After the Winter Solstice, the weather in the capital region did not improve. Lead-colored clouds continued to hang overhead, turning daylight into a perpetual dusk, with occasional heavy snowfalls making the roads muddy and treacherous.
Many powerful figures within the imperial court and the Huguo Temple, including deities such as Fengbo, Yushi, Qingnü, and Guanghan, exerted their divine abilities to forcibly alter the capital’s climate. However, their efforts only lasted half a day before the weather reverted to its previous state—freezing cold, with icy droplets forming and waves of frigid air surging in.
Inside the hall of the South Pole Star God, Xu Jingxu held a divination stick, channeling his divine power with intense concentration. With a sudden crack, one of the sticks flew out and fell to the ground.
Looking down at it, Xu Jingxu abruptly stood up, his face filled with terror.
It was the worst possible omen—a sign of the end of days!
…
Deep within a remote mountain near the capital of the Divine Favor Kingdom, howling winds twisted into dragon-like shapes, dark clouds roiled across the sky, creating an eerie and shadowy expanse, as if opening a gateway to some terrifying realm.
At the heart of the storm stood a newly erected altar, towering and majestic. Despite its newness, it exuded an ancient, primitive aura, exuding a sense of primordial savagery and ancient solemnity. Suspended at its highest point was a Divine Rank Chart, its Three Pure Ones obscured, the name “Donghuang Taiyi” faintly glowing, radiating an atmosphere of awe-inspiring majesty.
Zhang Buzhou, the “Great Sage Taoist Master,” no longer covered his eyes with a yellow kerchief. His pupil-less white eyes resembled mirrors, reflecting the altar, the surrounding forbidden spells, ritual instruments, and sacrificial offerings in their entirety.
Zhang Buzhou stepped forward in an unusual Yu’s pace, ringing a bronze bell in his hand. Like a great shaman of the Primordial Age, he performed the ritual in a strange and vivid manner. After an indeterminate amount of time, as the snowflakes fell and blanketed the altar in white, he completed this stage of the ritual. As the lingering bell tones echoed, he lowered his head and ascended the altar step by step.
With the first step, the capital region was plunged into utter darkness, and evening arrived prematurely.
With the second step, the snowflakes solidified into hail, pelting down with loud clattering sounds.
With the third step, fierce winds arose, threatening to snap trees.
…
When Zhang Buzhou finally stood before the Divine Rank Chart, the entire capital region of the Divine Favor Kingdom was engulfed in a once-in-a-thousand-years blizzard. In the darkness, the flickering lights painted a scene of impending doom. Xu Jingxu, together with several elders, finally deduced the general cause: the Great Sage Taoist Master was about to invoke Donghuang Taiyi to cleanse the defiled world, leaving behind a blank, snowy expanse.
“Has he gone mad?” Xu Jingxu blurted out in shock.
Such an act would undoubtedly be a mutual destruction—killing a thousand enemies while losing eight hundred oneself. Even a single thread of power from a figure like Donghuang Taiyi would be enough to collapse the heavens and shatter the earth, annihilating all life. Why would Zhang Buzhou, whose Yellow Turban Taoism was thriving and who was on the verge of a breakthrough, resort to such a desperate and suicidal act?
He could neither understand nor wanted to understand. His immediate priority was to stop the Great Sage Taoist Master!
“Let’s go. Search for the place where Heaven and Earth are imbalanced,” Xu Jingxu, no longer concerned with anything else, sent a message to the imperial family while heading with the elders of Huguo Temple toward the most violent storm.
Meanwhile, Yun Gu, the leader of the Huangtian Sect near the capital, also sensed something amiss. He leapt into the air, following the wind’s whispers, and flew toward the deep mountains.
At that moment, Zhang Buzhou removed the yellow kerchief covering his forehead, held it with both hands, and prostrated himself before the Divine Rank Chart, where the name Donghuang flickered.
Boom!
Thunder rumbled in winter, shaking the heavens. In the swirling dark clouds, a thin, dark fissure appeared in midair, resembling a long, narrow eye.
Boom!
Amid the heavy snowfall, purple lightning forked like tree branches and struck down. Gan Ruoxu sensed something amiss, walked to the entrance of the Hall of the Three Pure Ones, and gazed at the apocalyptic sky.
At that very moment, Yuanshi Daoren within his mind suddenly opened his eyes, as if sensing something, and began weaving the threads of causality, performing divine calculations.
Inside the Yuxu Palace atop Kunlun Mountain, Meng Qi’s expression turned grave, filled with both surprise and confusion: “Zhang Buzhou actually intends to destroy the world? And he truly contacted the so-called ‘Donghuang,’ emitting an ancient, powerful, and mysterious Primordial aura!”
He never expected that Donghuang Taiyi, supposedly slain by Haotian Shangdi, would prompt Zhang Buzhou to resort to such a drastic means of annihilation. It must be to prevent the restoration of his Qi Sha Tablet!
Could it be that this Donghuang Taiyi did not wish for the Abyssal Sea’s anomaly to recede?
Was he truly Donghuang Taiyi?
Donghuang Taiyi had perished at the hands of Haotian Shangdi, yet his blood endured through aeons, giving rise to the Fusang Tree.
As thoughts surged, Meng Qi did not delay his decision. The altar was erected, the ritual completed. At this point, attempting to channel power through Gan Ruoxu to stop him was already too late. Contacting the “Snack Lover” via the Myriad Realms Communion Talisman to rush to the altar was equally futile.
One move behind, one step too late, and the situation had turned passive. Whether or not it was truly Donghuang Taiyi, such immense power—even a mere fragment—could shatter the fragile world.
“It can only be done this way…” Meng Qi suddenly sighed, his divine consciousness connecting with the imprint within Gan Ruoxu. He had originally intended to observe further.
Yuanshi Daoren’s figure suddenly formed a mudra with both hands, and countless faint threads of causality appeared around him—threads not belonging to him, but to Yuanshi Tianzun’s projection within this universe!
Boom!
The thunder grew louder. Across the Divine Favor Kingdom’s Eighteen Prefectures, the Five Bushels’ Twenty-Four Centers, the Taiping Thirty-Six Regions, and the Seventy-Two Islands overseas, every Taoist temple or shrine enshrining Yuanshi Tianzun trembled as their statues seemed to come alive. Their appearances transformed instantly, becoming a dignified, aged figure with streaks of gray hair, deep-set eyes, and refined features.
All their titles changed simultaneously to “Yùqīng Zǐxū Gāomiào Tàishàng Yuánhuáng Dàodào Jūn!”
Yuanshi transformed, and all phenomena began anew!
Through his imprint, Meng Qi took control of Yuanshi Tianzun’s mindless projection in this universe.
At this moment, he was the true Yuanshi Tianzun of this cosmos!
Within Gan Ruoxu’s mind, Yuanshi Daoren remained seated, but his form became increasingly solid, resembling the origin of time and void.
Meng Qi raised his hand, Yuanshi Daoren raised his hand, and Gan Ruoxu followed suit. Countless Taoist temples and shrines, along with innumerable statues of Yuanshi Tianzun, had accumulated immeasurable eons of merit, virtue, blessings, and the power of incense offerings. Now, all of this pierced through space and converged within the Hall of the Three Pure Ones.
Golden yellow, black and white, and purple qi soared together, sacred and ethereal. As Meng Qi, Yuanshi Daoren, and Gan Ruoxu simultaneously clenched their right hands, the energy condensed into a single point!
…
Deep within the mountains near the capital, the yellow kerchief Zhang Buzhou offered before Donghuang ignited spontaneously, oozing droplets of blood.
Dang!
A phantom bell tolled, and Xu Jingxu and others, who had just arrived, froze midair. Their vision drained of color as they watched Zhang Buzhou bow nine times, completing the final step of the ritual, before shouting:
“Hail Donghuang!”
The long, narrow “eye” in the sky slowly opened, faintly exuding an ancient, primal, and sacred aura. Yun Gu resisted the bell’s effects to some extent, her purple robe fluttering as she lunged forward, her blade transforming into a river of merciless light, crashing down.
Zhang Buzhou coughed out a mouthful of blood, his eyes revealing a mocking smile as if saying, “You’re too late.”
The ancient, primal aura surged, and the blade of light silently shattered. Yun Gu felt as if she had sunk into a swamp, her flight slowing despite her urgency, with no effective countermeasure.
Creaking and groaning, terrifying cracks spread across the surrounding void. Within the deep, narrow “eye,” something terrifying seemed ready to emerge, heralding the end of the world and an indescribable despair.
At that very moment, Xu Jingxu, Yun Gu, and the others suddenly beheld a dazzling radiance of purple, white, and golden hues. A sacred and solemn Three Treasures Ruyi scepter descended from the heavens, enveloped in resplendent multicolored light, striking unerringly at the narrow “eye” with unstoppable might.
The surroundings grew serene, and a distant chant echoed:
“Yùqīng Zǐxū Gāomiào Tàishàng Yuánhuáng Dàodào Jūn!”
The Sanbao Ruyi Scepter
Had Yuanshi Tianzun personally intervened?
Zhang Buzhou’s eyes widened in horror as Yun Gu, Xu Jingxu, and the others regained their freedom. They watched as the black-and-white Ruyi, wreathed in purple, gold, and white light, struck the narrow “eye.”
Bang!
The “eye” shattered, the ancient sacred aura retreating. A brilliant burst of purple, white, and golden light dispersed the dark clouds and halted the blizzard.
When the onlookers regained their vision, the apocalyptic scene had vanished, and the Sanbao Ruyi Ruyi had disappeared without a trace.
The Great Sage Taoist Master, Zhang Buzhou, barely suppressed his panic. He rang the bronze bell, activated his divine power, rolled up the chart, and fled swiftly, evading Xu Jingxu and others.
After fleeing for an unknown duration, he finally felt he had left the capital region. He ceased his escape, began to recover, and realized the ritual had drained him severely.
Suddenly, melodious zither music filled the air. Before Zhang Buzhou, two women appeared—one tall, one small, with the elder seeming like Guanghan descending into the world.
Dang!
The bell stabilized the Three Realms, and the zither’s sound surged. Zhang Buzhou finally tasted the bitterness of similar divine powers, watching helplessly as his weakened self was captured. His captors retrieved the specially crafted Divine Rank Chart from him.
…
Inside the Yuxu Palace atop Kunlun Mountain, Meng Qi reached into the formation and grasped the scroll.
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