Heaven-Defying Rebel Sage
Chapter 259 - 248: Phoenix Cries on Mount Qi, Enshrined as Gods Again

Chapter 259: Chapter 248: Phoenix Cries on Mount Qi, Enshrined as Gods Again

The story tells that the Supreme Holy Mother, the Great Mage of Spiritual Treasures, and Guang Chengzi entered the Southern Heavenly Gate and made their way towards the Hall of Supreme Harmony.

At that time, Wukong was commanding the demons to clean up the battlefield and manage the aftermath. Upon seeing the arrival of the three, he couldn’t help but go up to meet them.

"Wukong," called the Supreme Holy Mother.

"What brings you here?" Wukong approached the three and greeted them with a bow.

The Supreme Holy Mother said, "We are here by our teacher’s command to find you and to carry out the Investiture of the Gods at Mount Qi."

Wukong nodded slightly and said, "Good!"

The Supreme Holy Mother asked, "Do you wish to establish Ying Zheng, the First Emperor, as the Supreme Sovereign of Ten Thousand Heavens, the Supreme Heavenly Lord?"

Wukong smiled and replied, "Naturally, for the Emperor is a man of great courage. It is he who must manage the revolution of this world."

The Supreme Holy Mother said, "Very well! Then please, let the First Emperor follow us to Mount Qi to begin the Investiture."

Wukong called Yuan Hong over and said, "Brother Yuan, I’ll leave this place in your hands for now. Make sure no trouble arises. I will go with the Supreme Holy Sister and the others on this journey."

Yuan Hong laughed and said, "Rest assured, Wukong, there will be no mistakes."

Wukong then went to fetch Ying Zheng, the First Emperor, who knew his opportunity had come and was understandably excited.

"Let’s go to Mount Qi."

Wukong and the First Emperor followed the Supreme Holy Mother and the two others towards Mount Qi in the west. In ancient times, Jiang Ziya had conferred the Heavenly Court’s 365 Righteous Gods here. Now, after tens of thousands of years, it was again time for the Investiture—the world has changed, and the circumstances remade, evoking a sense of lamentation.

Upon arriving at Mount Qi, the Deification Platform was shrouded with drifting True Spirits. Wukong could sense whose Spirits they were.

Guanyin, Samantabhadra, Manjushri, Dingguang Happy Buddha, Ma Yuan—the King Buddha...

Both Guang Chengzi and Supreme Holy Mother couldn’t help but sneer. To them, a traitor was detestable to all who saw one.

Guang Chengzi placed an Eight Trigrams flag on the Deification Platform then, along with the Great Mage of Spiritual Treasures and the Supreme Holy Mother, went to bathe and change, donning new Taoist robes. The First Emperor also bathed and changed into a dragon robe, wearing a flat-heaven crown with pearls hanging down, dignified without anger.

Those involved in the Investiture each took incense, poured wine, and offered flowers. They circled the Deification Platform three times, presenting the decree of the Lord of Primordial Beginning and bowing three times.

Then, they read aloud the edict of the Lord of Primordial Beginning before placing it on the incense table. The three Great Immortals each raised their Magical Treasures—The Supreme Holy Mother holding the Slaying Immortal Sword, Guang Chengzi the Wujixing Yellow Banner, and the Great Mage of Spiritual Treasures the Li Di Yan Guang Banner—standing in the center of the Deification Platform, their robes billowing, commanding grandeur.

Guang Chengzi shouted, "By the mandate of Heaven, the Investiture at Mount Qi, initiate the Investiture of the Gods!"

The decree of the Lord of Primordial Beginning then soared, gathering the Investiture scroll and hanging it beneath the platform.

Indeed, the first name on the Investiture scroll was Ying Zheng. The First Emperor unfolded his dragon robe, stepped below the Deification Platform, and knelt on the ground, holding aloft an unadorned cloud flag temporarily lent to him by Wukong.

Guang Chengzi loudly proclaimed, "Today, by command of the Three Pure Ones—the Lord of Spiritual Treasures of the High Purity Heaven, the Lord of Primordial Beginning of the Jade Purity Heaven, and the Lord of the Tao of the Grand Pure Heaven—Emperor Ying Zheng, unifier of Greater China, whose merits are distinct, is hereby ordained as the Supreme Highest Lord of the Golden Palace of the Vast Heaven, naturally present and wondrous, the Jade Emperor Supreme God. Let it be respected!"

The First Emperor, kneeling beneath the Deification Platform and hearing the decree, raised the plain cloud flag in his hand and then bowed three times towards the decree of the Lord of Primordial Beginning, thanking the divine grace. Only then did the True Spirits dance above the Deification Platform, veiled yet apparent, with a howling cold wind, seemingly stunned by the Investiture.

The Supreme Holy Mother then said, "Summon the True Spirits from all paths to listen to the Investiture."

With the Investiture scroll in hand, the Emperor unfolded it and loudly declared, "Corpse Abandonment Buddha, step forward and listen to your Investiture."

The divine spirit of Corpse Abandonment Buddha shimmered with flashes of golden light, transforming into a human form, and its mana was restored substantially. He bowed distantly toward the First Emperor, then knelt beneath the Deification Platform to accept his new title.

"By decree, Corpse Abandonment Buddha is named the Righteous God of the Three Mountains. Esteem this well!" Guang Chengzi declared.

"Thank you for the holy grace," Corpse Abandonment Buddha said, bowing his head before stepping down.

Those gathered there had ascended the Deification Platform and naturally did not dare to disobey the commands. They could only accept their new titles, for otherwise, with a mere flick of Ying Zheng’s fingers, they could be instantly reduced to ashes.

Then, the gods of the Thunder Department were named, with Pilanpo assuming the role of the chief deity in charge of rainmaking.

After the gods of the Thunder Department were named, they went to the Heavenly Court to report for duty.

Then the gods of the Fire Department, Plague Department, and the auspicious and ominous deities of the Five Bushels Constellation were named. The names of the Star Gods were announced. The Thirty-Six Heavenly Spirits did not need to be named, as they had been safely gathered by the Tong Tian Sect Master and were to be returned in the future. After naming the Thirty-Six Heavenly Spirits, the Seventy-Two Earthly Fiends and the Nine Luminaries Star Lords, the North Dipper’s Five Qi Water Virtue Star Lord, The daily stars under Tai Sui in the Palace of Lingxiao, the four great Marshals, the Gold Dragon Ruyi True Lord of the Dragon and Tiger Tan, and the Four Spirits under him, as well as the Four Heavenly Kings were named...

During this investiture, golden light was splendid and the laws of the Heavenly Dao thundered, with the voices of the three, including Guang Chengzi, resounding throughout the Earth Immortal Realm.

This act of investiture lasted for three days and three nights.

After the investiture, Guang Chengzi, bearing the decree of the Lord of Primordial Beginning, collected the Investiture of the Gods, struck the Deification Platform with his palm, returned to the Jade Void Palace to report, and Supreme Holy Mother and Lord of Spiritual Treasures Mage each returned to the Biyou Palace in the Jade Purity Heaven and the Tushita Palace.

Emboldened and revived, First Emperor Ying Zheng resumed his commanding presence of old, his aura imposing without anger.

With the restoration of the Heavenly Court, Ying Zheng became the ruler of ten thousand heavens, the Supreme Sovereign!

Wukong laughed, "Since the First Emperor has achieved his long-cherished wish, it must be time to help me implement that plan to revolutionize the world."

Ying Zheng smiled, "With the Victorious Fighting Buddha’s calamitous mirror present, no one dares to misuse their power for personal gains! Revolutionizing the world won’t be difficult."

Wukong nodded, "Then let’s return to the Heavenly Court and implement it immediately."

Ying Zheng said, "Good, that is exactly what I intend! Having just ascended to the position of the ruler of ten thousand heavens, it is time to light a great fire."

Wukong and the others thus headed for the Lingxiao Palace in the Heavenly Court.

Ying Zheng assumed his throne as the ruler of ten thousand heavens, the Immortal Officials paid homage, and then Ying Zheng began implementing policies of rule by law. He established a cabinet, appointing prime ministers on the left and the right. With the calamitous mirror suspended above in the Lingxiao Palace, he had no worries about the Immortal Officials abusing power for personal gain, forming cliques. Anyone daring to do so, exposing his misdeeds to the world through the mirror, would be legitimately eradicated by Ying Zheng, ensuring their utter destruction.

He then issued a decree ordering the current Emperor of Great Tang, Li Zhi, to change the state’s name to the Republic, transforming the familial rule into a public rule based on ancient systems, changing the title of Emperor to Chairman, separating the party from the government, and spreading Wukong’s will of equality for all beings. This Chairman position would be elected every five years, selecting individuals of virtuous character for the role.

Initially, Heaven-Defying Taoist had gone down and spoken to Li Zhi about implementing this, and Li Zhi was wholly reluctant. However, amidst the covert operations by the Heavenly Court, people increasingly yearned for equality and democracy. With ministers pressuring and besieging the palace, calling for Li Zhi to obey the commands of the Heavenly Court, citizens across Great Tang rose in support of democracy.

Li Zhi knew that if this continued, his country could be destroyed, and he would not be the first Chairman. Thus, he was forced to enforce the edicts of the Heavenly Court.

The implementation of the Heavenly Court’s edicts took three full years because this legal system was a blow to the nobility. However, with the forceful and diverse methods of the Heavenly Court, they had no choice but to comply, and a vigorous reform was carried out that nobody could stop. Moreover, the common people greatly desired equality, and in Great Tang, they made up the majority. Under this dual pressure, the nobility simply couldn’t resist.

Li Zhi, unyielding, became the first Chairman. He realized the inevitable trend and dedicated himself to seeing the reforms through to the end.

Implementing such reforms certainly faced opposition from conservative scholars. Li Zhi, determined to see the process through, labeled these critics as "anti-revolutionaries" and subjected them all to struggle sessions to indoctrinate them with the correct views. Those who reformed could be released; those who continued to spread Confucian toxicity were executed by crushing their skulls with a metal mace. Under these decisive actions, no one dared hinder the revolution.

This revolution was vigorously carried out, and it took a full five years to achieve the initial effects Wukong had anticipated.

With the successful implementation of the revolution, Wukong felt his Primordial Spirit Thoughts becoming increasingly rounded and profound, deepening his understanding of the laws of the Heavenly Dao—this was the effect of fulfilling a grand aspiration!

To know what happens next, please tune in to the following Chapter. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, feel free to support by casting your recommendation and monthly tickets at qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users can read at m.qidian.com.)