Above the Great Dao

"Dutian refers to all the heavens."

Scholar Zhu stood outside the small temple, surveying the surroundings, and said, "Whether it's the heavens of the West Bull New Continent, the underworld, other worlds, the Upper Realm, Despair Slope, or even the Void Great Realm, any place with sky is part of Dutian. Even the sky inside temples falls within the realm of Dutian. The Dutian Protector refers to this King Spiritual Official who can go anywhere to uphold the law!"

Chen Shi wondered, "With such great authority, why was the golden body still shattered?"

Scholar Zhu shook his head and said, "The events at the end of the True King Era are mostly mysteries. The death of the True King, the destruction of China's Daoist tradition, the disappearance of the gods, and the severed connection with China, all these things remain unanswered."

The extraordinary power in the Fire Mansion was extremely dense, forming strands of rosy clouds drifting out from the divine shrine.

Chen Shi walked amidst the rays of rosy clouds, carefully sensing the extraordinary power within the Fire Mansion, as if he could hear the sound of drums and killing around him, which was quite noisy.

Suddenly, he seemed to be on a battlefield filled with slaughter, facing a celestial army of gods and demons, while beside him stood the Dutian Fire Mansion.

He stood in the Fire Mansion, and with a command, fierce and vicious heavenly gods leapt from the shrines, charging into the army of gods and demons, launching a bloodbath and massacring the rebellious!

They swept forward like a broken bamboo, cutting through the enemy ranks like withered plants, beheading foes and hanging their heads from their belts, with some divine beings having a ring of heads around their thick waists.

They even skewered enemies on forks, belching thick smoke and fierce fire to roast them, or tossing them into their mouths to devour them!

These Spiritual Officials appeared unlike humans, with bizarre appearances such as beast heads on human bodies, bird heads on human bodies, having bird claws, beast feet, hooves, wings of wind and thunder sprouting from their backs, and skins with lightning patterns.

Chen Shi raised his hands, seeing in one hand a golden whip with twelve segments, thin at the front and thick at the back, and in the other a Wind Fire Wheel, surrounded by great flames and swirling with a cyclone within.

When he looked down, he saw his face covered with red whiskers, a long bird beak underneath, and his mouth filled with teeth like nails.

He observed that his waist was adorned with the heads of deceased gods and demons, and his neck bore a ring of heads of various sizes, genders, and ages.

Chen Shi relaxed his heart spirit, and the vision dissipated.

Feather Daoist also sensed the terror here, as the extraordinary power made him feel insignificant.

He had absorbed incense fire qi for over a thousand years, yet compared to the residual extraordinary power in this temple, it was like a drop in the ocean, insignificant.

The extraordinary power in this temple was so immense that each of the five hundred divine shrines corresponded to an extraordinary power far exceeding his own.

Chen Shi steadied his mind, took out an incense stick, and the incense smoke drifted leisurely toward the central shrine.

"Fire Mansion Spiritual Official Heavenly General, disciple Chen Shi presents: Two days of concealment, the evil moon hangs high, the Yin and Yang realms unite, a heavenly disaster covers the West Bull New Continent, the common people suffer from evil spirits' invasion, harmed by ghosts and monsters, oppressed by mighty powers, and beset by rampant gods and demons. Today, I, Chen Shi, by the mandate of the True King, assume the authority of divine enthronement, appointing the Fire Mansion Spiritual Official as Dutian Protector God, to enter the Water Mansion, quell the waves' rage; enter the Netherworld, subdue the ghosts and gods' plague; protect the commoners, alleviate the people's suffering. Defeat demons, punish public grievances, enjoy incense fire, forge the Golden Body. With respect!"

The West King Jade Seal shone brightly, the Treasure Seal descended, imprinting on the extraordinary power of each divine shrine.

Those extraordinary powers began to retract suddenly, falling into the shrines, condensing into glowing pools of clear water.

Chen Shi performed divine consecration one by one, and only after the Treasure Seal imprinted all the shrines did he put away the West King Jade Seal, then offered incense, placing an incense stick on each shrine.

Feather Daoist inquired, "Daoist friend, after the divine enthronement, can the demon transformation be resolved?"

Chen Shi shook his head and said, "No. After the divine enthronement, it still takes some time for the extraordinary power to condense into form."

He had previously consecrated the Qianyang Mountain Lord, consecrated Mazu and other deities, yet after the divine enthronement, they didn't immediately form a Divine Image; it took a long time for the Divine Image to successfully condense. The stronger the divine power, the harder it was to condense, and the longer it took.

Chen Shi said, "The demon transformation takes a hundred days, but these divine images won't take that long to condense. In as short as ten days, or as long as a few months."

He walked outside, and Feather Daoist hastily followed him, timidly glancing behind.

In the Fire Mansion, water droplets formed from the extraordinary power dripped quietly into the shrines, with ding-dong sounds and no other anomalies.

However, the darkness inside the Fire Mansion still sent chills down his spine.

Just as he was about to turn around, suddenly he saw a giant eye behind the central shrine open from the darkness, larger than the shrine of King Spiritual Official,

An inverted eye, like a willow leaf, slowly opened to the left and right, revealing a burning fire eye.

Feather Daoist saw this fire eye, and his heart skipped a beat; suddenly he felt as if the world was reduced to just himself, standing alone beneath this fire eye, like an ant about to be roasted.

As Chen Shi was about to walk out of the Fire Mansion, he suddenly heard a thunderous voice saying, "You used the West King Jade Seal to awaken me, so you are the current True King?"

Chen Shi's body stiffened, feeling an unparalleled pressure coming from behind, as if the Fire Mansion had become a pure world of thunder and fire.

"I sense the power on you, the power of a human king, ruling over the common people and the mountains and rivers, but your power is still weak. Yet there is another power hidden within you, the power of that Lady... So, little True King, will you use this little god as the offering to awaken me?"