Chapter 16 The First Step

The beautiful scenery of the world blurred in Ji Xiang's eyes, and the noisy sounds of the world faded in his ears.

With a single thought, his mind was filled with the strange situation of Tian Fengyu standing at the threshold just now. It seemed that he was only a little bit away from understanding what was going on, but that little bit was always like looking at flowers in the fog or trying to catch the moon's reflection in the water.

Could it be that without a guide for the blank divine tablet, he couldn't even crack minor tricks like illusion spells?

This fruitless return made Ji Xiang feel uneasy.

There were so many Taoist spells and divine techniques in the world. It seemed he couldn't rely entirely on the guide... At least he needed some skills to force the other party to reveal their true form, so that the guide could be more accurate.

The morning court did not convene. Ji Xiang stood in the Forbidden City, looking at the former three great halls reduced to dust, and fell silent.

"It's not over yet."

Ji Xiang said silently in his heart.

It wasn't over. From the appearance to the demise of the Fire Lord, only two short days had passed, and only two short days had passed since he had descended into this world.

New anomalies had already appeared, and perhaps the unusual nature of the Dongyue Temple was inseparable from the chaos caused by the Fire Lord.

"No matter what happens next, as long as Zhang Zhenren can successfully enter Beijing, my mission will be completed..."

"After that, should I return to Wudang Mountain?"

Ji Xiang pondered, thinking that nothing more should happen in just one day. This time, the Heavenly Bureau and the Underworld were well-defended, and the emperor didn't go to the harem either, but stayed in Longde Hall, looking like he was ready to run away at any moment.

Ji Xiang planned to return to Wudang Mountain to collect incense offerings. As a god of incense, although he already had the incense of the people, and in two large portions, it would eventually be used up if he wanted to cultivate in the future. Now, Wudang's incense in the Ming Dynasty was good, and it was also his old nest. Returning to the mountain to mooch incense for cultivation was the best choice.

As for establishing a temple for himself... that was not a good idea, he might be labeled as the leader of the White Lotus Sect!

"When I have achieved success in my cultivation, I will definitely come to help out when fighting the Qing army more than forty years later. Although feudal dynasties are not good things, the Ming court is still better than the Qing court, it's just a matter of comparing who is less bad..."

Even at this point, Ji Xiang still thought, even if the world was in turmoil, what did it have to do with him, an extraterrestrial demon?

The world was vast, and cultivation was always for the sake of immortality. So many predecessors had遁入山林 (dùn rù shānlín, escaped into the mountains) because they were afraid of being contaminated by the mortal world and failing to cultivate.

"My new life is finally about to begin, I'm really looking forward to it."

When Ji Xiang thought about this, he felt that his true good times had finally arrived.

The Great Ming, a world of sun and moon's light.

So, in order to prevent any problems on the last day and to be able to resign safely, he applied to the Wanli Emperor to go out and buy magical artifacts.

The last time, several magical artifacts were smashed by the Fire Lord, and now he had nothing on hand, and all the talismans were burned.

"Magical artifacts... Well, the Department of Imperial Treasures has many high-quality magical artifacts. I'll have the eunuch in charge of the Department of Imperial Treasures come over, and you can go with him to pick out some good things."

"You can take anything you want from the Department of Imperial Treasures."

The Wanli Emperor had great confidence in his grandfather's magical artifacts. Since Ji Xiang said that he didn't have enough magical artifacts, he would let Ji Xiang go to the Department of Imperial Treasures to take them:

"The Department of Imperial Treasures has many magical artifacts left over from the time of the 世宗 (Shìzōng) Emperor. Some of them were moved from the 大高玄殿 (Dà Gāo Xuán Diàn, Grand Temple of Supreme Mystery). They should be much stronger than the original magical artifacts in Longde Hall."

When Ji Xiang heard the four characters 大高玄殿 (Dà Gāo Xuán Diàn), he was slightly puzzled. He didn't know the origin of this hall. During his time in the palace, he hadn't heard anyone mention it, but in the Wanli Emperor's mouth, it seemed that the magical artifacts eliminated from this hall were still considered top-notch?

Without waiting too long, the eunuch from the Department of Imperial Treasures was originally coming to deliver new incense burners today, and he met the emperor's messenger halfway. The eunuch in charge of the Department of Imperial Treasures came here first, and when he saw Ji Xiang, he was secretly surprised.

It seemed that this Taoist Ji was now the emperor's favorite, to the point that he was even allowed to take the used and eliminated magical artifacts of the 世宗 (Shìzōng) Emperor!

This resale business of second-hand magical artifacts that he had originally planned to do could not be done after all. After all, with the emperor's words, the original illegal private transaction became a legal online donation.

The eunuch of the Department of Imperial Treasures greeted the emperor and then set off with Ji Xiang.

"This old servant never expected that the emperor would give such great convenience to the little Taoist priest! If the Taoist priest becomes successful in the future, I hope you will give this old servant a helping hand!"

The eunuch in charge of the Department of Imperial Treasures had fiery thoughts in his heart again.

He looked at Ji Xiang's heroic and extraordinary face, and wondered if this Ji Xiang from Wudang Mountain was the next Tao Zhongwen?

If he could build a good relationship with Ji Xiang, he could also take advantage of the situation and see if he could transfer from this broken place in the Department of Imperial Treasures to the powerful Directorate of Ceremonial...

The eunuch in charge of the Department of Imperial Treasures was very enthusiastic, and he couldn't stop chatting with Ji Xiang along the way, introducing the origin of the Department of Imperial Treasures and the amount of magical artifacts stored there.

The Department of Imperial Treasures had many departments, but the main work of these departments was the祭祀洒扫 (jìsì sǎsǎo, sacrifices and sweeping) of the Ming Tombs, which were very far from the Forbidden City.

The Department of Imperial Treasures in the Forbidden City was responsible for purchasing and recycling second-hand magical artifacts, and then distributing new magical artifacts. Therefore, some of the magical artifacts previously used in Longde Hall were also provided by them.

After all, who knew if there were any strange curses on the magical artifacts you brought with you, so foreign Taoists must use the internal magical artifacts provided by the Forbidden City to reassure the people in the palace.

Ji Xiang muttered in his heart that this was the same as schools not allowing outside food.

"During the time of 嘉靖 (Jiā jìng) Emperor, many Taoists performed various sacrificial activities here in 顺天 (Shùntiān). After the 隆庆 (Lóngqìng) Emperor succeeded to the throne, the magical artifacts of these Taoists were confiscated and are now piled up in the Department of Imperial Treasures."

"The 大高玄殿 (Dà Gāo Xuán Diàn) of the 嘉靖 (Jiā jìng) Emperor is no longer used now. Our Department of Imperial Treasures can't use up all the magical artifacts, there are too many of them. The 隆庆 (Lóngqìng) Emperor said that we should handle them ourselves..."

The eunuch in charge of the Department of Imperial Treasures pointed out the origin of the utensils here, and at the same time told Ji Xiang that if you go to find some props that the 嘉靖 (Jiā jìng) Emperor used, opening these blind boxes might yield divine weapons.

Ji Xiang lost four magical artifacts and only had a gold knocker left in his hand, and all his talismans were destroyed, so of course he wanted to get some good things.

"Gonggong (恭公, respectful term for eunuchs), what exactly is the 大高玄殿 (Dà Gāo Xuán Diàn)? His Majesty also mentioned this just now..."

"Oh, the 大高玄殿 (Dà Gāo Xuán Diàn), you don't know about it? That was the largest royal Taoist temple in 顺天府 (Shùntiān fǔ) in the past. It was a great venue where the 嘉靖 (Jiā jìng) Emperor often performed斋醮 (zhāi jiào, Taoist rituals). In front, there was the 虚皇宝坛 (Xū Huáng Bǎo Tán, Treasure Altar of the Empty Emperor), the 三清大殿 (Sān qīng dàdiàn, Three Purities Hall), the 无上阁 (Wúshàng Gé, Supreme Pavilion), and the 象一宫 (Xiàng Yī Gōng, Palace of Similitude), and behind it was a 九天万法雷坛 (Jiǔtiān Wànfǎ Léitán, Nine Heavens Myriad Dharma Thunder Altar)..."

"Back then, the eunuchs of our Department of Imperial Treasures were responsible for helping the 嘉靖 (Jiā jìng) Emperor open this Taoist temple and altar."

The eunuch in charge of the Department of Imperial Treasures explained, "The 虚皇宝坛 (Xū Huáng Bǎo Tán) is the altar of the 太虚神 (Tàixū Shén, God of Emptiness) of Taoism. The Taoist priest must be familiar with this. It is a layout that must be set up for any large-scale Taoist ritual, and it can communicate with the realm of emptiness..."

"The 三清大殿 (Sān qīng dàdiàn) enshrines the Three Purities祖师爷爷 (Zǔshī Yéye, Grandmaster Ancestors), while the 无上阁 (Wúshàng Gé) is a bit strange. It enshrines the 玉皇大帝 (Yùhuáng Dàdì, Jade Emperor), but it binds this Heavenly Emperor on a high pavilion..."

"Next to the 无上阁 (Wúshàng Gé) is the 象一宫 (Xiàng Yī Gōng), which enshrines the 嘉靖 (Jiā jìng) Emperor's Taoist robe and golden statue... Speaking of which, the 嘉靖 (Jiā jìng) Emperor's Taoist name also has the character 象 (xiàng, similitude) in it, just like the Taoist priest, called 象一帝君 (Xiàng Yī Dì Jūn, Emperor of Similitude), meaning 'holding the great similitude, the world goes to it'."

"Finally, the 九天万法雷坛 (Jiǔtiān Wànfǎ Léitán) is the枢机 (shūjī, pivot) that governs Yin and Yang. Back then, the great妖道 (yāodào, demonic Taoist) Tao Zhongwen often held a jade magic sword called '景震' (Jǐngzhèn) and performed magic with the 嘉靖 (Jiā jìng) Emperor at the Myriad Dharma Thunder Altar."

"But this sword... it is said that this sword was lost when the magical artifacts were moved out of the palace that year."

Ji Xiang asked, "Then is this palace not used now?"

The eunuch in charge of the Department of Imperial Treasures replied:

"Now, except for when 引国运神 (yǐn guóyùn shén, summoning deities with national fortune) or large-scale祈雨 (qí yǔ, rain-praying) ceremonies are held, when we pass by there, it has not been used much. When it needs to be used, the magical artifacts are taken from our Department of Imperial Treasures. Usually, there are almost no people there, only two or three eunuchs do the daily cleaning."