The sky roared with heavenly fire, descending upon the temple. To the ancients, this would have been an ill omen, but for the Silver Bottle Maiden, the power of the Fire God was paramount. This fire could subdue demons and expel devils alike. If she could withstand this divine inferno within the Great Fulu Li Earth, she would break free from the shackles of a mortal deity and ascend to become a celestial god!
"Years of accumulated incense and vows were all for this moment. I never expected it to come so soon. I had intended to gather more foundation, but the divine might of Zhenwu's statue has already manifested, and someone has set a trap for me. Thus, the time has come to take this step!"
She released her divine power and simultaneously began to shed her divine status.
She abandoned her divine statue form, reverting to a solitary wandering ghost. Though she retained her formidable magic, the fall in status and the conversion between Yin and Yang energies caused her immense pain.
Streams of azure and blue ghost fire erupted around her!
"It's here, the Heavenly Fire Tribulation. To descend from a mortal deity to a solitary ghost, and to seek the position of a celestial god—this is an act against heaven, an extremely perilous undertaking. Cultivating in accordance with the heavens presents no difficulties, but attempting to take shortcuts and leapfrog ranks to gain immense power will inevitably attract heavenly tribulation."
"This Heavenly Fire Tribulation ignites from the Yongquan acupoint below, piercing straight through the Níyuán Palace, turning the five viscera to ash, the four limbs to decay, and burning a hundred thousand years of arduous practice into nothingness."
The Silver Bottle Maiden was well-prepared. The inferno that appeared to rage within the temple was, in reality, only these azure and blue ghost fires that posed a threat to her. She began to circulate her incense power. The accumulated incense power of centuries covered her spectral form and soul. In an instant, those azure and blue ghost fires were completely devoured by the incense of the myriad people.
However, before the fire tribulation ceased, ghost fires continued to surge from the deepest recesses of her soul.
"For mortals to tread the path of cultivation is to ignite the vital fire within the body, using this fire to compel the vital metal. Only then can one enter the path of cultivation. Vital fire manifests as Yang, while vital metal corresponds to immortality. This is the initial path to the immortal way."
"But fire, in the Eight Trigrams, is Li. The Li trigram is a Yin trigram... Yang is the Qian Yuan void, Yin is the Kun Yuan form. Those who seek Yin must weigh themselves down and sink, while those who seek Yang must lighten their bodies and ascend."
"Therefore, flames inspire fear in demons, cause mortals to flee in panic, and make ghosts and gods howl, for they permeate Yin and Yang, manifesting in different forms and possessing different powers according to their expression."
The insights gained from her centuries of cultivation had prepared the Silver Bottle Maiden thoroughly. As she suppressed the ghost fires, heavenly fires continued to descend from the Great Fulu Li. Soon, her thoughts reached the Azure Heaven of the Firmament. Among the shining constellations, divine tablets began to respond to her call!
They appeared in the domain of the fire deities!
The first divine tablet manifested in response to the current Heavenly Fire Tribulation—it was the Fire Fiend General among the Eight Fiend Generals of the North!
Legend had it that the Fire Fiend General's camp was located beneath Mount Huagai in the Fengdu Dharma Realm, responsible for burning and killing malevolent spirits escaping from the Fengdu underworld!
The Heavenly Ranks, nineteen levels!
A Heavenly General of the nineteenth rank was considered a master even in Shuntian Prefecture. Upon being summoned, one could immediately gain the combat power of "Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown" and even "Five Qi Returning to the Origin." But the Silver Bottle Maiden gritted her teeth:
"A nineteenth-rank Heavenly General, and a fire god of the underworld at that. This is not strong enough!"
She sought to summon a more powerful divine position. As her thoughts conveyed into Fulu Li, the ghost fires on her body suddenly intensified!
The Heavenly Fire Tribulation suddenly became more violent, beginning to overpower the incense of the myriad people!
This seemed to represent the will of Fulu Li itself...
As if saying...
A solitary wandering ghost from the mortal realm dares to covet the divine positions above the nineteenth rank!
The Silver Bottle Maiden ignored the tribulation fires descending from Fulu Li, her focus solely on stronger divine positions!
With utmost sincerity, she pressed forward with fierce determination!
The ghost fires overwhelmed the incense. Fulu Li looked down upon her with disdain, but not with anger, for all the outcomes were determined by her current actions.
As you sow, so shall you reap.
The Silver Bottle Maiden felt she could barely hold on, yet she still had not utilized the power of Zhenwu's statue. Her resonance with those divine positions had occurred in a very short span of time.
The heavenly fire burned the temple, as if the power of the Dharma Realm had sealed all her eight senses and six perceptions. Even time seemed to slow down in this process. This was the power of Fulu Li; time was meaningless within it. Once trapped, the saying "Seven days in the mountains, a thousand years in the world" would surely come true, and it was no mere empty phrase.
"I must at least see the twelfth-rank Heavenly General before I use the power of Emperor Zhenwu!"
She braved the risk of her soul being scattered by the flames, continuing to concentrate. Her legs and feet were already engulfed by ghost fire. The Heavenly Fire Tribulation was shattering her form and soul, and the incense of the myriad people could no longer hold it back.
The majesty of the higher fire gods was informing her that if she dared to transgress, she would pay a commensurate price.
"I will not be scattered into nothingness. I still have things to do."
"What my father could not accomplish, I will accomplish. The people my father could not protect, I will protect. Once I achieve the status of a celestial god, capable of traversing the highest heavens and the deepest underworlds, I will know where my father truly is in the netherworld!"
The Silver Bottle Maiden's spirit bore the immense pressure. Her soul was on the verge of shattering. The fifteenth-rank Heavenly General was already the limit of her summoning through cultivation, as her true form was merely a solitary wandering ghost. Yet, at this moment, she invoked the vows of the myriad people!
From the incense of the myriad people, countless prayers of the populace ascended. Even if her incense was sparse and scattered, the accumulation of three hundred years, from the Yuan Dynasty to the present, amounted to over ten thousand vows.
The prayers of the myriad people reached the heavens, echoing into the Azure Heaven of the Firmament, reverberating with a profound song. The pressure from the gods indeed lessened considerably, but the vows of the myriad people were also gradually dissipating.
Or rather, they were being dissolved by Fulu Li.
Few things that enter Fulu Li ever return to the mortal world.
"The voices of the myriad people, the vows of the myriad people, the prayers of the myriad people! Oh celestial gods, do you hear them!"
The Silver Bottle Maiden's spirit, following the ascension of the myriad people's vows, continued to break through to a new level within Fulu Li.
Simultaneously, within the Great Fulu Li, a faint dragon's roar seemed to emerge!
The void trembled. The Silver Bottle Maiden grunted, feeling as if a part of her soul had nearly fractured. But at this moment, she saw a new divine position!
Heavenly Rank Fourteen!
Pu Cheng!
"An ancient great god!"
The Silver Bottle Maiden felt an ancient aura that no one had ever summoned before! It almost "assaulted her!"
Pu Cheng, during the Spring and Autumn period, was the auxiliary deity of the fire god Zhurong, worshipped by the people of Yue!
However, with the passage of time and the rise and fall of dynasties, his name had long been forgotten by later generations. Even those who knew of him mostly encountered him once or twice in historical records. As for how to worship him, that knowledge was long lost.
Heavenly Rank Fourteen, an ancient fire god never before summoned.
The Silver Bottle Maiden gritted her teeth.
Normally, this would suffice.
Yes, was it enough?
No, she could still go higher!
Higher!
She still had strength!
The divine position of Pu Cheng brushed past the Silver Bottle Maiden and the vows of the myriad people.
As she surpassed the level of Heavenly Rank Fourteen, a colossal divine power from above struck down from the sky. The divine power was immense, almost scattering the surrounding vows of the myriad people!
With this single blow, the Silver Bottle Maiden suffered severe injuries, her consciousness almost beaten back to its original form. Fortunately, the vows of the myriad people helped her to resist, but the ghost fires on her body also flared up instantly, as if they would consume her waist in the next moment. The incense of the myriad people that had been used to resist the ghost fires was already completely consumed!
The flame of the last wisp of incense still stubbornly resisted within the ghost fire.
"Heavenly Rank Thirteen, Lord Huode Xing!"
The Silver Bottle Maiden's eyes lit up!
However, blocking the path between Heavenly Rank Fourteen and Heavenly Rank Thirteen was not a divine power from a higher deity, but a mysterious... Dragon of Destiny!
The Silver Bottle Maiden could see a vast chasm below Heavenly Rank Thirteen!
"Why is it locked? I can't go up. Why!"
The Silver Bottle Maiden suddenly froze. She watched the unreachable divine position of Lord Huode Xing, and no matter how hard she tried, she could not break through the barrier before her.
"Right... it's the Ming Dynasty's... secret technique... they changed the rules of summoning. Heavenly Rank Thirteen is already a power beyond the Yellow Court realm."
Heavenly Ranks twenty and nineteen correspond to the ninth realm, Five Qi Returning to the Origin. Eighteen and seventeen correspond to the Golden Core Earth Immortal. Sixteen and fifteen correspond to masters of the Nascent Soul.
Heavenly Rank Fourteen corresponds to the Yellow Court realm.
Although the summoned divine position would not immediately grant the corresponding magical power, summoning a Yellow Court divine position would at least grant the magical power of the Golden Core level.
Therefore, the position and title of Heavenly Rank Thirteen was "Universal Celestial Phenomena," corresponding to the Innate realm!
Beyond the Innate realm lay the first step towards true immortality, breaking free from the mortal coil. Thus, the court changed the rules of summoning: any who summoned divine positions in the mortal world could not have their summoning power reach the level of Heavenly Rank Thirteen!
And the court possessed divine positions above Heavenly Rank Thirteen!
Of course, possessing a divine position did not mean the court could use it. Take Doumu Yuanjun, for instance, who was a Heavenly Rank Ten or higher, a truly supreme deity. But in the Forbidden City, her function was merely an artificial firewall.
They were forbidden from summoning these powerful divine positions to prevent their subordinate generals from harboring rebellious thoughts. They would not be used unless absolutely necessary, but in reality, when that absolute necessity arrived, there would be no time to use them.
Furthermore, this Dragon of Destiny would inflict an irresistible heavenly punishment upon those who attempted to summon higher divine positions!
This Dragon of Destiny radiated the light of the sun and moon, illuminating the boundless heavens and earth!
Immortal palaces and divine halls, illusory shadows, appeared vividly before her eyes!
In the next moment, within the depths of those immortal palaces and divine halls, the reflection of a great city appeared—it was the Forbidden City of Shuntian Prefecture.
At this moment, the Silver Bottle Maiden couldn't help but recall two lines of poetry:
The vast Azure Nether is bottomless!
The sun and moon illuminate the golden and silver terraces!
"Not good!"
The Silver Bottle Maiden's consciousness immediately descended from the high heavens. However, the Dragon of Destiny pursued relentlessly. This dragon had three eyes, appearing like three colossal stars!
Simultaneously, within Fulu Li, the sound of zither and lute music suddenly echoed. This was not the musical art of the Ming Dynasty. The artistic form of its performance was something the Silver Bottle Maiden had never heard before!
It was neither the musical art of the Ming, nor the Yuan, nor the Song Dynasty!
This music, while robust, carried a softness. It was a blend of hardness and softness, with effortless control over its ebb and flow. It sounded like a musical piece used for sacrificing to the gods, yet it was vastly different from those used in the Song, Yuan, and Ming dynasties!
The history of this music... was even older!
Was this Dragon of Destiny truly the Dragon of Destiny of the Ming Court!?
The Dragon of Destiny now spewed a vast heavenly fire from its mouth. This was no longer an illusion of Fulu Li!
The fire emanating from the dragon's mouth was anciently known as "Heaven's Yin Fire"!
This was a terrifying power capable of burning souls and spirits to nothingness. The summoner, caught by the Dragon of Destiny, had almost no room for resistance. It was only then that the Silver Bottle Maiden realized that the dragon's roar she had heard upon reaching Heavenly Rank Fourteen was not a sign of good fortune, but a warning from this very entity!
"Great Emperor, aid me!"
The Silver Bottle Maiden immediately utilized the power within Zhenwu's statue. With a turn of her thought, she drove the Zhenwu Incantation to counter the Heaven's Yin Fire!
The Dragon of Destiny opened its great maw, its roar shaking the Azure Heaven of the Firmament. The Zhenwu Incantation instantly vanished under the Heaven's Yin Fire, and the Heaven's Yin Fire in the Dragon of Destiny's mouth had already surrounded the Silver Bottle Maiden!
"Ascending to godhood is truly as difficult as reaching the heavens. I have had little contact with the court for a long time. This time, my efforts have been in vain."
This thought arose in the Silver Bottle Maiden's heart, knowing she could not withstand this blow.
She never expected to die not at the hands of demons, but at the hands of the court's power. This... truly... was it that the Yue family was inherently incompatible with successive dynasties?
The Yin Fire covered the Azure Heaven, and the Silver Bottle Maiden closed her eyes, awaiting death.
Just then, a wisp of incense power permeated the Silver Bottle Maiden's entire body!
The Heaven's Yin Fire burned fiercely. The three star-like colossal eyes of the Dragon of Destiny floated outside, and the Silver Bottle Maiden looked in astonishment at the incense power that appeared on her body. This immense incense power blocked the invasion of the Heaven's Yin Fire, and...
It was even devouring the Heaven's Yin Fire in reverse!
A voice descended from the heavens, or perhaps it emanated from the temple, traveling from the mortal world to Fulu Li, so ethereal and untraceable.
"During the reign of Emperor Wu of Han, on elongated banners, the sun and moon were depicted with the light of the Big Dipper and a flying dragon, symbolizing the three stars of Tianyi, serving as a precursor flag for the worship of Taiyi, known as the Spirit Banner. When praying for military affairs, the Grand Astrologer was ordered to hold the Spirit Banner and point it towards the nation to be conquered."
"Since ancient times, the depiction of the sun and moon flying together with a dragon has symbolized the Son of Heaven after the Han Dynasty. The Son of Heaven's mistakes are like solar and lunar eclipses; the Son of Heaven's virtue and fortune are like the brilliance of the sun and moon; the Son of Heaven being deceived by villains is like the sun and moon being obscured by dark clouds; the Son of Heaven's broadmindedness is as open and forthright as the radiance of the sun and moon filling the heavens and earth."
"This dragon cannot be fought with magical power. Only when the celestial mandate changes and the time for dynastic succession arrives can it be harmed by external forces, and then it will reform during the establishment of the next dynasty."
The Silver Bottle Maiden exclaimed in astonishment, searching for the source of the voice: "Emperor Zhenwu?!"
"For now, consider me Zhenwu."
The voice slowly came from the void, neither hurried nor slow, yet it possessed a power that shook Fulu Li!
An immortal of the Ascension realm!
This aura transcended the mortal world. The Silver Bottle Maiden merely felt it slightly, and her consciousness felt as if it had shattered the mortal world and was roaming beyond the heavens. This power, which defied common sense, was something even the Pure Yang realm cultivators she had encountered in the past did not possess!
And at this moment, the Dragon of Destiny seemed to have become enraged. It was about to unleash another heavenly punishment!
The Heaven's Yin Fire was being brewed again in its mouth, ready to spew forth!
The Silver Bottle Maiden's expression changed slightly, and from the void, the immortal voice spoke again:
"Do not be hasty."
"This fire cannot be ignited!"
At this very moment, behind the Silver Bottle Maiden, a magnificent heavenly gate rose through the clouds and opened with a roar!
A large amount of white divine smoke rushed out from within the gate, colliding with the Heaven's Yin Fire. All the flames were swallowed by the white smoke, and the white smoke, bypassing the blockade of the Dragon of Destiny, flew directly towards the divine position of Heavenly Rank Thirteen!
Instantly, the Silver Bottle Maiden witnessed a scene that shocked her to her core!
First, this white smoke could break through the blockade of the Dragon of Destiny... no, not break through, but bypass it, without interference!
Moreover, as the white smoke passed through the blockade of this Azure Heaven of the Firmament, all the divine tablets from Heavenly Rank Thirteen onwards trembled like thunder and shock, shaking in unison. Following that, with a roar, they all turned, facing the direction from which the white smoke came!
How was this possible!
Yue Yinping cried out that it defied common sense!
Divine positions without consciousness were actually exhibiting "behavior" akin to fluctuations of will due to the arrival of this immortal!
Then... at this very moment.
Could this be considered "The Gathering of All Gods"?!
And the immortal who called himself "White-Faced Zhenwu" let out a hearty laugh:
"Esteemed gods! I have returned!"
"For my sake, please lend Lord Huode Xing to her!"