Within a city of a myriad of feet of darkness.
Countless grand coffins stood erect, numbering in the tens of thousands, quietly emitting the Tai Yin light belonging to the Corpse-Releasing Immortals. However, these Corpse-Releasing Immortals differed from Qin Nvxu, Ge Tianshi, and others; even within their coffins, they exuded a strange, decaying power.
A Heavenly Heart Realm expert, radiating golden brilliance, floated above the myriad coffins, exhaling a satisfied sigh.
"First, from the past ages, five individuals whose existence was inverted and erased will reclaim their forms and spirits, reclaim their souls, reclaim their aspirations, and will be reunited!"
...
The voice of Bai Mian Zhenwu, as if traversing through millennia, carried weight and vicissitude:
"Faith has continuously shifted with the passage of time. The past Xuanwu Yuren became the You Sheng Zhenjun, and was then elevated to Zhenwu the Great."
"Xuanwu Yuren was taken from here. Although the statue has not returned, its essential form has. With the application of the Three Days technique, all past gods became demons and ghosts. Tai Qing Xuan Yuan can substitute the Qing Qiang arts. The so-called true arts of the world merely change with the will of the ages."
"Even the methods can change. Only Yuan Shi is eternally immutable."
As Bai Mian Zhenwu uttered this, his gaze fell upon Ji Xiang.
Woo—!
A ghostly voice from the myriad feet of the high heavens suddenly sounded from outside. That colossal ghostly silhouette passed through the grand temple, its eyes hollow. Within Mount Wawu, his power was even greater. Corpse fragments danced in the sky, and the serpent-controlling deities on the ground began to go mad, emitting terrifying ghostly howls.
The Ghost Examination had returned.
"Hmm!"
Ji Xiang was about to unleash his demonic powers, but Bai Mian Zhenwu spoke from behind him:
"Zhong Huang Jun, the Nether and the Bright are distinct. The worshipped have passed on. Do you still dare to claim blood offerings?"
"Summon, Xuanwu to hasten the descent."
Bai Mian Zhenwu spoke only two sentences, and the vast ghostly sounds outside abruptly ceased. The myriad feet of the high heavens ghost seemed to have seen something utterly terrifying and retreated in panic. Its colossal form retreated into the darkness, never to reappear.
As Ji Xiang was stunned, a blank divine tablet projected a passage of text.
With the divine tablet's words revealed.
The shrine Bai Mian Zhenwu faced transformed into a world of profound darkness.
The next moment, several forms and spirits within Ji Xiang's body manifested spontaneously, repeatedly shifting and overlapping!
The Great Emperor Fengdu, the Xuanming Star God, the Tai Yin Water Emperor, the Wu Qi Xuan Lao Tian Jun—these former rulers of the netherworld, along with the Guang Du Chen Lun Tian Zun, a total of five supreme forms and spirits, began to overlap, contend for dominance, and then separate from the body, gradually transforming into the appearance of true, colossal deities!
It seemed they were about to descend and suppress that world of darkness!
The forms and spirits were not under his control. This had never happened before, and Yuan Huang's admonition echoed in the deepest recesses of his heart.
"Do not use Confucian arts."
The last one yet to actively appear, simultaneously a ruler of the netherworld and one who had not yet responded to the sacrificial summons, was...
Heidi Zhiguang Ji!
"Jin Rong Yu Xiang Tian Zun, seal!"
Ji Xiang immediately summoned Jin Rong Yu Xiang Tian Zun, one of the Four Great Heavenly Venerables, using his supreme golden body to seal his form and spirit into a fixed appearance. Once the golden body and jade likeness were formed, the five rulers of the netherworld could not return to Ji Xiang's main body and could only float externally, like five colossal avatars. Ji Xiang inadvertently glanced at his shadow; its appearance had changed, now resembling the form of Heidi. It was then twisted back, becoming the outline of Jin Rong Yu Xiang Tian Zun.
However, as long as he did not release the golden form and jade likeness, he would be unable to wield the power of the other forms and spirits. Abilities such as opening the Heavenly Gate or slaying the flood dragon could not be activated because they required the power of the Four Sacred Ones of the North. The Ten Directions World Law belonged to the power of the Ten Directions Divine Kings, and thus could not be used. Even the Buddhist teachings of Thousand Light King Tathagata could not be employed.
Fortunately, apart from these, the Peacock Ming King Dharma and the Huiji Vajra Seal were unrelated to his own form and spirit and could be used without hindrance.
Bai Mian Zhenwu, however, had no such reservations and walked directly into the darkness. Watching this, Ji Xiang thought that perhaps Xuanwu Yuren was about to achieve unity of the nether and the bright and return to his original position.
Originally, Bai Mian Zhenwu was forcibly taken from a place within Mount Wawu during the Hongwu era. After the Yongle period, he was shaped into the likeness of Emperor Yongle and enshrined in the Forbidden City. Now, everything became clear. His true form was Xuanwu Yuren, the ruler of the Netherworld and the Bright World. The part that took away the Yuren managed the "Bright World," leaving only the most original ruler of the Netherworld, the Xuanwu God.
"Worshipping the Nether, the Bright. Is this Bright the lord of the Bright World? Is it the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, or the Yuren?"
Ji Xiang opened his left hand, and a ghostly face appeared. Simultaneously, after Bai Mian Zhenwu disappeared, the darkness before him rapidly receded, revealing the true appearance of the dilapidated temple.
Until, the hilt of a sword appeared in his sight.
[Ghosts devour humans, the Nether Lord devours ghosts. Those who worship the Nether... draw this sword and use it to sever the head of the myriad feet of the high heavens ghost for me! Use his head as a sacrifice to me!]
A terrifying voice, deep and muffled, like distant thunder from the edge of the heavens and the end of the earth, layered and echoing, reverberating without cease.
The darkness receded, but not entirely. Ji Xiang's divine sight illuminated the deeper, more profound darkness, where a pair of colossal, beastly eyes were staring intently at him.
That aura, familiar in three parts and strange in seven, told Ji Xiang he already knew the other's identity.
Xuanwu had awakened.
It was a colossal, ethereal black tortoise, gazing into that darkness, as if seeing a mountain. The aura emanating from this mountain surged, pouring out into the world beyond the darkness.
That was a Netherworld, not recorded within the current heavens and realms, representing the underworld worshipped by people during the Han Dynasty, long lost to time and ages.
Xuanwu was originally the deity ruling the Netherworld, but with the change of eras, the immortal Yuren, representing rebirth, became the main body of the Xuanwu God, while the original giant tortoise became an appendage. Until its presence grew increasingly faint, reducing it to the Tortoise General among the Tortoise and Snake Generals.
[Deities continuously differentiate... in the most ancient era, during the Netherworld sacrifices of the Han Dynasty... after death, rebirth would follow.]
[Thus, the Yuren held the immortal herb of immortality, guiding the deceased to ascend to heaven and be reborn in the world.]
Stomp!
From within the darkness, accompanied by that ethereal voice, appeared illusory white feet, stepping upon Xuanwu's back. His divine appearance was handsome and majestic, accompanied by two green snakes.
Bai Mian Zhenwu displayed the features of the Yuren, yet maintained the appearance of Zhenwu the Great Emperor, stepping upon the darkness... [The old sacrifices end here. New sacrifices begin.]
Bai Mian Zhenwu's tone was irrefutable. Xuanwu seemed displeased, emitting a terrifying, low growl.
This was a new deity, one not worshipped by the world.
The unification of Zhenwu and Xuanwu represented the most ancient and primordial Yin, and the youngest and ultimate Yang. The Yuren's power and status were elevated, becoming equivalent to the ancient Xuanwu.
Xuanwu had not been worshipped for a long time, and was now suppressed by Zhenwu.
Bai Mian Zhenwu pointed to the divine sword:
[This is the Northern Hei Chi Qiu Jue Duan Mo Xiong Sword. It has no physical form, transformed by the Tai Qing Xuan Yuan arts. It cannot kill physical life, but it can sever forms, spirits, souls, and aspirations. Anything whose primary existence is these three, without physical life, can be cut by it.]
Following this, Bai Mian Zhenwu and Xuanwu transformed into Yin and Yang energies, returning to Ji Xiang's body. The Duan Mo Xiong Sword was drawn, and Bai Mian Zhenwu's form and spirit pointed in a direction.
Ji Xiang understood implicitly.
"I am the Dao Master."
"Nether-Bright Dao Master!"
The divine sword cleaved the void. The appearance of Mount Wawu underwent a massive change. Accompanied by the distortion of forms, an immensely colossal elderly face rose from the ground, detaching from Mount Wawu.
"That is..."
The mountain had changed. It became a magnificent palace! Within the palace, demonic energy soared to the heavens and descended, filling the sky!
You Zha Xian Yu reminds you: Remember to collect after reading.