Gou Dao and Cultivation of Immortals, Start from Farming

Li Mu withdrew his gaze and looked at Ji Yu. The turmoil in his eyes had subsided, leaving only silence.

"Just a minor disturbance!" Li Mu replied calmly, his voice devoid of emotion.

Ji Yu stared intently at Li Mu, the light in the depths of her twin star-shaped eyes flickering uncertainly. She was surprised by his overly calm reaction, as if she had expected it all along.

"Disturbance?" Ji Yu's voice was deep, tinged with inquiry, as he asked with concern, "To cause such a violent tremor in the will of heaven and earth is no ordinary matter. Do you know the reason, fellow Daoist?"

Inside the tower, you could hear a pin drop; Cao Cong, Ge Xuan, and Wei Jun held their breath in concentration.

Li Mu lightly tapped the jade table with his fingertips, causing the celestial wine in the cup to ripple gently, resonating quietly with the starlight waves flowing beneath his feet.

“Its origins are profound!” Li Mu raised his eyes, his gaze cold, and gestured, “It’s not nearby, nor is it something you or I can touch at this moment, so let’s not talk about it!”

This ambiguous statement only added to the mystery.

Ji Yu's brow furrowed almost imperceptibly. Not nearby? Then why was this feeling of dread so clear? What did Li Mu's use of the word "touched" imply?
Ge Xuan closed his eyes slightly, his withered fingers rapidly calculating in his sleeve, trying to capture the traces of the will of heaven and earth, but he found nothing.

Ji Yu remained silent for a moment, then a faint smile returned to his face. He raised his cup in a toast and said, "Fellow Daoist, your insight is profound. It seems we were worrying unnecessarily. Please!"

Li Mu also raised his cup, the jade liquor entering his throat, still clear and refreshing, as if the earth-shaking tremor that had just made Ji Yu change color was really just a gentle breeze brushing the water's surface.

The wine was slightly cool, the glasses clinked lightly, and after a few rounds of drinks, the tense atmosphere at the table seemed to have eased a bit with the alcohol, and Ji Yu and Li Mu became more familiar with each other.

Ji Yu put down the jade cup, her gaze falling on Li Mu. She cut to the chase and asked curiously, "Fellow Daoist Li, your cultivation is profound and your knowledge is vast. You are truly a role model for us all. I wonder... if you would be interested in using your talents to do something practical in my Heavenly Star Pavilion?"

Li Mu raised his eyes, waiting for the next part to continue.

"The position of 'Master of the Palace' in our pavilion is still vacant," Ji Yu continued, introducing, "The responsibility is to teach the elite disciples in the pavilion, and also to exchange and verify with fellow practitioners in the pavilion, and spread what you have learned. If you are willing to take this position, it will be a blessing for the disciples in the pavilion and also a blessing for our Great Qian Immortal Dynasty."

The tower fell silent.

Cao Cong's face was full of expectant smiles, his eyes burning with anticipation.

Li Mu was speechless. He looked at Ji Yu and asked with a half-smile, "Master Bo? I am new to your dynasty. Fellow Daoist Ji has not yet learned about my background. Aren't you afraid that I might mislead the disciples? Or that what I teach is not the Dao and disturbs the peace of the Immortal Dynasty?"

Li Mu's question was direct, even a little sharp.

Upon hearing this, Ji Yu's twin star-like eyes remained calm, but instead he laughed loudly, the laughter echoing in the empty tower, carrying an undeniable confidence: "Fellow Daoist, you are overthinking it. The foundation of my Great Qian Immortal Dynasty lies in the four words 'Greatness lies in tolerance.' The Immortal Path is vast, and all laws return to their source."

"As long as it does not violate the principles of heaven and earth, nor go against the norms of human relations, all paths can be used by me, and all can lead to immortality! Whatever you have learned, regardless of its origin, is a treasure that our Immortal Dynasty is willing to hear, accept, and inherit. How can there be any talk of 'heterodox paths'? There is no risk of 'misleading people'. You can proceed with confidence." Ji Yu's words were firm and his demeanor was magnificent, fully demonstrating the magnanimity and confidence of the Taiqian Immortal Dynasty.

Li Mu's gaze swept over Ji Yu's confident face, then over the expectant or scrutinizing expressions of Cao Cong, Ge Xuan, Wei Jun, and the others. A flickering light shone in his eyes.

After a moment, the faint smile on Li Mu's lips deepened slightly, and he nodded slightly: "Fellow Daoist Ji has a heart as vast as the sea, and the Great Qian Immortal Dynasty possesses extraordinary spirit. In that case, I, Li... will accept."

"Excellent!" A glint flashed in Ji Yu's eyes, and he clapped his hands and laughed, "With your approval, fellow Daoist, this is truly a great event for the Heavenly Star Pavilion! Cao Cong!"

"Your subordinate is here!" Cao Cong hurriedly stood up, his face beaming with joy.

"Immediately begin arrangements to prepare everything Senior Li needs for his mastership, in accordance with the highest honors and respect." Ji Yu gave the order, then raised his cup again to Li Mu: "Fellow Daoist Li, please!"

The jade cups clinked lightly one last time, their clear, lingering aroma still present. Ji Yu's smile remained unchanged, but a hint of urgency flashed in her eyes.

"Fellow Daoist, please return to the valley to rest first. Cao Cong will arrange everything properly." Ji Yu stood up to see him off, speaking politely, "There are still some mundane matters in the pavilion that need to be dealt with immediately, so please excuse me for not seeing you off further."

Li Mu nodded slightly, said nothing more, and turned to leave with Xue'er.

As Li Mu's figure disappeared into the swirling light around the tower gate, the polite smile on Ji Yu's face vanished instantly, replaced by a deep, unreadable expression. He turned, his black robe billowing, and he transformed into a streak of dark purple light, shooting straight towards the higher levels of the tower.

Ge Xuan and Wei Jun exchanged a glance, both seeing the seriousness in each other's eyes, and quickly followed.

At the core of the tower is a secret chamber entirely constructed of flowing star runes.

In the center, a perfectly round star instrument made from a single piece of "stellar core gold" floats, with countless fine star orbits moving on its own, reflecting the stars in the sky.

Ji Yu stood before the star instrument, his hands forming hand seals, his ten fingers flying like phantoms. A deep incantation echoed in the secret chamber, causing the surrounding star runes to suddenly light up. The vast star power was frantically drawn and gathered at his fingertips.

"Duh!"

With a soft shout, a deep purple beam of light, condensed to the extreme, shot out from Ji Yu's fingertip and pierced the core of the Star Instrument!

hum-

The star instrument trembled violently, and the star trails on its surface blurred, reassembled, and accelerated billions of times! Countless star projections flashed and flickered wildly in the sealed room, stretching out billions of streaks of light, and the entire room seemed to have transformed into a boiling vortex of starlight.

Ji Yu's eyes were tightly closed, and a vertical crack appeared between his brows, with the star vortex inside spinning to its limit. His entire mind was immersed in the star instrument, following the trace of shocking fluctuations left by the will of heaven and earth, and trying his best to trace the source...

……

The star map shifted rapidly, coordinates jumped wildly, traversing endless star fields and penetrating layers upon layers of spacetime barriers... Suddenly!
The star instrument shuddered violently. Within the vast star field illusory image projected by the core, a huge point of light representing a specific realm was flashing and expanding violently. The spatial laws around it presented a terrifying scene of extreme distortion and tearing. Countless eerie white cracks representing destruction spread and exploded around the point of light!
Ji Yu abruptly opened his eyes, the vertical lines on them closing, the starlight deep within his pupils almost frozen. He stared intently at the collapsing boundary projection on the star chart, his face drained of color. "How could this be? The boundary wall is another world..."

"Sect Master, what is the matter?" Ge Xuan rushed to his side and asked, full of confusion, as his cultivation level was not enough to see that far.

"The realm beyond the realm has encountered a cataclysmic disaster!" Ji Yu gritted his teeth, pointing to the wildly flickering, nearly collapsing projection at the core of the Star Instrument, indicating, "That world has been invaded by extraterrestrial forces. That fluctuation... is the dying cry of the Heavenly Dao will of that extraterrestrial world!"

Upon hearing this, Ge Xuan's cloudy old eyes widened instantly, and his withered hand gripped his sleeve tightly. Although his cultivation was insufficient to see far, the words "collapse of the realm" and "the lament of the heavenly way" were enough to send chills down his spine.

Ji Yu stared intently at the star chart, his knuckles clenching until they turned white, while the starlight in his eyes spun violently as he rapidly analyzed the chaotic flow of information transmitted by the star chart: "The extent of the impact is still difficult to determine, but the turbid waves of the collapsing boundary... are extremely fast! The fluctuations of its dying counterattack have already passed through this boundary!"

Ji Yu suddenly turned around and darted to a corner of the secret room in front of a mountain of ancient jade slips.

Ji Yu's ten fingers moved like lightning, rapidly searching and retrieving information from the pile of jade slips that exuded the scent of time. Her fingertips traced over each jade piece, some lustrous and some dull, as her divine sense swept over the vast amount of information recorded within—the trajectories of stars, the rise and fall of ancient realms, the anomalies of the Heavenly Dao, legends from beyond the realms…

Time passed silently in the secret room, with only the faint sound of the jade slips being turned quickly and the low hum of the star instrument.

Ji Yu's brows furrowed more and more, and the movements of his fingers shifted from swift to deliberate. He sifted through the oldest, most obscure, and most bizarre ancient texts, his divine sense repeatedly scanning them, trying to grasp any clue related to the terrifying scene before him.

However, nothing was found.

The calamities described in those ancient texts, whether the annihilation of realms or the collapse of the Heavenly Dao, their signs, their processes, and the speed of their spread, all do not match what the celestial instruments indicate, nor the way that the eerie white cracks eroded the subordinate realms! The source is like sinking into the deepest fog.

Ji Yu pressed his fingertips on a cold jade slip, no longer turning it. He raised his head and looked towards the entrance of the secret chamber. His vast true essence surged endlessly. The weight of not finding the answer made him inexplicably anxious.

The night was thick, and the starlight flowed.

In the quiet room of the Lingyuan where Li Mu lived, starlight, like water, silently permeated the jade bricks.

Without warning, the central space of the quiet room suddenly collapsed and tore inward! A dark purple figure, accompanied by chaotic stardust and spatial fragments, stepped out forcefully.

It was Ji Yu. His black robes fluttered, and his true energy had not yet fully subsided. Stars swirled rapidly in his eyes. He was no longer as composed as he was in the White Sun Tower, but only showed solemnity and a hint of urgency that he could not hide.

Almost at the same instant the space tore apart, on the other side of the quiet room, starlight silently gathered and condensed into the figure of Li Mu.

Li Mu remained calm, seemingly unsurprised by Ji Yu's sudden arrival, even displaying a detached indifference as if he had expected it.

Their eyes met, and the starlight in the room seemed to freeze.

Without any pleasantries or formalities, Ji Yu stepped forward, his gaze piercing Li Mu's eyes like nails, and asked bluntly, "Fellow Daoist Li, stop with the empty talk! What exactly is that terrifying being?!"

Ji Yu stared intently at Li Mu, not allowing him to evade the question, and demanded in a stern voice: "The will of heaven and earth is shaking violently, the boundary is collapsing, and the Heavenly Dao is wailing! Such an anomaly is definitely not the 'minor disturbance' you speak of! Tell me, what is it?"

"The Shepherd Clan can also be called the Ghost Clan," Li Mu replied solemnly, and said earnestly, "They use the Ghost Tree to graze all realms, their ghostly power corrupts the living beings of a realm, and they devour the laws of a realm!"

The words "herding the realms" and "devouring the Dao principles" struck Ji Yu's mind like an invisible hammer!
The star-like vortex deep within Ji Yu's pupils suddenly stopped, the color drained from his face instantly, and a chill rushed from the soles of his feet to the top of his head, even causing the vast true essence surging within his body to pause!
Grazing all realms?

Polluting all living beings in this world!
These few words completely overturned Ji Yu's understanding of "extraterrestrial invasion". It was by no means an ordinary inter-realm war or resource plunder. This was... a terrifying existence that fed on the entire realm and the Heavenly Dao of a realm!
"The Ghost Clan... the Shepherd Realm..." Ji Yu's throat bobbed as he stared intently at Li Mu, asking incredulously, "Fellow Daoist Li, is what you say... true?!"

Ji Yu stared intently at Li Mu, trying to find a flaw in his calm and expressionless face.

Li Mu did not answer, but simply raised his eyes and cast his gaze once again into that deep void, as if piercing through layers of boundary walls, and saw the tragic scene of that otherworldly realm that was being entangled by the strange tree, tainted by the strange power, and whose Dao principles were being frantically extracted and devoured.

The heavy aura emanating from Li Mu and his silent gaze were more persuasive than any words.

Ji Yu followed Li Mu's gaze and felt that the familiar starry sky now seemed to hide a giant maw ready to devour anyone.

Ji Yu clenched his fist tightly, his knuckles cracking under the strain. With no more hope in his heart, he vanished in a flash, turning into streaks of starlight.

"Cao Cong!"

The next moment, Ji Yu appeared as stars gathered, inside the Heavenly Star Tower, his voice like a thunderclap.

The space rippled like water as Cao Cong practically tumbled and crawled to the door of the meditation room, his face still showing lingering astonishment: "Sect Master!"

"Issue my Star Decree!" Ji Yu spoke rapidly, urging, "Immediately notify the sect leaders of all sects in the Immortal Dynasty, the head of the Imperial Palace, and the marshals of the three armies...—The heavens are collapsing and calamity is imminent! The Ghost Clan has appeared, the Shepherd Realm has swallowed them whole, and the Otherworld has collapsed! Order all the highest combat forces to gather at the 'Heavenly Observation Hall' within three breaths! No delays allowed!"

"The... the Ghost Clan? The Shepherd Realm swallowed them whole?" Cao Cong trembled violently, his face turning ashen, almost thinking he had misheard.

But the unwavering resolve that almost burst forth in Ji Yu's eyes made him instantly realize that this was no joke!

"Yes...yes!" Cao Cong dared not delay for a moment, stomped his foot, and his figure transformed into a dazzling starlight, soaring into the sky.

The starlight shone directly on the "Star Pivot" at the very top of the Heavenly Star Pavilion. Instantly, an unprecedented deep purple starfire, carrying an aura of destruction, exploded like a wildfire, illuminating the night sky of the entire Great Qian Immortal Dynasty!
A single spark ignites the heavens, the highest celestial decree!
At this moment, countless ancient beings who had been sleeping were awakened. Auras, whether powerful, ancient, or domineering, erupted from all parts of the Immortal Dynasty like dormant dragons, tearing through the sky with surprise and solemnity, and all heading towards the direction of the Heavenly Star Pavilion!

Before the afterglow of the deep purple starlight explosion had faded, the space inside the "Guan Tian Hall," the core of the Tianxing Pavilion, was already like a boiling surface of water!
Silently, figures tore through the spatial barrier and descended fiercely!
Some were shrouded in imperial dragon aura, their power as deep as an abyss; some possessed sword energy that soared to the heavens, cleaving through starlight; some sat on lotus thrones, bathed in Buddhist light; some were filled with bloodlust, their battle intent tearing through the sky... The patriarchs of immortal sects, the chief ministers of dynasties, and the marshals of the three armies—the terrifying beings who stood at the pinnacle of the Great Qian Immortal Dynasty—all gathered here at almost the same time!
The space inside the hall was expanded to a vast expanse by an invisible force. Underfoot was a base cast entirely from "stellar core gold," flowing with tangible starlight that reflected the projections of the stars in the heavens.

The air was heavy, like solidified mercury, and all the gazes, each powerful enough to crush mountains, were now fixed on two people in the hall—Ji Yu, whose expression was more solemn than ever before, and Li Mu, the plain-robed man beside him who remained calm throughout. (End of Chapter)