Chapter 350: I Am the Dao Master of Taiping Dao

"By the way, how much longer until the communication channel with the Xuan Realm is fully stabilized?" Xu Xing asked.

Xiang Yuanjun shook her head slightly: "The exact time is unknown, but it shouldn't take much longer."

After all, the Xuan Realm's resistance affects it—just estimating a rough range is already good enough.

"What about the progress on your brother's side?"

"Mine is nearly done too." Xu Xing put away the Divine Path Information Container and gazed into the distance.

"Before the Divine Path in this realm fully ends, I should be able to wear down and sever that connection."

The Divine Path's complete end…

Zixuan Zhenjun relinquishing his divine authority and descending to the mortal realm was merely the beginning of this realm's Divine Path weakening and collapsing.

But to truly call it 'ending'…

The three core pillars of the Divine Path system—the Heavenly Sovereign, the Great Yin, and the Great Yang—must collapse, and all the Great Emperors of this realm must return their authority before the Divine Path can be said to have ended.

Suddenly.

"I am the 'Yingyuan Zuqi Fen Zhen Changsheng Emperor,' wielding the authority over Heaven and Earth's 'Yuan Qi,' commanding the Azure Heaven Divine Court of the Nurturing Womb, overseeing all seasonal cycles, solar terms, and the growth of the five grains…"

Yingyuan Zuqi Fen Zhen Changsheng Emperor…?

That's Emperor Sui Zu.

"Now sensing the great shift in Heaven and Earth's tide, I relinquish my divine position and return the authority of 'Yuan Qi' to the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth—may Heaven and Earth bear witness!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the entire cosmos was stunned!

Even the Heavenly Sovereign in the Supreme Lingxiao Palace of the Nine Heavens, and the reclusive masters of the various Grotto-Heavens, felt astonished.

From the start of the Divine Path's turmoil until its end, this was the perfect opportunity for Great Emperor-level deities to harvest Heaven and Earth's primordial source and strengthen their Grotto-Heavens.

What is Emperor Sui Zu playing at, just giving it up like this…

What a waste! What a waste!

Absolutely irresponsible!

Many reclusive masters thought Emperor Sui Zu was an idiot.

Only the hawk-nosed middle-aged master who had previously ambushed Yue Ling but was soundly beaten, and Zi Xuan, understood the reason.

Of course, they wouldn't bother warning anyone.

Why should only they suffer?

High above the heavens.

Xu Xing watched as the fundamental authority of Yuan Qi returned to Heaven and Earth.

Meanwhile, reclusive masters who had long hidden themselves all moved at once, scrambling for authority over the 'Four Seasons,' 'Solar Terms,' and 'Five Grains.'

"Quite decisive."

Using authority allows one to harvest primordial source, but doing so would inevitably trigger a cascade of disasters in the mortal realm.

Disrupted seasons and chaotic solar terms would prevent the five grains from growing at all.

Add to that the fact this is already an age of turmoil from immortal-deity conflict…

Even just investigating once had gotten him blasted out of the sky over twenty times—he feared if he truly acted, the big shots would erase him for good.

If that's the case, since the authority was useless anyway, better to return it outright.

Maybe it'll even trap a few unlucky fools.

Xu Xing turned his gaze back to Bie Xuening: "Sister, tell Yue Ling to stay alert—if anything's off, deal with it."

Originally, Xu Xing hadn't wanted to get too involved in this world's great transition.

But in some ways, this matter still affected him…

"Mm."

Bie Xuening waved her hand forward; a streak of Bai Guang landed ahead, taking the form of Yue Ling.

She crossed her arms, tilted her head up at a forty-five-degree angle toward the sky, looking supremely haughty.

"Now do you understand my importance…?"

Clearly, she still held a grudge over her master ruining her 'Manifestation Before Mortals' plan.

Oh right!

And also locking her away outright!

So she planned to pretend she refused—until her master begged her…

Hmm…

That probably wouldn't happen.

At the very least, he'd need to say a few sweet words to soothe her…

The odds still seemed low.

The more Yue Ling thought about it, the less confident she became.

Fine, fine—just as long as her master asks her to go again, she'll go!

"… " Bie Xuening paused, "Brother, send Yue Ying instead."

"No no no!" Yue Ling panicked instantly, "I'll go! I'll go! Master, I was just joking!"

Fighting lowly masters was such fun—she'd been dying to go!

"Why bother Yue Ying sister? She hates this kind of thing!"

Xiang Yuanjun watched from the side.

This sword spirit of the Sword Lord was quite interesting—and so was her disciple.

If I ever take a disciple myself, I might learn from this.

She thought to herself thusly.

…………

Spring passed in haste, and before long, scorching summer arrived.

But alongside summer came dried riverbeds, cracked earth, and uprisings erupting across the Great Tong Dynasty.

Construction of the Four Gardens was forcibly halted; the imperial court had no choice but to send troops to suppress the rebellions, yet with minimal effect.

In just one month, several provinces fell.

Even stranger, five factions of the Peaceful Way rose to prominence during this time.

First was the Peaceful Way led by the Emperor of the Great Tong Dynasty himself.

Second was the Peaceful Way claiming the name of the Great Tong Dynasty's aristocratic clans.

Another was the Peaceful Way established through collaboration by some Immortal Path initiates.

Then, numerous Zhenjun descended to the mortal realm; a small fraction reached cooperation and also adopted the name "Peaceful Way" to build power and gather celestial treasures from across the land.

As for the last one—that was Jiang Lin's Peaceful Way. On the surface, the Emperor's "Peaceful Way" held the greatest overall strength, while Jiang Lin's Peaceful Way had the smallest.

But the true situation was far from clear.

Of course, during this time, other rising powers in the mortal realm were not limited to the "Peaceful Way."

And among these powers, most sought to seize the throne and rule the world.

The great age of the Immortal Path truly did not suit the existence of feudal dynasties—but how many, aside from those "reborn" Immortal Path initiates and the reclusive masters who had survived from previous eras, could see this clearly?

To most, this was merely another dynastic transition.

On the other hand.

During the early chaos of the Divine Path, Immortal Path initiates had indeed caught the gods off guard.

But once the Divine Path recovered and launched a swift counterattack…

In a single sweep, several Immortal Path initiates perished, and even one-third of all 【Qie Ling Dao】 cultivators across the land were slain outright.

It could be said that the entire mortal realm had descended into utter chaos within this brief span.

!. du

……

……

Chengming Mountain, Yunhai Temple.

In the empty main hall, the statue of Tongli Shenjun had been removed; Jiang Lin sat upon it, clad in a gray Daoist robe.

Sandalwood incense curled gently, enhancing his aura's ethereal and airy quality.

A faint golden light flowed beneath his skin, strangely remarkable.

Huh~

Xi~

With each inhale and exhale, the faint golden light beneath his skin flickered dimly and brightly.

Faintly, a majestic four-armed golden-armored divine figure materialized behind him, accompanied by the sounds of dragon roars and tiger howls; it wielded a six-edged golden mace for vanquishing demons, its eyes blazing with brilliant gold, radiating overwhelming divine might.

Soon, the four-armed golden-armored divine figure grew increasingly solid, its armor patterns clearly visible.

It was unmistakably Tongli Shenjun!

Om~!

A ring of golden ripples spread outward, shattering even the rising column of sandalwood smoke.

The shadow had become tangible—as if Tongli Shenjun truly stood behind Jiang Lin!

The next instant, the shadow of Tongli Shenjun dissolved into a streak of golden light and sank into his third eye.

Jiang Lin slowly opened his eyes, then rose and stepped forward, landing lightly upon the ground.

"The Divine Subjugation Scripture…"

Standing in the hall, his eyes churned with inexplicable emotion.

The profundity of these four scriptures far exceeded his expectations; all the effects he had previously deduced amounted to less than one ten-thousandth of these four scriptures!

With a thought.

Thick, brilliant golden light surged forth, coating his gray Daoist robe and forming a majestic golden divine armor and a six-faceted Golden Dangmo Mace!

Vast divine power filled the entire hall, illuminating every corner.

"With divine power, yet free from the shackles of divine position…"

Feeling the sudden surge of immense strength within him, Jiang Lin sighed inwardly.

He had originally thought that elder was merely a 【Qie Ling Dao】 cultivator…

Now he saw—he was a frog at the bottom of a well, ignorant of the vastness of the blue sky.

"Ah~"

The armor dissolved; the six-faceted Golden Dangmo Mace scattered into fine golden specks and returned to his third eye.

May I, who has received such a legacy, do something meaningful for the people of this mortal realm…

Thinking this, Jiang Lin turned to the side: "How long will you continue watching?"

His voice echoed through the hall.

"…"

From the void came the sound of a gentle stream flowing, from which stepped a tall figure resembling a young girl, dressed in a silk robe.

"So it is Yuxu Tianjun…" Jiang Lin was surprised. "Disciple greets Yuxu Tianjun."

With the power of Tongli Shenjun, he had sensed someone nearby—but had not recognized who it was.

"I have relinquished my divine position and returned my authority—do not call me 'Tianjun' anymore…" Yuxu Tianjun's expression held a hint of embarrassment.

After relinquishing her divine position and returning her authority, she wandered the mortal realm for a time, visiting the Daoist temples where she had once been born.

During this time, he slew several demons and monsters that had caused harm, and heard of the Tai Ping Dao; ultimately, he decided to come and see the outstanding young cultivator he had encountered not long ago.

But fate would have it that he stumbled upon him practicing the Yan Fa...

"I'm sorry, but I truly came only to observe—I had no intention of stealing techniques."

"Your disciple naturally trusts in the Tianjun's character."

This is the being whom all Four Sects have judged to be a deity of virtue!

Moreover, he had investigated afterward.

"Stop, stop! I've already said I'm no longer a deity—you needn't call yourself my disciple."

"Understood."

Jiang Lin readily complied and immediately led Yuxu Tianjun toward the outer courtyard.

"Did the Tianjun come because of the Tai Ping Dao matter?"

"Mm." Yuxu Tianjun nodded slightly and asked directly, "You aren't a practitioner of the Qi Ling Dao, are you?"

Who among the Qi Ling Dao practitioners would knock over a divine statue and then sit upon it themselves?

"Correct."

There was no longer any need to conceal things as before.

The two arrived outside the hall.

The daylight was perfect, the sky clear for ten thousand li.

Jiang Lin extended his hand and plucked three or four rays of sunlight from the bright radiance.

His palm ignited with emerald vitality flame, placed the rays within, and began refining them.

The flames burned fiercely.

The illusory sunlight gradually took shape.

Less than half a minute later, the flames abruptly ceased, and a crimson pill fell into his palm, wreathed in mist that formed two characters—Tai Ping.

Sunlight·Tai Ping Dan!

"I am the Dao Master of the Tai Ping Dao." (End of Chapter)