The True Lord has arrived

Chapter 171 All Dharma Lineages Have Reached Perfection

Taishan territory —

A streak of light shot into the sky.

The imperial decree bestowing the title upon the mountain god was no ordinary event. The four subordinate gods of the Four Sacred Mountains, including the Dragon Slayer, witnessed this extraordinary phenomenon and knew that the Lord of Mount Tai had bestowed the title upon the new subordinate gods.

General Beiyue Ruoshui said:
"What is this, bestowing the title of Mountain God and Lord of Mount Tai? What is going on here?"

He doesn't understand it.

Without taking precautions, they even deposed the deity and then bestowed a title upon the mountain god.

They neither show their faces nor take any action. They seem to have suffered a great loss of vitality, and are strong on the outside but weak on the inside. All they have left is the power of the Five Sacred Mountains to depose the gods. In particular, they have not even left the territory of Mount Tai yet, but they have already begun to confer titles. It seems a bit hasty.
So he asked, "Dragon Slayer, what do you think?"

“We’re still within the territory of Mount Tai, and the Lord of Mount Tai has already begun to bestow new mountain gods. I have a feeling that perhaps his own cultivation level is not high enough, or he might not even be able to sense us, so he started doing his own thing while we were still here?”

The Dragon Slayer remained silent for a long time, his expression gradually becoming solemn and wary.
"This is an attempt to establish authority... Lord Taishan!"

General Ruoshui was stunned: "Huh?"

Duanlong said, "What you said is indeed possible."

"How could such weaknesses and problems of a beginner appear in the Lord of Mount Tai? He is an ancient deity, a terrifying powerhouse who killed a fourth-grade mountain spider with a single strike, and whose aftershocks changed the terrain."

"You haven't thought this through enough."

"Weak Water".

"If you don't think carefully, you will perish!"

Commander Ruoshui thought for a moment and asked, "What could be the reason?"

Duanlong Shi said, "The reason I have been able to live until now and still have this level of cultivation is because of the word 'caution'. In everything, one must seek stability, understand carefully, and think thoroughly."

"How could such a strong person make the same mistakes that only weaklings and novices make?"

"If that's not the case, then there's only one reason."

"One reason?"

"Yes, he did it on purpose!"

The dragon-slaying envoy made a resolute decision.

"Like a sage among men."

"In the Analects of the human race, there is a passage that reads: 'Ru Bei wanted to see Confucius, but Confucius declined, citing illness. As the man was about to leave, Ru Bei took up his zither and sang a song so that the man could hear it.' This means that the man wanted to see Confucius, but Confucius said he was ill and asked him to play the zither as he left to let him know that he himself did not want to see him."

"What the Lord of Mount Tai did is the same as what that teacher did!"

"How powerful, how arrogant! Do you boast that your realm is the same as that of the human master? Or do you think we are just worthless visitors?"

"Deliberately exposing such an obvious weakness is a blatant warning. How arrogant you are, Lord Taishan! Do you simply not care about us, or are you telling us that in your eyes, we are no different from the weak who would reveal such a weakness?"

The Dragon Slayer has lived for a long time and has also taken human form. He has traveled, cultivated, and learned in all directions. He has profound knowledge and is completely different from ordinary spirits and mountain gods who rely solely on instinct.

General Ruoshui was filled with awe: "I see..."

Through the Dragon Slayer's explanation, he also understood the terror of the being before him.

He said, "I can feel the power of the Lord of Mount Tai."

He stood with the Dragon Slayer, gazing at the distant Eastern Peak Mountains, and said:
"First, they stripped us of our divinity, and when we left, they did so without any warning, completely ignoring us. But then, just as we were about to leave, they bestowed new mountain gods upon us."

"How ancient, how powerful, Lord of Mount Tai."

"How arrogant!"

Duanlong said, "I need to go back and report to the True Lord."

"The Lord of Mount Tai is powerful and ancient, and shows no signs of weakening."

"This is a powerful enemy, so we must be extremely careful. We can never be too careful."

........................

Shi Xuanxing carried the four blank mountain god edicts that emitted a purple light all the way back to Mount Tai. The old local earth god had only been wandering around the area for a short while when he returned and learned of everything. He swung his stick and beat Shi Xuanxing, yelling, "You, you, you!"

"I was only gone for a short while, how did you manage to cause such a huge mess?!"

"You killed all four mountain gods under the command of the Four Sacred Mountains True Lords?"

"Are you killing a chicken?!"

Shi Xuanxing said, "Who knew they were so fragile? I just rushed over, and they were done for."

The old earth god sat down on the ground and sighed, feeling that Shi Xuanxing had caused trouble. At this moment, faint purple aura appeared. Both Shi Xuanxing and the old earth god composed themselves and looked at the purple aura.

The bald-headed eagle was still gathering up the feathers scattered on the ground and stuffing them back into its head.

After being slapped across the face by Shi Xuanxing, he spun around three and a half times, nearly tripping and falling to the ground in a daze. Shi Xuanxing stood up straight and said, "Stand still."

"The Prefect has arrived."

………………

In Louguan Road, everyone learned about Li Pingyang's story and felt sorry for the girl. Li Pingyang looked gentle and held Li Taibai's sword.

Xuan Zhuzi's eyes turned red as she looked at it.

Xuan Zhuzi bit her thumb: "Another one, another one..."

"You, you, you, you... are you even a monk?!"

“Princess, you possess innate Daoist spirituality and are the daughter of a sword immortal.”

"You, you, you, you're not going to become a monk..."

With a slap, a hand landed on Xuan Zhuzi's shoulder, startling her. She looked up and saw it was Pei Xuanniao. Pei Xuanniao asked suspiciously, "What are you doing hiding in the corner?"

Xuan Zhuzi said, "No, it's nothing."

"I just……"

Pei Xuan Niao said, "I don't care what you want to do, I'm just asking if there are any courtyards left in this place. The daughter of the great poet and sword immortal needs a courtyard to live in! It needs to be a courtyard with three courtyards and three entrances, understand?"

Li Pingyang, holding his sword, thought for a moment and said gently:
"I'll just live with Brother Zhou."

Pei Xuan Niao: "??"

Yuan Danqiu nearly stumbled and fell, while Shen Cangming looked at Zhou Yan.

Zhou Yan was drinking tea when he choked on his tea and started coughing violently. Li Zhiwei patted Zhou Yan's shoulder and smiled, "Don't think too much while you're drinking water. By the way, Miss Li Pingyang."

"Even though you are his guardian deity, this is not appropriate. Why don't you sleep with me first? It just so happens that I am also very curious about your father, the banished immortal Li Bai. You should come and talk to me more."

She pulled Li Pingyang over and looked at Bihen, who was dressed simply.

Finally, after much persuasion, they agreed to let Bihen move in with them, along with Xiaohui's mother. Putting aside Xiaohui's mother, the group at least looked to be around the same age, so they could chat more.

Zhou Yan used the Kitchen God Jade Talisman to cook a meal. After everyone finished eating, they dispersed. Zhou Yan went into the house, closed the door, and casually took out two cups as his left and right assistants. Then he wrote the name of the Lord of Mount Tai.

Open the altar!

This hastily constructed altar was actually opened.

A mysterious and divine aura emanated from here, and it was of very high purity. If those Taoist priests who had been cultivating the altar for ten or twenty years without achieving anything were to see it, their eyes would turn green with envy.

Other Taoist priests have to call upon others, relying on the accumulated connections of their ancestors. Zhou Yan, on the other hand, calls upon himself, guaranteeing a 100% success rate.

Zhou Yan stretched out his hand, and the Imperial Seal of the State appeared, emitting a faint glow. From it, a seventh-grade path that perfectly matched Zhou Yan's own foundation was deduced, and the Buddhist essence was also satisfied. At this moment, the [Guardian Deity] appeared.

The essence of Taoism has already been satisfied.

Having only the lineage of military strategy seems insufficient.

The quantity and quality of the troops were far from sufficient.

Each imperial edict is equivalent to a guardian deity. After Li Pingyang became Zhou Yan's guardian deity, Zhou Yan could clearly feel the improvement in the spiritual essence of his military lineage. However, the four thousand Taoist soldiers did not seem to meet his expectations.

"So, in other words, the Daoist military and military lineage, those four primordial spirits can only assist in casting spells, but cannot meet the requirements of the military lineage?"

"That's true. If this road were reliable, people would have already taken it."

"At least, the support for the military lineage is relatively weak, making it difficult to break through the military lineage with the support of these four primordial essences. However, the Taoist and Buddhist divine essences are already sufficient, so a breakthrough is possible."

Zhou Yan had thought it through very clearly.

Although the breakthrough after fulfilling the spiritual essence of the three schools of military strategy, Taoism, and Buddhism would certainly be the best state, we can't worry about that now. One is that there are too many dangers and we are in the midst of a storm, and the other is that we don't know where the troops will come from.

Although Li Pingyang transformed into a guardian deity, he also promoted the lineage of military strategy.

It can represent command not only soldiers, but also generals.

"But where am I supposed to find so many guardian deities?"

"Without soldiers, just three thousand guardian deities can still advance to the upper three ranks of the military lineage, but that would be too absurd."

"However, before breaking through, let's take care of the Giant Spirit's side first."

"These four imperial edicts cannot be wasted."

Zhou Yan activated the primary altar. Purple energy swirled around the Taishan Mansion's divine seat, transforming into the appearance of the Taishan Mansion Lord. The old earth god and Shi Xuanxing both bowed in respect. Zhou Yan, masquerading as the Taishan Mansion Lord, spoke in a deep, calm voice:

"The Four Sacred Mountains True Lords sent people here, but they have been forced to retreat."

"Shi Xuanxing, you have done a great service."

Shi Xuanxing said, "If it weren't for Lord Fu, I would have been captured by those guys long ago. Lord Fu, you are truly amazing!"

The old landman said, "This big rock is impulsive, Lord. I know it has been doing well lately. Since it obeyed you, it has no evil intentions and has been wholeheartedly protecting Mount Tai."

"That is, when I went out, I had some conflict with the subordinates of the Four Mountains True Lord."

Zhou Yan said calmly, "It's alright."

"I have my own plans."

While maintaining his position as the Lord of Mount Tai, he tried to take away the four imperial edicts. Looking at Shi Xuanxing over there, he saw that the big guy was incredibly strong and indestructible, but he seemed a bit timid.

The last time, I was scared when faced with the Earth's Spirit and the Sky's Collapse.

Zhou Yan thought to himself, if he hadn't chickened out, the trouble he would have gotten last time would have been much bigger.

Considering that the Four Mountains' subordinates might still appear in this prefecture, it was also important for Mount Tai to have a sufficiently powerful figure remaining. After thinking for a moment, he said, "You have performed bravely this time, step forward."

Shi Xuanxing was stunned.

The old local immediately realized what the Lord of Mount Tai was about to do, so he struggled to raise his arm and patted Shi Xuanxing's knee, saying, "Hurry up and thank him! This time the Lord of Mount Tai was testing you, and you have passed the test."

test?!
What, me?

Zhou Yan's smile froze.

No, don't talk nonsense, I didn't.

However, in order to maintain his composure, he simply gave a curt "hmm".

In the eyes of Shi Xuanxing and the old local deity, the Prefect was dignified, composed, and indifferent.

Everything is under control.

Shi Xuanxing suddenly realized: "So that's how it is?!"

He thought about how he almost ran away, and how he encountered these guys just before he was about to run away. If he had run away, he certainly wouldn't have gotten such benefits, and he couldn't help but feel a shock.

My own choices, considerations, and even the Four Sacred Mountains True Lords are all just pawns of the Prefect.

Everything turned into a test for me!

If one makes a wrong move, then at that time, will I be the one facing the Lord of Mount Tai alongside the Four Sacred Mountains' subordinate deities?

Thinking of this, Shi Xuanxing felt a sense of shock, fear, and awe.

Step forward respectfully and bow with your hands clasped.

Based on the subtle spiritual messages from the Taishan mountain range, Zhou Yan said:

"By imperial decree, Shi Xuanxing, is hereby appointed as the General of the Eastern Peak, to patrol the Eastern Peak. Slay any demons you encounter and help any good ones you find."

"Uphold the dark laws to punish the traitors, and defend the righteous path with a loyal heart."

"Blessed with divine power, all demons will be bound!"

Burning like fire, the edict from Nanyue transformed into a stream of light and flew directly into Shi Xuanxing's body. Shi Xuanxing was respectful and, even though he was at the fifth rank, he did not resist in the slightest and obediently accepted the edict.

In an instant, Shi Xuanxing felt a connection between himself and the earth veins of Mount Tai.

Instead of a star falling from the sky, he transformed into a figure clad in armor, exuding power and awe, his demonic aura dissipating. This was the authority of a true god. Zhou Yan was slightly taken aback, because at the same time, the Imperial Seal of the State in front of him suddenly emitted boundless light.

The sensation representing the essence of military strategy surged in an instant.

Soaring! Soaring!
It rose to above Zhou Yan's limit!

In an instant, it even surpassed the Buddhist lineage blessed by Xuanzang's relics.

Zhou Yan was silent for a moment, then suddenly realized something. So the Lord of Mount Tai lowered his eyes and asked the divine general who had once called himself "Lord" and whose flying eagle demon subordinate was known as "General Flying Eagle," and said:

"You were once a demon; do you command any troops?"

Shi Xuanxing was stunned, and hurriedly said:

“My lord, I have already reformed.”

"I've reformed, really, I'm not going to be a bandit anymore!"

Zhou Yan rubbed his temples, thinking to himself, "I just want to know if you have troops?"
Fortunately, the old local official gave Shi Xuanxing a walking stick and said, "Just answer whatever the prefect asks you. He asked if you had any soldiers before!"

"Oh, yes, Your Excellency, yes."

After Shi Xuanxing finished speaking, he did not reply.

He really is a blockhead.

Zhou Yan asked casually, "How many?"

Shi Xuanxing said respectfully, "Actually, it's not much, just a little bit."

"Mountain spirits and wild monsters, beasts transformed into spirits, wandering ghosts and spirits, in total—"

"Forty-eight thousand!"

(End of this chapter)