Chapter 166: The Shangqing Register

This was originally a very ordinary dusk, at most with a more brilliant sunset glow.

But in the many years that followed, this dusk was something countless demonic cultivators would talk about with relish, and in even more years later, it became something they would often reminisce about.

On this dusk, if an immortal happened to be looking down from a very high altitude above the Jiang Nan region of the Shenzhou, they would have discovered:

When the great sun fell and the night descended, an illusory image of the Ancient Dragon Gate suddenly appeared at the mouth of the Pearl River, which was exactly when black smoke emerged from Mount Gouqu.

True Person Miaoyi's shocked shout and the angry roars of the high Daoists of the Shangqing Sect erupted almost simultaneously.

When the Li Dragon leaped over the Dragon Gate, it was also when the black smoke was sweeping southward, shattering the gate tower magic treasure of Mount Siming with unstoppable force.

One in the East Sea, one in the South Sea, the Three Corpses of the demonic path and the true dragon Green-Robed one after another announced their names to the world.

People on the Shenzhou learned for the first time that the Green-Robed, Demon Corpse, Red Corpse, and Charming Corpse they had contemptuously called by those names actually had their own names.

On this day, the long-circulated speculation was finally confirmed: the Green-Robed Old Ancestor and the Red-Haired Old Ancestor were truly dragon species, and today was the first time they revealed their true forms before people.

However, the Green-Robed Old Ancestor revealed his true form by walking the river and turning into a dragon, entering the Fifth Realm, becoming a true dragon that merged with the water veins of a region, equivalent to an Earth Immortal.

But the Red-Haired Old Ancestor had already died and vanished, becoming a puppet at the feet of the Red Corpse Divine Lord, with his eyes gouged out and his dragon pearl dug out.

————

As the voices of the Three Corpses and Green-Robed echoed between heaven and earth, the night also arrived completely.

How could the few from the Shangqing Sect let it go? They directly unleashed their Dharma image supernatural powers to surround the Three Corpse Island.

That expert whose Dharma image was Lady Bi Xia Yuanjun had the most powerful Dharma power. She pinched a seal, and the water of the East Sea was lifted like a silk scarf and then struck onto the Three Corpse Island. The splashing water almost rushed into the clouds, causing a rainstorm on the shore of the East Sea.

Such a supernatural power should also belong to a Hong Jiaozhu-level figure in the Shangqing Sect, and according to Cheng Xinzhan's knowledge, the contemporary Shangqing Hong Jiaozhu, True Person Chengchu, was a female Daoist.

And what was even more surprising was that the Three Corpse Island stood firm amidst the siege of many Dharma images.

So they saw the female Daoist sacrifice a fishing drum magic treasure and strike it, and the crisp "bang-bang" sound spread in all directions.

In the night, the sound waves of the fishing drum manifested into visible rainbow light, clearly pointing out the location of the Three Corpse Island.

If this world were a lake of spiritual energy, the Shangqing Sect female Daoist was now stirring it at a certain point, and the ripples spread out. Anyone who was in the lake and could "understand" the ripples could see this place.

So as the ripples spread, countless streaks of light gathered here in the night. If seen from far enough away, it was like countless fireflies gathering in the darkness.

In just an hour or two, the number of people who came was even more than when the righteous sects surrounded West Kunlun.

Those who came were all people from the Shangqing Sect. They were not necessarily all from the Mount Gouqu Sect Altar; there were also other branches. But most of these people practiced the Cun Shen method. Hundreds or thousands of Inner Landscape gods manifested externally; the scene could not be described by the word "shocking."

It was as if the ancient heavenly gods and earthly deities had returned to the world.

Cheng Xinzhan felt his internal organs restless, as if they wanted to jump out by themselves.

However, the *Zhou Tian Bai Qiao Huangting Neijing Jing* he learned from Wen Sukong only told him the divinity of the orifices, the key points of connection, and the internal use within the orifices; it did not record the methods for external manifestation used for fighting.

That time on West Kunlun, he used the Yangming Yun Tang Gang to phantom the image of the Inner Landscape god, not to manifest a Dharma image externally.

He calmed his mind and meditated, exhaling deeply a few times, stabilizing the restless Inner Landscape gods in his body.

Then he saw him take out a talisman paper from his bosom, draw a talisman on it, mutter something in his mouth, and finally fold the talisman paper into a paper crane.

A strand of spiritual power was passed into it, and the paper crane flew away, heading west.

This was heading to the Lixi Village in the Miao territory. Inside were Cheng Xinzhan's words to the old village chief, telling them to leave quickly, either go deep into the north of the Miao territory or move behind the Green Dragon Cave and the Immortal Cave. Of course, it was best to go to the Green Dragon Cave; it was closer, and the time on the road was short.

It was conceivable that with the death of the Red-Haired Old Ancestor and the Green-Robed entering the Fifth Realm, the Southern Wilderness Demonic Sect would inevitably launch a major attack on the Miao territory. The Miao territory would be in chaos!

And the Lixi Village was close to the south and isolated in the east, far from several immortal forces. A mortal village would find it difficult to survive in such chaos.

One of the biggest differences between the demonic path and the righteous path was that they wouldn't stop killing just because they were mortals. On the contrary, because mortals had weaker blood and Qi than cultivators, if they really bumped into them, they might kill even more ruthlessly in order to refine demonic treasures or demonic arts sooner.

After releasing the paper crane, he flew closer to the Three Corpse Island.

At this time, various externally manifested Inner Landscape gods surrounded the Three Corpse Island, each unleashing Daoist techniques.

And on the Three Corpse Island, eighty-one Profound Yin Beast-Gathering Banners were rooted in the void. Under the hurricane of Dharma power, the banners fluttered, and ape-bear living souls and walking corpses flew out as if they were inexhaustible, resisting the offensive.

The most incomprehensible thing was that after the yellow gas escaping from the flags attached to the souls and corpses, ordinary five-element wind and thunder spells had no effect on them.

And as the eighty-one banners formed a formation, the yellow gas formed a mist, enveloping the Three Corpse Island, and even that Lady Bi Xia Yuanjun Dharma image could not break in.

"It is the Earth Lung Profound Yellow Gas of the Ancestral Court!"

As more and more Shangqing disciples came here, someone finally shouted out the origin of this yellow gas in public.

Cheng Xinzhan was shocked when he heard this.

Earth Lung Profound Yellow Gas was an extremely rare spiritual object. Legend had it that it was the essence exhaled by the lungs of the earth. In the whole world, only Mount Gouqu, the head of the seventy-two blessed lands, had it, and because of this object, Mount Gouqu was also called Mount Difei.

This rare spiritual object also had another name, called the Yellow Extreme Zheng Wu Evil, ranking first among the seventy-two earth evils.

But how could Mount Gouqu let Gu Chen steal such a treasure that was like their lifeline?

This was the question of everyone present, but looking at the gloomy gazes of the high Daoists of Mount Gouqu, it was clear they did not intend to explain.

"Those whose Inner Landscape gods are gods of mountains and earth, come to me!"

Said the female Daoist holding the fishing drum.

"Obey the Dharma decree!"

"Obey the Hong Jiaozhu's Dharma decree!"

"Obey the True Person's Dharma decree!"

"..."

Many people responded and flew to gather there. This also confirmed Cheng Xinzhan's speculation: that female Daoist was indeed the Hong Jiaozhu of the Shangqing Sect.

Cheng Xinzhan thought for a moment and also flew over.

When he got close to the Three Corpse Island, he realized that the corpse evil Qi was already soaring to the sky, permeating for a hundred li. Fortunately, there were many Dharma images of high-level experts of the Shangqing Sect standing in the strait between the Three Corpse Island and Kuaiji, and the Dharma light blocked the spread of the corpse evil. Otherwise, ordinary first or second-realm cultivators wouldn't even be able to get close.

Among these Dharma images, the Lady Bi Xia Yuanjun, standing tall between heaven and earth, was the most dazzling, with a solemn and dignified appearance, and divine might like a mountain.

In front of Lady Bi Xia Yuanjun, a female Daoist was suspended in the air, wearing an apricot-yellow Dharma robe, holding a white jade seven-star tablet, and wearing a purple-gold five-sacred-mountain crown on her head.

At this moment, quite a few people were already standing before the True Person, numbering as many as forty or fifty. Yet, with a single glance, Cheng Xinzhan discovered that the vast magical essence, Daoist intent, and fluctuations of magical power emanating from these people were far more profound than his own—so deep they were bottomless.

They were actually all Golden Cores.

He knew he was being presumptuous. Even if he wanted to contribute to demon-slaying, it wasn't his turn, a person of his realm.

He stopped his figure and was about to retreat.

"Child, don't go, come over here."

At this moment, a female voice rang out.

Cheng Xinzhan's figure paused, a little puzzled.

Child?

Was she calling him?

He looked back and found that the True Person and many Golden Core Feather Masters were looking at him. She really was calling him.

He turned and flew back. As a descendant of the Zixu Yuanjun lineage and the contemporary Shangqing Hong Jiaozhu, he couldn't say anything about being called a child.

"This island is not ordinary. It is a point where the Shenzhou's earth veins and the East Sea's sea veins connect, and it is difficult to shake. The Three Corpses on the island are also rare strange corpses that are hard to encounter in a thousand years."

"Corpses are close to the earth, so they can freely control the Earth Lung Profound Yellow Gas. But the demon corpse belongs to Gui Water, the red corpse belongs to Ding Fire, and the charming corpse belongs to Yi Wood. They shouldn't be able to resist my Yuanjun Dharma image. So there should be an earth corpse on the island, a Ji Earth Emperor Corpse, to have such strength."

Cheng Xinzhan flew close and heard True Person Chengchu say this to the high-level experts gathered around her.

He subconsciously wanted to speak out and refute. All the Emperor Corpses in the world were sealed under Mount Mingzhi; how could there be any left outside?

However, he held back. An expert like the Shangqing Hong Jiaozhu wouldn't speak nonsense. It seemed he had to go back and carefully check with his Master. Could it be that there really were fish that slipped through the net?

At this time, seeing Cheng Xinzhan approach, the True Person said again:

"I am now going to perform the Great Expansion Fasting Ritual, gathering the gods of the mountains and earth, completing the technique of seven-seven, and chanting the *Huangting* together. In this way, we can control the Earth Lung Profound Yellow Gas. Now, we are just one person short of the seven-seven count. You, this child, are only in the second realm and dare to come over, and your body is full of divine light. You must have true ability, so it will be you!"

Cheng Xinzhan heard this and was not timid, so he said yes.

The True Person nodded and immediately threw out a formation map. The formation map grew with the wind and finally landed on the sea, turning into a giant formation surrounding the Three Corpse Island. The formation lines were like mountain ranges, glowing with golden light. There were forty-nine high altars on the formation base, each painted with different patterns such as tigers, deer, or qilin.

"Please, Inner Landscape gods, go to the Dharma altar."

So the Golden Core high-level experts all manifested their Inner Landscape gods externally and ascended the altar to perform the ritual.

!

Cheng Xinzhan's expression stiffened. Just now, True Person Chengchu said that those whose Inner Landscape gods were gods of mountains and earth could come over; she didn't say that they needed to manifest their Inner Landscape gods externally.

At this time, the other Inner Landscape gods had already ascended the altar, leaving only True Person Chengchu's Lady Bi Xia Yuanjun and Cheng Xinzhan's Inner Landscape god.

True Person Chengchu looked over.

Cheng Xinzhan didn't dare to delay and told the truth,

"True Person, please forgive me. The little Daoist only heard that those who preserve the spirits of the gods of mountains and earth were summoned to come forward. I didn't know that I needed to manifest the divine image externally. The little Daoist has not yet learned this technique."

The True Person frowned, and the Feather Masters looked sideways.

"Which branch are you a disciple of? You are already in the second realm; why haven't you come to the ancestral court to receive the register?"

The True Person asked.

Cheng Xinzhan replied,

"Reporting to the True Person, the little Daoist is not a Shangqing disciple. The little Daoist is from the Three Pure Mountains, also practicing the Cun Shen method. Today, I am a guest at Mount Siming. Seeing the Daoist priests chasing the demonic path southward, I followed all the way and was summoned to come forward just now."

The True Person nodded. Since the person was kind enough to help, she naturally couldn't say anything more. She replied,

"That doesn't matter. I must thank the little friend for your kindness."

"I dare not accept thanks, I only fear delaying the True Person's great event."

Cheng Xinzhan cupped his hands and was about to take his leave.

"Three Pure Mountains, second-realm disciple, with such spiritual divine light all over your body, are you Cheng Xinzhan of the Three Pure Mountains?"

At this time, a high-level expert in the Great Expansion Fasting Ritual said to Cheng Xinzhan.

Cheng Xinzhan didn't expect anyone to recognize him, so he cupped his hands and said yes.

The high-level expert then said to True Person Chengchu,

"Hong Jiaozhu, now that everyone who can come above the third realm has come, we cannot delay the Fasting Ritual. Why not invite little friend Cheng to enter the formation and ascend the altar? If I remember correctly, to ensure the continuation of the Dharma lineage and prevent the mountain gate from collapsing or the lack of successors to continue the incense, our Mount Gouqu has always had a rule: every hundred years, we send out three Shangqing registers to rising stars among loose cultivators or disciples of other sects who also practice the Cun Shen method. I think it is very appropriate to send one to Daoist friend Cheng now."

The True Person looked at Cheng Xinzhan upon hearing this. She had heard this name before. There were people in the sect who specifically went to the Three Pure Mountains to ask for people. Although they didn't get the person, she hadn't seen him with her own eyes before. But since the sect had this intention, it showed that this young man must have something extraordinary in the Cun Shen Dao.

After a little thought, True Person Chengchu asked,

"Little friend Cheng, would you be willing to receive my Shangqing register? As an outsider, you don't have to abandon your original Daoist path, nor do you have to enter our Shangqing Sect's household register. I only ask that if one day my Shangqing Sect faces a great disaster and is about to be destroyed, or if the Dharma lineage gradually withers because we cannot recruit disciples, you can lend a helping hand to rebuild the Dharma lineage."

"Once you refine the Shangqing register, the Inner Landscape god can enter the Dharma register and, with the Dharma register as a support, manifest as a Dharma image and stand in the outside world."

Cheng Xinzhan looked at True Person Chengchu, a little unbelievable for a moment.

He practiced the Cun Shen method and had always paid close attention to the Shangqing Sect. He knew the rule of sending out Dharma registers, but this kind of thing only had three quotas every hundred years, and sometimes they couldn't even send out three. There were very few people who got them. He didn't expect that he would encounter such a good thing.

Moreover, the Shangqing register was not as overbearing as the Zhengyi register. If you refined the Zhengyi register, you could only practice the Ancestral Tian Shi Dao, while the former, after refining, did not affect the recipient's own cultivation lineage and Dharma power.

"Thank you, True Person Chengchu and this Daoist friend, for your love. The little Daoist is willing to receive it."

Cheng Xinzhan agreed.

Although after that incident of watching the seal at the Ancestral Tian Shi Mansion, he was on guard against these things, but to be honest, the reputation of Mount Gouqu and Mount Longhu could not be compared.

The Shangqing Sect focused on fasting and spiritual cultivation. From the founding of the sect in the Western Jin Dynasty to the present, there had never been any talk of doing evil or breaking the law. Moreover, the rule of sending out Dharma registers had not been around for just a few years. Since the founding of the sect six thousand years ago, there had never been any talk of anything wrong with those who received registers from outside the sect.

More importantly, with such a big commotion on the scene, so many people watching, and it being outside Mount Gouqu, and it being a temporary register, the possibility of doing something underhanded was really too small.

Shangqing register.

That was the only Dharma register among the three mountain talismans that could be passed on to outsiders!

Cheng Xinzhan was willing to take this small risk.

True Person Chengchu nodded and spread her palm. A clear light Dharma register appeared in her palm, rectangular in shape, with mysterious patterns in gold and white on both sides, neither like clerical script nor seal script, as if they were words condensed from innate Dharma meaning.

The Dharma register floated slowly to Cheng Xinzhan.

On the Fasting Ritual Dharma altar, many people watched the Dharma register without blinking. Although they were all high-level experts above the third realm, many still showed envy.

The person who had spoken up for Cheng Xinzhan earlier smiled and reminded him,

"Young Friend Cheng is truly blessed. For the Hong Jiaozhu to personally bestow the register is naturally an extraordinary gesture. This is the 'Supreme Heavenly Capital Register,' the highest-ranked among our sect's Shangqing registers; even within our sect, it is rarely seen."

Hearing this, Cheng Xinzhan hurriedly bowed and thanked him.

"Little friend Cheng, no need for courtesy. Please refine the Dharma register quickly, invite the god to leave the orifice, and ascend the altar to perform the ritual."

Cheng Xinzhan nodded.

He took the Dharma register. The Dharma register was light, as if it had no weight.

The Dharma register itself was extremely clear and spiritual, easy to refine. He probed his Dharma power into it and left his own Dharma power imprint in the register. A flash of light passed over the spiritual orifice of the Dharma register, and it was refined.

In the future, he would definitely have to carefully perform Dharma refining, blood refining, and god refining to strengthen the connection and command it like an arm, but time was of the essence now, and Dharma refining alone was enough.

After refining the Shangqing register, Cheng Xinzhan also found that it contained many essential principles of the Shangqing Sect, especially some hidden keys about the visualization Cun Shen method. He realized a lot in this instant that hadn't been fully explained in the *Zhou Tian Bai Qiao Huangting Neijing Jing*.

However, he didn't have time to look at it carefully now, just waiting for time after this matter to ponder it carefully.

He held the Dharma register between his fingers, followed the Dharma principles recorded in the Dharma register, recited the spell silently in his heart, and used his thoughts to mobilize the Bingling Crown Prince in the Earth Mansion.

Thus, the Bingling Crown Prince walked out of the Earth Mansion, took a step across the barrier between the Inner Landscape small world and the natural great world, and entered the Dharma register.

Cheng Xinzhan let go and pinched the spell. The Dharma register left his hand on its own and came behind him. Then, amidst the chanting of the spell, his "Supreme Heavenly Capital" grade Shangqing Dharma register erupted with dazzling yellow bright light, which was no less than the Dharma light burst out when the group of Golden Core cultivators manifested their Inner Landscape gods externally just now.

When the bright light converged, everyone saw a divine god standing tall between heaven and earth standing beside Lady Bi Xia Yuanjun, with his hands behind his back.

Compared to Lady Bi Xia Yuanjun's magnificent crown and gorgeous clothes, this god's clothing was more casual, just a bright yellow casual suit. But looking at his expression, he showed a sense of unruliness in his freedom and ease, his eyebrows drooping, his eyes looking down, looking down on all gods.

Seeing this, the Daoist who recommended Cheng Xinzhan clapped his hands and laughed loudly,

"That's it! It's the Bingling Crown Prince!"

(End of Chapter) ===== CHAPTER 167 =====