Cracks in the Dao Heart (Happy New Year)

Even with the pills glowing, a tenth of the people still hadn't received their share.

"Fellow Daoist Jiang." Tian Chan arrived in front of the Jiang family immortal.

"P-Palace Master Tian." The Jiang family immortal naturally knew the purpose of his visit. The life-extending immortal pills weren't enough to go around, so he definitely wanted to buy more!

"Fellow Daoist Jiang..."

"Palace Master Tian, I advise you to think carefully before making a decision. Heavy is the head that wears the crown. This is merely the first battle between the Nine Heavens and the Evil Spirit Domain, yet it has already consumed so many life-extending immortal pills. Not to mention, this is only the consumption rate of ten thousand Great Emperors. What will you do if True Immortals join the battle in the future?"

The Jiang family now had confidence. Although their cultivation wasn't at the absolute peak—only at the Third Tribulation stage—relying on Jiang Che's prestige was enough for them to walk unhindered across the Nine Heavens. Even Immortal Emperors had to give them face.

Thinking back to when the Jiang family bet the power of their entire clan on Jiang Che, they had really hit the jackpot!

Tian Chan fell silent. Although she had anticipated it and knew this endeavor would absolutely consume a massive amount of resources, reality still slapped her in the face once again.

Right, this was only the first battle. If all the Great Emperor experts of the Nine Heavens joined the fight in the future, that would be an army of over a million!

And then there were the immortals. The resources required were simply too immense; it was absolutely impossible for any single faction to afford it.

Unless... the life-extending immortal pills Jiang Che sold could be a bit cheaper. Oh, no... they would have to be much cheaper. Even the ninety percent discount she had previously fantasized about... would probably be enough to hollow out all the reserve resources of their Heavenly Dao Palace.

There were simply too many people!

The combat power of the Nine Heavens was indeed very strong. If all the Great Emperors and immortals united to fight against the Evil Spirit Plane, the Nine Heavens could absolutely not lose.

But even the Human Emperor of the past... despite having countless followers behind him, the experts he could mobilize were still less than a tenth of the Nine Heavens.

Want to mobilize all the experts in the Nine Heavens? There had to be benefits!

After all, people who held the righteous cause of the world's common people in their hearts... were only a minority. The vast majority of people only cared about sweeping the snow from their own doorsteps.

"Family Head Jiang, I want to talk to Young Master Jiang," Tian Chan slowly spoke after pondering for a long time.

To break this deadlock, she had to get Jiang Che to lower the price of the pills.

Just like in the mortal realm, when faced with high-priced foreign medicines, the state level would send representatives to negotiate with pharmaceutical companies to lower the price so they could be included in medical insurance.

"You?" The Jiang family's Eighth Ancestor looked up and down at Tian Haoran in front of him, then shook his head. "Our young master probably wouldn't be willing to see you."

"W-Why? I can give him divine treasures and immortal artifacts."

"Very simple. You are a man."

Those few words... almost shattered Tian Chan's Dao heart.

"I... Fellow Daoist Jiang, please make an exception and inform Young Master Jiang. I would be endlessly grateful..."

Jiang Yuan sighed and glanced at the handsome young man in front of him. "Palace Master Tian, do you still not know what our young master likes? Beautiful women!"

"Your Heavenly Dao Palace is the number one sect orthodoxy in the world. There must be some female immortals or peerless beauties in your sect, right? Our young master has a weakness for that..."

He couldn't have put it any more bluntly.

Tian Chan stopped speaking, because there were indeed many peerless beauties in the Heavenly Dao Palace. They came from different eras; there was the top beauty of the Stunning Beauty Rankings from tens of thousands of years ago, and there was also the sect's Grand Elder who had been in secluded cultivation on Elder Peak for a hundred thousand years...

Although their cultivation wasn't as high as hers, but... but these were all her seniors!!!

Could it be that she had to shamelessly run in front of her old seniors and ask if they were willing to marry someone?

Wasn't this a joke!

Although she was also a woman, now that she had fused with the origin of the Righteous Path, her heart yearned only for the Righteous Path, devoid of any other distracting thoughts.

"T-Then alright, I will go find... find Dao companions for Young Master Jiang."

As she spoke, Tian Chan felt like she was going to break down completely. This already violated her righteous Dao heart. What righteous person would act like a brothel madam...

Crack~~~

In the deepest part of Tian Chan's Dao heart, her originally incredibly resilient righteous Dao heart slowly developed a faintly discernible crack, one that even she herself did not notice.

After Tian Chan left, several of the Jiang family ancestors looked at each other.

"Old Seven, I've discovered a problem!"

"I've discovered a problem too!"

"You speak first." Both said at the same time.

The two looked at each other awkwardly. "I feel like the aura around Palace Master Tian isn't quite right. Is he a bit... effeminate?"

"Yes, yes, yes! I noticed it too, but it's not exactly effeminate... It's an aura coming from the inside out. I can't really describe it. Could it be that Palace Master Tian is actually a..."

Femboy... He obviously didn't dare to say it out loud. Gossiping about a Supreme Immortal Emperor behind their back... even bringing up Jiang Che's name probably wouldn't save them.

"Cough, cough, it should just be an androgynous softness. After all, Palace Master Tian looks so handsome..."

"Alright, Fifth Ancestor, hurry up and go find the young master to explain the situation. Be smart about it... The Nine Heavens are about to fall into chaos. Our Jiang family only needs to make our stance clear. Standing on Jiang Che's side is enough to guarantee a worry-free future."

The several Jiang family immortals lowered their eyes. "Yes!"

Their Jiang family were absolutely not spineless cowards. In the past, they had lost an unknown number of clansmen to quell the Evil Spirit disaster. They were absolutely beings willing to sacrifice their lives; otherwise, they wouldn't have accepted the Heavenly Dao's Evil-Slaying Order in the first place.

But... when it involved Jiang Che, that was a different story. Jiang Che concerned the future of their Jiang family. They, as immortals, could die, but Jiang Che could not.

......

The Evil Spirit Domain.

"Cough, cough!"

A thin figure appeared within the endless black fog. A head of pale white long hair was currently dyed with blood, making her look exceptionally bewitching.

The black fog dispersed, revealing a flawless, stunningly beautiful face. It was as if all the magnificent words in the world were not enough to describe her world-toppling beauty.

This absolutely perfect woman was precisely the Heavenly Dao of the Mortal Realm whom Jiang Che had teased back in the mortal world.

Because he had a little conflict with the Heavenly Dao, Jiang Che had removed the realm barrier protecting the Mortal Realm when he left. Afterward, Jiang Che had been so busy picking up girls in the Nine Heavens that he had completely forgotten about this matter.

This pitiful Mortal Realm Heavenly Dao girl had been targeted by Ji Qingyi, who directly used Evil Spirit power to forcefully infuse and pollute her Heavenly Dao origin. She was reduced to a fallen Heavenly Dao, and the Heavenly Dao power within her body mutated into a very bizarre and deformed ability. Even her status had somehow surpassed that of a Heavenly Dao?

She could even corrode and infect Great Dao-level realm barriers.

"Pfft—" The woman suddenly spat out a mouthful of fresh blood, which carried a corrosive power.

And on her back, a bone-deep blade scar shockingly appeared, tearing a demon-like wound across her white, smooth back. Endless noble righteous aura was madly corroding her flesh and blood.

In the end, she was still no match for Tian Chan. After all, Tian Chan held the origin of the Righteous Path, which naturally countered the evil path.

Tap, tap... Ripples echoed through the void, followed by the manifestation of a demonic door.

A figure emerged from within, three pairs of transparent butterfly wings extending from their back. With an utterly cold gaze, they said, "Come with me. The Evil Lord wishes to see you."