Chapter 395: Chapter 46: A Daluo Discourse with a Fellow Daoist, Peach Blossoms Bloom on Dragon Tiger Mountain

She continued to negotiate,

"Profound Yellow Emperor, it’s as I said. We can talk. We can discuss this civilly. There’s no need for things to reach this point."

Lu Xuan spoke grimly,

"Is that so? A moment ago, Lady Queen Mother, you were trying to take my life..."

"That was then, this is now."

The Queen Mother said frankly,

"Before, I believed that you, Emperor, were not qualified to be a Chess Player. But with the Qing Ping Sword in your hand, you may sit with us and play the game as an equal."

After a pause, she continued,

"If you strike me down now, Emperor, it would be no different from flipping the chessboard. Perhaps, as Haotian said, it is a way to break the stalemate, but is that truly the case?"

Lu Xuan remained unmoved. He held the Qing Ping Sword horizontally above the Queen Mother’s head. On its blade, visions of All Realms collapsing flowed, dripping with the aura of Nirvana.

He said,

"Keep talking."

The Queen Mother nodded and began to speak softly,

"Profound Yellow, if you kill me, I will perish in body and Dao. History will be completely rewritten. The Celestial Emperor will return to his Emperor’s Throne, having never died. The Four Extremes Emperor will also be suppressed and killed by Haotian. Everything will change."

A faint, unreadable smile touched Lu Xuan’s lips.

"That is exactly what I desire. Are you trying to convince me to kill you?"

"Not at all."

The Queen Mother explained calmly,

"We are all within the Dao Fruit’s chess game, but we are also playing against each other, having started another game. By pooling our power, we have achieved a fragile balance against the Dao Fruit. You, Emperor, are now sitting beside our board. Whether you win or lose is up to you."

"But if I die, Haotian will live again, take control of the Celestial Court, and reassume the Perfect Dao Fruit Position. Our chess game will be wiped from existence, and there will be nothing left to contend with the Dao Fruit. Victory and defeat will no longer have anything to do with you. Everything will be in the hands of the Dao Fruit, and you will have no control over your own fate."

"So, will you take the chess piece in hand and decide your own victory, or will you flip the grand board we have spent countless millennia arranging, leaving your fate to be decided by another? The choice is entirely yours, Emperor."

Lu Xuan fell silent.

After a long moment, he looked up at the taciturn Emperor Corpse and asked,

"His Majesty the Celestial Emperor, is this true?"

The Emperor Corpse said sullenly,

"Hang on a second."

「Current World」 The Emperor Corpse called out,

"Goddess, should I tell him or not?"

The stunningly beautiful woman who had been watching him understood everything. She said coolly,

"Tell the truth. Otherwise, even if you are revived, I will risk everything to make sure you die a second time."

The Emperor Corpse, no longer caring about his image, rolled his eyes right in front of the Lamp Buddha.

"Risk everything with what? You can’t even die."

「Back in the past timeline.」

The Emperor Corpse, sitting in the seat of honor, grumbled,

"It’s the truth."

The Queen Mother and the Four Celestial Lords were all surprised, glancing at the Celestial Emperor in astonishment.

But Lu Xuan understood. After a moment of thought, he said calmly,

"This sword is in my hand, which means I have the ability to flip the chessboard. Since I am now taking a piece and joining the game, I want to establish a rule. Is that acceptable?"

"Acceptable." The Queen Mother affirmed. "Every Chess Player has the right to establish a new rule. And you can rest assured, Emperor, we will never move against you again." 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

After a pause, she explained further,

"Emperor, you hold the Qing Ping Sword, which is inextricably linked to the one in Biyou Palace. Gouchen once provoked a disciple of the one from Douluo Palace, and the consequences were tragic. The one from Biyou Palace is even more protective. We know our place."

The expressions of the Emperor Corpse and Shakyamuni became a little strange. Even the Xuandu Daoist, whose face had been as still as an ancient well, felt the corner of his mouth twitch.

Lu Xuan, however, had little reaction. He just nodded and said,

"I am aware... The fact that I hold the Qing Ping Sword must not be known to anyone else. Otherwise, I will destroy the Celestial Courts of the East, North, and South. Furthermore, in our game, Daluo are forbidden from personally acting against those below the Daluo realm."

’His thoughts were sharp. Although Senior Brother Xuandu had the power to contend with a Daluo, he was not a Daluo himself. The same was true for his own Nine Nether incarnation.’

But the Queen Mother and the others were unaware of this. They nodded readily in agreement. Emperor Ziwei said solemnly,

"I have no objection to this rule. It is most fitting. From now on, we will not use methods of Slaughter against those who are not Daluo. All victories and defeats will depend on one’s own schemes!"

"Good."

Lu Xuan decisively retracted his sword. The Queen Mother’s heart relaxed. She then waved away the great fog of Chaos that enveloped the area, and a certain Kunpeng quietly departed.

Outside, the waiting Immortal Officials and Divine Officials stared with wide eyes, their gazes fixed on the scene from afar, and were immediately stunned.

’Huh?’

’That Profound Yellow Emperor... isn’t dead yet?’

The Four Celestial Lords and the Queen Mother paid no mind to the bewildered stares of the Immortal Gods. To the utter disbelief of the onlookers, the five Daluo all clasped their hands in a salute toward Lu Xuan.

"Since that is settled, our business for today is concluded. Fellow Daoist, you are free to go!"

Lu Xuan, who held the Qing Ping Sword, was not even at the Immortal Level, yet he possessed the ability to flip the table on this group of Daluo. Thus, he could take a seat at their table and be addressed as a Fellow Daoist by them.

The Queen Mother vanished toward Kunlun. The three Emperors—Ziwei, Longevity, and Qing Hua—each returned to their respective courts in the Three Extremes Celestial Court. Gouchen sullenly trudged off toward the Underworld. The ruins instantly fell silent.

But outside the ruins, an uproar erupted.

"F-Fellow Daoist??"

A Great Immortal Official spoke as if in a dream, staring at Lu Xuan with a mixture of shock, astonishment, and terror. His face was a perfect picture of utter disbelief.

The crowd of immortals was in an uproar. Guanyin, Samantabhadra, and the other visitors from Spirit Mountain were also filled with shock and suspicion. Only Yang Jian and Zhu Wuneng appeared relatively calm, as if they had anticipated this outcome.

Amidst the clamor, the Emperor Corpse rose. After giving a dispirited nod to Shakyamuni Buddha, he too departed.

Shakyamuni Buddha, however, watched Lu Xuan with a smile and sighed.

"Amitabha Buddha. I shall congratulate you here, Master Profound Yellow."

"Thank you, Buddha." Lu Xuan offered a salute and said no more. He and Xuandu left the ruins, then called over Nezha, who had been waiting obediently nearby, and they departed together.

But just as he was about to leave the Celestial Court, Lu Xuan stopped and turned his gaze toward a portly general and a Three-Eyed Celestial God. His Spiritual Sense trembled as he felt a connection through Cause and Effect, and then he understood.

A meaningful smile spread across his face.

"You two, how about you accompany me for a walk?"

The assembled Immortals and Buddhas fell silent, their gazes turning in unison toward Yang Jian and Marshal Tianpeng—the latter of whom had recently become so prominent that he was even mentioned in the same breath as the True Saint of the North Pole Tianpeng.

The expressions of the two men stiffened. They forced smiles uglier than weeping and said, trembling with fear,

"An invitation from the Emperor... Of course... we wouldn’t dare refuse."

Then, with heads bowed in dejection, they followed him. Under the silent gazes of the countless Immortals and Buddhas, accompanied by the cry of a True Phoenix, they left the Celestial Court.

Aboard the Emperor Chariot,

Lu Xuan’s expression grew deep and pensive. The pieces for the Qin Dynasty had mostly been placed; now, all he had to do was wait for time to let them develop.

’After placing one more piece, I should be able to return to the Current World.’

’There are still ten thousand years until the original Late Qin Dynasty. With that much time to develop, will these few seemingly casual moves prove useful?’

Lu Xuan did not know.

’But after returning to the Current World soon, I might have to find that Celestial Emperor and have a good chat. With my Lady here, I imagine His Majesty the Celestial Emperor won’t be able to hide much.’

As he was pondering, a sudden premonition struck him. He called the Emperor Chariot to a halt.

"Interesting."

Under the confused gazes of Yang Jian and the others beside him, Lu Xuan rose from his seat in the Emperor Chariot, his eyes shining.

"Cause and Effect is stirring... Is this Xiaoyan’s Cause and Effect?"

"How can this be?"

He closed his eyes and activated Dao Generating One, seeing through Cause and Effect.

Meanwhile, on this world’s Dragon Tiger Mountain, the True Saint of the North Pole shot into the sky in a sorry state, unleashing a thunderous rage. Dark clouds pressed down upon the entire Divine Mountain!

Yan Huang, Li Yutong, and the others, even the Old Celestial Master who was at the Immortal Level, could barely breathe. Their expressions were incomparably grave, bordering on despair.

’A Celestial Realms Level Upper Celestial Venerable... The gap is too great.’

THUMP, THUMP, THUMP!

The True Saint of the North Pole stepped forward. The Golden Boy blew his horn again, and the Jade Maiden sang her praise again.

This renowned and mighty Immortal God raised his palm to seize them all. Rumbling heavenly lightning crashed down upon Dragon Tiger Peak.

"Are you a bad person?"

Suddenly, a curious and ethereal voice sounded. Everyone subconsciously turned to look and saw a spirit manifest on the smaller peach tree. It slowly walked out from the tree, gradually taking solid form.

The young girl looked up at the sky in confusion, her cheeks puffed out as she said,

"Why are you striking my home with lightning?"

Her clear voice echoed across the peak.

’Huh?’

’Why does she look so familiar?’

Yan Huang rubbed his eyes and said in astonishment,

"Youngest daughter? What are you doing here??"

The Peach Spirit glanced at him curiously.

「Meanwhile, in the Current World.」

The awakened Yan Jiangxue followed the mountain path up to Dragon Tiger Peak.

She walked to a small, withered peach tree and stood there silently, as if in a daze.

On the small, withered peach tree, a tender shoot sprouted, and a peach blossom bloomed.