Chapter 886: Jianchang

This was Yang Sheng's most glorious moment since becoming emperor, and also the moment of his highest self-affirmation. At this moment, Yang Sheng felt that being a good emperor, a monarch whose achievements benefited the country and would last for millennia, was an extremely fulfilling endeavor.

The imperial procession passed directly through Liebang City without stopping. During this time, some common people even followed the emperor's entourage, but after exiting the city, the speed of the Fengchan procession significantly increased. Eventually, the people returned home under the persuasion of officials.

However, having welcomed the Son of Heaven's carriage and seen the majestic Great Zhen Emperor, wearing his ceremonial crown, up close, all the residents of Liebang City were exceptionally excited.

The monarch of a nation stood outside his carriage in the cold wind, enduring it for over ten *li*, solely to allow his people to see him. This act not only elevated his image among the common folk of Great Zhen but also among the accompanying civil and military officials.

One clear morning at the end of the first lunar month, the Fengchan procession, having calculated its timing perfectly, arrived at the foot of Mount Tingqiu. What was remarkable was that while Mount Tingqiu was covered in ice and snow, the path directly in front of the procession was entirely free of it.

Originally, accompanying Fengchan officials intended to praise the managing officials responsible for clearing the path. However, these officials, hesitant to claim full credit, truthfully explained that the path had required almost no manual clearing for several days. Even sections that previously had no suitable road for large carriages had inexplicably become smooth.

This news, upon reaching the Emperor, was naturally interpreted as an auspicious omen.

The procession continued deep into Mount Tingqiu, stopping only at the foot of its highest peak. The formation of such a long road was undoubtedly the work of the Mount Tingqiu mountain spirit, as Great Zhen had not deployed an excessive amount of manpower and resources to open a mountain path; at most, they had constructed the Fengchan altar at the summit.

"Your Majesty, please alight!"

Yin Chong, in his immaculate silver armor, dismounted and gestured towards the imperial carriage. The civil and military officials had already disembarked or dismounted earlier, lining up neatly on both sides.

After the palace maid lifted the curtain, Yang Sheng stepped out of the carriage, head held high, chest out. He descended from the vehicle and stood firmly on the mountain path, looking up at Mount Tingqiu's peak. The upper half of the mountain was shrouded in clouds, making the summit invisible, and imperial guards were already lined up along both sides of the winding path leading upwards.

"Yin Chong, how tall is this peak?"

Yin Chong glanced up at the peak and replied.

"Reporting to Your Majesty, according to the Ministry of Works' records, Tingqiu Peak's vertical height is six hundred and twelve *zhang*."

"Good, six hundred *zhang*!"

Yang Sheng nodded. Seeing the sedan chairs and bearers already prepared nearby, he simply smiled, waved them away, and then ordered loudly:

"Forward, up the mountain!"

Seeing that the Emperor chose not to ride in a sedan chair, eunuchs immediately stepped forward to offer support to Yang Sheng, but he stopped them with a raised hand.

"My body is not yet that frail!"

With that, Yang Sheng took the first step, beginning his ascent on foot.

Yin Chong remained bowed until the Emperor started walking up the mountain, then immediately followed by his side. Behind them, the civil and military officials exchanged glances; some swallowed hard, looking at the towering peak, then wistfully at the prepared sedan chairs nearby.

"Chancellor Yin, the Emperor is ascending. What about us...?"

An official hesitated before speaking to Yin Zhaoxian, who turned to glance at him, then at the surrounding officials.

"The Emperor himself isn't taking a sedan chair. Are we, his subjects, to seek comfort? To the mountain!"

Yin Zhaoxian also began his ascent. Yin Qing, meanwhile, bowed to the officials behind him and offered reassurance.

"Gentlemen, you must all personally ascend the mountain. If you truly cannot bear it, the imperial guards nearby will not let you fall into difficulty, and the Heavenly Masters are also present. Let us hurry up the mountain."

Upon hearing Yin Qing's words, many officials, especially the civil ones, felt somewhat relieved and began to follow the ascent.

As the Great Zhen Fengchan procession slowly made its way up the mountain, Mount Tingqiu itself was not as quiet as it appeared on the surface.

In fact, besides Ji Yuan and the Mount Tingqiu mountain spirit, Hong Shengting, a significant number of immortal cultivators from Jade Embrace Mountain and Qianyuan Sect were present. The two true dragons from the Tongtian River Dragon Palace had also arrived in full, as well as plenty of ghost cultivators from the Netherworld. There were even some local deities and ghostly spirits who had left their domains specifically to come to Mount Tingqiu, not to mention many reclusive cultivators and mortal cultivation families. As for various spirits and monsters, they were too numerous to count.

Mount Tingqiu's highest peak had a vertical height of six hundred *zhang*. With its winding path upwards across the broad mountain, even where steps had "grown," the difficulty of the climb remained high.

Although Yang Sheng had once possessed considerable martial arts skills, years of being emperor had led to neglect of training, and he was no longer as strong as before. By halfway up the mountain, he was already panting, but his fundamental stamina remained, making him far better off than most. The truly suffering ones were the old civil officials behind him.

Upon reaching halfway, they were enveloped by deep clouds and mist. A glance from the mountain path outwards was enough to make a normal person's legs tremble with fear.

Yin Zhaoxian and the officials around him closely followed the Emperor ahead. Yin Zhaoxian, approaching eighty years old, was now sweating profusely, his legs feeling like lead, yet each step he took remained remarkably steady. He gritted his teeth, refusing to fall behind.

The officials on the mountain path began to spread out, with elderly ministers constantly stopping to rest, unable to continue, as if the path would never end.

"Hoo... hoo... hoo... This, the mountain... isn't it at the top yet... ahh..."

"Your Excellency, be careful!"

An elderly minister, breathless and unsteady, nearly stumbled and fell. Fortunately, an imperial guard nearby, with quick reflexes, caught him, preventing him from tumbling down the mountain.

"Thank, thank you, soldier!"

"Minister Li, you can rest for a moment. I, I'm almost at my limit too!"

Another elderly minister walked over, looked up towards the summit, which still seemed endless.

"This, this six-hundred-*zhang* mountain still has no end?"

Many were in a similar state, but despite their exhaustion, almost no one gave up—partly due to reputation, and partly due to their future prospects.

What the civil and military officials, and even the Emperor, didn't realize was that some people's feelings were not wrong; although six hundred *zhang* was very high, they had actually long surpassed that height, yet the summit remained out of sight.

This was because the mountain peak was no longer merely six hundred *zhang* tall. On the eve of the Great Zhen Fengchan procession's arrival, the peak had silently grown several hundred *zhang* upwards, like bamboo shoots breaking through the earth, already becoming a bona fide peak exceeding a thousand *zhang*.

Some Heavenly Masters were already faintly aware of this, but Du Changsheng and others did not voice it. They also sensed that the peak seemed to be continuously growing, but fortunately, the growth started from the base, so those already ascending would not have their journey extended.

The sky was neither clear nor overcast, with clouds and mist constantly swirling around. Even the Heavenly Masters could not fully disperse the mist today; they could only ensure visibility on the mountain path. Yet, they knew there was no danger, as they could sense the presence of many immortal and divine lights, seemingly observing them.

Originally, it was planned that the Emperor and the civil and military officials would reach the summit in less than an hour. However, it was not until nearly midday that Emperor Yang Sheng of Great Zhen, leading the procession, finally caught sight of Tingqiu Peak's summit through the thinning clouds.

"Your Majesty, we are almost at the summit!"

"Hm!"

Yang Sheng, breathless, insisted on not being supported by Yin Chong. He glanced back to see his teacher, Yin Zhaoxian, pale and covered in cold sweat, but still closely following. Yin Qing, too, was drenched in sweat yet kept pace. About a dozen more officials behind them were in a similar state, but beyond that, the numbers thinned considerably.

However, Yang Sheng was not at all annoyed. As a former martial arts expert, how could he not sense that the mountain had changed?

"My dear ministers, ascend to the summit with me!"

"Your... will... be done..."

The moment Yang Sheng and some ministers set foot on the summit, their hearts were shaken by the sight before them.

The entire Mount Tingqiu was covered by a sea of clouds, with only the peak beneath their feet piercing through it, towering high as if the heavens were just within reach.

And on the cloud tops beyond the summit, stood numerous figures—some close, some distant, some stout, some slender, some emanating radiance, others appearing unassuming—but all stood on the clouds, all gazing at the summit of Tingqiu Peak.

The moment Yang Sheng and the civil and military officials stood firmly on the Fengchan altar, Ji Yuan and Hong Shengting, as well as many other early arrivals who had come to observe the ceremony, bowed in that direction.

"Your Majesty, it is precisely midday!"

Yin Qing, still breathless, handed a scroll of yellow silk proclamation to Yang Sheng. The Emperor, having recovered his breath, excitedly unfurled the silk himself.

At this moment, the whistling wind seemed to cease, the biting cold seemed to recede, and the sunlight was no longer harsh. The heavens felt closer. Yang Sheng experienced a sense of daze and dizziness, and the strong thumping of his own heart became remarkably distinct.

In this brief instant, his consciousness seemed to become an observer, ascending to the peak of the sky, passing by numerous immortals, seeing the struggling ministers on the mountain path, sweeping over the vast rivers and mountains, the myriad people, and even distant lands across the oceans...

After this momentary transformation, his consciousness returned to the Fengchan altar. The first word Yang Sheng uttered marked a change in his self-address.

"I, Yang Sheng, Sovereign of Great Zhen, declare to the Heavens above—"

"Boundless Heaven and Earth nurture all beings. All people under Heaven shall revere Heaven and Earth. Today, our Righteous Path of Humanity offers this sacrifice to Heaven and Earth, feeling the myriad wishes, praying for blessings for a thousand autumns... establishing our human scholarly destiny by founding scholarly temples... establishing our human martial destiny by founding martial temples... acknowledging benevolent deities as wandering lords who protect regions... acknowledging the righteous halls of ghost paths as emperors of the Netherworld... acknowledging one peak within our nation as Ting Mountain, and its mountain spirit as the venerated lord of mountains... acknowledging..."

Mount Tingqiu's name was changed to Ting Mountain in the Fengchan proclamation, but Hong Shengting had already anticipated this. In many human perspectives, a mountain's name shortened to a single character signified veneration; it was a destined outcome of the Fengchan ceremony.

"From this day forth, I change the national title to Jianchang, and hereby proclaim to Heaven and Earth—"

Rumble, rumble, rumble...

Faintly, Heaven and Earth seemed to tremble, yet there was no wind or thunder. Above the nine heavens, colors seemed to shift, yet there was no light or illusion.

Yang Sheng enunciated each word clearly, projecting his inner *zhenqi*, but thereafter, he needed no effort; his voice naturally grew louder and louder. Even the procession at the foot of the mountain heard it distinctly, and it faintly echoed further into the distance.