Chapter 1886: Scientific Instruments

The Mortal Realm

Such spells are known as "Divine Transformation."

When performing such a spell, the practitioner connects with the Divine Court through talismans, visualizes the sacred images and honorific titles of celestial deities from the immortal guide, meditates on becoming a celestial deity, and combines this with corresponding scriptures, methods, and incantations. This process allows them to receive a response from a talisman deity and be infused with divine power.

The power of a talisman deity can be bestowed upon soldiers or infused into the practitioner themselves.

This spell also has limitations. To receive a response from a talisman deity, the caster's cultivation, temperament, and mastery of the spell must all meet high requirements.

It is not always better for a talisman deity to have a higher rank. The higher the rank and the greater the number of deities invoked, the more demanding it is for the practitioner.

Most Taoist cultivators can only summon talisman deities from the divine departments corresponding to their own talismans, whose rank is comparable to or not significantly higher than their own spiritual rank.

Among these, summoning one's own altar-guarding divine general is the easiest.

Summoning higher-ranked talisman deities grants greater power, but the ritual steps become more complex. Setting up an altar is essential, as is meticulously activating talismans and coordinating with corresponding incantations and divine steps.

When summoning deities beyond one's rank, it is not uncommon to cast dozens or even hundreds of talismans consecutively.

Furthermore, numerous Taoist cultivators performing a ritual together can also summon high-ranked talisman deities, but this requires extremely strict and complex Taoist ceremonies, known in Taoism as Zhaijiao.

Most importantly, a talisman deity must exist to provide a response.

Not all Taoist cultivators following True Master Ruoquan's spell succeeded, but it was enough to lift spirits!

Outside the immortal city, demonic energy surged.

The immortal city's grand formation had been activated, with its Void-Trapping Restriction covering hundreds of miles outside the city. As the demonic clouds entered the range of the spiritual formation's power, they were visibly suppressed.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Among the beast horde, countless flying creatures and fierce beasts capable of aerial flight crashed to the ground.

The beast horde surged forward.

These fierce beasts were unfortunately struck and trampled by their companions from behind, and countless numbers were instantly turned into pulp.

The scent of blood further agitated the beast horde.

Even before the main battle began, countless fierce beasts had been killed or injured, but in the boundless tide of beasts, this loss seemed insignificant.

The Taoist cultivators, having undergone "Divine Transformation," felt immense power within them. Their faces filled with excitement, and seeing the beast horde approaching, they could no longer hold back, unleashing divine talismans towards the area outside the city.

Most of those who attacked were cultivators who practiced plague-related talismans.

Streaks of light exploded outside the city, erupting into colorful, vibrant poisonous smoke. The smoke connected, forming a continuous miasma.

A multicolored smoke miasma spontaneously formed outside the city. Fierce beasts that entered the poisonous miasma instantly perished.

Some silently collapsed and died, while others rotted completely, their flesh and blood turning into venom that continued to corrode other fierce beasts.

With this attack, the Taoist cultivators immediately noticed a difference: the speed and power of the divine talismans, even the same ones, surpassed their previous capabilities.

Furthermore, some divine talismans that they previously found difficult to use, or even beyond their cultivation limits, could now be cast.

They also felt that the consumption was greater; where they could previously cast ten talismans consecutively, they might now only be able to cast eight or even fewer, as the blessing of the talisman deity's power could not be maintained indefinitely.

However, these were minor inconveniences. Nothing was more exhilarating than receiving a response from the Divine Court.

Upon seeing this sight, cheers erupted all around.

Inside the city, spiritual lights immediately flashed frequently. Countless talisman altars soared into the sky, and the sound of incantations was incessant as cultivators strived to summon the highest-ranked talisman deities within their capabilities.

Under the night sky, the immortal city shimmered with brilliant divine light, forming a stark contrast with the gloomy demonic clouds.

Cultivators who did not receive a response were not disheartened.

As long as they survived this calamity, the Divine Court would one day be restored to its former glory!

“Defend our Taoist tradition!”

“Defend our Taoist tradition!”

The cries rose again, one after another, with less solemnity and more heroism than before.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The gates of the talisman altars opened one after another, and Taoist cultivators, one by one, led their soldiers to the front lines.

"Rumble..."

The ground and mountains trembled.

Demonic clouds covered the sky and sun, and the beast horde was boundless.

"Boom!"

The fierce beasts arrived at the city gates.

At the same time, outside the city, wind, frost, and fierce fire descended from the sky, and the ground turned into magma swamps.

Every snowflake and every streak of flowing fire possessed terrifying power, frantically reaping the lives of the fierce beasts.

The city's protective grand formation was activated!

“Kill!”

Roars of fury shook the city walls.

Under the protection of the city's grand formation, the Taoist cultivators actively charged out of the city.

The Dragon-Tiger Altar cultivators all received divine power blessings, each one incomparably mighty, leading their demon soldiers in a charge.

Hidden within the military formations were numerous talisman altars, with the various True Masters of Taoism personally acting as the axes of the formations, controlling the battle arrays.

If viewed from above, it would be evident that the entire Taoist faction was like a massive formation composed of talisman altars, soldiers, and cultivators.

And on the city walls, talisman altars also floated in the air.

Countless talisman altars were arranged in high tiers, reaching up to the clouds.

Among these were mostly cultivators of the Golden Seal Altars, including many profound True Masters. They either jointly performed destructive spells to eliminate enemies or cast various divine talismans to assist their comrades.

Compared to the beast horde, the Taoist faction seemed numerically weaker, but everything was orderly, with disciplined advances and retreats.

The Taoist forces split into several contingents, charging into the beast horde like torrents. They could respond to each other, sweeping away all obstacles with devastating force, and repeatedly charging through the beast horde.

Wherever their weapons pointed, rivers of blood flowed freely!

At this moment, True Master Ruoquan's gentle incantation echoed through the immortal city. The sound was not loud, but every cultivator and soldier could hear it clearly.

“Jade Qi transforms into flow, divine spirits descend and illuminate,Riding the Kui and mounting the Tiangang, appearing in the Nine Heavens.May the people of the Nine Earths prosper in life and fortune.May they live long and endure, never knowing sorrow of death.By the swift command of the law!”

The sound, upon hearing, was like gentle spring rain.

Many demon soldiers and cultivators charging on the battlefield, filled with killing intent and almost forgetting everything, recovered a degree of clarity upon hearing the incantation.

Above the immortal city, within the talisman altar formation, one altar rose high into the sky, with other altars following and guarding it from all sides.

The cultivator on the central talisman altar was none other than True Master Ruoquan.

Bathed in divine light, her expression was gentle, as if the Holy Mother of the Nine Heavens had descended, unable to bear the suffering of the mortal world. She gently raised her jade hand, and the Heavenly Doctor's Staff radiated immense spiritual light.

The light transformed into a divine talisman, condensing in the void, strikingly forming a gigantic divine talisman that could almost span the entire immortal city.

The talisman characters radiated light, and the divine talisman fluttered like a banner, before finally shattering with a bang.

Ten thousand points of spiritual light drifted outside the city, falling onto the charging demon soldiers and cultivators.

The demon soldiers felt it most distinctly; they seemed to gain infinite vitality, their qi and blood unprecedentedly vigorous.

In some of their wounds, flesh and blood began to wriggle, pain subsided, and they instantly recovered as if new.

Even severe injuries that had affected vital points were significantly alleviated.

Moreover, after healing their injuries, the talisman power did not fade but continued to persist.

After casting this divine talisman, True Master Ruoquan's face became exceptionally pale. On the surrounding talisman altars, the assisting cultivators swayed, and had it not been for the divine power blessing, they would have already collapsed.

True Master Ruoquan took a deep breath, took out a jade bottle, swallowed the spiritual liquid within, and sat cross-legged on the altar.

Other cultivators also took out their own medicinal pills and consumed them to recover.

This divine talisman consumed a vast amount of energy, but its effects were immediate.

In an instant, the Taoist faction's morale soared, their roars like thunder, and in one vigorous sweep, they pushed back the beast horde by a hundred miles.

It was not just this immortal city.

Similar situations occurred in other immortal cities, with some holding their ground and others charging into the beast horde.

Not long after, the immortal cities on both the northern and southern borders were surrounded by beast hordes.

The Ghostfang Kingdom and Jushan Territory were also not spared; the two territories and twin mountains had already become isolated islands in this world.

To the north, demonic clouds were like a sea; to the south, storms raged.

"Boom!"

Suddenly, a Taoist immortal city burst forth with golden light.

The golden light shot straight into the sky, visible for a thousand miles.

As if it were a signal, other immortal cities successively emitted golden light, each ray responding to the others in the distance.

Golden radiance illuminated the heavens and earth.

Jizhen Jingxian City.

True Master Ruoquan felt something, opening her eyes to gaze into the distance.

The entire northern border, like a golden serpent, stretched from east to west, connecting to form a golden great wall, protecting the Taoist heartland behind it.

For a time, the Taoist faction's situation greatly improved.

The beast horde was held back at the border.

However, the situation in Jushan Territory and the Ghostfang Kingdom was much more dire.

Jushan Territory's situation was slightly better.

On the human side, cultivators from the Left and Right Thunder Commandaries stepped forward to organize northern cultivators, using Star Island Immortal Lake as a stronghold to resist the beast horde.

The south was originally sparsely populated. Cultivators from the Gloomy Sky Palace and the Taoist army of the Yellow Springs Path formed defensive formations.

On the demon kingdom side, the major demon kingdoms were united.

The cultivators and demon cultivators of Jushan Territory were merely collateral damage, many looking distraught and fighting numbly.

They could not control their own destinies, only wait for the Ghostfang Kingdom and the Taoist Court to decide the victor.

As for the Ghostfang Kingdom, it was a land of utter devastation.

The Great Demon Sage, in a desperate gamble, deployed his elites to the Yellow Springs Path and the Grand Sage's Manor to guard the Demon Drum, leaving the outer defenses weak.

The Demon Drum could not control such a massive beast horde; it could only exert all its might to guide the True Monarch-level fierce creatures.

The beast horde stormed into Gangshan Territory, destroying demon cities one after another, slaughtering wantonly, and utterly devastating everything that was there, a truly horrific sight.

Although the Grand Official Seal could draw upon the Divine Court's power and resist the Six Heavens' Old Qi, it could not independently expand outwards. The purpose of building Purification Altars, Grand Altars, and Branch Altars was precisely for this.

Only where altars existed could they receive the protection of the Grand Official Seal and be incorporated into the territory.

As demon cities collapsed and altars were destroyed, the Six Heavens' Old Qi immediately invaded, turning the areas into lands of evil once more, just like Jushan Territory's lost lands.

Even if the beast horde was driven away in the future, rebuilding would not be an easy task.

This was no longer a matter of mutual destruction; the Great Demon Sage was staking everything on a desperate struggle!

Grand Sage's Manor.

The drumbeats shook the heavens.

The demon kings grieved over the destruction of their territories, and understood their current predicament even more clearly.

If the Taoist sect controlled the Divine Court, it could easily sever the connection between demon talismans and the Divine Court. At that point, they would have no choice but to surrender to the Taoist sect, lose their freedom, and become demon soldiers serving under Taoist cultivators, to be driven and commanded.

They would never be able to rise again for generations!

Compared to the Taoist sect, the Ghostfang Kingdom was truly at a moment of life and death!

A demon king manifested its true form: a great demon resembling an ape, its entire body covered in gray fur, with a vertical pupil on its forehead.

At this moment, it stood before the Demon Drum, all three eyes wide open, its arms swinging the drumsticks, striking the Demon Drum fiercely.

"Thump!"

"Thump!"

"Thump!"

One strike after another.

Each strike caused astonishing exhaustion. Even a demon king with high cultivation found it somewhat unbearable.

The gray ape's arms began to tremble, and its vertical pupil was bloodshot, but it persisted until its strength was utterly spent. With its last remaining power, it struck the final blow, its entire fur splitting open, spitting blood from its mouth, and collapsing!

Behind it, another demon king had already been waiting. Without offering comfort or treating its companion, it grabbed the drumsticks and immediately began drumming.

The gray ape was caught by other demon cultivators and treated on the spot.

The drumbeats echoed to the highest heavens.

The pangolin-like fierce beast licked its wounds, its eyes gleaming fiercely. Several times, it eagerly tried to pounce, attempting to attack the sword shadow.

Among the beast horde, awe-inspiring roars also rose and fell, one after another.

Each of these roars was more piercing than the last.

The Taoist cultivators all understood that the favorable situation was only temporary. Sooner or later, those great fierce creatures would eventually succumb to their ferocity, overriding their reason, and charge forward.

At that time, they would face not only the beast horde but also terrifying adversaries comparable to True Monarchs!

Zhongmao Territory, Governance Altar.

The two Grand True Masters guarding the Governance Altar successfully set up their altars, sitting cross-legged in the air above them, speaking in unison.

“We invoke the Seal of the Supreme Purity Heavenly Pivot Bureau!”

No sooner had they spoken than a beam of treasured light shot from the Talisman Conferral Bureau, flying between the two Grand True Masters. It was precisely the square seal that True Monarch Zhang had previously held.

This seal was made of jade, one inch and eight fen wide, and one inch and nine fen long. Its inscription featured six characters arranged in two lines of stacked seal script.

However, there were several color variations on the square seal, as if it had originally had gaps that were later repaired by hand.

The two Grand True Masters raised their arms, their four palms facing each other across the air, with the Seal of the Supreme Purity Heavenly Pivot Bureau suspended between them.

“By the True Monarch’s command, we transmit this order to the masters of all altars...”

The two Grand True Masters recited in unison silently.

Far away, the abbess of Jingquan Temple was sitting cross-legged before the main altar. Hearing the sound, she suddenly opened her eyes, which gleamed with spiritual light, and abruptly stood up.

“Your disciple obeys!”

The abbess bowed to the main altar, took out her Heavenly Doctor's Staff, lightly tapped the ground, then shifted her feet. Her body gracefully turned, her robes fluttering like a dancing butterfly.

The step ritual, as she performed it, was like an immortal dance; yet, it was also heroic, valiant, and profoundly sacred, inspiring no thoughts of blasphemy.

The disciples remaining at Jingquan Temple all activated their Heavenly Doctor's Staves, forming a line behind the abbess, following her as she performed the Tiangang steps.

At the same time, throughout the Taoist sect, at Purification Altars, Grand Altars, Main Altars...

Taoist cultivators at all these altars performed rituals, most wielding ritual swords as if in a sword dance.

Everyone performed the same type of step ritual, with synchronized steps, and recited the same incantation.

Spiritual lights shone from all altars, responding to the Governance Altar.

This was a Taoist ceremony, presided over by the two Grand True Masters at the Governance Altar.

For this ceremony, all altars within Zhongmao Territory were activated in unison, also with the purpose of summoning celestial deities.

Such a grand ceremony would naturally not be for summoning ordinary talisman deities!

After completing one step ritual, a command came from the Governance Altar to perform another type of step ritual, though it remained latent.

"Hiss!"

The pangolin-like fierce beast's very being became consumed by its ferocity. It let out a shrill scream, suddenly transforming into a gray lightning bolt that submerged the sword shadow.

The next moment, a sword light cut through the gray lightning and emerged. The residual power easily sliced several nearby mountain peaks clean in half, their rocks crashing into the beast horde.

The pangolin-like fierce beast was sent flying back again, a bone-deep sword wound on its shoulder.

However, this sword strike failed to kill the pangolin-like fierce beast!

The pangolin-like fierce beast let out a desperate shriek.

Seeing this, the other great fierce creatures could finally hold back no longer. A gigantic wing appeared, covering the sky—it was precisely the great fierce creature that had previously teamed up with the pangolin-like fierce beast.

Elsewhere, terrifying celestial phenomena and auras also erupted.

Zhongmao Territory, Governance Altar.

The two Grand True Masters opened their eyes in unison.

True Master Tianyue had bought them precious time. They had finally located a True Monarch-ranked talisman deity still existing in the world!