In the early morning of spring, dew drops scatter, akin to emerald beads scattered around a riot of colors.
Chen Yun walked slowly to the outer courtyard, seeing that Emperor Taizong of Liao, Ye Lü De Guang, was sitting there waiting with a pale face.
There were also some officials and guards around Emperor Taizong, including Yang Yuanguang and Zhu Yanlong.
Moreover, Er Langshen, Mei Shan Qisheng, Niu Da Li and Jiado Ren all hid their figures and watched from the side.
Chen Yun could see them, but the common people could not.
As soon as Ye Lü De Guang saw Chen Yun come out, his pale face immediately regained its vitality.
He stood up, quickly approached and said with great enthusiasm: "Mr. Chen, you have kept me waiting."
Yang Yuanguang, Zhu Yanshou, and others followed suit, their smiles of flattery spreading as they greeted.
In the past, Chen Yun would always be polite and say things like "excuse me" today, however, he was very cold in his expression.
He retorted, "Why not attend to the state affairs in the palace, but come here for what important matters?"
As a great ruler, Ye Lü De Guang naturally could not fail to notice the change in attitude in Chen Yun's tone.
Just a while ago, he still appeared to be very polite, but why is his tone so cold today?
Ye Lü De Guang's heart sank slightly and he felt that the information provided by Yang Yuanguang and Zhu Yanlong was probably true.
Chen Yun indeed believes that he lacks ambition and is planning to bring his disciples and all the deities of Guanjiang Er Lang Temple to surrender to the Southern Dynasty!
It's not just the thoughts of the Liao Emperor. Even those standing behind him, such as Yang Yuanguang and Zhu Yanlong, also looked at each other in confusion and their hearts became even more anxious.
Ye Lü De Guang became very tense, but feigned indifference and said in his mouth: "I came to find you, Mr. Chen, as there are some important matters that I wish to discuss."
Chen Yun furrowed his brow and said, "Your Majesty came at a bad time. I have some matters that require me to travel far away."
Ye Lü De Guang dare not let Chen Yun leave. He immediately said with great enthusiasm: "Mr. Chen, I have waited here for three days. Can you spare some time to chat with me?"
"Yes, Mr. Chen."
"Yes, Your Majesty has not closed his eyes for three nights and three days, just to see you."
Yang Yuanguang, Zhu Yanlong, and others spoke up to help.
Chen Yun seemed resolute in leaving, "It's not impolite on my part, truly there are urgent matters to attend to."
Zhu Yanlong quickly stepped forward and said, "Mr. Chen, Your Majesty will not waste too much of your time. Please stay for a moment, okay?"
Chen Yun pretended to be hesitant, glanced back at the inner courtyard, "Well... why don't you all wait while I discuss with Er Lang brother?"
Just as he finished speaking, Er Lang Shen appeared in understanding.
He walked out of the inner courtyard in armor, "Brother, what do you wish to discuss with me?"
"Greetings to King Chi Cheng."
"Met King Chi Cheng."
The crowd all bowed.
Chen Yun pointed at Ye Lü De Guang and said: "Your Majesty has some matters to discuss with me. I am not rushing to send my elder brothers back to the south, so I would like to ask if you could spare a moment?"
Er Lang Shen furrowed his brow, then smoothed it out again, saying, "No problem for a moment, just don't keep it too long."
Chen Yun nodded and said, "Very well."
He said while looking at Ye Lü De Guang, "Your Majesty, I only have the time for one cup of tea."
Seeing the time was running short, Ye Lü De Guang quickly gestured to Yang Yuanguang, Zhu Yanzhong, and others with his hand, "You all go first. Let's discuss the important matters with Mr. Chen and King Chi Cheng."
Yang Yuanguang, Zhu Yanlong, and others answered in unison, turned and walked towards the door.
When there were only three people left in the courtyard, Ye Lü De Guang lost all traces of a king's dignity and said with tears in his voice: "Mr. Chen, I know you are leaving me, so today I specially came to seek your presence and that of King Chi Cheng."
Chen Yun remained silent.
Er Lang Shen, on the other hand, pretended like nothing had happened and looked up at the sky.
Seeing this, Ye Lü De Guang quickly continued to speak: "As long as the two of you stay, I will do whatever you say."
Chen Yun sighed and said, "Your Majesty, as the son of a nation, why must you be so insistent? As the saying goes, 'When paths are different, one should not plot together.' Since our opinions do not align, it is not good for us to continue staying together. It is better to part on good terms."
Ye Lü De Guang said, "There is no disagreement, Mr. Chen. These days, I have carefully considered your proposal and think that you are right. If we do not march south, it will definitely be seen as our Khitan people fear the Southern Dynasty. Therefore, if you are willing, I will immediately gather my troops and we can march south before the end of the year."
Chen Yun shook his head and said: "You don't need to bet the fate of Khitan on this. The Jin Dynasty is now strong in its military forces. If we rashly send troops, we may be swallowed up by them. Your previous decisions were also made with the responsibility of millions of Khitan people in mind. I can understand that, but after discussing with Er Lang brother, staying here will not help us build any achievements. It's better to go back to the mountain and focus on our meditation."
Er Lang Shen interjected at the right moment, "I happen to have had some insights and wish to break through the path of celestial and human, Your Majesty. I'm afraid I can't stay for long, so please forgive me for any inconvenience."
Ye Lü De Guang was not a fool. Although Chen Yun and Er Lang Shen said they were leaving to return to the mountain and concentrate on their practice, he had already heard from Yang Yuanguang and Zhu Yanlong that Huashan Sanlang was drunk and revealed the message. He believed that Chen Yun and Er Lang Shen were preparing to go south to join the Jin Dynasty, so he naturally did not want to let them leave.
However, Chen Yun and Er Lang Shen now seem determined to leave, and it seems like whatever he says will be useless.
This made Ye Lü De Guang feel extremely anxious at the same time, and his knees suddenly weakened, causing him to kneel down and weep with tears streaming down his face. "Mr. Chen, you are my Guan Zhong and Lü Yi, the prime minister and strategist of the Warring States. If you leave me, I will regret it for a lifetime. Please stay and help me achieve my goals. I beg of you!"
Chen Yun looked surprised, helping Ye Lü De Guang to stand up while smiling bitterly and saying, "Your Majesty is the ruler of a country, how can you kneel down?"
Ye Lü De Guang said with sincerity: "As long as Mr. Chen is willing to stay and help the Khitan, I would kneel down in front of you, and even if I die, what is the problem?"
Chen Yun couldn't help but sigh, "Your Majesty, this..."
Ye Lü De Guang saw that Chen Yun seemed to be wavering, and he quickly seized the opportunity to persuade him, "Mr. Chen, please consider my urgent request and stay with me."
Chen Yun pretended to be very difficult and turned his head to look at Er Lang Shen, "Er Lang brother, what should we do?"
Er Lang Shen deliberately did not reply immediately, paused for a moment, and then sighed similarly, "Your Majesty, as the ruler of a country, has even been willing to kneel down to beg you to stay. Brother Chen, why don't you stay?"
Chen Yun said, "However..."
Ye Lü De Guang hurriedly said, "I have already ordered people to gather troops and allocate grain, only waiting for everything to be ready before we march south. Mr. Chen, that child named Shi Zhonggui is truly arrogant, I hope you will join our military campaign and help me vent my anger. Afterwards, I will certainly have a generous reward for you."
Chen Yun still looked very hesitant, "I've already made arrangements with Er Lang brother..."
Er Lang Shen smiled and said, "It's all right, I have observed that Your Majesty has indeed made up his mind this time. We can help him further with our efforts and see how the situation unfolds. It should be fine."
Ye Lü De Guang promised, "I have no intention of doing anything else. Whatever Mr. Chen and King Chi Cheng decide to do, I will follow suit."
Chen Yun's expression improved slightly and he proposed, "It is not impossible for me to stay, but there are three conditions that must be met. If you can fulfill them, then I will stay and help you with my strength."
Ye Lü De Guang was very obedient and said, "Mr. Chen, please go ahead and say what you have to say."
Chen Yun said, "Firstly, I am willing to use all my strength to assist the Khitan. At that time, I may invite many infinitely respected deities to help us, so Your Majesty cannot stop the war in the middle."
Ye Lü De Guang replied, "Very good."
Chen Yun nodded slightly and said, "Secondly, if we march south to attack cities and conquer territories, Your Majesty must instruct your subordinates not to harm civilians."
Ye Lü De Guang said without hesitation, "I am aware."
Chen Yun, looking satisfied, said, "Lastly, if I and Er Lang brother truly help Your Majesty establish a strong rule in the Central Plains, this sanctuary..."
Ye Lü De Guang was very clever and said, "I will declare an edict throughout the world to offer sacrifices and reverence to You two sacred beings on behalf of the court."
Chen Yun said, "Your Majesty has answered so readily, it would be unfriendly for me to refuse any further. Alright, I and Er Lang brother will stay."
Ye Lü De Guang was overjoyed, flattering, "With the help of Mr. Chen and King Chi Cheng, how can our Khitan not conquer the Southern Jin?"
Chen Yun and Er Lang Shen laughed loudly, and their attitude changed immediately, chatting with Ye Lü De Guang for a moment.
In the end, Chen Yun gave the reason that Ye Lü De Guang has not slept for three days as an excuse, telling him to go back to the palace and rest properly.
Ye Lü De Guang did not make a fuss and agreed, then took his leave.
...
Once Ye Lü De Guang left with his people, the seven holy beings of Meishan Mountain, Niudalifi and Jiandao Ren appeared.
Huashan Sanlang asked with a hint of doubt, "Brother Chen, you just said you want to defeat the Jin Dynasty, and for the Khitan emperor to sacrifice and venerate us in the name of the court. Do you mean... are you really preparing to help the Khitan succeed?"
Guo Ya Zhi and Dawa Wang, along with others, looked at him with curiosity.
Er Lang Shen had the same look of curiosity.
Chen Yun smiled and said, "In my opinion, the Khitan will find it difficult to succeed. I made such a request in order to gain the trust of the Khitan emperor. If we had nothing to ask for, how could he possibly believe that we would wholeheartedly help him defeat the Jin Dynasty?"
"I see."
"I thought Brother Chen was going to settle down in the Khitan."
Guo Ya Zhi, Huashan Sanlang, and the others suddenly understood.
Er Lang Shen said, "Brother Chen, as the Khitan emperor has agreed to our march south, shouldn't we two of you start to plan things?"
Chen Yun said, "Alright, let's go to the reception hall to discuss."
Er Lang Shen said, "Good."
As they spoke, a group of people walked in a line towards the reception hall.
...
Inside.
The sacred beings divided into two rows and sat down.
On the left were Niudalifi, Jiandao Ren, and others.
On the right were the Seven Holy Beings of Meishan Mountain and several main sub-deities of the Er Lang Temple.
Chen Yun and Er Lang Shen sat in front, one on the left and one on the right.
Er Lang Shen said, "We need to figure out the route of the Khitan troops and the route that the Jin Dynasty troops will defend. Then I will have a rough idea of what deities are there."
Chen Yun said, "This matter is simple."
"Can you guess?"
"If we can really guess it right, then we can save a lot of trouble."
Guo Ya Zhi, Huashan Sanlang, and the others said.
Niudalifi, Jiandao Ren, and others turned their gazes towards Chen Yun.
Chen Yun did not speak, but instead snapped his fingers, causing a wisp of Dan Qi to burst from the middle.
The wisp of Dan Qi twirled in the air, gradually condensing into a map of the Khitan and the Later Jin dynasties.
Every city, boundary, and so on on the map were clearly marked.
Er Lang Shen, Huashan Sanlang, and Niudalifi all looked over at the map.
Er Lang Shen, Huashan Sanlang, and Niudalifi all looked at it.
Chen Yun stood up and walked over to the virtual map made by the Dan Qi, pointing to a few cities on the map and saying, "The Khitan will move troops and dispatch generals from several fortified cities in the mountains behind them. Because of the geographical relationship between the Khitan and Jin Dynasties, I believe there will be two main attack routes. The first route is from the capital city of Nanjing in the south, which is Yanjing. It will move steadily towards places like Mozhou, Shenzhou, Hezhou, and so on. The other part is from Yunzhou and moves towards Xinzhou, Lüzhou, and Luozhou. If this second route is opened up, it can form a frontal attack with the troops from Yanjing. In one blow, it could swallow up most of Jin's territory. At that time, Jin would be left with only the area south of Kaifeng city. Shi Zhonggui would either flee south or open his city gates to surrender. There are no other options."
Er Lang Shen looked at it carefully for a while and praised, "Brother, what you said is very accurate. From my observation, the Khitan army should only have these two routes of movement. Otherwise, they would have to send troops from Bohai, but the Khitan are not good at naval warfare, so this possibility is almost non-existent."
Niudalifi, Guo Ya Zhi, and Dawa Wang, along with others, were all listening attentively.
Only Huashan Sanlang frowned and said, "I remember that the current governor of Taiyuan is King Liu Zhiyuan of Taiyuan. This person is very skilled in military campaigns, and I see no Khitan troops that can match him."
Chen Yun agreed with Huashan Sanlang's opinion, "That's right, Liu Zhiyuan is truly a divine general in military matters, and the Khitan army may indeed have no one who can be his match. But you must not forget one thing, he once followed Shi Jingting in rebellion and seized the inheritance of the Later Tang. If the Khitan army launches a massive attack on Jin Dynasty, showing the intent to annihilate the country, what would you do if you were Liu Zhiyuan?"
Huashan Sanlang suddenly woke up and said, "Hold on to power, preserve one's strength, and wait for the right time to act?"
Chen Yun smiled and said, "I think so too. If Liu Zhiyuan is not satisfied with just being the king of Taiyuan, he will not fight to the death when faced with the Khitan army. At most, he will give a token resistance. So, in my opinion, troops from Yunzhou should definitely be able to advance to Luozhou. As for the route from Yanjing, there may be many obstacles along the way."
When he got to this point, he changed the subject, "Actually, these considerations are not within our purview, because we here are almost all immortals who have become celestial beings. Even if there is war among human troops, we cannot possibly go down to kill ordinary soldiers. So, fighting is a matter of the ordinary people. What we need to do is to deal with the talented individuals and unusual figures in the Jin Dynasty army, especially those under the Ziwai Emperor. Do you all know what deities the Khitan army might encounter on these two routes of movement?"
Er Lang Shen frowned and said, "The deities under the Ziwai Emperor are all from heaven and descended to Earth. It is almost impossible for us to guess their whereabouts. We can only guess some local deities, but these local deities have relatively weak cultivation levels, and even if we guess them right, it will not have much meaning."
Chen Yun thought the same, "Generally, deities who do not hold positions in the heavenly court do not have high cultivation levels. The strongest might be as powerful as the master of Niudalifi's ancestors, Feng Jun Da, reaching the peak of the Earthly Realm. Our own strength is more than enough to handle them."
What we need to pay attention to is those deities under the Ziwai Emperor.
However, just as Er Lang Shen said, the deities under the Ziwai Emperor are elusive and unpredictable. Guessing here is of little use.
Chen Yun thought for a moment, "Although we can't predict exactly which deities will block the path, as long as our guessed military routes are correct, we can make some preparations in advance, such as setting up arrays. Once the army actually arrives and encounters the Ziwai Emperor's deities in the way, then we can catch them off guard."
Er Lang Shen's eyes brightened and said, "Brother, your words make sense. The Jin Dynasty is still unaware that the Khitan are preparing to march south. They have not made any preparations. We can take advantage of this period of time when the Khitan army is gathering to do some things in the south, including but not limited to arrays. Perhaps it will play a huge role later."
Speaking, he stood up and said, "Brother, you will stay in charge of communication between the Khitan and the emperor. As for the preparation in advance, I will do it for you. It's also a good opportunity for me to go out and invite some Daoist friends to assist."
Chen Yun's eyes lit up as he said, "Brother, who do you plan to invite to assist?"
The Seven Holy Beings of Meishan Mountain seemed to know, but they didn't seem to care.
Niudalifi and Jiandao Ren, along with others, were unclear and curious about it, looking over.
Er Lang Shen said mysteriously, "The Daoist friends I've invited are quite powerful, and it's not convenient to reveal them to you just yet. However, there is one who is not from our school, and I can give you a bit of information about them."
Chen Yun asked, "Which deity?"
Er Lang Shen asked back, "Have you heard of the Bodhisattva Pishacharya, the Guardian of the North?"
Upon hearing this, Chen Yun looked at Er Lang Shen in some surprise and asked, "Brother, are you going to invite someone to assist who is none other than Nezha, the Third Son of Pishacharya the Guardian of the North?"
"Wow?" Er Lang Shen was somewhat surprised and said, "You actually know about my brother Nezha?"
He paused and laughed, "My brother Nezha is extremely powerful, with boundless magical abilities and a wonderful appearance. He smiles, holding the sun and the moon along with various staffs, adorned with precious treasures. He can manifest a large body like Mount Sumeru, with a wrathful expression that turns into laughter, and has a thousand arms. He once subdued ninety-six cave demons. If he joins us to assist, our strength will undoubtedly increase significantly."
This is different from the Three-Headed and Six-Armed Chen Yun knows.
He estimated that this was the great god power given by Shakyamuni Buddha when he resurrected Nezha's physical body, so he did not know.
These are all trivial matters.
There is no matter in the world that Chen Yun truly did not think that Er Lang Shen and Nezha had known each other since ancient times.
Although he did not ask how the two of them met, he knew that it was definitely not as described in "The Divine Record".
For a moment, Chen Yun felt anticipatory, wanting to see if Nezha would be as heroic and extraordinary as depicted in myths and legends.
