Although Fang Jian and others were very shocked by the news, the gods in the Lingxiao Palace were not surprised. It was obvious that they had known about it for a long time.
Such a major matter was definitely not proposed on a whim, but was proposed after long and careful consideration, and must have been discussed more than once in the Lingxiao Palace.
The fact that it was formally brought up at the court meeting in Lingxiao Palace today simply means that the big guys have already discussed it and now it’s just a matter of going through the motions.
So, immediately after Dou Mu Yuanjun finished his report, the Five Imperial Emperors stood up and bowed to the Jade Emperor, saying, "The Great Celestial Venerable's merits and virtues are immense, and he is universally admired. Now that the Daoist sect has returned him to the Heavenly Court, it truly demonstrates Heaven's virtue, bringing joy to all spirits and the common people."
Then the Five Great Emperors bowed and congratulated the Jade Emperor one after another. As the Five Great Emperors bowed and congratulated, all the heavenly gods in the hall also bowed and congratulated at the first opportunity, and Fang Jian and others were no exception.
The Jade Emperor smiled and said to the Five Imperial Emperors and the gods, "Everyone, please stand."
"Thank you, Great Lord." The gods and immortals bowed respectfully and then stood up straight.
At this time, the Jade Emperor said to Dou Mu Yuanjun: "Daoyou, the Taoist saints and immortals are truly willing to return to the heaven. This will greatly benefit all sentient beings in the three realms. I will approve your request."
Upon hearing this, Dou Mu Yuanjun immediately bowed to the Jade Emperor and said, "Your Majesty, I bow to thank the Jade Emperor."
Immediately, Zhen Yuanzi, the Holy Mother of the Golden Spirit, the Goddess of Yunxiao, the Old Mother of Mount Li, the Goddess of Qiongxiao, the Goddess of Bixiao, the Holy Mother of Wudang, the True Man of Taiyi, the True Man of Yuding, Chisongzi, Guangchengzi, Yunzhongzi and other Taoist masters all bowed their heads and said, "We sincerely thank the Jade Emperor."
The Jade Emperor said, "Stand up."
After the great Luos had retreated, the Jade Emperor continued, "The saints will each be given an imperial decree. From now on, they will follow the laws of heaven, educate all living beings, bring peace to the Three Realms, and repel evil from without. The return of the Daoist sect to heaven will be announced to the Three Realms after the court meeting."
Upon hearing this, the Daoist Daluo bowed again and said, "We will follow the Jade Emperor's command."
Afterwards, all the Taoist Daluo retreated back to the Qingyun and sat down cross-legged. It is easy to say that Taoism will return to the Heaven, but there are still many details that need to be discussed in its specific implementation.
It's just a process right now, so there's no rush to discuss it.
Then the Jade Emperor summoned the Eastern Azure Emperor and issued an edict: "The Taixuan Province should select Taoist immortals to serve as officials in heaven, confer them with divine titles and ranks, and reward them accordingly."
Upon hearing this, the Eastern Qinghua Emperor immediately saluted and said, "I will obey your command."
Next, the Jade Emperor ordered Taibai Jinxing to announce the decree, and this time Fang Jian understood the content of the decree. The Jade Emperor wanted to re-determine the official ranks of the gods in heaven!
As Taibai Jinxing read out the edict, the official rank structure that was about to be re-established in the Heavenly Court was also announced to everyone in the hall.
The new top-level structure of the Heavenly Court is as follows from top to bottom:
The Five Imperial Emperors, the Two Principles Emperors, the Five Elders of the Five Directions, the Nine Emperors of the Divine Sky, the Five Mountains Emperors, the Three Officials Emperors, the Five Thunder Emperors, and the Emperor of the Underworld.
From the beginning to the end, the above are the highest-ranking and most respected people in the heavenly court below the Jade Emperor. The more advanced one goes, the higher the position. The Five Imperial Emperors are still second only to the Jade Emperor.
Next up are the gods and immortals below the Heavenly Emperor, and their ranks from the front to the back are:
The True Lord of Assisting Heaven, the Six Great Marshals, the Four Heavenly Masters, the Four Divine Lords of the Four Directions, the Most Holy Teacher, the Lord of the Zhoutian Stars, the Three Heavenly Spirits, the Thirty-six Heavenly Lords, the Four Guardians, the Four Sea Gods, the Four River Source Kings, the Central Heavenly Official, and the Central Heavenly General.
Finally, there is a "Ten Directions Heavenly General", but he is a first-grade immortal official, not a super-grade one. He is placed here only to distinguish him from the Central Heavenly General.
Fang Jian is currently serving as the Lord of the Western Heavenly Palace, which is at the level of the 'Thirty-six Heavenly Gods'. As for Tang Yu, who is the General of Capture and Kill, he is at the level of the 'Ten Directions Heavenly Generals'.
The above are the classifications of super-grade immortal officials. There is no classification below the super-grade immortal officials, but they are still divided into grades one to nine.
The reason for re-defining the grades is because the grade divisions above the super-grade immortal officials were not clear before. For example, Nezha is a super-grade immortal official, but the Five Imperial Emperors are also classified as super-grade immortal officials, which is very confusing.
Therefore, the Jade Emperor established ranks above the super-grade immortal officials precisely for the purpose of having a clear division.
After announcing the reclassification, the Jade Emperor said to the Eastern Azure Emperor, "You may immediately issue an imperial decree to confer official rank and divine position upon the graduates of the Cave God Hall."
The Great Emperor Qinghua of the Eastern Pole immediately stepped out of the group, bowed, and said, "I will obey your command."
Then the Great Emperor Qinghua of the Eastern Pole stood on the summit of the Azure Sky and shouted towards the hall below, "Councilor Ren Hua, please step forward and be conferred."
Upon hearing this, Ren Hua immediately stepped forward, turned around and bowed, saying, "Your Highness Ren Hua, I await your appointment."
The Great Emperor Qinghua of the Eastern Pole declared, "The Way of Heaven is clear and the Jade Emperor bestows His grace upon Ren Hua, the Immortal Master who has graduated from the Cave God Hall. He diligently cultivates his Dharma and has achieved top marks in the examinations. He has also served as an Immortal Official for four hundred thousand years, demonstrating outstanding merit and virtue. His virtue has benefited all living beings, and his achievements are evident in the Three Realms. I hereby grant him a promotion and appoint him as the 'Envoy of the Taixuan Metropolis Province,' placing him among the Thirty-Six Celestial Immortals. I bestow upon him a Jade Sceptre and commend him, as ordered!"
When Master Ren Hua heard the imperial decree conferring upon him, he was stunned. He looked up at the Great Emperor Qinghua of Dongji in disbelief. 'The Envoy of Taixuandu Province', this was the head of the Wenlin Immortal Officials of Taixuandu Province, in charge of all the Wenlin Immortal Officials below the super rank in Taixuandu Province and the Heavenly Court.
This position seems to be the current divine office of 'Wenshi Zhenren Yinxi'. However, since he has been appointed as the Governor of Taixuandu Province, it means that Wenshi Zhenren Yinxi will also be promoted, which may not be unrelated to the return of Taoism to the Heavenly Court.
"Why don't you thank me?" said the Great Emperor Qinghua of Dongji.
Ren Hua Zhenren never thought that he would be awarded the high rank of Thirty-Six Heavenly Lord Gods just after leaving the Cave God Hall, simply because he won the first place in the graduation examination of the Cave God Hall.
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