Chapter 392: Chapter 45: Put the Sword Down, Let’s Talk Nicely

"I heard from Fellow Daoist Yan Huang that you built Dragon Tiger Mountain into the First Daoist Lineage of your era. You’ve done well. Very well!"

The Celestial Master was taken aback. Wang Zhiyao and the others were also dumbfounded, unable to understand what was going on with this Elder Zhang.

Only Yan Huang’s expression flickered, and he suddenly asked,

"Sir, you seem to have... been here before? You know of this place?"

"I have."

Zhang Liang smiled.

"You might not believe this, but in my past life... no, the life before my last, I personally came here. My junior brother planted this very tree."

As his words fell, the mountain peak fell deathly silent. The Old Celestial Master’s pupils suddenly contracted, and his eyebrows shot up involuntarily in utter astonishment.

Yan Huang, Li Yutong, and the others weren’t much better off. They stood frozen in place as if struck by lightning, completely dumbstruck.

After a long moment, the Old Celestial Master—an Immortal and a Daoist Celestial Venerable, after all—was the first to recover. He suppressed the shock and doubt in his heart.

’Zhang Liang, Zhang Zifang... The historical Marquis Liu?’

He focused his mind and asked cautiously,

"Are you saying that you have visited this place before? And that the one who planted the tree was your junior brother? Do you have any proof?"

Zhang Liang looked kindly at the Old Celestial Master, who appeared much older than him.

"Child, why would I lie?"

The Old Celestial Master furrowed his brow and said again,

"My Dragon Tiger Mountain lineage possesses a decree personally left by the Ancestral Celestial Master."

After a pause, he recited word by word:

"In years past, Profound Yellow and I followed our master to Dragon Tiger Mountain. On a whim, Profound Yellow planted the Immortal Peach Tree. Year after year, the tree grew strong, underwent Spirit Transformation to become a deity, and its blessed shade has protected the gates of Dragon Tiger Mountain.

The descendants of Dragon Tiger must chant the name of Profound Yellow and praise him, saying: Supreme Emperor Profound Yellow. When the peach blossoms bloom each year, you must worship Profound Yellow, pray for fortune and prosperity, and chant for purity."

The Old Celestial Master’s expression grew even more solemn.

"Then do you know the name of my Dragon Tiger lineage’s Ancestral Celestial Master?"

"His surname is Zhang," Zhang Liang said with certainty. "As for his given name... it’s harder to say... Zhang Ling?"

The Celestial Master stared at Zhang Liang for a long moment before finally exhaling and saying,

"Zhang Daoling."

"A fine name!" Zhang Liang clapped his hands in admiration. Just as he was about to say more, he heard a rumbling from the Celestial Vault.

Everyone instinctively looked up toward the Celestial Vault, and their expressions all changed in unison.

"Is that...?" Yan Huang asked, alarmed and uncertain.

The thick, low-hanging clouds in the sky split in two. A sharp sword light flashed past, and then it seemed they could hear the sound of palaces and pavilions collapsing from high above!

The clouds and mist roiled, and the very world seemed to shake.

Amidst the violent tremors, before anyone could even ask what was happening, their faces changed again as they stared toward the north.

In the northern Celestial Vault, a Divine Chariot soared through the air. Behind it galloped ten thousand steeds, all of them celestial horses. Atop these horses sat Celestial Generals, their immortal might as vast and oppressive as a prison!

At the head of the procession, on the Divine Chariot, sat a revered deity with three heads and four arms.

He held a ge in one hand, a spear in another, a sword in a third, and a seal in the fourth. At his side, a Golden Boy beat a drum and a Jade Maiden sang. Azure birds and lions accompanied him, while massive sea dragons danced. He advanced with an unstoppable, majestic momentum!

Before the Divine Chariot even arrived, the Golden Boy and Jade Maiden loudly proclaimed his immortal title!

"All hail!"

"The True Saint of the North Pole!"

Yan Huang and the others all turned pale with fear.

After staying in the Qin Dynasty for thirty years, they had gained some understanding of the countless Immortals and Buddhas.

The True Saint of the North Pole... one of the strongest beings under Emperor Ziwei of the North Pole Celestial Court. It was said that he was an Upper Celestial Venerable at the [Celestial Realms Level]!

He was here to capture them.

The Divine Chariot came to a halt among the clouds of the Celestial Vault. The True Saint rose gracefully and stood upon it, looking down at the group on Dragon Tiger Peak.

"Interesting. You’re all here. I’ll have to trouble you all to accompany me to the North Pole Celestial Court."

A chill went through everyone’s hearts. At the same time, the sound of the palaces collapsing above the clouds grew even more thunderous.

And then...

They saw a Celestial Palace come crashing down. By a perfect, impeccable coincidence, it smashed right onto the Divine Chariot, driving both it and the dignified, imposing True Saint of the North Pole deep into the ground.

Dust and smoke billowed.

The drum-beating Golden Boy and the singing Jade Maiden both froze.

...

「Meanwhile, in the Central Celestial Court.」

With this Celestial Palace having fallen, the scene was chaotic. Some of the weaker Immortal Gods who stood too close had their eyes injured just by looking directly at the brilliant sword light.

Zhu Wuneng and Yang Jian tacitly retreated to the edge of the area. They understood better than anyone what the name [Profound Yellow] signified.

At this moment, the Four Extremes Emperors all had grim expressions. The leader of the Female Immortals of All Realms—known by titles such as Golden Mother, Immortal Mother, and Queen Mother—also had a frightfully ugly look on her face.

Instead of getting angry, she laughed.

"Good, good, good. Daring to cause a scene at my Peach of Immortality banquet. How wonderful..."

An oppressive aura filled the space. The Emperor Corpse, seated in the highest position, interrupted in a ghostly voice,

"Queen Mother, I have already bestowed this Celestial Palace upon the Profound Yellow Emperor. What is so wrong with someone tearing down their own Emperor’s Palace?"

The Queen Mother shot the Celestial Emperor a cold glare, then issued a sharp command to the assembled immortals,

"All of you, withdraw!"

As soon as she spoke, the Immortal Officials and Divine Officials all vanished from the area in a great rush. The ruined clearing instantly became deserted.

Only the seated Celestial Emperor and Shakyamuni remained.

The Four Extremes Emperors suddenly turned to glare menacingly at the Celestial Emperor. The Queen Mother didn’t immediately move against Lu Xuan and Xuandu. Instead, she looked at the Celestial Emperor and said coldly,

"Haotian, you lost the throne of Celestial Emperor long ago. Since you are dead, you should stay quietly buried underground."

The Emperor Corpse spoke with a faint smile,

"Don’t forget, Queen Mother, that in this sliver of the past, I am still the Celestial Emperor. I have not lost my throne."

The Queen Mother suppressed her fury and suddenly smiled.

"It seems this Profound Yellow is your man, your contingency plan? Using this boy to weaken the Celestial Court’s fortune..."

Before she could finish, a mocking glint flashed in her eyes.

"Haotian, you are already dead. Without your true body, you can do nothing with just this historical remnant. Today, I shall utterly destroy this contingency of yours!"

The Emperor Corpse gave another intriguing smile, unperturbed and unhurried, and said leisurely,

"Who said the Profound Yellow Emperor was my man?"

The Queen Mother and the menacingly watchful Four Extremes Emperors were all stunned.

At this moment, Lu Xuan, who had been silent all along, gave a light cough. Unafraid, he simply walked forward to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Xuandu.

He said calmly,

"Your Majesty, since your current form is but a remnant and an afterimage, how much of your great power is left?"

The Emperor Corpse gave a dry laugh.

"As long as my true body remains absent and inactive, this remnant can only act according to the historical process, unless there is interference from an ’uncertain variable’ like a Dao Fruit."

"Is that so?"

Lu Xuan nodded seriously. His gaze fell upon the five peak Daluo of the current age—the Queen Mother and the Four Extremes Emperors—and he began to speak slowly,

"You five, I said that I wanted to have a good talk with you. I am Zheng’er’s Uncle Zhong. Considering how you’ve been plotting against him, shouldn’t you give me an explanation?"

The Queen Mother was stunned again, while the Four Extremes Emperors just stared at each other in disbelief.

’This Profound Yellow... has he gone mad??’

The Queen Mother was so angry she laughed.

"What kind of explanation do you want?"

"Not much."

Lu Xuan continued walking forward until he stood right in front of the Queen Mother. Only then did he speak with a faint smile,

"Just give me some Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures as compensation. That’s not too much to ask, is it...?"

The Queen Mother’s expression turned sharp. Having completely lost her patience, she clasped her hands behind her back. With a single thought, a Daluo-level killing intent descended, about to annihilate Lu Xuan.

Xuandu was quick to react, drawing his sword to block the Daluo killing intent. Nearby, Emperor Gouchen raised his eyes and thrust out a single palm. All Realms underwent Birth and Death within his palm as he struck out at Xuandu.

On the other side, Emperor Ziwei also made a move. With a single thought, he brought down the killing intent of all the Stars of the Celestial Sphere, which rained down as a torrent of starlight that twisted into a Divine Sword and shot toward Xuandu!

Xuandu, however, paid them no mind. He put all his strength into a single thrust, his sword piercing the void to briefly bind the Queen Mother in place.

"What’s the use?" The Queen Mother shook her head dismissively, unmoved, merely watching with cold indifference.

Just as the Ancient Daoist was about to be obliterated by the Killing Skills unleashed by the two Daluo, in the very next instant—

"Hey, hey, hey!"

Lu Xuan shouted cheerfully, a sword now resting horizontally on the head of the briefly-bound Queen Mother. He said with a grin,

"Still want to fight?"

Gouchen’s striking palm suddenly froze. The killing intent from the Stars of the Celestial Sphere summoned by Emperor Ziwei also stagnated.

The coldness on the Queen Mother’s face slowly dissipated.

After a long moment of silence, she glanced at the Qing Ping Sword resting on her head and said gently,

"Let’s talk this out nicely."