"Perhaps a long, long time from now, when you too have journeyed to the Inner Rivers and Mountains, after centuries, or even tens of thousands of years, you will look back at the Outer Rivers and Mountains and stand in my stead. You will look down upon all beings, and perhaps someone in the Outer Rivers and Mountains will challenge you then."
"Time is like this; the same things will repeat endlessly. Even the most heroic figures will have their principles of action altered by the passage of long years. Their bottom lines will recede, their rules will change, their emotions will fade, and the lines between good and evil will blur. Only the heart that yearns for the Great Dao will remain unshaken through all tribulations!"
"The Dharma Manifestation, no matter how many times I witness it, is always so solemn and grand. But this is the first time I have directly faced this power and been killed by it..."
"I have clearly seen the strike of the Ascension realm... Chen Tieshi, thank you for the guidance..."
The lingering echoes of this innate master floated through the Fu Li heavens. These were the last words left in his thoughts when he had shown a joyful expression.
At this moment, everything he had in the Yang world had been annihilated by a single axe. However, as Ji Xiang had said before, if people from the Inner Rivers and Mountains dared to cross realms, they would naturally be fully prepared in their own domain.
Even if his physical body and primordial spirit were reduced to dust, as long as his will remained, he could be resurrected.
Ji Xiang's figure rapidly shrank. The backlash from the Dharma Manifestation this time was not as severe as the previous one. Ji Xiang adjusted his breathing, recovering from his physical injuries. A faint light emanated from around his body, and he chanted the sacred name of the Heavenly Venerable of Great Mercy and Salvation several times.
Many of the methods derived from the Inner Scenery Divine Tablet, which could restrain him, were not used. Ji Xiang had not expected his opponent to directly enter Fu Li and come to his home ground.
Against the Dharma Manifestation, cultivators of the Innate realm had no power to resist. Upon entering Fu Li, within three minutes, he would become a true Ascended being!
As for the words the opponent had spoken at the end, Ji Xiang pondered them thoughtfully.
However, it might be different from what he thought.
Before ascension, there were trials by the heavens and demons.
After ascension, the ten demons and nine calamities were all eliminated. Without overseers and cleaners, even the most magnificent things would decay and be destroyed.
Therefore...
Perhaps his descent to the lower realm was to become the "Demon King" who tested them!
And this time, the exam allowed both the candidate and the examiner to fight each other!
This thought arose in his mind, but Ji Xiang quickly dismissed it. This sense of destiny was merely an illusion. Without reincarnation, how could there be destiny? At most, he was a "designated" worker.
But Ji Xiang was happy to continue this work.
"If this person can still be resurrected in the Inner Rivers and Mountains, his cultivation will surely advance greatly. While a decade has passed in the Outer Rivers and Mountains, it might have been a century or more in the Inner Rivers and Mountains... However, those who achieve ascension must accumulate thirteen hundred good deeds. Perhaps they have their own methods to circumvent these thirteen hundred good deeds."
"Is this teaching model of the Incense Worship Sect considered spreading good deeds?"
Ji Xiang began to make connections.
What was the true reason for the Jing Lun Heavenly Palace to establish the Incense Worship Sect in the Outer Rivers and Mountains? Was it merely to use the Incense Worship Sect as an experiment?
Gathering the wishes of millions, collecting the incense offerings of the populace, allowing the evil deeds of the Misty Dragon Casino to flourish, and then, after the casino had corrupted the masses, absorbing those who had lost their families and homes as followers, providing them with food and shelter, and absolving them of their debts, thus saving them?
Was that it? Could that be considered doing good deeds?
"The behavioral patterns of these cults are generally like this, but if this is also considered doing good deeds..."
No wonder the Pope of Christianity used to issue indulgences.
After a while, Ji Xiang finished his recovery and withdrew from Fu Li. The surrounding scenery rapidly changed as he descended to the human world. The heavens and earth were still filled with a chilling yin energy, an effect caused by the power of the Dharma realm.
This Dharma realm was not consumed by the Inner Scenery Divine Tablet because its owner had not died. The moment Chen Tieshi was annihilated in the Yang world, the Dharma realm he had summoned had dissipated.
The situation where Zhao Xuanlang could bring the Dharma realm to the Yang world and leave fragments of his primordial spirit realm in the human world after his death was, after all, rare.
The power of the Dharma realm had permanently altered the terrain of this land, making it unsuitable for human survival. Ghostly cries echoed through the heavens and earth, boosting the might of demons.
Although the person from the Inner Rivers and Mountains had died, they had left a difficult problem for the Outer Rivers and Mountains. Chen Tieshi himself had returned to the Yang world from the underworld through a reverse corpse liberation, bringing a large amount of yin energy with him. Influenced and solidified by the power of the Dharma realm, this place had become a ghost land, difficult to change back.
It would require a master of the Pure Yang realm to suppress this yin energy with their immense yang energy. But where in the heavens and earth of the Outer Rivers and Mountains could one easily find a Pure Yang master?
Ji Xiang arrived at the doorway. Xu Hongru was still immobilized. Ji Xiang released him from the restraint and pointed the muzzle of his gun at his forehead.
"Speak, who is the mastermind behind the Misty Dragon Casino?"
When Xu Hongru saw Ji Xiang appear, and the East Great Vehicle Temple behind him had vanished and been destroyed, his heart sank. He could not believe this was the outcome!
"You... you actually managed to kill a master from the Inner Rivers and Mountains?"
Ji Xiang said coldly, "Not very strong. Just one strike, and he was annihilated. Do you want to die too?"
Faced with the threat of true death, Xu Hongru had thought he would have some courage. He had even had brief encounters with Misty Dragon in the past, but he had never imagined that the words "annihilation of form and spirit" would be so close to him.
A surge of courage spread within his chest.
"I want to ask..."
*Bang!*
Ji Xiang fired, the Five Thunder Divine Machine rotating to the second barrel.
The first shot did not hit Xu Hongru but was deliberately fired at the ground behind him. The firearm was imbued with wishes and the Five Thunder Talisman, causing a massive explosion and billowing smoke of thunder and lightning to rise behind him.
"Answer what I ask. If you dare to interrupt me again with the next shot..."
"Prince Lu! The Misty Dragon Casino is Prince Lu's money house!"
Xu Hongru's spirit instantly crumbled. He felt he should not die for being talkative, and if he died so inexplicably, he would never be able to reorganize the Incense Worship Sect again.
"Prince Lu is the brother of the current Emperor Wanli! You wouldn't dare to act against him; you are from the Ming Dynasty. As for the person behind Prince Lu, I only know that they are also from the Inner Rivers and Mountains, not the same faction as the Jing Lun Heavenly Palace behind our Incense Worship Sect. They also have conflicts of interest and friction between them."
Xu Hongru revealed everything he knew.
Prince Lu was Emperor Wanli's brother, his most favored prince, and also the leader of a separatist regime in the Outer Rivers and Mountains, controlling countless talented individuals, ghosts, and monsters.
The extent of his influence made Ji Xiang feel a slight fear.
The nine prefectures and twenty-five counties were areas governed by humans. But there were even more areas governed by ghosts and spirits, all under Prince Lu's control. As Xu Hongru spoke these place names, Ji Xiang's heart trembled with each one. Many of these regions were even on the route Ji Xiang would take back to Wudang Mountain.
Isn't this the Night Emperor!
The character "Ming" (明) can be broken down into "sun" (日) and "moon" (月). Who is the sun, and who is the moon?
The calamity of this Great Ming does not arise from without but from within. It is the same in any world.
Ji Xiang said silently, and then sighed.
A prince of the Ming Dynasty, and the most favored brother of Emperor Wanli. If he were to kill this prince, his title in the Ming court would also be stripped. However, Ji Xiang was not someone who cared about empty fame, so he said:
"I understand. This person, perhaps, can be killed."
Xu Hongru was greatly astonished. "He is a prince of the Ming Dynasty! Don't you want to be a Suyi Dharma Master of the Daoist sect anymore? Aren't you the head of the Daoist Record Office? Aren't you Emperor Wanli's confidant? Do you dare to kill his brother?"
Ji Xiang responded to Xu Hongru's several questions with a single word:
"Kill."
Of course, Xu Hongru's one-sided account could not be entirely trusted, so Ji Xiang still had to go and see for himself.
As for this member of the Incense Worship Sect, Ji Xiang certainly would not let him live.
"According to the Heavenly Laws, those who regard the righteous as evil and the evil as righteous, and all Daoist priests who witness this shall be annihilated and sent to Fengdu, with no possibility of transcendence!"
Xu Hongru suddenly looked up, but was shot dead. The firearm shattered his head. Ji Xiang then followed up with a move of Shattering the Void, annihilating his form, spirit, and soul!
"I'm sorry, I said you were destined to fail. In the end, in this struggle for the Great Dao, I have won."
"Although I would love to tell you to be a good person in your next life, you no longer have one."