Free Web NovelBeneath the Heaven-Measuring Iron Ruler were two figures, one old and one young. The old man had white eyebrows and beard, but his face was utterly without wrinkles—a crane-haired, childlike complexion.
The youth was only fourteen or fifteen years old, carrying the unique naivety and sharpness of youth, in the prime of his life.
The clothes on these two were thoroughly archaic, with long robes predominantly colored in black and red.
Blocking the Heaven-Measuring Iron Ruler was precisely the palm of that old man.
His palm was gaunt, yet when that colossal black iron pillar came crashing down, it could not budge that palm by even a hair.
Suddenly, Chen Shi’s voice rang out: “Trying to leave? Do you think you can?”
On the mountain where Wang Lingguan’s Fire Mansion stood, thunder tides suddenly surged. With a crack, lightning erupted, hurtling toward them!
Just as the thunder tide arrived above the Heaven-Measuring Iron Ruler, Chen Shi, riding the crest of the lightning wave, also appeared there. He reached out and grabbed, and the Heaven-Measuring Iron Ruler rapidly shrank to the size of three inches, flying up with a whoosh.
Chen Shi formed a Sword Seal with his fingers, holding it before his chest. The Heaven-Measuring Iron Ruler whizzed around him in flight. Looking down, he caught sight of the two figures, one old and one young.
He had long suspected that this demonic transformation was deliberately instigated by someone.
Though there were many demons in the underworld, their distribution was not fixed. Yet this demonic transformation had encircled Wang Lingguan’s Fire Mansion, clearly intended to prevent Wang Lingguan from being revived. By triggering multiple demonic transformations, they tried to demonize all the deities within the Lingguan Fire Mansion!
The childlike old man looked up, his eyes meeting Chen Shi’s. Suddenly, he pulled the youth by the hand and took a step backward. With that single step, the two figures were already a hundred li away.
“Stay!”
Chen Shi stomped heavily, and the Heaven-Earth Variation erupted. As the old man took his second step, he found himself back in the same spot, as if he had never left!
At the same time, Chen Shi thrust his sword fingers, and the Heaven-Measuring Iron Ruler shot through the air with a whoosh, arriving at the old man’s brow!
The old man’s expression turned to shock. He took another step backward, but instead of retreating, he lurched forward, colliding with the Heaven-Measuring Iron Ruler.
“Fine divine ability!”
The childlike old man raised two fingers to gently pinch, but the moment he caught the Heaven-Measuring Iron Ruler, he sensed something amiss. The iron ruler roared and expanded, bursting through the restraint of his two fingers. With his finger strength, he could not contend with the Heaven-Measuring Iron Ruler!
The Heaven-Measuring Iron Ruler hurtled toward him at an astonishing speed. At the same time, the Heaven-Earth Variation pulled him directly into its path!
Chen Shi hadn’t attacked him.
He never had.
Earlier, when Chen Shi had remotely raised the Heaven-Measuring Iron Ruler to smash down, it was merely using the iron ruler’s immense weight to strike him. Now, Chen Shi wasn’t attacking him either, but using the ruler’s expansion to make him crash into it!
But precisely because there was no attack, it left the old man flustered and unable to cope!
The old man exclaimed in admiration: “Child Prodigy, your reputation is well-deserved. Your application of spells is simply exquisite! I can only overpower you with my realm.”
A streak of light flew out from behind his head, sweeping gently. The Heaven-Measuring Iron Ruler crashed into that streak of light. The childlike old man laughed: “This object is a celestial treasure of great value. Falling into your hands is a waste of heaven’s gift. Let me keep it safe for you!”
That streak of light contained his Realm of Emptiness, vast and spanning a thousand li. Just as it was about to swallow the Heaven-Measuring Iron Ruler, Scholar Zhu flew over with Little Duan. Scholar Zhu raised his hand and struck toward him. The childlike old man’s expression turned serious as he swung his sleeve to meet the attack.
The moment their palms touched, Scholar Zhu’s aura shook violently. Unable to hold back, he opened his mouth and let his foot-long tongue hang out over his chest.
The childlike old man’s face flushed red. He took a step back, losing control of the Heaven-Measuring Iron Ruler.
The iron ruler rapidly shrank and fled from the streak of light.
Before the childlike old man could steady himself, he saw Chen Shi raise the woman beside him and hurl her straight toward him.
Without a second thought, he mobilized the power of his Realm of Emptiness, drawing a circle with his palm. The Realm of Emptiness behind him turned purple, thick with purple mist, and he struck at Little Duan.
Little Duan cried out in alarm, swinging her sleeves in a chaotic attempt to block.
“Boom!”
The childlike old man dragged the youth and flew backward, covering a hundred li. Blood streamed from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. Looking up, he saw the Heaven-Measuring Iron Ruler flying toward him again, roaring as it transformed into a sky-piercing pillar, crashing down!
He raised his hand to catch it but finally could not hold back. With a “wah,” he spat a mouthful of fresh blood.
“Master!”
The youth was terrified. He had never expected that his master, who had been so composed just moments ago, would now be severely wounded by Chen Shi and his group!
The old man was a Great Ascension Realm Great Perfection existence, only half a step away from Dao Unification. He had brought the youth out this time to give him experience. Yet such a formidable master had been gravely wounded by a youth, a hanged ghost, and a beautiful woman!
The childlike old man gritted his teeth, drew the streak of light into his body, forcibly performed Body Unification, pushed the Heaven-Measuring Iron Ruler upward with all his strength, and fled at lightning speed, dragging the youth with him.
The Heaven-Measuring Iron Ruler crashed to the ground with a boom, then flew up again with a whoosh.
The youth looked back and saw Chen Shi leading the hanged ghost and the beautiful young woman flying toward them, clearly intent on wiping them out root and branch!
The childlike old man dropped something—a seed about a zhang in height.
That seed took root and grew at an alarming rate, soon transforming into a massive flower.
A beam of demonic light shot from the flower bud into the sky.
Chen Shi urged the Heaven-Measuring Iron Ruler, and with a crash, it slammed heavily onto the demonic flower. Before the flower could even hatch, he smashed it to pieces.
The childlike old man tossed a second Demon Seed and took the opportunity to flee.
Chen Shi shattered the second Demon Seed. When he looked for the childlike old man again, he had vanished without a trace.
The moonlight was vast and desolate. Finding them would be incredibly difficult.
“They triggered the demonic transformation, trying to destroy the doctrines of the Chinese gods. Who are these two? Are they from the Thirteen Great Clans?”
Chen Shi did not pursue. He stood in a daze. “If this man is truly moving against the Chinese gods, then he will surely target other deities as well. We will meet again.”
They returned to the Fire Mansion Mountain. Wang Lingguan had already slain all the demons. He had absorbed their demonic souls and was even more powerful than before.
“Little True King, you are truly something!”
Wang Lingguan praised Chen Shi endlessly, thoroughly satisfied with his meal. “You are far more generous than the previous True King. I already understand your wish.”
He silently recited a true mantra. The Fire Mansion grew taller and larger. Sunlight spilled from within this divine residence, illuminating the entire mountain.
Beneath the eaves of the Fire Mansion, another world seemed to exist. As the sun passed by, it radiated light.
The underworld was dark and gloomy. Even with the bright moon shining, one could not see very far. But this sunlit mountain appeared extraordinarily bright and clear, bringing joy and a spark of hope to many nearby villages and towns.
“Little True King, I am but a mere avatar. The sunlight I cast can only cover the entire mountain. When my five hundred brothers awaken as well, perhaps we can illuminate farther, allowing a hundred li of fertile land.”
Wang Lingguan gazed around, recalling the past, and said with emotion: “Has the sun gone out again? It once happened in the past, and many people died. The weather has grown cold. The snow disaster should be coming soon. I wonder how many will freeze to death. I can, as I did back then, use my own fire to warm and light this Fire Mansion Mountain, but I cannot care for places farther away.”
He shook his head. He was just an avatar. Protecting this territory was already his limit.
“How long did the snow disaster last?” Chen Shi asked.
“About two or three years.”
Wang Lingguan replied, “Then it stopped. The only places left to survive were the territories covered by the Chinese gods. The population plummeted, with less than one in ten remaining. Later, this state of affairs lasted over forty years before ending. Those who survived were already the second generation after the catastrophe. The population was perhaps only one percent of what it was before.”
Chen Shi fell silent. Only one percent of the population had survived. No wonder so much history had been buried.
With so many dead and no people left, how could the memory of the race be passed down?
He steadied himself and sought guidance: “Wang Lingguan, you endured that catastrophe. Then why did you fall asleep? Why were your Golden Bodies all shattered? What exactly happened back then?”
“Despair Slope made its move, destroying all the doctrines under heaven. I too could not withstand it. My Golden Body was destroyed. The Golden Bodies of all five hundred of us brothers were smashed.”
Wang Lingguan said, “I had no choice but to sink my Dao Field and await the future.”
“Despair Slope made its move?”
Chen Shi was stunned. Why would Despair Slope want to destroy the gods?
Another matter came to mind. When he first discovered the small, broken temple and cultivated there, sunlight had shone out. The very next day, a meteor from beyond the heavens had destroyed that small temple, along with the mountain peak it was on!
Could it be that the meteor was also the work of Despair Slope, not a True God?
Wang Lingguan continued: “Despair Slope’s power was formidable, but our strength was no less. However, there were immortals within Despair Slope. We could not overcome them. Her Ladyship instructed us to sink our Dao Fields and avoid their edge, awaiting the day when she would send someone to awaken us.”
Chen Shi’s heart thumped wildly. His voice turned hoarse. “Immortals?”
Wang Lingguan’s expression grew solemn. “True immortals. Nothing like the half-immortals or the polluted immortals of the True King’s Era. The immortals came to crusade against us, saying they needed to gather incense offerings for the True God and would not allow foreign deities to appear. They were far too powerful.”
Chen Shi shuddered.
In the present world, the righteous energy of heaven and earth had transformed into demonic energy. Anyone who achieved Dao Unification would be affected, falling into corruption. The higher one’s cultivation, the stronger the corruption!
How did the immortals of Despair Slope avoid this influence?
“Little True King, relying on awakening the gods will not save the people of this world.”
Wang Lingguan spoke with heartfelt sincerity: “Even if you use the Western King’s Jade Seal to awaken all the Chinese deities, you will only save a portion of lives. The True King proved this back then. We gods cannot save the world.”
Chen Shi said, “I want to awaken you all and revive Godmother.”
Wang Lingguan’s body and mind shook. He slowly nodded. “When you revive Her Ladyship, I will lead my five hundred brothers to aid you!”
Chen Shi bowed in thanks, then hesitated. “Lord Lingguan, do you still eat virgin boys and girls?”
Wang Lingguan burst into laughter. “I stopped eating them long ago. I was a city god from the Great Song Dynasty, and I originally ate virgin boys and girls. But later, I was won over by Celestial Master Sa of the Celestial Master Mansion and formally began my cultivation. I am now a Daoist. Why would I still eat virgin boys and girls?”
He paused, then added: “But I will eat evil people.”
Chen Shi descended the mountain.
Wang Lingguan sat on the miniature shrine, gazing at the empty Fire Mansion. The shrine had once held five hundred Lingguan, the guardian deities. Now, only he remained.
“Back then, we fought against heaven and earth, protecting this land and its people. Today, demonic miasma rises again. When you awaken, we will once again march against the hordes of demons!”
