Sometimes, an unintentional act brings unexpected rewards to others.
Including oneself.
Vast aspirations rose from those cultivators. Each cultivator who had gained insight into lightning techniques turned their gratitude towards Ji Xiang into sincere faith, which could be considered devotion. These gathered aspirations transformed into a lightning divine ability.
The wondrous uses of aspirations were infinite, but Ji Xiang discovered that these aspirations, voluntarily offered by the multitude rather than gained through proselytization, were vastly different from those collected using the True Wu Er Shang Book.
[Sincere Aspirations: Celestial Resonance.]
The blank divine tablet reacted to this vast ocean of aspirations.
[The true nature of the universe resides within the heart. Heaven embodies its height, Earth its depth. The sun and moon shine, the stars are bright, Yin and Yang harmonize; this is not by deliberate action, but by following the Way, and all things naturally conform.]
[When Taoist cultivators face high deities such as the Heavenly Venerables with reverence and faith, gathering sincere aspirations, the Heavenly Venerables respond, bestowing immortal techniques, dispelling calamities, and returning blessings to all beings. Cultivators can enter a state of enlightenment through such resonance.]
[Celestial Resonance (Divine): The unique state of enlightenment entered by the recipient of sincere aspirations. Mortals revere immortals and gods, immortals and gods revere Heaven, and Heaven reveres the Tao. This creates a layered ascent, constantly receiving echoes and continuously returning, passed back and forth.]
Receiving the echoes of Heaven.
Heaven!
Man is to immortal as immortal is to Heaven;
Immortal is to Heaven as Heaven is to the Tao.
The operation and changes of the Tao influence the stability of Heaven. The operation and changes of Heaven influence the cultivation of immortals. Every action of an immortal can stir up great waves in the mortal world, even changing the heavens and earth.
Ji Xiang suddenly gained insight. With the power of this enlightenment, the Celestial Perception technique previously obtained from a hundred immortal souls of the Han Dynasty was also activated. His perception of that lofty power became even more real, as if his soul had broken free from worldly shackles and ascended to a more ethereal realm, higher than Da Fu Li Tu.
The sky strives for its own loftiness, the earth for its depth. The sun and moon shine in the sky, the stars are arranged clearly, and the harmony of Yin and Yang is not due to anyone's deliberate arrangement. All things in the world follow their inherent Way, cooperating and harmonizing with each other, ultimately becoming as they are naturally.
The changes of day and night, and the four seasons, do not exist to make all things grow, but all things are born, age, and die according to the changes of Yin and Yang.
The rain and dew from Heaven are not for nurturing plants, but the rain and dew do nurture plants.
When deities descend and Yin and Yang harmonize, these phenomena, which seem unrelated, can be connected.
Therefore, the essence of the Tao is hidden within things, and its spirit resides in the hearts of things. The Tao is tranquil, indifferent, pleasant, silent, formless, and embraced within the chest.
They impress upon each other and then give feedback. The aspirations born under such circumstances are great sincere wishes that can resonate with heaven, earth, and humanity, and be used to transform any matter at will.
And with the emergence of this realization.
The power of the Heavenly Will divine ability previously cultivated began to erupt. Ji Xiang vaguely sensed the Heavenly Will, and gradually, he could clearly feel its operation.
Heaven's killing intent, divine battles in the profound, arraying Yin and Yang.
Heaven's killing intent, "killing," does not refer to mortal killing, but to the birth and death of all things.
All things are born of Heaven, hence they are called Heaven-born. Consequently, that which is born must also die. Its death is also the act of Heaven, hence "Heaven's killing."
In winter, all things wither, beasts are in panic, and many people freeze to death. This is not done by anyone deliberately, but is the natural cycle of the world's seasons. Winter will surely come, and after winter, all things will be reborn in spring. The birth and death of the world are largely like this.
The Thunder Ancestor Ruyi in his hand vibrated gently.
From his sleeve, a golden hammer flew out, the Jin Jizi. It seemed to sense something and was now exerting its power.
Ji Xiang had gained insight into the Tao.
The Jin Jizi intended to "transform the holder into Tao."
As the Northern Cold Fairy had said, when the holder of the Jin Jizi first attained enlightenment, they would be "transformed into Tao" by the Jin Jizi's power, in response to the Jade God Pan residing within the Inner Mountains and Rivers.
At this moment, the Grand Ultimate True Person would appear, attempting to connect with the Heavenly Dao and obtain the eternally existing karmic connections from Heaven.
This moment, which should have been delayed, was triggered prematurely.
In the void, attracted by the sound emitted by the Jin Jizi, the sound produced by the Jin Jizi this time was different from before. Without reciting any incantations or spells, in the mysterious depths, within the Inner Mountains and Rivers, a jade sound resounded.
Metal vibrates, jade sounds.
It is bound to make people comprehend the Heavenly Dao!
In the East Sea, reflecting the azure sky, a Tai Chi diagram appeared, rotating.
Something was about to emerge. The Tai Chi diagram reflected from the sea to the sky, and the rotating Yin and Yang continuously released a certain power, intending to transform all the cultivators present, along with Ji Xiang, into Tao, erasing them from the world, and turning them into threads that would pull on that karmic connection of the Heavenly Dao.
Ji Xiang's eyes were fixed on the seawater.
But his mind had already ascended to Heaven.
Whether it was the Tai Chi in the sea or the Tai Chi in the clouds and under the sky, the gradual changes were all within his sight. Ji Xiang also knew that this was the power of the Jin Jizi. He had learned about the matter of transforming the holder into Tao during his previous eavesdropping.
To be transformed into Tao.
He would become the key to opening the karmic connections of the Heavenly Dao, guiding the Heavenly Will, or the connection between the Heavenly Dao and the world, becoming a disposable medium.
But Ji Xiang was not alarmed at all.
Because his spirit had ascended to Heaven, and looking at all the changes below, it seemed as if they were no longer related to his present self. He even had the thought of suppressing these changes.
Moreover, Ji Xiang felt he could succeed.
Then let him try.
Above the vast sea, the sky was clear and vast, but thunderous sounds gradually emerged.
The sound lingered amidst the waves, gradually spreading in all directions, until it reverberated through the vast expanse of a hundred thousand miles.
Sudden thunderbolts, lightning streaking across the stars.
A large amount of energy gathered, and the moisture from the sea surged into the sky, located in the north, called the profound.
In cultivation, celestial phenomena manifest: like the appearance of true sages in sacred moments, sudden downpours on clear days during purification, thunder and lightning when opening the netherway, rainbow clouds appearing in the sky after soul liberation, or even flying swords cleaving evil when attacking mountains and breaking temples.
"Thunder."
Ji Xiang felt that his consciousness had merged with the consciousness of the countless lightning cultivators before him. His body was their body, and his will was their will.
As he spoke, thunderous sounds arose.
Countless lightning cultivators also spoke simultaneously, shouting thunderous sounds.
The fish, shrimp, crabs, whales, and dragons in the water leaped out of the sea, speaking in human tongues:
"Thunder!"
The wind in the sky blew, as if also shouting that word.
"Thunder!"
Rumble—
Thunder sounded in the sky and the abyss below, yet no lightning was seen.
"Great Tao, divine beings, and myriad transformations!"
Thunder is not specific light and heat; it is sound, it is the tremor of Heaven. In humans, it is courage; in Heaven, it is wrath; in spirit, it is clarity. It slays all evil, annihilates a thousand vices, sweeps away all ghosts, and purifies all impurities!
Ji Xiang looked at the two Tai Chi diagrams and shouted:
"Thunder!"
Echoes. The people's gratitude for Ji Xiang's transmission of lightning transformed their prayers into echoes, venerating Ji Xiang as a Heavenly Venerable deity.
Ji Xiang prayed to Heaven, transforming its power into echoes, entering Celestial Resonance, enlightening the Heavenly Dao, and taking Heaven as a higher source of power. Thus, this divine ability was not initiated by Ji Xiang.
But by Heaven!
The thunder of the Northern Profound Heaven!
The Thunder Ancestor Ruyi suddenly flew up, controlled the Jin Jizi, and then forcibly refined this vibrating artifact within itself!
The rotation of the Tai Chi diagrams abruptly stopped.
Yin and Yang pressed against each other, resonating into thunder.
Yin and Yang contended, and the Heavenly sound dispersed.
The Yin and Yang energies within the Tai Chi diagrams suddenly merged, and an incomparably loud thunderous sound transmitted from the human realm to the Inner Mountains and Rivers!
.....
Until it reached the mind of the Tai Chi True Person, who was preparing to connect with the Heavenly Dao using the Jade God Pan!
The entire East Sea region, all living beings, as well as the sky, the sea, the waves, the wind, the clouds, the dew, whether sentient or insentient, whether possessing a heavenly heart, all emitted that thunderous sound.
And so.
A world-shattering thunderclap exploded in his mind. This cultivator, who was in the Heavenly Heart realm, instantly encountered the immense bombardment of countless gathered thunderous sounds. He let out a horrifying scream on the spot, and large amounts of red smoke and clouds erupted from the seven orifices of his head!