Traveling through countless heavens, an immortal being

Time flows like water, heading eastward day and night.

Who among us living in this world isn't at the bow of the boat?

……

Time flies like an arrow, and ten years have passed in the blink of an eye.

During these ten years, King Qin ascended the throne and changed the era name to Tianmu. The population of Jin slowly recovered under the benevolent rule of the monarch and his ministers working together. The new emperor restored the incense offerings to the gods in the Heavenly Palace. In addition, thanks to the efforts of Li Er, the people enjoyed good weather for ten consecutive years, with rain during droughts and irrigation canals opened up for floods.

Lear has grown taller over the years, and now it is no longer strenuous for him to lean on his dragon-headed cane. Strangely, the new beard that has grown out is naturally grayish-white, and no matter how Lear tries to change it, it is no use; the more he changes it, the whiter the beard becomes.

He simply changed his name to He Shang Gong, rode a blue ox, carried a dragon-headed cane and a red gourd, and traveled around praying for sunshine and rain, curing diseases and eliminating disasters for the people.

……

Ten years of recuperation and ten years of peace, with bountiful harvests year after year, meant that every household's granaries, both official and private, were overflowing, and every family had enough to eat and wear.

Everywhere in the countryside, people built shrines to worship the reigning emperor and the River God. Even if the emperor ordered their demolition, a new one would soon appear.

This is a shrine built spontaneously by the people. From the government to the countryside, everyone knows that such a good life was given by the current emperor and the river god.

Sincere prayers and offerings from the people have brought the emperor great energy, even though he was over forty. For Lear, the world was becoming increasingly kind to him, sometimes to the point of feeling as if it were his own arm.

To put it simply, if any prefecture or county suffers from drought, fire, or flood, as long as the local people pray in the temple, even if Lear is thousands of miles away, he can make the world rain to save the crops and make the land flow with irrigation canals.

Lear's magical power is also gradually increasing. He can now project his divine sense and clearly see the emperor handling state affairs in the capital and the people working hard in various places, even from tens of thousands of miles away.

Strangely, no matter how much Lear saved the people, the heavens did not punish him again, as if all punishment had vanished with the death of the old king and the death of the royal advisor.

Lear thought about it and concluded that it was probably because the new emperor had restored the worship of the gods.

However, the people mainly worshipped the new emperor and Lear, and only lit incense at the shrines of other gods as a side trip.

One person's strength is small, ten people's strength is insignificant, but ten thousand people working together can move mountains.

Lear calculated that if the people went to offer incense and pray for blessings every day, the accumulated offerings from the gods over time would probably be considerable...

………………

Day after day, year after year, Lear, who was gathering herbs in the snowy mountains of the Western Regions, received a golden edict that fell from the sky.

Lear took it and examined it carefully. The inscription on it clearly stated that "Heaven has responded to your merits and you are now qualified to ascend to the Heavenly Palace and serve in the court."

……

Lear, who had been suppressing his own cultivation level to avoid ascending too early, no longer resisted and ascended on a blue ox riding the clouds, following the call of the Heavenly Dao.

He also wanted to see what the heavenly palaces and immortals of this world looked like...

........................

Having soared straight up to the ninth heaven, Lear looked at the magnificent and imposing Capital Palace before him, which was entangled by layers of dark chains that shimmered with iridescent colors, and began to doubt whether he had truly ascended.

Whose place is so heavily chained up like a prison for serious criminals?

If it weren't for the ethereal atmosphere and towering palaces below, Lear would have thought he had been ascended to the demon realm.

Just as he was wondering if this place was a legitimate heavenly palace, the grand hall with vermilion lacquer and jade steps in front of him slowly opened its doors.

Looking at the misty scene inside the hall, Lear instructed the blue ox to wait by the side, and then slowly walked into the hall, leaning on his dragon-headed cane.

……

Lear had barely taken a few steps into the hall when the door closed behind him. Lear turned and glanced at it before continuing forward. After walking for an unknown amount of time, he finally emerged from the misty hall.

Lear frowned as he looked at the three-eyed, golden-crowned immortal in purple robes sitting on a jade couch in the open rear hall across the pool, also bound by chains.

What's going on with this Heavenly Palace?

The palace is locked, the gods are locked up, how can it be a good place?

……

As if sensing Lear's arrival, the chains binding the three-eyed god flinched slightly, like a cat seeing a tiger.

The three-eyed immortal on the couch seized this rare moment of respite and slowly opened his eyes...

"Thank you, fellow Daoist, for removing these shackles from me. It is truly impolite of me to be unable to personally greet you since you have crossed realms to come here, and to be unable to rise while bound by these shackles."

I hope you will forgive me, fellow Daoist.

After he finished speaking, Li Er looked at the chains binding him and asked with great confusion, "Fellow Daoist, there's no need for such formality. What's the meaning of these chains? Why are you chained here? Why was I summoned to ascend directly to this Heavenly Privy Council?"

Hearing Lear's series of questions, the Three-Eyed Immortal intended to answer them one by one, but unexpectedly, the chains seemed to be provoked and slowly tightened again.

Seeing this, the Three-Eyed Immortal gathered his magic power and threw the flat, round, white jade seal with a dragon-shaped knob, which he was holding, to Lear across the pool of water. After being tightly bound by chains, the seal closed its three eyes.

Lear held the jade seal firmly in his hand, probed it with his divine sense, and only then did he know the answer to the question he wanted to ask...

……

The one on the couch is the embodiment of the Heavenly Heart of all beings, the Chief Judge of the Capital Heavenly Principal Office established by the Heavenly Way. His duty is to investigate all beings in the Three Realms, including immortals, gods, Buddhas, humans, demons, ghosts, and monsters, to examine their oaths, reward their merits, and punish their evils, thus demonstrating the Heavenly Way's all-seeing nature.

When this world is peaceful and prosperous, He will be free from disasters and difficulties. However, once the Three Realms change and the universe is in chaos, all kinds of influences will transform into the chains that Lear saw, binding Him tightly and preventing Him from escaping. When He is trapped, the Three Realms will be affected by Him and begin to experience sudden wars and widespread calamities.

He wanted to break the chains, but that required bringing peace to the Three Realms. The prerequisite for the Three Realms to be at peace was that He would break the chains. However, He was trapped in the Nine Heavens and had lost one-tenth of his magical power. He could only watch helplessly as the Three Realms became increasingly chaotic and disorderly. The Three Realms also became more and more chaotic because He did not appear for a long time. Thus, it became an unbreakable vicious cycle.

The Heavenly Dao, sensing something, pulled Lear from another world into this one, and now it seems to be working exceptionally well. He is now able to hand over the white jade dragon seal, which represents His identity and authority, to Lear to act on His behalf, so that all gods and beings may perform their duties and maintain peace and tranquility in the Three Realms.

If the situation in the Three Realms improves, He can break free from the heavy chains, reunite with the Heavenly Way, and eliminate the calamities.

……

After reading the jade seal, Li Er understood that the various evils and wickednesses in the Three Realms had reached a point where even the Heavenly Heart Incarnation was bound and unable to interfere. The Heavenly Heart Incarnation was trapped in the Nine Heavens and could hardly move, unable to cut off its own rotten flesh and scrape its bones to heal itself. The Heavenly Dao invited Li Er to be an outside doctor to give the Three Realms a strong medicine to bring them back to life and restore their vitality.

Therefore, the Heavenly Dao specially created a supplementary list of the Investiture of the Gods, along with three supreme treasures: the Vajra Bracelet representing the supreme status of the Supreme One lineage, and the Taiqing Fish Tail Crown. The supplementary list of the Investiture of the Gods was given to Lear to clarify the good and evil gods before resuming the Investiture of the Gods and bringing peace to the Three Realms.

The Vajra Bracelet and the Taiqing Fish Tail Crown, crafted with supreme magical power, were the wages given to Lear by the Heavenly Dao. Their power was comparable to the dragon-headed cane given to Lear by his master.

……

Lear looked down at the jade seal in his hand, which was about five centimeters square. He turned it over and looked at the inscription, which was engraved with eight simple and ancient red seal characters.

"The central pivot of heaven governs all yin and yang."

Lear looked at the eight words and read them aloud softly.

The goal is now clear: to turn the world upside down and cleanse the universe!

After Lear had this thought, a purple aura descended from the heavens and changed his blue Taoist robe into a purple robe with dark patterns of stars and the Tai Chi Bagua.

Lear's long beard now reaches almost to his lower abdomen, and paired with the red gourd he carries on his back and the dragon-headed cane with the Investiture of the Gods' secondary list hanging in his hand, he truly resembles the mythical Lao Tzu.

Li Er thought of this and took off the red gourd he was carrying, tied it together with the Wind God's Second List to the dragon-headed cane, then walked out of the main hall, called over the green ox, rode on its back, and looked towards the most conspicuous Dantai Zhuque below the Heavenly Pivot Mansion.

……

We must not be lenient with these "gods"; only drastic measures can cure this world's chronic and intractable disease that has lasted for nearly ten thousand years.

As Lear rode his ox down from the heavens, a continuous expanse of purple aura, stretching for thousands of miles, began to appear behind him as he descended on clouds, majestic and awe-inspiring.

The celestial officials riding in carriages in the sky, the civil and military officials in the main hall, and the minor officials of various celestial palaces and divine mansions were all startled and looked up.

……

The Heavenly Emperor, standing on the high platform in the palace, wanted to reprimand the civil and military officials who were whispering among themselves.

Before he could even utter a word, all the civil and military deities in the hall knelt down with their tablets raised in a grand salute. The Heavenly Emperor thought these deities were kneeling before him and was about to tell them to rise when he saw the hall suddenly filled with a shower of purple light and a surge of purple mist. A figure riding a blue ox then appeared.

He was seen:

Abundant celestial fortune and profound Daoist essence; purple aura surrounds and billows in the air.

Holding a jade seal, one bows to the immortals; a hanging scroll on a staff firmly holds the will of Heaven.

His white beard remains undisturbed, his demeanor serene and ethereal; he acts on behalf of Heaven, subtly impartially enacting judgments.

Innately formed and solemn, it commands the homage of ten thousand immortals, boundless and supreme.

It was Lear, who held the authority of the Grand Judge of Heaven and the responsibility of bestowing divine titles, who descended from the clouds on an ox and manifested in the palace.

……

Upon seeing Lear appear on the platform, the Heavenly Emperor on his throne flew into a rage, shouting, "How dare you! Who are you to dare offend my imperial presence?!"

Li Er glanced at him indifferently, then used the power within the jade seal to temporarily seal the Heavenly Emperor on his throne before telling the Green Ox to turn around and face the immortals.

The immortals below the stage were all trembling with fear. Although they did not know the origin of this great immortal riding a green ox, the jade seal in his hand that represented his identity could not be faked.

Only the old immortals of the Heavenly Palace in the morning court knew that the shape of that jade seal was a unique design of the Heavenly Heart Chief Judge of the Heavenly Capital in the Nine Heavens.

These old immortals, holding their jade tablets high, led the shouts, "We, your humble servants, pay our respects to the Grand Judge of Heaven! May Your Majesty live a long and prosperous life! May Your Majesty live a long and prosperous life!"

Li Er and the other civil and military immortals below the stage performed the proper rites, bowed deeply, and looked around before slowly speaking.

"Gentlemen, please excuse the formalities. I have been entrusted by Heaven to act on its behalf, hoping that the Grand Master will come to restore order. Please cooperate and refrain from any unauthorized actions, or Heaven will not forgive you!"

The civil and military officials in the audience first stepped forward, with the Left Immortal, the Prime Minister of the Heavenly Palace, leading the right-hand group, holding his tablet, and said, "Since the Great Immortal has been entrusted by the Heavenly Way, we are willing to be under the Great Immortal's command."

Seeing that the Prime Minister had said so, the remaining immortals suppressed their little thoughts for the time being and dared not reveal them.

Seeing that they were cooperating, Lear then sent the jade seal in his hand to the top of the hall, where it transformed into a radiant canopy of celestial rules and laws that covered the entire hall before beginning the trial.

……

"It is discovered that Qiongji, the female lantern bearer of Yuchen Palace, accepted bribes from celestial officials and altered the Heavenly Emperor's decree, allowing the Dongting Dragon Prince, who had been causing havoc in the human world, to escape punishment!"

The judgment is that Qiong Ji will have her immortal bones removed, her immortal status stripped, and be transformed into a stubborn stone to forever guard the eye of the East Sea, whether she is pardoned or not!

The Dragon King of Dongting Lake, having failed in his duty to educate his son, is hereby demoted to the River Dragon King, a punishment that will not be pardoned! The Dragon Prince of Dongting Lake is to be captured and taken to the Execution Platform for beheading!

"The stars Greedy Wolf and Altair have been found guilty of descending to the mortal realm without authorization and neglecting their duties. They are hereby stripped of their divine offices and transferred to the Heavenly Crafts Academy to atone for their crimes!"

"It has been discovered that twelve maidservants of the Taiyin Palace have descended to the mortal realm out of delusion. They have been stripped of their celestial status, their immortal bones removed, and demoted to mere mortals! They will not be pardoned!"

"The Heavenly Empress's palace is found to have shielded a traitor and deceived Heaven by failing to report it. Therefore, she is stripped of her titles of Heavenly Consort and Heavenly Empress, and demoted to Lady Anji Shunhang! Her celestial abode is to be confiscated immediately! She is to be punished with two thousand years of incense offerings!"

"The Celestial Official of the Heavenly River Water Palace has been found to have abused mortal immortals who have ascended to heaven! He is hereby dismissed from his post and imprisoned in the Heavenly Jail for six hundred years!"

"The celestial official of the Left Extreme Immortal's Mansion has been found to have leaked heavenly secrets, causing a wicked person in the mortal realm to become rich overnight. He shall be stripped of his celestial status and demoted to a mortal, never to be employed again! The wicked person who became rich overnight shall be executed by lightning as a warning to others!"

"The celestial officials of the Southern and Northern Dipper Offices, for their own selfish reasons, arbitrarily increased or decreased the lifespans of mortals, causing the wicked to live longer and the virtuous to die young! They are hereby stripped of their celestial status and demoted to the animal realm, to be reincarnated for eternity, subject to pardon or not!"

"The fairy maiden in the Bureau of Cloud Weaving has illegally married a mortal and altered his destiny, violating heavenly rules! She is sentenced to have her fairy bones removed, her fairy status stripped, and be banished to the mortal realm!"

"check………"

........................

The assembled civil and military officials, listening to Lear's relentless rulings, felt a chill run down their spines and exchanged bewildered glances.

Only the Left Immortal Elder stood at the head of the group, his expression unchanged. Even when Lear judged the celestial officials in his palace, he did not raise an eyebrow. This demeanor earned the respect of the other immortals. After all, he was a senior immortal, and he was indeed different.

…………

Lear judged each of the Heavenly Palace's violations of heavenly rules and laws, leaving the gods whose names were called upon in the audience utterly distraught.

The deities who were not named bowed respectfully to Lille under the guidance of the Left Immortal.

The moment the immortals below received the decree, the dragon-shaped jade seal, which had transformed into a celestial light shield enveloping the entire hall, automatically reverted to its original form and fell into the hands of the celestial heart incarnation who descended from the sky.

Lear looked up at Him as He descended slowly, one hand holding the seal, and stroked His beard and nodded.

The avatar of Tianxin descended onto the platform, bowed to Lear, and then pronounced the verdict again.

"All immortals, heed my decree! An investigation has revealed that the Heavenly Emperor, in order to secure his throne, has been secretly colluding with demons, causing immense suffering to the people! Today, I, on behalf of Heaven, proclaim the decree: the Heavenly Emperor is hereby stripped of his position! The Principal of Heaven, who oversees both Yin and Yang, is hereby decreed!"

As His voice fell, golden light shone brightly in the sky, and a decree slowly floated down. The incarnation of Heavenly Heart held a jade seal and placed the decree down.

As the imperial seal was firmly affixed, the Heavenly Emperor's fortune and power were completely taken away. The twelve-tassel crown, the nine-dragon imperial robe, the heavenly brocade jade shoes, the Heavenly Emperor's imperial seal, the mountain and river jade tablet, the Heavenly Emperor's sword, and other treasures transformed from the Heavenly Emperor's body into streams of light and flew to the Heavenly Capital's Heavenly Pivot Palace for temporary storage.

Having lost his divine duty, the deposed Heavenly Emperor slunk off his throne and descended from the high platform.

Lear watched as the former Heavenly Emperor, dressed in a green brocade robe, was about to be taken away by heavenly soldiers and generals, and raised his hand to stop them.

"Wait a minute!"

Tianxin's avatar turned to look at him and asked, "Is there anything else, fellow Daoist?"

Lear stroked his beard as he looked at Him. "Although the Heavenly Emperor has been deposed, his crimes are no small matter. What do you intend to do with him, fellow Daoist?"

The incarnation of the Heavenly Heart was finally freed from its many constraints and was filled with gratitude towards Lear. Lear's rescue of Him was a great favor, and Lear gave Him advice that He should take seriously.

"What do you mean, fellow Daoist?"

Lear turned to the Heavenly Emperor and declared, "I hereby pronounce this judgment: strip him of his celestial status, remove his immortal bones, and banish him to the mortal realm for eternal reincarnation! Take him away!"

The avatar of the Heavenly Heart nodded to the Heavenly Soldiers and Generals, instructing them to obey Lear's will.

Unexpectedly, the deposed Heavenly Emperor was unhappy with Lear's judgment. He used his magic to forcefully break free from the control of the heavenly soldiers and generals, turned around and flew out of the palace to try to escape. However, Lear had anticipated this and threw the Vajra Bracelet, which hit him and made him fall unconscious.

Then a group of heavenly soldiers and generals swarmed forward, seized the deposed Heavenly Emperor, and took him to the Execution Platform for punishment.

…………

"The affairs of this realm are now concluded, and I must take my leave of you, fellow Daoist. Congratulations on escaping the cage and finally gaining your freedom. After this painful but necessary transformation, the future is bright and boundless, and you can now boldly dismantle the heavenly rules and regulations."

Lear paused here, then continued, "I have one more thing to say, fellow Daoist, you must remember it."

I would like to hear more details.

"If any immortals ever again yearn for mortal life, the most severe measures must be taken to warn all other immortals and gods, otherwise the Three Realms will be in turmoil and the universe will be in chaos. Fellow Daoist, remember this well!"

The avatar of Tianxin lowered his head and thought for a moment, then cast a divination in an instant.

He looked up at Lear and replied earnestly, "I remember. Whenever a deity with mortal desires appears, I will not show mercy. Fellow Daoist, rest assured."

"Alright, I'm off! Take care, fellow Daoist," Lear said to the incarnation of Tianxin standing to the side after recalling the Vajra Bracelet.

The avatar of Tianxin took out a banana leaf fan from his sleeve and handed it to Lear, saying, "This fan is for your self-defense, fellow Daoist. I wish you a speedy enlightenment of the Great Dao. May you have a safe journey."

The two immortals bowed to each other in farewell. Lear shrank his dragon-headed cane and put it in his sleeve. Holding a banana leaf fan and wearing a purple robe made of purple qi, he urged the blue ox to walk into the rising clouds outside the main hall.

The figures of a man and an ox slowly walked into the clouds and disappeared... leaving only a faint song in the main hall...

"The heart purifies and cleanses all things in the universe... Ultimately, outside the cycle... who embodies the form of Tai Chi..."