Chapter 652: Who Can Suppress Him?

The heavens were divided into thirty-six levels, the highest of which was the Great Luo Heaven.

Amid swirling immortal energy and billowing white clouds, celestial islands floated in the air, upon which stood resplendent palaces in gold and jade. If one counted carefully, there were thirty-six Heavenly Palaces and seventy-two Heavenly Halls. Each palace and hall was surrounded by celestial music and white cranes in flight, which wsa very much what mortals imagined the heavens to be, and yet subtly different.

At the center stood a grand palace known as the

Chijin Rising Clouds Palace

; this was the seat of the Celestial Emperor, the one said to command all gods and buddhas across the heavens. It was also the place mortals yearned for, imagining it to be the ultimate paradise of immortals.

With vermilion pillars and drifting clouds, the entrance of the palace was guarded by two divine generals clad in radiant golden armor. Broad-shouldered and imposing, they exuded an awe-inspiring presence even in stillness.

Inside the hall, voices could be heard speaking.

“Great Emperor, the path to the heavens atop Mount Zunzhe has just been sealed. From now on, only deities may ascend. The Heavenly Palace can no longer confer divinity from above.”

This calm and gentle voice belonged to an elderly man.

“Have you gone to verify it?” Came a deeper, steadier voice. It sounded majestic, and its echoes rolled through the hall.

“I just returned from seeing it.”

“And what did you find?”

“The current heir of Hidden Dragon Temple dared to carry out this act and did indeed receive the mandate of the Heavenly Dao.” There was no need to spell things out, as both sides understood the implications.

“The Heavenly Dao...” the Celestial Emperor murmured softly, then muttered to himself, “Even the Heavenly Dao no longer wishes to see us confer divinity?”

The other voice gave no reply. “In the earliest form of the Divine Dao, gods were indeed not meant to be appointed by the Heavenly Palace. Who may ascend to the heavens should never have been our decision to make. The Heavenly Dao may truly no longer wish to see this continue.

“However, what the heir of Hidden Dragon Temple seeks to do is surely far more than this alone, and this may not be something the Heavenly Dao wishes to see either.”

The Celestial Emperor’s voice continued, “What do you esteemed Divine Lords and Immortal Elders think should be done?”

A few voices responded, drifting among the clouds.

“I do not know...”

“This is not something I can decide...”

“I believe we must not sit and wait to perish.”

Several divine voices echoed through the mist.

One of them seemed to echo the Celestial Emperor’s thoughts, and so his voice rose once more, “The heirs of Hidden Dragon Temple have long possessed the might of an Ancient Great Being. For the current heir to dare act thus, he must be well-prepared. And now he is backed by the favor and approval of the Heavenly Dao.

“Among the gods of the Heavenly Palace, which deity has the power to rival him and would be willing to go forth to subdue and slay him?”

“This...”

The gathered gods hesitated, beginning to whisper among themselves.

Listening closely, it sounded no different than a mortal imperial court debate.

“The heir of Hidden Dragon Temple is now favored by the Heavenly Dao. This act of his, at least for now, aligns with the Dao. Regardless of his future ambitions, for the moment he holds the righteousness of heaven and reason on his side. To launch a large-scale campaign now would not be wise.

“First, it would be an act against Heaven. Second, the various Divine Lords of the Heavenly Palace may be reluctant to act. If they were forcibly summoned to war, it could only backfire.”

These words rang painfully true.

Those who were able to become deities in the heavens were, for the most part, individuals venerated by countless people in the mortal world. How could any of them be mediocre or ordinary? Let alone those who had attained vast divine powers and limitless magical abilities.

Among such divine beings, the vast majority—if not known for exceptional virtue—possessed no small measure of pride. In fact, many had both virtue and pride. Dignified and lofty by nature, they were not easily compelled.

To ask them to act against the will of Heaven, to send them to subjugate the heir of Hidden Dragon Temple—a man striving to serve the people and restore the Divine Dao to its original form—was something most deities would be unwilling to do. What’s more, the actions of the Hidden Dragon heir undermined the interests of the Celestial Emperor, but did not necessarily harm the interests of those gods of virtue.

If a large-scale campaign were launched, using many to overwhelm the few, bullying the weak with the strong, even those gods who weren’t especially virtuous might not be willing to take part.

Chaos had already begun to stir in the mortal realm. A change of dynasties in the human world did not necessarily affect the Heavenly Palace, and such cases were rare, but in troubled times, even the Celestial Emperor’s authority waned. Any deity summoned to attack Hidden Dragon Temple would not be an insignificant figure, and if they were unwilling to fight, they could not be forced. To do so would only lead to further problems.

The heir of Hidden Dragon Temple had, in truth, chosen his moment with great precision.

The Celestial Emperor understood this as well. That was why he asked,

“

Which

deity

can go and is willing to go,” emphasizing one, not many.

“I have a candidate in mind.”

“May I ask who it is?”

“The Gold Spirit Official!”

“Excellent! None more suited than the Gold Spirit Official!”

“The Gold Spirit Official is fierce by nature and fond of battle. He also has an old grudge against the current heir of Hidden Dragon Temple. It’s only because he lacked a proper excuse that he has endured it until now. If we invite him to act, he will surely be willing.”

“I agree. The Gold Spirit Official is a deity born of an ancient cultivator, the foremost battle commander of the Heavenly Palace, head of the War Division. In terms of combat strength, he far surpasses the former Thunder Division chief. Even compared to the ancient mighty cultivators, he is no less powerful, and possibly even greater.”

“Though the Gold Spirit Official is mighty and invincible in battle, if he acts alone without support from the War Division’s warriors, there may still be risks. He must be backed by the divine authority of Your Majesty.”

“The Gold Spirit Official already possesses the power of an ancient being. If granted the incense power of Your Majesty, enhancing his divine strength and forming a fully materialized divine body, then even if the Earth Sage of old were to return, he might not be his match.”

“Indeed...”

This so-called “

backed by divine authority

,” and “

grant incense power

” was, in truth, the most vital power the Celestial Emperor possessed. He had the authority to allocate incense offerings and prayers.

Divine beings were born of incense and worship. The wider the belief in them, the more incense they received, and the stronger they became; this was a truth that never changed.

But not all incense and prayers were clearly directed at a specific deity.

When mortals visited temples and offered incense with a clear target in mind—for example, praying specifically to a certain god—then that incense and wish would naturally be directed to that god. Not even the Celestial Emperor could take that away.

However, in many cases, mortals would simply burn incense and pray to “the gods” or “the immortals,” asking for divine protection without specifying which deity. In such cases, even the worshipper might not know who they were praying to, and the incense had no fixed destination.

It was as though it belonged to no deity, or perhaps it belonged to

any

deity.

Yet since the mortal had prayed to the gods, this still counted as worship and belief. Naturally, some deity should respond, and the incense should be received.

But where would such incense go, and which deity should be responsible for the mortal’s prayer?

The divine realm was not a disorganized mob; it had a system, with administrators and institutions. Incense and prayers not clearly directed at any one god would naturally be funneled to the Heavenly Palace and then distributed at the discretion of its ruler, the Celestial Emperor.

The majority of incense offerings were clearly directed, but once subdivided among all the gods, each received very little.

The undirected incense was smaller in overall quantity, but it all gathered in one place under the Celestial Emperor’s control. As a result, even though the total was less, it was still more than what any single deity received individually.

Many of the oldest gods, whose mortal-world worship had long faded, now received so little incense that they could barely maintain their divine forms. Some gods held posts not related to the mortal world and thus served only within the Heavenly Palace itself, unable to gather mortal incense. Others lacked notable virtue or diligence after attaining divinity and also received little worship.

These deities, nearly all of them, depended entirely on incense allocated by the Celestial Emperor just to continue existing.

The Heavenly Palace had long possessed such means. Whenever a deity was needed for a task, but their divine power was insufficient, the Celestial Emperor would wield his divine authority and bless them with incense-willed power gathered from the Heavenly Palace, bolstering their strength.

Thus, from the Celestial Emperor’s perspective, the raw strength of a deity was of secondary importance. What mattered more was their divine office, their granted authority, their areas of expertise, and above all—, whether they were loyal to him. After all, under his rule, weakening a deity's power might prove difficult, but elevating one, like turning a minor god into a mighty one, was as easy as a mortal emperor promoting an official, civil or military.

With this, the matter was more or less settled. Still, one of the Divine Lords expressed concern, “It is wise to plan ahead and consider the long-term. If we prepare for the worst, we need not fear what lies near. Though the Gold Spirit Official’s power is great, what if he should lose? What then?”

“This concern is justified, Elder Divine Lord,” another replied. “But have you considered that Hidden Dragon Temple merely cultivates the Human Dao. Human cultivators, by nature, have a limit to their spiritual energy. Even if the current heir of Hidden Dragon Temple possesses vast divine abilities and somehow defeats the Gold Spirit Official, who will be strengthened by the Celestial Emperor’s blessing, how much of his power will he have left after such a battle?”

“Well said!”

“We ought to prepare a second candidate. If by chance the Gold Spirit Official is defeated, and the Hidden Dragon heir's power is nearly exhausted, we can then send another divine general to descend and seize him!”

“To know both yourself and your enemy ensures victory in every battle. Immortal Elder of Green Wood has descended to the mortal realm many times and spoken with the heir of Hidden Dragon Temple. If anyone knows his strength, temperament, and specialties, it is he. We should invite the Immortal Elder of Green Wood to join this council.”

“Summon the Gold Spirit Official and Immortal Elder of Green Wood.”

“...”

The voices mingled with celestial music, drifting through the clouds.

At the entrance of the magnificent hall, the two divine generals remained standing like mountains. Another divine official soon emerged, riding a cloud away and departing to summon the two deities.

***

Meanwhile, at the border between Yaozhou and Langzhou in the mortal world...

Behind Mount Zunzhe, there was a natural hollow, like a cave. It was one of the few spots sheltered from the wind.

At the moment, a fire was burning inside the cave. A small pot was set atop a stone hearth, bubbling away with a pot of thick white porridge. Within the porridge simmered large prawns and abalone, steam constantly rising.

Lady Calico sat with her upper body stretched forward, chin tilted up. One hand held a bowl, the other a spoon. In addition to tending the fire, she was also ladling porridge for the Daoist. More meat, less porridge.

Once served, she handed the bowl to him.

Judging by her casual, natural demeanor, this had clearly become routine. And by the meticulous look on her face, she seemed more like the host here, like the head of the household.

“Thank you, Lady Calico.”

“You’re welcome! Eat up, now!”

“Lady Calico, you eat too.”

“Of course!”

Lady Calico sat back down and tossed two pinecones into the fire before picking up her own bowl and ladling out a serving. There was only a single small prawn in hers.

She took a sip of porridge and scraped the bottom of the bowl twice more, only to discover a tiny crab inside. It was

extremely

small.

Lady Calico already had small hands, and this tiny crab wasn’t even as big as one of her fingertips. It looked like a round little pea, plump and smooth. After being cooked, it had turned slightly yellowish. Faintly visible on its head were two little black dots, which were its eyes.

Only then did Lady Calico show a hint of childlike glee. The moment she saw it, she scooped it up with her wooden spoon and excitedly showed it to her Daoist.

“Look!”

“Pea crab.”

“Pea crab!”

“Yes...”

“Looks just like a little bean!”

“It does.”

“Where did it come from? I didn’t catch any sea-pan that tiny! And I didn’t put one in while cooking!”

“It came from here...” Song You lifted a piece of oyster meat with his spoon. “Pea crabs sometimes hide inside oyster shells. Sometimes when you open the oyster, you’ll see them. Other times, if you’re not careful, you won’t.”

“It’s

so

tiny!”

“Mm...”

“And so cute! Teeny tiny!”

“It is...”

Seeing her like this, Song You couldn’t help but smile.

But just as he answered, just as the smile appeared on his face, he saw her suddenly toss the crab high into the air, tip her head back, and catch it in her open mouth.

Crunch, crunch...

Lady Calico smacked her lips and savored the taste carefully.

“...”

Song You’s expression stiffened slightly. Then he could only shake his head with a helpless smile.

Lady Calico’s sense of childlike wonder truly was unlike that of ordinary people.

The fire crackled and popped, radiating waves of warmth. Steam rose steadily from the pot, drifting through the cave. A mere pea crab wasn’t enough to spoil this moment of peace.

After finishing his meal, the Daoist began to feel drowsy. The cave was pleasantly warm, and the lump of clay he had taken from the Divine Lord Lilong’s statue was gently radiating heat. So he lay down right there and drifted off to sleep.

And in his dreams, an old god came to visit.