Chapter 338: Senior brother, follow the way of heaven
“Living by the breadth of heaven’s way, upholding the righteousness of heaven’s way, and practicing the benevolence of heaven’s way.”
“Hence, do justice on behalf of heaven.”
“This is what we call the Heavenly Execution.”
Since entering the Heavenly Execution Court, Yue Xuanming had engraved this teaching in his heart. For over a century, he had diligently fulfilled his duties. As a loyal servant of the Emperor Sect, he safeguarded its vast territory in the Central Domain. Loyalty and benevolence were the essence he sought in life.
In the Heavenly Execution Court, the “heaven” referred to the Emperor of the Central Domain.
“As long as we support the Emperor of the Central Domain, peace and prosperity will reign. Cultivators in the middle realm can pursue enlightenment, and ordinary people can aspire to immortality.”
He had believed in this until the day he heard the Empress’s words, realizing that his century-old pursuit of “doing justice for heaven” amounted to nothing. His lifelong Daoist heart had crumbled in a day.
In the Heavenly Execution Pavilion, Yue Xuanming, adorned in a golden Daoist robe, stood with hands clasped behind his back, gazing at the prominently displayed words on the wall. His eyes betrayed a hint of confusion, uncertain of his path forward.
Ironically, he had been the Emperor Sect’s most loyal servant. Yet now, he followed the Empress’s orders to aid in the Emperor Sect’s downfall. He wondered if things would have been different had he not obeyed the Empress.
When the Demon Emperor approached the city, he fortified it, aiding the Emperor Sect in keeping the demon clan at bay. With the demon tribe besieging the city and unable to breach it, they would soon retreat under pressure from the Taibai Sect.
Afterward, life in the Central Domain’s Emperor Sect would continue as usual. He would remain the deputy commander of the Heavenly Execution Court, receiving a handsome salary from the Central Domain’s Emperor each year. With a few more decades of quiet accumulation, attaining godhood was within reach.
What concern did he have with the fallen demon emperor of the Central Domain?
He didn’t know the children turned into the “Reverse Star Pill.”
Wasn’t it better to be an anonymous, ordinary person?
Why abandon the groundwork of his career, built over centuries, for the sake of the supposed right path just to act on behalf of heaven?
Yue Xuanming walked to the house window, gazing towards Tainan City. The night market in the Western District still flourished, with the entire city enjoying prosperity, reminiscent of a golden age.
Though he knew that the bustling Tainan City was merely a facade, maintaining this illusion of prosperity seemed…
“Isn’t it a good thing as well?” A mature female voice suddenly interrupted his thoughts from behind.
Yue Xuanming tensed at the sound, recognizing it immediately.
Turning around, he quickly saluted, “Pavilion Master, aren’t you supposed to be in seclusion?”
Before him stood a young woman in golden fairy attire, draped with a shawl. Despite her youthful appearance, there was a remarkable charm about her that transcended her age – the Master of Heavenly Execution Pavilion, Immortal Fu Xuan, at the mid-level of divine transformation.
Immortal Fu Xuan smiled, “Can’t I take a break from seclusion? Besides, with all the commotion in Tianan City lately, how can I focus on my retreat?”
Yue Xuanming’s heart skipped a beat, realizing that Fu Xuan probably knew of his plan to open the city gates to welcome the demon clan. He wasn’t sure where Fu Xuan stood now.
If she sided with the Emperor of the Central Domain, it would spell his doom. However, seeing Yue Xuanming’s nerves, Fu Xuan shook her head, “Why so tense, Yue Qing?”
Approaching the words Yue Xuanming had been studying earlier, Fu Xuan read aloud, “Living by the breadth of the heavenly way, upholding its righteousness, and embodying its benevolence. Hence, acting on behalf of heaven. This is what we call the Heavenly Execution Pavilion. Hmm… I wrote this. Are you confused about this heavenly way, Yue Qing?”
Yue Xuanming scrutinized Master Fu Xuan’s expression but couldn’t discern her thoughts. After a moment of silence, he asked,
“Pavilion Master, you already know what the king has done?”
“Well, of course I do. That old man started tinkering with his ‘Star-Reverse Pill’ hundreds of years ago.”
“Then why didn’t you stop this? As the elder of the Emperor Sect, the Emperor of the Central Domain thought you should come forward to dissuade…”
Immortal Fu Xuan shook her head slightly when she heard this, raised her hand, and interrupted,
“I am just a cultivator at divine transformation. How can I discuss the deeds of cultivators in the void realm? I still want to live for a few more years.”
Yue Xuanming was silent for a while and asked,
“You are here now to help the Emperor of the Central Domain to stop me?”
“No… I’m not that free. I’m busy practicing.” Master Fu Xuan smiled and said, “As I said just now, I just came out to get some fresh air and see what activities you are doing. What do you want? How you do it is your business and has nothing to do with me.”
Yue Xuanming was a little confused and fell silent for a moment.
Seeing her like this, Master Fu Xuan sighed and said,
“If you fail, the Emperor of the Central Domain will at most charge me with ‘lax discipline,’ which is irrelevant. If you succeed, then…”
“What if I become that?”
“That’s it.”
Immortal Fu Xuan smiled slightly, tapped her fingers on the calligraphy and painting beside him, and continued,
“Yue Xuanming, I have watched you grow up. You have regarded Heavenly Execution Court as your Daoist heart since childhood. It is a taboo for those who cultivate immortality to carry their original aspirations. You must know how to do it…
“I only leave you with one question. Heavenly Execution Court does justice for the heavens, so what is the heaven of Heavenly Execution Court? Is it the Emperor of the Central Domain, or is it your Daoist heart? If you think about it, let me tell the people who come in later.”
“Who’s coming in?” Yue Xuanming was slightly puzzled, but just after Immortal Fu Xuan’s figure turned into a streak of light and dispersed, there was suddenly a rush of footsteps outside the attic door.
Then, with a bang, the two imperial guards holding long spears kicked open the pavilion door. A middle-aged man with a long beard and a scar on his right eye walked in, carrying a spiritual sword.
Seeing the middle-aged man’s face, Yue Xuanming immediately realized something was probably wrong with the empress.
“This person is the deputy commander of the Imperial Guard, Jiang Chengfu, who is in the middle stage of Nascent Soul.”
“This man was one of the confidants of the Emperor of the Central Domain. He enjoyed great honors on weekdays. He held the jade plaque given by the Emperor of the Central Region. He could execute disciples of the Emperor Sect first and then report without asking any questions.”
Yue Xuanming frowned, glanced at the spear on the weapon rack behind him, stepped towards it, and asked, “Vice Commander Chiang… What’s the matter?”
“Lord Yue, in consideration of your loyalty over the past hundred years, the King has asked me to come and ask Lord Yue a question.”
“What is the question?”
“Master Yue, do you want to be known as a ‘traitor’ or continue to serve as the deputy commander of the Heavenly Execution Court and enjoy glory and honor?”
Yue Xuanming frowned slightly at this question, suddenly understanding the meaning of Immortal Fu Xuan’s previous question. He was silent for a moment, then frowned and said, “Living in accordance with the way of heaven, establishing its justice, and practicing its benevolence, this is the way of the Heavenly Execution Court.”
“Oh!”
“Then I have to ask Vice Commander Jiang,” Yue continued. “Do you think the name of heaven suits the Emperor of the Central Domain?”
With those words, the room fell silent. Jiang Chengfu narrowed his eyes, clenched the spirit sword in his right hand, and stared into Yue Xuanming’s eyes. He knew Yue Xuanming’s capabilities. Though Yue appeared as a civil servant, he held the title of Chief Spearman of the Emperor’s Sect, indicating his formidable spear skills were no mere show.
However, Yue Xuanming was also facing a dilemma at this moment. He knew Jiang Chengfu’s strength well and wasn’t confident he could defeat him with a single strike. With so many imperial guards present, engaging in a fight would be like entering a pack of wolves with no chance of winning.
Both men stared intently at each other, neither daring to make the first move. But just then, a woman’s voice came from outside the window.
“Vice Commander Yue raises a valid question!!”
Immediately, there was a thunderous boom.
The attic’s ceiling shattered as a burst of ice-blue sword energy ripped through, revealing the boundless starry sky above Tainan City.
A golden dragon with fierce eyes loomed above Yue Xuanming’s head, emitting a low growl.
“Roar…”
Though fear filled Yue Xuanming’s eyes when he saw the silver-haired woman standing atop the dragon’s head, wielding a green spiritual sword, he understood that the Holy Emperor’s legacy was also part of the way of heaven.
Yue Xuanming opened his right hand and retrieved the long spear adorned with a dragon motif from the weapon rack behind him.
With a thunderous crash, lightning flashed across the celestial dome. The spear swirled in his hands, its majestic energy similar to a dragon piercing through the sun, reducing the twelve-story Heavenly Execution Pavilion to rubble in an instant.
In the blink of an eye, a figure accompanied by debris fell from the top of the attic, landing on the White Stone Square below. After several leaps and bounds, it finally came to a halt.
“Charge——!!”
Jiang Chengfu bellowed angrily, raising his sword to point at the golden dragon above. His Nascent Soul’s spiritual energy dispersed, sending surrounding tiles flying. But the next moment, Yue Xuanming approached him, spear in hand.
The spear’s tip, infused with thunderous energy, struck Jiang Chengfu’s protective spiritual shield, driving his feet into the ground.
Yue Xuanming locked eyes with him, then shouted through the amplification, addressing the golden dragon above,
“Many thanks, Fellow Daoist Feng, for your assistance. I’ll handle this individual on my own. I urge Fellow Daoist Feng to employ the golden dragon to protect everyone in the department.”
“One person dealing with this?” Jiang Chengfu’s forehead broke into a cold sweat as he looked up at the golden dragon above, feeling uneasy. He shouted through the loudspeaker, “All imperial guards, obey the order! Form a formation to slay the dragon!”
After the command, dozens of imperial guards entered outside the Heavenly Execution Pavilion, forming two teams with shield guns. In an instant, a formation appeared, and the aura transformed into countless arrows aimed at Feng Yudie in the sky.
Upon seeing this, Yue Xuanming felt uneasy. These were elite warriors. Despite Feng Yudie’s Holy Emperor Dragon body, she wouldn’t withstand the combined attack of many cultivators in the core-formation stage. He prepared to turn his spear to break the formation of the imperial guards and assist Feng Yudie.
But as he momentarily lost focus, Jiang Chengfu deflected the spear tip with his sword.
Swish—
A blood mark was etched onto the golden robe’s shoulder, prompting Yue Xuanming to regain his senses and defend himself with his spear.
“Lord Yue, I’m no ordinary cultivator. Can you handle me alone? You have the Holy Emperor’s Golden Dragon, and I have the Emperor’s Guards. Today’s outcome is uncertain. Attack!”
Clang, clang—
Yue Xuanming’s forehead beaded with sweat as he saw the formation of imperial guards nearly complete. He couldn’t defeat Jiang Chengfu alone for the moment. With Feng Yudie’s nascent aura, the golden dragon wouldn’t last long. Sooner or later, it would be drained by the guards.
However, just as he pondered a solution to the deadlock…
Swish—
An icy blue arc flew into the midst of the imperial guards.
Boom—
A black ice-colored spiritual sword crashed into the ground.
Instantly, the square was covered in frost, freezing the imperial guards’ iron boots in place. The spirit sword preceded her, and Pei Lianxue swiftly arrived among the imperial guards. She gripped her Snow Spirit Sword, slashing through three guards around her waist.
Blood sprayed, but as it neared Pei Lianxue, it turned into blood-red ice stones, falling to the ground. The formation above the Imperial Guard had not fully formed, but it shattered and dispersed instantly due to Pei Lianxue’s intrusion.
Rushing alone into the enemy formation’s center was a sure way to seek one’s own death unless one’s cultivation level significantly surpassed the opponents’. Even if the formation were broken, it would not make any difference.
Jiang Chengfu sneered and scolded Yue Xuanming while waving his sword away, “Ha, you are reckless… using your foundation-building body to break the formation of core formation cultivators! Do you want to kill yourself?”
Yue Xuanming immediately shouted, “Miss Pei, retreat quickly! Those imperial guards…”
Swish——
Ding–
There was a clash of spears and swords, interrupting Yue Xuanming’s words. Facing Pei Lianxue’s sudden intrusion into the formation, although the imperial guards were briefly disoriented, they quickly regained their composure. They thrust their spiritual spears at her in the center of the formation.
“Not good!”
Yue Xuanming was certain Pei Lianxue couldn’t evade, so he intended to forcibly intercept Jiang Chengfu’s attack and rush to rescue her. However, just as he was about to do so, a white light flashed in the sky.
A barrage of thunderbolts, fireballs, and ice spikes filled the sky, heading straight for Pei Lianxue as if she was guiding these spells, engulfing her and the nearby imperial guards.
Jiang Chengfu, engaged in combat with Yue Xuanming, saw his imperial guards buried under a heap of low-level talisman spells. He looked puzzled, “Where did so many talismans come from?”
But before he could finish speaking, a ray of ice-blue sword energy shot out from the smoke and dust stirred up by the spells. Pei Lianxue swiftly dashed out from among the imperial guards, wielding the Snow Spirit Sword on her back. She arrived at the square’s entrance beside a young man in a blue robe.
“Junior sister, are you injured?”
“No, my senior brother used to pelt me with these minor spells daily. I’m used to it.”
Seeing Pei Lianxue immaculate, Ye Anping nodded, then raised his ethereal sword and called out to Yue Xuanming in the square center,
“Lord Yue, you need not concern yourself with us. Focus on defeating Vice Commander Chiang with all your might. These imperial guards… we’ll handle them.”
Upon hearing this, Yue Xuanming suddenly noticed the over twenty Heavenly Execution Court disciples behind Ye Anping.
Their cultivations were low, not even reaching the Core Formation stage. The most skilled among them was a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, essentially the bottom-tier disciples within the Heavenly Execution Court. It could be said that if trouble arose, they were essentially fodder.
Yet, he also observed that despite facing Core Formation imperial guards a level above them, there was no fear or apprehension in their eyes. Some even displayed fervor. Indeed, they were green and untested.
What happened today was similar to rebellion. Most seasoned cultivators in the Immortal Realm understood the importance of holding back to protect oneself, but these disciples hadn’t learned that lesson yet. It was their ignorance that fueled their enthusiasm.
Everyone had gone through this phase. To cultivate goodness and seek longevity. That was the original intention of embarking on the path to immortality. Not for selfish gain.
Yue Xuanming’s gaze darkened as he tightened his grip on the spiritual spear that had accompanied him for a century, pointing it forward.
Boom—
The spear transformed into an azure dragon, piercing through the darkness like a powerful crossbow breaking the night.
Jiang Chengfu’s eyes widened as he was engulfed by the dragon’s energy, torn into bloody mist, and burst apart, leaving only a faint spiritual light shooting toward the sky.
Upon seeing this, Ye Anping immediately exchanged a glance with Pei Lianxue beside him, gesturing with his hand to stand at his chest, controlling his sword with spiritual energy, and shooting towards the faint spiritual light while shouting,
“Junior sister, kill his Nascent Soul,” Ye Anping instructed.
“Um,” Pei Lianxue responded.
With a graceful leap, Pei Lianxue stepped onto Ye Anping’s flying spirit sword. Then, using the momentum, she jumped onto the top of Jiang Chengfu’s head. Raising her Snow Spirit Sword, she slashed vertically, casting a beam of sword light across the square. The icy blue sword energy flashed, cleaving Jiang Chengfu’s Nascent Soul in half. It dissolved into scattered spiritual light without a single whimper escaping.
At that moment, the golden dragon figure perched above also dispersed. Feng Yudie descended from the sky, landing next to Ye Anping with poise, hands on hips, questioning, “Is that it?”
“It’s done. You’ll fight later, so conserve your energy and just be a deterrent,” Ye Anping advised, smiling.
“…Who am I fighting with?” Feng Yudie inquired.
“A vixen. You can handle it,” Ye Anping encouraged, then turned his attention away, stepping forward and pointing his sword at the remaining leaderless Imperial Guards.
“The Emperor of the Central Domain has fallen into darkness. If you persist in following him, you will defy the heavens. Heavenly Execution Court upholds the heavenly path, and we will not spare your lives,” He declared.
Upon hearing this, the iron-armored Imperial Guards of the Core Formation Stage glanced at the Heavenly Execution Court disciples behind Ye Anping, then at Yue Xuanming, and finally at the now blood-soaked Jiang Chengfu.
Bang——
With a resounding clang, a long spear fell to the ground, followed by several more. Ye Anping breathed a sigh of relief. These were staunch warriors. If they had chosen to attack, it would have been difficult to handle, and many casualties would have been inevitable. He sheathed his spirit sword and approached the center of the square, bending down to lift Yue Xuanming onto his shoulders.
“Master Yue, are you doing alright?”
“Ahem -” Yue Xuanming glanced at the 17 or 18-year-old boy and smiled wryly, “Young Master Ye, do you think I’m alright looking like this? That shot just now depleted seventy years of my life essence.”
“The Empress has been exposed and is now in the Tianhe Palace. The plan has changed. Lord Yue, you need not worry about the Demon Emperor. I’ve arranged for Brother Liang to go to the east gate to greet him. But there’s something I hope Lord Yue can assist with.”
Yue Xuanming was silent momentarily and asked, “Are you truly seventeen?”
“…”
Ye Anping glanced at him and shrugged, then pulled out a map from his storage bag, unfolding it with spiritual power. “On this map, there are four formation eyes, and the central red dot is the main formation eye, the protective formation of Tainan City. I suggest Lord Yue go there. There should be seven or eight imperial guards in the Core-formation stage. We’ll break open the formation eyes during today’s lunar eclipse.”
“Answer me first, how long have you lived?”
“I’m eighteen, any more questions?”
“…”
Yue Xuanming smiled helplessly, shook his head, and then withdrew his hand from Ye Anping’s shoulder, straightening his posture before approaching the more than 20 low-level disciples of the Heavenly Execution Court at the entrance.
“Thank you all for your help today. I’m grateful, but what comes next is beyond your foundation-building cultivation.”
“Master Yue, earlier, it was Young Master Ye who called us here, promising five thousand spiritual stones for our assistance.”
Yue Xuanming paused, slightly shocked. He had thought these individuals were driven by youthful enthusiasm to help. He had planned to give an uplifting speech, but hearing this, he was dumbfounded and turned to Ye Anping.
Ye Anping sighed. “I intended to seek more experienced help from the Heavenly Execution Court disciples in the alchemy stage, but I only found two. One demanded two hundred thousand, the other three hundred thousand. With the situation’s urgency, I didn’t have time to negotiate, so I brought these people instead. Five thousand spirit stones each. Please remember to compensate them later.”
“…”
Yue Xuanming fell silent for a moment, his eye twitching. Twenty-four people, five thousand spirit stones each, amounted to one hundred twenty thousand, and this group had only contributed a few talismans. He suddenly remembered Liang Zhu’s remark about Ye Anping being stingy and cunning when the empress mentioned marrying the second princess to him.
At first, he hadn’t taken it seriously, but now…
“Liang Zhu wasn’t wrong after all, haha…”
“What did Brother Liang say about me?”
“He praised you as a remarkable talent.”
“When you see him next, please convey my gratitude for his kind words.”
“… “