Simultaneous traversal: All Abyss difficulty.

Chapter 559 I am the Taoist Master!
Chang'an City, Taiji Palace.

The teacup in Li Shimin's hand crashed to the ground with a "crack," shards of porcelain scattering everywhere, and scalding tea splashed onto the hem of his dragon robe.

The wise ruler who ushered in the prosperous reign of Zhenguan had a grim face and bulging veins on his forehead.

"A sorcerer? Openly slandering Buddha at the Great Ci'en Temple? And saying that religion is a tool of imperial power?" He repeated the report from the commander of the Golden Guard, each word seemingly squeezed out from between his teeth.

Kneeling on the ground, the commander of the Imperial Guard, Cheng Yaojin, pressed his head to the ground, not daring to breathe: "Your Majesty, that sorcerer did indeed say that. He also said that the common people are born kneeling, and that the Buddhists are deceiving them into living standing in their next life."

"Enough!" Li Shimin slammed his hand on the table and stood up abruptly, causing the memorials on the table to scatter all over the floor.

He paced back and forth in the hall with his hands behind his back, his dragon boots making a dull sound as they trod on the blue bricks.

The palace maids and eunuchs standing in the hall were silent as if they were cicadas in winter, and they even held their breath.

"Investigate! Investigate thoroughly for me!" Li Shimin suddenly turned around, his eyes flashing with cold light. "Find out the name of this sorcerer, where he lives, and who his master is!"

Just as Cheng Yaojingang was about to respond, hurried footsteps suddenly came from outside the hall.

A eunuch rushed in, knelt down with a thud, and cried out, "Your Majesty! Yuan Tiangang requests an audience!"

Li Shimin frowned: "Summon them."

A moment later, Yuan Tiangang, dressed in a Taoist robe, strode in, lightly waving his whisk, his expression grave: "Your Majesty, the young man's words have spread throughout Chang'an, and the people are discussing it extensively."

"What?" Li Shimin's face darkened further. "How long has it been?"

"Less than four hours," Yuan Tiangang said with a wry smile. "That man publicly displayed his supernatural powers, stunning twenty Imperial Guards. The people witnessed it firsthand, and the story is becoming incredibly popular. Now, rumors are circulating in the streets that..."

"say what?"

Yuan Tiangang hesitated for a moment, then said in a low voice, "They said that the sorcerer exposed the secrets between Buddhism and the royal family, and was sent by Heaven to enlighten the world."

"Absurd!" Li Shimin laughed in anger. "A sorcerer spouting nonsense has become an angel from heaven?" He suddenly turned to Cheng Yaojin. "Issue my decree: martial law throughout the city! Search every house! Anyone spreading heretical rumors will be imprisoned!"

Yuan Tiangang quickly cupped his hands in greeting: "Your Majesty, please wait! That sorcerer possesses extraordinary abilities, which are probably beyond the reach of ordinary means. Judging from his words and actions, he seems to be related to the strange phenomena that have recently appeared in Zhongnan Mountain."

Li Shimin narrowed his eyes: "What the Taoist priest means is..."

"Three days ago, a purple aura appeared in the east of Zhongnan Mountain, and a woodcutter saw a golden light fall into the valley." Yuan Tiangang lowered his voice, "This humble Taoist observed the celestial phenomena last night and discovered that a red star had appeared next to the Purple Star, its light almost rivaling that of the Emperor Star."

There was dead silence in the hall.

Li Shimin slowly sat back on the dragon throne, his fingers unconsciously tapping the armrests.

After a long silence, he said in a deep voice, "Summon Yuchi Gong."

Half an hour later, Yuchi Gong, dressed in military uniform, knelt on one knee and said, "Your subject is here."

"Take three hundred Xuanjia soldiers." Li Shimin's voice was frighteningly calm. "If you encounter that sorcerer," he paused, "try to capture him alive. If not," a cold glint flashed in his eyes, "kill him on the spot."

Yuchi Gong clasped his hands in a fist and said, "Your subject obeys the decree."

Yuan Tiangang hesitated, then finally bowed deeply.

After everyone had left, Li Shimin stood alone in the hall, gazing at the "Emperor Taizong Receiving the Tibetan Envoy" painting hanging on the wall, his fingers trembling slightly.

The image of him sitting upright in his palanquin, receiving tributes from all nations, now seems so ironic.

“Religion is a tool of imperial power.” He murmured, repeating Fang Yu’s words, a bitter smile appearing on his lips. “This sorcerer is quite sensible.”

In a dilapidated temple on the outskirts of Chang'an, Fang Yu's fingertips ignited with a wisp of lightning, illuminating the yellowed Taoist scripture in his hand.

On the title page of "The Secret Essentials of Taiyi Qinghua Cave", eight characters annotated in cinnabar by Zhen Yuanzi are startling:

"To defy fate and change one's destiny, one must be extremely cautious."

"Heh, just what I wanted." Fang Yu sat cross-legged on the dusty offering table, with the Nine Heavens Thunder Pool floating above his head, its purple lightning reflecting the golden characters on the scriptures.

The first knock on the Heavenly Gate!
Fang Yu's breathing quickened as soon as he finished reading the first part of the scripture!

He saw his three souls and seven spirits being forcibly torn out of his body by some force!

A ferocious, blue-faced creature crouched on his left shoulder, greedily devouring his memories;

A festering, rotting "Soul" lay on his right shoulder, constantly dripping pus and blood that corroded his soul.

"So that's how it is." Fang Yu suddenly realized that this was the trauma left in his soul by his experience in the Lion Camel Kingdom.

Following the instructions, he pointed his fingers like a knife and actually shattered the two souls!
"Aaaaah!" The excruciating pain made him roar to the sky. A passing woodcutter thought he had encountered a ghost and ran away as fast as he could.

Inside the temple, Fang Yu was reborn!
Suddenly, the Thunder Pool poured down, and the Purple Heaven Divine Thunder stitched the shattered soul back together like needle and thread.

The newborn soul was as clear as glass, with the surging golden thunderous liquid faintly visible within.

The second layer of karmic fire!
The second page describes a spontaneous combustion without fire, with blue flames entering Fang Yu's body through his seven orifices.

His skin instantly carbonized, revealing the pulsating muscle fibers beneath.

Those were hidden wounds that had accumulated over many years.

"Burn! Burn it even brighter!" Fang Yu laughed maniacally, throwing the Thunder Pool into the fire.

In the instant that thunder and fire merged, he understood Zhen Yuanzi's deeper meaning.

This is not a cultivation technique at all, but a forbidden art to sever cause and effect!
The third time to see your true self!
As the practice continued until midnight, a vision suddenly appeared on the last page of the booklet.

Scenes from Lion Camel Ridge flashed before his eyes.

"What a wonderful 'universal salvation'!" Only now did Fang Yu understand why Zhen Yuanzi had given him this book. The Taiyi Qinghua, when cultivated to its peak, can sever all ties with the Heavenly Dao.

From then on, neither gods nor Buddhas could perceive it, nor could reincarnation stop it; it truly transcended the Three Realms!
At dawn, a group of Imperial Guards searching for the "demon" burst through the temple gate.

The captain who was leading the group had just raised his sword when he suddenly froze in place.

Fang Yu sat cross-legged with his eyes closed in the morning light, a strange vacuum hovering three inches around him.

Fallen leaves crumble as soon as they approach, and break when exposed to sunlight.

Fang Yu suddenly opened his eyes wide, and his golden Mangekyou Sharingan shone with golden light!

He shouted!
"Master Dao, I am done!"

In an instant, an invisible wave of energy erupted from him!
The Imperial Guards who had just rushed into the temple were struck as if by lightning. Their armor groaned under the strain, and they were sent flying backward, crashing through the temple gate and landing heavily on the muddy ground outside.

Fang Yu slowly stood up. The space around him seemed to be distorted by some kind of force. He looked down at his hands. The hunger that had been etched into his soul disappeared and was replaced by an unprecedented sense of fullness.

It's not about satisfying hunger, but about enriching the soul.

"Is this what a true cultivator is?" Fang Yu murmured to himself, his voice filled with disbelief.

With a thought, the Nine Heavens Thunder Pool floating above his head immediately responded, and the Purple Heaven Divine Thunder danced at his fingertips as if controlling his own arm.

Unlike before when he had to force it, the Thunder Pool now seemed to have become a part of his body, with the lightning flowing without any stagnation.

Outside the temple, the captain of the Imperial Guard struggled to his feet. His armor was mostly shattered, revealing his chest, which had been injured by the shockwave.

He stared in terror at the figure inside the temple, his lips trembling: "Demon, demon."

Fang Yu's gaze was like lightning, piercing through the dilapidated temple walls and looking directly at the captain: "Tell Li Shimin."

His voice wasn't loud, but it reached everyone's ears clearly: "Religion is the shackles of emperors, and I am the hammer that shatters those shackles."

Before he finished speaking, Fang Yu's figure soared into the sky, hovering above Chang'an City, looking down at this ancient capital with a history of thousands of years.

In the morning light, the outline of Chang'an gradually became clear, with Zhuque Avenue as straight as a sword and the golden roof of the imperial city shining brightly.

"Today, I will show you what true power is!"

Fang Yu formed a hand seal, and the Nine Heavens Thunder Pool spun rapidly in front of his chest, while the Purple Heaven Divine Thunder poured down like a waterfall.

He took a deep breath, and the tomoe in his Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan spun wildly!
"Lei Ying!"

With a loud shout, a ball of lightning, almost covering the entire city of Chang'an, condensed in the sky above the city!
The sunlight was blocked, and the entire city of Chang'an was plunged into an eerie state of half-light and half-darkness.

Inside the imperial city, Li Shimin had just put on his dragon robe when he suddenly heard a commotion outside the palace.

He strode to the window and saw a huge ball of lightning hovering above Chang'an City. In the light of the lightning, a tiny yet incredibly conspicuous figure stood in mid-air.

"That is..." Li Shimin was stunned!

Below the lightning ball, the people were terrified. Some knelt down to pray, some ran away with their heads in their hands, and some even fainted from fright.

Fang Yu surveyed the scene, a cold smile playing on his lips.

"Do you see clearly? This is the power of the gods and Buddhas you revere!" His voice, like thunder, echoed through every corner of Chang'an. "But I must tell you, this power is not exclusive to gods and Buddhas! Mortals can also wield it!"

With a flick of his right hand, the enormous ball of lightning slowly rose, finally exploding with a deafening roar a thousand feet in the sky!

There was no destruction, no casualties, only a sky full of purple lightning that bloomed like fireworks, dyeing the entire sky a magnificent purple.

"I will not harm a single person today, only to tell you," Fang Yu's voice gradually lowered, "that people do not have to kneel forever!"

After doing all this, Fang Yu vanished from the spot in a flash.

The Western Paradise, the Great Thunder Temple.

On the lotus throne, the Buddha suddenly opened his eyes.

Those eyes, which contained the essence of three thousand worlds, reflected the purple lightning and thunder above Chang'an City.

"Venerable Guanyin." The Buddha's voice seemed both near and far, echoing in the Seven Treasures Grove. "Jin Chanzi's ten reincarnations have been completed; it is time to set off."

Beneath the lotus throne, Guanyin Bodhisattva holds a vase, and as the willow branches sway gently, the scene of Tang Sanzang's defeat in the debate on scriptures is revealed.

She frowned and looked towards the foot of Mount Ling. "Buddha, what a variable!"

The Buddha picked up a golden lotus flower with his fingertips, and the image of Fang Yu severing his soul and burning his karma appeared on the petals.

When the stamens revealed the text of the "Taiyi Qinghua" scripture, the entire flower suddenly burst into flames and turned to ash in an instant.

"Buddha said, don't say it."

The Buddha's wide sleeves swept across the lotus throne, and the ashes coalesced into a new prophecy.

Only when the sun hangs upside down over the Thunder Pool can the true spirit of Mount Ling be seen.

"It's time to add oil to the Medicine Buddha's crystal lamp."

This seemingly ordinary remark nearly caused Guanyin to spill the sweet dew from her willow branch.

The flame burning within the crystal lamp is the Buddha's fire of the past, present, and future kalpas; this is the meaning behind the Buddha's words at this moment.
"Understood." Guanyin clasped her hands together and bowed. "I will go and arrange for Tang Xuanzang to depart."

(End of this chapter)