Chapter 325: Chapter 290: Ascension to the Heavenly Court, Pure Yang Venerate

"Disciples of the Three Pure Ones? How are they different from the people of the Heavenly Court?"

Song Lin was puzzled.

"Of course, there’s a difference. The Three Pure Ones came before the Jade Emperor. We only serve the Three Pure Ones, not the Jade Emperor."

The Three Pure Ones precede, while the Jade Emperor follows.

Currently, the Three Pure Ones within the Jade Emperor’s divine system are subordinate to the Jade Emperor. Although their status is revered, they lack incense offerings.

There are even some who follow the Three Pure Ones’ orthodoxy that only obey the Jade Emperor’s commands.

After all, the Jade Emperor is recognized as the orthodox ruler. The Three Pure Ones haven’t appeared in countless years—not even in the form of an avatar.

Those like Golden Cauldron are genuine disciples of the Three Pure Ones, while the Jade Emperor attempts to subdue them, hence causing conflict between the two factions.

"I see. So there’s such a backstory behind this."

No wonder the Demon Lord mantle was so hastily placed on him; it seems the conflict runs deep.

"When you go to the Heavenly Court, you must be extremely cautious. The Jade Emperor is strong in his pursuit of power. Although the Pure Yang Sect is very prominent at the moment, if he starts to find fault with you and you fail to submit to him, you might follow in our footsteps."

Golden Cauldron True Man advised.

"Thank you for the guidance; I will be careful."

Even without Golden Cauldron’s advice, Song Lin would remain vigilant. According to the accounts in the Mixed Play Journey to the West, both the Jade Emperor and the World Venerable are the type of rulers with bad tempers.

Sometimes, disasters are sent down simply because offerings were perceived as insincere.

Still, Heaven must be ventured into; otherwise, what would be the point of coming to this world?

"Why not join us? Recently, a prodigy has emerged in my lineage. He will surely change the current dynamics and allow the Three Pure Ones’ orthodoxy to flourish."

Golden Cauldron extended an invitation.

"Err, thank you for your kind offer, senior, but I intend to visit the Heavenly Court."

Song Lin still hadn’t found an ideal Taoist Body; perhaps the Heavenly Court held what he was seeking.

If he guessed correctly, the prodigy Golden Cauldron mentioned was likely the Heavenly Great Saint Sun Wukong.

Later, after the journey to obtain scriptures is completed, the Heavenly Great Saint enters nirvana, marking the final resistance from the Three Pure Ones’ orthodoxy.

Song Lin had no intention of boarding that ship.

"Alright. If anything comes up, you can find me at Lishan."

Golden Cauldron True Man smiled quietly and said nothing further.

He knew that with Song Lin’s personality, he would never succumb to the oppressive power of the Jade Emperor.

"The position of third brother at Lishan is always reserved for you."

"What?"

Song Lin nearly spat out blood.

He vaguely remembered the title of "third brother" being associated with the name Shuashua Sanlang.

If he had to bear such a name, he’d rather pledge allegiance to the Jade Emperor.

Besides, knowing the plot, he knew that the Great Sage Equaling Heaven and the Heavenly Great Saint would eventually wreak havoc in the Heavenly Palace.

At that time, he could work minimally while taking advantage of the situation.

Golden Cauldron True Man appeared baffled and reiterated.

Song Lin thanked Golden Cauldron for his goodwill, and the two parted ways.

Song Lin returned to Zhongnan Mountain.

On Zhongnan Mountain, there were clusters of palaces, Taoists painting talismans like rain, and their breaths exhaling clouds.

White clouds floated, immortal cranes soared.

A scene of the Immortal Realm.

This was the sacred land in the hearts of Taoists.

Currently, the Pure Yang Sect already boasted two independent immortals, thirty-six Earth Immortals, and seventy-two Human Immortals.

Countless Taoist Skills had been disseminated.

Mortal Taoists regarded this place as the Ancestral Court, and all took pride in receiving the Pure Yang Talisman.

Not long after, the General of Imperial Chariot and numerous Heavenly Soldiers and Generals descended to the mortal realm.

The Five Marshals of the Thunder Department, the Six Ding and Six Jia Divine Generals, the Four Value Officers, and the Twenty-Eight Constellations all arrived.

The entire sky was dyed golden yellow, with the Miao Fa Lotus visible everywhere.

Song Lin founded the Pure Yang Sect, drawing even the Jade Emperor’s intense attention.

"Announce the Jade Emperor’s Imperial Decree!"

The General of Imperial Chariot read aloud the imperial decree. After reciting numerous formalities, he moved on to the main points.

"Song Lin, founder of the Pure Yang Sect, is hereby named First-rank Pure Yang Heavenly Venerate. Tian Yunzhi as Miao Xuan Heavenly Master, and Jin Keji as Heavenly Master of Mystical Altar."

"I accept the decree!"

Song Lin stepped forward without bowing and took the decree directly from the General of Imperial Chariot’s hands.

Some distance away, a general frowned. This person seemed far too arrogant.

Ordinary Taoists like him weren’t even among the top-tier gods with Three Flowers Gathering at the Top—where did such a conceited disposition come from?

However, considering the Jade Emperor’s favor toward this individual, the generals refrained from commenting further.

After all, the man was very much in favor at the moment.

Even the Jade Emperor hadn’t anticipated that Song Lin’s teachings in the mortal world would become so wildly popular.

Once Song Lin accepted the decree, he ascended into the skies along with twelve Earth Immortals and two independent immortals.

All mortals saw this scene, further deepening their faith in the Pure Yang Sect—this was daylight ascension!

The Pure Yang Sect’s influence grew ever stronger.

Song Lin had outmaneuvered the Heavenly Court.

The Heavenly Court’s plan was to recruit Song Lin merely as a laborer, but his overwhelming reputation forced them to sweeten the offer. What was intended to demonstrate the majesty of the Heavenly Court ended up boosting the prestige of the Pure Yang Sect instead.

Song Lin passed through the South Heavenly Gate.

Along the way, the heavenly palaces were breathtakingly beautiful and indescribable in their charm.

At the center, the Lingxiao Palace towered ten thousand feet high, standing amidst the clouds. Red dragons and colorful phoenixes circled its perimeter, gazing down at the Three Realms.

The ground was covered in thick white clouds, where golden boys and jade girls walked among the swirling mists.

Upon entering the Lingxiao Palace.

On either side were hundreds of towering statues of gods, each lifelike and imposing.

Ahead, the central Jade Stairway led up ninety-nine steps. The Haotian Throne emitted seventy-two radiant auras, upon which sat an honored god adorned with a Nine Dragon Twelve Line Pearl Crown and dressed in Nine Chapter ceremonial robes, his visage round like the full moon and noble in appearance.

There was no need to guess—this was the Jade Emperor.

Song Lin bowed with respect.

"Greetings, Heavenly Emperor!"

"Rise, dear minister! I am already aware of the Pure Yang Sect, which fosters righteousness among mortals and upholds the dignity of the Heavenly Court. I greatly admire you."

The Jade Emperor smiled slightly.

"Your Majesty’s merits stand like the grandeur of Huayue Mountain, and your benevolence spreads like the brilliance of stars. This humble servant has merely been fortunate to gain a fraction of Your Majesty’s blessings. I am deeply grateful and overwhelmed."

With a flattering remark, Song Lin successfully pleased the Jade Emperor, who lavished praise upon him and rewarded him with Immortal Pills and Vermilion Fruits.

The surrounding immortal gods secretly marveled.

This man’s skill at flattery was impressive—looks like another competitor has entered the fray.

After some encouragement, the Jade Emperor hosted a grand banquet for all the gods, where celestial maidens danced gracefully, and the melodic string music hovered for three days.

The immortals revealed their true forms, each seated at their respective tables, exchanging drinks and banter.

Song Lin discreetly observed his surroundings.

He began to notice the strict hierarchies within the Heavenly Court.

At the top were the Jade Emperor and Queen Mother, the latter being a mature woman of dignified beauty.

Next were various Star Lords and Constellations, gods of the Thunder and Fire Departments, the Divine Directors of Nine Divisions, the Five Armies’ Marshals, and so on.

Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King Li Jing served as the Grand Marshal of the Five Armies.

Following them were minor gods like Fude Gods, Land Gods, Cultural Gods, Marriage and Fertility Gods, and Moral Immortals, who depended on the Heavenly Court’s Flat Peaches for immortality.

The gods without tables included the Dharma Guardian Divine Generals, Four Value Officers, Five Marshals, Thirty-Six Heavenly Gang Generals, and Seventy-Two Earthly Fiends Generals, among others.

Song Lin sat at the far end of the banquet table.

Compared to the oddly-shaped Star Lords and Immortals, those seated at the end were overwhelmingly human-like.

At this moment, Song Lin roughly understood the factions within the Heavenly Court.

One faction was composed of innate gods, led by Star Lords, Thunder, and Fire Departments.

The other faction consisted of acquired immortals, humans who had ascended.

Most of the Fude Immortals were aligned with the Emperor and Queen Mother, forming a loyal Royalist Party.

As for the Jade Emperor...

Song Lin’s assessment was essentially as a glorified Fude Immortal.

The Jade Emperor in this realm wasn’t a notable powerhouse but rather an administrator. The truly strong ones were his subordinates, like the Five Star Lords, Jiuyao Star Lords, Twenty-Eight Constellations, Thunder and Fire Department gods, and so forth.

The division leaders and Heavenly Venerates appeared to possess cultivation comparable to divine armies crossing tribulations.

As for whether it was Fire Tribulation or Thunder Tribulation, it depended on their Daoist Realm.

The top-tier elites were divine beings, while the next tier consisted of those with Three Flowers Gathering at the Top, such as Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King Li Jing and Nezha.

Interestingly, Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King and Nezha seemed to belong to the innate faction, their appearances showing traces of foreign influences—perhaps from the Buddhist Sect?

First-rate experts included ones like Song Lin.

Of course, though the Heavenly Court had numerous experts, it also housed its fair share of weaklings.

Thanks to the realm’s enduring peace, some immortals hadn’t bothered to master combat techniques.

Song Lin, who possessed Daoist Skills rooted in the real world, had honed numerous techniques specialized in extreme slaughter.

Daoist Soldiers, Eight Sceneries Sword, Divine Dragon, Flying Knife, and the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths Divine Thunder.

As long as the opponent’s realm wasn’t outrageously beyond his own, Song Lin could slay them.

"But for now, it’s better to focus on mastering Three Flowers Gathering at the Top."

He thought quietly to himself.

Once he achieved mastery in Three Flowers Gathering at the Top, his core position in the Heavenly Court would solidify.

Then he would learn the refining techniques for Rejuvenation Pills.

But the absence of Master Zhengyang caused him to wonder.

After the banquet, Song Lin and his group arrived at the cave mansion bestowed by the Jade Emperor.

The cave mansion was extravagantly maintained, radiant with dazzling lights, and perched amidst the clouds.

However...

"Is this all we get?" Tian Yunzhi asked with some frustration.

With the Sect Leader’s contributions, shouldn’t some real positions of authority have been offered?

Something like overseeing the mortal realm’s Taoist orthodoxy, or managing the Tianhe River and commanding an army of a million Heavenly Soldiers?

"It doesn’t matter. Let’s settle here for now."

Song Lin had already grasped the intent.

Perhaps it was similar to how the Mixed Play Journey to the West described the second havoc in the Heavenly Palace—if his influence grew too large, they would give him prestigious but powerless roles, keeping him from accessing actual authority.

The troops under his command would be fewer than even those guarding the South Heavenly Gate.

With one imperial decree and a titular post, the Heavenly Court could gain prestige for free while ensuring the ascended individuals barely obtained any real power.

But of course... Song Lin had anticipated this.

A future of mere compliance was never part of his plan.

Ascending was merely step one.

Once mortal experts ascended one by one, and when the acquired immortals of the Heavenly Court realized their collective strength...

That would be the moment for Song Lin to emerge as a figure of great power—a presence obeying commands but not adhering blindly.

"I imagine Er-lang God is firmly entrenched in the Shu lands by now."

Song Lin mused.

Er-lang God had yet to make an appearance, largely due to Song Lin orchestrating his deployment to Shu.

Efforts were made to distance their connection. Once Er-lang God gained enough achievements in Shu and ascended with the Seven Great Saints and Erlang’s infantry, he would rise as another formidable ally.

The plan was proceeding smoothly and methodically.

Now was the time for Song Lin to enhance his own strength.

The Heavenly Court’s Essence and Qi were ten times that of the mortal world.

Coupled with the methods for refining Rejuvenation Pills, achieving Three Flowers Gathering at the Top’s Great Perfection within a Jiazi cycle seemed plausible.

Song Lin released the twelve Earth Immortals, allowing them to cultivate independently.

Time slowly passed.

In the first hundred years of the Journey to the West.

Song Lin proficiently mastered the techniques for Small Rejuvenation Pills (transformation levels one to three).

By the one hundred twentieth year.

He grasped the techniques for Middle Returning Pill (transformation levels four to six), yet remained stuck at the current level and unable to advance further.

Adept at Qi Storage Golden Pill techniques, Song Lin’s alchemy proficiency ranked among the best in the Heavenly Court.

The Jade Emperor assigned him a task: to refine one thousand Qi Storage Golden Pills for the Peach Festival sixty years later.

Due to his exceptional alchemy skills, Song Lin also expanded his network among acquired immortals.

By the one hundred fortieth year of the Journey to the West.

Boom!

On this day, the cave mansion of the Pure Yang Heavenly Venerate was enveloped in lingering purple qi.

Three flowers manifested in the sky.

One glowed crimson like blood—the Lead Flower.

One shone silver like frost—the Silver Flower.

One radiated brilliant gold—the Gold Flower.

Three Flowers Gathering at the Top, Purple Mansion Peak.

Mastery over Three Flowers Gathering startled the Jade Emperor.

The Jade Emperor felt something was amiss.

However, he couldn’t quite pinpoint the issue.

Song Lin had always behaved prudently—never forming alliances, dedicating himself purely to alchemy and closed-door cultivation, evading suspicion entirely.

By the year one hundred forty-one.

Er-lang God Li Yu ascended as an immortal, receiving the title Manifestation Saint Er-lang True Monarch. The Seven Great Saints all obtained official posts.

Pure Yang Sect Heavenly Master Xu Zhen ascended.

Furthermore, he brought along twenty-four Earth Immortals.

By this point, the Pure Yang Sect faction within the Heavenly Court included three independent immortal Heavenly Masters, thirty-six Earth Immortals.

By the one hundred fiftieth year.

Chaos erupted in the Southern Continent due to the Demon King.

The Jade Emperor dispatched armies to annihilate the foe, led by the Four Marshals and Er-lang God, with the Thirty-Six Heavenly Gang and Seventy-Two Earthly Fiends in the vanguard, accompanied by eight hundred thousand heavenly soldiers descending to kill demons.

The demon forces were formidable, resulting in devastating casualties.

When victory seemed bleak, Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King and Twenty-Eight Constellations arrived, slaying demons with unparalleled momentum.

No one else received any rewards.

During a drinking session, the Four Marshals—Ma, Zhao, Guan, and Wen—as well as Er-lang God, subtly expressed dissatisfaction with the Heavenly Court.

By the one hundred seventieth year.

"Summon Tian Yunzhi, Jin Keji, and Xu Zhen to serve as Gatekeepers of the South Heavenly Gate."

The Jade Emperor issued orders to undermine Song Lin, assigning the three Heavenly Masters to guard the South Heavenly Gate while dispersing his other disciples among Er-lang God and the Four Marshals’ camps.

Toward the year’s end.

Master Zhengyang emerged from closed cultivation after completing Taiyin Refining Body, achieving Two Flowers Gathering at the Top and perfecting his Taiyin Body.

Upon exiting his cave mansion, Zhengyang noticed a silhouette outside his door, facing away.

The figure turned around, smiling, and said, "Zhengyang, long time no see!"

"Founder!"

...

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