Turbid Chaos of the Ten Directions

Outside Golden Ao Mountain, in the Great Void, two figures faced each other from afar, their faces obscured.

One was surrounded by the radiant glow of the Wu Earth, with five-colored smoke billowing around him; the other had a red light between his eyebrows, and his body was enveloped in Purple Qi.

The two gazed together at the slowly dissipating Heavenly Thunder, lost in thought.

After a long while, the figure shrouded in Purple Qi took two steps forward, looked at the Jade Pure One Immortal Light on Golden Ao Mountain that could not be seen by anyone other than Supreme True Person or True Lord, and then spoke.

His voice was ethereal and otherworldly, as if he were reminiscing:

"The Heavenly Venerable's Thunder Method has taken another step forward."

The figure radiating the brilliance of the Wu Earth swayed slightly, then returned to normal in an instant, asking in a slightly hoarse voice:

"Didn't Danqiuzi go to the Heavenly Court with a talisman and meet the Heavenly Venerable some time ago?"

The person who spoke first gently shook his head:

"I did go to the Heavenly Court, but it just so happened that the Lingxiao Hall and the Hall of Complete Illumination were in conflict. The Heavenly Venerable was holding a whip to monitor the two palaces, to prevent their fighting from affecting the Heavenly Court, and also to guard against the two emperors in the North, so he did not have time to see me."

He paused, his tone now tinged with concern:

"Qizhenzi, you have fought the Devil Lord of the South Sea twice in the past ten years. Are you alright? Do you need to return to Qixia to recuperate?"

That person with the radiant brilliance of the Wu Earth was none other than Qixia Daozheng, the Daoist Qizhenzi of Qixia.

Upon hearing this, He first smiled, then his tone grew increasingly cold:

"Three thousand years ago, I forced Him to retreat Ask Amid the Clouds; earlier, in the Longchuan Heaven, I severed one of His arms. Just now, it was only with someone's help that I was temporarily stopped. Otherwise..."

Qizhenzi didn't finish speaking, only letting out a cold snort. The radiance of the Wu Earth around him rippled like the breath of the earth, clearly indicating that his emotions were not as calm as they appeared.

Upon hearing this, Danqiuzi did not respond to the question, but simply sighed softly:

"This time, I don't know where things went wrong. Mo Chen tried to cause trouble at the Qingyan Purple Mansion banquet, but the King intervened and suppressed it; then, after Qingyan killed those Purple Mansion, he turned around and asked for gold again, disrupting all the arrangements of my Jade Pure One lineage."

He paused, then continued:

"Fortunately, the headmaster of the Jade Void Palace intervened in time, casting down the Jade Pure One Immortal Light to cover the secluded Purple Mansion sites of our disciples in Nanzhao, preventing outside interference. Otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable. Currently, besides our Mount Lao sect, the most outstanding disciples of Wisdom Light, Golden Court, Jieshi, and Jade Spring sects are all in seclusion in Nanzhao seeking the Purple Mansion. Although Zilin is not the most outstanding disciple of Mount Lao, he is still among the best; and Yang Xiu of Golden Court is favored by those who have attained the Profound Qi Fruition..."

Upon hearing this, Qizhenzi's expression changed slightly, and she sighed:

"Mo Chen was a method that the Yuanfu obtained from Biyou. Fortunately, the head of the Eight Sceneries Palace secretly planted a bit of Blazing Fire in their Rising Yang Mansion; otherwise, if he had actually succeeded, it would have been a huge joke."

Upon hearing the words "Yuanfu," Danqiuzi snorted coldly and said with dissatisfaction:

"Senior, it would be best to have less contact with the Yuanfu."

Qizhenzi smiled:

"My dealings with the Yuanfu are nothing more than a transaction involving a Cultivation Method. I only ask the family lord to intervene and use the Greater Yin to cover it up once."

He paused, then scoffed:

"As for that Rainbow Clouds Cultivation Method, what good is giving it to the Yuanfu? Let alone whether they can even understand it, the people they arranged to cultivate that Cultivation Method have already died under Su Yao's sword, haven't they?"

Upon hearing this, Danqiuzi chuckled, rubbing his forehead.

After a long while, He turned around and said seriously:

"What is your view on the current state of the game, senior?"

After a moment of silence, Qizhenzi slowly said:

"Just follow the three sect leaders. At worst..."

He paused, lowered his head, and spoke in a voice as low as an underground current:

"At worst, Jade Casket Dao Lineage, we can relocate our grotto-heavens and hide in the West Kunlun, or even the Purple Mansion Continent, to ensure the continuation of our ancestral lineage."

Upon hearing this, Danqiuzi sighed softly:

"Yes. At least the legacy, lineage, grotto-heavens, and numerous treasures left by our patriarch will not be given to outsiders."

The two remained silent for a moment.

Outside Golden Ao Mountain, the lightning dissipated, but the Great Void did not return to calm. In the distance, towards Nanzhao, the five-colored calamities, like five ferocious beasts, each occupied a different place, causing spiritual energy to riot and turbid energy to surge, making even the normally flowing spiritual energy in the Great Void sluggish and difficult to move.

Danqiuzi suddenly raised his hand and pointed in the direction of the Nanzhao land:

"Please observe, senior."

Qizhenzi followed His directions.

Above Nanzhao, the spiritual energy surged like boiling water, a mixture of five colors and seven energies clashing. The life-giving energy of spring was broken by the killing metal of autumn, and the growing fire of summer was extinguished by the storing water of winter. Human Dao karma was entangled in the Witchcraft Dao Returning to the Hidden, and the fickle Fragrant Wind stirred up the bewildering array of Kan Water. The Twelve Qi lost their order, and the five elements of wind and fire charged like a chaotic army, with yin and yang and their mutual generation and restraint completely reversed.

"This spiritual atmosphere can be named: The Turbid Chaos of the Ten Directions."

Danqiuzi's voice was ethereal and otherworldly.

"The ten directions refer to all directions of heaven and earth, the four cardinal points, and all places above and below, encompassing everything and leaving no place to hide. The spiritual energy of this direction converges with the simultaneous fall of nine paths: Earth Witch, Great Yang, Geng Wood, Radiant Fire Geng Metal, Huan Fire, Xun Fragrant Wind, Kan Water, and Human Dao. The five elements of wind and fire, yin and yang, and the cause and effect of Human Dao are all broken and intertwined, like hundreds of rivers flowing backward and thousands of streams colliding. The spiritual energy is chaotic and violent, with no order whatsoever, hence the term 'turbid and chaotic'."

Qizhenzi gazed at the chaotic scene, remaining silent for a long time.

"To fall simultaneously..." He murmured, "One more is needed."

Danqiuzi nodded:

"Proclaiming Earth is about to rise. Geng Wood, Radiant Fire, and Geng Metal have already perished; Tai Great Yang and Earth Witch have long since fallen. Fragrant Wind, Kan Water, and Human Dao have all been affected by the aftershocks. The nine paths have been damaged, and now we await the fall of Longchuan Heaven, when the reincarnated Proclaiming Earth True Lord will emerge from the grotto heaven. At that time, the millions of people of Nanzhao will be displaced, and it will be the time for the reincarnated True Lord to rise up in rebellion."

Then, Danqiuzi turned around and looked at Qizhenzi:

"Senior, you and I both know that the Five Virtues Change Positions was merely a means to an end. The chaos in Nanzhao was just the beginning."

After a moment of silence, Qizhenzi slowly nodded:

"My Jade Purity desires to revive the Immortal Path, the Upper Purity desires to regain its prestige through the Divine Path, and the Supreme Purity desires to reclaim the power of the Yin and Yang. Each of the three has its own agenda, yet they have all chosen Nanzhao as their chessboard. When Nanzhao falls into chaos and the people of Xuantu rise up in rebellion, the original separatist regime of Nanzhao will be broken, and my Immortal Path can also take root here."

Danqiuzi picked up the conversation:

"What the imperial court wants is a complete reckoning with the tens of thousands of years of history of Nanzhao. Since the founding of the kingdom during the reign of the Nanzhao Heavenly Sovereign, Nanzhao has maintained its prosperity for generations. The rulers considered their people as their achievements, and the government and religion were integrated, allowing Nanzhao to control its own territory. The imperial court has long desired to abolish the hereditary chieftain system and establish a new one, but has never been able to find a way to do so. Now that the Five Virtues Change Positions have changed the ruling class and Proclaiming Earth is about to rise, the imperial court will go with the flow, let Nanzhao descend into chaos first, let the old forces collapse completely, and then let a new official take over and rebuild a new order."

"And the Confucian School..." Qizhenzi sneered, "They've never been on the same page as the imperial court, but on the matter of Nanzhao, their directions are surprisingly aligned. The imperial court wants to break with the old and establish the new, while the Confucian School wants to abolish the hereditary chieftain system and govern the Miao Frontier, Nanzhao, the Southern Frontier, and even the many Wu kingdoms in the west with etiquette and education. The imperial court uses military force, while the Confucian School uses moral teachings; one paves the way, and the other wins hearts."