Sixty-Eight, Heaven's Court Stands

  Zengzi returned to Laozi's thatched cottage and saw Tongtian holding an invitation in his hand, playing with it. Laozi was saying something to Yuanshi.

  Ji Xun Daozi entered, Tongtian threw the invitation card in his hand to Ji Xun Daozi. Laozi and Yuanshi also stopped talking, hinting that Ji Xun Daozi take a look at the invitation card.

  Xun Daozi opened the invitation letter and saw that it was written inside:

  Respectfully presented to Laozi Yuanshi

  The Way of Heaven and Human Friendship

  There is a great sage of the demon clan, Emperor Jun, Taiyi, who feels that the chaotic and disorderly life in the vast wilderness is struggling, so he responds to the heavenly heart above and follows the wishes of the living beings below. He brings together a group of demon saints to build a heavenly court to protect the order of the vast wilderness.

  Restore peace to the chaotic world

  A hundred years later, at the top of Tian Ting, standing in prayer, wishing for friends to observe the ritual.

  Emperor Jun and Taiyi led the demons and various saints to pay homage

  Xun Daozi finished reading the post, and his heart was also strange. In this vast and chaotic world without a calendar, the time agreed upon by these cultivators had no reference point, yet they all knew the specific date. This might be one of the characteristics of this chaotic world! At the same time, he was also pondering: Now that the Yaozu Heavenly Court has been established, will it exclude the powerful Wuzu force and dominate the chaotic world alone, making all nations surrender? It seems that a great chaos is not far away.

  At this point, Laozi spoke up and said: "This demon clan wants to build a heavenly court, take over the duties of heaven, and govern the vast wilderness. What do you all think about it?"

  Yuanshi Dao said: "If you want to plot merits and virtues, merits and virtues should exist, but the source of disaster has already been buried." After finishing speaking, he shook his head and sighed.

  "Great chaos!" He said with a sly smile.

  The old man turned his head towards Xun Daozi, indicating that Xun Daozi should also speak out his own views.

  Xun Daozi thought for a moment and said, "Disaster and fortune are interdependent."

  Laozi, Yuanshi and Tongtian looked at each other, clapped their hands and laughed: "What a wonderful disaster and blessing intertwined!" After laughing, they also nodded in agreement.

  Decades later, a colorful auspicious cloud rose into the air above Mount Kunlun and headed towards Mount Buzhou. On the cloud's edge, five strange beasts stepped lightly on the cloudy steps, neither hastily nor slowly, as if taking a leisurely stroll. However, the colorful auspicious cloud moved swiftly, racing like lightning.

  When the three strange beasts lined up in a row, with a green cow in the middle, its entire body was covered in dark green fur that shone like silk. A pair of large horns made of jade-like material protruded from its head, yet they seemed to radiate an eerie aura. On its back sat a Taoist priest with a crane's hair and snowy whiskers.

  To the left stood a Qilin beast, with the face of a horse, hooves like those of a cow, antlers like those of a deer, and a donkey-like tail. Its eyes sparkled with an extraordinary aura, and on its back sat a Taoist priest wearing a moon-white robe, exuding an air of majesty.

  To the right stood a unicorn-like beast, with a single horn protruding from its forehead, large eyes that shone like stars, and a body covered in armor-like scales. On its back sat a Taoist priest with sword-like eyebrows and starry eyes.

  Behind these three strange beasts, half a step to either side, stood two other creatures. To the left was a three-eyed snow lion beast, its mane fluttering in the wind, its eyes gleaming with a fierce aura. On its back rode a Taoist priest wearing a moon-white robe, his face ordinary but his eyes sparkling with an extraordinary intensity, and a hint of a beard.

  To the right stood a dragon-like beast, its head ferocious, three horns coiled around its body like electric wires, and scales that shone like dark gold. On its back sat a woman wearing snow-white clothes, her beauty so pure and captivating that it seemed almost otherworldly.

  This is Laozi, Yuanshi, Tongtian, Xun Daozi and Su Xin who are on their way to Mount Kunlun to attend the inauguration ceremony of the Yaozu Heavenly Court.

  This time, the formation of the Honghuang Tian Ting by the You tribe is a major event in the Honghuang world. Many powerful beings from the Honghuang world have been invited to attend. Yuan Shi will also bring Xun Zang along, hoping to broaden his horizons. Lao Zi, moved by Su Xin's nearly thousand years of effort and her innate talent for alchemy, will also take him along, increasing his knowledge and experience, which will be beneficial to his cultivation.

  As the crowd arrived at Mount Buzhou, they saw that the summit of Mount Buzhou was filled with a magnificent and resplendent aura, with auspicious clouds densely packed, and the sound of celestial music echoing. Unbeknownst to them, a majestic heavenly gate suddenly appeared on the mountain peak, with eight gigantic pillars as if cast from gold, shining brightly and dazzlingly. Dragons and phoenixes coiled around the pillars, which were thousands of feet high, with horizontal beams and frameworks that flowed with colorful lights and auspicious auras. The magnificent and lofty atmosphere permeated the void.

  The crowd arrived at the gate and dismounted, with attendants coming to lead away their mounts. From within the gate emerged a group of Taoist priests, led by two men clad in bright yellow robes - one refined and smiling, the other stern and haughty. Behind them followed a throng of powerful beings from the Primordial Chaos, all of whom came forward to pay their respects to Laozi and his three companions.

  In the meantime, there were familiar guides and escorts: Hongyun Laozu, Zhenyuanzi; Fuxi, Nüwa; also, the Daoist with a green robe and hooked nose seen at the Purple Mist Palace; the cold and stern man carrying two swords on his back; and some other majestic-looking cultivators whose faces were familiar but whose identities were unknown.

  Everyone finished their greetings and Emperor Jun and Taiyi led them into the Heavenly Gate.

  As soon as he entered the Heavenly Gate, Xunzi was amazed by the grand and magnificent scenery. The continuous vast palace, golden and jade-like, with clouds and mist swirling, auspicious air filling the sky, and precious light shining brightly. The attendants were elegant and the guards were majestic.

  The crowd walked to the largest hall in the middle, where a servant led them into the hall, separated the guests and hosts, and sat down. Zidaozi and Su Xin sat behind Laozi, Yuanshi, and Tongtian. A servant brought up spiritual fruit and immortal wine.

  No one in the hall spoke, while Emperor Jun, Taiyi and the blue-robed eagle-nosed Taoist as well as Fuxi occasionally went out to welcome the Honghuang Taoists who came to attend the ceremony.

  One after another, the cultivators of the Primordial Chaos entered the grand hall and mostly greeted the people present before taking their seats under the guidance of the attendants. There were also a very small number of cultivators who entered the grand hall, found their own seats and sat down without greeting or speaking to other cultivators.

  After a long time, there were already over a thousand people seated in the grand hall. Xun Daozi looked around at the people present and saw that they were all highly accomplished individuals, mostly being cultivators who had been seen by the Purple Mist Palace's Listening to the Way gathering. There were also some younger generations like Xun Daozi and Su Xin who had been brought by their masters to broaden their horizons.

  Days later, no one came again.

  On this day, at noon, the Taoist priest with a green robe and an aquiline nose stood up and bowed to everyone in the hall, saying: "Today is the anniversary of the founding of our demonic heavenly court. The auspicious hour is approaching, please follow me outside the temple to worship heaven and observe the ceremony." After finishing speaking, he led the way out of the main hall.

  Di Jun, also known as Taiyi, stood up and bowed his fist to everyone, leading the crowd out of the temple.

  As soon as he stepped out, Xun Daozi felt a sense of shock. Row upon row of standing Yaozu stretched all the way to the sky, with a huge high platform in the middle that seemed to be made of flawless white jade, stacked layer by layer, nine layers in total. Each layer was lined with many cultivators, each with an extraordinary realm.

  The crowd followed Di Jun, Tai Yi stepped up onto the high platform step by step.

  On the highest platform, a huge white jade stone case was placed in the center. Emperor Jun and Taiyi stood in the middle, while everyone else lined up on either side of them.

  The Taoist priest in the green robe with a hooked nose stepped forward, bowed to the crowd and stood still, opening his mouth to shout: "When heaven and earth first opened, the Honghuang calendar was chaotic, living beings competed with each other, disturbing the peace, all beings suffered, heaven and earth pitied; there is my demon clan's great sage, Emperor Jun Taiyi, who felt the pity of heaven and earth, followed the wishes of all beings, brought my demon clan's saints to this unweek peak, established my demon clan's heavenly court, protected the Honghuang, decided the chaos, returned peace to all beings, restored the Honghuang to peace." The voice was loud and clear, echoing far away in the sky.

  He immediately dragged out his voice and shouted: "Offer... sacrifice!" Then he stepped aside and made way for the front.

  Immediately, a group of attendants carried various offerings, with solemn expressions, onto the high platform, and placed them one by one on the white jade stone table, then bowed and retreated.

  Then, the Taoist priest in the green robe with a hooked nose loudly shouted: "Kowtow!"

  Then, Emperor Jun and Taiyi led the way, bowing down in front of the white jade stone case with a loud "Boom!" that echoed throughout heaven and earth. All the cultivators who had come to attend the ceremony, as well as the demons, including those who were already lined up at the edge of the sky, all bowed down to the ground, following Emperor Jun and Taiyi's lead in performing the ritual of three kneels and nine kowtows.

  The kowtowing ended, and the crowd of demons stood up. The Taoist priest in a green robe with an eagle nose shouted again: "The Heavenly Emperor is crowned!"

  A eunuch presented a golden jade tray with a crown on it, Emperor Jun took the crown and put it on his head solemnly. The eunuch retreated.

  The azure-robed eagle-nosed monk shouted again: "East Emperor ascends to the throne!"

  Another attendant presented a crown, which Taiyi took and put on his head. The attendant withdrew.

  Then, the position of the Great Sage of the Demon Clan was added, and the Great Sage Kunpeng was crowned as the Demon Master of the Heavenly Court. He was that Taoist with a green robe and an eagle nose. Fuxi was also crowned as the Western Emperor, and Nüwa was sealed as the Queen of Nü.

  Then, Qingpao Eagle Hooked Nose Shu Shi - Kunpeng shouted: "Rites - completed! Hongyuan Demon Clan Heavenly Court - established!"

  Suddenly, auspicious clouds surged and swirled, radiant halos flashed, and ethereal music echoed. The mysterious yellow aura emerged from the void, vast and majestic, splitting into numerous thick beams of light and countless fine threads in mid-air. These yellow beams then descended one after another, merging into the bodies of various demons, with the two largest beams entering the bodies of Emperor Jun and Taiyi; a larger beam entered the body of Kunpeng; dozens of finer beams entered the bodies of several great demon saints; all the demons gained something, some more, some less.

  For a time, many demons fell into various wondrous states, and the aura on their bodies changed more or less, with their auras subtly strengthened.

  Among them, Di Jun, Tai Yi, and Kun Peng have undergone the greatest changes in their breath, and it is clear that they have gained great benefits.

  A group of monks standing by the side, many of whom showed envy and regretted not being able to replace themselves. Only Laozi and others who were truly at the top of the Honghuang continent remained unmoved, silently watching the demons in front of them who were immersed in the epiphany brought about by the Xuan Huang gongde aura.

  After a while, the great sages of various demon tribes woke up one after another, all with joyful expressions. Only Emperor Jun and Taiyi seemed to be dissatisfied, with a hint of regret on their faces. Kunpeng also showed a slight disappointment in his eyes for a moment before revealing a smile.

  At this time, Kunpeng bowed to the Taoist priests who came to watch the ceremony and said: "Thank you all for coming to watch the ceremony. The Heavenly Court has just been established, and I hope that in the future, you will help us more."

  Di Jun and Tai Yi also came together to pay their respects and invited everyone to take their seats.

  The Demon Clan's Heavenly Palace Rises!