Taoist Myth: I am the last true immortal in the world

Chapter 850 The Great Emperor of Taoism Officially Returns to His Position

at dusk.

Chen Yun and Zhao Kuangyi were watching the sunset and discussing the principles of governing the country.

Suddenly, light footsteps came from behind, "My lord."

Zhao Kuangyi turned his head away in confusion.

They only saw that Wang E had appeared behind them at some point.

Chen Yun, with his hands behind his back, said without turning his head, "I understand. You go back to Qingcheng Mountain first."

Wang E respectfully replied, "Yes."

After he finished speaking, flames erupted from his body, and he vanished without a trace.

Zhao Kuangyi's pupils dilated as he turned his head slightly to look at Chen Yun and asked, "Teacher, is this Mr. Wang also an immortal?"

Chen Yun hummed in agreement, "I suppose so, he has the cultivation of a Celestial Immortal."

Zhao Kuangyi simply said "Oh" and didn't ask any further questions.

Chen Yun gazed at the sunset with a calm expression. He knew perfectly well what had happened when Wang E came to report.

Previously, he had sent a letter to Wang E to the Prince of Jin's residence, hoping that Guo Rong could help him make the City God system a formal mortal worship system and establish temples.

When Guo Rong heard that Wang E was sent by Chen Yun, he immediately treated him warmly and, after reading the letter, readily agreed to help.

It's not as simple as just agreeing.

At this moment, Chen Yun could sense that Guo Rong had hurriedly entered the palace.

It's clear that the other party takes this request very seriously.

Under normal circumstances, a crown prince would certainly not be so enthusiastic about this kind of thing.

Chen Yun knew why Guo Rong was so enthusiastic.

It's very simple. I previously shot the other party's soul into a temporary heavenly palace created by my great magic, so that the other party would know my identity, which is why they were so eager to help.

Moreover, Chen Yun wasn't asking Guo Rong to help him for nothing; he promised Guo Rong that he wouldn't be reincarnated after death, and that he would even be deified.

With such generous terms, no one could refuse.

Chen Yun secretly looked forward to completing the City God system as soon as possible.

In this way, he would have a vast network of influence in both the mortal and underworld realms, which would be a great advantage in helping Zhao Kuangyin establish the Song Dynasty.

In addition, there was another matter that compelled Chen Yun to build the City God Temple.

Normally, those who are conferred a divine position will be granted "innate divine power" by the Conferred God Position Chart, thereby gaining some special "skills" or having an additional incarnation.

He had already proven this when he was previously conferred the title of Great Immortal of Wind and Thunder.

Chen Yun was granted two divine positions by Laozi this time: the Great Emperor of the Heavenly Mirror of the Nation and the Daoist Lord of the Nine Netherworlds, but he did not receive the corresponding "innate divine power" or additional incarnations.

He guessed that the reason for this was most likely because he had not yet begun to perform his divine duties, and therefore could not receive the blessing of the Investiture of the Gods.

To fulfill one's religious duties, one must first have an "office," which is one's own temple.

Chen Yun does not yet have a temple with the two divine positions of Chengtian Jianguo Simin Shengfu Mingdadi and Jiuyou Bazui Daojun, so he naturally cannot obtain the corresponding "innate divine power".

"If I wait until the City God Temple is built, I should be able to obtain the innate divine power of the divine position of the Great Emperor Chengtian Jianguo Simin Shengfu Ming. As for the Dao Lord Jiuyou Bazui, should a temple also be built for him?"

Chen Yun had absolutely no understanding of the process by which the Investiture of the Gods bestowed innate divine power.

He decided to wait until the temple of the Emperor Chengtianjianguo Simin Shengfuming was built, observe it for a while, and then figure out how to obtain the innate divine power of the Nine Netherworld Exorcising Dao Lord.

Chen Yun knew that whether it was the Emperor Chengtian Jianguo Simin Shengfu Mingdadi or the Daojun Jiuyou Bazui Daojun, both of these divine positions could bring him relatively strong innate divine power.

He was not yet clear on how much innate divine power these two divine positions could bring him.

Half-step Grand Luo level?

Is it merely innate divine power at the Celestial Immortal level?

Chen Yun was very curious about this.

……

Guo Rong received Chen Yun's letter and hurriedly went to the palace to meet the emperor.

In the Imperial Palace, in the Imperial Garden.

Emperor Taizu of Later Zhou, Guo Wei, was sitting under the pavilion, coughing violently while holding a handkerchief.

He felt as if phlegm was coming out of his throat while he was coughing.

After he finished coughing, he instinctively glanced at the handkerchief.

A mouthful of bright red phlegm came into view.

Guo Wei's expression changed slightly, and he immediately and discreetly put the handkerchief away without being noticed by anyone.

Suddenly, a eunuch walked in from outside. "Your Majesty, His Highness Prince Jin requests an audience."

Guo Wei glanced outside and said, "Let him in."

The eunuch said, "Yes."

Then he turned and left.

Guo Wei frowned slightly, picked up his teacup, rinsed his mouth, and immediately spat the bloody water into the soil beside him.

A moment later, Guo Rong arrived with the eunuch.

He immediately bowed as he approached and asked with concern, "Father, have you had dinner?"

Guo Rong appeared very affectionate at this moment, as if the Emperor Taizu of Later Zhou was his own father. Where was the "Your Majesty" he had been addressing him as such before?

Although nominally an adopted son is the same as a son, Guo Rong was clearly not so well-behaved, otherwise he would not have changed his surname back to Chai.

Guo Wei pretended to be nonchalant and said, "Rong'er, your father has already had dinner. Why did you suddenly come to the palace?"

As he spoke, he pointed to the stone bench opposite him, "Sit."

"Thank you, Father." Guo Rong carefully sat down. "I came to the palace today because there is something I want to discuss with you."

Guo Wei asked, "What is it?"

Guo Rong said, “Our dynasty has just been established and needs the protection of the gods. The City God has been gradually believed in since the Northern and Southern Dynasties, but it has not yet been included in the formal sacrifices. I think, can we include the City God in the scope of the court’s sacrifices?”

If an ordinary person heard about this, they might think that Guo Rong was just making trouble for no reason.

Guo Wei was different. He thought about it seriously for a long time. "The City God is the god who protects the city. He is indeed suitable to be included in the scope of worship. However, this is not something that I can decide alone. I need to discuss it with the officials."

Guo Rong said, "The matter of including it in the imperial court's sacrificial rites needs to be discussed with all the officials. However, to make it legal and no longer a licentious worship, I believe that all it takes is a decree from Father. I would like to build a City God Temple in Bianjing first, to pray for the protection of our Great Zhou, and to bless Father with peace, health and longevity."

Hearing his son's concern for him, Guo Wei couldn't help but smile. "I am very pleased that you are so filial. Very well, then I will issue an edict to allow the City God to be worshipped legally."

As he spoke, he looked at the eunuch beside him and said, "Bring me writing brush, ink, paper, inkstone, and the imperial seal."

The eunuch hurriedly replied, "Yes."

After waiting for a while, the eunuch came over with writing brush, ink, paper, inkstone, and the imperial seal. During the wait, Guo Wei wanted to cough violently several times, but seeing his adopted son sitting opposite him, he held back and did not show any abnormality.

After the writing brush, ink, paper, and inkstone were brought over, Guo Wei wrote an edict allowing the City God to be worshipped legally.

After the edict was written, he picked up the imperial seal and stamped it.

Finally, Guo Wei handed the imperial edict to Guo Rong, saying, "You shall send this edict to the Court of State Ceremonies, the Ministry of Rites, and the Provincial Supervisory Commissioner for their respective seals."

Guo Rong stood up and accepted the imperial edict with both hands. "Alright, I will head over shortly. I'll stay with you for a while now."

Guo Wei, his cough almost unbearable, seized the opportunity to let Guo Rong leave, saying, "It's enough that you have filial piety. You can't stay with your father tonight. Let's take care of the important matters first."

Guo Rong also wanted to get this matter settled quickly; he had only said those things to let Guo Wei know that he was indeed very filial.

Seeing the other party's attitude, he quickly said, "Okay, then Father, you should go back to your room and rest early. It's windy outside, and you might catch a cold."

Guo Wei smiled and waved his hand, saying, "I'm aware of this. You can go ahead and get back to work."

Guo Rong bowed and took his leave, saying, "Your son takes his leave."

Then he turned and left.

After Guo Rong's men left the courtyard, Guo Wei began coughing violently again, his mouth full of blood. The eunuch beside him was so frightened that he immediately summoned the imperial physician to the palace.

The reason Guo Wei did not show anything unusual in front of Guo Rong was entirely because he had not completely let down his guard against this adopted son.

Or perhaps, deep down, he still wanted to have another son to continue the Guo family bloodline.

He believed that if Guo Rong found out that his health was very poor, the other party might not be able to hold back and something might happen, which was not the situation he wanted to see.

……

After leaving the Imperial Garden, Guo Rong immediately went to the Court of State Ceremonies, the Ministry of Rites, and the Supervisory Office.

The Court of State Ceremonial was not only responsible for receiving foreign guests, but also the core institution for managing religious affairs in the Later Zhou Dynasty.

Besides the Court of State Ceremonial, the Ministry of Rites was also involved in religious administration.

As for the Tidian Office, it was specifically responsible for managing Taoist temples, artifacts, and other related matters.

Guo Rong wanted to make the City God a legally worshipped deity and also wanted to build a City God Temple, so he had to go to all these departments.

Although it was already night, his status as the Prince of Jin still made these departments take him very seriously.

In no time at all, the Honglu Temple and the gift shop had already stamped the documents.

Finally, Guo Rong arrived at the supervisory office with the imperial edict.

He spoke with the head of the agency, making sure the other party understood why he had come.

Upon learning of the imperial edict, the person in charge of the supervisory office examined it and immediately stamped it with his seal.

Almost at the very moment the last stamp was applied, a similar miraculous scene unfolded at the intersection of the underworld and the human world.

……

Boom.

The entire area between the underworld and the mortal realm suddenly trembled.

Immediately, a magnificent golden temple appeared out of thin air within the territory of Kaifeng Prefecture.

Of course, this temple is invisible to ordinary people; only those who have transcended the mundane can sense it.

There were many cultivators in Kaifeng Prefecture, and they immediately sensed a vast aura, like the power of heaven and earth, rising up in the city.

"Ok?"

"What happened?"

"I do not know."

"Fellow Daoists, look quickly! What palace is that floating above?"

"Allow me to use my magic to take a closer look."

"Huh, why are the words 'City God' written on this temple?"

Many monks were taken aback when they saw that it was a "City God Temple".

In most people's minds, the City God is not yet included in the scope of formal worship; it belongs to folk worship.

Logically speaking, there shouldn't be corresponding divine palaces in either Heaven or the Underworld.

Moreover, the scale of the temple they were seeing seemed to surpass the "grade" of ordinary divine palaces.

Everyone understands one thing: whether in heaven, the underworld, or the mortal realm, houses and palaces all exist within a "hierarchical system."

If this standard is exceeded, it is called "exceeding the limit".

Not only will they be forcibly demolished, but they may also face severe penalties.

Take the mortal realm for example. Although overstepping the bounds is not uncommon in all dynasties, if the imperial court really investigates, the most severe punishment could be beheading.

If the punishments for transgressing the rules are this severe in the mortal realm, one can only imagine how strict they are in the Heavenly Court and the Underworld.

If a deity dares to overstep the bounds, there is a high chance that he will be punished by the laws of heaven. At best, he will be demoted; at worst, he will be cast into the cycle of reincarnation or even perish.

Therefore, when the cultivators of Kaifeng Prefecture saw the establishment of the meeting point between the underworld and the mortal world, and the appearance of a luxurious divine palace that might exceed the limits of regulations, they all showed surprised expressions.

The City God hasn't even been formally worshipped yet, and he dares to build such a luxurious temple?

They really wanted to know which city god was so brave as to dare to use divine power to build a temple of such scale.

Just when everyone was filled with curiosity.

Suddenly, a dazzling, all-encompassing light illuminated the night sky.

This divine light was no ordinary divine light; it was a deep red, like the light of incense and candles lit in a temple at night, inspiring awe and a desire to worship.

Furthermore, this divine light seemed to illuminate not only the territory of Kaifeng Prefecture, but also all the heavens and myriad realms.

In an instant, the divine light spread throughout the heavens, allowing everyone to feel it.

As this divine light shone, an extremely majestic and awe-inspiring voice emerged from the void: "I am the Great Emperor Shengming, the Minister of the People of Chengtianjian Kingdom, and I return to my throne today."

As soon as the words were spoken, all the heavens and myriad realms saw a colossal, almost identical in size to the heavens and myriad realms, dressed in a bright yellow imperial robe, draped in a golden cloak, and wearing a golden crown. One hand was raised in a gesture of pointing upwards, while the other covered the ground. This majestic and holy phantom emerged from nothingness and headed towards the magnificent divine palace in Kaifeng Prefecture.

Immediately, the divine phantom disappeared into it, and at the same time, the divine palace released a red light.

The majestic voice from before echoed from within the divine palace: "I am the Great Emperor Shengfuming, the Minister of the People of Chengtianjian Kingdom. I shall oversee all the Yin Gods of the mortal realm, protect the safety of cities throughout the myriad realms, mediate disputes among the people, punish evil and promote good, protect the people, manage all household registrations in both the underworld and the mortal realm, maintain order and prevent the people from being harmed by demons and monsters, and appease wandering ghosts, pray for blessings and ward off disasters. Anyone who violates my City God's decree shall be cast into reincarnation!"

After he finished speaking, the Great Dao seemed to respond.

The entire sky was filled with swirling clouds and rising winds.

Auspicious light shone throughout the entire land.

All the beasts and birds bowed in worship toward the location of the divine palace of the Great Emperor Shengfuming, the Minister of the State of Chengtianjian, as if these animals were also celebrating the birth of a king.

At this moment, the gods of Kaifeng Prefecture... no, all the heavens and myriad realms, finally realized that such a strange phenomenon was the official return of the Taoist Emperor to his throne!
(End of this chapter)