Chapter 55: Massacre Heavenly Monarch, Great Compassion Dongting Technique

Daci Temple is perched on Jinyun Mountain in Nanhai Prefecture.

Jinyun Mountain, celebrated as one of the seventy-two scenic wonders of Great Yu, derived its poetic name from a breathtaking natural spectacle.

Every morning at dawn, the edges of the mountain mists were brushed with vibrant strokes of golden yellow. As the morning sun slowly ascended from amidst the clouds, shedding a radiant glow across the firmament, the surging sea of clouds itself would gleam with a resplendent golden luster.

Thus, it came to be known as Jinyun Mountain.

Yet, beyond this awe-inspiring golden cloudscape, the mountain owed its legendary renown primarily to the ancient Taoist temple nestled upon its summit.

The temple, named Daci Temple, stood as the third-ranked mysterious sect in all of Great Yu, inscribed on the twenty-third line of the Sub-Taoist Mystery Stele. Its formidable strength and profound heritage went without saying.

What truly set Daci Temple apart, however, was its singular inhabitant: a lone Taoist priest. Here, a single man constituted an entire mystical sect.

Countless practitioners throughout the realm yearned to enter Daci Temple, hoping to inherit the legendary Daci Dongting Art or to catch a glimpse of the rumored Slaughtering Heavenly King Divine Manifestation.

Alas, as the fleeting decades slipped by, the old Taoist remained solitary upon the peak. Among all those who gazed upon the Twelfth-Ranked Slaughtering Heavenly King on the Manifestation Stele, not a second soul had ever been granted reflection.

As time wore on, the incense offerings at Daci Temple dwindled to a sparse wisp.

Ordinary folk rarely managed to scale Jinyun Mountain to burn a stick of incense to the Heavenly King of Great Compassion, while cultivators dared not approach the gates rashly. Consequently, the mountain grew ever more desolate and deserted.

Only today did a white-robed, sword-bearing middle-aged scholar arrive alone. Traversing the sea of clouds bathed in golden light, he stepped before the gates of Daci Temple.

The temple gates remained firmly shut. The middle-aged scholar bowed respectfully before the threshold, then rapped gently upon the heavy timber.

No one answered from within.

Unfazed, the middle-aged scholar unbuckled the famed sword *Oriole Wind* from his waist and sat cross-legged upon the stone ground directly in front of the temple.

There he remained, sitting in meditation for twelve full days.

On the thirteenth day, the temple gates slowly creaked open. An elderly Taoist priest clad in grey Taoist robes emerged, holding a horsetail whisk in his hand, an expression of helpless resignation etched upon his aged face.

"Chen Shuijun, I have invited you to Daci Temple on several occasions. Back then, utterly captivated by the Four Seasons Cicada, you refused to come."

"Yet now that you have come, you bring two malefic fiends back with you."

Chen Shuijun seemed deaf to the old Taoist's words. He merely stood up and bowed once more to the venerable priest.

"However... that Four Seasons Cicada is indeed the absolute best match for your swordsmanship. Should you ever attain perfection with the Four Seasons Cicada, even the Daci Dongting Art might pale beside your Cicada-Singing Sword Soul."

"Yet, until the Four Seasons Cicada achieves perfection, you cannot enter the Jade Palace. And once you enter the Jade Palace, you would be forced to reflect the Cicada Lord Divine Manifestation... Chen Shuijun, you are no longer the Chen Shuijun who served as a county magistrate in Chaoliu."

"My Daci Temple has no affinity with you. You should turn back now."

With those words, the old Taoist made as if to close the heavy doors.

Chen Shuijun, however, stepped forward, shook his head, and said, "The Abbot misunderstands. Chen Shuijun's arrival today is not to beg for the Slaughtering Heavenly King's Divine Manifestation for myself, nor is it to seek the Daci Dongting Art."

"I have come solely to seek a Dongting inheritance and a Heavenly King's Dharma Body for my child."

The Abbot of Daci Temple frowned deeply.

Chen Shuijun sat cross-legged once again, his right index finger gently tapping the hilt of the *Oriole Wind* at his waist.

In an instant, the sound of cicadas seemed to echo across Jinyun Mountain. A crisp breeze swept past, and the *Oriole Wind* abruptly leaped from its scabbard, transforming into thousands of piercing sword shadows that sliced thirty miles of the sea of clouds into nothingness.

As the sea of clouds churned, torrential sword intent soared into the sky—a mastery of the sword utterly unlike that of any ordinary Innate cultivator.

"The Abbot once declared an intention to subdue fiends within Daci Temple, to use the Slaughtering Heavenly King's Divine Manifestation to reform karmic obstacles. Today, I have brought two demonic cicadas here precisely to strike a bargain with the Abbot."

"The Slaughtering Heavenly King's Divine Manifestation and the Daci Dongting Art must eventually be passed down to another. My child has consumed the Emperor-Nourishing Pill, and his natural bone structure has already attained wondrous perfection—more than enough to shoulder the Slaughtering Heavenly King's Divine Manifestation."

Chen Shuijun spoke with a solemn expression, his voice steady and resolute.

The Abbot fell silent. He turned his head to gaze at the statue of the Slaughtering Heavenly King enshrined within the hall.

To his surprise, two cicadas had somehow alighted upon the statue of the Slaughtering Heavenly King.

***

"The East Emperor and White Concealment cicadas..." The Abbot drew a deep breath.

Abandoning his intent to close the gates, he swung them wide open. Walking before the statue of the Slaughtering Heavenly King, he bowed respectfully, then picked up the bamboo divination cylinder and gently shook it.

A divination slip dropped to the floor.

The Abbot picked up the slip to interpret it, his brow furrowing instantly.

Stepping back out to the front of the temple, he looked at the scholar and said, "Chen Shuijun, do you truly comprehend your child's innate talent and destiny?"

Chen Shuijun met the Abbot's gaze.

The Abbot tilted his head slightly. "Perhaps... even without the Daci Dongting Art, without the Heavenly King's Divine Manifestation, he might still fight his way to a place of renown upon the Whale-Riding Stele?"

Chen Shuijun was momentarily stunned.

He lowered his head, a faint smile finally touching the corners of his lips before he shook his head. "Yet with the Daci Dongting Art and the Slaughtering Heavenly King's Divine Manifestation, he would be able to walk that path much faster."

The Abbot flicked his horsetail whisk. The East Emperor and White Concealment cicadas fluttered out of the temple and alighted gently upon Chen Shuijun's right shoulder.

"In my Daci Temple, karmic affinity is paramount. Initially, seeing your dull cultivation aptitude and realizing you lacked the qualifications for the Jade Palace, I wondered why the Slaughtering Heavenly King had singled you out."

"Yet looking at you today, you have already captured two of the Four Seasons Cicadas... Perhaps one day, you will manage to fuse all four seasons into one, stepping directly into creation."

"Are you truly willing to become a captive of the fiends within this temple, sitting in bitter meditation before the Slaughtering Heavenly King's statue, purely to beg for a destiny for your child?"

Chen Shuijun shook his head. "It is both to seek destiny for Zhi'an and to temper myself."

"Even sitting in bitter meditation within the temple, one may still catch cicadas."

---

"These pigments are simply exquisite, and they smell wonderful too." Shen Haohao leaned forward, peering closely at Chen Shuijun as he painted in the courtyard.

Ever since her mysterious master had arrived in Sounan Prefecture a few days prior, the frequency of Shen Haohao's visits had dropped drastically. Over the span of seven or eight days, this was her first time calling, and she had happened to catch Chen Shuijun painting with the pigments he had mixed himself.

Brewing these oil paints had cost Chen Shuijun considerable trouble.

Although in his past life he had systematically studied calligraphy, oil painting, the guzheng, and the piano, if anyone asked him *how* to manufacture paper or craft a zither, he truly could not explain the intricate mechanics from scratch.

Fortunately, when he had first dabbled in oil painting in his previous life, he had roughly learned about the origins of medieval oil pigments and still retained a vague recollection.

Combined with the past seven or eight days of scouring the streets, spending over four hundred taels of silver, and hiring several master dye-makers, he had finally produced this palette of twelve colors.

The raw ingredients for these pigments were not particularly rare—merely a mixture of animal fats, balsams, candle wax, tree resins, and some seventeen or eight varieties of minerals and colored earths used for fabric dyeing.

However, getting the concentration ratios, the amount of oil added, and the degree of grinding precisely right required immense skill and had vexed Chen Shuijun for several days.

Had it not been for his "superpower of wealth," enabling him to collaborate with seven or eight professional dye masters, developing these matching pigments would have been exceedingly difficult.

"I only ever knew you for your charcoal sketches. I had no idea you could paint in this bizarre style as well."

Shen Haohao widened her eyes and remarked, "Influenced by the enduring legacy of the Ascending Dynasty Festival and the cultural customs brought by the scholars of Great Xi, almost everyone in Great Yu loves painting nowadays."

"Emperor Zhaofu's absolute favorites are scholars skilled in painting. Over the past five years, he promoted Sun Zhongyu to be a Imperial Secretary and Lu Shan as an Attendant Scholar in the Xiayuan Pavilion. Aside from their formidable cultivation realms, it was primarily because both were exceptional painters."

At this point, Shen Haohao sighed softly. "It's just a pity you aren't an official scholar and lack scholarly fame. A common laborer who can paint is vastly different from a scholar who can paint."

Chen Shuijun—ah, Chen Zhi'an—put down his palette knife and asked, "Didn't you say earlier that the day after tomorrow you'll be returning to Xuantian Capital, back to the Returning Cloud Chamber to continue your cultivation?"

A trace of melancholy flickered in Shen Haohao's eyes as she nodded. "I have to go back. I've already stayed home for over a month visiting family; my cultivation has grown quite lax."

"I don't have the innate talent of you and Sister Xiyue. If I let myself slack off like this, I'm afraid I'll fall behind the others."

"In that case, I must ask Lady Haohao to do me a favor," Chen Zhi'an said.

Shen Haohao gestured for him to speak plainly.

"This painting will be mostly dry by the day after tomorrow. Could I ask Lady Haohao to take it with her to Xuantian Capital, deliver it to the Inner Court or the Inner Imperial Mansion, and see if it's good enough to earn a government stipend?"

Shen Haohao burst out laughing. "Chen Zhi'an, your ambitions are quite grand! While Xuantian Capital respects painters, as I just mentioned, the painters they hold in high regard must first possess the status of a scholar or an elite noble clan."

"Ordinary street painters don't count as true artists; they're merely regarded as hired laborers."

"Your painting is certainly unusual, but the lords of the Inner Mansion most likely prefer atmospheric ink-and-wash paintings. Why would they bend the rules for you?"

Chen Zhi'an blinked and asked, "Were you not around the other day when Prefect Zhao of Sounan came to Qihuang Street?"

Shen Haohao looked at him, completely bewildered.

Chen Zhi'an reached into his waist pouch and pulled out a merit jade tablet.

"Lady Haohao, take a good look. Although I am neither a scholar nor an elite noble, I, Chen Zhi'an, hold an official military-merit rank. I am a legitimate eighth-rank Attire-Clearing Official. Compared to ordinary scholars and nobles, my status is actually somewhat higher."

Shen Haohao's eyes widened. She snatched the merit jade tablet from Chen Zhi'an's hand and inspected it closely for a long time.

"This merit tablet... it actually looks genuine."

Chen Zhi'an said helplessly, "Would anyone dare forge this? Do you think they have a head to spare?"

"Aiyah!" Shen Haohao suddenly gasped in astonishment. "Chen Zhi'an, you quietly became a titled noble!"

"An eighth-rank Attire-Clearing Official—what kind of grand noble is that?" Chen Zhi'an replied. "Just help me deliver it to the Inner Mansion or the Inner Court."

Shen Haohao carefully handed the merit tablet back to Chen Zhi'an, a sudden wave of excitement welling up in her heart.

*If the Inner Mansion or Inner Court actually takes a fancy to Chen Zhi'an's painting, wouldn't Chen Zhi'an have to come to the capital?*

Her eyes shone brightly as she earnestly accepted the task.

"However, your painting... actually, it might appeal more to the noble ladies and matwives of Xuantian Capital. If you're simply looking to make money, I know plenty of noble madams and young misses. If you go paint portraits for them, I guarantee you'll make a fortune."

"Lady Haohao, how can you say that? Painting is technical work. Earning money through professional skill—how can you call that making a windfall?"

"Very well, I'll deliver it to the Inner Court then. The Inner Court is full of imperial concubines and princesses; I imagine they would adore your style of painting."

Chen Zhi'an nodded gently.

Early this morning, Chu Muyue—ah, Chu Muye—had already departed for Xuantian Capital alongside Jiang Taiping.

Before leaving, Chu Muye had once again invited Chen Zhi'an to travel with them.

Chen Zhi'an had merely stated that he would follow shortly, choosing not to journey in their company.

Just as Chu Muye had warned, Xuantian Capital was a churning vortex of political intrigue. One misstep, and a person would be sucked into the maelstrom and torn to shreds.

While Chen Zhi'an might appear reckless—even willing to gamble his life against Marquis Si Hougui—in reality, that wager was nothing more than a clever rhetorical delaying tactic. When caution was warranted, he was meticulously prudent.

Case in point: during these final few days remaining in Sounan Prefecture, Chen Zhi'an had quietly painted a piece, entrusting it to Shen Haohao to take to the capital and present to the Inner Court.

He hoped to enter Xuantian Capital from a relatively peripheral stance—independent of the influential aristocratic families, and independent of Prime Minister Song's faction.

This painting was merely his first trial run.

Little did he anticipate that once this painting reached Xuantian Capital, it would unleash a tumultuous uproar.