Chapter 360: Let's See It in Action

Chapter 360: Meet on the Matter

"It is quite foolish."

Chen Qisheng shook his head. "Using fiat notes to buy access to the Yellow Millet Dreamscape—never mind whether anyone would even sell, even if they did, how much would that cost?"

"And yet, it was precisely such a foolish and muddled minor character, entirely beneath the notice of Celestial Masters like you, who surrendered the access he had spent a lifetime accumulating the moment he learned of my identity. And to conceal the disappearance of that access, he chose self-detonation."

Though he had already guessed the outcome, hearing the words 'self-detonation' still caused Chen Qisheng’s gaze to turn cold, his hand abruptly tightening around the small jade tablet.

"Chen Qisheng, Grand Celestial Master Chen, this is the very immortal rank system your Daoist Order built back then, through treachery and by exhausting every artifice to squeeze our Yin-Yang Order out!"

Zou Sijiu’s eyes reddened slightly. His slouched posture straightened as he stood rigid, looking down with a furious glare at the back of the figure seated on the stone steps before him.

"Monopolizing every single resource required for sequence advancement, ensuring that those born of mediocre stock will never have their day—is this the outcome you desired? Is this your White Jade Capital of Immortals?"

Zou Sijiu’s chest heaved violently, his tone rising with his spit flying from his mouth, until by the end he was nearly roaring.

Chen Qisheng remained silent, his elbows resting on his knees, his head slumped over his clasped hands.

"To become deities and hold rank among the immortals, the heavenly mechanics are boundless, yet immortal fates are limited."

After a long silence, Chen Qisheng’s voice, detached to the point of cruelty, drifted out from beneath his buried head. "Cultivating immortality is a cultivation of the spirit, of divine intent. Only by losing oneself within the truest Yellow Millet Dreamscape, enduring endless cycles of reincarnation and tempering amidst the rolling, infinite mortal dust, can one rapidly elevate the strength of their divine intent through repeated slumbers and awakenings."

"A Yellow Millet Dreamscape capable of plunging high-sequence immortals into bewilderment requires resources numerous as the sands of the River of Sand; this is a fact no one can deny. If the restrictions of the White Jade Capital were lifted, allowing everyone of the Daoist Order to enter, the constructed dreamscapes would be utterly useless."

"And if a sequence has no one capable of achieving immortality and becoming a patriarch, possessing the strength to strike fear into others, then sooner or later, it will only be picked clean and devoured by the other sequences."

Zou Sijiu sneered. "There it is again, that 'Fifty Grand Daos, Forty-Nine Derivations of Heaven' theory of yours. Why exactly must you be that sole sliver of vital chance?"

Chen Qisheng slowly raised his head, exhaling a thin puff of white mist.

"Because we succeeded, which is why the current Daoist Order stands as one of the Three Teachings, fearing no one."

"The winners are kings and losers are bandits; of course you can say whatever you want now! Lest you forget, whose contribution was it that enabled the imperial family to support the construction of the Yellow Millet Dreamscape back then? Without us, would you be sitting back and enjoying the fruits of success today?" Zou Sijiu said in anger.

"Humans are animals too, and the nature of animals is that the weak are meat for the strong."

Chen Qisheng still did not turn his head, asking in return: "If back when the Yellow Millet Dreamscape was first completed, the central territory had not been built into the 'White Jade Capital' by us, but had instead been constructed into the 'East Emperor Palace' as you envisioned, would our two sequences be living any better than we are now?"

This time, it was Zou Sijiu’s turn to fall silent.

"The White Jade Capital is the path of eternal life from reality to dreamscape. The East Emperor Palace is the path of creation from dreamscape to reality. The outcomes of the two paths are diametrically opposed. If you had truly found a way within reincarnation to turn the mythical world recorded in the Classic of Mountains and Seas into reality, what would this world have become?"

"I don’t know," Zou Sijiu said, his tone cold and rigid.

Yet in his heart, he knew very well that with the wretched disposition of those in the Yin-Yang Order, even if they possessed the 'East Emperor Palace,' they could never have withstood the onslaught of the Confucian and Buddhist Orders.

Only this fierce pack of the Daoist Order possessed that ruthless, murderous nature and formidable combat power to clash with the other two houses, thereby allowing the Yin-Yang Order to live a life that, while seemingly wretched today, was actually secure.

The current reality was exactly like this. Though friction arose in the lower sequences between members of the Daoist and Yin-Yang Orders as they vied against one another for Yellow Millet access, at the upper echelons, the Daoist Order always maintained a measure of sentiment toward the Yin-Yang Order.

"True, no one can calculate the future that evolves from different choices."

Chen Qisheng did not press further, turning instead to ask: "So what do you intend to do next? Will you leave this place of right and wrong, or stay here? If you wish to leave, I can represent Longhu Mountain to offer you a handsome reward of gratitude; choose whatever you want. As for those kidnapped members of the Yin-Yang Order, you need not worry either; we will rescue them."

"I certainly won’t just leave like this!"

Zou Sijiu blurted out without a moment’s hesitation. "Besides, the access currently held by Black Dragon Capital consists entirely of masterless items, to be claimed by whoever is fated. A windfall of immense wealth is right before my eyes, how could I possibly leave?"

"Then let us each show our own divine powers like the Eight Immortals crossing the sea, and see who can scoop up the most in the end?"

"Fine by me."

Zou Sijiu nodded proudly, turning to walk back into the compound.

"Right, seeing as you're somewhat different from those other Daoist priests, I'll give you a friendly warning. This time, someone within your Daoist Order threw out the reward of 'Alternate Earth Immortal' to lure in some fearless Daoist bandits and take the opportunity to stretch their hands into the Yamato District. The New Donglin Party cannot sit idly by, and even the Buddhist Order might leap out to meddle; after all, such places where the people can barely survive are the easiest to turn a profit on incense money."

Zou Sijiu paused his steps. "Don't go trying to steal the spotlight now. Stay tucked away in the back and fish in troubled waters."

"Many thanks for the reminder, Fellow Daoist Zou."

Chen Qisheng stood up, clasping his hands in a solemn gesture of gratitude toward the other man.

"Who is your fellow Daoist? Don't go claiming connections so casually."

Zou Sijiu snorted, smoothing his hands back along his temples. "Though we don't walk the same path, we are both currently retained guest elders of the Inuyama City Jinyiwei. I'm just afraid that you'll blunder around blindly and end up dragging me down with you."

"Rest assured, Guest Elder Zou."

Only when Zou Sijiu’s figure vanished up the stairs leading to the second floor of the compound did Chen Qisheng slowly straighten his slightly bowed back.

He turned to look at the sky overhead, which was gradually gleaming with faint light, a cold curve tracing his lips.

"Daoist bandits? Who the fuck isn't a Daoist bandit?"

Just then, a blast of cold wind blew past, utterly shattering the fierce aura brimming across Chen Qisheng’s body. He shuddered violently and hurriedly tucked his hands into his sleeves, shrugging his shoulders and pulling in his head as he ran like a streak of smoke into the empty Inuyama City Century-Captain Compound behind him.

With his movements, a speck of crystalline jade light drifted back and forth at his side.

That thumb-sized jade tablet had not been pocketed by Chen Qisheng; instead, it hung neatly at his waist, suspended by a red thread.

In the northern suburbs of Inuyama City, two convoys stopped side by side.

Li Jun and Qiongqi stood before the lead vehicle. Not far away, Fan Wujiu affectionately threw his arm over Kui Niu’s shoulder, a subtle and lewd smile plastered across his face.

Xie Bi'an and Shan Xiao, both likewise unable to move, sat inside the vehicles of their respective compounds, nodding to each other from across the windows.

"Old Qiong, thanks to you all this time."

"Why speak of such things? We are all Jinyiwei, and assisting one another is a matter of duty."

Looking at Li Jun’s sincere expression, Qiongqi smiled. "Besides, we didn't labor in vain. The dispatch from the Thousand-Captain Compound has already come down. This time, Kanazawa City’s assistance to Inuyama City is credited as a merit, offsetting our faults, so the compound will face no temporary punishment. To be able to trade for such an opportunity to make amends through service, to be frank, I am already very satisfied."

"Rest assured, the moment you uncover any clues regarding those Honghu who attacked Kanazawa City, just say the word, and I will immediately lead my men out in full force."

"I was waiting for those exact words."

Qiongqi possessed a gaunt frame, yet his laughter was exceptionally hearty. Patting Li Jun on the shoulder, he said, "But could you not call me Old Qiong? That name sounds rather unlucky."

"Don't worry, being called Old Qiong won't actually make you poor."

Laughing, Li Jun handed an electronic dossier into Qiongqi’s hand.

A look of perplexity appeared on Qiongqi’s face. "Yanjun, what is the meaning of this?"

"The exchange list from the Court's Ministry of Works, with an allocation of one hundred million."

Li Jun teased: "This is all I can give you. Don't even think about fiat notes; the casualties among my brothers this time were quite heavy, and the money must be sent back to them."

"That wasn't what I meant, you..." Qiongqi’s face flushed with anxiety.

"Of course I know that wasn't what you meant, brother."

Li Jun cut in ahead of him, speaking with a solemn expression: "Though I haven't been with Old Ghost for long, the moment I arrived in Inuyama City, he made me understand the meaning of camaraderie."

"This time, you set aside your own mess to come and help; I, Li Jun, will not forget this kindness. This small allocation from the Ministry of Works carries no other meaning; I am simply unwilling to let the brothers of Kanazawa City bleed and weep in vain."

"You..."

Qiongqi’s face betrayed a struggle. He desperately wanted to fling the electronic dossier back to Li Jun with a flourish of detachment, yet when he thought of the current plight of Kanazawa City, he felt the object in his hand grow heavy as Mount Tai.

Kanazawa City had been hit even harder by the Honghu, to the point that the official sent by the imperial court to implement the new policies had been decapitated.

Right now, their entire compound was bearing the burden of guilt, and at the slightest sign of trouble, they would have to roll up their sleeves and fight the Honghu with their lives.

Therefore, the allocation from the Ministry of Works that Li Jun was offering now was of paramount importance to the Jinyiwei of Kanazawa City.

"Since that's the case, I won't beat around the bush with you. I really need this quota right now."

Under the intense gaze of Kui Niu and Shan Xiao, Qiong Qi finally accepted the electronic document.

"That's right. If you really feel guilty, just wait until I come to help you take revenge, and then pay me back double."

"You smelly kid, don't you dare. My nickname is Qiong Qi, which means 'extremely poor'. Would the money that comes into my pocket ever come out?"

Qiong Qi burst into a loud laugh, flipped over, and leapt into the driver's seat of the lead vehicle.

"Kui Niu, if any director in a big city dares to sneer at you in the future, just tell Brother Fan, and I'll help you take them down."

Kui Niu crouched down, allowing Fan Wujie to easily hook his shoulder, his foolish face beaming with a smile.

"We'll meet again in the future."

Xie Badian raised his bandaged arm and waved at Shan Xiao in the car across from him.

Although he looked disheveled, his spirit as a Liaodong man was not weakened in the slightest.

"Meet again!"

Roar!

The black off-road vehicle roared, its metal friction and clashing sounds cutting through the morning fog, speeding towards the already brightening horizon.

Two thousand words, starting today, Wen Xi will update steadily and on time, aiming for six thousand words daily, with a minimum of five thousand.

Once again, I thank all the helmsmen for their support and tolerance of Wen Xi. Thank you!