Chapter 554: Maitreya Western Profanity

It was the thirty-fifth year since Li Changshou left the Holy Mother's Palace with Golden Winged Great Peng. In Xuandu City, beyond the heavens.

The Grand Master of Heaven frowned, looking at the continuous stream of Outer Realm Fiends gathering in the misty gray aura before him, feeling slightly irritated.

Did they really think he didn't have a temper when roused? This was going too far.

In recent decades, their attacks had escalated from once every few years, to once every few months starting ten years ago, and now, several times a month! Had the Outer Realm Fiends reached their peak breeding season and were using Xuandu City to dispose of their excess numbers?

The Grand Master of Heaven was baffled. He had guarded Xuandu City since antiquity and had never encountered such a situation before. In the past, he could leisurely travel around, visit the three thousand worlds, and even wander through the Chaos Sea if he grew bored. But in the past few decades...

He recalled that over thirty years ago, he had received news that his junior disciple's original sect, Duxian Sect, had been plotted against by Maitreya, the senior disciple of the Western Sect. Junior Ji had fallen in battle, hundreds of disciples were killed or wounded, and his junior disciple had finally lost his composure, going to smash the Western Sect's mountain gate.

As for Maitreya of the Western Sect, the Grand Master was quite familiar with him. Maitreya had become a disciple before the two Saints of the Western Sect attained sainthood. He was an old disciple from the primordial era.

In ancient times, Maitreya had caused trouble during the war between the Witch and Demon races, but his character was poor. During the second Witch-Demon War, he secretly controlled several powerful demon cultivators and deliberately implicated the human race. At that time, the human race was weak and struggled to survive between the two powerful races. The Grand Master of Heaven had no choice but to intervene, pursuing Maitreya for over ten years, which made Maitreya completely cease his activities and dare not cause further trouble.

After countless eons, he hadn't expected Maitreya to re-emerge and target his junior disciple. Was he trying to vent the grievances he suffered in ancient times on his junior disciple? In that case, wouldn't he just be hitting a steel plate and asking for trouble?

If one provoked the Grand Master, at most they would be physically transcended—a single slap would end everything. But provoking his junior disciple was not as simple as mere transcendence! His junior disciple would undoubtedly exclaim, "Oh dear, I can't defeat you! This is too cruel! I'm no match for you, but I must uphold justice on behalf of the Heavenly Dao!" all while pinning his opponent to the ground, force-feeding them shrimp before transcendence, and stuffing them with pig hearts... In terms of dirty tactics, the Grand Master had seen few who could outdo his junior disciple! This was meant as a compliment.

When he heard this news over thirty years ago, the Grand Master wanted to go back and see if little Changshou needed his intervention. Jokes aside, Maitreya's cultivation was formidable; he was a true ancient powerhouse.

However, these Outer Realm Fiends suddenly started causing trouble, accelerating their attacks on Xuandu City, seemingly eager to enter the Primordial World, preventing the Grand Master of Heaven from slacking off. In recent years, he couldn't even sleep!

Xuandu City was at the extreme edge of the heavens, and news was scarce. The Grand Master of Heaven had no time to leave, and the Heavenly Dao was obscured by the Great Tribulation, making it impossible to know what had transpired.

It was over ten years ago, when the battle in Xuandu City became intense, that his master air-dropped the Taiji Diagram. Only then did the Grand Master learn that his junior disciple had, over the years, carried out a "small" retaliation against Maitreya.

According to the Taiji Diagram, it seemed that some "dirty water" had been splashed on Maitreya; the Grand Master didn't ask for specifics. As long as his junior disciple was fine, an early retirement was still possible.

Today, standing atop Xuandu City's battlements, scarred by ages past, the Grand Master watched the streams of black mist, mingled with chaotic aura, while the Taiji Diagram rotated steadily behind him.

Amidst the city's ruins, Dao soldiers were busily forging spare array foundations, ready for immediate replacement during battle. Xuandu City lacked neither precious materials nor spirit stones. The Dao soldiers were mere products of divine abilities, tireless and oblivious to life or death, driven only to fulfill their mission.

The Grand Master couldn't help but sigh softly: "It seems if I don't teach these fellows a lesson, they won't let this humble Daoist rest peacefully for a while."

The Taiji Diagram sent a faint spiritual message: "Are you going to charge?"

"Old Pal Diagram, guard this place well," the Grand Master took a step forward, "These ugly creatures have annoyed me a bit. I'm going to vent some frustration." With that, the Grand Master stepped forward, and suddenly, black and white qi surged from behind him! Amidst shimmering light, two Daoists, identical to him in appearance, one clad in black robes and the other in white, materialized. This was the One Qi Transforms into Three Pure Ones – Youthful Reduced Version!

The Grand Master let out a soft hum. His main body and the two incarnations simultaneously raised their right hands. From Xuandu City, three streams of light flew out, transforming into a rusted long spear, a long sword, and a long bow, which were grasped simultaneously by the three figures. They advanced rapidly! The three streams of light plunged into the Chaos Sea. Swords cleaved the void, spears commanded dragons, and bowstrings vibrated incessantly, instantly turning the black ocean upside down...

After several months of intense battle, the fiend army was routed. The Grand Master looked at the trembling black shadow huddled before him, a faint smile playing on his lips. He'd caught a big fish.

It had been a long time since he had been able to stretch his limbs so satisfyingly... After the ancient wars, as the senior disciple of the Dao Sect, opportunities for him to personally intervene were rare; most of the time, his mere presence to express a stance was enough.

The high-level Outer Realm Fiends were indeed troublesome; many were incorporeal, requiring special secret techniques to battle, which greatly prolonged the duration of the fights.

The Grand Master raised a hand to cover his mouth, letting out a yawn. The black shadow, as if sensing an opening, transformed into a dark beam and shot towards the Grand Master's brow. The Grand Master effortlessly seized the dark beam in his palm. His previously languid eyes suddenly erupted with keen divine light, intently fixed on the restrained shadow in his hand.

Blue light surged in the Grand Master's eyes, and the shadow's 'fur' stood on end, emitting ear-splitting screams that could shatter the primordial spirits of ordinary Golden Immortals. The Outer Realm Fiend's demonic mind instantly crumbled!

The Grand Master searched the fiend's demonic mind, his face filled with disgust, as if he were exploring the structure of a foul ditch. But soon, the Grand Master's eyes brightened. He casually crushed the dark beam in his hand, then flipped his hand and, using the Grand Dao of Yin-Yang Taiji to imbue the current lifeform with principles and definitions, seized a shimmering, colorful fragment.

This fragment was equivalent to the residual soul of the Outer Realm Fiend, but the Grand Master had made it easier to comprehend using his divine abilities.

The Grand Master glanced in the direction where his two incarnations had pursued, then quietly recalled them. Taking a single step, he returned to the top of Xuandu City's battlements and sat behind the Taiji Diagram.

During the previous battle, the Outer Realm Fiends had taken the opportunity to assault Xuandu City, but their "experts" were held back and defeated by the Grand Master of Heaven, and their attacks were firmly blocked by the Taiji Diagram. Such charges reduced the pressure on the various great arrays within Xuandu City, allowing the Dao soldiers to better prepare for the next wave of battle...

Old Pal Diagram's spiritual sense transmitted to the Grand Master's mind: "What is this?"

"A curious memory," the Grand Master said with a smile, toying with the fragment in his hand. After a brief thought, he formed a hand seal with his right hand and tapped the fragment with his finger.

The fragment burst apart with a pop, its stardust projecting a somewhat blurry image. In a dim corner of the Chaos Sea, where Dao principles were orderly, an indescribable, un-depictable, yet incredibly ugly and bloated fiend floated, surrounded by countless other Outer Realm Fiends. From this bloated fiend, clumps of black mist continuously drifted, rapidly transforming into new Outer Realm Fiends...

The Grand Master was slightly surprised: "Has the Fiend Venerable recovered its strength?"

"Or is it the ancient one?"

"It should be one of the primeval demon gods who survived the Tribulation of Creation."

The Grand Master marveled, then formed another hand seal. Immediately, the image filled with sounds of "squeaks," "croaks," and "buzzes." The Grand Master looked bewildered, but Old Pal Diagram could decipher these voices and projected its spiritual sense into the Grand Master's mind, causing his eyes to gradually widen.

They were chanting slogans like, "Kill Taibai! Destroy Venus!", "Kill Taibai! Destroy Venus!", "The Saint shall not be slandered, Taibai Jinxing must pay the price!", "When have we, Outer Realm Fiends, ever been so bullied! Kill Taibai!", and "If you destroy my paradise, I will stab your backbone! Destroy Venus!"

"What?" The Grand Master was dumbfounded. "What has Changshou done? How has he drawn such hatred from the Outer Realm Fiends?"

The Taiji Diagram, however, remained calm and asked, "Does the Fiend Venerable appear to be a female being?" Black lines appeared on the Grand Master's forehead, and he felt utterly dismayed.

Half an hour later, a specially crafted jade talisman, enveloped in Yin-Yang energies, flew into the vortex at the center of Xuandu City. It returned to the Primordial World, traversed the three thousand realms, and shot towards the Heavenly Courts.

"What exactly has my junior disciple been up to all these years?"

Meanwhile, in a certain Great Thousand World at the edge of the three thousand realms, a large green-furred dog, bound by immortal ropes, turned its head to look at the tens of thousands of Heavenly Soldiers and Generals behind it. Sensing the pressure from the Jade Emperor's Demon-Slaying Sword held by the Golden Winged Great Peng, who was closest to it, it couldn't help but let out a soft sigh.

Thirty-five years, it had been thirty-five years! Gazing towards the Netherworld, it couldn't hear its master's voice!

Diting didn't know if Lord Star Official was the strongest righteous god in the Heavenly Courts, but he was certainly the most ruthless. After being paraded around like this, helping the Heavenly Courts eliminate a large number of Outer Realm Fiends lurking at the edges of the three thousand worlds, it had passively accepted the identity of a "Heavenly Courts Magical Beast"!

The difficulties of beast life were evident. As for the Outer Realm Fiends' schemes spanning countless eons... What did Diting care about that?

If those primeval demon gods controlling them from behind had the guts, they should come to the Primordial World for revenge! The Heavenly Dao's Purple Heaven Divine Thunder would teach them a lesson in an instant!

Thinking this way, getting along with the Heavenly Courts wasn't so bad after all.

Diting had intended to cheer itself up, but couldn't help but sigh softly again. It opened its eyes and relayed the anomalies it had heard into Golden Winged Great Peng's ear. Golden Winged Great Peng's eyes flashed with divine light, and his figure instantly vanished.

In but an instant, a bloody light surged, and the divine sword displayed its might. Streams of black mist were purified at an incredible speed. Golden Winged Great Peng, maintaining his human form, extended two golden wings from his back, his figure appearing across various parts of this Great Thousand World.

"By the Heavenly Mandate, with the Jade Emperor's permission, and holding the order of Taibai Jinxing!" he proclaimed. "Today, we slay the Outer Realm Fiends lurking in this region, protecting all beings in the heavens and earth! If any Qi Refiner discovers Outer Realm Fiends, kill them, collect their demonic qi, and you may claim a reward from the Heavenly Courts!"

Silence fell across the heavens and earth. Golden Winged Great Peng's figure flashed, and he began to lead his army away from the area, entering the second wave of clear-out mode. The Outer Realm Fiends were extremely cunning; a single sweep was far from enough.

Golden Winged Great Peng took out "Thirty-Six Forms of Demon Extermination" written by his teacher from his embrace, his eyes filled with admiration. Diting, lying on the throne and tethered by a leash, caught a glimpse of the jade slip in Golden Winged Great Peng's hand out of the corner of its eye and subconsciously began to tremble all over.

So much for its recently leisurely immortal life...

At Taibai Palace, on Little Qiong Peak, Li Changshou stretched and yawned in the rocking chair in front of his alchemy room. His immortal consciousness flowed out slowly like water.

The card room had gained a new guest in the past decade or so: Long Ji, his senior disciple, now had permission to enter Little Qiong Peak. This was because Long Ji was Ling'e's best friend in the Heavenly Courts, and Li Changshou, fearing Ling'e might feel depressed during her cultivation, intentionally arranged for Long Ji to keep her company.

Speaking of Long Ji, something had left Li Changshou quite speechless. Long Ji's Golden Immortal Tribulation... Truly, Li Changshou had never seen such a biased Dao Ancestor!

He recalled how, when he, as a grand-disciple, underwent his tribulation, not a single bolt was spared. The heavenly punishment mercilessly struck him with lightning, wind, fire, and water, all aimed at severely injuring him! Since then, whenever his relatives or friends underwent tribulations, the tribulation lightning would transform into heavenly punishment and secretly strike him a few times...

What was the scene like when little Long Ji underwent her tribulation? That day, Long Ji suddenly said, "Teacher, it seems your disciple is about to undergo a tribulation; there's a faint voice telling me to prepare." Li Changshou immediately concluded that this was a warning from the Heavenly Dao to Long Ji, and also a way for the Heavenly Dao to show some respect to the Jade Emperor.

Long Ji then flew to the Jade Pond, to the previously chosen tribulation site, where tribulation clouds quickly densely covered the sky. Long Ji bowed towards the sky and declared loudly: "Long Ji of the Heavenly Courts thanks the Heavenly Dao for taking time out of its busy schedule to strike."

Then... the tribulation clouds in the sky actually let out a sound of acknowledgment! The tribulation clouds manifested the scene of the Nine Heavens, accompanied by auspicious clouds, and immortal music had already begun playing in the distance! Surely... surely she passed?!

Long Ji waited for a moment. First, there was a rumble of thunder in the sky, then a powerful pink heavenly lightning bolt struck down, grazing Long Ji's forehead before landing on her shoulder. Long Ji's figure swayed from the strike, and the tribulation above her instantly ceased its rotation, quietly waiting for a while.

Yes, it waited for a while. That "while" was quite peculiar! Later, Li Changshou almost couldn't help but burst out complaining.

He had never seen a heavenly tribulation where the subsequent four lightning bolts had intervals exceeding two hours each! Was the heavenly tribulation afraid of harming the Jade Emperor's beloved daughter, causing the Jade Emperor to harbor resentment towards the Heavenly Dao?

After Long Ji's tribulation, she tidied her disheveled long hair. Immediately, hundreds of Jade Pond fairies rushed towards her, each carrying immortal peaches and various elixirs, fearing they would be too late... and Long Ji's injuries had already recovered.

Li Changshou was speechless. Fine, the Heavenly Courts were her family's.

The Dao Ancestor had clearly intervened in this great tribulation, greatly lenient towards his "granddaughter." This was also because Long Ji didn't hold a formal god position; otherwise, she might not have just been spared a single tribulation bolt, but merely struck symbolically a few times, with the tribulation power directly transforming her Dao body.

Regaining his composure, Li Changshou told himself not to dwell on these thoughts. Long Ji's successful ascension to Golden Immortal was a good thing. Ling'e's tribulation could not emulate this; he still needed to make full preparations, as he didn't have such a firm connection with the Jade Emperor and the Dao Ancestor.

He glanced into the card room, where, playing with Long Ji and Ling'e, was another petite and exquisite figure—Xiong Lingli.

After being tempered by Ancestral Witch blood and fully learning the art of transformation, Xiong Lingli's body proportions had finally returned to normal. Now, when she transformed to human size, she resembled a young maiden in her verdant years, with two short ponytails, carrying two large copper hammers, and wearing a perpetual set of Lord Laojun's spirit treasure battle armor. She was quite eye-catching when she went out.

Li Changshou had already begun making arrangements for Xiong Lingli to become a Heavenly General, guarding the Heavenly Gate to help the Heavenly Courts through a period where it lacked powerful experts. When Xiong Lingli was at human size, she could only exert fifty percent of her strength; to unleash her full power, she still needed to revert to her original size...

His immortal consciousness continued to flow. Outside Taibai Palace, Heavenly Soldiers and Generals patrolled and stood guard, each with a solemn expression, a hint of pride on their faces.

In the former Water God's Mansion, Ling Zhuzi and Jade Rabbit were playing jump rope. The bond between these good brothers grew ever stronger, their fraternal affection moving heaven and earth.

In the adjacent room, Youqin Xuanya, who rarely returned to the mansion for quiet cultivation, was in seclusion comprehending the Dao. She appeared increasingly ethereal and transcendent, exuding an even greater sense of purity and spotlessness. The Heavenly Courts' Goddess of War, whose reputation had spread throughout the three realms, had already achieved an "advertising effect" far beyond expectations.

However, because a mysterious expert in the Five Continents had recently been causing trouble for the Heavenly Courts, Li Changshou, for caution's sake, temporarily kept Youqin Xuanya's Heavenly Soldiers and Generals from venturing out.

Who was this individual, afraid to show his face, only daring to hide and cause trouble for the Heavenly Courts? It was, of course, Maitreya.

Maitreya must have been quite wronged and stifled over the past thirty years.

After Li Changshou returned from the Holy Mother's Palace, he took the memorial, drafted by Baize and refined by him multiple times, to the Lingxiao Palace, and presented his petition before the Heavenly Courts' immortals and gods.

At that time, the Jade Emperor's expression was full of anticipation, hoping Li Changshou's memorial would give him something to do. But after Li Changshou's impassioned speech, the Jade Emperor's mouth twitched slightly. Why was he suddenly enumerating the crimes of the ancient Demon Master Kunpeng?

Nevertheless, the Jade Emperor greatly approved of the matter and immediately ordered the apprehension of Demon Master Kunpeng throughout the Three Realms, posting his thirty-six major crimes. He also agreed to Li Changshou's second memorial, directly requisitioning Diting and entrusting the Golden Winged Great Peng with the Demon-Slaying Sword to clear out the Outer Realm Fiends at the edges of the three thousand worlds.

The Jade Emperor's gaze at the time clearly seemed to ask, "Is that all?" Li Changshou gave an awkward smile, bowed his head, and loudly praised the Jade Emperor's sagacity.

On the surface, these were indeed all the arrangements; however, the subsequent developments were far from simple.

Because the Heavenly Courts suddenly enumerated Kunpeng's crimes, many of which were secrets known only to ancient powerhouses, a "great condemnation" of Kunpeng began across the Three Realms. Kunpeng's traces began to appear in various ancient and primordial unsolved cases. Old accusations and new ones were all piled upon Kunpeng's back. As long as Kunpeng was mentioned, one would never run out of topics for conversation or boasts...

When this grand discussion among immortals and gods reached its peak, someone aptly raised a question: Why would the Heavenly Courts specifically bring up Kunpeng during the Great Tribulation and condemn this Kunpeng, who was said to have fled into the Chaos Sea? Could it be that Kunpeng had already returned? The public sentiment in the Primordial World suddenly shifted. Immortals throughout the Three Realms began to speculate whether Kunpeng had secretly returned and lurked in the three thousand worlds. For a time, various rumors and falsehoods arose.

Before the fervor surrounding this matter could subside again, several mixed truths and falsehoods began to spread throughout the heavens and earth. The true news, for example: Why did the Western Sect have so many powerful demon cultivators joining them? It was because in ancient times, before the destruction of the Demon Court, Demon Master Kunpeng had abducted a large number of the Demon Court's experts' demon soul imprints and traded them with the Western Sect.

The false news, for example: That Kunpeng, knowing he had done too many wicked deeds and would be pursued by the Saints, had only sent a false body into the Chaos Sea. His true primordial spirit had used the Sky Fiend Heart-Shifting Great Art and transferred into another being. Judging by the circumstances of that year, it was very likely to be Maitreya, the senior disciple of the Western Sect.

In just a few months, these pieces of news spread rapidly throughout the Three Realms. The Western Sect made several attempts to explain, but the effect was poor, their voices drowned out by waves of public opinion.

At the opportune moment and in the right setting, the Heavenly Courts issued a declaration to the Western Sect. The declaration's content was actually quite mild, simply inviting Maitreya to the Heavenly Courts "to cooperate with the Heavenly Courts' investigation into this matter," promising that the Heavenly Courts would restore Maitreya's "innocence."

How could Maitreya dare to go? From beginning to end, Maitreya didn't even show his face, merely hiding in the shadows. It was precisely this evasion that gradually solidified the rumors.

This was not the end. In the various towns and markets of the Central Divine Continent, operas began to appear, recounting the life of Demon Master Kunpeng, and often mentioning Maitreya at the end. In just a few years, the matter of Maitreya being Kunpeng's second primordial spirit had become an open secret in the Primordial World. The Western Sect's prestige plummeted repeatedly. Maitreya's whereabouts remained unknown, and the two Saints of the Western Sect had never expressed their stance from beginning to end...

'A war of public opinion is a double-edged sword; it shouldn't be overused.'

Li Changshou reined in his wandering thoughts and stretched with a yawn. From his sleeve, he took out a newly improved paper effigy, which transformed into the likeness of the old immortal Taibai Jinxing. It then rode a cloud, floating out of Little Qiong Peak. While this paper effigy left the Heavenly Gate and headed for the East Sea, pretending to visit the East Sea Dragon Palace to discuss the assessments for various river, lake, and well gods, Li Changshou's true body, accompanied by his pagoda, used an escape technique to float to Three Immortals Island. One couldn't always expect the woman to make the first move in a relationship.

En route, he pondered several matters at hand. Chaos was about to erupt in the Central Divine Continent, and the three thousand worlds were becoming increasingly chaotic and uncontrollable...

'Right, Yang Jian's Three-Pointed Double-Edged Lance. Lord Laojun has already sent it via Golden and Silver. Should I arrange its delivery now?'