Above the Great Dao

"Uncle Yang, you don't suspect I'm the mastermind, do you?" Chen Shi couldn't help but laugh.

Qing Yang also burst out laughing, "Of course I can't suspect you. You were only nine then! What can a nine-year-old do? Start a rebellion with a group of heavenly disasters?"

Chen Shi laughed uncontrollably, "I was only nine, how could I lead a bunch of heavenly disasters and become the Demon Emperor of the underworld? Who among them isn't a dragon among men? Who would follow a nine-year-old?"

"Haha, a nine-year-old Demon Emperor!"

Qing Yang laughed until he fell over, "Did they have no one else?"

Chen Shi laughed so hard tears were streaming, "That green ghost hand gripping my heart, surely it wasn't my subordinate, right?"

They both laughed so hard they rolled on the ground.

Qing Yang suddenly stopped laughing, looked at him seriously, "Assuming, just assuming, they really are your subordinates, and you really are the Demon Emperor?"

Chen Shi's expression turned serious, then he burst out laughing suddenly, "You're saying the green ghost hand that killed me several times is my subordinate?"

Qing Yang laughed out loud, pounding the floor, breathless, "You got killed several times by it, and Granny Sha had to summon your soul! Which subordinate would do something so stupid?"

Chen Shi laughed, kneeling on the ground, clutching his stomach, "If that's the case, the owner of the green ghost hand might as well be a sheep! Maybe it's Uncle Yang's old man!"

Qing Yang stopped laughing, his face turned serious, "That joke isn't funny."

They locked eyes, couldn't hold it in, and laughed again.

Qing Yang laughed almost to the point of breathlessness, "Maybe the one who killed you was my mom! My mom is also a sheep!"

After a long while, the two finally stopped laughing.

Qing Yang lay on the ground, panting, suddenly said, "Dan Cheng is inside you, do you think the other three Sect Leaders are also inside you?"

He was referring to the fourth Sect Leader Guang Xian, the seventh Sect Leader Dao Cheng, and the sixteenth Sect Leader Jing Xu.

Years ago, Qing Yang, Chen Yindou, and Qiongyang Ancestor dug up the Ancestors' Tombs and found that the tombs of these three Sect Leaders were empty, not a bone inside,

Chen Shi was stunned, suddenly sat up, "It's definitely possible."

Qing Yang sat up, "Of these four Sect Leaders, the first three were all figures of the True King Era, when cultivators lived for thousands of years, not just a hundred like now. Their fake deaths must have had a grand plan."

Chen Shi thought aloud, "Other than the four Sect Leaders of Taihua Qing Palace, what about the other Holy Lands?"

Qing Yang was stunned.

Indeed.

If Taihua Qing Palace had four Sect Leaders faking death, abandoning their physical bodies, transforming into heavenly disasters, hiding in the underworld, what about the other Holy Lands?

Of the Taoist's other two Holy Lands, Taishang Haoyuan Palace and Heavenly Master Mansion, could they just be so peaceful?

The Buddhist's three Holy Lands, Water Moon Sacred Realm, Great Baoguo Temple, and Bodhi Dojo, didn't seem like peaceful ones either.

So, are there also a bunch of Sect Leaders from these Holy Lands transformed into heavenly disasters, hiding in Chen Shi's Sea of Consciousness?

Qing Yang frowned, if those heavenly disasters are truly from each Holy Land's Sect Leaders seeking immortality, then should we still proceed with the Demon Extraction? And how?

Chen Shi mused, "The Thirteen Families prepare the Upper Realm as their backup, while the six Buddhist and Taoist Holy Lands prepare the heavenly disasters as theirs, this is indeed an intriguing matter."

"Their target is most likely Despair Slope and the Outer Heaven True God," Qing Yang said.

Chen Shi's eyes flickered, recalling that young man who manifested the Innate Dao Embryo.

"Despair Slope then..."

Taihua Qing Palace's Immortal Sword homecoming ceremony went on as planned, people from other major Holy Lands came, creating much bustle, and even officials from nearby provinces and counties came to celebrate, most surprising of all, Chief Minister of the Cabinet Yan Xianzhi attended too.

No one mentioned the former Sect Leader's rebellion, almost turning into a heavenly disaster and destroying Guxing Province, as they congratulated the return of the Immortal Sword.

Chief Minister Yan Xianzhi also represented the Court, greatly encouraging Sect Leader Chang Ying Daoist, without mentioning his purpose of bringing the Immortal Family's great treasure, Wuying Hall, to annihilate Jing Hong. If that treasure unleashed its true power, Taihua Qing Palace might be leveled.

"Young Lord Chen!"

After exchanging pleasantries, Yan Xianzhi called out to Chen Shi, full of smiles, "Young Lord Chen, long time no see."

Chen Shi greeted him, complimenting, "Minister Yan, you seem more robust than when I saw you in the Western Capital."

Yan Xianzhi laughed, "Without your Chen family in the Western Capital, my appetite has been bigger than before. I heard Young Lord Chen recently extracted demons at Qianyang Mountain, how's it going?"

Chen Shi told the truth, "The demons in me have been extracted."

Yan Xianzhi visibly relaxed, with a half-smile, "I've heard about this. Extraction done, you are reassured, and the Court is reassured too."

Thinking that he might still have the Six Holy Lands' old Yin goods within him, Chen Shi frowned and sighed faintly.

Yan Xianzhi noticed, understandingly smiled, "Are you feeling like you've lost a life-saving talisman after extracting the demon? Young Lord Chen, you shouldn't think that way. You're an Imperial Official; who dares touch you? Touching you is like touching the Court!"

"When one is happy, the spirit is refreshed," he spoke more cheerfully, "but moving forward in your work, don't be as careless as before. There might be someone who doesn't fear the Court, relying on high cultivation realm to kill you, and the Court can only handle your aftermath, issue a wanted notice for that person; you wouldn't live to see it."

Chen Shi looked crestfallen.

Yan Xianzhi, feeling invigorated, said, "Also, in the future, when you meet those of higher rank than you, bow when you should, kneel when you should. You're just an assistant scholar at Hanlin Academy, a fifth-grade official; there are many positions higher than yours. Don't always be thoughtless, calling everyone brother... I don't mean you should kneel to me; I'm just a nominal first-grade. Stand tall, keep your spirit up!"