Chapter 28 The Years Before

More than a hundred years ago, when Shenzhou was shrouded in darkness and chaos, smoke and fire spread across the land, and demons took the opportunity to appear. Disciples of the Daoist and Buddhist sects descended the mountains, many sacrificing themselves. Countless schools lost their inheritance.

On that day, Zhang Dianming, the contemporary Celestial Master of Longhu Mountain, was passing through a small village.

He found a child.

The Celestial Master drew his sword and slayed the demons and Japanese pirates in the area, thinking to at least bury the villagers in peace. But he heard strange sounds and, following them, arrived at a scene that made even the accompanying Daoist disciples draw their swords instinctively.

"This, this is..."

"Elite Onmyoji and Jonin among the Japanese pirates?"

Two Japanese pirates lay on the ground, and a child of only three or five years stood there, blood on his lips. It seemed the child had crushed the pirates' throats with his teeth. The disciples drew their swords, forced to be cautious. In times of chaos, demons were sure to appear, and many victims transformed into vengeful ghosts.

Many Buddhist and Daoist disciples had suffered greatly, and quite a few had lost their lives.

Moreover, despite being so young, the child's eyes were cold and indifferent, hardly human.

Truly a monster.

Only the Celestial Master carefully examined the scene before slowly sheathing his sword, walking step by step toward the child. He reached out his hand, but the child, only three or five years old, was filled with a beast-like wariness. The Celestial Master's voice was gentle: "Don't be afraid, be good..."

The child seemed to relax his guard.

But in the next moment, he pounced like a wild animal, biting fiercely into the Celestial Master's arm. Blood flowed instantly. The Celestial Master hugged the child, carefully pressing a finger on the back of his neck. Then, he suddenly burst into laughter, kneeling on the ground and sobbing: "He's human, a living human."

"He's human!"

"At least one was saved!"

The child in his arms bit his arm tightly, completely unaware of why this human was laughing and crying like a madman. This child was the sole survivor. The Celestial Master held him and eventually brought him back to Longhu Mountain.

But this child seemed to be not human at all.

Other children who had experienced war became more sensible, but he remained unruly and carried an indescribable indifference. He often caused trouble or displayed a coldness that disdained interacting with his fellow disciples.

Moreover, he often seemed unable to control his strength, injuring his fellow disciples.

Once, during the Daoist Grand Competition, he injured many members of other sects with a wooden sword. The Celestial Master took him down the mountain to apologize and pay respects to each sect.

"Celestial Master Zhang, please return."

Before a Daoist blessed land, the caretaker sighed and said, "My ancestor said that the Celestial Master's lineage is indeed formidable. The disciples are so unruly that our small sect cannot afford to participate." The caretaker looked at the handsome child, no more than six years old, with indifference in his eyes, beckoning the Celestial Master to the side. He whispered:

"My ancestor also said that your disciple..."

"Has both the majesty of divinity and the ferocity of a beast, but his humanity is weak."

"I fear he is not human. Perhaps only the practice of the Supreme Path of Emotionlessness can subdue him."

The Celestial Master, whose eyes were gentle and curved when he smiled, grew serious and said:

"He is my disciple."

"I hope you will be careful with your words."

The Celestial Master was easy to talk to, but his Daoist cultivation was considered a prodigy level unseen in a hundred years. The Dharma protector was flustered. As the Celestial Master turned to leave, the child, considered non-human, stood with his hands behind his back, kicking a pine tree.

The hard pine wood, towering dozens of meters high, swayed under the kicks of this six-year-old child. He didn't speak as the Celestial Master approached, just sulked. The young, gentle Celestial Master pulled out his purse, saw the empty wallet, twitched his lips, gritted his teeth, and made a firm decision.

He took his disciple down the mountain for a bowl of卤面 (lǔ miàn, braised noodles).

But the child was still unhappy while eating.

The contemporary Celestial Master lowered his head, feigning boldness:

"Let's go, eat quickly! After we finish eating today, there's a temple fair down the mountain. We'll stroll around and have something delicious with Master!"

He paused, gritted his teeth, and waved his hand: "I'll buy you candied haws..."

He paused again, holding up two fingers:

"Two!"

The child said, "I am not your disciple. I am not human."

Although he had a human body.

But his senses far surpassed those of humans, and he could hear everything clearly.

As he spoke, he was seriously contemplating. Flecks of gold appeared in his dark eyes, subtly transforming into serpentine pupils. But at that moment, a heavy chop fell on his head, and the child instinctively flinched.

"Nonsense!"

The Celestial Master Zhang Dianming feigned anger, reaching out to mess up the child's hair. The child was furious and tried to bite him, but the young Celestial Master simply picked him up. The child fought angrily with his teacher, but no matter his origins, the person before him was Zhang Dianming, hailed as the number one Daoist genius in a century.

Zhang Dianming became Celestial Master at the young age of twenty-one.

In the end, he was defeated in humiliation.

Celestial Master Zhang tucked him under his arm, bought a candied haw from a vendor, and stuffed it into the child's mouth. "What do you mean you're not human? I personally saved you! Of course, you're human. Why bother with gossip? It's too tiring to live for the sake of others' opinions."

The Celestial Master smiled warmly, placing the child on his shoulders.

"The Lantern Festival has begun."

He carried his sword in one hand, his steps light and ethereal, like an immortal. He stepped lightly on a lantern, and snowflakes fell from it. The Daoist Celestial Master stood on the high rooftop, black hair at his temples fluttering in the wind. The child on his back stared wide-eyed.

On the road ahead, lanterns lit up one by one, stretching into the distance.

The child was lost in thought.

"Beautiful, isn't it?"

Zhang Dianming smiled and said, "This great world, this mortal realm, is wonderful."

"Despite all the hardships, I always believe that this land will be revitalized. That's how people are. You are my disciple and will walk in this mortal world in the future, so don't be so insensible and sulky."

"But, we are stronger than them. Why should we apologize to them?"

The child, whose eyes had once shown flecks of gold, asked.

He was asking about the Daoist disciples he had injured.

The Celestial Master hugged his disciple, his chin resting unceremoniously on the child's head. He thought for a moment and said, "I don't know either. Maybe... that's just how people are. We seek reason and abide by rules."

"Rules..."

"Are they a restraint?"

"No, they are not a restraint."

The Celestial Master replied, "They are a form of protection."

"Precisely because we have a little power, we must abide by the rules we set for ourselves."

"The dignity of the strong should not be built on trampling the weak."

"In other words, the dignity of the strong should not be achieved by trampling the dignity of the weak."

The child did not understand at that moment.

Zhang Dianming laughed and said, "Don't understand? It's good that you don't understand. Don't worry, Master will teach you slowly. But just remember, you must always use the sword in your hand to protect what you see before you."

"Don't worry, Master will teach you."

Finally, he held his disciple, leaping into the air. Wind and snow swirled around them. The Daoist stood with his hands behind his back, his toes touching the willow tree. The willow branches bent slightly downward as qi flowed. The Daoist soared across the sky, looking down at the mortal realm below.

The child's eyes widened, reflecting the vast mortal world.

The flecks of gold and divinity gradually disappeared.

Perhaps, without the Celestial Master Zhang Dianming who found the child in the ruins, the reincarnated form of Ying Long would not have developed self-awareness. Perhaps, he should have naturally vanished when the god awakened.

But even so, he was worth saving.

Even if it came at a price.

And so,

The former generation Celestial Master of the Daoist sect, Zhang Dianming, passed away before reaching the age of sixty.

He granted the child the qualification to be human.

"The dignity of the strong should not be achieved by trampling the weak."

And now, the child he once saved had become an old man with white hair, murmuring his teacher's words from that year. His chaotic heart trembled, yet he also felt that this person was simply a fool, speaking nonsense. He laughed loudly, "Even if you are not Gengchen, what right do you have with your mere mortal body?!"

"How dare you say such things?!"

"You seek death!"

The golden pillar of fortune shook violently.

Zhang Ruosu reached out with his left hand, clenching his fingers. Suddenly, a huge voice echoed between heaven and earth. On the blue sky, pale golden patterns flowed swiftly, converging together. Almost instantly, a vast talisman array appeared in the sky, directly enveloping Shenzhou.

Since Zhang Daoling of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the *shoulu* (授箓, rite of transmission) of each generation of true cultivators was burned after their death.

Transforming into a talisman array in the sky, called the Heavenly Court.

And at this moment, this magnificent talisman array was fully deployed.

Faced with an unprecedented calamity, the final strength of generations of true cultivators re-converged and began to be consumed. Zhang Ruosu looked up at the array in the sky and could see the afterimages of each true cultivator. Among them, he saw a familiar figure, even though it no longer possessed sentience or awareness.

'Master...'

Chaos raised his head, seeing this existence that was almost identical to his pillar of fortune.

His pupils constricted.

"This is!!!"

Then, accompanied by a desolate and deep dragon's roar, several bodies of gods shattered directly. He turned around abruptly and saw a Canglong (Azure Dragon) slowly emerging from the pillar of fortune on the back mountain of Longhu Mountain, stretching its body, opening its dragon claws, and growing wings on its back.

"Gengchen, are you satisfied with the body formed from the Golden Lotus of Human Fortune..."

Zhang Ruosu's tone was calm.

"Acceptable."

The huge Ying Long revealed its true form, coiling between heaven and earth. The dragon's roar shook the world, while the white-haired Daoist stood in the void with his hands behind his back, his eyes slightly lowered, his sleeves fluttering. The Canglong coiled behind him, his aura vast, like a celestial being.

"One move."

The Celestial Master of Longhu Mountain, or rather, the pinnacle of the Daoist sect who had dominated an era, whispered.

Then he took a step forward, his body instantly tearing through the sky, appearing before Chaos. He bent his elbow, threw a punch, and in the sky, the talisman array lit up, continuously dropping strands of light, gathering on the old Celestial Master's body. Complex patterns appeared on his Daoist robe.

The fist struck Chaos's body, and the latter instantly manifested the true forms of the Four Fiends.

Then, his expression changed drastically. He roared and retreated violently.

The force of the punch struck the pillar of fortune. The incomparably majestic, yet incorporeal, pillar of fortune trembled violently. At this moment, the Daoist Heavenly Court talisman array disappeared, suddenly piercing through Zhang Ruosu's body.

The Daoist realms are actually difficult to describe, but if we follow the *Zhonglu Chuan Dao Ji* (鍾呂傳道集, *Collected Transmissions of Zhongli Quan and Lü Dongbin*).

The highest realms can be basically divided into five levels.

Ghost Immortal, transcending in the Yin, the divine form is unclear, the ghost gate has no name, and the three mountains have no fame.

This is the Disintegrated Immortal (兵解之仙, *bingjie zhi xian*).

Gengchen's reincarnation, severing the self to see the true self, has already cut off the path of the Ghost Immortal.

Obtaining a method in the Dao, obtaining a technique in the method, believing with a bitter will, never wavering for life. The qi of the Five Elements, mistakenly intersecting and misunderstanding. This is the Human Immortal, the highest realm that most human Daoists can reach. In reality, they are merely so-called cultivators, not yet true immortals.

Zhang Ruosu of the Daoist sect was taught the method of nourishing qi by the Celestial Master from a young age.

The method of the Earth Immortal involves settling the Six Qi, gathering the Seven Treasures, ordering the Eight Trigrams, and traversing the Nine Provinces.

It requires connecting the dragon and tiger qi of heaven and earth from among the great mountains and rivers, and harmonizing *kan* and *li* (坎離, the trigrams representing water and fire, respectively).

Zhang Ruosu descended the mountain at the age of sixteen, wielding his sword and traveling the world.

With a sword in hand, he suppressed the mortal realm.

And the requirement for what the Daoist sect calls the Great Luo Heavenly Immortal is—

Having made great contributions to heaven and earth, and having great achievements in ancient and modern times.

Daoist Celestial Master Zhang Ruosu returned to Longhu Mountain, suppressing the mountain and sea rifts for the sake of the human world for two *jiazis* (甲子, sixty-year cycles).

Vast sword qi crisscrossed. Chaos blocked with his arms, groaning, and then raised his head, his expression frozen. Before him, the white-haired Daoist's aura was calm. The power of the Daoist sect for more than two thousand years had completely begun to flow. The power accumulated over countless years had begun to burn fiercely.

And, theoretically, a limit realm that even Zhang Daoling and others had never reached.

On his Daoist robe, stars were densely scattered. A wooden hairpin held up his hair. Behind him, a huge phantom wore a long sword at its waist, its expression indifferent, with a jade crown and the appearance of an emperor. It was not the Celestial Master Image cultivated by those former Celestial Masters, nor was it the Three Purities Image pursued by the Daoist sect—

"This is..." The black cat muttered in confusion.

"The second move..."

"This is the third move."

His white hair turning gray, Zhang Ruosu, the Daoist Celestial Master who had returned to the prime of his thirties, spoke calmly. He pointed his fingers like a sword, and the Canglong behind him roared, directly throwing several heavenly gods away. The Dharma Aspect behind Zhang Ruosu drew its sword violently, as if carrying the power of heaven and earth, and slashed down.

The enormous power split the entire world in two.

A deafening roar.

The sea of clouds in the sky was shattered, crashing down like a waterfall, cloud qi flowing, starlight revealed, as if it were the Execution Platform outside the South Heaven Gate in mythology. The cloud qi flowed slowly, magnificent and vast. Gengchen unleashed tremendous power to directly lock Chaos in place. When several gods reacted, they found themselves all bound by chains.

Chains containing starlight spread in all directions. The last traces of Daoist true cultivators who had existed in history transformed into the array in the sky, holding these chains tightly. Not even gods could resist the final strength of countless true cultivators over thousands of years. Countless people's last great vows burned, transforming into a seal sufficient to imprison fierce gods.

The Daoist held his sword and stepped forward slowly, cupping his hands in a salute:

"May I ask, heavenly gods..."

"What courage do you have to come to my mortal realm?"

Chaos's eyes were bloodshot, and he laughed loudly, "Mere mortals, how dare you do this?!"

"Even if you capture us, you cannot kill us. Do you intend to use us as hostages?"

Mythical concepts...

Zhang Ruosu knew the level of this power, his expression indifferent.

The two thousand years of accumulation of the Daoist sect and the power of the gods—which was superior?

Zhang Ruosu, who had completely unleashed the final trump card of the Daoist sect, raised his head, looking deeply at his teacher, who had placed the Execution Platform. He saw the remaining *shoulu* Dharma power representing his teacher slowly dissipate, no longer existing. The Daoist pointed his fingers like a sword, slashing violently. Accompanied by the roar of dragons and tigers, extremely dense sword qi slashed across heaven and earth.

On that dazzling pillar of fortune, the flow of brilliance suddenly stopped.

Chaos's expression changed slightly, and he roared:

"I am the son of Xuanyuan..."

Zhang Ruosu's tone was cold:

"I know."

The will of heaven is like a knife, and the talisman array in the sky immediately rotated.

Outside the South Heaven Gate, the Execution Platform severs souls and breaks spirits.

Crashing down!

Slaying immortals!

Chaos's expression froze instantly.

………………

On Longhu Mountain, the black cat and the lake fairy looked anxiously ahead. When the shockwave dissipated, the Daoist Celestial Master, whose white hair had turned gray and who had briefly regained his physical body and Daoist cultivation to their peak condition, walked out slowly. The imperial aspect behind him held a sword, its eyes ancient and distant. The array behind him moved with him, the traces left by countless true cultivators flowing.

In his hand, he held a head with unclosed eyes.

The Four Fiends - Chaos, is dead.

The true spirit shattered.

The one who slays gods, Zhang Ruosu.

Race: Human.

Affiliation: Yanhuang.

Corresponding identity of the Heavenly Court Talisman Array—

Jade Emperor.

March 19th in the human world.

Calamity of the Water God Gonggong.

The Four Fiends Chaos is dead.

Gengchen, the Number One Martial God of Kunlun,

Participated in the war.

ps: Today's first update………

Four thousand six hundred words.