Rumbling! The sounds of all things vanished in an instant, followed by a tremendous roar! The entire Forbidden City crumbled in moments, but the dust and rubble did not fall into the earth; instead, they floated high into the azure sky!
"The Forbidden City is flying!"
The Hall of Longevity did not collapse. Due to the presence of the True Martial statue and the token of Emperor Gouchen, the palace was preserved, but other halls were not so fortunate. Emperor Wanli pushed open the great door, watching the world below shrink and the imperial palace shatter completely. He was driven to madness!
How long had it been since the Three Great Halls were burned? Not even three months!
And now, the entire Forbidden City had collapsed!
Hu Long exclaimed in surprise, "I have indeed heard of ascension during broad daylight, where the surrounding landscape is completely altered due to the immense power involved, making it difficult to control."
Master Zhang shook his head, "This is true for those who achieve immortality through sheer power. However, there are various methods of becoming an immortal. While thirteen hundred virtues are a necessary condition, others vary. Those who achieve it through merit, elixirs, or by faking their death do not cause such widespread destruction."
"But the Forbidden City is the capital of our dynasty, protected by the nation's mightiest prestige. How could it be crushed by the oppression of the Heavenly Dao in an instant?"
Master Zhang looked at the swirling five-colored qi with dragon patterns. This qi still floated within the hall, confirming that the current situation was caused by it.
"Yang Shen appears!"
Master Zhang did not know what would happen next, and he was even more concerned that the rubble would rain down from the sky. Such a massive quantity would inevitably cause immense destruction to Shuntian Prefecture. Therefore, he manifested his Yang Shen in advance to deal with any potential catastrophic accidents, filling the sky with one hundred twenty-nine thousand six hundred Yang Shen!
Whoosh!
The ruins and rubble of the Forbidden City floated higher and higher, held aloft by invisible forces, not daring to fall. Master Zhang looked at the sky and exclaimed in surprise:
"There is no fierce wind howling here?"
At a thousand zhang high, fierce winds shake the clouds, the sky is filled with frequent winds and thunder, rain and snow alternate, and celestial phenomena change in myriad ways. However, the Forbidden City was now floating at a height exceeding a thousand zhang, the earth already blurry, yet no fierce wind appeared. The heavens and earth were terrifyingly quiet, as if one had entered another realm!
The radiance began to fade, becoming dim. Master Zhang was greatly perplexed!
This was not a normal phenomenon. A thousand zhang high was an unreachable altitude for mortals, but for powerful cultivators, it was merely the lower stratum of the celestial domain where they usually operated. The divine beings that mortals imagined soaring through the clouds, including the Thunder God and Goddess, and the ten thousand heavenly soldiers, all appeared in this thousand-zhang high sky.
With successful cultivation, one could reach this place, but it would still be dazzlingly bright, never becoming so dim.
A vast power descended from the unseen, and everyone's eyes began to darken, falling into blindness. Only Master Zhang and Emperor Wanli could still see some scenery. This greatly surprised Master Zhang, as Emperor Wanli, a mere novice, was somehow able to avoid falling into this eerie darkness.
However, since they could not see, they would not use their eyes.
Master Zhang's eyebrows moved, transforming into eyes. This startled Emperor Wanli, "You demon!"
"Your Majesty, do not be alarmed! It is still your old Daoist! This is the True Yang Divine Eye, a type of Dharma Eye. Two divine lights burst forth from the Xuan Guan in the ancestral aperture of the brow, replacing one's own eyes. At this moment, it can penetrate all unseen things, break all illusions, and see the so-called 'True Yang Scenery.' Further progress leads to the 'Radiant Image.'"
The Celestial Master quickly explained, and by reflecting the divine eye in all directions, a ray of external light surged forth. A tremendous imprint of power caused blood to gush violently from the Celestial Master's seven orifices!
"This is! This is actually the power of the Heavenly Dao! Wan... Do not face the power of the Heavenly Dao directly! Your Majesty, retreat quickly!"
Master Zhang was instantly burned by the power of the Heavenly Dao. This close proximity to the Great Dao of the Dynasty, the object of contention since ancient times, was before Emperor Wanli's eyes. He was both shocked and bewildered, completely failing to understand what Master Zhang was saying.
"What the hell is this!"
In any case, he picked up the Jing Zhen Divine Sword. When in doubt, just swing it.
"The Heavenly Dao... is the supreme rule governing the operation of this world! Birth and death, good and evil, wind and frost, rain and snow, thunder and fire, all the celestial realms, incense and wishes, the myriad phenomena, all are manifestations of the Heavenly Dao's power."
"After ascension, in the Inner Mountains and Rivers, it is said that there are Taiyi and Daluo attainments. Their essence is to imitate parts of the Heavenly Dao's power. Those who comprehend Taiyi gain heavenly opportunities, and those who comprehend Daluo gain the Dao fruit. Attaining either allows one to prove the Heavenly Heart."
Master Zhang suppressed the power of the Heavenly Dao within his body, feeling as if his internal organs were placed on a flame, his breathing and blood boiling hot. His flesh and blood were about to turn into pus, and he suffered widespread burns.
The foremost immortal in the Outer Mountains and Rivers, merely by a glance, was harmed by the power of the Heavenly Dao!
"The Way of Heaven reduces the surplus and supplements the deficiency!"
Master Zhang coughed up blood violently, his internal organs already destroyed.
Emperor Wanli did not understand what this meant; he knew nothing of cultivation. Hu Long closed his eyes, sweat beading on his forehead, shielding Emperor Wanli as he retreated, and promptly explained:
"The laws of the universe balance all things. Too high a mountain will collapse, and too deep a valley will be filled. Water flows from high places to low places, and the water level in low places rises accordingly. Strong scents diffuse to weaker areas, thus making the weaker areas' scents stronger. This is the Way of Heaven!"
"The Celestial Master is too powerful, so he was harmed by the Heavenly Dao, which sought to diminish his strength to supplement deficient areas!"
Emperor Wanli immediately roared, "What kind of logic is this! We have so few experts at the immortal level in the Outer Mountains and Rivers, and you want to diminish them!?"
These words were spoken carelessly but heard with great significance.
Although Master Zhang was in pain, he suddenly realized something, and his fear turned into shock!
"The Dao of the Dynasty... through decrees and recalls, it either diminishes or perfects the cultivator's own power. The Heavenly Dao has suddenly appeared, seemingly due to the national destiny of the previous Yuan dynasty. Although it has not descended, yet..."
"There will eventually be a moment of transformation from 'Heavenly Dao' to 'Human Dao'!"
"The Way of Man reduces the deficient and supplements the surplus!"
The beam of light from the Heavenly Dao struck!
It passed through Master Zhang, further damaging him, then damaged Hu Long, and finally struck Emperor Wanli directly!
...
In the Inner Mountains and Rivers, the heavens and earth rumbled, all things disintegrated and shook, earth dragons turned over, water dragons rose to land, stars shifted, and the three great deadly forces appeared simultaneously!
Everything turned upside down in an instant, causing wails and screams throughout the Ten Continents and Three Paths!
"Hahaha! It has finally appeared! The opportunity for the Heavenly Dao to transform into the Human Dao!"
Emperor Jiajing stood on a mountain peak, sensing the power of the dynasty. His injuries were rapidly healing, and before this, he had already completely refined the divine position of Supreme Old Lord!
"The person possessing heavenly will has appeared as a medium, the divine artifacts lost from the Hongwu era have returned to the Dharma Realm of the Southern Forbidden City, and the essence of the northern Yuan dynasty's national destiny has been slain. The Forbidden City has been elevated to the sole Dharma Realm of the mortal world, used to bear the mutual transformation between the Heavenly Dao and the Human Dao!"
"That is why I say, it does not matter who the emperor of this Ming Dynasty is! If Wanli dies, there will be others. As long as someone with the Hongwu bloodline lives, this self-sealed Ming Dynasty's Zhu Tian will inevitably have a chance to break free from its shackles!"
To prevent the Inner Mountains and Rivers from controlling them again, they chose to seal themselves, attempting to create the first existence to touch the Heavenly Dao, and that too a 'True Realm of Heavenly Dao.' The final result of impacting the perfect Heavenly Dao with an incomplete Human Dao was bound to fail!
They thought that by obtaining the incomplete Human Dao Dharma Realm of the Tang Dynasty, they could perfect it. Little did they know that the Yuan Dynasty had already done something similar, transforming into a monster of the Heavenly Dao, ultimately leading to the annihilation and destruction of their national destiny and all gods!
Emperor Jiajing sighed with emotion.
The divine position of Supreme Old Lord would play a significant role in the upcoming events!
There are still twenty years!
"During the impending period of celestial-human transition, a large amount of external destiny is needed as fuel to burn! Demons, monsters, ghosts, and specters, those not favored by heaven and earth, are destined to become ashes burned in the descent of the Human Dao!"
Emperor Jiajing rejoiced at this. However, in the Inner Mountains and Rivers, across the Ten Continents and Three Islands, and within the sixteen Heavenly Palaces, countless ascendant immortals who were in seclusion contemplating "Taiyi" and "Daluo" were now bleeding from their seven orifices, their Dao hearts shattered, emitting tragic howls!
Their cultivation was destroyed, and a large number of immortals were demoted to loose immortals!
The Heavenly Heart realm cultivators in the Inner Mountains and Rivers also wore solemn expressions.
In the Changsheng Heavenly Palace, Sun En, a minor practitioner of the Heavenly Heart realm and the Palace Lord of Changsheng, trembled violently, causing unease in the two peak ascendant immortals beside him.
"How could this be!"
"For us, the unification of the Outer and Inner Mountains and Rivers is an unprecedented great calamity!"
In the Jinglun Heavenly Palace, Kou Qianzhi, a great practitioner of the Heavenly Heart realm and the True Monarch of Taiping, stroked his beard. Although his expression was solemn, he was not overly panicked.
"It's just a tribulation, nothing to be alarmed about. The Inner Mountains and Rivers have no tribulations, so facing the might of the Heavenly Dao directly makes you all so fearful?"
"If some immortals are demoted, naturally some will be promoted. Why be so afraid? This is actually the true path of the Heavenly Dao opening for us."
Disciples and immortals in the Heavenly Palace asked their Palace Lord for clarification.
Those who comprehended Taiyi heavenly opportunities and Daluo Dao fruits all fell to become loose immortals, with no possibility of further progress. Why did the Palace Lord say that the path of the Heavenly Dao was opening here?
Did the heavenly path mean to extinguish their future?
"Foolish."
The True Monarch of Taiping, Kou Qianzhi, cursed with a laugh, "The celestial-human transition is happening, the Great Dao of the Dynasty has appeared. Although it will not descend, this uncontrolled, self-sealed Ming Dynasty could not suppress its curiosity and finally touched the distant Heavenly Dao."
"The future will not be too dire."
"You only know of the failure to comprehend Taiyi and Daluo, but you do not know that there is a better path than Taiyi and Daluo!"
"However, entering the mortal world carries the peril of death. Only after overcoming it can we discuss the future."
Kou Qianzhi did not say some things.
But all the Heavenly Heart realm cultivators knew.
The Inner Mountains and Rivers have Dharma but no Dao, while the Outer Mountains and Rivers have Dao but are poor in Dharma.
However, since the Inner Mountains and Rivers have no Dao, how did the Heavenly Heart realm cultivators who could touch the rules of the Heavenly Dao come into being?
The so-called Taiyi, Daluo, even Heavenly Heart, Hunyuan, and perhaps even the existence of the Inner Mountains and Rivers, might all be false realms.
If his guess was correct.
With the unification of the Outer and Inner Mountains and Rivers, the gates of the Heavenly Dao would open wide, causing immortals to be demoted. And amidst this, the immortals of the Outer Mountains and Rivers would likely produce true figures who valued "Dao" over "Dharma" in their cultivation!
Who could become the first "True Realm of Heavenly Dao"!
Then they could contend for the supreme three realms!