Chapter 987: Heavenly Emperor
"Waaah…"
Loud wailing sounds came. Ye Fan stood atop the majestic divine hall on the mountain peak, looking down below. The crusader army that had marched east seemed to have lost its anchor, on the verge of collapse, crying out in great sorrow.
The gods were dead. The entire world seemed to have collapsed, shrouded in grayness and despair. The two lofty divine clan experts had been shot down with a single arrow each, a fact they could not accept.
In the eyes of these devout believers, the whole world had lost its luster. The end had come. This was an unbearable weight and pain—their faith had crumbled.
"Glory and faith are our lives! Fight for the gods!"
The crowd wailed loudly, facing death fearlessly as they charged toward the highest sacred mountain of Jerusalem City, wanting to launch a final assault, refusing to accept this cruel reality.
Ye Fan said nothing. He stretched out his hand and swept it downward. With continuous *puff* sounds, blood blossoms bloomed, lives withered, and seven or eight knight leaders were erased.
Then, he made no further move. He sat cross-legged on the highest sacred mountain and began to chant the *Salvation Scripture*. His voice resounded through the heavens. Auspicious clouds scattered down like tassels, a thousand kinds of radiance and ten thousand kinds of auspicious light poured down, filling every corner.
This scripture was the foremost among the Three Caverns scriptures of the Daoist tradition, dispelling heavenly calamities, protecting and stabilizing emperors and kings, warding off earthly poisons to save the common people. Both men and women received protection and salvation, transforming mortal beings.
"The immortal path values life, saving countless beings without measure…" Ye Fan's Dharma voice thundered, rumbling like rolling thunder. As he preached and chanted on the sacred mountain, all kinds of strange phenomena appeared between heaven and earth.
Ye Fan wanted to go to another cave heaven and blessed land in the Western Lands, but if the crusaders' violent aura was not eliminated now, they might later wreak havoc in the Central Lands.
They blocked his path, each one grief-stricken. Ye Fan did not wish to create a massive slaughter. Killing so many people would truly go against the harmony of heaven. It was better to convert them spiritually.
Heaven rained auspicious colors, the earth gushed sweet springs. Withered trees sprouted new buds, the sick and disabled recovered. Ye Fan's tongue blossomed with lotuses. All kinds of auspicious signs appeared. Immortal light shimmered, wrapped in sacred aura. He was like a deity converting sentient beings.
From his mouth, one ancient character after another emerged, turning into scripture imprints in the void, purifying everyone's hearts, cleansing their primordial spirits. This was a spiritual-level "marrow-washing and hair-shedding."
Ye Fan had no killing intent at all. He was like an ancient immortal from ten thousand years ago, or an undying sage. Every word he spoke was crystal clear, turning into divine radiance illuminating the sky, entering everyone's sea of consciousness.
The shocking killing aura within Jerusalem City completely disappeared, all purified by him. Many knights had already charged to the front but dropped their weapons, standing in a daze. These were the strongest batch.
At the foot of the sacred mountain, rows of crusaders sat cross-legged on the ground, solemn and dignified, as if they had attained enlightenment. Their expressions were calm, their whole beings peaceful.
In the distance, old cultivators who had not been affected saw this scene and their hairs stood on end. What heaven-defying means were these? Comparable to the gods of ancient times. Opening his mouth to preach, gathering believers, in a single day he could establish a sect that the whole world would revere, capable of being passed down for ten thousand ages.
"Hao zheng zuo shi. Po ni sha ling. Bei zhao jun jiang. Ji nan zhan kui. Jing yi sun guang. Hun yuan jue yuan…"
Ye Fan chanted the Dao scripture. Around him, orchids covered the ground, golden towers appeared, clouds steamed and mists rose, Dharma forms manifested in abundance. An Immortal King sat in the Nine Heavens, chaos nourishing a single lotus.
Chanting the scripture once, the devout believers' minds became clear. Chanting it twice, their worries faded and their ears and eyes sharpened. Chanting it three times, the crowd bowed their heads and their hearts grew pure. Chanting it four times, hidden ailments vanished and their physical forms became light. Chanting it five times, fallen teeth grew back.
"Boundless beyond thought. The Dao sea stirs waves. Dharma principles like trickling streams. Nourishing and growing into fine seedlings. Used to save the starving and poor…"
Ye Fan's divine phenomena gradually merged with his physical body. He sat high in the Nine Heavens, chanting the Mysterious Yellow text of heaven and earth. Boundless auspicious energy burst forth, cascading down, completely covering Jerusalem.
In the present age, such a great supernatural power was almost never seen. Even less common was someone who would exhaust their mind and Dao cultivation to explain scriptures and convert so many people. In ancient times, this was manifesting divine miracles!
This was not only converting believers but also granting them immense benefits. Whether it was problems in their cultivation or bottlenecks in their Dao path, everything would change, bringing them great advantages.
In ancient times, this was a god descending to the world, equivalent to creating a pure land. It was a supreme method for gathering faith. Once it moved the whole world to recognize and revere, one could attain sagehood on the spot.
The hostility within Jerusalem's sacred city completely disappeared, turning into a place of peace. Ye Fan used great supernatural power to exhaust the killing intent and suppress this place.
Throughout this process, Little Heavenly Master Zhang Qingyang gained the most. He was originally a disciple of the Daoist sect, protecting Ye Fan from behind. He felt as if a window had opened, his Dao cultivation advancing, and he actually broke through a small realm.
"Master, establish a sect! Even the ancient divine miracles are no more than this. The people below have all been converted by you, becoming devout believers." He said with a trembling voice.
"Heavenly Court." Ye Fan spat out these two words, rumbling and shaking the heavens, echoing through the clouds. But he told Zhang Qingyang that he could preach in the future, but not now.
Zhang Qingyang nodded. This would be a grand and long-term goal for him to strive toward. The famous Zhang Zhenren thus embarked on a path of creating a Dao tradition.
Finally, Ye Fan stopped manifesting his Dao cultivation and stopped chanting the scripture. At the foot of the sacred mountain, a crowd sat on the ground, each one full of spirit, completely abandoning their killing intent, spiritually purified.
He stood up tall. Below, a crowd performed pilgrimage, their eyes extremely devout, all praying, willing to follow him, heading to the Vatican to demand the ancestral artifact.
Zhang Qingyang took the initiative. At this moment, he announced Ye Fan's Dao title, calling him the Heavenly Emperor. For a time, mountain-shaking cheers rang out without end, resounding through heaven and earth.
Long Xiaoque, Zhan Yifan, and the others exchanged glances, feeling that Zhang Qingyang really had the potential to be a divine prophet. In the blink of an eye, he had turned a group of enemies into believers—somewhat unbelievable.
"Master, please pass on to me the complete *Salvation Scripture*." Zhang Qingyang said seriously.
Ye Fan reached out and pointed. A clear radiance entered his brow, transforming into a profound scripture, along with imprints from Ye Fan's enlightenment, involving various details and processes of comprehending this scripture, allowing him to quickly understand it thoroughly.
This was no longer the pure *Salvation Scripture*. It also contained the *Dao Scripture*, the *Western Emperor Scripture*, the *Eternal Universe Scripture*, and many other doctrines that could convert people's primordial spirits, forming a unique ancient scripture.
"It's time to leave." Ye Fan looked into the distance and began to set off.
"Heavenly Emperor!"
At the foot of the sacred mountain, row after row of devout believers shouted, their voices shaking the clouds. In the distance, many old men in two other religious divine halls were dumbfounded. Even the gods they revered were speechless, not daring to make a move.
Ye Fan descended the mountain, followed by many, leaving this place in a mighty procession, heading into the distance.
"I want the flowers of the Heavenly Court's Dao tradition to bloom in every corner of the world. I will establish an immortal sect from now on." Zhang Qingyang said, very excited.
"Zhang Qingyang, you weren't accidentally converted by Master, were you?" The others muttered, speaking in a joking tone.
"You don't understand. Establishing an immortal sect… I vaguely sensed something, but it's hard to explain now." Zhang Qingyang said with a dazed expression.
The Vatican, meaning "the place of prophecy," was the most famous cave heaven and blessed land in the West. It was the resting divine soil of ancient gods, filled with endless myths and legends.
Ye Fan traveled west. Not long after leaving Jerusalem City, all the news spread through various means, causing a great shock among the Western Dao traditions!
The last two divine clan members were shot dead. All glory and halos dimmed. Moreover, the crusaders became his guards, his devout believers, beginning a western campaign.
Demon marching through the West!
Many ancient families could no longer sit still. A demon from the Central Lands was advancing aggressively, with ill intent. Was he going to overturn the Western Dao traditions?
On this dark day, all the great Dao traditions were horrified. A demon from the Central Lands was marching through the world. No one had expected things to develop to this point, so severe.
The only remaining divine clan members in this world were dead. Who could still subdue this great demon from the Central Lands?
"The Vatican is in danger. Although it has deep foundations, in this age of the end of the Dharma, it is no longer sufficient. No one can suppress this demon."
"That's wrong. He is the Lord of the Heavenly Court. Be careful he doesn't come to convert you."
"What should we do? Should we go to help?"
"Don't worry. If I'm not mistaken, some holy knights who survived the Dark Age are still alive. Perhaps there is still a chance to fight."
…
All sides were discussing. They were all deeply shocked that Ye Fan had converted the crusaders. Some could not accept this fact, feeling a bit creeped out.
Ye Fan circled outside the Vatican for a moment, then entered an ancient formation, walking into a primeval land. Here, ancient trees were like dragons, medicinal herbs gave off fragrance. It was one of the rarest cultivation holy lands in the world, with a wild, ancient aura.
Since ancient times, this place had been a spiritual soil nurturing divine excellence. Throughout the ages, sages had guarded it. Now, times had changed, and such experts no longer existed, but it was still revered.
This was an ancient Dao field, different from the center of the Catholic faith that ordinary people believed in, but it could still draw faith power from the outside world.
Within the Vatican, a group of important figures were worried and frowning deeply. Now, the demon from the Central Lands had come to their doorstep, and they had no confidence.
However, some people were laughing heartily, very pleased, saying: "Isn't it good that the divine clan is dead? The Bible is the crystallization of wisdom, Jesus is a venerable sage. What were those few outer-domain divine clan members? We will go to meet the demon from the Central Lands. Our doctrine is great. The existence of God gives the world a spiritual sustenance, not just providing thought power for a few outer-domain divine clan members to cultivate."
In another grand hall, a group of people were at their wit's end, all extremely worried. The divine clan had been killed. How could the Vatican resist?
Finally, the Pope spoke, his expression calm as water, saying: "No matter. God is not omnipotent, but our church is omnipotent!"
"Your Holiness the Pope, do you have any way? The demon from the Central Lands is truly powerful to the extreme." Someone showed a shocked expression and couldn't help asking.
"Do you know why the few divine clan experts only lived in Jerusalem's sacred city and never dared to come to this ancient Dao field? Because they were afraid. Here lies the strongest being under the entire starry sky!" The Pope's eyes were deep, as unfathomable as the great sea. He sat high above, as calm as a mountain.
"Then why did you watch them be killed?" Someone asked, alarmed.
"What were they? Just cooperation. In the past, we occasionally needed them to show divine miracles. They weren't the real God. They were just a few gods we set up, replaceable at any time."
The Pope's hair was thick, flowing with light. His face was snow-white and crystalline. His eyes were as deep as the starry sky. Seated high above, the trajectory of the Dao traced with every move he made, like a god.