Daojun, start from Penglai foundation building

Heavenly Court, South Heavenly Gate.

The South Heavenly Gate is located below the First Heavenly Realm, manifesting in the mortal world, but its true location lies between reality and illusion. As a Heavenly Gate that the Heavenly Court can directly control, the South Heavenly Gate is the Heavenly Court's most important strategic projection platform, possessing the ability to project a large amount of power to precise locations in the four seas and continents of the mortal world.

Originally, the South Heavenly Gate was a bustling place. Not to mention that beings from outside the Three Realms had to pass through the South Heavenly Gate to enter the Three Realms, even within the Three Realms, whether it was the Dragon Clan of the Four Seas or the beings of various continents, they had to go through the South Heavenly Gate if they wanted to leave their local area to go to other places.

Therefore, what one sees most outside the South Heavenly Gate are immortals, gods, demons, and spirits from all walks of life, as well as divine lords and star officials from the seventh heaven of the Heavenly Court.

However, on this day, the passage of all the gods, celestial officials, and wandering immortals and demons outside the South Heavenly Gate was temporarily suspended, and countless immortals, gods, and demons were blocked at the South Heavenly Gate and unable to move.

One of the gods couldn't help but complain: "No matter how crowded the South Heavenly Gate is on ordinary days, I've never seen so many of my colleagues stuck here, unable to move an inch!"

"Even if the South Heavenly Gate is being repaired, it shouldn't be completely sealed off. What kind of work is the guardian deity of the South Heavenly Gate doing?"

Someone chimed in, "Yes, I came to the Heavenly Court to report, and Shangguan is still waiting for my reply in the mortal realm. Now I'm stuck here, unable to go forward or backward. I didn't receive any advance notice of maintenance for the South Heavenly Gate in my Great Thousand Jade Talisman."

As a member of the Heavenly Court, from the Great Emperors and Emperors of the Thirty-Six Departments and Fifty-Six Palaces to the officials and gods of the Seventy-Two Courts and One Hundred and Eight Prefectures, even the lowest-ranking deity will have a Great Thousand Jade Talisman bestowed by the Heavenly Court, through which they can learn a lot of information.

For example, the situation in the four seas and continents, where there are demons causing trouble that need to be avoided, where disasters occur, whether the South Heavenly Gate is under maintenance and other Heavenly Gates need to be used, and whether any new policies have been issued by the Thirty-Six Departments.
As a mouthpiece and magical artifact issued by the Heavenly Court to understand the specific situation of the Three Realms, the information of the Great Thousand Jade Talisman is the most accurate and timely. Through the Great Thousand Jade Talisman, the gods and their subordinates in the Heavenly Court can save a lot of effort.

However, there was no news of the South Heavenly Gate needing repair or maintenance on the Great Thousand Jade Talisman. Yet, hundreds and thousands of immortals, gods, demons, and spirits were blocked at the South Heavenly Gate and unable to enter or leave, which inevitably caused some dissatisfaction among the crowd.

But let alone the immortals, gods, demons, and spirits blocked at the South Heavenly Gate, the twenty-four divine lords responsible for guarding the South Heavenly Gate were also in a difficult situation.

The reason for blocking the passage through the South Heavenly Gate was Tian Ming'an, an official under the newly appointed Heavenly Judge of the Heavenly Court and a disciple of the True Lord Lingyuan.

"Master Ming'an, we didn't receive any prior notice of the situation you described. Now, the Judicial Heavenly Lord's Palace is going to occupy all of the South Heavenly Gate's delivery capabilities. This... this puts us in a very difficult position."

Seeing the troubled deity, Tian Ming'an remained calm: "It's not too late to receive the news now, even if we didn't receive it before."

"The Southern Heavenly Gate should be assisting the Heavenly Lord of Justice in suppressing demons and evil spirits. Now, the Heavenly Lord of Justice has more than 20 True Lords from the three departments and five capitals, and tens of millions of Dao soldiers are about to be mobilized. The Censors of the Supervisory Council and the officials of the Heavenly Gate Academy have all followed the army. Now you are telling me that the Southern Heavenly Gate cannot free up a teleportation array?"

"Don't worry, I won't make things difficult for you. The golden seal and documents of the Judicial Heavenly Lord's Palace are here. Just prepare them directly."

"If any problems arise, my Judicial Heavenly Lord's Palace will take full responsibility and will never make things difficult for your Southern Heavenly Gate."

Looking at the document presented by Tian Ming'an, stamped with the golden seal and jade talisman of the Heavenly Lord of Justice, the God Lord was caught in a dilemma, unsure whether to accept it or not. Just as the God Lord was in a predicament, another imperial envoy arrived from the Nine Heavens Palace: "Where is the God Lord guarding the Southern Heavenly Gate?"

The deity hurriedly stepped forward: "This humble deity is here."

The imperial envoy took out a jade book: "The Heavenly Order Envoy of the Dou Niu Palace, the Imperial Body of the Lingxiao Palace, and the Golden Book Manifestation Mysterious Maiden have ordered me to convey this message: The Judicial Heavenly Lord's Palace needs to requisition the South Heavenly Gate for the purpose of eliminating demons and quelling chaos, and the Heavenly Order Envoy of the Dou Niu Palace has already approved it."

The divine lord was startled: the jade book from the Heavenly Order Envoy in the Dou Niu Palace!
The Dou Niu Palace is not one of the so-called fifty-six palaces of the Heavenly Court. The fifty-six imperial palaces of the Heavenly Court are only located in the seventh heavenly palace, while the Dou Niu Palace is located in the ninth heavenly palace. It is the imperial palace of His Majesty the Heavenly Emperor. The jade book of the Heavenly Order Envoy in the Dou Niu Palace is, to some extent, equivalent to the imperial edict of His Majesty the Heavenly Emperor.

After carefully accepting the jade book and confirming that the seal was correct, the Divine Lord smiled and said, "Your Excellency, rest assured, the Southern Heavenly Gate will definitely cooperate with the Judicial Heavenly Lord's Palace. We will now use the Great Thousand Jade Talisman to send a message and inform the immortals and gods in all directions."

With the permission of this jade book, Nantianmen finally had something to report to the heavenly gods.

As for the documents from the Judicial Heavenly Lord's Palace, they are not currently within the scope of recognition of the twenty-four divine lords of the Southern Heavenly Gate.

Tian Ming'an could see that the Southern Heavenly Gate God had shown contempt for the Judicial Heavenly Lord's Palace, but he didn't say anything.

For some reason, Tian Ming'an remembered his master's instructions. Jiang Sheng once said, "This time when you go to the South Heavenly Gate, it would be good enough if you could stop all those immortals and gods from passing through the South Heavenly Gate. As for the rest, the South Heavenly Gate may not cooperate with you."

Tian Ming'an had been thinking that every time they passed through the South Heavenly Gate, their Xiao Penglai lineage received preferential treatment because they were Jiang Sheng's disciples. Priority entry and not having to queue were perfectly normal, since there are always some people in the Three Realms who can enjoy some privileges.

Given the importance that Nantianmen placed on Dongtiandao and Jiang Sheng, they shouldn't have refused him. However, Tian Ming'an now realized that he was indeed not as insightful as his master.

Normally, the slightest preferential treatment or privileges wouldn't affect those deities much. After all, even if there were any impact, it would only affect the reputation of the Eastern Heavenly Daoist family and their own masters. However, if such a major event as conscripting the Southern Heavenly Gate were done without proper explanation, then the fate of these deities would certainly not be good.

"Master clearly realized that these deities were only superficially respectful, so he only sent me to block the door, while Master went to the Bullfighting Palace to obtain permission."

Tian Ming'an pondered Jiang Sheng's intentions, but his expression remained unchanged. He simply looked at the deity who had previously looked troubled and asked, "Now, can the South Heavenly Gate be used by my Judicial Heavenly Lord's Palace?"

The Divine Lord showed no shame whatsoever, but instead laughed and said, "Rest assured, True Man Ming'an, the Southern Heavenly Gate is currently providing full support to the Judicial Heavenly Lord's Palace."

Inside and outside the South Heavenly Gate, countless immortals and gods were blocking the First Heavenly Gate and the platform below it.

As more and more people blocked the passage, the resentment at the South Heavenly Gate grew stronger. The usually esteemed immortals and gods were getting impatient and demanded an explanation from the South Heavenly Gate. Some even threatened to report the matter to their superiors and file a complaint against the South Heavenly Gate.
Amidst the chaos, someone suddenly exclaimed, "Quickly check the Jade Talisman of the Great Thousand Worlds! There's new information!"

The celestial officials and deities hurriedly examined the Great Thousand Jade Talisman, and indeed found an additional message:
News from Nantianmen: The three departments and five capitals of the Judicial Heavenly Lord's Palace are sending immortals and deities to the human world, the four seas, Zhongtian Yanzhou, and Nanxiao Buzhou to eliminate demons and quell rebellions. Nantianmen will be fully supporting the Judicial Heavenly Lord's Palace's operations and will be temporarily unable to pass through.

Is the Heavenly Lord of Justice here to exorcise demons and quell chaos?

This news left the gods and immortals somewhat bewildered, even ignoring the last part: the South Heavenly Gate was temporarily closed.

The Judicial Heavenly Lord's Palace... Since Penglai Lingyuan seized the position of Judicial Heavenly Lord twenty years ago by overpowering all the heroes of the heavens, he hasn't made any major moves. Today, he's finally going to make a move.

In the next instant, accompanied by the humming of the magic array, the spiritual energy vortex between the two coiled dragon jade pillars that constitute the South Heavenly Gate surged, and spiritual marks and divine patterns shone brightly on the two pillars. As the spiritual energy vortex in the middle continued to expand, the spiritual energy roared, and a tide of spiritual energy swept across the entire South Heavenly Gate, and the vortex between the two coiled dragon jade pillars stabilized.

Immediately afterwards, under the horrified gazes of the immortals, gods, demons, and spirits outside the South Heavenly Gate, squads of Daoist soldiers in bright armor and wielding staffs marched out: the Fire Virtue Daoist Soldiers of Chixiao, the Jade Yao Daoist Soldiers of Yaochi, the Wood Yi Daoist Soldiers of Qinghua, the Star Chen Daoist Soldiers of Tianhe, and the Heavenly Power Daoist Soldiers of Penglai.
Looking again at the banners, beneath the grand banner of the Heavenly Lord of Justice's Palace, the banners of the True Lords of Penglai Lingyan, Tianhe Mingdong, Qinghua Xuanjing, Yaochi Sujing, and Chixiao Zhuyu, among others, fluttered in the air. This startled all the immortals, gods, demons, and spirits: Could it be that this action by the Heavenly Lord of Justice's Palace was a joint operation by the five Daoist sects of the Eastern Heaven?!
At this moment, not only the immortals and gods outside the South Heavenly Gate, but even the divine lords who presided over the South Heavenly Gate were somewhat uneasy. The True Lords and Dao Soldiers who appeared at the South Heavenly Gate were all too familiar. The current True Lords and the main Dao Soldiers of the Five Sects were all here, and a net of heaven and earth had been set up. That Judicial Heavenly Lord had really made a great commotion.

For a moment, the deity of the South Heavenly Gate even secretly regretted: if he had known that Penglai Spirit Abyss could cause such a commotion, he would have let it pass by.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Tian Ming'an pulled out a blue scroll from his sleeve, amidst the astonished expression of the guardian deity at the South Heavenly Gate: "By the decree of the Heavenly Lord of Justice, the Three Offices and Five Capitals of the Heavenly Lord of Justice's Palace have descended to the mortal realm to eliminate demons and quell the chaos!"

With a flick of Tian Ming'an's wrist, the green scroll soared upwards as if riding the wind, instantly manifesting a seal above the South Heavenly Gate. It was Jiang Sheng's Judicial Heavenly Lord's Seal, intertwined with fortune and merit, surrounded by a vast expanse of mysterious yellow energy. The seal was grand and majestic, radiating a clear and celestial aura, but all that could be felt by the onlookers was an endless intent to kill.

Gazing at the seal imbued with the intent of annihilation and slaughter, the immortals and gods outside the South Heavenly Gate were all somewhat inexplicably alarmed, while at this moment, the army of the Judicial Heavenly Lord's Palace had already set off.

The Three Departments and Five Capitals, the Twenty-Two True Lords, and tens of millions of Dao soldiers, along with the accompanying Censorate and Heavenly Gate Officials, traveled directly through the South Heavenly Gate to all corners of the four seas. The immortals and gods outside the South Heavenly Gate watched the Dao soldiers of the Judicial Heavenly Lord's Palace being teleported away, exchanged glances, and then hurriedly picked up their personal communication jade talismans to inform their friends and relatives: "Something big is about to happen!"

Meanwhile, inside the Judicial Heavenly Lord's Palace, Ye Wenshu looked at Jiang Sheng, who stood before her with a calm expression and a smile on his face: "Did you foresee this scene all along?"

Jiang Sheng raised an eyebrow: "Hmm?"

Ye Wenshu sighed and said, "I mean, have you been planning to give those guardian deities of the Southern Heavenly Gate a warning all along?"

Jiang Sheng shook his head: "Their little schemes are nothing more than trying to curry favor with my Dongtian Daoist family with small favors, so that they can gain favors from my Dongtian family. If they incur public wrath, they can push everything onto my Dongtian family." "In the end, it's just some petty tricks, nothing serious, and I'm too lazy to bother with them."

"Sending Ming'an to block the door was merely to stop those celestial beings from entering the sky."

Block out all the gods and immortals in the sky?!
Ye Wenshu looked at Jiang Sheng: "You're being far too bold."

Jiang Sheng laughed and said, "After all, this is the first time my Judicial Heavenly Lord's Mansion has made its debut. As the saying goes, 'If you don't make a sound, you'll be astonished when you do.' I have been diligently cultivating in this Judicial Heavenly Lord's Mansion for twenty years. It should be time to let all the gods and immortals of the heavens and the four corners of the earth see just how capable my Judicial Heavenly Lord's Mansion is, right?"

"Enough of that. I have already had Wenfeng Academy and Dongming Academy set up the Heavenly Mirror of the Four Seas and Two Continents. Since Your Highness Xuan Nu has nothing else to do, why don't you come and accompany me to see how the Three Departments and Five Offices of my Judicial Heavenly Lord's Mansion quelled the chaos."

Ye Wenshu looked at the huge Heavenly Mirror in the hall, thought for a moment, and then nodded and stayed.

The next moment, a faint light rippled on the celestial mirror, then swept across like a water curtain, reflecting the situation of the four seas and two continents in the human world.

Southern Continent, Tears River.

This place is the training ground of the Three-Headed Flood Dragon, a great demon of the Void Refining Realm. For the past three to five hundred years, the Three-Headed Flood Dragon has been causing trouble and having a great time here.

The water god of the Lei Luo River was no match for him and had fled far away to an unknown place. The Heavenly Court did not care about this, which made the three-headed dragon gradually feel that the Heavenly Court was also afraid of his power. Therefore, on the one hand, he flooded the banks of the river for millions of miles to make the people on both sides worship him, and on the other hand, he recruited many great demons to gather under his command and created demon soldiers, intending to manage the Lei Luo River Taoist temple well.

Over the past few centuries, there have been many chivalrous cultivators who tried to eliminate the Three-Headed Flood Dragon to make a name for themselves, but in the end, they all contributed to the Three-Headed Flood Dragon's illustrious reputation.

Inside the Lei Luo River, in what was once the Lei Luo Water Palace, the three-headed dragon, holding a wine cup and embracing a beautiful woman, laughed heartily: "Even the Heavenly Court dares not interfere with me. In this Lei Luo River, I am invincible!"

Upon hearing this, the group of powerful demons continued to flatter him, making the three-headed dragon feel that he was indeed invincible, otherwise why would the Heavenly Court come to control him?
This must be something that even the Heavenly Emperor doesn't want to provoke!
Just as the three-headed dragon was feeling triumphant, wind and clouds gathered above the Lei Luo River.

A vast expanse of wind and clouds gathers, and thunderclaps shake the four directions.

As the wind and clouds surged, blue and purple lightning flashed and thunder roared incessantly. In an instant, the thunder could be heard for thousands of miles around, and huge waves and gales rose in the Miluo River.

A little demon rushed forward in terror: "Your Majesty, something terrible has happened! Someone has come to attack our door!"

The three-headed dragon remained calm upon hearing this: "They're just another group of people coming to offer sacrifices to me. Follow me into battle and see which fool dares to provoke me!"

As the great demons roared, the waves on the Lei Luo River surged even more fiercely. Countless aquatic demon soldiers rose up on the waves. Under the great banner, the three-headed dragon, clad in armor and helmet, looked around amidst the great demons and asked, "Where are the people who came to attack?"

Where??

The next moment, a Taoist thunderous sound boomed above the three-headed dragon's head: "You beast, look up!"

In an instant, thunder roared and the might of heaven surged. The three-headed dragon looked up and saw dark clouds pressing down on the city in the sky. Between the thick thunderclouds, blue lightning and purple lightning surged endlessly like real dragons. There were also countless Dao soldiers in bright armor holding staffs, with banners flying high and flags flying. Three cultivators whose cultivation was no less than his stood under the banners in the clouds.

Upon closer inspection, four celestial characters, written in a flowing, dragon-and-phoenix style, were atop the banner: Judicial Heavenly Lord!
"By the decree of the Heavenly Emperor of Justice, the wicked three-headed dragon has wreaked havoc on the Lei Luo River for five hundred years, and its crimes are unforgivable. Today, it shall be captured and escorted to the Heavenly Court's Demon-Slaying Platform for trial!"

As Xuanjing's clear and resonant Taoist thunderous voice rang out, countless starlight shone down from the sky in an instant. The Big Dipper and the Southern Dipper appeared in broad daylight, anchoring the time-space beacon in this place. Immediately afterwards, a glittering golden net rose from all eight directions, sealing off the area above and below.

Within the ten nets of heaven and earth, Xuan Jing said in a deep voice: "Left and right, annihilate the demon cave of Lei Luo River, leave no demon, big or small, alive!"

After saying that, Xuanjing raised his magic sword and slashed down at the three-headed dragon. The sword light stretched for millions of miles, like a bolt of green frost. Before the three-headed dragon could react, it was slashed back into the Miluo River.

Immediately following, under the blessing of starlight and amidst the wind and thunder, Xuanjing, Xuanxing, and Xuanque unleashed their Dharma forms. Three Dharma forms, each ten thousand miles long, stood on the Leiluo River and unleashed a flurry of attacks on the three-headed dragon, flattening its two heads before finally binding the dying dragon with the Demon-Locking Chains.

The three-headed dragon was confused. Shouldn't the Heavenly Court be afraid of it and dare not provoke it? What was going on?
Looking at the bewildered three-headed dragon, Xuanque shook his head: "I could easily suppress a beast like you with one hand. Do you really think the Heavenly Court is unaware of your actions in the Lei Luo River? Do you really think you can keep causing trouble here?"

"I was just too lazy to bother with you before, but now, go to the Demon-Slaying Platform to atone for your sins!"

In less than a quarter of an hour, the three-headed dragon, which had been swaggering in the Miluo River for five hundred years, was defeated by the banner of the Heavenly Lord of Justice in front of all living beings within a radius of tens of millions of miles. He was then bound with iron chains and captured by the heavenly soldiers who filled the sky and brought to the Heavenly Court.

And situations like the Lei Luo River are happening all over the world.

In the Shattered Star Sea of ​​the South China Sea, the Insect Daoist who practiced Gu cultivation and insect control released his billions of poisonous insects, but they were trapped by ten Heavenly Nets from all directions. No matter how he tried to break through, he could not escape. Instead, the poisonous insects were reduced to ashes in large numbers under the vast golden flames and lightning attached to the Heavenly Nets.

As the insects of the Insect Daoist died, the poisonous mist was also dispelled by wind and thunder. The Insect Daoist, having exhausted all his tricks, had his Dharma form shattered by Mingdong, Mingzhen, and Minghao, and his soul was nailed down with the Soul-Suppressing Nail before being captured and taken to heaven.

In the Xihai Liuwei Sea area, a six-winged insect flapped its six wings and drove wind, thunder, water, fire, ice and mist in an attempt to break free of the net of heaven and earth. Fairy Suzhao raised her magic mirror and used its precious light to see through its illusion and fix its true spirit. Fairy Suhuan used seven layers of fairy rings to trap it tightly. Finally, Fairy Sujing drew her sword and cut off its six wings and eight legs. The heavenly soldiers then captured it and brought it back to the Heavenly Court.

In the chaotic waters of the South China Sea, the evil, withered skeleton has occupied more than ten large islands, turning them into its base. Within this inescapable net, golden flames dance and golden thunder roars. The Big Dipper's light stabilizes the four directions of space and time, while the Southern Dipper's radiance locks off all eight directions. The illuminating star's Dharma form manifests in the clouds, using a star chart to nail down all the skeleton's movements and changes. The thunderous Dharma form reaches the sky, using the image of raging thunder to unleash billions of lightning waterfalls to slam the islands, sinking the more than ten islands. Finally, it captures the skeleton, which has only a sliver of life left, and takes it to the heavens.

In other parts of the South China Sea, Zhengyang Zhenjun and six others joined forces to display their divine power, spreading the fame of the Judicial Heavenly Lord far and wide.

Within a single day, at the same time, wind and thunder manifested everywhere, and starlight shone brightly. Across the four seas and two continents, the True Lords of the Heavenly Lord of Justice manifested everywhere to subdue demons and monsters.

The illustrious name of the Judicial Lord has never been so clearly imprinted in the hearts of all living beings across the four seas and two continents.

Meanwhile, in the Judicial Heavenly Lord's Palace, Ye Wenshu looked at Jiang Sheng with some confusion: "All of this has gone smoothly, and you've become famous throughout the Three Realms, so why do you seem a little unhappy?"

Jiang Sheng, with his left hand hidden in his sleeve, played with the command jade talisman of Yuzhen Taiyi Heaven and laughed, "If it were only these monsters, I could indeed rest assured."

"However, I always felt that the calamities facing humanity were not as simple as these monsters."

Ye Wenshu frowned slightly and tentatively asked, "You mean, the Divine Firmament Emperor?"

"In any case, he is the Heavenly Emperor, a veteran minister who has followed His Majesty for twelve thousand years. He should not do anything that would disgrace the Heavenly Court's prestige."

Jiang Sheng laughed and said, "How about this, I'll make a bet with you, on whether this pacification of the rebellion will go smoothly."

"If everything goes smoothly, I'm being petty and judging you by my own standards. How about I offer you a feast of immortals?"

Ye Wenshu raised an eyebrow, tilted her head slightly, and her almond-shaped eyes seemed to be trying to figure out Jiang Sheng's ambition: "What if you win?"

Jiang Sheng's voice was calm, as if he were talking about some trivial matter: "Then, you will come with me to attack the Divine Firmament Imperial Palace."

"He, the Divine Firmament Emperor, should also be removed from the Heavenly Court's list." (End of Chapter)