Chương 40: The Heavenly Realm's Guardian

But after Xu Yongchang revealed his cultivation, the demon sword inside Fang Cheng began to stir restlessly. If he wasn't mistaken, he (it) must be delicious. Like a withered old elm tree, on a warm spring morning, it welcomed a rainfall's nourishment, and from within came a joyful cry. A new life was born! It drew upon the old elm's death qi and baleful aura, born from corrupt nothingness, carrying the most primal essence of heaven and earth.

It would slowly grow, break through its shell, and become a fragrant, tender, pink little infant.

"Wah..." The infant was hungry. It opened its mouth, sucked the rotting air into its belly, and exhaled a puff of black smoke—like the metabolism of a living body. The difference was that it absorbed the world's decaying matter, the poisonous mists of the wild mountains, and the resentment and violence emanating from all living things. The infant fed for who knew how long, perhaps a thousand years, or ten thousand, until it became a withered old man.

The old man appeared extremely aged because he thought he should look aged, just like those humans. When you pick it from the tree and sniff it, it still smells fragrant. Pinch it, and it's still tender. Hahaha, that's the charm of nature! Humans call it a mushroom. Like this great mushroom that had grown for millennia, stick out your tongue and give it a lick. Haha, so pink and tender, so fragrant... Fang Cheng's eyes were bloodshot, his lips curling slightly. He could barely hold back.

So please, Old Xu, you have to resist, bring out your strongest power, fight me, attack me, even crush me, so I can savor your flavor without any guilt. I'll wash you clean, put you in a pot, and boil you for three days and three nights until a thick, white broth forms... Scoop out a piece of cooked mushroom from the pot, the taste, oh... This is the wonder of nature.

These lovely mushrooms absorb the foulest miasma and feed on the nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium excreted by all living things, yet when cooked, they're as intoxicatingly fragrant as roasted sweet potatoes!...... Meat, oh... Look, Old Xu, you breathe foul mists and eat the shit of stray cats and dogs, yet your flesh is pinker than a baby's and more fragrant than roasted sweet potatoes. That's the charm nature has bestowed upon you!

"Fang Cheng, wake up now!"

"Fine. You forced my hand!"

"Supreme and True Jade Emperor of the Mysterious Heaven and Vast Firmament above!" A cold shout, like a thunderclap! BOOM! Heaven and earth shifted, wind and clouds changed. The bright sunlight suddenly vanished, and the sky over White Flower City darkened into an ominous gloom. Then, a violet light descended from the nine heavens, from the ancient primordial chaos, tearing through the endless void to arrive at White Flower City, finally transforming into a stream of light that entered Harmony Wine Shop.

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"Fang Cheng, upon seeing this token, kneel!" Old Xu knelt on the ground, head bowed, hands raising a purple-gold token high above him.

"What is this?" Fang Cheng had regained his senses. He looked at the token in Old Xu's hands. It was the size of a palm, its back covered with densely packed runes and patterns of exotic beasts. On the front were four ancient characters:"Heavenly Jade Emperor's Token!" BUZZ~~~! As Fang Cheng spoke the words aloud, an immense, majestic aura emanated from the endless void. It materialized into a dignified middle-aged man, floating in midair.

The man was imposing, wearing a purple-gold dragon robe and a nine-dragon crown wreathed in violet energy, a five-clawed dragon belt cinched at his waist, and green lotus glass boots. He was supreme, sovereign, unmatched. This was the Jade Emperor himself. He looked down, his gaze piercing through layers of illusion to land on Fang Cheng. Fang Cheng's heart trembled violently. An overwhelming pressure bore down on him, nearly suffocating him.

But at that moment, within the void of his Dao Field, a figure slowly opened its eyes. It stepped out from the Dao Field and materialized before Fang Cheng, meeting the Jade Emperor's gaze.

"The Violet Star Emperor!" Old Xu was inwardly shocked. He'd suspected Fang Cheng's identity wasn't simple, but he hadn't expected the Violet Star Emperor himself. Sigh... As if in a silent sigh, the Jade Emperor's apparition faded, and the token in Old Xu's raised hands vanished. The Violet Star Emperor's apparition glanced at the kneeling Old Xu, then turned and returned to Fang Cheng's Dao Field, dissolving into the endless void. Whew... Whew... Old Xu stood and let out a long breath.

Fang Cheng exhaled as well, patting his racing heart.

"Old Xu, you went too far. I was just asking a routine question, and you had to bring out the Jade Emperor. Good thing I've got a strong backer."

"The City God jests. If you hadn't been about to put me in a pot, I wouldn't have needed to reveal the Heavenly Jade Emperor's Token."

"Fair enough. My bad." Fang Cheng apologized, then asked, "What is a disciple of the Jade Emperor doing in this godforsaken White Flower City?" Old Xu thought for a moment before replying, "The City God misunderstands. I'm not a disciple of the Jade Emperor. I'm a Guardian appointed by him to the mortal realm."

"What are you guarding? Can you tell me?" Fang Cheng scratched his head. He was curious, this seemed to be White Flower City's forbidden secret, but he was also afraid of courting trouble.

"The City God is an Inheritance Bestower of the Violet Star Emperor. You can certainly be told." Old Xu smiled.

"Please, follow me." Fang Cheng agreed and followed Old Xu out of the wine shop. The two rose into the air and flew west, soon leaving White Flower City and entering the endless marshlands to its west. They flew deeper into the marshlands for about a hundred li. Fang Cheng noticed the surroundings growing dimmer, and a sense of deathly stillness, cold, sinister, and evil, emanated from the marsh below.

"City God, we've arrived." Old Xu pointed ahead. A stone stele stood in the marsh. Fang Cheng looked at the seal-script characters carved into it. They were ancient script.

"Soul-Suppressing Stone." The stele was over ten zhang tall, its surface mottled with bloodstains and covered in cracks like spiderwebs, as if it had weathered endless ages. Old Xu explained, "Beneath this stone is sealed the primordial beast, Xuan Ming. Tens of thousands of years ago, it descended upon the mortal realm and slaughtered billions of living beings, committing unspeakable atrocities. The Jade Emperor intervened, sealed it here, and appointed Guardians to prevent its escape.

Because Xuan Ming's spiritual power is so terrifying, even suppressed by the Soul-Suppressing Stone, it constantly releases waves of resentment. To prevent the Guardian from being overwhelmed, the celestial realm replaces the Guardian every thousand years. I am this generation's Guardian. I've been in the mortal realm for nearly a millennium, and my term is almost over." Old Xu spoke slowly, his face filled with reverence.

If Fang Cheng had been paying close attention, he would have noticed that Old Xu's respectful gaze wasn't directed at the stele, but at the depths of the marsh beneath it. But Fang Cheng was too preoccupied to notice. He could feel the demon sword inside him trembling in terror. It wanted to flee, but a force from his Dao Field held it firmly in place. Back on Golden Lotus Mountain, the demon sword had been equally terrified when the Soul-Suppressing Stone manifested the Violet Star Emperor.

That meant whatever lay beneath this stone, Xuan Ming, was a being as terrifying as the Violet Star Emperor himself.

"Let's go back." Fang Cheng said. Perhaps under the demon sword's influence, he felt deeply uneasy, a creeping sensation of being watched, as if something was staring at his back. Old Xu had been waiting for this. He nodded quickly.

"Yes, yes, yes." They wasted no time, leaving the marsh and returning to Harmony Wine Shop in White Flower City. Once they sat down, Old Xu pulled out his pipe, took a long drag, and sighed. Fang Cheng picked up the water jug on the table and gulped down several mouthfuls before finally steadying himself.

"Alright, Old Xu. We won't mention the forbidden things anymore. Now, back to the main topic: what happened with the Heavenly Demon's descent upon White Flower City?"