After the Eight Thunder Gods were eliminated, Ji Xiang obtained their eight divine positions, and the blank divine tablets generously absorbed their power for his own use.
Next, Ji Xiang would use the spells from the "Central Jade Book" to shape new forms and spirits for these eight divine positions, and then launch a counterattack, killing directly from the Yellow Springs to the Japanese army's headquarters!
"Hmph!"
Ji Xiang withdrew his demonic energy, a trace of pain appearing on his face. It wasn't just his physical body being scorched, nor just his blood and qi churning within him, but even his incense and fire本体 was burning fiercely!
The form of an immortal began to appear. It should have corresponded to the Danxiang Immortal, but in the next moment, the Heavenly Venerable form outside Ji Xiang's body completely devoured the image of the Danxiang Immortal, intending to replace it!
The Calamity of the Red Dust above his head was also completely offset by the six thousand merits automatically obtained from taking the second-grade immortal pill.
A halo, illuminating all spirits, shot out from the purple-gold pill.
Divine light condensed in Ji Xiang's eyes, and two shallow red clouds flowed ceaselessly, as if he saw illusory scenes of mountains and rivers shattering and the earth flattening! His spiritual power instantly connected with the entire Yellow Springs, and the Yellow Springs realm seemed to begin to establish a connection with Ji Xiang.
On Ji Xiang's brow, the 'Ba' character transformed from the Vajra of Vows moved slightly to the left, and then a surge of extremely dense yang energy shot up into the sky!
The Heavenly Gate ascended to the summit, the Primordial Spirit realm!
"Young friend, your physical body and primordial spirit need to immediately draw upon the power of the Dharma Realm you wish to connect with! Do not become entangled with the Yellow Springs, otherwise, this Yellow Springs will establish a heavenly-human connection with you!"
"This heavenly-human connection means the mutual resonance between heavenly will and human affairs. The Daoist immortal earth technique, or the Golden Elixir Great Dao, as well as our Buddhist sect's Four Attainments Arhats and Ten Earth Bodhisattvas, are all paths created by absorbing the Confucian concept of heavenly-human connection."
"This allows the cultivator's spirit to resonate with a certain world in the unseen, thus harmonizing yin and yang, and seeing heaven and man. In this way, the Primordial Spirit realm can draw vast power from the Dharma Realm for its own use."
"And cultivators at the Primordial Spirit level can also establish a connection with that Dharma Realm. When cultivating to a profound level, they can enter the Dharma Realm with their physical bodies, travel a thousand miles, and even escape ten demonic tribulations and the five decays of heaven and man."
During the reign of Emperor Wu of Han, Dong Zhongshu spoke of the connection between heaven and man, also known as the unity of heaven and man, stating, "All principles of nurturing the mind and cultivating nature, methods of exhausting the spirit and knowing transformation, the mechanisms of heavenly-human connection, and the signs of the rise and fall of governance are all recorded herein."
This means that heaven and man are kindred spirits, resonating with each other, heaven can intervene in human affairs, and man can also sense the heavens.
In the past, all methods, except for the arts of alchemists and sorcery, were not outside the first three teachings. In their mutual development, the three teachings also absorbed many ideas from each other and, through these ideas, transformed them into tangible spells and divine powers, even achieving astonishing feats like opening the heavens and creating Dharma Realms.
"The Confucian 'Imperial Heaven Shore' is the divine kingdom they created by evolving the art of the unity of heaven and man. Xu Fu's act of isolating Japan is merely a clumsy and failed imitation."
The Vajra of Vows then muttered to itself, its voice emanating from the 'Ba' character imprint, no longer as loud as before.
However, Ji Xiang did not have the leisure to ponder these matters carefully. Moreover, Ji Xiang had already learned about Xu Fu's imitation of the Confucian divine kingdom from Zhang Sanfeng, so it did not arouse much interest. Instead, the pain in his body intensified, and sensing the cold aura of the Yellow Springs seeming to recognize him and wanting to establish a connection, Ji Xiang frowned deeply.
The power of the Yellow Springs was indeed immense.
But the Eastern Yellow Springs of Japan alone was not enough for him to establish a connection with it.
To establish a connection, it must be with the entire Yellow Springs!
Just the Eastern Yellow Springs was too stingy!
However, although his ambition was as high as the heavens, his fate was as thin as paper. Ji Xiang knew that in his current state, he could not establish a connection with the entire Great Yellow Springs, so a bold idea arose in his mind!
"Heavenly Opening Yellow Dao Heavenly Venerable! Absolve!"
Previously, the Four Heavenly Venerables had devoured four divine tablets and occupied their existence. Except for Guangdu Chenlun Heavenly Venerable, who completely erased the divine name of Miaojian Heaven along with the form and spirit of Bai Mian Zhenwu, the other three Heavenly Venerables occupied the positions of the Three Saints of the North Pole and did not have the餘力 to erase their names.
But this was for the best. Ji Xiang did not want to easily replace the powers of the Three Saints, as the Four Saints of the North Pole were not ordinary deities. As the eighth position of the Heavenly Department and two tenth positions of the Heavenly Department, they could crush most of the deities in the world today. Moreover, Marshal Tianpeng possessed the divine skill of opening the heavenly gate to summon reinforcements.
Therefore, the three Heavenly Venerables were now just the Three Saints wearing the shells of Heavenly Venerables; their original abilities could still be freely used.
And Heavenly Opening Yellow Dao Heavenly Venerable occupied the divine position of Marshal Tianpeng.
At this moment, using the command of the Heavenly Venerable, he opened the gate of Fu Li Heaven!
"This is!"
The Vajra of Vows was startled back from its self-contemplation and saw a vast heavenly gate open in the dark Yellow Springs world. Another stream of Dharma Realm power penetrated through, slowly expelling the cold aura of the Yellow Springs and keeping it at a distance outside the heavenly gate!
"This aura is... could it be! It's Fu Li!"
The Vajra of Vows was greatly alarmed: "Young friend, do not be rash!"
This was no joke, this was too big of a joke!
You probably couldn't even withstand an ordinary Dharma Realm. Now that you have taken the immortal pill, your body is already in a state of solar refining, enduring immense pain, and even with the risk of your physical body disintegrating at any moment, you still want to connect with the most powerful Great Fu Li Earth in the Dharma Realm?
Fu Li is not a place anyone can go to, not even heavenly demons... But even heavenly demons, now promoted to the immortal realm, Fu Li would not show leniency, would it?
Ji Xiang walked into Fu Li, ignoring the Vajra of Vows' dissuasion, and said indifferently:
"Returning here, I can recover my strength. If I am to draw upon the power of the Dharma Realm, is there any better place than Great Fu Li!"
"If drawing upon Great Fu Li is unsuccessful, I can also settle for the next best option and draw upon other Dharma Realms!"
The Vajra of Vows was at a loss: "This...!"
However, he soon noticed that the power within Ji Xiang was rapidly growing. Upon entering Fu Li, it was as if shackles were unlocked, which naturally surprised and puzzled him again, as this was not the state of a remnant immortal.
"What is going on? Could entering Fu Li accelerate the speed of solar refining?"
"Originally, the second-grade immortal pill could not make one ascend to immortality on the spot. This effect of immediate ascension to immortality is only possessed by the ninth-grade immortal pill. Young friend, this doesn't seem like a remnant immortal recovering their magic power."
Remnant immortals, including banished immortals, should recover to their full strength in one go. Pseudo-immortals and false immortals will enter a two-year period of advancement, and after two years, they will gain the qualification to undergo the Demon King Tribulation and increase their tribulation crossing probability by twenty percent.
This is because remnant immortals and banished immortals are themselves ascendants; they possess immortal power and immortal forms. Taking immortal pills is to resolve the poisoning they have suffered and to supplement the missing immortal power in their bodies. Only pseudo-immortals and false immortals who have failed to ascend will enter a state of slow increase in immortal power.
"If someone who has never ascended takes the second-grade immortal pill, they will enter the solar refining process for over three hundred days. Every seven days, they must absorb a large amount of yin energy to neutralize the violent yang energy within their bodies."
"And during these more than three hundred days, the cultivator's realm will continuously break through. However, due to it being the second grade, this breakthrough is very urgent and risky. The two bottlenecks from the Huangting realm to the Xiantian realm are particularly fierce, as the twelve years of time will be compressed into a specific thirty-six days."
"And if there were certain treasures from our Buddhist sect, it could even compress this thirty-six-day period by half, but that would be somewhat dangerous." The Vajra of Vows frowned, unable to understand Ji Xiang's state.
Entering Fu Li means being a true immortal, and leaving immediately means becoming crippled. This is not a normal remnant immortal!
This is like sealing one's true cultivation and then descending to the mortal world with a trash realm to play!
This is not right! This is not right!
"Oh! So that's how it is! This poor monk understands!"
After a full five seconds of thought, the Vajra of Vows gradually began to comprehend Ji Xiang's actions!
Those who had originally ascended left all their cultivation in the Heavenly Gate, and then descended to cultivate again. In this way, the immortal power cultivated might be more than twice that of a normal true immortal.
An unstable foundation, cutting off cultivation and starting anew, such a thing is also recorded in ancient Buddhist scriptures about a Buddha who regressed his Dao heart six times and then cultivated again, so there are precedents to follow!
"Young friend indeed possesses great spirit and perseverance! You are worthy of being the manifestation of eighty thousand heavenly demons. You must have seen all sorts of people with unstable Dao hearts during the trials of cultivators in the past, and thus gained enlightenment, understanding that cultivation is secondary, and spirit, such as spirit and perseverance, is the fundamental root of power."
"The trial of the Azure Heaven Demon King is to sever one's cultivation ten times, to sink and float through the years like mortals. It is likely that you, as a heavenly demon, are emulating the actions of the Demon King and giving yourself a trial."
Ji Xiang listened, truly moved to tears and speechless.
My strength is all thanks to your imagination.
This is actually quite good; at least my prestige is preserved.
Countless cultivation levels also surged up, and the Dao cultivation of the immortal realm was restored in the next moment. The burning and boiling sensation began to subside, and Ji Xiang could finally breathe a sigh of relief, then attempted to establish a spiritual connection with Fu Li.
The vast Azure Heaven of Biluo surged like the sea.
Waves, one higher than the other, billows, one pressing down on the other.
A tsunami-like spiritual storm instantly invaded Ji Xiang's divine consciousness! The immense tearing pain almost made Ji Xiang cry out!
That was the immense power of Fu Li!
Forbidden!
Forbidden!
Forbidden!
As if solemnly announcing these two words, even though Ji Xiang had existed in Fu Li for a hundred years and usually returned here as if going home, at this moment, he was actually rejected by Fu Li.
Perhaps, this is the rule since ancient times, perhaps, it is related to the source of power of the Great Fu Li Earth itself.
No one knows when this most vast Dharma Realm was born, and no one knows why it appeared. This is different from the Inner Mountains and Rivers, whose appearance has clear records. Initially, the Inner Mountains and Rivers were not large.
It was like the immortal realm in ancient times, with few immortals within.
But the Great Fu Li Earth, where the divine tablets of all deities from ancient times to the present are stored, and where all prayers from ancient times are transmitted. If the existence of the Inner Mountains and Rivers can be traced back to the late Qin and early Han dynasties,
Then the existence of Great Fu Li might go back to the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, or even earlier.
Perhaps, it was an era that had stagnated, and then, unknown to anyone, continued to turn.
Ji Xiang interrupted the connection with Great Fu Li, but the surge of power just now left his spirit momentarily blank.
At this time, another effect of taking the second-grade immortal pill began to manifest.
That is, within three hundred days, the taker has a chance to comprehend the "Great Luo Dao Fruit"!
After comprehending Great Luo and achieving the immortal body, one is immediately equivalent to a stray Great Luo. However, a normal stray Great Luo is someone who failed to comprehend the Heavenly Heart and regressed in realm to become a stray Great Luo. It is a form of flying immortal, retaining some characteristics of Great Luo, just as a Taiyi stray is adept at deduction but consumes immense immortal power. Stray Great Luo is also an imperfect product of the Great Luo Dao Fruit, possessing the ability of a weakened version of "reversing cause and effect" - inverting the root and the branch.
It is like pointing to a piece of land and telling others that if no one cultivated it, it would not produce grain because no one sowed seeds. But now, by using this divine ability, one can tell others that people might have sown seeds in this land, so it will definitely yield a harvest.
Thus, grain appeared in this land.
It focuses only on the result, ignoring the cause, but this modification of nature, like Taiyi stray, requires a massive expenditure of immortal power.
Taiyi represents the power of heavenly secrets.
Great Luo represents the cycle of cause and effect.
The changes in the rules of all things in the world do not go beyond these two.
Ji Xiang's spirit was blank at this moment, and after the power of Great Fu Li dissipated, the powerful sense of connection instantly captured the nearest ten directions of Dharma Realms outside Fu Li!
For a moment, the powers of ten Dharma Realms descended into Fu Li!
They even affected the Yellow Springs Realm outside the Heavenly Gate!
In the Eastern Yellow Springs, sensing the power of the Yellow Springs Realm escaping her control, the Great God of Yellow Springs rose from the depths of the realm. Countless Yellow Springs Yin soldiers formed the clouds beneath her, lifting her into the dark high heavens.
"Eight Thunder Gods... daring to kill my child! And severely injure me, and now you want to seize the power of the Yellow Springs!"
"Who gave you the courage to be so presumptuous here! This is the realm of the dead, and the living are not allowed to exist!"
The rotten eyes of the Great God of Yellow Springs gazed upon the entire Eastern Yellow Springs world. All fluctuations of magic power escaped her control. She prepared to go to the Root Country, a place she could not enter herself because it was where the god Susanoo resided. However, the divine position of Susanoo had never been worshipped in the Yellow Springs, and Xu Fu had bestowed upon her supreme blessings, allowing her to act on behalf of Susanoo and enter the Root Country.
But now, she suddenly could no longer sense the source of Buddhist Dharma she had previously perceived.
It was as if it had vanished into thin air.
But no matter what, she decided to wait for the other party in the Root Country.
Because no matter what.
Perhaps someone could open the gate of the Yellow Springs from the mortal world. This time, the one who opened the gate was Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, but as long as she discovered the other party's existence, then the other party would never be able to hide from her eyes and ears to open the gate back to the human world.
The realm of the dead has its own lord of ghosts and gods.
The rules of heaven and earth cannot be altered by the weak!
As long as one enters the Yellow Springs, it is impossible to open the gates of yin and yang and return to the human world! No matter where the other party hides, they will eventually appear!
In this world where time is difficult to perceive, she possessed a long life to wait for the other party!
But then.
Something seemed to be vibrating within the Yellow Springs! "This is the power of a Dharma Realm? How can there be so much!"