Zuo Shou Shen guided Prince Lie Jie’s path, and this was indeed Ji Xiang’s intention. With the various changes occurring within Ying Tian Fu and the death of the White Lotus Sect’s Earth Immortal, they would surely make a move.
Ji Xiang’s gaze fell upon the dust motes dancing in the air, carried by the wind, their movements beyond their own control. Even stillness was not an option; the concept of the mortal world stemmed from this. Ordinary people found it difficult to resist powers far exceeding their own, whether it be wealth, authority, or sorcery. They could only be like dust, tossed about by the wind.
“I’ve been robbing White Lotus Sect’s main branches everywhere. The leaders of the other branches didn’t lie; they weren’t afraid to deceive me, but rather believed that even if I found the main branch, I wouldn’t come out alive.”
“Is that so? The visitor is a handsome deity, unlike Lord Huo. His form is the same as that of Silver Bottle Lady. It’s not that a cultivator has replaced the position of a folk deity, but rather that ancient souls have condensed into the deity’s true form through incense offerings.”
“Contacting me before the Ascension Assembly, what do they want to achieve? It’s nothing more than recruitment, isn’t it? If I were to feign agreement, how would they discern the truth of my actions?”
“They would likely invite me to their headquarters and control me with formations. This is truly troublesome.”
“If I don’t meet him, won’t the deities I’ve placed in Ying Tian be found and discovered by them?”
“If I meet him and kill him directly, the commotion would be too great. If we were to go to war now, their numbers are still too many. Under such immense influence of wishes, I might not be able to win.”
Ji Xiang had planned to make the other party suffer the backlash of their wishes, being interfered with by double the demonic tribulations. However, if they were to engage in direct combat now, with such a vast number of cultivators and the blessing of immense wishes, even possessing the Tai Xu Treasure Light, his chances of victory would still be low. After all, wishes held various incredible powers, depending on how the user manipulated them.
Therefore, the final outcome would be nothing more than escaping using the Golden Escape, or directly entering the Great Fu Li Land.
“Then, I’ll send a clone to play with you.”
Ji Xiang wasn’t planning to split his avatar, as he hadn’t reached the Nascent Soul realm yet and lacked the ability to refine a Yang God avatar. However, he had previously obtained the essence of all beings, which included the ability to refine the Shadow Treading Gu. He hadn’t had the chance to use it until now.
After all, separating one’s own shadow, and the resulting changes, were unpredictable.
Shen Yun, following behind, was filled with worry. The words of the Iron Turban Head had made him very uneasy. He decided to go to the pleasure boat to check on things and thus handed young girl Shen Yixiu to Ji Xiang, bowing:
“True Master, the scholars of our nation may currently be in mortal danger. As the academic supervisor of the Southern State Academy, although I am a low-ranking ninth-grade official, I am still a member of the court. Prince Lu is about to do something terrible, and I cannot let my students be in danger.”
“I must go to the pleasure boat now and have them leave that place of trouble and head away from Prince Lu’s residence. Otherwise, their nine generations of relatives may be implicated.”
Rebelling with this demon-possessed prince, regardless of success, they might not even survive tonight. After all, the words of the iron-turbaned demon sounded as if they were about to do something truly dreadful to them.
The scholar Shen could only think of digging out hearts and eating livers, or anything related to mortal danger.
“Don’t rush.”
“The Ascension Assembly is tomorrow night. If you go now, your identity will be exposed. Didn’t you hear what that demon said?”
Ji Xiang turned his head: “As the academic supervisor of the Southern State Academy, you are already in Prince Lu’s palm. I know you want to speak of sage righteousness to display your fearlessness, but if you go now, you will ruin my arrangements.”
“Therefore, before you fulfill your own righteousness, do not disrupt my plan. If it succeeds, your students will survive unharmed.”
“Why is it called the Ascension Assembly? Naturally, someone is about to ascend, or at least there are related major events. Before the main show begins, maintaining the wishes is crucial, and your students will naturally not die.”
Shen Yun pondered carefully.
Meanwhile, within the temple before him, Ji Xiang gave form to a deity and casually picked up an ancient pot left by the temple keeper.
“This patron, this item is not…”
The temple keeper wanted to tell Ji Xiang that the kettle could not be given to him, but he didn’t expect Ji Xiang to casually produce a gold ingot.
The temple keeper was stunned.
Ji Xiang placed the gold ingot in his hand and took the kettle. The temple keeper touched his head and muttered in confusion, “My kettle is just an old item bought from the street, how… how is it worth so much money!”
However, even as he said this, having profited, he dared not reveal it. The temple keeper immediately hid the gold ingot, pretended nothing was amiss, and continued to attend to other patrons.
At this time, it was already past midnight.
Liu Zimin also asked from behind, “Senior, if you wish to buy these mundane items, you only need to tell me. Why give that temple keeper so much gold!”
He had seen the gold’s color earlier and felt a great loss. He then wondered if this person only knew about cultivation but not about the prices of the mortal world. This was actually quite normal.
“Is that a trick of illusion?”
Young Miss Shen suddenly asked, “I read in books that some immortals buy things with great generosity, giving gold that is actually stones or leaves.”
“No, that was real gold. I snatched it from the White Lotus Sect; they are very wealthy.”
“And this kettle, although it is a mundane item, has gained a divine aura from being in the temple for a long time, absorbing incense offerings.”
Ji Xiang looked at the three of them. Liu Zimin was confused, “Can this item be considered a magic artifact then?”
“When an object has a spirit, it will give rise to spirits and monsters.”
Ji Xiang lifted the kettle:
“When I was on duty in the Forbidden City, I encountered a spirit born from years of incense offerings. This is a ‘Mei’ among the魑魅魍魉 (chī mèi wǎng liǎng – evil spirits).”
“Mei refers to the spirits of old objects. In Japan, they are called Tsukumogami.”
Demonic energy surged into the kettle, refining it. The incense energy within churned and boiled, emitting wishes akin to human desires, though it lacked consciousness. These wishes were the accumulation of prayers and good intentions over the years.
“If this kettle is used wisely and refined by immortals for a long time, it can eventually hold the sun, moon, and stars. During the Han Dynasty, an old man sold medicine on the street, often hanging a kettle from his staff. It was as large as a five-liter vessel, transforming into heaven and earth, with the sun and moon within. He slept inside at night and called himself ‘Hu Tian’ (壶天 – Kettle Heaven).”
“The origin of various spiritual artifacts, powerful artifacts, and immortal artifacts is often from this, transcending the mundane. They cannot be equated with the magic artifacts and precious artifacts used by mortals.”
Afterward, a quarter of the essence of all beings was separated and injected into it.
An illusion appeared around Ji Xiang, isolating the mortals. The shadow beneath his feet split into nine, and the ninth shadow gradually stood upright, grasping the kettle’s handle.
The kettle and the shadow merged into one, and within the demonic energy and good intentions, it was quickly refined into a single entity.
The Shadow Treading Gu was complete!
The incense separated, and the black shadow gradually gained color. It entered Ji Xiang’s body, and when it emerged again, a second “Ji Xiang” appeared!
The Inner Scenery Divine Tablet displayed text the moment the second Ji Xiang appeared.
[Outer Body Incarnation Technique: An outer body incarnation created by separating one’s shadow using the Shadow Treading Gu! The power of the outer body incarnation is slightly weaker than your own strength. When damaged, the outer body incarnation will dissipate, and the Shadow God will return to the main body.]
[The shadow of the outer body incarnation will appear fainter than that of ordinary people.]
[Shadow God (You Huang): One of the Nine Shadow Gods, becoming an object that can be commanded with the aid of the Shadow Treading Gu. Each of the Nine Shadow Gods possesses one or two special abilities, representing nine categories of derived human power.]
[The Symbol of the Armored Soldier, held by the Emperor on the right. For any mobilization of fifty or more armored soldiers, a royal symbol is required.]
[Can summon fifty shadow soldiers. Shadow soldiers can imitate anyone, including magical energy signatures, but these are merely illusions and lack true combat ability. However, as long as there are sufficient shadows, the number of shadow soldiers can be maintained at fifty.]
[Special: If one possesses spells for summoning and dispatching deities, and also holds a title such as Divine Lord, then after refining You Huang into an outer body incarnation, the upper limit of divine beings that can be summoned, dispatched, and detained through summoning, dispatching, and detaining deity spells will be raised by one level.]
…
Prince Lie Jie, unable to catch up to Ji Xiang for a long time, arrived at a new temple. Ji Xiang’s aura was also present here. He inquired of the temple keeper, who stated that a Taoist in black had indeed been there. However, he dared not mention that he had received a gold ingot from the black-clothed Taoist!
One should not reveal their wealth. Even if this young man appeared to be dressed expensively, what good would it do him to know that he possessed a gold ingot? What if he wanted to snatch the gold to humiliate him? Wouldn’t that be troublesome?
The temple keeper did not tell the truth, and Prince Lie Jie could not discern it. He only cared about Ji Xiang’s whereabouts. After receiving directions from the temple keeper, he did not walk far before he saw Ji Xiang’s profile.
As it was past midnight, the clamor had gradually subsided. It was already the third watch. After all, people needed to sleep. The true excitement of the Ascension Assembly would be tonight, and it was necessary to conserve energy. The Ying Tian Fu after dawn would certainly not be as prosperous as usual.
“Senior, please stop.”
Prince Lie Jie called out to Ji Xiang. Under the night sky of the third watch, the streets were brightly lit, but there were fewer people, appearing sparse and scattered. Among this sparse crowd, at least one-third were active demons.
The handsome Prince Lie Jie’s appearance here naturally attracted the attention of some women and men who had not yet returned.
However, seeing his attire, they knew of his noble status. No matter how handsome he was, they dared not linger. As for the black-clothed Taoist confronting Prince Lie Jie, onlookers couldn’t help but think that they had never seen a Taoist dressed in black, and he clearly looked like a bad person.
Thus, they supplemented their thoughts with three or five kinds of grievances and affections between men and quickly left the area where the two were confronting each other.
“You, are you the North Pole True Master from the Forbidden City?”
“I am Prince Lie Jie. This is my divine name. I am not a true prince.”
Prince Lie Jie finally met Ji Xiang and immediately began to persuade him.
Prince Lu possessed the Heavenly Marrow and sincerely invited Ji Xiang to join him.
The treatment offered was very high. Prince Lie Jie even stated that Prince Lu had said that if Ji Xiang joined his faction, he would receive a unique position second to none.
“This is a joke.”
Ji Xiang responded, “Prince Lu has not even succeeded in his rebellion, yet he dares to use terms like ‘one’?”
Prince Lie Jie chuckled, “As long as you recover your strength and join forces with the Prince, two Ascended Realm cultivators will not be able to stop Grandmaster Zhang.”
“It will only take a moment, and the battle will be over. The Forbidden City will have a new owner. Even if we take a step back and cannot take the Forbidden City, this is Ying Tian’s Forbidden City, and perhaps another dragon throne can be added.”
“Half the empire will always be there, and the imperial path will be divided. You will naturally have a share of the destiny.”
“Do you know that there are four Heavenly Heart realms in this world attempting to control us common folk?”
“What the Prince is doing is not simply rebellion. Emperor Wanli is devoid of ambition and has not ascended the throne for years. Let alone cultivators, he doesn’t even care about mortals. Since he doesn’t care, rather than watching the imperial path fall into the hands of Li Shanhe, why don’t we unite…”
Prince Lie Jie persuaded him with great effort.
Ji Xiang said, “Your righteousness is well-articulated, but I do not wish to help him. Look, helping Grandmaster Zhang is the same, isn’t it? Two against one, the battle will also end in an instant, with no difference.”
“Heavenly Marrow? It is merely the essence of mountain and river trees, the liquid of starlight, at most it is Emperor’s Moon Dew. Do you possess Sun Radiance?”
Prince Lie Jie immediately laughed upon hearing this:
“You guessed correctly! The ultimate reward of the Ascension Assembly is Sun Radiance!”
“The five grades of Heavenly Marrow are Mountain and River Essence, Starlight Liquid, Moon Dew, and Sun Radiance, the essence of heaven and earth. Sun Radiance is second only to the essence of heaven and earth. This is something that condenses into a single drop every one hundred and twenty years!”
“To be honest with you.”
“Do you know about Emperor Wu of Han’s bronze immortal dew-collecting盘 (pan – plate/tray)?”
“There are two sets of these dew-collecting plates: the Bo Liang Plate and the Jian Zhang Plate. One of them, the destroyed Bo Liang Plate, has a quarter of its fragments in the hands of our Prince!”
“The Prince wishes to meet you. I think it would be best if you came with me to meet him.”
“Especially the three people by your side.”
Ji Xiang said faintly, “The three people by my side? Are you referring to these three who have escaped your influence of wishes?”
“What, do you want to take them from my hands?”
Prince Lie Jie did not wish to be enemies with Ji Xiang and said respectfully:
“I can guarantee you that the Heavenly Marrow is real. Don’t you really consider it?”
“They are merely two mortals and a minor cultivator. Do they have any kinship with you?”
Ji Xiang: “What if I say yes?”
Prince Lie Jie took a deep breath, “Then I will report it to the Prince and let it be.”
Ji Xiang: “What if I want to leave?”
Prince Lie Jie smiled, “Then I will absolutely not stop you.”
Ji Xiang nodded, “Then, it seems I should go and meet him.”
Thus, Ji Xiang led the way, with Lie Jie guiding, and the other three followed behind. Several shadows appeared somewhat faint under the illumination of the lanterns.