Old Zhang did not laugh. Instead, he seriously examined Ji Xiang and reached out to touch his physical body, indeed sensing a part of the Jade Emperor's wish.
Ji Xiang also told Old Zhang that before Zhao Xuanlang died, unwilling to accept his fate, he had impersonated the Jade Emperor's divine position with his wish, thus exposing himself to the eyes of the so-called celestial officials in the Yin world.
"The power of wishes is difficult to eliminate. Since it was the Jade Emperor who responded to this Zhao Xuanlang, it is indeed only by destroying the divine tablet once that this wish can be eliminated, but..."
"If it were any other deity, my senior brother and I might have had a chance to destroy it once. But the Jade Emperor, known as 'slain among the heavens, never to be destroyed,' his divine position cannot be annihilated."
Hearing Old Zhang say this, Ji Xiang couldn't help but sigh. Although he had long known that two Ascended experts might not be able to destroy the Jade Emperor's divine tablet, hearing that the Jade Emperor's divine tablet was indestructible made him even more disheartened.
But Old Zhang hadn't finished speaking:
"Senior brother, this Zhao Xuanlang claimed to be sent to the human world by the Jade Emperor's decree, and that he was an avatar of Emperor Shengzong of Song. But according to what you said, the Jade Emperor's divine tablet is still in Fuli. Whose decree did Zhao Xuanlang receive to come to the human world?"
"Although I cannot help senior brother destroy the Jade Emperor's divine tablet, I can accompany senior brother to roam Fuli and re-examine the Jade Emperor's situation."
Ji Xiang was slightly surprised. "Does junior brother mean that there is actually a problem with the Jade Emperor's divine tablet?"
Old Zhang smiled. "Once this matter is settled, my senior brother and I will ascend to heaven together and see for ourselves."
Ji Xiang was a little puzzled as to why Old Zhang wasn't ascending with him now, but he quickly understood. It turned out that the Old Zhang before him was an avatar of a Yang God.
Old Zhang now channeled his magical power to deal with the aftermath at the Great Gaoxuan Hall. At the same time, as Old Zhang channeled his power, the Inner Scenery Divine Tablet also issued a reminder.
[Zhang Boyang (Yang God Avatar): Celestial Master of Longhu Mountain, Three Heavens' Guidance, Tiger Roars and Dragon Cries; Light Dwells in Ten Thousand Forms, Penetrating Heaven and Earth.]
[Ascended Realm, one of the 129,600 Yang God Avatars.]
Ji Xiang was startled. "This Yang God avatar's strength is the same as the main body. I feel that this avatar Old Zhang is a true Ascended expert... I truly lack experience."
Old Zhang paced towards the rear hall, the Myriad Laws Thunder Altar, and with a few gestures, thunder rumbled in the sky, and he re-established formations here.
Ji Xiang did not recognize this grand formation. He only saw golden lotuses blooming around Old Zhang, and the sounds of bells and drums echoing from the void, accompanied by the howling of wind and rain. The surrounding primal energy gathered and dispersed, constantly transforming into various rare birds and exotic beasts.
Old Zhang drew eight Zhen trigrams on the ground, distributed around the Myriad Laws Thunder Altar, and then pointed his finger towards the direction of the Forbidden City. Instantly, an invisible thunderous decree was drawn from the mysterious depths.
In Ji Xiang's inner scenery, a simple description appeared:
[The decree of Gouchen Heavenly Emperor: Zhen Qi! The Heavenly Emperor governs, and all gods shall hasten!]
This was the supreme decree placed in the Qin'an Hall. Apart from Tao Zhongwen and Emperor Jiajing, no one could wield it. Now, it was being used by Old Zhang to borrow a thunderous sound.
Old Zhang led that invisible thunder into the Myriad Laws Thunder Altar, and the formation was immediately completed.
"Now, there is nothing to worry about. The thunder altar in the Great Gaoxuan Hall is used to summon the thunder deities. Since the Yin and Yang are already unbalanced, and Shuntian has been ruined to this extent, there is no need to be cautious. With the most rigid, most yang, most fierce, and most courageous thunderous methods, we can simply flatten and fill this place."
Ji Xiang could also understand Old Zhang's sentiment.
Since everything was already ruined, what was there to fear? Great effort brings miracles; the new formation would simply suppress it with brute force.
...
Shuntian Prefecture, the first watch of the night.
Old Zhang, holding his sword and the statue of the Jade Emperor, flew into the sky like a rainbow, taking the lead.
Although the night watch had already begun, most of the divine generals of the Yin division were dead or injured. Ji Xiang, holding the divine position, returned it to the imperial army. The three major camps entered Shuntian and quelled the chaos, and orders for disaster relief and aftermath were continuously issued from within the Forbidden City.
Unfortunately, Shuntian City was completely destroyed. The city walls had collapsed, the earth and stones had turned to dust, the ground had sunk, and various areas suffered varying degrees of damage. Many of the people living in Shuntian were buried under the ruins.
The previous earthquake had caused severe destruction.
Ji Xiang saw many deceased victims. Even though Old Zhang's avatar had been in various places in Shuntian for twelve hours, performing rescues, it was not easy to bring the dead back to life. Even though the Daoist sect had many methods for reviving the dead, they could not be directly applied to mortals.
To revive mortals, only one type of talisman could achieve this. Legend has it that Laozi possessed a talisman called the "Great Profound Life Talisman," which was effective for any deceased person, even those who had been dead for many years, capable of bringing them back to life instantly.
The great disaster had ended. The common people who had been saved by Ji Xiang were all alive.
Some cried out, their voices mournful.
"We honestly did our jobs and never harmed anyone, why did we suffer such a calamity?"
"The good never receive good rewards."
Countless people wept uncontrollably, their expressions desolate. Many had their homes destroyed, and their life savings had vanished. This negative situation existed in every district of Shuntian. If it were not managed promptly, Shuntian Prefecture would fall into a long period of chaos.
And to the people's powerless cries.
Ji Xiang could only sigh and whisper,
"Because you are kind, you have survived the calamity."
Then, as he walked, he chanted the "Taishang Jiuku Jing" (Scripture of Supreme Salvation).
Ji Xiang utilized the power of the Dharma Realm.
Although the power of the Dharma Realm was depleted with each use, and according to common sense, it should never be wasted on trivial matters like transcending mortals.
"Perhaps by closing my eyes, covering my ears, preserving my strength, and deceiving myself, it is for the sake of saving more people, so all of this should be seen as if it never happened."
"But my conscience cannot bear it. The Dao of Immortality values life, and immeasurable beings are to be saved. This is precisely what those who practice the true Dharma should do."
At Ji Xiang's waist, the Divine Might Dropped Decree gently emitted a faint white light.
"You also think so, that I am right?"
Seeing the Divine Might Token react, Ji Xiang felt a little happy. Although he still couldn't wield this token, its true meaning might not lie in killing enemies or ghosts.
This token was like a silent teacher. If you did bad deeds, it would warn you; if you did good deeds, it would respond with praise.
Thus, a person could rely on this token to practice the Dharma and not fall into the evil path, forever upholding the true Dharma.
"Yes, legend has it that Wang Lingguan followed Celestial Master Sa, seeking to find Celestial Master Sa's wrongdoings. But Celestial Master Sa had no evil deeds throughout his journey, and even Wang Lingguan was subdued and became his disciple."
And Celestial Master Sa's teacher was said to be Lin Ling Su, one of the Ancestors of Divine Heavens. This token might have been left behind by Lin Ling Su...
This thought flashed through his mind for only a moment, and Ji Xiang no longer dwelled on it.
With the power of the Dharma Realm sustaining him, transcending all wandering souls, Ji Xiang's vision changed, and everything around him turned black and white.
Using the spell of Yin merit to aid sentient beings, he guided numerous wandering souls towards reincarnation.
Those countless souls were dazed and confused, but in this black and white world, Ji Xiang appeared, like a bright lamp lit in the eternal darkness.
Ji Xiang heard many voices. Those souls still had obsessions, and they cried with unwillingness. They felt that they should not have died like this; they still had many things they wanted to do but were unable to.
"I'm dead, what about my son?"
"Mother, your son is unfilial..."
"My parents are lost, have you seen them, elder brother?"
A child's soul grabbed Ji Xiang's Daoist robe. In this black and white world, he opened his dull eyes, which had long lost their radiance, and looked lost.
"Father and mother are lost..."
The child's parents might have also died in the Shuntian earthquake, or perhaps they were still stubbornly alive.
There were many children like this in this black and white world.
Ji Xiang touched the child's soul and, at the same time, provided ten directions of protection for the surrounding souls.
"May you be transcended to the Eastern Pure Land of Bliss, and never fall into the path of suffering in hell."
The child seemed to understand what Ji Xiang was doing, smiled brightly at him, and his form gradually transformed into pure energy and disappeared.
From the mysterious void, a voice of thanks could be heard.
At this moment, Ji Xiang felt some gazes, those hidden in the depths of darkness, hidden beneath the nine layers of the earth.
Vaguely, there seemed to be a vast palace, the Wanshou Palace that Zhao Xuanlang had spoken of. The celestial officials stood at the entrance of the palace, as if they could see all the situations in the Yang world through the Yin and Yang realms.
Ji Xiang saw apprehension and resentment in the eyes of these celestial officials.
And at the same time, in this black and white world, someone spoke:
"The way of Heaven diminishes the abundant and replenishes the deficient; the way of man diminishes the deficient to serve the abundant."
"The way of ghosts and spirits is different!"
"It harms the full and blesses the empty!"
In the black and white world, an old man appeared, colored like Ji Xiang.
Old Man Lei Xuan chuckled,
"The second Ascended being in the world. To see two Ascended beings in one day truly... stirs my heart and fills me with excitement."
"Senior brother, can you bestow upon me the Great Dao of Longevity?"