On the Avenue.

Chapter 701 Immortal Wencheng
After a violent shaking, the ancient city of Baishi suddenly reappeared on its original site, as if it had never left.

The ancient city was located in a remote and sparsely populated area, and with the recent continuous fighting, the surrounding area was deserted, so no one noticed this scene.

Chen Shi released Kundulun, took out a talisman, and drew a Taotie in mid-air.

The Taotie leaped down from the talisman, opened its mouth and swallowed Kundulun whole. Then it leaped into the talisman, transforming back into a Taotie talisman.

Chen Shi put away the Gluttonous Talisman and smiled, "This time, we didn't even need to use our fellow disciples from Jin'ao Island to deal with the culprit, Kundulun. Once we return to Hangu Pass, we can send our soldiers to the front lines to wipe out the Jianzhou army. You and I can then travel around the ancestral land and experience its local customs and culture."

Xiao Duan smiled and said, "That's exactly what I was thinking too."

The two headed towards Hangu Pass. When they arrived at Heze, they suddenly saw a thick fog obscuring the sky and the sun. They entered the fog and could not distinguish east from west.

Chen Shi waved his sleeve, creating a gust of wind in an attempt to disperse the fog, but the fog seemed endless.

Xiao Duan summoned his primordial spirit, his eyes blazing like two great suns, yet he could not dispel the mist.

"There's something strange about this fog."

Chen Shi and Xiao Duan exchanged a glance and then landed from the air.

The fog below gradually thinned, and by the time they landed on the ground, the fog had completely disappeared.

Chen Shi looked up and saw a thick fog floating two or three people above his head, as dense as condensed milk, flowing slowly.

A mountain village came into view, with crisscrossing paths and the sounds of chickens and dogs. Several villagers were working in the fields with farm tools in hand, and an old man was drinking tea under a tree at the entrance of the village, fanning himself with a palm leaf fan.

Chen Shi took the lead and walked over to the tree. He greeted the old man who was waving a palm-leaf fan and asked, "Old man, may I ask where the West is?"

The old man was about sixty years old, with white hair. He raised his palm-leaf fan, pointed behind Chen Shi, and laughed, "The West is over there."

Chen Shi looked over, but saw that the direction the fan was pointing was shrouded in mist, obscuring his view. He laughed and said, "Old man, you can't go there."

The old man laughed and said, "Go, go. If King Chen can hand over the demon seed, where can't he go?"

Chen Shi sat down opposite him, his eyes gleaming, and asked, "How should I address you, sir?"

Little Duan Fairy stood behind him, her gaze fixed on the old man, her aura growing increasingly imposing, as if she might strike at any moment.

The old man was not afraid at all and smiled, saying, "I am Fan Wencheng, also known as Immortal Wencheng."

Chen Shi thought for a moment. He had never heard of this person in the Earthly Immortal Realm, so he asked, "Old man, do you know how many Chinese people died because the Demon Seed caused this chaos and brought such devastation to the land?"

Wen Cheng Immortal said, "Since the Demon Seed descended, more than 50 million have died."

A cold glint flashed in Chen Shi's eyes as he said, "Over fifty million... Are you a Chinese immortal, sir?"

The old man said, "That is me."

Chen Shi asked softly, "Since you are a Chinese immortal, why do you still allow the demonic seed to wreak havoc?"

Wencheng the Immortal picked up his teacup, took a sip, and slowly put it down. His expression was solemn as he said, “This is in accordance with Heaven’s will. Heavenly King Chen, you are a Heavenly King, so you probably cannot see the suffering endured by the immortals below. Immortals ascend to Heaven and serve the Heavenly Court for ten years. If they do not die, they can enter the Earthly Immortal Realm. Even in the Earthly Immortal Realm, they still have to work like oxen and horses, serving the Heavenly Court. Their lives are filled with hardship. You have seen fifty million Chinese people die in this demonic chaos, but do you know how many immortals have died at the hands of Heavenly King Li of the Heavenly Court?”

Before Chen Shi could answer, he continued, "Over the past 360,000 years, as many as 50 million immortals have died at the hands of Li Tianwang! Does Chen Tianwang know how many immortals the Four Emperors, Five Elders, Three Officials, Eight Departments, Nine Heavenly Kings, and Ten Flying God Kings of the Heavenly Court command? The entire Earthly Immortal Realm is under their control, and all the heavenly worlds are shrouded in their shadow. How many immortals toil for them yet go hungry and naked? How many immortals have no place to stand in the Earthly Immortal Realm?"

He sneered, "Without rebelling against the Heavenly Court, how can immortals truly control the Earthly Immortal Realm? Without rebelling against the Heavenly Court, how can one improve one's cultivation level and live a carefree life? Without rebelling against the Heavenly Court, how can one comfort the souls of those immortals who have already died?"

He waved his palm-leaf fan and said coldly, "Chen Tianwang, you didn't climb up from the bottom of the immortal realm. You are Houtu's adopted son, have the Eastern King Duke as your backer, and the background of Jin'ao Island. Most of the gods in the Heavenly Court have a master-disciple relationship with you. You took away 200,000 heavenly soldiers and generals after only ten years of agreement with the Heavenly Court. Even the Great Heavenly Venerable wanted to appoint you Chen Tianwang to win you over. But I am different. I crawled out of a pile of dead bodies."

Chen Shi felt a slight unease. This Wen Cheng Immortal knew his origins and was very familiar with his background.

Wen Cheng the Immortal said, "After I ascended to heaven, I served as a celestial soldier in the Heavenly Court. Because of my upright character, I was nearly killed by Li Tianwang several times. Fortunately, I was blessed with great fortune and escaped with my life. After leaving the Heavenly Court, I thought I would have a chance to use my talents. However, as soon as I left the Heavenly Court, I was sold to the North Sea to mine immortal mines. The North Sea mines are filled with immortal light as sharp as knives, and many immortals die in the mines every day."

Upon hearing this, Chen Shi felt a pang of sympathy and said, "I have never mined immortal mines. After returning to the Earthly Immortal Realm, I will definitely make a trip to the North Sea to experience what you lived back then."

Wen Cheng the Immortal continued, “I survived several mining accidents in the North Sea. In one accident, I lost an arm and was sold to a beast-hunting team to hunt celestial beasts in Beiju Luzhou. Each hunt was a death sentence. Our team consisted of fifty people. For every celestial beast we captured, four or five would die and more than ten would be seriously injured. And these captured celestial beasts were sold to the gods of the Heavenly Court as mounts.”

Chen Shi carefully recalled those celestial deities, prominent figures who often had their own carriages and mounts.

"Don't worry, I'll also go hunting for immortal beasts in Beiju Luzhou," Chen Shi said.

"Most of the money from selling the mythical beasts ends up in the hands of the leaders. What we get is barely enough for our daily expenses."

Wen Cheng Xianren chuckled and said, "During a hunt, I was seriously injured and sold to the boat captain by the leader of the hunting team. The boat captain took me out to sea to hunt sea beasts, which are delicacies on the tables of important figures in the Heavenly Court. As for me, I was the boat captain's bait, tied to a fishhook taller than a person, waiting for the sea beasts to take the bait."

After hesitating for a moment, Chen Shi said, "I will also go to hunt sea monsters."

Wen Cheng Xianren said, "Perhaps I was lucky. I was swallowed by a sea monster, a sea dragon shark, but I didn't die inside its belly. Instead, I swallowed its dragon pearl, which greatly improved my cultivation. My injuries healed, and my arm grew back. I killed the sea dragon shark and escaped. The boat captain wanted to capture me, and I was filled with hatred and wanted to kill him too."

Chen Shi said, "You've suffered so much, you've complained about everything, so it's understandable that you want to kill the boat captain to get revenge."

Wen Cheng Xianren's face was as cold as frost. He said, "I want to kill more than just the boat captain. I also want to kill the leader of the beast-hunting team and the mine owner of the North Sea! But the boat captain is a true immortal. How can I be his match? If I am captured by him, I will be sold to Gongtong Valley to grow herbs and become a medicine slave."

Chen Shi felt a pang of sympathy.

"Do you know how to be a medicine slave? A medicine slave is someone who uses their own immortal blood to nourish the immortal medicine and their own immortal essence to cultivate the fruit of the immortal medicine."

Wencheng the Immortal rolled up his sleeves, revealing the scars on his wrists, and said, "The elixirs of Gongtong Valley are mainly supplied to the Heavenly Court. The elixirs in the salaries given to the Heavenly Soldiers and Generals are made from herbs from Gongtong Valley. Heh, it was only then that I realized that the elixirs I made for the Heavenly Soldiers and Generals were actually cultivated using the blood of us newly ascended immortals." How tragic.

Chen Shi was filled with sympathy.

“From that moment on, I thought, I can’t go on like this. I must find out the source of our suffering as immortals.”

Wen Cheng Xianren said, "Later I finally found it. The source is the Heavenly Court. Gongtong Valley supplies medicine to the Heavenly Court, the boat captains deliver fish and meat, the beast-hunting teams provide mounts, and the North Sea mining area supplies materials for forging weapons and armor. Therefore, to change all this, we must eliminate the Heavenly Court."

Chen Shi frowned slightly, feeling that something was amiss, and said, "The resources of the Earthly Immortal Realm are not entirely in the hands of the Heavenly Court. Most of the holy lands are in the hands of powerful figures in the Immortal Realm, who use them to enslave others."

Wen Cheng Immortal said, "These powerful immortals grew stronger step by step by working for the Heavenly Court. Back then, the destruction of the Shang Dynasty was to build up the Heavenly Court's foundation for the Jade Emperor."

He changed the subject, saying, "I alone cannot fight against the Heavenly Court. But fortunately, there are still virtuous and righteous people in the Earthly Immortal Realm who also want to overthrow the Heavenly Court. At this time, I met the Supreme Being."

He showed a look of admiration, which was not feigned but came from the heart.

"Supreme?" Chen Shi asked in confusion.

"It was then that I realized that there were many people like me who had discovered that the Heavenly Court was the source of the immortals' suffering, and they gathered around the Supreme Being to make a great contribution."

Wen Cheng the Immortal said, “I am truly humbled and regret that we met so late. The Supreme One treated me like family, providing me with all kinds of Taoist scriptures, elixirs and miraculous medicines. As a result, my Taoist cultivation has advanced by leaps and bounds. Later, we elected the Supreme One as Emperor and established the Immortal Court to formally confront the Heavenly Court.”

Chen Shi's heart skipped a beat. The Supreme One was the Emperor of the Celestial Court, the master of the Great Wilderness Mingdao Collection, and his cheap master!
Wen Cheng the Immortal said, "The Immortal Court has always been cautious in its confrontation with the Heavenly Court. After all, the Heavenly Court is powerful, and the Three Pure Ones, the Western Paradise, and other immortal forces may not support us. However, more and more people of insight have joined the Immortal Court, and the Immortal Court is becoming stronger and stronger. One day, the Supreme One told me that there was something he wanted me to do. This matter may bring eternal infamy, or it may lead to my death without a burial place."

Chen Shi said, "Destroy the ancestral temple."

Wen Cheng Xianren nodded slightly and said, "That's right. Only by destroying the Ancestral Court can we destroy the foundation of the Heavenly Court. Everyone comes from the Ancestral Court, and because of the faith in the Ancestral Court, they worship the gods of the Heavenly Court. For example, King Chen, who clearly comes from Xiniu New Continent in the Dark Sea, has been cut off from the Ancestral Court for more than 6,000 years, but still remembers the Ancestral Court and remembers that this is the root of you overseas wanderers. If the Ancestral Court is removed, this root will be severed."

Chen Shi's lips twitched.

He does have a special feeling for his ancestral home. The ancestral home is called Huaxia Shenzhou, and the culture and heritage of Xiniu Xinzhou all come from there. He always feels that it is his hometown.

His worship of gods and godmothers is also a tradition from his ancestral home.

The deities he revived in Xiniu New Continent are also the gods of China.

It is likely that the people of all the heavens and myriad worlds are the same.

When they look up at the bright moon in the night sky, they probably wonder if this moon is the same one from their hometown.

Wencheng Immortal continued, “Only by destroying the ancestral court can the foundation of the Heavenly Court be shaken. Without faith, the gods are dead and will not be resurrected. But destroying the ancestral court is a matter of great importance, and someone must bear this infamy. That person is me. I told the Supreme One that I would do it. So, eight hundred years ago, I came to the ancestral court with the magic weapon given to me by the Supreme One.”

He smiled slightly: "I did a good job. I released ice and snow, plunging the ancestral court into a frigid state, shaking the rule of the Ming Dynasty. I supported Jianzhou and taught them demonic arts. The Ming Dynasty was incredibly powerful, but its foundations were still rotten. Only corrupt officials remained in the court, only knowing how to exploit the people and line their own pockets. In the end, the dynasty was destroyed and overthrown by the Shun Dynasty. The Shun Dynasty was also just a pipe dream, and it will eventually be swept away by the Jianzhou demonic army. And what I need to do now is to support the demonic seed, let the demonic seed become a great demon, and destroy everything in the ancestral court."

He looked at Chen Shi and said, "Just recently, I contacted the Supreme Being and received a message. The Supreme Being said that Heavenly King Chen has led 20,000 heavenly soldiers and generals to quell the demonic chaos."

Chen Shi raised his eyebrows.

This matter certainly cannot be kept secret from the Celestial Court.

Wen Cheng Immortal continued, "The Supreme One also said that this Chen Tianwang was his disciple by adoption and cultivated his Great Wilderness Dao Collection. He is very likely the murderer who killed his two disciples."

Chen Shi's heart skipped a beat, and he asked in a hoarse voice, "The Supreme One knows me?"

Wen Cheng Immortal said leisurely, "The Supreme One knows about you. He also said that the heavenly soldiers and generals under your command are all his people. You are just managing these forces on his behalf. The Supreme One said that as long as you do not interfere with the affairs of the Ancestral Court, he will accept you as his disciple."

Chen Shi's heart pounded wildly. Being targeted by someone like this was definitely not a good thing!
With the strength of an Immortal Emperor, he could absolutely kill him with ease!
He was utterly powerless against such a being!

Wencheng the Immortal laughed and said, "King Chen, we are both ministers in the same court, why make things awkward? Please, King, hand over Kundulun."

Chen Shi took a long breath, shook his head and smiled, "I won't hand it over."

Wen Cheng Xianren sighed: "I've wasted my breath. Since Mr. and Mrs. Chen Tianwang have chosen to risk their lives, I have no choice but to grant their wish."

Just as Chen Shi was about to call for his wife to make a move, a dog barked. He looked in the direction of the sound and saw a scruffy-bearded Taoist priest in black robes rushing towards them, followed by a handsome young Taoist priest.

"The blame!"

Chen Shi was both surprised and delighted, and said to the young Taoist priest.

The burly, black-robed Taoist priest with a stubble beard was very strong and robust. He rushed up to Chen Shi and was about to pounce on him when he heard the words and stopped.

"Wang!"

Chen Shi turned his head with difficulty and stammered, "You mean, you're the scapegoat?"

He turned back to the young Taoist priest and stammered, "So who are you?"

The young Taoist priest, with his rosy lips and white teeth, was quite polite and said, "I am Taoist Xiaotian."

Chen Shi's mind went blank for a moment, but then he saw a tall, slender young immortal general wearing a golden crown, golden armor, and red boots walking towards him, carrying a three-pointed double-edged sword.

(End of this chapter)