The chapter of subduing demons (Second Tier): Kill ten demon beasts of Yellow Court or higher to cultivate to the Third Tier!
Your perception of the changes in opportunities between heaven and earth has become more acute.
The chapter of subduing demons (Second Tier): You can use the Heavenly Demon Codex!
Heavenly Demon Codex: When encountering any demon, ghost, or monster that does not belong to the ninety-six outer paths or the one hundred and eighty demon categories, by subduing the opponent, record them in the Heavenly Demon Codex.
When a new demon is subdued and entered into the Heavenly Demon Codex, all demon beasts in the world, and all cultivators above the Innate realm, will know the demon's name and how to deal with it!
If the subdued demon's strength at birth already surpasses the Innate realm, then only those in the Pure Yang realm and above, or even Immortals, will know its name and the corresponding method of subduing it.
When a new demon enters the Heavenly Demon Codex, your oppressive aura towards all known demon beasts and monsters will double. Demon beasts and monsters will instinctively fear you, and this fear will prevent them from concentrating their spirits.
In Ji Xiang's hand, demonic energy condensed, forming a phantom black-skinned book. With a rustle, it opened, recording the names and subduing methods of all known demon categories in the world, totaling one hundred and eighty!
Furthermore, after the one hundred and eighty categories, two more types of demon categories appeared!
Shaping Ghost, Trial Demon!
Shaping Ghost: The 181st category of demon. This ghost's past life is unknown. This ghost gathers qi to form a shape. It appears without an outer form and can refine the human form and spirit until it replaces the flesh and bones... Subduing method: suppress with the eyes of the deceased... bombard with lightning techniques... use the spells of Wang Lingguan...
Trial Demon: The 182nd category of demon. This demon's past life is unknown. This demon can impersonate trial demons, giving cultivators false trials, causing them to abandon the Heavenly Dao and fall into becoming demons, ghosts, and spirits... Subduing method: expel with a true trial demon... destroy with the Demon Subduing Mantra of Primordial Heavenly Venerate...
In the void between heaven and earth, a colossal roar suddenly resounded! Ji Xiang's mind instantly emptied. At this moment, he delved into an unfathomably high and unknowable place. Though it was only for an instant, he gained immense enlightenment!
Within the Purple Gold Pill, aided by this immense enlightenment, strands of red thread began to appear!
Qi transforming into red clouds is the characteristic of the highest attainment in Taoist cultivation!
Although these red threads only appeared for an instant and were few in number.
And they quickly disappeared, and the great improvement brought by these red threads also vanished in an instant.
"This is, could this be... the power of the Great Dao?"
This time, Ji Xiang clearly felt the call of the Great Dao. As a cultivator of the Jade Clarity Heaven, his perception of the Dao was even more acute. Although he had never seen it or attained enlightenment, this was the first time he could feel a call like that of parents or ancestors, summoning him, resonating with him, as if his very blood was about to turn into azure qi!
The national might surged, responding with joy. Undoubtedly, it was the most powerful and easily accessible Great Dao of the Outer Mountains and Rivers!
The Great Dao of the Dynasty!
If he could master the state of sensing the Great Dao, maintaining this state of being entwined with red threads at all times, then Ji Xiang estimated that even at his current level, he could contend with a complete Ascended realm cultivator!
The true level of an Immortal brought not only an improvement in strength but also an influence on the world!
Therefore, once one fell from the Immortal level, this influence would suddenly disappear, or descend across different eras in an incomplete state, causing the influence on the world to vanish without a trace. This influence... the difference between Immortals and mortals lies precisely here!
At the same time!
A change immediately occurred!
"Ugh! What's going on? Someone has invaded my mind!"
Deep within the Forbidden City of Ying Tian Prefecture, Prince Lu suddenly clutched his forehead. In that very instant, a cognition that did not belong to him appeared in his mind. The names of the Shaping Ghost and Trial Demon, along with their subduing methods, appeared within his will!
"Not good, an Immortal has infiltrated here!"
Prince Lu did not know how this situation occurred. He could only think that someone in the Heavenly Heart realm had tampered with some of his cognitions. However, since there were no Heavenly Heart realm cultivators in the mortal world, it could only be an agent of the Immortal level who had appeared.
"The wishes of the people, gather!"
With a mere thought from Prince Lu, countless wishes from all over Ying Tian Prefecture converged towards him.
Of course, no one would offer sacrifices to him, a Prince, as the news of Emperor Wanli's intention to confiscate his property had already spread to Ying Tian.
It was said that the order given was to capture Prince Lu and immediately throw him into the Fengyang Grand Courtyard, and if he had cultivation, it would be abolished on the spot.
After all, Prince Lu knew that he had left his fiefdom. According to the rules for Princes of the Ming Dynasty, running away from one's fiefdom without the Emperor's permission was equivalent to rebellion!
Rebellion it is!
Prince Lu thought to himself, he had intended to rebel anyway. This incompetent elder brother of his couldn't do anything to him. With the few useless subordinates he had, if Old Zhang hadn't been guarding the capital back then, he would have dealt with you long ago.
At the same time, his own strength was only half a step away from ascension. His Nascent Soul avatar alone could transform into eighty-four thousand forms. The Heavenly Generals of the Ming Court in the Nascent Soul realm, even if they found him, would be looking for death, and they would never find his true body. Even if they found an avatar, it would still be a dead end.
And the collection of wishes did not require directly reciting the true name. Even if it was a pseudonym or a transformed divine body, as long as it had a certain connection to the main body, it could receive the wishes and prayers of the common people.
And such a massive amount of wishes, like countless blooming flowers, had infinite miraculous uses.
"The wishes of the people can influence individuals."
Prince Lu used the wishes of the people to influence himself, causing the strange cognition in his mind to gradually fade.
All the soldiers of the thirty-six Guards of Ying Tian Prefecture were influenced by the wishes of the people. Now, even if they saw demons, they would not panic or be afraid.
Next, at the Ascension Convention, these even more massive wishes would influence all the common people in Ying Tian Prefecture.
Making them willingly be devoured by demons.
Making the demons eat with great joy and excitement, unaware of the impending doom.
Making himself ascend to immortality.
Making them continue to sing songs of ascension for him.
The national might in the Forbidden City fluctuated.
It did not intend to crush Prince Lu.
Because he was a descendant of Zhu.
He was a Prince officially enfeoffed by the Ming Court.
At this moment, not only him.
Qin Nvxiu in the pleasure boat also sensed this change.
As well as Heavenly Master Zhang in the Forbidden City of Shuntian Prefecture.
Heavenly Master Ge Xuan near Mount Mao.
Chen Taichu, who was recuperating in a secret location.
And three other unknown Immortals.
At this very moment, Ji Xiang also sensed the presence of all the Immortals!
The first to know everything about the Heavenly Demon Codex registering demons were these Immortals of the mortal world!
Next were those in the Pure Yang realm, then the Spirit Refining realm, the Innate realm...
And then from near to far.
Although Prince Lu was not an Immortal, he possessed an extremely vast number of the people's wishes, and his base far surpassed that of other Immortals, thus he was also the first to know.
The cultivators in Ying Tian Prefecture, regardless of their sect, all clutched their heads simultaneously. The sudden appearance of cognition plunged them into a brief panic. Although this was a technique for subduing demons, its origin was unclear.
Due to this strange occurrence, some cultivators with existing grudges believed it to be a trap or curse set by their opponents. Therefore, shortly after the Heavenly Demon Codex was completed, a conflict between cultivators broke out in a certain location within Ying Tian Prefecture!
However, due to the existence of the thirty-six Guards of Ying Tian, the cultivators dared not be too ostentatious, and the conflicts were kept within a very small range, not daring to affect mortals.
"In the mortal world, there are already so many... awakened Immortals?"
Immortals cannot be without names. Upon becoming an Immortal, they will inevitably be sensed. However, those in the Pure Yang realm are not so easily found. Ji Xiang could not sense the existence of those in the Pure Yang realm, or even those who were only half a step away from ascension, but he could clearly sense those who had reached the Immortal level, totaling eight people, including himself.
Putting aside the dormant ones mentioned by Heavenly Master Ge, there were now eight Ascended realm cultivators who had awakened.
This might not be much for the Inner Mountains and Rivers, as the Immortals in the mortal world were either like the Corpse-Shedding Immortals of the various Immortals or fallen Immortals and banished Immortals.
However, for the Outer Mountains and Rivers, which were lacking in Ascended realm cultivators, Immortals were beings who crushed mortal cultivators in terms of life level.
The Heavenly Demon Codex in his hand did not display any more outer path demons. Ji Xiang thought of the myriad demonic thoughts he had casually created earlier. It seemed that as long as no name was given, this thing, although comparable to a great demon, had no name and thus no true manifestation in the world, and was therefore not classified as a demon.
Ultimately, even if demonic thoughts were given form, they had not truly completed their self-transformation. They had not become any kind of demon within or outside the world, but were merely an aggregation of countless desires and malicious intentions.
At the same time, changes were still occurring!
In many areas near Ying Tian Prefecture, whether it was demon kings, demon beasts, ghosts, or monsters, they all knew the names of the newly appeared two categories of demons. However, being demons themselves, they only knew the names and were not informed of the subduing methods.
At the same time, a young Taoist priest in black robes appeared in their minds. This person had only a back view, yet they felt a certain fear in their hearts.
Spreading outwards from Ying Tian Prefecture.
...
All powerful demons in the mortal world, as long as they were within the ninety-six outer paths or the one hundred and eighty-two categories of demons, had Ji Xiang's back appear in their hearts and minds, instilling instinctive fear in them!
Hoo hoo—!
Fangs spewed out foul mist, and a pair of fierce eyes emerged from the darkness!
In the west of the land, a massive purple demon mountain with a flat summit stood between heaven and earth, veiled by rolling clouds.
Deep within the mountain was a valley, yet the valley was located on the flat mountain top. In the valley stood a giant stone tablet, on which the name Zhang Daoling was written in blood, and a demon immortal let out an angry roar!
"To actually invade my mind! What power is this, what feeling is this? This is the red light from beyond the Three Pure Heavens, this is the color born from the Nine Revolutions Immortal Pill. Are you... an envoy sent by the Heavenly Dao!"
"Black robes! Not bad... I'll remember you..."
...
In the far east of the sea, in Fusang, Japan, within a magnificent castle, Xu Fu's mind also saw Ji Xiang's shadow. Compared to others, Xu Fu certainly knew Ji Xiang.
"The Demon King of the Jade Clarity Heaven, he should not have affected my abilities... to move freely in the Great Fu Li, even to contend with the Dragon of Destiny... past and future, no record of him. Is he the key to breaking the鎖天 (locking the heavens), or the Demon Lord who brings trials to the cultivators of the world?"
"We need to gather more destiny..."
Beside Xu Fu, a divine official reported to him, stating that Toyotomi Hideyoshi was very anxious because the war in Joseon had once again reached a stalemate. Since the Ming Court had sent reinforcements, the advancing front line had stopped.
"No need to worry..."
"This battle is bound to fail."
Xu Fu smiled: "It is enough to have consumed the destiny of Joseon. If we continue to fight, we will gain more, and they will lose more. This battle is not about the gain or loss of a single city or territory."
"However, these words must only be told to Mr. Hideyoshi after he completely admits defeat."
"Because only through defeat can we proceed to the next step of the plan."
...
Changbai Mountain region.
The Immortals also sensed the appearance of demonic thoughts. They were all spirits or transformed demons who had attained the Dao by enjoying the incense offerings of the world. However, in the end, most of them did not belong to the ranks of righteous gods, nor were they officially recognized folk gods by the Ming Court.
They did not have the enfeoffment of the Ming Court, so they had made a deal with other Heavenly Palaces of the Inner Mountains and Rivers, helping them to condense special divine positions.
"I saw a person."
The Immortals of Changbai Mountain saw the Taoist priest in black robes, but compared to the demons, what they saw was much more blurry, and the oppressive feeling they experienced was very slight. It was just that when they saw the black robes, they felt a slight, indescribable discomfort in their hearts.
Within the Changbai Mountain region, a shadowy figure, the most powerful among the Changbai Immortals, the Emperor Kai Tian Hong Sheng, sensed Ji Xiang's existence, but could not know his name. He was also not far from ascension.
...
In a village, where all the villagers had become believers of the White Lotus Sect and were offering incense, Zhou Sheng, the man in blood-stained clothes, accompanied by the child named Shen Kui, saw the familiar yet unfamiliar black-robed figure in their hearts.
"That fallen Immortal... Strange, why would he suddenly influence me?"
"I planned to kill him after controlling all the White Lotus Sect followers in the vicinity. It's only been two months, how is it possible... he has recovered his strength?"
"Then my plan will be in vain... If an Immortal level cultivator recovers their strength, I can't deal with him now."
"How many of the people's wishes have been gathered? To directly pull an Ascended expert down to the mortal realm, and even influence and replace his wisdom, this amount of people's wishes is not enough."
Zhou Sheng looked at the dazed Shen Kui and prompted him:
"Shen Kui, I don't know if you saw him."
"He is your father's killer."
"If you kill him, your dragon qi will become even more concentrated, right? The destiny bestowed by the Immortal level upon a future emperor, I will cultivate you well."
Shen Kui raised his head and said blankly:
"I saw him, and I remember him."
A radiant glow emanated from him, showing five colors.
"Five-colored immortal bones, the result of consuming the Five-Turn Immortal Pill. It seems to be quite good, you have a trace of the aura of a banished immortal."
Zhou Sheng whistled.
He was very satisfied with this creation of the Changsheng Heavenly Palace.
"By the way, it's not far from Wudang Mountain now."
"Should I slaughter the mountain to deter them? Killing a few Pure Yang realm cultivators should shake the world, right?"
...
In the southeast, King Lei and other Dharma Sect Divine Lords also sensed Ji Xiang's existence. Although they had not seen the black-robed figure, they had learned of it from the description of Guanyin Dharma Lord of Dingjia City!
This greatly enraged them!
Qingzhu Guanyin had once used spells to trace Ji Xiang's existence, but the result was nothing. Now, they did not expect him to dare to actively influence them!
Did they really think the southeastern Dharma Sect was easy to bully!
However, despite their anger, the implication of this sudden display of skill left the several southeastern Divine Lords pondering.
"Is the court trying to warn us?"