Immortality begins with meditation puppets

"The Heavenly Emperor must possess the power to suppress the heavens and the four seas, and all the myriad realms, to establish order and subdue the universe. Only those with great power can accomplish this task. My Eastern King Sect, King Overlord Heavenly Lord, is willing to shoulder this great responsibility for all living beings!"

"As the saying goes, one should not avoid recommending the virtuous even if they are relatives. My Yuanshi Sect Yuanhua Heavenly Venerable has been practicing the path of helping the weak and upholding justice throughout the myriad realms since he began his cultivation. Countless lives have been saved under his care over thousands of years. If he can become the Heavenly Emperor, it will be a blessing for all the myriad realms!"

"I, Blood Blade Ancestor, am not without merit. In the battle at the Lingxiao Palace, I slew 326 demons, both large and small. I have shed blood and sweat for all the heavens and myriad realms. I, Blood Blade, am not incapable of sitting on the throne of the Heavenly Emperor!"

"Ah, if even the Blood Blade Ancestor can become the Heavenly Emperor, then I, the Confused Immortal, can also become the Heavenly Emperor!"

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It is the times that create heroes, and heroes that create the times.

In this era of great strife, the positions of the Human Emperor and the Heavenly Emperor are vacant, and countless gods and Buddhas have lost their places. This is the best opportunity for all living beings to seek high positions and great fortunes since ancient times.

Just like Helian Xian, the guardian deity under the two gods, if this were in ancient times, the requirements to become a guardian deity of a fifth-order deity would be numerous. One would have to be examined by the Heavenly Court for the character of the person for three lifetimes, then their cultivation level would be checked to see if they had reached the Nascent Soul stage, and then their accumulated merits would be considered. Only then would their resume be sent to that fifth-order deity for review. After the interview, there would be a thousand-year probationary period. During this period, not only would they not receive any divine power, but they would also have to bring their own provisions when serving that fifth-order deity.

Despite such stringent conditions, countless people still desperately try to get in. Only those with connections and influence can achieve their goal. Not to mention others, even the brilliant and talented sage of ancient times had to go through eighty-one tribulations and navigate the complexities of human relationships before he could secure a position in Buddhism and gain real power.

how so?

Because there are too many ancient gods, Buddhas and powerful beings. You, Wukong, are powerful, but those Buddhas and Heavenly Venerables sitting in high positions are not powerful.

When predecessors occupy the resources for advancement, it becomes extremely difficult for those who come after to make further progress.

After an ancient demonic calamity, the original order was overthrown by evil spirits, and everyone had to start over. Everyone had a chance, and everyone had hope.

Helian Xian was grateful that he was born in the present world, which allowed him to secure a lifetime position with Erqiang. Erqiang was also grateful that he was born in the present world; otherwise, given his evil origins, even if he reformed, someone above him might take a liking to his position and kill him with a single blow.

And just as grateful as they are to be alive in this world are those who are now stepping forward to vie for the position of Heavenly Emperor.

In ancient times, they wouldn't have dared to even think about the position of the Heavenly Emperor, but now, regardless of whether they have the qualifications or the strength, they all dare to shout it out.

These demons, humans, or other beings who spoke out, whether they could distinguish their race or not, were not all determined to obtain the position of Heavenly Emperor. They simply wanted to use this opportunity to gain some support and increase their exposure.

As long as one has enough prestige, even if one cannot become the Heavenly Emperor, it would be good to strive for divine positions such as the Four Emperors, Five Elders, or the Twenty-Eight Constellations in the future.
They never imagined that some things, once shouted out, could have a huge karmic impact.

They acted as if no one was holding them accountable, but that was not actually the case.

Time flies, the sun and the moon fly by.

Half a year passed in the blink of an eye. During this time, the myriad realms and the Tianyuan Realm were all calm and peaceful, with no major events occurring. However, many sects were filled with unease, feeling that something big was about to happen.

Until this day, when Su Qing emerged from seclusion.

Only then did all the realms and sects realize what a momentous event was about to occur.

But when Su Qing stood above the Kaiyuan Immortal Kingdom, with the Taixu Sun and Moon Dao patterns appearing behind him, and summoned the phantom of the ancient Heavenly Emperor, he was acting as the Heavenly Emperor in his place.

Beside him stood Master Tong, wearing a Celestial Master's crown and purple robes, his expression stern and solemn, exuding utmost majesty.

After obtaining the remaining blessings from the spirits of the Four Celestial Masters of antiquity, Tong Chang advanced even faster than Su Qing. In just one or two hundred years, he progressed from Nascent Soul to Deity Transformation and then to the peak of Void Refinement. In addition to his cultivation, Tong Chang also inherited all the merits and blessings left by the Four Celestial Masters of antiquity, as well as all the blessings left to this world. Now, he is the true Celestial Master of the present world. In the current situation where the Heavenly Emperor has not yet appeared, the Human Emperor has not yet been determined, and the Earthly Lord is not present, his status in the myriad realms and the Tianyuan Realm is unmatched.

The person standing to the right of Su Qing was clearly a staunch supporter of Su Qing, just as everyone in the myriad realms had guessed. To Su Qing's left, however, was Gao Erqiang, who couldn't help but support Su Qing.

Although Erqiang's presence was far inferior to Su Qing and Tong Chang's, there was a reason why Erqiang could stand next to them.

From the Abyss Secret Realm to the Divine Realm, the two strong individuals single-handedly fought against the Overturning Sea Demon, slaying countless evil spirits. In the Divine Realm, they formed the head of the True Martial Emperor and made great contributions when slaying the Reincarnation Demon. Now, they hold a firm position as the God of War of Tianyuan. In the Tianyuan Realm, purely in terms of combat, ordinary sixth-level Void Refinement cultivators are no match for them. They are the main force of Tianyuan's combat power and are positioned as Su Qing's number one fighter.

The three heroes of Yunshan reunited, their divine might sweeping across the heavens and earth.

In an instant, all the great powers and virtuous people in the myriad realms who had participated in the Lingxiao Palace incident felt something.

They knew that the gathering of Su Qing and the other two today had caused a stir that all living beings in the myriad realms would witness, and that it was related to them, but they were not entirely clear on what the three were planning to do.

It wasn't until Su Qing spoke that they realized. These three were going to become the three giants of judgment, publicly executing and settling scores with them one by one!
"I am Su Qing, an official of the Heavenly Emperor. The Heavenly Emperor entrusted me with an important task, allowing me to exercise the power of the Heavenly Emperor, reward the good and punish the evil, and uphold justice in the world."

"Having consulted with the current Celestial Master Tong Chang, we have decided to conduct a review of the Lingxiao Palace incident. Those who have rendered meritorious service will be rewarded, those who have committed wrongdoing will be punished, and those who have committed heinous crimes will be executed!"

Su Qing's words resounded throughout the myriad realms, but not all living beings could hear them, and those who couldn't hear them didn't need to. However, in the eyes of those who were capable and qualified to hear these words, his words might bring about an unprecedented storm throughout the heavens.

"What is he doing? Has he gone mad or have I? He is the acting emperor of heaven, but he has not inherited the throne of heaven. How dare he reward and punish the great powers of all the sects and clans in all the heavens and myriad realms?"

"He's not crazy, and neither are you. As the Heavenly Emperor's attendant, he is entitled to exercise the Heavenly Emperor's authority. However, he rarely uses it in the past, so we all overlooked this point. Because you are a high-ranking cultivator from a major sect, we never thought that anyone would be qualified to punish you, and that Su Qing would seek revenge against you!"

“We underestimated this person. The merits he possesses now are the greatest in the world. The merits of resolving the cycle of reincarnation and causing the divine realm to fall into the mortal world are too great. Now no one dares to touch him. With these merits, he can exercise the power of the Heavenly Emperor and judge anyone he wants. You may disagree, but you cannot stop him from exercising the Heavenly Emperor's right to judge and convict others.”

"The main reason is that Master Tong is on his side. He is the only master who can keep him in check and is on the same side as him. There really is no one else in the world who can challenge him!"

Many cultivators from all the realms participated in the Lingxiao Palace, and they were all somewhat displeased with Su Qing's condescending attitude in judging them.

As they were members of the orthodox Xuanmen sect, during the heyday of the Heavenly Court and the Human Court in ancient times, they remained outside of the Heavenly Court and the Human Court, always maintaining an independent and transcendent status.

If this happens in the mortal world, they will have to endure the judgment of someone who is not even the Heavenly Emperor himself. Naturally, they are unhappy about it.

However, they couldn't voice their displeasure, because not long ago, they had each sent out their disciples or supported others to compete for the positions of Heavenly Emperor and Human Emperor. In short, if they wanted to enter the struggle for the positions of Heavenly Emperor and Human Emperor and covet the power of the Heavenly Court and the Human Court in the future, then they had already tacitly agreed to bring their sects into the three systems of Heaven, Earth, and Man, namely the Heavenly Court, the Human Court, and the Underworld. It was impossible for them to maintain their transcendent status outside the Three Realms and outside the Five Elements. It was impossible to have both what they wanted in ancient times and in the present world.

The reason they were unhappy that Su Qing wanted to give a judgment-like summary of the Lingxiao Palace incident was because they had ulterior motives and felt guilty.

If things had gone as smoothly as Su Qing and his group's operation against the Reincarnation Demon, they would have loved for Su Qing to make an even bigger commotion so that all the heavens and the myriad worlds would know about their contribution, and they could just sit back and wait to be divided up.

They were unwilling for Su Qing to mention the Lingxiao Palace, and even after the incident ended, the powerful beings from all realms tacitly rarely brought it up.

There's only one reason: they botched it!
In the battle between the demon Buddha and the Lingxiao Palace, the expeditionary force sent out by all the heavens and myriad realms suffered a crushing defeat.

They lost, so be it. No one in this world can win all the time. If they could keep winning against evil, they would have dealt with the evil long ago. Why would they be entangled with them until today?

From ancient times to the present, living beings have fought and lost battles. Regardless of victory or defeat, as long as they have tried their best, they are all heroes, and there has never been any talk of reckoning afterward.

The problem is that the defeat of the Lingxiao Palace this time was because they did not try their best, or rather, they misused their strength, turning what should have been a great victory into a crushing defeat.

As these powerful figures began to feel uneasy, Su Qing spoke up again:

"Four hundred years ago, a demonic Buddha wanted to take action against the Lingxiao Palace. To this end, he did not hesitate to launch several actions against the beings of my myriad worlds, the Tianyuan Realm, and the Abyss Secret Realm, in order to divert the power and attention of all beings in my myriad worlds."

During this process, numerous sects and forces, including the Heavenly Origin Realm's Execution God Kingdom, the Kaiyuan Immortal Kingdom, the Penglai Immortal Kingdom, the Immortal Qin Martial Kingdom, the Kunlun Realm's Primordial Sect, the Shangqing Realm's Lingbao Sect, and the Qingkong Realm's Supreme Sect, bravely resisted the demons and thwarted all of their conspiracies. In the name of the Heavenly Emperor, and together with the present-day Celestial Master Tong Chang, I petitioned the Heavenly Emperor to bestow merits and blessings upon these meritorious individuals.

Meanwhile, in the operation concerning the Lingxiao Palace, the Heavenly Emperor Su Qing issued a warning to all the heavens and myriad realms, and the present-day Celestial Master Tong Chang received resources from many immortal kingdoms in the Western Land of the Tianyuan Realm to support the heroic spirits of the Four Celestial Masters of antiquity in resisting the Demon Buddha, until reinforcements from all the heavens and myriad realms arrived.

At this point, it should have been a great victory, or at least a draw. However, the final result was that the Heavenly Emperor's Dharma body was taken away by the Demon Buddha, and more than half of the ancient gods' divine bodies were taken by the Demon Buddha. Even the Lingxiao Palace could not be preserved and was taken by the Demon Buddha to Mount Wufo to build a demonic Heavenly Court.

The consequences of this matter are unimaginable, and no one can bear the responsibility for its failure.

It has now been determined that the following sects were found to have flawed thinking and made mistakes in their actions in this matter:
The Primordial Celestial Venerable Bai Shang was supposed to join the Supreme Celestial Venerables of the Supreme Celestial Venerables and the Eastern King Celestial Venerables in restraining and resisting the Demon Buddha, thus buying time for the powerful beings of other sects to seize the Heavenly Emperor's Dharma God and the Great God's body. However, he lost his composure for a moment, allowing the Demon Buddha to seize the opportunity to enter the Lingxiao Palace and occupy the Heavenly Emperor's Dharma Body. Why he lost his composure, and why he lost his composure at this particular time, is no longer important. Because of his mistake, I, acting as the Heavenly Emperor and with the approval of the Celestial Master of the present world, hereby punish this person by banishing him from entering the Heavenly Origin for eternity, and from enjoying any of the blessings of the revival of heaven and earth.

The Dragon Elephant Celestial Venerable of the Lingbao Sect was originally the most formidable warrior among all the powerful beings in the realms. He should have led the three thousand Sword Sect disciples of the Lingbao Sect to become the main force in resisting evil spirits. However, due to his personal desire for victory, he wanted to fight the Demon Buddha one-on-one. Originally, with his cooperation with other Celestial Venerables and the three thousand Sword Sect disciples, they could have restrained the Demon Buddha, who had occupied the Heavenly Emperor's Dharma Body, for a moment, allowing the powerful beings of the realms to take away the Lingxiao Palace and the divine bodies of the Great Gods. However, because he tried to fight the Demon Buddha to the past and future, the Demon Buddha used his methods to temporarily trap him in the past, causing the battle in the Lingxiao Palace to get out of control. Not only was the Heavenly Emperor's Dharma Body not preserved, but the Lingxiao Palace and the divine bodies of the Great Gods were also not preserved. As the Heavenly Emperor, and with the approval of the Celestial Master of the present world, I hereby punish this person by banishing him from entering the Heavenly Origin for eternity, and forbidding him from enjoying any of the creations of the revival of heaven and earth.

In addition, cultivators from sects such as the Eastern King Sect, the Taiyi Sect, the Reincarnation Sect, the Styx Sect, the Demon God Realm, and the Spirit Realm also made mistakes in the Lingxiao Palace incident, including but not limited to: losing the spirit of unity and mutual assistance in order to seize the desired divine body of a great god, dispersing their forces to search for resources in various parts of the Lingxiao Palace, and even doing many other unbelievable and shocking things such as dividing the divine body into pieces and splitting it among themselves after seizing the divine body.

These individuals will be punished by having their merits and virtues confiscated for thousands or even tens of thousands of years, and will be forever barred from being recorded in the Heavenly Court's system.

Su Qing read the lines exactly as they were written, which were prepared for him by Tong Chang. As a party involved in that incident, he clearly saw and remembered who did well, who did poorly, who was inhuman, and who took the blame. Now, assigning blame to each person was absolutely fair and just.

As for whether this would offend the powerful figures of the various realms, neither Tong Chang nor Su Qing cared much. Today was simply a warning to others; these major sects from all realms had to be targeted to prevent future mistakes like the Lingxiao Palace incident when fighting against evil spirits. (End of Chapter)