Xuanjian Xianzu

Chapter 1195 Dongjun (1+12) (Bonus Chapter 15113 for "Hidden Dragon in Action")

'It once caused the Penglai Island to tremble, and later made the sun and moon no longer reside in the sky.'

These fourteen simple words left Tang Xie standing there dumbfounded, his mind reeling as if struck by lightning, crushing all his distracting thoughts into dust, leaving him feeling utterly lost and confused.

"Penglai... is the mountain gate of that Xuanwai cultivator, the one who first subdued the Immortal Lord. [Gu Xuan] is him... This master is at least on par with the Immortal Lord in terms of supernatural powers..."

This first half of the sentence was already astonishing enough, but the second half was even more shocking.

'The sun and moon do not reside in the sky…'

'His family... has a celestial lord who controls the sun and moon!'

Let alone controlling the sun and moon, there are only a handful of people in history who can control either the moon or the sun alone, let alone reach the level of a celestial lord!
'But he wasn't talking about the patriarchs of the Dao... but... the master of the house?'

The difference between them is as vast as heaven and earth!
Most of the major Dao lineages prevalent in the world today can be traced back to the Three Mysteries or higher. Even if they cannot, they are at least descendants of the demonic patriarch, Buddha Shizu… Back in the day, the Lingbao Dao lineage dared to show off to others at will, and if anyone asked, they still had answers to their questions:
"Above, I offer the finest soil to the Mysterious Court; below, I bestow it upon countless immortals in the mortal realm!"

But this is all thanks to the founder of the Lingbao lineage! With the passing of Xu Xiang, the lineage has declined, and Tang Xie can barely be considered the master... To put it bluntly, the Lingbao lineage can't even reach the Golden Rank to this day!

'A celestial lord who hasn't passed away...controls the sun and moon...how is that possible?'

These two conditions combined completely confused Tang Xie's judgment. According to his level of cultivation, this situation was absolutely impossible, but everything in front of him was vividly presented—who has the ability to secretly pull him to another world from a distance?
"Clap."

The crisp sound of silver boots stepping on the jade bridge startled Tang Xie from his daze. He looked up and saw endless pavilions and towers, and the dazzling, golden Sun Palace. Gazing at the vast sky beyond the bridge, which seemed like another world, a hint of doubt finally arose in his mind:
Is all of this real?

This question lingered in his mind for only a moment before he dismissed it.

There's no other reason than that even if we consider all those ways of manipulating him during his time travels as mere empty talk... no matter how down on his luck Tang Xie is now, he is still a person who has stepped down from the position of True Lord. Even if his five forms are scattered, his soul has still attained the status of a True Lord. The only one who can blind him is a True Lord.

Upon stepping onto the layered white jade steps, and seeing his reflection in the moon-like pool, Yu Xi finally acknowledged it all:
There's only one possibility...

"There is a certain sage... who claims to have transcended the mortal world and abdicated in favor of a new ruler, but in reality, he has never ventured beyond the heavens, but is instead cultivating within this incomparably vast grotto-heaven!"

'Who is the one? ’

According to Tang Xie, Penglai Immortal Lord left the mortal world very early. If this immortal lord were to have any interaction with him, it would certainly not be more than the Three Mysterious Original Venerables and the three generations below them. The most likely candidate is Qingxuan, who has upheld the principles of Yin and Yang since ancient times!
Could it be... [Changtang Xuanjun]?

Among the various lineages of Qingxuan, this Xuanjun inherited the Way of Taiyin and later obtained the title of Immortal Lord, which perfectly corresponds to the ethereal Way of Taiyin and the unparalleled and supreme techniques…

But this put Tang Xie in a dilemma:

'Although this Immortal Lord Changtang cultivates the Taiyin path, he doesn't shy away from his name. He has left behind numerous lineages, including the Han family of Changjun, the various Taiyin pavilions on the lake, and further down to the Nine Hills… I've heard there are quite a few in the mortal world!'

What's even more amiss is that Changtang Xuanjun wasn't particularly outstanding in ancient times. He was a low-key and humble man who only made great progress in supernatural powers later on. Even though everyone praised him for having the substance of an immortal lord, he didn't accept the title. In ancient times, he had neither the strength nor the motivation to compete with a great figure like Chufu!

Although this guy missed the major changes of the past dynasties while in the cave, he was quite familiar with the era in which he was born. And because he was an ancient person, he knew more about things that were even more ancient. In just a moment, several candidates had already passed through his mind.

Zhengao pushed the difficult problem onto him, then calmly sat down, dismissed the celestial soldiers around him, and poured him tea.

The clear, water-like light of the moon poured into the cup, releasing a fragrant aroma of osmanthus. The immortal general laughed and said:
"The heavens have not been open for thousands of years, and I have nothing new to offer. Please make do with what I have."

Tang Xie watched helplessly as the light of the moon gathered in the cup. His carefully pieced-together thoughts were scattered again. He quickly took the cup, examined it closely, and exclaimed in horror:
"What is this nonsense!"

Not to mention the thousands of years that Tang Xie was trapped in the cave, even when he followed his senior brother Zhenjun to exorcise demons, he would never drink Taiyin spiritual objects like tea!

'Extravagant…too extravagant…it absolutely can't be the Changtang lineage! But it can't be the Sun, can it? Legend has it that Yingze produced someone who held the Sun's position, right?'

Lu Jiangxian, wielding the True Manifestation Body, remained silent and drank her tea in quiet contemplation.

Although the other party's soul was of too high a rank to be analyzed at will, the true spirit had already recorded it on the inscription stone, so it could still listen to the other party's thoughts. It let the other party vent, refusing to say a word more.

This cup of tea only strengthened Yuwaki's judgment. After a moment's consideration, he cautiously said:
"I never knew that the celestial beings were such great figures, residing in the realm of Yin and Yang. Judging from this celestial palace, it must be the seat of the Yin Lord..."

His question was extremely clever. There are not many people who hold the positions of the sun and moon, but it is very likely that the immortal lord secretly holds the position that Tang Xie does not know. However, one can only occupy one of the two positions, the sun and the moon. As long as the position is found out, the position can be determined almost certainly!
The immortal general blinked his sharp eyes and shook his head, saying:

"Now that the Mysterious Court is hidden, the Yin naturally manifests, the Sun is sealed off, and the Yin takes the lead, waiting for the Yin and Yang to reverse and break through to enter the world. Then the Sun will naturally take the lead!"

Throughout his journey, Yu Xie's worldview had been shattered time and time again, with one mystery after another, but this sentence made him feel a chill run through his body, from his tailbone all the way to the top of his head.

What does this mean?

'Both the Yin and Yang…He wants them all? It can't be that both celestial lords are here!'

His bronze pupils stared blankly at the celestial general before him, and a possibility suddenly popped into his mind:
'It means that this immortal lord...when he manifested in the world, he resided in the Sun, but now he resides in the Moon...'

This gave him a profound realization:
'In other words, he relinquished his former position as the sun to allow for the later waxing and waning of the sun. Ultimately, in ancient times, he was still the master of the sun.'

Even among the direct descendants of the Three Mysteries, only a handful can be called Immortal Lords. Moreover, they must reside in the Sun, which is an extremely demanding condition. Tang Xie knew of only one such person. Considering the other party's magnificent and vast palace, and his dignified yet not ostentatious demeanor, Tang Xie immediately thought that this was a possibility.

'That most terrifying, most domineering, and unified Qingxuan Sun Lord... the second disciple of the Qingxuan Lord.'

'In the realm of mystery, he is known as "Great Sun Pure and Bright Sun Mystic Lord"; in the realm of Taoism, he is known as "Sun Palace Sun True Lord"; and in the realm of deities, he is known as "Mystic Imperial Lord of All Luminous Deities"—[Mystic God Primordial True Purple Radiance Immortal Lord]!'

'Only Him! Only Him… The dragon flies down to the bottom… How could it not fly down to the bottom? When the Heavenly Wolf was killed, two generations of Great Sages were so frightened that they turned to face the sun. Given His temperament, he could easily shake Penglai. It would be perfectly normal for the sun and moon to not reside in the heavens!'

Yuki held the cup blankly, feeling as if a flame was rolling in his throat, as if in a dream. He swallowed the tea with difficulty, not knowing how to speak.

This person has had a tremendous influence on the entire Sun Daoist teachings, and even on the virtues of fire and Yin and Yang. Although he cultivated the Supreme Immortal Technique, his name is no longer recorded in modern Daoist teachings. However, in any slightly older teachings, this person is always mentioned in the Five Elements and Yin-Yang theory, but is referred to by a title.

'【Dongjun】.'

The names of these True Lords and Divine Lords are often lengthy, but when they are represented by only two characters, there is often another kind of extremely concise terror—their influence on the Three Realms is too great, and even if one cultivates the supreme immortal techniques, people still cannot bypass their names and can only use these two characters to replace them.

Even if Master Xuxiang were here, he would still have to address him as "Senior"...

His words were not modesty, but even somewhat boastful—not to mention the ancient immortal Xu Xiang, even if that top disciple of Tongxuan were to encounter Him, He still wouldn't be able to take the top position… The two immortals had never fought each other and didn't know the difference in their supernatural powers, but one was the 'Sun' and the other was the 'Lesser Yang,' so He was already at a disadvantage!

This shock dispelled the loss and pain in his heart regarding the fall of [Miao Fan Tian]. He sat there blankly, his myriad thoughts reduced to a jumbled mess, when suddenly an idea popped into his head:
'Do you know the one in the rosy glow...?'

This suddenly made him laugh:
'The Three Mysteries are under one eave… If He were to enter this place, He would probably have to address Him as "Master." This Master must have entered the Taiyin realm to cultivate in seclusion and detach himself from worldly affairs; otherwise… given the nature of this Sun Immortal Lord…'

He was deep in thought, while Zhengao, also with his head bowed, sipped his tea without looking up; his shock was no less than Zhengao's.
'Qingxuan actually has such a person under his command...'

Lu Jiangxian had originally heard the most detailed and highest-ranking information about Qingyi Immortal Lord of Douxuan. The [Wudao Sitianmen] was already a pinnacle that minor cultivators could only look up to. However, she never expected that Qingxuan, which was famous for its reclusive cultivation, would have such an anomaly!
'Divine Lord, Mystic Lord, True Lord—these titles are indeed quite different, not only corresponding to different realms, but also the possibility of a single immortal cultivator combining all three into one…'

'Perhaps His divine powers point directly to the true nature of the sun!'

'No wonder the Great Sage retreated, and Tang Xie called her "Immortal Yu Yi" without hesitation, saying he wouldn't trade her position for anything else... Holding the power of the sun under such a person, guarding the court of the Eastern Lord, even the True Lord must treat her with utmost respect when he visits.'

Yukichi was basking in the smug satisfaction of having obtained this secret, while Zhengao was also processing the information he had received. After a long silence, he finally spoke, with a hint of regret:

"I have been absent from the heavens for a long time, and I have only recently emerged from the Taiyin to take over this residence. There are many things to do, but I never thought that the Lingbao lineage of the past would now be reduced to only... fellow Daoist!"

Having just experienced the glory of others, Tang Xi felt a bitter taste in his own mouth when it came to his own. He remained silent for a long time before finally composing himself and saying:

"My lineage is vast, far beyond this. In fact... I am not merely one within the grotto-heavens, but rather... I can only be considered a guardian of an ancient immortal ritual site!"

"When I was cultivating, the [Wonderful Heaven] was full of treasures and immortals. The ancestor of the Daoist Court had also become a Dao embryo, possessing great supernatural powers. It was extremely glorious. I had been cultivating diligently and not concerning myself with outside affairs, but I was still aware of the glory of my fellow disciples..."

A bitter smile appeared on his face:

"I was a person who wholeheartedly cultivated myself, but I couldn't obtain the remaining merits. However, I was favored by an immortal and was able to learn how to become a pseudo-immortal. At that time, not only did I receive the precious earth and gold essence, but the Dao Ancestor also personally hid a remaining position in my heart and lungs for seventy-one days to refine my status. From then on, I gained seven hundred and ten years of lifespan. Moreover, I hid under the Dao Embryo, and the Heavenly Dao also spared me from the three calamities. I was truly proud and carefree..."

"My Lingbao Dao lineage may have had its glory, but it was short-lived. In reality, our Dao Ancestor, Xu Xiang, departed from this world very early, so I dared not leave my grotto-heaven long ago. He returned three times before, and the last time, he met with his disciples in the [Miao Fan Tian], selected me, and secretly instructed me: [There will inevitably be internal strife among the Three Mysteries. You must guard the Miao Fan Tian. Even if the sky collapses and the earth caves in, you will not be able to leave. After hundreds of thousands of kalpas, there should be light.]"

Sitting opposite him, Zhengao poured tea, his eyes shining even brighter as he listened to him say:

"At that time, Tongxuan was at its peak, and all the Daoist scriptures and cultivators were in Tongxuan Palace. My grandmaster was stationed there. He failed in his quest for the Dao Embryo and perished. I sensed something was wrong, so my junior brother and I immediately locked up our cave and hid inside..."

His words were calm and ordinary, but Lu Jiangxian kept sensing his thoughts, and the scene that appeared in Tang Xie's mind made him unable to help but turn his head.

Amidst the raging winds, the junior brother used his life as fuel to propel the rank, while Tang Xie stood before the empty immortal throne, personally severing his own head and taking the opportunity to place it into the rank—a brutal scene he described in just four words: "hiding within!"
'The suffering is truly unspeakable to outsiders…'

Zhengao was slightly stunned. Tang Xie sighed and said:

"Back then, we still maintained contact. My fellow disciples were doing well in Tongxuan Palace, and there were occasional exchanges of lineages and talents. However, several of my fellow disciples perished in their pursuit of the Dao, Tongxuan Palace disbanded, and many lineages scattered. My [Miaofantian]'s contact with other lineages suddenly diminished..."

Tang Xie paused here, seemingly finding it difficult to continue, and said:
"I know very little about what happened after that. At that time, there were people in the treasure land. To prevent the loss of their positions, we locked them up for over a thousand years. I heard that during that time, dynasties rose and fell, and a great man emerged, named Shexian, who integrated them together. He was called something like... something like [Dixuan Dao Palace]."

"Shexian!"

Lu Jiangxian had heard this name more than once; she first heard it from Chi Buzhi, who said that he was the leader of the immortal path who overthrew the Thunder Palace in ancient times!

Upon hearing the name, he immediately became extremely interested, and Tang Xie was clearly not surprised, saying with shame:
"I won't ask you to guess any further, fellow Daoist. This Immortal She is from my Lingbao Dao lineage. He achieved perfect supernatural powers. At that time, there were people in the Treasure Land. He was reincarnated to cultivate 'Xuan Tu' and became 'Emperor Xuan Zhongtu Yongye Shenjun'... and overthrew the Thunder Palace!"

"So it's a person from Lingbao..."

Faced with Lu Jiangxian's praise, Tang Xie showed no joy whatsoever; in fact, he felt a secret shame, and simply said:

"After all, He reincarnated and went to cultivate on other paths. The Lingbao Dao lineage was just one of the lineages He integrated into the [Dixuan Dao Palace]. This Dao Palace replaced the Tongxuan Palace and once became the leader of the immortal path in the world, but it declined after reaching its peak and collapsed from top to bottom..."

"With this collapse, almost all the orthodox spiritual treasures outside of my [Miao Fan Tian] have been wiped out, leaving only some branches."

A hint of understanding appeared in Zhengao's eyes as he said:

"No wonder..."

No wonder Tang Xie hid in the cave for so long, and even said something like "contribute another great figure to stir up the world" when refuting Wang Ziya... It turns out that the Lingbao lineage had made great contributions during the chaos of the state!
'He was indeed a key figure in overthrowing the Heavenly Order…'

He pondered, while Tang Xie sighed deeply, and said:
"Although my Lingbao lineage cannot be as noble as the four direct descendants of Tongxuan, we were still granted portraits of our ancestral masters. Now that we have fallen to this state, we are truly ashamed to face our ancestors!"

After listening to this, Lu Jiangxian was genuinely moved and said:

"That's not how it works... Since it was ordered by the master, the fact that [Miao Fantian] has been preserved to this day is enough to earn his praise!"

Yuki shook his head repeatedly, refusing to agree, only saying:

"Now, Tang Xie is nothing but a mangled body... just like Ling Bao today, both are barely clinging to life!"

Zhengao sat down with his hands behind his back, squinted slightly, and looked at him carefully.

He's got an idea.

This is not surprising. For Tang Xie, Xu Xiang's methods have come to naught. [Miao Fan Tian] is completely defenseless against the Sun and Moon Grotto Heaven forces led by Zhengao. Tang Xie is thinking about Zhengao's intentions, how to preserve the Lingbao lineage, and how to leverage their strength.

For Tang Xie, the power represented by Zhengao was indeed seemingly insurmountable, but Tang Xie was not Chi Buzi, not Dangjiang, and certainly not the fabricated Shao Hui. He had a background, a powerful backer, and a broad vision.

'I must have needed a reason to bring him to this secluded place.'

Tang Xie didn't care about his own life; he cared more about the survival of the Lingbao lineage. If Zhengao couldn't come up with a reasonable and mild motive, he would probably immediately become suspicious!
'We still need to be careful with Tang Xi. He himself is not only an extremely valuable spiritual treasure, but also of great research value.'

'His soul is noble, and my current supernatural powers cannot interfere. If something happens here, Prince Ya will surely find out quickly. The death of a highly senior Lingbao cultivator who received orders from an immortal is enough to alarm Tongxuan Zhenjun. I am not afraid of being exposed, but the development of events will become unpredictable…'

At the same time, the immortal general sitting at the table spoke, revealing the excuse he had prepared beforehand, and said in a low voice:
"I have come to you today because of two reasons. First, we have some old ties and are quite close. Second, there are some ties that I need to settle."

Tang Xie seemed to awaken from a dream, nodding repeatedly. His ancestor, Xu Xiang, had always been extremely popular and had a wide circle of friends, dabbling in the Three Mysteries and Four Paths, and even the Paths Beyond the Mysteries—this was not unusual. He then said:
"Please speak, sir!"

Zhengao's eyes flickered slightly, and he said softly:

“There was once a celestial official in my heaven who descended to the mortal realm. He endured many hardships and was injured by the bright sun, thus achieving his goal. However, the entanglements of the mortal world, with its constant ups and downs, caused him to sink into the cycle of reincarnation and fall into the Lingbao lineage.”

Upon hearing this, Yu Xie suddenly understood:
'No wonder they came to me!'

He pondered for a moment, then said:
"Qi Lanyan?"

"good."

Lu Jiangxian had her eye on this person!
Qi Lanyan received the top-grade ancient elixir, enjoyed the treatment of being the reincarnation of a direct descendant of the Tongxuan lineage, and was further blessed by the fall of the Wood element into Earth. His achievements are unlikely to be low.

Qi Lanyan's true spirit is on the name-reading stone, and all his life and death are in Lu Jiangxian's hands. What's even more remarkable is that he is about to be reincarnated... In this process, he can almost secretly modify all of the other party's origins without involving the present world and without leaving a trace!
'Using someone else's resources to achieve your goals, or substituting one thing for another!'

'He could be Qi Lanyan, or he could be the reincarnation of General Qi, carrying the secret treasures of my Taiyin Immortal Mansion—who can argue with that? He could easily recall his experiences before being reincarnated as Qi Lanyan!'

He was reincarnated in the most secluded place of the Lingbao Dao lineage, the [Miaofan Heaven]. There, he cultivated in peace and regained his supernatural powers. As long as Tang Xie cooperated with him, this reincarnated body would hardly disturb the plans in the present world. However, he was also a pawn whose strength had increased terrifyingly and could be activated at any time. As for Qi Lanyan's pursuit of the Dao, Tongxuan would not only obstruct him very little, but might even help him!

Lu Jiangxian was naturally interested in such a high-return, low-risk opportunity. On the other hand, this was also the perfectly legitimate reason he used to explain why a dignified Immortal Lord was inexplicably close to Tang Xie!

Sure enough, upon hearing his words, Yu Xi Xie seemed to understand, and slowly nodded, saying:
"I understand... May I ask if you have any plans for him?"

Zhengao rose, paced a few steps in the courtyard, and laughed:

"Naturally, we should declare the return of the two lands!"

Even though Lu Jiangxian possessed Taiyin, he still showed no intention of guiding this pawn towards the Three Yin. Firstly, since the pawn didn't have a talisman seed, he couldn't constantly teach it; it could only be used as a temporary tool. Secondly, Tongxuan had already arranged the weather, and the Lingbao lineage was best suited to cultivating Xuan Gui and Er Tu. Neither Taiyin techniques, spiritual energy, nor even the motivation could explain its origin…

However, Lu Jiangxian's thoughts kept surging, like a thousand thunderbolts flowing endlessly.

'And the legacy of Shexian Xuantu… I also possess a share!'

Beneath the newly formed reefs, there is a manifestation of the inheritance of the two earth elements, Xuan and Gui. Moreover, there is even a 'Xuan Earth' metal element there!
Almost instantly, in the courtyard high above, amidst the swirling wind and snow, a blank jade slip appeared in Lu Jiangxian's palm—the very [Bai Xiangfeng Yuanjun Manifestation Secret Technique]!
'The only pity is... Qi Lanyan is ultimately a little lacking... Even if he were to cultivate again in this life, with the support of the Qi family, Guanhua, and Lingbao lineages, and with the blessing of this golden nature and the assistance of secret techniques, it seems that his chances of attaining a high rank are still very slim. Seeking advancement through other means will depend entirely on luck...'

But nowadays, Lu Jiangxian will not let go of any opportunity that may lead to the assistance of a True Lord, let alone a deal like Qi Lanyan's, where one person takes the place of another and the other doesn't require any effort from her!
"In short, it's a long-standing mole, a nice bonus, a precaution against unforeseen circumstances. It might have other uses later. For now, it can only be seen as an excuse to mobilize Tang Xi. Once he's reborn and has the opportunity to seek gold, Li Zhouwei and Chi Buzi will have already succeeded."

'Even if he fails by then, gaining some gold essence would be a good thing! ...If we lose everything and really have to rely on him, I myself won't be far from surviving.'