Ji Lingzhou did not hide anything and said frankly, "Ancestor, I want to rule the world, revive our Dayong Dynasty, complete the millennial legacy, and make up for the regret you couldn't fulfill in your lifetime! My grave robbing is just a front; in truth, I want to honor my ancestors!"
"..."
The old gentleman, upon hearing this, thought this descendant has ambition. As for filial piety...well, there is certainly a bit. But the way of expressing it seems a bit unfilial.
At this moment, Ji Lingzhou also realized that the old man might really be his ancestor. He hurriedly lifted his robe, knelt down, respectfully kowtowed, and pleaded with his ancestor to impart the strategy to conquer the world, seeing his sincerity.
Upon hearing this, the old gentleman shook his head and sighed, "It's easy to conquer the world, but hard to rule it. Even with your ancestors' capabilities, they only ruled the country for eight hundred years."
"Moreover, if you want to conquer the world, it's against the natural order, destined for failure and unfulfillment..."
Ji Lingzhou's eyes turned red as he continued to kowtow, "I have imperial blood; why can't I sit on the throne? Please, ancestor, teach me. If I cannot restore the glory of the Ji family, I would rather die here!"
"Is that truly what you wish?"
"Please, ancestor, grant me this! Your descendant would rather die on this path of no return than live in mediocrity and let my years slip by!"
The old gentleman stared at him for a long while, his brows suddenly relaxed, and he sighed, "Very well! Now is a time of great upheaval; who knows, you might truly make a mark. I will teach you the art of battle formations, so you won't complain that your ancestors didn't care for you and to put an end to your grave-robbing thoughts."
Just like that, Ji Lingzhou stayed in the ancient tomb of Qishan for six months. Before he left, the old gentleman gave him a prophecy.
"You are destined for wealth and domination, yet wealth begets water. Avoid places with flourishing waters, and be wary of people associated with water. Remember: otherwise, your achievements will end up benefiting others instead of you!"
Finally, the old gentleman added a sentence: "Earth can produce gold, so stay close to those associated with earth, such as those with names containing mountain, stone, or earth, or people from infertile lands. You might 'borrow' their luck for your own success."
Ji Lingzhou did not take the first prophecy seriously but remembered the latter firmly.
Later, he encountered Han Renshan, the Holy Master of the Celestial Heart Sect, whose name contained the character for mountain and who hailed from a poor mountain valley, having been a bandit, making him the earthy candidate the ancestor mentioned!
By this time, the Cangyi Group had suffered heavy losses in the battle of Jingzhou, and military expenses were urgent. Ji Lingzhou once again thought of grave robbing.
But this time, he planned not to rob his ancestor, but the divine tomb in the Return Void of the Ancient Yin River Dao.
It is said that the divine relics contain immortal fate, and if one attains this fate, it is possible not only to break through to the realm of martial Celestial Persons but even to become immortal and an ancestor!
Immortal fate is hard to obtain. Knowing that going to the Yin River alone is perilous, Ji Lingzhou needed to find someone to team up with.
Who was most suitable? Han Renshan!
Thinking of his ancestor's prophecy, Ji Lingzhou made plans to bring all capable members of the Cangyi Group, including the commanding leaders and Upper Envoys, to the Yin River, so that after obtaining the immortal fate, Han Renshan could be left at the Yin River.
By then, the power retained by the Celestial Heart Sect in the north, and the entire Jin Sect would become his foundation to establish dominance over the world!
Xu Qing could only say that Ji Lingzhou had gone far; there was hardly any power left for Han Renshan to seize, with only some land fragments remaining, which had been carved up by the Red-dress Sect, nothing more.
Otherwise, the mighty leader of a sect would not have come to the Bone Temple alone.
After watching the phantasmagoria, and aside from the opportunities gained through Ji Lingzhou's dutiful actions, Xu Qing also learned about an old power transition story.
The Cangyi Group, led by Ji Lingzhou, and the Red-dress Sect originally belonged to the same family.
The members were all truly righteous people acting on behalf of the people and never exploiting the common folk. But after the previous head chose Xie Hongying, who had royal blood from the previous dynasty, to inherit the leadership, a rift began to form within the Cangyi Group.
During this time, Ji Lingzhou proposed marriage to Xie Hongying, hoping to secure a union and thus gain a chance to control the Group's power.
However, Xie Hongying firmly refused, stating that as long as Dayong had not fallen, and the realm was not at peace, she would not discuss personal affairs.
Ji Lingzhou held a grudge, fomented rebellion among the followers, and claimed the old leader had selfish motives, questioning how Xie Hongying, a mere woman, could lead Cangyi Group to thrive?
At that time, the sect was already unstable, and Ji Lingzhou's actions led to a split. Unwilling to compete, Xie Hongying led a small number of followers to form the Red-dress Sect, while Ji Lingzhou seized absolute power, becoming the commander-in-chief of Cangyi Group, having an initial foundation.
"By any means necessary, courageous and resourceful, while also fulfilling filial duties so resolutely, it's not surprising he could fight his way to the north of Jingzhou."
"Pity, he only listened to half of the ancestor's advice."
Xu Qing followed the path of hungry ghost tombs with his right hand to the tomb chamber where Han Renshan attained the immortal fate, finding the layout almost identical to Ji Lingzhou's Rakshasa ghost tomb chamber.
Here, Xu Qing maneuvered the paperman to the closed coffin.
Meanwhile, Xu Qing, holding a jade ruyi infused with countless threads of incense, sneaked to the inside of the coffin.
When the paperman opened the two layers of the coffin lid, inside emerged an ethereal, fairy-like figure, seemingly untouched by mortal desires.
"Neither smoke nor mist but shadows dense, a fragrant trace beyond the clouds. Not illusory nor real, but a divine realm, a crane-drawn chariot bathing in the spring breeze."
Once the opening poem concluded, five-colored mist flowed from the coffin, resembling the aura of a fairy glow.
"Fortunate one, I see your bones are light and spiritual, untainted by mundane filth, would you like to follow this immortal..."
The immortal barely finished speaking when she felt an unknown thick and almost burning object pressed against her lower back.
Startled, the immortal quickly turned her head, only to see a young man with a pale face holding the jade ruyi, emitting a brilliant divine light!
As the light consumed her body, the immortal, wide-eyed and in disbelief, stared at the silent youth unleashing such power.
When the divine light dissipated, the evil being attempting to spread the five plagues was eradicated as well.
...
Under the Bone Temple, Xu Qing picked up two corpses, turning back to glance at the only unexplored tomb passage.
Upon acquiring the secrets of the Qimen, he deduced the foundation of the temple below employing the Di character method.
The results always foretold great danger, symbolized by the White Tiger's presence, ominous Qi overhead, and a bleak fate!
The White Tiger signifies warfare; the sinister aura wounds from the Netherworld, the omen of death summons spirits.
Even contemplating venturing inside made Xu Qing, a zombie, a dead person, feel a foreboding death omen, a dreadful sign indeed!
"Could it truly be the remains of the True Monarch of the Mysterious Altar inside?"
Xu Qing pondered with a frown. In his memory, the True Monarch of the Mysterious Altar did not attain immortality in the flesh but cultivated the godly path.
How could a deity cultivating the godly way have a physical body then...
"Like Emperor Wenchang, reincarnating as human with godly memories sealed, if the True Monarch of the Mysterious Altar returned to the void at the Yin River, he should have reincarnated as a human too."
Xu Qing shook his head, deciding not to dwell on it. He picked up the two bodies and, employing Gecko Wall-Climbing Skill, mounted the cliff as if walking on flat ground, returning to the Bone Temple.
Inside the Incense Hall, the same scene unfolded, except the Bone Temple was eerily silent; hadn't a glimpse of even a Ghost Soldier, let alone the Eight Banner Marshals.
Xu Qing carried the bodies out of the Incense Hall, only then seeing the eight marshals and others stood outside the temple gate, not daring to approach.
"Marshal, what happened?"
"The majesty of an Immortal, truly sacred and inviolable!" The Eight Banner Marshal spoke cryptically, "Luckily, Lord Xu is a man of the common world, unseized by divine light, unlike us..."
"The consequences would have been unimaginable."
Only then did Xu Qing recall the Blood Lake incense offerings.
"The false can never become true, and the Ghost Law is not divine; it is merely a substitute created by the Underworld King's Dharma Corpse.
The Netherworld has long lost its Mirror of Sin, nor is there a Judge penning the fate between life and death. This Ghost Law is merely the Underworld King's attempt to replace both the Mirror of Sin and the Judge's ledger."
"Though it can see through ghostly tricks, it cannot perceive the thoughts of the living."
"Those who devour ghosts, only intake without output, and do not guide humans, are far from the path!"