The heavenly soldiers on duty came forward, and after seeing the insignia on the carriage, they said, "This humble servant greets King Fumingling."
"No need for formalities. I have urgent business to attend to His Majesty. Sound the Heavenly Drum." A detached voice came from inside the carriage.
Upon hearing this, the heavenly soldiers on duty dared not delay and immediately struck the jade drum on the right side of the palace gate.
When the Heavenly Drum sounded, the Dragon Court trembled.
Deep within the Heavenly Palace, in the Taiji Hall, a person shrouded in purple aura opened their eyes.
Outside the palace gates, King Fumingling had already stepped out of his carriage. He bowed deeply towards the direction of the Taiji Hall.
"King Xuanfu Mingling." A deep, resonant, and magnetic voice echoed in the hall. Then, the person in the purple aura closed their eyes again.
A moment later, King Fuming entered the Taiji Hall, bowed again, and said, "Your Majesty, I have been ordered to assume the position of City God of the capital, to hold the power of Yin and Yang, and to distinguish between good and evil. I dare not slacken in the slightest. Just now, a demon soul returned to the underworld. I dare not act on my own authority and beg Your Majesty to handle the matter."
As he spoke, King Fuming took out a pale golden orb of light, inside which a ferocious-looking centipede could be seen.
The purple aura shifted and changed, like smoke and mist.
A pair of incredibly deep eyes, seemingly capable of encompassing all things in the world, opened and focused their gaze on the centipede within the sphere of light.
The sphere of light shattered, and a crimson dragon aura flew out from the centipede and dissipated into the Taiji Hall.
The centipede then transformed into human form, clasped its hands together, and said, "This humble monk, Wu Tian, pays his respects to His Majesty Hongwu."
"Since you desire dragon energy, then I will grant you dragon energy." As soon as he finished speaking, the purple aura surrounding Zhu Hongwu transformed into a divine dragon, enveloping Wu Tian's soul and forming a large purple cocoon.
The purple aura poured into it continuously, and the large cocoon began to beat like a heart.
A moment later, accompanied by a clear and melodious dragon's roar, the purple cocoon broke open, and a purple divine dragon flew out from it.
In the dragon's eyes, there was a mixture of confusion and joy.
"From now on, you shall pull my carriage well," Zhu Hongwu said. As soon as he finished speaking, a purple aura flew out and swept away Wu Tian, who had just successfully transformed into a dragon.
"Step down."
Upon hearing this, King Fumingling responded with "Yes" and turned to leave the Taiji Hall.
Inside the main hall, Zhu Hongwu closed his eyes in deep thought. He had just obtained some interesting information from Wu Tian's demon soul.
A deep, resonant voice echoed within the Taiji Hall: "A sage has descended from heaven to undergo tribulations in the mortal world. How interesting! Since that's the case, I will grant you permission this time."
………………
In the mortal world, at the Imperial Preceptor's residence.
After sending Wu Tian's soul into the Netherworld, the Taoist Xuanyou waited patiently.
Suddenly, ripples spread through the void, the channel connecting Yin and Yang opened in reverse, and a wisp of purple energy flew out and landed in the hand of Xuan You Daoist.
"It's done." Lin Yi and the other three all smiled.
This purple aura is a privilege that can be used to remove the suppression of the Emperor's dragon aura, thus allowing for the successful casting of spells.
The target of the spell was none other than the current emperor, Emperor Zhaode.
Lin Yi stood with his sword in his arms, closed his eyes to meditate, and waited quietly for the Taoist Xuanyou to perform his ritual.
Zhang Tianshi and Changsheng Daoren served as protectors for the two.
Xuanyou Daoist looked at the purple energy in his hand and sighed softly.
Since Zhu Hongwu's plan was thwarted, the world has been in turmoil, with conflict between the yin and yang.
The heavens unleash their murderous intent, and the seasons shift and the stars change;
The earth lurks with murderous intent; dragons and snakes rise from the land.
Now, all that's left is for people to unleash their murderous intent, causing the world to turn upside down; ultimately, harmony between heaven and humanity will prevail, and the foundation will be established amidst all changes.
Whether it's himself, or Zhang Tianshi and Changsheng Daoren, why didn't they all cultivate properly in the mountains instead of running to cling to Lin Yi, this "saint descended to earth"?
It's because there's no way forward and no way to advance, so they have no choice but to enter the world and accumulate external skills in order to make a breakthrough.
A sage descends from heaven, causing war to break out on this earth.
The path of sainthood, behind civilization and order, lies chaos and slaughter.
"I hope everything goes smoothly, otherwise..." Xuan You Dao Ren thought to himself, and then began to cast a spell.
The Hall of Mental Cultivation in the Forbidden City.
Emperor Zhaode, who was already old and lacking energy, had just fallen asleep.
These days, because of the appearance of a star in broad daylight, officials both inside and outside the court are arguing endlessly.
Since three years ago, when Emperor Zhaode, in his quest for immortality, demoted a group of Taoist and Buddhist masters and appointed Wu Tian, who came from Tibet and was said to have even studied Buddhism in India, the birthplace of Buddhism, as the national preceptor, many seeds of disaster have already been sown.
Until today, it has finally erupted by taking advantage of the "strange celestial phenomenon".
Memorials accusing the emperor of "a wicked monk bringing disaster to the country," "a warning from heaven," and "the will of heaven cannot be defied" poured in like snowflakes, piling up almost enough to bury Emperor Zhaode alive.
Emperor Zhaode, whose health was already failing, was angry for most of the night and finally managed to fall asleep.
The hazy moonlight shone through the window and fell onto the ground.
Everything was so peaceful.