The comet remained silent, only relentlessly unleashing heavenly tribulations.

Chapter 118 Feathering Gate

On this day, celestial music suddenly resounded above the vast mountains, and auspicious clouds swirled around them.

Song Yi was comprehending the profound laws in the True Lord's Mansion when he suddenly sensed a vast amount of immortal spiritual energy descending from the sky. He quickly got up to greet it.

A golden road descended from the heavens, led by a dozen celestial soldiers and generals. Among them was a celestial official holding a golden book, who was none other than a heavenly angel.

The angel landed before Song Yi, unfurled the golden book, and loudly proclaimed the imperial decree.

It turns out that Song Yi had previously assisted the Golden Light Holy Mother in subduing the Great Bodhisattva Namo Vajra, a merit of which was immense.

The Great Celestial Venerable bestowed special rewards upon him, including ten golden flowers, twenty luminous pearls, and thirty jars of imperial wine from the Jade Pool, to commemorate his merits.

Song Yi accepted the imperial decree and the reward, and then invited the angel to the True Lord's Palace to serve tea.

While pouring tea, he subtly inquired about the Heavenly Court's handling of the Buddhist matter.

The angel was a disciple of Venus, and was well-informed. Having met him several times before, he did not hide anything and told him about the movements of the Heavenly Court.

It turns out that the eastward spread of Buddhism has secretly eroded the fortunes and prosperity of the human race in Jambudvipa, which has already touched the sore spot of the Heavenly Court and the Taoist sect.

The human race in Jambudvipa is the foundation of Taoism and the Heavenly Court. Once their fortune is secretly eroded by Buddhism and their incense offerings and merits are plundered by the West, the fortune of the gods in the Heavenly Court will also be affected.

Faced with the relentless pressure from Buddhism, the deities of the Chan and Jie sects surprisingly set aside their prejudices, joined forces, and unanimously demanded that Buddhism be severely punished.

This unity surprised even the Great Celestial Venerable.

Therefore, at the joint petition of the gods, the Great Heavenly Venerable issued a decree, sternly rebuking the Buddhas of the West, listing the transgressions of the Buddhist sect, and warning them not to repeat them.

Moreover, the Great Celestial Venerable also dispatched the Golden-Crowned Immortal to guard Mount Ling, ostensibly as a protector, but in reality, as a watchdog.

Upon hearing this, Song Yi's heart stirred slightly.

He was naturally aware of the name of the Golden Summit Immortal.

This great immortal is an ancient Golden Immortal, a top expert of the Taiqing lineage, whose cultivation is unfathomable. He had already attained the Taiyi Golden Immortal status during the time of the Human Emperor Fuxi.

He served Grand Master Xuandu for many years and held an extremely high position.

With the Golden-Crowned Immortal guarding the foot of Mount Ling, even if the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas harbored many grievances, they dared not do anything to him.

After all, the Golden Peak Immortal is backed by the Grand Master Xuandu, who possesses the Taiji Diagram.

That Taiji diagram is a supreme treasure from the beginning of creation, a primordial spiritual treasure at the level of a saint. Once it is unleashed, it is enough to suppress everything.

Although Western Buddhism also has many innate spiritual treasures, none can truly rival the Tai Chi diagram.

Moreover, Grand Master Xuandu himself is recognized as the number one person below the sage among the three religions.

After the sage retired, he was revered among the three religions. In terms of cultivation, magical treasures, and spiritual attainment, none of the Buddhas of the West could surpass him.

If something were to happen to the Golden Peak Immortal on Mount Ling, and the Grand Master Xuandu were to personally descend upon the West with the Taiji Diagram, the scene would be terrifying to even imagine.

Since its establishment, the Purification and Turbidity Bureau has been operating smoothly and its power has been growing ever stronger.

The name of the True Lord of Deliverance from Calamity spread far and wide in Jambudvipa, attracting countless believers and flourishing incense offerings.

Song Yi then prepared to establish his own school of thought.

Among the immortals of the three religions, most Golden Immortals with some cultivation choose to establish their own sects and recruit many disciples. This is not only to cultivate their own power, but also to enjoy the fortune and incense offerings of the human race under the guise of educating them.

Luck is something that cannot be seen or touched, yet it truly exists.

An immortal cultivates alone, thus his fortune is tied to himself; he is a solitary figure, always alone.

However, if one establishes a sect and takes in disciples, one's fortune will accumulate like a snowball.

When a disciple achieves success in his cultivation, his fortune will benefit the sect in return.

The sect prospers and flourishes, blessed by the sect leader's good fortune.

This is the fundamental reason why Taoism has thrived for thousands of years.

Song Yi chose the path of incense and deity worship because he had no other choice, and good fortune was an indispensable foundation for him.

The site was naturally chosen in the Cangmang Mountains.

This mountain range stretches for thousands of miles, is rich in spiritual energy, and is far from the core areas of the three religions, making it an ideal place to establish a sect.

On the day the sect was established, a high platform had already been built on Cangmang Mountain. A hundred immortal servants stood in neat rows below the platform, with Song Yu and Gou Yue Niang standing on either side of the platform.

Wearing the robes of a True Lord, Song Yi ascended the high platform, faced east, and bowed three times to show his respect for the Three Saints. Then he spoke loudly, his voice as resounding as a great bell, echoing throughout the mountains.

"I am Song Yi, the True Lord of Tribulations and Calamities bestowed by Heaven. Today, I establish the Feathered Ascension Gate in Cangmang Mountain, wishing that all living beings in the world may have the opportunity to seek the Dao, and that everyone may ascend to immortality and live a long and carefree life!"

The moment the Dharma sound fell, a beam of mysterious light suddenly descended from the heavens. The light was as clear as water and carried a profound and mysterious Daoist charm, enveloping the entire Cangmang Mountain.

At the same time, the spiritual energy in the mountains surged and churned like boiling water, with thousands of auspicious wisps of air, tens of thousands of lucky clouds, hundreds of birds singing in unison, and beasts bowing in worship.

Such extraordinary celestial phenomena are precisely Heaven's approval of the act of establishing and spreading the teachings.

Those who establish sects and schools in accordance with the Way of Heaven and educate humanity will all experience such responses.

The mysterious light lasted for a full hour before slowly dissipating.

Song Yi could clearly feel that a vast force of fortune was gathering around him, a reward from the Heavenly Dao brought about by the establishment of the Feathered Ascension Sect.

Although this fortune is not yet strong, its foundation is solid, and given time, it will surely grow and prosper.

After a long while, the mysterious light dissipated, and the three large characters "Yu Hua Men" (Feathered Ascension Gate) were condensed on the mountain gate stone tablet with Daoist charm, ancient and vigorous, exuding an aura of immortality.

Once a sect is established, it needs a method to safeguard its core.

Song Yi designated the "Taiqing Zifu Immortal Manual" as the fundamental scripture of the Feathered Ascension Sect.

This is the orthodox method of the Taiqing lineage, which points directly to the Great Luo Path. Although Song Yi himself follows the path of incense and deity, this does not prevent him from passing on immortal scriptures to his disciples.

However, the other method for protecting the temple was created by Song Yi himself.

The Art of Refining All Treasures

He integrated the secrets of the thirteen innate restrictions with the "General Outline of Taiqing Refining Weapons," and after hundreds of years of painstaking effort, finally created this method of weapon refining.

When he chose the silver rune, he specifically selected a weapon-refining fragment to greatly enhance his weapon-refining comprehension.

In the art of weapon crafting, Song Yi can be considered a highly accomplished figure among his peers across the three religions.

Although this "Myriad Treasures Refining Technique" cannot compare to the inheritances of those ancient refining masters, it is more than sufficient as one of the hall-guarding techniques of the Feathered Ascension Sect.

The one hundred celestial servants carefully selected from the Qingtianjian have now all changed their identities.

These young men and women were all of good aptitude and talent, and most of them had already passed through the Nine Heavens Tribulation and cultivated to the Earth Immortal realm.

Song Yi took them all into the Feathered Ascension Sect as second-generation disciples, bestowed upon them Taoist names according to their order of entry, and assigned them various duties.

Although the Feathered Ascension Sect is newly established, with figures like Tian Yunzi and Gou Yue Niang serving as elders, and Song Yi, a true True Lord of the Heavenly Court, presiding over it, it is by no means a small sect in the Southern Continent.

In the following years, Song Yi toured various parts of the Southern Continent, fulfilling his duties as the Heavenly Court's True Lord of Calamity Relief, bringing good fortune, averting disasters, and protecting the peace of the region.

On the one hand, they carefully searched for suitable seedlings along the way and cultivated them in the Feathered Gate.

Over the years, we have found a few promising talents. Although they cannot compare to those extraordinary geniuses who are born with immortal bodies, they are good-natured and diligent in their cultivation. Given time, they may very well become great.

On this day, Song Yi was instructing several newly accepted disciples on their cultivation by a stream in the Cangmang Mountains when he suddenly felt a strange sensation arise in his heart without any warning.