A Question for a Question

After giving instructions to his many disciples, he arranged for Little Red, Little Orange, and Xiao Huang to stay behind at Golden Ao Mountain and White Sand Mountain, respectively.

Su Yao then led Liu Yunhe and the other five to join Zilin Youning.

A day later, Xuan Yan, Ying Qi, Mo Li, and Yang Xiu brought their respective protectors.

Looking at the five people behind Su Yao, everyone except Yang Xiu secretly envied them. Qixia Temple had its advantages in having fewer people. At least they could easily build a Dharma realm for Su Yao that would be enough to support at least eight people in the future. Their families, on the other hand, could not possibly support only one person. They would be satisfied with building a Dharma realm that would be enough to support five people.

Among them, the Jieshi Dao Lineage is arguably the most illustrious now, yet even within the Jieshi Dao Lineage, Xuan Yan only has four protectors. Mo Li and Ying Qi each have three, while Yang Xiu has not yet fully recruited them. Otherwise, given the scarcity of successors in the Golden Court Dao Lineage, it would be sufficient to support them.

After getting to know each other, the group discussed their options and decided to head north to take Longchuan.

Five days later, at the confluence of the Longchuan and Luchuan, a place with high mountains and deep valleys, the terrain is precipitous.

Su Yao and his group of more than twenty people stood on a hilltop, overlooking the confluence of two rivers, with countless people below mining the veins.

Su Yao held the immortal box in his hands, looking down and about to speak, when he suddenly sensed something was wrong and saw four streaks of light flashing in the distance.

Then four streams of light came toward the crowd. Seeing this, everyone except Su Yao took out their Law Artifact and protected Su Yao in the middle.

In the blink of an eye, four streaks of light appeared, the one in the middle being Shen Yuxiao, who had previously questioned Su Yao about swordsmanship.

The other three were dressed differently: one in a moon-white feather robe, exuding a cool and extraordinary aura; another in a grey-white feather robe, with a gentle and refined demeanor; and the last one in a Tai Chi Daoist robe, with a calm expression.

Upon seeing the newcomer, Mo Li immediately roared:

"So it was you few petty scoundrels."

After speaking, he was about to step forward, but Xuan Yan stopped him, signaling him to calm down.

Seeing this, Zilin stepped forward and asked:

"May I ask what brings you fellow Daoists from Yuanfu and True Martial Mountain here?"

Upon hearing this, the four exchanged glances, and it was the young man in the moon-white feather robe next to Shen Yuxiao who spoke up:

"Fellow Daoists, I am Lu Yu of Yuanfu. Your actions this time will likely cause unrest among the descendants of the Orthodox God and many of the Witch Kingdoms. It would be best to retreat as soon as possible."

"What a joke!" Su Yao sneered, took two steps forward, and continued, "Back then, when the Dao Ancestor Supreme Purity saw that the witches were bewitching people's hearts, he eliminated the witches and destroyed their temples. I never expected that today, the one who would step in to protect so many Witch Department would be the Yuanfu Dao lineage passed down by the Dao Ancestor."

He paused:

"This is utterly ridiculous."

"Fellow Daoist Su is quite right." Xuan Yan stepped forward upon hearing this. "Last time, the three of us were stopped by Fellow Daoist Lu and his group of four. Today, it seems we will be able to defeat them with our superior numbers."

At this moment, Ying Qi also stepped forward and looked at the young man in the Tai Chi robe at the very back:

"Fellow Xuan Yang, does True Martial Mountain truly intend to intervene?"

Upon hearing this, the young man called Xuan Yang sighed softly before saying:

"There are things we should do and things we shouldn't do. Fellow Daoists, it's best to leave as soon as possible, lest we damage our own harmony."

"What a fine saying, 'Don't ruin your own harmony'!" Zilin's usually gentle tone was now icy.

Seeing this, Yang Xiu remained silent, only raising the bell in his hand.

At this moment, Lu Yu stepped forward again and looked at Su Yao and the Human Dao, saying:

"Even the mighty Qin Emperor died during his eastern tour, his body buried amidst foul winds and rotten water, where fish and shrimp devoured his corpse."

The Liu family of the Former Zhao dynasty, father and son, plotted against each other; the Shi family of the Later Zhao, brothers, devoured each other. At that time, a comet was afflicted by the Ziwei Star.

Within four generations, the Murong Tribe suffered three instances of fratricide, all because a wisp of purple smoke entered their ancestral tomb and corrupted their minds. The Helian clan's rule lasted less than two decades before a son murdered his father to seize power. At that time, a Daoist master frequented their palace, his sleeve still carrying lingering ashes. The emperors of the Gao Qi Mysterious Gate were either murdered by their sons or slaughtered by their brothers, all because the calamity energy invaded their destinies, causing fathers and sons to distrust each other and brothers to turn against one another.

As for the Rogue Cultivator Aristocratic Clan and independent cultivators, they would vie to become lackeys for a mere imperial edict.

Moreover, whenever a nation falls, True Lord of the elements of Proclaiming Earth, Gui Water, Geng Metal, Radiant Fire, and Geng Wood ascends to the throne, raising his arms and shouting!

He paused, his gaze sharp as a knife:

"The Jade Void lineage resides high in the heavens, overlooking the rise and fall of the mortal world as if it were a game of chess. But on this chessboard, which piece is not made of flesh and blood? Which move has not been accompanied by tears and blood? Today, I ask you all one question: how many more pieces will be placed on this chessboard of the world? How many more souls will be lost!"

As Lu Yu finished speaking, amidst the howling mountain wind and the roaring sound of the two rivers converging, Su Yao suddenly smiled.

"Fellow Daoist Lu, you blocked our path today, quoting scriptures and recounting the tragedies of emperors with great passion and eloquence. You have pinned all these sins and bloodshed on the head of my Jade Void lineage."

He spoke faster:

"You say that whenever a country falls, the True Lord of the Five Elements— Proclaiming Earth, Gui Water, Geng Metal, Radiant Fire, and Geng Wood —ascend to the throne, raising their arms and shouting. Indeed, the alternation of the Five Virtues and the changing of the throne are the natural order of Heaven and Earth! The Qin Emperor was tyrannical, so Proclaiming Earth overthrew him; the Han Dynasty declined, Gui Water overthrew it. If Human Dao were not corrupt, how could the Five Virtues Change Positions have such a resounding response? If the emperors were not immoral, how could these Five True Lord so easily ascend to the throne?"

"You keep saying that the Jade Void lineage treats the world as a chessboard, with hands stained with blood!" Su Yao stepped forward, his gaze fixed on Lu Yu. "But is your Yuanfu truly innocent and clean-handed?"

"Throughout the history of State of Chu, the Yuanfu has been revered. How prestigious is your Yuanfu in State of Chu? Yet, how many members of the State of Chu royal family have turned against each other in the struggle for the throne? How many Aristocratic Clan have been wiped out due to infighting? And yet your Yuanfu sits high on your altar, watching all this chaos unfold!"

"When Qin destroyed Chu, many eminent figures from the Yuanfu secluded themselves from the world, uttering the words 'untouched by worldly affairs!' Later, when the Qin Emperor unified the country, it was your Yuanfu that first supported the remnants of State of Chu in their uprising to restore their kingdom. Restoration was one thing, but wherever the Chu army went, they massacred cities, destroyed temples, burned books, and buried soldiers alive—every single one of these acts resulted in rivers of blood. Where were the eminent figures of your Yuanfu then? Were they standing idly by in the clouds, or were they secretly fueling the flames?"

"When the Han Dynasty declined, the people migrated south to escape the chaos. It was you Yuanfu, who organized many Aristocratic Clan families in Jiangnan, who held the emperor hostage to command the feudal lords and resisted the northern expedition! You handed over the majesty of the mighty Han Dynasty to the barbarians! It wasn't until Qing Taizu of Han rose up from the Jianghuai that the majesty of our Han people was restored!"

He sneered:

"Today, Fellow Daoist Lu stands here, questioning how many more pieces we will place on this chessboard, how many more souls we will add. Then I would like to ask in return—is your Yuanfu truly clean?"

"The game of chess in this world has never been played by one family or clan. If Fellow Daoist Lu is eager to seek justice, he might as well turn around and ask those high-ranking teachers in your Yuanfu —how many pieces have they placed on this chessboard? How many souls have they lost?"

As soon as Su Yao finished speaking, a continuous rumbling sound echoed in the sky.

Seeing this, Lu Yu calmly looked at Su Yao:

"It seems that our first meeting today will turn into a battle!"