CHAPTER 426: CHAPTER 368: ABOLISH THE SIX ENERGIES, EQUALIZE THE THREE HEAVENS

The Mystical Sect gathering is scheduled to take place in about ten days.

Yun River.

The river runs through the entirety of Yunzhou, with more than thirty-six tributaries. It serves as the mother river, sustaining the lives of over seventy million people in Yunzhou.

By the banks of the Qingshui River in Ye County.

A grand banquet is currently being held here.

Drums pound and gongs resound, the incense smoke swirling like mist.

The crowd gathers by the river, their expressions fervent, as if possessed by demons.

The sound of suona horns is jubilant—it seems to be the melody for a wedding procession.

Indeed, three sedan chairs are brought forward.

The villagers are visibly excited, though the bride’s parents wear expressions of sorrow and can only stand upright with the support of others.

Suppressed sobbing can faintly be heard from within the sedan chairs.

The procession arrives in front of the dharma altar by the riverbank.

The temple priest is already waiting nearby.

The elderly temple priest murmurs fervently, her expression devout.

Boom!

Suddenly, the weather shifts, and dark clouds blot out the sun.

A sky-piercing water column shoots heavenward.

It coalesces into the form of a general with a fish’s head and a human body.

The general is a golden carp, though his body is humanoid.

In truth, this is a cultivator—transformed through the Demon Refining Method after death.

Since remnants of human rationality still linger, they are not classified as demons.

"Greetings, General Qing!"

The temple priest leads the crowd in kneeling, their heads bowed deeply, not daring to look up.

This is the Water Master of Qingshui River.

And it happens to be the time of year for the River Lord’s supposed wedding.

However, everyone knows this isn’t truly a wedding, but demons feeding on humans.

Yet there’s no alternative—without the demons’ protection, survival is impossible.

Just as General Qing approaches the sedan chairs, preparing to absorb the Primordial Yin Power before feasting on the brides, a calm voice rings out.

"Stop. One more step and you die."

Two figures approach from afar.

The young Taoist on the left wears a faint smile, while the Taoist on the right has black, tadpole-like patterns covering his face.

"Where do these young brats come from? Don’t meddle in affairs that don’t concern you—leave immediately."

"Step forward, and perish," the Black Pattern Taoist says indifferently.

Furious, General Qing summons a water arrow, splitting into two to target the vital points of the newcomers.

Bang!

Before the arrows could approach the duo, they were torn apart by an invisible forcefield.

The Black Pattern Taoist sneers, flicking his sleeve to unleash a cluster of eerie green ghost fire.

The ghost fire morphs into chains, tightly binding General Qing’s body.

"Do you know who this is? He is none other than the Donghua Taoist!"

The moment the Black Pattern Taoist declares this, General Qing’s face turns ashen, and he dares not resist.

No wonder that man looked so familiar.

"Taoist... I..."

General Qing stammers, trembling.

Although his domain lies within Yun River Prefecture, which was previously under Dragon Palace jurisdiction, it now falls under the purview of Yuanbo and others.

In other words, the man before him is openly his highest superior.

"Manifesting as a saint, harming mortal lives—what is the punishment according to Donghua law?"

Song Lin does not respond, instead looking to the man beside him.

That person is an exceptional talent from the Yin Spring Palace lineage. Song Lin had come to visit Yuanbo and inspect the area, coincidentally witnessing the individual clearing away old stagnant qi and deciding to linger to observe.

Members of the Yin Spring Palace lineage seized and occupied territory upon arrival, driving out all the shrimp soldiers and crab generals under the underwater Dragon Palace.

They placed thirty-six members of their magical vein into key roles, serving as directors of the Three Agencies and various hall masters.

Next came routine purging rounds.

"The penalty is execution. Eternal damnation, no rebirth!"

Upon hearing the Black Pattern Taoist’s judgment, General Qing attempts to protest, but ghost flames engulf him, causing excruciating pain that nearly makes him cry out.

"Ah! You cannot kill me! The Qingshui River used to breach its banks multiple times each year, killing thousands of villagers along its banks. Since my arrival, there have been no floods—only three maiden sacrifices annually. I provide merit! Song Lin, you are blind as a dog!"

Facing such insults, Song Lin’s expression remains unchanged as he watches serenely while General Qing is reduced to ashes.

"See this? They always come up with numerous excuses—manipulating and exploiting mortals, anchoring their justification to matters of survival and calamity. What is this called? Claiming undeserved credit! Replacing a greater evil with lesser evil—does that cease to be evil?"

"From individuals to nations, it is always the same."

The royal family of Wu Country perpetually avoids resolving certain issues. They clearly possess the capability but choose neglect, fearing harm to their own interests.

They are unafraid of rebellion among the lower strata—thanks to their strong military and external distractions.

Indeed, the stronger the external enemy, the more stable their reign. Just like General Qing’s methods, any issue can simply be pinned on outsiders.

Song Lin dives into the waters below, leaving the Black Pattern Taoist to console the villagers.

Hundreds of feet beneath the surface lies the Crystal Palace.

The Crystal Palace radiates resplendently, surrounded by numerous massive fish, shrimp, and crabs swimming around. Occasionally, colossal beasts pass by, retreating in fear upon sighting the Dragon Palace.

In the depths of the Dragon Palace, upon the red coral dragon chair, sits an elderly man with snow-white hair and beard, an aquiline nose, and green eyes set in square pupils.

This man is Yuanbo, the second-ranked master of the Yin Spring Palace lineage.

Standing around him are the leaders of various departments and halls.

The upper echelons have been entirely replaced.

As Song Lin appears, the group salutes him in unison.

"Greetings to the Taoist!"

Even Yuanbo rises and slightly bows.

"Please, rise!"

Song Lin gestures gently.

"It seems the work here is quite challenging."

Song Lin remarks with a smile.

Yuanbo responds with a bitter laugh, "The Yun River and its tributaries impact over thirty million people. Some of the Water Masters have become insolent and arrogant due to their merits. Others secretly collude with the Dragon Lord. We dare not push them too hard."

If one were to simultaneously break all dams due to enraging them, the consequences would be unimaginable.

The Water Masters of the Water Mansion fall into two categories: those who practice sorcery and divine skills, like General Qing; and those bearing dragon clan bloodlines.

What they have in common is their ability to control water divine abilities, without which they cannot impact the rivers.

The rivers depend on them for governance.

"Hmph, impure dragon species differ little from demons."

Song Lin fails to understand why such high status is granted to the dragon clan.

A pure-blood True Dragon is holy, fundamentally different from demonic species.

But most dragon descendants are increasingly brutal, essentially akin to demons.

The only worthy dragons are those subjugated by humans.

Song Lin ponders briefly and says, "Borrow the Emperor’s Four Treasures to guard the river’s main channel. I recall that controlling water divine powers requires the Water Mansion Talisman to perform spells. Urgently requisition a group of Taoists for Water Mansion Talisman control."

"Moreover, I propose a Drought Relief Ceremony starting today. The Donghua Jungle and all allied sects must participate—killing enemies, taming water, or saving mortals will earn rewards."

Holding a high position, Song Lin naturally would not impatiently lead matters personally.

Competent individuals abound within the allied sects, rendering hands-on involvement unnecessary.

After all, two offices and six forests encompass tens of thousands of Taoists above the level of Qi Refinement.

"After eradicating immoral temples and stagnant qi, who will govern the rivers then?"

Yuanbo asks.

River management brings few benefits and often delays cultivation progress.

That is also why many Water Masters lean toward the Evil Path.

"Use Taoist Soldiers!"

"Taoist Soldiers are dull-witted, incapable of adaptive thinking."

Yuanbo counters.

Song Lin falls into deep thought, musing from Taoist Soldiers to Erlang God.

Erlang God, now serving as Mountain Suppressing General, barely has tasks to attend to. It might be better to have him and the Erlang infantry suppress the main channel—it’s part of his old responsibilities as Lord of Sichuan anyway.

As for the tributaries, they can be left to Taoists for rotational guardianship, serving as practice assignments.

"Beyond this, upon returning, I intend to have the Taiyin Refining Shape Temple and Taoist Soldier Department study methods for retaining souls after death along with temporary corporeal forms."

As long as souls can linger for a hundred or two hundred years postmortem, their individual power—if any—is irrelevant to Song Lin. Loyalty and enthusiasm are all that matter.

The former is easier to achieve, but finding loyal individuals is harder.

"What is the purpose of this?"

"I plan to have capable officials and virtuous individuals from the mortal world act as guardians after death."

"Ingenious!"

Yuanbo claps in admiration.

For mortals, cultivation is irrelevant—being granted another hundred or two hundred years posthumously is reward enough. With growing incense offerings, their extended lifespan might reach several centuries.

They would oversee and direct Taoist Soldiers to cast spells via the Water Mansion to govern rivers.

Moreover, widespread adoption of such measures would foster a trend among officials and wealthy elites to do good deeds.

Regardless of whether their actions are genuine or pretentious, as the saying goes, "judge deeds, not intentions"—a lifetime of pretenses still equates to being a true benefactor.

And with the Taoist School’s capabilities, it’s impossible for mortals to deceive them.

This initiative serves three purposes.

It resolves water-related calamities and demon issues, promotes righteous conduct, and indirectly diminishes excessive Taoist interference with the mortal world.

Song Lin is highly cautious about this particular point.

Among the Six Heavenly Old Qi, Stagnant Qi represents various malevolent spells of the past. Mortal-world chaos isn’t solely caused by demons and ghosts—the recklessness of certain Taoists plays a significant role.

Naturally, mortals alone would be insufficient for comprehensive governance; Taoist coordinators—focused exclusively on this task—would still be necessary. Previously, the Water Mansion lacked corresponding positions.

"This method shall be named the Underworld Water Mansion. The jungle will establish a private talisman for Water Mansion Envoy, with a position equal to Grand Commissioner Taoist, to oversee coordination."

"Splendid! The Taoist’s compassion! Implementing this system will combat millennia-long water talisman demon infestations. Wherever Donghua reaches, no demon shall dare stir waves again."

Yuanbo praises from the heart.

The delegation of water management to the dragon clan originated from its inherent challenges, compounded by the belief among members of the Taoist School in sacrificing a few to save many, which led to excessive demon indulgence.

"You flatter me. Hasn’t this always been my aspiration?"

Song Lin flashes a slight smile and gazes toward an unseen place.

As water disasters subside and ethics prevail, water governance shifts to a realm invisible to mortals.

The result: mortals remain unaware of those responsible for the governance.

Just as the Donghua Taoist Sect’s presence ensures cultivators are reclusive in mountains, while demons vanish entirely from public view.

Many mortals under its administration live out their lives without encountering spells—some even dismiss tales of spirits and magic as nonsense.

Perhaps elderly scholars will angrily denounce Song Lin for undermining the Taoist School’s foundation, claiming its influence in mortals’ hearts has diminished.

Song Lin couldn’t care less about arguing.

Mortals should remain within their realm, and transcendent beings within theirs—that is the true balance.

The sage’s demise is essential; without death, great thieves persist.

After eliminating demons, Donghua cultivators must "eliminate" themselves, lest they morph into the very calamities they once vanquished.

Retreating early still earns respect.

Otherwise, when the elder generation departs, their successors may succumb to demonic corruption, perpetuating tyranny under a new guise—becoming a fresh scourge.

Only now, after many years, does Song Lin comprehend the End of Dharma Theory spoken by Shakyamuni before his transcendence, alongside the meaning of that single teardrop.

He cannot afford to repeat history.

This encapsulates the principle of "abolishing six qi and balancing three heavens."