Chapter 845 Beneath the Heavens, Part Two: Rebellion (6200)

The former Dao Saint Zhang Qingyun pushed open the door. Sunlight poured in, like a sharp sword, and a wave of heat washed over him, befitting a June afternoon with a warm, gentle breeze.

Having long since returned to black hair, even too lazy to maintain an aged appearance, the young man with starry brows and sword-like eyes stepped out of his residence. Lifting his head, he could see a mountain peak suspended in mid-air. Its base was silver, clearly cast from metal. Light streams like silken ribbons intertwined to form a grand formation resembling a celestial river, with endless runes overlapping, supporting the mountain, a full three thousand meters tall, in the sky. Around it flickered starlight-like lightning.

Even in broad daylight, it was as dazzling as the starry sky.

"Now this has a bit of the former grandeur."

Zhang Qingyun commented, "Back then, the Ancestral Master felled mountains and destroyed temples, raising thirty-six mountains to suppress demons. I only raise one, still a bit short on the level."

After the third spiritual qi revival reform, Dao Yi Academy, like many other transhuman academies and teaching institutions on Earth, comprehensively transformed itself.

This mountain floating in mid-air was precisely the current Zhengyi Academy's headquarters. The grand formation supporting the entire mountain peak was the former Guardian Formation, 'Supreme Zhengyi Lightning罡 Heavenly Net'. If used to its full potential, it could harness the Earth's rotation and magnetic field fluctuations. Not to mention a mountain, even a continent could be flung away.

The Zhengguo Thirty-Six Saints Committee had discussed this. Some Saints felt Zhengyi Academy's rash use of such a grand formation, merely as a floating mountain, was an overreaction and a waste of resources. But they were countered, saying that if aliens or enemies from other universes were to invade in the future, it could at least offer some resistance. The grand formation connected to the divine power of the void, harnessing the magnetic fields of the solar system, unleashing a dozen or so Ziwei Divine Lightning strikes, enough to make even Heavenly Immortals and Celestial Sovereigns temporarily evade.

"What's the need?"

The new Military Saint shook his head, "If a Celestial Sovereign really attacks, what's the point of us resisting? We might as well follow the emergency evacuation measures and enter the various realms to defend. Besides, isn't there Saint Su? With the work he left behind, not to mention the galaxy, we could go anywhere in the universe."

"So we're just waiting for Saint Su to save us in everything?"

At that time, the Dao Saint hadn't retired yet. Zhang Qingyun said, "That kid's making trouble in the multiverse and running from people chasing him, he can't take care of us. So when we're invaded, we just surrender—is that all Earthlings are capable of? Is that what Zhengguo people are like? Our ancestors fought their way out, we're letting them down."

"Senior is overthinking it," the new Military Saint said, "Enemies with that level of strength know Saint Su's power and won't come. Enemies who don't know are weak enough for us to handle ourselves."

Zhang Qingyun shook his head, "We can't just think about defense. If Su Zhou encounters trouble, we have to find a way to help him. Even if we can't handle it, we can't slack off now. I not only want to activate the Supreme Zhengyi Lightning 罡 Heavenly Net, but also persuade the Shu Mountains to bring out their Liangyi Micro-Dust Formation for some sun, and the Twelve Divine Fiends Formation should be moved out too."

"Absolutely not!" As soon as he said this, not only was the Military Saint shocked, but the Artisan Saint was also horrified, "It's a peaceful era now, where are you going to get so much baleful aura to set up the formation! Moreover, if the Twelve Heavens Divine Fiends Grand Formation goes wrong, the Earth... the solar system can't handle it!"

"It doesn't need blood baleful aura, the negativity on the internet will do in a pinch, good for practice," the Dao Saint said, "The more profound and terrifying the power, the more it needs to be used and learned. Only by learning it can we have a chance to catch up to that kid's shadow."

The first part was directed at the Artisan Saint, the second Zhang Qingyun said while looking at the Military Saint, "Don't you want to?"

Hearing this, the new Military Saint paused slightly, then bowed, "Senior is right."

The new Military Saint was a young man, not much older than Su Zhou, only in his early thirties. Zhang Qingyun didn't remember the exact age, but he had been selected through layers of screening, like they were back then, one of the most outstanding young people of the new generation, enough to bear the name of Saint.

In fact, this batch of young people was even stronger than them. The spiritual qi revival was ultimately too late, the older generation didn't catch up with the myriad opportunities in their prime. Although their foundation was deep, they lacked a bit of luck.

However, even the golden generation of the spiritual qi revival era, when compared with Su Zhou, were like fireflies compared to the blazing sun. There was no comparison. Even this new Military Saint, who dared to subtly contend with the old-brand Dao Saint, couldn't help but be stunned when he heard about catching up to Su Zhou's shadow, clearly having never thought of such a thing.

"This won't do."

The Dao Saint thought at the time, "Not being able to catch up is one thing, not even daring to imagine it is another. The younger generation of the new era needs some courage."

"In the future, if Su Zhou encounters trouble, the Earth civilization must at least be able to help him a little. Without this courage, they'd be letting down the heroism of their ancestors."

That's what he said, but the reality was always difficult.

Su Zhou's existence was both a blessing and a tribulation for Earth. His power could protect Earth's peace, but it also completely robbed the younger generation of the courage to compete for the title of Number One in the World.

Since ancient times, literature had no first, but martial arts had no second. The spiritual qi revival brought about the resurgence of martial power. Long before the spiritual qi revival, the Saints had already thought about how to stabilize the world amidst the upcoming chaos. However, things always exceeded expectations. There was turmoil, but no real threat had exploded.

His own retirement was a handover to the young people of the new era. It was said that Tang Yuan was highly regarded by the Life Saint. His technique of enlightenment was truly incredible, capable of creating countless new biological species. Coupled with the fact that the Quasi-Dao Alliance was almost dissolved and the artificial Saint Body modification technology was already successful, the Life Saint's greatest wish had been fulfilled. If there were no accidents, Tang Yuan was poised to become the first Life Saint in three hundred years who wasn't of divine beast bloodline.

There were still vacant Saint seats for the new generation. Some said they should be given to Bai Yingxue, a rising Quasi-Dao star. Her speed of advancement was so outrageous that it was probably second only to Su Zhou. She had cultivated to become an Earth Immortal in just four years, her realm approaching the Heavenly Immortal realm. Even reincarnation and reconstruction was a bit too much.

Or perhaps Jin Qiong. Although she had only become an Earth Immortal a few days ago, she was ultimately a metamorphosed Divine Bird, born as a Celestial Sovereign seed, with a guaranteed bottom line no matter what.

It just so happened that these people were all under Su Zhou. Letting people familiar to Su Zhou become Saints, the Reason Saint, who had been away from home for a long time, the Dao Harmonization Supreme residing high above the heavens, might have time to look down at his old home.

But now these considerations and calculations were abandoned. Zhang Qingyun had retired, Zhang Fucheng had become the new generation of Dao Saint. The old man was enjoying his leisure, even returning to his youthful appearance, and he and his old wife were reliving their honeymoon from their twenties, a global platinum wedding trip. It couldn't be called anything but romantic.

Sixty years of arduous cultivation, finally able to safely enjoy this warm spring day.

Leaving the door, Zhang Qingyun followed the road. There were hardly any people to be seen on this clean and tidy avenue. Even the sky had few flying cars. There were few flying cultivators coming and going. The originally bustling and noisy Zhengguo city was as deserted as a remote North American town in winter.

"It really is a cultivation society."

Although the old man was filled with emotion, he was also enjoying his leisure.

Nowadays, almost all of humanity cultivated, there were very few who weren't cultivators. But broadly speaking, there were three types of cultivators. One was just for fun. Although they cultivated, they didn't have much talent or heart. They were ordinary people with cultivation, cultivation was just a part of their lives. They lived in major cities, some went to colonize alien realms, and mostly lived peaceful lives.

The second type was people who focused on cultivation, taking competition, exploration, discovery, and completing tasks as their job. They were adventurers, using cultivation as a means to achieve their goals, naturally honing themselves at all times.

These people had no fixed abode, scattered throughout the Earth and many realms, and even the galaxy.

The third type was people who regarded cultivation as a way of life. Cultivation was life, and life was cultivation, figures like seekers of the Dao. They mostly lived around major academies, taking pleasure in studying the fine points of various Dao techniques, like scientists.

Zhengyi Academy was originally an academy, and most of those living around it were the third type of Dao seekers, so it was naturally sparsely populated. Even though the city's dome had been built above the clouds, with towering spires guiding the spiritual currents between heaven and earth, shimmering with brilliant light, there wouldn't be pedestrians stopping to watch like in ordinary cities.

The Dao Saint took flight, transforming into lightning. With a boom, he crossed dozens of kilometers and arrived at the floating Zhengyi Mountain, finding a cool pavilion to sit down.

Before long, two more young figures arrived.

Standing on Zhengyi Mountain overlooking the bottom of the mountain, it was like standing in the clouds overlooking the mortal world. One could only see a group of glittering silver buildings reflecting the summer sun between heaven and earth, like a sparkling iron river.

And in the eyes of cultivators, one could see that the spiritual energy flow of the entire southern Zhengguo was centered here, vaguely forming the eye of a large formation. This formation only separated a negligible amount of power to support Zhengyi Mountain in mid-air, while a more enormous power penetrated deep into the planet's core, running through the entire geomagnetic field.

If they went all out, they could probably even push the moon away.

"Why is there a spider on your pavilion? Aren't you afraid this spider will absorb your spiritual mountain's spiritual energy and become a demon?"

From afar came a familiar greeting. A tall, thin man laughed, while another man with a burly figure, wearing a heavy black leather coat, approached silently. His footsteps were silent, even an Earth Immortal couldn't hear them, as if he were walking in another world.

Who else could it be but the Reason Saint and Martial God Liu Li?

"Then I'll enlighten it into a person—I specifically told the cleaning AI not to sweep away that spider web."

The Dao Saint stood up to greet the Reason Saint and Martial God, who had also returned to their youthful appearances. He raised his head and looked at one side of the pavilion. On the eaves, there was a spider web, in the center of which was a black spider, just catching a grass fly.

After reaching the peak of Human Immortal, the former Reason Saint, who had returned to his youthful appearance, walked into the pavilion and couldn't help but tease, "You only care about the spider, not the fly being eaten... You like to show compassion, but don't you know the grass fly could also be enlightened into a demon?"

"Your compassion for the spider cuts off the future possibilities of the grass fly."

"Chatterbox," the Dao Saint said, "Do you like spider demons or fly demons?"

The Reason Saint: "Naturally, spider demons."

Seeing that the two were endlessly joking, Martial God Liu Li said, "Alright, we three are over two hundred years old, why are we acting like young people? Let's talk about serious matters."

His strength was the strongest. As the first powerhouse to advance to Earth Immortal by his own strength, Liu Li, in Zhengguo without Su Zhou, was probably only slightly comparable to Bai Yingxue, who had been reincarnated. In particular, the Sunset Bow was truly incredibly powerful, vaguely considered to be second only to Su Zhou, the number one person in Zhengguo.

As for the serious matter that the three of them had gathered to discuss, it was actually very simple.

"Our new Military Saint is colluding with several other Saints, contacting several directors of the NW Foundation and the Concordance Bureau, to do something big."

The Reason Saint said, "Broadly speaking, it's divided into three aspects. One, they want to abolish the national system and build an Earth civilization alliance, so that everyone can unite and work together to move towards the universe and the void."

"Two, they found the Purgatory Realm. The demon clans there still exist, and are even quite prosperous. These little guys want to provoke these demons from other worlds to attack Earth."

"Three, they want to take advantage of the chaotic world to launch a large-scale internal cleansing, clearing out the major clans of various countries, breaking the class system, and completely building a fair and prosperous world."

After the Reason Saint finished speaking, he looked at his two old friends with a smile, "What do you think?"

The Dao Saint nodded, "Easy to say, attract foreign enemies to invade, so as to break down national barriers. And the high-level officials of the major countries on Earth are indeed clans one by one. We are the masters of the clans. Putting aside everything else, Zhengyi Academy monopolizes almost all the infrastructure and power systems in southwestern Zhengguo, and is now responsible for regulating spiritual energy. It does monopolize too many benefits."

"It should be destroyed." Speaking of his own affairs, the Dao Saint's tone was still as if it was none of his business, "But it shouldn't be destroyed like this. The little guy hasn't learned the way of innovation."

"He's a Su Zhou worshipper." Liu Li raised his head at this moment, looking towards northern Zhengguo. The Earth Immortal's divine power observed a corner of heaven and earth, and he shook his head slightly, "He has wisdom, but his intelligence is a bit lacking. This is the decisive difference."

"He only has ideas, but no power. Even my divine power can't stop him from peeking. How can he innovate? If I were really a corrupt force, his death would be ten minutes away."

The new Military Saint was currently in the Tiandu office building. Liu Li meant that he could arrive in Tiandu from Hongzhou in ten minutes, and then break through the heavy defenses and kill the Military Saint.

Earth Immortal versus Human Immortal Peak, it's that simple.

"Hold on." The Reason Saint said, "We're not really evil forces, we have to make this little guy succeed—but we have to change the method. His plan is too crude, two retired old men and one meddler know it, let alone other old guys."

"The countries of Earth are not yet unified, they haven't formed an Earth civilization, they can't completely unite and work together, this is obviously not possible. The immortals and gods of the major divine systems didn't unite back then, this was a bad move. If they had exchanged and learned from each other, the Dao Creators would probably have come out long ago. And we know the lesson, but we still haven't united, mainly because there's no reason."

The Dao Saint just smiled bitterly, "Yeah, so he's creating a reason—this Military Saint is planning the fifth Global Cultivator Fighting Tournament. Allies from various countries will assist. This Fighting Tournament won't just be a point-and-stop. It will inevitably see blood."

"The elites of various countries will bleed against each other, detonating long-dormant contradictions. This will create an entry point for suppression and pacification. Then, the demons from the Purgatory Realm will be introduced to invade, causing great chaos in the world. This will just suppress all contradictions and make the entire Earth unite against foreign enemies, establishing the prototype of an Earth alliance."

The Dao Saint commented, "A very good idea. We thought of something similar back then."

There were many contradictions between the countries of Earth. Not to mention between countries, there were already grudges between major academies and regional forces. If the official authorities of various countries weren't strong enough, the various forces that had regained extraordinary power during the spiritual qi revival would have used the most primitive methods to take revenge and ignite the raging flames of conflict.

But unfortunately, Su Zhou, this freak, had an accident. His existence itself suppressed everyone in the world, preventing them from having any different intentions. In particular, he went to the Americas and Europe, personally suppressing the strongest armed forces of various countries, indicating that the current Earth needed peace.

Now, the entire Earth can only be at peace.

Peace is a good thing, but peace is also a bad thing. Peace can't resolve contradictions, nor can it make grudges disappear, it can only allow resentment to brew constantly, brewing into a deadly poison.

For example, it's precisely because of peace that Earth didn't fall into a grand transhuman global war, so until now, there hasn't been an organization like the Earth Civilization Alliance government... If Su Zhou wanted it, it would only be a matter of a word, but who told Su Zhou to be really busy, and hasn't had time to return to Earth recently?

So, this young Military Saint found an opportunity. This Su Zhou worshipper, who was also the fulfiller of the path of innovation, wanted to use his own method to achieve 'Earth's innovation' for Su Zhou.

This was indeed innovation—according to the ideas of this Military Saint and other conspirators from various countries, after a brief war, the prototype of the Earth Alliance would be forged. Earth would move towards a better future, but it would require a brief period of pain.

"Su Zhou has set the framework, and they're playing within the framework, they've accurately assessed that Su Zhou won't take action for such a small matter."

The Reason Saint said, "There are indeed contradictions between countries, and Purgatory demons will indeed invade Earth. These are all inevitable things, they're just using themselves as the fuse."

"It's a good thing, if you don't shed a little blood and fight side by side when foreign enemies invade, the alliance can't be stable."

The Dao Saint agreed, then shook his head, "But it's not the way of us to treat the common people as playthings and make ordinary people bleed."

"And how did they connect online? I mean the Military Saint and the people from the NW Foundation and the Concordance Bureau, they haven't even met."

"Dreams." Liu Li said, "Heh, our new Military Saint and those new generations in North America and Europe all came out of the Zhuzhou Dream, and they've also met in their dreams, they all admire the Zhuzhou Dao, they're really a group of like-minded people."

"Although Su Zhou isn't on Earth, he's really too strong. His Dao rhythm flows, like the Three Dao Ancestors of the past educating all living beings. Naturally, someone will follow his Dao, creating countless Daoist temples and opening up all kinds of innovative methods."

At this time, Zhang Qingyun didn't speak. Although he had retired, he still had the special privileges of a Saint.

This older generation cultivator was contemplating.

If there were no Su Zhou, Earth would indeed erupt in a tragic internal war and catastrophe, or it would be stirred up by the Sky God Descending Society, forcing them to unite against the continuous disasters—they all knew the information about Bai Yingxue's rebirth, so they didn't think the Military Saint and the others' worries were false.

Putting aside everything else, they were all the heads of major academies, how could they not know the strength and stability of the major academies, which couldn't be compared to any ordinary people?

Zhengyi Academy was a behemoth in southern Zhengguo. All Dao seekers would depend on it, and most adventurers would also follow Zhengyi Academy's instructions. The academy, which gathered strength, capital, and the protection of many powerhouses, would be a huge monopoly trust that dominated one region in other worlds, making it easy to create a cyberpunk Xianxia world.

Su Zhou's existence cut off many sufferings, but didn't eliminate the root of the disaster.

The root was still there, the contradictions between people, the interests between classes, the discord between major forces, and the yearning of the other world realms under the command of the former immortals and gods for the 'Immortal Sky Divine Domain' were still there. The struggles would reignite again, unless Su Zhou suppressed Earth forever.

But he couldn't always stay on Earth.

"Innovation is a very good tool, if it can be used well, it can reduce the disaster and great destruction that our Earth has endured for hundreds of years into a short period of turmoil of just a few years."

The Dao Saint pondered, "The Military Saint has such thoughts, he wants to accelerate, using temporary cruelty to shorten even longer turmoil... Three years, he wants to use three years of war and turmoil to unify Earth, unite the major forces, eradicate all cultivation clans, make classes equal, and make everyone of one mind."

"From then on, they can advance by leaps and bounds."

"But to be honest, if Su Zhou could take action, it wouldn't take three years, no one would have to die, it wouldn't take a second, and Earth would be unified."

Liu Li said, "But Su Zhou won't take action."

"Perhaps," the Dao Saint said, "In any case, we must try to solve this problem ourselves."

"Su Zhou's footsteps and figure always need someone to catch up with. He's a member of our Earth civilization, we can't let him face all kinds of difficulties alone... A thousand years or even ten thousand years, we have to find a way to catch up with his pace, stand shoulder to shoulder with him, and face those problems that make him worry."

As he said this, the man raised his head and looked at the sky above.

A wisp of hot summer wind swept through the pavilion, stirring his clothes, and then went straight to the sky above, as if to blow endlessly, surging towards the dome of the high sky.

The Dao Saint smiled and stared at the sky, as if he was looking at a certain gaze from afar. Then, he lowered his head and looked around at his two old friends, "This time, we can't let him take action."

"Earth must become Su Zhou's assistant. If he has to take action for every trouble, what's the point of Earth's civilization unifying? They should just go find their own mothers, anyway, they're all trash."

"I don't like hearing those words of yours." The Reason Saint said, "If my mother were still alive and knew that you and I were such trash, she would definitely kick us out of the house."

Liu Li: "That's the principle, so I'm asking if there's any solution. We can't let that brat of a Military Saint rashly start a war. Even if we protect the civilians well, many young people will still die."

"Even if there's an electronic underworld, it will still hurt their vitality. If they're not careful in another world and can't recover their souls, they'll really die."

The Dao Saint smiled and said peacefully, "Just fight them."

The Reason Saint and Liu Li both turned to look at Zhang Qingyun, both with the same expression of 'what nonsense are you talking about'.

If they wanted to fight, they would have fought long ago. They were just trying to find a path that didn't require struggle.

"Not only do we have to fight, we have to kill."

The Dao Saint ignored these gazes, and he spoke eloquently, "We must have the same compassion for all, and we must also have the same willingness to let go. Those who still want peace at this time will inevitably make the world bleed."

As he said this, he looked at his two thoughtful friends and smiled, "Let's rebel now."

"Rebel against ourselves."

First update, there's a high probability of another one later