Journey to the West: I have Nine Golden Crows Inside Me
Chapter 1099: Master seven eight five is busy; the disciple undertakes the task_2

Chapter 1099: Master seven eight five is busy; the disciple undertakes the task_2

Speaking of Saintess Wudang, Mother Earth’s tone carried an added hint of admiration, as if she had high expectations for Wudang’s future.

In fact, the four major disciples of the Upper Qing Saints were all top-tier Innate Divine Demons, each with an impressive origin. Had it not been for an unexpected event that year, had they been allowed to grow, the current structure of Heaven and Earth might very well have changed.

"Hmm, thank you, Your Highness!"

Relieved by Mother Earth’s response, Jiang Chen knew about the path of Saintess Wudang, which involved the profound mysteries of reality and illusion and delved into the cycle of reincarnation, indeed aiding her in perfecting her own Great Dao.

At this point, the conversation died down again. At the same time, Jiang Chen realized it was time for him to leave. Since he was not planning on revealing his plan to cooperate now, obtaining the Xing Tian axe meant that Jiang Chen had fulfilled his purpose, and there was no meaning in staying any longer; naturally, it was time for him to take his leave.

Just as Jiang Chen was about to say his goodbyes, the sight of the golden-red lotus platform beneath Mother Earth reminded him of its origin—formed from the integration of the Karma Fire Red Lotus and the Merit Golden Lotus.

The red stood for the Karma Fire Red Lotus. The gold represented the Merit Golden Lotus.

It wasn’t hard to understand. Mother Earth was the true master of the Netherworld; without her consent, even Saints would not find a foothold there.

With this thought, clarity dawned. The Ancestor of the Underworld River resided in the Netherworld and naturally sought to ingratiate himself with Mother Earth. But he surely would not be willing to part with the twelfth-grade Karma Fire Red Lotus, so he might as well present a lotus seed for Mother Earth to nurture and enjoy.

Similarly, the Buddhist door would want to establish a presence in the Netherworld, so offering Mother Earth a Golden Lotus Seed was nothing unusual.

The limit for the first generation of lotus seeds was, theoretically, ninth grade. But Mother Earth, who had insights into creation and possessed countless treasures, forcibly fused the two seeds, allowing them to break boundaries and transform into an eleventh-grade lotus platform. There was nothing surprising about that; it made sense.

To be honest, at this moment, Jiang Chen was somewhat tempted. The golden-red lotus platform beneath Mother Earth was a mutated descendant of the Chaos Green Lotus, and it was a mutation in a positive direction, containing astonishing power.

If he could devour it, the Chaos Green Lotus in Jiang Chen’s Sea of Consciousness might even spawn another path, or perhaps a Chaos Divine Prohibition.

A stronger Chaos Green Lotus could greatly influence Jiang Chen. The most direct impact would be the increase in the creation of Original Source by the stronger Chaos Green Lotus. Furthermore, the Divine Fetuses of the Great Dao nurtured therein would have an even more profound origin.

If the Chaos Green Lotus were to recover to the status of a Chaos Treasure, Jiang Chen might not even need to cultivate; he could directly transform into a Chaos Demigod, effectively saving countless time.

Another impact was that as the Chaos Green Lotus grew stronger, it would also speed up the refining of the Demonic Power of Destruction’s arm. If all goes well, by the time Jiang Chen completely refines the arm of the Chaos Demigod, he would likely have cultivated to become a Daluo Jinxian of the Primordial.

That is to say, there was a shortcut for Jiang Chen to become a Daluo Jinxian of the Primordial—by strengthening his Chaos Green Lotus, the life-bound Magic Treasure.

Unfortunately, no matter how tempted, it was not possible for Jiang Chen to ask Mother Earth to exchange the golden-red lotus platform right now.

One reason was that their statuses were not equal; even as the Human King, Jiang Chen could not compare with Mother Earth. If Jiang Chen truly fancied the golden-red lotus platform, it would be more appropriate for the Three Emperors to discuss it with Mother Earth, not him.

Secondly, Mother Earth had just done Jiang Chen a huge favor. To covet her treasure right afterward would be quite inexcusable.

Out of sight, out of mind. Steeling his heart, Jiang Chen was about to say goodbye and leave, but at that moment, Mother Earth spoke out, "Jiang Chen, since we’ve finished discussing your affairs, now we can talk about the matter between you and the Witch Clan."

???

At that moment, Jiang Chen was baffled. He couldn’t fathom what Mother Earth meant with her words.

The matter between him and the Witch Clan? What could there possibly be between the Witch Clan and him? Since his birth, the only member of the Witch Clan he’d encountered was Xing Tian. What kind of relation could he have with the Witch Clan?

Amidst a vague unease, a sense of foreboding arose in Jiang Chen’s heart—his previous concerns might have come true. Things had not gone as smoothly as he thought; Mother Earth had not planned to make things difficult for him at first, but had left the complications for the end.

"I would ask Mother to speak frankly, what is the matter between me and the Witch Clan?" Jiang Chen asked with a solemn face. He suspected that what Mother Earth was about to say might be related to the fact that his master had sold him out.

Mother Earth did not conceal anything and spoke directly, "Since you’ve met Xing Tian, you may have guessed the enmity between me and your master, the Upper Qing Saint. Initially, I intended to find an opportunity to resolve this cause and effect with him."

"However, before I could take action, just a few days ago, your master suddenly came to me, claiming that he had acted impulsively in the past, caused a great disaster and incurred a cause and effect with me. Reflecting on it now, he expressed deep regret. Therefore, he specially came to the Netherworld to resolve the cause and effect of those years with me."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Chen inwardly remarked that it was as he had suspected; indeed, there was a big trap waiting for him in the Netherworld, and this trap had been dug by his own master.

"May I dare to ask Mother, how did my master resolve this cause and effect with you?" Although he had a guess in his heart, Jiang Chen still struggled a bit and asked, unwilling to resign himself to his fate.

"The Upper Qing friend is quite interesting. When I asked how he intended to resolve our cause and effect, he just smiled and said, ’When the master has concerns, it is the disciple’s duty to shoulder them.’ Soon after, his closed-door disciple Yu Dou will come to the Netherworld to pay respects to me, and he told me to do as I see fit when the time comes, if there is any instruction, I should merely seek out his disciple."

Mother Earth said with a laugh, presumably, even he had not expected the Upper Qing Saint to be so interesting as to directly push the consequences onto his own disciple.

That certainly didn’t fit the personality of the Upper Qing Saint of the past; one can only say that the passage of time changes many people.

"My master actually said that?"

Although he had already suspected it, upon receiving confirmation, Jiang Chen was speechless. He had not expected his master, who doted on him so much on regular days, to betray him like this!

What could he do? What else could he do? He had no choice but to do as his master said: When the master has concerns, it is the disciple’s duty to shoulder them.

At that moment, Jiang Chen suddenly understood what it was like to have a competent disciple—it was an experience where one could push all the troublesome matters onto them, leaving oneself free and unburdened. This was truly too good!

Jiang Chen secretly resolved that once he had some free time, he too would cultivate a few outstanding disciples. Without mentioning anything else, in the future, whenever there were issues, he could have them take care of it.

Not to mention, Zhang Daoling was obedient and managed the entire Shangqing Palace meticulously, saving Jiang Chen a lot of trouble.

Who would have thought, who would have thought that it was always Jiang Chen who ordered his disciples around, and today, it was his turn to be ordered about.

Even in Jiang Chen’s heart, there was a suspicion that the reason the Upper Qing Saint acted in such a way today was probably because he had learned from him. Seeing that he had left all the troublesome matters to his disciples, his master followed suit and passed on the troubles to his own disciple.

After all, compared to Zhang Daoling, it was clear that Jiang Chen had greater abilities and was better at causing trouble. Others might not be able to meet Mother Earth’s demands, but Jiang Chen might not be the same case.

Moreover, even if Jiang Chen couldn’t accomplish this task, it wouldn’t matter, as the Upper Qing Saint had his own clever plans. In any case, the cause and effect between him and Mother Earth was not significant; he only needed to promise Mother Earth not to interfere with her revival of the Ancestral Witch to resolve this cause and effect.

...

Jiang Chen did not doubt Mother Earth’s words, as at their level of existence, they obviously wouldn’t jest about such matters. Just as he had anticipated, his master had sold him out, and thoroughly at that.

Under the enveloping divine light, Mother Earth watched Jiang Chen, who was sighing deeply, with a face full of laughter, observing his reaction with amusement.

The way of the saints usually involved disciples undermining their masters; a disciple being betrayed by his master was indeed a rare sight.