On the Path to the Great Dao

"Wu Qi... dead again?"

Chen Shi was stunned. He had only parted from Wu Qi half a day ago, and he was already dead?

Not long ago, Wu Qi had been full of life, saying he sensed the presence of his people and was going to find them. Who would have thought that one turn would be an eternal farewell!

"No wonder another Wu Qi had grown on the tree."

Chen Shi thought to himself, "But who killed Wu Qi? Could it be that Immortal Qin has chased us all the way here?"

A chill ran down his spine. He had seen Immortal Qin's methods when he killed Wu Qi—just a few moves, and Wu Qi was slain. He could erase all traces with a wave of his hand, leaving no chance for resurrection.

If Immortal Qin had found this place, even the Empress of Earth might not be able to stop him!

Seeing Chen Shi not answering, Wu Qi frowned slightly, a hint of displeasure rising in his heart.

Beside him, hanging from the tree, was another version of himself, shouting "Grandpa!" at Chen Shi. This irritated him greatly.

"Still, if Immortal Qin had found this place, he would have already acted and killed me too. That means whoever killed Wu Qi wasn't anyone else—it must have been the Celestial Venerable."

Chen Shi was utterly baffled. How could Wu Qi have been so unlucky as to run right into the Celestial Venerable?

Even the brilliant Child Prodigy could never have guessed that the Celestial Venerable had been tailing the Grand Sacrificial Officer all along, trying to lure out the mysterious Demon Emperor hiding in the shadows, only to run into the resurrected Wu Qi, mistake him for the Demon Emperor, and eliminate him.

Wu Qi said impatiently, "Who are you?"

He exerted his magical power, and Chen Shi's eardrums buzzed from the vibration.

Chen Shi finally snapped back to reality. He coughed, cleared his throat, and smiled slightly. "I am Chen Shi, the True King of the Western Ox New Continent. The era now is the Ming Dynasty. Your Great Shang dynasty fell sixteen thousand years ago. I searched through the battlefield of the Great Shang Celestial Court, found your remains, and used rare treasures to revive you... I know you want to repay this debt of gratitude and join forces with me against the Celestial Venerable. I only need you to do one thing for me, and the life-saving debt will be settled."

Wu Qi listened, stunned. He had no idea that so many things had happened during the years of his death. The slaves of the past had now become the orthodox rulers of heaven and earth, turning into masters and spreading all the way to the Ming Dynasty.

And Great Shang... had it fallen just like that?

Though his heart ached, he distinguished clearly between kindness and enmity. Since Chen Shi had used the Purple Heaven Vine, a treasure of heaven and earth, to revive him, he had to repay this slave king first, then overthrow him and restore Great Shang's orthodox rule.

"At worst, when I burn the slave king at the stake, I'll turn down the heat a little," he thought to himself.

His mind was full of all the punishments of Great Shang and all the techniques for torturing the Qiang people.

"What does Your Majesty want me to do?" Wu Qi asked.

Chen Shi thought for a moment, then smiled. "I haven't decided yet. Be patient."

He felt a flicker of awareness—a message from his skeleton body. He smiled faintly. "The Cui family... has been wiped out! The Thirteen Great Clans have finally turned to dust. I can rest easy now."

His heart was filled with exhilaration. He laughed heartily and strode out.

Wu Qi followed behind him, then suddenly sensed something and looked up at the sky.

He keenly detected people using the void to rush toward the Xinxiang Imperial Capital from all directions. To others, the minor heavens were mysterious and unfathomable—even cultivators at the Great Completion realm, having cultivated minor heavens, only half-understood their wonders. But to a great expert like Wu Qi, who practiced both shamanic arts and immortality, minor heavens held few secrets.

Chen Shi hurried toward the Hall of Supreme Harmony. Already in front of the hall, the Hall Master of Red Mountain Hall had rushed over, kneeling on one knee, offering up a Celestial Court token.

The token shimmered in the air, reflecting a portal.

Chen Shi strode quickly to the Hall of Supreme Harmony, climbing the steps one by one. His heart was too excited, and he stumbled, nearly missing a step.

He steadied himself and continued up, step by step.

Behind him, countless Red Mountain Hall soldiers filed out through the Celestial Court portal. In the square before the Hall of Supreme Harmony, each soldier offered up a Celestial Court token, and one portal after another materialized.

Soldiers from the Red Mountain Hall chapters of all fifty provinces of the Western Ox New Continent emerged from the portals, forming neat ranks. Soon, the square before the Hall of Supreme Harmony was filled.

They stood there, motionless, looking up toward the Hall of Supreme Harmony, watching their True King climb step by step to the summit.

Sunlight shone on the faces of these young talisman masters, radiating vitality.

Chen Shi ascended the Hall of Supreme Harmony, turned around, and faced the talisman master army he had cultivated. His heart surged with emotion.

From the portals in the square, more people kept emerging, stepping to the front of the talisman master army.

Chen Shi swept his gaze across them. Apart from Chen Yindu, Chen Tang, Du Yiran, Creation Little Five, Scholar Zhu, Jue Yangzi, and Little Duan Immortal—the experts among his family—there were also Long You the Freeholder, Mu Daozi, Madam Hua Li, and other freeholders; Yu Lingzi, Patriarch Qiongyang, and other members of the Daoist sect; Black Pot and other experts from the demonic domain; Lei Qu and other ghost clan experts; and Zhong Kui, Tie Chi, and other ghost gods.

But what comforted Chen Shi most was the presence of younger-generation experts like Li Tianqing, Yu Tiancheng, Zhuge Jian, Fu Leisheng, and Tian Yue'e.

This younger generation could finally stand on their own!

Li Tianqing stepped forward, bowed, and said, "Your subject, along with the officers and officials of the Six Ministries of Personnel, Revenue, Rites, War, Justice, and Works, has campaigned against the unsubmissive, punished the unjust, and attacked the rebellious. Over the course of thirteen days, we have executed the Li, Xia, Zhang, Yang, Ma, Gao, Xu, Jiang, Fei, Zhai, Gu, and Cui families—all twelve of the Great Clans—annihilated their factions, and collected countless heads. We offer our congratulations to His Majesty the True King!"

Behind him, thousands of cultivators spoke in unison, their voices echoing through the heavens: "We offer our congratulations to His Majesty the True King! We offer our congratulations to His Majesty the True King!"

Chen Shi's heart was stirred. He raised both hands and declared with a clear voice, "We offer our congratulations to the common people! We offer our congratulations to all living beings!"

Below, the crowd's emotions surged. Thousands of voices merged into a torrent, roaring: "We offer our congratulations to the common people! We offer our congratulations to all living beings!"

Tears welled up in Chen Shi's eyes, swirling in their sockets. He murmured, "From this day forward, there will be no Thirteen Great Clans, and no more great or small families. From this day forward, children from poor families can study and cultivate without fear of having their Divine Embryos cut out. From this day forward, no one will see their families destroyed and ruined because they cannot pay taxes, hanging themselves from Godmother's tree and begging Godmother for vengeance. From this day forward, the imperial examinations will no longer be a game of power—if you study hard, you will have a good future. From this day forward, we have changed the dynasty!"

His chest burned, as if on fire. "To change a dynasty requires bloodshed. Let the Thirteen Great Clans be the sacrifice, the offering for the realm! May the nation's fortune prosper, may the country be peaceful and the people safe, may all evil be swept away, and may the world be clear!"

He scanned the crowd, then paused. "Yang Bi? Why hasn't Yang Bi appeared?"

Yang Bi had been the greatest contributor to the destruction of the twelve Great Clans. If not for his meticulous planning and organization, even if Chen Shi's new dynasty had prevailed, the casualties would have been devastating.

But now, all the court officials were here—except for Yang Bi, the one with the greatest merit. Chen Shi found this very strange.

Tianyu County, Beimeng Province.

Yang Bi walked out of a portal formed by a Celestial Court token, exhausted in both body and mind, yet wearing a smile on his face as he returned to his modest home.

His wife was already there, holding their child. The couple exchanged a smile, and Fang'er led him into the house.

"Husband, your achievements are unparalleled. Why didn't you go to the court celebration? If you had gone, His Majesty would surely have granted you great rewards."

"However great His Majesty's rewards are, they cannot compare to the Yang family among the Thirteen Great Clans. I am a son of the Yang family, yet I betrayed my clan and led the army to destroy it, along with the other families. What face do I have to claim such merit? It's better not to go."

"Do you think His Majesty will think of you?"

"He probably will. He knows that when it comes to commanding troops and waging war, he can't outdo me. He's petty like that, so he'll definitely think of me."

...

In the court, Chen Shi rewarded the soldiers who had achieved great merit. It was a tedious task, so he left the roll-calling to the young eunuch, Xiao Chengzi. Though Yang Bi had not attended the court, his rewards were all in place.

The rewards brought joy to some and sorrow to others; it was impossible to satisfy everyone. Chen Tang took up the post of Minister of Rites. As for Chen Yindu, Du Yiran, Sha Qiutong, Scholar Zhu, and the others, they took no official positions, preferring to remain as free-wandering wild souls.

Chen Shi's four disciples also refused official posts, so he forced the title of Grand Sacrificial Officer of the National Academy on them.

As for Little Duan Immortal, Chen Shi granted her the title of True King's Consort. He didn't know if she would accept it, but at least she didn't refuse.

When the court session ended, King Chen immediately went to find his True King's Consort, intending to first consummate the marriage. But after searching for a long time, he couldn't find her anywhere.

Wu Qi stood on the city wall of Xinxiang's Imperial Capital, gazing at the vast and magnificent Sea of Darkness. After a long silence, he said, "Your Highness, as the Imperial Maiden of Great Shang, you are of royal bloodline. It is your duty to restore Great Shang. Do not be negligent. Great Shang now has very few people left."

Little Duan Immortal stood facing the wind, also looking out at the sea, and said, "Grand Guardian, I have already married His Majesty and have shared a marital bond with him."

Wu Qi frowned slightly. "Your Highness, where does that leave Great Shang? Where does that leave our ancestors? Even if Great Shang has only one person left, it must rise again! Your Highness is condescending to serve Chen Shi. You must have your body in Ming but your heart in Shang. When I am ready and have eliminated the Celestial Venerable, I will kill Chen Shi, seize the throne, and restore Great Shang's orthodox rule!"

Little Duan Immortal thought for a moment, then suggested, "I have given myself to Chen Shi in marriage. My son will be the next True King, and thus the realm will return to royal hands. I can also urge Chen Shi to cultivate diligently and work to lift the curse on the people of Shang as soon as possible. That way, won't the glory of Great Shang be restored? It would be just like the Great Shang era, except the name wouldn't be Great Shang. What does Grand Guardian think?"

Wu Qi's eyes lit up, and he praised, "This is a plan to usurp the nest—most ingenious, most ingenious!"

Little Duan Immortal departed.

Wu Qi felt that something was off, but it made perfect sense.

Despair Slope.

Feng Ruotong, Wen Daoist, and the others followed Qingyuan Daoist into the restricted area of Despair Slope. It was a hillside where Qingyuan Daoist had buried the Shang ministers back in the day. When Chen Yindu and Creation Little Five had snuck into Despair Slope and encountered the celestial patrol, they had hidden in this very graveyard.

Under Qingyuan Daoist's guidance, Feng Ruotong dug up a few skeletons, which still bore traces of shamanic ritual markings, along with the jade ornaments of these Shang ministers buried with them.

A group of Celestial Way immortals looked at these skeletons and ornaments in silence for a long time.

Feng Ruotong said nothing, buried the skeletons and ornaments back in their original places, stood up, and said, "Let's go. We need to leave Despair Slope quickly, before the Celestial Venerable notices."

The group hurriedly flew out with Qingyuan Daoist. When they finally left Despair Slope and arrived at Tiandao City, they each breathed a sigh of relief.

Just then, the voice of the Celestial Venerable came from behind them. "Ruotong, what are you all doing here?"