This Young Master is not Cannon Fodder-Chapter 586: The Heaven Seal

Perfected Huanglong turned toward Jiang Ziya. “It’s been a while, Junior Brother.”

Jiang Ziya cupped his fist. “It’s a blessing to be able to reunite like this, Senior Brother.”

“Although many of our comrades fell, all is not without hope,” the Concealed Emperor said.

Perfected Huanglong glanced at Jadelight out of the corner of his eye. “I wonder if you can have the same attitude once Eldest Senior Brother returns.”

The eldest senior brother was naturally the head disciple under the Heavenly Lord of Primordial Beginning, Guang Chengzi. Not only was Guang Chengzi the head disciple, but he had also inherited the Mandate of Heaven, reigning as the Jade Emperor until the collapse of the primordial era.

The Concealed Emperor’s expression remained indifferent. “That would be for the best. It’s not easy to live in this era. My main body’s fall won’t cause my death, but it doesn’t mean I’m unaffected.”

“I thought you would be happy that you had one less romantic rival,” Perfected Huanglong said, his sneer obvious without even looking. “You truly are his clone. You fell in love with the same person as Senior Brother. Unfortunately for you, she also perished with the collapse of the Primordial World.”

The Concealed Emperor didn’t speak for a moment. Instead, he glanced at the figure on the throne. “Speaking of love rivals, he also survived.”

“Who?” Perfected Huanglong asked.

Jiang Ziya already knew. As someone close to the Concealed Emperor and staying within the Immortal Court, he was privy to much more information than Perfected Huanglong, who stayed in the Divine Beast Pseudo-System.

The Concealed Emperor didn’t whet the divine dragon’s curiosity for long and replied. “Daoist Lu Dongbin.”

“He survived?” Perfected Huanglong repeated. “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised he survived. Although I wonder if it’s the same situation. After the King Father of the East fell, a fragment of his soul reincarnated as Lu Dongbin. He wasn’t the only one to reincarnate as a member of the Eight Immortals, but I’m still surprised he survived. Did he reincarnate again?”

“No, it shouldn’t be,” the Concealed Emperor said. “He should have lost most of his memories because of his injuries, but he has recovered them all now. Last I knew, he appeared in the Virtuous Realm.”

Perfected Huanglong frowned upon hearing that. “Is he planning on joining forces with him? If he is, we must gain more allies. If there is one divinity that can stop us, it would be him. Not even the Numinous Sword Sect or Buddhist Pure Lands is as threatening as he is.”

“It’s hard to find allies. Our former junior brothers or comrades might not be as keen on our goal as we are. Not to mention that those of us who survived to this day are exceptions, not the norm. But there is one person who has enough influence and power, but she is content to stay in her domain.”

“Who?”

“Empress Ping.”

Perfected Huanglong did not show much surprise at the revelation. “I had suspected she survived long ago when the number of ghosts dwindled millions of years ago.”

“It’s better not to bother her,” the Concealed Emperor said. “It would not be worth it if we push her to the opposite side.”

“But would Empress Ping watch us restore the power of the Immortal Court? She must know that each time our power grows, the chances of us intervening in the Six Paths of Samsara increases,” Jiang Ziya said.

“We can only play it by ear. In the primordial era, Empress Ping controlled much of the netherworld. Even the Heaven Bearing Great Emperor was nothing more than a showpiece, but didn’t she still obey the Immortal Court’s arrangement in the end?” the Concealed Emperor asked.

“But that’s when we had our Master present. And even Master did not dare to tread into her domain lightly,” Perfected Huanglong said.

“That’s why we must have someone capable of suppressing all forces.” The Concealed Emperor turned his gaze back onto the throne. He wasn’t alone, as Perfected Huanglong and Jiang Ziya did the same.

The woman was garbed in imperial violet robes, embroidered with silver phoenixes. Various hair accessories bound her hair and adorned her head. Her features were immaculate, but the most eye-catching thing about her face was her eyes. Even closed, they could not hide those bedeviling shapes.

She was Xi Mengfei. She and Tianyi had long become legends in the Primordial Realm and even the Three Thousand Immortal Realms System because both of them had become immortal sovereigns in such a short amount of time.

Even for immortal clans, the chances of grandparent and grandchildren becoming immortals were pitifully small, much less between parent and child. More often than not, it was only thanks to the parent or grandparent that the child became an immortal. So, there was often a large discrepancy between the strength of the two. This wasn’t the case with Mengfei and Tianyi.

Mengfei’s eyes flickered beneath her eyelids, as if she was dreaming. Floating above her head was a jade seal releasing a powerful coercion. It was much greater than the pressure emitted by the three divinities in the hall and resembled the Heavenly Dao.

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A faint glow of silver, gold, and violet coated the aura. Each of the three colors brightened and dimmed at different intervals, but when all three lights radiated the same intensity, they showed signs of merging. Finally, the light disappeared, and the jade seal floated down until it was above her lap.

Before, the jade seal was pure green, but now, ten percent of it was covered in purple specks.

Not long later, Mengfei opened her eyes. The moment she did, the hall changed colors. Violet, gold, and silver discolored the entire hall, and only the three divinities remained unaffected. A few seconds later, the three colors vanished from the hall, but they still clashed within Mengfei’s pupils.

“My apologies. The extreme increase in strength made me unable to properly control my power,” Mengfei said.

“There’s nothing to apologize for,” the Concealed Emperor said. “How are you feeling? Any discomforts?”

Mengfei raised her hand and clenched it before unclenching it. She repeated it a few times. “Stiff. Like my body grew ten times. Everything feels unwieldy.”

“What about your progress in the divine law?”

She raised a finger and pointed at her temple, much like Tianyi did. “It’s all in here. I can call upon it any time, but it takes some time. It’s like retrieving information from the Xiyinet and not mastering it.”

The Concealed Emperor nodded. “You should master the law you have learned and stabilize your state before attempting to refine the Heaven Seal anymore.”

The jade seal in Mengfei’s possession was the Jade Emperor Seal. Refining it gave the wielder part of the world’s authority.

Each of the six great emperors had a great imperial seal that granted them similar authorities. The Great Emperor of Heaven Bearing controlled the Heaven Bearing Seal, the East Great Emperor of Greenflower controlled the East Flower Seal, the Antarctic Great Emperor of Longevity controlled the Longevity Seal, the West Great Emperor of Curved Array controlled the Calamity and Tribulation Seal, and the North Great Emperor of Polaris controlled the Starry Sky Seal.

Their semblance was not a coincidence. All six imperials were fragments of the Heaven Seal controlled by the former Heavenly Emperor Di Jun. It was this Heaven Seal that granted him the power to fight the twelve titans by himself.

Di Jun’s success came from the Heaven Seal, but his failure also came from it. To use the Heaven Seals means to bear the weight of heaven itself. Because of the Ten Suns Disaster that brought drought to the Primordial World, Di Jun lost the Mandate of Heaven, and he could no longer wield the Heaven Seal.

Those with Karmic Sin would suffer unimaginable torture if they attempted to refine it. Those with Karmic Merit were not able to refine it either without some luck or strong willpower.

Logically, the Heaven Seal should have disappeared from the Three Thousand Immortal Realm System, yet it appeared in Mengfei’s hand. The explanation was simple: the Immortal Court was restoring the Heaven Seal by merging the six great imperial seals.

In fact, it was possible to recreate the Heaven Seal back during the primordial era, but many people did not want the Immortal Court’s power to expand. Not all of the six great emperors belonged to one side. Although all six great emperors nominally belonged to the Immortal Court, half of them owed their loyalty to other forces, like the Heavenly Lord of Numinous Treasures or the Heavenly Lord of Virtuous Way.

Had the Immortal Court attempted to merge all six great imperial seals, the backlash would have dealt a severe blow to their orthodoxy.

But in the modern era, few knew about the secret of the six great imperial seals. Even back in the primordial era, it was only known to a select few.

Of course, while the current era gave the Immortal Court a chance to recreate the Heaven Seal, the location of half of the great imperial seals remained unknown. Thankfully, Tianyi’s venture in another timeline allowed them to gain access to the Heaven Bearing Seal without alerting Empress Ping.

Although they were still missing the Starry Sky Seal and the East Flower Seal, the current Heaven Seal already showed hints of its former power. It might be for the best since it remained unknown if Mengfei could refine it once it was restored to its full power. She was already struggling now.

“I know. I don’t want to lose myself,” Mengfei said.

“We won’t bother you anymore. You can leave once you can stop any accidental leakage. Remember not to reveal anything, not even to your son,” the Concealed Emperor said.

Mengfei didn’t reply and simply closed her eyes. Her breath of life disappeared, as if she was but a statue.

The Concealed Emperor turned and left with Perfected Huanglong. Only Jiang Ziya lingered longer before following them. The three did not leave and continued to discuss the future of the Immortal Court.

“The Immortal Court has gathered enough faith to consecrate three divinities of faith. Once they are established, gathering faith will become smoother,” the Concealed Emperor said.

Although divinities of faith’s power vary wildly, they also had their perks. Receiving prayers and sending divine revelation were one of them. With it, it could increase the belief of the mortals in the lower realms.

“Will it agitate the Numinous Sword Sect or the Buddhist Pure Lands? The Numinous Sword Sect is nothing to worry about, but the Buddhists have made themselves scarce since the All Pantheon Conference,” Jiang Ziya said.

“You’re too worried,” Perfected Huanglong said. A belligerent look appeared in his slitted pupils. “It’s just the right time to eliminate all of them and prevent any future accidents.”

“Senior Brother, that’s too hasty. We have more divinities than the Numinous Sword Sect, but the high echelon still remains a mystery. If they have one more divinity except for the Sūryaḥ Buddha, it will be difficult to defeat them cleanly. Once a stalemate occurs, it will depend on the immortals. Too short of a time has passed and the demons have not fully integrated yet. Starting a war now will only cause unneeded loss.”

The Concealed Emperor nodded. “Junior Brother has a point. Since that’s the case, let’s consecrate one divinity and test their reactions, especially the Buddhists. What do you think, Junior Brother Huanglong?”

Perfected Huanglong snorted, saying, “You two decide.” and left.

“How about it, Junior Brother? Do you want to preside over the ritual?” the Concealed Emperor asked.

“Forget it. Experiencing it once was enough,” Jiang Ziya said. “But the choice of divine position is important. How about the kitchen god? He protects the hearth and family and should be quite popular among the mortals.”

“And you still say you don’t want to preside over the matter.”

“I’m only suggesting. Do you have a better position?”

The Concealed Emperor shook his head. “Let’s go with your suggestion. The position of kitchen god is quite suitable.”

As if he was afraid that the Concealed Emperor would push the matter onto him, Jiang Ziya swiftly added, “Then let’s inform Everpast.”

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