Chapter 713: Enemy of All Living Beings

After seeing off Wen Zi and settling the matter with Jin Lian, Li Changshou's mood was slightly affected.

He wasn't particularly happy; instead, he felt somewhat downcast, a bit weighed down, and even a touch powerless.

The Feng Shen Da Jie, the transformation of Hu into Fo, the great rise of Fo Men, the decline of Dao Men, and the smaller tribulations of Xi You—these formed a complete chain of cause and effect.

In essence, it was all one grand event.

It involved the Heavenly Dao's schemes against living beings, as well as the saints' individual machinations.

But at its core, it stemmed from Daozu's initial directive—that the West would surely prosper—sparking a contest among the saints. The Tai Qing teacher acted for Dao Men, while the two saints of the West acted for Western teachings, leading to a series of subsequent conflicts.

The saints treated living beings as pawns, and Daozu treated the saints as pawns.

Daozu always stood at the highest level, his purpose clear from the beginning.

That is, to reduce the influence of living beings on the heavens and earth.

Following this line of thought backward, Daozu's scheme, or plan, had been ongoing for an incredibly long time, threading through the entire development of the human race.

Although many links lacked solid evidence and were based only on scattered clues, Li Changshou still indulged in a bit of conspiracy theory.

Daozu's scheme regarding the human race was probably like this...

Daozu Hongjun took Nüwa Niangniang as a disciple and guided her in the ways of creation.

Later, Nüwa Niangniang created the human race, which possessed innate Dao bodies and strong reproductive capabilities, allowing them to adapt to various cultivation methods and even develop their own.

At that time, the Heavenly Dao foretold that the human race would greatly prosper and become the protagonists of heaven and earth, but this prophecy was also part of Daozu's scheme.

Tai Qing Laozi appeared, took Xuandu Dafa Shi as a disciple, established Ren Jiao to educate the human race, and as a result, the Heavenly Dao bestowed merit, allowing Laozi to become a saint.

Yuan Shi Tianzun and Tong Tian Jiao Zhu followed their elder brother's example, establishing Chan Jiao and Jie Jiao based on their own understandings of the Dao.

Chan Jiao symbolized the interpretation of the Heavenly Dao, a product of the common intellectual trends that arose after the Heavenly Dao's rise in ancient times.

Jie Jiao's teachings sought to seize a thread of life from the Heavenly Dao, opposing its control over all things—a typical rebellious mindset of the young.

The Heavenly Dao bestowed merit, allowing Yuan Shi Tianzun and Tong Tian Jiao Zhu to become saints.

The other two holders of Hong Meng Zi Qi, Jie Yin and Zhun Ti, wanted a share of the pie but were driven away by the Tai Qing saint, leaving them with grudges.

Li Changshou had ample evidence that the initial cultivation methods of the human race were passed down by the three saints of Dao Men.

The human race entered its first great prosperity, gathering and hunting across the Five Bu Zhou continents, living much like spirit beasts but with rapidly developing intelligence.

Demons emphasized individuals; the stronger the individual's talent and comprehension, the higher their potential.

As the saying goes, even the nine sons of the dragon are different from one another—demons follow a "bloodline system," where those with noble bloodlines, good talents, strong comprehension, and attractive appearances are the rising stars of the demon race.

However, the human race was created by Nüwa Niangniang's divine powers, and the first generation's bloodlines had no connection to her, though they possessed considerable spiritual energy.

Thus, in their struggle against nature, the human race began a path of collective cultivation.

They ascended as a group, collectively comprehended the indestructibility of true spirits, and were known as Qi Refiners.

During this period, due to differences in comprehension, methods, and talents, many Qi Refiners were stuck at various bottlenecks, creating a "pyramid" structure and leading to the formation of tribes, leaders, and so on.

As described by the ancestor Sui Ren Shi, in ancient times, the strongest in a tribe was the leader, and Sui Ren Shi was among the most powerful of the ancient human leaders.

After a period of prosperity for the human race, the era between the Wu-Yao wars ended, and a blade of slaughter fell upon the human race.

That massacre wasn't just for refining weapons to slay witches; it had deeper layers.

First, the demon court didn't want to see a third force rise beyond witches and demons.

Second, Daozu wanted the human race to harbor enough hatred toward the demons, making it easier to abandon the demon court and purge the demons later.

Third, the demon emperor had seen through the patterns of the Heavenly Dao and Daozu; the demon court appeared strong but was on the brink of collapse, so they had to desperately fight the human race for survival.

Thus, the demon court was determined to eradicate the human race.

Subsequently, the human race rose fully, with figures like Sui Ren Shi leading the charge to overthrow the demon court, and later, during the era of Tai Bai Jin Xing, Li Changshou wiped out the demon remnants.

The human race became the protagonists of heaven and earth, initiating the process of separating immortals from mortals.

During this time, Daozu secretly made another move.

He modified the rules of reincarnation, using the Six Paths Reincarnation Disk as the platform, to lower the birth rates of immortals and accelerate the reproduction of mortals.

In ancient times, everyone could cultivate, and the human race could still multiply in large numbers.

After ancient times, especially after the era of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, the Zhong Shen Zhou, crowded with immortals, had to rely on children from Nan Zan Bu Zhou seeking immortality to maintain the inheritance of various sects.

Du Xian Men was a typical example.

By the time of the Feng Shen Da Jie, in the early buildup of the calamity, the immortal sects of Zhong Shen Zhou engaged in fierce conflicts, causing many sects to collapse and drastically reducing the human race's mid-level forces, allowing the Heavenly Court to rise.

The main purpose of the Feng Shen Da Jie wasn't really to weaken Dao Men.

Although Jie Jiao boasted "ten thousand immortals coming to court," the dense forests of sects in Zhong Shen Zhou were the true backbone of the world's living forces.

Of course, the saints' dojos had to remain in remote places to maintain their mystique.

But under Li Changshou's personal operations, only one in ten major sects in Zhong Shen Zhou survived, and many sects' "outstanding graduates" were directly integrated into the Heavenly Court's forces.

This was Daozu's greatest aim.

Once that was done, with the Heavenly Court and Fo Men standing side by side, the Heavenly Court would manage the Three Realms, while Fo Men would spread their teachings, guiding the human race to abandon their so-called "demonic nature," to be purely benevolent and enduring.

The key lay in that word "enduring."

What was most precious about the human race wasn't their ancestral heritage, nor the nominal position as protagonists of heaven and earth, nor that spark of fire.

It was that unyielding spirit—refusing to lose, fearless in defeat, forging ahead through thorns and brambles.

Sui Ren Shi once said that even if the spark extinguished, it could reignite, because he himself was enveloped by that spirit, by that mindset.

The heavens had once driven the human race to the brink of extinction, yet they still rose up.

But if that spirit were to fade, diluted by Fo Men's teachings, then no matter how prosperous the mundane world became or how numerous the human population grew, it would be nothing but shells for true spirits to cycle through—the ideal vessels in Daozu's eyes.

At that point, the human race's existence would serve only the purpose assigned by heaven and earth, posing no threat whatsoever.

"Ah..."

Li Changshou stretched lazily, gazing at the deep blue sky above the treetops.

This was the fundamental reason he had to rebel against heaven.

For the human race, the Feng Shen Da Jie was originally a good thing, and the rise of the Heavenly Court was too. The separation of immortals and mortals was neither good nor bad—each life has its own meaning.

But when these good things became steps in Daozu's plan...

It was hard to judge.

From this perspective, the Feng Shen Da Jie had lost its significance; the human race had already lost what it shouldn't have.

Daozu's move was truly masterful.

He framed the conflicts of heaven and earth as disputes among the great saintly teachings, drawing all living beings' attention, and inadvertently completed the most crucial steps of his plan.

Incidentally, the convergence of human fate in Zhong Shen Zhou's Nan Zan Bu Zhou was also a chess game set by Daozu long ago, isolating human populations in the Three Thousand Worlds from the rules of the game.

What was most terrifying was...

The plan for the human race was merely one link in Daozu's ancient layout.

Li Changshou didn't know if he was crazy, but facing such an opponent, he still felt confident enough to say it was a seventy-thirty split, or even fifty-fifty.

He had that confidence, and it was a conservative estimate in most situations.

It was simply because that "mouth says no but body says yes" senior Lang had claimed to leave him nothing good, yet actually left behind so much heritage, hidden in those few ancient texts.

On the title page of the last text, Senior Lang wrote in shaky handwriting:

"The precious fire of thought, if not extinguished, will surely become a beacon illuminating freedom."

Gazing at those words, Li Changshou made a bold inference.

"Senior Lang must have crossed over from Earth during the early days when the Blue Star network was just becoming widespread."

If that was true, then all the "results" could be traced back to the most fundamental "cause."

Boom!

Without warning, the Heavenly Court trembled slightly. The Ling Xiao Bao Dian was enveloped in layers of auspicious light and slowly rose within the Heavenly Court to the center of the thirty-second heaven.

Following that, Yao Chi, Dou Shuai Gong, and Tai Bai Gong were also wrapped in immortal light, ascending to the boundaries of the thirty-first heaven...

Tong Ming Dian settled into the twenty-eighth heaven, directly accessible to the Heavenly Court...

Throughout the Heavenly Court, immortal mountains shook, immortal halls shifted, and empty great halls gradually formed, distributed according to the Zhou Tian numbers from the twenty-eighth to the sixteenth heaven.

There were the Dou Bu, Lei Bu, Huo Bu, Shui Bu, Cai Bu...

Tian Wang Dian, Pi Xiang Dian, Ling Guan Dian...

After half a day of this activity,

The Heavenly Court was fully prepared, ready at any moment for its rightful gods to take their places.

Yet Li Changshou sensed something subtly, a faint smile appearing in his eyes.

It seemed his words in front of Long Mu had taken effect; Daozu was growing impatient and acting earlier than planned.

Was Daozu panicking?

He had been panicking for a while.

Otherwise, during Tai Yi's killing of Shi Ji, so many disciples from Chan Jiao and Jie Jiao wouldn't have died.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have pulled Li Changshou into a dream, using both threats and temptations, even saying something as heartfelt as "you were meant to be my successor."

In the distant ancient Hong Huang, there was a rule: if someone's origins were exposed, their combat strength would suffer, and they'd feel inner turmoil.

His struggle with Daozu and his contest with the Heavenly Dao followed a similar rule.

Once he understood the Heavenly Dao and Daozu, he targeted their weaknesses.

Sui Ren Shi had once pulled him aside and said that Daozu shouldn't be trusted lightly.

In truth, Sui Ren Shi, being in the game, felt that although Daozu had broken some promises from back then, he had still given the human race a decent future.

But in Li Changshou's view, Daozu was the enemy of all living beings—not a single hair on his head could be trusted.

"Let's rest a bit more."

Li Changshou murmured to himself, continuing to relax his mind.

From the start of this minor upheaval in the Heavenly Court, opportunities for him to further increase his chances of winning against Daozu's pursuit were about to come.

And so, half a year later.

Under the starry night, Nan Zan Bu Zhou glowed with scattered points of firelight from countless households.

Outside Xi Qi city, layers of military camps stretched inside and out, with torches lining the four walls and soldiers on high alert everywhere.

After the Ten Jue Array, the Heavenly Court suddenly announced it would investigate and punish immortals who violated heavenly rules by interfering in mortal dynastic wars, causing both Jie Jiao and Chan Jiao to fall silent.

The Shang army had advanced past Qi Mountain, subtly surrounding Xi Qi city.

But the Chan Jiao immortals brought out their ultimate "array diagrams," allowing the Zhou army to set up a strange formation around Xi Qi city, temporarily holding back the ferocious Shang forces.

Among the Zhou and Shang armies, the generals from Chan Jiao and Jie Jiao were all desperately pretending to be mortals, fearing detection by the Heavenly Court.

In reality, the Heavenly Court was all thunder and no rain—just an announcement with no real action.

It was merely one of Li Changshou's little schemes.

The starlight flickered unpredictably, and the ink qilin that the Shang army knew well stepped on trails of black flames, slowly approaching from the eastern horizon and landing at the eastern gate of the Shang army's central camp.

Along the way, soldiers bowed their heads in respect, their eyes full of admiration.

On the ink qilin, the white-haired Grand Tutor of Shang, Wen Zhong, though his lips held a faint smile, couldn't hide the weariness on his face.

"Master!"

At the entrance of the main tent, two young generals stepped forward to help, but Wen Zhong waved them off and agilely dismounted. The ink qilin rose slowly into the air and went to rest outside the camp.

"Master, how did it go?"

"Come inside to discuss," Wen Zhong said, striding into the tent.

These two young generals were Wen Zhong's disciples, considered fourth-generation of Jie Jiao.

Before the Ten Jue Array, Wen Zhong didn't know what had come over him; he suddenly felt a sense of aging and exhaustion from his years of warfare, something he couldn't shake off.

"I should take on some disciples," he had thought at the time, and so he accepted these two.

In the blink of an eye, they had become capable on their own.

Sitting back in his grand tutor's chair, Wen Zhong slowly exhaled and set up a barrier.

His disciples brought tea and removed his armor, both hesitating as if they wanted to ask about the trip's outcome.

"Master, you couldn't convince that Uncle-Master Lü Yue?"

"Lü Yue Uncle-Master is unwilling to act against mortals," Wen Zhong replied. "He has a point—if he uses his poison pills on ordinary people, it's no real feat.

"He also said that a thousand years ago, he might have agreed. But now, as the vice-leader of the Immortal Alliance, he must consider his position. If he directly attacks mortals, even something as minor as administering a laxative, it would disgrace Jie Jiao and tarnish the Immortal Alliance and Heavenly Court—not worthy of his brother Tai Bai."

The two young generals exchanged glances and sighed softly.

"So, Master, are we really going to clash head-on with Chan Jiao?"

"Master, our army has already surrounded Xi Qi city. If we don't fight this battle and just withdraw, it would demoralize the troops and lower their spirits. If the Ji Chang and Ji Fa father-son duo of Zhou seize the opportunity to rally, Chao Ge would be in grave danger."

"Enough, enough," Wen Zhong said with a bitter smile, waving his hand. "Do you think I don't know that? Go on, let me think it over."

"Yes."

"Yes!"

The two disciples bowed with fists clasped and retreated.

Wen Zhong sighed lightly, staring at the map of the Qi Mountain area hanging nearby, his body slumping in the chair, his eyes full of fatigue.

How could he have only gone to ask Lü Yue?

For some reason, elders and peers in the sect who had always been friendly were now avoiding him.

Even several friends who had promised to help, including his senior brother Yu Hua, claimed they needed to go into seclusion...

Wen Zhong couldn't figure it out, but he vaguely knew it was related to the two experts who had slain a saint in the Ten Jue Array.

What grand schemes could he see through? He was just the grand tutor of Shang, a third-generation disciple of Jie Jiao, an insignificant figure in the world.

But...

"Your Majesty," Wen Zhong murmured to himself, "this old minister has done all he can."

Taking a deep breath, Wen Zhong straightened up, a glint in his eyes, and walked to the hanging "simple" map.

The original plan remained unchanged: in three days, the Shang army would advance fully and must breach Xi Qi city!

Xi Qi was the core of the Zhou people, where their talents and nobles gathered.

As long as they captured it, the Zhou kingdom, even if not destroyed, would regress by ten or twenty years!

This was Shang's last hope, and His Majesty desperately needed that time!

His Majesty was mortal, with limited lifespan, and his successor wouldn't have the same resolve.

The survival of Shang hinged on this battle!

His ancestor's saintly Dao was to seize a thread of life for all living beings in heaven and earth!

His own Dao was merely to seize a thread of life for Great Shang.

No, delays breed trouble; hesitation leads to change.

"Summon the generals of the three armies!"

Wen Zhong shouted toward the tent entrance: "Have each unit slaughter deer and sheep tomorrow to boost the troops!"

"Yes!"

A chorus of responses came from outside, as messengers dashed off, their calls echoing from one camp to another.

Suddenly, cries of grief rose from Xi Qi city, as if some great figure had passed away.

In the Shang army camp, under the cover of night, there was frequent movement; soldiers were urged to sleep early, and by dawn, the rich aroma of meat filled the air.

At daybreak, drums thundered, and lines of troops snaked across the land, banners fluttering in the wind, a scene of solemn killing intent.

The Zhou camp... hung exemption signs and waited silently in formation, on full alert.

In the Shang army's central tent, Wen Zhong slowly put on his armor and conjured a water mirror, looking at the weathered face within.

Outward appearance reflects the inner self.

In this battle, he sought to crush Xi Qi at best, or overturn the Zhou army at worst. War brings devastation, yet each serves their lord with unwavering loyalty.

"Your Majesty, you are truly fighting against heavenly fate, battling the heavens."

What seeks to replace Shang with Zhou is actually the Heavenly Dao, Your Majesty...

"Has the grand tutor made up his mind?"

A soft call came from behind, startling Wen Zhong. In the water mirror, he saw the young Daoist who had appeared silently behind him.

The newcomer didn't conceal his appearance, but it still felt unfamiliar to Wen Zhong. After a moment, he recognized him and quickly turned to bow.

"Wen Zhong pays respects to Tai Bai Xing Jun!"