Chapter 47

Ding Yue, along with the disciples of the截教 (Jie Jiao), lived within the Heavenly Court. The Heavenly Emperor and Empress also resided deep within the palace, rarely making an appearance!

However, the Heavenly Emperor was not entirely inactive!

After ten years, with the help of many strong warriors and immortals, the Heavenly Court was completely renewed. The palaces, stretching for thousands of miles, were magnificent and grand, shimmering with golden light!

On this day, the Heavenly Emperor issued an imperial edict to recruit talented individuals. He sent Tai Bai Jin Xing as his envoy to recruit wandering immortals from the mortal world!

Tai Bai Jin Xing, trusted by the Heavenly Emperor, brought many cultivators to the Heavenly Court within just a few decades. Although not many were powerful, most were low-level wandering cultivators, they still brought much vitality to the Heavenly Court!

While Ding Yue was secretly evaluating the截教 (Jie Jiao) disciples beside him, he heard a piece of not-so-good news!

Nanji Xianweng, an inner disciple of the阐教 (Chan Jiao), led over thirty other disciples of the阐教 (Chan Jiao) to the Heavenly Court to meet the Heavenly Emperor!

Ding Yue did not see Nanji Xianweng, as the阐教 (Chan Jiao) disciples lived in another part of the Heavenly Court. Nanji Xianweng rarely appeared, and the two naturally did not seek each other out to reminisce!

However, within the Heavenly Court, the disciples of the阐教 (Chan Jiao) and the截教 (Jie Jiao) were somewhat hostile towards each other. Although they did not fight, they often exchanged insults, which was quite common!

A hundred years passed in the blink of an eye. Ding Yue observed the conflicts between the two sects with a cold eye, quietly cultivating!

"Boom!!" The golden bell resounded, shaking the entire Heavenly Court and startling the immortals and cultivators!

"The grand ceremony of the Heavenly Emperor begins!"

Tai Bai Jin Xing's shout echoed through the heavens and earth. Immediately, figures emerged from their residences, gathering in the square outside the Lingxiao Hall, numbering in the tens of thousands, creating a grand and lively scene!

The square was lined with rows of tables, neatly arranged!

Graceful, palace maidens dressed in shimmering robes walked out, guiding everyone to their seats!

Ding Yue led the截教 (Jie Jiao) disciples to their seats, ignoring the lively chatter of his fellow disciples, and calmly sat down, closing his eyes to rest!

On the other side, the elegant Nanji Xianweng, along with over thirty阐教 (Chan Jiao) disciples, also took their seats. Looking at the closed-eyed Ding Yue, his gaze flickered subtly, and he began to converse with the surrounding cultivators!

Nanji Xianweng, as a disciple of a sage, was very sociable and had excellent relationships!

But this did not impress Ding Yue, who merely snorted inwardly!

After some time, a loud shout from the South Gate of Heaven echoed through the Heavenly Court!

"The Four Sea Dragon Kings have arrived to pay homage to the Heavenly Emperor!"

In a moment, the four Dragon Kings, with beards reaching their waists, wearing golden imperial robes, entered the Heavenly Court, followed by hundreds of water clan warriors carrying large wooden and golden chests!

Judging by their appearance, the contents must have been quite heavy!

Ding Yue's lips curled, watching the Four Dragon Kings, who, despite being powerful Great Ethereal Realm beings, were now somewhat fawning as they carried gifts to meet the Heavenly Emperor!

Is it really necessary? Ding Yue chuckled inwardly, winking at Ao Lan, who was behind the Southern Sea Dragon King!

"Humph!" The Southern Sea Dragon King, sensing something amiss, turned to find Ding Yue, glaring and huffing lightly!

Others might not have noticed, but Ding Yue's ears were ringing!

What is this old man up to? Ding Yue frowned, rubbing his ears, feeling somewhat annoyed!

After the Four Dragon Kings entered the Lingxiao Hall with smiles on their faces, Ao Lan directly led a group of dragon princes and princesses to the截教 (Jie Jiao) disciples and sat down without hesitation!

"You are quite bold!" Ding Yue couldn't help but comment, looking at the group of dragon princes and princesses who were constantly eyeing him, feeling a headache!

"What? You don't like it? Should I move somewhere else?" Ao Lan raised an eyebrow, saying!

"Of course not, of course not! Hehe..." Ding Yue sighed, quickly smiling, which made the截教 (Jie Jiao) disciples behind him find it somewhat amusing!

Is this still our Brother Shanshui?

"The Five Ghost Emperors of the Underworld and the Ten Kings of Hell have arrived!"

Another loud shout from the South Gate of Heaven. The Five Ghost Emperors, each with a formidable aura, were at the Golden Immortal level, while the Ten Kings of Hell were at the Heavenly Immortal and Profound Immortal levels!

The Five Ghost Emperors, leading the Ten Kings of Hell, had forced smiles on their faces as they were led into the Lingxiao Hall!

It seemed that life in the Underworld was not easy for them, with a powerful deity guarding the place and a large army of the Witches surrounding it. Although the army was only a few thousand strong, no one could underestimate it!

The powerful deity, Xingtian, could not leave the cycle of rebirth, but he was still a formidable Great Ethereal Realm being!

Next, as the loud shouts from the South Gate of Heaven continued, many famous cultivators from the primordial era were led into the hall, including several Great Ethereal Realm beings, each with a powerful aura, not bothering to conceal it!

Of course, there were also those with lower cultivation, claiming titles like Heavenly Sovereigns and Divine Kings, trying to sneak into the Lingxiao Hall!

Such people were led to a corner of the square by Tai Bai Jin Xing with a smile!

There, a few tables were set up, but they looked quite lonely!

Sit there! I, Tai Bai Jin Xing, am not so easily fooled!

"The Lord of the Blood Sea, Lord Mingle, has arrived!"

Lord Mingle had a cold expression, and his blood-red robe made nearby cultivators keep their distance, exuding a powerful aura!

Tai Bai Jin Xing did not dare to be negligent and quickly led Lord Mingle into the hall!

Even he was cautious in front of this Lord, not daring to joke!

"The Master of the Five-Avatar Temple, Zhenyuanzi, has arrived!"

"The Eastern Sea Immortal Donghua has arrived!"

"The Northern Pole Empress Ziguang has arrived!"

"The Central Region Yellow Horned Wanderer has arrived!"

...

"The Western Teachings, the Sages Jieyin and Zhunti, have arrived!"

A moment later, the two sages, each with several disciples, entered. Strangely, the disciples were all wearing monk's robes, hands clasped, some with bald heads and others holding prayer beads!

"Buddhism!" Ding Yue was secretly surprised, looking at Jieyin, and noticed that the sage's aura was much stronger and more profound than before!

"The Supreme Sage of the截教 (Jie Jiao) has arrived!"

Ding Yue's own sect master entered the hall with four disciples, while the other inner disciples sat near Ding Yue, catching up with each other!

"Humph!" As soon as the sect master entered, Ding Yue heard a cold snort, sensing his anger!

"Amitabha!" The Buddha's voice of Jieyin echoed in the hall, and the atmosphere calmed down!

Shortly after, the Jade Purity Sage and his disciples, along with the Supreme Purity Sage and Xuan Du Dafa Shi, also entered the hall.

"The Empress Nüwa has arrived!"

The loud shout from the South Gate of Heaven made even Ding Yue feel a bit nervous. Looking at the calm Empress Nüwa, he knew that the former Empress of the Demon Race was not in a good mood!

"The Heavenly Emperor and Empress have arrived!" Finally, Tai Bai Jin Xing shouted, and the Heavenly Court was instantly bathed in golden light and rainbow hues!

From deep within the palace, Hao Tian, no longer wearing his Daoist robe, was now in a golden imperial robe, with the Sword of the Heavenly Emperor at his waist, looking dignified and tall!

And Yaochi was even more graceful, elegant, and regal!

A moment later, Tai Bai Jin Xing, holding a scroll of the imperial edict, began to read in the hall!

First, he announced that the Daoist Ancestor had appointed Hao Tian as the Heavenly Emperor, ruler of the three realms, with the title of Jade Emperor, and Yaochi as the Empress of the Heavenly Court!

Next, he honored the Supreme Purity Sage as the Sage of Morality, with the Great Red Heaven as his domain!

The Jade Purity Sage as the Primordial Sage, with the Clear and Subtle Heaven as his domain!

The Supreme Sage as the Spirit Treasure Sage, with the Yu Yu Heaven as his domain!

Jieyin as the Lord of All Buddhas, Amitabha, and Zhunti as the Mother of All Buddhas! They were given the Four Dharmas of the West (Changrong, Tengsheng, Fandu, and Jiayi) as the Western Paradise, belonging to Buddhism!

Although these were four heavens, combined they were not as good as the Three Pure Heavens, and the area was somewhat smaller!

The Three Pure Heavens were the best three heavens outside the Heavenly Court!

"Humph!!"

After Tai Bai Jin Xing finished this part, a cold snort echoed in the hall, but at this moment, the word "Buddhism" had firmly taken root, and no one could stop it!

Next, Nüwa was honored as the Mother of All Spirits, and Houtu as the Mother of the Earth, in charge of the Six Paths of Rebirth!

Zhenyuanzi was honored as the Ancestor of Earth Immortals, with a high status!

Many great adepts were given titles, such as Donghua, the former leader of male immortals, who was honored as the Eastern Emperor, the only adept with the title "Emperor" among them!

Ziguang was honored as the Empress of the Mystic and Ling, and Yellow Horned as the Great Immortal of the Yellow Horn!

Some of these great adepts were given their own heavens as domains, while others declined!

Next, the Four Sea Dragon Kings, the Five Ghost Emperors, and the Ten Kings of Hell were registered and given positions!

After that, the positions within the Heavenly Court were announced!

Unlike what Ding Yue had imagined, there were no Six Great Emperors, but instead, four Great Supervisors and ten Immortal Lords were set up!

Ding Yue was appointed as the Great Supervisor of Laws, overseeing the behavior of immortals and deities in the three realms, verifying the laws, similar to a future disciplinary committee, with significant divine authority!

This made Ding Yue quite proud, after all, he could be considered a high-ranking official!

His rival, Nanji Xianweng, was appointed as the Great Supervisor of Punishments, in charge of penalties!

The other two positions, the Great Supervisor of the Army and the Great Supervisor of Officials, were taken by the Heavenly Emperor's two disciples, one overseeing the Heavenly Court's army and the other responsible for the records of the Heavenly Court's officials, both crucial positions, which the Heavenly Emperor did not hesitate to give to his disciples!

However, the Heavenly Emperor's foundation was not deep, and his two disciples were only at the mid-Golden Immortal level, far behind Nanji Xianweng, who was at the late-Golden Immortal level!

As for the current Buddhism, the two Western Sages had no choice, as the previous great calamity had severely affected Buddhism, with many disciples dead or injured. They could not produce any disciples of high caliber!

Even if they had, they were direct disciples and could not be sent to the heavens to serve as minor officials!

Therefore, Buddhism did not compete, letting others fight for the positions!

Surprisingly, the Supreme Purity Sage left a manifestation, saying he would assist the Heavenly Emperor, acting as a junior, ready to follow orders!

Although he said this, the Heavenly Emperor did not dare to treat him as such, and with a wave of his hand, the manifestation was honored as the Supreme Daoist Lord!

You are good at alchemy, right? I will build a special place for you to refine elixirs, and you can continue your alchemy, without interfering in other matters!

As for the ten Immortal Lords, they were equivalent to regional governors, each at the Golden Immortal level!

These were the only ten Golden Immortals the Heavenly Emperor had managed to recruit with great effort!

But Ding Yue knew this was just a transitional period, and once the deities were sealed, it would be a different story!

However, the next announcement was somewhat unexpected for Ding Yue!

With the establishment of the three realms, the Heavenly Dao had changed. From now on, any cultivator who wished to achieve immortality would have to undergo the heavenly tribulation, with the three, six, and nine tribulations corresponding to the True Immortal, Golden Immortal, and Great Ethereal Immortal levels!

Passing the thunder tribulation would grant immortality, failing would result in becoming a wandering immortal or reincarnating to cultivate again!

Some would even be completely destroyed!

For the demon race, when they transformed, they would also face the transformation tribulation, which varied!

The Heavenly Court was in an uproar, and many cultivators were shocked, especially those who had not yet achieved immortality, who were worried and at a loss!

However, the great adepts in the hall did not speak, clearly understanding the situation!

The change in the Heavenly Dao was irreversible!

(This chapter was revised multiple times, taking a long time. The structure of the Heavenly Court was considered for a long time, but I decided to leave it as it is for now. Any shortcomings, please point them out, brothers! Thank you.)