Under one person: I, Zhang Zhiwei, the arrogant Zhang.

Meanwhile, on the other side.

Just as the Grand Master's Hundred Demon Dojo was filled with blood and resentment, Zhang Zhiwei and the others in the Tiantong Church also raised their heads and looked towards the northern horizon.

Their gazes seemed to pierce through layers of buildings and spatial barriers.

To the average person, the northern sky is just a bit darker than elsewhere, like a thick fog that's hard to dissipate.

But in the eyes of the extraordinary person who has obtained Qi, a dark and evil aura is lurking under that sky.

Within that gray fog, countless distorted and struggling blurry faces appeared and disappeared, their silent wails and screams seemingly piercing eardrums and reaching the depths of the soul.

That area was like the legendary Gates of Hell, manifesting itself in the human world.

That direction leads to the military headquarters of the Japanese pirates.

Without needing to say more, everyone understood that the Japanese pirates were brewing some kind of insidious scheme.

"Given the characteristics of Shintoism, they are very likely commanding spirits and gods, and may even be trying to stage the so-called Night Parade of One Hundred Demons here."

"Uncle Zhang Shoucheng said in a deep voice. He had fought against the strange people of the Japanese pirates in the Changbai Mountains in his early years and had some understanding of the methods of Shintoism.

"Hmph! No matter what kind of demons and monsters they want to invite, in front of the Thunder Ancestor's altar we are about to open, they are just a bunch of rabble, mere chickens and dogs!" Zhang Yi sneered, his eyes full of disdain.

"Enough with the nonsense, let's quickly request the decree of the Heavenly Venerable of Universal Thunder and Lightning of the Nine Heavens to instruct the gods of the Thunder Department... to wipe them out and exterminate that old scoundrel of the Grand Palace Master!" Yi Qian said urgently.

Zhang Yi looked at Zhang Zhiwei: "Where do you plan to set up the altar? I think this cathedral has a large interior space, a towering dome, and a solemn atmosphere, so it's quite suitable."

Zhang Zhiwei shook his head and said, "No, I plan to put it at the entrance of the church."

"At the entrance?" Zhang Yi looked surprised. "Isn't that right under the noses of the Japanese pirates? What if they charge in halfway through the ritual?"

Zhang Zhiwei sneered, "Then they are courting death. I will set them up in front of me and lure them to destroy the altar. No matter how many come, I will destroy them all."

He paused, then continued, "Moreover, this ritual of setting up an altar is just like ordinary people firing cannons in battle. It only has its power when you get close!"

Zhang Yi hesitated, unsure how to refute. He was an experienced practitioner of rituals, but he always performed them far away, in places safe for evil spirits, and then secretly cast spells to deal with his enemies.

Unlike Zhang Zhiwei, who was so reckless, dragging hundreds or even thousands of people to open a jar right under the enemy's nose. Wasn't that just asking for a beating?

In his opinion, this was pure nonsense!

However, since Zhang Zhiwei has decided to do this, he must have his own reasons. Moreover, he still has those two treasures that protect the sect, so he has absolute confidence in his junior brother's strength.

As soon as the order was given, everyone sprang into action.

Soon, a tall altar was erected in the square in front of the Tiantong Church.

On the high platform, all kinds of ritual implements, such as talismans, tablets, documents, rulers, and command flags, were neatly arranged.

Zhang Zhiwei slowly walked up to the altar.

At this moment, he had changed into a solemn monastic robe.

Taoist robes are worn by Taoist priests during rituals. They are consecrated by a high-ranking Taoist master and inscribed with intricate talismans, making them powerful ritual implements that can significantly enhance the wearer's magical power. They are only worn on extremely important ritual occasions or when encountering a formidable enemy.

Taoist priests don't wear only one type of clothing. The gray Taoist robe that Zhang Zhiwei usually wears is called "regular clothing," which is used for daily living.

In addition, there are formal attire for formal occasions, as well as robes and crimson robes worn in various religious ceremonies.

Each type of clothing is further divided into different specifications, especially the ceremonial robes, which vary greatly in form and style between different schools due to different rituals, making them the most complex.

At this moment, Zhang Zhiwei was wearing a crimson robe, a type of robe worn only by high-ranking Grand Masters of the Second Rank, embroidered with the sun, moon, stars, the Eight Trigrams, and auspicious clouds, shimmering with light.

Wearing a lotus crown and cloud-climbing shoes, and holding a magic sword, he ascended the platform step by step.

His attire was quite unfamiliar to Wang Ai and others who were used to him wearing gray casual clothes and looking nonchalant.

Wearing this robe, Zhang Zhiwei no longer exuded the approachable and friendly aura he usually possessed. Instead, he radiated an aura of imposing authority and supreme authority.

Standing on the altar, Zhang Zhiwei stretched out his hand, and a square jade seal appeared in his palm.

It is one of the Three Treasures of the Celestial Masters, the Yangping Zhidu Gong Seal!
As the sacred artifact of the Celestial Master's Mansion, which has been passed down for nearly two thousand years, it did not have any amazing special effects when it appeared. It was just an ordinary and simple ancient magic seal.

Wang Ai and the others around them couldn't figure out its details at all. They even thought that this magic seal was just an ordinary magic tool, like the magic ruler and the tablet next to it. They didn't think of it as a divine artifact at all.

Only Yi Qian, Zhang Yi, and fifteen other high-ranking priests from the Celestial Master's Mansion stared intently at the magic seal, their eyes filled with awe and excitement.

Only true experts like them could know the astonishing, world-destroying power contained within this seemingly ordinary jade seal.

The more powerful something is, the more it tends to return to simplicity and not show off its power. This is similar to how highly skilled practitioners usually keep their inner strength and do not reveal their talents.

Zhang Zhiwei gently placed the Yangping Zhidu Gong Seal on the table in the center of the altar.

"Buzz!"

The moment the seal was placed on the altar, the entire world seemed to pause. It was as if a once turbulent and restless surface of water had been suddenly smoothed out by an invisible hand, becoming completely still.

Although it has not yet been actively activated, this seal is already silently exerting its effect.

Today, Zhang Zhiwei is setting up the altar for the Heavenly Venerable of Universal Transformation of Thunder and Lightning, one of the highest-level thunder-based altars in Taoism.

Its grand scale and complex rituals far surpass those of ordinary altars used for warding off evil spirits and performing rituals for the deceased.

If we were to take it seriously, it would require hundreds of high-ranking Taoist priests to perform rituals continuously for seven days and seven nights before the ritual could be successfully completed.

Even if Zhang Zhiwei possesses great magical power and a high legal rank, it would still take him considerable effort to set up this altar completely.

However, with the divine artifact Yangping Zhidu Gong Seal, setting up this altar became much easier. What originally required seven days and seven nights of ritual can now be completed in just an hour or two.

After Zhang Zhiwei ascended the altar, the protectors behind him, along with hundreds of ritual personnel dressed in colorful robes, and the hundred or so young children, quickly took their places under the command of the old Taoist priests of the Celestial Master's Mansion.

Although Wang Ai had already practiced countless times beforehand, Yi Qian and Zhang Yi were still worried because of the importance of the matter. They personally went forward and emphasized the precautions for the ritual to be taken later, especially the key points in the operation of the altar, which absolutely could not be compromised.

everything's ready.

"Clang!" With a crisp sound of gongs and drums, the altar was officially opened!
Each of the ritual personnel looked solemn and performed their duties.

Meanwhile, the patriotic warriors who had sworn an oath in the square earlier had already set off in batches to carry out their missions.

Their mission was to harass the Japanese pirates' rear, sabotage railways, blow up bridges, and ambush them on important transportation routes, waging a flexible guerrilla war, rather than engaging in large-scale army battles with the main force of the Japanese pirates.

Therefore, they did not rush in all at once, but instead broke into smaller groups and dispersed into various corners of the city.

At this moment, on the altar.

Zhang Zhiwei waved his hand, and a crimson light flew out of the gourd, circled in the air once, and landed precisely in his hand.

When the light faded, it revealed a sword with an unusual and ancient design, its blade engraved with dragon, tiger, and cloud patterns.

It is the second of the Celestial Master's Three Treasures, the Three-Five Male and Female Swords for Slaying Evil!

Holding the magic sword, Zhang Zhiwei's expression was solemn, and his entire body began to exude an indescribable and terrifying aura.

This scene delighted the group of old Taoist priests who were protecting them. Despite the vast, cloud-like demonic aura in the distance, obscuring the sky and sun, even the most powerful demons and monsters would be annihilated by the Demon-Slaying Sword, like burning embers against snow or a steel blade cutting through butter!
"The Demon-Slaying Sword and the Du Gong Seal have been unleashed! Quickly set up the altar!" Zhang Yi shouted loudly upon seeing this.

The other disciples also perked up and quickly returned to their positions to assist Zhang Zhiwei in performing the ritual.

Then, Zhang Zhiwei began to perform the ritual of stepping on the Big Dipper, with his feet on the Seven Stars, and loudly chanting the "Purifying Heaven and Earth Divine Mantra" to ward off evil and cleanse the altar in preparation for the descent of the gods.

"Heaven and earth are natural, dispersing all impurities. The cave is mysterious and vast, radiant with the primordial energy. The mighty spirits of the eight directions make me natural..."

As the incantation rang out, a pure and ethereal aura rippled out, dispelling the surrounding gloom.

Then he began to recite the "Precious Proclamation of the Thunder God" aloud.

"Nine Heavens Responding to the Primordial Palace, Supreme Jade Pure King... Commander of the Five Thunders, governing the Three Realms. Father of all beings, Master of all spirits. Great Sage, Great Compassion, Supreme Emperor, Supreme Dao..."

As he solemnly chanted, the thirty-six incense sticks around the altar, each as thick as an adult's arm, began to burn rapidly at a speed visible to the naked eye.

The rising wisps of smoke lingered and danced in the air, vaguely conjuring up various strange phenomena such as dragons and tigers galloping, thunder gods and lightning goddesses.

Then, Zhang Zhiwei took out a pre-written letter from his bosom, wrote "Disciple Zhang Zhiwei of the Zhengyi School respectfully presents this on behalf of the Celestial Master" at the end with a cinnabar pen, and then took out the Yangping Zhidu Gong Seal and stamped it heavily.

Without the blessings of the Three Jewels, an ordinary altar could never have reached the point of being heard by the heavens so quickly.

After he stamped the seal, the handwritten letter was immediately covered with a dazzling golden light, with faint dragon and tiger aura rising and swirling on it, just like an imperial edict issued by the Heavenly Emperor, full of irresistible majesty.

Zhang Zhiwei threw the letter into the brazier in front of him, picked up his magic sword, pointed it, and shouted, "Go!"

In an instant, the handwritten letter transformed into a golden arrow with a "boom," soaring straight into the sky!

The order has been issued and will reach the highest levels of government!

Almost the instant the command arrow disappeared, a muffled clap of thunder suddenly rang out in the cloudless sky!

A cold wind suddenly appeared, blowing dust and smoke around the altar, causing banners to spin violently and flags to flutter wildly.

When everyone looked up again, they saw that above the clear blue sky, ripples seemed to have been stirred on the calm surface of a lake, and clouds with faint patterns suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

The clouds were initially light and sparse, but in the blink of an eye they became thick and dense, and in the blink of an eye they had merged into a dark curtain of clouds, as if they were going to cover the entire sky!
The crowd below had never seen such a celestial phenomenon before, and they all gasped in astonishment.

Even the well-informed Zhang Yi and Yi Qian couldn't help but click their tongues in amazement.

That's too fast! It's absolutely unreasonable!
This doesn't look like the gesture of inviting the Thunder God to descend!
This speed is even faster than the most basic Buddhist rituals they performed on Longhu Mountain back then!

but.

On the altar.

Zhang Zhiwei felt it wasn't fast enough!
His gaze was sharp as lightning as he glanced northward.

In his divine eyes, the place was filled with demonic energy, and countless ghosts and spirits were gathering, growing ever stronger, and a terrifying night procession of a hundred ghosts was about to begin.

"Lei Zu, the pressure is on you, old man!"

"Please give it your all!!"

Zhang Zhiwei wrote another letter, took the Yangping Zhidu Gong seal, stamped it heavily, and then threw the letter into the brazier.

"Come quickly!"

He shouted, and then an even thicker golden arrow shot out of the brazier, soaring into the clouds and disappearing into the thick clouds.

In an instant, a faint rumble of thunder sounded in the sky, the sound continuous, like the tides of the sea surging endlessly above the clouds.

At that very moment, a huge black vortex suddenly appeared directly above the Tiantong Church.

The vortex began to spin rapidly, containing blazing lightning plasma, turning the entire sky into a giant funnel.

The vortex spun faster and faster, the sky grew increasingly gloomy and low, and the clouds seemed almost within reach, giving people an inexplicable sense of terrifying oppression as if the sky were about to collapse.

How could mortals have ever witnessed such magnificent divine power?

The ritual personnel below the altar were closest to Zhang Zhiwei, and their emotions were the most profound. Faced with this scene, they were immediately overwhelmed, their faces turning pale and their legs going weak. The movements they had rehearsed hundreds of times in the past had gone awry.

If an ordinary person were to set up the altar, it might be greatly affected by this, and could even lead to the failure of the ritual.

However, since Zhang Zhiwei was setting up the altar and there were two divine artifacts to bless it, this small mistake wouldn't have much of an impact.

However, Zhang Yi and others immediately made strict corrections and reassured them, and told them to continue to follow the rules.

If these ritual personnel are like this, the ordinary believers in the Tiantong Church must be even worse.

This scene, resembling the end of the world, deeply moved them, and prayers, chants, cries, and laughter filled the air.

Some bowed their heads in worship, while others simply prostrated themselves on the ground, trembling and muttering prayers for the leader's protection.

...(End of chapter)