Shulong Daojun

At this moment, Yi Xuan's gaze swept over the disciples below the altar, and he spoke calmly:

"The true gods are appointed by Heaven, and Heaven and Earth will examine their merits and demerits."

However, the spirits and monsters of the mountains and fields are not registered in the Heavenly Register, and are born and nurtured by Heaven and Earth. Therefore, Heaven and Earth do not concern themselves with their faults, and our Taoist sect will act on behalf of Heaven.

Our founding patriarch established a rule that all disciples of our Taoist school should slay demons and monsters, and protect the Tao and its laws.

If you encounter evil spirits in the future, slay them without hesitation. Do not follow the example of Fu Tu and condone evil, lest you bring harm upon yourselves.

Upon hearing this, all the disciples immediately rose from their prayer mats, bowed, and said in unison, "We will remember this."

Yi Xuan nodded, slightly raised his hand to signal the disciples to return to their seats, and then said calmly, "Next."

As soon as he finished speaking, another mountain god rose from below the altar, slowly ascended the altar, and reported his merits and demerits.

Although there are many righteous gods in the ten directions, the human world is mostly peaceful, and the earth's veins and mountains also have disciples of the Dharma lineage rooted in this place to assist in managing it. Therefore, it was not long before it was the turn of the last righteous god.

After he finished his report, Yi Xuan sat upright on his high seat, his expression slightly shifting. He raised his hand and gestured, and the divine ranking list that had been hanging above floated down and landed steadily in his hand.

The Divine Ranking is made of black gold and engraved with patterns of mountains, rivers, lakes and seas. With a gentle unfolding, the names, titles, territories and terms of office of the ten righteous gods will appear in mid-air.

Of these, eight shone brightly, while two or three out of ten were dim and lacked luster.

Yi Xuan's gaze fell on the God Ranking. After a brief glance, he understood. Then he announced, "The Jiazi year report is complete."

This assessment has removed eight righteous gods from the list of positions, and these vacant positions will be filled by Daoist disciples who will select worthy individuals to fill them.

As soon as he finished speaking, everyone below the altar looked up at him, their faces filled with anticipation.

This is especially true for disciples of miscellaneous schools of thought.

For them, the position of a true god is the broad road to advancing to the rank of Earth Immortal.

Most of them condense the spiritual essence of fox, weasel, white willow, etc. to form incense embryos. In their daily cultivation, they suffer from the turbid qi in the embryo. They often have to cultivate hard for dozens of days before they can feel a slight improvement in their cultivation.

If one follows the prescribed path of cultivation, it is feared that one will never be able to glimpse the Great Dao in this lifetime.

But if one has the power of incense offerings and vows, and performs good deeds, then it's a different story.

Therefore, even if the methods used are somewhat dishonorable, this position of the true god must still be taken.

Thinking of this, their gazes swept over the figures sitting upright on the green cushions, their hearts stirred slightly, and then all focused on Bei Chen.

At this moment, Bei Chen was silently watching Lin Shu, his gaze shifting as if he were deep in thought.

Lin Shu pondered in his heart about the other four chief disciples of the Dharma lineage besides himself.

In addition to Zhang Ziling and Chen Hao, disciples from the Tai Shi and Tai Su lineages were also present at this Kun Yuan Dharma Assembly.

These are the opponents he truly needs to be wary of.

The positions of the eight righteous gods are neither too many nor too few.

Logically speaking, he should be able to secure a position, but if something unexpected happens, that's uncertain.

While everyone was lost in their own thoughts, Yi Xuan had already put away the God Ranking and said calmly, "This second test is for candidates for godhood, and it consists of two rounds."

In the first round, disciples will take the stage to defend their title, and those who win three consecutive matches will advance.

Among my Taoist disciples, anyone who wishes to seek the Heavenly Pardon and be appointed to a divine position may ascend the platform to defend the arena.

In the second round, the shortlisted disciples will draw lots to determine the winners of a duel. The winners will be granted divine mandate from Heaven and Earth, becoming righteous gods, and the top eight will be selected.

After speaking, he paused slightly, his gaze sweeping over the disciples, and slowly said:

"This matter should be jointly overseen by me, Elder Shouzheng of this lineage, and the Earth Immortal of the other lineage."

Before he finished speaking, Yi Xuan's Taoist robe fluttered, and with a simple gesture, he summoned a white cloud, which transformed into a cloud-built altar and hung quietly beside the altar.

Then, he said loudly, "Now that the Dharma platform has been erected, who is willing to be the first to ascend it?"

We, the disciples of Taoism, should naturally possess the courage to be pioneers.

In the next instant, Lin Shu had already risen from the futon, and with a light leap, he stood steadily on the Dharma platform.

With his profound skills, he was naturally extremely confident.

Moreover, this is only the first round. Only three consecutive wins are needed to qualify. Most disciples of the Dharma lineage will likely choose to wait and see at this time, unwilling to easily fight against established figures.

Therefore, given his status as the first disciple of the special lineage, any reasonable person would choose to avoid his sharp edge and wait for the next person.

On the cloud platform, Lin Shu faced the disciples of the four Dharma lineages, smiled slightly, and bowed respectfully, saying:

"This is Lin Shu, the chief disciple of the Dao Yi Tai Miao Zhen Men. Please give me your guidance."

After speaking, he straightened his expression, put his hands behind his back, and waited for the disciples who came to challenge him.

On the green prayer mat in front of the altar, the four figures remained motionless.

Zhang Ziling had witnessed Lin Shu's methods and knew how formidable they were. Moreover, the two were close friends, so he had no intention of going on stage to compete with him.

Chen Hao and the other two, feeling they had no chance of defeating Lin Shu, decided against going on stage after much deliberation.

The remaining disciples of the miscellaneous schools of thought exchanged glances, their eyes seemingly engaged in discussion.

Before long, a thin, pockmarked Taoist priest took a deep breath and leaped onto the cloud platform.

His body trembled slightly as he bowed deeply and said, "Li Xiaohai, the chief disciple of the Blackwater Sect, please enlighten me."

"Junior brother, there's no need to be nervous. It's just a normal sparring match."

Lin Shu nodded slightly, offered a gentle word of comfort, and then chuckled, "Use whatever means you have."

Without further hesitation, Li Xiaohai unleashed his full magical power, raising his hand to unleash a ten-foot-long azure flame that shot straight at the entrance of the Scale Book.

Lin Shu slightly raised his eyelids, sensed it briefly, and commented indifferently: "Fire-type Dao technique? The aura is indeed pure."

Among miscellaneous schools of thought, such a pure and authentic Five Elements technique is rarely seen.

Having said that, he stirred his mind slightly, and divine light shone down, directly meeting the blue flame.

Upon contact, the ten-foot-long azure flame melted away like snow in hot water, dissipating in mid-air and vanishing before it even reached Lin Shu's body.

At that moment, Li Xiaohai condensed azure flames in his left hand and gathered a ball of azure water in his right hand, which he then shot out without hesitation.

They arrived in front of Lin Shu in an instant, but suddenly turned and collided with each other in mid-air on the cloud platform.

In an instant, scalding white steam, carrying the sweltering heat, enveloped Lin Shu's head, obscuring most of his vision.

Upon seeing this, Lin Shu narrowed his eyes and raised his hand to unleash a divine light above his head.

The white vapor was suddenly pushed aside as if by an invisible hand, and he felt a sudden chill all over his body.

The next instant, a thick, long vine suddenly shot out, heading straight for Lin Shu's waist, intending to bind him tightly.

Lin Shu remained calm and unhurried. With a casual flick of his finger, divine light descended, and the vine snapped in two, a section of it vanishing into thin air.

But then, sharp earth spikes suddenly attacked from all sides of the cloud platform, as if they wanted to pierce through him.

Lin Shu was slightly surprised.

This disciple of the Miscellaneous School of Daoist Arts, named Li Xiaohai, is proficient in quite a few Daoist techniques.

Fire, water, earth, and wood are all present; only metal is missing to complete the five elements.

As expected, Li Xiaohai lightly flicked his sleeves on the other side of the cloud platform, and golden spiritual light surged, transforming into dozens of golden arrows that rained down from the sky.

Upon seeing this, Lin Shu immediately smiled and said, "That's trivial."