fifth form

Chapter 3514 Unofficial History of Dong Zhongshu
"I heard you've remarried, but you haven't held a wedding banquet because of the mourning period for Marquis Wu'an?"

"Some people are even saying you're getting married to bring good luck!"

After Zhang Xuezhou finished arranging Ren Anran's admission to the Imperial Academy, he searched around the academy for information about Dong Zhongshu but couldn't find him. On his way back to his residence, he ran into Dong Zhongshu visiting.

The new emperor held a funeral for Zhang Xuezhou, but Dong Zhongshu could sense that Zhang Xuezhou was still alive. However, he did not come to mourn at the funeral and only visited Zhang Xuezhou after Zhang Xuezhou returned to Chang'an.

Listening to the gossip Dong Zhongshu was spouting, Zhang Xuezhou couldn't help but feel a headache coming on.

"I will abide by male virtues and be a good person from now on!"

Dong Zhongshu held a critical attitude towards Princess Dou falling in love in her old age. Zhang Xuezhou felt that Dong Zhongshu would definitely lecture him when he came to visit, so he directly surrendered and indicated that he would definitely reform himself in the future.

“Ah Qiao did nothing wrong, yet you divorced her; Yi Shuo did nothing wrong, yet you divorced her too. You can’t accept these women in your heart. No one would say you’d marry three wives and four concubines, but you marry one and divorce one after another…”

"I did not divorce him!"

"You didn't divorce her? Everyone outside is saying you found a new wife. You're the kind of person who marries and divorces every woman you marry, how could you not divorce your stepmother!"

Zhang Xuezhou was now aware of the many rumors circulating after Dou Taizhu's death.

Numerous unfounded rumors, some true and some false, combined to make people believe them wholeheartedly. Dong Zhongshu was clearly poisoned by these rumors once again and believed them without a doubt.

Although Dong Zhongshu and Yi Shuo had a casual relationship, Dong Zhongshu had been entertained by Yi Shuo before, and later visited her to speak up for her.

Despite Zhang Xuezhou's denials and subsequent oaths, his actions failed to convince Dong Zhongshu.

"Speaking of which, you stole my technique to guide His Majesty to oneness with the heavens half a month ago, causing him to fail at the last moment and suffer a great misfortune. I haven't even bothered you yet!"

In the end, Zhang Xuezhou could only resort to wild punches to stop Dong Zhongshu from speaking out. After all, Dong Zhongshu was highly respected, and if he were to say anything to the Confucian community, the lingering poison of his "reputation" would likely be passed down for two or three generations.

After some back and forth, Zhang Xuezhou shifted the blame for Dong Zhongshu's attempt to distribute the pressure brought about by the concept of the unity of heaven and man into the cause of disaster, thus turning the tables on Dong Zhongshu.

"I suffered this disaster for you, I shouldn't let you suffer such bad luck!" Dong Zhongshu exclaimed in surprise.

"His Majesty even held a funeral for me, don't you think that's brought me a lot of bad luck?"

Zhang Xuezhou, seemingly unfazed, turned the tables and wanted to see what Dong Zhongshu had actually done and whether he had made any discoveries.

Given Dong Zhongshu's character, if he knew that he was suffering, he might feel a little guilty. Even if he didn't give him any benefits, he would at least stop spreading rumors about him.

"She still couldn't give up on this world, alas!"

After a long pause, Dong Zhongshu finally let out a heavy sigh.

"Who is she?" Zhang Xuezhou asked.

"It is rumored that a cultivator founded a Celestial Court. Do you know the founder's rival?" Dong Zhongshu asked.

“The Celestial Court’s rivals are the Heavenly Court and the Great Shang Dynasty,” Zhang Xuezhou said.

"No, no, no, there are cultivators behind the Heavenly Court and the Great Shang Dynasty," Dong Zhongshu said, "that is, the being that His Majesty attracted by the Unity of Heaven and Man!"

"That snake?" Zhang Xuezhou asked doubtfully.

"All appearances are not appearances; if you are attached to appearances, what you see is not real!"

What did you see?

Zhang Xuezhou asked with great curiosity.

The new emperor was busy manipulating the Demon-Revealing Mirror, and Zhang Xuezhou was busy achieving physical immortality. Both were preoccupied with their own affairs and did not observe the objects of their influence sufficiently, perhaps even less carefully than Dong Zhongshu.

"A divine kingdom, a vast divine kingdom!"

Dong Zhongshu gestured with his hand, seemingly feeling that words alone were insufficient, so he took out a roll of cloth. The cloth slowly unfurled, revealing a giant snake.

At the center of the giant serpent's head sat a woman, below whom were various types of cultivators with human heads and serpent bodies.

Like a pyramid-shaped staircase, numerous cultivators were arranged in rows, while at the bottom were countless densely packed cultivators, along with all sorts of strange and unusual creatures.

Zhang Xuezhou stared intently at the cloth, realizing that his understanding was completely different from that of Dong Zhongshu.

They only saw the surface of the giant snake, not its interior.

"Who is this?"

Zhang Xuezhou pointed to the woman in the very center of the cloth.

"I consulted a large number of classical texts, which mentioned the conflict between the Celestial Court and the Heavenly Court a thousand years ago, and also included the Yin-Yang conflict between the Heavenly Emperor and the Earthly Empress," Dong Zhongshu said.

"Heaven and Earth?" Zhang Xuezhou asked doubtfully.

"Yes," Dong Zhongshu nodded and said, "Back then, the cultivator behind the Celestial Court was called Huangtian, while the cultivator behind the Heavenly Court was called Houtu. Huangtian ruled over the Three Pure Ones and the Jade Emperor, while Houtu led Nuwa, Fuxi, Dijun, the Human Emperor Zhou, and others. In the end, a great chaos involving the Three Realms broke out. It is said that Huangtian and Houtu clashed and shattered the Three Realms. After the battle, they almost perished together. In the end, Houtu withdrew from the Three Realms, while Huangtian relentlessly pursued her and followed Houtu as they traveled away from the Three Realms!"

"Where did you find this anecdote?"

Zhang Xuezhou had been listening with great interest at first, but later he realized that Dong Zhongshu had been listening to rumors again.

Putting everything else aside, Zhang Xuezhou at least knew that the teacher of the Three Pure Ones was Hongjun, whose name did not match the "Huangtian" mentioned by Dong Zhongshu. Furthermore, the Emperor in the Kunlun Heavenly Court never mentioned "Huangtian" or "Houtu," but always referred to Hongjun by his name.

"This is not information, it is historical fact. When Houtu reappears, a great calamity is about to befall us," Dong Zhongshu said with deep concern.

“You should investigate this matter thoroughly first,” Zhang Xuezhou said. “You’re making a big fuss about a disaster just because you have a painting? I find it hard to believe you!”

"The arrival of Houtu will change the world. We will face all kinds of natural disasters, and the demon race will rise again, while we humans will become food for the demons." Dong Zhongshu said solemnly, "You must be careful about this matter and try to obtain a sliver of hope for our human race!"

"What you're saying is too outrageous, I find it hard to believe such a thing," Zhang Xuezhou complained.

"You must report this to His Majesty. Alas, this will truly be a great calamity," Dong Zhongshu sighed. "I have already been targeted by Houtu. I can only try my best to deceive her, but while I am deceiving her, I will inevitably be poisoned by her. I am afraid my lifespan is less than twenty years. After that, it will all depend on you!"

"If you don't seek immortality, this is the longest you can live!"

Zhang Xuezhou made a sarcastic remark about Dong Zhongshu.

He was already in his thirties, while Dong Zhongshu was in his fifties. Without life extension, people usually only live to be seventy or eighty.

Zhang Xuezhou felt that it was quite normal for Dong Zhongshu to die twenty years later.

Of course, Zhang Xuezhou couldn't care less about all that. Although he himself was long-lived, he was entangled in the affairs of Donghua and others, and there were also half-step ascenders in the real world. Whether he could die after Dong Zhongshu was another matter entirely.

"If I hadn't been poisoned by Houtu, I could have lived to at least ninety, and at least forty more years to live!"

Dong Zhongshu muttered something.

Seeing that Zhang Xuezhou didn't believe his theory, he couldn't help but look distressed and rolled up the cloth.

"The poison of Houtu will incite evil in people's hearts. Look at me now, I love rumors and preaching. My mind has been influenced!"

Dong Zhongshu tried to use himself as evidence, but his example was somewhat insufficient. At least Zhang Xuezhou did not think Dong Zhongshu was bad; at most, he was talking nonsense.

He was almost killed by Hongjun; the difficulty for beings from other realms to enter the Three Realms is extraordinary.

But when Dong Zhongshu started rambling on about how Houtu had once dispatched her powerful subordinates to invade the Three Realms, involving cultivators such as the Green Emperor, the Yellow Emperor, and the White Emperor, he suddenly remembered the word 'white,' which also brought to mind the 'black' that Hongjun was investigating.

Although these color names are vulgar, these monks possess very unique abilities.

Even though 'Bai' had fallen so low as to be forced into servitude, the other party still brought disaster upon Zhu Jiuyin.