Chapter 198: Chapter 41: I Shall Call the Celestial Court to Account

Across a thousand miles, the heavens changed.

This was the omen of a Grand Grade’s fall—dark clouds churned, and it was as if the Celestial Realm itself was about to weep.

The entirety of Linzi City fell silent. In the heart of this eight-hundred-li megacity, the entire Royal Palace district had been reduced to wasteland. Palaces had collapsed, buildings had crumbled, and shattered wooden beams and copper pillars were strewn everywhere.

Lu Xuan calmly drew his longsword from the body of Duke Huan of Qi. He gently caressed the blade of the Three-Five Evil-Slaying Sword, his expression a mixture of calm and sorrow.

Confucius and Duke Mu of Qin descended from the clouds. Confucius sighed.

“Lu Zi…”

He paused, his expression turning solemn.

“The unrighteous and corrupt man is dead.”

Duke Mu of Qin, standing to the side, also nodded, but his entire body was still trembling faintly. It was one thing for Lu Xuan to have swatted down that Lord of the Year with palm after palm,

but what truly terrified him to his very core was that simple, ordinary palm striking out toward the West Pole Celestial Vault!

Although he couldn’t see what was happening in the West Pole Celestial Vault, that ten-thousand-zhang corpse that came falling down…

If he wasn’t mistaken, that was an Upper Celestial Venerable—the very same Upper Celestial Venerable who had previously blotted out the entire Human World with a single hand!

Lu Xuan calmly sheathed the Three-Five Evil-Slaying Sword. He nodded, then shook his head.

“Duke Huan of Qi is dead, but this matter is not yet over.”

With that, he looked up at the vast Celestial Vault, his gaze turning toward the western sky.

“The West Pole Celestial Court… What is it?”

Confucius explained in a low voice,

“It is one of the Five Directions Celestial Court. The Emperor of the West Pole Celestial Court is the Gouchen Upper Palace Emperor. He commands weapons and warfare, holds the Immortal Position Map, rules over all Immortals, and is the lord of all gods.”

“’Lord of all gods?’ Lu Xuan murmured. ’Like the River Gods in the rivers, the Mountain Gods on the mountains, and the Land Dukes in the temples?’”

“’Yes.’ Confucius nodded. ’And the City Gods and Guardian Spirits, and others like them. They are all under the dominion of the West Pole Celestial Court.’”

“’Then why are there Five Directions Celestial Courts? And why would the West Pole Celestial Court help such a lawless and corrupt man like Duke Huan of Qi? Or could it be…’”

A murderous glint flashed in Lu Xuan’s calm eyes.

“Or could it be that Duke Huan of Qi’s actions, the hundred cities he slaughtered, were by the decree of the West Pole Celestial Court?”

Confucius and Duke Mu of Qin both took a step back.

After a long moment, Confucius explained quietly,

“The heavens have the Four Celestial Lords, or perhaps the Six Celestial Lords… In any case, the Four Directions Celestial Courts of the East, South, West, and North exist to guard the Central Celestial Court. The Four Emperors are also subordinates of the Celestial Emperor.”

He paused, then added,

“As for whether the West Pole Celestial Court ordered Duke Huan of Qi to slaughter the cities, I do not know. But it’s unlikely… After all, there’s no reason.”

“’How is there no reason?’ Lu Xuan lowered his eyelids. ’That Emperor Gouchen, doesn’t he command weapons? Who’s to say that the weapons of these chaotic times aren’t beneficial to him?’”

The expressions of Confucius and Duke Mu of Qin shifted. The duke, his heart trembling, dared not speak. Confucius, however, said pensively,

“If we look at the authority he wields, it doesn’t seem impossible. The Emperor of the Upper Palace of Gouchen is…”

Before he could finish, Lu Xuan abruptly raised his head.

“Lu Zi, what is it?” Confucius asked, puzzled.

Lu Xuan narrowed his eyes dangerously. A thread of thought that had been blurry in his mind suddenly sharpened into focus. He didn’t answer Confucius, merely muttering to himself in a daze,

“’Gouchen Upper Palace Emperor… Gouchen Upper Palace… Upper Palace!’”

He snapped his head to the side, took a deep breath, and asked,

“What are the titles and authorities of the other Three Celestial Courts, their three Emperors, and the Celestial Emperor?”

Confucius and Duke Mu of Qin exchanged a glance. ’Isn’t this… common knowledge?’

Though puzzled, Confucius replied,

“The lord of the East Pole Celestial Court is the East Pole Qing Hua Emperor. He is the Venerable Lord of the Underworld and also a revered god of compassion.”

“The lord of the South Pole Celestial Court is the Emperor of Longevity in the South Pole. His authority is as his name suggests; he governs Life, and commands the gods of the Thunder Division and others…”

“The lord of the North Pole Celestial Court is the Emperor Ziwei of the North Pole. He governs Death, a distant counterpart to the Emperor of Longevity in the South Pole. He also holds authority over Cause and Effect, fortune and misfortune, rewards and punishments, and the like.”

As Confucius spoke eloquently, Lu Xuan’s heart began to beat a little faster. The threads in his mind were weaving themselves into a web!

Emperor of Longevity in the South Pole, governs Life.

Emperor Ziwei of the North Pole, governs Death.

’One in the South Pole, one in the North Pole. One governing Life, the other Death. Isn’t that just like… the Life and Death Second Floors?’

’And then there’s the Upper Palace in Gouchen Upper Palace Emperor. The East Pole Qing Hua Emperor is the lord of the Underworld… could the Underworld be… the Earth Palace?’

Lu Xuan’s eye twitched; he had all but reached a conclusion. ’Otherwise… how could there be such a coincidence in the world?’

’The Life and Death Second Floors and the Upper Palace Earth Palace of the Current World… and the Emperors of the Four Directions Celestial Court of Ancient Times…’

’Is it a hidden plot? An inheritance? Or something else entirely?’

As he pondered, Confucius continued his explanation.

“As for the Celestial Emperor, that is the Jade Emperor, who resides in the Central Celestial Court, in the Milo Celestial Palace. He is the head of all emperors, the Lord of the Central Celestial Court, and also the Lord of the Five Directions Celestial Court. He is the truly supreme and highest monarch.”

Lu Xuan listened, pondering as he asked,

“Then, Zhongni, you mentioned the Six Celestial Lords, but also the Four. What is the difference?”

“The Four Celestial Lords refers to the Emperors of the Four Directions Celestial Courts of the East, South, West, and North. The Six Celestial Lords includes the Celestial Emperor, and also adds the Supreme Earth God.”

’Supreme Earth God?’

Lu Xuan had no memory of that title. At least, no records of it remained in the Current World, so he simply dismissed it.

He stood rooted to the spot for a long while, until the one-hour time limit was up. The Grand Grade aura within his physical body slowly dissipated, and a crisp KACHA sound brought him back to his senses.

Lu Xuan quickly opened his hand, and two Tokens materialized. The Keeper of the Records’ Token from Ancient Times only had one use remaining, but was otherwise intact.

However, the Keeper of the Records’ Token belonging to the Current World—the one he had taken from the great tomb—had completely crumbled to dust…

And he had clearly activated the one from Ancient Times, yet it was the one from the Current World that had shattered…

He had a flash of insight. His guess was correct. The future Keeper of the Records’ Token existed in a state of temporal superposition. Now that the number of uses for the ancient one had been fixed, the future one disintegrated as a consequence.

His master had said that when the Keeper of the Records’ Token shattered, he should resign from his post as Keeper of the Records and pass down the Five Thousand Words of Dao and De to the world.

As his thoughts swirled, Lu Xuan let out a slow breath and suddenly looked up toward the Celestial Vault of the West Pole.

Although he had lost the Great Grade Realm and had fallen back to the level of a Great Celestial Human, he was still in Ancient Times, and the Virtue surrounding him remained.

Immediately, Lu Xuan activated his Unity of Virtue and Conduct. His voice, vast and resonant, rose from Linzi and surged toward the West Pole Celestial Vault.

“My name is Supreme Profound Clarity. There will come a day when I will personally visit the Western Celestial Court to demand an accounting for your crimes.”

Under the terrified gazes of Confucius and Duke Mu of Qin, the mighty voice, empowered by Virtue, boomed across the distance, exploding over the West Pole Celestial Court!

Amidst the collapsing ruins of the Immortal Palaces, countless Immortal Officials and Celestial Generals of the Western Celestial Court looked up in astonishment. ’Supreme… Profound Clarity??’

The expressions of the Immortal Gods flickered between rage and fear. Then, they all cast their gazes down to the Human World, toward the young man, and understanding dawned on them all.

Supreme Profound Clarity!

He was the disciple the Supreme Great Celestial Venerable had announced to all the Celestial Realms he had accepted!

No wonder…

One Great Immortal Official glanced pityingly at the destroyed Profound Divine Palace, then at the ten-thousand-zhang corpse that had fallen into the Human World, and let out a soft sigh.

No wonder two sparks of fire had descended from beyond the Thirty-Three Celestial Realms a few days ago! No wonder the Supreme Great Celestial Venerable had suddenly struck the Western Celestial Court!

But…

The Great Immortal Official looked around and couldn’t help but swallow. That one slap had reduced almost the entire Western Celestial Court to ruins!

The only thing intact was the Gouchen Celestial Palace, wreathed in ten thousand bolts of lightning.

“’Supreme Profound Clarity…’ Some of the Immortal Gods muttered the name, then broke into smiles.”

His backing was terrifying.

’But his own Cultivation…’

Today, that Upper Celestial Venerable had initiated the attack on Supreme Profound Clarity, which was why he’d brought disaster upon himself.

’As long as we don’t go looking for trouble, what is there to fear?’

’By the time this Supreme Profound Clarity reaches the realm of a Celestial Venerable or Upper Celestial Venerable, who knows how many tens of thousands of years will have passed!’

The host of Immortals and gods all shook their heads and began to repair the shattered and collapsed Western Celestial Court.

…….

The chariot departed from Linzi.

“We are willing to guard Lu Zi for generations!”

Under Dragon Abyss’s lead, the hundred thousand soldiers all knelt on the ground and shouted in unison.

Lu Xuan, cradling his senior brother’s head, said softly,

“’You can’t all follow me back to Luoyang. The Celestial Son of Zhou would never have a moment’s peace… Go to the Qin Kingdom.’”

Qin?

Dragon Abyss and the hundred thousand soldiers were slightly stunned, their gazes turning to Duke Mu of Qin on the chariot, a flicker of hesitation in their expressions.

But their hesitation quickly gave way to acceptance.

Though they were once mortal enemies, they had now turned their backs on Qi. Joining Qin was not out of the question…

Duke Mu of Qin smiled and said,

“’After you join Qin, I will not send you out to fight in various campaigns. I wish to build a tower—a Lu Zi Tower. Your duty will be to guard it.’”

Dragon Abyss breathed a sigh of relief and nodded decisively.

At this moment, Confucius turned his head curiously and asked:

“Master Lu, do you have any plans for what comes next?”

“’After I lay my senior brother to rest, I will likely resign from my post as Keeper of the Records. Then I will travel the world, spread some Daoist Virtue, and teach some Dharma.’”

“’Is that so?’ Confucius was taken aback for a moment, then his face lit up with joy. He added, ’To be honest, Master Lu, I also plan to travel the various states with my disciples. Might it be possible… might it be possible for us to travel together?’”

“’No,’ Lu Xuan said, waving his hand calmly. ’Our paths are ultimately different. If fate allows, we will meet again along the way.’”

Confucius was a little dejected, but still nodded and bowed.

At this time, Duke Mu of Qin also spoke with a chuckle:

“’Lu Zi, you must come to my Qin Kingdom first when the time comes. My nineteenth-generation grandson has just been born. That child’s birth was accompanied by the harmonious cries of dragons and phoenixes and ten thousand other omens. I have been searching for a virtuous sage of this age to bestow a blessing upon him…’”

As he spoke, this hegemon became slightly bashful, an expectant look on his face.

Lu Xuan nodded lightly:

“Without Duke Qin’s company for eighty-one days, without Duke Qin clarifying my doubts along the way, slaying Duke Huan of Qi would not have been so easy… I will definitely make a trip to the Qin Kingdom.”

Confucius, at the side, asked curiously:

“Duke Mu of Qin, are you speaking of the vast phenomenon that covered the entire Qin Kingdom a few days ago? I also heard of it. I originally thought a Supreme Treasure had been born, but I didn’t expect…”

A smile appeared on Duke Mu of Qin’s face:

“’It was my nineteenth-generation grandson. The child is exceptionally bright, born with ten thousand phenomena in his wake. He will surely become an enlightened ruler for our Qin Kingdom. The name I have chosen for him is Zheng. When he grows up and inherits the title of King of Qin, he can change his family name from Zhao to Ying…’”

He was obviously extremely fond of this newly born child, talking about him endlessly.

But Lu Xuan was suddenly stunned.

Zheng…

Zhao Zheng, Ying Zheng??

Although history was fractured, the name of the First Emperor of the Qin Dynasty still resounded through the ages!

The singular Emperor of a millennium, the one who unified the titles of ’Huang’ and ’Di’ into one, a peerless sovereign!

’He is also… the builder of the Starry Great Wall in the Current World, the one that defends against the Demon Race and protects the Human Race!’

Emperor Qin Shi Huang, Ying Zheng!

’But… he has only just been born?’

At this thought, Lu Xuan’s expression grew more solemn. He said seriously,

“Then I really must make a trip to the Qin Kingdom.”

Duke Mu of Qin was slightly stunned.

The few of them talked for a while longer. Lu Xuan was eager to return, so he immediately took his leave. Duke Mu of Qin and Confucius also dismounted from the chariot and gave Lu Xuan a deep, respectful bow.

“Farewell, Lu Zi!”

Lu Xuan nodded, boarded the chariot. Behind him were the Eighty-One Armors. All ascended to the heavens, treading on clouds as they departed, the sound of the wheels rolling like a tide of thunder.

With the Unity of Virtue and Conduct, he crossed ten thousand li in a single breath.

The journey here took eighty-one days; the return, an instant.

And at this very moment, in the Guardian Storage Room, an old man was also sitting quietly in wait, having lit some Sandalwood Incense, its smoke curling upwards.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep