549: Chapter 550 The Supreme Crimson Water Virtue Spirit Official Register!

While Lu Ming was pondering, Zhang Heng had already led him through the lower three layers and stepped into the entrance of the Fourth Heaven.

This was a gateway over a hundred zhang high, with door frames supported by two massive stone statues; the features of the stone statues were blurred, making it impossible to tell what kind of beings they were.

But the Talismans flowing on the stone statues were glowing slightly, like an invisible filter net.

Zhang Heng stopped in front of the gate and took out a token from his waist.

The token was entirely red gold, with two ancient seal characters on it. Lu Ming glanced at it and vaguely recognized the two characters— "Heaven Patrol".

As the token lit up with a ray of light, it activated the Talismans on the two stone statues.

A moment later, the gate opened silently.

Zhang Heng put away the token, his tone carrying a hint of smugness.

"Fellow Daoist, you may not know this, but within the Nine Heavens of the Divine Court, the Lower Three Heavens, Middle Three Heavens, and Upper Three Heavens each have their own order.

Wild Gods can only move within the Lower Three Heavens, and the same goes for Orthodox Gods.

Although one can go downwards, one cannot go upwards, let alone bring people, unless..."

He paused and continued, "Unless one holds the Heaven Patrol Token."

Zhang Heng weighed the token in his hand.

"I am untalented, but as a Heaven-Acting Inspection Envoy, I happen to have this token, so I can travel unimpeded through the middle three layers and below.

Today, you can consider yourself lucky to be able to enter the Fourth Heaven directly."

Lu Ming knew what the other party wanted to hear, so he bowed at the right time, his tone filled with a hint of admiration.

"Then I will have to trouble you, Fellow Daoist."

Although Zhang Heng did not show much, the slightly raised corners of his mouth betrayed him.

The two passed through the gate, and the view before them suddenly opened up.

The scene in the Fourth Heaven was completely different from the lower three layers.

The lower three layers had many mountains, caves, and forests, like an uncivilized wilderness.

But the Fourth Heaven was a magnificent, massive city spanning a thousand miles.

The city walls were built of cyan gold stone, over a hundred zhang high, with countless complex divine patterns engraved on the surface, where spiritual light flowed as if alive.

The streets in the city were wide and straight, flanked by rows of palaces and pavilions, as well as sacrificial altars specifically used for offering incense.

People came and went on the streets, including Orthodox Gods in official robes and patrol soldiers in armor.

The demeanor of these people was completely different from the Wild Gods in the lower three layers.

Their gazes were calmer, their steps more composed, as if they had taken root in this city for a long time.

Zhang Heng introduced as they walked.

"This place is named 'Outer Dao City', also called Guest City, which is a place specifically for settling outsiders.

Loose Cultivators like you, Fellow Daoist, who have strength and have drifted here, are mostly settled here, and start with an official title of an Orthodox God, residing in the Fourth Heaven."

He paused here, but after hesitating for a moment, he ultimately did not say the rest of the sentence.

This was because although one was conferred as an Orthodox God in the Fourth Heaven, in the end, it was considered the lowest level in the Orthodox God system.

After all, in the eyes of many local Orthodox Gods, these outsiders were just stinking foreigners, here to beg for food.

Therefore, the Fourth Heaven could be said to be at the very bottom of the contempt chain in the Divine Court system.

What, you say the Wild Gods of the Lower Three Heavens are?

How bold, to dare to treat the Wild Gods of the lower three layers as fellow gods, that is truly too degenerate!

To put it bluntly, they are just a group of pigs and dogs providing Power Of Faith to the middle three layers.

Without an official title, there is no authority; without authority, there is no incense.

They can only rely on currying favor with the Orthodox Gods of the middle three layers to get a few scraps.

Comparing this group of pigs and dogs to noble Orthodox Gods like them is simply an insult!

However, this only applies to the Lower Three Heavens.

For an outsider and powerful Cultivator like Lu Ming, Zhang Heng was still willing to give some face.

So he added another sentence.

"Of course, with your cultivation level, Fellow Daoist, in time, it is not impossible to continue moving upwards.

As long as there is enough incense and enough merit, there is a chance to ascend to the Fifth Heaven or even higher."

Lu Ming did not take this promise of a pie in the sky to heart, just nodded.

His gaze swept over this Outer Dao City, and he already had a preliminary judgment in his heart.

This is a system with more rigid class structures than the Cultivation World.

Clearly, there is only a one-heaven gap between the Fourth Heaven and the Third Heaven, but it is like heaven and earth.

And among them, ordinary living beings have almost no chance to turn their lives around; being able to support so many people relies entirely on layer-by-layer exploitation.

From bottom to top, from Wild Gods to Orthodox Gods, from Orthodox Gods to Divine Lords, layer by layer, sucking blood level by level.

This does not look like a naturally formed system, but more like a Gu-raising field carefully designed.

However, he didn't think too much about it; after all, according to Zhang Heng's statement, outsiders like him were not the exception, and this actually made it easier for him to hide his identity.

And no matter what one does here, it is not easy to attract too much attention.

He followed Zhang Heng's footsteps and continued to walk deeper into Outer Dao City.

He needed more time to observe and more information to judge what secrets this Divine Court territory was hiding.

However, he was not in a hurry; he was already inside, and the rest was just a matter of time.

And the thing he lacked the least was time.

And just like that, Zhang Heng led him through the main street of Outer Dao City and arrived in front of a gray-white stone palace.

Above the palace gate hung a plaque with the three characters "Registration Hall" written on it.

The hall was spacious and dim, with only a stone table in the center, on which lay a yellowed register.

There was no one on duty in the hall, only a faint scent of incense drifting in the air.

Zhang Heng was clearly familiar with this place; he walked to the stone table, picked up a pen, and wrote a few strokes on the register.

Then he turned and beckoned to Lu Ming, "Fellow Daoist, come over and sign your name."

Lu Ming walked over and looked down at the register.

There were already several lines of handwriting on it, dense and some already blurred, as if left a long time ago.

"It wouldn't be some treasure to verify identity again, would it?"

If the name he assumed, "Wang Chan", were to be exposed as fake, how embarrassing that would be.

However, Lu Ming was not panicked at all.

Fake? That doesn't exist.

It was said that he only uprooted the Dao lineage of this territory, not destroyed the world, and this person was still living well.

So by selecting this person's name in the golden book, the Karma was directly replaced.

So he picked up the pen without any scruples and wrote the two characters "Wang Chan" neatly on the register.

The moment the handwriting landed, the register trembled slightly and then returned to calm.

Obviously, this passed some unknown verification.

Zhang Heng nodded at this. This person had just arrived and didn't hide his identity at all; he seemed to be an honest person.

Honest people are good; he likes honest people the most.

So Zhang Heng patted Lu Ming on the shoulder with a smile.

"Alright, from today on, you are a registered member of the Divine Court.

However, there is one last step to complete, and then we will be our own people."

So he led Lu Ming out of the stone hall and walked in another direction.

Not long after, the two arrived in front of a sacrificial altar.

This altar was built entirely of cyan-black stone, about three zhang high, with a flat surface, and each of the four corners had a stone beast of different shapes.

In the center of the altar stood a faceless statue of a god.

The statue was entirely gray-white, its features blurred, and it was impossible to tell if it was male or female, old or young, only an outline.

But just standing there, it gave people a sense of profundity, as if it were a living thing, quietly watching everything.

Zhang Heng walked to the altar, his expression suddenly becoming pious and respectful.

Then he took out three incense sticks, twisted them with his fingertips, and the incense tips ignited without fire.

He held the incense with both hands, bowed three times, and began to chant a spell.

"The Great Void is vast, Divine Light shines bright, Jade Purity unfolds, Golden Palace leaves traces, Spiritual Chapter proclaims, Ten Thousand Sages assemble, now there is a faithful believer, kowtowing and surrendering..."

The syllables of the spell were ancient, each word carrying a certain heavy rhythm, rippling layer by layer in the air, as if something was awakening in the Void Realm.

As the spell was chanted, the stone patterns on the altar began to glow slightly, and the outline of the faceless statue became clearer.

Although it still had no face, it seemed as if something was awakening from inside the statue.

The moment Zhang Heng finished reciting the last sentence and inserted the three incense sticks into the incense burner in front of the altar.

The incense smoke rose abruptly, turning into three wisps of blue smoke, rising straight towards the faceless statue.

Then the light on the altar flickered slightly, and a Talisman actually manifested out of thin air above the altar.

It then drifted down slowly and hovered in front of Lu Ming.

The Talisman was pale gold, about one foot long and three inches wide, with complex patterns drawn in cinnabar on the surface, and in the center of the patterns was an ancient seal character— "Water".

Under Zhang Heng's signal, Lu Ming reached out and took the Talisman.

The moment his fingertips touched the surface of the Talisman, he felt a mysterious Divine Power contained within it.

It was as if an invisible river was flowing within the Talisman.

Zhang Heng looked at the Talisman, his tone carrying a hint of solemnity.

"This is the 'Supreme Red Script Water Virtue Spirit Official Talisman'. As long as you refine it into your body, you can henceforth be registered in the Heavenly Court.

By then, all the Dao lineage magic power you originally cultivated will be converted into Divine Power.

At the same time, you will also be granted the lowest level of Orthodox God official position—Supreme Red Script Water Virtue Spirit Official."

He paused, as if afraid Lu Ming wouldn't understand, and added.

"Don't think that the Supreme Red Script Water Virtue Spirit Official is only the lowest level among Orthodox Gods; it is still much stronger than those Wild Gods.

And with it, you can sense the incense and enjoy the ability to receive offerings.

At the same time, you will have various mysterious methods, related Divine Ability, and even official Qi to protect your body, Dragon Qi wrapped around you, which can make all evils avoid you.

If you cultivate properly, you may not be unable to rise to become a River Earl, River God, or even a Water Lord in the future.

By then, with a wave of your hand, you will be able to suppress the Five Elements and forbid all Dharma."

Listening to Zhang Heng talking eloquently there, Lu Ming couldn't help but mutter in his heart.

Is this Divine Dao really that powerful? Why does it feel even more awesome than a Nascent Soul True Monarch?

Are they not afraid that the Karma is too great and a True Monarch will come looking for them?

However, he still didn't say anything, just took the Talisman from Zhang Heng's hand.

When he took the Talisman, he could feel the cold aura emanating from it.

Lu Ming sensed it slightly, then felt a bit speechless.

With his vision, if he was not mistaken, if he refined this thing, the Divine Ability he would obtain would only be the ability to summon clouds and rain, and disperse water vapor.

And all the mysterious methods of the Dao lineage he had cultivated before would disappear without a trace.

Rather than calling this a conferment, it is better to call it a "replacement".

Using a brand new system to replace your original Foundation.

Lu Ming put away the Talisman calmly, but he already had a guess in his heart.

The things cultivated before cannot disappear out of thin air; they can only be transferred.

Then where did they go?

Could this be the reason why the Divine Court is relatively welcoming to outsiders?

It looks like they are bestowing an Orthodox God official position, but in reality, they are eyeing their original Dao lineage, draining the cultivation Foundation of those outsiders bit by bit over hundreds of years, and transferring it somewhere.

Lu Ming felt that this guess was likely correct.

But no matter how he looked at it, it felt a bit like his own style.

Both are aimed at plundering the Luck and Origin of others to nourish oneself.

However, these are all guesses; many things need to be verified by himself before he knows.

As for refining this 'Supreme Red Script Water Virtue Spirit Official Talisman', Lu Ming was not afraid.

Not to mention whether the other party has the ability to replace his Nascent Soul cultivation, even if it were truly possible, Lu Ming has his own countermeasures.

However, now is clearly not the time for refining.

And Zhang Heng also seemed to suddenly remember something and reminded him.

"Fellow Daoist Wang, there is one thing that must be told in advance.

From the moment you refine the Talisman and become an Orthodox God, you have entered the Divine Court official system.

This also means that you are about to start paying the tithe."

What the hell...

Hearing this, Lu Ming almost cursed out loud.

What kind of bullshit rule is this? Even harvesting leeks requires giving them time to grow!

Perhaps seeing the change in Lu Ming's expression, Zhang Heng hurriedly added.

"However, you don't need to be anxious. Even after becoming an official, there is a one-year buffer period.

But within this year, you must find a way to gather enough Power Of Faith, otherwise the Punishment of Xing Tian will descend..."

"Oh, that's fine... fine my ass!"

What kind of Evil Path organization is this that makes you pay to work!

Lu Ming complained wildly in his heart, but his attention was quickly attracted by Zhang Heng's last sentence.

"The Punishment of Xing Tian?"

This was the second time he had heard this name; it sounded like a means for the Divine Court to punish officials.

But before Lu Ming could ask, at this very moment, a sudden change occurred.

"Boom!"

Suddenly, a dull roar came from somewhere in the city, as if a heavy object had fallen from a high place.

The air in the entire Guest City became heavy in that instant, and even the wind stopped.

Above the firmament, a crack appeared silently, as if the sky itself had split open a wound.

Purple lightning seeped out from the crack, like a drop of thick ink dripping into water, slowly spreading, dyeing the surrounding light purple-black.

But the lightning did not fall immediately; instead, it condensed and circled in the sky, as if it were locking onto a target.

Regarding this sudden scene, the officials on the ground did not scatter and flee. Instead, they gathered in twos and threes to discuss it, as if they were used to it and were not worried about being targeted by this terrifying lightning.

And it seemed that this was indeed the case; the lightning seemed to have some kind of consciousness.

After twisting and circling in the air for a moment, it accurately locked onto a figure with a desperate expression below.

The next moment, the lightning suddenly exploded between heaven and earth, and a lightning bolt as thick as a water bucket crashed down.

Before that person could even scream, the lightning had already pierced through his chest.

In an instant, his whole body was like ice and snow meeting a scorching sun.

The blood, Divine Power, and Karma throughout his body were all stripped and decomposed in that instant.

Then the whole person turned into a pile of ashes.

And in the ashes, a Talisman slowly rose, absorbing the pile of ashes completely, and then the Talisman also dissipated into points of light.

From beginning to end, it took no more than three breaths.

Only a charred mark on the ground seemed to prove that this person had once existed.