Donghuang Ziji

Chapter 983 Extra Chapter 3: Gathering of All People's Music to Suppress the Heavens

Zhongdu, the holy city in the common people's eyes.

Since ancient times, it has been the central hub of human destiny and fortune of the Eastern Celestial Empire, and the core place for the inheritance of civilization.

In the past, many sage kings who succeeded to the throne would eventually choose this place as their capital after establishing their dynasties.

The accumulation of countless years has endowed this city with an extraordinary cultural heritage.

To the east, majestic palaces stretched as far as the eye could see, resembling a mountain range; to the south, countless academies and palaces, their wisdom radiating even more brilliantly than the sun; to the west, numerous mechanisms operated, with cultivators of all kinds entering and exiting; and to the north, countless cloud boats descended, continuously devouring massive amounts of resources…

There are also countless crisscrossing spirit rails and cloud paths, on which many cloud boats and magical artifacts float, connecting every corner of the city and facilitating the rapid exchange of various materials.

It can be said that in terms of cultural heritage, or the completeness of social and engineering infrastructure such as transportation, medical care, culture, and welfare, no place in the entire country dares to claim to be number one.

Logically speaking, there must be many rules in this city.

Given the special occasion of the arrival of the Twelve True Lords of the Great Heaven, who have manifested their divine powers, in Zhongdu to celebrate the two hundred years of the reign of the True Lord of Taiyi, Zhongdu will undoubtedly draw resources from all directions to hold a lavish, magnificent, and grand welcoming ceremony.

At that time, the ground will be paved with jade and the sky will be adorned with golden flowers. Tens of thousands of musicians will be arranged to play heavenly music for a hundred days. These are all basic requirements.

Every household burns incense and makes offerings, and every household rebuilds its houses, but this is just ordinary.

In the past, there were even instances where the entire city was renovated.

Chu Tai did not support such extravagance. In his view, instead of wasting limited resources on such messy things, it would be better to let the people living here decorate the city according to their own abilities and financial resources.

After all, this city was the first place that Chu Tai governed. Letting the people arrange things themselves this time is also a check on his past governance.

Inside Zhongdu, just as Chu Tai had hoped, after the initial discussions, everyone took action to express their sentiments.

This also led to a very peculiar scene in Zhongdu three days before the arrival of the Twelve True Lords of the Great Heaven, who manifested the Dao.

At the gates of the many palaces in the east of the city, hundreds of artisans occupied their positions, showcasing their skills and leaving behind works of art such as sugar painting, paper cutting, relief carving, embroidery, and ink painting on the city walls. There was competition and cooperation among them, emphasizing both mutual support and sharp competition to highlight their own craftsmanship.

If a craftsman's abilities are suppressed too much by others, or if some obvious mistakes are made, tens of thousands of fellow craftsmen below will surely speak up to comfort him, and at the same time, the most skilled craftsman among them will go on stage to take over his work.

In the academies south of the city, millions of students expressed their joy in various ways. Countless poems, articles, and even the theories they summarized were displayed, competing in terms of literary style and intellectual brilliance, trying to select the most suitable and powerful one.

As things stand, the internal struggles within the various universities and Taoist temples have ended; what is currently taking place is the struggle between the various universities and Taoist temples.

Countless literary elements surged forth, creating endless wondrous scenes, which could be glimpsed even outside the capital.

Compared to the bustling south of the city, the west and north of the city are much quieter.

However, both places have made considerable efforts. In the western part of the city, countless students who studied government agencies and urban layout design undertook the largest and most extensive project of their lives: the inspection and maintenance of all facilities in the entire capital, ensuring that the entire capital would not experience any problems due to the surge in outsiders.

At the same time, countless cultivators went to various places to clean up any possible filth, repair the feng shui layout of various places, and ensure that the flow of primordial qi in the entire capital was in an absolutely unobstructed state.

As for the north of the city, although it did not go out, it perfectly handled the cloud boats pouring in from all over the country, arranging accommodation and travel for everyone, which has amazed many people.

Therefore, after hearing about the situation in Zhongdu, many people from other places also joined this "transformation".

One of the young fox-eared people who came here on behalf of the villagers carried in his arms several of the best-growing golden wheat ears from the village's farmland.

After a few grains of wheat were taken from these golden ears of wheat, the rest were placed in a jade box with their roots intact, as a token of gratitude from the local people, and offered on an altar arranged by the staff in the north of the city.

Students who came to visit with their teachers and professors either went to the east of the city to study or to the south of the city to observe, adding new vitality to both places.

In addition, some cultivators with considerable skill, guided by the staff in the north of the city, quietly left their blessings in the city in their own way.

Among them was a young man with a square face, a full forehead, and an air of composure, walking silently down the street. With each step he took, he was sorting out the conflicting energies on both sides of the street and in the clouds above. His eyes were deep and calm, like a still pool, but occasionally a glint of wisdom would flash through them, quickly finding the disharmony in the spiritual energy within the city, and then repairing it with a circulation of his primordial energy.

His speed of work and outstanding ability caught Chu Tai's attention. After observing for a moment, Chu Tai smiled at the arriving Hunyuan Zhenjun and said, "Fellow Daoist, there is such a disciple in your lineage. This is somewhat beyond my expectations."

Chu Tai immediately recognized that the young man was practicing the "Supreme Eight Scenes Heart Seal Wonderful Scripture," which belonged to the lineage of the Primordial True Lord.

"So it's the boy from the Chai family. I taught him the Heavenly Ancestor's Dharma, originally intending to open another lineage, but I never expected that he would be targeted by the Monarch Demon lineage. Not only did his lineage decline, but his own bloodline was also cursed and fell into the mortal world. I never thought that in the end, this lineage would continue in the Chai family again."

Hunyuan Zhenjun glanced at him and immediately knew the young man's background; his name was Chai Qingyun.

In the past, he would have been considered to come from a scholarly family, but he had admired the mysteries of the universe since childhood and was exceptionally talented. He received his inheritance from his ancestral spirit pendant.

After practicing Taoism, I also thought about guiding my family members to Taoism, but unfortunately, I failed because of the curse.

Later, he served medicine and medicine at his parents' bedside until their deaths. With no worries in his heart, he then drifted into the mountains to seek a blessed place and devote himself to spiritual cultivation.

Over the next few thousand years, he avoided many calamities. Even the numerous struggles before and after Chu Tai's attainment of Dao did not affect his cultivation. He has been free from disasters and tribulations to this day.

Thousands of years of cultivation have honed his magical power to an extreme, and his cultivation level has reached the threshold of the third rank. He is just one step away from opening the door to a new world.

The reason I came to Zhongdu this time is to realize the key to my own path.

They wanted to take advantage of the visit of the Twelve True Lords to seek an opportunity to break through to the third rank.

Chu Tai, who also recognized his origins, smiled and said, "This fellow Daoist has a firm Dao heart and continuous good fortune. He can be considered a rare immortal with pure virtue and blessings. If there are no unexpected events, he will probably become the first 'auspicious sign' of this exchange."

When he said the word "auspicious omen," Chu Tai emphasized it.

Upon hearing this, Hunyuan Zhenjun smiled and said, "To receive such praise from you, fellow Daoist, and to have even pointed out this 'auspicious omen,' I thank you on behalf of this young man."

"Why thank me? I was just planning to take this opportunity to unify my spiritual energy. His breakthrough was his own good fortune. I only gave him a push."

As soon as he finished speaking, Chu Tai took a step forward and appeared directly above Zhongdu, looking down at the entire city.

As far as the eye can see, countless sentiments surge forth. There are no uniform standards, no dazzling brilliance, only the anticipation and blessings of countless beings for this exchange.

The competition among everyone makes these blessings and expectations even purer and more vibrant.

Looking at the sentiments and Daoist principles originating from countless people, Chu Tai's lips curled up slightly, and a precious bell appeared above his head.

The next instant, an ancient bell tolled in the void, and ripples, barely visible even to the naked eye, spread outwards.

As the ripples spread, many thoughts within the capital resonated with each other. Ripples of all sizes were created under the influence of the bell's ripples, and after returning to Chu Tai's side, they led to an illusory heavenly gate.

The nine illusory figures of deities above lowered their gazes, and wisps of boundless Dao energy, containing the power of creation, poured out from the gate, instantly nourishing every inch of the land in Zhongdu.

The Way of Taiyi also manifested under this stimulus. Every living being in Zhongdu had the Wheel of Taiyi manifested on their bodies, layer upon layer, influencing, resonating, and intertwining with each other, causing everyone's wishes to turn into countless beams of light and gather together.

The original disharmony, guided by the Chu Tai Donghuang Bell and swayed by the Daoist Qi hanging down from the Heavenly Gate, converged and merged, ultimately sublimating together to form a completely new whole.

At that very moment, the prayers of all beings ceased to be a jumbled mess of notes, but rather a harmonious, magnificent, and splendid symphony of the thoughts of all beings in the capital and even most of the Eastern Pole Chenguang Great Heaven.

This sacred melody, surrounding the Heavenly Gate, constructs the thoughts of humankind, causing the will of the heavens behind the gate to fall into a deeper slumber, to merge more deeply with the concept of heaven, and to further lose the possibility of interfering with the past, present, and future.

Upon seeing this scene, Hunyuan Zhenjun shook his head repeatedly and focused his attention on Chai Qingyun.

(End of this chapter)