"It is heard that Heaven and Earth are dark and yellow, the Universe is vast and desolate; the Dao of Man is faint, and the Dao of Immortals is boundless."
"Since ancient times, Divine Beings and mortals have been separated. Commoners are like ants, restricted by Heaven and trapped by the Earth."
"However, the Heavenly Dao is flawed, demons dance in chaos, treating our people like weeds and consuming our flesh and blood to prolong their years. Great Tang is in danger, and the state is teetering!"
"Now, there is the Grand Princess of Great Tang, of the Li Family, named Lonely Moon."
"Born in the Imperial Garden, yet possessing a benevolent heart to save the world, she cultivates the Great Dao that reaches the heavens. She cannot bear to see living beings suffer and does not fear the gods and buddhas filling the sky."
"Alone, she slays demons between the two paths; standing above the Nine Heavens, she covers the sky with one hand to protect the myriad people of Chang'an!"
At this point, the old man's voice choked slightly, yet it became increasingly resonant and powerful.
"Her achievements span a thousand autumns, and her virtue covers ten thousand generations!"
"Though she possesses a mortal body, she is truly a reincarnated Perfected Lord!"
"According to ancient rites, sages are deified after death."
"However, the Grand Princess's merits have long surpassed life and death, transcending the mundane."
"Therefore, Your Majesty, following the will of Heaven and the people, has specially built this Nine Heavens Eldest Princess Demon-Slaying True Lord Temple."
"A golden body is sculpted to stabilize the national fortune, and a living shrine is established to gather the hearts of the people."
"All subjects of our Great Tang shall offer worship with devotion and recite her name day and night."
"May the Perfected Lord grant protection, ensuring favorable weather, national prosperity, and peace, while demons are repelled and eternal prosperity reigns!"
"Humbly we pray—may you enjoy these offerings!!"
As the last word fell.
The Minister of Imperial Sacrifices turned around and bowed deeply toward the center of the hall doors.
Afterward.
He raised his head and looked toward Jiang Yuechu.
At this moment.
The Emperor, the officials, the Demon Suppression Guards, and even the tens of thousands of commoners on the plaza.
Everyone's gaze converged on Jiang Yuechu.
Waiting for a nod from this Perfected Lord of the mortal realm.
Jiang Yuechu stood before the main hall doors, her sleeves hanging slightly.
Her exquisite, picture-perfect face was currently pulled very tight.
Although she was long used to fighting in mountains of corpses and seas of blood, and had seen the hideousness of demons and ghosts.
Being worshipped like a living ancestor by tens of thousands, and bowed to like a god or buddha who saves people from suffering...
This feeling... was truly a first.
Her gaze swept over the faces below.
After a moment of silence.
The girl pursed her lips slightly under the watchful eyes of the multitude.
She gave a slight nod.
"Excellent—!!!"
Seeing the Perfected Lord's approval.
The Minister of Imperial Sacrifices' face flushed red, and he snapped his back straight, holding the silk scroll high above his head.
Once again, he strained his voice, using all his strength to roar: "The auspicious hour has arrived—!!!"
"We respectfully invite the Perfected Lord's golden body to enter the treasure hall and take its place to receive offerings—!!!"
Dong— Dong— Dong—
The dull sound of drums, like thunder from the Nine Heavens, suddenly exploded over the Imperial City.
Immediately following, bells and chimes rang in unison, the sounds of string and wind instruments were pleasant to the ear, and ritual music swelled.
Nine strong and sturdy Golden-Armored Warriors appeared, bare-chested with red headbands, shouting powerful rhythmic chants.
"Lift—!!!"
Accompanied by a unified roar.
The imperial carriage carrying the black-robed golden body was steadily lifted.
The golden body shone brilliantly under the sunlight. Though it lacked complex patterns, it possessed a natural majesty that one dared not look at directly.
The warriors took steady steps, leaving a footprint with every stride, carrying the golden body up the nine-tiered white jade steps toward the towering main entrance of the hall.
Jiang Yuechu did not look back.
She followed the golden body, crossing that high vermilion threshold.
Inside the hall, light and shadow intertwined, and sandalwood incense curled in the air.
The simple and unadorned black-robed golden body, surrounded by the crowd, slowly rose above everyone's heads.
Finally.
It landed steadily on the nine-layered white jade platform that had been prepared beforehand.
Buzz—
At the moment it took its seat.
The entire hall seemed to tremble slightly for an instant.
The purple sandalwood smoke that had been lingering in the surrounding purple-gold incense burners seemed to be drawn by something.
It scrambled to transform into several long dragons, surging toward the golden body atop the platform.
In the blink of an eye.
Upon the originally cold golden body, an indescribable spiritual aura appeared.
Between its brows and eyes, light flowed.
It became increasingly compassionate, yet also increasingly majestic.
It was as if it had truly come to life.
With lowered eyelids, it quietly gazed at the sentient beings both inside and outside the hall.
At that very moment.
In the eight directions of the horizon far from Chang'an, at almost the same instant, the earth roared and the wind and clouds surged backward.
Eight extremely brilliant golden lights, like eight golden dragons roaring at the firmament, soared into the sky from the far end of the vast horizon.
The light pillars were incredibly thick, piercing through heaven and earth, tearing through the layers of clouds, and reflecting the originally clear sky into a sheet of gold.
Immediately following.
In Chang'an City, within the Imperial Palace.
The black-robed golden body that had just taken its seat on the white jade platform also shook violently.
Buzz—
A ninth pillar of light erupted from the dome of the hall, piercing straight into the clouds.
This pillar of light was even more concentrated and grander than the other eight.
Standing in the center, it commanded the eight directions.
The nine pillars shone together, their aura reaching the Big Dipper.
Not to mention the ordinary mortals in Chang'an City.
Even the demons hidden in deep mountains and the Great Marsh tens of thousands of miles away.
At this moment, they were terrified, shrinking into their Immortal Caves and trembling, not daring to peer at this magnificent heavenly majesty.
In the next moment.
The pillars of light that had soared into the sky did not dissipate.
Instead, they suddenly exploded in mid-air, turning into a sky full of golden rain.
The golden rain did not hit the ground.
It surged back from the Nine Heavens, turning into a mighty golden river that passed through the hall's dome and rushed directly toward the Girl in Black Robes standing before the hall.
Jiang Yuechu simply stood there quietly, letting the rolling golden light submerge her.
Her originally fair, jade-like skin became crystal clear under the washing of this golden light.
Faintly visible beneath was the flow of pale golden blood, and her bones seemed cast from colored glass, emitting an immortal divine glow.
At the center of her brow, a golden mark flickered in and out of view.
Her originally cold and indifferent temperament, now set against this sky-filling divine light, gained several degrees of sacred and inviolable majesty.
She was like a true goddess descending from the Nine Heavens.
Untainted by dust, unburdened by Karma.
With just one look.
It made people feel the urge to prostrate themselves in worship.
Before the main hall.
The originally noisy crowd was now dead silent.
Everyone held their breath, staring blankly at the figure bathed in golden light.
Where the people from the Demon Suppression Division were located.
Zhao Zhongliu stroked his white beard, his eyes full of gratification.
Beside him.
You Wujiang and Gu Wanlan exchanged a glance, also sighing inwardly.
The girl who was once only in the Ink Dot and Seed Lotus realms had, in the blink of an eye, already left them far behind, leaving them only able to look at her back.
And now.
They couldn't even see her back anymore... the so-called number one Prodigy of Great Tang... should be exactly like this.
Enough to make anyone lose any heart to pursue her.
On the other side of the crowd.
An old man with white hair and beard stood shakily, supported by two young Lieutenants.
The old man's face was pale and his frame was thin, clearly not yet fully recovered from a serious illness.
"Commander Bai, your health isn't fully restored yet. Why don't you rest for a bit... surely Her Highness wouldn't blame you..."
One of the Lieutenants supporting him advised in a low voice.
White Jade Tower waved his hand and pushed away the support.
He straightened his back, which was no longer upright, his eyes fixed on the girl on the platform, the corners of his mouth trembling slightly, as if he were both crying and laughing.
This old backbone of the previous generation, who had sheltered the Great Tang from wind and rain for hundreds of years, could finally see this scene with his own eyes.
The birth of a new backbone was so reassuring.
"No need..."
"This old man... can still stand."
"I want to take a good look... a good look..."