Longzang

Chapter 1025 The Greatest Dharma Assembly in the World
As dawn broke, Sun Chaoen had already finished washing up, holding a bowl of hot porridge in his hand, drinking it while referring to the local chronicles of various places in Ji State on a map.

At this moment, the study door opened, and Cai Miao walked in carrying a bowl of ginseng soup. She took the bowl of porridge from Sun Chaoen's hand and said, "You are now a third-rank official, why are you still drinking thin porridge for breakfast? I prepared some old chicken and ginseng soup for you, drink it while it's hot."

Sun Chaoen thanked him, took a sip, and drank it down without taking his eyes off the local chronicle.

Cai Miao sat quietly to the side without saying a word until the timed chime sounded, and Sun Chaoen closed his book. Only then did Cai Miao ask, "Why are you still so diligent?"

Sun Chaoen sighed, “Power is like the moon in the water, a flower in a mirror, or morning dew and mist; it can vanish in an instant. If you don’t work hard now, it will be too late to regret it when you lose power.”

Cai Miaosheng was plain-looking and delicate. Upon hearing this, she sighed and said, "Yes, that's how I got here, and now I have to do these absurd things with you. What do you want this power for?"

Sun Chaoen laughed and said, "For the sake of the people, do you believe it?"

Cai Miao shook her head: "I don't believe it! The only one I know who truly cares for the people is your true master."

Sun Chaoen laughed and said, "That's right! Actually, all I want is to overthrow everything above me. As for what to do after that, to be honest, I haven't thought about it, nor do I have the ability to plan it. That one person is enough."

Cai Miao gritted her teeth and said, "I hate this world too! Shall we work together?"

Sun Chaosi looked at her with some surprise and asked, "How should I try?"

"I've gotten to know Prince Ji's temperament quite well over this time, but I need to get rid of that bitch Xu Shang first. Come on, do your homework before you go to court, and it would be best if you went with dark circles under your eyes!"

As Cai Miao spoke, she swept the clutter on the desk aside and knelt down on it.

……

When the eunuch announced the end of the court session, Sun Chaoen finally breathed a sigh of relief.

He was utterly exhausted, nearly yawning several times. Cai Miao, who also possessed secret techniques, meant that each lesson with her yielded double the benefits, but also doubled the effort. Even Sun Chaoen's Dharma form was strained; he simply couldn't endure such relentless morning and evening lessons.

After the officials had left the court, an imperial eunuch stopped Sun Chaoen and said that Prince Ji had summoned him.

A moment later, Sun Chaoen entered the imperial study. Upon seeing him, Prince Ji almost stood up, but slowly sat down and asked with concern, "Minister Sun, why are you so tired today?"

Sun Chaoen sighed, “My wife’s demands are insatiable. I didn’t even let her go this morning. I did some of my homework.”

Prince Ji's breathing became heavier, and then he casually chatted about military and national affairs. Sun Chaoen then said: "We can send a detachment out of the pass to conduct guerrilla warfare, to contain the main force of the rebel army. If the rebel army returns, we will withdraw back into the pass. If the main force does not return, we will harass the rear."

But Prince Ji was clearly distracted; he merely grunted a few times before ordering someone to send Sun Chaoen away.

When Sun Chaoen returned to his residence, he found that Cai Miao had indeed been taken away by people from the palace and was not released until dawn the next day.

When Cai Miao returned, she looked like a crumpled rag doll, barely able to stand up, but with a victorious look in her eyes, she raised her fist at Sun Chaoen!
Sun Chaoen didn't have time to say much to her, but he knew she must have won against Consort Xu, and by a large margin. Sun Chaoen changed into his court robes and hurried to the palace, only to be told that the king would not be holding court that morning.

Inside the palace, King Ji kept yawning, his eyes blank as he looked at Cangwu across from him.

Cangwu looked disgusted, threw a pill box in front of Prince Ji, and said, "There are three pills in here. Take them as you see fit. One pill will keep you safe for ten days. I'll remind you again, don't waste too much time on that woman Cai Miao. She is a relative of the Left Chancellor of Jin, and Sun Chaoen has a deep connection with Wei Yuan. They may not have come here with good intentions."

Prince Ji picked up the elixir box, played with it in his hands, and said slowly, "Sun Chaoen caters to my tastes, so he must have ulterior motives. But do I fear that he has ulterior motives? Among all the civil and military officials, which one is without ulterior motives? The Immortal Lord said that he harbors evil intentions, but I have not yet seen what those intentions are. At least he has given me a lot of pleasure."

The Immortal Lord recommended five generals, resulting in a combined loss of vast territories and 500,000 soldiers. If it weren't for Sun Qing's plan, the rebel army would likely be at the city gates again. The Immortal Lord possesses great cultivation, yet he lacks the ability to judge character!

Anger flashed across Cangwu's face as he said, "Why would I care about the trivial matters of mortals? The repeated defeats at the front are all caused by your remote command and the daily airdrop of imperial edicts, aren't they? You even killed a distant descendant of mine in the mortal realm, and I didn't say anything!"

King Ji sneered: "Your descendant wants to take my place, so I'd like to hand over the throne to him. The question is, does he dare to sit on it?"

Cangwu's face turned ashen. If his descendant were to truly ascend to the throne of King Ji, and if it were truly related to him, then when the Martial Ancestor unleashed his contingency plan, even if he were an immortal, he would die on the spot and be unable to reincarnate.

The king and the immortal faced each other, neither willing to yield, but after a moment they finally realized that neither could defeat the other.

Cangwu said slowly, "If you ruin the overall situation, I'm afraid you won't be able to bear the consequences."

Prince Ji said calmly, "Since even the Immortal Lord is subject to the dictates of others, are the officials behind you so easily deceived, and will they only listen to your side of the story? If this matter is ruined, who do you think will be punished more severely? Besides, how many years do I have left to live? Do I have to be afraid of this threat? I will only be afraid if you really make me achieve the Yujing realm."

Cangwu snorted, suppressing his anger, and said, "In the war against the rebels, victory or defeat is not important at all. As long as the population is decimated, the first step is to reduce the population of the four western prefectures to below ten million. If this is achieved, the great formation can be completed. The second step is to decimate the ten western prefectures, and then the great undertaking can be accomplished. As for your Yujing, it will be nothing more than a matter of a magic pill at that time."

King Ji said, "Isn't that right? Immortal Lord still has ten thousand years to live, why do you have to make trouble for yourself and insist on suppressing me, the Human King? You go about your big plans, I'll continue my fun, let's keep to ourselves, isn't that better?"

I've also heard that one must sever worldly ties upon ascending to immortality. Since immortal lords have no noble families, why would they constantly support their mortal descendants? Wouldn't that be giving others a handle against them?

Cangwu said irritably, "Cultivators generally have some bottom line; how could they easily attack mortals?"

Prince Ji said meaningfully, "You're not the only ones in the world who can be shameless!"

Cangwu turned and left.

... At this moment, Wei Yuan was in the midst of the bustling world of the various realms, facing the cultivators of the Taichu Palace: "Life has been rather uneventful lately. According to the past practices of the major immortal sects, in addition to the Ascension Ceremony, there are often activities such as the Dharma Image Ceremony and the Imperial Scenery Ceremony to demonstrate prestige and gather popular support."

After much deliberation, I've decided to hold a grand Dharma Avatar ceremony to celebrate my advancement to the perfect Dharma Avatar stage. What do you all think?

The cultivators of Taichu Palace remained silent for a moment, and then expressed their opinions one after another.

Xiaoyu: "Have you no shame?"

Heavenly Demon: "...Have some decency!"

After listening to the opinions of the various cultivators, Wei Yuan readily accepted their suggestions and decided to hold the Dharma Avatar Ceremony in June, three months from now, and at the same time convene a new Dao Foundation Ceremony to celebrate.

After making the decision, Wei Yuan asked, "What's the situation with Su Xuejing from the Sword Palace now?"

Now that Sword Palace and Azure Netherworld are getting very close, someone said, "His opportunity came recently, and he has already gone into seclusion to advance to the Imperial Realm. Before he went into seclusion, he said that this seclusion would last for twelve years."

Wei Yuan's spirits lifted, and he said, "Then we have the theme for this Dharma Assembly: All Dharma Assembly members under heaven are trash!"

The cultivators were once again speechless.

Finally, Xiaoyu said, "Are you in a Dharma form now? Can't you... have some shame? Really, just a little!"

Wei Yuan remained unmoved and said, "Of course I am a Dharma Aspect. Look, the Heavenly Demon is still here, and the Tribulation of the Soaring Realm hasn't even been completed yet. Besides, that statement isn't wrong. If I were to ascend to the Soaring Realm, wouldn't all Dharma Aspects in the world be trash?"

The demon retorted, "I'm here to work!"

Wei Yuan didn't answer, but simply pointed to the sky.

Large, festering purple patches still lingered in the sky, but warning signs were placed around them. Every so often, flying platforms would shuttle back and forth, sending newly recruited cultivators to the battlefield to fight and train against extraterrestrial demons.

The intensity of the Heavenly Demon Tribulation depends on the Heavenly Demon itself; the stronger the Heavenly Demon, the more extraterrestrial demons of corresponding rank it can summon. Now, the mundane world has transformed into a vibrant tapestry of realms, the celestial realms have been restored to their former glory, and Xihe has taken up residence to oversee the realms.

Putting aside everything else, the sheer power of the universe itself is enough to suppress the strength of the attacking extraterrestrial demons to half of their original strength, thus turning the impending doom into a battleground for honing their skills.

Finally, Zhang Sheng couldn't stand it anymore and said calmly, "Speak properly."

Wei Yuan coughed lightly and glared at Tianmo. Tianmo immediately shrank back and concealed the Sixth Princess's face.

This demonic being, when not in use, wears Xiao Yu's face, but its appearance before the cultivators is unpredictable; sometimes it's the Princess of Ning, sometimes the Sixth Princess. Its intentions are despicable. It's fortunate it hasn't met Consort Yuan; otherwise, it would be even more deserving of death.

After intimidating the Heavenly Demon, Wei Yuan said solemnly, "The path of cultivation is a struggle against heaven and earth. To advance further, one must not only cultivate the primordial spirit, Dao power, and physical body, but also luck. As for Dao techniques, my Taichu Palace is unparalleled in the world; regarding physical bodies, with the Desolate Realm, we can all improve to our respective limits. Only luck has not yet been properly planned."

My cultivation has recently progressed, and I have gained new insights into the phrase "the will of the people." These four words are the only way to gather fortune, and even Dharma forms can utilize them. Our Dharma forms are all unique and rare in the world, yet we all reside in a corner of the azure sky, unknown to the world, which is truly regrettable.

Therefore, I am preparing to organize the "Universal Assembly of Immortal Appearances," inviting all immortals from across the land to gather in Qingming to exchange experiences and share knowledge. I will also invite Ancestor Yanshi, Master Bai of the Sword Palace, and Immortal Ancestor Baojia to critique and evaluate the appearances, redefining the standards for immortal appearances, selecting twelve immortal appearances, which will then be printed and distributed throughout the world. In this way, we will surely reap a massive harvest of fortune, and together we will open the gates to immortality!

Upon hearing this, all the cultivators of Taichu Palace were deeply moved!

This Dharma Assembly is the stage for the younger generation of Taichu Palace to reclaim their position as the number one immortal sect in the world and crush all their dissenting peers. It will also demonstrate to the world that Taichu Palace is not only the number one immortal sect now, but will remain so in the future! The geniuses of the same era as other cultivators can now go and hone the next generation, letting them get a head start.

The so-called murder and heart-breaking is nothing more than that.

Xiao Yu coughed lightly, wanting to say something, but unsure what to say. Normally, he would resolutely oppose anything Wei Yuan supported, but this time… it truly resonated with him.

Xiao Yu stammered for a long time without saying anything, but Shao Yang Xingjun could no longer contain himself and appeared, saying only two words: "Great good."

The matter was settled, and then Zhang Sheng changed the name of the conference to "The Greatest Dharma Assembly in the World".

After the word 'first' was added, the atmosphere among the cultivators of Taichu Palace suddenly changed, becoming filled with a dangerous aura.

Wei Yuan unconditionally supported everything Zhang Sheng did, immediately deciding on the name, and then addressed the cultivators: "After this conference, our Dharma forms will not only be famous throughout the world, but will also be recorded in history. At that time, everyone's Dao heart will be clear and without regrets, and we can plan together for the Imperial View."

"At that time, you should focus on cultivating the Imperial View first. I will then find a way to promote the younger generation of Daoists within the palace, so that there will be someone to succeed you at the next Dharma Assembly."

All the cultivators praised the plan, and then began to discuss some details. This step was not in Wei Yuan's expectations, and the cultivators did not intend to consult with him. They revealed their true colors in just a few words.

The main point of discussion among the practitioners was: what is the first Dharma characteristic?

Everyone agreed that there must be a set of rules for the classification of Dharma forms; not just any random thing can be called a Dharma form. Only a single, singular form is qualified to be ranked as the top Dharma form. Any Dharma form that includes multiple elements, such as the three paths of old, middle-aged, and young, is ineligible to participate.

As for a perfectly formed Dharma image, that goes without saying. What kind of good person would have multiple celestial realms displayed on their Dharma image?
　The first update tomorrow morning is cancelled.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)