Chapter 1815 — Henceforth, Each to the Ends of the Earth

Bai Yuqiong and Yan Yunxi came to the imperial palace in the capital. Emperor Yanfeng, occupied with affairs of state, was much burdened by toil. Though the Heavenly Court had been broken, its power had been immense; though dead, it would not stiffen, and here and there remnants of the Heavenly Court stirred up trouble from time to time.

Moreover, with the Heavenly Court fallen, the heavens had no master; each acted for itself, and each had its own designs upon the throne of the Heavenly Emperor.

Bai Yuqiong offered counsel: "Your Majesty, when a host of dragons lacks a head, disorder is bound to arise in time. Now Jingping stands ascendant in the Yuan Realm, foremost among the heavens and greatest in strength. Should Your Majesty advance one step further, the chaos among the heavens will gradually subside. But if Your Majesty does not take it up, the disorder of the heavens will continue, and grow ever fiercer—no blessing for the myriad realms!

" Emperor Yanfeng said, "I understand all that Celestial Master Bai has said. But the world is held in common. If I were to style myself Heavenly Emperor, I would be turning a public instrument to private use.

For a short while it might serve, but in the long run I would surely become another of the Ten Heavenly Venerables. And if the vitality of reform were lost, I fear it could not endure. " He rose to his feet, his gaze turning to the world beyond, where Jingping flourished in all its prosperity, and said, "The Heavenly Emperor Taichu made the world a family possession, treating it as his own private estate. The Ten Heavenly Venerables, though they did not make it a family possession, were a cabal of interests, power circulating within their own little circle. I do not wish for this.

To do so—how would it differ from Taichu, how from the Ten Heavenly Venerables?

Jingping would only repeat the same mistakes!

" Bai Yuqiong frowned, and ventured, "Could Your Majesty set a term for the throne of the Heavenly Emperor? " Emperor Yanfeng grew interested and asked, "Speak, Celestial Master.

" "Your Majesty would take the title of Heavenly Emperor and establish the rule that, whether upon attaining the dao realm or after a certain number of years upon the throne, when the term is up, one must of one's own accord abdicate and yield to the worthy. " Bai Yuqiong was somewhat cautious; only after pondering a moment did she say, "Your Majesty is the founding sovereign. No later ruler will be able to surpass Your Majesty in achievement. If even Your Majesty does thus, later rulers will naturally not dare to sit forever upon this seat. Moreover, when the Heavenly Emperors of past ages abdicated, it was not through death, but through attaining the dao or retiring into seclusion. With the Heavenly Emperors of past ages before them, later rulers will not dare to act wantonly.

In this way, the worry of a family possession or of the Ten Heavenly Venerables is resolved. " Hearing this, Emperor Yanfeng's eyes lit up. He paced quickly to and fro, then suddenly said, "Then where do the abdicated Heavenly Emperors go?

Having long dwelt upon the throne of power, once they abdicate, they may well cling to authority.

If they meddle in the new governance, they will surely cause the new emperor much trouble.

" "That.

.

. " Bai Yuqiong found it hard to answer, and looked to Yan Yunxi, who likewise did not know how to answer. Power is the most seductive of things—so it was with the Great Emperor, so with Taichu, so with the Ten Heavenly Venerables. If the old emperor, after abdicating, still clung to power and controlled the new emperor, then the world would still be ruled by the Ten Heavenly Venerables! Just then, Granny Zhu, the village head, and the others returned from the Ancestral Court to have audience with the emperor.

Emperor Yanfeng, both startled and delighted, hastened to summon them.

Granny Zhu told Emperor Yanfeng of the fighting at the Ancestral Court, saying, "Lord Mu sent us back and bade us tell the emperor that the Ancestral Court has been sealed, but that he left behind a passage. Any in Jingping with the battle strength of Heavenly Venerable rank may enter the Ancestral Court to temper themselves, seeking to break through to the dao realm and attain the dao.

" Hearing this, Emperor Yanfeng laughed heartily and said to Bai Yuqiong and Yan Yunxi, "Now there is a place for the old emperors to go. " His plan settled, he said in a deep voice, "Summon the assembled ministers and proclaim to the world: Jingping establishes the Heavenly Court, and I, unworthy, shall be its first Heavenly Emperor.

Let all of you help me establish the orthodox line and the moral order!

" With Jingping establishing the Heavenly Court, any in the world who proved disloyal could be rightfully and justly chastised, and only then did the chaos among the heavens and myriad realms gradually subside.

On this day, Emperor Yanfeng ascended the throne and took the title of Heavenly Emperor. Envoys came from all the heavens and myriad realms; the myriad realms came to pay homage—a truly magnificent sight.

Over the Upper Capital and Lower Capital of Jingping, divine light filled the heavens, its radiance surging to the firmament. Beyond the heavens, two lights, one black and one white, stirred and churned, throwing the stars into disorder.

Emperor Yanfeng had but just ascended the throne when this anomaly appeared, and the hearts of the people could not but be uneasy, thinking that Emperor Yanfeng lacked the talent and virtue of a Heavenly Emperor.

Suddenly, the black and white qi burst through the world barrier of the Yuan Realm and descended from the heavens, revolving like a Taiji diagram, falling upon Jingping. Both the Upper Capital and the Lower Capital were wholly enveloped within that Taiji diagram!

"The Taiji Ancient Gods!

" The whole court, civil and military, was startled, and were about to act to block it, when Gongsun Yan said, "Your Majesty, this is an omen of the fall of the Taiji Ancient Gods. There is no need for concern.

" Southern Emperor Vermilion Bird, Wei Suifeng, the First Ancestor Human Sovereign, and other mighty ones also perceived the mystery, and at once bade the gods stay their hands. The crowd looked on, and saw the black and white qi descend from the heavens like two dragons, one black and one white, yet of a vastness beyond measure, stretching on and on for countless tens of thousands of li, spanning nearly the whole north and south of the Yuan Realm! The two dragons, black and white, came down and lay prostrate together, head joined to tail, and at once the earth swelled upward, forming two magnificent mountain ranges joined as one.

The ranges stretched on, Taiji primal qi overflowing in all directions, and the great dao of heaven and earth all but seethed and boiled!

Emperor Yanfeng gave his orders, and the gods hurriedly flew to the Taiji veins to protect the inhabitants along the way. Just then, dragon cries suddenly rang out unceasingly. The nine dragon veins of Jingping's Lower Capital, nourished by the dao of Taiji and the qi of Taiji, swiftly ripened; the nine dragons flew up from the mountain body and transformed into nine Ancient Gods, circling in flight around the Upper Capital!

The living beings on either side of the Taiji veins—whether demigods of the demon race, or humans, or birds and beasts, insects and fish—saw their cultivation and strength rise with astonishing speed. Nourished by the dao of Taiji, they vied with one another to enter the dao!

In that moment the great dao of heaven and earth in Jingping all but boiled over. For a time the sound of the dao rang out loud and clear, reverberating without cease, and even among the gods many entered the dao!