Chapter 1136
Side Story: Picking Up the Person
At that moment, the earth shook violently.
The Cliff of Contemplation is right by the water, with half of its cliff face submerged in the water. When the mountain shakes, the river below surges with waves.
The people on the cliff top almost lost their footing.
Everyone's expression changed drastically: "The great demon is trying to escape!"
Pan Yun: "Don't worry, we'll let it out."
The elders stared wide-eyed: "Celestial Master, have you really betrayed the Taoist sect?"
Even those who had just been clamoring that Zhang Liuzhen had betrayed the Daoist sect were stunned; they had only made that accusation, never expecting it to come true.
Zhang Liuzhen: ...
Pan Yun turned her head and said, "Senior Brother Zhang, it's been so many years, why haven't you subdued Longhu Mountain yet?"
Zhang Liuzhen said calmly, "Even during the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors era, there were people who were difficult to subdue. Even you, the Imperial Preceptor, have now ascended to immortality, yet there are still many people in the world who do not submit to you. I am but a mortal, and your expectations of me are too high."
Pan Yun: "Fine, I can't argue with you."
She said to everyone, "My senior brother Zhang and I just signed a peace treaty with it for a hundred years, agreeing not to invade each other's territory or hunt each other. It also promised to persuade other great demons to join the treaty. In return, we will remove the restrictions and release them."
"How can this be?"
How can you believe a demon's words?
Pan Yun added, "We all swear an oath to the Way of Heaven with our Daoist hearts."
That's certainly believable, but they're still not convinced.
"These powerful demons have harmed humanity; how can we easily release them?"
Pan Yun: "The real demons that harmed the human world were slain by our predecessors a hundred years ago. Those that were suppressed were either not guilty enough to die or could not be killed. Coincidentally, the ones suppressed underneath are neither guilty enough to die nor can be killed."
"Others may not be able to do it, but the Imperial Preceptor possesses boundless magical power. Using the power of an immortal to act on behalf of Heaven, isn't this a piece of cake?"
"Yes, it is precisely at this time of great demonic activity that the Imperial Preceptor has broken through the boundary and returned. It is because Heaven has taken pity on the people of the world and has specially granted you permission to return and eliminate them."
“That’s it,” Pan Jun said, spreading his hands. “If Heaven truly cares, I’ll probably be categorized as a demon if I happen to return at this time.”
The crowd's lips twitched, and they all chimed in, "What does the Imperial Advisor mean by this? Don't forget you're human!"
"I am no longer, I am an immortal."
"The Imperial Advisor has forgotten his roots!"
"There's nothing I can do. I only came back to visit old friends, but you want my life." Pan Yun was no Zhang Liuzhen, and she didn't hold back at all: "Heaven and earth are ruthless, treating all things like straw dogs. Every person who studies the Dao knows this principle. Does Heaven favor people? Are you saying this because you think I'm a fool, or are you so stupid that you think I'll believe it just because it comes from your mouths?"
"If you want to deceive me, at least show some sincerity. What kind of nonsense is this, trying to cheat me?"
The faces of the men who had been urging Pan Jun to kill the demon were flushed.
Pan Yun snorted coldly and said, "I'll put my words here: the dragon veins are reviving, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth is recovering, and the Heavenly Dao is going to treat everyone equally. If you're willing, I'll take the lead and let these great demons be quiet for a hundred years, giving humanity a hundred years of stable time to develop. If you're not willing, the Heavenly Dao will only blame Zhang Liuzhen. Perfect, he's dead, so you can replace him with the Heavenly Master you want. As for me, I can just go back to the Upper Realm and find a place to seclude myself for over a hundred years. I'll be able to recover from the damage caused by the Heavenly Punishment."
"You choose."
Everyone: "..."
Those were harsh words; they really ripped off their pretenses. What was worse, Zhang Liuzhen also looked up and asked them, "I have three heirs; which one do you prefer to succeed me?"
Everyone was drenched in cold sweat. Several elders trembled under the gazes of Zhang Liuzhen and Pan Yun, and hurriedly bowed their heads to apologize.
Zhang Liuzhen then snorted coldly and said, "Since there are no objections, go down the mountain to appease the students and the people. With me and the Grand Preceptor here, this is just an earthquake and no one will die. All the collapsed houses will be registered under the name of the Celestial Master's Mansion. Afterwards, we will send people to build new houses for the families whose houses were damaged."
"This... Master, this is quite an expense."
Zhang Liuzhen: "Does my Zhang family lack money?"
Everyone was speechless. Indeed, they had no shortage of money. The Zhang family's direct lineage had more money than the emperor. They would never lack money, no matter what they lacked.
The ground shook again, and the elders were filled with worry. Was this great demon really going to be released?
They wanted to object, but Pan Yun had made his point too clear. If they objected now, they would be suspected of seizing power from the Celestial Master's Mansion.
Pan Yun is so annoying. She has already ascended to immortality, why did she come back?
Wait, did she truly ascend to heaven, or was it a fake ascension?
I've never heard of immortals who ascend to the mortal realm returning in their true form. In legends, they might send a dream or something. Who would actually come down to the mortal realm?
Some of them thought maliciously that this must be fake, and that the emperor might even be involved in the fabrication.
After all, her prestige grew daily, greatly influencing imperial power. If she hadn't died, the emperor would have had a hard time controlling his subordinates.
She was the emperor's teacher, and the emperor certainly couldn't bear to see her die, so they used the excuse of ascension to heaven to hide away.
Well, now that seven years have passed and her influence over the regime has diminished, she has "come back down to earth."
Bah, what lower realm? They clearly couldn't stand the loneliness, so they ran away.
They had doubts and questions, but they only dared to keep them to themselves and dared not speak them aloud.
Pan Yun wasn't going to explain; as long as they didn't say it, she would pretend she didn't know.
Among them were those who had remained silent, subtly supporting Zhang Liuzhen. After Pan Yun proposed signing a peace treaty with the great demon, agreeing to a non-aggression pact and a mutual non-prey pact, they accepted this approach.
However, regarding Pan Yun's claim of descending to the mortal realm, they, like the previous group, believed that she had most likely fabricated her ascension.
But they belong to the group that was willing to cover for Pan Yun.
After all, Pan Yun had a good relationship with the Celestial Master, and when Pan Yun ascended to immortality, the Taoist priest personally went to see her.
The patriarch might even know about the fake ascension, or even be involved. After all, the Celestial Master's Mansion governs all Taoists in the world. Even if Pan Yun is the Imperial Preceptor, he is still a Taoist, and theoretically he is under his jurisdiction.
After Pan Yun ascended to heaven, Zhang Liuzhen offered sacrifices to heaven and earth and bestowed upon Pan Yun an immortal title—Sanzhu Qingjing Wuwei Jingci Immortal Master, who was in charge of the way of investigating things in the world.
From then on, all those who studied the way of investigating things worshipped her.
Therefore, in addition to ordinary people praying to her for peace, wealth, and children, scholars and craftsmen from all over the world prayed to her, hoping that she could enlighten them and help them understand all things in the world.
The more they thought about it, the more they felt that the head of the family was involved in the case of the National Preceptor's ascension being faked. With the fate of one prospering and the fate of the other prospering, they could only remain silent, only occasionally revealing a hint of disapproval when they looked at Zhang Liuzhen.
Zhang Liuzhen: ...
They were being so obvious that it was hard for him not to understand.
It's so painful! How can I tell them that Pan Yun truly ascended to heaven, but also truly descended to the mortal realm?!
Pan Yun wasn't worried at all; on the contrary, he was extremely anxious. (End of Chapter)