A Pawn's Passage

Thunder and fire surged in the sky, while black mist spread as far as the eye could see. This scene was truly terrifying.

The residents of Jinling Prefecture had long shut themselves indoors, while the Daoists tasked with clearing the Gifts in the city could not help but look up to the sky in horror.

Anyone in the city could see that a monumental change was about to befall. This was no longer a simple case of some cultists spreading curses.

Bai Yingqiong was certain that it was indeed a Divine Descent.

As the Chief Deputy Jiangnan Daoist Mansion Master, Bai Yingqiong was not one of the 36 Omniscient Sages, but she had the privilege of attending a few Golden Tower Council meetings as one of the 108 observers, placing her among the upper echelons of the Daoist Order. Thus, she was privy to many secrets.

The Ancient Immortals that Daoists often referred to were actually Godly Immortals of ancient times.

As for why they were referred to as Godly Immortals—and not Heavenly Immortals, Earthly Immortals, Manly Immortals, Ghostly Immortals, or Corpse Liberation Immortals—was because Godly Immortals were the only ones capable of remaining in the mortal realm indefinitely.

Other Immortals must undergo a heavenly tribulation upon completing their 100-year cycle. If they succeeded, they could remain in the mortal realm for another 100 years. If they failed, they would face annihilation.

If one lacked confidence in surviving the tribulation, it was better to choose ascension and leave the mortal realm before the 100-year cycle was up. Thus, while there were many who achieved eternal life, only a few could remain in the mortal world for an eternity.

Even if one survived the tribulation, they would have to go through another tribulation every 100 years, each one more vicious than the last. Eventually, no one would be able to endure indefinite tribulations.

The intent was clear—Immortals were not allowed to exist in the mortal realm. One must either leave or die. The only exception to this rule was Godly Immortals.

Godly Immortals were the only ones who could remain in the mortal world indefinitely because they could not ascend to the heavens.

They were outliers among the Five Immortals, transforming external incense power into divine power to forge a golden body. They were known as gods in the mortal world because they established divine kingdoms. They sustained themselves on the faith and offerings of their followers, so they did not have the 100-year limitation.

However, Godly Immortals were highly dependent on incense power from their followers. If their followers abandoned them, their golden bodies would tarnish and decay over time. Their divine kingdoms would also fall into ruin. They could only linger on weakly until their demise, when their golden bodies crumbled and their divine kingdoms collapsed completely.

Conversely, if they had more incense power, the golden bodies of Godly Immortals would remain indestructible, and their divine power would be immense. If they gathered millions of followers, they could even rival Heavenly Immortals within their own divine kingdoms.

Overall, Godly Immortals and other Immortals had their respective advantages and disadvantages. Other Immortals focused on cultivating for self-transcendence, while Godly Immortals drew strength from others.

Without incense power, Godly Immortals would be like a tree without roots. No matter how powerful, they would inevitably fall.

This raised another question: Why did these ancient Godly Immortals oppose the Daoist Order?

Ancient Immortals were beings who died and were reborn. When they ruled the mortal world, the Daoist Order had not yet risen to prominence. Upon their return, the Daoist Order had already secured their rule, leaving no room for the Ancient Immortals.

Thus, the Ancient Immortals had to compete for incense power, leaving them with no choice but to oppose the Daoist Order.

After all, the Daoist Order had no way of recruiting and pacifying all Ancient Immortals.

Godly Immortals experienced three types of death.

The first death was the decay of their golden body, also known as a false death. It was akin to a river running dry or a lake evaporating. As long as new incense power was channeled into their divine kingdom, they could recreate their golden body.

The second death was the collapse of their divine kingdom, which was a true death. However, it was not absolute, as a faint spiritual imprint still remained. As long as someone remembers the Godly Immortal, they would have a chance to return.

The third death occured when all memories of the Godly Immortal were erased, causing their final imprint to dissipate completely. This was their ultimate and irreversible death.

From this perspective, Godly Immortals were harder to destroy than Earthly Immortals, Ghostly Immortals, or Manly Immortals.

Ancient Immortals like Wu Luo and True Lord Siming had only undergone the first death—the decay of their golden bodies. Their divine kingdoms remained intact, so they were only in a dormant state.

Centuries later, they found opportunities to recreate their golden bodies and reappeared in the mortal world.

The Daoist and Buddhist conflict not only disrupted the Holy Xuan’s efforts to unify the Daoist Order but also allowed the Ancient Immortals to grow stronger.

The Buddhist Sect, which aimed to restrain the Daoist Order, secretly supported the Ancient Immortals, getting the Ancient Immortals through their most challenging early stages. In return, the Ancient Immortals would help the Buddhist Sect fight against the Daoist Order, which caused long-lasting harm. That was why many Daoists spoke of the Buddhists with resentment, lamenting that they would not face so much internal strife and external threats if not for the Buddhists.

This conflict between the Buddhist Sect and the Daoist Order helped the latter realize the importance of divine power. As such, the Daoist Order re-established the Shaman lineage that was based on Godly Immortals and expanded their production of Spirit Guards.

To ensure the continuation of their divine kingdom, the Buddhist Sect absorbed the souls of their followers into the divine kingdom. Within the divine kingdom, the followers would be reborn and granted eternal life, hence giving the appearance of achieving immortality. However, it was at the cost of their freedom.

Ordinary followers were too naive to perceive this as a restriction. Instead, they regarded it as a great blessing. Thus, the Buddha’s Pure Land was always filled with countless Bodhisattvas.

These Bodhisattvas chanted sutras day and night, ensuring the divine kingdom remained strong while continuously reinforcing the Buddha’s golden body.

However, the unchanging nature of the Pure Land, where followers and Bodhisattvas repeated the same tasks for centuries, inevitably led to apathy, which in turn eroded one’s devotion and weakened their divine will.

To counter this, the Buddhist Sect created the Six Paths of Reincarnation, allowing followers in the Pure Land to be reborn and live new lives, shedding old memories and regaining vitality to prevent apathy. This was the concept of the Sukhavati.

The Sahā World took it a step further, enabling followers to reincarnate in the mortal realm through Ghostly Immortal possession. After 100 years of cultivation in the mortal realm, they would return to the Pure Land. This cyclical renewal ensured patience and resilience.

These individuals often had great wisdom and perseverance. Upon their return to the Pure Land, they were no longer ordinary Bodhisattvas but were close aides to the Buddha, even achieving ranks like Vajra or Arhat.

Thus, Buddhists believed in the concept of the afterlife. In a certain sense, this was indeed a form of rebirth.

However, whether such a life bound to eternal cycles with no true liberation was truly different was a matter of personal perspective. For this reason, Daoists did not believe in reincarnation.

Daoists believed that after death, the deceased’s soul returned to the earth and the Three Corpses transformed into ghosts. To actively sever the Three Corpses was an extraordinary feat.

The mortal realm did not permit the prolonged existence of eternal beings, with the exception of Buddhas and Godly Immortals.

However, to remain in the mortal world for extended periods, they must still adhere to certain rules. Before the 100-year limit, they could appear freely. However, after 100 years, they could no longer intervene in mortal affairs without paying a significant price for each action.

This explained why the deities in many sects would often perform miracles during the early days of their faith and less so over time.

Since True Lord Siming was an Ancient Immortal, he had long surpassed the 100-year limit. Thus, to descend from his divine kingdom into the mortal world, he had to conduct an elaborate Divine Descent Ritual.

The strength with which a Godly Immortal could manifest in the mortal world depended on the scale of the Divine Descent Ritual.

The lowest-tier ritual would be like the one at Yishan City’s Yulan Temple because Wu Luo had only released a trace of divine power.

The ritual at the Kunlun Mountain Pass, where Wu Luo projected an image of herself using the contours of the mountains and rivers and simply destroyed a flying ship, was a step higher.

Wu Luo’s Divine Descent Ritual at Cuowenbu was even stronger than the previous attempts. Without relying on external aids like landscapes, she could use her divine power to manifest a divine body. In that incident, she destroyed the Yinglong Warship and killed Shangguan Jing.

True Lord Siming’s Divine Descent upon Jinling Prefecture was classified as the third tier, where a vessel was needed for their appearance.

These vessels capable of hosting Godly Immortals were diverse. It could be a person, particularly someone whose destiny aligned closely with the Godly Immortal’s. The higher their cultivation, the better. As such, the remains of a deceased Immortal would be the ideal vessel.

It could also be an object, such as an immortal object or a special semi-immortal object. It would be best if the object had been previously used by an Immortal.

The quality of the vessel determined the level of cultivation and power the Godly Immortal could exert upon their descent.

This time, the Cult of Fates’ vessel was their meticulously cultivated main Gift and the other Gifts that were spread throughout the city. Zhenwu Lake served as the place of rebirth, while the Xuan Jade was the catalyst.

As such, the power True Lord Siming could wield through such a descent far surpassed that of Wu Luo at Cuowenbu.