Chapter 1 The Identity of the Visitors

Just hearing the name Jinglun Heavenly Palace, Ji Xiang couldn't immediately understand the other party's identity.

Did they think they were so important that everyone should recognize them?

However, the New Celestial Master Dao was indeed very famous. After all, the current Celestial Master Dao was reorganized after the original Southern and Northern Celestial Master Daos merged. The New Celestial Master Dao was the Northern Celestial Master Dao, which rose during the Northern Wei Dynasty and merged before Emperor Wen of Sui. The Northern Celestial Master was named...

"Kou Qianzhi!"

The man heard Ji Xiang utter his Grand Celestial Master's name and nodded with a smile, "Indeed! The master of Jinglun Heavenly Palace is none other than Celestial Master Kou!"

"We all call him 'Northern Grand Celestial Master of the Taiping Xuantu'!"

This was a very famous immortal figure in the Daoist sect, and Ji Xiang was truly surprised.

Importantly, some of the current Daoist Heavenly Regulations were written by this Northern Grand Celestial Master!

Moreover, this Northern Grand Celestial Master... was a mortal enemy of the lineage passed down by Zhang Daoling. The reason for this was related to the chaotic state within the Daoist sect at that time.

This was an extremely distant and old matter.

"How could the Northern Grand Celestial Master, also a prominent figure in the Daoist sect, become the mastermind behind the Incense Smelling Sect?"

Ji Xiang asked, "Are you planning to fight me here? It seems today, I shall kill a Pre-Heaven expert to establish my prestige."

After saying those harsh words, Ji Xiang pondered that to kill a Pre-Heaven expert, he must open the Heavenly Gate and capture him inside. Otherwise, he had no chance of winning in the outside world. As for what kind of situation he could achieve... without having fought, how could he know? He had no confidence in his heart.

His eyes were fixed on this person, who had not yet revealed any hostility, nor was he possessed by any yin spirit. Therefore, the Inner Landscape Divine Tablet had not reacted yet.

"True Man of the North Pole, your words are mistaken. I will not be your enemy unless it is absolutely necessary."

"I have come this time only to invite you to join our sect. Jinglun Heavenly Palace holds goodwill towards you. Speaking of which, you attained the Dao at the end of the Han Dynasty and have no great connection with the Three Zhangs' method. That Celestial Master Zhang only has some friendship with you, and it is not enough to help him guard the mountains and rivers, right?"

"The people you used to know may all be cultivating in the inner world, having already ascended to the Dao and become immortals. Yet, you are still trapped in the outer world. Over a thousand years have passed, and you have gained nothing. You finally came back to life, but you are still a half-crippled body."

"Do you really want to continue like this? Moreover, ascension is difficult in the outer world. That Celestial Master Zhang has the support of the successive Dragon Tiger Mountain Celestial Masters' vows, which allowed him to break into the realm of ascension. But what about you? You have neither a sect nor friends. Although you still possess the cultivation to ascend, if your physical body cannot ascend, you will never be able to return to your peak state, let alone go further."

"Therefore, the Grand Celestial Master is opening up a path for you. If you continue to linger in the outer world, you can only walk a dead end. If you do not ascend, you will eventually become dust. Moreover, working for the emperor will inevitably lead to the demise of useful tools!

"Have you not seen the events of Liu Bowen and Yao Guangxiao!"

The Pre-Heaven expert was trying to persuade Ji Xiang to surrender, but Ji Xiang only asked, "What about the Incense Smelling Sect?"

"The Incense Smelling Sect? As long as you join my Jinglun Heavenly Palace, you can deal with these Incense Smelling Sect fellows as you please. Even if you make them all scatter their souls and annihilate their bodies, that is your business, and we will not interfere."

"Your importance is far greater than these Incense Smelling Sect members. What we seek in the outer world is nothing more than the supreme Great Dao. Using the Incense Smelling Sect is only to complete some preparations before achieving what we seek. The faith of mortals gathers as vows, and the wonders of the people's vows can only be collected with the help of these White Lotus Sects and Incense Smelling Sects."

"But if you come to Jinglun Heavenly Palace, the New Celestial Master Dao will be revived in the outer world. How can the upright Dao be led by the false arts of the Three Zhangs? It is time to correct the chaos, sweep away the false methods of the Three Zhangs, and revive the righteousness of our Daoist sect."

Ji Xiang couldn't help but laugh loudly: "The Incense Smelling Sect extorts wealth and kills people everywhere... I don't know about other evil deeds, but based on what happened in this county town tonight, look at the flames outside, is this considered righteousness?"

"The Qi of the Heavens is vast, and my Dao is flourishing. Since when did the Daoist sect have to rely on these evil cults like the White Lotus Sect and the Incense Smelling Sect as its subordinates or pawns?"

The Pre-Heaven expert said indifferently:

"Because no one cares about the righteous law. The righteous law will not make you live better. The righteous law will not tell you how to make money, but will ask you to work hard to do good and accumulate merit. But how many people in this world do good deeds out of morality and righteousness, and not out of self-interest?"

"Go and ask those scholars, even if they are well-read, how many of them possess the righteous Qi of Heaven and Earth? None of the ministers in this Ming Dynasty court possess the righteous Qi of Heaven and Earth. In my opinion, this Wanli Dynasty is not as good as the Jiajing Dynasty. At least at that time, there was a true Confucian saint."

"But the White Lotus Sect can make people live better. You believe in me first, and I will go and rob those who do not believe in me, and use their money to lure you. They draw huge pancakes for the believers, and then use their evil arts to bewilder people. These people really think they can become princes and generals, have beautiful wives and concubines, and a lot of money..."

"Thus, a greater amount of vows are gathered. Don't you think that we, these righteous sects, are actually like the Persian clowns in the Tang Dynasty, just making people laugh?"

After Ji Xiang pondered slightly, he responded: "One cannot despise the righteous law just because the evil law is quick to cultivate. The art of being kind to others is the righteous law, and the act of instigating people to do evil is the evil law."

The Pre-Heaven expert laughed a few times: "Let me say something unpleasant, didn't the Taiping Dao cause great chaos in the world at the end of the Han Dynasty? Isn't that an evil law? As for being entrusted by gods to establish oneself as a leader, our Grand Celestial Master has also done this, and Zhang Daoling has also done this. In fact, when they first started, what was the difference between what they did and those people in the Incense Smelling Sect and the White Lotus Sect?"

"We claim to be taught scriptures by Laozi, or to be taught by the Grand Master of Xuantu, and they claim to be Maitreya descending or the Birthless Venerable Mother descending. It seems that there is no difference? It is just a conflict between the old and new methods. Our teachings come from the ancient Daoists of the outer world, and their teachings are mixed and messy, but don't you think they have instead become compatible with both Buddhism and Daoism?"

"By incorporating the arts of hundreds of sects, absorbing their strengths and discarding their dross, gradually, you will see in two or three hundred years that they may also become the righteous law."

"In the inner world, there is no distinction between righteous and evil laws as you say. They are all spells developed to pursue the Great Dao. Spells are inferior, and the Great Dao is superior. Being bound by the distinction between righteous and evil, how many Heavenly Palaces in that inner world will be burdened by the distinction between righteous and evil, and will be destroyed by Heaven? Even the Jiajing Emperor of the Ming Dynasty deserves to die and be killed."

"Moreover, hundreds of years ago, there were already experts from the White Lotus Sect who returned to my Dao and promoted my righteous law!"

This Pre-Heaven expert's logic was perfect, and even Ji Xiang had to admit that what he said did make some sense.

In fact, many righteous sects do have disgraceful pasts.

"Therefore, why should the distinction between righteousness and evil be constantly on your lips? This is precisely the repentance of later generations for the disgraceful deeds of their predecessors, to constantly be vigilant, not to forget the disasters caused in the past, and to dedicate their subsequent efforts to doing good deeds for generations to come. Therefore, those who prove to be Heavenly Immortals must establish 1,300 good deeds."

"Even you, go and ask your ancestral masters, did they establish 1,300 good deeds before proving the Dao and ascending?"

"But people, teachings, and behaviors will all continue to change with time. This is something I also admit. Not only are these examples of evil cults, but you are also good examples."

"Those who practiced the righteous law in the past no longer have the concept of righteousness and evil today. Perhaps this is also a path of cultivation, from clear yin and yang to a chaotic unity, ultimately returning to the Wuji. Perhaps this is closer to the original Dao."

Ji Xiang spoke to this Pre-Heaven expert, explaining and recounting:

"Zhang Lu surrendered to Cao Cao, and then the Celestial Master Dao flourished. Otherwise, there would be no Kou and Lu to improve the Daoist system. But no matter how correct the things you are saying now, even if what you are saying is really correct."

"But killing is killing, and bewitching people's hearts is bewitching. Sometimes right and wrong are very simple and clear. I don't know if there are good people in the White Lotus Sect, but I know that what I see is all evil people."

"You have become sanctimonious. You also once sheltered all living beings. Inner world ah, the passage of time is much faster than the outer world. Perhaps hundreds or thousands of years have smoothed out your spirit, dispelled your concepts of righteousness and evil, and made you forget what you once looked like."

These words entered the depths of the Pre-Heaven expert's mind, arousing some of his empathy.

His eyes were slightly dazed, as if he was recalling his past appearance.

He gradually showed a look of surprise.

He couldn't remember. What was he initially learning the Dao for? He couldn't remember anymore. Thousands of years of intrigue, comparing mana, killing each other, respecting strength, regardless of righteousness or evil, or good or bad, only caring about what was beneficial to himself.

But it seemed that it wasn't like this at the beginning.

When he was learning the Dao, three sticks of clear incense wafted up to the heavens. At that time, his clear voice, what did he say, what vows did he make?

Heavenly Dao has no relatives, and is always with good people.