Xuanjian Xianzu

Chapter 1217, Number 1206: Shen Lin (Thanks to the family's cultivation journey to becoming a clan-protecting immortal artifact for the 5 Alliance Master rewards)
Miaofantian.

Rolling white clouds, a wondrous realm of immortals, where enormous celestial thrones stand empty and deserted. High above, amidst the clouds and mist, lies a small sacrificial altar, a thin veil shrouding the black hole in the jade disc, revealing a head with bronze-like eyes gazing at the sky.

'Qi Lanyan's matter has also been taken care of…'

Reincarnation is no easy feat. Not only does it require this mysterious elixir, but it also demands a high level of life force. This person lacks the support of the metal element, but having participated in the North-South conflict, his life is still considered precious.

Qi Lanyan was about to be reincarnated, and Tang Xie began to ponder this in secret:

'I don't know if they want him to cultivate the Purple Gold Path... or the righteous path...'

For reincarnated cultivators, if there is some connection between their lineages, the shortcut of cultivating the Purple Gold Path is actually not bad. Especially after achieving supernatural powers, their progress is extremely fast, and some methods can even elevate their supernatural powers, with unexpected effects.

Thinking about this, the old man who adhered to the Lingbao Taoist tradition still feels lingering fear, and recalling it still feels like a dream.

'The Eastern Lord's Lineage...'

He pondered the events of that day for hundreds of days and nights, repeatedly recalling the scene.

'Although this Lord of the Azure Sun rarely entered the mortal world in ancient times... no matter the reason, it's impossible for him to have allowed the world to reach its current state... He could ignore the first great war, but after the subsequent two great wars, with the heavens and earth collapsing, it's absolutely impossible for him to ignore them.'

'Only his entry into the Yin path, and his slumber until now, can be explained.'

This point is indeed impeccable, but upon closer examination, he realized there were some doubts.

"Rumor has it that Dongjun eventually disappeared, which means he abandoned the sun to reside in the moon. Given his status, only the position of Taiyin could bear such a position. However, several Zhenjun later became Taiyin, and by then the Taiyin position was already occupied. Where could this great one reside? There must be a place to elevate his status..."

This left him puzzled and filled with doubt for a long time:

"If one were to occupy a certain Taiyin position... which position could accommodate the [Eastern Lord]?"

After hundreds of days and nights of painstaking unraveling the mystery, he slowly began to understand:
'What if it's this hidden trump card, this mysterious body? There is a great man... but this great man may not be the Lord of the Azure Profound Sun, but someone else, residing in the Taiyin realm, only of a lower generation than the Eastern Lord. Even when facing a hidden trump card, he cannot claim to be the master...'

After much thought, he concluded that this was perhaps the only possibility. After all, it was rumored that Dongjun had no sons or disciples, which suggested that he might have cultivated the Taiyin Escape Technique and escaped unnoticed by the world.

This deduction didn't stir much emotion in him. The difference between a Celestial Lord and a Celestial Lord's contingency plan was negligible to Tang Xie; the only difference was whether this contingency plan would be used to intimidate the Netherworld or to befriend the Earth element.

Sometimes... a wisp of spirit is more terrifying than the original body. After all, the Dao is cyclical and cannot last forever. The original body is bound by the lineage and its position. Even if it is invincible in the world, it will eventually have to leave...

After much thought, he realized it wasn't something he should worry about. His restless heart finally couldn't be contained any longer. Sensing the faint sense of elevation within his soul, he remained silent.

Even though Tang Xie wished he could return to the Heavenly Palace the next day, the pride of the Lingbao lineage kept him quietly staying there, using his continuous thoughts to distract himself—if one has something to ask for, one will be manipulated, and Tang Xie certainly did not want to belittle the lineage.

So he waited for hundreds of days, his patience wearing thin, until finally he let out a long sigh and thought to himself:

'Since Qi Lanyan's spies have laid the groundwork for them, it wouldn't be unreasonable to report it to Heaven...'

He comforted himself, sinking into the depths of his soul, trying to sense that glimmer of light, but the white light remained shrouded in the hazy distance, refusing to accept it, causing Tang Xie to frown.
"Oh, by the way... that celestial general mentioned that travel between heaven has a time limit... if you miss it, you'll have to wait quite a while."

In an instant, the cultivator with divine pills felt a sense of loss and lingered in front of the point of light for a while, seemingly unsatisfied. Yet, he vaguely sensed a slight attraction within the hazy light.

"Ok?"

……

The sky was always hazy and dull. The ruins under the attic had been cleared away, revealing a smooth and clean jade floor. The door seemed to glow even more faintly, radiating slivers of light.

When Yuan Shang returned from the heavens and received recognition, he noticed a great difference. It was as if something had changed here, with bursts of spiritual energy surging forth. He also felt a certain authority bestowed upon him, and supernatural powers arose inexplicably.

This supernatural power was not very powerful, but one could vaguely sense its extremely high level. What was even more remarkable was that it was bestowed upon him out of thin air, without him having to cultivate it himself. He felt it was infinitely mysterious and incredible, and secretly admired it.

With this supernatural power to guard the [Zhonghan Palace], Yuan Shang naturally explored this realm one by one. Apart from this main palace, there were thirteen ruined islands in the sky, most of which were badly damaged. Only one small pavilion looked relatively intact.

Yuan Shang naturally dared not reside in the main hall. This place was the most complete but also the lowest in standard, so he moved to the pavilion. While busy repairing the ruins, he also wrote secret methods and supplemented the collection—this was the duty of the celestial official and the authority of Taiyin. Yuan Shang was respectful and dared not be negligent.

Unlike the impatient Dangjiang, Yuan Shang even lived a life of confinement in his courtyard in his later years. Now, such days have become a rare and fulfilling peace. Because he is of a higher level and has a commanding perspective, while completing the Daoist Canon, he also renovated this pavilion into a magnificent and ancient place, making it unrecognizable from its original appearance.

During another day of deep thought at his desk, Yuan Shang was finally awakened by a rare disturbance. He vaguely sensed someone entering this realm, and his expression shifted, a mixture of worry and joy. Upon reaching the pavilion, he whispered:

"Which fellow Daoist has come to pay a visit?"

But then he saw a Taoist priest with a bronze beard and a wide robe standing on the steps, looking around with considerable surprise. Seeing someone coming to greet him, he politely bowed and replied:

"I am Tang Xie of the Lingbao Daoist lineage. I have mistakenly entered this sacred land... Please do not be offended!"

Tang Xie shouldn't have been surprised. As an ancient cultivator, he had seen many grotto-heavens, and these grotto-heavens were always accompanied by secret realms, large or small... His own [Miao Fan Tian] once had one palace, nine halls, and seventeen caves, but unfortunately, back then, the brave man cut off his own arm and threw them all into the [Dong Wang Hai]. When the sky collapsed and the earth caved in, and the four seas shrank suddenly, the [Dong Wang Hai], as a large sea on the edge of the East Sea, was destroyed in the changes.

What secretly alarmed him was that the feeling here was completely different from that of a secret realm. Instead, it gave him the feeling of a grotto-heaven of extremely high status, and it was even vaguely no less than that place in the "heaven"!

'This is truly bizarre…'

The Yuan merchant before him, however, suddenly brightened up, his excitement tinged with admiration, and said:
"So you are Tang Xie, senior! I've heard Fellow Daoist Zhengao mention you! You are an ancient cultivator from the Lingbao lineage."

This pulled Tang Xie back from his surroundings. The ancient cultivator stared at him for a moment, then realized he couldn't see through the person before him and cautiously said:
"Such a thing is true... Fellow Daoist, who are you...?"

Yuan Shang politely bowed and said with a smile:

"I am Yuan Shang, merely a junior cultivator within this realm. I was entrusted by Fellow Daoist Zhengao to guard the Taiyin Land. Fellow Daoist Zhengao once mentioned... that if the heavens are closed off, only this place remains unhidden. If you, senior, were to come to visit... you would surely come here..."

'As expected, it produced a result.'

Tang Xi nodded slightly and returned the greeting.

Tang Xie, a cultivator of divine pills, should have bowed down to Jie Lin. However, Lingbao is, after all, an ancient immortal lineage, and its lord's status is not much different. Although his lineage has declined, he appears strong on the outside.

However, he encountered Yuan Shang, a cultivator who grew up in the later era. Not to mention Immortal Lord, even Divine Pill cultivators were not very clear about what that was, only estimating that the other party was also a True Lord level.

'True Lord... In the mortal world, those who wield supernatural powers as easily as ants and suppress the fortunes of millennia are nothing more than guests here...'

His mind was still focused on the Purple Mansion (a concept in Chinese astrology), and standing to the side, his spine was already tingling. He was filled with mixed emotions of感慨 (gǎnkǎi, mixed feelings of emotion and reflection), so how could he care whether the other party's attitude was just a facade? He went in with the Taoist priest, but unexpectedly, the priest immediately said softly:

"I wonder which lineage you belong to, my friend?"

Yuan Shang paused slightly, not answering for a moment. Tang Xie, whose mind worked quickly, immediately misunderstood, thinking that he had been living in seclusion in his cave for so many years that he couldn't recognize clothing. He hurriedly tried to cover it up:
"Since you are under the command of the Heavenly Palace, you must be one of Donghua or Gonghua. However, I have been in seclusion for a long time and do not know the Great Dao."

"What's meant to happen will happen," Yuan Shang sighed softly, replying.

"According to the lineage, it is the Gonghua Dao Gui. As for the specific lineage, have you ever heard of... the Sun Dao Gui?"

These four words stunned Tang Xie, who stood by the pavilion, stiffly scanning the young man before him, and exclaimed in shock:

"Resolve the dispute?!"

'Um? '

Since arriving in Heaven, aside from the River-Sweeping Immortal Official, this was the first time Yuan Shang had encountered someone who recognized his ancestor's name. His heart pounded, and his eyes shone brightly. However, being a shrewd man, he didn't reply immediately but instead answered:

"Senior actually recognizes it?"

Despite having grasped the connection between the heavens and the mortal world, Yuwaki seemed to have an ominous premonition, muttering to himself:

“Of course I know. There is a... junior in my lineage who once went out and heard of the name of the Sun…”

He stopped abruptly there, his gaze intense, and said:
"May I ask which fellow Daoist this is?"

Yuki quickly recovered from his thoughts, shook his head and smiled:

"He doesn't mention his Daoist name. Besides, this old man of mine is in seclusion in my grotto every day. If you bring up ancient matters, I know a little about them, but if you talk about the Sun Dao lineage, I'm not clear about that."

Yuan Shang had no choice but to give up, but Tang Xie's eyes seemed to overflow with worry. He couldn't wait a moment longer and asked:

"Fellow Daoist, which branch of the Sun Dao lineage do you belong to?"

Yuan Shang sighed inwardly and bowed, saying:
"Senior, you misunderstand. Master Jiejun is my ancestor, while I, a junior, only achieved the Jielin stage through the Pure Dao, and my Dao name is Yuanshang!"

'Yuan Shang…'

Tang Xie's heart skipped a beat, and his memory quickly became clear:
'Yuan Shang… Chunyi Dao… Jie Jun's lineage, it seems there was such a thing, a cultivator sought the Dao, failed and turned into a demon, was suppressed and perished by the underworld…'

Yuan Shang's words carried a hint of shame, but he never expected that the person before him would seem to have heard some earth-shattering news. He sat there blankly, as if countless thoughts were running through his mind. After a long while, he stiffly turned his head and abruptly said:

"Were you... suppressed by the underworld... or did the underworld secretly release you?"

Yuan Shang hadn't expected the other party to think so quickly, nor had he expected them to immediately pinpoint his biggest worry. He replied tactfully:
"The moon did not answer, and the netherworld mistakenly identified me as a demon."

Although it wasn't direct, neither of them were simple people, so it was quite straightforward!
'The Moon did not answer. The Moon does not manifest in the world, so naturally it does not answer. But a Dao Fruit that is not in its position is still a Dao Fruit. At most, it should be sent to the Netherworld for supervision. How can it be used to create demons and evil spirits!'

'Although this Yuan Shang Zhenren seems to have no background, and the Sun Dao lineage in reality is like a candle flickering in the wind, since he can appear in this place, what other exceptions could there be…'

Yuki's ominous premonition was finally confirmed, and a chill gradually settled in his heart:
'In other words, there was no such thing as failure turning into a demon; he truly became a Nascent Soul cultivator… The Netherworld covered up the truth and brutally killed him… Killing a Nascent Soul cultivator who hadn't yet established himself… a few thousand years ago, would have been enough to ignite a great war between Golden Core cultivators and even Dao Embryos!'

At this moment, Yukichi finally realized his position.

"The Heavenly Ones have remained hidden until now, silent and unmoved. They are not here to joke with the Radiant Light and the Netherworld! They coldly watched a Jie Lin Immortal die before their eyes, silently gathering their true spirits and accumulating power… This suggests that the conflict between the three may have intensified to the point of being irreconcilable…"

'And I, unwittingly, have become involved.'

After all, matters of immortality are often left unresolved. Tang Xie initially thought he could win both sides and even sit on one side of the heavens when the sun returned to its place. But what if the two sides were not simply redistributing benefits or fighting for certain positions, but rather deciding the life and death of a True Lord or even someone of higher rank?

It's not a matter of sentiment or dignity for him to choose which side the Lingbao Daoist lineage sits on; it's not even a matter of whether to consider old friendships or whether he will be ostracized by his fellow disciples in the Tongxuan sect. Rather, it's a matter of which side he chooses wrong, and the Lingbao Daoist lineage will be destroyed in his hands!
'It's not a new ruler seizing the throne in Baotu, nor is it the state stirring up trouble. Whether it's the netherworld or the heavens, they are completely different forces. The Lingbao lineage has no support, and the figures in the heavens can disregard positions as if they were nothing…'

"It is precisely for this reason that, among so many lineages in the world, Heaven ultimately chose Lingbao… because the Miaofan Heaven, shrouded in seclusion and extremely safe, is the place they would least pay attention to… Luoxia, or the Underworld, must have misjudged the power of Heaven, or made a strategic mistake…"

The old fox, through just a few words, made extensive speculations, most of which hit the crucial points. It was these speculations that made him realize the danger he was in, and he felt a tremor rise in his heart, his vision going white.

'This is not merely the rise of any particular lineage or the establishment of new positions…this is likely a brutal, profound internal struggle—a battle for the Dao.'

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