"In the past, people cultivated the will of heaven, but could only stay on the surface. The ancient shamans performed rituals with mysterious and unfathomable actions, making it impossible for the world to understand the true principles behind them, and even they themselves understood only half of it. Later, during the Taoist period, someone suddenly attained enlightenment and merged with the will of heaven, transforming into the Heavenly Heart Realm. They referred to this level as 'Taishang Zai Tian' (Supreme Being in Heaven)."
"That is, the 'Great King' of the mortal world transforms into the 'Taishang' in heaven."
"The cultivation methods of the past were to guide the will of heaven to obey one's own will. The cultivation methods of today are to replace the will of heaven with one's own will. When Taoists cultivate, they often prefix the names of those with extremely high cultivation with 'Taishang,' signifying their supreme status."
The Heavenly Will Divine Ability was a supreme art that Da Luo Tai Yi could wield only after comprehending the will of heaven and reaching the Heavenly Heart Realm. It was also a method passed down from ancient times when witchcraft transitioned to Taoism, with someone recording their insights into scriptures.
Without special means, it was impossible to decipher these scriptures. Ji Xiang realized that the blank divine牌 had no reflection before because the will of heaven was something that needed to be perceived by oneself to be observed.
Now, Ji Xiang could understand the meaning of the eight characters in this Daoist-Shamanic Divine Book, which was a shortcut to transforming into the Heavenly Heart. It was the earliest path used by Taoism to achieve the Heavenly Heart. First, use shamanic methods to guide the will of heaven to descend and perceive it at close range under specific circumstances.
Later Taoism abandoned witchcraft and pursued Tai Yi's comprehension of heavenly secrets and Da Luo's manipulation of karma, using these two paths to enter the Heavenly Heart Realm.
In terms of hierarchy, the current "Taishang Zai Tian" was indeed much higher than the past "Da Wang Zai Xuan." After all, as time progressed, magical arts would become stronger, and cultivation systems would become more complete.
"This is something precious."
Although shamanic arts were largely obsolete in the current era, they still had their uses. For beings like himself, who had not reached the Heavenly Heart Realm and remained at the Immortal level, they could use ancient shamanic arts to guide the will of heaven to descend, thereby confronting true "Heavenly Heart Realm" cultivators!
This was a powerful means of confronting the Heavenly Heart Realm!
Witchcraft was severed, and many of its arts were no less inferior to current Taoist arts. However, the difficulty of inheritance and the requirement for specific innate talent, such as this Heavenly Will Divine Ability which required Yin and Yang to be in unison, were rare. Where could one find so many cultivators who practiced both Yin and Yang? Taoist arts, on the other hand, had no such limitations. For Tai Yi and Da Luo, as long as they cultivated to the level of Flying Immortal, anyone could comprehend them.
Ji Xiang looked at the other decorations. The cultivators of the Lushan Sect remained silent, because the situation triggered by the ancient book just now made them realize that someone had now cultivated this ancient book, which they had been unable to practice.
"As previously stated, this ancient book now belongs to you."
The Lushan Sect naturally did not go back on their word. Ji Xiang then asked them about talismans for firearms, but he was informed by the Lushan Sect cultivators that strengthening firearms with talismans or employing unique firearm techniques, regardless of the sect, involved borrowing power from the Heavenly Dipper Great Sage, who was merely one of the famous generals under Marshal Tian Peng.
"The essence of firearm techniques lies in thunder magic."
An old cultivator from the Lushan Sect spoke: "The Five Thunder Talisman of Longhu Mountain can imbue firearms with the power of thunder and lightning, and the Bombardment Fire Technique of the Meishan Sect can multiply the power of firearms. It is said that when wielding a firearm, the thunder god assists, and the Five Thunder Technique's fire sweeps away evil spirits."
"The ancestor of the Meishan Sect, Master Chen, is said to have used firearms to kill a thousand-year-old great demon, a centipede spirit. When he fired his firearm, it first unleashed ten directions of flames, and simultaneously, five thunderbolts from the heavens struck in unison, with thunderous roars and lightning. Fire and thunder surged, and the flames blazed for ten thousand feet, reducing the thousand-year-old centipede to ashes in moments."
"Firearms are the most extreme and yang instruments, and thunder magic is the best 'kindling' to enhance their power. Tracing its origins, it comes from the Divine Light Sect of the Song Dynasty."
"Legend has it that Lin Ling Su of the Divine Light Sect obtained three volumes of heavenly scriptures from a Han immortal, Zhao Sheng. It was a remnant of the third volume of the 'Nine Heavens Five Thunder Jade Scripture,' said to originate from the celestial being 'Primordial Beginning Dharma King,' whose full title was 'The Unsurpassed Primordial Beginning Dharma King Created by the Jade Pure Realm.' Lin Ling Su compiled and adapted it into the 'Divine Light Heavenly Altar Jade Scripture.'"
Primordial Beginning Dharma King?
He had never heard this name before, but it contained the name "Primordial Beginning," differing by only one character from "Primordial Beginning Heavenly King."
Could the ancestor of thunder magic, tracing back to the past, also have a Jade Pure cultivator?
But this person was likely dead. Currently, the Jade Pure cultivators remaining were the unknown first person, the suspected second person, Christ, Old Mr. Yuan, Qing Luo, the twelfth missing person, and himself.
Nine Heavens Five Thunder Jade Scripture.
Nine Heavens Jade Pivot Precious Scripture?
Ji Xiang recalled the half-volume Heavenly Scripture he had taken from the Thunder Ancestor. Because it was the latter half, he could not cultivate it. These three-grade immortal scriptures could only gather dust in his collection. However, upon hearing such secrets, he realized that these two Heavenly Scriptures utilized thunder magic, and even their names were so similar.
Jade Scripture, Jade Pivot?
Ji Xiang pondered while listening to the old cultivator's continued explanation.
"Later, in 'On Thunder' written by Master Tian Shi, there was also a marvelous secret technique, meaning 'my body is the body of all heavenly thunder gods, and the thunder gods are my gods.' It is called the Inner Heavenly Dipper Technique, by merging qi with qi and spirit with spirit."
"During the Yuan Dynasty, Mo Qi Yan, a descendant of the Divine Light Sect, obtained the 'Thunder Slaying and Decapitation Scripture,' which allowed him to 'act in harmony with heaven.' This was his secret, and some believed he had obtained other parts of the Heavenly Altar Jade Scripture."
This old cultivator was extremely old, having survived from the late Yuan Dynasty. He revealed some secrets he knew, but the lifespan of Dharma sect cultivators could not compare to those of the orthodox sects. Therefore, he frankly stated that he had at most ten years left to live.
"Birth, aging, sickness, and death are inescapable sufferings. Achieving Earth Immortal is ultimately only half of heaven and earth, and the talent of an immortal. Even with a golden elixir solidified, one cannot see far, and without becoming a Heavenly Immortal, one will eventually turn to dust."
The old cultivator looked at Ji Xiang with eyes full of reverence and envy.
"Then do you know where the Heavenly Altar Jade Scripture might be preserved?"
During the Yuan Dynasty, this land was severely damaged, and many cultivation histories were almost severed and not passed down.
The old cultivator pointed out: "It is said that Master Tian Shi once traveled to Qingcheng Mountain in Shu, where he obtained a mysterious method. Perhaps the traces of the Jade Scripture can be found there."
Ji Xiang remained silent. He then took out several small bottles from his sleeve. The Lushan Sect cultivators did not understand. Ji Xiang explained: "Thank you all for enlightening me. This is Sun Essence, which can help you refine your roots and bones, and take your cultivation to the next level."
After thanking them, Ji Xiang ascended on immortal light and departed. He returned to the real world from the great river in this area. The Lushan Sect cultivators, looking at the Sun Essence, were immensely excited. Moon Essence was already a supreme treasure in the mortal world, but for a great sect within the Dharma sect, it could be obtained if they desired it. Unfortunately, the Moon Essence had limited effects on refining human roots and bones, while the Sun Essence was a supreme treasure that could truly lead to the path of immortality!
Although consuming Sun Essence carried great risks, when facing death, who wouldn't want to take a gamble!
The old cultivator's eyes were filled with tears of excitement, and he exclaimed about the immortal destiny. The ancient book could not help them in their cultivation, but the Sun Essence they exchanged for could strengthen their sect. They respectfully bowed towards the direction Ji Xiang had disappeared, remaining there for a long time.
.......
Ji Xiang returned to the human world. Not much time had passed. Ji Xiang looked around. To avoid causing any disturbance, he headed towards the East Sea. Along the way, he deliberately found several White Lotus Sect strongholds and casually took some spoils. He ignored the curses and骂娘 from the White Lotus disciples, taking their scriptures and leaving.
Of course, Ji Xiang also felt some emotion. Since the death of Prince Lu, the White Lotus Sect had dispersed into different regional sects. Their ideologies conflicted, and they lacked unity, which led to a significant decline in the conception and hierarchy of their newly written scriptures, and the incense wishes they collected were far less than before.
If the quality was not high, how could he collect White Lotus Sect scriptures for sacrifice? He was reluctant to use scriptures from the orthodox sects. Therefore, after seizing the White Lotus Sect scriptures, he even encouraged them to increase their production and not stop writing scriptures. If necessary, they could earn money by copying books to expand their industry, and he would find them again once their industry grew.
At that time, the White Lotus disciples were moved to tears and prostrated themselves with their heads touching the ground.
The waves at the edge of the sea were like mountains. Ji Xiang sat high in the clouds and took out the half-volume Jade Pivot Precious Scripture.
Just now, Ji Xiang had a special idea.
"The immortal scripture's characters cannot be cultivated, but they can be expanded, with only slight modifications..."
On this day, the weather above the East Sea was turbulent, with lightning and thunder!