Chapter 784: Countermeasures (Extra chapter for subscription)
Chapter 784: Countermeasures (Extra chapter for subscription)
The Heavenly Emperor is revered by all small worlds' Divine Dao and is the master of the Thirty-Three Heavens!
Fang Xi had no doubt that the Heavenly Emperor could replace Heaven's Will with his own mind, and replace the laws of heaven and earth with the Heavenly Court's divine laws!
In this way, even a True Immortal who descends to the realm might not be his match.
After all, the three races of humans, demons, and monsters in the Earthly Immortal World had, on occasion, joined forces to exterminate True Immortals.
And the might of the Heavenly Court should far exceed the combined strength of the three races.
This held true for both their underlying foundation and their high-level cultivators!
"I still need to stay low-key, can't get cocky. . . even in a small world, it's the same, especially since this Middle Thousand World allows for arbitrary realm descents. . ."
"Speaking of which, if cultivation battles between Integration cultivators mainly depend on divine abilities and spells, then cultivation battles between Mahayana cultivators already involve the power of the laws of heaven and earth. . ."
Fang Xi's eyes suddenly lit up.
At this moment, his divine consciousness also captured Gan Yu, stumbling and staggering, yet moving faster than a galloping horse, all the way back to White Sweet Village.
Back home, Gan Yu's heart was filled with anxiety, so much so that even his old mother noticed something was wrong: "Ah Yu. . ."
"Mother. . ."
Gan Yu's eyes reddened, almost shedding tears, but he forcibly held them back: "I'm fine, the wind and sand just got in my eyes. I haven't visited Teacher yet today. . ."
He dared not linger at home and hurriedly left, wandering outside.
Unconsciously, he arrived outside Teacher Fang's courtyard.
Gazing at the peach blossom tree, he couldn't help but fall into a daze.
"Ah Yu, come, play a game with me."
Fang Xi was setting up the chessboard. Beside the board was a yellow-skinned gourd.
He tilted the gourd, and a sweet, mellow scent of wine diffused from it.
"Yes, Teacher!"
Gan Yu calmed his mind, sat down before Fang Xi, and studied the chessboard.
Fang Xi explained the rules of Go a few times, and with his current sharp intellect, Gan Yu memorized them in one go.
The two then began to play chess under the peach blossom tree.
Half an hour later, Gan Yu looked at his "large dragon" that had been slaughtered, threw down his pieces, and admitted defeat: "Teacher's chess skills are superb, I am truly ashamed of my inferiority. . ."
"Your chess skills have improved quickly, but your mind is chaotic, and your moves lack structure."
Fang Xi shook his head, collecting the pieces one by one: "A scholar remains calm in the face of major events. First, drink a cup of wine, then think carefully about what you need to say. . ."
Gazing at Teacher Fang, who remained unfazed even if Mount Tai collapsed before him, Gan Yu took a deep breath and drained the wine in one gulp.
A fiery sensation passed through his throat and into his stomach, and a bitter taste spread through his mouth.
He seemed to feel much lighter. He recounted the day's events and the strange dream, finally bowing deeply to the ground: "Please, Teacher, instruct me. . ."
"I have traveled extensively and know well that tales of ghosts and gods are not baseless. It seems you have indeed offended that Well Dragon King."
Fang Xi said slowly.
"Then what should I do? " Gan Yu quickly asked.
"I do not know."
"Ah. . . " Gan Yu's face immediately filled with despair.
But Fang Xi continued: "Where venomous snakes appear, within seven steps, there must be an antidote. . . You caused this matter, why ask me? You should ask the one who should be asked, no, it should be said, the god who should be asked!"
"The god who should be asked. . ."
Gan Yu's eyes lit up: "Teacher, are you referring to. . . the Earth God?"
"Precisely. The Earth God is a righteous God of Fortune and Virtue, responsible for protecting the local land. As a villager of White Sweet Village, you are naturally under his jurisdiction. Why not prepare a generous offering, a grand sacrifice? Even if the Earth God cannot resolve this matter for you, he should at least be able to offer some pointers. . ."
Fang Xi smiled.
"Thank you, Teacher. I will go prepare immediately. . ."
Gan Yu's eyes brightened, and he immediately bowed and withdrew.
After leaving Teacher Fang's courtyard, he couldn't help but pat his head again: "Grand sacrifice. . . Where do I have spare money to buy three sacrificial animals?"
Gan Yu, full of worries, had just returned home when he saw his old mother slaughtering a chicken. He was immediately startled: "Mother, you. . ."
This hen was the Gan family's treasure, relied upon for laying eggs to exchange for needles and threads and other small necessities.
Why would his old mother kill it? Wouldn't that be like draining the pond to catch all the fish?
What would they do in the future?
"My son, this old woman isn't blind. You must have encountered something major today. . . Take this chicken, it can be exchanged for some silver to cope. . ."
Mother Gan instructed.
"Mother. . ."
Gan Yu's eyes instantly welled up with tears. . .
...
Deep in the night.
Gan Yu, who had just offered sacrifices to the Earth God during the day, was soundly asleep.
Suddenly, he heard a knocking sound.
He got up and went to the door, where he saw a wealthy old man standing outside.
His face was youthful, his hair like a crane's, his forehead shaped like a longevity peach. He leaned on a peach wood staff, and there was a faint scent of roast chicken about him: "Young man. . . this old one has come especially to thank you for the roast chicken."
"You are. . . the Earth God?"
Gan Yu suddenly felt a flash of realization and immediately prostrated himself in a deep bow: "Earth God, save me!"
"Alas. . . this matter concerns this old one. Listen to me first."
The Earth God smiled kindly and slowly recounted: "This old one and that Well Dragon King were originally neighbors. A few days ago, I sensed spiritual rain falling and thought a Dragon King of the 'Four Seas Dragon King' caliber had descended, so I wrote a letter to the City God. . . Unexpectedly, the City God sent out Day and Night Roaming Gods, the Ear Report God, and others to investigate, and found no flood dragon had passed through. Thus, it was determined that the Well Dragon King had stirred up wind and rain without reason, violating the Heavenly Rules and Daoist Laws. He was to suffer the punishment of the thunder whip and be demoted to a loach. Only when he returns to the well can he atone for his sins and restore his divine position. . ."
"Ah. . ."
Gan Yu listened as if hearing a heavenly book, but he finally understood why the loach could be so easily eaten by him.
"Although that Well Dragon King Temple's incense offerings had declined, he could originally still persevere. But this time, with his body eaten by you, his divine power is truly ruined. It's likely his divine lineage will be severed. This is a mortal enmity. . ."
The Earth God's expression turned serious: "Although strictly speaking, you are only the Well Dragon King's human tribulation and have not violated Daoist laws, if a wisp of the Well Dragon King's soul is not extinguished, and he has some friends, if they target you, it would indeed be extremely dangerous."
"Please, Earth God, save me!"
Gan Yu bowed again.
"Alas. . . This old one, as the Earth God of White Sweet Village, has a duty to protect this land, and indeed should save you, but I can only protect your mother. . ."
The Earth God said: "As for you, this old one has thought of a way: go and take the imperial examinations. . . Not only must you take them, but you must pass the child examination this autumn. . . From then on, you will become a Dao Child, able to receive a 'Daoist ordination'. This will grant you a semi-official status, entering the County City God's sight, and then the Well Dragon King will not be able to take revenge on you. . . Remember, remember, you must pass and receive your ordination!"
The Earth God gently pushed, and Gan Yu 'ah'-ed, startling awake, finding himself lying in bed. He couldn't help but murmur: "A dream?"
The next moment, he sniffed his nose and suddenly smelled a waft of roasted chicken.
Looking down, he saw a chicken leg bone in his hand. He shivered and sincerely bowed towards the Earth God Temple: "Thank you, Earth God, I remember!"
...
"Nightmare Art?"
Under the peach blossom tree, Fang Xi sat cross-legged, forming hand seals.
Even though it was Gan Yu's own dream, this extremely private matter seemed as clear as if it were happening right before his eyes.
—Since he planned to let Gan Yu test the waters first, he had naturally already tampered with him.
That Earth God, in terms of divine power, was not much different from a small Qi Refinement cultivator and couldn't detect anything at all.
"The solution given by that small minor god is quite similar to one of my own proposed plans. . ."
"As long as one passes the child examination, they will indeed receive an ordination, though it's not a true 'Daoist's ordination' but a 'Dao Child's ordination'. It's not a true official position, but it leaves one's name with the City God. Once one dies, there will certainly be an investigation!"
"The Well Dragon King, despite being called a Dragon King, is actually an overstatement; he's a minor god of the same rank as the Earth God. . . Now, with his divine lineage severed, he's only slightly better than a masterless wandering soul. How dare he conspire against a Dao Child? Is he not afraid of the Daoist laws? Of having his body and soul annihilated?"
When one's strength is far inferior to the enemy's, joining a major power for protection is a clever strategy of leveraging external force.
Of course, Fang Xi's prepared countermeasures were far from limited to just these.
One of them, naturally, was to take his old mother and flee a thousand miles away, avoiding disaster. This was a delaying tactic, but it presented some difficulties.
Another strategy was to simply learn Daoist arts, eliminate the Well Dragon King, and solve the problem at its root, once and for all.
If Gan Yu chose either of these two strategies, Fang Xi wouldn't mind teaching him some Qi Refinement methods and quick-fix minor spells, also as an experiment.
"This world indeed possesses spiritual energy. . . It's just suppressed by Daoist laws, making it difficult to draw upon. . ."
"However, the Earth God has this 'spellcasting authority,' though it's the lowest tier. It seems. . . to have a flavor of Western fantasy 'magic network' spell slots. . ."
"To cultivate and comprehend on one's own, without external assistance. . . Theoretically possible, but practically impossible."
"Even if one succeeds in cultivating, they would still face suppression from the Divine Dao. How tragic would that be?"
"Cultivation is easy within official circles. To cultivate in this world, it seems one truly needs to infiltrate the Dao Court. . ."
Fang Xi thought of some information the Earth God had revealed earlier and pondered: "Originally, the strictness of this Divine Dao network truly terrified me. . . But the City God's handling of the matter also seemed to leave loopholes to exploit. And rightly so, even in my previous life, large corporations had 'big corporation diseases. ' This Dao Court is infinitely larger than any corporation, how could it not have flaws?"
Originally, with the Divine Dao's network monitoring the entire realm, Fang Xi even suspected that if he caused any trouble, he would immediately be reported to the Heavenly Court.
Then tens of thousands of Heavenly Soldiers and Heavenly Generals would swoop down, and he would smoothly receive the "demon monkey treatment". . .
At that point, perhaps he could even secure the title of a Great Sage among the demon race. . .
But now it seemed there were still loopholes to exploit.
The City God's conduct was full of perfunctory nonchalance, making Fang Xi smell a hint of decay.
"Perhaps. . . I could also operate to secure a divine position, infiltrate the Dao Court, and rise step by step?"
"However, the power of incense and vows in the Divine Dao is a potent poison. The natives aren't afraid of it; after all, they all wish to die quickly, shed their mortal bodies, and truly become gods!"
"But I am different. I still want to follow the Immortal Dao. . ."
"Could it be. . . I should have my main body refine another avatar, or split off a wisp of my soul, to try the Divine Dao path?"
Fang Xi stroked his chin, falling into deep thought.
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