Great Rebellion

"From this day forward, we shall be Dao companions, together in cultivation and immolation. In life we shall accompany each other for long, in death we shall remember each other forever."

Chen Weichen became a bit more awake and blinked his eyes. "Are you serious?"

Ye Jiuya: "Mm."

Chen Weichen looked at him and smiled blankly. Just as he was about to say something, the sound of a bell could be heard in the distance.

"A summons." Ye Jiuya glanced out the window. "Come with me."

The so-called "Fuyao Platform" was actually quite a large area. The various sects communicated with each other through the ringing of bells. The bell that just sounded came from the highest "Cloud Platform", and was summoning the sect leaders and lords.

Chen Weichen muttered, "Who would call people at this time?"

There was still a whole day before the true Dharma Conference would begin, and the immortal sects had not all arrived yet - those who arrived early were all major sects of the Central Continent, while the remaining minor sects still needed another day.

At this time, Mount Huandang had no master. The three lords were the most respected, and among the sects, the Sword Pavilion and Sword Platform were the largest, followed by the Qingjing Temple and the Zhichen Temple. Those who could summon the sect leaders were none other than Ye Jiuya, Lord Lanshan, and Lord Canlong, as well as Master Kong Shan. There was also Xie Lang, who, although he had not yet firmly established his footing, held the position of the head of the Qingjing Temple.

They had been together day and night at Zhichen previously and had already shared everything with each other. There really wasn't anything worth discussing in such a high-profile manner.

Ye Jiuya said, "Tianyan has also arrived for this Dharma Conference."

This was indeed an unusual matter. Tianyan Sect had been avoiding the world and had not been involved in immortal sect affairs for hundreds of years. It was unknown as to why they came, or perhaps it was directly related to the calamity of the heart demons.

Chen Weichen previously could not attend such a gathering. However, having just suddenly become Swordmaster Ye's Dao companion, they were now on equal footing. It was proper and justified, and he could naturally go with him.

Using Qi to fly to the Cloud Platform, the great hall was to the west, lit by the luminous oil of merfolk, which could remain bright for a hundred years without extinguishing.

As they gradually approached, they saw a person in gray robes striking the bell in the center of the Cloud Platform.

The gray color was almost indistinguishable from the gray symbolizing the primordial chaos of the Qingjing Temple, but there was no taiji diagram of yin and yang fish representing the separation of heaven and earth. It was Tianyan.

They entered the great hall and indeed saw an old man with white hair in gray robes in the center. He was not tall, slightly plump, with a dignified and majestic appearance, completely different from the kind and benevolent Master Kong Shan.

When Chen Weichen saw him, he let out a soft "Oh?"

Ye Jiuya asked, "What is it?"

"He is Lord Wansi," Chen Weichen narrowed his eyes. "It was said that he wandered all over, with his whereabouts untraceable. It turns out he was from Tianyan—but aren't its members forbidden from having any killing intent? So how can he be a lord?"

Lu Lanshan and Xie Lang had already taken their seats, and there were also some other sect leaders present. Master Kong Shan and Xing Qiu had just arrived and were exchanging greetings with the old man.

"This old man is Wansi of Tianyan," he said.

Master Kong Shan placed his palm vertically in front of his chest and performed a peer greeting with him. "This poor monk is Kong Shan of Zhichen Temple."

Wansi slowly nodded his head and turned to look at Xing Qiu. Master Kong Shan then said, "This is the Demon Realm Emperor."

He then said to Xing Qiu, "This is the leader of Tianyan."

Xing Qiu did not exchange greetings with him, but instead said, "Tianyan?"

"Our kind are those who extrapolate the workings of heaven." Wansi did not seem to have developed any hostility toward the Demon Emperor's identity, which was incompatible with the immortal sects. Instead, he was a bit more polite. "As fate would have it, Your Majesty the Demon Emperor has also come to this place."

"A coincidence." Xing Qiu slightly nodded his head at him, which counted as a greeting, and then took a seat to the side. At this time, he was behaving completely in the manner of the Demon Emperor, dressed in a magnificent purple robe, with a cold expression and beautiful features, and an air of nobility surrounding him - speaking of which, putting aside the distinction between immortals and demons, his identity was actually the highest one present.

Ye Jiuya entered the hall. Wansi sized him up and said, "You must be Swordmaster Ye. This old man has long heard of the great reputation of the Heartless Sword Intent. Seeing it today, it is indeed extraordinary."

Ye Jiuya slightly nodded his head to him. "Greetings, Senior."

Wansi shifted his gaze to Chen Weichen.

Ye Jiuya: "He is this junior's Dao companion."

"Oh?" A hint of interest appeared in the gray-robed old man's eyes.

Chen Weichen: "Junior Chen Weichen greets Senior."

Wansi asked, "Doesn't seem to be from the sword path. What path do you cultivate?"

Chen Weichen: "Immortal, Buddha, Demon."

Wansi nodded thoughtfully. "The younger generation is formidable."

They also took their seats. Chen Weichen observed Wansi.

Tianyan peered into the workings of heaven and could be said to be able to connect with the will of heaven. Therefore, in the minds of ordinary sects that revered the Heavenly Dao, their status was much more transcendent. Seeing Wansi treating everyone like juniors, it seemed that Tianyan also considered themselves to be different from others.

After a while, everyone had arrived. Lu Lanshan said, "Senior Wansi, you summoned us here. Do you have any instructions?"

Wansi sat in the first seat with two people in gray robes standing behind him.

"The calamity of the heart demons originated from the Southern Sea. The immortal sects and mortal world are all facing a great catastrophe. I heard that you gentlemen have already sought methods to deal with it," he said.

"Indeed," Lu Lanshan said. "Previously, Swordmaster Ye, Lord Canlong, Marquis Langran, Master Kong Shan of Zhichen, the two masters Kong Ming, and I have devised a formation that can restrain the heart demons. Those with a firm state of mind will not be disturbed by the heart demons. We are just waiting for the sects to gather, and then we will distribute the formation talismans. Each sect will then join forces with the Qingjing Temple to spread them to the mortal world, which can help the immortal sects and mortal world avoid the calamity."

After he finished speaking, Ye Jiuya said, "The war in the mortal world will cease, and the fortune can be restored. The immortal sects will reopen the Dharma Conference. When the fortune of the immortal sects is also flourishing, the mortal world's fortune can then contend with the world of the heart demons."

The others nodded frequently and discussed in low voices, agreeing that with this two-pronged approach, even the great catastrophe could be resisted and that Lords Lanshan and Ye Jiuya were worthy of being the pillars of the immortal sects.

However, Wansi, who was sitting in the first seat, slowly shook his head, revealing an imperceptible fatigue on his face, and said, "Absolutely not."

As soon as these words came out, everyone in the seats looked at him in puzzlement. Someone couldn't help but ask, "This is a perfect method. May I ask, Senior, why not?"

"What is in accordance with heaven and what is against heaven, you are all wrong," his voice deepened. "Everything you gentlemen have done is a great act of rebellion."

Ye Jiuya frowned and looked at him.

Lu Lanshan said, "Senior, what do you mean by this?"

"This matter starts with my two renegade disciples," Wansi said slowly. "This old man once had two disciples under his tutelage, one named Xiao Jiuzou, one named Chi Juntian, both possessing once-in-a-century talents. This old man thought that these two would surely surpass their predecessors, inheriting my Tianyan mantle, but never imagined they would both stray onto crooked paths."

The hall was silent, with only Wansi's voice heard: "Our Tianyan sect calculates the workings of fate and creation, in hopes of coexisting with the Heavenly Dao. Thus we also have iron laws - we can only follow Heaven, not defy Heaven; only predict fate, not change fate. Otherwise it would be greatly disrespectful to the Heavenly Dao, and one would be struck dead by heavenly thunder as punishment. After those two mastered the art of divination to the utmost, they instead created another method - gathering people with special fates, forming an array, converging qi and luck, shifting destinies, changing heavenly mandates - when this old man discovered this greatly heretical deed, he was to punish them according to the iron laws, but the two stole the sect's treasure, the Platform of Life and Creation, betrayed the sect, and for many years, Tianyan searched far and wide but could not find them."

The gray-robed elder sighed and continued, "However, when this calamity of heart demons was impending, our Tianyan sect had no choice but to borrow the forbidden techniques those two researched back then, finally glimpsing the true intent of the Heavenly Dao."

"Amidst primordial chaos, the world was created and gave birth to all things, and there was the world of heart demons and the human world. As one waxes the other wanes, just like in this diagram." He raised a hand and a rotating Taiji yin-yang double fish diagram appeared in midair, with black and white alternating.

"In the obscure workings of fate, there are predestined numbers. When the forces of black and white are evenly matched, the human world and heart demon world can each remain stable. If one side becomes dominant, it will inevitably be suppressed."

"However, humans, living between Heaven and Earth, are the head of all creatures. They possess intelligence, develop wisdom, and their luck rises day by day." Wansi continued, "If the Heavenly Dao wants living beings to survive long-term, it must suppress itself. Thus the human world has natural disasters and wars, cultivation is divided into immortal and demonic paths that constantly battle each other, and pure and turbid qi intermingle, making it impossible for anyone to cultivate to the highest realm. But the human world establishes dynasties and nurtures the people's livelihood, and the immortal and demonic paths also erect barriers, no longer engaging in conflict. Pure and turbid qi are separated, and cultivation on both sides proceeds much more smoothly. The human world's luck becomes even more prosperous, appearing to have a bright future ahead, but unaware of the hidden killing intent lurking ahead."

"Until the Heavenly Dao sends down catastrophes and the flames of war spread, the human world declines. After the battle of the Heavenly River, the immortal and demonic paths both suffered many casualties, only then gaining twenty years of respite - but then the human world showed signs of great unification, and the immortal and demonic paths also had many talents emerging. Thus the heart demons invaded, wanting to completely suppress the human world's luck."

Having said all this, he returned to the matter of the array, "As stated in the Daoist scripture "True Classic", the way of Heaven is to suppress the high and diminish the excessive. The decline of luck is the Heavenly Dao wanting to diminish itself; the suffering of living beings amidst the flames of war is the Heavenly Dao letting living beings suffer. Only in this way can the human world survive long-term - the Heavenly Dao is ruthless, and the Heavenly Dao is also compassionate. You all try every means to support the human world's luck, but that is going against the Dao. The more prosperous the human world, the more severe the backlash from the heart demons will be. Once that array is deployed, who knows how many more heart demons will surge forth from the Southern Sea. The situation then will only be even worse than now."

"If it is truly as you say, what should we do then?" someone asked.

"No need to act. When the human world's luck is in balance with the heart demon world, there will naturally be an order in the obscure workings of fate that makes them return."

"Then, in the future..." Before the sentence was finished, the voice trailed off. But everyone present could guess - after balance is reached, the human world's luck will still increase until its peak. The Heavenly Dao will still send down catastrophes to suppress its own luck. When it can no longer be suppressed, the heart demons will come, once again making the luck on both sides equal. Again and again, back and forth, in an endless cycle.

Is this the Heavenly Dao? Is this the "constant" in "the way of Heaven is constant"?

The hall was silent, so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

A long time later, Ye Jiuya looked straight at Wansi, his voice cold and clear, "Senior's meaning is to watch idly as the heart demons wreak havoc and hundreds of thousands in the human world and immortal sects die because of it?"

"When things become too prosperous, there must be killing," Wansi sighed. "This old man has said all he can."

After he left, the others also dispersed in silence. Lu Lanshan also had a deeply troubled look. He said to Ye Jiuya, "There is still a day until the conference. I will find you tomorrow to further discuss this matter."

Ye Jiuya nodded.

Returning to the room, Chen Weichen said, "According to his meaning, extremes must be reversed, the highly prosperous must decline. That predestined fate in the obscure workings of the Dao is above the Heavenly Dao, governing both the heart demon world and human world. Once the human world's luck becomes too abundant, the passage to the Southern Sea will open and the heart demons will descend to the world, killing all around until the luck on both sides is the same."

"What do you think? Should we do as he says?" He asked Ye Jiuya.

"I don't know." Ye Jiuya looked at him.

He had always been decisive and straightforward in speech and action. This was the first time he uttered such hesitant words like "I don't know."

Chen Weichen smiled gently and reached out to remove Ye Jiuya's hair ornament, "Then think it over carefully."

Outside the window, the bright moon gradually rose higher. All was tranquil. Inside the room, the candlelight flickered.