Chapter 656
The Origins of the Xuan Sect
"The souls of the Twelve Beauties are not right." As the supreme god of the underworld, the Emperor of Fengdu immediately noticed the problem.
As fairies, the Twelve Beauties showed no abnormalities in their souls or appearances, and even their true selves and thoughts were not abnormal at all.
However, they possessed an aura that clearly did not belong to the souls of beings in the mortal realm, an aura that neither the Emperor of Fengdu nor Zhuang Yan had ever seen before.
"It seems that what Fairy Jinghuan said was true," Zhuang Yan said.
The Emperor of Fengdu frowned even more deeply. "How did she find out? How come I never noticed anything unusual?"
Zhuang Yan pondered for a moment and said, "The Twelve Beauties were originally female immortals from the Land of Illusion, so Fairy Disenchantment naturally has a special connection with them."
At this point, Zhuang Yan continued, "Such changes should not be able to escape the notice of powerful beings in the three realms of the mortal world, but in reality, not only did you not notice them, but even I did not notice them. What does this mean?"
The Emperor of Fengdu's eyes flickered, and after a moment he said, "This means that something that does not belong to the Three Realms of the mortal world has invaded the Six Paths of Reincarnation."
"Is it something outside the Three Realms of the mortal world?" Zhuang Yan asked.
Things from outside the three realms have invaded the present world before; there are precedents for this, such as the Buddha and Mara.
But the Emperor of Fengdu shook his head and said, "I'm afraid it's not that simple."
At this point, the Emperor of Fengdu raised his hand to form a seal and said, "I want to see what kind of aura they possess."
After saying this, the Emperor of Fengdu formed a seal with his hands and then pointed at the souls of the twelve beauties.
In an instant, the Yin and Yang energies within the Yin-Yang Divine Path were mobilized, and the souls of the Twelve Beauties unknowingly landed on them.
The next moment, the wisp of energy from the Twelve Beauties was directly extracted by the Yin and Yang energies and sent straight into the Yin-Yang Divine Path.
When that aura was delivered to Zhuang Yan and the Emperor of Fengdu, their gazes narrowed slightly, and their divine power immediately fell upon that aura.
However, that aura suddenly lit up with five-colored divine light, attempting to resist the divine power of Zhuang Yan and the Emperor of Fengdu.
However, its resistance was very weak. Zhuang Yan and the Emperor of Fengdu did not need to suppress it deliberately. The divine power they sent was enough to render the aura immobile.
After a moment, the two reached a conclusion. The Emperor of Fengdu said, "This is the power of the Five Elements, but it is different from the power of the Five Elements in our current Three Realms."
Zhuang Yan, having obtained more information, remarked, "The Five Elements Divine Power before us seems to possess a more profound aura, somewhat similar to..."
The Emperor of Fengdu turned his gaze to Zhuang Yan, who remained silent for a moment before saying, "It's somewhat like the laws of Heaven."
The Emperor of Fengdu's pupils contracted, and he hurriedly asked, "Are you sure you're not mistaken?"
Zhuang Yan said, "There is no mistake. I have come into contact with the power of the laws of Heaven before."
A look of shock appeared in the eyes of the Emperor of Fengdu, and he said, "If that is the case, then this aura is definitely not something from our current Three Realms."
Within the Three Realms of the present world, the Five Elements are merely the fundamental laws governing the creation of all things, and absolutely cannot reach the level of the laws of Heaven.
However, beyond the Three Realms of the present world lies boundless chaos, and the reason why the Heavenly Dao is the Heavenly Dao is that it is a supreme existence that will only manifest from the Great Dao after the creation of heaven and earth.
For example, Lao Tzu's creation of heaven and earth is the present-day Three Realms.
However, the Heavenly Dao is the supreme ruler that manifests from the Great Dao and operates all the rules and laws of the three realms in this world.
Therefore, there is no other "Three Realms" outside of the present world, so where does the Five Elements Divine Power with the laws of Heaven come from?
Both Zhuang Yan and the Fengdu Emperor sensed that this matter was unusual. After some discussion, they decided to seal away the Five Elements Divine Power and then report it to the Jade Emperor in the Great Luo Heaven.
"What should be done with the souls of the Twelve Beauties?" the Emperor of Fengdu asked Zhuang Yan, since the souls of the Twelve Beauties were sent here by Fairy Disenchantment on Zhuang Yan's orders.
After a brief moment of contemplation, Zhuang Yan said, "Apart from the Five Elements Divine Power, there is nothing else unusual about them. Let's not interfere for now and continue as usual."
"Alright." The Emperor of Fengdu nodded, and then Zhuang Yan took out a pottery jar and put the Five Elements Divine Power into it.
The two then left the Yin-Yang Divine Path, but instead of returning to Fengdu City, they went directly to the Great Luo Heaven to pay homage to the Jade Emperor.
The Great Luo Heaven, the Jade Capital Taiwei Yuqing Palace, the Tongming Hall.
When the Jade Emperor saw the mysterious Five Elements Divine Power presented by Zhuang Yan, he remained calm and showed no surprise whatsoever.
"Was this discovered within the Six Paths of Reincarnation?" the Jade Emperor asked.
The Emperor of Fengdu recounted the whole story, and the Jade Emperor nodded after listening, saying, "I understand." Zhuang Yan and the Emperor of Fengdu exchanged a glance, their doubts growing. Judging from the Jade Emperor's expression, it seemed he knew the origin of this mysterious power.
However, the Jade Emperor did not say anything, and the two of them did not dare to ask.
Just then, the Jade Emperor suddenly raised his head and smiled at the two of them, saying, "You two emperors have worked hard."
Zhuang Yan and the Emperor of Fengdu quickly bowed and said, "We dare not, this is all our duty."
The Jade Emperor nodded slightly, then said to the Emperor of Fengdu, "The Underworld still needs you to oversee it. You may return first. If you discover this matter again in the future, you can deal with it in the same way as today, and seal away this Five Elements Divine Power."
The Emperor of Fengdu bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I did not notice anything unusual this time. If Fairy Jinghuan had not reported to the Emperor of Shenxiao, I am afraid we would still be in the dark."
Upon hearing this, the Jade Emperor smiled and said, "It is not difficult to detect this matter. You can send a wisp of your divine thought into the Yin-Yang Divine Path, and you will be able to sense all the changes in the Six Paths of Reincarnation and the entire Underworld at any time. If this happens again, you will be able to sense it immediately."
At this point, the Jade Emperor's expression turned solemn, and he said, "But you must remember, if the same thing happens again, you only need to observe from a distance and not get close to it. Just ensure that the underworld and the six realms of reincarnation operate normally, and do not cause any unnecessary trouble."
The Emperor of Fengdu immediately bowed and said, "Your subject obeys the decree."
"Very well, then you may return now, my dear minister. The Underworld cannot be left unattended without you," said the Jade Emperor.
The Emperor of Fengdu then bid farewell to the Jade Emperor, left the Tongming Hall, and rode a cloud back to the underworld.
Zhuang Yan remained in the Tongming Hall. At this moment, the Jade Emperor raised his hand and said to all the celestial officials and female attendants in the hall, "All of you, step down."
A moment later, only the Jade Emperor and Zhuang Yan remained in the Tongming Hall. The Jade Emperor then asked Zhuang Yan, "My dear minister, do you still remember the Taoist Hongjun?"
A sudden realization dawned on Zhuang Yan: "Could it be that the Five Elements Divine Power comes from the world where Hongjun Daoist originally resided?"
"No," the Jade Emperor shook his head and said, "The source of these Five Elements Divine Power is the power that destroyed the world of Hongjun Daoist."
Upon hearing this, Zhuang Yan's expression changed drastically. The news was incredibly shocking. "Great Celestial Venerable, could it be that besides the Three Realms of our present world, there really are other worlds?"
The Jade Emperor did not answer the question, but said to Zhuang Yan, "Taoist Hongjun has moved his temple to the Jade Capital of the Great Luo Heaven by my decree. You can go to Zixiao Palace to find him."
Zhuang Yan understood that the Jade Emperor wanted him to ask Hongjun Daoist himself, so he bowed and said, "Your subject obeys the decree."
Afterwards, Zhuang Yan bid farewell to the Jade Emperor and left the Tongming Hall before heading to the Zixiao Palace, the Daoist temple of Hongjun.
When he arrived outside the Zixiao Palace, two celestial children were already waiting there. They stepped forward to greet him respectfully and said, "Greetings, Great Emperor Shenxiao."
Zhuang Yan asked, "Did you know I was coming?"
The celestial boy on the left laughed and said, "Master already knew that the Divine Firmament Emperor was coming to Zixiao Palace, so he instructed us to wait here."
The celestial boy on the right said, "Please come with us to the Hunyuan Hall, Great Emperor Shenxiao. The master is already waiting for you there."
Then the two celestial children led the way, taking Zhuang Yan all the way to the Hunyuan Hall.
When Zhuang Yan arrived at the Hunyuan Hall, he looked up and was slightly taken aback. He saw three beams of light shining through the heavens above the hall, and three figures sitting cross-legged on the auspicious clouds.
Zhuang Yan also felt a cloud of auspiciousness rise beneath his feet and slowly flew forward, arriving in front of the three imposing figures.
He bowed and said, "Zhuang Yan pays respects to the Dao Ancestor, the Buddha Ancestor, and the Hongjun Sect Master."
Yes, the three imposing figures before us are none other than Laozi, the founder of Taoism; Shakyamuni, the founder of Buddha; and Hongjun, the leader of the Xuanjiao sect.
The three smiled and returned Zhuang Yan's greeting with clasped hands, saying, "Divine Emperor Shenxiao, there's no need for such formalities."
Zhuang Yan bowed to Hongjun Daoist and then said, "I have come here with some questions that I would like to ask Master Hongjun."
Hongjun Daoist raised his hand and said, "I already know the matter that the Great Emperor Shenxiao asked, and now I will answer your question."
Then, Hongjun Daoist said, "Before we came to this world, the world we lived in was the world of 'Xuanfa Tiandao'. Later, it was destroyed by 'Wuxing Tiandao', so we could only wander here. Fortunately, the Tiandao of this world and the Jade Emperor took us in with their grace, which gave us a place to stay and prevented us from being lost and annihilated in the boundless chaos."
Upon hearing this, Zhuang Yan's heart was filled with boundless emotions, and his face showed an expression of utter surprise.
After a moment, Zhuang Yan came to his senses and exclaimed in surprise, "There are other 'real worlds' within the chaos? There are even other Heavenly Daos?"
Hongjun Daoist glanced at Laozi and Shakyamuni, then nodded and said, "Indeed!" (End of Chapter)