Mythology

Chapter 425 The Celestial Venerable of the Great Void's Robbery
As soon as Yang He finished speaking, the Investiture of the Gods in the center of the altar shone brightly.

Countless characters emerged and floated in mid-air.

The black water within the Ten Thousand Immortals Formation has mostly receded, leaving only the Three Pure Ones standing silently in the triangle of the formation, like dark silhouettes.

"Yang He".

Lu Ya Daoist suddenly remembered something and asked in a strange tone, "You are favored by the Heavenly Dao, so just guess whether the Three Pure Ones can transcend based on your premonition."

Yang He did not hesitate, "Yes, but whether it will be good or bad for the mortal world is unknown."

"kindness."

Lu Ya Daoist nodded, seemingly having made up his mind.

The scene of Chaoge City within the Ten Thousand Immortals Formation became increasingly clear, and one could even faintly smell the pungent stench emanating from the mountains of corpses.

"kill!!!"

The Xiqi army broke through the defense line, and ghost soldiers lay scattered all over the streets.

The half-human, half-ghost people had talismans pasted on their foreheads. They were escorted to the original site of the Nuwa Palace to await further processing.

Nezha rode his Wind Fire Wheels and sped past, only belatedly looking up at the sky.

The immortals among the clouds appeared and disappeared, and even he, a cultivator at the Returning Void Realm, could not see them clearly, but he could sense his junior brother's gaze.

"Hehe, it's good that my junior brother is alright."

Nezha spewed Samadhi Fire, burning the corpses to ashes.

The remaining few thousand ghost soldiers continued to put up a stubborn resistance, but they were forced to retreat to Lutai, and defeat was only a matter of time.

The palace was deserted; not a single person remained.

"Bi Gan".

Jiang Ziya arrived at the foot of the Deer Terrace and looked up to question the withered old man.

"Where is Emperor Xin?!"

Bi Gan stood on the rooftop, his robes fluttering in the wind, his eyes scanning the devastated city of Chaoge, lost in thought.

"Bi Gan!"

Jiang Ziya emphasized, "We can ignore Di Xin, but can you tell me what you saw after climbing up the Deer Terrace?"

"Ah."

Bi Gan suddenly laughed, looking at Jiang Ziya with pity in his eyes.

"Jiang Ziya, you're scared too?"

Jiang Ziya trembled all over. It would be a lie to say he wasn't afraid. The people of Xiqi were now on the basis of overthrowing the world where demons and monsters ran rampant.

He was indeed afraid, afraid that everything was just a mirage.

Once the Investiture of the Gods ended, there were no more immortals in the mortal world, and the Chan and Jie sects collapsed, leaving no one to suppress the evil spirits that roamed the land.

"Bi Gan, let this old man be..."

Before Jiang Ziya could finish speaking, he saw Bi Gan shake his head slightly.

He was struck dumb, wanting to ask more questions but not knowing how to begin. He knew that before Bi Gan ascended the Deer Terrace, he had always served the country and its people.

It's hard to imagine what kind of scene Bigan must have witnessed to drive an old man who had experienced so much vicissitudes insane, willing to sacrifice millions of ordinary people to the same fate.

Ji Fa stepped forward and said, "Bi Gan, if you intend to use Di Xin's whereabouts to threaten me, hehe, there's no need for that."

He opened his arms wide with high spirits, declaring, "I am the ruler of all under heaven, and no tyrannical and perverse ruler can shake my authority."

Bi Gan slowly raised his right hand, his five fingers like hooks, and suddenly plunged it into his own chest.

puff.

Blood gushed out, and he actually managed to rip out the ghost heart. The heart beat violently on the ground, but soon lost its life.

"The Shang dynasty's foundation spanned six hundred years."

Bi Gan's voice was hoarse, like sandpaper scraping, "They will not perish at my hands! Remember this, the Shang dynasty will not fall!!"

He stumbled and fell off the deer platform, his body torn to pieces.

Their souls were then placed on the Investiture of the Gods.

Ji Fa drew his bronze sword, and at nearly ninety years old, he was determined to conquer the Central Plains. Even with the help of the Chan Sect, he couldn't help but feel joy.

The soldiers of Xiqi erupted in a deafening cheer, the sound almost overturning the ruins.

Jiang Ziya stood there dejectedly, then noticed that the resentment emanating from the Investiture of the Gods was growing stronger, like ink staining the entire sky.

Tick.

A drop of black rain fell to the ground.

Before long, the clear sky quickly turned pitch black, and a torrential downpour of black rain began, but the soldiers were completely unaware of the strange phenomenon.

Jiang Ziya looked up at the group of immortals, whose figures, which were originally surrounded by immortal energy, were now distorted.

Their eyes were sunken, and they wore eerie smiles. They looked down on the mortal world with cold eyes, each of them repulsive.

Jiang Ziya felt a blur before his eyes, and when he opened them again, he was already standing on the Investiture of the Gods Platform.

The Investiture of the Gods floated in front of me.

Rumble.

A flash of lightning streaked across the sky, and in an instant, the Three Pure Ones stood outside Chaoge City, their figures seemingly close yet also vastly different.

Jiang Ziya noticed that the immortals within the Ten Thousand Immortals Formation also appeared in shadow form.

Only a dozen or so figures remained, staring at him from the city gate.

Yang He, who plays the Three Corpse Taoist, is also among them, but from his own perspective, he is still in the Ten Thousand Immortals Formation.

"Hmm." A deep sigh echoed, and the Three Pure Ones' gazes fell on Jiang Ziya.

Jiang Ziya's eyes glazed over, his lips moved uncontrollably, and the sacrificial words came out of his mouth, his voice sounding completely unfamiliar.

"The heavens are overturned, the earth's veins are destroyed, the cycle of reincarnation continues, and gods and ghosts perish together."

His murmurs rose and fell, sometimes like the booming of a bell, sometimes like the low weeping of a ghost. Each word seemed to carry an indescribable weight, making everyone in the Ten Thousand Immortals Formation gasp for breath.

The soldiers' self-congratulatory celebrations made the deification ceremony seem even more bizarre.

Jiang Ziya, tears streaming down his face, cried out, "Disciple Jiang Ziya now offers all the spirits of the gods as a sacrifice, and the Investiture of the Gods as a covenant, commanding all the celestial beings and deities to return to their rightful places!!!"

The names on the Investiture of the Gods began to wriggle, twisting and deforming little by little.

Jiang Ziya stiffly raised his hands, and in an instant, the Investiture of the Gods was filled with wailing and howling, and countless ferocious faces tried to emerge.

"You cultivate the Tao in your lifetime, and become gods after death, enjoying incense offerings and receiving worship for all eternity."

"Of course..."

His tone suddenly changed, becoming sinister and harsh.

"The divine position is a shackle, incense offerings are a deadly poison, and merit is a curse!"

"Once granted this title, one can never escape its grasp!!!"

Jiang Ziya shed two lines of bloody tears and squeezed out his last question from his throat.

"The dead have entered the gates of heaven; are the living willing to receive their titles?!"

As soon as these words were spoken, heaven and earth fell silent.

Yang He was in the Ten Thousand Immortals Formation and could feel the bone-chilling cold. Even Lu Ya Daoist beside him fell silent and his breathing became heavy.

A voice seemed to be repeating in his ears, "Do the living wish to be granted titles?"

As he pondered, his mind was filled with thoughts of immortality and wealth, and his eyes involuntarily reddened, his lips trembling slightly.

Lu Ya Dao Ren patted Yang He's shoulder forcefully and then replied, "The living Lu Ya Dao Ren does not wish to be granted an official title."

Yang He looked surprised, but he wasn't surprised at all. Lu Ya Dao Ren seemed aimless to him, and he had taken the initiative to contact the Investiture of the Gods, so he must know some of the truth.

Lu Ya Daoist smiled lightly, "Do you remember what I said? Once you and I are caught in the Investiture of the Gods, it will be impossible for us to escape unscathed. Even if we refuse, we will become a member of the Heavenly Court."

"Brother Dao, then you..."

"I just don't want to for now. We'll meet again in Heaven sooner or later."

Lu Ya Daoist gulped down several mouthfuls of wine and said, “If you had not yet become an immortal, I would have advised you to cultivate diligently and attain the Dao before entering the Heavenly Court. But since you are already a true immortal, it is not a bad thing to ascend sooner.”

"it is good."

The moment Yang He's mind cleared, he felt exceptionally relaxed, and the sounds around him abruptly stopped, clearly indicating that the Investiture of the Gods had received a response.

He glanced at Su Daji out of the corner of his eye, and the latter did not hesitate at all.

As for the fellow Daoists who are also second-generation disciples of the Chan Sect, Yang Jian, Nezha, Huang Tianhua, and Lei Zhenzi are not in a hurry to be listed, and it will not be difficult for the four of them to become immortals in the future.

Unfortunately, Yang Ren was severely injured and could not hold on for long, so he could only accept the title.

The Investiture of the Gods was unfurled with a roar, and the scrolls were covered in a waterfall of blood.

The three scarlet characters 'Corpse Daoist' were the first to be affected, twisting and deforming in the void, gradually reflecting Yang He's face.

Yang He groaned, feeling uneasy from the inside out.

"The Corpse Daoist is a disciple of Qianyuan Mountain. He descended the mountain to enter the world in response to the Nuwa Festival. He was meritorious in saving Ziya in Chaoge City. He first showed his talent in the Ten Deadly Formations. Later, he went through the Nine Turns Yellow River Formation and the Ten Thousand Immortals Formation and was valued by the Heavenly Court."

Jiang Ziya's words caused the cultivators to show strange expressions, and they all speculated about Yang He's appointment.

Only Su Daji was filled with terror. She never expected that after the Immaculate Buddha ascended to the Pure Land, Yang He would still have the strength to possess the Corpse Daoist.

How is that possible?! He... his soul leaving his body—can he really travel freely between two worlds?!
Su Daji looked around, desperately searching for the figure of the Three Corpses Taoist, but all the immortals present used their Yin energy to isolate themselves.

"I hereby appoint you as the [Heavenly Venerable Who Patrols the Corpses in the Great Void]."

Su Daji trembled as she noticed a ray of spiritual light falling on a certain spot in the Ten Thousand Immortals Formation. Yang He was exuding bursts of immortal energy, which was extremely mysterious.

"Residing in the Xuanxu Palace of Suyao, corresponding to the five extremes of the primordial universe, it holds the power of the rotation of Yin and Yang and the alternation of calamities, and oversees the signs of imbalance in the three realms."

Lu Ya Daoist looked at Yang He with newfound respect. Celestial positions in the Heavenly Court are usually ranked in terms of quality, but Yang He's celestial position was rather far-fetched.

He knew that "one should be the ultimate of the five primordial elements, wielding the power of yin and yang rotation and the alternation of calamities," which was more of a description of celestial positions.

The phrase "monitoring the imbalance in the three realms" becomes particularly glaring.

Does that mean you're in charge of all the chaos in the Three Realms?
Are you kidding me? It doesn't even specify which of the eight departments the immortals belong to.

Damn it, you can't even reprimand the Jade Emperor, can you?

Lu Ya Daoist licked his lips, wondering if his little brother would already be lording it over the Heavenly Court by the time he ascended to heaven.
Yang He felt countless gazes directed at him, making him the target of everyone's criticism.

He had no way to express his grievances. Did the Heavenly Court take a liking to his troublemaking nature? Thinking about it carefully, Journey to the West might really be a way of monitoring the imbalance in the Three Realms.

Hopefully, the Heavenly Court can send more people.

Yang He remembered that the Eight Divisions of Gods were said to have 365 members. If you include the celestial officials and clerks, each division probably had no fewer than a thousand people. If you include the heavenly soldiers and generals, there would be even more.

Jiang Ziya regained consciousness and realized that the great calamity was beyond his control.

"The Corpse Celestial Venerable wears the Nine-Light Precious Mirror and holds the Mysterious Origin Record, patrolling the ten directions and supervising the true records. When the calamities change, he will manifest in gray robes to show all beings the opportunity to return to their roots and restore their destiny."

Suddenly, a divine light flowed around Yang He's body, and the protective mystic light transformed into a strange official robe.

The robe has a deep, dark base color, with flowing starlight embroidered on the cuffs and hem.

Two yin-yang fish, one black and one white, are coiled around the collar, their heads and tails connected. The insignia on the chest is not the auspicious clouds and mythical beasts of ordinary celestial officials, but a scene of the beginning of chaos.

"The Corpse Dao... Corpse Heavenly Venerable receives the decree."

(End of this chapter)