Chapter 721: Tearing Open the Wound

With a soft thud, the immortal who had just made such a grand entrance now lay like a lifeless puppet, slammed onto the high platform and kicking up a bit of dust.

The impact was direct and forceful.

Jiang Shang's eyelids twitched wildly, Yang Jian quickly bowed with his fists clasped, Daji, who had been staring blankly, now showed a hint of emotion in her eyes, and the surrounding Shang commoners huddled together in groups nearby.

Li Changshou waved his hand, and the fragments of the Fantian Seal were swallowed up by the Qiankun Bag, which he used to store them away, planning to replenish the Five Elements Earth power on Xiaoqiong Peak once he returned.

"Uncle Chang'an!"

Nezha zoomed up on his Wind Fire Wheels.

Li Changshou's previously expressionless face softened into a slight smile. As Nezha flew closer, he reached out and ruffled his hair, saying:

"Go call your master and the others over, they're in the southwest direction."

"Okay!"

Nezha agreed cheerfully, without asking why, and sped off on his Wind Fire Wheels toward the southwest.

Li Changshou maintained his original appearance, but his aura was so overwhelming that the nearby cultivators couldn't even lift their heads.

Without descending, he spoke:

"Yang Jian, move this platform to the wilderness outside the city, and make sure it's exactly as it is."

"Yes!"

Yang Jian responded firmly, leaping down from the platform and shouting coldly:

"Don't move on the platform!"

With that, he stamped his left foot on the ground and pressed his right hand forward. The entire platform, along with the three-zhang-thick layer of stone slabs and soil beneath it, rose steadily into the air. Jiang Shang and the group of drummers and Zhou officials didn't even feel a jolt.

Yang Jian held up this "immortal island" with one hand, flew into the sky, and slowly headed toward the outskirts of the city.

The ordinary people of Zhaoge City had never seen such a sight before. They knelt on the ground, chanting praises to the immortals.

It was a common phenomenon for mortals to admire immortals.

Li Changshou glanced at Huo Ling Shengmu and said, "You come along too."

Huo Ling Shengmu hurriedly bowed in salute. "Thank you, Shishu Changgeng, for saving my life."

"Hmm," Li Changshou acknowledged briefly, saying no more, and flew off on his cloud with hands clasped behind his back toward the outskirts of Zhaoge City.

A moment later, the platform settled steadily at the edge of a mountain forest. Li Changshou sat cross-legged in midair, quietly waiting above the platform.

Guang Chengzi's cultivation had been sealed, and he now lay in front of Daji, completely immobilized, his primordial spirit and soul cut off from the outside world, as if he were an ordinary person knocked unconscious.

Yang Jian stood with his arms folded in a corner of the platform, like a guardian deity.

Jiang Shang looked around left and right, and all he could do was comfort the nearly panicked Zhou officials, assigning the drummers on the platform to act as guards.

It had to be said that after years of experience in the mortal world, Jiang Shang had become a competent grand mentor.

He directed people with ease and authority.

But when Li Changshou's gaze fell on Jiang Shang, a trace of annoyance inevitably flashed in his eyes.

The karmic obstacles, wrapped around Jiang Shang's primordial spirit, were already affecting his lifespan.

This was the backlash from those "Linyuan Dan," forcibly shouldered by Guang Chengzi's meddling, which had derailed Jiang Shang's already unstable path to immortality.

From this point on, even if Jiang Shang did good deeds every day, when his lifespan ended, he would still have to pass through the eighteen levels of hell.

All that could be done was to build a temple later to earn some incense merit and balance out the karma.

As for Guang Chengzi this time...

Even his second shibo couldn't save him!

If the heavenly rules didn't apply to the eldest senior brother, then those rules might as well not exist.

From a certain perspective, Li Changshou felt quite conflicted.

Upholding the Heavenly Court meant upholding the Heavenly Way, and upholding the Heavenly Way only made it harder to reform it later.

But Li Changshou had his own standards of conduct and wouldn't abandon his principles for this; instead, he would seek more secure and comprehensive solutions.

Touching his master's reincarnation was crossing that line.

Forcibly feeding so-called immortal pills to mortal soldiers was piercing through his standards.

Good heavens.

He had gone to great lengths to ensure that in his future battle with the Heavenly Way, he could protect the Holy Mothers and the mortal humans of the human race, keeping them out of the fight and unentangled, and even ready to aid the Heavenly Way if necessary.

All of this was to repay a favor to Suirenshi's predecessor.

All of it stemmed from his own origins as a mortal, feeling indignant about how mortals struggled in the vast Honghuang world, treated as mere tools for incense offerings.

He had felt guilty back then for asking Suirenshi to intervene, leading to Suirenshi's passing.

Guang Chengzi knew full well how much he valued the human race.

He had wiped out the ancient demon race, participated in the human race's campaign against the heavens, devised the "Xianqi" and "Xianfan Separation" for the southern continent's mortals, and formulated numerous heavenly laws centered on mortals...

The entire Chan School had seen it all!

What was all this for?

For the human race.

Guang Chengzi was so shrewd, so strategically minded—despite his combat skills being the weakest among the three teachings' senior brothers, he compensated with his planning abilities. How could he not know these things?

How could he not understand?

When Li Changshou saw Guang Chengzi bringing the envoy from Weiziqi into the Zhou camp and ordering Jiang Shang to use the Linyuan Dan...

If not for his Empty Bright Dao Heart keeping him steady, his blood pressure would have skyrocketed!

It was truly to curry favor with the Dao Ancestor, to curry favor with the Heavenly Way, abandoning their usual principles, disregarding his own reputation for "deep blessings"!

What was the Chan School doing? Did they really think he hadn't noticed?

Li Changshou had simply considered the unity of the Daoist schools, the deep bonds between his teacher and his second and third shishus, and had always treated the Chan School with courtesy.

But let's look at the Feng Shen Jie from another angle.

The Chan School knew full well that Ran Deng had issues, yet they used the excuse that "Ran Deng was appointed as deputy leader by the teacher in ancient times" to let him do as he pleased, allowing conflicts between Chan and Jie schools to accumulate over tens of thousands of years.

The Chan School thought they were clever, letting Ran Deng take the blame, but in reality, it was all tacitly approved by his second shishu, Yuan Shi Tianzun.

In fact, disciples like Ran Deng and Wenshu, who were obviously problematic, were open pieces placed by the Western School.

Once Li Changshou gained power and his teacher's support, he cleverly pitted the Heavenly Court against the Western School, turning the Western School into the "anti-heaven" side and hammering them relentlessly.

The Chan School, however, remained ambiguously neutral in their attitudes and actions.

They dragged their feet in the Blood Sea, were reluctant about the non-aggression pact, blocked Yang Jian from smashing the Western School's mountain gate, and even rushed to aid the Western School under the banner of "balance" when the Jie School was wiping them out!

He had truly endured Guang Chengzi and the Chan School for far too long.

The division of the Three Pure Ones—was it really just because of disciple recruitment conflicts?

No, that was just the gossip circulating in the Honghuang world. Li Changshou had realized the underlying conflicts even before he became a Golden Immortal.

It was a fundamental ideological clash between Tongtian Jiaozhu and Yuan Shi Tianzun!

Yuan Shi Tianzun selected disciples based on pure lineage and deep blessings.

Who determined lineage and blessings?

The Heavenly Way.

Tongtian Jiaozhu accepted disciples from all walks of life, based on affinity and talent, advocating for intercepting a thread of life for all spirits.

What was this doing?

Ignoring the Heavenly Way, using his own power to seize a thread of life for doomed spirits, providing a path to longevity for those without blessings.

When the Feng Shen Jie first erupted, the Jie School faced the dilemma of lacking treasures to suppress their destiny and having unstable disciple fortunes, making them easy prey in the great calamity.

Who determined fortune?

The Heavenly Way.

Fortune represented the Heavenly Way's recognition of a spirit, inversely related to the obstacles they encountered in cultivation—the higher the fortune, the fewer the obstacles.

The hidden logic here was that only spirits recognized by the Heavenly Way could achieve longevity; those not recognized must perish.

Yuan Shi Tianzun had grasped this truth and went with the flow.

Tongtian Jiaozhu had also grasped it but, seeing those spirits, felt compassion and stood before them, saying:

'Follow me, and you'll steadily become saints, and I'll protect you.'

The so-called Feng Shen Jie was nothing more than the Heavenly Way's encirclement of those who defied it, a sifting of spirits.

Conform to fate and gain longevity; defy fate and turn to ashes.

The division of the Three Pure Ones appeared to be over disciple recruitment ideologies, but deep down, it was two saints embarking on different paths, an inevitable split due to their opposing natures.

Taiji Shengren remained detached and inactive, accepting only one disciple without a name or title, quietly observing the three realms from the Ninth Heaven.

He cared not for the ideological differences between his junior brothers or the disputes between Chan and Jie schools; he only cared whether the spirits of the world would be completely suppressed by the Heavenly Way and the liveliness of true spirits in the three realms.

This was why Li Changshou said his teacher had inherited Pangu God's will.

In other words, Yuan Shi Tianzun had gone against Pangu God's will, while the Heavenly Way and Dao Ancestor had usurped the fruits of creation, and Tongtian Jiaozhu...

Was a bit impulsive, with poor strategic vision.

Li Changshou had always avoided mentioning this issue, but the environment he now faced was incredibly difficult.

Incredibly difficult indeed.

The Dao Ancestor had personally visited Xiaoqiong Peak, deliberately engaging him in an ethereal contest and gamble, essentially forcing him to choose—either act now or leave immediately.

The Dao Ancestor was threatening him with the lives of those connected to Xiaoqiong Peak, forcing a decision.

The Dao Ancestor was threatening him with Yun's life, forcing a decision!

Empty Bright Dao Heart—reboot.

Li Changshou sighed softly in his heart, looking down at Guang Chengzi with a mocking smile at the corner of his mouth.

Why had Guang Chengzi suddenly become so "active"?

It was because Guang Chengzi had been crushed by the Chan School's doctrines, by his second shishu Yuan Shi Tianzun, and by the Heavenly Way, abandoning whatever principles he once held.

He convinced himself that "this is all for the good of the Chan School," yet he was doing things that aligned with the Heavenly Way.

And when the Heavenly Way and Dao Ancestor achieved their goals, Guang Chengzi was pulled out as a target, forcing Li Changshou to strike at him, triggering a Daoist split and completing the final trials of the Feng Shen Jie.

If you wanted to talk about malice, Guang Chengzi and the Heavenly Way shared it, seventy-thirty.

At that moment, the Dao Ancestor was probably sitting in the Purple Bamboo Forest, smiling as he watched this unfold.

Li Changshou couldn't help but bitter smile in his heart.

It was because the Dao Ancestor had detected his plans for merging Chan and Jie that he instigated Guang Chengzi's actions, trying to force him out early.

Merging Chan and Jie was essentially the Jie School dragging the Chan School into resisting the heavens.

The Three Pure Ones and the three pieces of the Kaitian God Axe—a must-have set for slaying the heavens.

This move by the Dao Ancestor was his only opportunity before Li Changshou fully left the Honghuang world and launched a counterattack.

Whether he could raise his chances of victory to eighty or even ninety percent depended on whether he could force his second shishu to appear and declare his stance.

If Yuan Shi Tianzun chose the path of the Three Pure Ones resisting the heavens, he wouldn't even need to leave.

If Yuan Shi Tianzun evaded with excuses about "blessings" and "lineage," then he would have to completely oppose his second and third shishus, dispelling his third shishu's unrealistic illusions.

That way, it could still add a bit of possibility to his upcoming plans.

From this moment on, there were only two factions in the Honghuang world!

"Star... Star Lord!"

Jiang Shang's voice came from below. Li Changshou, deep in thought about these major matters, looked down coldly. Jiang Shang trembled and nearly knelt.

Li Changshou quickly composed himself and gave Jiang Shang a warm smile.

"What advice does Grand Mentor Jiang have?"

"I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare," Jiang Shang hurriedly bowed, then rose half a zhang on a cloud to show he was speaking as a Chan School cultivator.

Jiang Shang asked: "Star Lord, may I be so bold as to ask why you suddenly struck at Senior Brother Guang Chengzi?

Was it because he was about to attack Fellow Daoist Huo Ling?"

Huo Ling Shengmu, hiding nearby, perked up at this, watching Li Changshou with a hint of expectation in her eyes.

Li Changshou replied: "In a way, yes, and in a way, no."

"How so?"

"If Senior Brother Guang Chengzi had killed Fellow Daoist Huo Ling, it would have likely sparked a major war between the Jie School and the Chan School today.

The Feng Shen Jie still has unresolved destiny to fulfill, so many immortals were fated to turn to ashes.

But that was just the immediate reason for my intervention; destroying the Fantian Seal stopped it there.

Capturing Senior Brother Guang Chengzi, however, is because of the Linyuan Dan matter."

Jiang Shang was stunned: "How did you..."

"I've been watching the whole time, but I was held back by a great figure and could only observe."

Li Changshou smiled at Jiang Shang and said: "No need to ask more. If you want to interrogate Daji, go ahead, but it's best to wait a bit longer. Things aren't lively yet."

Jiang Shang glanced at Daji, and coincidentally, she was looking back at him. A flicker of surprise and confusion crossed her eyes before they cleared, and she lowered her head in silence.

Li Changshou declared loudly: "Emperor Xin's soul has been sent to the Feng Shen Tai. He's turned misfortune into fortune—when the Feng Shen Tai reshapes his body, he'll gain True Immortal realm cultivation.

In the future, as an immortal god in the Heavenly Court, he'll essentially achieve near immortality, which is far more comfortable than any previous Shang ruler."

Daji's eyes sparkled, though she kept her head down, a faint coquettish smile playing on her lips.

Jiang Shang asked: "Star Lord, if Daji is to be executed, could she also go to the Feng Shen Tai?"

"Not necessarily," Li Changshou said calmly. "That hasn't been decided yet. Let's deal with Senior Brother Guang Chengzi's punishment first."

Punishment? Senior Brother Guang Chengzi's punishment?

Jiang Shang couldn't help but shudder.

Punishing the Chan School's senior brother? Where would that leave the Chan School leader, his own teacher?

From the southwest, beams of light shot toward them, appearing aggressive but actually moving slower than they seemed.

From the east, even more lights flew in, with familiar pressures already radiating outward.

Chan and Jie had arrived.

At the ruins of the Star-Picking Tower.

A golden light drifted slowly through the blue sky, transforming into the armored Heavenly Court goddess of war.

Youqinxuanya landed on the charred floorboards, gazing at the seated corpse still leaning on its sword, and let out a soft sigh.

Her ancestor said:

"Though there are regrets and shortcomings, he sacrificed himself to uphold virtue and did not disgrace the title of Human Emperor.

I, Youqinxuanya, will protect your third son, Zigen, and ensure his safety. Though Shang has lost the Human Emperor's destiny, its ancestral temple will endure.

I am Youqinxuanya, and Ji is my kin.

You are the most outstanding among Ji's descendants that I have seen in a thousand years."

As her words fell, a gentle breeze blew, and the charred body slowly collapsed into a pile of ashes.

As the saying goes:

The nation's foundation wanes, hard to reverse; eastern conquests amassed slaves.

Fifty campaigns won the beauty Su, yet the king's palace lacked entertainers.

In the rainy night at Muye, heroes strutted their might, unwilling to burn the Star-Picking Tower.

Alas, the latter established Zhou rites, and for a thousand years, scholars in books have cursed his name.