Chapter 766: Fighting for the deer

In the Baiyue Area, Great Deer Kingdom.

The people living here have not changed at all for thousands of years.

They are still the same as they were back then. Even Li Qi, with his Seal cultivation, could go work as a Lifter now without any problems. The Wave-Breaking Force cultivation method is still their production tool.

Completely, without any development, a feudal era that has lasted for an unknown number of years… No changes, day after day, it’s almost like being in the Immortal Heaven.

This is Baiyue.

The Baiyue Kingdom Lords do not care how the Mortals below them survive. In fact, it could be said that they are deliberately maintaining this situation.

Even the Song Kingdom, which was invaded back then, remains unchanged. Although the Dao has already infiltrated, it has not progressed further. The Song Kingdom has introduced the Dao, but the new Song Kingdom Lord still keeps the Song Kingdom in a state of 'Dao just arrived,' refusing to advance further.

Because, to the Baiyue Kingdom Lords, the Baiyue Kingdoms are their Dao foundation, and a Dao foundation is naturally as stable as possible.

What's the use of rapid development and nurturing talent?

Their Dao path has long been cut off, and they can no longer Breakthrough in this life. That's why they used the Baiyue to forcibly achieve Dao and Breakthrough to Fifth Grade through the Dao.

In this situation, a developed and rapidly progressing country would even become an unstable factor. When the entire country begins to experience internal strife, reforms, or even desires large-scale institutional changes, it will be the day the Baiyue Country Lord's Dao foundation becomes unstable. The Country Lords might even drop in Grade because of such things.

Fifth Grade is a force that can speak for itself outside the domain. As the Baiyue Kingdoms of the Nine Lands Under Heaven, they are considered a good rank even outside the domain.

But if they fall to Sixth Grade, they will enter the stage of countless miscellaneous soldiers.

Therefore, the Baiyue Kingdoms remain unchanged. Under the 'careful watch' of the Country Lords, the residents live just like their ancestors hundreds of thousands of years ago. A distance of several hundred li is considered 'going far away.'

Even though, by traveling just over a hundred thousand li, one could reach the Dao's territory and witness the rapidly developing and ever-changing Dao civilization.

Unfortunately, these hundred thousand li are an insurmountable chasm.

Li Qi's ability to cross it back then was due to countless Opportunities and coincidences coming together.

But today, everything has undergone an unknown change.

At this instant, at the border between Shaman Dao Baiyue and Dao Southern Border, a huge impact suddenly occurred.

The first sign to appear was 'light.'

It was burning, blue-white, dazzling light, one hundred and forty thousand li away from Great Deer Kingdom, five million four hundred thousand times brighter than the sun, like a giant energy boiler.

Countless Baiyue residents, at this moment, felt a kind of suffocation. This feeling of suffocation did not come from mere illumination, but from the collapse of a world they believed in.

The collapse of their safe, encompassing world forced them to face this incredible destiny. For Mortals, this was unimaginable.

Countless people fell into blindness.

There were two reasons. One was because it was too bright; the light was indeed too bright, enough to cause temporary blindness even from such a distance.

The other was because they couldn't see what the next second held. Helplessness and suffocation filled their bodies, like pinnipeds jumping out of the ocean for the first time, gasping for breath on the beaches of the Tai Gu era, at that moment in the early history of life on Earth.

As surprised as primitive pinniped fish were when facing 'air,' so were the Mortals of the Baiyue Kingdoms surprised at this moment.

The stability of Baiyue was broken.

A beam of light shot out like a lighthouse. However, it seemed no one could fully witness these details, but regardless, the fact of this explosion was undeniable—

A strong hot beam, an indescribable hot light. Anything flammable immediately burst into Great Fire upon contact. It could melt metal, melt Spiritual Artifact, shatter and melt Formation. If it fell on water, the water immediately exploded into steam. If it fell into a forest, it became charcoal.

Burning trees crashed down, flames soared, hissing, and people turned pale with fright.

Some hesitated, some were decisive, some were terrified, some were brave, but it made no difference. Sparks and burning branches fell onto the road, leaves spat fire, clothes and bodies caught fire, and then a great scream erupted from the center of countless creatures, accompanied by screams and shouts, one after another. The chaotic crowd was ignited, clutching their heads tightly, screaming wildly, or casting spells, or activating Spiritual Artifact.

"What's happening!?" a woman shrieked. Countless people began to flee, and immediately everyone turned around, pushing those behind them, scrambling to escape in different directions, like a lost flock of sheep blindly stampeding and scattering.

The crowd squeezed together, desperately pushing and shoving. Women, children, old people, and the physically weak were trampled to the ground, abandoned to slowly die in terror and high temperatures.

But this was actually a better outcome.

Because, no matter what they did, they were ultimately annihilated under this beam of light.

On this night, under the starlight near the giant pit, the original appearance of the world was completely unrecognizable. The lava pool was a thousand li deep, and everything was beyond recognition. From the Southern Border to the Song Kingdom, a distance of seventy to eighty thousand li, the entire land was ablaze.

Starting from the area of the lava pool, all things were annihilated.

The entire Nine Lands Under Heaven felt the emergence of this power.

What kind of power is this?

This is 'Heavenly Palace.'

The Dao's observation equipment suspended in the sky can regulate the climate. Of course, in addition to observation and regulation, it also possesses attack capabilities. *(See Chapter 101 for details)*

Thousands of Heavenly Palaces attacked at this instant.

And so, the earth was incinerated, and a hundred thousand li of territory turned into a sea of fire.

At this moment, in Chang'an of the Tang Nation, a Dharma Idol unfolded.

The moment this Dharma Idol unfolded, the Heavenly Dao of the Nine Lands Under Heaven directly submitted.

The Heavenly Dao of the Nine Lands Under Heaven is even more powerful and oppressive than the Heavenly Dao of a First Grade world, but at this instant, it chose to submit.

The Heavenly Dao of the Nine Lands Under Heaven has a rule: those above Fifth Grade are not allowed to act in the Nine Lands Under Heaven, otherwise they will face Heavenly punishment and pursuit by Patrolling Envoys.

But now, this rule has been forcibly abolished in the Baiyue and Dao Southern Border areas.

That Dharma Idol looked down on all directions, then opened its golden mouth and said: "The Emperor's Edict states:"

It was just an opening, but the universe trembled. All people from both the Dao and Shaman Dao sides, from unranked minor Shamanes and commoners to other First Grades, simultaneously heard this voice that transcended time and space.

At the same time, it also revealed the source of this Dharma Idol.

The head of the Dao's officials, the Prime Minister and Imperial Grand Tutor—

His words could almost be taken as the Human Emperor's words, and at this moment, he was clearly reading out the Human Emperor's Imperial Edict.

This alone was enough to make countless people tremble.

The Human Emperor had personally spoken, and now the Heavenly Dao suppression in the Southern Border and Baiyue Areas had been abolished.

In other words… this means that the intensity of the Human-Shaman War in the endless battlefield outside the domain is no longer sufficient.

From now on, the battlefield will come to the Nine Lands Under Heaven.

Then the Human Emperor's Grand Tutor continued to say:

"The Supreme is the lord of billions of living beings, all subjects present memorials and manifestos against the Shamanes."

"The Shamanes rose between Hao and Si, disrupted the constellations, destroyed the Northern Crown, attacked from the northwest, invading an area of several tens of billions, usurping great titles, disrespecting their lord, building warships, cruelly driving the common people as if treading on water and fire, not knowing their own strength, and gathering a swarm of ants to directly spy on the Nine Lands Under Heaven; however, the Jianghu masses are not to be relied upon."

"Now, the Supreme is enraged, and thus summoned his officials to the court and declared: The Shamanes are unrighteous, daring to insult me repeatedly. In the past, they shook my borders, invaded my land, spied on my territory. Originally, I wished to defeat them with the strength of one or two neighboring officials, causing two of their Second Grade to fall, and I personally overturned their nests, making them flee in the middle of the night, gasping and retreating. The Supreme could not bear to pursue and annihilate them, hoping they would regret their misdeeds and escape punishment, so that the war would cease."

"However, in the summer of Jia Chou, the bandit Shamanes raised an army again and besieged my Immortal Heaven, turning their hearts against us. This shows their insatiable evil, bringing about their own destruction. This is their time to perish. Only you, brave as bears and tigers, men of unwavering loyalty, prepare your weapons, warn all Baiyue officials, that the Shamanes, seizing Opportunity, overthrew Baiyue, committing extreme evil and wickedness, falsely reigning for many generations. The common people suffered the cruelty of annihilation, and the royal family endured the sorrow of desolation."

"For the Dao of man, a nation is established by its people. Heavenly bodies adorn the sky, mountains and peaks suppress the earth. Regions gather according to their kind, nations are established, and the Supreme is enthroned. The sun and moon are undivided, and emperors unite all. Though the five phases revolve and a hundred kings lead revolutions, who can say this Dao, once established, can be easily changed? And the Human Emperor inherits the lineage, his glory matching the heavens, his righteousness permeating the seen and unseen, his transformation encompassing movement and stillness. He honors the Dao to bring the distant near, cultivates rites to stop evil, brandishes shields and axes in the Nine Lands Under Heaven, and holds jade and silk among all nations. His profound merits operate subtly, his ultimate virtue extends widely. The common people use it endlessly every day, and billions receive endless blessings. Yet those of Baiyue alone obstruct the sacred teachings, rejoice in misfortune and forget righteousness, with a foolish lord above and ignorant officials below. Can a people without rites truly be a nation?"

"Having lost benevolence, why wait for destruction? Now the imperial Dao is bright and clear, the imperial plans are sound and complete. Though there is Shaman protection, how is it different from a single hair falling from an ox's body, or a pair of swans flying to the seashore? They have allied with evildoers, severed good relations, allowed bandits to invade nations, and furthermore, flogged exhausted people, encroached upon the Xu region, built fortresses and dammed rivers, abandoned trustworthiness for profit. If this can be tolerated, what cannot be endured? Their cunning and arrogance will surely lead to annihilation. Heavenly soldiers will soon descend, bringing peace to the common people, pacifying both the civilized and the barbarian, ceasing hostilities, and forever eliminating conflict."

"The lives of your common people hang in the jaws of jackals and wolves. The Supreme is benevolent and kind. If the chief evildoers surrender, special grace will be granted. All Baiyue commoners shall not be harmed in the slightest. Upon receipt of this manifesto, diligently consider a good plan, seek much fortune for yourselves, and do not let the bandit people be burned together, serving as an eternal warning."

As soon as the manifesto was issued, the Nine Lands Under Heaven trembled. All orthodox cultivators of the great Dao Orthodoxy in the Nine Lands Under Heaven learned of the Dao's next plan and objective.

This was a manifesto with relatively mild wording, and it was aimed at Baiyue, only briefly mentioning Shaman God Mountain.

Everyone knew what it essentially meant.

The Dao was going to 'reclaim' Baiyue. The meaning of this manifesto was that the Dao could no longer stand by and watch. Baiyue was suffering under the rule of Shaman Dao, which was absurd and excessive. Furthermore, Shaman Dao itself was evil, stating: "overthrew Baiyue, committing extreme evil and wickedness, falsely reigning for many generations. The common people suffered the cruelty of annihilation, and the royal family endured the sorrow of desolation." These were all evils committed by Shaman Dao.

Therefore, our divine, literary, and martial Dao, which "honors the Dao to bring the distant near, cultivates rites to stop evil," is now coming to liberate the evil Baiyue and bring the people of Baiyue into the Dao.

Why?

Li Qi, hearing these words, simply couldn't understand what was going on.

Was it meaningful to spread the flames of war to the Nine Lands Under Heaven?

Moreover, this area was the border between Great Deer Kingdom and Song Kingdom…

Li Qi was confused.

But the next moment, Zhu Fengdan suddenly appeared beside Li Qi.

"Yo, disciple, you know about the rotation, right? The holiday's almost over," Zhu Fengdan patted Li Qi's shoulder.

It seemed he already knew some things, for example, that returning to the Nine Lands Under Heaven this time clearly had a purpose and a plan. He must have anticipated this scene, right?

"Teacher…" Li Qi's expression was solemn: "What's going on? Didn't you say the war wouldn't reach the Nine Lands Under Heaven? Now the war has come to the Nine Lands Under Heaven, and it's so blatant?"

"When the fight gets serious, doesn't it naturally come to the Nine Lands Under Heaven?" Zhu Fengdan smiled.

"Then why are we fighting Baiyue? Isn't this area dispensable?" Li Qi asked again.

"Dispensable? Then what do you think? Why would a dispensable place become the dividing line between Human and Shaman? Why would there be a Dao conflict there? And why must this place be protected no matter what?" Zhu Fengdan retorted.

Li Qi frowned slightly upon hearing this.

Clearly, these words already made it obvious to Li Qi that the Baiyue Area was not as simple as he imagined.

So, Li Qi asked: "Then what's important about the Baiyue? You said my holiday is ending, does that mean we're going to defend Baiyue in the Nine Lands Under Heaven this time?"

"Speaking of which, this involves a secret. Do you know why Great Deer Kingdom is called Great Deer Kingdom?" Zhu Fengdan asked.

This question stumped Li Qi.

Why is Great Deer Kingdom called Great Deer Kingdom?

Is this question meaningful?

It's like asking why Li Qi is called Li Qi, or why Shen Shuibi is called Shen Shuibi. Why would there be a reason? A name is just a code. How could there be a 'why'?

"Have you ever heard of a phrase called 'Chasing the Deer'?" Zhu Fengdan said.

Li Qi gasped.

He naturally knew that in the Tai Gu era, '圍鹿逐鹿' (surrounding and chasing the deer) was seen as a symbol of conquering territory and contending for the Nine Lands Under Heaven.

'Shooting the Deer' was closely tied to a country's political power, for example, "某某失其鹿，天下共逐之" (Someone lost his deer, and the Nine Lands Under Heaven all chased it).

This is the allusion of 'Chasing the Deer.'

Zhu Fengdan continued: "This place was originally Great Deer Marsh, one of the Nine Marshes of ancient times. This great marsh gradually shrunk and dried up during later changes. Today's Great Deer Kingdom is located on the land formed after the drying of Great Deer Marsh. The Li River is just a small residual branch of Great Deer Marsh."

"As for Da Lu. There was a saying in the Tai Gu: 'Yao tested Shun with all his duties and accepted him into Da Lu,' which means the Primordial Sage Emperor abdicated to Yu Shun here, in this very place."

"For the Dao, taking this place would give them an advantage. Beneath Da Lu… there are relics left by the Primordial Sage Emperor. The Human and Shaman have been playing chess for so long, and finally reached an agreement to put the Baiyue aside and let it develop freely."

"Now that they've torn off their masks, the agreement naturally no longer exists. All right, I've said enough. Pack your things, it's time to go to Baiyue," Zhu Fengdan said.

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