On the Avenue.

Chapter 696 Raising Demons
Wu Daoren felt a chill run down his spine: "Was the downfall of the Ming Dynasty also related to the struggle between immortals and gods?"

Since ascending to the Earthly Immortal Realm, the immortals there have become less concerned with the dynastic changes of their ancestral court, and many are unaware of which dynasty it currently belongs to. Although Wu Daoren knew of the fall of the Ming Dynasty, he had no knowledge of the reasons for its demise.

The True Man of Wenshi said, "When the Ming Dynasty fell, frost and snow fell from the sky for thirty consecutive years, freezing countless crops to death and leaving corpses everywhere. The people's hearts yearned for change. This led to the Great Shun Rebellion and the fall of the Ming Dynasty. However, the Great Shun is not doing well now either. Someone wants to stir up the people's resentment and nurture a great demon that will destroy the world."

The destruction he spoke of was the destruction of the ancestral home of the Chinese nation, not the annihilation of the immortal realm.

But destroying the ancestral home of the Chinese nation is no small matter!
Upon hearing this, Wu Daoren hurriedly left to prepare the necessary travel documents.

"This person must have brought the demonic seed to the ancestral court, then altered the celestial phenomena of the ancestral court, causing public resentment to boil over, thus nurturing the great demon."

Master Wenshi said in a low voice, "I wonder which fellow Daoist was responsible for this? It's a bit too much."

Heavenly Court, Li Mansion.

This place was originally the Heavenly King's Palace, the residence of Li Tianwang. Later, because Chen Shi took away 200,000 heavenly soldiers and generals, and the title of Grand Marshal of the Army and Horses of the World was also removed, it became Li's Palace.

Li Tianwang's injuries had mostly healed. On his way back from Penglai West, the Three Altars and Seas Gods still stayed by his side. Fortunately, after arriving in the Heavenly Court, the rebellious son dared not act recklessly.

"Logically speaking, the scouts should have brought back news by now."

Li Tianwang was somewhat anxious. In his opinion, Chen Shi had underestimated the enemy and was not experienced enough in leading 20,000 immortals to the ancestral court.

"He should first send a celestial army battalion of over a thousand men into the ancestral court to investigate the source of this demonic chaos. If there are any that don't like him, send them to their deaths."

Li Tianwang shook his head, saying that Chen Shi was not experienced enough in doing things.

“He is careless and will not live long. This chaos in the ancestral court must be the work of someone in the Earthly Immortal Realm, who is trying to undermine the divine lineage.”

Li Tianwang whispered, "The enemy must have made thorough preparations. They have no experts in their army, so they are doomed!"

In the Taiwei Yuqing Palace, Taibai Xingjun sat opposite the Great Heavenly Venerable, playing chess with this supreme deity of the Heavenly Court, and said, "This time, Heavenly King Li also sent out spies, probably to see when Heavenly King Chen will die and whether he can regain the position of Grand Marshal. He still doesn't know why he lost the position of Grand Marshal."

The Jade Emperor, holding the black piece, placed it and said, "He knows, but he's just pretending not to."

Taibai Xingjun was slightly taken aback, then understood and laughed, "Your Majesty is right. Li Tianwang is indeed pretending to be confused. He has three faces: one is a god, one is an immortal, and the other is a disciple of Dipankara Buddha. Although he is Your Majesty's Grand Marshal of the Army, he has never given up his other two identities."

He stared at the chessboard, and after a moment, placed a white piece, saying, "In the past, his two-faced nature wouldn't have worried Your Majesty. But now, the conflict between immortals and gods is intensifying, and he is still reluctant to give up his status as an immortal or Buddha, which makes Your Majesty uneasy."

The Jade Emperor remained silent.

Taibai Xingjun said, "Therefore, when Chen Shi took away his 200,000 troops, His Majesty did not stop him. This was to teach him a lesson and let him know that he should take sides. He cannot forever have his cake and eat it too."

The Jade Emperor added another word, saying, "He knows, but he cherishes his life and does not want to become a god."

Taibai Xingjun laughed and said, "He has too many ideas. Your Majesty, will Chen Shi succeed in going to the ancestral court to quell the demonic rebellion? He's still just a True Immortal, isn't he?"

"He should not be underestimated."

The Great Celestial Venerable said, "When he obtained the Dao Ruins, an anomaly appeared in the Dao Ruins, which he refined. His talent is astonishing."

When Chen Shi was refining the anomaly of the Great Dao, the Great Celestial Venerable was also present, hidden in the shadows. At that time, Chen Shi had only just ascended, yet he was already able to refine the anomaly of the Great Dao, which made the Great Celestial Venerable look at Chen Shi with new respect.

Taibai Xingjun said, "Even so, the gap between him and the other party is too great. The other party may have sent a great demon to the ancestral court, using the people's resentment to nurture the great demon. This demon has probably already become powerful."

The Great Celestial Venerable said, "Chen Shi's victory or defeat is of no importance."

Taibai Xingjun was stunned, not understanding his meaning: "Your humble servant is foolish and dull."

The Great Celestial Venerable said, "Chen Shi's trip is merely to lure the snake out of its hole and force the person behind the demonic chaos to reveal himself. His actions are irrelevant to victory or defeat. The true victory or defeat lies between the Heavenly Court and the Celestial Court."

He smiled slightly, placed his decisive move on the chessboard, and said leisurely, "The struggle between insignificant people cannot determine victory or defeat. Whether Chen Shi wins or loses, he will always be my divine man of the Heavenly Way."

Taibai Xingjun carefully examined the chessboard, pondered for a long time, then rose and bowed deeply to the ground: "Your Majesty's chess skills are unparalleled, and I admire you to the point of prostration."

The Great Celestial Venerable stood up and laughed, "You're letting me win again."

Hangu Pass. Wu Daoren brought over the travel documents from the past eight hundred years. There were only a few hundred immortals who came and went from the ancestral court. The travel documents recorded the reasons for these people entering and leaving the ancestral court, who ordered them, how long they stayed, and so on.

Master Wenshi quickly perused the documents and said, "Several years ago, Erlang Zhenjun left the ancestral court, passed through Hangu Pass, and entered the Earthly Immortal Realm? Could it be that he went to the Earthly Immortal Realm to report the demonic chaos in the Great Heavenly Venerable's ancestral court?"

Wu Daoren said, "It should be."

Master Wenshi's eyes flashed: "With him in the ancestral court, what demonic chaos can't be quelled? Has he returned to the ancestral court? The Great Heavenly Venerable arranged for him to stay in the ancestral court, so there's no chance of anything going wrong... Wait a minute, this Immortal Wencheng entered the ancestral court and hasn't come out yet?"

Wu Daoren stepped forward to examine the document, and after a moment, said, "He has not come out."

Master Wenshi said with a half-smile, "He has been in the ancestral temple for over eight hundred years."

Wu Daoren said, "Over the years, some immortals have grown weary of life in the Earthly Immortal Realm and have gone into seclusion in the lower realms. Immortal Wencheng may have returned to his ancestral home to live in seclusion..."

The True Man of Wenshi said, "He was also sent to the ancestral temple by the order of the Emperor Wenchang."

Wu Daoren was stunned. He examined the document and realized that this Wencheng Immortal had indeed come with a decree from Emperor Wenchang. He frowned and asked, "Master, should this document still be destroyed?"

Master Wenshi sighed: "Keep it. If the ancestral temple is destroyed, I will also be held responsible. But someone has to take the blame."

He didn't want to wear it.

Wu Daoren agreed, sorted out the documents, and said, "These documents will be kept by your disciple. If the Heavenly Court investigates in the future and you, Master, deny any knowledge of them, I will present these documents to clear your name."

Master Wenshi nodded gently and watched him leave.

"The Great Celestial Venerable sent Erlang Shen back, presumably to keep Erlang Shen in the shadows while Chen Shi was in the open. The one in the open would draw the fire, while the one in the shadows would be able to carry out his mission more easily."

Master Wenshi said in a low voice, "Old ginger is spicier. The Great Heavenly Venerable has made proper arrangements. I'm afraid he's going to lure out the person behind Immortal Wencheng and get rid of him."

In the ancestral Hangu Pass, over two hundred more immortals have recently mastered the Reincarnation and Life-Death Technique, greatly accelerating the army's treasure-refining process. However, it seems it will take another two or three months to refine all the magical treasures to perfection.

Chen Shi said to Fairy Xiao Duan, "It will take some time to refine the magic weapon. Let's go to Qiongshi first and find out the source of that demonic energy and heretical forces."

Fairy Xiao Duan said, "If any heretics invade..."

Chen Shi said, "The magic weapons we have now refined are enough to resist the heretics. We can defend this place from a strategic position, and we can also retreat to the Earthly Immortal Realm. There is no problem."

He made arrangements, ordering his soldiers to continue to defend Hangu Pass rigorously and to focus on cultivating the Reincarnation and Life-Death Technique. Only after everything was settled did he depart with Fairy Xiao Duan.

Fairy Xiao Duan had visited the ancestral temple once before. At that time, the ancestral temple was in ruins, devastated, covered in snow, and the people were suffering. Bandits frequently roamed the area, making it no less chaotic than Gongzhou. This time, upon returning to the ancestral temple, she found the chaos even worse.

Fairy Xiao Duan took out the ancestral temple map, observed it for a while, and said, "We are currently in Lingbao County, which is the Taoist temple of Lingbao Daoist. There are many disciples of Lingbao Daoist in these mountains. Why don't we go and find a Taoist temple and ask where Qiongshi is?"

Chen Shi agreed. The two walked in the air and looked down. They saw that the entire Lingbao County was deserted. Countless villages and towns were empty, and the ground was littered with bones, which was shocking.

There were still some fallen immortal mountains on the ground. When Chen Shi and Fairy Xiao Duan went down to look, they found that the spiritual springs of these immortal mountains had dried up and the immortal path had been destroyed.

These sacred mountains should have originally housed sects, Taoist temples, celestial palaces, and other grand structures, but now they are deserted, leaving only skeletons behind.

Chen Shi and Xiao Duan were increasingly alarmed as they looked.

The erosion of the outer passages was more severe than they had anticipated!

If Chen Shi and Xiao Duan hadn't also cultivated the Reincarnation and Life Technique, they would probably have been influenced by the heretical paths that roamed the world.

They had almost left Lingbao County when they encountered a few people, all of whom were old, weak, sick, or disabled, and none of them were cultivators.

After leaving Lingbao County, we finally found a Taoist temple called Chaoyuan Temple. There were Taoist priests in the temple, who were sallow and thin. They were somewhat surprised to see us and showed a wary look.

Chen Shi entered the temple, first offering incense to the Three Pure Ones, and then asked the Taoist priests, "Do you know where Qiongshi is?"

The Taoist priests exchanged glances and shook their heads.

Just as Chen Shi was about to leave, a Taoist priest in green robes said, "My uncle is an immortal; he might not know."

Chen Shi asked, "Where is your martial uncle?"

"She was lying in the backyard."

Chen Shi and Fairy Xiao Duan followed them to the backyard of the Taoist temple, where they saw an old Taoist lying on a sickbed, coughing incessantly. Each time he coughed, he would expel some sand from his mouth.

Chen Shi and Xiao Duan were greatly surprised. This immortal looked like he was on his deathbed. How could he be an immortal?
“My martial uncle has been corrupted by heretical teachings.”

The Taoist in green robes said, "His place of attaining enlightenment was polluted, and he was polluted along with it, which is why he turned out like this."

Xiao Duan asked, "Why didn't you sever your Dao Realm and break the connection?"

When the Yuan Worm invaded Xiniu New Continent, her father, the Shang King at the time, saw the opportunity early and immediately ordered all immortals to be removed from their Dao Realm and seal themselves to prevent them from being corrupted by heretics.

The situation at the ancestral temple is somewhat similar to that of that time.

The old Taoist struggled to rise and pay his respects, but could not. He gasped for breath and said, "I cannot pay my respects. I did not have time to sever my Dao realm, which led to my being corrupted by heretics. Many of my fellow Daoists died under the influence of heretics before they could sever their Dao realm. I was lucky."

Chen Shi pressed him down and asked, "Does fellow Daoist know where Qiongshi is?"

The old Taoist priest, with the other Taoist priest pressing his shoulder, felt his external Taoist energy decreasing and his body becoming lighter and lighter. He was extremely grateful and quickly said, "Qiong Shi, is this a military garrison from the Great Xia Dynasty? I have heard my sect mention this place; it is in Dezhou."

Chen Shi asked, "Dezhou? Which Dezhou?"

There is also a Texas in Xiniu New Continent, so he was quite surprised to hear the name Texas.

"Dezhou, Shandong".

The old Taoist priest, in high spirits over a joyous occasion, laughed and said, "That's the Master's hometown. Why are you asking about it, fellow Taoist?"

Chen Shi smiled and said, "I'm going to find an old friend."

The old Taoist shook his head and said, "I've heard that it's a notoriously ominous place. Long ago, in ancient times, Yi shot down the suns at Qiongshi. Later, during the Great Xia Dynasty, the Heavenly Emperor of Great Xia stationed troops there. It's very fierce and sinister."

After asking for directions and thanking the Taoist, Chen Shi asked, "Fellow Daoist, do you know why the world has changed into this state?"

"I don't know either. Originally, it was just that the weather was bad, it became unusually cold, and it was always snowing, even in June. Although people's lives were difficult, cultivators could still survive."

The Taoist sighed and said, "Just a few years ago, something suddenly happened. I don't know where the heretics came from, but they eroded my Dao realm. Now, I'm afraid all the immortals in the world are having a hard time. I wonder how many immortals will survive."

Upon hearing this, Chen Shi's heart stirred slightly: "The danger of merging with the Dao of Heaven and Earth is simply too great. While one's cultivation and strength are undoubtedly powerful, if the world is corrupted by external forces, even immortals will suffer a great loss of strength, or even die. Therefore, Zhong Wuwang is crucial."

The two left the Taoist temple and headed east.

After leaving Lingbao County, the population gradually increased. This was probably because it was far from Hangu Pass, and the area was less affected.

But the immortal mountains in the sky have disappeared, and the sacred sites of China have dimmed and been eroded by heretics. Immortals, who have attained enlightenment, are the most affected, while mortals are the least affected.

Chen Shi and Fairy Xiao Duan traveled all the way to Luoyang, where they finally saw villages, fortified towns, and bustling markets.

However, an aura of heresy and demonic forces always lingered in the world.

Upon arriving in Jiyuan, the aura of heretics in the world had faded somewhat, but the aura of demonic forces had become stronger.

A fierce battle is raging here. Tens of thousands of cultivators from both sides are engaged in a bloodbath, with countless magical treasures soaring into the sky. The battle is so intense that the heavens and earth tremble and rivers of blood flow. One side's warriors cultivate demonic supernatural powers, which are extremely powerful. Often, a single strike from afar can take several lives.

Chen Shi and Xiao Duan did not intervene and continued eastward, where they saw the demon cultivators slaughtering villages and cutting off heads to collect rewards.

The demonic energy in the world grew stronger and stronger.

Further east, the population dwindled, replaced by villages and towns ravaged by massacre, and mountains of human heads.

“Someone is using this fierce battle to cultivate demonic seeds and raise powerful demons,” Chen Shi said.

They did not linger until sunset when they arrived in Texas. There was indeed an ominous aura there. Chen Shi and Xiao Duan followed the ominous aura and finally arrived at Qiongshi.

The so-called Qiongshi is actually the ancestral home of the Youqiong clan. Over time, the Youqiong clan disappeared, and the name Youqiong was mistakenly passed down as Qiongshi, which became a place name.

Here lies the ancient city of Baishi, the place where the Great Xia Dynasty once stationed its troops.

Fairy Xiaoduan sensed her surroundings and suddenly said, "The nine emperors of my Great Shang Dynasty should be suppressed nearby!"

Just as Chen Shi was about to speak, voices came from afar. Some demon cultivators walked towards the White Stone Ancient City, including several demon immortals. The one in the middle was a young man wearing a fur cloak with sharp eyes.

The young man's voice was sharp and high-pitched, quite grating.

"This place has the heaviest malevolent and demonic aura; it must be the place where the Three Pure Ones suppressed the nine emperors of the Great Shang Dynasty!"

(End of this chapter)