"Come back!"
Xu Fu made a decisive choice, abandoning the idea of luring Ji Xiang into his trap! Toyotomi Hideyoshi, standing beside him, didn't understand why Xu Fu's expression suddenly turned grim, but he could guess that something had happened to that ghost god. After all, the divine name Xu Fu had uttered in his panic had sent a shiver down his spine for a fleeting moment!
It felt like a cry that had traversed through millennia, crossing worlds!
"Feel it... For those who carry great calamity and immense defilement, chanting its sacred name will stir a response within their hearts... that feeling of being forcibly converted, of having merit established, that is the might of Tian Kai Huang Dao Tian Zun!"
"I will tell you about this Heavenly Venerate's origins later... Hideyoshi, lend me a hand and recall Omononushi!"
"If it cannot be recalled... you must be prepared to suffer immense losses!"
Toyotomi Hideyoshi's pale face froze, then, due to shock, his complexion turned even paler: "What are you saying? I don't understand. Why would I suffer great losses if this ghost god dies?"
Xu Fu snorted coldly and stated concisely, "Because this ghost god's fate is intertwined with Japan, and all your power comes from the offerings given by 'the people of the world'! You are its counterpart, a rule established since the era of Emperor Sujin."
"If it dies, you will become the next Omononushi! At that time, the power of calamity will emanate from you, and half the world will die because of you. Your path to godhood or immortality will also be severed. This immense calamity belongs to the ghost god, not to the Heavenly Gods. Once it transfers to you, you are finished."
"Come and help me. You must use your full strength, for you are the only one I can rely on at present."
Toyotomi Hideyoshi's heart wavered, and he roughly understood the situation. The reason this ghost god would harm him must be due to the deals made with the ancient emperors. These emperors, along with the ghost gods refined by Xu Fu, had signed various treaties. It was akin to commoners sacrificing to deities, offering specific items, and in return, the deities would bless their lives with freedom from illness and disaster for the year. Conversely, if the offerings demanded by the deities were not provided, then the disrespectful commoners would face retaliation from the gods.
This was hardly a willing offering.
This was clearly extortion!
"I take the lives of the people of the world, and the previous emperor took my life. Are the sacrificial vows made to the ghost gods indelible for thousands of generations..."
Toyotomi Hideyoshi had no choice; rather, he was becoming somewhat panicked at this moment.
For Hideyoshi, the people of the world were his providers. If the providers were lost, the deities being provided for would also perish. Therefore, a certain number of people must exist; they could not all die.
It was like raising livestock. If the livestock died, and the herdsman had lost the ability to hunt, he would soon starve to death.
Hideyoshi was now a herdsman who had lost his hunting ability.
After raising domestic pigs for too long, one forgets how to hunt wild boars. Although the Sengoku period had only recently ended, he had become engrossed in the destiny gathered at the pinnacle of the world, losing his senses.
Rumble...
Instantly, a surge of boundless divine power erupted from Toyotomi Hideyoshi.
Toyotomi Hideyoshi's form began to transform from human to divine.
However, no divine position appeared.
Only the divine light was exceptionally intense, and the heavens and earth even produced wisps of "Tai Xu Qi" (Great Void Qi), a phenomenon only seen in the Great Fu Li Land!
The power of this divine position was far beyond that of earthly born folk deities. Folk deities did not require divine positions because they themselves were manifestations of the divine positions created through worship. However, Heavenly Gods absolutely required divine positions.
Yet, Toyotomi Hideyoshi defied this convention.
He possessed the status of a Heavenly God but lacked a divine position. This meant... he was the Heavenly God himself!
Xu Fu couldn't help but stare at his transformation, a look of satisfaction on his face.
Toyotomi Hideyoshi was, in Xu Fu's eyes, the most satisfactory "creation" throughout the ages.
He was a true, existing Heavenly God, not merely divine tablets born from the convergence of wishes in the Great Fu Li!
Why did he have the capital to contend with the inner and outer realms? Xu Fu's confidence stemmed from this!
Those who held power throughout history, whether they were the supreme emperors of past dynasties, kings, generals, nobles, or the leaders of Shinto and Buddhism among cultivators, who among them did not desire eternal life!
As long as they had any lingering attachments before their death, they would inevitably follow the legend of Emperor Jinmu and find their dwelling place in each era!
Then, they would kowtow, beg, and implore him to grant them immortality, even if it meant surviving as vengeful spirits or becoming vessels for ghost gods, it would be the same!
"Many of the past failed creations found it difficult to leave Japan, being constrained by me, a false immortal. But now, the creation is nearing perfection. Man has ascended to godhood, truly achieving unity between heaven and man!"
"And this is the first step towards the realization of my Divine Kingdom!"
"Is not the human heart the heart of heaven? Is not the heart of heaven the human heart? Why bother to speculate! Upon becoming a deity, one will naturally understand the workings of the Heavenly Dao! Dongfang Shuo, Dong Zhongshu, you are too conservative and cannot see the ultimate end of all methods!"
Xu Fu mused inwardly, filled with pride for having created this masterpiece.
"Feng Guo Da Ming Shen, the divine being is a false image!"
Toyotomi Hideyoshi's divine form erupted with magnificent divine light, and Xu Fu simultaneously performed the ritual, chanting Toyotomi Hideyoshi's divine title.
Far away on the Korean border, the Omononushi ghost god, on the verge of being crushed by Tian Kai Huang Dao Tian Zun, suddenly vanished from the real world!
"Recall!"
Crossing rivers, lakes, and seas, spanning thousands of miles, the ghost god was forcibly recalled, suddenly transferring from one location to another!
This was by no means a mere遁术 (escape technique)!
Leveraging the strong connection between them, Xu Fu and Toyotomi Hideyoshi manipulated heaven and earth. The Omononushi god returned from the Korean border and was about to descend in an instant.
"It seems that the matter of killing that celestial demon needs to be planned carefully, not rushed..."
Before the word "urgent" could be uttered.
A massive celestial gate suddenly appeared in the heavens and earth!
This celestial gate appeared outside Osaka Castle and opened in an instant, as if a huge rift had been torn in the sky. Xu Fu and Toyotomi Hideyoshi sensed this power and immediately emerged from their secret chamber. What they saw was the Omononushi god about to descend, and in the next moment, a giant hand unyieldingly extended from that celestial gate!
Tian Kai Huang Dao, Bu Xu Yu Jing!
Merit bestows blessings, making all things unimpeded!
"Not good! The calamity of the Omononushi god has been converted into merit, and it is chasing after us through the celestial gate opened by this power of merit!"
The celestial gate opened wide, and the Omononushi god was seized by the giant hand of Tian Kai Huang Dao Tian Zun. A vast amount of calamity was continuously transformed into immense merit!
The light of ascension appeared in the heavens and earth, clouds and mist converged, and the sounds of celestial music and heavenly drums were heard, accompanied by the tinkling of jade and bells. This was the celestial phenomenon that occurred when the auspicious clouds of merit descended!
Xu Fu was greatly startled, and within the celestial gate, the figure of Ji Xiang could be seen!
"Is it not a joy to have friends coming from afar?"
"Indeed!"
Xu Fu's face was filled with shock and anger!
Ji Xiang smiled, raised his sword, and with a sweep, brought it down!