Heaven-Defying Rebel Sage-Chapter 41 - The First Emperor Rebuilds the Water

Bai Qi, who had been observing the murderous aura of the Extermination Immortal Sword, now felt some understanding and, after bowing to Shen Gongbao, closed his eyes to muse carefully and refine his Alchemy Dao.

Shen Gongbao praised, “Indeed, a good disciple of mine.”

Xu Fu respectfully replied, “Without Master’s teachings, where would Xu Fu be today?”

This Xu Fu, with his youthful appearance and white hair, bowing to Shen Gongbao, a man in his middle years, calling him Master, was indeed somewhat peculiar.

Supreme Pure Heavenly Lord, I hereby thank Ancestral Dragon First Emperor for coming to my rescue!” Shen Gongbao called out the honorific of Tong Tian, expressing his gratitude.

Wukong thought to himself, “Hmph! Shen Gongbao not only bears no grudge against Tong Tian but praises his honorific, this surely lends some credibility to my suspicions!”

First Emperor said, “Taoist Master, you are too modest. This was what Ying Zheng was supposed to do. And I must thank you for the Immortal Pill you bestowed.”

Shen Gongbao chuckled, “It was but a trifle!”

At this moment, Heaven-Defying Taoist was sitting among the clouds, attempting to refine the Slaying Sword. But this was a Magical Treasure of Tong Tian Sect Master, how could one easily refine it? Deciding to calm his mind and communicate with the sword instead, knowing that all Magical Treasures have a spirit, he reached out to the strong spirit of the Slaying Sword. After a brief communication, the sword seemed to understand his intent and transformed into a beam of white light, positioning itself diagonally behind his back.

Heaven-Defying Taoist smiled, “This sword will eventually be reclaimed by Tong Tian Sect Master, but for now, I can wield it with impunity!”

Content with his achievements, Heaven-Defying Taoist then descended from the clouds.

Shen Gongbao expressed his amazement, “Fellow Taoist, you are truly talented to have subdued our master’s Slaying Sword.”

Heaven-Defying Taoist humbly said, “You flatter me! Who is Tong Tian Sect Master? If he were unwilling, how could I have taken this sword?”

His words were cleverly phrased, subtly indicating the machinations of Tong Tian Sect Master. Shen Gongbao, upon reflection, was even more convinced of the Taoist’s immense cunning and frightening scheming. He then gave a respectful salute and said, “There is no need to be overly modest, fellow Taoist, for every cause has its effect!”

Xu Fu asked, “Master, now that you’ve escaped, where will you go?”

Shen Gongbao looked troubled and after pondering for a while, replied, “Indeed, I have nowhere to go!”

Ying Zheng shook his head, “I also have no wish to remain in that tomb any longer.”

Wukong had an idea, “Why don’t we head to Water Curtain Cave? In the past, it was the blessed land of the Monkey King Sun Wukong, with excellent feng shui. Yet, it has been destroyed by Buddhist Sect and Heavenly Court. Now, with our strong forces, including First Emperor’s three hundred thousand elite troops, even if we take over that place, no one will dare to cause trouble.”

After pondering for a moment, Ying Zheng said, “My ambition is to be the Heavenly Emperor, so this plan is indeed feasible!”

Yesterday, when the Heavenly Soldiers and Generals came to Mount Li to capture Ying Zheng, they unexpectedly provoked the appearance of the long-concealed elite forces of the First Emperor’s army of three hundred thousand Qin warriors. All of these elites were Ninth Realm deities, and how could those weak and long-out-of-practice Heavenly Soldiers hope to compare? Now, with their pride bruised by Ying Zheng’s slap, it seemed he didn’t intend to let them off so lightly and was contemplating another strike.

Shen Gongbao laughed, “Excellent, excellent! I have long been dissatisfied with the establishment of Heavenly Court. Proceeding this way, how wonderful it is!”

Yuan Tiangang, seeing Wukong set to cause more trouble, could only smile wryly, “I still have to manage Qingyang Temple, you all go ahead, I must return there.”

Wukong nodded, “Hmm… Your temple is indeed thriving, too good to abandon. Go on then!”

Yuan Tiangang bowed to the others, mounted a white crane, and left.

Upon seeing Yuan Tiangang depart, no one tried to stop him, after all, his family commanded great wealth and power. Qingyang Temple was quite famous in the Eastern Divine Region, thriving with incense offerings, and each person had their own ambitions. Consequently, the group utilized their Escape Techniques, bypassing the Demon Abyss in the Northern Region, and headed towards Water Curtain Cave.

Since Sun Wukong had slain the eight Dharma Bodies, the Eight Divisions of Heavenly Dragons themselves had descended to this place, to guard against those with ulterior motives.

Ying Zheng had already gathered those three hundred thousand elite troops; what a magnificent sight it was to see three hundred thousand men riding the clouds and fog!

The army marched towards Water Curtain Cave, with an overwhelming presence and thundering war drums, Ying Zheng did this deliberately to slap the faces of the Buddhist Sect and the Heavenly Court.

From afar, the Eight Divisions spotted the formidable surge of Heavenly Soldiers approaching, the momentum frightening, as Yaksha exclaimed, “Look over there!”

Garuda frowned and said, “Three hundred thousand Immortals and soldiers of the Nine Realms, which power is this, to have such an enormous force?”

Asura said, “We are not their match, let’s return to the Western Heaven and report to Buddha Ancestor, only by dispatching our great Buddhist army can we battle them!”

Therefore, the Eight Divisions did not linger, upon seeing the imposing army, they employed their Escape Techniques to leave.

“Yaksha, where do you think you’re going!”

Heaven-Defying Taoist flipped through the air with a somersault, aiming only to capture Yaksha, seizing him and beginning to attack.

Angered, Yaksha spread his wings with a steel trident in hand, thrusting towards Heaven-Defying Taoist’s chest!

The other seven all frowned and each cast their Dharma Seals – Great Hand Seals, Lotus Seals, Treasure Vase Seals, and other Buddhist Dharma Seals stormed towards Heaven-Defying Taoist from all directions! Heaven-Defying Taoist was a man of decisive action, he had long found Yaksha unbearable, and seeing the opportunity, he wouldn’t let it slip by, as he didn’t know when another chance might come!

Heaven-Defying Taoist burst into laughter, drawing the Extermination Immortal Sword, declaring, “Since you’re not leaving, then none shall leave!”

The Eight Divisions of Heavenly Dragons, being at least of the Taiyi Golden Immortal Realm, were terrified at the sight of Heaven-Defying Taoist unsheathing his sword.

Even the usually ferocious Yaksha broke into a cold sweat and turned to run.

However, Heaven-Defying Taoist had his eyes locked on Yaksha, and the rest of the seven were of no concern to him, especially since Yaksha, who had been arrogant enough to challenge him at Water Curtain Cave before, had to be dealt with. At once, he vibrated the Slaying Sword in his hand, releasing a surge of slaughterous energy, and with a Sword technique invoked, sword Qi burst forth!

Yaksha desperately resisted, unleashing a Treasure Vase Seal to block the sword Qi.

But even Heaven-Defying Taoist found channeling the sword strenuous, his brows furrowed as he bellowed, “Slay! The Extermination Immortal’s changes are boundless and wondrous, even Daluo Immortals’ robes are dyed in blood!”

Once the sword move was executed, it instantly transformed into millions of radiant sword glows, like a brilliant galaxy rushing straight at Yaksha!

Yaksha roared, “No, you can’t kill me! Buddha Ancestor will not spare you!”

Heaven-Defying Taoist replied, “Now that the powers between Heaven and Earth are in disarray, would the Buddhist Sect go to war over a mere member of the Eight Divisions?”

Having said that, the sword Qi whirled around, instantly severing Yaksha’s wings. With a terrible scream, another sword Qi pierced his chest, followed by countless intersecting sword Qi… Amidst a shower of blood, Yaksha’s Divine Soul was utterly annihilated by the Extermination Immortal Sword in an instant!

Seeing Heaven-Defying Taoist draw his sword, the other seven had already fled. After killing Yaksha with the Extermination Immortal Sword, Heaven-Defying Taoist felt satisfied and did not pursue the others.

Heaven-Defying Taoist sheathed the Extermination Immortal Sword and fastened it to his back.

Upon reaching the skies above Water Curtain Cave, Shen Gongbao praised, “Tsk tsk, this place has good feng shui, where Dragon veins converge. If it can be rebuilt, it would indeed be wonderful!”

Heaven-Defying Taoist laughed, “The Buddhist Sect killed Sun Wukong and forbade any vitality here, sending the Eight Divisions to watch over the place. The last time they came with only Dharma Bodies, and my fellow Taoists killed them in an instant, giving them a good slap in the face. This time, they fled upon seeing us! However, killing that Yaksha was quite satisfying.”

Wukong smiled and said, “Very good! I only fear the Buddhist Sect might rage out of humiliation.”

Along the way, Xu Fu had already informed Shen Gongbao about the chaos among the powers of Heaven and Earth. This fellow was a shrewd man to the bone, and though he met defeat in the Investiture of the Gods, there is a saying — don’t judge heroes by success or failure.

Shen Gongbao responded, “No worries, although the Buddhist Sect is powerful, they are currently at a standoff with the Taoist Sect. Originally, the Buddhist Sect had only two Saints and didn’t have as deep a foundation as the Taoist Sect. Now they are in conflict, relying only on the might of their Buddha Bodhisattvas… The Saints are not keen to take action lightly. We occupy Water Curtain Cave with two Daluo Golden Immortals and four Taiyi Golden Immortals, plus three hundred thousand elite soldiers. No one would want to provoke us easily.”

Shen Gongbao, once an advisor to King Zhou, gave the Twelve Golden Immortals of the Chan Taoist a hard time during the Investiture of the Gods.

“Taoist Master’s words are very true. In my view, even though we killed that Yaksha, as long as we do not join the Taoist Sect, the Buddhist Sect will not take action. If they do, and we are driven to desperation, they would certainly fear us turning to the Taoist Sect. At that time, wouldn’t the situation be even harder to resolve?” Ying Zheng, a one-of-a-kind Emperor, naturally had a farsighted vision and spoke calmly.

Wukong said, “The First Emperor’s vision is far-reaching, I am no match for that!”

The First Emperor replied, “You jest, my friend. The struggle for political power between the deities of Heaven is no different from that among mortals. Oppression, alliance, division… Heh, what I cultivate is the Path of Emperors, and I see things crystal clear.”

The group each took their place around Water Curtain Cave and cast Dharma Gates, causing sweet rain to fall, moving mountains and filling seas, revitalizing Water Curtain Cave with life.