Those who tread shallow waters catch fish and shrimp, those who tread deep waters catch dragons.
Ascendant Fuluan has been cautious all his life, never eager for quick success, hence spent two thousand years to achieve his current accomplishments.
But a single tree can't support the forest, and a lone hand can't make a sound.
In the era of great calamity, if one only seeks small fish and shrimp without daring to take bold actions, they are bound to miss numerous opportunities.
Ascendant Fuluan is not a mediocre person. Two thousand years ago, he offended the Ancestor Emperor, and now he has displeased Xu Qing; if he doesn't repent and make amends now, not to mention ascending to immortality, even when he is targeted by enemies or immortal corpses from the Nether Realm, no one will lend him a helping hand.
The Ancestor Emperor faced the collapse and unified the world with solidarity, forgiving past grievances. Now that Xu Qing has clearly given him a way out, if he doesn't seize it, then he is truly beyond salvation.
However, to prevent Xu Qing from taking personal revenge, Ascendant Fuluan nonetheless spoke out to confirm, "This time the array can't still be the Great Nine-Curve Yellow River Array, right?"
Although the Great Nine-Curve Yellow River Array extremely exhausts the Array Master's magical power, Ascendant Fuluan can still grit his teeth and endure it to make up for his mistake of retreating in battle.
Of course, if it's not such a great array but rather the small array Xu Qing mentioned, it would be even better!
Xu Qing said sincerely, "Definitely not! The Great Nine-Curve Yellow River Array can trap even true immortals, it cannot be broken by mere mortals. When I laid the array in central lands, it was through the fortunate borrowing of earthly momentum, reflecting the array with the Nine-Curve water, managing to maintain it for a moment."
"In Jin Sect there is only the Jinggu Harbor and Baisha River water, whose potency is far less than the vast power of the Nine-Curve water. How could I possibly use that momentum to lay such an array?"
Ascendant Fuluan sighed in relief; it seemed Daoist Xu's heart was far more magnanimous than he imagined.
"Oh, listen to Daoist Xu's words! For the benefit of the world, if the Yellow River array were truly laid, how could I shrink back in fear?"
Well, that's uncertain...
Xu Qing smilingly said, "I certainly trust Daoist Fuluan, but given the gravity of the matter, even if the array is not the Yellow River array this time, I still must say something upfront."
Xu Qing suddenly spoke solemnly, "If Daoist Fuluan withdraws in fear midway through, causing Baisha River water and Jinggu Harbor to lose control, not even the Ancestor Emperor, nor would I, Mr. Xu, show any leniency again."
Ascendant Fuluan's face flushed red, and his mouth began uttering incomprehensible jargon.
But upon seeing Xu Qing's smile vanish, staring at him expressionlessly, Ascendant Fuluan dared not speak another word of evasion.
"I, Xu Junfang, wholeheartedly pursue the immortal path. Today I swear to heaven, if I flee in cowardice and break my vow, my path to immortality shall be forever severed, never ascending to immortality!"
Seeing Ascendant Fuluan swear by his heart, only then did Xu Qing's face ease.
The Ghost Law differs from the Celestial Lord General, the latter only ranked eighth in the Twelve Gates, yet even so, during the support to the central lands, Xu Qing expended great effort, even went as far as using the power of the muddy river, deploying the Great Nine-Curve Yellow River Array, to dispel the overwhelming spiritual tide resembling a massive wave!
Whereas the former, the Ghost Law, spanned six realms; it was not only a product cultivated by the Celestial Emperor, but also held in high esteem by the necromancers of the Nine Netherworld.
Ranked second seat in the Twelve Gates, the Ghost Law is bound to trigger even more turbulent and violent spiritual tides. If Xu Qing wishes to purify the corpse of the Ghost Law, causing it to repay the mundane realm, he must deploy a more secure 'guiding' array.
The Great Nine-Curve Yellow River Array cannot be utilized, but neither can a weaker array than it be laid, and after much thought, Xu Qing finally decided on the Dutian Array.
The Dutian Array originates from the Great Twelve Heavenly Fiend Gods Array, a truncated version that retains only the ability to entrap enemies, making it perfect for resisting spiritual tides and directing water forces.
Yet even with only the enemy-trapping ability retained, the Dutian Array remains incomparable to ordinary arrays.
The Great Twelve Heavenly Fiend Gods Array and the Greater Celestial Constellation Array are top-tier arrays of the same level, even the Great Nine-Curve Yellow River Array ranks a grade lower.
This world-class formidable array that annihilates gods encountered, and slays buddhas encountered, is far from being observed by ordinary immortals.
It belongs to forbidden arts expressly prohibited for practice by heavenly laws of the upper realm.
If not for Xu Qing obtaining recognition from the Wordless Heavenly Scripture in the secret cave of the Two Saints Temple on Taihua Mountain, learning such arrays, he would never have been able to facilitate the circulation of spiritual energy between the Nether River and the mundane realm.
"The Celestial Spirit Axe Technique is a technique that opens heaven and earth, and the divine technique arrays in the Wordless Heavenly Scripture of the Two Saints Temple are all war and slaughter crafts..."
The more Xu Qing uses the inherited divine techniques in the secret cave of the Two Saints Temple, the more he feels he has joined a special faction from which there is no turning back.
"How are these divine arrays resembling the forbidden privately owned heavy armaments in mundane laws?"
And those who possess these are either officials or rebellious traitors.
"Rebellious traitors..."
Xu Qing looked at Ascendant Fuluan who was meditating cross-legged, adjusting his state, and fell into contemplation.
Currently, the connection between heaven and earth is severed; the upper realm can only manage immortals of this realm, not the mundane human realm.
No matter how many forbidden arts he learns or arms he possesses, heavenly laws do nothing to him!
However, the more easily acquired things, the hidden costs must never be overlooked.
For instance, why would these techniques, deemed forbidden and ferocious like tigers and wolves by the upper realm, make someone willing to risk enormous transgression to secretly pass them down?
Furthermore, if someone were to receive these legacies, what would they need to sacrifice?
If it were in the past, Xu Qing might not have been able to fully understand, but after these two confrontations with the head of the Yin River Sect, he vaguely comprehended the implications hidden within.
Currently, the upper realm is divided into two factions: one is conservative, with numerous members supporting the severance of the heavenly path; the other has fewer members but advocates for cleansing the Nine Netherworld's calamities and reopening the Heaven-Reaching Road.
This faction's ideas are contrary to the Celestial Emperor's, likely composed of those divine beings with rebellious natures.
These gods defying the Celestial Emperor's will, such as Lord Yuan, and the Little Water Curtain Grotto Heaven Master, the deity privately hiding 'weapons' in the lower realm, along with the female Water Fiend, the nameless old woman, and the already fallen King Yama, Longhu Xuantan True Monarch, and Demon Exorcism True Monarch, are among them.
And now Xu Qing has unknowingly boarded a battleship named 'Rebellion,' with no turning back and unable to stay out of it.
As long as the upper realm gods are unwilling to confront the Corpse Immortal, those few rebels will surely rise up!
The legacies left in the mortal world are not for finding disciples, but for cultivating living forces.
Yet the nameless old woman and King Yama are openly rebellious, not even pretending, directly announcing to all gods and buddhas that they're rebels.
The two temples and the real master behind the Little Water Curtain Grotto Heaven are more restrained, but this restraint contains a greater will to resist.
After realizing the connections, Xu Qing's knitted brows never relaxed, but when he thought of his own Immortal Hall, those Immortals waiting for him to return and take charge, he instantly returned to normal.
One drink and one peck, seemingly unrelated, yet inherently predetermined.
If Xu Qing hadn't become the Sect Leader of Immortal Hall, hadn't amassed great merit, he would never have reached today's point or received recognition from Primordial Ancestor, and the gods behind the two temples, nor learned their Divine Techniques.
In other words, the moment Xu Qing chose to become Sect Leader of Immortal Hall and the deity of Bao Sheng Temple, he was destined to take this path.
Now, it's just a matter of converging on the same path. His branch river has merged into the mainstream river of the heavenly rebels.
"The deities behind the two temples have grand schemes, and the master of Little Water Curtain Grotto Heaven is secretly making arrangements, leaving the legacy in the lower realm..."
Xu Qing's gaze fell on the ambitious Ascendant Fuluan. The rebellious faction was already small in numbers, and he unintentionally received most of the divine legacies left in the mortal world.
If he were to rely solely on himself, he would eventually overlook critical aspects.
Since that's the case, why not form alliances, pulling those reluctant to exert effort, the hermit masters of the mortal world, onto this no-return battleship, completing his own mortal layout?
Xu Qing planned ahead, harboring even more 'sinister' thoughts in his heart.
"Daoist of the Lotus Cave Manor on Jade Pool Mountain, Immortal Master Ge of Songyun Temple on Henglu Mountain, Cultivators from the ancient Shu sect on Mount Taodu..."
Just thinking about what he's about to do makes Xu Qing feel exhilarated!
Yet undertaking such meritorious deeds should not be rushed; he must at least wait until refining the Three Lights Divine Water, confirmed as the Water Fiend, before proceeding.
Zombies do not fall within the Five Elements, nor in the Three Realms and Six Paths, hence even if the Heaven-Reaching Road is severed, cultivators cannot ascend to the upper realm, and Xu Qing, being a zombie, can still bypass the ascension restrictions, breakthrough to Kui Ba in the mortal world, even obtaining a higher Corpse Immortal position!
Ascendant Fuluan only desires to ascend to the upper realm, to behold the Celestial Emperor's visage, and join the ranks of Immortals, oblivious to the fact that after presenting his allegiance, relying on orthodox methods to ascend is harder than the resurrection of the founding Emperor!
Xu Qing cheerfully departs from the Yin River. Over the next half-month, he uses Baisha River as a starting point and the Jinggu Harbor estuary as the endpoint, beginning the arrangement of the Doutu Array.
The Doutu Great Array is based on the Doutu Divine Assassins Great Array, a tribe-defending array of the Wu Tribe, driven by the power of the sun, moon, stars, and earth veins, borrowing the grand trend of the heavens and earth.
Upon transforming into a Water Corpse, Xu Qing gains the ability to manipulate the sun, moon, and Three Lights Divine Water, treasures of the Wu Tribe, which perfectly aligns with the Doutu Great Array.
Xu Qing retrieves the array disc and flags used while exterminating the fox in White Cloud Grotto Heaven, which had been fully repaired by Bai Qiuyu, Daoist Yizhen, and further reinforced by Primordial Spirit True Man, Master Jingxu.
After all, that old Daoist had claimed that Five Elders Temple's array disc quality was the best under heaven, indestructible under any usage.
The result turned out that Xu Qing managed to ruin it after just one use...
Master Jingxu, having lost face before the juniors, naturally had to make amends, and this time the quality of the array disc and flags approached the level of Immortal items, unmatched in the mortal world.
"Xu boy, if you can ruin the array disc again, I'll work for your Immortal Hall for another fifty years to pay off the debt..."
Back then, Xu Qing assumed the other party was confident, so he didn't take this joking wager to heart.
Now, however, he hesitated.
Ghost Law is the Dharma Master of Ten Thousand Ghosts, desiring to dismantle the opposing body and nourish the heavens and earth would absolutely be far more challenging, a pressure many times beyond that faced when confronting the fox in White Cloud Grotto Heaven!
Aside from operating the Doutu Great Array, Xu Qing has no other methods.
"I wonder whether this array disc and flags, claimed to be of Immortal-grade, are truly as effective as Master Jingxu said..."