Chapter 615: The Immortal-Deity Conflict

Chen Shi listened quietly to this ancient history.

Both Little Duan Immortal and Wu Qi had mentioned this past before, but the Shang people mostly viewed it from the perspective of rulers, while Empress Earth viewed it from the perspective of the ruled common folk.

"This cultivation system was born from the shamanic ritual markings, allowing mortals to rival the gods. Those three most brilliant individuals called this method Qi Refining, and those who cultivated it were called Qi Refiners."

Houtu Huangdiqi spoke unhurriedly, "The three who founded this system were all divine officials of Great Shang, responsible for managing the inheritance of the shamanic ritual markings. Their official title was Daoist Priests. Among the three, one was called Daoist Yuanshi, one was called Daoist Lingbao, and one was called Daoist Daode."

Chen Shi's heart stirred slightly, and he murmured, "Daoist Lingbao."

He suddenly recalled that the azure stele in Fulong Village of the Dao Ruins had been left by Daoist Lingbao, who had the people of Fulong Village guard it.

It was from that azure stele that he had comprehended the Azure Dragon's Roar, which could borrow the power of the Eastern Heaven Green Emperor.

He simply hadn't expected that Daoist Lingbao's origins were so ancient.

Houtu Huangdiqi said, "The three of them were moved by the hardships of the common people and spread the method of Qi Refining, giving mortals the ability to contend with the gods. Thus, these three came to be revered as the Three Purities, bearing the title of Celestial Venerable."

Chen Shi was stunned. The master of the azure stele, Daoist Lingbao, was one of the Three Purities?

He had heard of the Three Purities but did not know their names. Hence, he had been quite curious about Daoist Lingbao who left the azure stele. Now hearing Her Ladyship mention Daoist Lingbao, he could not help but be astonished.

Houtu Huangdiqi said, "More and more Qi Refiners possessed power, hiding among the common folk. Some even crossed the heavenly tribulation and attained immortality. Gradually, Great Shang discovered that these immortals possessed power not inferior to their own. They grew quite uneasy, regarding them as heretical demons and launching campaigns to annihilate and kill them. The first Immortal-Deity Conflict arose from this."

Chen Shi was even more shocked inwardly. Great Shang had struck first back then?

That didn't seem to be what Little Duan had said.

"In that Immortal-Deity Conflict, the Celestial Court held the upper hand, executing countless immortals, but many deities also died. Among them, the battle between Daoist Lingbao and the Heavenly Emperor even saw an emperor fall. This showed the common people that the deities of Great Shang were not invincible, and neither was the Heavenly Emperor. So even more people cultivated immortal techniques."

Houtu Huangdiqi said, "Not only did the number of immortals not decrease, it increased greatly, and the power of immortals grew stronger and stronger. By the generation of Emperor Yi, the world could no longer endure Great Shang's harshness. So the Three Purities contacted us ancient-era deities and decided to overthrow Great Shang and reorganize the Celestial Court."

She narrated this story slowly, "I am a deity from the era of Heavenly August Fuxi, and was also suppressed by the Great Shang Celestial Court, depressed and unfulfilled. Meanwhile, Haotian, Heavenly August, Changsheng, Ziwei, as well as the Yellow Emperor, Green Emperor, White Emperor, Red Emperor, Black Emperor, and a host of Heavenly August-era deities also decided to rebel. Together with immortals from all paths, under the name of Great Zhou, they campaigned against Shang and destroyed Zhou. Haotian was enthroned as the new dynasty's Heavenly Emperor, titled the Haotian Golden Palace Jade Emperor. In this punitive war, all immortals who died in battle were enfeoffed as deities, enjoying sacrifices. Eventually Great Shang fell, and the Dark Bird Celestial Court ceased to exist."

"This battle was the second Immortal-Deity Conflict, but it also planted hidden dangers for later strife."

She sighed and said, "Because there had been a prior agreement that the new Celestial Court would be dominated by deities holding key positions, while immortals would continue to roam freely. Later, the deities of the Celestial Court grew stronger and stronger, and the number of immortals increased more and more. The ancestral court could no longer contain the Celestial Court. So the Three Purities cleansed the Dark Sea and opened up the Earth Immortal Realm, and the Celestial Court moved here."

When Houtu Huangdiqi reached this point, she hesitated briefly, then continued, "However, this relocation brought an unexpected turn. Eighteen thousand years later, immortals experienced their first Opening the Calamity, and many immortals died. The immortals were terrified and uneasy, seeking countermeasures."

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Chen Shi and Black Pot each perked up their ears.

Opening the Calamity again!

They were no strangers to the words "Opening the Calamity," but what it actually was, they knew nothing about.

Chen Shi asked, "Your Ladyship, did the Opening the Calamity only appear after the Celestial Court moved to the Earth Immortal Realm? Could it be related to the Earth Immortal Realm?"

Houtu Huangdiqi said, "That, I do not know. Perhaps it is the calamity of longevity caused by immortals' eternal life, or perhaps it is a calamity's number brought by the Earth Immortal Realm. The specific cause is hard to say."

Speaking of this past, she too seemed somewhat puzzled, saying, "What's strange is that during the Opening the Calamity, only immortals died, while deities emerged completely unscathed. After this Opening the Calamity passed, another eighteen thousand years went by, and the second Opening the Calamity appeared, killing many immortals again. So rumors spread that the Opening the Calamity was the Celestial Court's doing, fearing the power of immortals. They seized a Celestial Way treasure to send calamity upon the immortals, eliminating a portion of them so they could not threaten the Celestial Court's rule. These rumors caused no small amount of trouble back then."

Chen Shi asked, "Then, was the Opening the Calamity the Celestial Court's doing?"

"Naturally not. At that time, though the conflict between deities and immortals had begun to show, the Three Purities were still in the Earth Immortal Realm, and the Celestial Way magic treasure was refined by them jointly with the Celestial Court."

Houtu Huangdiqi said, "If the Celestial Court had seized a Celestial Way treasure to send calamity upon immortals, how could they have hidden it from the Three Purities? The second guess was that the Opening the Calamity was the immortals' calamity of longevity, a disaster brought about by longevity. Some believed that immortals crossing the tribulation and ascending to achieve eternal life violated the Celestial Way. Crossing the tribulation once was not a permanent solution; every so often, one needed to cross another tribulation, with life or death as the outcome."

Chen Shi thought for a moment, then shook his head, "Each immortal achieved immortality at a different time. Why would they cross the tribulation together? This guess doesn't make sense."

Houtu Huangdiqi smiled, "Exactly. Qi Refiners achieved Dao Unification and became immortals at different times. If it were the immortals' longevity tribulation, then crossing it could not be simultaneous. Still, it was strange. Many immortals, during the Opening the Calamity, crossed over without any calamity or tribulation. So this possibility is not entirely impossible either."

Chen Shi frowned, feeling that this reason still didn't make sense.

Empress Earth said, "The third guess was that some said the Earth Immortal Realm was opened up from the Dark Sea, and when the Three Purities opened the Dark Sea, the opening was not thorough. Much residue of the Dark Sea remained. Part of this residue would from time to time transform into great demons, causing havoc. Another part of the residue transformed into the Opening the Calamity, punishing the immortals of the Earth Immortal Realm."

Chen Shi's eyes lit up, "Your Ladyship, I actually think this possibility is the most likely. Back in the Great Shang Era of Western Ox New Continent, there were also many immortals with very long lifespans, and they did not encounter the Opening the Calamity. This shows the Opening the Calamity may be related to the Earth Immortal Realm."

Empress Earth said, "Some immortals also discovered that achieving Dao Unification in worlds within the Dark Sea would not bring the Opening the Calamity. But later they discovered that achieving Dao Unification in worlds within the Dark Sea made one very susceptible to pollution by the external Dao."

Chen Shi sighed, "Being an immortal is truly difficult."

Empress Earth couldn't help but laugh, saying, "Indeed, very difficult. So some immortals found a way: they would return some already-opened major worlds to the Dark Sea, then achieve Dao Unification within them. In this way, there was no external Dao pollution."

Chen Shi frowned, feeling this approach seemed somewhat inappropriate.

Houtu Huangdiqi said, "The Celestial Court feared the Earth Immortal Realm would be devoured by the Dark Sea as a result, so they ordered that this must not be done, and thus curbed this trend. But some immortals still violated the heavenly laws to do so. Later, people discovered that earthly treasures and spiritual roots could carry one through the Opening the Calamity, and only then did they settle down and go searching for spiritual roots in various places."

Her brows furrowed slightly, "In recent years, some immortals have searched everywhere for spiritual roots, burning, killing, and plundering, even stirring up the darkness, sparing no effort to drag world after world into the darkness, causing the Celestial Court's displeasure. Their actions cared nothing for the lives of mortals and already endangered the order of the mortal world. Your Western Ox New Continent was caught in their wake."

Chen Shi thought of the Celestial Venerable and nodded, "It was an expert from the Immortal Court, herding in the Xun Jiang Star Region, that caused the disaster of Western Ox New Continent."

Your Ladyship said, "The Celestial Court wants to maintain order, while the Immortal Court attempts to use every method to cross the Opening the Calamity. Thus the conflict between the Immortal Court and the Celestial Court gradually intensified. After the Three Purities left, no one restrained the immortals, and with experts emerging in abundance, in recent years they have acted more and more recklessly, even going so far as to cultivate creatures of the Dark Sea like the primordial insect."

She sighed, full of worry, "This recent Opening the Calamity is the epochal calamity, drawing ever closer. So these immortals strike harder and harder. They have even begun to move against the Celestial Court, going so far as to stir up great demons and destroy Celestial Way magic treasures."

She was referring to the case of the Celestial Strategy's destruction.

Chen Shi was also a firsthand witness.

"They strike at the Celestial Court, and they will certainly strike at the Radiant Virtue Grand Celestial Palace too. The Four Sovereigns are the Celestial Court's wings. To eliminate the Celestial Court, one must first clip its wings."

Your Ladyship said leisurely, "It's just unknown which of the Four Sovereigns they will strike first."

Chen Shi's heart stirred, "Many immortals in the Celestial Court are people of the Immortal Court. In Your Ladyship's Radiant Virtue Grand Celestial Palace, I fear there are long since quite a few immortals who have already submitted to the Immortal Court."

Houtu Huangdiqi rested for a moment, recovered her spirits, and again began handling messages from countless worlds.

Feng Huixue arranged for them to stay in the Radiant Virtue Grand Celestial Palace. The Radiant Virtue Grand Celestial Palace was an immensely vast sacred ground; the heaven-and-earth spiritual energy it produced was called mysterious yellow spiritual energy. The mysterious qi and yellow qi in the mysterious yellow sea could be used to evolve heaven and earth but could not be used for cultivation. Mysterious yellow spiritual energy, however, allowed immortals to cultivate.

Moreover, the grade of mysterious yellow spiritual energy was extremely high, not inferior to the Grand Supreme Purple Qi of the Purple Heaven Vine.

Yu Sari had cultivated for half his life merely to exchange some spiritual energy and immortal liquid from immortals. How could he have ever seen such high-grade and abundant mysterious yellow spiritual energy? He immediately threw himself into cultivation, not daring to waste a single moment.

Black Pot also seized this opportunity, concentrating wholly on tempering his cultivation techniques.

Yet Chen Shi's mind still dwelled on Empress Earth's words, unable to settle for a long time.

"Your Ladyship said this Opening the Calamity is an epochal calamity, more ferocious than previous ones. This means the methods immortals previously prepared for crossing tribulation can no longer be used."

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Chen Shi pondered, "Then the immortals' actions must be more drastic than before, their deeds more extreme. That is why they destroyed the Celestial Strategy. After this, similar actions will surely become more frequent. Troubled times indeed."

He walked out of his dwelling and looked upon the peaceful, serene Radiant Virtue Grand Celestial Palace. He saw that the fairies were not cultivating without rest like Black Pot and Yu Sari, but rather in twos and threes, admiring flowers, arranging flowers, playing board games, playing music, quite leisurely and at ease, without any sense of crisis.

"This peace, I wonder how much longer it can last?" he murmured to himself.

Feng Huixue came looking for him, smiling, "Your Highness has not rested?"

Chen Shi answered truthfully, "Heavy thoughts weigh on my heart, making it hard to find peace."

He looked at Feng Huixue. This girl was like a fairy maiden stepped out of a painting. Her brows had been carefully trimmed into long graceful moth brows, somewhat like the slender curved antennae of a silk moth. Her cheeks bore a light pink rouge, skin white with a rosy glow.

A touch of red lips, the petals delicate and vividly red.

Her attire was a bright goose-yellow, with a light pink tube top underneath and a crimson pleated skirt below. Her clothes were all quite fitted, making her figure appear slender and tall, graceful and alluring. As she walked over, she seemed like a weak willow swaying in the wind, a pleasing sight.

However, her cultivation was unfathomably deep. Chen Shi could not tell what realm she had reached.

Feng Huixue came to his side and said with a smile, "I will accompany Your Highness for a walk around, to ease your mind."

Chen Shi was delighted, "Thank you, Senior Sister. Senior Sister need not call me Your Highness. Just call me Little Ten or Chen Shi."

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Feng Huixue said solemnly, "This humble one calls you Your Highness not out of respect for Your Highness, but out of respect for Her Ladyship. How could I be negligent?"

Hearing this, Chen Shi did not press her further.

The two walked together. Though the Radiant Virtue Grand Celestial Palace was built within two lotus flowers, the mysterious and yellow ones, the palace's interior still had mountains and waters, a scene of magnificent grandeur.

Chen Shi came to a rainbow bridge and stopped, looking at the flowing water below. He saw jade-green waves shimmering with scales, layer upon layer piling into the distance, no end in sight.

"Senior Sister is also an immortal. How do you view the conflict between deities and immortals?" Chen Shi asked.

Feng Huixue said, "I have been thinking, why can immortals and deities not coexist? Immortals and deities, one is otherworldly, one is worldly. They originally had nothing to do with each other. Why must they fight endlessly?"

She changed the subject, "The reason Your Highness asks me, is it that Your Highness is also confused and uncertain about your own identity?"

Chen Shi admitted frankly, "I am Her Ladyship's adopted son, but I am also an immortal. If I think of the immortals, I must oppose the Celestial Court. If I think of Her Ladyship, I must oppose the Immortal Court. So for a time my mind became confused, and I felt somewhat lost."

Feng Huixue turned around, leaned on the railing, and said with a smile, "Perhaps this is why the Three Purities left the Earth Immortal Realm. They too could not resolve the Immortal-Deity Conflict, so they simply abandoned this mess."

Chen Shi admired her graceful figure. This could not resolve the uncertainty in his heart, but it was pleasing to the eye.

Feng Huixue said, "Her Ladyship has a stance. That I have survived to this day relies on the protection of the Radiant Virtue Grand Celestial Palace, so I too must have a stance. Therefore Her Ladyship's stance is my stance. Where does Your Highness's stance lie?"

Chen Shi pondered for a moment, then suddenly laughed, "I am merely a small Celestial Immortal. What right to choose do I have? For now, a small figure like me prioritizes staying safe and preserving my life. When I can have a real say, then we can discuss stances."

Feng Huixue laughed, "In this world, how many can truly have a say? Your Highness is deeply ambitious."

Chen Shi laughed, "Senior Sister, do not slander me. What ambition could I have? My ascension was also helplessness. I had no choice but to ascend. It's just that, since I have ascended, the blood debts of Western Ox New Continent should also be repaid."

His face bore a smile, but his eyes held a chilling killing intent.

Feng Huixue glanced at him. Chen Shi said he had no stance, but the things he had encountered forced him to hold a stance.

"If he truly had no stance, Her Ladyship would not have recognized him as an adopted son," she thought to herself.

At this moment, a clamor rose. Chen Shi looked toward the sound and saw that outside the celestial palace, at some point, a great many immortals had gathered. They rose into the air one after another, flying toward the same place.

As these immortals flew, they even struck at other immortals around them, attempting to knock others down.

"What are they fighting over?" Chen Shi asked curiously.

Feng Huixue looked around and said, "They are fighting over mysterious yellow ancestral energy. Mysterious yellow ancestral energy is different from the two qi of mysterious and yellow. The two qi in the mysterious yellow sea have already begun to transform into heaven and earth, but ancestral energy has not yet transformed. It is extremely precious, usable for refining treasures and also for elevating one's Dao Realm. The sacred ground where our celestial palace resides, releases a few strands of ancestral energy every hundred days, and each time it attracts many to fight over it."

Chen Shi was greatly tempted, "Usable for refining treasures and for elevating one's Dao Realm? Senior Sister, let's go try our luck too!"

Feng Huixue couldn't help but laugh, covering her mouth, "Your Highness, we do not need to fight over it. We have it at home. If Your Highness wishes to use it, I will take Your Highness to fetch some, and report to Her Ladyship afterward."