In the center of this scroll, a thunderbolt is like a thunder dragon, roaming and circling within the scroll. This thunderbolt transformed into a thunder dragon filled with vitality and destruction, making this scroll even more lifelike.
Pei Xuanjing was sitting on the cloud platform, clad in a cyan Taoist robe that danced with the wind. His long hair fluttered elegantly, eyes slightly closed, exuding calmness and tranquility. He appeared exceptionally ethereal, giving off the feeling of soaring with the wind, on the verge of ascending immortality.
Although Pei Xuanjing was seated here, he had already journeyed millions of miles away in spirit. His spiritual consciousness split into thousands, descending inside the statues of all branches of Taoist academies across the Daming World. Whether it was state Daoist Prefecture or remote small cities, Pei Xuanjing's divided spiritual consciousness descended.
The moment his spiritual consciousness descended, those originally dull statues suddenly seemed to acquire spirituality and everything around them fell into his senses.
In Pei Xuanjing's mind, countless bright lights blinked as if he were stargazing. These specks of light each represented a location of the Daoist academy and where Pei Xuanjing's consciousness had fallen.
These countless lights, in Pei Xuanjing's mind, turned into numerous twinkling stars, continuously connecting together, slowly forming a vast light web. It was as if the entire contour of the Daming World had been sketched out and was appearing in Pei Xuanjing's mind.
Through these dots of starlight, whenever he focused more on a spot, he could clearly perceive everything around the branch academy, perceive the discourse and actions of the students in the academy, and even the movements of the common people and martial artists in the city.
"It is said that the divine can descend their spirits to observe everything in the world. What I'm doing now seems to have some early signs of that!" Pei Xuanjing thought with emotion in his heart.
In Pei Xuanjing's understanding, the divine knew everything. They could easily ascertain the prayers and hopes of their believers, then decide to issue revelations and blessings.
Although Pei Xuanjing was not quite able to do everything like the divine, using these statues in the branch academies to descend his spirit avatars, he could have a similar effect.
In his view, with the continuous progression of his abilities, one day in the future, he might achieve that.
At this moment, Pei Xuanjing suddenly realized, rumors had it that divine care a lot about the number of their believers and whether they could obtain the abundant Power of Incense Fire.
"Perhaps for many divine beings, the support of believers and the Power of Incense Fire is the foundation of their divinity…", he thought to himself.
However, at present, he was merely getting a glimpse of this and could not clearly see it all, only speculating and pondering by his own imagination.
Of course, even so, for Pei Xuanjing, it was a breakthrough discovery. He didn't have many clues to verify this in a world without traces of divine beings. Therefore, he had to rely on himself to explore gradually.
What Pei Xuanjing could do now was to follow the memories of his previous life, as well as the clues left by cultivators of this world, to slowly piece together an impression of the immortals, and then gradually attempt, sum up experience.
With Pei Xuanjing suppressing and killing the avatar of the Taixu Venerable this time, it was enough to make many forces of the Sky Wasteland hesitate and quiet down. They wouldn't easily make a move without figuring out Pei Xuanjing's true strength.
As for Canglang Palace and Taixu Sect, they will need some time to descend from the Sky Wasteland.
Therefore, for Pei Xuanjing, this was a unique opportunity. He could perfectly seize this opportunity and begin to experiment with his Divine Domain and Divine Kingdom plan.
Pei Xuanjing had long planned for this Divine Kingdom initiative. He made preparations when he launched more branch academies. Now, after several decades, everything was ready, and it was time for the results to emerge.
In the last life simulation, as the Human Emperor of the human race, Pei Xuanjing arranged the entire Human Domain, establishing Divine Temples, and tried to early stage plan and solidify the Divine Kingdom.
Although he didn't succeed in the last life's simulation, it was a great enhancement for Pei Xuanjing's own strength. Besides, it also allowed him to accumulate experience, in order to better rectify his plan.
During this period, Pei Xuanjing continuously calculated, decomposing every step of his plan in his mind. He analyzed every possible mishap for each step and the corresponding remedial measures, until now, when everything was finally prepared.
Everything is ready now, just waiting for the right wind to blow.
"Deer Elder, come to me!" Pei Xuanjing's voice fell into Deer Elder's ears in the Daoist Academy.
Hearing Pei Xuanjing's summons, Deer Elder immediately put down what he was doing and appeared before Pei Xuanjing in the blink of an eye.
"What is your command, Master?" Deer Elder respectfully asked Pei Xuanjing.
Pei Xuanjing said: "I have some things for you to do…"
After a long time, having received Pei Xuanjing's instructions, the Deer Elder nodded solemnly and said, "Please rest assured, Master. I will surely not disappoint you."
"No worries, do your best." Pei Xuanjing waved his hand nonchalantly, instructing him, "This matter might require some manpower. Go find Pang Hong for this; he will surely assist you wholeheartedly."
After the previous battle, Pang Hong had contact with Deer Elder. Although he did not know the true strength of Deer Elder, he was extremely shocked to know that the other party was Xuanjing's mount, a Demon King from the Demon Race.
Considering that Pei Xuanjing had been retreating at the Tiandu Daoist Academy for many years without showing much sign of leaving, Pang Hong was surprisingly and curious about when and how he had tamed a Demon King of the Demon Race.
Of course, Pang Hong also knew that his master's abilities were vast and inscrutable, perhaps he had done this quietly at some point in time.
Having received Pei Xuanjing's instructions, Deer Elder immediately headed to the Shenxiao Sect's base outside the Daming domain to find Pang Hong. He indeed needed Pang Hong's cooperation for some things.
The task that Pei Xuanjing indicated this time wasn't hard but somewhat cumbersome, requiring enough manpower to push it forward. With Pang Hong now controlling the Shenxiao Sect affairs and the support he had received from the Taoist School, accomplishing this task would be quite effortless.
Pei Xuanjing watched Deer Elder's departing figure, a faint smile on his lips. What he needed him to do was not difficult, just a bit complex.
Even though he had used his spiritual consciousness to grasp all the Daoist academies within the Daming domain, there were still many inaccuracies which could have considerable influence.
Sometimes, seemingly insignificant errors can lead to failure. That's why Pei Xuanjing wanted to minimize and mitigate these errors as much as possible, striving for perfection.
Pei Xuanjing needed Deer Elder to personally carry out an investigation, compile a new set of data, compare it with everything in his memory, and make up for any deficiencies.
It would have been most appropriate for this task to be handled by Qingyang Zi, the deputy head of the Taoist Academy, but the academy was currently in the midst of enrollment. Qingyang Zi was swamped with numerous tasks, and the instructors in various branches of the academy were also very busy. Asking them to undertake this task could be considered inhumane.
Given Deer Elder's realm power, he could reach Pang Hong in no time. After conveying his request and bringing Pei Xuanjing's instructions, Pang Hong naturally had no reason to refuse.
For Pang Hong, he had always been sheltered under his master's wings, and the master had always cared for him. Unfortunately, he couldn't share his master's worries. Now that the master could assign tasks to him, he was naturally very pleased.
Pang Hong immediately summoned many disciples from the Shenxiao Sect and arranged for many of them to go about these tasks.
Several days later, various disciples of the Shenxiao Sect received their assignments, dividing into different regions. They went to various prefectures, county cities, and Taoist academies within the Great Ming territory to collect data as requested.
…
Three years later, Pei Xuanjing stood on a cloud platform. In front of him was a newly drawn map of the Great Ming territory. This map was incredibly detailed, marking countless mountains, rivers, cities, and towns. Even the current map of the Great Ming Divine Dynasty couldn't rival the precision of the map before his eyes.
Because this map was drawn by Pei Xuanjing according to the mapping rules of his previous life, it was completely different from the methods used in the Daming World.
Fortunately, although the territory of the Great Ming Divine Dynasty was vast, with the revival of Heaven and Earth, and all the cultivators of the Spirit Realm participating in the Shenxiao Sect, they managed to successfully create this map in such a short time.
When his gaze landed on this map, the landscapes of the entire realm of the Great Ming Divine Dynasty imprinted onto Pei Xuanjing's mind, coinciding with the flickering lights in his mind.
"Whether it's a Divine Domain or a Divine Kingdom, neither can be formed out of thin air. Similar to Blessed Lands and Cave Heavens, or worlds, at least a prototype is needed. As for me, since I can now encompass the territory of the Great Ming Divine Dynasty, why not use this as the basic structure and attempt to make it the prototype of the Divine Kingdom?" Pei Xuanjing thought.
This was the real reason why he asked Deer Elder and his team to draw the map. He intended to use the landscapes of the Great Ming as a blueprint to construct his own Divine Domain Divine Country.
Several months later, atop a nameless mountain in the Great Ming Divine Dynasty, Pei Xuanjing stood quietly at the peak. His dark brown robe fluttered in the wind as he looked deeply around him, seemingly encompassing Heaven and Earth in his gaze.
The nameless mountain where he stood was nothing extraordinary. It couldn't be considered majestic or magnificent; it was merely one of the most common mountains within the Great Ming territory.
However, if one were to look down from the high sky, they would see that the Taoist academies scattered throughout the territories of the Great Ming Divine Dynasty surrounded this locale, which happened to be the very center.
Centering on this nameless mountain, the academies scattered around the world resembled countless stars arranged neatly or converging rivers, combining into one.
Pei Xuanjing had his Primordial Qi circulating under his feet, gradually lifting him into the sky. In an instant, he was thousands of miles high. The biting wind had no impact on him. Any Gang wind dissipated into nothingness when it approached within a few miles of him.
As he looked at the void around him, Pei Xuanjing's eyes revealed neither sadness nor joy. He seemed emotionless, but he knew he was not as calm as he appeared.
He had been preparing for this plan for decades. For Pei Xuanjing, these decades were an important period of his life.
He also understood that what he was doing and attempting now was completely different from before. Even his attempts and deductions in his cultivation had traces to follow and experiences of predecessors to refer to.
But this time, he was conducting a new exploration of the Immortal God Realm based on his understanding and cognition. There were no past experiences for comparison or reference.
After all, whether it was in the Daming World or the world where Pei Xuanjing lived in his previous life, the existence of Immortal Gods was always a mystery. There was no trace to be found.
However, despite all this, Pei Xuanjing did not retreat.
Isn't the current situation exactly what he has been expecting and longing for?
Even though this world has no Immortal Gods, as long as there are Immortal Gods, why not become the trailblazer himself, groping his way forward alone, and establishing a path to Immortality for all living beings?
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh…
Pei Xuanjing slightly calmed his excited feelings and thoughts, hoping to reach his best state.
After calming down, Pei Xuanjing slowly closed his eyes. The Shenxiao Origin Qi inside his body began to circulate, permeating the sky in an instant and infecting the Essence Qi of Heaven and Earth within a range of tens of miles.
His Taoist Foundation projection slowly emerged from behind and started to expand, intertwining with the Four Seasons and Five Orders, Five Directions and Five Elements, six-colored light, and flickering lightning. The projection expanded and stretched, unrolling this grand painting in the sky…
At the same time, the spiritual consciousness that he initially split and placed in countless god statues within the various academies also activated at this moment. The power of incense fire that had been accumulated over time converged, the eyes of the god statues first glowed brightly. The power of incense fire infused into the bodies of the god statues, who started emitting a faint glow.
The many instructors and disciples in the academy detected this anomaly immediately. After all, these god statues were the foundation of the academy. All matters of Inheritance and exchange of contribution points were based on these god statues. In many academies, special personnel were even arranged to guard the god statues and observe them at all times.
As soon as they noticed this anomaly, they knew that there must be actions from the top figure in the world, their invincible and most respected headmaster. Within a short time, they began to gather their friends to come over and observe the changes in the god statues.
"Principal, what should we do?" An apprentice instructor from the Taoist Academy inquired with the local principal.
Looking at the dozens of meters tall deity statue inside the Taoist Academy, which faintly flickered with a light, surrounded by countless faith infused incense fire, it drew in Heaven and Earth Essence Qi, merging into a vortex of Heaven and Earth Essence Qi. This elevated the Essence Qi within the Taoist Academy by several folds.
The position of the principal at the branches of the Taoist Academy has always been highly sought after. Apart from the associated privileges and benefits, another distinct advantage these principals enjoy is their ability to communicate with the deity statues, which essentially means being able to make contact with the divine fragment of Pei XuanJing. In times of crisis, much like Pang Hong, they could reach out to Pei XuanJing for help.
This is a well-known fact within and outside the Taoist Academy, as a result, even if there were no strong individuals present at the branch academies, nobody would dare to stir up trouble.
Now, as these anomalies occurred, the apprentice instructors naturally sought guidance from the principal.
In response to the numerous inquiries from the apprentice instructors, the branch principals were momentarily at a loss for words. Although they were given privilege to make contact, it was not feasible for them to be in constant communication with Pei Xuanjing – the Master of the Taoist Academy. Therefore, without any prior information, they were unsure about what had transpired.
Right at that moment, virtually all the principals of the branch academies within the boundaries of the Great Ming Divine Dynasty received a message almost simultaneously: "This is an experiment of mine; there's no need for panic. Take this opportunity to let the many disciples in the Taoist Academy gain some insight, it might benefit their cultivation."
After receiving this message, many principals from the branch academies breathed a sigh of relief. They then began leading the apprentice instructors in meditation and contemplation, hoping it would yield benefits for their own cultivation.
They had practically no doubts about Pei Xuanjing's words, even if many branch principals were placed by other forces, they would question other matters but never question anything he said about cultivation.
The past few decades have thoroughly validated that there haven't been any issues with Pei Xuanjing's words and actions. After he founded the branch Taoist Academies, he unreservedly shared his cultivation insights and understanding with his many disciples.
During this time, the deity statues in various Taoist Academies had almost completely drawn the surrounding faith-infused incense fire power into their bodies, followed by a surge of a powerful aura that shot skywards, piercing the heavens.
Above the Taoist Academy, a brilliant light shone, and in the blink of an eye, a six-colored aura spread out, covering the entire Taoist Academy, and even gradually spreading towards the neighboring cities.
The accumulation of the past thirty years, the daily offerings from countless Taoist Academy disciples and the faith infused incense fire power, all erupted at this moment.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Within the entire territory of the Great Ming Divine Dynasty, wherever there were Taoist Academies, a light continuously shot up into the sky, reaching the highest point of the sky in an instant.
This phenomenon, this grand momentum, was impossible to hide. Even many ordinary folks who couldn't cultivate could see it with their eyes.
In just a short period of time, the six-colored radiance almost covered the entire territory of the Great Ming Divine Dynasty, astonishing countless people.
The more powerful the cultivators were, the more terrifying sense they had towards this spectacle. They could clearly feel the vast divine power contained within this radiance, seeming untouchable, as if touching it would mean instant death!
"Is this caused by something within the Taoist Academy?"
Within the Imperial City of Tiandu, Zhu Houji stood in front of the railing, looking afar, gazing at the sky that was dyed in six colors, and asked with a frown.
He originally thought that as his own powers grew, he would grow closer to his Master Pei, but surprisingly, his every step forward didn't seem to reduce the distance between the two, but made it feel more distant instead.
His Master Pei was too mysterious, too extraordinary, and even to Zhu Houji who had become accustomed to Pei's unpredictability, this still was extremely astonishing.
Wu Shijiu, who was standing by his side, also wore a solemn expression. This grand spirit energy, according to his perception, seemed to be similar across the area he could sense, as if it had no boundary.
"It should have originated from inside the Taoist Academy. If there's no accident, it may be the work of the national teacher." Wu Shijiu sighed.
Sometimes he lamented that the birth and rise of some people were destined to be extraordinary.
As a cultivator himself, who had reached the Spirit Realm Eightfold and managed to escape being hunted down by a powerful being from the Nine Realms of Spirit, Wu Shijiu was extremely confident in his own abilities. However, when compared to Pei Xuanjing, he felt inferior.
"I wonder what Divine Abilities Master Pei is practicing or has made some breakthroughs?" Zhu Houji queried.
His strength largely depended on the foundation of the Great Ming Divine Dynasty, and his understanding of cultivation was far less than Wu Shijiu. As a result, he hoped Wu Shijiu could help shed some light.
"I'm not sure," Wu Shijiu shook his head, "But it's certainly not a breakthrough. There's an eighty percent chance he's researching some Divine Abilities. However, such a powerful Divine Ability is extremely terrifying!"
Wu Shijiu had never encountered such a grand event. In his memory, even the most powerful beings who had reached the top of the Nine Realms of Spirit rarely managed to create such a spectacle when practicing their abilities.
After his sense checking, he came to the realization that this phenomenon was not confined to Tiandu; it had no limit. Considering the source of this was indeed from the Taoist Academy, then all the Taoist Academy branches in the territory of the Great Ming Divine Dynasty would invariably have a similar situation.
If estimations were accurate, the spectacle should have already covered the entire territory of the Great Ming Divine Dynasty.
How terrifying!
As the Ancestral Land revived now, the Great Ming Divine Dynasty spanned across countless miles. For an average Mortal martial artist, it might take a lifetime to traverse the entire territory of the Great Ming Divine Dynasty.
Today, Pei Xuanjing managed to create such a spectacle by his strength alone, practically covering the whole territory of the Great Ming Divine Dynasty. How could this not be shocking to Wu Shijiu?
Moreover, the most important point was that he had sensed a strong faith-infused incense fire power within it. Although he, being from the Witch Deity Teaching, had never relied too much on the power of faith-infused incense fire for cultivation, he was no stranger to this aura.
"With such a dense faith of incense fire power, I heard that the Great Ming Divine Dynasty was only promoted a mere 60 years ago. Yet, this national teacher alone managed to accumulate such a thick faith of incense fire power. It is obvious that despite its decline, the Ancestral Land's foundation still exists."
Outside the territory of the Great Ming, a powerful being carefully sensed the faith of incense fire power covering the sky, and sighed with a complicated expression.