Traveling through countless heavens, an immortal being

The foundation for the imperial palace was carved from the mountain, its towers and eaves hidden in the clouds.

Palace maids burned pepper as the sky darkened, while strongmen poured out torrents of red water.

Music and dance reached the islands, and officials from ten kingdoms vied to offer tribute.

With the land unified and the nation vast, the barbarian children dance, and the Han dynasty's power and might are awe-inspiring.

…………

Riding his blue ox atop the clouds, Lear looked down upon the magnificent palace complex with its double eaves and flying arches. He subconsciously recited a poem he had seen online in his previous life, inspired by a master's reflection on a reconstruction of the Qin Dynasty's Epang Palace.

"If the Epang Palace had actually been built back then, it would look like this now."

……

Palaces and pavilions stand in rows, interspersed with artificial hills and ponds. Palace maids await the emperor in the main hall, while imperial guards patrol the flying corridors. Beneath the Mingtang Hall, the long steps fold in nine sections, and above the Zhuque Gate, bells and drums resound in unison, and golden scales surge...

The flowers in the garden bloom in accordance with the seasons, and schools of colorful carp swim in Kunming Pool...

The more closely Lear looked, the more astonished he became. The tallest Mingtang Hall, just like the Hanyuan Hall of the Daming Palace in the Tang Dynasty, was built by leveling a mountain to serve as the palace's foundation.

The foundation of Hanyuan Hall is more than 15 meters high, and the buildings on the platform are 16 meters high, making a total of more than 30 meters. Such a height was considered a giant structure in ancient times when it was built entirely by manpower.

Yet, the Jin state, which unified the world and encompassed the nine provinces, and had tribute from surrounding small states, was able to support the construction of a main hall even taller than the Hanyuan Hall of the Tang Dynasty.

After estimating the overall height of the main hall and the platform, Lear discovered that the Mingtang Hall was already nearly fifty meters high.

Even with a 30-meter-high platform supporting it, such a grand hall was entirely built by manpower, and the amount of money, food, and lives invested in it is probably incalculable.

Lear had originally intended to strike the palace with lightning and burn it down, but then he thought that if it were destroyed by him, there was no guarantee that the newly enthroned king wouldn't risk rebuilding it. To avoid causing suffering to the people, he decided to spare it...

……

After admiring and marveling for a while, Lear had to get back to work. He patted the blue ox and told it to turn its cloud around and go to the Grand Preceptor's Mansion, which it had seen when it flew high above the capital.

This time, we must sweep away the evil spirits and restore a bright and clear world to humanity.

………………

A moment later...

Riding a blue ox atop a cloud, Lear looked down from high above. The Grand Preceptor's residence was quite large, occupying two wards of land. Its scale was only slightly smaller than the imperial palace, but the overall size was not much different. Looking at the five grand halls with gold and green glazed tiles along the central axis, if it weren't for the blue and gold plaque above the gate that read "Grand Preceptor's Residence," Lear would have thought it was the residence of one of the old king's adult sons.

Once we confirm that this palace complex is the Imperial Preceptor's Residence, the rest will be easy.

He made a hand seal to summon lightning, which first struck the gate of the Imperial Preceptor's residence.

Looking at the collapsed gate, Lear waited in vain.

This tactic is called "luring the snake out of its hole," and the main gate is also known as the "face" in folk parlance. This bolt of lightning was like a slap in the face to the national advisor. If the national advisor cared about his reputation, he would never have stood idly by.

Lear took off the Vajra Bracelet, held it loosely in his hand, and channeled his magic power into it. He planned to give the Grand Preceptor a good beating the moment he showed up...

………………

Where is the Imperial Advisor?

At this moment, it has changed into a celestial robe embroidered with purple satin and the Eight Trigrams and Tai Chi symbol, wears a purple-gold crown inlaid with pearls and hibiscus flowers, and is performing the Yu Step ritual in front of the alchemy furnace in the Hall of Gathering Immortals.

Today is crucial. This batch of Blood River Gathering Soul Pills, which has been painstakingly revised and used to sacrifice ninety-nine pairs of young boys and girls, has had its final ingredient added this morning: those dragon sons and phoenix grandsons who were previously vying to guard the furnace.

The Imperial Preceptor personally threw them into the alchemy furnace, and they fused quite well.

As the elixir was about to be completed, the Imperial Preceptor bathed, changed his clothes, set up an altar, and began performing rituals to pray for the Heavenly Palace's blessing upon the batch of elixir.

……

Three boys and several disciples of the Grand Preceptor knelt on either side of the corridor. The banners and flags in the courtyard were arranged in order, and a streak of light would occasionally flash as the Grand Preceptor pointed his long sword, causing them to flutter gently.

Just at this critical moment, a loud booming sound came from ahead.

Just as the elixir was about to be fused and condensed in the alchemy furnace, a clap of thunder extinguished the green flames, the candles on the altar broke and the incense went out, and the rhythm of the Grand Preceptor's ritual was also interrupted.

After the green flames at the bottom of the furnace went out, the alchemical materials being refined inside the furnace emitted billowing black smoke, just like burning wet firewood.

This batch of pills is now ruined.

The Imperial Advisor was so angry that he trembled all over. He had finally managed to gather such a batch of medicinal herbs, but it was ruined at this crucial moment. The Imperial Advisor could no longer care about his image. His hair stood on end in anger, and he flew into the sky with his long sword upside down.

The Imperial Advisor's eyes were bloodshot, his heart bleeding. Was it easy to gather such a large batch of medicinal herbs? What deep-seated hatred could there be? Was it really worth it?

Of all times, it couldn't have come earlier or later, but just when the pills were about to be ready, lightning struck.

When he flew into the air and saw that it was the gate that had been split open!

That's incredibly disrespectful! What happened?

Isn't this tantamount to slapping him in the face? This is absolutely outrageous!

Having been slapped in the face and had its core destroyed, it would be inhuman if it continued to tolerate this!

……

High in the sky, Lear watched as the Grand Preceptor, carrying a long sword, charged into the heavens after billowing black smoke rose from the Immortal Palace, and couldn't help but laugh heartily.

This is hilarious! What a perfect timing!

If Lear knew what the Grand Tutor was thinking, he would probably laugh even louder.

This monstrous genius, clad in the remains of a terrestrial immortal, dared to brazenly enter the imperial court and act as a master, even having the old king bestow upon him the title of Great Sage Imperial Preceptor.

Does it even deserve it?

……

Li'er held a dragon-headed cane in her left hand and a Vajra bracelet in her right, speaking with a mocking expression, "This is the Great Sage National Preceptor?"

As the saying goes, seeing is believing, and seeing it today, I can only say that he is a shameless and despicable beast!

Instead of hiding himself and keeping a low profile, this wicked person dared to disrupt the court and incur the wrath of Heaven!

And yet, with such audacity, they wreak havoc on the common people and humiliate the gods. They are nothing but demons, so why are they so willing to gild their own reputation?

Oh, so you think you're real just because you put on a human skin? Do you even look human? Are you even human?

And the Great Sage National Preceptor~

You dare call yourself that?!?

The Grand Preceptor, who was flying quickly to Lear's side, was so angry he was grinding his teeth. How could this Taoist priest have such a foul mouth?

"You Taoist priest! Stop being so sharp-tongued and quick-witted here!"

"Take this!"

Enraged, it sped up, raised its longsword, flew in front of Lear, and swung down.

Lear deflected the sword with his dragon-headed cane, then threw the Vajra Bracelet at the Grand Preceptor's face with his right hand.

The Imperial Preceptor, consumed by rage, was caught off guard and struck on the head by the Vajra Bracelet, nearly knocking him unconscious and causing him to fall from the sky.

It tried to retreat by using its magic power, but the Vajra Bracelet relentlessly pursued and smashed it.

Forced into a corner, the Grand Preceptor threw down his longsword and made a hand seal, conjuring countless sword shadows in an attempt to defeat Lear in one blow. Unexpectedly, the Vajra Bracelet also changed accordingly; however many swords the Grand Preceptor conjured, the Vajra Bracelet transformed into that many swords to fight against them.

The common people below, seeing the gods fighting in the heavens, hurriedly knelt down and burned incense.

While the Grand Preceptor was fighting with Lear in the heavens, the King of Qin led a group of soldiers under his maternal grandfather into the Grand Preceptor's mansion and rescued many children of officials whose property had been confiscated by the Grand Preceptor Luo Zhi. Among them were the brothers Chen Ming and Chen Zhi and another boy.

The King of Qin knew how to take advantage of the chaos. He ordered his soldiers to search the Grand Preceptor's mansion for treasures, remove them, load them onto carts, and transport them away. He then took the lead and, together with his soldiers, scattered firewood throughout the mansion, poured strong liquor and vegetable oil on it, and had his soldiers set it on fire one by one.

By the time the Grand Preceptor realized what was happening, the entire mansion was already engulfed in flames.

The Imperial Preceptor was even angrier. There were rivals in the heavens and villains on the ground taking the opportunity to cause trouble and rob its collection. Its anger intensified and it was almost driven mad. It roared to the sky, tore off its crown, and quickly made hand seals.

Seeing that the longswords could no longer withstand the Vajra Bracelet's attack, it knew it was no match for Lear and desperately tried to activate the formation set up in the capital to fight back to the death.

Now that Lear has attained enlightenment and possesses treasures, his magical power is boundless. How could he not see through the Grand Preceptor's methods?

He'd been waiting for this moment.

Lear, on the back of the ox, saw the Grand Preceptor begin to perform a hand seal. He raised his dragon-headed staff in his left hand, poured his surging magical power into it, and threw it at the Grand Preceptor.

At that moment, a burly man on the ground, drunk and wearing a shiny blue cloth shirt, was holding a bottle of wine. He watched Lear throw his dragon-headed cane and instinctively shouted.

"Why?

"Hey! Isn't this the method I use when catching pigs with a hook? Even the immortal grandpa can catch pigs?"

……

In the sky...

The Grand Preceptor was struck in the chest by the dragon-headed cane thrown by Lille, scattering his magical power and causing him to lose his spells. He was now falling straight towards the Grand Preceptor's residence.

Even at this point, it still couldn't resist spouting arrogant words.

"You Taoist priest! Do you know who I work for? How dare you ruin this grand plan! Aren't you afraid of the Heavenly Palace and the Demon Realm...?"

Before it could finish speaking, a grand chant suddenly rang out in the western sky. A giant Buddha, its body as blue as glass and surrounded by a halo of boundless compassion, raised its hand and blasted the Imperial Preceptor and its mansion below it into the ground. The huge, burning mansion was transformed into a deep, sunken palm print.

"Amitabha... This humble monk is a step late, please forgive me."

Lear had just heard the Grand Preceptor shout about the Heavenly Palace and the Demon Realm. He told the Green Ox to turn around, raise his hand, and recall the Vajra Bracelet and the Dragon Head Cane, holding them in his left and right hands respectively.

Then, with a mocking expression, he spoke, "It's alright, it's alright. The good show is worth waiting for, isn't it, Buddha?"

"Amitabha Buddha, Your Excellency truly possesses great wisdom. Now that the demon has been vanquished, this humble monk takes his leave..."

As the figure of the giant Buddha slowly faded and disappeared into the sky, the kneeling people below frantically burned incense and knelt in prayer towards the direction of Lear and the Western Buddha, begging for blessings.

Li Er's lips twitched, and he ordered the green ox to turn its cloud around and go find the King of Qin who had just saved the man.

The people below, kowtowing and praying for blessings, were unaware that the Buddha and the immortal had departed, and continued to kneel and worship.

……

at the same time……

A tense atmosphere prevailed in the imperial palace's sleeping quarters.

"Eldest brother, third brother, if you two know what's good for you, sign this edict relinquishing your claim to the throne! Otherwise, don't blame me for disregarding our brotherly bond!"

"Your Highness, you mustn't! This old minister begs you! His Majesty has just passed away; how can we proceed before his spirit? This is an unjust act! Please reconsider, Your Highness..."

"Chief Minister Xu! It's no use begging him! Today he's determined to kill his brothers for his own amusement! Let him kill us all before Father's spirit!"

"Big brother is right!"

"You! How dare you be so ungrateful?! The Imperial Advisor has already been executed! Stop your stubborn resistance! Otherwise, I will truly show no mercy!!"

……

Seeing the intense and tense situation in the main hall, a young eunuch scrambled into the bedchamber and knelt before the princes and ministers.

"Report! Report! Your Highnesses! Your Excellencies!"

"I hereby announce... I hereby announce..."

"What are you asking for? Speak quickly!"

Startled by the sight of the sword-wielding King of Qin, the young eunuch quickly reported with his eyes closed, "Your Highness King of Qin, Your Highness King of Yan, Your Highness King of Zhou, the Imperial Guards saw auspicious clouds hovering over the Mingtang Hall, and on those clouds was a deity riding an ox!"

After the little eunuch finished speaking in a shrill voice, he collapsed to the ground, terrified by the gleaming sword tip.

After hearing this, the princes and ministers in the palace left the palace under the leadership of the King of Qin and headed straight for the Mingtang Hall...