Chapter 549 - 14: Hongmeng Cast Artifact, Creation Jade Disc!
The Late Han Dynasty.
History was changing.
The most direct evidence was the addition of two new figures among the Immortal Gods enshrined in the various temples.
One was God Lu Xuan, and the other was Lu Xuan Heaven-Supporting Suffering and Difficulty-saving Celestial Venerable.
The great age was in upheaval. History converged, and the past was altered.
At this very moment, a hundred miles outside Hulao Pass, before a palatial mansion forged from Cyan Jade.
The Nine Celestial Venerable Ones of the Celestial Court descended in unison, their immense pressure weighing down from above. Accompanied by all manner of auspicious omens and Qingyun, the nine magnificent beings looked down upon the military encampment that stretched for a thousand miles!
Beside the sacrificial altar, despair filled the hearts of the Dukes and their generals. One famed scholar collapsed to the ground, wailing loudly.
"Why... Why is this happening?"
’He couldn’t understand. Why would the legendary Nine Celestial Venerable Ones help that Dong the Thief?’
’Was it just because the Han Celestial Son offered a sacrifice?’
’Impossible. Absolutely impossible!’
’How could the Immortal Gods in the heavens not see that the Young Emperor was being held hostage and controlled?’
The scholar cried his heart out. Yuan Shao and the others were all pale-faced, their hands resting on the hilts of their swords. They wanted to draw them, but found they couldn’t!
The strongest among them—men like Yuan Shao, Cao Cao, Liu Bei, and Sun Jian—were merely Grand Grade Immortals. Even Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, who excelled at slaughter, were still half a step away from becoming truly Immortal!
But pressing down from the sky were nine of them—the Nine Celestial Venerable Ones of the Celestial Court!
A pale Liu Bei reached out to restrain a furious Zhang Fei. He stared at the Celestial Vault, then bowed his head in salute.
"I ask the Nine Venerable Ones to bear witness! Our Han Celestial Son is being held hostage by Dong the Thief! His sacrifice to the Celestial Vault was not of his own will! We are ministers of Han, not traitors! Dong Zhuo is the traitor!"
Liu Bei prostrated himself, his voice choked with tears. Up in the clouds, Venus and Wen Zhong exchanged a look and sighed in unison.
As for the other seven, they remained unmoved.
Lishan Old Mother stared indifferently at the ants below and declared the great decree:
"Chaos has arisen in the Human World, and you are the rebels. By order of the Jade Emperor and in response to the prayers of the Han Celestial Son, the Nine Venerable Ones have descended to the Lower Realm to quell this rebellion and restore clarity to the mountains and rivers... Perish."
She turned her palm over, mimicking a heavenly condemnation. Ten thousand bolts of lightning surged, striking down from above!
A palm Covering the Sky and Sun pressed down, creating the magnificent spectacle of the heavens themselves collapsing. It covered the thousand-mile encampment, threatening to crush it all to dust!
A terrifying aura slammed down. Many of the Dukes’ courage failed them, and they collapsed to the ground. Even the four who had walked the Yellow Springs Path and passed through the Ghost Gate—Yuan Shao, Cao Cao, and the others—turned deathly pale!
"I’ve died once before. What’s there to fear in dying again?"
Cao Mengde suddenly laughed heartily. Gazing at the giant palm that blotted out the sky, he drew his Seven-Star Saber, pointed it at the Celestial Vault, and shouted a curse:
"No wonder there have been three campaigns against the Celestial Court since the time of Qin! You so-called Immortal Gods... are nothing but petty villains!"
He raised the saber to take his own life, unwilling to die under the palm of an Immortal God, but then he suddenly heard a sigh.
"Who dares disturb my peaceful slumber?"
From within the mansion, with the voice of one just waking from a long dream, a Daoist wearing a peculiar coronet on his head slowly walked out, stretching lazily.
"For thousands, tens of thousands of years, I finally get a good nap, and you little ones just have to pick a fight with this humble Daoist, disturbing my sweet dreams and ruining my peace?"
The Daoist chided with a smile, making no other move than to let out a sigh.
VMMMM!!
The Innate Wind Calamity stirred, transforming into a tribulation that flayed flesh and sundered bone. It blew against the great palm Lishan Old Mother had sent down, scouring it away until only a skeletal hand remained!
Seated upon the heavy layers of clouds, Lishan Old Mother let out a muffled groan. Shock, fury, and doubt washed over her as she abruptly withdrew her hand.
"Who are you?!"
The faces of all Nine Celestial Venerable Ones changed. There was no visible action, no Divine Technique. It was as if Heaven and Earth itself had spontaneously unleashed the Innate Wind Calamity. How terrifying!
They lowered their gaze toward the old Daoist below, but they could not see his face. Their view was obstructed by the dangling strings of beads on his coronet!
"That coronet..."
Among the Three Officials Emperor, the sole survivor—the Celestial Official Emperor—had a look of confusion on his face. He felt that coronet was somewhat familiar, as if he had seen it somewhere before.
Then, in the next moment, under the stunned and terrified gazes of the Dukes and generals,
Lu Xuan stretched lazily and let out another yawn.
"For disturbing this humble Daoist’s dreams, you must be punished."
He opened his mouth and spat out a stream of clear energy. The energy swelled in the wind, and in the blink of an eye, it transformed into a resplendent river of stars, a vast and mighty torrent.
It swept murderously toward the Nine Celestial Venerable Ones, including Venus and Wen Zhong!
A terrifying, tyrannical aura surged forth, locking onto all nine of them.
Even Lishan Old Mother, a being Similar to Daluo, was unable to move or dodge. The starry river of the Killing Dao was clearly rushing up from below,
yet it also seemed to come from all directions, from everywhere between Heaven and Earth. It felt as though what was trying to strike them down was not this mysterious Daoist,
but the Great Will of Heaven and Earth itself!!
The hairs on their bodies stood on end, and a shiver ran down their spines.
"Fellow Daoist, wait!"
A cry came from the horizon. Before the voice had fully arrived, the person was already there.
The Immortal Mother strode forward. With a wave of her delicate hand, she shattered the resplendent river of stars, but her hand, as fair as jade, was now dripping with blood.
The Immortal Mother’s expression changed slightly. Her gaze fell upon the Azure Heaven Crown on the old Daoist’s head, and a look of shock and uncertainty appeared in her eyes.
’Is that the Dao Artifact wielded by that Hongjun Daoist?’
’It seems to possess the ability to mobilize the Great Will of Heaven and Earth?’
As her mind raced, the Immortal Mother gave a wry smile and bowed.
"Fellow Daoist, please calm your anger. This is all a misunderstanding. Today’s events were by the decree of the Buddha Mother. I was not aware that you were also traveling through this land..."
The Dukes stared at each other, their minds reeling. ’This Daoist...’
They suddenly understood why Yuan Shao and the others had been so deferential to him!
’This... This is a Great Immortal Family, even greater than the Nine Celestial Venerable Ones!!’
Meanwhile, high up in the clouds, the Nine Celestial Venerable Ones were faring no better. Their faces were ashen, and they were all filled with shock and uncertainty. ’Who is this Daoist?’
’Even the Immortal Mother has to bow to him!’
Amidst the dead silence, Lu Xuan looked up, yawned, and gave a faint, unreadable smile.