The immortal is beside me

Chapter 92: Jiuli is about to fall, and he is the one who carries the burden forward
Mount Zhongnan, Jiuli Sect’s Cave Heaven, Sect Master’s Hall.

A breath of air entered his spiritual consciousness. Yan Guoyun, the leader of the Jiuli Sect, who was sitting on the cushion, raised his eyes slightly. Where his eyes fell, he saw the sect's great elder Luo Yucheng standing there.

"metropolitan."

After going through the necessary formalities, Luo Yucheng stepped into the hall. As he entered, the door automatically closed behind him without even a slamming sound.

"The investigating disciples and the Chinese authorities have reported the same news. Traces of Buddha's presence have appeared in various places around Liangzhou, and the various sects in the Cangtian Sect are also mobilizing manpower."

"Based on the current situation, their manpower near Liangzhou is probably close to 10,000 people."

Yan Guoyun's expression remained unchanged as he heard the slightly muffled report. He simply asked, "Have all the sect affairs been arranged?"

"Everything has been arranged. In addition to the personnel who will go to discuss the Dao, the Third Elder, Fourth Elder, and Sixth Elder will lead thirty deacons to stay within the sect to ensure the operation of the sect protection formation."

"At the same time, the Chinese authorities have also completed the handover. If any unexpected events occur during the discussion, they will take over the placement of the remaining disciples."

Every piece of information is a secret among secrets, and every word reveals the impending storm and the tense situation. Only people at the elder level are qualified to get a glimpse of the full picture of the current situation.

They all knew that Jiuli was now at the center of the storm.

"Humanity has done its best, and the rest is destiny."

Yan Guoyun nodded gently and lowered his gaze again: "Go back. There are only three days left before the discussion. You and the other elders will go with me. The rest of the time should be spent on adjusting your condition."

Luo Yucheng responded but did not move.

"So, what about you, Sect Master?"

Luo Yucheng's eyes fell on the paper in Yan Guoyun's hand. It was a stack of aged rice paper, covered with intricate ink writing.

Around the cushion where Yan Guoyun sat, there were many more papers like this, some bound in thread, others scattered like pages.

With Luo Yucheng's keen eyesight, he could naturally see that none of these pages were cultivation scriptures, but rather ordinary historical records.

"I'm reviewing the last historical records left by the Immortal Alliance."

Yan Guoyun's finger slid across the page. "Back then, after killing Kasyapa Buddha and repelling Buddhism, the Jiuli Immortal Alliance also suffered a heavy blow."

"Although the situation was equally fraught with crises, twelve hundred years ago, it was far more dire than the Jiuli today. I often wonder what our ancestors who were part of the alliance at that time thought."

Luo Yucheng remained silent. He was over seven hundred years old, having been born during the Song Dynasty, so he naturally hadn't experienced that time firsthand. But as an elder, he naturally understood what the Immortal Alliance's final days were like.

Just like the Tang Dynasty. In many people's impressions, the Tang Dynasty seems to have only the Early Tang Dynasty, the High Tang Dynasty and the Late Tang Dynasty, as if after the An-Shi Rebellion, the remaining 140 years of Tang Dynasty history became a blank.

The same situation also appeared in the Jiuli Immortal Alliance.

Not to mention outsiders, even among the Jiuli people today, when the term Immortal Alliance is mentioned, most disciples' impression of it often only goes back to the Sakya Rebellion, as if that hundred-year war was the end of the Immortal Alliance.

Looking through the entire collection, only Yan Guoyun was aware of the distortion of this impression, because he was born in the aftermath of that period.

"There's a famous poem in the secular world: 'I cannot see the true face of Mount Lu because I am already within it.'"

Yan Guoyun spoke softly, his fingers sliding across the paper in front of him. "When people are in the midst of something, they are unable to objectively examine the era they live in. Until now, seeing these remaining records, I understand the changes that the Immortal Alliance was undergoing at that time."

Luo Yucheng, who was standing nearby, was silent for a moment before walking forward and sitting to one side. "I'd like to hear more about this."

There was a moment of silence. Yan Guoyun gently stroked the paper in his hand, with a look of reminiscence in his eyes.

"The Sakya Rebellion killed 60% of the Immortal Alliance's cultivators and also caused the Jiuli, as the core, to lose the right to command all the sects."

"After Kasyapa's death, even though the Buddhist forces were expelled from the country, the Immortal Alliance's situation did not recover. On the contrary, it deteriorated day by day. Many of the remaining powerful sects no longer accepted Jiuli's orders. The name of 'Alliance' no longer existed."

Luo Yucheng listened in silence. As an elder, he naturally knew the meaning behind this sentence.

Since ancient times, it has been a consensus in the world of cultivation that only the most powerful supernatural forces can directly control the secular dynasties.

This is not only due to the support and influence of the forces themselves on the mortal world, but also because if there is no hero to maintain order, the four forces will each stand out and occupy one side, and the unified pattern that people expect will become a castle in the air.

As Cao Cao, the emperor of the mortal world, said thousands of years ago: "If I were not in the world, I wonder how many people would be emperors and how many would be kings?"

Since the beginning of the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the Jiuli Immortal Alliance has been the undisputed solitary king of the Central Plains. The Sakya Rebellion left this solitary king deeply wounded, and the heroes gathered under his command began to think about becoming kings themselves.

This was reflected in the secular world as the widespread separatist regimes at the end of the Tang Dynasty, and behind each regime were the shadows of monks.

"Besides internal troubles, external threats have never ceased. Although the influence of Buddhism has temporarily faded, a century of war has left the Central Plains riddled with holes. Minor sects and schools have taken advantage of this situation, hoping to grab a piece of the pie while the Central Plains immortal sects are preoccupied with their own affairs."

"And the target of their attack was naturally the Tang Dynasty at that time."

Yan Guoyun whispered, "The Immortal Alliance and the Buddhist sect are clashing with each other, and countless forces are trying to take advantage of this. Since the An-Shi Rebellion, the Tang capital of Chang'an has been captured numerous times, forcing even the emperor to flee, and countless people have been displaced."

"During the mortal Dazhong period, the unrest in the cultivation world subsided slightly, and the Tang Dynasty showed signs of revival during the 'Dazhong Reign.' But in reality, both the Immortal Alliance and the Tang Dynasty were already terminally ill and beyond repair. This temporary stability was merely a last gasp of hope."

When he said this, he suddenly laughed softly.

"Having said that, in my memory, the last days of the Immortal Alliance were not particularly eventful."

"At that time, I was just a low-level disciple who had just joined Jiuli. I had no idea what was happening outside. I just felt that there were fewer people in the sect, and it was a little quieter. Other than that, daily life in Jiuli seemed to remain the same."

"At that time, my fellow brothers and sisters and I didn't feel much despair, nor did we even feel that the Immortal Alliance was heading for destruction. On the contrary, every day we recounted the glorious deeds of our ancestors on the battlefield. We all believed that the turmoil was over, and that the Jiuli and Tang dynasties would regain their former glory."

"Now it seems that the reason why disciples like me were so full of hope back then was only because our ancestors bore all the heavy burdens behind the scenes."

Luo Yucheng was silent for a moment: "Does this ancestor also include Senior Wuqing?"

"Naturally, he carries a weight no one can match."

Yan Guoyun raised his eyes slightly: "Thousands of years ago, Zhou Wuqing and other ancestors carried heavy burdens and moved forward, preserving a trace of the Jiuli flame."

"Now that the Buddha has returned, it is our turn to take over their burden."

A gentle breeze seeped in from the window, blowing away the last words. On the eve of this discussion, the Sect Master's Hall was silent, with only the flickering candlelight.

848 AD, Mount Zhongnan.

A figure in a red Taoist robe floated down from the sky, landing on the long steps before the cave. Looking up, he saw the gate plaque at the front of the mountain remained unchanged, the words "Jiuli" shimmering in the sunlight. He had seen this plaque for over three hundred years, ever since joining the Jiuli, but now, the light seemed unfamiliar.

The plaque has not changed, only the surrounding environment has changed.

Once upon a time, this place was the core of the Jiuli Immortal Alliance. Every time the Immortal Alliance held a meeting, the leaders and elders from various sects under the alliance would gather in the mountains, crowding the mountain roads.

But now, after a hundred years of war, the Immortal Alliance has almost fallen apart. The mountain path that was once full of monks has been replaced by several giant trees, with dense green canopies like a canopy.

It turns out that a hundred years is really a long time. The trees on the roadside have grown so tall.

"Finally back."

A flash of fire ignited beside his shoulder, and a bird with red feathers appeared in the air.

"Ever since those Buddhas entered the Central Plains, you have been constantly on the battlefield, without a single day's rest for a hundred years. Now that you have returned to Jiuli, you can rest for a while."

The phoenix flapped its wings and circled around him, the sound echoing in his mind.

During the hundred-year Sakya Rebellion, it always accompanied Zhou Wuqing and witnessed all the battles, big and small, along the way.

As it said, he had fought almost every day in the past hundred years. Even after he fought with Kasyapa for forty-nine days, he only recuperated for less than half a month before rushing to the battlefield again to wipe out the remaining forces from all sides.

During the war, he rarely showed signs of fatigue, but the phoenix accompanied him all the way, and it saw all his hard work and travel over the past hundred years.

Now, with the end of the "Huaichang Buddhist Persecution" in the mortal world, most of the Buddhist forces remaining in the Central Plains have been eliminated, and Zhou Wuqing finally got some time to rest and return to the sect. This made Fenghuang very happy, not only because he returned to his hometown, but also because the immortal could finally rest.

A man and a bird flew up the stone steps and in a moment they reached the top of the mountain. The two disciples guarding the door saw who was coming and hurried forward to greet them.

"Your honor."

"Your Majesty Wuqing."

The two of them saluted him together, their expressions and tones full of respect.

Once upon a time, due to his special status as a guest official, his position in the Jiuli was very delicate. Those who liked him revered him as a god, while those who disliked him could not help but criticize him behind his back.

But now with the end of the Sakya Rebellion, especially after the death of Venerable Kashyapa, the latter voice has almost completely disappeared. Everyone looks at him as if they are looking at a god, as if no one has forgotten that he was just a guest official wandering on the edge.

Even he himself almost forgot about it.

"How many people are still in the alliance now?" Zhou Wuqing asked.

"We don't know the exact number yet. Too many people have died in the past century, and many are still missing."

The gatekeeper disciple replied, "However, these days, the Council Hall is issuing a call to all quarters to gather the scattered forces, striving to restore order in the Central Plains and revive the Tang Dynasty."

"Especially now that you, Your Majesty, have returned."

The gatekeeper disciple spoke, his tone rising unconsciously.

"With you leading the way, the morale of our disciples will surely be greatly boosted. With everyone united, both the Jiuli and the Tang will surely be able to regain their glory soon, and bring peace back to the world."

As he spoke, his eyes sparkled with hope.

A century of war has ended. Those who have perished will never return, but the ruined cities can be repaired, the dilapidated fields can be cultivated again, and the displaced wanderers will find shelter again. Everything will return to its starting point.

Everyone believes this and looks forward to the return of peace and prosperity.

After bidding farewell to the two disciples, he continued to soar upwards, passing the plaque in the mountain and reaching the top of the mountain.

That was the place with the best scenery and the most abundant spiritual energy in the entire mountain range. In the past, he was used to resting there in his spare time, and now that he had returned to the sect, he still went there as usual.

As your body rises and your vision improves, the vast expanse of mountains and rivers comes into view.

It was evening now, and a thin mist shrouded the mountains. Looking up, one could see flickering lights at the end.

That was Chang'an in the distance, the world's most famous city and the heart of the Tang Dynasty. There, for the first time in his life, he witnessed what a prosperous world was like. It was then that he realized that the era when everyone had enough food to eat and clothes to wear was not just a fantasy in novels.

To this day, he can still recall the grand Chang'an banquet a century ago, the dazzling fireworks that filled the city, the heat rising from the streets, and the woman who accompanied him. In the decade or so since that banquet, he has visited Chang'an from time to time, and every time he went, he was treated to a magnificent spectacle.

Now that Ye Qiansheng is dead, the brilliant fireworks are gone, and the once number one city in the world is covered with scars, but at least Chang'an is still there, the Tang Dynasty is still there, the lights are still there, and hope is still there.

Although the lights are not as bright as before, as the gatekeeper disciple said just now, as long as there is breath left, the prosperous times will eventually return.

"When you were cleaning up the remnants of the Buddhist sect, I flew to the area around Chang'an and saw that order had been restored. The markets you used to frequent have also reopened."

The phoenix landed on his shoulder and said, "Now that the new emperor has ascended to the throne, he's implementing tax cuts and tightening the imperial examination system. I heard that even the internal conflicts within the court have subsided. If this continues, I'm sure everything will get better and better."

Zhou Wuqing stood in the air, gazing at the lights in the sky from afar. His expression gradually softened, and the bloody murderous aura that had accompanied him for hundreds of years seemed to have subsided a little.

Everything will get better and better. The people of Jiuli believed this, the people of Datang believed this, Fenghuang believed this, and now he also believed this.

He floated down to the top of the mountain, and when he looked up, he caught a glimpse of another familiar figure.

Yuan Tiangang.

He stood alone at the highest point of the mountain, looking up at the sky above him, with a faint glimmer in his eyes.

He was very familiar with Yuan Tiangang's appearance. This was the method of observing the sky in the art of Yi, which was to see through the composition of human energy through observing celestial phenomena.

At the moment, he must be looking for a way to restore the old days, and he would always find it in the past.

"What did you see?" After this was over, Zhou Wuqing walked up to him and asked casually.

A long silence answered him. Yuan Tiangang stood there with his eyes downcast, his cyan skirt fluttering in the wind.

"The Tang Dynasty's fortunes were shattered by the An-Shi Rebellion. Now, its fate is tainted by evil, and the omen continues to spread. Even if there are occasional flashes of hope, there is no chance of recovery."

The wind seemed to freeze suddenly. Before his eyes, Yuan Tiangang slowly turned his head, his face devoid of a smile.

"Brother Zhou," he said softly, "The Tang Dynasty is about to end."

(End of this chapter)