Chapter 220: No End To Trouble
Translator: Ninetales Editor: DarkGem
"This cloud is big enough yet not big enough. This cloud and snow in Eternal Peace Empire are more like a warning."
In the west, on majestic Mount Meru, the golden-topped Great Thunderclap Monastery stood tall. It was situated atop the layer of clouds, and Old Rulai looked towards the territory of Eternal Peace Empire. He could see the sun shining with a golden brilliance, which made the sea-sized cloud abnormally bright.
"Once, in the long history of Great Thunderclap Monastery, we have witnessed such a meteorological attack."
Below Old Rulai's seat, the numerous bodhisattvas, venerables, arhats stood in great numbers and listened to his words.
"That meteorological attack was even larger than this one. It came with heavy snow and a similar dark cloud. The people had no way to make a living, which resulted in natural disasters year after year, and only god knows how many people died. Venerable Ku, go and fetch the Emptiness Era Mourning Emperor Scriptures from the Depository of Buddhist Texts and flip it to the one thousand and three hundred and sixty-seventh page."
A monk with a worried frown stood up and went away. After a moment, this Venerable Ku carried over a thick scripture and flipped to the page which Old Rulai had mentioned. "Emptiness Era, Mourning Emperor Year 6420, changes in the meteorological phenomenon, snow fell for thirty days, cloud covered eighty thousand miles, no sun could be seen. Starving people were everywhere, bandits rose in all places, and Mourning Emperor ordered the gods and dragon kings to get rid of them. Mourning Emperor Year 6430, meteors descended from the sky, meteor shower was like a flood, volcanoes erupted in tens of thousands, the earth trembled, and a thousand of fissures opened up, drying up the rivers. The ocean was emptied. The next year, the sun disappeared, there was no light from the two heavenly bodies…"
Behind Old Rulai, the hearts of Teacher Poor and the rest trembled heavily as they cried out, "Rulai, this is…"
"Great Ruins."
Old Rulai turned his head back and looked towards the vast uncivilized territory behind Mount Meru. "This ancient scroll records the last moments of the divine kingdom of Great Ruins. The heavy snow and the dark cloud were merely the first warnings. However, the warning now is much earlier than I expected. Earlier, and lighter. It seems like Eternal Peace Empire's doings have caught the eyes of the ones above."
Teacher Poor, True Lord Tian, and the rest were blown back, and they muttered, "Great Ruins…"
"If the emperor wants to quell this disaster, the only way is to stop the reform immediately and surrender himself, begging forgiveness from Heaven and his people."
Old Rulai looked away with a deep gaze. "Otherwise, this snow disaster will only be the start; there would be even more terrifying meteorological phenomenon following after. And they will no longer be just snow and a dark cloud. They'll consist of meteor showers, volcano eruptions, dried up rivers and oceans, the vanishing of the sun and the moon. This is the wrath of Heaven, the anger of Heaven that the people have to bear. This is too much…"
"Rulai, Eternal Peace Crown Prince has sent a person to seek an audience with you."
Old Rulai was slightly stunned, then he smiled."This Highness has still come to find me. Invite him forward."
"At your command."
Old Rulai smiled at the monks surrounding him and said, "His Highness is quite extraordinary, and he might even be the saviour of the world. The emperor might be obstinately clinging to his course, but the crown prince is not the same. His envoy should be worth meeting."
Dao Sect's Kunlun Jade Void Mountain was called Jade Void Paradise and was like a world unto itself. The four seasons on the mountain were like spring and seemed like a sacred ground for immortals. It was no inferior to Mount Meru.
"The cloud covering Eternal Peace is a serious yet not overly dangerous warning. It is much more trivial compared to the destruction of Great Ruins," Old Dao Master said to the Daoists of Dao Sect with a speed that was neither too fast nor too slow. "Our Dao Sect was against Eternal Peace Empire's reform not for our own personal gain, but for the Dao. That reform ruined too many rules and too many principles, so it was destined to fail. It's a pity Eternal Peace Imperial Preceptor's knowledge was too shallow, and he didn't understand the great terror that would descend."
His gaze was deep, but he had an air of calmness as he said slowly, "Back then, when Eternal Peace Imperial Preceptor was still young, he had come to Dao Sect to meet me. I could see that he was out of the ordinary and had high expectations for him, so I had allowed him to browse through the legacy scriptures of our Dao Sect, hoping he would have success in the future. As for sectarian bias, that was thrown to the back of my head. For such a talent, I naturally had to discard sectarian bias and groom him to the best of my ability. When he had become the imperial preceptor, my expectations turned into disappointment. Why? It's because Dao models itself after nature."
Most of the experts of Dao Sect sat and listened quietly.
"Dao models itself after nature, so we Daoists can summon the wind and the rain, but we can't change the wind and the rain nor can we change the nature and the great Dao. I actually had no prejudice against Heavenly Devil Cult; on the contrary, I still admire some of its doings. However, our paths are different. Why so?"
Dao Master shook his head. "Dao originates from nature yet Heavenly Devil Cult wants to use the Dao to change the nature. This is the biggest difference between our Dao Sect and Heavenly Devil Cult. This is also the reason why Heavenly Devil Cult is being referred to as the devil."
Most of the Daoists of Dao Sect were slightly shaken. Dan Yangzi said, "I've observed the disciples of Heavenly Devil Cult using spells to move the clouds and spread the rain. During periods of drought, they would make rain fall and collect money from the farmers. There were some people using drilling spells to create wells, solving the problem of having no drinking water. There were also people who would use true fire to smelt ores and retrieve the metal to forge farming equipment for sale. There were even some devil cult's disciples that collected money from farmers to hunt down demon beasts. Heavenly Devil Cult is indeed going against the nature which Dao originates from, changing the nature."
Dao Master said, "Using the path, skills, and divine arts for the common people is to change the nature, to destroy it. Changing the nature and destroying the nature is changing the great Dao and destroying the great Dao. Heavenly Devil Cult's teachings are wrong, so they can only move into the devil path. Another of their teachings is to act straightforwardly, to follow the course of nature. This means to let one's desire run wild and do as you please. If this isn't what a devil does, then what is a devil?"
He sighed and said, "Imperial Preceptor is too deeply influenced by Heavenly Devil Cult which is why he has used Heavenly Devil Cult's ideology to run a country. The disasters that Great Ruins experienced will also come to Eternal Peace Empire. This is the punishment of Heaven, the calamity sent by Heaven. Be that as it may, the people are innocent."
Dao Master softened his tone then. "You all shall go down the mountain. The punishment from Heaven that the emperor and Imperial Preceptor have invoked shall not be bore by the people. Go and help the commoners that are in trouble and save as many people as you can. When you save the people during your travel, you can also find youths with good foundation and continue adding more descendants to our Dao Sect."
"At your command."
The experts of Dao Sect all went down the mountain.
Dao Master looked up at the cloud above Eternal Peace Empire and sighed. "This shouldn't be bore by the people… If Imperial Preceptor and the emperor still obstinately persist in going about things the wrong way, my Dao Sect will have no choice but to enter the secular world."
Qin Mu contacted Left and Right Guardians and passed down his decree, "You shall assist the emperor in sending disaster relief and storing away the dark cloud in the sky. You can send our disciples to the south to help get rid of the frozen crops and replant them. Many people will die in this snow disaster, so just do your best and save as many people as possible. Also, make sure that our disciples remain careful, since there will definitely be riots with such a disaster around. The world will certainly not remain at peace."
"At your command."
Left Guardian Ning Daochi hesitated for a moment, then said, "Sacred cult master, what identity shall we assume to assist the emperor? If the emperor confers a title on us, shall we accept it?"
Qin Mu thought for a moment. "Assist the emperor with your own identities and with the power of the sacred cult. If the emperor confers a title on you, just accept it. If the emperor can tolerate Imperial Preceptor, he can tolerate us too. We are part of Eternal Peace Empire, so there's no need for paranoia."
He paused for a moment, then added, "Even if the world is in chaos, the divine art practitioners who are used to being high at the top will definitely not be willing to become like our Heavenly Devil Cult and serve the ordinary people, helping them in their need. Imperial Preceptor had once said that he killed a batch of contrarians, but he still couldn't kill all of them. After killing one batch, there would be another batch. I had thought Imperial Preceptor was joking, but it seems like it's true."
Qin Mu raised his head and looked at the dark cloud in the sky and said with a smile that wasn't really a smile, "This snow and the dark cloud have created a disaster that can destroy the country, yet they are still thinking about what is devil-like and what is not. Not once did they think about helping the people. They're probably too used to being high at the top and think that helping the commoners is an insult to them, so it's the devil path."
He shook his head. "These kind of people aren't few in number, and there are probably extremists among them who would take this chance to rebel or even target our Heavenly Saint Cult. You two must be careful!"
"Cult master, don't worry. Our cult does not have an undeserved reputation for standing tall until now, not crumbling under the so-called orthodox path!"
The two guardians bowed and left.
Qin Mu composed himself and raised his head to look at that dark cloud above Eternal Peace Empire before shaking his head and returning back to Imperial College. Hu Ling'er, dragon qilin, and Dutian Devil King were already waiting on the ship.
Qin Mu said, "We should buy some New Year's goods on the way back to the village. I'm afraid there might no longer be anything in Border Dragon City. With Eternal Peace Empire in such a precarious situation, I reckon there will be much fewer merchants over there."
Dutian Devil King raised his head and sized up the sky while chuckling. "Your world is going to be in trouble, this heavy snow and dark cloud has shrouded the entire territory of your Eternal Peace Empire, right?"
Qin Mu's heart moved slightly, and he asked politely, "Lord Devil King, what wise opinion do you have?"
"Kneel down and lick my toes, then I will tell you!" Dutian Devil King said, acting high and mighty.
Qin Mu threw a glance at Hu Ling'er, and she opened the compartment in the chest area of the eight-armed god statue. She sat down inside and controlled Dutian Devil King to kneel down and stretch his tongue out to lick Qin Mu's shoes.
Dutian Devil King immediately cried out, "Devil can be killed but cannot be humiliated! Stop, stop… I'll say it, I'll say it."
Qin Mu raised his hand.
Hu Ling'er relaxed her control, and Dutian Devil King immediately jumped up. He spat twice and no longer dared to be impudent.
These few days, Hu Ling'er had been oddly clever and messed with Dutian Devil King until he became submissive. He felt that a wise devil knew better than to fight when the odds were against him, so he could only cooperate with the demon fox.
Dutian Devil King raised his hand to wipe his mouth and sneered, "This is the method of a god, and not any normal god. If my true body descended, I could also execute this kind of action and use a meteorological phenomenon to attack, eliminating the entire human race. I could wipe out your race and turn this world into the new Dutian. However, the god that used this meteorological attack seems to be a little gentler, so they didn't land a ruthless blow. I reckon this snow and cloud are merely a gentle warning."
"Warning?"
Qin Mu was stunned. Just a gentle warning?
This gentle warning would probably kill millions of commoners since they wouldn't be able to make it through winter!
He got lost in thought, and his mind ventured to Great Ruins. Because of the decree of a god and a devil, the people of Great Ruins were abandoned and gained the despise of everyone else.
"If the gods and devils don't die, there will be no end to trouble!" Qin Mu said coldly.
"Wife, if the gods and devils don't die, there will be no end to trouble." Eternal Peace Imperial Preceptor stood on the clouds high up in the sky while looking at that incomparably vast cloud above Eternal Peace Empire and sighed ruefully.
The woman beside him could only be said to be of average beauty. She wasn't incredibly pretty, but she was not ugly either. She had a pleasant look and was one of the palace maids rewarded to Imperial Preceptor. Among the many of them, she was the only one that became his wife.
The thoughts of this woman were very incisive as she asked, "Husband didn't go back this time, is it because you feel that the emperor can solve this natural disaster?"
"Even if the emperor can't solve it, there will be people who will solve it for him, there's no need for me to return." Eternal Peace Imperial Preceptor smiled. "Let us go to the Little Jade Capital in the sky."