there to slaughter this Chen Shi!

Throughout Feng'an Commandery, streaks of Dao radiance lit up. The Thunder Ministry deities guarding the region felt their divine power stir, sensing Chao Huang's plea. They were just about to lend their strength when suddenly a earth-shaking boom rang out, and heaven and earth trembled!

The deities steadied themselves and saw an enormous purple vine madly growing from beneath Yian Immortal City. In an instant, it covered the entire city, its tendrils piercing through the void, stabilizing all the surging Dao power!

Chao Huang couldn't mobilize his Dao Realm's strength. Shock struck his heart, and he looked up to see a blood-red sun flying out from Yian Immortal City. The sky was shattered, as though a titan god had punched a massive hole through it!

Heaven's Net Smashing the Sundered Sky—a crimson wheel like blood—hurtled toward him!

"All-Clarity Harmonized Spirit Five Responses Great Art!"

Chao Huang shouted, unleashing every ounce of his power, channeling Dao techniques and divine abilities to meet the eighth stance of the Primordial Chaos Sword Scripture!

Beneath the collapsing sky, he was engulfed by the crimson sun, pierced through by strands of sword energy, drenched in blood.

Two interweaving beams of sword light flew out from within his body and streaked past behind him.

A hundred zhang ahead, Chen Shi stepped forward, turned, and flipped his palm. A dragon's roar rumbled like spring thunder, and the Eastern Heaven Azure Dragon Energy of heaven and earth was summoned by that single palm strike.

The next instant, Chen Shi appeared before him. The Azure Dragon extended its claw, descending from the heavens, and slammed down viciously onto Chao Huang's head.

"Puh!"

Chao Huang's neck bones shattered completely, his head driven down into his chest cavity. Then his physical body was crushed to pieces by Chen Shi's overwhelming, unmatched power!

The rain grew even heavier.

The two sword energies flew back through the rain, whistling as they returned to the Purple Heaven Gourd.

Chen Shi was drenched, murderous aura billowing as he braved the rain back to Yian Immortal City and returned to the immortal hall where the banquet had been held.

The rear wall of the hall had been smashed through, and Black Pot was slaughtering inside the hall, killing the Chao clan immortals one after another. He was now charging into the city, chasing down a few stragglers who had slipped through.

Outside, lightning flashed and thunderclaps cracked down, casting the hall in alternating light and shadow.

Chen Shi walked up to a terrified beautiful maiden. The girl trembled in fear, frozen in place, not daring to move, a bottle of wine still warming against her chest.

Chen Shi reached out, snatched the wine from her bosom, brought it to his nose, and praised: "Wonderful fragrance."

He tilted his head back and drank deeply, then wiped the wine stains from his mouth with his hand, praising: "Excellent wine! These heavenly laws are useless—they can't reward the good or punish the evil! Today, I act on heaven's behalf. How satisfying! Truly satisfying!"

——Thanks to Deep Abyss the Lonely Walker, Shang Mengyu, the Painting-Wall Painter Who Sells Papers, Heart's Matter Like Fish by a Tree, Sun's Little Brother, and Xia Lou, six new alliance leaders for their generous support.