Chapter 123: Chapter 105: When Immortals Fight, Mortals Suffer

In the Nanzhan Continent, the celestial phenomena underwent a drastic change!

In the span of just a few breaths, the heavens churned through more than a dozen cycles of upheaval. Light and darkness flickered past like scenes in a spinning lantern, and the celestial river seemed to reverse its course in a raging tide.

In the midst of such turmoil, countless cultivators at the Qi Cultivation Twelfth Layer, and even those in Foundation Establishment, were all affected.

Cultivators of Xin Metal saw their Primordial Essence greatly diminish. Their Merit was inexplicably cut by thirty percent, and their personal Magical Artifacts and Lifebound Sword Pills all dropped in grade.

Cultivators of Ding Fire had smoke pouring from their seven orifices. Their Inner Mansions became blocked, and feeling an unbearable suffocation, they vomited blood.

As for the various Dharma Lineages that worshiped Tai Yang, revering it as supreme and taking the Great Sun as their foundation, they were all struck as if by lightning at this moment.

The lightly affected lost half their Cultivation, while the severely affected were forcefully knocked down a Realm. Those in Qi Cultivation had their Cultivation depleted, and those in Foundation Establishment had their Life Essence damaged.

In the span of a few finger-snaps, countless Immortal Cultivators on the Dongsheng Continent cried out in misery. Most were still in the dark, thinking it was merely a calamity sent from the heavens, and they trembled in terror, unable to find peace.

The few Ancestral Sect Dharma Lineages with profound Dao Wisdom and extraordinary Dao Inheritances were even more horrified to the point of despair after discerning the truth of the matter.

“Who could possibly harm the Emperor? Who could shake Tai Yang itself!”

Within a single night, a great uproar swept across two continents.

It was as if an Ancient Divine Mountain had smashed into the surface of a vast ocean, sending monstrous waves crashing against the heavens and reverberating in all directions.

“The sky has gone dark again.”

Jiang Yi stood on the threshold of the Merit Supervision Institute’s main hall, gently stroking the shivering True Master Xuanmiao. He spoke in a soft voice:

“It’s alright, Cat Master. The Hour of Xu has arrived. The sun sets and its light fades. No matter how glorious the radiance of Tai Yang, it cannot last forever.”

He raised his eyes to the vast, boundless Profound Dome of the high heavens, where it seemed meteors streaked by, scattering in their wake.

「Soon after.」

The last lingering rays of the sunset were swallowed by the curtain of night.

The Nanzhan Continent fell deathly silent, as if tranquility had been restored.

The Cat Master’s ears were pressed flat against its round head, and it cowered tightly in Jiang Yi’s arms, not daring to peek out, terrified of being touched by even a sliver of the Great Sun’s awesome light.

’Tai Yang has hidden itself, but the Bing Fire in the cavern is flourishing. The Spiritual Energy is even more intense than before. This suits my purposes perfectly.’

Jiang Yi was no Enlightened True Master who had achieved Flying Foundation Establishment, so he could not perceive the heaven-shattering event that had occurred in the great void above. Naturally, he was unaware that a Great Power of the Demon Dao had launched a sudden sneak attack and shattered the blazing sun.

He faintly felt as if he had inhaled soot, causing him to choke and cough a few times. The gushing Spiritual Liquid accumulated in his Inner Mansion had inexplicably decreased by twelve percent.

His Cultivation, which had been at “seventy-four percent,” had actually dropped to “sixty-two percent.”

’Is this what they mean by “when gods fight, mortals suffer”?’

Jiang Yi shook his head and chuckled. It was only a twelve-percent loss in Cultivation, nothing to be heartbroken about.

The Bing Fire inside the cavern was inexplicably flourishing, which would allow him to replenish his loss. In the end, he wouldn’t suffer a net loss.

’It must be because I am Nurturing the Dao Embryo and also cultivating Bing Fire. That must have suppressed the churning Ding Fire in my body and prevented it from going rampant. Otherwise, the consequences would have been far more severe than just losing some Cultivation.’

Having made this deduction based on his own situation, a golden glint appeared in the depths of Jiang Yi’s eyes.

’I beg the Celestial Book, show me the answer directly: Where do I, Jiang Yi of the Qianji Sect’s Inner Peak, rank among all the Disciples?’

The golden paper trembled a few times and quickly gave an answer.

[Seventh]

’As expected.’

Jiang Yi understood.

’I’m afraid all the Disciples in the Qianji Sect who Cultivate Ding Fire were harmed, and severely so. That’s what moved my rank forward.’

’Is this the absolute control that Upper Cultivators have over Lower Cultivators?’

’No wonder the Five Elements were elevated. Ling Xiaohan of the Thunder Core directly beat the Ancient Demon Cultivators to the brink of extinction.’

’On the path of Cultivation, when climbing the Dharma Lineages, choice is more important than effort.’

Jiang Yi had once again realized a profound truth. Even a heaven-sent genius, if they took the wrong path and fell into a pit, would find it nearly impossible to make a comeback, even if they weren’t completely shattered by the fall.

Take the present situation, for example. The arts of the Five Elements could pin down Blood Qi by the head and grind its face into the dirt.

And Tai Yang was even more extreme, even more tyrannical.

It actually treated the Five Elements as its vassals, dismissing and demoting them at will, purely on a whim.

A hierarchical gap of this magnitude could never be bridged by profound Dao Wisdom or unparalleled talent alone.

“That scared this True Master to death!”

After a long while, True Master Xuanmiao finally stopped shaking like a leaf, and its round, chubby body slowly relaxed.

It pawed at Jiang Yi’s Black Shadow Magical Robe with its claws, muttering under its breath with lingering fear:

“This True Master only pried loose a sliver of the Yang Qi Taiyin Heaven, and that Emperor couldn’t sit still.

Hmph, truly invincible for five thousand years… but in the end, he’s still wary of my former master, afraid he didn’t truly perish, that his Dao wasn’t completely extinguished…”

’What was the Cat Master mumbling about now?’

Jiang Yi couldn’t hear clearly and could only guess that True Master Xuanmiao was once again rambling about some old, taboo secrets not meant for this world.

He didn’t press for details. He turned, strolled back into the main hall, and sat cross-legged on his rush cushion, preparing to use the flourishing Bing Fire in the cavern to resume his cultivation.

’No matter how the powers-that-be fought amongst themselves, a small ’Lower Cultivator’ like him still had to keep his feet on the ground and advance one step at a time.’

He hoped to reach the peak of the Twelfth Layer so he could attend the North and South Dipper Sword gathering eight years from now.

’As for the conflict between the Immortal Dao and the Demon Dao, that wasn’t something he needed to concern himself with.’

…

…

Dongsheng Continent. The ethereal high heavens.

Above it lay White Jade City.

According to legend, one of the daily morning duties for Immortal Dao Cultivators who belonged to the Dharma Lineage was to worship that magnificent Daoist Palace, which floated countless leagues above the earth.

Within it were thirty-six cities and seventy-two towers, layered one upon another like stars surrounding the moon, holding aloft the supreme and infinite White Jade City.

「Tonight.」

A Daoist wearing a high crown and a purple robe stood in the great void, gazing from afar toward the Nanzhan Continent.

Seeing the blazing sun shatter and the phantom of the Great Sun dissipate, he raised a slight eyebrow and parted his lips to speak:

“Elder Ancestor Wei Guang of the Taiwei Sect… He’s always been known for his lack of decorum. His reputation is truly well-deserved.”

The Daoist’s voice was not loud, yet it rumbled like celestial thunder, like a giant spirit striking a great hammer, causing the vast, dark void to tremble like the surface of a drum and sending intense ripples spreading out in all directions.

Like a subject welcoming his sovereign, he waited in silence.

A moment later, the splendor of the Great Sun split open the sky, crossed the Dongsheng Continent, and descended upon White Jade City.

Myriad rays of golden brilliance splashed down like molten lava, illuminating everything in all directions.

A youthful figure appeared within the light, dressed in a magnificent imperial robe of black and vermilion and wearing a twelve-tassel imperial crown. Behind him, a boundless divine radiance unfurled, so dazzling that none could look directly at his face.

The pupils of this Immortal Dao Emperor glowed with golden light, his irises like concentric rings. His tone was light, betraying no hint of his imperial majesty:

“Senior Wei Guang’s art of Primordial Magnetism is formidable indeed.”

The purple-robed Daoist had already emerged from the great void and stood respectfully to the side. He bowed his head and said:

“Senior Brother, you only suffered a loss because you were not physically present. Had you been occupying the Golden Position of Tai Yang, you might not have been injured by the Primordial Magnetism.”

The Immortal Dao Emperor’s smile was warm and gentle, not at all like the solipsistic, tyrannical, and willful figure of outside rumors:

“I am a True Monarch, and Senior Wei is a Great Power. Even though Tai Yang has manifested in the world for five thousand years and has always favored me, I was still no match for Senior Wei.

Junior Brother, your words are rather biased and smack of sycophancy.”

The purple-robed Daoist bowed slightly but did not reply.

“However, taking a blow from his Primordial Magnetism was not entirely without its benefits.”

The Immortal Dao Emperor slowly opened his palm, upon which a strand of incredibly intense, silver-white light pulsed and leaped.

The purple-robed Daoist stared intently. Within the light, thunderous dragons and serpents danced wildly, and entire worlds seemed to be born and destroyed in an endless cycle.

“Yin and Yang are the master positions; the Dao reveres the sun and moon.

Senior Wei’s talent is world-shocking, but even he cannot escape this principle.”

The Immortal Dao Emperor stood with a smile, as if issuing a decree to all of heaven and earth:

“From this day forward, the many Immortal Cultivators who worship Tai Yang need no longer fear the harm of being dissolved by Primordial Magnetism.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep