Chapter 1147: Turning Against One's Own
The two figures merged into one. For the first time, Chen Ping'an seemed to allow his divine nature to take over completely, letting the cuckoo occupy the nest, allowing that pure divine nature to command his great Dao and his life, without any further concealment.
The scene before Jiang She's eyes flickered. A change of heaven? The color of the sky in this ruined battlefield began to show a trend of layering, from the green seedlings of spring to the golden rice of autumn, the green and yellow perfectly meeting.
With one hand, Chen Ping'an flipped Jiang She to the ground, then kicked his sturdy body, sending him flying sideways.
Jiang She almost lost his grip on his long spear, Army Breaker. He used the spear tip to touch the ground, spun his body a hundred zhang away, and landed gracefully. He then thrust the spear at Chen Ping'an's neck as he closed in.
Chen Ping'an tilted his head to dodge the spear tip. He reached out and grabbed the spear, then spread his palm and pressed his five fingers against Jiang She's chest. In his palm, the five thunders gathered, and he smiled, "Off you go."
In an instant, it was as if a great bell or cauldron had been struck throughout heaven and earth. His hand was like a sledgehammer—a heavy blow produced a loud sound. Jiang She retreated with a bang, his body like a kite with a broken string. the surging fist energy caused his entire face to tremble violently, his hairpin shattered, his hair disheveled. Jiang She stood barefoot a thousand zhang away, holding his spear, having to drive the butt of Army Breaker into the ground to forcibly stop his retreat.
Four immortal swords traced four sharp trajectories in the air, following him like shadows. Jiang She flicked two away with his long spear. Unlike the previous great-refined natal objects that shattered upon contact with Army Breaker, these two imitation immortal swords either spun or were tossed high, but they did not shatter on the spot. Jiang She then used a single fist to chop away an immortal sword aimed at his glabella. In his haste, another immortal sword, imbued with abundant Daoist essence, pierced through Jiang She's ribs. Jiang She frowned slightly, reached out, and grabbed the sword hilt. The sword's momentum was blocked, the tip vibrating slightly, humming. Jiang She could not easily crush it, a small surprise. As he was about to increase the pressure in his palm, a pair of pure golden eyes appeared in his vision. The next moment, the guy's five fingers hooked like claws pressed against Jiang She's forehead, twisted his wrist, and flung Jiang She, along with his spear Army Breaker, away.
Chen Ping'an bent slightly and waved his sleeve. A fire dragon, as thick as a wellhead, crashed into Jiang She's back in midair. Jiang She's body swayed. He thrust his spear diagonally at the sky, just in time to pierce a water-attributed long halberd that descended from nowhere.
The immortal sword in Jiang She's hand was freed. Chen Ping'an brought his two fingers together and casually formed a sword seal, controlling the four immortal swords to spin continuously in the air, watching for an opportunity.
A pair of golden eyes gleamed brightly. In his field of vision, there was no longer Jiang She's skin and bones, but rather a diagram of true qi flow within this martial ancestor's human-body heaven and earth—a magnificent sight.
He could not find any flaw at all.
Just as Jiang She smashed that long halberd, a majestic mountain with palaces and pavilions in close order rose beside him. It looked like the residence of an ancient True Man, refined into a natal object by an immortal, but it was being hurled viciously in the least ethereal way possible.
Like a mischievous child with moderate strength gathering all his might to throw a seal.
Jiang She used his long spear to block that "Mountain Seal," his suspended figure as small as a mustard seed. One arm was heavily muscled, his sleeve billowing and flapping loudly, veins bulging on the back of his hand, sparks flying at the spear tip as he withstood the enormous momentum of the mountain. The spear tip did not penetrate the mountain, but golden lights slithered like snakes, rapidly spreading across the bottom of the Mountain Seal. When countless golden threads reversed like a stream, crossing the mountain waist all the way to the peak, the dazzling golden threads had already wrapped around the entire mountain. Jiang She withdrew his spear, and the mountain shattered with a crash, dust filling the air. From thrusting the spear to withdrawing Army Breaker, it was merely an instant.
Chen Ping'an did not give Jiang She a chance to exchange for a single breath of pure true qi. He closed in and exchanged a punch directly.
Jiang She was punched up into the sky. He twisted his wrist violently, spinning the spear, moving like a thunderclap, shattering the sword intent hidden in the fist energy that refused to dissipate.
Chen Ping'an, on the other hand, plunged straight down into the ground like a line. During the descent, he did not forget to flip his sleeves, sending countless fire- and water-attributed serpent-like flying swords shooting toward the sky.
Jiang She slid his hand over Army Breaker and gripped the middle of the shaft. Two great mountains, like sword-shaved "cliffs," were closing in to trap Jiang She between them.
The momentum was fierce, like an ancient giant raising its arms to clap its hands together, intending to crush the spear-wielding martial artist, who was as small as an ant, in between.
Jiang She forced down a mouthful of blood. When it was stimulated by the martial artist's true qi within his body, it was like adding fuel to a fire, steam rising. All the blood turned into resources for the Great Dao, smelted together with the martial true qi.
With a slight twist of his wrist, the spear Army Breaker rolled. Two gales spun at the spear tip, turning the two "palm" cliffs into a cloud of dust, with broken stones falling like rain.
Jiang She lifted his spear and hovered in the air, looking down at Chen Ping'an standing in the pit.
Jiang She already had five portions of martial fortune within him engaged in the second and third struggle. Earlier, during the "warm-up" fight with Chen Ping'an, he still couldn't fully suppress them, which put him at a considerable disadvantage.
Previously, each had held back, naturally taking what they needed. Chen Ping'an needed Jiang She's power to forcibly "dissolve" his series of natal objects into a chaotic mass.
Jiang She also needed to gradually refine the three rebellious portions of martial fortune that were trying to stir up trouble within his human-body small heaven. These martial fortunes, carrying heaven and earth's spiritual energy, either formed formations like an army, confronting the martial fortune Jiang She had taken from the Azure Sky world in the "battlefield of the cinnabar field," each breaking the other's formation; or spread out like light cavalry, becoming bands of roving bandits, invading the courier routes of the body's meridians; or, like an army that feigned surrender to take the city, they raised a rebellion, entrenched themselves in a key natal acupoint of Jiang She's, and erected a great banner on that majestic city wall... Everywhere in Jiang She's body, qi and blood were stagnant, affecting his soul. How could he command as easily as moving his fingers?
Chen Ping'an's temple hair fluttered uncertainly. He squinted and smiled, stretching out his hand to gather the pure killing aura between heaven and earth, manifesting the most ordinary white oak wood spear from a practice ground.
Holding the spear, Chen Ping'an tapped the ground with his toe. The bottom of the pit shook, and his figure vanished in a flash. Like an aoyu fish flipping its back, circles of fist intention ripples shot outward from the spot, leaving the earth scarred and battered.
It seemed Chen Ping'an had made up his mind: whatever Jiang She was best at, he would use that to challenge him and compete.
First, fist techniques; then, military strategist's divine powers; now, spear techniques.
He distanced himself from Jiang She. The imitation swords suspended in the four directions of the heavens each flashed with sword light. The Azure Sky's Great Dao seemed like soft mud, and the four immortal swords vanished in an instant.
Jiang She, while distracted, probed for traces of those troublesome imitation swords and simultaneously waited for Chen Ping'an to approach. In close combat, it was like meeting in an alley—the brave one wins.
This time, the opening move was a masterful use of the five elements' earth method: gathering soil into mountains, using his mind to control the mountains, floating them in the high sky, and raining them down on Jiang She.
Jiang She shattered hundreds of mountains, the sound like rolling thunder. Even more mountains fell and took root on the ground, forming a winding dragon vein in a line on the earth.
Between heaven and earth, mountains shaped like wild geese formations crashed down in sequence. Jiang She was endlessly annoyed. Logically, from the earlier practice, Chen Ping'an should have exhausted all the heavenly and earthly spiritual energy accumulated in his cave abodes. Where did all this new spiritual energy come from? What kind of divine power was this, creating something from nothing?
This time, when Chen Ping'an used the Earth-Spanning Mountain technique, he used the dragon vein peaks as steps to ascend step by step. Holding his spear, he stepped on the peaks of various mountains. Every time his foot "connected," his body grew larger. By the time he neared Jiang She, he was as colossal as a mountain god giant. Seeing that Chen Ping'an, empowered by the mountain and river power, was not a paper tiger, Jiang She also shook his shoulders in the air, manifesting a solemn golden dharma body.
Chen Ping'an either moved straight and struck directly, or paced with the steps of the Big Dipper, his spear moving like a winding dragon vein. Eventually, the spear tip spat out air like a flying sword, stabbing Jiang She's hand tendons, and then pulled off a piece of flesh from Jiang She's arm.
But Jiang She swept his spear and struck Chen Ping'an across the waist, breaking his body. Chen Ping'an's form transformed into a dozen sword lights, reforming elsewhere. Jiang She then brought his spear down like a blade, directly chopping at Chen Ping'an's head. Although Chen Ping'an dodged again, the air beside him split open with a roar, revealing a pitch-black chasm of time.
The two traded blows, neither daring to withstand the other fully. The trajectory of each spear carried endless residual fist intention, brilliant and dazzling, like arcs cutting through the Azure Sky, crisscrossing, the Dao intent lingering long.
Jiang She's spear techniques were created specifically for battlefield charges—grand and sweeping, opening formations and directly taking the general's head.
In contrast, Chen Ping'an's moves resembled the martial arts of a wandering swordsman: exquisite in technique, with many names, but lacking a bit of the profound Dao intent that comes with divine ease.
Chen Ping'an twisted his body, not turning his head, and suddenly twisted his wrist. With immense force, he thrust his spear backwards.
It struck Jiang She's dharma body squarely in the heart. He was about to pierce through, then stir up the surrounding cave abodes near the heart aperture, coordinating with the three portions of martial fortune.
But Jiang She had already stabbed his spear into Chen Ping'an's neck earlier, lifting Chen Ping'an into the air.
Two immortal swords simultaneously pierced Jiang She's dharma body's hands. The other two stabbed straight into Jiang She's insteps.
Ignoring those immortal swords, Jiang She raised his head slightly and sneered, "What's the point?"
Dispelling the dharma-omnipresence power, Chen Ping'an held the spear in his left hand and wiped his neck with his right hand. His palm was covered in scorching golden blood.
Jiang She also withdrew his dharma body at the same time. Blood dripped from his heart area. Though the wound looked gruesome, it was actually negligible.
The wooden spear in Chen Ping'an's hand turned to dust and scattered in the wind.
Jiang She slowly withdrew his long spear, Army Breaker, and pulled a needle-sized imitation sword from his temple. He pinched the sword tip and hilt with two fingers, crushing it bit by bit.
Fortunately for Chen Ping'an, it was just another addition of Great Dao resources in the chaos.
Jiang She said, "I know you haven't used all your strength yet. You're still deliberately burdening your movements with complicated thoughts. If you just want to stall for time, waiting for reinforcements, I can wait here and chat with you a bit. But if you want to have a truly satisfying fight, then don't hold back. Let's each weigh the other's measure."
Chen Ping'an shook his head. "It's not that I'm deliberately having distracting thoughts. I really can't rein them in."
As for how troublesome the Chen Ping'an who appeared with pure divine nature was, the group of Earth Branch cultivators in the Great Li capital probably had the most to say.
Senior Brother Cui Chan carefully selected them, the court gave them priceless treasures and arranged famous teachers—the best-qualified Dao cultivation seedlings in the continent, the most smooth Dao cultivation. They just fought a battle with the "Chen Ping'an" who had taken the chance to slip out of his cage. The result was that many cultivators developed heart demons—that's clear proof. If it hadn't been for him fearing the Ritual Sage at the time, relying on Chen Ping'an "himself" alone might not have been enough to subdue it.
Jiang She smiled. "In terms of soul Dao, you're far inferior to Cui Chan. You're just a lousy student with no talent, only able to boast about diligence. Now this appearance is somewhat similar to my colleague."
Chen Ping'an raised an eyebrow.
Jiang She nodded. "What, worried that I've long conspired with my colleague to carve you up? That kind of thing is really hard to say."
Chen Ping'an smiled. "I welcome it. Bring it on."
Rather than being on edge guarding against a thief for a thousand days, it's better to kill the thief right away.
Refining great treasures in quantity is to solidify the Dao foundation, to make the foundation of the Immortal Realm extremely stable, striving to one day open all the human body's thousand-plus cave abodes, preparing for the proof of the Ascension Realm. Just waiting for that flying ascension method privately taught to Taoist Ding to be verified, to confirm it's feasible. Then, perhaps Chen Ping'an's breakthrough, to the outside world, would happen in an instant.
Relying only on self-deceptive "forgetting," sealing various past memories, to build a cage, using walls of text as moats and barriers to imprison the divine nature—that's ultimately a low-level method like controlling floods by blocking. So each great-refined natal object was an extra shackle for the divine nature. During the retreat at the Fuyan Lu Daoist site, Chen Ping'an's plan was to wait until he reached the Ascension Realm, then seek a permanent cure.
Then, what an Ascension Realm should do was clear: just three things—find the missing pieces of his natal porcelain, reassemble the complete celadon paperweight, and have a clean debate with his divine nature. At that time, with no obstacles in soul and Dao heart, he could safely try to find a Great Dao, attempt to merge with the Dao, and become a fourteenth realm cultivator.
The difference in behavior, speech, and character traits between Chen Ping'an's true body and the "divine-nature Chen Ping'an" who was responsible for creating a small thousand-world and compiling a "youth book" for Taoist Ding, and protecting the Dao, was greater the more irreconcilable the two sides were. At least in the Immortal Realm, Chen Ping'an had no chance of winning.
But being sought out by Jiang She and starting this Great Dao struggle was indeed unexpected.
The great refining, which was supposed to be a clever move, suppressed the divine nature with many natal objects, but unexpectedly ended up as a burden.
So Chen Ping'an made a decisive move without hesitation, doing the opposite: using Jiang She to shatter the natal objects into chaos, then using the "heaven collapsing, earth shattering, mountains and rivers sinking" celestial anomaly within his human-body heaven and earth, Chen Ping'an had to divert much of his mind, like a scout in a battlefield, following traces to find those two qi residences that seemed to connect like cave paradises. Once found, he recorded them, to perform the act of cutting chaos to separate clear and turbid, creating heaven and earth.
Confronting Jiang She, he also had to divert attention, using war to nourish war. It was like dissolving the Dao while cultivating the Dao, extremely dangerous. The hardship of this was indescribable to outsiders.
Forced by circumstances, facing Jiang She, a military strategist ancestor whose killing power far exceeded expectations, there was no other way.
After Jiang She smashed a series of natal objects, Chen Ping'an then actively shattered the talismans of true qi that were used to forcibly suppress his realm and limit his Dao conduct. This allowed the divine nature to fully unfold, as if a mountain of prohibitions with steles everywhere was completely unsealed, returning to the original simplicity.
It could be understood that to some extent, Chen Ping'an's human nature had been holding him back, preventing the divine nature—or rather, the truly complete self—and his Dao heart from being muddy, never attaining perfection.
When boxing against a Stopping Realm martial artist or sword dueling with an Immortal Realm, Chen Ping'an could still hide it with his many skills. But facing Jiang She, everything was a flaw.
He remembered a conversation with Gao Jun, the world's number one in the Lotus Root Blessed Land, the head of the Hushan Sect who had switched from martial arts to seeking immortality.
"Heaven no longer gives, time does not stay; ability cannot serve two purposes; the matter lies in the timing." "Are you not afraid it will still be like an ant shaking a tree, or a mantis trying to stop a chariot?"
Jiang She didn't need to exchange for a breath of pure martial true qi, nor was he in a hurry to act. He shook his head. "As the overseer of the Summer Palace, serving as the last Hidden Officer, bearing the true names of the demon race, half-merged with the Dao of the Sword Qi Great Wall. After returning to the Righteous Qi world, settling Xiao Mo and Xie Gou on the Luopo Mountain, accepting Ning Ji as a personal disciple, filling the vacancy in Tongye Continent, excavating the Great River, and so on. Each and every one of these things carries long-term karmic consequences, often stretching for a hundred or thousand years, without a moment's rest. Haven't you thought about these consequences?"
It wasn't that this military strategist ancestor had great patience; it was that even someone as strong as Jiang She wasn't confident in a quick victory, in beheading this guy in battle.
It wasn't about Jiang She being unable to win; it was that Chen Ping'an, presenting the "half-one" pure divine form, was truly hard to kill.
Jiang She's gaze was pitying, and he sneered. "One accident after another, hindering your cultivation, blocking your ascension—aren't they solid examples? You're young, with a short Dao age. Be careful of being hated by heaven."
First, an assassination by a fourteenth-realm candidate ghost, then several sneak attacks by an actual fourteenth-realm cultivator, and now being used as a stepping stone by Jiang She for his ascension.
Three major unexpected events in a row.
As for the disruptions of a few demon cultivators from the Qingrang tribe in the Tongye Continent river, compared to these, they were nothing.
Chen Ping'an remained silent.
He was mentally prepared. If there were no bumps or hardships, he would actually feel uneasy. Since it was destined that he would bear karma, as long as it didn't fall on others' shoulders, it was fine.
It was a pity that Jiang She had quickly seen through his trick and refused to personally "dissolve" an imitation White Jade Capital.
Otherwise, this fight could have provided many insights, and he wouldn't have lost everything.
Perhaps, besides the Three Teachings' Patriarchs and the three masters of the White Jade Capital, Jiang She could be said to be the most qualified to find flaws in the White Jade Capital's Great Dao—no exceptions.
Chen Ping'an steadied his mind, feigning confusion, and asked, "Why didn't you use your long spear Army Breaker to break the prohibitions of this heaven and earth? Didn't even try?"
Jiang She said calmly, "Does a lion need to flee when hunting a rabbit? Any trump cards? I'm waiting for your trump cards."
Chen Ping'an was silent for a moment, took a deep breath, and smiled radiantly. "Jiang She, these words are truly the best fist!"
That was true invincibility.
Since it had come to this, he would fight again.
Chen Ping'an had no more distracting thoughts. He opened a fist stance, looked ahead, and muttered to himself.
Jiang She hesitated for a moment, then used a divine power. He actually put away his spear Army Breaker, laughed loudly, and said, "I accept this fist."
On the battlefield, the two figures moved like thunder, leaving tens of thousands of afterimages. Heaven and earth were filled with surging, unparalleled fist energy. These two pure martial artists had actually beaten out a place where all spells and divine powers seemed to be forbidden—a land without dharma.
﹌﹌﹌
Sword light like a rainbow cut through the heavy prohibitions of this heaven and earth. It was Ning Yao, wearing the dharma robe Jin Li, carrying the immortal sword "Tianzhen" (Innocence), crossing the world to arrive.
She was the first to reach this ancient battlefield site. If the central battlefield of Chen Ping'an and Jiang She was the center, Ning Yao stopped in the north.
In the Chongyang Temple of the Yu Xuan Kingdom, that fourteenth-realm candidate ghost declared in the netherworld that he would remove a demon from the world of the living, kill the Hidden Officer Chen Ping'an, gain the recognition of the many ghosts from the Barren Wastes on the Yellow Springs Road, and hope to accumulate considerable yin virtue through this shortcut, seizing the single-plank bridge of the ghost Dao. It used the female ghost Xiao Pu, one of the candidate leaders of the Cherry Green Clothes, as a ferry connecting yin and yang, cunningly assassinating Chen Ping'an. The event was sudden and hard to prevent. Though its full-force strike did not succeed, by coincidence, Chen Ping'an inadvertently used many measures originally intended to guard against the assassination from the Woo Continent. But Chen Ping'an was still quite injured. Not to mention the damage to his dharma robe, within his human-body small heaven, dozens of basic cave abodes were reduced to ruins. Of course, before Chen Ping'an could go after it, Ning Yao traveled with her sword to the Fengdu region and killed it.
The result of this sword duel—whose truth was currently only circulating among the mountaintops—also secured Ning Yao's position as the top "strong fourteenth" among the new fourteenth-realm cultivators.
Ning Yao looked into the distance, her expression cold. It was hard to tell what she was truly thinking at the moment.
Wu Shuangjiang followed closely behind, his figure in the east. As soon as he appeared, he manifested his dharma body, not hiding his fourteenth-realm cultivation.
This nearly towering majestic dharma body held a stack of his original creation, the talismans "Azure Sky."
As soon as he appeared, Wu Shuangjiang began to activate the talismans. Every step of the dharma body was accompanied by an earth tremor. He raised his hand to "mend the sky."
Ripples formed, creating a sky barrier like emerald glass.
Jiang She must not be allowed to break through the sky and escape with a few punches.
This azure-colored Great Dao of the sky: Jiang She, you shall not leave.
Wu Shuangjiang, along with Taoist Gao Gu, Monk Jiang Xiu, and female sword immortal Bao Lin, had jointly visited the White Jade Capital, a battle that ended in a miserable defeat.
Yu Dou sat at the White Jade Capital, holding his immortal sword, virtually facing three fourteenth-realm cultivators and one peak Flying Ascension Realm sword immortal alone.
This battle solidified Yu Dou's reputation as the true invincible under the Three Teachings' Patriarchs.
However, the White Jade Capital that Yu Dou relied on was essentially the first supreme treasure of the Human Dao, which was key and indispensable.
After all, in such matters, the Ritual Sage of the Righteous Qi world says nothing, and the Zhis of the Ten Thousand Mountains make no objection. So whatever is said, is.
"True invincible" is a title given by others. Whether he is truly invincible, Yu Dou doesn't bother to say much.
Gao Gu and the other two died, utterly perishing.
Only Wu Shuangjiang, through his unique method of merging with the Dao, quietly returned to the fourteenth realm. He visited Luopo Mountain and then came here to keep his appointment.
In truth, strictly speaking, that unprecedented and magnificent Dao inquiry ended with all four dead, none surviving.
To say nothing of Wu Shuangjiang's four immortal-soldier-rank imitation "immortal swords"—all were degraded. "Taibai" and "Tianzhen" dropped to half-immortal soldiers, while the other two, "Daocang" and "Wanfa," fell to dharma treasures.
From this, one can see the ferocity of that battle and the extraordinary Dao power of Yu Dou.
Taoist Gao Gu sought revenge, Monk Jiang Xiu had his own desires, and sword immortal Bao Lin had long sought death.
Wu Shuangjiang, of military strategist background, wanted to open the curtain of chaos in the Azure Sky world, thereby increasing his Dao power and Dao conduct, so that one day he could justifiably reach a higher realm.
Since the world had long suffered under Yu Dou, let Yu Dou and the White Jade Capital become old history.
From the south, a middle-aged scholar in a blue robe, long gown, and cloth shoes appeared, along with a handsome young man with a red mole between his eyebrows. The two were far apart, each offering a small heaven, with mountains and rivers complementing each other. Each presided over a formation, acting as host. Thanks to the battle during the Night Boat incident and the fight with Wu Shuangjiang, Cui Dongshan and Jiang Shangzhen—both renowned as treasures-rich youths—exchanged goods, swapping two or three dozen dharma treasures, adding bricks and tiles to their respective formations and filling gaps.
From the west, Zheng Juzhong was the last to appear, landing on the ground. One person bore three entirely different Daoist auras.
They intentionally or unintentionally formed an encirclement, trapping Jiang She, this military strategist ancestor.
Jiang Shangzhen looked at that City Lord Zheng, filled with inner amazement. Comparing people is frustrating—some truly achieve the feat of having a true body, yin spirit, and yang spirit all at the fourteenth realm?
Cui Dongshan asked via telepathic voice, "Zhou Chief, see the trick yet?"
Jiang Shangzhen said, "The Confucian scholar and Daoist auras are relatively clear. The third type is hard to determine."
Cui Dongshan smiled. "Who is most at odds with the military strategists, incompatible in Dao?"
Jiang Shangzhen suddenly understood. "So it's the Agricultural school. No wonder Mr. Zheng insists on solid footing on the ground. Can it be understood that as soon as Mr. Zheng arrived, he directly began a Dao struggle with Jiang She?"
As expected of Zheng Juzhong of White Emperor City—when fighting, he never utters harsh words. More like a hotheaded youth in a street brawl: as soon as they meet, he rushes in with a knife, stabbing first as a greeting.
Cui Dongshan looked around, while probing the amount of heaven and earth spiritual energy, he said with a chuckle, "Well done, Zhou Chief. Out of three questions, you got two wrong by your own ability. If I hadn't reminded you, you'd have been completely wrong."
"Confucianism pursues self-cultivation, family harmony, governance, and world peace. Logically, it doesn't like war, because if the world is in chaos, that means failed education. But if you read a few more history books, you'll know there are only two types of people who like to talk lightly of war: one is the emperor who loves grandiose achievements; the other is the civil official who has never been on a battlefield or taken a knife. Generals who have led troops and killed people are far more cautious. Daoism advocates governance by non-action, and on the surface, it is also very much at odds with the military strategists. But life and death, flourishing and withering, are heavenly principles. Of course they are not compatible, but not to that extent. Jiang She was trapped for ten thousand years. Military affairs are like water, without fixed form. When this military strategist ancestor came out again, his Dao had also changed somewhat. If Zheng Juzhong uses Confucianism and Daoism to deal with an ordinary military strategist giant, there's no problem, it's easy. But against Jiang She, it's less effective."
Cui Dongshan said, "The three Zheng Juzhongs are Buddhist, Agricultural, and Medical schools. Not to mention today, for one sect and two schools, even after another ten thousand years, they still won't like the military strategists."
Jiang Shangzhen was shocked. "Mr. Zheng also studies Buddhism?"
Cui Dongshan nodded vigorously, chuckling. "Zheng Juzhong has been studying Buddhism in the Barren Wastes all along. Zhou Chief, that question was redundant. Have you gotten muddled from staying too long in the mountain with Patriarch Jingqing?"
Zheng Juzhong's style of conduct has always been incomprehensible. For example, he merged with the Dao and reached the fourteenth realm in the Barren Wastes world, forcibly cutting off a large portion of the Barren Wastes' fortune, yet he still managed to hide it from the Grand Ancestor of Tuoyue Mountain and Wen Hai Zhoumi. During that time, Zheng Juzhong stayed hidden in the Golden Emerald City, a vassal sect of the Yelu River tribe. Eventually, he moved the entire city, along with everyone, to the Righteous Qi world. The female immortal realm cultivator Qingjia, given the Dao name Yuanhu, was given the surname Zheng. Then the entire Golden Emerald City was assigned by Zheng Juzhong to his disciple Gu Can's Fuyu Sect. Inside the city was the Moon Eyebrow Pavilion, which Zheng Qingjia set as a forbidden area, not even the sect leader Gu Can could enter. Gu Can, naturally, didn't care about such trivial matters.
Cui Dongshan guessed that currently, only one of Zheng Juzhong's avatars had arrived.
As for the other two, they should also be "one main, two auxiliary" avatars.
Daoist, supplemented by the Five Elements and Yin-Yang schools, and further combined with the Eclectic school known as "merging Confucianism and Moism, synthesizing names and legalism, penetrating the Dao of all schools"?
Military strategist, supplemented by Legalism, and then by the School of Diplomacy?
Jiang Shangzhen looked at the battlefield and couldn't tell who was who anymore. He watched with a pounding heart—how did he come in only to see the mountain lord being beaten?
Oh well, at least he was trading blows with that military strategist ancestor. Such a feat was already shocking enough.
If it got out, no one would believe it.
Cui Dongshan said gravely, "That's because Jiang She hasn't yet gotten serious... well, not exactly, he hasn't yet used the peak cultivation of the military strategist ancestor to bring out his true killer move. I suspect he's waiting for us to take the bait. He'll keep hiding his capabilities until he sees all of us show ourselves."
Jiang Shangzhen nodded. "We want to gang up on him and split the spoils. This military strategist ancestor also wants to settle everything in one battle."
Cui Dongshan flicked his sleeve and laughed. "No worries, with Mr. Zheng here, we don't need to think too much and worry unnecessarily."
Jiang Shangzhen carefully observed the battlefield, his expression complex. He sighed inwardly. Fighting a guy like Jiang She, who had ranked among the world's top ten heroes ten thousand years ago? He wouldn't even dare to think about it.
If someone had advised him to do such a thing a hundred years ago, Jiang Shangzhen would have twisted that person's head off and used it as a urinal.
Compared to the sword duel at the Night Boat that led to mutual respect and friendship, today's battle, with the addition of Jiang She and Zheng Juzhong, mostly involved familiar faces.
Wu Shuangjiang, Ning Yao, and those two treasure boys exchanged nods and smiles.
Before the real fighting began, Wu Shuangjiang started discussing the ownership of those five portions of martial fortune. "Mr. Zheng is responsible for taking three portions of the martial fortune. That's the interest he and Cui Chan agreed upon long ago."
Three portions of a military strategist ancestor's martial fortune, and that's just interest?
It was impossible to imagine what the "principal" and "profit" of that deal between Zheng Juzhong and Cui Chan were.
The Master couldn't speak, so Cui Dongshan nodded on his behalf. "No problem."
Wu Shuangjiang continued, "The two portions Jiang She took back from the Azure Sky world, of course, go to me."
"As the bonus for this deal, the Dragon-Slaying Platform from the Suichu Palace and all the gold essence coins in its stock go to Chen Ping'an."
"But he needs to go get them himself. If he's late, who knows how much will be left—the Suichu Palace makes no guarantees."
Jiang Shangzhen had a strange expression. "If you cut off the beginning and end and just look at this scene, don't we look too much like the villains?"
Cui Dongshan waved his fan lightly, looking relaxed, and ignored the Chief's nonsense. In truth, he was doing mental calculations nonstop. "Palace Lord Wu left in such a hurry that he didn't even have time to put a single token, a few gold essence coins, in his pocket?"
Wu Shuangjiang said, "I had to come empty-handed. The White Jade Capital is watching closely—they'd use any excuse. Saying I went out for a stroll, ran into Jiang She, we wouldn't give way, a quarrel led to a fight, that's plausible. Even if the White Jade Capital doesn't understand, they'd have to accept it with pursed lips. But if Luopo Mountain had actual 'stolen goods,' the Literary Temple probably wouldn't be able to explain to the White Jade Capital either. If the charge of conspiring with Suichu Palace to disrupt the Azure Sky's situation is thrown at us, no one can withstand it."
Cui Dongshan nodded. "Understood."
Some things can be done but not said; some things can be said but not done.
Wu Shuangjiang glanced at that military strategist ancestor, then at Zheng Juzhong, and sighed. "It feels like the Battle of Xiangji Temple all over again."
In that ancient battlefield site in the Azure Sky world, not long ago, a Taoist attained the Dao, walked a path of complete merit, and reached the fourteenth realm.
Jiang Shangzhen was confused.
Zheng Juzhong turned a deaf ear.
Cui Dongshan had to explain a few things for Chief Zhou. It was probably an internal conflict: two armies fighting, every soldier elite, the strength severely damaged, and the dynasty's national power declined from there.
Cui Dongshan leisurely, within that ancient great marsh Daoist field full of desolation, spat out a puff of snowy white mist, like a white snake slithering, intertwining with itself like tying a knot.
At the same time, Cui Dongshan carefully took out a scroll from his sleeve and held it in his hand, but he didn't rush to open this Luopo Mountain treasure, a relic from the Sword Qi Great Wall.
While chatting, Jiang Shangzhen also kept his hands busy. He sat cross-legged on a cushion, presiding over a "Willow Shadow Ground" refined from an ancient relic. Opening his mouth, he spat out a golden sword pellet that had just been refined a while ago.
The battles of Bai Ye in the Fuyu Continent, Yu Dou guarding the White Jade Capital, and Jiang She at this moment.
Three shocking sieges: two overt, one hidden.
The first two directly influenced the trend of the world.
I wonder how profound an impact this one will have on the human world.
If Jiang She wanted to return to his peak, restoring his cultivation as military strategist ancestor, would he have to bear the tribulation of being jointly killed a second time?
The first fifteenth realm in the new human world, even if pseudo-fifteenth realm, must bear a great tribulation. The second would have it much