Above the Great Dao

He was thrown into utter confusion and staggered to his feet, only to discover that the heavenly disaster had disappeared, and he had returned to normal. Yet all around him, within a radius of several miles, were the corpses of his wife and children!

Gao Fenghua almost went mad, crying and yelling in that place, tearing his hair, cursing the heavens, and holding his loved ones' corpses while pleading to the heavens, but it was all in vain.

He didn't know how he returned to the government office, nor did he know how long he had been sitting there, with his mind in a blank state.

Fu Xiu looked at Magistrate Gao and realized that this person was already broken and could not be relied upon to oversee Youzhou and save the people.

Fu Xiu entered the government office, raised the Ten Thousand Soul Banner, offered incense to it, bowed deeply, and said, "Elders in the banner, although you were once fierce bandits in life, after death, you have entered the banner and protected the people, which is a great merit. I hope you can protect Youdu, prevent foreign evils from invading, and safeguard the lives of the people! This banner holds great merit, and in the future, I will petition for you to rename the Ten Thousand Soul Banner to the Ten Thousand People's Banner!"

The banner gently swayed, and the ghost gods in the banner were very pleased with him.

Fu Xiu exited the government office and said to Magistrate Gao, "Sir, where is the Earth Book of Youdu? To save the people, we cannot do without the Earth Book!"

Magistrate Gao did not speak. Fu Xiu became angry, kicked him to the ground, and forcibly searched, finally finding the Earth Book in a small storage pouch.

"The magistrate is useless; during these days, I will act as the magistrate!"

Fu Xiu lifted the heavy Earth Book and raised the Earth Book of Youdu's sixty-two counties. The pages flew into the air, transforming into golden light flying away.

These golden pages would protect each county and village, mobilize the power of the Ten Thousand Soul Banner and the village godmothers, suppress evil spirits, and prevent them from taking advantage of the chaos to cause havoc.

Having dealt with these matters, he suddenly felt dizzy and realized that he hadn't eaten or rested at all.

At the street corner, a Talisman Master from the Red Mountain Hall had set up a porridge stall for relief. He went and drank a bowl of porridge, feeling somewhat better.

"The heavenly disaster is hard to overcome, but fortunately, it has subsided."

He silently thought, "Everything will gradually get better."

When Yan Xianzhi and Gao Canghai heard the news that the disaster had dissipated, they were already at the border of Youdu. The two cabinet officials exchanged a glance, and Gao Canghai said, "Visitors from Despair Slope."

Yan Xianzhi nodded slightly and said, "I don't know who it is."

The power of Despair Slope made them shudder.

The speed at which Despair Slope subdued this heavenly disaster was astonishingly fast, so fast that the disaster had ended before they could arrive!

"In theory, Despair Slope rarely makes a move easily."

Gao Canghai felt a stirring in his heart and said, "In the past few thousand years, demon transformations have either been handled by our court or by the Outer Heaven True God. The heavenly disaster is the same. Our Western Capital Court deals with heavenly disasters as soon as possible. If it cannot be resolved, the Outer Heaven True Body will gather its might to kill the disaster. Despair Slope rarely handles such matters. Why are they so proactive this time?"

"Despair Slope's proactive involvement is not a good thing."

Yan Xianzhi said, "Their active involvement is likely due to the change in the heavens. The nights have become longer, the days shorter, and the Outer Heaven True God has undergone an unknown change, causing Despair Slope to feel an urgent need."

When the two arrived in Youdu, they found that Youdu had become orderly, and the countryside was peaceful, with no significant upheaval due to the heavenly disaster.

Not only Youdu, but even other counties in Guxing Province were also very stable.

Yan Xianzhi's eyes lit up, and he smiled, "The Magistrate of Youdu has great talent! Congratulations Lord Gao, your clan has produced another useful talent!"

Gao Canghai also felt gratified and smiled, "The Magistrate of Youdu is Gao Fenghua, originally an ordinary person. I never thought that coming to Youdu, he would exhibit such talent. He has made great contributions, and I will certainly report this to the Sect Master and ensure he is well-promoted."

Yan Xianzhi smiled and said, "The court will also ensure he is well-promoted. A talent like his, confined to Youdu, is a pity."

When the two arrived at the Youdu government office, they discovered that Gao Fenghua had not handled any official business. Instead, he looked as if he was on his deathbed. It was a man named Fu Xiu who had orderly managed Youdu and various parts of Guxing Province.

Yan Xianzhi and Gao Canghai each shook their heads and summoned Fu Xiu, offering him encouragement. Yan Xianzhi said, "Being a prefect is beneath your talents, so you are promoted to an Experience, an official two ranks higher."

Gao Canghai reminded Fu Xiu, smiling, "Experience is an eighth-rank official. Aren't you going to thank Prime Minister Yan?"

Fu Xiu expressed his gratitude, saying, "Sirs, I have many trivial matters to attend to and need to busy myself. I beg to take my leave."

Yan Xianzhi waved his hand, letting him go busy, and only after he went far away did he say: "Do you still want to promote Gao Fenghua?"

Gao Canghai smiled wryly: "Prime Minister, you jest. Gao Fenghua is no longer suitable as a magistrate. I will report to the Sect Master, asking him to send someone else to replace Gao Fenghua. But Fu Xiu, indeed, is a person of talent and virtue, yet this position is a bit too small for him."

Yan Xianzhi said, "He is the student of Chen, the top scorer."

Gao Canghai was solemn, nodding lightly, and said, "A student of Chen, the top scorer, indeed cannot be heavily used. Chen, the top scorer, harbors disloyal ambition."

Yan Xianzhi said, "Is he also in Youdu?"

Gao Canghai said, "He is visiting Taihua Mountain. It's said that this time he was returning the Immortal Sword to Taihua Mountain. As a result, a heavenly disaster erupted, and he was also trapped here."

Yan Xianzhi looked strange and said, "Did he cause the heavenly disaster?"

Gao Canghai shook his head and said, "No. I found out that it was the old Sect Leader of Taihua Qing Palace, Jing Hong, who faked death to cultivate an evil skill, causing the disaster transformation."

"It's a pity, otherwise we could have used this to punish Chen, the top scorer, for treason."

Yan Xianzhi sighed regretfully, his spirit invigorated, and said, "Taihua Qing Palace needs to be knocked a bit, make them hand over Jing Hong's corpse, along with the evil skills Jing Hong cultivated. Let's handle it this way."

Gao Canghai hesitated and said, "Then, the Immortal Sword of Taihua Qing Palace..."

"Let it be."

Yan Xianzhi smiled and said, "We cannot push people too far. Taihua Qing Palace, after all, has some foundation, and their Sect Leaders, none of them are easy to deal with. My Yan family's ancestors said, the Three Saints of Taihua Qing Palace might have survived, hiding in the shadows, waiting for their time. Taking away their Immortal Sword would not be wise."

Gao Canghai agreed and said, "Then, should we still participate in the Immortal Sword return celebration of Taihua Qing Palace?"

Yan Xianzhi was surprised and said, "They still have the face to hold a celebration?"

"The Taoists on the mountain said, the invitations have been sent out, do what should be done." Gao Canghai said helplessly.

Yan Xianzhi said helplessly, "Since they are shameless, then we will participate."

On Taihua Mountain, Qing Yang was bandaged up like a dumpling by the Taoists. The mountain Taoist told the ancestor to rest well to prevent his wounds from tearing. But Qing Yang couldn't help getting up and moving around, frequently glancing towards the smiling 'Chen Shi.'

"Is my stubborn temper like my parents'?"

He couldn't help but walk up to 'Chen Shi,' "Have you seen my parents?"

'Chen Shi' smiled and said, "I have. You were still small at that time."

Qing Yang shivered, becoming even more curious about this disaster, and said, "You're not the disaster? Who exactly are you?"

Chang Ying led some Taoists to transport the corpse of Old Taoist Jing Hong down from another mountain peak, delivering it to the main peak of Taihua Mountain. Many Taoists gathered around to watch, and 'Chen Shi' also went over, observing the huge corpse of Old Taoist Jing Hong with great interest.

Stone Rock Lady stood beside the corpse, extremely cautious, fearing the corpse might transform again.

But she was even more cautious towards 'Chen Shi,' unwilling to return to 'Chen Shi's' small temple.

Old Taoist Jing Hong had already undergone disaster transformation, his corpse becoming enormously vast, reaching over ten zhang long, and the flesh tentacles extending hundreds, even thousands of zhang, incredibly astonishing.

The Taoists showed great respect to 'Chen Shi' and Qing Yang because the two had fought desperately to save them, quickly making room so they could observe up close.

'Chen Shi,' while inspecting Old Taoist Jing Hong's corpse, smilingly said, "You conspired with others to dig up my grave, took the Golden Cicada Shell Sheding Heavenly Immortal Diagram I left behind, and still ask who I am... Jing Hong, this kid, didn't refine well at all."

He shook his head.

Qing Yang was thunderstruck, almost exclaiming.

"You are the seventy-eighth Sect Leader, Dan Chengzi! You faked your death to escape, transformed into a Ghost Immortal!"