Daojun, start from Penglai foundation building

With Ling Yan and Ling Qiu going off to handle their respective business, the Judicial Heavenly Lord's Mansion became increasingly deserted without them.

Speaking of the Judicial Heavenly Lord's Mansion, the three departments and five capitals seem to have quite a few people, but apart from Ling Yan, who is his junior brother and always helps Jiang Sheng with his duties, only Ling Qiu, his junior sister, often comes to play with Jiang Sheng. Ao Li, the little dragon, is also quite lively. The remaining four disciples, Tian Ming'an, Qiu Buyu, Li Jianchun, and Huang Ping'an, will come to see Jiang Sheng.

People like Mingdong and Xuanxing, who belong to the Eastern Heavenly Daoist School, such as Qinghuadu and Tianhedu, mostly stay in seclusion in their respective Daoist temples or discuss Dao with their fellow disciples. Unless they are going down to the mortal realm to subdue demons or there are any activities within the Judicial Heavenly Lord's Palace, they rarely come to seek out Jiang Sheng. After all, there is nothing for them to do when they seek out Jiang Sheng. Whether it is discussing Dao or expounding the law, Jiang Sheng is far superior to them. It is difficult for them to learn from Jiang Sheng and they cannot make much progress.

Even the most outstanding disciples of the Daoist sect would inevitably experience a shattered Dao heart when facing Jiang Sheng. Therefore, they preferred to discuss the Dao with those of equal cultivation.

Although Chixiao and Yaochi are both allies of the Xuanmen, their True Lords each have their own circles and do not come back to bother Jiang Sheng unless there is something to do.

Now that Lingqiu has gone to Dongyang Realm, Ao Li is in Xiaopenglai, and the noisiest Li Jianchun and Huang Ping'an are in seclusion to stabilize their cultivation, the Judicial Heavenly Lord's Palace has become exceptionally quiet.

The word "immortal" implies a person living deep in the mountains, far removed from the mundane world and transcending worldly affairs. However, it does not mean that immortals must be indifferent and heartless. After all, there is still a person beside the mountain, a sentient being with feelings. If one were to lose the seven emotions and six desires of humanity, then one would not be an immortal.

There are lively ways to cultivate oneself and quiet ways to cultivate oneself. When it is lively, one can discuss the Dao and expound the Dharma, and refine elixirs and forge artifacts; when it is quiet, one can study the Dharma and cultivate the profound, and draw talismans to nourish the spirit.

Now that Jiang Sheng had some peace and quiet, he took the rare opportunity to stroll leisurely through the Palace of the Heavenly Lord of Justice.

The Judicial Heavenly Lord's Palace contains vast gardens of spiritual plants, spiritual herbs, and spiritual beasts. The spiritual plant gardens contain many rare and exotic plants sent by various parties when Jiang Sheng became the Judicial Heavenly Lord and when he broke through to the fifth tribulation. Some of these plants are spiritual plants that Jiang Sheng obtained from the Xuanmen Tribulation and are also special products of the Eastern Heaven. These spiritual plants are divided into different areas and are cared for by dedicated spiritual plant growers. Each plant is extremely precious. In addition, there is a special area in the spiritual plant garden for cultivating various kinds of immortal tea.

The Spirit Herb Garden contains all kinds of spiritual herbs and immortal medicines, which are used to refine immortal pills and precious medicines, as well as various qi-dispersing agents, train Dao soldiers, and distribute salaries. Compared to the Spirit Plant Garden, which is Jiang Sheng's personal preference, the Spirit Herb Garden is larger in scale and has more varieties of plants. Its purpose is to supply the True Lords of the Judicial Heavenly Lord's Palace for alchemy and for the cultivation of all the immortal officials and Dao soldiers.

As for the Spirit Beast Garden, it was because various families, knowing that Jiang Sheng liked certain exotic beasts, sent him some rare and exotic beasts, as well as common immortal creatures such as cloud cranes, white deer, monkeys, and koi. These immortal birds and spirit beasts were kept in the Spirit Beast Garden on a daily basis, and were only brought out when a celebration was held or when the scene needed to be maintained. After all, the Judicial Heavenly Lord's Mansion was mostly about majesty, and usually wouldn't let these spirit beasts and immortal birds run around and fly freely.

The hunting dogs and hawks used by the Taoist soldiers to search the mountains and seas are specially separated in the Spirit Beast Garden for special care. They are also taken to the Taoist soldiers' training ground on weekdays to let them run wild and maintain some of their wildness.

Furthermore, the Heavenly Lord of Justice's Palace even has a special spiritual food garden, where spiritual rice, spiritual vegetables, and spiritual fruits that immortals eat daily, as well as some aquatic and terrestrial birds and beasts for consumption.

The entire Heavenly Lord of Justice Palace is a kingdom, an independently operating, self-sufficient immortal palace and sect.

The Heavenly Court routinely allocates elixirs, precious medicines, spiritual rice and vegetables, and even imperial wine, immortal fruits, talismans, and magical artifacts to the Thirty-Six Departments, Seventy-Two Courts, and One Hundred and Eight Offices.

However, the Fifty-Six Palaces are not included in this list. The Thirty-Six Departments, Seventy-Two Courts, and One Hundred and Eight Offices are directly subordinate to the Heavenly Court, while the Fifty-Six Palaces are a semi-independent entity that has been inserted from elsewhere. Most of the people in these Fifty-Six Imperial Palaces are Taoist immortals or wandering immortals who are not gods. They obey orders but are not one of their own. Therefore, after the Heavenly Court conferred their heavenly titles and positions, it allowed them to act as they pleased.

Jiang Sheng's Judicial Heavenly Lord Palace is one of the fifty-six palaces. After all, although the Judicial Heavenly Lord is an important heavenly position in the Heavenly Court, it is held by the Eastern Heaven. His Majesty the Heavenly Emperor cannot use it smoothly. After Jiang Sheng received the position of Judicial Heavenly Lord in the Three Realms for two thousand two hundred years, apart from the time he met with His Majesty the Heavenly Emperor to express his gratitude, a full seven hundred years have passed since then, and His Majesty the Heavenly Emperor has not summoned Jiang Sheng even once.

Even though Jiang Sheng caused such a commotion in the Judicial Heavenly Lord's Palace, directly controlling the laws and restrictions of the eight million li Judicial Heavenly Lord's Palace and turning it into his independent kingdom, His Majesty the Heavenly Emperor remained indifferent.

Given the restrictive laws that permeate all parts of the Heavenly Court, everything in the nine heavenly palaces is under the control of His Majesty. Jiang Sheng's actions in the seventh heavenly palace were so significant that His Majesty the Heavenly Emperor could not possibly be unaware of them.

But His Majesty the Heavenly Emperor simply ignored it, whether out of tacit approval or disregard, it seemed that as long as Jiang Sheng was still serving as the Judicial Heavenly Lord in the Heavenly Court and still doing his work, it didn't matter.

After touring the spirit plant garden, spirit herb garden, and spirit beast garden, checking on the spirit plants and spirit beasts, and taking a few spirit herbs, Jiang Sheng, in high spirits, returned to the alchemy room in the back hall, determined to start refining a batch of pills.

Jiang Sheng, who hadn't refined elixirs in a long time, was just about to warm up the furnace to refine medicine when a servant hurriedly came to report: "Your Majesty, Her Highness the Mysterious Maiden has come to visit."

Princess Xuan Nu?

Ye Wenshu?
Jiang Sheng looked at the various spiritual herbs he had prepared, put them into the medicine box, and then put away the Taiyin Treasure Furnace he had obtained from the Taiyin Star in the Xuanhuang Realm. He then walked towards the front hall.

"What brings Princess Xuan Nu on her visit?"

"No, Her Highness Xuan Nu only asked whether the Heavenly Emperor was present."

Jiang Sheng, who was puzzled by Ye Wenshu's purpose, arrived at the front hall and saw Ye Wenshu sitting leisurely behind the jade table, sipping tea. He couldn't help but smile and say, "Your Highness is in high spirits."

Ye Wenshu stood up, smiling, "Indeed, I had nothing to do, so I came here to sit with the Heavenly Lord. Is that alright?"

Jiang Sheng shook his head: "It's no problem at all. I'm overjoyed that the Mysterious Maiden has come to visit."

As they spoke, the attendants burned incense and the celestial maidens played music, and the once quiet and cold hall was suddenly brightly lit.

Jiang Sheng sat opposite Ye Wenshu and personally brewed tea: "This is Silver Star Greenery that I obtained from my Uncle Yuming. I originally planted it in Xiaopenglai, but after I became the Heavenly Lord of Justice, Ming'an and the others were worried that I wouldn't be used to the Heavenly Court's immortal tea, so they also planted some in the spiritual plant garden of the Heavenly Lord of Justice's mansion."

Ye Wenshu's eyes lit up: "Qingxiao Yuming Zhenjun's Silver Star Greenery? That's a top-quality immortal tea, planted in the Nine Heavens Star Palace, rooted in the Milky Way, bathed in the essence of the sun and moon, and absorbing the stellar energy. Such an immortal product cannot be grown in the mortal world. It's a shame that it's planted in the Judicial Heavenly Lord's Palace. Although it has no shortage of starlight and the essence of the sun and moon, it's still a waste."

Jiang Sheng nodded: "Who says otherwise? In my little Penglai, the silver stars are lush and green, the peaks are shrouded in mist, the clouds are rising like immortals, and the waters of Poyang Lake are full of spiritual teas. They are nurtured by the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, the brilliance of the sun, moon and stars. They are much better than those in this Heavenly Court."

"However, the silver stars and verdant greenery in the Judicial Heavenly Lord's Palace have a unique charm."

As he spoke, Jiang Sheng presented a cup of fresh tea to Ye Wenshu, watching her elegantly sip it: "No one comes to the temple without a reason. I suppose Your Highness Xuan Nu did not come here specifically to see me or to ask for a cup of tea."

Ye Wenshu looked at Jiang Sheng: "What, can't I come here to ask for a cup of tea?"

Jiang Sheng neither agreed nor disagreed.

Seeing that Jiang Sheng didn't believe her, Ye Wenshu couldn't help but sigh: "If you could change your temperament, be less cold and more gentle, I'm afraid countless female immortals in the Heavenly Court would secretly fall in love with you."

"It's a pity that with such a beautiful face and figure, her heart is made of stone, which makes even the fairies hesitate to approach her."

As she spoke, Ye Wenshu shook her head and sighed, feigning regret.

Jiang Sheng said helplessly, "If you want to praise me, you might as well praise my cultivation and supernatural powers, or at least talk about how my Judicial Heavenly Lord's Palace slays demons and monsters, bringing peace to the world. Talking about my appearance and figure really makes me uneasy." Ye Wenshu couldn't help but laugh when she heard this, "The dignified Judicial Heavenly Lord, hailed as the leader of the Eastern Heavenly Mystic Sect, the number one in the Three Realms in this era, who can suppress gods, demons, and Buddhas, would feel afraid?"

Jiang Sheng remained silent, simply sipping his tea with his head down. Seeing this, Ye Wenshu smiled even more happily.

After laughing, Ye Wenshu rubbed her face: "I came to see you this time because I do have some things I want to ask you about."

Jiang Sheng then revealed a hint of curiosity: "The Three Realms and the myriad worlds, what is there that you don't know?"

Ye Wenshu shook her head, looking somewhat helpless: "Even His Majesty the Heavenly Emperor wouldn't dare claim to be omniscient, so how could I dare say that I know everything?"

"Moreover, this matter is truly strange. It would be a lie to say that I understand nothing about it, but it would also be a lie to say that I can see it clearly."

"After much thought, only you, the Venerable Lingyuan, with your extensive experience traveling through the heavens, can help me discern the truth."

Jiang Sheng became even more curious upon hearing this: "What's going on? Tell me about it."

Ye Wenshu said, "It's probably too complicated to explain in just a few words. Just read it and see for yourself."

Jiang Sheng understood Ye Wenshu's meaning. He waved his hand to dismiss the attendants and musicians in the hall. With a slight thought, the magical restrictions in the hall manifested, Dao traces intertwined, and golden and silver threads crisscrossed, transforming into a net-like barrier that shielded the senses from prying eyes.

This scene truly astonished Ye Wenshu. Jiang Sheng's manipulation of the laws and restrictions was far beyond what ordinary Mahayana cultivators could achieve. Even many emperors in the Heavenly Court with tens of thousands of years of cultivation might not be as adept as Jiang Sheng in their own dojos.

Jiang Sheng has been serving as the Judicial Emperor in Heaven for less than a thousand years.

But Jiang Sheng's cultivation had improved so much that Ye Wenshu wouldn't ask him any more questions, no matter how curious she was. Her relationship with Jiang Sheng hadn't reached that level yet, and besides, she had important business to attend to this time.

Suppressing her surprise, Ye Wenshu took out a projection stone. With a flick of her sleeve, the projection stone was activated, projecting a series of images.

Jiang Sheng looked up and saw that the projection stone seemed to have been filmed from the air, with images of mountains and rivers on the earth.

However, these mountains and rivers are no longer as beautiful as they used to be. The trees on the mountains are dead, and the dry, dead branches of each tree look like jagged claws, twisting and stretching strangely towards the sky. The rocks are cracked, from which large puddles of filthy liquid flow out. Even though there is no smell in the picture, Jiang Sheng can sense that those puddles of filthy, bubbling liquid must be foul and disgusting.

The land was parched and barren, with blood-red soil everywhere. Some deformed beasts, stripped of their fur and with their flesh and bones exposed, roamed freely between the plains and hills. There were also emaciated humans, disheveled and staggering like zombies.

The rivers were black and rotten, their stench soaring and feeding countless mosquitoes and flies. Large numbers of aquatic creatures transformed into grotesque figures with jagged bones and rotting flesh. Blood rain and dark clouds fell from the sky. Birds, their bodies sticky with stench and their feathers disheveled, some with three eyes and others headless, still flew noisily and wildly.

After only a few glances, Jiang Sheng couldn't help but frown: "This is..."

Ye Wenshu said, "This is the Hundred Fruit Realm."

"This realm originally belonged to the Xiaoyun Realm, a middle-thousand world that produced spiritual fruits and long provided a large amount of spiritual fruits and tea to the Heavenly Court."

As she spoke, Ye Wenshu glanced at Jiang Sheng and said, "Half of the fruits and vegetables in your Judicial Heavenly Lord's Mansion come from this Hundred Fruits Realm."

"Three hundred years ago, the immortal fruits and vegetables of the Hundred Fruits Realm began to decline in production. At first, the creatures of the Hundred Fruits Realm thought it was because the cultivation over the years had consumed too much of the earth's energy. But later, the immortal fruits and vegetables began to show signs of withering and decay. In the end, large areas suffered from reduced production and crop failure. The mountains and forests withered and the rivers became foul-smelling. Even all the immortal birds and officials who went to investigate the signs turned into those strange and distorted forms."

"The Hundred Fruit Realm could no longer be concealed and was reported to the Heavenly Court. The Hundred Fruit Realm originally belonged to the Cloud Realm and had been under the rule of the True Cloud Dao Sect after it came under the Heavenly Court. After receiving the news, Taibai Xingjun sent people to investigate and concluded that the world was corrupted and that the world of the Hundred Fruit Realm had been polluted by the Great Dao."

Taibai Xingjun, also known as Fuyun Xianjun, is the subordinate of the Great Emperor Changsheng of the Southern Clouds.

It must be said that this immortal lord had a keen and sharp eye, recognizing at a glance that this was the corruption of the world caused by the pollution of the Great Dao.

Jiang Sheng looked at Ye Wenshu: "The Taibai Star Lord's judgment is correct. This is indeed the corruption of heaven and earth caused by the pollution of the Great Dao. For a world of this magnitude to be polluted to this extent, it seems that the Heavenly Dao of this world has been corrupted by more than half."

"This is something that ordinary immortals and gods could not do."

Although Jiang Sheng did not say it directly, he was practically implying that Chunyang was interfering behind the scenes.

Ye Wenshu continued, "I don't know much about the pollution of the Great Dao. In this regard, your Eastern Heaven Daoist family has faced many problems during the Xuanmen Great Calamity and has rich experience in dealing with them. You have even personally witnessed the pollution of the Great Thousand World. So I have come to seek your opinion on how to solve this problem."

Jiang Sheng pondered for a moment: "How to solve it depends on what you want to do."

"The simplest way is for a great emperor to descend to the mortal realm, directly purify the corrupted Heavenly Dao, and cleanse all the filth in this realm, whether it be plants, livestock, or people. Finally, this realm should be nourished with rare and precious materials. In a few thousand years, this Hundred Fruit Realm will be able to restore its vitality."

"If we could get the Great Emperor Xiaoyun to help, with his cultivation level, dealing with this matter would be much simpler."

Ye Wenshu replied, "What if we want to find out who's behind this?"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Sheng remained silent for a moment before slowly saying, "Then, send someone down to the mortal realm."

“Using people as bait, we can delve into the corrupted land. As long as we can find a trace of the source of the pollution or a fragment of the corrupted laws, we can use the power of cause and effect to find out who is behind it.”

Ye Wenshu nodded thoughtfully, then asked, "What if the situation isn't limited to the Hundred Fruit Realm?"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Sheng looked up at Ye Wenshu: "Not just the Hundred Fruit Realm?"

Ye Wenshu said calmly, "This situation is not limited to the Hundred Fruit Realm. Taibai Xingjun has already reported this to Emperor Xiaoyun Changsheng, who has asked me to find the clues."

"And I need the assistance of the Heavenly Lord of Justice." (End of Chapter)