Chapter 364: Chapter 30: Supreme Exhales, Shangqing Glares, East Emperor Rings the Bell

Lu Xuan’s memories flickered.

He gradually sank into them, his mind ignoring the outside world as he entered several memories at once.

There was the scene of him cooking over a fire in the Guardian Storage Room as a child. There was the scene of Grandpa Chu taking him home and teaching him to read and write.

There was the memory of riding the bus with Xiaoyan from the Upper City District to the Lower City District, and the image of his Three Masters forging his body within the Origin....

Hmm?

Confusion flickered in Lu Xuan’s dazed eyes. ’Something’s not right. One of these memories feels out of place. The others are all things I cherish and reminisce about from this life... but I’m not a masochist.’

’Why would I be fondly recalling the agony of my Three Masters forging my body?’

Doubt rose in his heart, but it was quickly suppressed as he sank back into the four scenes, his mind gradually settling.

In a certain Daoist Palace, the Lame Daoist guiltily shrank back.

Meanwhile, high in the Celestial Vault above Taishan, the Medicine King Buddha faintly lifted his eyelids.

"This child’s mental fortitude exceeds my imagination. It will take some time for me to enter his memories."

Li Celestial King was astonished.

"Is that so? How strange. From what I can see, this so-called Profound Yellow is merely..."

Before he could finish, the sound of drums and horns on Taishan grew louder. The immortals looked down and saw that the First Emperor had already ascended the great Fengshan Altar.

The middle-aged man, dressed in a Nine Dragon Profound Robe and wearing a Twelve Pearl Jade Crown, stood with casual grace. He calmly raised his eyes, glanced at the indistinct figures in the clouds, and offered a placid smile.

He turned his back on the Immortals and Buddhas filling the sky. Facing the mountains, rivers, and the state, he spread his arms, his voice booming like thunder!

"The so-called Fengshan ceremony is to announce my achievements to the world! In the past, those in the Qi and Lu Regions who wished to perform this rite did so to demonstrate that their ’Virtue Matched the Heavens.’ But today!"

The drums and horns faded. A hundred thousand soldiers in Black Armor stared at the first emperor in history to achieve grand unification.

The First Emperor declared:

"Today, I make this offering not to the heavens, but to the world! Not to Immortals, Buddhas, Ghosts, or Gods, but to the Elder Sages of the past! Virtue that matches the heavens? I have no need for it!"

"What I want is Virtue that matches humanity!"

One hundred thousand Black Armor soldiers raised their weapons in unison, the cold glint of steel illuminating all of Taishan. Xiang Yu and Liu Bang were dumbfounded. Yan Huang and the others were mesmerized. And the Immortals and Buddhas filling the sky?

Their expressions darkened, all of them seemingly enraged!

"What audacity," an Immortal Official from the South Pole Celestial Court said coldly. "I wish to strike him with heavenly thunder and a torrential downpour. May I?"

The master of the Thunder Division, the Nine Heavens Responding Element Thunder Sound Universal Transformation Celestial Venerable, shook his head and said in a heavy voice:

"Watch a while longer. Let us first observe."

The Medicine King Buddha raised his eyes and spoke faintly:

"Why wait? Is the Celestial Venerable perhaps reminiscing about the past? Does seeing this Ying Zheng, who refuses to worship Immortals and Buddhas just like Emperor Xin, stir your pity?"

The Upper Celestial Venerable of the Thunder Division narrowed his eyes slightly.

"Ancient Buddha, what is the meaning of this?"

"Is it not so?" the Medicine King Buddha said nonchalantly. "Wen Zhong, oh Wen Zhong, are you still nostalgic for that King Zhou?"

The Upper Celestial Venerable of the Thunder Division snorted coldly, the sound accompanied by rolling thunder. Just as he was about to rebuke him, Venus stepped forward to smooth things over.

"This Ying Zheng was able to achieve grand unification and single-handedly gather three thousand years of Human Dao Fortune. He is no trivial character. Since he dares to do this, he must have something to rely on. It is normal for the Thunder Sound Universal Transformation Heavenly Venerable to be wary. Perfectly normal..."

"Perhaps," the Medicine King Buddha said, growing impatient. "Did ’that one’ from ten thousand years ago scare your several Celestial Courts into this state? How absurd. If you all dare not go, shall I go first?"

Li Jing quickly gestured, smiling.

"Ancient Buddha, please."

The Medicine King Buddha paused for a moment, shot a glance at Li Jing, and snorted. He shook his head as he descended from the clouds.

"Cowards."

Li Jing smiled but said nothing. Venus sighed and pressed a hand to his forehead.

Meanwhile, the Fengshan ceremony had officially begun. A giant stele inscribed with the First Emperor’s merits and virtues was placed at the peak of Taishan. Golden light flowed across its surface, carrying the Human Dao Fortune and projecting a grand aura.

The First Emperor solemnly proclaimed:

"I ascended the throne as the King of Qin two thousand and six hundred years ago. I made the Dukes bow their heads and unified all under heaven. I standardized the script and the width of axles. The mountains and rivers of our nation stretch far and wide."

"That I could achieve these merits was not a gift from the heavens, nor was it bestowed by the Immortals and Buddhas."

"It was built upon the foundation of the Elder Sages of the past and born from the will of the myriad people and spirits. Therefore, today, I make this offering to the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, and to the two sages, Lu and Kong..."

"Silence!"

A sudden, rolling thunderclap shook all of Taishan, and the grand light and the phenomenal vision of mountains and rivers that had begun to rise on the horizon were torn to shreds!

The Wu’an Monarch’s expression changed. He looked up and saw the sky filled with a clear, crystalline light that illuminated the Celestial Vault, even overpowering the hundred-thousand-mile canopy of splendor.

And within that clear light, a Great Buddha descended, surrounded by Brahma Sound. Phenomenal images of compassionate Bodhisattvas, sutra-chanting Arhats, and wrathful Vajras flickered in and out of existence around him!

"That’s..." Yan Huang said in alarm, feeling an immense pressure, as if countless worlds were stacked upon him.

"A Buddha... and I’m afraid it’s a Buddha who has surpassed the Immortal Level!"

Hearing this, Zhang Jifeng and Wang Zhiyao gasped. In the Current World, the Grand Grade was the pinnacle. You could count the number of Immortals on one hand. As for those above the Immortal Level?

They were unheard of, unseen—true legends!

At their side, the Wu’an Monarch narrowed his eyes dangerously and said in a heavy voice:

"It’s the Medicine King Buddha from Spirit Mountain... It seems today’s Fengshan ceremony is in for some trouble."

"Medicine King Buddha?" Yan Huang murmured, his breathing becoming difficult under the terrifying pressure as he stared grimly at the Ancient Buddha walking down from the sky.

At that moment, the First Emperor raised his head. He neither dodged, nor retreated, nor showed any fear, and said calmly:

"So, it is the Medicine King Buddha in person. What, is there something wrong with what I have said?"

The Ancient Buddha glared coldly, his brows furrowed.

"Ying Zheng, do not lead yourself to ruin. You should be making offerings to the Immortals and Buddhas, accepting the mandate of heaven, and taking the title of Celestial Son..."