Wanli twenty-five, the twenty-first day of the sixth month.
For the impoverished populace of the Western City, it was a rare good day.
Doors were opened, whether in the outer or inner city, and for a single golden talisman, one could watch a grand opera for free.
Street vendors, when night fell and lamps were lit, served bowls of meat paste for a mere copper coin.
Candy sellers enticed children, dangling their sugary figures before their eyes, stirring their greed and desire. The children lingered, while their parents pulled them along, cautioning them against frivolous spending.
Earning money was not easy; a year's hard labor yielded only a few taels of sustenance.
Of course, some bought the sugar figures. The children were content, and the adults managed a reluctant smile, bringing joy to the vendors.
A craftsman's father gave a sugar figure to his child, whose hair was styled like Nezha. The child, perched on his father's shoulders, craned his neck, commanding him like a rider on a horse to move closer, towards the Daoist disciples of the Dongyue Temple who were maintaining order.
On this day, a celestial demon awoke in Yuquan, stirring ten directions of divine wrath.
On this day, a sorcerer wreaked havoc in the Northern Xuan Hall, his blood falling like rain, inverting yin and yang.
Yet, these strange occurrences were not unnoticed.
The Embroidered Uniform Guard, having had a quiet morning, suddenly became active again. Large numbers of personnel converged on the Dongyue Temple, bringing Liu Mengyin with them.
“You say the people who came out of Dongyue Temple had no chains around their necks. Isn’t that a good thing?”
“No, Commander, it is not good at all!”
Two Heavenly Gate generals arrived. Luo Sigong was questioning Liu Mengyin from behind when one of the Heavenly Gate generals in front turned back, interrupting Luo Sigong’s question and answering for Liu Mengyin.
“We have already questioned Master Shuizhai and confirmed there is an issue with Dongyue Temple. In this situation, for the people emerging from Dongyue Temple to have no chains around their necks is an abnormality within abnormalities.”
“You might think that the people within Dongyue Temple possess great magical power, thus exempting them from the fate of death. But why is it that even a person of your stature, upon leaving the Imperial City, has chains on their neck as seen by the Korean officials!”
“Is it that your magical power is not high?”
Luo Sigong chuckled dryly, “My magical power is certainly not high. Don’t you all have chains around your necks?”
The Heavenly Gate general shook his head. “That statement is erroneous! You are already one of our Commanders. This divine position reserved for Commanders is not for the weak; it belongs to Yin Jiao, the Heavenly Lord Yin, the chief general of the Heavenly Heart Sect of Daoism! He is ranked twelfth among the minor celestial positions of the Heaven Department, the foremost of the sixty Jiazi Tai Sui deities!”
“When Tai Sui is overhead, fierce spirits and malevolent forces dare not approach!”
“Among the thirty-six Heavenly Generals of the Thunder Department, he ranks among the foremost! He is a descendant of ancient celestial royalty, born under the Big Dipper’s auspicious stars, and has accumulated merit over ten generations of imperial succession, achieving enlightenment in the Golden Elixir era. He commands all forbidden spirits and deities, his might shaking the heavens and earth; he wields supreme divine powers and his essence permeates the cosmos!”
“You have no cultivation, and are merely mortal flesh and blood, thus you cannot utilize his immense divine power and perceive this divine position as ordinary! You must understand that even a Golden Core stage immortal on earth might not be able to summon such a celestial being! However, within our Great Ming, there exists a profound method to summon higher celestial positions across ranks, allowing mortals to wield them!”
“After all, the celestial positions are all designated by the Ming court, but whether one can unleash the full potential of these positions depends on the strength of the person wielding them!”
Luo Sigong was stunned by this explanation, finally realizing how formidable the divine position he had previously held was. The Heavenly Gate general continued to caution him:
“Even a person of your caliber, upon summoning a Heavenly Commander, finds chains around their neck upon leaving the Imperial City! How could this small Dongyue Temple, whose temple keeper is merely at the fourth stage of Fetal Breath, and whose Daoist disciples are as insignificant as ants, have people emerging from it with no chains on their necks?”
Chains dared to be placed even upon the neck of the Tai Sui deity?
At this point, both Luo Sigong and Liu Mengyin knew that Dongyue Temple harbored a grave problem. Fortunately, it was not yet the second watch, and there might still be time to investigate what had occurred within.
However, when the Embroidered Uniform Guard arrived at Dongyue Temple, the temple gates were shrouded in darkness, rendering everything invisible!
The Embroidered Uniform Guard at the entrance had also vanished! The entire Dongyue Temple now resembled the maw of a monstrous beast, poised to devour anything that dared to glimpse its true form!
“Lord Xu! Are you inside? If you’re sleeping, wake up quickly, don’t sleep!”
Luo Sigong shouted from the entrance, but there was no response. He then called out the names of the various deities of the Underworld, but received no reaction!
The two Heavenly Gate generals, without hesitation, decided to forcibly dismantle the temple!
“We have already received permission from His Majesty and the Grand Secretaries. Bring up the Franji cannons and let’s see what happens after a couple of shots!”
“There are likely no living people inside this temple! This black mist must be a Black Scourge! This phenomenon that appeared during the Zhengde and Jiajing eras has indeed remained within Shun Tian and has not disappeared!”
“But why could it deceive our clairvoyant eyes? Why could even eminent monks and Daoist masters not discern the anomaly? What kind of illusion is this?”
The divine generals felt frustrated. Was it possible that their own magical arts needed an update?
As one Heavenly Gate general prepared to deploy the cannons, Luo Sigong hesitated, suggesting that since Old Xu was still sleeping soundly inside, perhaps this method of waking him was too crude.
“Given the precedent of Lord Huo, in these critical times, employing extraordinary measures is permissible!”
“Firearms are the epitome of hardness and yang. Moreover, these firearms have been inscribed with the Five Thunder Heavenly Heart Talisman. If there are any demons or malevolent spirits hidden within Dongyue Temple, then with this shot, they will be revealed in their true form!”
“This is much better than us entering and being ambushed by something!”
Firearms to subdue demons and eliminate evils were a powerful means for ordinary people to slay demons and ghosts.
Ghosts and spirits feared loud noises, copper, fire, light, smoke, and sulfur.
Firearms perfectly met each of these requirements. Furthermore, among the Daoist sects, the Lüshan Sect, one of the Three Mountains Orthodox Methods, specialized in using firearms to subdue demons and eliminate evils!
Within the Zhengyi sect, there were also firearm finger techniques such as the "Chong Jue," which could produce effects similar to firearms.
To enhance the power of firearms, various thunder talismans could be used to "enchant" them, further amplifying the efficacy of firearms that already held a natural advantage against demons and spirits!
The highest level of talismans for enhancing firearms was the "Great Sage of Tiangang's" "Great Spell of the Northern Dipper"!
The Franji cannons were quickly brought forth and made ready. With a thunderous roar, the firearms unleashed a dazzling brilliance!
The temple gates of Dongyue Temple exploded, the massive portal being torn apart. The darkness within surged, seemingly about to spill outwards. The second round of artillery was already in position, followed by another volley!
The Embroidered Uniform Guard brought up the cannons and unleashed a barrage upon Dongyue Temple. This immense display terrified many citizens in the Eastern District, turning their faces ashen.
After the second volley, the darkness at the temple entrance truly receded, a large breach opened by the bombardment. The numerous divine generals could now see the situation within: countless statues lay on the ground, shattered into dust. From within these statues flowed blood and bone, and their forms were vaguely recognizable…
“It’s the faces of those Daoist disciples from earlier… This…”
Luo Sigong felt his hair stand on end, his body trembling. He then remembered that he was no longer a mere mortal, but a divine being, and his chest gradually puffed out.
“Those Daoist disciples were animated from statues, using a bizarre Daoist art that merged the statues with human flesh. The statues were the people, their three souls and seven spirits guided by the consciousness of the statues. By day they were people, and by night they were statues, hence no anomaly was detected.”
“These people might have been human before, but now they are nothing but a pile of flesh and blood, vengeful spirits!”