This is not how immortals cultivate

Chapter 467 The wutong tree, accompanied by fine rain, drips and drops until dusk.

The jade belt shone with a soft light, protecting Xiang Yuan's entire body. The water curtain poured down as if it could be broken with a finger, yet it formed an absolute domain, blocking the Heavenly Emperor's last attack before his death.

The pretty boy and his lackey got away scot-free!
"..."

The Nine-Fingered Heavenly Emperor rolled his eyes speechlessly, thinking to himself how boring this was; it wasn't what he wanted to see.

It's infuriating! Surely a ruler can't really keep his word forever!
The Nine-Fingered Heavenly Emperor glanced at the finger glove on his right hand, his eyes flashing with ferocious killing intent. After raising his head, his eyes were as calm as still water, devoid of any other color beyond tranquility.

The false emperor has perished, leaving with a smile, as if he had anticipated that his disciples would be buried with him.

The Nine-Fingered Heavenly Emperor scoffed, glancing at the spot where the creature had vanished: "You weren't bad either, you were quite something."

……

Qingwei Heaven.

Xiang Yuan reluctantly untied the jade belt and obediently presented it to Jing Yun with both hands. The latter did not take it immediately, but waited until the residual warmth dissipated before taking it and tying it around her waist.

The king's disdain was undisguised, but Xiang Yuan didn't see it that way. He firmly believed that the king was cold on the outside but warm on the inside, and that he genuinely liked his respectful and filial disciple.

Thinking of this, a series of profound truths about being both learned and skilled in martial arts came out of his mouth.

In mid-air, a golden phantom emerged. The Nine-Finger Heavenly Emperor walked into Qingwei Heaven with a smile on his face, cupped his hands in a salute, and showed no airs of superiority: "Fellow Daoist, I am grateful for your help today. Otherwise, my life would have been in grave danger, and I might have been harmed by that false emperor."

This illusory figure was not the Nine-Fingered Heavenly Emperor himself. The laws of the two realms were intertwined, and he could not leave for the time being, so he took a projection to express his gratitude to Jingyun.

"Greetings, Great Celestial Venerable." x2
Jingyun dared not accept this courtesy, and stepped aside to avoid it, referring to herself as the Old Mother of Lishan.

Xiang Yuan bowed in greeting, staying close to the Great King and referring to himself as the True Martial Emperor. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a golden finger sheath on the right hand of the Nine-Fingered Heavenly Emperor, which just happened to cover the severed limb.

The Nine-Fingered Heavenly Emperor raised his hand to dismiss Xiang Yuan's formalities, smiled slightly, and didn't mention the past grievances between the two. It was all a misunderstanding, and there was no point in saying more. It was all in the past.

After speaking, he looked at Jingyun: "Fellow Daoist, what is your status? How can the divine position of the Old Mother of Lishan be worthy of you? The False Emperor does not recognize your nobility and treats you with contempt and disrespect. I believe that in this Three Realms, only you, Fellow Daoist, can be my equal..."

"Great Heavenly Venerable, I have a word of advice to offer."

Jingyun interrupted directly, saying calmly, "The reason I helped the Great Celestial Venerable is because the False Emperor said some things he shouldn't have. I hope the Great Celestial Venerable will take this as a warning and not make the same mistake again."

These blunt words made the Nine-Fingered Heavenly Emperor lose face, but fortunately, no one was around, so it wasn't too embarrassing.

What, Xiang Yuan?

In the eyes of the Nine-Fingered Heavenly Emperor, this was nothing!
The Nine-Fingered Heavenly Emperor smiled and shook his head, saying, "Fellow Daoist, you misunderstand. What I mean is that I was able to subdue the false emperor, and you should be credited with the greatest merit. Merit should be rewarded and wrongdoing should be punished. This is the ultimate principle of Heaven. I hope you will not refuse."

Jingyun responded with a faint smile: "The false emperor's surrender was truly due to the Great Heavenly Venerable's favor from Heaven. I, in accordance with Heaven's will, have no merit to speak of and am unworthy of such praise."

The two smoothly ended the unpleasant topic. The Nine-Fingered Heavenly Emperor no longer mentioned promoting Jingyun and giving her a raise. He smiled and looked at Xiang Yuan: "The True Martial Emperor has made outstanding contributions, protected the Emperor, and has also performed great deeds in saving the world with compassion. I believe that he can be promoted to the Eastern Azure Flower Emperor and the Great Venerable of Salvation from Suffering!"

“Great Celestial Venerable, he is, after all, my disciple in name only.”

"..."

He is also my disciple!

The Nine-Fingered Heavenly Emperor thought this to himself, but did not say it aloud. He was helpless against Jingyun. He could do whatever she said or did. After exchanging pleasantries, he silently watched the master and disciple leave.

The Nine-Fingered Heavenly Emperor silently reminded himself that this great victory had achieved his goal. As for those few uncontrollable people, they would cease to exist if he didn't look at them, and their non-existence would not affect his supreme status.

It's just an uncontrollable entity, no big deal, it's acceptable.

The Nine-Fingered Heavenly Emperor, with a victor's smile, looked upon his empire, and then...

A second uncontrollable being was seen in the Tushita Palace!
Laozi beat his chest and stamped his feet, looking at the overturned Eight Trigrams Furnace. He wanted to right it, but due to his old age and fading beauty, he was helpless. The two boys stopped feeding the oxen and surrounded Laozi, comforting him with words of advice: out with the old, in with the new, urging him to be more open-minded.

The cow also let out a moo.

They acted so realistically!
"..."

Instantly, the Nine-Fingered Heavenly Emperor's face turned ashen, unable to understand what had gotten into the false emperor that had caused the Supreme Lord Laozi to come knocking on his door.

The false emperor died easily, ending everything, but his future days will be much more difficult.

The Nine-Fingered Heavenly Emperor was completely baffled. He then thought of a possibility: the false emperor was not brain-dead and had just made trouble for himself. Rather, he had to make Laozi appear in order to turn the illusion into reality.

He hurriedly looked down to the lower realm and saw the Two Realms Mountain, the Tongtian River, and the Lion Camel Mountain. He also saw a monkey being crushed under the Five Finger Mountain.

Along with that, the Heavenly Demon Realm, which had been hidden by the false emperor, also came into view.

"So that's how it is..."

Instantly, the Nine-Fingered Heavenly Emperor was no longer angry, admitting that the false emperor was right and that he would have made the same arrangement in his place: "You have good fortune... no, these are all my good fortunes, and I'm sorry to have troubled you to make the arrangements in advance."

He laughed heartily, wanting to take another step forward based on the false emperor's arrangements, but the laws of the two realms were still merging, making it impossible to operate for the time being, so he could only calm down and wait.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

"He~~~tui!"

At the summit of Kunlun Mountain, Xiang Yuan spat a mouthful of saliva into a large, human-shaped crater.

What kind of Heavenly Emperor is this? They're all cut from the same cloth, lusting after Master Jingyun's pure and innocent body. One or two shameless bastards, after making a little dirty money and achieving a bit of success, they've lost all sense of their own worth.

Why don't you take a piss and look at yourself in the mirror? Without the king's intervention, you'd still be fighting with another stray dog!

Bah, you ingrate!
Xiang Yuan grumbled, "The last Heavenly Emperor who uttered such arrogant words is already dead. This one probably won't last long either. When the next interdimensional war begins, a new Heavenly Emperor will surely take his place."

There's no other possibility, after all, his king is a master strategist...

In short, you think you can just leave after offending the king?

Wait for death!

Xiang Yuan suppressed his thoughts, thinking to himself that he had almost blurted out the truth. Had the king heard him?

Probably not, if I heard that I'd definitely want to ride the drop tower.

Xiang Yuan looked up at his nose and down at his heart, then honestly approached Jing Yun's side, took the phoenix feather fan, and leaped into the third gear.

He roughly had a complete storyline in mind about how the two Heavenly Emperors fought, who became the scapegoat, and who fell into what schemes. However, there were still some unclear parts. Hakimi was like a small fish stirring up trouble, impossible to get rid of. He wanted to ask the Great King for answers.

I hope His Majesty is in a good mood today and won't be the riddle teller!

"Master, the interdimensional war... What I mean is, what exactly is the struggle for the Heavenly Emperor? Who is real, who is fake, or are they all real?"

"They are all fake."

Looking at the blank pages in her hand, Jingyun explained some basic knowledge about the Heavenly Dao to Xiang Yuan: "I once told you that the Heavenly Emperor is the embodiment of Heaven and Earth. Today, I'll go a step further and tell you directly that the Heavenly Emperor is the embodiment of the Heavenly Dao..."

"The Heavenly Emperor was born in the Great Luo Heaven, and is one with the laws and principles of Heaven. The laws and principles of Heaven are the origin, and by taking a branch, one can derive the laws and principles of Heaven and Earth..."

"You seized the opportunity of the Chongting Realm, broke the restrictions imposed by the Heavenly Emperor, and were able to grasp the principles of Heavenly Dao, thus freeing the True Martial Emperor from the shackles of his divine position..."

Jingyun didn't reveal the truth about the Heavenly Emperor's struggle, only saying that Xiang Yuan had gained a great benefit and that he should focus on his cultivation instead of doing pointless things all day.

Xiang Yuan listened and nodded. Although the king had not resolved all his doubts, he had shown leniency and answered some of them, which truly surprised and delighted him.

Please keep it up.

"Master, I have a small misunderstanding with the current Heavenly Emperor. I serve under him as the True Martial Emperor. Will he drag me out and execute me on trumped-up charges?" Xiang Yuan knew this was unlikely, but he still wanted to hear a definite answer from Jing Yun.

"The Heavenly Emperor won't target you..."

Jingyun spoke slowly, and seeing Xiang Yuan's expression relax, she continued, "At least not on the surface."

"Master, your disciple is utterly loyal to you!"

"hehe."

Jingyun remained noncommittal, only offering a cold laugh.

Xiang Yuan felt helpless. The treacherous villains had harmed him, sowing discord between master and disciple, causing him, a respectful and devoted disciple, to become... well, you know, in Frieza's eyes.

Xiang Yuan dared not think about the specifics, fearing that if the king saw it, he would reward him with a ride on a drop tower.

“Master, you said the Heavenly Emperor wouldn’t target me, but he did attack me…” Xiang Yuan looked aggrieved as he explained that the 'self' in the Xuan Mirror, which was almost real, would have been replaced by another version of himself if it weren’t for the jade belt protecting him.

"What the Heavenly Emperor wants is not you, but the opportunity you took away."

"The Heavenly Emperor's Dao Seed?"

"..."

Jingyun didn't say anything. Saying too much would make her seem like she and Xiangyuan were of the same intelligence. She let Xiangyuan figure it out himself.

Xiang Yuan nodded secretly. It must be so. No wonder he felt that the Xuanjing was not just a simple copy of him, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. It turned out that the Heavenly Emperor's Dao Seed was almost taken away...

Wait a minute, the Heavenly Emperor's Dao Seed has been taken away?

He missed such a great opportunity!
Xiang Yuan looked at Jing Yun with a frustrated expression and puzzled: "Master, you know me, and you know that this is not a chance encounter, but a scheme. How can you bear to watch me fall into the abyss?"

Jingyun didn't speak, and quietly read her book.

She didn't want to deal with the issue of someone who got a good deal but then complained.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

A month later.

Southern Continent, Wudang Mountain. Xuanwu Tongchu Mansion.

The Celestial Realm and the Divine Firmament Realm have barely merged, and the general framework is complete, but there are still many details that need to be perfected. For the time being, the Nine-Fingered Heavenly Emperor will have to immerse himself in the origin of the Heavenly Dao and can only appear in the form of a human-machine hybrid.

The concept of time exists, yet it does not.

For Xiang Yuan, a month had passed. The ascension channel reopened, the True Martial Emperor's subordinates stationed in the Blue Star Realm returned, and the two secretaries returned to the desk.

For Bai Ze, Guan Yan, the ten generals of the True Martial Emperor, and even all the immortals and gods of the Heavenly God Realm and the Divine Firmament Realm, time does not exist, and all memories related to the interdimensional war have been erased.

There was no war, no change, and the Heavenly Emperor always wore the same image of a finger guard.

Apart from Jingyun, Xiangyuan, and Baiyue Jushi, no one remembers who the Heavenly Emperor wearing the golden mask is.

Oh, and there's also Laozi (Taishang Laojun).

I don't care. Whoever it is, whether they remember or forget, it doesn't matter.

The existence of the false emperor and the traces he left behind were erased by the supreme Nine-Fingered Heavenly Emperor because the origins of the two realms' Heavenly Dao merged. There is only one Heavenly Emperor in the Heavenly Court, and that is him.

The best way to eliminate the existence of the false emperor is to modify the timeline and the consciousness of all living beings.

This was not difficult for the Heavenly Emperor; everything was within the principles of Heaven, and he could accomplish it with a wave of his hand.

Therefore, Bai Ze and Guan Yan had no idea what had happened. In their understanding, there was no Heavenly Emperor without the golden mask, nor had there been any interdimensional war. They had been sitting at their desks the whole time and had never left.

The two worlds merged imperceptibly. In Xiang Yuan's eyes, a large number of immortals and gods were replaced, and those with overlapping divine positions were selected based on merit.

Those whose destinies align, regardless of whose subordinates they previously served, will have their memories modified and preserved; those without a proper destiny who are merely there to fill positions will retain their original roles in the Divine Firmament Realm, while those who have fallen from their divine positions will be reassigned to fill the void left by false creations.

The good ones are kept, and the bad ones are not wasted, which shows that the makeshift team is indeed short of people.

Then there are the changes in mountains, rivers, plants and trees. The Celestial Realm and the Divine Firmament Realm each have their own Three Realms. The Heavenly Court and the Underworld are relatively easy to deal with, as they will definitely need to be renovated. The key lies in the Human Realm.

The Journey to the West filming studio was something the Nine-Fingered Heavenly Emperor couldn't bear to part with. He abandoned the human landscape of the Divine Firmament Realm and used the human world of the Heavenly God Realm as a blueprint, making minor modifications and additions.

Xiang Yuan observed all the changes, but having experienced them once before, he felt no unease.

The newly merged world was named the Divine Firmament Realm by the Nine-Fingered Heavenly Emperor, while Xiang Yuan, regardless, still referred to it as the Heavenly God Realm.

On the desk, Bai Ze slowly lowered her folded black-stockinged legs, kicked off her high heels, and placed her small feet on her boss's lap.

Beside her, Guan Yan followed suit and placed her white-stockinged little feet on the boss's other leg.

Isn't this a kind of yin and yang, which fits the setting of the True Martial Emperor Xuanwu?

The two secretaries started their daily rivalry and jealousy, mainly Bai Ze was outwitting thin air, annoyed by Guan Yan, who wanted to copy everything she did.

Guan Yan felt extremely wronged. As an intern, she naturally followed her seniors' instructions.

Xiang Yuan: (_)
Xiang Yuan raised his hand and grasped the two little feet. He saw Bai Ze glaring coldly at Guan Yan, who weakly lowered her head and dared not meet his gaze. He felt a sense of utter boredom.

He was already ready before it even started!

It wasn't that the two secretaries weren't appealing anymore, but rather that they couldn't control their own will, and their puppet-like appearance made Xiang Yuan lose interest in stirring things up.

What good is it if you get pregnant? You'll forget about it in a couple of days.

Fortunately, it wasn't a big problem, and now he's qualified to say 'no'.

The last time the false emperor drastically altered the world and transformed the Journey to the West filming studio, Bai Ze was completely unaware, believing that the world was as it always was. At that time, Xiang Yuan was only the True Martial Emperor and had no way to deal with it.

It’s different now!

"Bai Ze, come closer, the boss will give you a buff."

Xiang Yuan loosened her two little feet and saw that Bai Ze was sitting on the whip without any politeness and was still giving Guan Yan a cold look. She sighed and said, "I think you don't understand anything!"

After saying that, he struck Bai Ze on the head with a chop, restoring Bai Ze's erased memories through physical means and allowing her to regain everything she had lost.

Bai Ze's eyes widened in shock, and he immediately lost all interest in competing for her affections. He hurriedly stood up and asked, "Boss, what you were doing just now... were you altering my memories?"

Let's say you did something to your secretary before, and then secretly changed things so that your secretary wouldn't remember anything?

Boom!
Xiang Yuan delivered a swift chop, this time a purely physical attack, giving Bai Ze a good beating.

Then, he beckoned to Guan Yan, saying, "Come here, I'll give you a buff too."

Knowing full well that she would get beaten up, Guan Yan still imitated Bai Ze, sitting weakly on Xiang Yuan's lap. Her obedient and pitiful appearance was so endearing that Xiang Yuan couldn't help but turn his chop into a gentle pat and pat her head.

Bai Ze: (Benefit)
With happiness back, Xiang Yuan immediately perked up.

However, Bai Ze only glared at Guan Yan. The memories belonging to her in her mind made her extremely uneasy, and the fact that the Heavenly Emperor had changed his mind made her exclaim in disbelief.

"Well, now you know why I don't get involved in things, right?"

Xiang Yuan looked at the two secretaries: "It's all an illusion. No matter how hard I try, it won't change anything, which is why I don't bother with futile efforts."

No, you're just lazy! x2
The two secretaries had been working with Xiang Yuan for a long time and knew their boss's personality very well. He would rather lie down than sit. He didn't want to work hard, not because he couldn't change reality, but simply because he didn't want to move.

Besides, if Xiang Yuan can't change reality and is really forced to lie down, why were their memories able to be restored?
It all boils down to laziness! x2
"Hey, what's with that look? It makes me think you're thinking something really bad."

"No, no." x2
The two secretaries shook their heads in unison. Bai Ze stood obediently in front of Xiang Yuan, about to speak, but then, remembering something, he switched to telepathic communication: "Boss, why are you not controlled by the Heavenly Emperor, and why can you help me break free from his control?"

Xiang Yuan didn't say anything, but raised his fist, letting Bai Ze understand on his own.

Bai Ze, convinced by the profound truth, and filled with loyalty and admiration, took a step forward, his voice lowered considerably as he whispered, "Boss, since your reasoning is so sound, why don't you..."

"Cough cough!"

Xiang Yuan clenched his fist and coughed repeatedly. He glared at Bai Ze with annoyance. What happened to Bai Ze's ability to avoid misfortune and attract good fortune? How come he only has such dangerous thoughts?
Do you feel that the family tree is too long and want to stop here?

Xiang Yuan couldn't understand what Bai Ze was thinking. He was usually a very shrewd and capable secretary. Was it because like master, like secretary, and he just happened to have one...?

In short, this is wrong!

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

South China Sea, Purple Bamboo Forest.

Wensi Hall.

The White Moon Hermit sits serenely on a white lotus, his face radiating compassion and purity. His divine wisdom and solemnity are evident in his white robes, which, set against a backdrop of auspicious clouds and golden light, make him appear so pure and immaculate that no one can feel the slightest hint of disrespect.

Bang!

The temple door was kicked open, and the layperson sitting on the lotus platform shuddered.

She had promised Xiang Yuan something before, and as expected, her junior brother came today to act arrogantly and would not let her go no matter what.

At that time, I was overjoyed to have realized my own shortcomings, but I was worried that my junior brother would overthink things, so I agreed. Now I deeply regret it...

Can you go back on your word?
Xiang Yuan jumped onto the lotus platform, moved Bai Yue Jushi a little closer to the whip, and seeing that she had closed her eyes and was pretending to be dead, he whispered in her ear, "Senior Sister, I just examined Mu Qing's body, which took up some time. You won't blame me, will you?"

He gave Ji Muqing a very serious physical examination, patted his head, and helped him regain his erased memories. Afterwards, he solemnly instructed his junior disciple on cultivation, fed him a large dose of medicine, and coaxed him into seclusion.

Go to sleep quickly, your uncle needs to talk to your master about something very important.

Upon hearing Xiang Yuan's ambiguous words, Layman Baiyue opened his eyes, gave him a reproachful look, and feigned composure, asking, "Junior Brother, what brings you here? Are you here to study Buddhism?"

Does your Buddhist practice deduct merit?
Xiang Yuan thought to himself, it's all because his senior sister dotes on him so much that he's become strange too: "Pretty much. As the saying goes, after a great battle comes another great battle. I've come to my senior sister to verify if it's true."

"Junior brother, where did you hear that proverb?" Baiyue Jushi was speechless.

"No matter where you heard it from, just tell me if it's tacky or not!"

Xiang Yuan embraced Bai Yue Jushi's waist, their eyes met, and the latter felt flustered and confused. He closed his eyes, his eyelashes trembled, and he bit his lower lip tightly.

"Sister."

"Ok?"

"I am not a piece of trash."

Xiang Yuan lowered his head and kissed him; this was something he would talk about for the rest of his life.

Xiang Yuan is quite skilled at reciting poetry. He had always wanted to recite it to Baiyue Jushi, but the latter was unwilling. Today, his wish was fulfilled, and he recited it nine times in one go, which satisfied his craving for poetry.

"A light thunderclap fell like a thousand threads in the night sky, and the clear light shone on the green tiles in a jagged pattern."

"The banana leaf is full of affection, as one leaf unfolds and another grows. It is because of the endless longing that it makes the wind and rain complain about the autumn sound."

"The wutong tree is accompanied by fine rain, and at dusk, it drips and drops."

"The paulownia tree, the midnight rain, does not know the bitterness of parting. Leaf by leaf, sound by sound, dripping on the empty steps until dawn."

"Junior brother... stop reciting."

"I'll only read one more song, then I'll stop."

Xiang Yuan was inspired to write poetry, and there was no reason for him to stop. He wrote with great resentment: "A night of rain in the mountains, a hundred springs gushing from the treetops."

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Today is a holiday for me, so I'm asking for your monthly votes at the beginning of the month!
∠(ω)
(End of this chapter)