For those who seek longevity, they must serve the Heavenly Ghosts.
In ancient times, people sacrificed to Heaven and spirits, hoping for longevity. The objects of sacrifice were not heavenly gods but Heavenly Ghosts. When Taoism originated, it also sacrificed to various Heavenly Ghosts. At that time, the arts of the Three Heavens had not yet flourished, the energies of the Six Heavens had not dispersed, and beyond the Nine Energies, there were nine more. The world was chaotic, and beliefs were diverse.
To invite ghosts and spirits, one had to cater to the will of the "Heavenly Ghosts" through human affairs, satisfying their needs. Heavenly Ghosts were the personification of Heaven's will and the collective will of the people, beings summoned through the resonance between humanity and Heaven. In ancient times, they served as the "Immortals" and "Heavenly Gods" of the current world.
The names of Heavenly Ghosts represented the rituals to summon them. After the arts of the Three Heavens flourished, the Heavenly Ghosts of various heavens retreated into obscurity and no longer existed, only remaining in ancient texts, transformed into the divine officials of the Five Sacred Mountains.
The worship of Heavenly Ghosts was quite prevalent during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, and even into the Han dynasties. The concept of spirits and ghosts has existed since antiquity, and the boundaries between gods and ghosts were not clear at that time.
"So, these are the Heavenly Ghosts worshipped before Taoism took shape. This means the ritual to sacrifice to them, and even control them, should be the Qingqiang Sacrifice!"
"Now, someone has opened the dwelling of the Heavenly Ghosts, which means the Qingqiang Sacrifice has begun. However, there is no master to perform the sacrifice for the Qingqiang Sacrifice, so there are no controlled Heavenly Ghosts, and they have begun to rampage everywhere. Is that it?"
"To suppress them with the Three Great Emperors of Heaven, Earth, and Water. Indeed, in the origin of Taoism, the Three Great Emperors represent the worship of the three primal forces of heaven, earth, and water. They are primitive deities transformed from sorcerous ghosts to righteous gods, existing between ghosts and gods. Through continuous worship, they were elevated to personified Taoist Great Emperors, and later endowed with the identities of the Three Kings Yao, Shun, and Yu."
Ji Xiang recalled the admonition of Yuan Huang.
The Qingqiang Sacrifice had begun, and the ancient evil spirits were about to appear. They devoured all beings to grow, and were closely related to the origin of Taoism. However, the cultivators of Yuqing could not touch them, and it was explicitly stated to be a certain entity.
The Six Heavens' Former Ghosts were also fabricated by him. The divine abilities of Confucianism could not be used here. Seeing Qian and stopping at Guò, he could only do one small thing.
As for the Demon Heavenly Master, he was looking for Zhang Xiu's Qingcheng Spiritual Scroll.
Ji Xiang's brow furrowed.
Eliminating these Heavenly Ghosts was one matter, and obtaining the spiritual scroll was another. Moreover, if we distinguish between major and minor matters based on the commotion caused, obtaining the scroll was clearly minor, and eliminating the ghosts was major. This meant that he had to watch these Heavenly Ghosts rampage and not try to eliminate them. Was that what Yuan Huang meant?
"There must be a way to achieve both."
Allowing these Heavenly Ghosts to run rampant was certainly not an option. If even one escaped, it would cause great chaos. Even ancient immortals like Donghua Xian Nü could not resist the seductive power of Heavenly Ghosts. How could the cultivators outside, who were not even immortals, not be easily devoured by him like leeks?
Furthermore, these Heavenly Ghosts were not the most important thing.
"Wear the green robes."
Ji Xiang's mind moved, and he changed into green robes. Donghua Xian Nü also used a transformation technique to change into green robes, chanting a thunderous mantra and venturing into the gray mist.
With thunderous sounds paving the way, he could feel many prying eyes around, coming from very distant positions yet seeming to be right beside him, filled with deep malice. At the same time, the names of these Heavenly Ghosts were constantly appearing on the blank divine tablets.
Heavenly Ghost Hengwu. Heavenly Ghost Fanfu. Heavenly Ghost Wuzhu.
The Heavenly Ghosts closest to them were three. However, due to the roaring thunder, their actions towards them were limited to observation. Green robes and thunderous sounds were the means by which ancient Qiang people controlled Heavenly Ghosts.
The deeper they went, the more blurred the scenery of heaven and earth became. In the end, even things within reach could only be seen in outline. This was no longer the influence of fog, but the heavens and earth had been altered by the Heavenly Ghosts, becoming their sacrificial grounds.
"If we don't find that stone tablet, we cannot stop the Qingqiang Sacrifice. However, the beginning of the stone tablet sacrifice should have been deliberately caused by someone. In my future vision, I saw a Heavenly Heart expert radiating golden light, blocking my view of the future, and the Demon Heavenly Master also mentioned this person's existence. He was emanating a vast and righteous aura."
"A Confucian Heavenly Heart expert? But you asked Yuan Huang, and he said that the things here are related to the origin of Taoism?" Donghua Xian Nü's complexion remained pale. She could not quickly recover her vital energy in this sacrificial ground.
"." Ji Xiang did not respond, but a guess formed in his mind.
Yuan Huang had mentioned the Six Heavens' Former Ghosts, calling them mere fabrications of that evil entity. However, the Six Heavens' Former Ghosts were derived from the Six Heavens' Emperors of Confucianism. Since they were derived, there must be a source.
Rebirth.
"What? What do you mean?"
Ji Xiang was startled, because at this moment, four characters were suddenly projected onto the blank divine tablet in his eyes. The activity of this item had indeed increased, but this sudden four-character prompt still left Ji Xiang bewildered.
However, a strange feeling began to grow in his heart.
Rebirth.
Bone transformation.
In Taoism, it means shedding the mortal body and transforming into a sacred body.
Upon rebirth, the form shines, like sunlight passing through a clear window and illuminating dust.
Combining the current situation with his thoughts.
"Could it be that the evil entity was originally not a Taoist thing, but a Confucian thing? When Taoism was not yet established, a certain great cultivator, by the influence of this evil entity, accidentally achieved a state of rebirth and transformation, thus opening up a new path. This person was..."
"Zhang Daoling?"
After all, the founder of Taoism was Zhang Daoling, the foremost of the Heavenly Masters. But before he officially established the religion, there were others in the world who inherited the thought of Pre-Qin Taoism and opened paths to cultivate. Just as there were ascetics in the world before Siddhartha Gautama became the Buddha.
There are always similar people who open similar paths. And the arts of the Three Heavens began with the Ancestral Heavenly Master, and the Heavenly Ghosts also declined at this time.
The Zhuangzi school, the Huang-Lao Dao school, and the Immortality school.
"But the cultivators of Yuqing are the unique designation for the cultivators under the command of the Primordial Heavenly Venerable. If this evil entity is an ancient Confucian item, why is it related to the cultivators of Yuqing?"
Ji Xiang pondered continuously, when suddenly Donghua Xian Nü's voice came:
"Look here! Everything in this heaven and earth has been plundered by the Heavenly Ghosts, whether living or dead, mountains, rivers, grass, sun, moon essence, and all living beings, only outlines remain."
"It's not that we can't see clearly, it's that this is no longer the human world!"
Donghua's cry pulled Ji Xiang back from his thoughts. He reached out towards a stone in front of him. Although he touched its form, he could not see its specific appearance, nor did it have any mass, as if he were holding a ball of mist.
"Wuwuwu—"
The voices of the Heavenly Ghosts began to approach. The thunderous sounds lingering around seemed to be gradually weakening with the changes in heaven and earth.
"Although ancient methods are powerful, do not underestimate the methods of the present era. Laws are progressing, and time is also changing."
Ji Xiang frowned, and demonic energy began to surge within him. In this sacrificial heaven and earth, he circulated the Heavenly Slaughtering Command. The surrounding voices of the Heavenly Ghosts were startled and quickly retreated. The roar of the demon king and the heavenly killing intent caused the former Heavenly Ghosts and the latter Heavenly Demons to clash, with the Heavenly Demons gaining a slight advantage before the confrontation ceased.
But this was limited. The number of Heavenly Ghosts was vast, and Ji Xiang could not summon more demon kings to deal with them. Fighting against a multitude of ghosts with a single demon would inevitably lead to failure.
"How can I find the spiritual scroll like this? The imperial army is also nowhere to be seen, but those people should all be dead by now."
"Right, what about that rebel leader from Bozhou? He opened the Qingqiang Sacrifice, right? He should have been completely devoured by the Heavenly Ghosts?"
Donghua Xian Nü asked casually.
"Yang Yinglong."
Ji Xiang spoke, but as soon as these three words left his mouth, the surrounding Heavenly Ghosts began to stir.
"Wuwuwu, hahaha..."
Strange cries and laughter. In the landscape of heaven and earth, where only outlines remained, blurry faces of the Heavenly Ghosts appeared, circling them, floating up and down, accompanied by black hands and feet, like some terrifying mural coming to life. Gradually, after a while, Ji Xiang realized that they seemed to be performing some ritual.
"Not good!"
A great sense of crisis arose in his heart, and at this moment...
Dong—dong—dong—
Giant footsteps sounded in the distance, accompanied by a large number of terrified roars!
"Someone is shouting that name again, it, it's coming again!"
"Is it reinforcements sent by the imperial court? We are not supposed to be here, run quickly!"
Some banners quickly appeared in Ji Xiang's vision, accompanied by a large number of grass-head gods and monsters fleeing in panic. When they saw Ji Xiang, they immediately acted like drowning people seeing a life-saving straw, shouting for help:
"It's the Dao Master! Dao Master, save us!"
Ji Xiang quickly moved forward and grabbed a grass-head god, asking, "Have you been trapped here for over a month? Where is Yang Yinglong?"
The grass-head god was extremely terrified, merely pointing behind him: "He's coming! He's coming!"
"The dead are all hanging in the sky, this is not the human world anymore. We saw that stele, that... is not the Ghost-Faced Stele that the court spoke of."
"Not the Ghost-Faced Stele?" Ji Xiang was immediately stunned. The grass-head god said in panic, "We didn't touch that stele. The stele is in front of the Wawu Mountain! But, but that guy still died, we caught him at first!"
Ji Xiang's heart suddenly jolted.
It wasn't the Ghost-Faced Stele, Yang Yinglong didn't open the Qingqiang Sacrifice, but he still died. That must mean the Confucian Heavenly Heart expert opened the Ghost-Faced Stele!
But, he had previously speculated that he needed to use others' hands, and he himself could not act on matters here. What was going on?
Were there others here?!
What he saw in his future vision was different, but if the future was unchangeable, and such a change occurred now, there was only one possibility...
The future he saw was not right from the beginning!
It was not Yang Yinglong who opened the Ghost-Faced Stele in the first place!
"The future was mistaken! Was I deceived!?"
Just as Ji Xiang was astonished.
In the world of heaven and earth, where only outlines remained, an incomparably colossal black shadow appeared. It stood with its head touching the sky and its feet on the earth. Its face was blurred, only a pair of huge eyes shimmering with white light were particularly clear.
With its appearance, the sky also showed some light, but there were no clouds or fog. The sky was empty, and some rays of light appeared. Then, what was floating down from the empty sky, swaying like willow branches, were densely packed corpses.
On the blank divine tablet, text also appeared.
The Qingqiang Sacrifice, First Sacrifice: Sacrifice to Heaven.
High Heavenly Ghost of Ten Thousand Zhang: The Central Emperor, lord of the Six Directions and all ghosts under Heaven! Once expelled by Nü Qing!
(End of this chapter)