Merits and Demerits

"Withdraw half the troops from Tianyu Pass, and then what?" Chen Weichen raised his eyebrows and looked at Marquis Chenshu.

"When I was in the mortal world, my family and the Yan family were old acquaintances. Tianyu Pass is easy to defend but difficult to attack. However, after withdrawing half the troops, even the strongest fortress will become much more vulnerable." Marquis Chenshu said, "This dynasty's fate has long been sealed, and it's just barely hanging on. Moreover, the Southern Kingdom is located among thousands of mountains. Although the land is fertile, it's not suitable for maintaining an army.

If we support a new ruler in the Southern Dynasty to put the country in order, train soldiers and march north to reclaim lost territory, not only will the chances of success be nearly zero, but it's also unknown how many years it will take. Outside the Southern Kingdom's territory, only the Yan family has a strong military. If they can obtain the Southern Kingdom, they will have ample military provisions, and with Lord Zhuang's talent for governing the country, plus their existing military strength, they can unify the Central Plains within three years."

A confident smile appeared on Marquis Chenshu's handsome face. "When the imperial court moved south, the Yan family rebelled. Although the court regarded them as bandits, they were not reckless. Due to lack of supplies, they had no choice but to plunder civilians, which was a desperate move. To unify the Central Plains and rule the world, only he is barely suitable. After the unification, he will be crowned emperor in Dalongting, clean up the remnants, and allow the people to recover. In ten or twenty years, it will be a prosperous era."

Chen Weichen looked at Zhuang Baihan in the center. "When he was a commoner, he also suffered from the Yan party's rebellion."

"It doesn't matter," Marquis Chenshu said. "I have cultivated the Dao, and he has become a sage. What we think about is no longer limited to one country or one ruler. Benevolence, righteousness, loyalty, treachery, gratitude and grudges in life, and reputation after death, have all been written off. Treason or rebellion, let future generations judge the merits and demerits over the centuries."

After his eloquent speech, Chen Weichen couldn't help but think of the old masters who talked endlessly in the academy. It made his head spin a little. After listening to the entire argument, he just waved his fan and said nothing. Xing Qiu yawned, "I'm not listening anymore. I'll just watch the excitement. You go and do your own big things."

Marquis Chenshu looked at their auras and felt that each one was more profound and unfathomable than the last. He didn't dare to inquire about their identities presumptuously.

At this time, it was chaotic all around. The mountain path was narrow, and the Temple of Heaven was at the top. The army couldn't climb up conveniently, so they had to clash with people and horses on the road, amid shrill shouts.

In the chaos, a little girl in brocade clothes seemed to be separated from her family. Pushed by soldiers, she ran around in a panic, crying and shouting for her family. She bumped into them while running.

Chen Weichen reached out and picked her up. The girl finally settled down for a while, lying on his shoulder, sobbing for a while before gradually stopping. She turned her head to look at the person holding her. Seeing the gentle smile in his eyes, handsome and amiable, she burst into tears again, "I want to find my father and brother."

"Good girl, don't cry," Chen Weichen gently patted her thin shoulders. "I'll ask the fairy brother to help you find them."

With that, he turned to the other side, a mischievous smile hanging on the corner of his mouth, his eyes watery, just looking at Ye Jiuya without saying a word.

The little girl was held and turned her head. Seeing the person in front of her who looked like a fairy from a painting, she was slightly stunned, opening her pink little lips.

Chen Weichen handed the little girl to Ye Jiuya.

The little girl had always been spoiled and knew what to do. She reached out her short arms to Ye Jiuya.

Ye Jiuya hesitated slightly before catching her. The little girl leaned her entire body against him, a soft and fragile little bundle, quite different from how Chen Weichen had held her just moments before.

Chen Weichen noticed his stiffness, his eyes curved, and he laughed softly, "Fairy brother, hurry up and help the girl find her family."

The little girl's body suddenly became light as she was carried into the air. Looking at the dense crowd of heads below, her eyes, still wet with tears, widened.

"Where?" She heard a voice like ice and snow.

The little girl carefully searched the crowd for a while and finally found her family who were also anxiously looking for her.

She pointed for Ye Jiuya to see, "Fairy brother, there, over there."

Another gust of wind brushed her face. It seemed like in an instant, she landed on the ground again. The snow-white figure in front of her flashed, and a hint of coolness seemed to linger at the tip of her nose. When she looked again, there was no trace of him.

The little girl looked up at the sky in a daze.

Marquis Chenshu watched Ye Jiuya come and go, wondering in his heart who the brocade-clad gentleman holding the painted fan was, that he could talk to Swordmaster Ye like that.

At this time, at the top of the mountain under the Temple of Heaven, the emperor's corpse lay in front of Zhuang Baihan, blood flowing out and smearing on the stones.

Soldiers rushed up to the high platform, but without exception, they were blocked by the vast aura. People couldn't enter. Even if they threw spears with all their strength, they would invariably clang to the ground.

The scholar closed his eyes, letting the fierce wind on the mountaintop blow his hair and robe, as if he was comprehending something.

"There are indeed many people in this world who claim to want to benefit the people, but in the end, they just want to sell their knowledge to the royal family in exchange for an official position and return home in glory. In peaceful and prosperous times, they are naturally useful to the country. But if born in a chaotic era and serving a fatuous ruler, they can only wait for death." Chen Weichen looked at Zhuang Baihan and said.

Xie Lang pondered, "Yes, Sir Zhuang truly cares about the people of the world. His teacher and wife died because of the state of the world, and he completely lost hope in the dynasty. Looking at the current situation, the aura gathered on Lord Xie when he sacrificed himself has indeed also gathered on him - it's the time and fate. Through a fortunate coincidence, he reached such a realm. But whether he can maintain this realm and not be a flash in the pan depends on his state of mind and destiny. If he develops hatred because of those things, it will be extremely detrimental to his state of mind."

On the other side, the group of old officials saw this strange phenomenon and also lost their bearings.

"What should we do? Could it really be the will of heaven?"

"Quickly find the State Preceptor. Didn't he also show his true skills at the Peach Blossom Banquet?"

"How can there be such chaos? Let's stabilize the situation first. Returning to the country is the proper thing to do!"

"What about that demon?"

"Didn't you hear him repeatedly say he speaks for the people? I suppose he won't do anything like massacring everyone!"

One of them sighed, "I actually admire him a little."

At these words, the old officials fell silent one after another.

In recent years, the old civil officials over fifty had trouble walking, so they could only order the military generals to run around like headless flies - the dynasty had valued civil officials over military ones for many years, and even if they were of the same rank, the military generals were still at least one level lower than the civil officials.

The State Preceptor was at his leisure, hiding in the carriage, and did not forget to invite them: "Fresh lychees, chilled with ice all the way, come and eat quickly."

Chen Weichen wanted to tease him: "You are living so comfortably, spending all the money from the national treasury. Hurry and help them quell the disaster."

Xing Qiu leaned on the soft pillow, peeled a snow-white lychee and put it in his mouth, mumbling indistinctly: "The emperor wants to provide for me himself, I never said I would help him with his affairs."

But Xie Lang was looking out the window at the sky: "Do you think the Heavenly Dao, like humans, is capable of thought?"

Xing Qiu said, "What do you mean by that?"

"It's too much of a coincidence that Sir Zhuang became a sage, it can't be explained by chance alone, it's with the help of Heaven. At present, the fortunes of the immortal way and the human world are all in decline, but such a world-changing event has occurred - could it be that Heaven also wants to revitalize its own fortunes?"

"Doesn't your Daoist sect talk about the cycle of heavenly fate, that prosperity leads to decline, and decline leads to prosperity, all predetermined? According to what you say, we don't need to hold any debates, just wait for the Heavenly Dao to prosper its own fortune and be done with it." Lu Hongyan answered like this, obviously disagreeing with the Daoist's guess.

"Not quite." Xie Lang scratched his head and continued, "Although the immortal way is in decline and it's difficult for disciples to make progress, and the various sects were greatly weakened in the battle of the Heavenly River, but Swordmaster Ye, Lord Canlong, Lord Lanshan, and even the Yan Emperor back then, which one of you isn't a heaven-sent genius? Reaching the peak of the immortal way at a young age? Even during the most prosperous times of the immortal way in the past, such figures were rare to see in hundreds of years."

"Regardless of the rise and fall of our fortunes, the Heavenly Dao is always there. Why should it bother itself back and forth?" Lu Hongyan was relentless.

Xie Lang was momentarily at a loss for words.

"Of course it's to compete for fortune with the other side," Chen Weichen was also peeling lychees. He pressed two fingers on the skin, and the shell split open, revealing the crystal-clear white interior. He fed himself first, then fed Ye Jiuya, asking if it tasted good, before continuing slowly, "What you heard at Zhichen Temple a few days ago, have you forgotten?"

-- The human world and the demon world depend on each other for existence, sharing the same origin and dividing fortunes. When demons prosper, the human world declines.

"However, the young Daoist is overthinking it," Chen Weichen continued, "Even if the Heavenly Dao really wants to actively revitalize its own fortune, what it can do is limited - it obviously has no brain, otherwise with my bad luck, it would have killed me long ago, how could I have lived until now?"

This topic ended there, and they went on to talk about other things - such as the constancy of the Heavenly Dao. After a long time, when the chaotic shouting outside gradually stopped, they looked out.

More than half of the soldiers had left, hastily escorting the civilians they had finally brought under control back to the capital, not even bothering with the emperor's corpse.

Zhuang Baihan had already opened his eyes, his qi gradually gathering inside his body, his radiance condensing, his entire aura vastly different from before. Marquis Chenshu was saying something to him, and the scholar turned his head to look at the boundless rivers and mountains, his eyes filled with a sense of empty desolation.

The two walked down the mountain path, not knowing where they were going, disappearing into the white clouds.

The remaining soldiers hurriedly collected the emperor's corpse.

Chen Weichen pulled Ye Jiuya out of the carriage and came to the pool of blood, picking up the white jade piece stained with the emperor's blood: "Look at its qi."

There was indeed qi flowing on it, but it was still insufficient.

"Although the dynasty has long been on the verge of collapse, if Zhuang Baihan had not killed the emperor, it could have lingered on for a long time. When Tianyu Pass's military forces are empty, the Yan faction will take the opportunity to attack, and the Southern Dynasty will be completely overthrown. When the new dynasty rises, the qi on this crucial white jade piece, which also carries the qi of Zhuang Baihan's ascension to sagehood, will be sufficient. The scholar's anger can shake the fortunes of heaven and earth - let's call it the Scholar's Sword."

He took out all those things and counted them one by one: "Annihilation Incense, Kaiyang Blood, Jinxiu Ashes, Scholar's Sword, and the Nine Nether Spring Water completes the set."

Chen Weichen looked at those things one by one, his eyes filled with complex emotions. Just as he was lost in thought, he was interrupted by the sound of a sword.

The Jiuya Sword let out a clear cry and unsheathed with a clang, a murderous sword light slashing forward.

Chen Weichen abruptly raised his head. In front, there were three things condensed from black qi, with a ferocious human face in the center, screaming shrilly as they were all cut down.

It was the same thing they had encountered in Jinxiu City!

Ye Jiuya obviously also realized and thought of something else: "Demon?"

"Probably," Chen Weichen opened his folding fan with a "swish", the qi surging on it, his speech extremely fast: "Where did they come from--"

Before he could finish, his eyes narrowed and he quickly turned around, the fan surface rapidly sweeping open to block the two ferocious demons that had pounced over from behind with a screech.

In this instant of breathing room, his peripheral vision swept across the entire mountaintop, and actually saw seven or eight more black shadows darting out!