Heaven and Earth Society Group Chat

A snow-white, magnificent beast emerged from the sea of clouds and slowly walked towards the immortal mountain.

It is like a divine beast from the heavens, gradually descending into the mortal world.

White mist rose from beneath its hooves, carrying it as it traversed the void.

Buzz!

The air suddenly trembled, like ripples spreading across the surface of water. The ripples spread downwards, outlining a bowl-shaped barrier that enveloped the continuous, layered fairy mountains.

"The Mountain-Guarding Formation..." The White Emperor knew that his position was too high, and he had triggered the Heavenly Sect's mountain-guarding formation.

At that moment, a gap appeared in the formation, and a detached voice came simultaneously:

"You've come from afar, fellow Daoist, please."

The horned head nodded slightly, and the White Emperor took a step and disappeared into the air.

When it reappeared, it was atop a celestial mountain, in that majestic and towering celestial palace.

The sturdy pillars support the hundred-foot-high dome, and the pillars are carved with cloud patterns, flames, and gales. The overall style is grand and majestic, yet intertwined with desolation and loneliness.

Because the celestial palace was empty and devoid of any furnishings.

At the end of the pillar, on a tall base, is a lotus platform shimmering with nine-colored light. The lotus petals rotate slowly, and on it sits an old Daoist priest with white hair and a white beard.

He had his eyes closed and his head slightly lowered, as if he were dozing off.

The old Daoist priest was plain and ordinary in appearance and demeanor, but in the eyes of the White Emperor, he was somewhere between reality and illusion, as if he were just a projection of history.

"You may call me the White Emperor; that's what the people of Yunzhou call me."

The White Emperor spoke in a deep, human voice.

"What business do you have at my Heavenly Sect?"

The Celestial Venerable was not polite; he spoke frankly and directly, and showed no emotional fluctuation because the visitor was a descendant of Gods and Devils and demons.

The White Emperor stood in the main hall, looking directly at the Heavenly Venerable, and said:

"Are you aware that the Daoist Master banished all descendants of Gods and Devils and demons from the Nine Provinces Continent back then?"

"I don't care," the Celestial Venerable replied.

The White Emperor was not surprised by the Celestial Venerable's attitude, and said calmly:

"Your appearance reminds me of Him from back then."

It continued:

"I went to the Southern Frontier and met the Gu God. The Gu God told me that the Dao Venerable might have already perished. For the Gu God to make such a judgment, the possibility of the Dao Venerable's demise is extremely high. But I can't understand it. Back then, in the Nine Provinces, the only one who could threaten his existence was the sleeping Gu God."

"But the Dao Venerable's demise is clearly unrelated to the Gu God. So what exactly caused the fall of a supreme-grade being?"

"Those who can answer me, looking across the entire land, are probably only the God of Gu, the God of Witchcraft, and the Buddha. If the Sage of Confucianism hadn't died, he would also be one. But these superior beings are either dead or sealed away."

Perhaps you can answer me.

A gust of wind blew into the hall, gently stroking the mane around the White Emperor's neck. Its azure vertical pupils gazed intently at the Celestial Venerable:

"I heard from that second-rank Warlock in Yunzhou that the Celestial Venerables of the Daoist School can disappear without a trace."

It suspects that the fall of the Daoist Venerable and the disappearance of the Celestial Venerables are of the same nature.

The Celestial Venerable sat cross-legged with his head bowed and eyes closed, not uttering a sound, yet a voice could be heard:

"What does it have to do with me!"

The White Emperor wasn't angry; he seemed to think that this was how the Heavenly Sect should Virtue. He asked:

"When I left the Nine Provinces, there were many Daoist School of Daoism, but none of them were the Human School or the Earth School. I heard that he later founded them? Does the Heaven School possess the cultivation methods of these two schools? I would like to see the cultivation methods of the 'Heaven, Earth, and Human' schools."

The Celestial Venerable remained silent, but three books appeared before the White Emperor, all with blue covers. One of them was titled "Supreme Forgetfulness."

The other two books are far less thick than "The Supreme Being of Forgetfulness," some even less than half the length.

Of the two schools of thought, the Heavenly School only has the introductory chapters; the more profound ones are naturally not included.

The White Emperor gazed intently at the scriptures of the "Human Sect" and the "Earth Sect".

"Splash!"

The pages flipped rapidly, and soon the paper was empty. Bai Di fell silent, a look of confusion in his eyes.

"These two schools of cultivation methods are completely different from the Heavenly School, and are extremely flawed. When the Daoist Venerable drove us out of the Nine Provinces Continent, he was already beyond the rank of immortal. Why did he need to create the Human School and the Earth School?"

With a sense of doubt, his gaze fell on the classic text "The Supreme Being Forgets Emotions," the pages turning rapidly until the last page was empty.

Then he flipped through the pages again, looked at them several times, and closed his eyes.

After a long while, it opened its azure beastly eyes, and a tremendous sigh echoed throughout the hall:

"I understand what's going on."

"You also believe that He has perished?" the Celestial Venerable asked, a rare occurrence for him.

The White Emperor remained silent for a moment, then slowly said:

"The matter is far too complex for me to give a definitive answer. But based on the current clues, the Daoist Master has indeed perished. The Confucian Sage was not the gatekeeper, nor was the Daoist Master. So who is the gatekeeper?"

It gathered its thoughts and said, "I will not reveal what happened here."

The Celestial Venerable sat silently in meditation, offering no response.

The White Emperor turned around, transformed into a beam of white light, and disappeared from the palace.

A small boat drifts with the current.

The sun was blazing at sea. Mu Nanzhi, wearing a veiled hat with draped veils and a thin dress, sat in a small boat fishing.

Bai Ji dog-paddled in the rippling blue waves, circling the small boat, as joyful as a husky.

Its short limbs struggled to paddle in the clear seawater.

Xu Qi'an lay shirtless on the flatboat, holding a fragment of the Earth Book in his hand, just like he was playing on his phone in bed in his previous life, watching the members of the Heaven and Earth Society pass on the book.

After a period of training, the troops under the command of the Heaven and Earth Society members all possessed a certain level of combat strength, weaker than regular troops but stronger than ragtag armies.

Among them, Li Miaozhen's army was the strongest, followed by Chu Yuanzhen's, and Li Lingsu's was the weakest.

As for Hengyuan, unable to convince himself to plunder merchants and wealthy households, he did not gather refugees or form an army, but only helped the starving and freezing people to the best of his ability.

"Sometimes being too rigid in adhering to principles is a form of pedantry, Master Hengyuan."

Xu Qi'an silently evaluated it in his mind.

No one can stick to fixed principles forever. Those who know how to adapt should consider changing their principles appropriately based on the environment and situation.

Of course, this must be within a certain, reasonable range.

[Seven: The day before yesterday, I was surrounded by government troops, and they were all elite soldiers. I was unwilling to fight to the death with them, so I led my troops to break out of the encirclement, but I didn't expect that group of government troops to pursue me so closely.]

Li Lingsu recounted the trouble he had recently encountered: his base camp had been wiped out by troops sent by the local government.

I've encountered this situation before, but those were just scattered, unorganized groups with weak fighting capabilities, or simply militia organized by local gentry.

This time it's different; this time it's an elite force, equipped with crossbows and muskets.

[Part Two: About half a month ago, I also encountered the imperial court's elite troops. Is the young emperor out of his mind? We helped him stabilize the situation and appease the refugees, and instead of being grateful, he sent troops to besiege us?]

Flying Swallow Heroine launches a powerful attack within the Heaven and Earth Society:

[With so many troops, why not send them to Qingzhou? I don't think this little emperor is much better than his father; both are just incompetent officials. I'll find a chance to assassinate him soon.]

[Four: That shouldn't be the case. Although Yongxing didn't agree to Erlang's plan, he was tempted and knew its brilliance. Now someone is risking public condemnation to plunder local gentry and appease refugees; he should be happy.]

Chu Yuanzhen did not encounter any encirclement or suppression, mainly because his territory was not fixed. Every now and then, he would send troops to attack nearby bandit gangs, either eliminating them or absorbing them.

Wherever they advance, they stay there for a while, gradually pushing their route towards Qingzhou.

[One: It's precisely because it wasn't his permission that I'm uneasy.]

At this time, Huaiqing, the strategist of the Heaven and Earth Society, sent a message:

Since he didn't agree, then who is gathering refugees and accumulating power behind the scenes? Emperor Yongxing probably suspects that the mastermind is a certain prince, such as my elder brother, Prince Yan.

To an emperor, brothers who covet the throne are no different from rebels.

The members of the Heaven and Earth Society suddenly realized what was happening.

Chu Yuanzhen sent a letter saying, "[So that's how it is. I've been away from the court for so long that my sense of smell has become dull. Yongxing still lacks the courage. If it were me, I would simply turn the tables and have my brothers who covet the throne help stabilize the refugees. After winning the war in Qingzhou, I would then discard them after they've served their purpose, either by placing them under house arrest, assassinating them, or exposing their plans to the public."

Anyway, as an emperor, dealing with a prince is not difficult. As for the experts who gather refugees outside, well, since they were originally from the court, recruiting them is a piece of cake. Even if one or two become ambitious, they can be nipped in the bud.

[If we can't defeat the rebels, everything will be for naught, and there's no point in worrying about the displaced people anymore.]

Huaiqing wrote a letter commenting: [Yongxing was originally a ruler who preferred to maintain the status quo; in terms of ability, courage, and shrewdness, he was incapable of managing the current situation.]

Chu Yuanzhen pondered for a moment and said, "[Compared to him, the Fourth Prince is indeed more outstanding.]"

In terms of ability, intelligence, and courage, Huaiqing's elder brother, Prince Yan, was superior to Emperor Yongxing.

To speak ill of the monarch in a semi-public setting is a grave offense.

However, Chu Yuanzhen had already withdrawn from the court for many years, and the members of the Heaven and Earth Society were all traitors, so there was no need to be wary of him.

Despite their anger, the members of the Heaven and Earth Society were powerless to stop Emperor Yongxing's actions.

First, this is the kind of action a ruler should take; second, courage and boldness cannot be cultivated in a short time.

That's how Emperor Yongxing is; no amount of cursing will change anything.

At this moment, Huaiqing sent a letter:

A few days ago, Emperor Yongxing bestowed a marriage upon Lin'an and Xu Qi'an.

There was a sudden silence inside the Tiandihui.

Xu Qi'an lost his grip on the fragment of the Earth Book, and it splattered onto his face.

[Two: What? The country is on the verge of collapse, and the young emperor still has the mind to worry about his sister's marriage. He's truly a foolish ruler. I must assassinate him!]

Li Miaozhen put Emperor Yongxing on her kill list. This had nothing to do with the arranged marriage; it was mainly because Emperor Yongxing was too incompetent and foolish.

[One: This is good news! I was thinking that such an important matter should be told to the Imperial Advisor, but unfortunately he was not in the capital recently.]

[Second: What the eldest princess said is very true.]

"You actually sent someone to Lingbao Temple to inform the Imperial Preceptor?" Xu Qi'an's heart sank. He thought to himself, "Miaozhen, you don't need to stab him anymore. The Imperial Preceptor will handle it. But my little Lin'an is in danger."

But he wasn't flustered, because the Imperial Advisor he returned to was the real deal—a cool and aloof older sister, and a kind-hearted aunt.

She's not the yandere Ai, the steady Ai, or the witchy Xiao E.

My kind-hearted aunt wouldn't do such a thing.

[Four: Ningyan is going to be the emperor's son-in-law!]

Chu Yuanzhen offered his heartfelt blessings.

Bah, you scum, go to hell! Li Lingsu sincerely wished you well.

[Congratulations, Brother Xu, on becoming the Imperial Son-in-Law. Hmm, I've recently had some insights into Daoist cultivation and can't resist going to the capital to consult the Imperial Preceptor. Oh, by the way, Senior Xu, is Madam Xu aware of this?]

The Holy Son gradually began to speak in a strange and unsettling tone.

Xu Qi'an, this mischievous friend, twitched his lips and glanced guiltily at Mu Nanzhi, who was focused on fishing.

If the Flower Goddess knew about this, she would run back to the pagoda and follow the old monk of the pagoda spirit to cultivate Buddhism.

[Second: Yes, congratulations to Xu Yinluo! Xu Yinluo becoming the imperial son-in-law is what everyone hoped for. When are you getting married? I'll bring all the elders and folks of Tianzong over for a free meal and drinks.]

When the young phoenix gets sarcastic and unpredictable, he's no less eccentric than the sleeping dragon.

Li Lingsu fanned the flames: [Why not just marry Prince Huaiqing as well? It would be a precedent for the Great Feng Dynasty, a beautiful tale of a prosperous era.]

Since we're online anyway, we're not afraid that Huaiqing and Xu Qi'an will come after us via the Earth Book.

Alright, once we return to Kyushu, I'll gather all your confidantes and let you have a good time. Xu Qi'an's fingers quickly wrote:

[The Southern Demons have driven the Buddhist School out of the Southern Frontier, and the Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox has rebuilt the Kingdom of Ten Thousand Demons.]

[Four: Not bad.]

The members of the Heaven and Earth Society didn't react much, which was expected, since they already knew that Xu Qi'an would help the Southern Demon restore his kingdom.

[Seven: Brother Xu, are you trying to change the subject?]

Xu Qi'an chuckled, thinking to himself that the main event was yet to come.

[Part Three: During my trip to Southern Frontier, I discovered a major event involving the Buddha.]