Longzang

Chapter 1162 Secret Realm
Wei Yuan climbed the steps, setting foot in the ancestral mountain secret land of an immortal for the first time.

Even though the Lü family's power was at the bottom among the Thirteen Families, the steps to the top were still a thousand feet high. Deep within the towering mountains, birds flitted about, and along the way, craggy pavilions and multi-tiered buildings stood in staggered rows. A thousand stone steps wound upwards, a wisp of mist rising around the palace. The celestial palace, a blend of reality and illusion, its eaves and brackets of extraordinary design, ancient bronze bells hanging from the corners, their sound like shattered jade in the wind, carrying the faint echoes of antiquity.

At this time, figures could be seen moving around in the mountains and fields from time to time. Some of them were carrying large and small packages. They were obviously taking advantage of the chaos to plunder and accumulate some resources for their later years, since the situation was hopeless.

The smell of blood emanated from some of the palaces, indicating that people did not intend to cherish their past friendships during their escape, and many of the weak suffered bloodshed.

Wei Yuan was not climbing the mountain alone; he was followed by dozens of Dharma Images, over two hundred Golden Core Dharma Images, and thousands of Foundation Establishment cultivators. The cultivators were already accustomed to military life, and they followed Wei Yuan in neat rows, quietly ascending the mountain.

Multiple gazes were cast from beyond the sky, all indifferent and aloof. One could not know what their thoughts were, but they were certainly not as calm as they appeared.

These gazes fell upon the mortal realm, where they saw a cyan pillar of light soaring into the sky! The pillar of light was thousands of feet tall, almost tangible, with ancient patterns appearing on its surface, like a huge cyan ornamental column, following Wei Yuan as he slowly climbed the mountain.

Only then did the immortals understand that this was the true nature of an army composed entirely of cultivators.

In a daze, they felt as if they saw the ancient emperor reborn, leading his imperial guards and iron cavalry to sweep away the disobedient and crush the stubborn enemies.

Every time Wei Yuan walked a certain distance, or passed through a large palace complex, a Dharma Avatar would lead several Golden Core Dharma Avatars and a hundred Foundation Establishment cultivators to search the palaces and forests.

Those who took advantage of the chaos to loot were unaware that they were doomed to fail. After decades of fighting in the Azure Netherworld, every cultivator had incredibly rich war experience. How could they let these petty thieves escape?

Wei Yuan strolled up the mountain, eventually reaching the summit. The summit was flat, and the celestial palace stretched for over ten miles, extremely magnificent. At the center was not a main hall, but a towering peak. Peach blossoms were everywhere on the peak, and the rocks were uniquely shaped. At the edge of the peak was a clear pool, and beside the pool was a white stone with a slight indentation in the middle, presumably where Lü Changhe used to fish.

Wei Yuan came to the white stone, looked around, and shook his head, saying, "You're too narrow-minded."

Both are about fishing, but the Immortal Lord of the Sea, who once sat atop a precipice, fishing amidst the sea of ​​clouds, was truly magnificent. Lu Changhe's little pond, while elegant, is simply too stingy.

Wei Yuan stood still for a few breaths, but found nothing, so he turned and walked towards the center of the mountain. There was a small courtyard there, with several small houses with blue tiles, which were quite elegant.

But in Wei Yuan's view, this courtyard was full of primitive style and the atmosphere of a humble household, as if living in a few small, dilapidated houses really could make one indifferent to fame and fortune.

Wei Yuan sneered inwardly. If Lü Changhe wasn't greedy, how could he have fallen into his hands?
Stepping into the courtyard and entering the main hall, Wei Yuan's gaze naturally fell upon a landscape painting. The painting depicted a fairyland scene, with moving clouds and flowing water, as if they were alive.

This is the entrance to the secret realm.

With a wave of his hand, Wei Yuan summoned Ji Liuli, who, along with more than ten Golden Core Dharma Avatars, began setting up an array. To Wei Yuan's astonishment, the array she set up was actually a remote node of the Prosperous World of All Realms. With the assistance of the Prosperous World of All Realms, Ji Liuli broke the array in just half an incense stick's time, lightly touching the painting with her finger.

The scene unfolded like bubbles, revealing a palace. Wei Yuan stepped forward, immersing himself in the painting, as if he had entered a secret realm.

The secret realm was complete with mountains and water, and the red sun hung high in the sky, shining brightly. However, Wei Yuan's divine sense quickly revealed that the distant mountain peaks and the red sun in the sky were all illusions; this secret realm was actually only a hundred miles in size.

Wei Yuan strolled through the palace gates. In the central hall stood several statues, presumably all ancestors of the Lü clan. However, the central statue, a full ten zhang tall, struck Wei Yuan as odd. The statue bore no resemblance to Lü Changhe, yet Wei Yuan felt it was Lü Changhe.

Wei Yuan pondered for a moment, then with a flick of his sleeve, the gold powder on the surface of the statue immediately fell off, revealing another statue inside, which was indeed Lü Changhe!

Lu Changhe hid himself in the center of the ancestral statue, allowing his descendants to worship him. It's unclear what secret technique he was practicing, but the situation itself was eerie.

At the feet of several statues are large jade discs, similar to those in the Taichu Palace. These jade discs contain the cultivation techniques of the Lü family and the true meanings passed down by several immortal ancestors.

Wei Yuan tried to comprehend it and discovered the true meaning of several Great Dao authorities within the jade wall. The Great Dao authorities of the Lü family's path leaned towards the Yin and Cold lineage, being very specific and unorthodox, with connotations of ice, frost, and snow. No wonder the Lü family chose to take root in Ganzhou, settling down in this harsh and cold land; it turned out it was to aid their cultivation.

The ancestors of the Lü family attained immortality here and then took on the responsibility of defending against the Northern Liao. It was through their meritorious service in resisting foreign invaders that the Lü family was established and thus became one of the thirteen prominent clans.

These major powers are quite practical, but they are incompatible with Wei Yuan's path. Wei Yuan's current mental world is extremely chaotic, with six spiritual palaces alone. Among them, the Taiyin and Central Spiritual Palaces have similar functions but are significantly higher in rank. Even now, Wei Yuan does not know what true spirit resides in the Central Spiritual Palace, but the Yin-Yang twin dragons that have been revealed are already frighteningly high in rank.

Although Wei Yuan looked down on these few Great Dao authorities, any path to immortality was invaluable. The threshold for the Frost and Snowfall Cultivation Technique was low; perhaps someone in the Azure Netherworld could ascend to immortality through it in the future, so Wei Yuan wouldn't let it pass him by. He examined the jade tablets, preparing to bring people back later to retrieve them all and transport them back to the Azure Netherworld. This would become the foundation of the Azure Netherworld's cultivation path; perhaps they could even build a Frost Palace or something.

After briefly reviewing the Lü family's cultivation techniques, Wei Yuan suddenly had a strange thought: Could it be that Lü Changhe hid his own statue inside the ancestral statues in an attempt to travel back in time and secretly replace his own ancestors? Just like how he secretly replaced the bloodlines of Prince Fu, Prince Wei, and the Crown Prince.

The thought startled Wei Yuan. With his current understanding, he couldn't fathom what Lü Changhe was trying to do. Did he intend to replace his ancestors, the Prince of Jin, and his descendants with himself, creating an alternative form of unification?

Wei Yuan could only guess that he had probably cultivated some kind of secret technique that was unknown to others.

Wei Yuan put that matter aside and continued searching other areas. Behind the main hall was a palace complex, presumably where Lü Changhe lived. Within the palace complex were individual courtyards of varying sizes, each with its own unique scenery, demonstrating considerable artistry.

But Wei Yuan frowned slightly as he scanned the area with his divine sense. Each courtyard contained several or a dozen people, including beautifully dressed men and women, while the others were maids and servants. This was clearly the harem that Lü Changhe had prepared for himself, but it was unexpected that even as an immortal, he would still crave such worldly pleasures.

However, everyone in the courtyard was lying on the ground, lifeless. Not only people, but many of the flowering trees in the courtyard had also withered and died.

Wei Yuan entered a courtyard and inspected it, discovering that each person originally possessed a trace of Lü Changhe's divine will. After Lü Changhe's demise, this divine will destroyed everyone's sea of ​​consciousness, obliterating them. Furthermore, with Lü Changhe's death, the secret realm no longer witnessed the changing of the sun and moon; instead, the blazing sun scorched most of the flowering trees, leaving them withered and dry.

This secret realm could only be opened by Lü Changhe himself. After his death, although the Lü family received the news, they were helpless against the secret realm. Among the other aristocratic immortals, Cui Zhengxing was the first to step forward to protect the Lü family, but he always valued his reputation and was too embarrassed to plunder Lü Changhe's secret treasures, so they all benefited Wei Yuan.

In the center of the entire palace was Lü Changhe's bedroom, but after Wei Yuan inspected it, he found that apart from some flashy but impractical ornaments, there was nothing of real value inside, not even a single magical treasure.

Wei Yuan now knows Lü Changhe to some extent, and knows that this guy is twisted and awkward from head to toe, so it's normal that he doesn't keep good things around him.

Wei Yuan extended his divine sense far and wide, covering the entire palace, and then discovered something strange in a side courtyard.

This secluded courtyard was surrounded by high walls and thick gates, and protected by an array, resembling a prison. Wei Yuan destroyed the protective array with a flick of his finger and pushed open the door to enter.

The side courtyard was divided into individual rooms, each containing the corpse of a young girl or boy. The courtyard contained all sorts of torture instruments; practically every imaginable instrument of torture could be found here. Many of these instruments were covered in layers of blood, their age and the number of people they had tormented unknown.

The nearby courtyards were also quite peculiar. One resembled an examination hall for the imperial examinations, while the others reflected the customs of the Wu Liao, Shan Min, and Hai Li people, respectively.

Clearly, this was also Lü Changhe's entertainment venue.

Not only were there foreign clothes in the courtyard, but there were also foreign people there. However, they had all been dead for some time.

Surrounding the palace was a rather large medicinal garden. The defensive array of the medicinal garden mainly gathered spiritual energy and had little protective function. Wei Yuan flashed through the array and entered it.

Upon entering the herb garden, an extremely rich aroma of herbs immediately fills the air. The garden is divided into nine different areas, each with a different terroir, and each planted with different medicinal herbs. Many of the herbs are larger than those in the Qingming Herb Garden, and are all spiritual herbs over a thousand years old.

In the central plot, there were only three purplish-red medicinal plants, one large and two small, in the vast area. The large plant had several ruby-like seeds on it.

Wei Yuan was greatly surprised when he saw it. This was the Spirit-Guiding Golden Dew. Even in the Taichu Palace, there was only one plant, and it was not as big as these three!
The Spirit-Attracting Golden Dew, also known as the Crimson Immortal Grass, will attract various spiritual beings to its place once planted. Therefore, having just one will gradually bring prosperity to the entire family.

Furthermore, only Spirit-Attracting Golden Dew that has been stored for over ten thousand years will bear fruit, and its fruit is the main ingredient for refining the Heaven-Changing Pill. The Heaven-Changing Pill can improve the physical constitution of cultivators in the Imperial Realm and increase their chances of ascending to immortality; it is truly a treasure that cultivators dream of throughout their lives.

The ten-thousand-year-old Spirit-Guiding Golden Dew plant bore five fruits, two of which were already ripe. Wei Yuan estimated that if he handed it over to True Monarch Danming, he could get at least four or five Heaven-Changing Pills. If he had to give a price, Wei Yuan estimated that each pill would cost at least one hundred million Azure Yuan.

A smile finally appeared on Wei Yuan's face. With these three precious herbs, everything was worthwhile. He himself didn't need them, but Cui Yu, Xu Yi, and even Xu Wenwu all had a glimmer of hope.

However, the Spirit-Guiding Golden Dew has extremely demanding requirements for its growth environment, and the spiritual energy in Lu Changhe's secret realm is not very abundant, so how could three plants grow there?

Just as Wei Yuan was pondering this, he saw a semi-transparent figure walk over and come to the three Spirit-Guiding Golden Dew plants, watering each one with a drop of dew.

(End of this chapter)