Chapter 182: Divine Capital Grand Array, Yu Jiuyou Rift

"During the Wei Jin dynasties, the demonic path opened rifts leading to the five demon worlds of Yu Jiuyou, Blood Sea, Qionghuang, Great Ming, and Demon Extreme, causing millions of demons to flood into the Central Lands. At that time, the five demons wreaked havoc on the world." Sima Chengzhen sighed: "Less than one in five living beings in the Central Lands survived. It was truly a great ancient demonic tribulation!"

Yan Shu and Ning Qingchen opened their eyes wide, their eyes full of horror.

Speaking of this, Sima Chengzhen secretly glanced at Qian Chen, both afraid and curious and respectful.

Seeing that he had no expression, he continued: "After that tribulation, the five demon world rifts were all sealed by great powers. Two of them were Chang'an and Luoyang. Therefore, beneath the Divine Capital of Chang'an and the ancient city of Luoyang, there are sealed Yu Jiuyou rifts."

"In those years, the Empress was a true disciple of the demonic path lurking beside the Supreme Emperor."

"But after her wings were full, she rebelled against the sect, borrowed the love of the Gao Di, relied on the national power of the Great Tang, made great progress in cultivation, and ascended the throne as the Great Tian Mo of the demonic path."

"From then on, the Emperor and the Empress ruled Yin and Yang. The Emperor governed the hundred schools and three religions, while the Empress replaced the Emperor in governing the group of demons, ghosts, and monsters in the dark places, collectively known as the Two Sages."

"The Gao Di had poor aptitude and only had Core Formation cultivation, but he had the help of the three Heavenly Masters of the Dao Sect at that time, many Nascent Soul masters, the three Holy Monks of the Fomen, and many high masters with Golden Body Dharma images. At that time, the Empress was still obedient and submissive."

"During the Gao Di's reign, the Dao and Buddhist families had many disputes and often attacked each other. The Gao Di's cultivation was too low, and he truly suffered a lot of temper from the Nascent Soul True Persons. He then had the idea of supporting the Empress! At that time, the Empress had already learned the location of the demon world rift from the demonic path, so when the Gao Di tricked the three Heavenly Masters and Holy Monks in the court away, she opened the Yu Jiuyou rifts in Chang'an and Luoyang, and with the help of endless demonic qi, she attained Nascent Soul cultivation."

"Furthermore, with the support of the Gao Di, she killed the other two Tian Mos of the demonic path, achieved the status of the only Tian Mo, and unified the Yu Jiuyou and Blood Sea paths."

"At that time, the Gao Di and the Empress joined forces, and neither the Dao nor the Buddhist families dared to face them directly. And the Dao and Buddhist families had to worry about the Empress sitting in the Yu Jiuyou rift, restraining the demonic path, and suppressing the demons. Among the three Holy Monks, Xuanzang and Huineng had to ascend to the Pure Land, and Yixing hid among the people. The righteous path was left with only the three Heavenly Masters Yuan, Li, and Ye to contend with the Empress in the imperial court."

"After the Gaozong Emperor injured his lifespan in seeking to break through to Yin Spirit and passed away early, the Empress ascended the throne as the Empress..."

"The Empress can be called the supreme Tian Mo of the demonic path. She turned from demon to Buddha, successfully cultivated the Maitreya Dharma body, combined righteous and evil, advanced further beyond Nascent Soul, and transformed into the female demon Maitreya Son of Heaven. The three Heavenly Masters joined forces and were still not enough to contend with her... At that time, the demonic path flourished, and the Empress even claimed that she was Maitreya descended to the world. The Fomen... Heh! They actually acknowledged it!"

Qian Chen frowned slightly: "They really acknowledged it just like that?"

Sima Chengzhen coughed twice and said without shame: "Cough, cough! This might also have something to do with the three Heavenly Masters forcing Xuanzang and Huineng to ascend to the Pure Land. At that time, my Dao Sect did indeed force them a bit too much... But the Fomen was willing to cooperate with the demonic path for the sake of flourishing, which can be called shameless to the extreme. This was also something we did not expect."

"As a result, many god-demons mixed into the Buddhist temples, burying hidden dangers..."

"The Empress operated Yin and Yang and governed the Great Tang, which could be called peaceful. Although the slaughter was too heavy and she slaughtered the royal family and ministers at every turn, torturing them with the cruel punishments of the demonic path. But she did not infringe upon the common people. She did not intend to reproduce the demonic tribulation of the Wei Jin years. My Dao Sect Heavenly Masters discussed the Dao with the Empress several times and saw that she indeed had no intention of ruling the world with the demonic path, so they decided to endure it for the time being and wait for her to ascend before settling the score."

"During the Shenlong years, the Empress's cultivation advanced again, and the three Heavenly Masters had to carry the heavenly decree and force the palace with the Crown Prince. At that time, the righteous path coalition, the Dao and Buddhist families joined forces to kill their way into Luoyang, and one by one, they beheaded the demon cultivators in the court. In this battle! Righteous and evil cultivators, Yin Spirit and Yang Spirit masters fell in countless numbers, and finally, they forced the Empress to make a vow to pass the throne to the Li Tang after her ascension."

"The two Heavenly Masters displayed the might of the heavenly decree and were rejected by the Central Lands heaven and earth, having to ascend."

"Heavenly Master Ye Fashan remained to handle the aftermath."

"On top of the Empress's seal on the Yu Jiuyou rift, Heavenly Master Ye suppressed two Dao Sect spiritual treasures—the Heavenly Master Dharma Seals. One was 'Nanyang Founding the Country' and the other was 'Dao Scripture Master Treasure', both of which are Dao Sect inheritance spiritual treasures."

"In order to establish a foolproof plan and prevent the world from appearing again with a demon who could open the Yu Jiuyou seal and attain Nascent Soul cultivation like the Empress. The Buddhist and Daoist families joined forces to set up the Chang'an Divine Capital Grand Array and the Luoyang White Horse Dharma Realm! Using the hundreds of temples in Chang'an as the base of the array, they suppressed the Heavenly Master Dharma Seals. As long as the array of these hundreds of temples is not broken, the Heavenly Master Dharma Seals will not appear. The Yu Jiuyou rift will not have any more accidents."

The coup during the Shenlong years, including the Empress's identity as a demon, were things deeply taboo in the imperial palace, and Li Bi could only glimpse a scale or half a claw from the remaining fragments.

Unexpectedly, coming from a Heavenly Master who truly knew about this matter.

It was so shocking!

Li Bi gripped the green jade whisk so hard that blue veins appeared. His momentum was heavy, and he asked: "So, fellow traveler, you are the next-generation Heavenly Master entrusted by Heavenly Master Ye with the heavy responsibility of guarding the Chang'an Grand Array?"

Sima Chengzhen nodded slightly.

"Then why let these demons grow, endangering the Chang'an seal?" Li Bi asked sharply.

Sima Chengzhen was not angry, just ashamed: "After the Empress, the Great Tang was actually already a combination of the three religions, and the battle between the Dao, Buddhist, and Demon sects killed too many people. Even if they are demon cultivators, how many are loyal to the Great Tang?"

"Even though there were lawless demons like Wu Sansi, Suo Yuanli, Lai Junchen, Zhou Xing, Feng Xiaobao, and so on."

"How could there not be demon cultivators like Di Renjie, Wei Yuanzhong, Zhang Jianzhi, Yao Chong, Song Jing, Zhang Shuo, Pei Yan, Xu Jingzong, Li Ji, and others who had no evil deeds and were only cultivating the demonic path?"

"At that time, even the Crown Prince Li Dan practiced demonic path techniques."

"You can't just kill the Crown Prince who joined the Dao and Buddhist families to force the palace! The Crown Prince intended to succeed to the position of Great Tian Mo, with the three religions parallel, ruling the Great Tang. With righteous and evil but no Dao and Demon."

"At that time, those god-demons also flocked to the Crown Prince..."

"After the Rui Emperor ascended the throne, under his protection, our settlement was ultimately not cleaned up. The demonic path merged into the Fomen, infiltrated the imperial court, and took root too deeply!"

"It has already merged with the Great Tang. After all, the three religions are hidden and the hundred schools emerge. The compatibility of the Great Tang will inevitably cause hidden dangers of Yin evil growth."

"Now the Great Tian Mo is restless, does the Heavenly Master not know?" Yan Shu said solemnly.

Sima Chengzhen sighed: "The Great Tian Mo on the surface now is the Xuan Emperor!"

"It really is the Xuan Emperor!" Cen Can turned pale with fright.

"Actually, I have several people I suspect: Yang Taizhen, Yang Guozhong, An Lushan, Geshu Han, even Gao Lishi, and Crown Prince Li Heng. I suspect them all, but the latter two are not demon cultivators, so the suspicion is smaller."

Yan Shu murmured: "The latter two are not demon cultivators, does that mean the former few are?"

Sima Chengzhen nodded slowly.

Qian Chen asked doubtfully: "Does the Heavenly Master know the seriousness of the matter now?"

"You have beaten the grass and startled the snake. How could I not see the snake tracks?"

Sima Chengzhen slapped his thigh: "But it's good that you startled them! The god-demons in Chang'an and Luoyang each had their own backers in the past, and they fought among themselves, like a plate of loose sand."

"Today this temple attaches itself to Yang Guozhong, tomorrow that temple attaches itself to Li Linfu, and there are also the Crown Prince faction, the Shou Wang faction, the former Crown Prince faction, and even those who specifically do dirty work for the emperor. Who knew they had already been kneaded into a ball by someone?"

"This must be that the true Great Tian Mo has already been born!"

"After talking for so long, who exactly is the Great Tian Mo?" Yan Shu said angrily: "Kill him, and wouldn't that be the end of it?"

"I originally suspected Li Linfu. At that time, An Lushan and Yang Guozhong were both submissive to him, fearing him like a tiger. It got to the point where the Xuan Emperor was a bit wary of him. With the help of An Lushan and Yang Guozhong, they killed him! Can such a dead person still become the Great Tian Mo?"

"I guess it is because of him that this Great Tian Mo hides so deeply this time!"

Qian Chen gazed at the quiet Changancheng. Most of the lights in the city had been extinguished. Those still lit were either the residences of princes and nobles or the eternal lamps of temples. He said leisurely: "The four god-demons of the Tianwang Temple have already prepared the Nine Ghost Yin Demon Nails... This Ananda Temple also has every insect and every blade of grass as a demon, turning the divine soil into demon soil. The collapse of the Chang'an Grand Array is just in the back of the Tian Mo's hand."

"The case of the scapegoat under the Heavenly King's feet first happened in Luoyang, and the situation there must not be any better!"

Sima Chengzhen stood up suddenly: "I have already sent a letter to Zhang Guo Lao, asking him to prevent the Dharma Realm from collapsing in Luoyang. There are dozens of array eyes in the Luoyang Dharma Realm. White Horse Temple, Lingshan Temple, Longmen Grottoes... It's just that Luoyang is a Buddhist Dharma Realm, and it is difficult for my Dao Sect Heavenly Master to supervise it!"

"The array eyes of the Chang'an Divine Capital Grand Array are in Longxing Temple, Yuzhen Temple, Jin Xian Temple, Qinglong Temple, Xingfu Temple, Daci'en Temple, Dajianfu Temple, Big and Small Wild Goose Pagodas, prosperous realm Temple, Daxingshan Temple, Fengguo Temple, Xingdao Temple, Jingzhu Temple, Da'anguo Temple, Famen Temple, Wutian Temple, Xiantian Temple, Jingyun Temple, Linggan Temple, Qianyuan Temple, Longxing Temple, Huayang Temple, Xuan Yuan Emperor Temple, and other temples and palaces!"

Sima Chengzhen waved his hand, and a miniature of Chang'an appeared on the ground, with all the array eyes marked out!

"Focus on clearing the god-demons at the array eyes!" Qian Chen said: "Each person patrols a neighboring area of temples. If you see the tracks of demons, strike immediately. If you can't kill the demons, call others for reinforcement!"

"I will handle the Daoist shrines..." Sima Chengzhen said: "I am the Heavenly Master of the Dao Sect and have the authority to patrol Daoist shrines. No one dares to stop me. After clearing one Daoist shrine, I will conscript the Daoists there and rush to the next one. Once the Dao Sect is cleared, I will lead reinforcements to support you!"

"We need to take advantage of the night curfew to separate the god-demons. Delay the time it takes for them to realize something is wrong!" Qian Chen said: "We need the help of the City God!"

"I have a tacit understanding with Zhong Kui!" Sima Chengzhen said: "He will delay time for us!"

"There are three quarters of an hour until the Zi hour..." Qian Chen said: "After the Zi hour drum, strike together... Everyone, go! Today, if we do not purge the demons and monsters of Chang'an, tomorrow will be the time the Divine Capital falls. Anyone suspected of being a demon, leave no chicken or dog alive! If there are ignorant monks or laypeople, or left-path side-door people blocking, there is no need to show mercy!"

"Any disciple of my Dao Sect who hinders the demon-clearing today! All can be killed!" Sima Chengzhen's tone was grim.

"Yes!" Everyone bowed!

Cen Can was slightly worried. There were countless demons in this Changancheng, and today there were only—counting the gold and silver boys—only eight people here.

Could they really stop the upcoming Chang'an demonic tribulation?

Cen Can looked up slightly. The lights in Changancheng were flickering in hundreds of places. Now, it seemed as if demons were lurking everywhere, making people feel a little fearful. Qian Chen carried the Youqing Sword and also gazed at the lights of Chang'an, but in his eyes, there was only surging killing intent.

The figures of the few walked out of the Ananda Temple and disappeared into the night of Chang'an.

The patrolling military officers on the street seemed to see some figures.

But when they looked carefully, they found that it was empty and there was no alarm.

Qian Chen stood in mid-air, gazing at the streets and alleys beneath his feet, laid out like a chessboard... ===== CHAPTER 183 =====