Ming Dynasty, New Rome, and Infinite Divine Machine

"Unfortunately, no." Master Sa Tianshi shook his head. "Mythology and reality often differ. Although I have many similar disciples, I didn't specifically accept Wang Lingguan as my disciple. It's just that many legends suggest that I should have. Since everyone likes to watch it, I filmed the story to entertain the children and earn some blessings and merits. But you, on the other hand, have earned much more merit and blessings."

"That's what you said."

Daozu opened his mouth and said personally:

"As above, so below; as below, so above. The sun is the father, the moon the mother. Bred by the wind, nurtured by the earth. Rising from the earth, descending from the sky. This is how the world was created, and this is how miracles are achieved. Up and down interchange, yin and yang open. This is how Taiyi's miracle is accomplished—Shangluo, do you know what this is?"

"I know," Shangluo replied. "I've discussed this with Victoria. This is The Emerald Jade Record."

"The Emerald Record", the ultimate mystery of the three great Romans, the answer to all legendary questions, and the root of all mysteries.

But as a mystery among mysteries, the Jade Record is not secret. In fact, its content is very clear, that is, those sentences that begin with "As above, so below; and as below, so above."

The Emerald Records clearly provide the ultimate answer, but the Romans, even to their death, never understood the real problem.

And now, everything is clear.

As above, so below; as below, so above. The sun is the father, the moon is the mother, conceived by the wind, nurtured by the earth.

The sea of stars is above, the shell below. Zhendan is the sun, Rome is the moon. Conceived from the heavens, nurtured by Hou Tu.

A miracle is about to happen. The upper and lower parts are interchanged, and the yin and yang holes are opened.

"You are the one who works miracles. You have bought time for all of us," Daozu said. "Your merits are already great, but I hope your achievements can be even greater. When the day of 'upper and lower parts interchange, and the opening of yin and yang' truly arrives, I hope you can stand at the highest point and announce it to everyone."

"Yeah." Shangluo nodded, "I'll do my best."

"No, no, this isn't just a matter of giving me more. The Heavenly Masters have discussed this with me, and we feel that giving you anything is not too much. So, now I'm not the only one who will be your master." Daozu's voice rang out from the abode:

"I will continue to watch over you until you ascend. But now, you can choose one of the four Heavenly Masters to be your master. Unlike me, the four Heavenly Masters can personally guide you in your cultivation, and all four will teach you everything they know. However, you must choose one to lead you in the order you choose—don't worry about offending the others, as your achievements are far more important than appearances. So, choose, which one would you like to start with?"

Chapter 277 Xuanmen

"So, you must choose one of the four of us to be your master," Sa Shoujian said. "I say 'master' here, not teacher. You are already on the same level as the emperors of all generations and are a direct disciple of the Taoist Lord. You alone cannot perform grand ceremony for five or six people. That's something only Lü Bu would do."

"Uh, indeed."

"So, you still don't know what everyone else can do? Let me ask you a question first. You are very familiar with the Emperor, and the Emperor practices the Dao of the Alchemy Cauldron. Do you know why the Emperor practices the Dao of the Alchemy Cauldron?"

"Huh? I don't know. I haven't asked him. But Tianzi said that Daozu taught him this."

"That's right, it was the Dao Emperor who taught it. The Dao Emperor taught the Dao of Dan Ding to successive emperors because he was well versed in the Dao of Thunder, the Dao of Dan, and the Dao of Xuan. However, the Dao Emperor used the 'Dao of Dan Ding' to lead the Dao League. The Dao of Dan Ding is one of the Five Mysterious Sects of Taoism—the so-called Five Mysterious Sects are the Taiji Sect, the Dan Ding Sect, the Xuanzhen Sect, the Jianxian Sect, and the Fuzhuan Sect, which is now the Thunder Sect.

"Among the Five Profound Gates, the Danding Gate was opened as early as the Qin and Han Dynasties, and each sect has more or less the inheritance of the Danding Gate. The Taiji Gate was opened the latest, and it was opened in Wudang Mountain in the Song and Yuan Dynasties. The Five Profound Gates, The disciples of the five paths are Qi Xiu, Dan Xiu, Xuan Xiu, Sword Xiu, and Lei Xiu that you have seen on a daily basis. Only after the five sects opened up the mountains one after another, can there be the Dao Hua Xuanhui of this dynasty. Among them, Zhang Tianshi's achievements are extremely great, because Taijimen is the method of inaction, the ultimate mystery, and it needs a great ability to open the mountain."

After saying this, he nodded to Zhang Tianshi across from him, a gesture of both acknowledgment and thanks. From Fuxi's interpretation of the Eight Trigrams, to the founding of the Danding School during the Qin and Han dynasties, and finally to the Wudang School's completion of the Taiji School, Taoism underwent thousands of years of evolution before finally taking its first solid step, opening the path to the Great Dao. The second step, the Emperor's initiation into the Dao, had also been completed. Now, it was time to take the third step.

Zhang Tianshi nodded in return and looked at Shangluo. The task of taking the third step now fell on him.

"So, Shangluo, when I asked you to choose one of the five, I meant that you would choose one of the five paths outside of Daojun's Danding Sect to start your studies, from Taiji, Xuanzhen, Jianxian, and Shenxiao Xuanlei. Of course, no matter which sect you start with, you must learn all five together. This is how Daojun entered the Dao."

"I know."

"And it's not just the Five Mysterious Sects. In addition to the Five Mysterious Sects, there are also the Five Arts of 'Mountain Medicine, Fate, Divination,' and the Three Arts of 'Dunjia, Prayer, and Divine Fighting.' That's thirteen unique skills in total, the same as the 'Thirteen Guardians' of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. They are thirteen talented individuals who have mastered these thirteen unique skills."

Sa Shoujian added: "To put it simply, it's like your school's class representatives. There is one for each class. If you learn well, you can be a class representative. There are thirteen such class representatives."

“Do I have to learn all of this?”

"Yes." Sa Shoujian nodded. "You must learn them all. You must master all thirteen of the Daoist schools' unique skills and master all five of the profound gates. That means you must pass all five Category A courses and eight Category B courses. Finally, you must choose one of the five profound gates to lead the Daoist sect. This is your mission. The Dao Lord leads the Dan Ding Sect, and judging by your innate talents, you should lead the Jian Xian Sect."

"Oh~~~ I think I was the sword master."

"Although you're the Sword Master, from our observation, you've only reached the first of the nine ranks of Sword Immortals: Encountering the Sword. There are also the Ink-Shaped Sword, the Qi Sword, the Flame-Rising Sword, and finally the Heavenly Sword. You can find more information in the Taoist Cave Truth section of the True Dragon and Tiger Nine Immortal Scriptures. However, the first rank is the most important. For Sword Immortals, if you don't 'encounter the Sword,' the cultivation of the next eight ranks is out of the question. What makes you strong isn't the Sword Immortal Path, but the secrets beyond the sword. But from another perspective, you still have a lot of room for improvement in the Sword Immortal Path, and there's no limit in sight."

"what"

"I'm not saying I have high emotional intelligence." Fearing to discourage Shangluo, Sa Shoujian added, "You're such a good fighter at the first level, so you have a bright future ahead of you. The most important thing for a Sword Immortal is fighting ability. Winning is the way of the Sword Immortal, while failing to win is just the way of the Talking Immortal, and it doesn't matter what level you reach. So if you want to lead the Dao sect with the way of the Sword Immortal, you can't sit in command of the central army like a Taoist master. When you draw your sword, blood will be drawn."

"Ah this."

"Sound familiar, right?" Sa Shoujian smiled. "We've also heard about your time in Rome. It seems this is your path. Well, let me introduce you to the five Xuanmen: Lü Zu, the Sword Immortal Sect. Qiu Tianshi, the Xuanzhen Sect. Zhang Tianshi, the Taiji Sect. And I, the Shenxiao Sect. In addition to the five Xuanmen, each of us is proficient in one or more 'techniques' or 'transmissions', covering all 13 unique skills. For example, if you know the movie about Wang Lingguan, you should know that in addition to thunder magic, my sect also has divine strikes. And among these unique skills, the most important to the Sword Immortal Sect is the mountain in 'mountain medicine, destiny, and divination.'"

"Mountain? What does that mean?"

"Mountain art is also Lu Zu's unique skill. Lu Zu cultivated the second way of sword and mountain, and the legend of dunjia. But when it comes to what a 'mountain' is, this cannot be explained in a few words. You know that among the Thirteenth Taibao of Jinyiwei, mountain art ranks No. Several?"

"I remember that sword cultivation was first, thunder cultivation was second, Xuan cultivation was fifth, and Dan cultivation was seventh. Shan, how many is it?"

"Finally. Among the Thirteen Protectors, the thirteenth one practices mountain arts. Why last? Because he won't be participating in competitions. Mountain arts can be considered the art of concealing the sword. Using spells to avoid danger and attract good fortune, cultivating the body to channel Qi and strengthen essence, studying, taking medicine, and practicing meditation are all required. All of this leads to the moment of drawing the sword. Mountain arts are the art of concealing the sword and slaying evil. They don't participate in competitions because they 'don't compete', so they don't draw their swords against anyone."

"Ten years have honed my sword, yet its frosty edge has never been tested. Today I will show it to you. Anyone who has any grievances—is this it?"

"You did well in Chinese." Sa Shoujian nodded.

"So, mountain arts are the art of chivalry?"

"Step by step, you're getting closer and closer to the answer. The so-called mountains and wilderness, from another perspective, are the Jianghu. And the Jianghu is the world of chivalrous men. The way of the sword immortal can also be said to be the way of the sword hero. The sword is inseparable from the hero, and the hero is inseparable from the sword. So when the competition was held, Shan Shu didn't refuse to participate—he simply didn't come. A hero is someone who stays away from the government; only those who travel the world with a sword are heroes. Wang Yangming's enlightenment in Longchang was the way of the mountains. He came from the mountains and returned to the mountains."

"I think I already have the answer." Shangluo looked up at the temple, "Daozu, I already have the answer."

Chapter 278

"Hmm." Thunder roared from the abode. "Tell me, where do we start? Which Celestial Master do you choose first? Celestial Master Lu from the Sword Immortal Sect? Since you're working on the Spiritual Network, Celestial Master Qiu wouldn't be a bad choice either."

"I choose Xuanfeng Yongzhen Tianzun, Master Sa Tianshi!"

"Hahahahaha!"

Like the sound of pine wind, the silent Lü Chunyang smiled. Meanwhile, Sa Shoujian, standing beside him, looked more solemn than ever.

"Why?" Daozu asked him, "Why Master Sa? You are obviously the Sword Master, you have a connection with the sword, and you will lead the Dao Sect with the Sword Immortal Sect in the future. Why don't you choose Master Lu?"

"Because... I feel like Daozu is giving me a question. I don't know what to choose, so I have to figure out the questioner's intention. Based on the questioner's intention, I choose Master Sa. Also, the Heavenly Dao Shadow Puppet is cooler."

"You're riddling me." Daozu's voice rose a little. "I think you want to challenge me. I always let others guess riddles, but you're testing me instead."

"Well, I'm telling the truth. Actually, it's because: my work in the temple is far from finished, and now is not the time to retreat to the mountains. I can be a knight-errant and cultivate my sword at any time, but what I want to do now can only be done now. So... Lu Zu." He shouted to the back: "I will definitely go to practice sword! Next time for sure!"

Lu Chunyang slowly raised his hand and gave him a thumbs up.

"So, Daozu, did I make the right choice?"

"You chose the correct answer. Before you came, before the Emperor came, we held a meeting. We unanimously decided to have you begin learning from Master Sa Tianshi's method, but the reason is different from what you think. You actually have no shortage of martial arts, no shortage of magic power, no shortage of understanding, and even more so, no shortage of aptitude. You only lack one thing the most."

Daozu paused and said, "What you lack is—divine power."

"Magic power? What is that?"

"Do you remember what Monkey King sought out Patriarch Bodhi to learn? He chose the Great Heavenly Immortal Technique. But what he's most famous for is his magical powers. The Seventy-Two Transformations and the Somersault Cloud benefited Monkey King along the way. Among all the Heavenly Masters, Master Sa is the best in magical powers. Of all the unique skills, only magical powers must be 'passed down'; they can be learned by heart. If I'm asking you to learn from Master Sa, you'll have to start with the magical powers, just like Monkey King. Do you understand?"

"Ah! I understand, I understand." Shangluo realized this himself. Sometimes he relied solely on inspiration, seemingly lacking the help of supernatural powers. Many times, if he had supernatural powers, things would become much easier.

"Also," Daozu continued, "although you will learn supernatural powers from Master Sa, the other Masters will also be teaching you everything they know. Cultivation techniques are the specialty of Taiji Sect, so besides supernatural powers, your cultivation techniques will still be taught by Master Zhang. If you don't understand anything about the spiritual network, ask Master Qiu. Regarding the alchemy furnace, you can first ask the Emperor. He is one generation older than you and is an expert in alchemy. If he is confused, I will help you solve it. As for Master Lu, you don't need to ask him. If there is anything you can't resolve, let Master Lu handle it. Finally, your first stage of cultivation will be handed over to Master Sa. Master Sa, please talk to him."

Sa Shoujian asked him, "What did you eat this morning?"

"Huh?" The question came as a surprise.

"Ask you if you're hungry now."

"I had some instant noodles this morning, so I'm a little hungry."

"How can you eat instant noodles? They only contain powdered ingredients and flour. What do you want to eat in the morning?"

"I want to eat. Uh." The first thing that popped into my mind was this:

"I want to eat pork elbow!"

"Who did you learn this from? Eating these so early in the morning. Pork elbow, right? Let me find some for you."

Sa Shoujian felt in his pocket and took out a small golden ball:

"then!"

The small ball broke through the golden curtain and was flung straight out. The golden light particles attached to the ball peeled off bit by bit in the air, scattering in a rainbow of colors. A reddish-brown, wrinkled oval object slowly fell to the ground, and Shangluo reached out to catch it.

"date?"

Opening my hand, I saw this reddish-red object, literally a "jujube." It was about the size of a loquat. Although it was a dried date and felt a bit soft, it was bright red, with an oily skin and a fragrant aroma.

This smell is not right. He went up to smell it.

The braised sauce has a sweet aroma and the unique aroma of pork fat.

"Is it the taste of pork elbow?!"

"Try it quickly to see how salty it is."

Shang Luo threw the date into his mouth and tasted it.

It really tastes like pork elbow. Although it is not the pork elbow you usually eat, it seems to be a braised pork elbow from another cuisine. It is sweeter, saltier, and fresher. There is even a soft and rotten pork elbow skin in the mouth, which is a bit

"It seems like there's too much sugar."

"Your taste is from the capital, so your taste is different from mine. Once you learn, you can make your own taste. Do you want to learn?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Shangluo nodded repeatedly.

"'Wang Lingguan vs. Yan Puti' is in theaters right now. I have a roadshow tomorrow afternoon at the cinema in Nanyang Department Store. See you then. Do you have tickets?"

"Our tickets are for the weekend."

"Then I'll have my agent send you a few. How many do you want?"

"Can I have a few more? I want four, no, five."

Now there is one more person, making five people in total, so we need to add one more.

"Five tickets then. The roadshow will include a post-screening meet-and-greet, so don't rush to leave after the movie. Yes, there's also free popcorn and soda, so save some for lunch. See you tomorrow afternoon?"

"it is good!"

"Then, it's the last thing. Daojun." Tianshi Sa retreated into the golden curtain.

"Shangluo, to join my Taoist sect, you need a Taoist name first. Do you have one?"

"Uh no."

"Then there's no need to think about it. Do you remember what you came here for today? The most important thing is not to help you choose a master, but to confer honors on you. I appoint you as—Chishishi Envoy."

【Ahhh! ] Apollonia, who had been keeping quiet when the lord was speaking, suddenly cried out, 【So it was you! ! !It turns out that the World Presiding Envoy is you! 】

"Huh?" Shangluo was stunned.

"Do you want to know what the Envoy of the World-Keeping Body means? Let the Envoy of Wisdom and Illumination tell you. As the last Envoy of Wisdom, she is tasked with spreading wisdom to the world. Just ask her."

"The future of wisdom in that world is still somewhat bleak. Ah! I understand. I'll ask her about it later."

"Well, go ahead. The Emperor is waiting for you. He has arranged your office."

Shangluo bowed to the five people and walked out of the door.

"Huh," Daozu sighed, "Finally, something is done."

"Daojun." Sa Shoujian nodded slightly towards the temple. "Now the leader of the Dao Sect has a successor, but the Five Mysterious Sects each need a leader to take charge. This person will have to be decided by the next leader."

"I think the friends around him are all good materials. With the blessing of Qilinzi, they can all take on great responsibilities."

"I think it's not bad. However, I have the Sword, Qi, Mystery, and Thunder. Only the Danding Sect is missing a leader. Has Daozu chosen the leader of the Danding Sect?"

Daozu said leisurely, "This is exactly what I am proud of, and it is also a chance created by fate. The Dan Ding has its own Dan Ding legend. There is no one more suitable for the Dan Ding sect than the Dan Ding itself."

Chapter 279 Yiyong and Yakong

【It turns out to be you, it turns out to be you, it turns out to be you.】

"Miss Smart God, what on earth are you mumbling about?"

[Let me correct you: it's Huimingshi, the title given to me by Mingzun. Now you have one too.]

"So what does that mean?"

I cannot speak for the explanation given by the Mingzun, but I can tell you the Roman explanation: Helios, the Envoy of Sunlight, Apollonia, the Envoy of Wisdom, and His Excellency, the Envoy of the World, are all Ion.

"Iyon? What do you mean?"