The goddess Jiutian Xuannü was actively worshiped by the ancient Chinese, but the extent of the worship would diminish after the Han dynasty. Over the following centuries, she was gradually assimilated into Daoism. During the Tang dynasty, contrary views about Jiutian Xuannü coexisted. In this period, the rise of Daoism gave way to a new imagery of a high goddess of war who won by magical and intellectual means, and who transmitted the arts of immortality. The aspects of sexuality, victory over enemies in warfare, and everlasting life was slowly modified to fit this new image. Moreover, the Daoist Du Guangting attempted to expunge all the heterodox and crude elements from Jiutian Xuannü's popular legends, such as the erotic and sexually-empowering nature of the goddess, to create a new image of a martial goddess that was appropriate for the Shangqing school of Daoism.