Free Web NovelChapter 340: Chapter 244: Surpassing the Changes of the Circulation, I Alone Am Honored as King
Daoist Yuanzu.
These two words floated lightly into the Great Void, instantly triggering a response from the Great Dao.
On the Nanzhan Continent, a storm suddenly brewed. Dark clouds gathered, lightning flashed, and thunder roared, blanketing the distant mountains and rivers.
The Mingcang Marsh was hit particularly hard. A boundless expanse of water vapor, like smoke and mist, stretched for thousands of miles. It was as if a thick curtain had fallen, obscuring the ten directions, preventing even the sun and moon from passing through.
As Daoist Monarch Xianyou Mingxuan finished speaking, a Qi Mechanism tore through the boundless Great Void, revealing an illusory figure.
It was a Daoist in a black robe. His form was exquisite, his features indistinct, his presence ethereal. To look upon him was to gaze into something boundless and unending, a vast and surging ocean that seemed ready to overflow and fill the entire universe.
"Daoist Mingxuan, you certainly know how to hold a grudge. All those years ago, Tao Ran merely said a single disparaging word about the Ning Hechu you’d taken a liking to, and you’ve held onto it for this long. You just had to get your revenge, didn’t you?"
The black-robed Daoist stepped into the Great Void, taking a seat level with Daoist Monarch Xianyou Mingxuan. He slowly withdrew his immense Qi Mechanism, which coalesced into what looked like a true sun hanging behind his head.
When its light shone, the entire world was illuminated. It resembled a cosmic river without beginning or end, where countless living beings bobbed and sank within its currents.
"We Demon Cultivators cultivate our own nature. Whether through pretense and affectation or laughter and rage, at least there is a sliver of authenticity in it.
Are we supposed to be like the Immortal Cultivators, unifying all under one rigid, unchanging principle?"
Daoist Monarch Xianyou Mingxuan snorted. Facing his old rival, this typically inscrutable Ancestral Sect patriarch actually showed a bit of life.
"That junior, Tao Ran, spends all her days scheming this and plotting that. She thinks she sees the whole picture, but in reality, she’s incredibly shortsighted. Only your Taifu Sect would bother cultivating someone like her."
The black-robed Daoist, addressed as "Yuanzu," smiled faintly.
"Divination, calculation, deducing heavenly secrets, and aligning with the grand tide of fate—these are also paths of cultivation. Tao Ran’s ’Qintian Dou Shu’ has deeply grasped the essentials of the Four Transformations. When the Ancient Demon Tribulation finally begins, she will surely have a chance to show her skills.
Daoist Mingxuan, you may dislike Life Divine Techniques, but doesn’t your sect’s current Sect Leader, Qin Baiyu, cultivate the ’Plum Blossom Divination’?"
Daoist Monarch Xianyou Mingxuan was shameless enough to reply directly:
"How can they be the same? My sect obtained the phenomena of the Innate Trigrams. All arts of heavenly secrets must recognize us as their ancestor.
Besides, Plum Blossom Divination is not used without movement, not cast without cause. Therefore, every reading is accurate, and it never fails.
Tao Ran’s Qintian Dou Shu, however, is a kingmaker’s spell that steals fate and devours Qi. It excels at using the stars Zuo Fu and You Bi, Chang and Qu, to manipulate the destinies of others.
Your Zhang Yuansheng achieved his [Shenqi] by consuming the lives of how many people in the Mingcang Marsh?
For the next three thousand years, I’m afraid the Taifu Sect will struggle to produce even a single candidate for True Monarch."
The black-robed Daoist’s expression remained serene. He did not refute Daoist Monarch Xianyou Mingxuan’s words, merely stating in a calm tone:
"Since we walk the [Demon Dao], we should understand ’take from the surplus to supplement the deficient’ and ’sacrifice the myriad to empower the one’."
Daoist Monarch Xianyou Mingxuan scoffed.
"It would be no concern of mine even if your Taifu Sect sacrificed every living being on the Nanzhan Continent.
I am simply reminding you that the [Earth Virtue] must not fall out of balance. If it affects the two Golden Positions of [She] and [Ji], causing harm to the Daoist Lineage...
...then those patriarchs who journeyed beyond the heavens might just have to enforce the ’family laws’."
The black-robed Daoist performed a Daoist salute and said lightly:
"Over the last millennium, the Taifu Sect has already conquered several mid-thousand worlds. When the time comes, we will naturally migrate their populations to replenish the mortals here. We will absolutely not allow the [Earth Virtue]’s aspect to be diminished."
Hearing this, Daoist Monarch Xianyou Mingxuan said no more. ’That bastard Yuanzu has always been cunning and treacherous; he never fights a battle he isn’t certain of winning.’
’Zhang Yuansheng establishing his [Shenqi] and ascending to a Golden Position is clearly going to empty out the Mingcang Marsh’s entire foundation.
If he weren’t already prepared, he would never have undertaken such a risky move.’
"Daoist Mingxuan, to seek and ascend to a Golden Position within a sixty-year cycle... this is an unprecedented event in all of history.
I am rather curious, what gives you the confidence to bet on a child with an outside surname?"
The black-robed Daoist lowered his gaze. The boundless Great Void was like a crystal-clear pond, unable to hide a single thing.
He truly did not understand.
After all, the Taifu Sect was the first Ancestral Sect to set its sights on the [Shao Yang].
Tao Ran had her eyes on this Golden Position long ago. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have secretly fanned the flames and helped Xuan Chanzi of the Zhongyi Sect accumulate his foundation.
She even turned a blind eye when True Master Xuanmiao secretly fled the Daoist Palace and crossed the Mingcang Marsh.
If that kid with the surname Jiang hadn’t appeared out of nowhere and hijacked the [Shao Yang] Dao Inheritance meant for Xuan Chanzi, the situation right now would be completely different.
"Simply for the fact that he could disrupt Tao Ran’s calculations and ruin the Taifu Sect’s grand scheme to use the [Shao Yang] to achieve [Shenqi]."
Daoist Monarch Xianyou Mingxuan said slowly:
"The Great Divination uses forty-nine, and the one that escapes is everything. What my sect seeks is precisely that ’one’."
The black-robed Daoist shook his head and withdrew his gaze.
’This old rival of mine is still such a gambler.’
He performed a Daoist salute to the kindly old woman who had been watching from the sidelines.
"Greetings, Daoist Jiuling. You have worked hard overseeing the north and south. When you have the time, please come to the Mingcang Marsh for a cup of tea. The ancient ginseng tea trees on Dayan Peak are about to blossom again."
"You are too kind, Daoist Yuanzu. Once matters here are concluded, I will certainly accept your invitation and enjoy a pot of longevity tea."
The kindly old woman also returned the salute. This Daoist Yuanzu was the leader of the Taifu Sect and had once presided over the Kantian Dingyuan Conclave.
He could be considered one of the foremost Dao-ruling Monarchs in the Yanfu Vast Land.
The black-robed Daoist looked at his old rival again and said with a faint smile:
"Daoist Mingxuan, in sixty years, I will observe the [Shao Yang] again. I wonder if it will still bear the surname Jiang."
Daoist Monarch Xianyou Mingxuan remained expressionless, closing his eyes to rest his spirit.
But the black-robed Daoist was not annoyed. He and his old rival had been competing against each other for several thousand years.
From their personal paths of the Dao, to the foundations of their sects, and now, down to whose Daoist was more promising...
"Daoist Mingxuan, at the next Kantian Dingyuan, I hope the Innate Sect’s name can be ranked a little higher on the Purple Extremity Imperial Heaven Chart."
