The Song Dynasty was the king for thirteen years before he knew that he was Tianlong.

Chapter 455 Testing
What is that? Zhao Ti slowly stood up from the ground.

"Sage, there seems to be a demon in the clouds!" The white jade unicorn spoke, its eyes burning with white flames.

"Your Highness, those clouds seem to be flying towards the camp?" Although Zhou Tong couldn't see very clearly, he could still discern the direction the dark clouds were moving.

"Block this cloud!" Zhao Ti said calmly. "It comes from the northwest and must be related to the Liao Kingdom or shamans. It might be detrimental to the camp."

"Yes!" the man and the unicorn hurriedly replied.

"Guangzu, you don't need to. You can't fly, so go back to your camp and order the generals to be on guard!" Zhao Ti said, then leaped into the air and headed straight for the northwest.

The white jade unicorn followed closely behind, its body radiating white light, resembling a giant oval chicken egg, which enveloped it, and it also flew into the air like a shooting star.

Zhao Ti rode the Night Clouds, covering a hundred miles in an instant. The Qilin was not far behind, and in the blink of an eye, they arrived not far in front of the dark cloud that was drifting from the northwest.

The dark cloud suddenly stopped, hovering in mid-air, revealing a tall and imposing man inside.

The man was much larger than an ordinary person, with broad shoulders and a thick waist, his muscles bulging all over his body, giving him the appearance of a powerful and strong man.

He casually tied his hair into a topknot, without a crown, yet exuded a Taoist aura. He wore a light-colored long robe that clung to his body, with a silk sash around his waist. Although it wasn't flowing with wide sleeves and an otherworldly air, it instead showcased a unique Taoist spirit.

The big man also had a handsome appearance, with tiger-like eyes, a lion-like nose, thick lips, and a wide mouth. Two beams of blue light shot out from his eyes, and there was a Tai Chi Bagua pattern in the center of his forehead.

The pattern is in black, white and red, and seems to be slowly rotating. Inside, two small fish appear to be alive, holding each other's tails with their mouths and swimming forward playfully. It seems to be endless and never stops, representing the cycle of birth and death of all things, the recurrence of yin and yang, the beginning is the end, and the end is the beginning.

The eight trigrams on the outside were all shining brightly: Qian, Kun, Zhen, Xun, Kan, Li, Gen, and Dui. Each of the symbols faintly showed the things in the world that it represented.

The Qian symbol appears as sky blue, the Kun symbol as earthy yellow, the Zhen symbol as lightning flashes, the Xun symbol as a raging wind blows, the Kan symbol as a vast ocean, the Li symbol as towering flames, the Gen symbol as heavy mountain shadows, and the Dui symbol as overlapping marshes.

Zhao Ti looked at the big man and narrowed his eyes slightly. Why did he feel like he had heard of the Tai Chi Bagua pattern on this man's forehead somewhere before?

After a moment's thought, a thought suddenly struck him: Could it be the Kui Niu that reaches the heavens?

I remember that in the Investiture of the Gods, the Kui Niu of the Tongtian Sect Leader had this pattern on its forehead, which did not change regardless of its original form or human body.

This Kui Ox, also known as the Kui Ox, is usually surrounded by auspicious light and colorful clouds. Its horns are shaped like crescent moons, and it has a Taiji Bagua pattern in the center of its forehead. It rides on colorful clouds and flies through the air. When it enters or leaves the water, it is accompanied by wind and rain. It can make thunderous sounds and emit light that is like the sun and moon.

This Kui Niu possesses the power to manipulate nature, summoning wind and rain, illuminating the sun and moon, riding the clouds and mist, and traversing the heavens and earth. It is especially skilled in spatial supernatural abilities.

After the Tongtian Sect Leader suffered a great defeat in the Ten Thousand Immortals Formation, he once said that he would find another place to establish a new world of earth, water, fire, and wind, and that part of his plan was to rely on this Kui Niu.

The Kui Niu has a single horn that is usually hidden from view. This horn has a special supernatural power: it can find and pierce spatial nodes to teleport and travel long distances.

Moreover, it also has the effect of sensing the source of life, seeking good fortune and avoiding misfortune, like a lighthouse, so that one will not go astray in the vast universe, fall into a boring, cold and dangerous place, and be unable to escape forever.

Zhao Ti recalled the images he had seen on the dome of the central altar of the Shamanic Church: the ancestor of shamans riding a Kui bull across the vast starry sky, the Kui bull's single horn like a guiding light, always moving forward, seemingly searching for traces of life.

Therefore, the world we live in now must have been created by Tongtian, who indeed created earth, water, fire, and wind.

However, how exactly did Tongtian manage to transform this world into an exact replica of the Pangu Universe and the Investiture of the Gods world?
Let's assume this alternate world was found by Kui Niu leading Tongtian across the vast starry sky. As a parallel space, it's desolate, devoid of any signs of life or characteristics, with chaotic or even nonexistent rules. Tongtian then sorted out and created everything... No...

Did Tongtian have the ability to create life? That's a question. Nuwa's creation of humans was also subject to various limitations. It was only by overcoming those limitations that she was able to create human life.

This matter sounds simple, but it is actually extremely difficult because it involves the laws governing the operation of the Heavenly Way. When a life is born, the Heavenly Way must create new rules or modify the old ones. Even a sage cannot do this.

A sage can only gain the approval of Heaven's Way by fulfilling certain conditions, and Heaven will then autonomously generate or modify the rules.

Could Tongtian influence the Heavenly Dao of this world? It seems unlikely.

So, in the surface world beneath this starry sky, there originally existed humans, similar to the beings created by Nuwa. They likely shared similarities with the laws of heaven, and their intelligent beings were vaguely similar. Could it be that Tongtian captured the people of the surface world and brought them to the inner world, allowing them to multiply and thrive here?

However, there are still two problems. One is that the geography of this place is exactly the same as that of the Investiture of the Gods world. If Tongtian wants to change this world to be exactly the same as the Investiture of the Gods world, he should be able to do it.

However, Tongtian had already been separated from his soul for countless years. After his three souls were separated, he was obviously no longer able to maintain the appearance of this world. So why, after thousands of years of development, is this world still exactly the same as the original Investiture of the Gods world? Not even the slightest difference?
The world changes, rivers change course, every island and ferry crossing, every flower and blade of grass remains exactly the same – this is an extremely strange thing.

You should know that there are no two flowers that are exactly the same in the world, nor is it possible for any other thing to be exactly the same.

Even under the same environmental conditions and the same development time, two things cannot develop in exactly the same way; there will always be some differences.

Before the great changes in the world, everything was almost exactly the same. The memories of the past, the classics or the ancient sites, when compared with the things of today, are no different.

The second issue is the historical process. Even if Tongtian forcibly created a history at the beginning and made the world develop according to this script, it would not develop exactly the same way. Just like the mountains and seas and geography will not be completely the same as they have continued. It is the same principle.

After the three souls of Tongtian were decomposed, they no longer had the ability to protect the world. So how come the history and culture remained unchanged?

This is beyond bizarre; it's downright terrifying.

Leaving aside major dynastic changes, wars, natural disasters, and man-made calamities, just imagine how terrifying it is that even the names of ordinary people, the names of roughnecks, and storytellers remain exactly the same.

Since Tongtian can no longer maintain constant correction, what kind of force is influencing all of this?
This is truly unbelievable! Zhao Ti stared intently at the burly man within the dark clouds ahead, his expression completely blank.

If what we see before us is indeed a Kui Niu, then the founder of shamanism must most likely be Tongtian's main soul. After all, as a mount bound by life and death, it would certainly follow the main soul, rather than choosing the secondary soul.

Furthermore, judging from the murals of shamanism, whether it is crossing the starry sky or re-establishing the earth, water, fire and wind, the main soul obviously attributes these things to itself. So if we have to say who in the world today is the one who can reach the heavens, Lin Lingsu does not count, nor does the one hidden in the void above Kunlun. Only the founder of shamanism is the one.

However, another question arises: if Tongtian traveled across the vast starry sky to arrive in this world, how did Taishang Yuanshi and others also come along? And why were they reincarnated here?

Even the Buddhist world, though the Pure Land and the Saha world are nowhere to be seen, has descended upon Shambhala. Although many Buddhas and Bodhisattvas in it have entered Nirvana, a small world has still followed.

Zhao Ti stared at the burly man in the dark clouds, who was also looking him up and down.

The Supreme Primordial Beginning, whose wisdom remains unawakened, cannot recall what happened in his previous life. Lin Lingsu also cannot remember. Perhaps there are other Golden Immortals who were reincarnated and scattered throughout the world, but like Wang Yuyan, they also cannot remember what happened in that life.

Therefore, it seems that only three people in the world today know what originally happened in the world of Investiture of the Gods, including the origins and secrets of this world.

Aside from the shamanic progenitor and the Biyou Palace Master of Kunlun, there's this Kui Niu right in front of us.

It could even be said that Kui Niu might know more clearly, because according to Lin Lingsu's analysis, Tongtian must have been seriously injured at the time, even his soul was damaged, otherwise his three souls would not have been separated.

Even a saint of such cultivation would have to disintegrate their body and soul, which shows how serious the injury must have been.

Lin Lingsu chose to reincarnate, giving up everything from her previous life, which is why she is not suffering from any serious illnesses now. According to his analysis, the other two may not be able to recover from their injuries and may be struggling to survive. It is hard to say what they will become.

The fact that neither of them has appeared in public for so long proves this point; their injuries are not yet healed, and it's hard to say whether they have memory loss.

Although it cannot be said whether Kui Niu is injured or not, he still dares to show his face, so his situation must be better than the other two. He must remember more things than the other two, not less.

So, as long as we capture the Kui Niu and interrogate it, we will get the truth of the matter, the ins and outs, and all the unsolved mysteries.

But... can I defeat the Kui Niu? Even with the help of the White Jade Qilin, would I be a match for this strange beast?

We can only gamble that this Kui Niu is seriously injured and its strength is far from what it used to be...

"A Song person?" The burly man in the dark clouds looked at Zhao Ti for a moment, then glanced at the white jade unicorn beside him, and spoke coldly.

Zhao Ti slowly said, "Kui Niu, how is the ancestor of shamanism?"

"You?!" Upon hearing this, the burly man's expression changed instantly, and the Bagua Taiji symbol on the center of his forehead spun even faster, almost obscuring its shape.

"Or perhaps... how about I say... that I reach the heavens?" Zhao Ti continued.

"Who exactly are you? Which Golden Immortal reincarnated, that you know these things?" The burly man suddenly turned extremely ferocious, opened his mouth and let out a long roar that shook the heavens and scattered the clouds above.

It really is a Kui Niu. I didn't expect it to be tricked so easily. It seems that, like its master, it is not very quick-witted.

Zhao Ti's eyes gleamed as he continued, "Don't you know who I am? Why doesn't Tongtian show himself? Is it because his injuries haven't healed and he's struggling to maintain his health, afraid to emerge from the world? I wonder what kind of ghost he looks like now."

"You, you are Taishang? No, you are Yuanshi, you must be the reincarnation of Yuanshi!" The big man was furious and roared to the sky.

Zhao Ti smiled slightly, neither admitting nor denying, and said, "I don't think your injuries are completely healed. Putting aside the previous ones, I know how difficult it is to cross the starry sky. It's inevitable that you would get injured again. It's only been a few years, and you probably still have quite a few hidden ailments, right?"

"Yuanshi, you despicable and shameless scoundrel!" The burly man trembled with rage. "If you hadn't followed me along the starry path I opened, I wouldn't have suffered those injuries. I wouldn't have had to repeatedly drop in cultivation level before I could stabilize myself. You, you..."

So that's how the others arrived—they secretly followed the Kui Niu? Zhao Ti immediately understood, then laughed, "Tongtian's three souls are separated, and this soul is unwilling to reincarnate and cultivate again. This is an extremely foolish act. If this continues, I'm afraid that in the end, his cultivation will be completely destroyed, his soul will be scattered, and his body will cease to exist. You, Kui Niu, are also following his example. Aren't you afraid that your injuries will never heal, and in the end, your magic power will also dissipate, and you will return to dust?"

"Nonsense, nonsense..." the burly man said angrily, "My master said that the circumstances and conditions are different now. If I choose to be reborn, I will lose my self and no longer be myself. It would be the same as dying!"

"Oh?" Zhao Ti nodded. What the other party said was true. He had also analyzed this matter with Murong Longcheng, Xiaoyaozi, and Lin Lingsu. He just didn't know what Taishang and Yuanshi were thinking back then, which was very different from what Tongtian had done.

"Even though the ego is gone, isn't the true self still there?" Zhao Ti said leisurely, "In the past, many of the celestial gods and immortals of the Heavenly Court were reincarnated due to problems with cultivation or because of sins. Among them, some abandoned the ego, returned to the true self, and cultivated a second life on their own."

“How can that be the same!” The big man shook his head and said, “If I did that, I would have disappeared. As for the original self, it would just be the origin. If it were to develop intelligence again, it would have nothing to do with the current me. My master is not that stupid, and neither am I. You old man Yuanshi, you have always liked to deceive and cheat people. Don’t think you can fool me with this matter!”

“Foolish child…” Zhao Ti looked pitying, but in his heart he wondered what realm the other party had fallen to. This Kui Niu should have at least the cultivation of a Golden Immortal, but the ability to fly was the other party’s own innate supernatural power, which had nothing to do with cultivation. He wondered if the other party was currently within the ninth realm of the Dao Palace, or had already fallen below the Dao Palace.

"If you continue to resist like Tongtian, sooner or later you'll just return to dust and ashes. You won't even be able to reincarnate then. Forget about your ego, even your true self will be completely annihilated and disappear."

“Old man Yuanshi, stop spreading your heretical words to mislead me… something’s not right…” The big man said with a look of doubt on his face, “Since you have been reincarnated and rebuilt, you have long lost your true self. You should no longer be Yuanshi. So who are you?”

"I'm using my lies to deceive you?" Zhao Ti shook his head. "Between you and me, aren't you the devil? What makes you say such a thing, you blockhead?"

"You old bastard Yuanshi, all these years have passed, and you still call us demons? You've reincarnated and started cultivating again, do you think I'd be afraid of you? Let me see just how much magic power you've recovered!"

Upon hearing this, the burly man immediately flew into a rage, and with a sudden gulp, a faint blue light shot towards Zhao Ti.

(End of this chapter)