Chapter 1 The Incarnation of Zhu Rong

It was past midnight, and the incense at the Huoshen Temple (Fire God Temple) in Shichahai, in the inner city, seemed ready to set the main hall ablaze.

The construction of this temple dated back a long time, to the Tang Dynasty, when it was just a small, dilapidated shrine. Later, during the Yuan Dynasty and the early Ming Dynasty, it underwent major renovations. This year, in the fourth month of the twenty-fifth year of Wanli, the Wanli Emperor had the Huoshen Temple rebuilt and designated it as an imperial temple.

The main deity enshrined in this temple was the Huode Xingjun (Star Lord of Fire Virtue), with many supporting deities. The temple also housed several other grand halls, each enshrining the San Guan Da Di (Three Great Emperor-Officials), the God of Wealth, the Bodhisattva, the Taisui (God of the Year Star), the Yue Lao (Old Man Under the Moon), and... Zhenwu!

The Zhenwu Emperor's statue was enshrined in the cheapest, corner hall!

The presence of a Zhenwu statue in a Huode Zhenjun temple was intended to balance water and fire. However, now, this Zhenwu Hall in the northwest corner was destroyed.

In the main hall of Huode Zhenjun, the incense burned vigorously, smoke and dust soaring upwards, coiling around the beams.

In the side hall of the Zhenwu Emperor, the incense burner lay overturned in the corner, the offerings had been eaten, and the statue had been smashed into seven or eight pieces by seven or eight people wielding iron rods. The head rolled to the base of the wall, keeping company with the incense burner.

Similarly, the statues of the God of Wealth, the Bodhisattva, and Yue Lao had been pushed over and shattered.

Even the Taisui, whose head ordinary people would never dare to disturb, had been decapitated.

The Huoshen Temple was filled with a deafening clamor in the middle of the night!

In the imperial capital, people dared to sit in groups, discussing scriptures, gathered in circles of ten or a hundred, looking around and listening intently!

In the main hall of Huode Zhenjun, countless people were praying sincerely, the incense burner in front filled with long sticks of incense, from which a blazing light was born!

"Taiyin Sacred Light, illuminates the Sacred Fire...!"

Those who came here to offer incense were all dignitaries. They were not officials of the court, but wealthy merchants, craftsmen, and affluent families within the inner city, as well as nobles, imperial relatives, and military dependents.

Of course, they also brought their servants.

In the Ming Dynasty, the residences of meritorious relatives were located outside the Donghua Gate, those of eunuchs outside the Xihua Gate, and those of other officials in the Xuanwu Gate area.

But now, regardless of where they resided, they had all come to the Huoshen Temple.

The Huoshen Temple was packed with people, and the streets outside were in chaos!

Many officials lived in the inner city. Their family members left their homes in the middle of the night, bringing many servants with them, and came to the Huoshen Temple as if possessed, smashing the statues of other gods and kowtowing to the statue of Huode Zhenjun.

When those officials entered, even though the Guowei (National Might) did not react, it protected them so they wouldn't be bewitched. The officials looked at the statue, originally intending to have their servants smash it, but as soon as the servants entered the Huoshen Temple, they immediately became devoted believers in the statue!

Then, they turned around and tied up their own bosses!

"You, what are you doing! This is rebellion, rebellion!"

"Ugh, ugh, ugh!"

Several officials were bound, their mouths stuffed with cloth or rotten grass, and they were tied up in the Zhenwu Hall, alongside the shattered statue of the Zhenwu Emperor. The door of this side hall was quickly sealed, leaving the officials unable to cry for help.

Inside the Shuntian inner city, in the main hall of Huode Zhenjun, the sounds of worship reached their peak.

Outside the Shuntian outer city, every household that believed in the Huangtian (Yellow Heaven) sect came out and raised three sticks of incense towards the direction of the Huode Zhenjun Temple.

The smoke of incense curled and floated in the night sky, and the sky of the Great Ming was illuminated by firelight.

It was the third watch of the night.

The third quarter of Zi time.

"Whoosh!"

A towering flame shot up violently from the burning incense. The statue of Huode Zhenjun suddenly shook, and a large amount of incense covered the statue, followed by a change in the statue's appearance!

From a fierce-looking figure with wide eyes and a large beard, it transformed into a beautiful woman!

She sat alone on the divine seat, her complexion as radiant as jade under the firelight, like a halo around a new moon. She opened her eyes, and although she did not speak, her brows revealed a natural charm and unparalleled beauty.

She opened her mouth to speak, her voice beautiful and vast:

"Taiyin Sacred Light, illuminates the Sacred Fire."

"Raise the compassionate heart that ferries across the world, light the lamp of wisdom in twenty-four places, steer the treasure raft in the blessed land to proclaim the clouds, leaving behind the Righteous Treasure Scroll, the Pure True Scripture. To deliver the ninety-two billion original people."

The people below kowtowed frantically, chanting "Fire Lord, Fire Lord!"

And this Fire Lord then said:

"In the past, I had the name of a person, and the world recited my name as the Universal Illumination Bodhisattva, receiving salvation from the Universal Brightness Buddha."

"Now I have the name of a new god, understanding yin and yang, comprehending the superficial and the profound, having entered Mount Sumeru, and also having been to the luminous place of Kunlun. The fire of the world originates from the Taiyin and grows in the Taiyang."

"I, by the mandate of Heaven, inherit the divine position, continuing from ancient times to the present, I am..."

"Zhu Rong!"

The Fire Lord proclaimed herself Zhu Rong. At the same time, her shadow was reflected in the firelight, gradually transforming into the image of a giant, with her hair tied up, a strong body, and wielding a weapon, but this weapon was only the shadow of a strange hilt, without a blade.

Around the shadow, there were flickering flames, and the face and left arm of the shadow were covered in a glow within the darkness.

But other parts could not be illuminated by the firelight, as if they were incomplete.

As the Fire Lord's shadow changed, the Fire Lord herself also underwent a transformation. Her beautiful hair turned into flames, her face was covered in a light, obscuring her beautiful features, her left hand was also covered in fiery light, and her lithe figure became fuller.

The Fire Lord revealed her identity to her believers, who all chanted the divine name of Zhu Rong. Then, accompanied by the vast sound of chanting, the Fire Lord transformed into a blazing light from the divine seat of Huode Zhenjun, disappearing, leaving only the people who sought divine help.

In the temple, the sounds of sacrifice continued, and the people's three souls poured into the Forbidden City along with the vast incense!

Universal transformation throughout the heavens, enlightened virtue of the earth, light illuminating the four seas!

After the Fire Lord disappeared, she passed directly through the inner city, she raised her head, her figure illusory.

The Shichahai Huoshen Temple was located in the north of the inner city.

The gate in the north leading to the imperial city was called "Beianmen," known colloquially as "Houchaimen," meaning the Gate of the Northern Tranquility Earth. After entering the gate, one would find a famous scenic spot—Jingshan, where the Chongzhen Emperor hanged himself, also known as Meishan (Coal Hill).

The northern mountain was the mountain guarding the Forbidden City. The Fire Lord merely glanced at Beianmen, her figure walking in the firelight and amidst the sacrifices, instantly crossing Beianmen, crossing the crooked-necked tree on Coal Hill.

The curling incense and the滔天(taotian - overwhelming) fire all gathered into one at this moment.

Thus, she was able to enter openly and honestly.

She saw the magnificent Shenwu Gate (Gate of Divine Might), a thousand steps taking only an instant, but the moment she stepped forward!

She did not enter the Forbidden City.

The Heavenly Guards guarding the Shenwu Gate immediately discovered her!

"Which righteous god dares to break into the Shenwu Gate at night!"

The reason for her sudden discovery and obstruction was that the great fire in the Forbidden City had begun to extinguish!

The Fire Lord stared at the sky, without speaking.

Someone was ruining her plans?

What was happening in the Forbidden City?

In the sky, the firelight suddenly diminished, dark clouds appeared, and the roar of a dragon resounded between heaven and earth!

The Heavenly Guards approached, and at this moment, the Fire Lord lightly parted her vermilion lips and recited the *Pujing Rulai Yaoshi Baojuan* (Precious Scroll of the Key of the Tranquil Tathagata).

"Worldly sins are cast into the dust of the Eastern Land..."

The surrounding Heavenly Guards, in front of her, disappeared in an instant, and the entire Shenwu Gate vanished, replaced by a path of raging fire.

This was a kind of illusion, passed down from her father, the Chan Master Huyan (Tiger Eyes), which came from the mysterious Daoist who had taught her father.

Now, she had finally mastered this technique to a small extent, deceiving the Heavenly Guards, and even penetrating and breaking through the forbidden spells. Furthermore, with the blessing of her righteous god identity and the incense of the masses, she possessed vast divine power, and this magnificent Shenwu Gate could no longer stop her.