From Joy of Life, the Tian Gang is reversed

Chapter 263 After igniting the world, it polluted the world once again.
Horrible, absolutely terrifying!!

Even on his deathbed, Nan Huaiyu kept murmuring these three words.

Great horror!
These words might only make ordinary people, or those with insufficient strength, feel a tightness in their chest, but when heard by those powerful individuals whose cultivation has reached the first rank, their expressions become solemn.

Because, in their perception, the world seems different.

It seemed as if some inexplicable, unknown thing had appeared in this world.

Tai'an City, Zhang Mansion, Yongchun Garden
Zhang Julu sat in the pavilion, gazing quietly at the calm water, lost in thought.

In the battle of Spring God Lake, Zhao Xun, the new sage of Confucianism, annihilated hundreds of immortals from the Taoist and Buddhist sects who had descended to the mortal realm. That was fine, but what concerned him most was the seven-colored light that shot out from the Imperial Academy and the pavilion that collapsed afterward.

Shiqu Pavilion.

It is said that Zhao Xun built it by himself in the Shangyin Academy. After Zhao Xun left, he did not close the valley. As a result, the small valley became a place for Confucian pilgrimage. Many scholars flocked into the valley and even entered the Shiqu Pavilion to pay their respects.

Upon entering the Shiqu Pavilion, some highly accomplished Confucian cultivators were astonished to discover that although the Shiqu Pavilion appeared somewhat simple on the outside, it contained a hidden universe within, seemingly concealing an extremely obscure formation.

Using this formation, one can communicate with and transform the power of heaven and earth. Confucian cultivation does not require much from the primordial energy of heaven and earth, but cultivating in the Shiqu Pavilion can better nurture one's talent. It can be said that the place is a sacred place for Confucian cultivation.

It was precisely for this reason that Zhang Julu personally went to Shiqu Pavilion and successfully replicated it at the Imperial Academy in Tai'an City.

Of course, he didn't know the underlying principles, but with his superhuman intuition, he managed to replicate the Shiqu Pavilion at the Imperial College. Although the effect was not as good as the original, it was still somewhat effective.

But he never expected that Zhao Xun, who was far away at Spring God Lake, could control Shiqu Pavilion with a single word from thousands of miles away. What secrets were hidden here?
Of course, his biggest concern was how the Battle of Spring God Lake would affect his plans.

As the chief minister of the Liyang Dynasty, he had lofty ideals. He promoted the imperial examination system, allowing commoners to enter officialdom through studying. He also used various means to suppress the power of traditional powerful families, broaden the upward mobility channels for the lower classes, and make the world more equitable.

He thought so and did it.

It was precisely because his philosophy resonated with the core tenets of Confucianism that his understanding of Confucianism grew rapidly. Through this growth, he became certain that the philosophy of Zhao Xun, the new sage of Confucianism, aligned with his own, which pleased him greatly. However, as a politician, he was also well aware that Zhao Xun's sudden emergence had infringed upon the interests of too many people, including Confucianism itself.

The most pressing issue now is finding a balance between these relationships.

However, Zhao Xun acted too recklessly, things happened too quickly, and the result was too tragic, which made him begin to hesitate.

※※※

Qingzhou, Xiangfan City, Jing'an Prince's Mansion, Chengbi Courtyard, Study
Zhao Xun gently flipped through the records of the Jing'an Prince's Mansion from the past six months, his face calm.

"I am seventeen years old this year, and Xu Fengnian is one year younger than me. That means Xu Fengnian can live for about four more years. However, even if he has four more years, he will inevitably be plagued by all kinds of illnesses!"

Because of the power of the contract from the underworld, even though Xu Fengnian is the protagonist, he will still die at the age of twenty. It's just unknown whether his protagonist aura will grant him a glimmer of hope before his death. Manipulating the Heavenly Dao, substituting his own will for the will of Heaven, and using the rules of the Heavenly Dao to minimize the influence of the Immortal Realm on the mortal world—this plan has been in the works for four years.

By borrowing the hundreds of thousands of wronged souls in Xiangfan City, they opened a passage to the underworld and used the authority of the underworld to make a pact with the Heavenly Dao of this world.

For him, a regular staff member in the underworld, this was just basic stuff.

The Snow World is merely an insignificant little world among the myriad realms, not even a middle world. How could it possibly withstand the power of the colossal Underworld?
Most importantly, for a small world, only by connecting with the underworld can it be considered truly complete. As before, the methods of reincarnation were controlled by Taoism and Buddhism, becoming their private tools for reaping fortune, which is wrong.

Although the current leader of the underworld is invisible, inaudible, and incapable of thought, and is blind and foolish, the entire underworld is in chaos, in extreme chaos.

However, as a formally employed staff member, or even a cadre, one should still uphold the dignity of the underworld to the best of one's ability. This is the spirit of the speech by the newly appointed Lord of Mount Tai. As a formally employed staff member of the underworld, one's job is to implement the spirit of the speech thoroughly and without compromise or excuses.

"After today, both Buddhism and Taoism should quiet down a bit. Without the support of the Immortal Realm, they will definitely not act rashly again before figuring out my background!"

This time, the dimensional reduction attack on the living immortals using the power of the Heavenly Dao will definitely frighten some people, and he can take advantage of this time to slowly digest the power of Qingzhou.

In these four years, Qingzhou, or rather, the Prince of Jing'an, did not do nothing. With the cooperation of the Prince of Jing'an's mansion and his disciples, the aristocratic families and powerful clans of Qingzhou had long been closely linked together, becoming a community of shared interests where one's loss was the loss of all, and one's prosperity was the prosperity of all.

This community of interests is centered around the Jing'an Prince's Mansion, with the aristocratic families and scholars of Qingzhou closely surrounding this core, and further connected with the Qing Party in the imperial court, forming a behemoth.

It can be said that the combined strength of the Qing Party in the court and Qingzhou is no less than that of other forces. The only thing that has not yet been proven is the strength of the Qingzhou navy. Of course, Zhao Xun is not unprepared for this.

In the original novel, the Qingzhou navy was just a showy facade, not living up to its name. However, four years ago, he had his disciple, Wei Zhongkui, who cultivated the art of military strategy, take over the military power of the Jing'an Prince's Mansion and gradually extend his influence to the entire Qingzhou navy. Although four years is not a long time, it was enough to raise the combat power of the Qingzhou army by several levels.

The only thing missing is a major battle to test our combat strength.

Of course, nobody likes war, and whether or not it is possible is another matter. But the situation is already like this. The Li Yang Dynasty, the vassal kings of the world, and the Northern Mang have all begun to prepare for war. It is impossible not to fight. The only questions are when to fight, what reasons to fight, and which side each side should take.

"Even though Xu Fengnian only has four years left, he still has the protagonist's halo. Who knows what kind of trouble he might cause? Safety first!"

Thinking of safety, he sighed, walked to the window, looked at the gloomy sky, and his eyes revealed a faint sadness.

Damn it, when I made a pact with the Heavenly Dao, I think I accidentally let something dirty in.

Besides chaos, the underworld is filled with pollution. Especially when the leader of the underworld is still in an unknown state, the rules of the entire world are naturally distorted. With the rules distorted, authority is also distorted.

Although he was just a lowly staff member with pitifully little power, once he used it, it inevitably caused some corruption. Just like now, on the surface, nothing could be seen, but in reality, he could still sense it. With the signing of the contract, a strange aura seemed to permeate the lowest level of this world. Although it was not obvious yet, anyone with a cultivation level of one rank could feel this strange disharmony.

In many people's perception, this is a great terror.

(End of this chapter)