Xuanjian Xianzu

Chapter 1365 The Vast Plain
Amidst the gathering of spiritual light and the tangled clouds, countless ribbons of light descended like flowing tassels. Soon, a golden light appeared in the white clouds, riding on the white mist and drifting towards the horizon.

But then they saw a venerable figure standing on the white clouds, possessing a refined and learned appearance. His clothes were extremely simple. He hurried away and soon stopped at a small temple in the mountains to rest. He then addressed the attendants in the mountains:
“Lu Fu, a descendant of the Lu family, has come to pay his respects. Please announce my arrival.”

The man respectfully agreed and quickly led him up the mountain. The forest gradually grew denser, and upon entering the courtyard, a young man was waiting there.

Above, two Taoist priests dressed in feathered robes were discussing metaphysics. One of them turned to the side and said with a smile:

"Is that Wu Qingyan? I've heard my senior brother mention him. I wonder how my little junior nephew is doing now?"

The young man quickly reported:
"Since he came to my Miaofan Heaven, my master has personally arranged his reincarnation and made him a disciple. Now he is cultivating Qi and although he has not awakened his memories of his past life, he is extremely smart and obedient. Uncle Wang also likes him!"

Upon hearing this, Lü Fu was secretly intrigued.

He was there to report news from Chuncheng on behalf of his family. He wasn't originally chosen for this mission, but after suffering two misfortunes and almost ending up stuck at Jiaoshan with Wen Daoping, he suspected he was cursed by the Mingyang spirit. So he specifically took this mission to escape the world, pondering:
'I wonder which family's direct descendant or which lineage's noble person they are. It's one thing to be reincarnated today, but to be reborn in the wondrous Heaven of Wonderful Prosperity!'

Miao Fan Tian is not a place one can enter at will. This treasure land of True Lord Xu Xiang has always been secluded from the world. It is said that there is a great figure inside. Although he is not in good condition, he is still at the Golden Core level! However, he does not communicate with the outside world. Even if he has some means of reincarnation, after he has finished cultivating his body and inherited the Miao Fan lineage, he should come out. It is not easy to stay inside and cultivate!

Sure enough, the person asking the question seemed quite satisfied and said:
"Fellow Daoist Wang is indeed a capable person. Xuanlou now owes him a favor—how is your master doing lately?"

The young man below laughed:
"He has remained the same for thousands of years, neither good nor bad. He was ordered by the Lord to be isolated from the outside world. However, Uncle Wang went to the outside world and came back with some changes, which also made the Lord wake up more often."

"After the Dalingchuan incident, some members of the Qing clan came to the mountain and brought us treasures. It's hard to say about the others, but the treasures were all genuine and fundamental treasures."

The courtyard was completely silent; everyone held their breath and watched him. Yao Guanyi's voice was very calm:
"Two Dharma Images have also arrived at the Sandalwood Forest. One is the Dharma Image of the Right Seat, whose profound knowledge is known throughout the world, and the other is the Dharma Image of the Golden Body and Thunderous Sound, who rides the golden body of thunder. They are waiting in front of the Wu Xuantian."

Master Xu, who was standing to the side, was finally moved and said softly:
"My lord...has he seen him?"

Yao Guanyi shook his head, and said with some complicated feelings:

"Of course not. Although the master received the favor of Yan Yang, he never wanted to see these later Dharma images. My uncle said that they waited for a long time, presented a letter, and then left."

Master Xu visibly breathed a sigh of relief. Yao Guanyi slowly raised his head and said calmly:

"Within my Tongxuan realm, all seventeen lineages of the Dao, the seven realms of Manifestation Heaven, and the six lines of the Old Palace are now in harmony. Xiaoyao, Qingge, Lingbao, and Zitai have all come to offer their congratulations."

He said:

"Even the Xuanwai Penglai, the Qinghuan Xie Clan, and the Jieyu Di were all sent here..."

"of course."

Yao Guanyi smiled with a somewhat complicated expression:

"There is also a [full term] due date."

He was clearly answering Lingbao, but everyone around was secretly listening. Master Xu murmured:
"No matter what, the three of us... living under one roof, though not as grand as in ancient times... should still have some affection for each other."

He said this, but no one around him responded. Even Yao Guanyi, who was sitting opposite him, kept his eyes down and didn't say a word. His meaning was already very clear.

After a long while, the young man, Miao Fantian, who was kneeling on the ground, raised his head. His expression was calm, but his voice was light and airy:
"It looks terrible now."

He was, after all, someone who lived in his own little world year-round, and he had quite a bit of courage. These words were meant to come from his mouth, and everyone present was astonished, yet they all lowered their heads and remained silent.

Not to mention the distant past... just recently in Wanling and Anhuai... if you ask about the "Path of the State", which Xuan cultivator wouldn't grit their teeth?
But the Lingbao Daoist lineage has been in seclusion for many years, so who is the mastermind behind this "not good-looking" comment...? The answer is obvious. Yao Guanyi lowered his head, pretending not to hear, and replied:
"Guanmiao is an extremely esteemed deity. I visited the temple a few years ago and offered incense to him. My fellow disciples and I calculated that he is one of the few living beings who could sit there and serve him..."

He paused and said:

"As I said before... as long as you are willing to enter the mortal world, the True Lords will definitely come to invite you personally to complete your immortal body and treat you with the respect due to an elder."

"This junior has brought..."

The young man answered politely and respectfully, saying:
"However, it was, after all, the patriarch's order."

Lu Fu's heart pounded—his Lu family was certainly prestigious, but the once-renowned Lu brothers hadn't achieved the status of True Lords. After so many years of lineage, how could they possibly hear such polite pleasantries among those who claimed to be True Lords? He couldn't help but feel envious.
'Guanmiao, the Divine Servant… If my Lü family had someone like that behind us, we could simply walk away like Prince Ya… Why would I have been captured twice by Mingyang…'

The above is a human perspective:
"I understand. My junior apprentice Wu is currently out, so please rest well here in this vast plain..."

The young man exchanged a few polite words and quickly withdrew. Only then did Lü Fu step forward, bow in the courtyard, and respectfully say:

"Meet the adults!"

"You're welcome!"

The man above had sharp eyebrows and bright eyes, a broad face and thick shoulders, and wore a yellow and white Taoist robe. He smiled and said:

“The two Lü brothers were highly virtuous and profound. Back then, even several True Lords had to call them senior brothers. Guan Yi could not bear such a title.”

Yao Guanyi raised his eyebrows and said with great interest:

"How is it?"

Lu Fu hurriedly presented the scroll his brother had given him. The scroll was densely covered with writing, but it contained the original words of various authors. Yao Guanyi read it carefully, and a smile curved his lips as he said:
"Good! Good! Good!"

He said "good" three times before saying:

"Pang Yi is truly a genius!"

Yao Guanyi stood up, looking refreshed. He paced back and forth in the hall, and then suddenly laughed. He said:
“Long Kangyao is a capable man. Although he is arrogant, as a direct descendant of Bu Zaotian, he has cultivated to the level of a Great True Person, which is quite good among the Long Kang clan... If you want to scheme against someone, you must be prepared to offend them!”

His laughter was filled with an overwhelming sense of schadenfreude and relief, causing everyone in the hall to lower their heads. No one dared to raise their heads and echo him. Only the Taoist priest Xu, sitting opposite him, shook his head and sighed.
"Guan Yi... Now they've confirmed it too."

Yao Guanyi then stopped laughing, nodded nonchalantly, and said:
"Indeed, Li Zhouwei must possess the Heavenly Essence!"

Master Xu pondered for a moment and said:

"Looking back now, they had their suspicions for a long time too. Those repeated changes, Guangchan, Xianhu—they just couldn't be confirmed for a long time. After all, these things could have been a reminder from someone in the south..."

"But now, given the timing of this day and the urgency of this secret matter, seeing Li Ximing rushing back from the lake, it's quite obvious... but... I just didn't expect..."

"I never imagined the consequences would be so dire!"

Yao Guanyi sneered and said:
"They all saw things clearly. They were going to offend Bu Zao anyway, but now they can turn the tables and not do anything. They can also give Bu Zao an explanation. At most, Long Kangyao will feel uncomfortable, but what can he do? He'll go back to his cave in a while. So what if he feels uncomfortable?"

He raised his hand, filled his teacup, and said calmly:
"But unexpectedly... Long Kangyao's blood is not shallow, and his fate is not thin. After all, he is a descendant of the Transformation True Lord, so he is not easy to control. As a result, Mingyang's side fueled the flames and used the Pang family as a surprise force. Fu Tanjian naturally miscalculated."

Lu Fu, below, was both shocked and horrified. He lowered his head and pretended not to hear. Master Xu secretly looked at him and said:
"Young friend Lü, please step down."

Everyone in the courtyard dispersed, leaving only Wu Qingyan standing silently to the side. Only then did Master Xu turn his head, watching Yao Guanyi refill his teacup, and solemnly say:

"You already suspected it..."

Yao Guanyi said calmly:
"good."

Master Xu seemed to suddenly remember something, and looked at him with a look of realization, while subtly probing:
"That's true. There have been instances of Heavenly Essence manifesting outwardly before, but back then there wasn't this kind of commotion, and it didn't spread everywhere. It seems that some people even entered the Path of Profound Understanding and attained enlightenment through cultivation..."

Yao Guanyi said:

"Indeed, while Tian Su is indeed delicate, I am familiar with her. With the experience of generations of foxes cultivating 'Heavenly Masters,' she might just be able to land on the lake..."

Master Xu pondered for a moment and said:

"I remember... there was a Liu Changdie..."

"Back then, we didn't know their origins, they were neither relatives nor friends, so why should we intervene? What's wrong with adding fuel to the fire? Now that Tian Su is out in force, we can grab one and use it ourselves. How can that be compared to what we've done before?"

Master Xu did not answer him, still feeling half-believing and half-doubting. Yao Guanyi had already stood up. He took out a long scroll from his sleeve, held one end in his hand, and unfolded the other end, revealing that it was covered with dense writing.

He smiled and said:
"I've had my suspicions for a while now, but unfortunately there are just too many people on the lake, making it difficult to confirm. And our people can't go to the lake and get involved in any karmic consequences..."

His gaze swept quietly over the names, lingering for a moment on the last one or two, and he said softly:
"It's actually quite obvious..."

He fell silent, then suddenly turned his head and saw Wu Qingyan waiting quietly in the courtyard. He smiled and said:
"Qingyan, what is this...?"

Wu Qingyan said solemnly:

"Upon hearing about the events in Dalingchuan, the lord... is very concerned!"

While Wu Qingyan's departure was indeed at the strong request of Prince Ya, it was also due to the Daoist envoy and the mysterious attendant Guanmiao's deep-seated curiosity and secret inquiry into the affairs of Dalingchuan!

"This is perfectly normal..."

The person above clasped their hands together and said softly:

“In this world today, there is no one who is indifferent to what is happening on the Daling River. Even Xiaoyao Jin has been spotted. How can the various sects in the grotto heavens remain quiet? The correspondence between them must be piling up like mountains!”

He smiled and said:
"Guan Yi has been practicing cultivation in the Purple Terrace for a long time, and many of my letters have asked me about it. My ancestor also practiced cultivation in the Mysterious Realm, so this connection is naturally unavoidable. Since you want to know, I will mention it."

Yao Guanyi sighed, his voice growing softer:

"Your vagina is injured, no need to say more, Xiao Chuting..."

When mentioning this great master who had fought his way up from the mortal realm to the level of these True Lords, Yao Guanyi showed him the utmost respect, paused for a moment, and then said:

"Although he perished, he implicated many things, at least, that True Lord of Cangzhou..."

He smiled:

"Let's just call him True Lord for now..."

Clearly, few people in this grotto-heaven knew of the Xuancang True Monarch, and everyone's eyes were filled with doubt. True Man Wu stepped forward and respectfully said:
"I've also heard of him... Even my master doesn't know where he came from..."

Yao Guanyi said solemnly:

“A day ago, Zhen Cui Xuanjun went out to preach the Dharma. My uncle went to inquire about it and that’s how I got some information. Since it was a question from a deity, I, as a junior, should naturally answer.”

His gaze was complex as he said:
“My master’s uncle was favored by him. When asked this question, the master then reenacted the situation at that time. The master’s true form transformed into the boundless Kan River, with the aura of the Great Dao’s struggle… and a dragon coiled around it.”

"There's a dragon on the plate?!"

Master Xu's pupils dilated instantly. He raised his head, muttering incoherently. Wu Qingyan stared blankly at him and said:
"Chi?"

Yao Guanyi sighed:
“He killed a dragon, one of his nine sons, and carried it on his back to show his achievement.”

In an instant, a surge of inspiration arose, as if a waterfall were about to cascade down, but it was blocked by the heavily protected grotto and suppressed by the traces of immortals that had once been left on the mountain. Wu Qingyan's face turned pale in an instant, and he said:
"One of the Nine Sons? How is that possible!"

Xu Jiaoyan said in a hoarse voice:
"Fellow Daoist Yao! What are you saying... To put it bluntly, Chi Yi's mind is smaller than a pinhead. In today's world, how could anyone consider being one of the Nine Sons an achievement? I've never heard of such a thing!"

"Moreover, we have witnessed the changes in the world. This lord must be on the side of the dragon clan. Back then, the Liang dynasty killed Dongfang Tianye, and in the end, the Liang emperor almost drowned. If this is true, he would definitely want to take revenge with the strength of his entire clan. How could he possibly join forces?"

Yao Guanyi raised his cup, allowing the two a moment to process their shock, before speaking calmly:
"You are right."

He paused for a moment, then somehow changed the subject, laughing as he said:
"How many of the Nine Sons remain... Fellow Daoist, do you know?"

Xu Jiaoyan answered without hesitation:
"This was a matter that the esteemed officials had already determined through their Daoist calculations back then. Of the nine sons, only two remain... and later, the Xiyang Dragon Lord was added..."

His words trailed off, and looking at the other person with disbelief, Yao Guanyi stood up and said softly:

“An ordinary True Lord would certainly not be able to kill one of the Nine Sons and carry him on his back…”

But what if…

"This sir, was he originally one of the nine sons of the Dragon King?"