Outside the Meridian Gate of the Forbidden City, Nurhaci was executed on the spot. The situation of Yuan Nian escaping was also discovered by Ji Xiang and Old Zhang.
"Ran so fast... It seems someone is indeed helping Nurhaci, and that person's strength is very high... Although I don't want to believe it, but... this person might be above the Ascension peak."
The reference point, of course, was Grand Sage Yuan Miao.
Judging by Yuan Nian's vanishing speed, it could be compared to the speed at which Grand Sage Yuan Miao's will appeared in Fuli.
Old Zhang's presence here was merely a Yang Shen avatar, unable to stop the sudden disappearance of that will. In fact, Old Zhang confessed that even if he recalled all his avatars and blocked with all his might, he still wouldn't be able to catch it at its vanishing speed.
"Above Ascension peak?"
"Mm... Heavenly Heart Realm."
Old Zhang explained, "The seventeenth realm, Heavenly Heart Realm! When the human heart ceases to exist, it becomes like the heart of heaven, hence 'When the human heart is removed, the heart of heaven returns.' This is a legendary realm. There is no such person in the Outer Mountains."
"When a person has no heart, their heart becomes a land of nothingness. Nothingness is called the Dao, and thus their heavenly nature resides within their body. At this point, their immortal might pierces through heaven and earth, their power rivals creation, and they can temporarily influence the direction of events. For example, if one merely needs to think of an outcome for an event, that event will gradually unfold as the Heavenly Heart Realm expert has envisioned."
"Under the sustained contemplation of the Heavenly Heart, even falsehoods can become truth. Therefore, according to the records in my Longhu Mountain scriptures, most Heavenly Heart Realm experts spend most of their time in seclusion contemplating the true nature and essence of the Dao, in an attempt to touch its origin."
"Thus, for Heavenly Heart Realm experts, their fantasies can, under certain circumstances, become reality, even influencing people to make wrong choices."
"The scriptures call this the supreme power of transforming falsehood into truth, the great might of 'breaking through illusion and reality to see the original state,' which is akin to the way the fate of a dynasty bestows titles upon virtual gods and spirits."
"A Heavenly Heart expert can, by themselves, fantasize an entire sect into existence. The twelve thousand Yang Shen avatars of an Ascension expert, in the face of a Heavenly Heart expert, if their Heavenly Heart is strong enough, can fantasize all twelve thousand avatars into nothingness. Of course, this power can only be applied to illusory forms such as avatars and manifested bodies, not to actual objects beneath the Great Dao."
"At least, in my opinion, based on the scriptures, Heavenly Heart Realm individuals have almost no weaknesses. Such people have made their thoughts nearly identical to the Dao."
The physiques of immortals cannot be generalized.
That, in essence, was it!
The words "Heavenly Heart Realm" placed immense pressure on Ji Xiang after hearing Old Zhang's explanation.
Of course, there must be weaknesses. There is no person without weaknesses. Even Jehovah has a stone he cannot lift. The descriptions were terrifying simply because the scribes of the scriptures were too far removed from that realm.
"There are many experts in the Inner Mountains, and the Heavenly Heart Realm has appeared so quickly. As expected, those who can roam the world, interfere with dynastic changes, and watch the passage of time are at least at the peak of Ascension, which is above Immortal Ascension..."
"It's no wonder Grand Sage Yuan Miao looks down on newly ascended immortals... Their gaze upon them is probably no different from how immortals view mortals."
Nurhaci being supported by a Heavenly Heart Realm expert is truly a case of internal and external troubles. If Old Zhang had not survived his Ascension tribulation back then, the Great Ming would likely have been riddled with a hundred transparent holes.
"Now I've probably become a thorn in the side of some people! It can be foreseen that if someone wants to kill an Ascension expert, they won't choose Old Zhang, but will come for me."
Ji Xiang's conclusion was not difficult to reach after a moment's thought.
Grand Sage Yuan Miao, Emperor Jiajing, the immortal officials of the Song court, and now the Heavenly Heart expert behind Nurhaci all knew that he was a crippled Ascension. If his physical body were destroyed, his combat power would be almost nullified, as he was not a Ghost Immortal.
Ghost Immortals, on the other hand, do not require much from their physical bodies; a functional shell is enough. However, Ghost Immortals are the lowest of the Five Immortals, unable to even reach the Pure Yang realm. Calling them "immortals" is, in reality, just calling them powerful ghosts.
Even those in the Longevity Palace of the Song court would rather transform into Yin spirits than cultivate as Ghost Immortals, which shows that the path of Ghost Immortals is a huge pitfall, only to be taken out of desperation.
(I must improve my physical body's strength as soon as possible to unify my form, spirit, and cultivation. However, even with rapid cultivation, it takes one day to go from the fifth realm to the eleventh Yuan Shen realm, and the subsequent cultivation must take twelve years, which is almost unchangeable.)
Three years of Divine Fire refining the body, enduring pain, seeds falling into the Yellow Court;
Nine years of facing the wall in silence, the old body transforming into the new, the change of the Innate.
Ji Xiang pondered for a moment and then asked Old Zhang:
"Then, if one wants to kill an Ascension expert, how should it be done?"
"You're saying, below Pure Yang, to kill an Ascension expert? Senior Brother, are you afraid those people in the Inner Mountains will target your physical body?"
Old Zhang also informed Ji Xiang about how will could counter Ascension, a matter that had been discussed before.
The will of an Ascension expert is equivalent to the gathering of the will of the masses. Therefore, an Ascension expert can transform themselves into a deity and give rise to divine tablets. The usage effect of an Ascension expert's will is the same as the worship of the masses.
Hence, to deal with Ascension experts, one must also use the method of mass worship.
Ji Xiang's first thought was of the White Lotus Society and various illegal religions of this era. However, these could not be eradicated. The late Ming Dynasty had open-minded thought, and the court did not overly control them. The main problem lay in the infighting among court factions and the power struggles between the emperor and his ministers, leaving them no time to control external situations.
Various religions flourished, some doing good, some doing evil, and some amassing wealth. By raising a broken banner, copying a few passages from the Surangama Sutra and the Dao De Jing, boasting to others about receiving transmissions from immortals, and preaching about karma and retribution, after various amalgamations, a small religious group of a hundred people could be formed within five days.
Ji Xiang patted his forehead.
Not out of worry, but out of joy!
"The will of mass worship? That means there's mass incense?"
If you mention incense, I won't feel bad anymore!
Hearing Ji Xiang speak like this, Old Zhang's expression turned peculiar.
Then Ji Xiang asked another question about the twelve-year seclusion, only to have Old Zhang's expression shift. He said to Ji Xiang, "There is someone in seclusion within this Forbidden City. You might as well go and learn from her."
"Who? Ah! Could it be..."
Ji Xiang didn't react at first, but soon understood. He touched the Jin Jizi at his waist and thought, "So that's how it is!"
Consort Dowager Shang! No wonder she had a powerful artifact like the Jin Jizi. It wasn't just because she was Emperor Jiajing's favored concubine.
But... how did Old Zhang know her?