Grandpa, times have changed.

During the time when Xu Xing was in seclusion making final preparations.

A mysterious change is quietly taking place in the Chaotic Sea.

Taiping Boundary.

If we were to name the most legendary figure in this world, it would undoubtedly be the Taoist of Peace, who was highly regarded by the true immortals of the celestial realm and received the supreme immortal techniques.

In just a few short years, he transformed from a cultivator of the "Praying Spirit Path" whose lifespan was nearing its end into the Lord of the Taiping Path, who held sway over the world and commanded all the gods.

Even those reclusive, immortal golden immortals who possess great supernatural powers and reside in pure and sacred places treat him with utmost respect.

To this day, the Taiping Dao Kingdom reigns supreme, ruling over all humans, gods, immortals, saints, demons, ghosts, and evil spirits.

The once transcendent and ethereal Holy Court, residing high in the heavens, has now submitted to the Taiping Dao Kingdom.

Many evil gods were executed, but only the gods with great merit transformed into guardian deities of the Way of Peace, protecting the peace and stability of the region and ensuring the safety of its people.

Chengming Mountain, Cloud Sea View.

In the past, it was just a declining lineage, an insignificant branch among the many lineages of the [Prayer Path].

But with the rise of Jiang Lin, the Taoist of Taiping.

This small temple where he was born has become a sacred place that everyone in the Taiping Dao Kingdom yearns for.

Few people in the world remember that a deity named 'Tongli Shenjun' was once enshrined here. They only remember that the Taiping Daoist, who founded the Taiping Dao and made all the gods bow down and the reclusive Tongxuan Golden Immortal bow his head, once cultivated here.

Yunhai Temple, main hall.

Inside the spacious hall, a Taoist priest with red lips, white teeth, and a handsome face sat quietly.

The dense sandalwood scent wafted through the air, making his aura seem ethereal and otherworldly.

Upon closer inspection, one can also discover a layer of pure and natural light flowing beneath his fair and translucent skin, as if it were a luminous divine light born from the power of heaven and earth.

This person was Jiang Lin.

Decades have passed, and his cultivation level is now far beyond what it was back then.

Now that his immortal cultivation has broken through to the perfect Nascent Soul stage, and he has also cultivated true techniques, his lifespan is long.

He no longer looks like the old man he once was.

Just as he breathed in and out.

The azure divine light surrounding him dissipated and converged behind him, transforming into a majestic image of a three-headed, six-armed being holding a golden mace, a treasure mirror, a spear, chains, flying rings, and a divine whip.

A silver divine pupil pierced between his brows, and his eyes blazed with fire, as if a million gods were guarding him.

A halo of light rotates behind the head, consisting of 108 layers, with the golden light gradually intensifying from the inside out.

Behind it, twelve divine banners fluttered, revealing the magnificent scenery of mountains, rivers, plants, trees, and stars in the universe.

All the energy in the world surged toward the image of the Dharma, surrounding it and rising and falling as if in worship.

The Dharma of Peace!

This Dharma form is the "Ten Ultimate Salvation True Method" created by Jiang Lin by combining the four methods of 'summoning gods,' 'controlling gods,' 'slave gods,' and 'devouring gods.' It is made by taking a wisp of the original essence of millions of gods and supplementing it with the fortune of the human world and the meaning of all things in the universe.

Its power reaches the heavens and shakes the earth, and because it is rooted in the gods of the Taiping Realm, it combines many of Taiping's powers.

To confront the Taiping Faxiang means to confront the various authorities within the Taiping Realm.

Therefore, even those who attain the Dao are inferior to it; only those who attain the Profound Realm can defeat it.

Of course, this method has many limitations.

Not only can it exert the power of the Dao Integration level within the Taiping Realm, but it must also ensure that the incense offerings of the millions of deities associated with the Taiping Dharma Image never cease, that their divine power remains strong, and that their authority is not weakened in the slightest.

To some extent.

This is nothing more than a Dao-level divine position forged using the authority and divine power of millions of gods and spirits as materials, supplemented by the fortune of the human world and the meaning of all things in the universe.

Ultimately, it is just an external thing.

Buzz!

A ring of clear, glass-like ripples spread out, even clearing away the dense sandalwood incense that wafted through the hall.

at the same time.

The Taoist priest, who had been sitting upright, stood up and opened his eyes, which were originally closed. His eyes, black and white, shone like stars.

But soon, a trace of worry appeared on his fair and handsome face.

Jiang Lin murmured softly:

"It's still just as difficult."

This Taiping Dharma Image is truly powerful.

However, he felt something was wrong when he first used it. Unlike the Taiping 108 Heavenly Dharma Form, which was like a wielding arm, he was completely unable to control the Taiping Dharma Form after it was activated. He could only let the Taiping Dharma Form act on instinct.

It's like a child wielding a sledgehammer...

wrong!

It was even worse than that; it felt to him like an ant trying to shake a mountain.

Powerless.

That sense of powerlessness even made him unable to distinguish whether he was manipulating the Taiping Dharma Image or the Taiping Dharma Image was manipulating him.

So after that, he kept trying to take complete control of it.

But the result was not satisfactory.

He touched his brow, and a vertical line lit up, shimmering with a bright red light.

If it weren't for the suppression by the "Ten Ultimate Methods to Save Myself" and the sword mark from the Sword Ancestor, he even suspected that the Peaceful Dharma Image would have left him and transformed into a Dao-merging deity...

Life is tough...

With a soft sigh, he lowered his hand and walked out.

……

……

We arrived outside the hall.

But there was no one in front of the hall, and the clouds in the distance were rolling and the sky was bright.

A gentle breeze carries the faint scent of sandalwood, creating a scene of tranquility and peace.

In an instant, much of the frustration of not being able to completely control the Taiping Dharma Image dissipated.

The world today is so much better than it was back then.

He himself went from a minor cultivator in the [Praying Spirit Path] who was nearing the end of his lifespan to the renowned Master of the Taiping Path.

What more could I ask for? Everything can be taken slowly...

Thinking it over, he sat down on the steps in front of the hall.

I let out a soft breath, but my thoughts drifted away, recalling the past.

If I hadn't met that senior back then, I probably would have been killed by that mountain god and become a skeleton in a tomb...

Just as He recalled the past and His mind wavered.

A strange, gloomy aura quietly appeared between his brows, and a flash of dark purple light disappeared in his clear black and white eyes!
Jiang Lin felt a moment of dizziness.

The next moment, everything around me suddenly became dark.

A fierce wind and torrential rain shrouded the world in mist.

Boom!

The pitch-black sky was torn open by lightning, and the world was bathed in white light.

Jiang Lin, who was in a daze, suddenly came back to his senses.

But they found themselves in a dilapidated little temple without realizing it.

This is……?!

Jiang Lin was completely taken aback.

"Master..."

A timid voice reached my ears.

Looking down, he saw that he was holding the hand of a thin little girl, with a teenager following behind him.

A fierce wind howled around, pouring in through the cracks in the broken windows and doors, carrying with it a few drops of rain, adding to the chill of the dilapidated temple.

By the light of the lightning, one could vaguely see the statue on the altar holding a mace in one hand, its eyes wide open in anger, exuding a solemn and imposing aura.

However, it was covered in dust, and even the incense burner on the offering table was overturned, with incense ash scattered all over the ground and a few pieces of incense scattered everywhere.

This is clearly the dilapidated temple where I met my predecessor!
However, Jiang Lin hadn't had time to think about it in detail.

boom!
The temple door was smashed open, fragments scattered everywhere, and a cold wind howled into the temple.

Then a monster with a bear's head and a human body, clad in golden armor and as large as a small mountain, stormed in, carrying a long staff as thick as a bowl on its shoulder. Its terrifying aura was suffocating.

"Damn you, old Taoist priest! Give me back my brother's life!"

The roar was even more terrifying than the thunder, directly causing a tangible distortion that stirred up a hurricane within the dilapidated temple.

Seeing the thunderous roar approaching, Jiang Lin instinctively activated his magic power, trying to subdue it.

He could kill a bear demon who wasn't even at the Golden Core stage a thousand times over with a single breath!

Boom!

Just then, lightning flashed across the sky again, and in its light, Jiang Lin discovered that his palms were no longer as fair and delicate as he remembered.

Instead, it was loose and shriveled, with several grayish-brown spots, like age spots that only appear when one's lifespan is about to end.

Not only that, but even the powerful and vast magical energy within his body vanished without a trace, leaving only a few wisps of true essence as thin as mist.

Ok?
Before he could figure it out, the roar transformed into a hurricane that arrived close by.

"Master—!"

All I could hear were screams filled with terror.

The frail little girl he was holding by the hand and the teenager standing behind him both exploded violently with that roar.

He himself felt an irresistible, overwhelming impact crashing down on him.

pain!
It felt as if my limbs, bones, and internal organs had been kneaded into a ball by a giant hand.

He was swept up by the hurricane stirred up by the roar, his body flying backward like a torn hemp rope, crashing into the statue on the altar and slamming heavily against the back wall.

What exactly is going on...?

What is the situation?
With his chest caved in and his limbs twisted unnaturally, Old Daoist Jiang Lin lay on the ground, his bloodshot eyes filled with confusion.

It all happened so suddenly, he's still in a daze.

But looking at the half-severed hand he was holding, a nameless sorrow welled up in his heart.

"Admit it, without the opportunities given to you by your predecessors, you'd be nothing but trash."

It seemed as if someone was secretly mocking him.

Upon closer listening, it seemed as if he was talking to himself...

In a daze, he was lifted up.

Boom!

Lightning flashed continuously, and the grinning bear face looked incredibly terrifying in the sudden burst of light.

"You're not still hoping someone can save you, are you?!"

At this moment, the excruciating pain emanating from his entire body made Jiang Lin increasingly dazed.

Could it be...

Was everything really just a hallucination I had when I was dying?
Just as Jiang Lin's mind was beginning to waver under the influence of an inexplicable force.

Buzz!

The red light shone brightly, illuminating the area below.

Amidst the raging winds and torrential rain, the bear demon in the dilapidated temple, and everything around it seemed to melt away like ice and snow, collapsing silently.

"No--!!"

A roar filled with resentment and unwillingness resounded from the depths of his heart.

The darkness receded, and blinding light gradually replaced everything.

Jiang Lin finally woke up and sensed the vast and powerful magic power within his body again. He saw that the distant sky was peaceful and the light of day was still bright.

"..."

What's happening here?
Before he could figure it out, a dashing man wearing a jade crown and a purple brocade robe appeared in front of the hall.

However, he was once a divine celestial being.

At this moment, his usually indifferent expression was filled with solemnity.

"Something's happened, you should..."

He seemed about to say something, but upon seeing the bright red mark between Jiang Lin's brows, he suddenly fell silent. (End of Chapter)