As one of the Southern Five Patriarchs, Bai Yuchan, stated, one of the predecessors of Taoism was shamanism. The earliest Taoist sect, the Five Pecks of Rice School, was known as Mi Wu when it first emerged. Tracing back the origins, many ancient Taoist arts evolved from earlier forms of shamanism.
Ji Xiang had no clue about these eight characters and didn't know how to begin his cultivation. However, a mountain dweller always has a plan, let alone an immortal.
First, he stared intently.
The air was extremely silent, so quiet one could hear a pin drop. Ji Xiang found that even though he was staring intently at the ancient book, the blank divine tablet did not display any characters for simple marking; it hadn't even activated.
This caused Ji Xiang a slight moment of bewilderment.
Was this scripture merely an ordinary one, less useful than the White Lotus teachings, or had its level of existence reached a point where even the blank divine tablet could not reflect it?
Did such immortal scriptures exist?
Although he found this unlikely, as he recalled an instance where the blank divine tablet had immediately recorded a scripture just written by someone else, it meant that no matter what kind of scripture it was, even if its cultivation method was unknown, its name should at least be reflected.
Ji Xiang remained still for a long time. The cultivators from the Lu Shan Sect watching from the side dared not disturb him. Although they were bewildered, they could only assume that this ancient scripture was truly profound and mysterious, requiring even an immortal to observe it for so long.
Of course, some thought that perhaps this was just a mortal book, and the immortal, mistaking it for an immortal scripture, had been unable to find any leads after looking for so long.
The cultivators indulged in their own imaginations, each with their own thoughts, but none dared to speak them at this moment. After all, deep down, they hoped that this ancient scripture, passed down from antiquity, could bring them some surprise.
The Lu Shan Sect could not cultivate this scripture and found no way to begin. If an immortal could decipher it, it would broaden their horizons, at least letting them know it wasn't their own minds that were flawed, but rather their cultivation was insufficient, their methods were incorrect, or there were other reasons.
*Hummm—*
A radiance suddenly emerged, and the cultivators all looked in unison, seeing a heavenly book with characters.
The Bright Radiance Heavenly Book was originally blank, but as it had recorded a large number of immortal scriptures previously, it now bore characters. The Bright Radiance Heavenly Book itself was like bamboo slips; once immortal scripture characters were written into it, they would disappear, but they still existed deep within the heavenly book and could be summoned when needed.
Originally, when the heavenly book was first obtained, it could only inscribe spells and divine abilities within the Five Elements. Due to the loss of parts of the Three Primes of Heaven, Earth, and Water, the heavenly book was incomplete and could not inscribe the four categories of methods: "Life, Death, Fortune, Misfortune." However, because he frequently used the scriptures of the White Lotus Sect for sacrifices, which replenished the heavenly book's attributes, it was able to carry some later immortal scriptures.
As the Bright Radiance Heavenly Book appeared in his hand, white smoke also emerged from Ji Xiang's hand. The Tongtian Bright Smoke enveloped the Book of Taoist Witchcraft, completely stripping the image of those eight characters from the scripture.
If he didn't know how to cultivate it.
Then he would first peel off the character images from it with the Tongtian Bright Smoke, replicate them onto the Bright Radiance Heavenly Book, and then use the Tai Xu Fei Xuan Qi to activate it, thereby reversing the function of this spell.
*Hummm—*
Another fluctuation occurred, and those eight great characters were reflected onto the heavenly book. Ji Xiang began to draw forth the Tai Xu Fei Xuan Qi and started writing.
Following the images of those eight characters, green smoke rose, and a sudden light and fire ignited.
At the same time, the cultivators of the Lu Shan Sect were astonished, not only because of the green smoke and flames appearing on the heavenly book, but also because the images of the eight great characters on their scripture had vanished, leaving only the outlines of some characters!
This ancient treasure scripture, impervious to water and fire, unharmed by swords and blades, its characters remaining as new after a thousand years as if still bearing the scent of ink. Yet, at this moment, it disappeared before their very eyes.
Thus, the cultivators held their breath, filled with anticipation and hope, their eyes fixed on what was about to happen.
Just as light and shadow flickered, to Ji Xiang's left, a figure materialized, wearing a crown that spanned the heavens, clad in a robe of divine light and flying feathers, adorned with an emblem of five coiled dragons, and holding a sword of dragons and snakes.
To Ji Xiang's right, a figure emerged, wrapped in a straw cloak, wearing a deep robe, treading in straw sandals, with disheveled hair, holding a staff of dragons and snakes.
"This!"
The moment these two figures appeared, the cultivators instinctively felt danger, their hearts greatly alarmed, and they retreated. Ji Xiang also retreated, seeing the two figures to his left and right, and witnessing them act simultaneously.
Sword and staff intertwined, like the biting of dragons and snakes.
"Kill!"
A great roar echoed from the void, striking the heart of everyone present. Life and death alternated, and their blood and souls vanished for an instant. The immense tearing sensation of hallucination and transformation almost shattered all the cultivators present!
"Pure Heart Divine Incantation, Suppress!"
Ji Xiang immediately cast the Eight Divine Incantations at the immortal level. The fluctuations of the immortal path descended, protecting these mortal cultivators, while the killing cry from the great roar continued to echo in his own heart, growing louder and louder!
Without hesitation, Ji Xiang did not use any calming spells. At the moment the echoing killing cry reached its peak, Ji Xiang raised his hand and struck his own brow!
"Heavenly Retribution!"
*Boom!* The endless shouting ceased abruptly. In an instant, heaven and earth became clear, the spiritual platform was clean, and all lingering killing cries vanished!
Subsequently, fragrant incense and smoke erupted from Ji Xiang's ears and nostrils. Heavenly Retribution had interrupted the bizarre shouting, causing the circulation of incense and smoke within his body to stagnate and become blocked. Even his mind was emptied for that instant. Although it was only a fleeting moment, in this instant, Ji Xiang saw something extraordinary.
Whether it was the figure that resembled a Taoist deity or the one that looked like a Qin and Han shaman, they echoed each other, performing the same actions. The killing intent generated in this instant did not originate from spells and divine abilities.
Ji Xiang saw the Great Floating Li Land.
However, within this Great Floating Li Land, there were no divine tablets he recognized. Instead, in ancient times, during the pre-Qin and Han dynasties, there existed countless forms and spirits.
They gathered and transformed like clouds and mist, and the ultimate origin of all this mist came from the sky above.
The blank divine tablet suddenly reacted. In Ji Xiang's eyes, characters manifested in this snap of the fingers, and time and space were frozen.
There is no concept of time in the world of consciousness.
An instant can be a thousand years, meaning that the repeated birth and death of a thousand lifetimes is but a fleeting moment.
A hundred dragons and a thousand snakes, hissing and shouting.
In the sky, stars shifted and constellations changed.
[Heavenly Will Divine Ability: Gods battle in the profound, their formations yin and yang.]
[Requires possession of both the Solar Body and the Lunar Body.]
[To draw forth a thread of killing intent between yin and yang, those who encounter the killing intent shall die, this is Heavenly Killing!]
[Heavenly will is often imperceptible, heavenly will is often unseen.]
[Ancient shamans performed rituals, sensing heavenly will. Different heavenly wills bring different auspiciousness and disasters to the world, meaning the will of heaven causes such events to occur in the mortal realm. The mortal realm and heavenly will echo each other; by comprehending this heavenly will and guiding it, phenomena that heavenly will anticipates will occur in the world.]
[During Taoist cultivation, the strong merge their bodies with heavenly will, referred to as the Heavenly Heart.]