Chapter 1 The Scripture of Salvation

The *Scripture of Limitless Salvation*, in its full title, *The Supreme and Marvelous Scripture of Limitless Salvation, a Spiritual Treasure of the Great Grotto*, is currently, in the Ming Dynasty, listed as the opening scripture in the *Zhengtong Daoist Canon*. It is the head of all scriptures, the origin of all dharmas, and the source of all dharma realms.

It possesses immense and wondrous power.

It is said that upon reciting the scripture once, one can hear all the Great Sages of the Heavens simultaneously praising its goodness. At this time, if one's ears cannot hear sounds, this problem will be resolved.

From one recitation to ten, the wondrous effects increase. Upon completing the tenth recitation, even the dead can be resurrected.

Of course, this method is limited to those with magic power. After all, when a person with magic power dies, their seven spirits will immediately dissipate, but their three souls remain. If the three souls recite the *Scripture of Salvation*, they can be revived after ten recitations. This must be done by oneself.

Reciting on behalf of someone else is not advisable.

Ji Xiang silently recited the text of the *Scripture of Salvation* in his heart. This predecessor, that is, this young Daoist, was indeed a learned young man. Although his magic power was not very strong, he could recite texts and various incantations flawlessly.

This vast amount of incantations truly gave Ji Xiang a lesson.

No wonder those reclusive old grandmasters of Wudang Mountain, after hearing the recommendation from this young Daoist's master, immediately made a decision, saying that he was the one.

In any case, it was not really to go to the palace to pray for the emperor. This errand from Wudang Mountain was a golden opportunity; being able to recite scriptures was enough. The Wanli Emperor had a good relationship with Zhang Zhenren of Longhu Mountain. He wouldn't care whether the person from the Wudang School had real magic power.

The requirements were just three: to be good-looking, to be a living Daoist, and to be able to recite scriptures.

In Ji Xiang's inner vision, the blank divine tablet continued to release light, seemingly responding to Ji Xiang's silent recitation of the *Scripture of Salvation*. A large amount of incense and yellow qi were released from the blank divine tablet.

People fight for a breath, gods fight for a stick of incense, and for people, life exists only between exhaling and inhaling. Therefore, fighting for a breath is to continue to the next exhale and inhale.

From this, one can imagine that if a person does not fight for this breath, then only exhaling or inhaling remains.

Qi is the foundation of human activity, while incense is the foundation of divine activity.

In fact, Ji Xiang did not know what this blank divine tablet was.

If it was a position, it seemed completely different from those divine tablets he had seen.

The positions seen in the Dafuli Earth had five levels in total:

Great Heavenly Rank, Small Heavenly Rank;

Great Human Rank, Middle Human Rank, Small Human Rank.

First to tenth ranks are Great Heavenly Rank positions. These have ascended to the heavens and are generally Heavenly Lords and Emperors, the main gods of each sect.

Tenth to twentieth ranks are Small Heavenly Rank positions. These are heavenly generals and divine beings, Four Lands Bodhisattvas, Second Fruit Arhats, and legendary ancient gods.

Twenty-first to twenty-fifth ranks are Great Human Rank positions. These are the Five Direction Thunder Emperors and the Nine Phoenixes of Filth Cleansing, and other great Dharma protectors.

Twenty-sixth to thirty-sixth ranks are Middle Human Rank positions. These are the Four Duty Officers, Day and Night Wandering Gods, Five Thunder Masters, and Benevolent and Malevolent Judges, and other Heavenly Officials and Underworld Officials.

From the thirty-seventh rank onwards, they do not enter the Thirty-six Heavenly Gods. These are Small Human Rank positions, which are heavenly clerks and underworld clerks, local thunder and rain masters, seasonal dragon gods, and minor folk gods, belonging to the common and worshiped gods of the human world.

Positions are the positions of true spirits, the merits and fruits of gods.

Gods are created by humans, and the incense of humans gives birth to these divine tablets and positions.

Gods are born in the years, within time, through people's thoughts.

Gods have no emotions, cannot speak, and are merely dead objects. Their thoughts are the thoughts of all people. They hold the incense of all people. Once born and stabilized, they will not disappear, regardless of whether anyone still sacrifices to them.

But although gods do not die, they can grow old and be forgotten by the world.

Perhaps the gods will eventually be forgotten, but they always exist in the long river of time, in the history books of light and shadow.

When Ji Xiang recited the scriptures in his heart, after completing the first recitation, he could clearly hear countless voices in his ears.

This was clearly a quiet place. According to his memory, it should be the Longde Hall. Why were there these chattering strange noises?

Ji Xiang listened carefully. Among those chaotic sounds, there seemed to be complete languages appearing, but they were spoken very slowly.

"This Daoist... is dead..."

"Incense kills people. This is a method that these Daoist people wouldn't expect, right? How would these lofty immortals know our inferior methods? How humiliating to die by such means."

"This Daoist... magic power, not high... easy to kill."

"Of course I know he's not high. If he were high, I wouldn't have sent you to do it."

One voice spoke very dully, the speaking speed very slow, as if thinking about the next word after saying one.

And the second voice was the source of those chaotic sounds. Whenever a sound was made, it was accompanied by whooshing and moaning strange noises, extremely noisy.

At this time, the second voice spoke again:

"Now that you have completed the task, wait here. After tonight, the world will change. At that time, the offerings in this Longde Hall will no longer be these three old men, but will be replaced by us Fire Lords."

"At that time, you can freely enjoy the incense in this hall. The Emperor didn't demolish this place these days, which is already a great kindness. You only get to eat a few sticks of incense every day, how miserable have you been?"

"Yes..."

"You, this thing, were born from swallowing the incense of the Jiajing Emperor. The Jiajing Emperor found you interesting, so he left you here. You have great divine power, able to isolate the power of the country and move around freely. Otherwise, we wouldn't have found you..."

Listening to their conversation, Ji Xiang obtained a lot of information.

The curse that killed him was premeditated.

It seemed to be to prevent any problems tonight, and they had specially come to kill his predecessor.

And judging from their tone, they claimed that the method of killing with incense was an inferior trick, considering it a humiliation to Daoist disciples. In other words, this spell was not a righteous method.

However, in the young Daoist's memory, he had indeed never heard of this kind of magic. After all, he had only learned the names of righteous methods; how would he know these strange and bizarre tricks?

Moreover, these two things actually said they wanted to move the Three Pure Ones statues and replace them with some Fire Lords? Were they the dependents of some Fire God?

They could actually move around freely in the Forbidden City, even setting fires and casting curses to kill people?

The Forbidden City was protected by immense national power and numerous positions. Although there were no sorcerers or cultivators, this was a place forbidden to gods and ghosts.

If gods and ghosts could move around in the Forbidden City,

There was only one reason.

They had been pardoned by someone in the royal family, who believed they were righteous gods.

It could be the Emperor, the Empress Dowager, a certain concubine, or a certain prince.

If a person obtained a position and could move around in the Forbidden City, that was not possible. All those who possessed positions in the Forbidden City were basically the same as mortals; their own magic power and divine status could only be restored outside the palace.

While listening to their conversation, Ji Xiang's silent recitation had not stopped.

Upon reciting the scripture twice, the eyes could see things.

At the third recitation, the mouth could speak.

At the fourth recitation, new bones grew on the remains of the old bones, and the internal organs began to take shape.

At the fifth recitation, the ashes and injuries within the body disappeared.

At the sixth recitation, the burned hair grew back, and the teeth reappeared.

At the seventh recitation, the flesh returned to its youthful appearance.

After reciting the scripture eight times, the lost magic power and cultivation realm reappeared and were perfected. The old charred corpse turned into a cicada-like shell.

At the ninth recitation, the three souls were stabilized, and the seven spirits were reborn.

Then, Ji Xiang's essence, qi, and spirit were unified. From bones to flesh to internal organs, everything returned to normal. He transformed from a charred corpse into a normal living person.

Reciting the scripture for the tenth time:

Rotten bones revive, all rising as adults!

And the incense in the blank divine tablet was almost completely exhausted.

The incense of all people was now within himself!

The new body had a majestic appearance, with divine light in his eyes. Although he still looked seventeen years old, compared to his predecessor, his entire temperament had undergone earth-shattering changes.

At this time, the thing on the incense burner spoke:

"Alright, the master is coming here soon to see the Daoist's corpse with his own eyes, and then have people clean it up. I have to leave. Hide well, don't startle the master, and don't reveal any flaws in front of those eunuchs!"

Just as that voice said it was leaving, Ji Xiang began to bend his waist and exert force upwards. The charred shell on his body cracked and fell off, and then Ji Xiang slowly sat up straight.

He started up in fright from his deathbed!

Then, he suddenly spoke to something on the incense burner:

"Since you're already here, Fellow Daoist, please stay!"