The human world, in the short span of a few years since the last ascension of Celestial Master Zhang, had witnessed another individual ascend to immortality. The tremors in the sky spread from Shangqing in all directions, spanning thousands of miles. Even in distant places like Qiantang, crowds gathered to witness the celestial anomaly.
The common folk were unaware of what was happening. Some prostrated themselves before the heavens, believing it to be the wrath of some mountain spirit. Others, feigning deep knowledge, spoke carelessly of omens of good fortune or disaster recorded in ancient texts. When their interpretations differed and neither side could convince the other, it inevitably led to physical confrontations among scholars, a display of the pre-Qin Confucian spirit that had rarely been seen since the Song Dynasty. It seemed that the civility and politeness advocated by many great scholars had been cast aside.
In the mountains and wilds, the Ten Directions Divine Fiends were already in a state of alarm. Normally hidden from the world and rarely stirred, they only manifested when beings at the Earth Immortal level released their aura. But this time, divine fiends appeared frequently across thousands of miles of the human realm, causing great unrest in many places.
As for the mountain goblins and wild gods, the common folk, not understanding what was happening, believed they were causing trouble. They began to worship them everywhere, with some even offering sacrifices. However, these beings knew full well what was occurring. Or rather, they didn't know, but they certainly dared not accept these offerings, as they were not concerned with such things at the moment.
The sky tilted, a sign of a great catastrophe that had never been witnessed before. In every human village and town, there was always someone who was knowledgeable, had lived a long life, and was highly respected. Similarly, within the factions of mountain spirits and monsters, there were such beings.
"This should be... someone ascending to immortality."
In a wild mountain area, an old demon recognized the situation. After all, the Ming Dynasty had only been established for two hundred years. Tracing back to the early Yuan Dynasty, although the human world was no longer suitable for immortals to linger for long, there were still many old demons who had survived from that era and had witnessed the might of celestial beings.
What could cause such immense anomalies in this world and lead to the frequent appearance of divine fiends in the human realm, if not a true immortal? And this was no mere residual immortal or banished immortal, but a true, flawless Celestial Immortal!
The younger demons had never witnessed such a spectacle. Since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, there had been no immortals!
This tremor was not only spreading horizontally but also vertically.
Following the Grand Canal northward, the celestial tremors, though not reaching the capital, had already affected Mount Tai. Bi Xia Yuan Jun naturally sensed this strange and immense power. Her first thought was that Ji Xiang was ascending to immortality!
She was already on the verge of ascension, and she understood Ji Xiang's situation the best! Moreover, after they had both received the residual blessings of the Han Dynasty, their cultivation had greatly advanced. At this moment, a surge of energy rushed to her heart!
The entire Mount Tai rumbled violently!
"Congratulations to the North Star!"
Her voice was vast. Although it could not reach thousands of miles away, at least the gods, demons, and ghosts in the mountains near Mount Tai, as well as fox spirits, could all hear her. Having lived on Mount Tai for years and being influenced by Bi Xia Yuan Jun, they were naturally familiar with the True Lord of the North Star, the head of the Daoist Registry.
"It's the True Lord of the North Star who has become an immortal!"
"Is it that head of the Daoist Registry? He seemed to have visited here last time, but unfortunately, we didn't get to see him. He's like a dragon that shows its head but not its tail."
The situation below Mount Tai could not be explained to these little fox spirits.
The fox spirits, however, were not concerned with that. Their first reaction was that the imperial court was becoming more powerful. Coupled with the issuance of the Investiture of the Gods decree, a large number of solitary souls, ghosts, and monsters in the mountains and wilds had been recruited. Their future, as fox spirits, might be bright and vast.
After all, they could only serve as subordinates to Mount Tai, being assigned to village-level positions as Earth Gods. Now, these Earth God positions were occupied by those solitary souls, ghosts, and impostor Guandis. As for them, the fox spirits who had graduated from the orthodox immortal cultivation curriculum, those with great ability could work for Mount Tai in demolition and relocation, serving under the Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox as Sun and Moon Golden Generals. And those with less ability... if the positions of Earth Gods were all taken, at the very least, they could manage to become a minor City God at the county level.
However, what surprised them even more was that another aura rose from Mount Tai!
"The Yuan Jun is also ascending to immortality?!"
The fox spirits, dressed in scholar's robes but appearing as fair-skinned children when transformed, all looked up, hands clasped behind their backs, as if gazing blankly at the peak of Mount Tai.
This change, the change in Mount Tai, could also be sensed by Celestial Master Zhang in the capital. After all, the fortune of Mount Tai was directly connected to the capital. How could the one suppressing Mount Tai ascending to immortality go unnoticed?
However, Celestial Master Zhang frowned upon sensing the aura of ascension emanating from Mount Tai.
He had been injured by that strange Heavenly Heart Realm, leaving him greatly weakened. Was Bi Xia Yuan Jun forcing her way through at this critical juncture to compensate for her lack of combat power?
Her accumulated pure Yang energy was sufficient, but it might not be enough to overcome the tribulation of ascension!
"Bi Xia Yuan Jun! If no one takes over the task of suppressing Mount Tai, and you fail to ascend, it will be a great loss to the nation! Although your Yang energy accumulation is sufficient, you cannot yet ascend by the method of severing the three corpses! You must not ascend now!"
Celestial Master Zhang, enduring his pain, transmitted the message to Bi Xia Yuan Jun. However, the reply from Mount Tai was:
The human world already had a second immortal ascending. Even if she died now, Mount Tai would not need to worry about losing control. Moreover, she had already obtained the inheritance of the Old Han, and her strength had greatly improved. Taking advantage of the momentum of that immortal's ascension, she was bound to soar to the heavens. She requested the court's approval.
That was inevitable. For Bi Xia Yuan Jun, the path to ascension was paved; only a catalyst was needed.
Furthermore, with the divine forms of Tian Qi and Gui Bo, she would hardly need to obtain an "immortal form" during the demonic trial. She could directly appear in the world with the images of these two ancient Han Dynasty gods.
The second immortal ascending?
Celestial Master Zhang was only stunned for a moment, even omitting Bi Xia Yuan Jun's later mention of the "Old Han inheritance." Upon learning that someone had ascended, his expression changed drastically.
He was overjoyed!
"Has Senior Brother recovered his strength and regained his immortal position?"
"What kind of anomaly is it?"
He quickly responded. When he ascended at Longhu Mountain, the anomalies that appeared on Celestial Master Zhang were not particularly obvious, only causing the clouds above Longhu Mountain to churn for three days. This was already a high level of prestige compared to a certain female immortal who had transformed and departed in the past, but it was still far from the two old immortals who had destroyed a hundred-mile mountain range and ignited a thousand miles of green smoke.
However, he was in a hurry to rush to Shuntian to help at the time and did not pay attention to his own anomalies.
The power of the anomalies could also reflect the strength of this immortal. The human world was currently lacking great immortals. If the court could produce a great immortal who shook the world, it would provide more confidence in exerting pressure on the outside world in the future.
"Heavenly tremors! At least tremors spanning a thousand miles!"
"Heavenly tremors?"
Celestial Master Zhang was stunned, finding it difficult to imagine what kind of scene this was. Bi Xia Yuan Jun, on the other hand, knew that Celestial Master Zhang might not be clear. Therefore, she described in detail the tilting of the sky to the northwest, the collapsing clouds like mountains, and the shaking of the heavens like the earth. Mount Tai saw it clearly, but the capital could not, and there was still a significant gap.
Celestial Master Zhang began to tremble, trembling with shock. He then asked Bi Xia Yuan Jun:
"That's not right! Although those thousand-mile heavenly tremors were awe-inspiring, you were not by the side of the ascending person. How could you have 'ascended with your chickens and dogs'?"
Although ascension had great tribulations, and even interference during the demonic trial could lead to very serious consequences, as long as one touched the aura of an immortal after ascension, it would be of great help in ascending to the immortal position.
The King of Huainan was a participant in the event of "one person attaining the Dao, their chickens and dogs ascend to heaven." Even the dregs of the immortal pills eaten by the chickens and dogs in his household could lead to great progress in cultivation and ascend to heaven with the immortal. Not to mention Bi Xia Yuan Jun, who could already ascend to immortality and was only waiting to ascend by the "method of severing the three corpses" with her powerful pure Yang.
This was not "ascended with chickens and dogs," but "a dragon trapped ascending to heaven!"
"I was indeed not by his side, but I had a feeling... if I don't ascend now, it will be difficult later!"
This was a premonition. At the immortal level, premonitions were very accurate, guiding the path to ascension. After all, opportunities only came once; if missed, one never knew when they would come again!
After Bi Xia Yuan Jun finished speaking, she no longer waited for Celestial Master Zhang's response. An immortal pillar had already risen from her side, and she had extracted three phantom images from within her body!
She began to sever the three corpses!
As soon as the three corpses appeared, they immediately wanted to ascend to heaven to report misfortunes to Bi Xia Yuan Jun. But immediately afterward, demonic energy descended. This was the most dangerous time for those severing the three corpses. Generally, after severing the three corpse gods, one would ascend to heaven with Yang energy, possessing an immortal body.
But this time, it was within the demonic trial!
The three corpse gods often spoke evil, corrupting the minds of people, and were most terrifying in the demonic trial. But if the three corpses were severed in this trial, what was obtained would not be the ordinary immortal body!
It would be an "immortal and indestructible body"!
"Bi Xia! Wait!"
Celestial Master Zhang was greatly alarmed and immediately tried to stop her, but it was too late. He quickly sensed the situation of the demonic trial.
Generally, those who chose the path of severing the three corpses would be descended upon by the Scarlet Heavenly Demon King or the Yellow Heavenly Demon King, as it was related to the "body," so these two would descend.
"Huh?!"
Celestial Master Zhang sensed it and was suddenly greatly alarmed!
There was no aura of a demon king?!
Where did the demon king go!
At the peak of Mount Tai, an immortal pillar pierced through the demonic heavens. There was no sign of a demon king, only a Heavenly Demon Lord appeared. After glancing at the three corpse gods, he was dispersed by the immortal energy and could no longer gather.
The demonic trial collapsed violently. Above Mount Tai, someone ascended to immortality. Within three hundred miles, the universe was suddenly filled with wind and rain, lightning, and thunder!