Chapter 484: Chapter 424: Setting Three Rules, 6 Mansions 9 Forests (Extra update for the Alliance Hierarch of Pig-Riding)
The Heavenly Master Ceremony concluded, and the attendees gradually returned to report their duties.
There were quite a few attendees, but not many had genuine intentions to engage in meaningful exchanges.
The Heavenly Master of the Yuzhen Sect and Song Lin shared a pleasant conversation. It was said that he was skilled in Alchemy and even invited Song Lin to visit the Yuzhen Sect.
Song Lin temporarily agreed.
After the ceremony concluded, the celebrations for the Donghua Taoist Sect were just beginning.
The next stage involved discussions of merits and awarding rewards.
"All those who participated in combat from the Evil Exorcism Altar, Liqi Mansion, Spirit Prohibition Mansion, Yun River Prefecture, Black Prison Prefecture, and the Five Great Jungles will each be rewarded with ten thousand dharma coins, or pills and magic artifacts of equivalent value. Rewards will also be distributed based on the quality and quantity of demons killed."
Song Lin generously allocated several hundred million dharma coins for these rewards.
However, this expenditure was trivial; the temple’s earnings in recent years were substantial. Moreover, given the current circumstances, the price of pills had skyrocketed. The Alchemy Taoists alone made almost a billion annually from pill refinement.
Accumulated reserves from the past few years were sufficient to fund a major battle, not to mention the spoils of war. The Tianhe treasury held many valuable items, though Song Lin personally had little interest in them.
Money was not the issue; the lack of talent was. Thankfully, the surviving individuals had gained insights, and in the future, they would become indispensable talents in various capacities.
"Thank you, Heavenly Master!"
Everyone expressed their gratitude.
In addition to the living, there were death benefits for the deceased—those entirely dead counted; those retaining remnants of their soul still had hope of recovery and did not require death benefits.
"Furthermore, the Donghua Taoist Sect is no longer what it used to be. Let me emphasize once again," Song Lin declared.
"First, all members of the sect, especially newcomers, must adhere to the Donghua Rules."
"Three Refuges: Dao, Scripture, Teacher."
"Three Laws: Do not mistake Heavenly Heart for your own heart; Do not deceive or misguide sentient beings; Do not manifest divine appearances and claim godhood among mortals."
"Nine Prohibitions: Diligence, humility, caution against killing, abstinence from lust, prohibition of theft, restraint from anger, rejection of deceit, avoidance of arrogance, and adherence to unity."
"This is the way to cultivate oneself, defeat enemies, and achieve victory. Do not slack in your practice."
This ceremony also served as a preaching session.
Leveraging his newfound prestige as Heavenly Master, Song Lin had to stress these points once again to dispel any burgeoning complacency among the sect members.
The journey had been arduous, and only now had some progress been made; corruption at this stage was impermissible.
Throughout history, many forces vying for dominance often failed due to this very reason.
When Liu Bang first entered the city, he resumed music and dancing. Zhang Liang implored him earnestly, urging Liu Bang to put away his arrogance and instructed his subordinates to abide by three simple rules to avoid disturbing the common people, ultimately securing the empire.
Conversely, Li Zicheng lacked this prudence. Upon entering the city, he quickly fell into corruption, leading to his utter defeat.
With countless examples from predecessors serving as cautionary tales, Song Lin would not turn a blind eye.
The crowd, seeing Song Lin’s stern resolve, began to temper their own pride and complacency.
"Currently, we occupy merely one thirty-second of the land under heaven. We are still far from spreading the Taoist tradition far and wide. Demonic forces surround us; human internal strife persists. We must press on, comrades!"
"Disciples will remember this in their hearts!"
The crowd wholeheartedly agreed, suddenly recalling how they had been mercilessly hunted down like prey not too long ago.
Now the sect’s strength had plummeted; this was no time for luxury but the period of utmost danger for the Taoist Sect. A moment’s negligence could lead to imminent collapse.
Seeing that the crowd was sufficiently alarmed, Song Lin moved on to the next topic.
"The sect shall be governed by five lords. I will succeed the position of Beidou Destiny Lord, overseeing the Taiyi Jinhua Palace. The Heavenly Mechanism Chancellor role will be filled by Shi Yinhua, with the Taiji Assistant Officer positions held by Xiangling and Mei Hua Grandmaster."
"The Holy Might Taoist Sect has merged to include two new prefectures: Yunzhou Society Commandery and Jiuquan Han Ye Prefecture. The Yunzhou Society Commandery Master will be Zhengxin, while the vacant Liqi Mansion will be led by Yan Jiuge."
"The Heavenly Slaughter position will be filled by Qingyu; Yuanbo’s Yun River Water Mansion will be under the stewardship of Yin Fu Chief Fei Hong (formerly the Five Qi Jungle Taoist), and Luu Yunsheng will govern the Jiuquan Han Ye Prefecture."
The six prefecture masters included Zhengxin and Earth Evil as tribulation crossing cultivators; the Heavenly Mechanism Chancellor Shi Yinhua was also on the verge of crossing tribulation.
The remaining members were all at the Purple Mansion Realm.
Among them was the second-generation disciple leader, Luu Yunsheng. Considering his impressive ability to generate wealth and his cultivation at the Purple Mansion Realm, Song Lin specifically awarded him the position of a prefecture master.
After all, he was a model figure alongside first-generation disciples like Shi Yinhua and Wang Ziyue.
The Zhonghuang Prince continued to decline any official position.
Of course, Song Lin had his own ways of showing gratitude.
"Aside from the Donghua Five Great Jungles, all former ten jungles of the Holy Might Taoist Sect have been dissolved and reorganized according to these guidelines."
"Four new jungles have been established: The Ghost King Jungle, composed of the Ghost King Sect’s magic veins, with Lingfu as the Taoist Master and Lingjian as the Chief; the Yin Spring Jungle, primarily comprising the Divine Demon magic vein, with Taoist Master Dai Yinzi (a Purple Mansion expert from Yin Spring Palace)."
"The Holy Spirit Jungle integrates refining soldiers, refining corpses, refining body, yin talisman ghost patterns, and curse-related magic veins, with Ye Qi as the Taoist Master."
Ye Qi was a cultivator with a ghost body, sporting green eyes and green hair. He was the only survivor who didn’t flee, instead leading others to surrender. As such, Song Lin couldn’t simply kill him and instead created a new jungle to house these remnants of the old era.
Conditions applied, of course—many harmful spells were strictly prohibited, though replacements were available through the Donghua magic vein.
"Lastly, the Yinghua Jungle. Its Taoist Master is Wu Yi, and its Chief is Chuu Yun, focusing exclusively on the Human Immortal Martial Way’s lineage."
The Human Immortal skill was suitable for common people, providing them a space for cultivation. Wu Yi, as King Ying, could better govern and cultivate talents through his mastery over the lineage without worrying about martial artists growing too powerful to control.
Furthermore, future heirs would practice the Treasure of Qiankun. Even if they weren’t the foremost martial artists, they would remain top-tier, ensuring no power shift.
Thus, the Four Jungles came into existence.
The Ghost King and Holy Spirit were derived from the former Holy Might traditions, while the Yin Spring Palace’s lineage was restored, honoring their heritage.
Besides this, under the Taiyi Jinhua Palace, a new prefecture was added—the North Pole Exorcism Mansion, with Xiangling as its master reporting solely to Song Lin, tasked with overseeing everyone.
Some Taoists from Overseas Immortal Island had contributed significantly, and those with notable cultivation could join the North Pole Exorcism Mansion for supervisory duties.
Six Prefectures and Nine Jungles—this was the institutional framework of the Donghua Taoist Sect.
Thanks to careful redistribution, each jungle received sufficient resources, avoiding concerns of imbalance.
With the initial establishment of the enterprise and Song Lin as the founding Grandmaster, the restructuring process proceeded smoothly.
"Next, we must return to the narrative world, while simultaneously addressing matters of the Divine Dao in reality."
The Divine Dao posed considerable challenges.
It wasn’t a matter of imposing Heavenly Master methods upon authority; recovery was immediate at least until individuals perfected the Taiyin Refining Body technique.
As Song Lin had no expertise in these matters, he instead made time to venture into the narrative world.
......
In the north.
A million demons were attacking a human city.
Green clouds blotted out the sun as a thousand-foot-long giant serpent clashed with a yellow Jiao-Dragon with golden eyes amidst raging Yunhai skies.
The two sides were evenly matched, deploying an array of techniques. The surrounding area for a thousand miles was ravaged by poison fumes, Ruishui waters, and Earth Lungs turbidity.
Not far away stood a towering humanoid dharma image with a black sun overhead, summoning black flames to slaughter demons.
It was apparent that the serpent, the Jiao-Dragon, and the humanoid were all at the Primordial Spirit Realm.
Victory seemed imminent for the human clan.
Suddenly, the skies darkened, plunging the world into pitch-blackness.
Then, a faint point of light emerged.
The light resembled the first glimmer at the dawn of creation.
It divided clarity from turbidity, splitting chaos as it spread.
It appeared as though the scene of primordial creation had unfolded, the light expanding swiftly from far to near, from small to great, engulfing the two combatants entirely.
The sword aura was razor-sharp, obliterating all.
"Nine Pure Immortal Light? Qingchen, you old dog!"
The Emperor Netherworld roared in rage.
The light quickly drowned them; after a long interval, as the white radiance dispersed, a series of phantom-like pure white sword Qi chains were revealed, binding the two entities.
On the left was a figure with dark golden skin and vertical pupils, exuding an aura of extreme malice.
On the right stood an ordinary-looking person with three black stripes on their brow.
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