Chapter 184: Chapter 184

Sha Chen furrowed his brows.

Ao Lie and his sister exclaimed in delight, "Indeed, the Heavenly Court intends to reward Brother! Marvelous! Brother has persevered through difficult times and will now return to Heaven to enjoy blessings."

But Sha Chen simply shook his head. Ao Lie and his sister simply did not understand him.

Why is it so hard to find someone who understands me?

In a low voice, Sha Chen said, "You don’t understand at all. I have no desire to return to Heaven; I only wish to linger here until the end of time, until the seas dry and the rocks crumble."

Astonished, Ao Lie asked, "Brother, why is that?"

"Safety, freedom," Sha Chen replied.

"But staying here without going out, isn’t that just like being in prison? Where is the freedom in that?" Ao Lie questioned.

Sha Chen responded, "What do you know? I can leave whenever I want; I simply choose not to. Moreover, the most important thing is safety. The outside world is too dangerous; only by keeping to myself am I truly safe."

Ao Lie scratched his head, truly not understanding. Staying put was indeed safe. But so boring!

Dragon Girl also did not understand. They were both unruly scions of the Dragon Clan, accustomed to indulgence, and naturally found it unacceptable to remain confined in one place for too long. Had it not been for the necessity to learn from Sha Chen, they would have run off long ago.

Sha Chen now felt that perhaps only Tianpeng, who was driven by fear of death, could somewhat relate to him. However, Tianpeng was not exactly reliable either; he only sought a place to hide when he was being pursued. If not, he would still roam about freely.

In the end, no one understands me. The world does not comprehend me, Sha Chen sighed inwardly.

Seeing that Sha Chen remained silent, Wen Quxing frowned and said, "General for Folding the Curtain, Wang Lingguan has already made it clear. This is a reward, not a punishment. Why do you still not come forth?"

"How can I, of such modest virtues and accomplishments, accept an unearned reward? I bear a sin and have yet to face punishment; I dare not receive a reward," Sha Chen replied.

Wen Quxing grew angry. This fellow is like an oiled-paper lantern—it won’t light unless poked! We’ve said we’ll forgive him, even promote him and grant him riches. And still, he won’t accept?

But he knew many people acted modest or falsely humble, while internally they were elated; they simply put up a show to appear virtuous. Therefore, he patiently continued, "Come out first. After I have read the imperial edict, then you can decide whether to accept it."

After all, it wouldn’t be up to Sha Chen by that point. Would he dare to defy the edict?

This was precisely what troubled Sha Chen, and why he hoped these people would recognize the difficulty and just go away. Why are they still insisting on proclaiming the edict?

Hesitating for a moment, Sha Chen felt that he still had to listen to the edict. Whether he would accept it depended on its content. However, with Wang Lingguan just outside, defying the edict might lead to his immediate capture.

Therefore, Sha Chen said, "Please, sir, just read the edict. I am listening."

"You’re in your cave-dwelling, and you send only a projection forth—is that proper?" Wen Quxing said.

"I am currently in critical cultivation. At this key juncture, I am unable to present myself. Please excuse me, sir," Sha Chen responded.

Wen Quxing fumed, his eyes bulging and whiskers bristling. Didn’t he just say he was afraid of death? Why change his tune now to claim he’s cultivating?

Just as Wen Quxing was about to contest the matter, Wang Lingguan communicated telepathically, "He is cautious and probably feels great pressure with me present, hence his reluctance to show himself."

Wen Quxing replied telepathically, "Even if he’s not coming out, he shouldn’t be disrespectful."

"He has reached the Daluo Golden Immortal Realm and naturally has a bit of pride. The Jade Emperor, by condescending to bestow grace and recruit talent indiscriminately, should tolerate his impertinence," said Wang Lingguan.

Wen Quxing still wanted to reply, yet he also felt that prolonging this impasse would only cause more embarrassment. To persist would be more humiliating. After all, it was bad enough that they were being kept at bay, but to delay reading the imperial edict any longer would look even worse.

Thus, Wen Quxing immediately began to recite the edict.

"By command of Haotian, the Supreme, Unsurpassed, Naturally Wondrous Miluo True Jade Emperor God, the edict proclaims: In times past, Great General for Folding the Curtain Sha Chen tipped over the Liuli Lamp; his sin warranted death. However, my heart bears mercy, and with the appeals from many officials, his death sentence was spared. He was punished in the Flowing Sand River for five hundred years, of which over one hundred and sixty have already passed. During this period, the punishment has continued, and I, the Emperor, could not bear to see it persist. I often hear the Great General for Folding the Curtain publicly state, ’I reflect upon myself thrice daily,’ and his attitude of admitting his errors has been most commendable..."

"This gladdens my heart. Furthermore, with the persuasion of many officials, I pardon the General for Folding the Curtain’s sins, to demonstrate my magnanimity. In my view, their counsel is indeed excellent..."

The imperial edict went on and on at length, but Sha Chen simply heard the Jade Emperor giving both him and himself a way out. ᴛhis chapter is ᴜpdated by novel{f}ire.net

The essence being, for the past incident involving the Liuli Lamp, your punishment was non-negotiable. Furthermore, you deserved death, but sparing you to contemplate your actions at Flowing Sand River was already a great kindness for which you should be grateful. Latterly, hearing that you reflect thrice daily on your errors, and with the recommendation of many officials, I am inclined to pardon you.

Then followed an extensive spiel. It led up to the revelation that Sha Chen had advanced to the Daluo Golden Immortal Realm. This pleased the Jade Emperor, and it seemed time to entrust him with greater responsibilities. The past offenses were to be completely absolved.

The current Sha Chen was to ascend to Heaven and receive the title of Marshal of the Law Protector in the Bright Palace.

The official position seemed impressive, but in reality, it was just a glorified gatekeeper, albeit several ranks higher than before. It was similar to how the four prodigies of Huolong Island, the four Wang brothers, became the four Marshals of the Lingxiao Palace. This Marshal of the Law Protector in the Bright Palace was essentially a senior guard commander, with authority over certain guards and control of some military power.

His position was just below that of Wang Lingguan. While not very high among the court officials, he had real power and was close to the Jade Emperor. Even the high-ranking and powerful officials of the Lingxiao Palace dared not offend him lightly.

If compared to the Ming Dynasty’s Royal Guards, Sha Chen’s position was equivalent to a Command Adjutant of the Royal Guards, a second-in-command. Wang Lingguan, as Chief Commander, was the top leader. However, the Royal Guards had two such Command Adjutants, both holding significant power. In contrast, there were four individuals sharing Sha Chen’s title as Marshal of the Law Protector in the Bright Palace, with the other three being subordinate to Wang Lingguan.

His authority and responsibilities were diluted, and his duties would likely be confined to ceremonial matters, leaving him with little actual power. Ultimately, it was a position with high status but precarious power, easily rendered a figurehead at any moment.

Sha Chen frowned slightly, already understanding the Jade Emperor’s intentions. The Emperor wanted him to realize that he was being favored, so he should feel gratitude and demonstrate his worth when needed. If deemed useless, the Jade Emperor could strip him of his position at any time and once again demote him to the mortal realm.

Sha Chen also understood that serving the Emperor was like walking beside a tiger. If the Jade Emperor really wanted to suppress him, never mind his position as Marshal of the Law Protector in the Bright Palace, even if he held Wang Lingguan’s rank, he could be removed at any time.

More importantly, he cultivated for the sake of freedom, dignity, and a longer life, not to be a dog for someone else. With the strength of a Daluo Golden Immortal, why should he guard the doors for the Jade Emperor, becoming his hunting hound?

Therefore, even before the edict was finished, Sha Chen had already made up his mind.

And when the edict was finally read, the immortals were smiling, waiting for Sha Chen to accept it so they could go forward to ask for their rewards and offer a few congratulatory words.

However, Wang Lingguan and Wen Quxing understood that Sha Chen’s current situation was purely an outcome of discussions among the top echelons. In the future, Sha Chen was very likely to embark on the Journey to the West and be removed from their ranks as colleagues. In other words, Sha Chen’s wealth and glory were temporary. All they had to do was maintain good relations, without the need for deliberate flattery.

But as they waited and waited, they saw no indication from Sha Chen. They thought perhaps Sha Chen was too excited and had momentarily forgotten to accept the edict.

In reality, Sha Chen was faced with a choice.

"The Host has been decreed by the Jade Emperor to ascend and become the Marshal of the Law Protector in the Bright Palace. You have the following options."

"Choice one: Accept the Jade Emperor’s decree, receive the imperial edict, ascend to Heaven, and take the official position, obtaining the Magical Tool [Beat God Whip]. The Beat God Whip is a magical tool given by Lord Yuan Shi to Jiang Ziya, capable of striking immortals and especially effective against those listed on the Investiture of the Gods."

"Choice two: Refuse the Jade Emperor’s decree, defy the order, and obtain the divine item [Innate Earth]. Innate Earth, originating from the Primordial Era when heaven and earth were born, is a type of soil imbued with Divine Power and an extraordinary ability to cultivate plants, over ten times better than Post-Heaven Earth."

When Sha Chen saw these two options, he smiled faintly. He had already obtained Post-Heaven Earth, which provided him with a continuous supply of resources, yet it was still insufficient. Now, with Innate Earth, he could cultivate his Elixirs and Immortal Herbs even better. With a cultivation ability more than ten times stronger than that of Post-Heaven Earth, if used well, it could be dozens or even a hundred times more powerful.

Moreover, many Elixirs and Immortal Herbs are extremely difficult to cultivate. It is challenging even with Post-Heaven Earth; with Innate Earth, it would be like having divine aid. Conveniently, he had also acquired many Elixirs and Immortal Herbs. Refining them all into Immortal Pills would be like draining the pond to catch the fish—a waste of potential. Cultivating some, refining some, and using some – this was the way to ensure long-term sustainability.

Sha Chen chose to defy the edict without hesitation. It wasn’t just because of the generous reward; even without it, he would not have accepted.

Ascend to Heaven? Out of the question. He had already refused the position of a Saint’s disciple; why would he desire to be a Heavenly Court Divine Official?

How to refuse, however, was an art, and Sha Chen also needed to gauge the current attitude of the Heavenly Court. If his refusal were too blunt, it might backfire and enrage them. Although he was a Daluo Golden Immortal, he dared not claim he could confront the Heavenly Court at this time; he still needed to keep a low profile and develop.

Seeing that Sha Chen had been silent for a long time and did not seem excited, Wen Quxing frowned, somewhat displeased. He said, "General for Folding the Curtain, why don’t you quickly accept the edict and offer your thanks?"

All the immortals were also looking on expectantly, waiting for you to receive the edict and offer thanks so they could receive their rewards. Why are you hesitating?

Only Chang’e was somewhat anxious. She knew Sha Chen seemed troubled and worried that something would go awry. Setting aside other concerns, she hurriedly sent a telepathic message, "Brother, hurry and accept the edict! This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Once you accept it, you’ll be free and safer returning to the Heavenly Court, and we, brother and sister, could also see each other whenever we wished."

Sha Chen glanced at Chang’e, smiled faintly, and replied telepathically, "Don’t worry, I won’t let my sister down."

Chang’e sighed in relief; with that, she felt assured.

Sha Chen cupped his fists and said, "This humble immortal, Sha Chen, dares not accept the edict."