Chapter 680: The God of All Under Heaven’s People? Or the God of the Celestial Emperor of the Heavenly Palace?

“This place... where is this?”

“This is my dream, of course.”

“Who are you? Where did you come from?”

The always composed, dignified, and long-renowned Duke of Thunder Zhou could not help but lose his composure. He was flustered and shaken.

But the Daoist remained calm, facing him as he said, “Haven’t you long since known? My surname is Song, given name You, current heir to Hidden Dragon Temple. My master gave me the style name

Menglai

.”

“Menglai...” Locking eyes with him, Duke of Thunder Zhou fell silent.

In that silence, he turned his head left and right, looking at this world. Several times he seemed on the verge of speaking, then stopped, until finally he asked, “Why, all along the way, have I never seen anyone displaced and homeless?”

“Such people are already rare.”

“But they still exist?”

“Of course. Very few, very, very few, so few that they are hardly seen anymore.” Song You stood by the roadside, answering Duke of Thunder’s questions. “And in the future, such people will never disappear completely.”

“Why?”

“Because some are displaced not because they lack the ability to clothe and feed themselves, nor because society prevents them from doing so.” The Daoist smiled faintly. “Even if they could easily live in comfort, they would still choose to wander. Tell me, Duke of Thunder, do you believe this?”

“...”

Duke of Thunder Zhou gave no answer. He only looked around again, then asked once more, “Why have I also never seen anyone in rags or starving for lack of food?”

“Is that not what gods should wish for?”

“...”

Duke of Thunder Zhou once more fell silent.

The two faced each other.

“Where exactly is this place? How could such a world exist?” Duke of Thunder Zhou asked in a low voice.

“That you cannot imagine such a world, Duke of Thunder, is normal.” The Daoist did not answer directly, but said, “Many years ago, people lived in caves, eating raw meat and drinking blood. They could not imagine that one day there would be a vast nation like Great Yan, stretching tens of thousands of li, or a city like Changjing, bustling and dreamlike. They could not imagine the codes of propriety followed by people today; they could not imagine being able to spend a little silver to hire a carriage to Mount Chang to admire the apricot blossoms; and still less could they imagine being able, deep in the night, to have a street vendor deliver red-willow lamb skewers right to their home.”

The Daoist narrowed his eyes slightly, pausing a moment:

“Even the most skilled Daoist Tiansuan of old would likely be unable to see through the far-off future. Even the Heavenly Dao itself does not know what the world will be like centuries hence. Who can say what the future holds for certain?”

“You mean to say...”

Duke of Thunder Zhou looked at the Daoist, and for some reason, his lips and throat had gone dry. “The world in the future... it might really be like this?”

“As I said before, when it comes to the future, who can say for certain?” The Daoist’s voice remained calm. “But I hope it will become this way. At the very least, it would be better than the present, and a little more like the world I’m familiar with.”

“This is what you intend to do?”

“Have you ever heard of

Doctor Cai’s Medical Canon

?”

“That work written by Doctor Cai?”

“Doctor Cai’s medical skill was godlike, his virtue unsurpassed. He had already grasped the highest truths of medical theory and pathology, and wished to record them in a medical canon, so that when people fell ill, they would know why they were sick and how to prescribe the right remedy, rather than panicking blindly and making random offerings to the gods. Yet every time this medical canon was about to be published, disaster struck, if not a fire, then a flash flood. That is, until I personally intervened and asked the Snake Immortal of Mount Beiqin to safeguard it. Only then was the canon brought into the world.” The Daoist spoke to him. “With your knowledge, Duke of Thunder, you surely know that such things are far from rare under Heaven.”

“...”

“For every era’s rule, there is its emperor; for every era’s realm, there are its gods.” The Daoist gave a long sigh. “Now the great river of the mortal world flows ever forward, but the gods of the Heavenly Palace still linger in the past. In truth, they have already become an obstacle to the world and all living beings.”

“...” Duke of Thunder Zhou wanted to speak, but no words came.

“You surely know, Duke of Thunder, that when I raise the banner of ‘rebuilding the paths to heaven and purging the unworthy gods of the Heavenly Palace,’ my ambition is actually greater than that. You may think I use this to deceive the Heavenly Dao, and to mislead all beings under Heaven, but that is not the case.”

The Daoist shook his head and, ignoring Duke of Thunder Zhou’s silence, went on, “The truth is, on Yunding Mountain, I spoke with the Heavenly Dao for an entire season, persuading it, only then did it agree to let me undertake this great work.”

“So it’s true...” Duke of Thunder Zhou drew in a deep breath before speaking. “You intend not only to rebuild the paths to heaven and purge the unworthy, you mean to act against all the gods and buddhas in Heaven.”

“Yes!”

The Daoist answered openly, his tone firm.

But Duke of Thunder Zhou’s feelings now were completely different.

Had the Daoist said this when he had first arrived, Duke of Thunder Zhou would not have hesitated, he would have seized his chisel and hammer to summon down the full fury of the thunderbolts. But now, his heart was in turmoil. This world in which he stood had shaken him to the core, overturning his very understanding, stripping away the calm certainty he’d had at the start.

The grounds on which he had come, fierce and ready to censure the Daoist, now seemed utterly insignificant in the face of this world—swept aside with the lightest touch.

“So I must ask, Duke of Thunder, are you a god for the people of the mortal realm, or for the Celestial Emperor of the Heavenly Palace?”

“What do you intend to do?”

“Once the five paths to heaven are rebuilt, more than half of the Heavenly Palace’s unworthy gods will be gone. The rest will be dealt with one by one. Without unworthy gods, there will be far less meddling in the mortal realm. However, first, human hearts change easily, and so too can divine hearts. Some gods ascend through virtue, yet may not always hold to it; you know this better than most. Second, gods live long, and many are old, conservative, and set in their ways, they do not need ill intent to cause harm.”

The Daoist said to him, “I do not seek to exterminate all gods, nor to seal the paths to heaven entirely, nor to sever the flow of incense and faith between Heaven and earth. But the gods’ connection to the mortal world, and the powers they hold, must be reduced and constrained.”

“...”

Duke of Thunder Zhou gave no reply.

The last sentence sounded gentle, and there was no obvious scent of blood in the wording, but if it were carried out, for the gods of the Heavenly Palace, it would still be a calamity.

Given the practical nature of Great Yan’s people in their worship, if the gods’ ties to the mortal world were weakened, and their powers curtailed, over time both the breadth and the fervor of mortal faith would inevitably decline. With fewer prayers and incense, the gods would naturally diminish in number.

As time went on, most might vanish entirely, leaving only a few to endure, like those of exceptional virtue, those in vital posts, or those of immense fame.

It might not be an immediate extinction, but it would be close.

And if more time passed... who could say what the world would become?

Duke of Thunder Zhou, a god for over two hundred years, wanted to speak. He wanted to say something on behalf of the gods, to argue, to plead. But when he looked at the world around him, what came out instead was, “And what about those outside the gods?”

Song You knew he was asking about demons and monsters, about cultivators of magic, about the spirits that arose naturally in the mountains, about all extraordinary beings that could leave behind legends in the mortal realm.

“The world has its own answers. Time will give them.” The Daoist replied. “Let things take their course.”

“When the world reaches this state...”

Duke of Thunder Zhou looked left and right, then couldn’t help but ask, “How long will it take?”

“The Great Yan’s commerce and trade are highly developed, and in Changjing, all manner of rare and curious things constantly emerge. If the next dynasty can inherit from Great Yan, then even with divine oversight, within two thousand years it will inevitably change into something beyond your imagination. Without the gods meddling in mortal affairs, it would take only a few hundred years.”

“A few hundred years...”

Duke of Thunder Zhou murmured to himself, then asked, “Hidden Dragon Temple does not seek immortality, its members live and die as mortals do, each generation different from the last. I can trust you, but if the gods of the Heavenly Palace are weakened, how can you ensure that the future heirs of Hidden Dragon Temple will not exterminate them completely, or seize the chance to control the gods of Heaven, making themselves lord of all deities, emperor of the Celestial Emperor? How can you guarantee that after you are gone, the world and the Heavenly Palace will continue as you intend?”

“Duke of Thunder, you are mistaken. Hidden Dragon Temple is a form of inheritance, but what it passes down is not cultivation or magic, but the thought and virtue of being wholly for the people, upheld by all living beings, and favored by the Heavenly Dao. If those are lost, Hidden Dragon Temple will lose everything.”

Song You paused, then added, “What you are thinking, Duke of Thunder, is also what the Heavenly Dao is thinking; what confuses you, also confuses the Heavenly Dao. Thus, the Heavenly Dao has granted me a lifespan of five hundred years, so I may live to see the mortal world of that time.”

“Five hundred...”

“I have no other skill, I cannot create all these things from nothing. But I have seen such a world with my own eyes. I know what it should look like, and the paths that lead to it. When those ‘paths’ begin to appear, I can give them some help, perhaps bringing it about a little sooner.” Song You’s tone was utterly sincere.

“No wonder the Heavenly Dao granted you five hundred years of life.”

“Just so.”

“...”

“What do you say, Duke of Thunder?” The Daoist stood opposite him, asking calmly.

Rumble...

Thunder began rolling in the sky again.

Lightning forked into countless branches, densely webbing half the heavens, lighting the entire city in a snowy glare.

At some point, dark clouds had gathered overhead. In them, serpents of lightning and dragons of thunder twisted wildly, holding the power of ten thousand weights of thunder, ready to be summoned down with a mere gesture from Duke of Thunder.

This was the Dream God’s power, prepared for Duke of Thunder Zhou to aid him in victory. It also seemed like the Dream God was urging him on.

Creak...

Someone rode past them again on a bicycle.

“You are supported by the people and trusted by the Heavenly Dao, what other choice do I have?”

Duke of Thunder Zhou sighed.

“I only wish this scene could come sooner; I only wish that when the time comes, I might still be in Heaven to witness it. If that day truly comes, even if I vanish like smoke, I would have no regrets.” Duke of Thunder Zhou then added, “Only, I did not come here alone today. After I leave, sir, you must still speak with the other one.”

When he had finished, he turned once more to look at this world, this time more slowly and more carefully with a complicated gaze.

CRACK!

A great thunderclap rang out, and there was a flash of divine light. Duke of Thunder Zhou vanished from the Daoist’s dream.

The Daoist could not help but raise his head to the sky.

Without a sound, the dark clouds dispersed, the lightning vanished, revealing the original sky. Yet now, ten thousand rays of Buddha’s light poured forth.

Two Buddhas sat upon the clouds, gazing down at the world.

“...”

The Daoist narrowed his eyes slightly.

Duke of Thunder Zhou was already strong, and with the Celestial Emperor’s divine authority and incense power protecting him, plus the Dream God’s aid, he had even summoned two Buddhas from the Western Paradise. Truly cautious.

“Amitabha. My Dharma name is Chideng.”

“Amitabha. My Dharma name is Mingche.”

“So it is Master Chideng and Master Mingche. I am Song You. It's an honor to meet you.” Song You bowed. “Duke of Thunder has already departed. What do you two intend to do?”

“This is not a place where I should remain.”

“This is not a matter in which I should intervene.”

The two Buddhas pressed their palms together and lowered their heads as they spoke.

“I hear that the current head of Hidden Dragon Temple has been traveling the world for twenty years, and will return to the mountain once those twenty years are up. Now, less than a year remains,” said Master Chideng. “When you return to Yinyang Mountain, my master is willing to come there in person to visit you and discuss the future.”

“Is this the Buddha’s will?”

“My Lord surely intends it,” said Master Chideng. “Even if my Lord does not come, we would gladly come nonetheless.”

“Would it be permissible?” asked Master Mingche.

“We await your grand arrival,” Song You said. “I, for one, am quite interested in the Western Paradise.”

“In the past, this poor monk too believed the Pure Land lay in the Western Paradises,” Master Mingche said with closed eyes. “Now it seems it is in the human world, in the human world of the future. For this, I must thank you for pointing out the right path.”

“Yet the Buddha-realm, like the Heavenly Palace, is not without discord,” said Master Chideng, bowing. “The task you undertake will meet with many obstacles. Please take great care in all things.”

“We bid you both farewell.”

Song You’s expression remained calm throughout.

These two were not necessarily men of great virtue, only envoys summoned from the Heavenly Palace. Now that Duke of Thunder Zhou had departed, they no longer had any reason to act. Even if they tried, they had no hope of victory, and might well be defeated here instead.

Of course, Song You preferred to believe it was a matter of virtue, not calculation.

“Take care, Your Excellency.”

“I’ll take my leave.”

Without a sound, the golden radiance in the heavens dispersed.

“...”

The Daoist did not leave at once. Instead, he drew his gaze back from the sky, looked again upon this world, and then took a step forward, leaning on his bamboo staff as he walked along the street.

What met his eyes was both familiar and strange. How many years had it been since he had last been here? He truly did not wish to wake.

“Ah...” The Daoist sighed, turned with his staff.

His figure vanished from the spot, and the dream shattered.