Chapter 1 Red Dust

The red dust gathered from all directions, with misty clouds connecting everything. Yingtian Prefecture was originally the first capital of the Ming Dynasty. Even after the capital was moved to Shuntian, Yingtian Prefecture still had a complete set of six ministries. Moreover, due to its location in the Jiangnan region, whether it was the population density or its prosperity, it seemed that all the beautiful words in the world were bestowed upon this ancient capital.

Shuntian Prefecture, being close to the border, often presented scenes of government troops patrolling against a backdrop of prosperity, and occasionally heavenly generals would appear. Weapons of war were the most common sights for the people in the north.

But in Yingtian, these things were not seen.

Here, there was only everything in the world that could make people indulge.

Here, there was no disaster of war.

Here, there was peace and prosperity.

Here, there were famous scholars with lofty sentiments, laughing and talking about the affairs of the world, and even wealthy officials and nobles who spent money like water.

The painted boats on the Qinhuai River were like stars in the sky, with the bows and sterns of the ships connected together. Day and night, there was a constant stream of melodious singing. The famous courtesans always attracted countless literati to scramble for a glimpse of their beauty. Within the city, there were one hundred and three industries and sixteen prosperous large markets.

Ji Xiang’s friend, Matteo Ricci, had been to Yingtian before going to Shuntian. Once he arrived, he almost lingered and forgot to return. If it weren't for his missionary duties, he almost didn't want to return to his hometown.

Therefore...even though thirty-six garrison command posts were distributed near Yingtian Prefecture.

But the people of Yingtian Prefecture had not seen war for many years.

Swords and sabers were sheathed, and horses were released to Nanshan Mountain (a metaphor for peacetime).

Moreover, the city scale of Yingtian Prefecture was much larger than that of Shuntian Prefecture.

After arriving in Yingtian, the long-dormant national prestige of the Great Ming Dynasty in Ji Xiang's body faintly began to stir.

Gradually, it began to merge with the national prestige and divine power contained in Yingtian Prefecture.

"The national prestige can be used. After all, it is one of the two capitals. Even if the soldiers of the garrison command posts have become corrupt, the national prestige is still protecting the people here."

"But it is only limited to resisting demons. This thing is not reliable."

Anyone who had experienced the Forbidden City incident would no longer believe that national prestige was a force that could 100% resist demonic methods.

Just like cultivation is about seizing a glimmer of hope, there is absolutely nothing perfect in this world. If something exists, there must be loopholes to exploit.

The patron deity of Shuntian Prefecture is Doumu Yuanjun (Mother of the Dipper).

The patron deity of Yingtian Prefecture is Emperor Ziwei Yandu.

Both are great gods who govern the ranks of stars in the sky.

"It's really exactly the same. Shuntian Prefecture is really like a replica of Yingtian Prefecture... No, it should be called a high-quality counterfeit."

Similarly, there is also a palace here.

This palace is also called the "Forbidden City"!

From afar, one could see the heavy national prestige covering the palace, as thick as dark clouds. Even from a distance, it was suffocating. Of course, those who were not cultivators could not see it.

The population density here was too large, and the city scale was the largest Ji Xiang had ever seen. Not to mention hundreds of temples and monasteries, there were at least seventy or eighty. As for the location of the White Lotus Sect headquarters, which was provided by those branch leaders, Ji Xiang could not find it at all right now.

Fortunately, the news of the Dengxian Gathering (Ascension to Immortality Assembly) had already spread throughout the city. Of course, ordinary people didn't know what would happen, but they heard that this grand event was initiated by the government. In short, it was a carnival. The vendors smelled the scent of making big money, while the scholars smelled the fragrance of the famous courtesans.

Ji Xiang couldn't help but think of Feng Menglong.

That guy seemed to say he wanted to come to the Qinhuai River Lantern Festival, but now he was probably almost at Wudang. It seemed he wouldn't be able to see it.

But fortunately, when he looted those White Lotus Sect branches before, he got some useful little treasures.

He didn't get many true scriptures, but there were indeed a lot of strange things.

Ji Xiang held a palm-sized mirror. This mirror was called a Liuying Mirror (Image-Retaining Mirror). The effect was similar to a camera. It could reflect the scenery in the mirror and save it. It was originally something that a branch leader had painstakingly created to fool the masses.

Ji Xiang planned to keep more images and show them to Feng Menglong later. After all, that guy followed his advice and ran back to Wudang Mountain with the little fox and the others to take refuge, so he should compensate him a little. This way, he would have a more legitimate reason to borrow books and collect the power of his thoughts in the future.

While taking pictures, he saw many scholars on the shore composing poems for the girls in the painted boats.

"No wonder in the strange tales, it's always scholars and妖妖女 mixing together, and there are almost no *juren* (successful candidates in the imperial examination at the provincial level). I'm afraid it's because the *juren* are all preparing to launch an attack on official positions. Those without money are preparing for the exam at home, and those with money are colluding with officials to clear the way. They simply don't have time to pick up girls. In other words, the scholars are all idle because they failed the exam."

"Speaking of which, when I came here before, I felt a little uneasy, as if some kind of tribulation was about to appear, but soon this feeling disappeared. It's really strange."

Ji Xiang shook his head. Last time, he cleaned up the group of demons on Phoenix Mountain. The number of demons above the Yuanshen (Nascent Soul) realm killed by the Subduing Demons Chapter only stayed at nine. He was still one short of cultivating the second level. Unfortunately, along the way, the powerful demons on the ground seemed to have disappeared. He couldn't find them at all.

"It can't be that I just destroyed the group of demons on Phoenix Mountain, and the wild demons in other places heard my name so quickly and were scared out of their wits, right?"

Ji Xiang turned his head slightly. In the crowd, there were a few people who looked like cultivators who didn't dare to look Ji Xiang in the eye, but their eyes were hostile, and the traces of mana on their bodies felt familiar to Ji Xiang.

Moreover, after Ji Xiang stared at them, they seemed to "wake up" from some kind of state.

His ears twitched slightly. In such a place shrouded in majestic national prestige, Ji Xiang's five senses were enhanced to a certain extent, so although the distance was slightly far, he could still hear what they were saying.

"...I don't know why, but as soon as I see this person, I feel resentment in my heart."

"...Could it be that this person has a grudge against my Huaguang Sect?"

The few cultivators whispered to each other. This time, their expressions were truly unkind, not influenced by some kind of force.

Ji Xiang also understood their identities. They turned out to be people from the Huaguang Sect. Due to the psychic event in Dingjia City, he was spied on by Emperor Huaguang, so all the cultivators of the Huaguang Sect would passively regard him as an enemy, and he could not use any spells of Emperor Huaguang's higher-level true form, namely "Taiyi Leisheng Budong Tianzun" (Immovable Heavenly Lord of the Primordial Thunder Sound).

"Freeze."

Ji Xiang looked at them coming over aggressively, but didn't want to deal with these junior cultivators, so he easily raised his hand. In their eyes, they only saw Ji Xiang raise a finger and open his mouth.

The word "freeze", although far away, seemed to ring clearly in their ears.

Buzz! The few cultivators suddenly stiffened, maintaining their walking posture, standing motionless in the middle of the road. The people behind them accidentally bumped into them, so they began to curse.

"What are you doing standing in the middle of the road! Are you sick!"

The passersby looked strangely at these motionless cultivators, while some Westerners were full of curiosity, wondering what new rules this was in the Ming Dynasty. Those idle scholars saw the commotion caused by these people and confidently came over to offer their opinions, gesticulating wildly:

"You don't understand, this is an old story from the Wei and Jin Dynasties, it is an elegant act!"

"It is said that Emperor Wen of Wei once learned the gestures of a donkey and imitated the sound of a donkey's cry, because doing so would allow his inspiration to continue to emerge. The Seven Scholars of Jian'an also learned similar things, so if they stand still, these gentlemen must be imitating the behavior of turtles!"

The few cultivators watched helplessly as Ji Xiang disappeared into the vast crowd. Seeing Ji Xiang's mouth shape, they could read Ji Xiang's lip language, which seemed to be... you stay here and don't move.

In the end, he only left them with a meaningful back view.

Fire flashed in the eyes of the Huaguang Sect cultivators. They were cultivators, and their consciousness would not be completely frozen, so they still retained the ability to think. Hearing the idle scholars talking nonsense, they itched with hatred. Fortunately, Ji Xiang didn't freeze them for long. The few of them saw Ji Xiang disappear into the vast crowd. After a while, the few scholars hadn't left yet, and the cultivators felt that they had regained their mobility!

Then, they punched a foul-mouthed scholar in the face!

"You *qiuba* (a derogatory term for soldiers) are the ones who are learning to be turtles, crawl for me!"

The few cultivators of the Huaguang Sect severely beat the scholars. Of course, there were also scholars with backgrounds among them, crying and shouting that they would make these "gentlemen" pay a bloody price. The cultivators also directly reported their identities and said that they would see them tonight, by their bedside.

The scholar was so frightened that he ran away in a puff of smoke, covering his face and cursing.

"Where is that person, he ran away!"

"What kind of spell is this, a petrification spell?"

The few cultivators of the Huaguang Sect couldn't find Ji Xiang's trace at this time. They had just seen Ji Xiang disappear and felt a little fear about this unpredictable petrification method.

.....

However, Ji Xiang's behavior was still noticed by someone who was interested.

Although it was seen unintentionally.

But缘 (yuan – fate/karma) comes from the unintentional.

"?"

"A god... a god?"

A gorgeously dressed girl saw the place where Ji Xiang disappeared by the painted boat that was docking. She widened her eyes, wanting to find him but unable to do so, and she was still holding a琵琶 (pipa – a Chinese lute) inlaid with jewels.

"Sister, there, there is a god!"

The curtain in the painted boat was lifted, and half of the face that was revealed was Qin Nvxiu.

"God? There will be more gods coming in a few days. They are just some cultivators. There are only three true gods in this world."

"One is grandpa, one is my younger brother, and the other is me."

"Wuxia'er, you will be my disciple from now on. Don't be surprised when you see cultivators. It's too embarrassing for your master."

"This Dengxian Gathering seems like real gods will come. If you see your two grandmasters, you have to greet them properly."

Qin Nvxiu fiddled with the girl's face, while the girl was a little dazed, a little restrained, and nodded desperately.

In the painted boat, the procuress of the brothel was kidnapped by Qin Nvxiu, staring with horrified eyes, not daring to look at this beautiful woman.

The surrounding girls were surrounding the procuress, all with dazed expressions, not knowing what this woman was going to do.

"I said, madam, this painted boat is mine now, is that okay?"

The procuress shook her head like a rattle drum.

Qin Nvxiu glanced at her, the knife in her hand trembled slightly, and her tone was playful:

"Oh, there's one more thing."

"Madam, I smelled it, and you... why do you have妖气 (yao qi – demonic aura) on you?"

........

A calling sound appeared, making Ji Xiang sense something.

"Is it... the Trial of the Demonic Tribulation?"

With the idea of taking a look at the situation, following the call, Ji Xiang's next step out caused the scenery around him to change slightly.

This was entering the range of a Ten Demonic Minor Tribulation.

Someone was undergoing the Ten Demonic Minor Tribulation, and only at this time did Ji Xiang discover that he could actually enter the demonic tribulation.

Not far away stood a demonic head who was testing the Dao. This was a true trial taker, not a fake one from Phoenix Mountain. So, the moment Ji Xiang entered the illusion of the demonic tribulation, the demonic head noticed Ji Xiang's appearance.

He was surprised. How could a second person appear in the demonic tribulation?

A job is a job, and you are not allowed to seek outside help during the exam.

However, next, his face changed from surprise to doubt, to anger, to shock, and finally to fear.

That sense of oppression from a higher-level Heavenly Demon was an absolute difference in rank!

Demon King!

The demonic head testing the Dao was confused!

It was just a small cultivator undergoing tribulation, how could it alarm the Heavenly Demon to descend?

"Insufficient purity leads to greed upon seeing objects on the road, causing the Realm Demon to appear and move.... which is the Mind Demon."

In this Demonic Tribulation illusion, there were many gold coins, treasures, wealth, rare treasures, even immortal treasures, and even Nine-Turn Immortal Pills, but they were all just transformations of the illusion.

The cultivator undergoing the tribulation was erasing these gold coins, treasures, and immortal treasures. These were all caused by his demonic thoughts. Suddenly seeing Ji Xiang appear, he was also stunned.

It was strange. He had never seen this person before, so why would he appear in his "Greed Mind Demon"?

So, this cultivator attacked Ji Xiang, thinking that Ji Xiang was transformed by a demonic thought. This scared the Mind Demon a lot, and he immediately came out to stop him, and instantly a large number of gold and silver mountains submerged the cultivator undergoing the tribulation, and the latter was shocked!

The difficulty of this exam paper was not right!

So many gold and silver mountains.... I am not that greedy!

"Eh?"

Ji Xiang was originally focused on studying the demonic tribulation illusion, but at this time he noticed the movement between the Mind Demon and the cultivator. Seeing that the cultivator was about to be crushed to death by the gold and silver treasure mountains in the illusion, he reached out and gently brushed it away, causing the gold and silver mountains to turn into smoke and disappear without a trace.

The Mind Demon was also terrified, and quickly showed himself and bowed, saying that the cultivator's tribulation had been perfectly passed.

Ji Xiang nodded and left in other directions, and then sensed more demonic tribulation illusions.

"There are really a lot of cultivators in Yingtian Prefecture."

So, on this day, many cultivators who were undergoing demonic tribulation suddenly saw a young Taoist in a black robe in their tribulations. This Taoist helped them pass the tribulation and subdued the demons, preventing them from making trouble. The demonic tribulation, which would have taken a long time to pass, was passed in an instant.

The name of the Demon King, which was spread by some demonic heads, was also heard by some cultivators in the demonic tribulation illusion, but they had never heard of any Demon King who looked like this.

But it made many people suddenly excited because of this accidental event on this day.

The Demon King recommends to the sky, and speaks in the realm of the Three Pure Ones. This is a precursor to becoming an immortal!

So, I am the legendary favored son of heaven!

Whether the mentality expands or not determines the success or failure of the next demonic tribulation to be passed during future tribulations, but these people are not aware of it.

Ji Xiang also suddenly discovered that constantly manifesting in the demonic realm allowed him to condense those demonic thoughts.

The more these demonic thoughts gathered, the bigger they became, and the higher the level of danger. If he allowed it to fly away and possess someone, in a few years, there would be a terrifying demon in this world.

But Ji Xiang gave these demonic thoughts a complete form and spirit.

After the form and spirit were given, the demonic thoughts made a terrifying grinding sound, but in the next moment, they were cut off by Ji Xiang's finger!

Buzz! An abstruse and mysterious supreme artistic conception appeared!

The Inner Landscape Divine Tablet displayed! The tenth demon at the Yuanshen level required by the Subduing Demons Chapter was killed here!

"The demonic thoughts of the ten thousand people gather together and are given form and spirit, which is also a great demon."

"Subduing Demons Chapter, Second Level!"