Dragon Ball, simultaneously traversing countless worlds

Luo Yan wanted to obtain a more powerful cultivation technique, so he had to go to the Heavenly Court to meet the gods.

However, he didn't know how powerful those gods were yet, so he wouldn't rashly attack the Heavenly Court.

His plan was still to listen to Master Yuan's advice, travel more across the land, eliminate demons and monsters, broaden his horizons, and then devise those heaven-defying techniques.

From the heavenly book, he learned that there were no realm divisions such as Golden Core or Nascent Soul in this world.

The realms in this world are only: refining essence into qi, refining qi into spirit, refining spirit into emptiness, refining emptiness into the Dao, and then becoming an immortal.

However, becoming an immortal is not simply a matter of reaching a certain level of cultivation.

One must also accumulate enough good deeds to obtain a celestial title and official position conferred by the Heavenly Court, and then go to the Immortal Transformation Pool to shed one's mortal body before one can truly become an immortal.

The realms after becoming an immortal are ordered according to the "True Spirit Rank Chart," and immortals are divided into seven ranks based on the amount of merit and good deeds performed.

These seven levels are Yuqing, Shangqing, Taiji, Taiqing, Jiugong, Dongtian, and Taiyin.

The strongest is the Jade Purity Immortal, also known as the Primordial Heavenly Venerable.

Secondly, it is the Shangqing Immortal, namely the Xuanhuang Daodajun, not the Lingbao Tianzun.

Below that is the Taiji Immortal, also known as the Taiji Golden Palace Emperor. This Golden Palace Emperor is not the Jade Emperor.

The Jade Emperor of Heaven is a first-class immortal, a powerful immortal who can stand to the right of the Primordial Heavenly Lord and rule the heavens together with forty-seven Dao Lords.

The fourth rank of immortals is Taiqing, which is Laozi (the Supreme Lord Lao).

In this diagram, Lao Tzu's status has plummeted to its lowest point, falling from the original Lord of all gods in Taoism to the "Lord of the Supreme Purity" who "oversees all people."

The immortals ranked fourth alongside Laozi are historical figures such as Zhang Daoling, Master Guigu, Zhang Zifang, Chisongzi, Dongfang Shuo, Han Zhong, Qingwu Gong, Ge Hong, Luan Ba, the Three Heavens Jade Maiden, and Zuo Ci.

Some of them did not cultivate immortality during their lives, but because of their merits and good deeds, they can still become immortals after death.

In this True Spirit Rank Chart, those ranked first and second are all supernatural deities, who are the embodiment of the primordial energy of nothingness or the rules of the Heavenly Dao.

The third tier of deities consists of figures from myths and legends, such as the Yellow Emperor, Zhuanxu, Emperor Ku, Yao, Shun, Yu, and Chaofu.

In the True Immortal Rank Chart, the lowest rank, or the seventh rank, consists of figures like Li Guang, He Yan, Yin Hao, and Liu Bei, whose achievements are inferior to those of Laozi and Zhuangzi.

In fact, starting from the fourth level, immortals need incense offerings; without them, these immortals would have a hard time.

In this world where even Liu Bei with big ears can become an immortal, the strength of immortals below the fourth rank is probably not very powerful.

However, Luo Yan needs to pay close attention to the strength of those immortals who are manifestations of primordial energy or the rules of the Heavenly Dao.

Chapter 197 Chaotic Times and the White Lotus Boy

In the world of "The Book of Wonders," there are no limitations on the level of one's cultivation in magic.

Even without reaching the realm of immortals, Luo Yan could still learn and unleash the 108 spells in the Heavenly Book.

The limits of cultivation realms are limited by magical power.

The stronger one's magical power, the greater the power of the spells one can unleash.

Take the ability to summon wind and rain as an example. When the fox spirit and the original egg-born creature used their powers, rain fell in the entire county.

But if a true deity were to cast a spell, rain could fall upon the entire country.

Magical power is not transformed from life force and spiritual power, but exists as Qi in the universe.

By incorporating the Qi of Heaven and Earth into the body and subduing it with one's thoughts, it becomes magical power.

Luo Yan sat cross-legged, his five centers facing the sky, quietly sensing the void of Qi in the universe.

He was born extraordinary, a being hatched from a goose egg nurtured in a furnace for hundreds of years, and he also obtained powerful bloodlines from many different planes.

Its natural talent is comparable to that of the innate deities of this world.

After sitting quietly and breathing for just over ten seconds, Luo Yan easily sensed the presence of Qi.

Then, with a thought, it was absorbed into the body and subdued into the source of magical power.

The vital energy of heaven and earth surged forth, like the Yangtze River, flowing back into Luo Yan's body.

At this moment, although Luo Yan's cultivation level was low, his magical power was so profound that it was no different from that of a true immortal. His boundless magical power was like the Milky Way in the heavens.

With a thought, he unleashed a spell to fly and escape into the earth, his body light and free, riding the wind as if it were second nature.

With a light leap, Luo Yan floated into the sky, moving at will, appearing and disappearing in an instant, much more agile and free than flying with ki in the Dragon Ball world or flying by manipulating bio-fields like Kryptonians.

As for flight speed, the Dragon Balls' ki and the Kryptonians' speed are still faster.

However, the characteristic of the flying and escaping spells is not speed.

In terms of speed, the Heavenly Book also mentions flying away in a rainbow, which is no slower than the speed of the Dragon Balls.

Cultivating the Heavenly Book spells is not difficult. Once you memorize the incantations and the flow of magical power, you can easily perform them. Luo Yan read through the entire Heavenly Book and completely mastered all 108 spells.

Then he shook the Heavenly Book, and it spontaneously combusted, burning the Heavenly Book to ashes and eliminating the risk of it being stolen by a monster.

If no demon had stolen the Heavenly Book, Yuan Gong would not have been discovered by the Heavenly Court for pushing down Yunmeng Mountain to suppress the fox spirit, thus avoiding the calamity of being captured by the Heavenly Court.

Having dealt with everything, Luo Yan bowed in gratitude towards the direction of Baiyun Cave, then leaped into the clouds and flew away into the distance.

Yunmeng Mountain is several hundred miles away from Kaifeng Prefecture in the Northern Song Dynasty.

Luo Yan wanted to see the prosperous world of the Northern Song Dynasty.

However, as they flew, the scenery below made Luo Yan frown.

Many literati and scholars have said that the Northern Song Dynasty was the best era and the most prosperous era of feudal society.

But what Luo Yan saw was a barren wasteland, with famine and starvation everywhere, no rice or wheat harvest, and people selling their children.

It is now the sixth year of the Xuanhe reign of Emperor Huizong of Song. Not long ago, Tong Guan advised Emperor Huizong to join forces with the Jin Dynasty to attack the Liao Dynasty.

The campaign against Liao required the collection of funds and manpower. Tong Guan ordered an increase in taxes on the people and required them to perform corvée labor.

Tong Guan's actions provoked popular resistance, and peasant uprisings broke out in Shandong, Hebei, and Kaifeng to resist the court's policies. Tong Guan ordered his army to suppress those who refused to obey orders, and the people began to fight back against the government troops.

This was the Xuanhe Uprising, and also the fundamental reason why Luo Yan had witnessed so many horrific scenes along his journey.

谷茧

During the reign of Emperor Huizong of Song, political corruption, bottomless factional strife, and exorbitant taxes led to widespread suffering among the people, resulting in uprisings such as the Fang La Rebellion, the Song Jiang Rebellion, the Zhang Di and Gao Tuoshan Rebellion, and the Xuanhe Uprising. This once prosperous dynasty quickly slid into a corrupt and dark abyss.

In official history, in October of the seventh year of the Xuanhe era, the Jin dynasty destroyed the Liao dynasty and divided its forces into two routes to attack the Song dynasty, directly threatening the Song capital, Kaifeng.

Later, at the age of twenty-six, Crown Prince Zhao Huan ascended the throne by abdication from his father, Emperor Huizong of Song, becoming Emperor Qinzong of Song, and changing the era name to Jingkang.

The Jingkang Incident that followed was the truly dark and turbulent year.

The scene Luo Yan is seeing now pales in comparison to the brutality of the future Jin people.

Now that I have come to this turbulent era and possess great strength, it is my duty to prevent the Jingkang Incident from happening.

But to expect the Song dynasty to last for ten thousand generations was just a pipe dream.

Although the Zhao Song dynasty was a prosperous society with a developed economy and culture, the people had long lost their Han spirit.

Even if Luo Yan were to shatter the land and rebuild the world, he would not allow Zhao Ji and Zhao Heng to sit on the throne and implement those policies that kept the people ignorant.

So Luo Yan flew along and, upon seeing people in distress below, immediately went to their aid.

When they encountered hungry people, they used magic to transfer rice and grain from wealthy merchants.

When encountering sick or injured people, they would use talismanic water to save them.

His actions immediately earned him the gratitude of the people, who then willingly followed him.

Because he was dressed in lotus robes and was a child, the people associated him with the Buddhist White Lotus Child who had descended to earth.

As the song spread, Luo Yan's reputation as the White Lotus Boy grew ever more renowned.

People over a hundred miles away knew that the White Lotus Boy was incredibly powerful and possessed the abilities of a true immortal.

In just three days, Luo Yan had gathered three thousand people.

Upon learning of the rumors surrounding the White Lotus Child, the Xiangzhou official closest to Luo Yan immediately deduced that this was yet another newly emerging rebellious force. Without hesitation, he reported this to the imperial court, ordering troops to be dispatched to quell the rebellion.

Yunmeng Mountain is more than 100 miles away from Kaifeng Prefecture. By crossing the Yellow River southward from Yunmeng Mountain, one can reach Kaifeng Prefecture directly.

With such a rebellious force hanging over the emperor's head, the emperor could still tolerate it and directly appointed Cai Jing's eldest son, Cai You, who was in charge of the Privy Council, as the military governor of Huaikang Army.

He led 10,000 imperial guards to quell the rebellion.

The news of the army's departure quickly reached Luo Yan's ears.

He didn't care; even if the entire Northern Song army was mobilized, they couldn't harm a single hair on his head.

However, those who had gathered under his command began to panic.

Because Luo Yan was young, his rebellion was short-lived, and the story was too fantastical, those who were truly talented had not yet chosen to join him.

After all, no normal person would believe that a child in his teens has the abilities of a true immortal and is even raising a flag to rebel, and would not dare to seek refuge with him.

Those who pledged allegiance to Luo Yan had all witnessed his abilities firsthand, which is why they were willing to serve under him.

Even after witnessing Luo Yan's abilities firsthand, these people, who were previously just ordinary villagers, still lacked confidence, unsure whether their White Lotus Child could defeat the imperial army.

After all, Luo Yan has only ever demonstrated his abilities to fly, move objects, and heal the sick.

They had not yet witnessed Luo Yan's combat skills, and they were not very confident in him if they were to actually fight an army.

Luo Yan remained unmoved by the people's fear and anxiety, continuing to treat the sick and save lives as usual, intending to unleash his ruthless methods once the Song army arrived, thus solidifying his prestige in one fell swoop.

Thus, under Luo Yan's laissez-faire attitude, the tides turned, and some who had no faith in Luo Yan fled, while those who had received favors from Luo Yan remained steadfastly by his side.

The more than 7,000 people who had gathered over the past few days have returned to 3,000, and most of them are still the elderly, weak, sick and disabled, with only about 500 young and middle-aged people.

Chapter 198 Three Heads and Six Arms, Heavenly Phenomena and Earthly Manifestations

After days of arduous travel, Cai You, the military governor of Huaikang Army, finally arrived in the Liuqing River area.

His army marched directly across the barren fields of the common people. Cai You stood in the field, looking around, and said, "Why is no one cultivating these fields? If those peasants don't farm, what will they eat?"

No one answered. The people of this land had been ravaged by both the government troops and the rebel forces. The able-bodied men had long been conscripted to fight, and the planting season had already passed. Who would be willing to cultivate these fields?

Even if you planted them during the spring planting season, they would be snatched away by the rebel army during the autumn harvest, so it would be better not to plant them at all.

Seeing that no one answered, Cai You didn't mind. He took a silk cloth and wiped his sweat, saying, "Tell General Cao that the weather is hot and that we should be considerate of the soldiers. Why don't we set up camp by the Liuqing River and leave tomorrow?"

Cai You was unaware of the saying "speed is of the essence in war." He was simply too tired from the journey and wanted to rest, so he used the excuse of caring for his soldiers.