Under One Person: I Have a Billion Taoist Gods Within Me

Chapter 45 Celestial Master's Degree: Oh no, we've met a real big shot!

Zhang Zhiwei stood still, motionless.

Not far behind him, the Celestial Master Zhang Jingqing also stopped.

The Taoist leader who had been in charge of the Celestial Master's Mansion for decades now had a solemn and dignified expression.

Unlike Zhang Zhiwei, he did not attempt to activate his thunder magic; he simply stood quietly, silently sensing the power.

Feel the "existence" surging from the direction of the Lu Mansion that is defining this world.

Nearly a century.

He has been practicing Buddhism for nearly a hundred years.

Over the past century, he has met countless extraordinary people and witnessed countless mysterious and extraordinary arts and techniques.

He believed that his understanding of "Tao" had reached a state of perfection.

But at this moment—

He suddenly felt that he had lived nearly a hundred years in vain.

It's not that my cultivation level is insufficient, nor that my realm is not high enough.

Instead—

He never imagined that the "Tao" could be "used" in this way.

Celestial Master Zhang Jingqing closed his eyes, letting that "presence" completely envelop him.

He felt the Celestial Master's Power within his body—a legacy passed down through generations of Celestial Masters, the foundation of Longhu Mountain's thousand-year-old Taoist tradition—quietly "lying dormant" before that "existence."

It wasn't suppressed, but rather it chose to "lie dormant."

It was as if even it "knew" that in this redefined world, it didn't need to display any power.

Because it is meaningless to show off.

The Celestial Master opened his eyes, his gaze passing through the night and landing in the direction of the Lu residence.

That figure in the moon-white Taoist robe should still be standing in front of the mansion gate at this moment.

He can't see it.

But he knew that person was there.

At this moment, he is redefining the land beneath his feet, the sky above him, and everything in this world in a way he never imagined.

"I see..."

Celestial Master Zhang Jingqing murmured, "So that question asked in the Hunyuan Hall back then..."

"The question isn't about the old Taoist priest and Fellow Daoist Xuanwei..."

"The question is about—all living beings under heaven."

"That biggest cloud of calamity..."

He raised his head and looked up at the night sky.

There, the starlight still shines brightly.

But his gaze seemed to pierce through the starlight, revealing a future that he could not yet see clearly, yet which truly existed.

"Young friend Li Yuan..."

"What exactly are you seeing?"

Outside the Hall of Longevity, in a quiet, secluded courtyard.

Zuo Ruotong stood with his hands behind his back in the courtyard, looking up at the night sky.

Behind him, Lu Jin stood with his hands at his sides, looking puzzled.

Just now, his master said he wanted to get some fresh air, so he brought him to this secluded courtyard.

But after standing there for only a short while, Master suddenly shuddered and stopped moving.

Lu Jin didn't dare to make a sound, but just waited quietly.

At this moment, Zuo Ruotong felt the "presence" surging from the direction of the Lu family mansion, and her expression became more solemn than ever before.

His Reverse Rebirth Triple Cultivation is "Returning to the Origin," which is to refine his limbs and bones back to the Primordial One state.

His perception of "existence" is more acute than anyone else's.

Because his spiritual practice is essentially a continuous process of "tracing back" and getting closer to that "source".

At that moment, he "senseed" it.

That "source".

It was right in front of the Lu residence.

The figure in the moon-white Taoist robe was displaying more than just "techniques" or "methods".

That is—

"source".

It is the "source" of all laws, all techniques, and all paths.

It was the "point" that he had tried to get closer to by reversing his fate three times and exhausting all his energy.

It was the "Primordial One" that he believed existed only in theory and in classical records.

Zuo Ruotong stood there, motionless.

He suddenly recalled what he had said to Li Yuan in the Chengxin Water Pavilion: "Daozi's primordial Qi is rich, pure, and flawless, almost like the manifestation of the origin of the Dao in human form!"

"Looking at history, even the founder of our Sanyi Sect, at the height of his power, might not have possessed the same innate talent as you, Daozi!"

At the time, he thought that was already a very high compliment.

Only then did he realize that it wasn't an evaluation.

That was a statement.

He stated a fact that he had only now truly "seen".

The very existence of Li Yuan is a manifestation of the "Origin of the Dao".

The Triple Rebirth, exhausting all resources, is merely a means to get closer to that "source".

And Li Yuan—

He is the "source".

Zuo Ruotong closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

That "existence" completely enveloped him, and he felt the reversal of life within his body quietly "returning" in front of that "existence".

Because it has returned to the "source" it always wanted to return to.

Lu Jin looked at his master, and seeing the unprecedented solemnity on his master's face, he was filled with confusion.

His cultivation level was still shallow, and he could not clearly perceive that "existence," but he could vaguely sense that something was happening.

So he couldn't help but ask, "Master... what's wrong?"

Zuo Ruotong opened her eyes and looked at her disciple.

Those usually gentle eyes now held an indescribable gleam.

"Jin'er".

He spoke softly, his voice calm, yet carrying a slight tremor that was barely perceptible to others: "Do you know what that Daoist Li Yuan is doing right now?"

Lu Jin shook her head.

Zuo Ruotong was silent for a moment, then slowly said, "He is standing."

99

Lu Jin was taken aback: "Stand?"

"Establish the order of heaven and earth, establish the rules for all things, and establish the principles of yin and yang."

Zuo Ruotong's voice was deep and resonant: "He is telling everything in this world that from this moment on, this place is under his control."

"In the realm he established, all fortune and misfortune are determined by him."

Lu Jin was stunned.

He looked at his master, then at the direction of the Lu family mansion, his mind blank.

He recalled the day he first met Daoist Liyuan on the back mountain of Daluo Palace.

At that time, he felt only awe and reverence.

Only now did he realize that what he had seen that day and today was perhaps just the tip of the iceberg.

Bai Ling stood quietly not far from Li Yuan, her beautiful face now devoid of its usual playfulness and composure.

She looked at Li Yuan, at the invisible "domain" that enveloped the entire city of Tanzhou, and silently pondered:

The lineage of the Guanwai Ma Xian has worshipped the immortals for generations, using the power of incense and vows to cultivate themselves in order to achieve liberation.

"I have cultivated myself for a thousand years, and I thought I had grasped some of the mysteries of heaven and earth."

But only now do I understand—

Those so-called "mysteries" are nothing more than ants cautiously navigating within the existing rules of this world.

"But Daozi is 're-establishing' the rules."

It is within his reach that this world is made to operate again according to his will.

This is not about "borrowing" the power of heaven and earth.

This is--

dominate."

Bai Ling couldn't help but recall a saying passed down through generations of the Immortal Cultivator lineage outside the Great Wall: "The ultimate immortal is not one who borrows the power of heaven and earth, but one who shares the same root as heaven and earth, is one with all things, moves in harmony with yin and yang, and travels with creation."

She always thought that it was just an exaggeration by the ancients.

But at this moment, looking at Li Yuanyi, she suddenly felt a little dazed.

Perhaps that's not an exaggeration?

Perhaps, the legendary "ultimate immortal" is right before our eyes?

Zhuge Yunting stood beside Li Yuan, the closest to him, and felt the deepest emotions.

As the Qimen formation spread out and enveloped the entire city of Tanzhou, Zhuge Yunting trembled violently and almost lost his balance!

He has practiced Qimen Dunjia for decades, and his perception of the "strategy" is far beyond that of ordinary people.

But at this moment, what he "sees" is not the Qimen Dunjia formation he is familiar with.

It was a "scheme" he had never seen before, or even imagined.

No, it's not just a "situation".

That is the "world".

It is a world "defined" by Li Yuan's ideas.

In that world, Yin and Yang are the Yin and Yang of Li Yuan, the Five Elements are the Five Elements of Li Yuan, the Eight Trigrams are the Eight Trigrams of Li Yuan, the Eight Gates are the Eight Gates of Li Yuan, the Eight Gods are the Eight Gods of Li Yuan, and the Nine Stars are the Nine Stars of Li Yuan.

Everything is born from Li Yuan's thoughts, and everything is destroyed by Li Yuan's thoughts.

Zhuge Yunting looked up at the figure in the moon-white Taoist robe, and his eyes suddenly welled up with tears.

Seventeen hundred years.

For a full 1,700 years.

The Zhuge family has guarded this scroll for generations, and successive family heads have exhausted their wisdom but have never been able to unravel its mysteries.

They once thought that it was just a dying wish from their ancestor, meant to ensure that future generations would never give up.

But at that moment he understood.

Their ancestors did not lie to them.

There really are people like that.

There really are people who can unravel the mysteries of the Eight Trigrams Formation.

There really are people who can "re-establish" this world under their will.

And this person is right in front of him right now.

Zhuge Yunting took a deep breath, suppressing the surging emotions in his heart, and bowed deeply to Li Yuan.

This bow was deeper and heavier than any of the previous ones.

"Michiko..."

His voice choked with emotion, yet remained exceptionally firm: "The Zhuge family's seventeen-hundred-year-old wish has finally been fulfilled today..."

at the same time...

Li Yuan stood quietly in front of the Lu Mansion, his right hand still suspended in front of him, the Qimen Dunjia formation covering the entire Tanzhou City slowly rotating with his breath.

Bai Ling stood quietly to his side, while Zhuge Yunting bowed deeply. He could sense the reactions of all the guests who had not yet left, the Lu family members, and the crowd watching from afar.

But Li Yuan didn't care at all.

Because his mind was currently immersed in another world.

The moment the Qimen formation spread out.

No, perhaps even earlier.

Just as he unrolled the incomplete Eight Trigrams Formation scroll and subconsciously set up this Qimen formation, which was far more mysterious and extraordinary than the "Feng Hou Qimen" (a classic Chinese martial arts manual), he was about to create a Qimen formation.

He "senses" an extremely subtle yet extremely clear "summoning" coming from the darkness.

It was as if someone, from the deepest depths of time and space, gently called his name.

The call was not a sound, not a thought, not even anything that could be described as "perception".

It is a more fundamental and mysterious kind of "traction".

It's like an invisible thread, one end tied here, the other end tied somewhere else.

Li Yuan lowered his eyes and looked at the incomplete Eight Trigrams Formation scroll in his hand.

On the bamboo slips, the ancient patterns and symbols are now faintly glowing with a bluish light.

The light was extremely soft, yet it contained an indescribable "direction".

It was as if it were saying, "Come."

Come here.

"Here, you'll find everything you want to know."