Monster Chronicles: My Daoist Skill Comes from Mythology-Chapter 719 - 619: Ascending the Path to Immortality, Offering Help in the Snow

In the mortal world, Song Lin wandered under an alias.

The Donghua Heavenly Court currently governs fifty-four Small Thousand Worlds, yet Song Lin had not found the opportunity to explore each of them. As the Heavenly Emperor, sometimes being unfamiliar with his own domains seemed rather negligent of his duties.

During his journey, he also took the chance to observe the weaknesses and areas of improvement within the Heavenly Court.

While wandering amidst the mortal dust, Song Lin would typically refrain from using spells, unless under special circumstances—such as encounters with demons and ghosts, or corrupt officials within the Heavenly Court.

Each exposure of his true identity would spark tremors across the Three Realms, often followed by reforms initiated in the Heavenly Court.

This journey lasted approximately one Jiazi, allowing him to complete his traversal of the Three Realms.

What Song Lin did not realize was that this adventure had been heavily documented by numerous scholars, exaggerated and glamorized into a mythology of "The Heavenly Emperor Descending to the Mortal World," leaving behind countless stories for later generations to marvel at.

He could only imagine his reaction upon reading such narratives—perhaps puzzled, questioning, "Did I really do these things?"

Such tales were often peppered with scandalous embellishments, describing episodes between the Heavenly Emperor and mortal princesses, the Peony Fairy, and the Jiangnan Courtesan. Even if Song Lin became aware of these, he was too indifferent to bother addressing them. People's words were theirs to speak; the more he tried to suppress them, the more it seemed suspiciously hypocritical.

Furthermore, he was not the Jade Emperor. If it were the Jade Emperor, that might have entailed a three-year drought in the mortal world—or perhaps even plagues.

Regardless, there would ultimately be retribution.

Returning to the Palace of the Polestar, Song Lin had spent the Jiazi without cultivating; most of his time had been devoted to untangling his thoughts, leaving his cultivation level entirely stagnant.

However, his inner state had improved significantly.

He had toured all fifty-four realms of the Heavenly Court, as well as independent Grotto Heavens such as the Demon World and the Eight Sceneries Cultivation Realm.

The extent of the Cultivation Realm now rivaled that of a Small Thousand World.

Inside the grand hall, Song Lin paced back and forth, his brow furrowed as he pondered.

Over the course of his travels, he discovered numerous flaws within the Heavenly Court.

The first was complacency.

Many immortals who saw no future for themselves indulged in excessive leisure. Of course, enjoyment itself was not the issue; the Heavenly Court wasn't a place that completely barred pleasure from its inhabitants. However, frivolity shouldn't be pursued to the point of abandoning personal aspirations and duties.

Song Lin understood their perspective.

After all, with their path determined as hopeless, reconciling with oneself and ceasing the relentless pressure to advance might prevent eventual health deterioration.

The lack of upward mobility led to this situation—those with a better mindset resigned themselves to fate, while those with a worse one either succumbed to despair or, if unwilling to accept defeat, could veer onto darker paths.

Regardless, it was bound to lead to two extremes.

Song Lin considered addressing this issue from two angles. One was to enforce strict oversight over dereliction, ensuring they wouldn't neglect their primary responsibilities while enjoying leisure.

However, this approach only dealt with the surface symptoms and not the root cause. As it was often said, "Blocking is inferior to facilitating."

Song Lin also decided to reference ancient mythology and establish a periodic Immortal Pill Assembly.

"Let's set it every five hundred years, then," he mused.

The Immortal Pill Assembly would invite various immortal gods to taste elixirs.

The pills would range from ordinary pills to Immortal Pills, divided into tiers.

Different qualities of pills would be distributed based on seating, with seats determined by status and merit.

People from various realms were invited to participate in the assembly.

On one hand, this was to consolidate the Heavenly Court's rule; on the other, it was to provide hope for these individuals.

Even if one could not rely on their own strength to break through, they might still try their luck with rare pills and Heavenly Divine Water.

As for how to earn an invitation, that would require accomplishment.

"This is a fine plan; let's decide on it." Song Lin thought to himself.

The issue of Immortal Pill quantity was not a concern.

Those qualified to consume Immortal Pills would not exceed ten individuals. Song Lin could casually spend several decades to refine a batch of ordinary Immortal Pills.

As for the large quantities needed for Spirit Pills and Nine-Transformation Pills, they could be crafted by Luu Yunsheng of the Fire Department and others.

Luu Yunsheng had successfully reached Harmonization; even the Nine-Transformation Spirit Pill was effortless for him to refine now.

This announcement was disseminated across the Three Realms.

In an instant, the Three Realms were abuzz, rekindling the dormant resolve of numerous despondent immortals.

What Song Lin didn't know was that the Immortal Pill Assembly was not just a reward mechanism; it became a supreme honor. To attend such a gathering and share drinks with the Heavenly Emperors, even absent tangible rewards, was enough for participants to boast a lifetime.

Song Lin resumed his secluded cultivation, his Taoist Realm advancing steadily but slowly.

Meanwhile, tidings reached his ears without pause; though there was no news from the Shaoyang region, there was plenty about Emperor Jun's Heavenly Court.

The recent realm-wide demon unrest had been personally suppressed by the Heavenly Emperor. Through this, they had discerned that the Heavenly Emperor's cultivation was at least that of a True Immortal—and by the looks of it, not a low Taoist Realm even as a True Immortal.

Subsequent demon uprisings were similarly quelled by this Great Emperor, ushering in an extended period of stability for Emperor Jun's Heavenly Court.

One day, an emissary suddenly rushed in with urgency, reporting: "Oh no, Heavenly Emperor, Emperor Jun's Heavenly Court has fallen into chaos!"

"What chaos? Calm down." Song Lin responded with bemusement. "It's not like there's internal strife within Donghua Heavenly Court; why panic?"

The emissary realized their lapse in composure and, after steadying themselves, recounted the events.

Emperor Jun's Heavenly Court had been peaceful until recently, when internal discord erupted unexpectedly.

"One faction is led by the Golden Crow Heavenly Emperor, and the other by the Kunpeng Emperor Master—both are True Immortals."

"Didn't the Golden Crow Heavenly Emperor have ten members? Could this Kunpeng be stronger than all of them?" Song Lin asked curiously.

"No—our operatives infiltrated during the chaos and overheard that the other nine Golden Crows have long since perished. The remaining one is the tenth Golden Crow, who is also the weakest among them."

"I see."

Without needing further explanation from the emissary, Song Lin already understood. The matter broadly followed this sequence—an old minister saw that most of the former Heavenly Emperors had perished, leaving the remaining one incapable of maintaining order, and thus contemplated usurping the throne.

This moment was the perfect opportunity for Donghua Heavenly Court to intervene.

Song Lin summoned Tianji, Ji Dan, and King Wen, explained the situation briefly, and asked for their opinions.

"The internal chaos within Emperor Jun's Heavenly Court indeed presents us with a strategic chance to intervene. Managed properly, we could claim Emperor Jun's Heavenly Court without bloodshed." Tianji thought for a moment before speaking. "However, observing the infighting might risk appearing unprincipled; even if we were to seize their Heavenly Court, it may result in instability."

"Tianji Taoist spoke wisely; we should govern with virtue." Ji Dan supported the view. "We ought to assist one of the factions."

King Wen, seasoned in strategy, took his turn to speak after divining a hexagram using divination grasses. "Aid the weaker side, not the stronger. Adding flowers to brocade pales against offering coal during snow. The Kunpeng faction wields significant power; if we refrained from intervening, they'd have a near-certain chance of prevailing. Helping the Golden Crow lineage would be most fitting."

"King Wen's plan is sound. Does anyone have other suggestions?" Song Lin showed agreement.

Ultimately, aiding the Golden Crow was the only viable option.

The Kunpeng faction consisted of demons, having plotted betrayal and disorder. Collaborating with them would be no different than walking alongside a tiger and would contradict the values upheld by Donghua Heavenly Court.

The Golden Crow was an ancient divine beast and bore the righteous legitimacy of the Heavenly Emperor's lineage; supporting them was unarguably the right choice.

Now was the time to offer coal during snow; the result could earn them a steadfast ally within the Heavenly Court.

"If that's settled, mobilize the troops for departure."

Song Lin issued the order.

As Donghua Heavenly Court assembled its forces, events unfolded within Emperor Jun's Heavenly Court.

In the Middle Thousand Void, a colossal Golden Crow clashed against a horde of demons.

Though the Golden Crow had but a handful of minor clans serving as its guards, the opposing demons outnumbered them by several hundredfold.

After several rounds of battle, Xii Jing's remaining guards had been annihilated.

Cornered with no retreat, it was a dire situation.

...

(There's an engagement tonight; the next chapter will shift to tomorrow midday.)