Inside the divine tablet, sensing the appearance of this black-robed emperor, it gradually emitted a glow that was reflected in Ji Xiang’s eyes.
[Northern Yin Fengdu Great Emperor: The ancestor of all ghosts and gods in the world, ruling Mount Luofeng, replaced every three thousand years.]
However, the text provided by the divine tablet was not extensive at this moment, as the image was still changing, wandering towards an even more unfathomable era.
“Is the Fengdu Great Emperor the origin of the Heavenly Venerables of the ghost realms? Or one of the original images of the Heavenly Venerable of Vast Salvation of the Drowned? Its birth era is approximately from the Wei-Jin to the Northern and Southern Dynasties…”
Many medieval deities in Taoism were born during this period, with the earliest ones originating from the late Han Dynasty.
A giant star suddenly manifested on the forehead of the black-robed emperor.
[Xuanming Star God: Xuanming Star, the wanderer of heaven, in charge of punishing rebellion, overseeing all ghosts and gods in the Nine Heavens, leading the Three Officials of the Northern Emperor, and supervising all beings below, punishing rebels and disloyal subjects; all that is inauspicious and chaotic falls under his jurisdiction.]
As the text appeared within his inner vision, three slightly smaller, blurry black figures appeared around this emperor. Within each shadow were three columns of ancient script, representing their titles: “Heavenly Official Great Emperor,” “Earthly Official Great Emperor,” and “Water Official Great Emperor.”
This scene also touched upon Ji Xiang’s blind spot. Although Ji Xiang had read many Taoist scriptures, the legends of some deities from ancient and medieval times had long been lost in the current Taoist inheritance. The fact that the Xuanming Star God restrained the Three Officials of Heaven, Earth, and Water was something Ji Xiang had not known.
Continuing to shift forward from the mythological image of the early Southern Dynasties, the black attire became slightly lighter, and surrounding currents of water and vast waves appeared.
[Taiyin Water Emperor Northern Yin Heavenly Lord: Ruler of the Great Cave Yin Jing Heavenly Kingdom, controlling the five constellations in the sky, leading the nine commands of officials below, the Lords of the Five Sacred Mountains, the officials of the twenty-four regions, the officials of the twenty-four yang regions, the river and sea scribes, the rulers of hills and streams, and the thirty-six hells on the left and right.]
Boom! The eyes of this Emperor shone with divine light, his aura majestic. In this underworld, a vast starry sky manifested, with the five constellations of the heavens encircling him, and surging waves below. Even the divine position of the Five Sacred Mountains on Ji Xiang’s body responded!
This deity governed the five constellations of the heavens and the five sacred mountains of the earth!
However, the vast aura gradually receded, and the stars and waves gradually disappeared, replaced by the sound of magnificent and melodious musical instruments. The black attire began to show streaks of red, like blood or fire.
Tracing back upwards from the Southern Dynasties, reaching the Wei-Jin as the peak of the Dao, and then moving further back, a majestic wind appeared around him. The shadow of Taoism gradually declined, while the aura of Confucianism came from the ancient era. A rumbling sound echoed from the heavens, and people’s spirits heard the sound of thunder and lightning.
Just as the shadow behind the Goddess of Bixia transformed into the ancient deities Tianqi Shen and Guibo, the image of the Heavenly Venerable of Vast Salvation of the Drowned on Ji Xiang’s body also changed, splitting into two.
One on the left, still transforming:
[Northern Black Emperor Five Spirits Xuan Lao Five Qi Heavenly Lord: Wearing a Xuanjing Jade Crown, clad in Xuan Yu flying robes, riding a black dragon, commanding fifty thousand heavenly soldiers, guiding the vital energies of the Five Emperors above, rescuing the multitude of living beings below, protecting the universe from collapse, and ensuring the eternal peace of all life.]
This image had traced back to the Five Directional Old Emperors of early Taoism.
The other was what the gilded bamboo slip was doing at this moment. Using the technique of heavenly-human induction, it summoned one of the earliest root images of the Heavenly Venerable of Vast Salvation of the Drowned.
Thus, black and red patterns intertwined, eternal coldness came from the void, the stars in the sky reappeared, and the rain and golden light filled the underworld.
[Black Emperor Zhi Guang Ji (Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang): One of the Five Emperors of Confucianism and Taoism, the Northern Emperor, assisted by Tai Yi, whose essence is Xuanwu, in charge of the world’s winter, water virtue, and the netherworld.]
The Five Colored Emperors of the Han Dynasty, assisted by the Heavenly Emperor!
Two Black Emperors, one of Taoism and one of Confucianism; one governed the vital energies of all heavens, the other governed the beings of the north.
As the images of the two Emperors manifested, the gilded bamboo slip completed its mission. The ritual of heavenly-human induction concluded, as the divine image belonging to the Han Dynasty era was reawakened and received!
But for Ji Xiang, the transformation had not yet ended. Within his body, the Nine Nether Divine Ability obtained from the depths of the Crow’s Cry Nation, used to restrain the Yin Court, was still stirring. The power of this divine ability spread outwards, and the one reacting to it was not the Confucian Black Emperor, but the Taoist Black Emperor Heavenly Lord.
Its image changed instantly!
At this moment, the various images that had appeared earlier separated from the Black Emperor Heavenly Lord. At this time, including the Black Emperor Heavenly Lord, the Fengdu Great Emperor, the Xuanming Star God, and the Taiyin Water Emperor, their images all rushed into Ji Xiang’s body in an instant, devoured by that divine ability!
It was reclaiming these past images, seemingly to complete its own power. This greatly surprised Ji Xiang. This divine ability came from the Heavenly Venerable of Nine Nether Sin Removal, but the Heavenly Venerable of Nine Nether Sin Removal had fallen into the Crow’s Cry Nation, and no one could obtain it.
Could this divine ability not only be a marvelous method to suppress the Yin Court, but also a “bait” thrown out by the Heavenly Venerable of Nine Nether in an attempt to escape the Crow’s Cry Nation?
The reason for its agitation towards the power of the Han Dynasty, could it be that the root image of the Heavenly Venerable of Nine Nether Sin Removal was the Black Emperor Wu Lao Jun?
“Before the Han Dynasty, there seemed to be multiple rulers of the underworld, with Guibo being one of them… the Black Emperor was also one.”
“Or, what the Heavenly Venerable of Nine Nether Sin Removal reclaimed was merely the ‘authority over the netherworld’ from these ancient gods?”
As Ji Xiang spoke, his gaze involuntarily turned to Goddess Bixia, who was also receiving the inheritance of heavenly-human induction nearby. He thought that this had made her a bit stronger, but he didn’t know if her current abilities would be enough to deal with those “Chaos Immortals.”
“What about the Kunlun Path?”
Ji Xiang looked around. According to the bamboo slip, after obtaining the method of heavenly-human induction, entering this realm allowed one to commune with the heavens. Only by holding the bamboo slip could one enter the Kunlun Path to offer sacrifices to the Heavenly Emperor. Only by sacrificing to the Heavenly Emperor could one receive the “Blessing from the Heavens.”
However, immediately after, the gilded bamboo slip, which was about to disappear, suddenly let out a resounding shout:
“Those who are not of the Liu clan shall not be kings! Those who are not of the Liu clan and become kings shall be attacked by all under heaven!”
In his shock, Ji Xiang’s vision suddenly changed. The gilded bamboo slip disappeared, and Ji Xiang was pulled into another Han Dynasty Dharma realm!
Here, the mountains and rivers were majestic, the sky was vast, and one could not see the sun, moon, or stars. Yet, the day was eternally bright, and not a blade of grass grew on the ground. A magnificent high platform seemed to be drawing the power of the heavens, upon which stood a group of bronze statues.
This was not the Bolian Terrace, but the—
Platform of Divine Manifestation!
This platform was built by Emperor Wu, used for incense offerings to immortals!
This was not the Kunlun Path!
“This is bad!”
Who would have thought of such a situation? It had not been foreseen initially. It made sense; how could someone not of the Liu clan carry a letter to offer sacrifices to the Heavenly Emperor? If someone claiming to be a descendant of the Han Dynasty appeared, but was not of the Liu clan, was this still the inheritance of the Han Dynasty!
Although a Han person, a Han immortal, a Han minister, one could not go to the Kunlun Path to offer sacrifices to the Heavenly Emperor, because you were not the “Han Emperor”!
As Ji Xiang entered, flames began to ignite on the Platform of Divine Manifestation, and the surrounding bronze statues vibrated. Thick smoke spewed from their seven orifices, gradually transforming into various ancient immortal figures.
[Dharma Realm of the Platform of Divine Manifestation: A special Dharma realm left by Emperor Wu of Han, used to inherit/annihilate—inheritors/non-inheritors!]
[Unity of Man and God: Transform into a god and reside permanently in the human world. This is not a technique of sorcerers or spirits. Once united, one permanently occupies a celestial divine position, can live forever, and have a lifespan equal to heaven and earth!]
[Pre-Qin Immortal Cultivators (Predecessor of Taoism) – Immortal Souls: The souls of immortal cultivators left by pre-Qin immortal cultivators, obeying the command of Emperor Wu of Han, sealed themselves for eternity before the Platform of Divine Manifestation, protecting the continuous inheritance and killing those who are not of the Liu clan and become kings!]
[In the Qin and Han Dynasties, there was no concept of Earthly Immortals. There were only those who studied the art of immortality, flying to the heavens above, hiding in the netherworld below, traveling east to the vast seas, and residing west in Kunlun. They transformed unpredictably using Mozi’s techniques, gathered the knowledge of various schools, and their magical powers and divine abilities were unrelated to the Golden Elixir Great Dao. They did not follow the path of Taiyi Da Luo, but practiced the method of “Ancient True Cultivation,” which was—the Sitting and Forgetting Immortal.]
In addition to these hints, Ji Xiang could also see the Han Dynasty divine positions possessed by these immortal souls.
Sun, moon, stars, mountains, rivers, plants, trees, spirits of rivers and seas—each was a deity worshipped by the Han Dynasty state!
“In other words, if one were of the Liu clan and became king, they would receive their loyalty… thus ensuring the continuation of the Great Han’s inheritance.”
“And those who are not of the Liu clan and become kings…”
Ji Xiang did not finish his sentence because the immortal souls had already ascended to the sky, each radiating a potent and genuine immortal aura!