I became an immortal in the mountains

Chapter 720 An Old Friend from Three Hundred Years Ago

Gu Yuanqing glanced at Li Chengyi and said, "What's with the word 'finally'?"

Li Chengyi smiled awkwardly: "It was my fault for speaking out of turn."

Gu Yuanqing didn't take it to heart, and asked again, "How much longer will it take you to overcome the Yin-Yang Tribulation?"

Li Chengyi smiled wryly and said, "I don't know either. I just feel that the opportunity has not yet arrived. Perhaps my understanding of the Great Dao is still imperfect, but I haven't realized it myself."

Gu Yuanqing said, "For the next six months, come and play a game of chess with me every two weeks."

"Your son obeys!" Li Chengyi's lips twitched. Playing chess with his father was no simple matter; it was a battle of wits, a fight to the death.

"What? You're still not willing? I'm not interested in giving advice to outsiders," Gu Yuanqing said irritably.

"How could I dare? I'm just afraid of delaying Father's cultivation," Li Chengyi quickly replied.

"Don't worry, I can guide you using just my clone," Gu Yuanqing said.

Li Chengyi remained silent.

Gu Yuanqing then handed over both volumes of the Heavenly Dao Scripture.

"These two items will be entrusted to you for safekeeping from now on. However, it's best not to take them out of the mountains."

Li Chengyi was shocked and stood up, saying, "This Heavenly Dao Scripture is also useful to Father. Father should keep it himself. If I need to use it, I will come to Father to get it."

Gu Yuanqing said, "It's alright. I probably haven't needed it much these past few years. If you don't need it in the future either, you can seal this book and store it on the ninth floor of the Qingping Cave Heaven Library. By the way, I've made a few tokens that can be used to pass through Qingping Cave Heaven and the Library. You can take them. They will also make it easier for you to make arrangements in the future. As for lower-level tokens, you have the authority to make them according to your decree."

Li Chengyi immediately realized that his father intended to wash his hands of everything and leave all the responsibilities to him.

As a son, he had no choice but to accept it. Besides, he knew that his father had never been interested in worldly affairs. The reason why there were so many people in Beiquan Mountain was mostly because of him, so why should his father worry about these things?

"Furthermore, you must never go into the Dao Palace. The power of the person in the painting is impossible to guard against," Gu Yuanqing warned again.

Li Chengyi said, "I understand."

Gu Yuanqing continued, "Forget it, I will seal off the entire summit of Lijian Peak. Qingping Cave Heaven cannot be used as the foundation of the sect for the time being. It can only be used as a place for disciples to cultivate. Back then, the Heavenly Sword Elder was at the peak of the Void Immortal realm, but he still accidentally fell into the trap of the Man in the Painting, which led to the extinction of his Dao path. Almost all the disciples of the Qingping Dao Palace died, and even the inheritance was almost broken. It took tens of thousands of years before someone entered it."

Li Chengyi nodded solemnly. Since some risks may exist in the cultivation world, one must be extremely careful. One wrong step could lead to utter ruin.

The father and son chatted for more than half an hour before Li Chengyi got up to take his leave.

For some time afterward, Li Chengyi would come to the courtyard every half month to play a game of chess with Gu Yuanqing, honing his skills and understanding his own shortcomings in the process.

His aura became increasingly perfect, and he gradually developed the aura of the Yin-Yang Realm. However, he still hadn't encountered the Heavenly Tribulation. Even though he had clearly climbed to the peak of the Heavenly Transformation Realm, after his match with Gu Yuanqing, he repeatedly discovered that he seemed to be able to take another step closer to the Heavenly Transformation Realm.

Gu Yuanqing was naturally not impatient. A more solid foundation is essential for going further in the future, and he was happy to help his son achieve even greater success.

At the same time, he continued to enter the Ling Mountain Trials, where he constantly fought against Ji Shan.

This once insurmountable mountain is no longer his match. If Gu Yuanqing were to go all out, he could suppress it in the blink of an eye with his boundless power.

Gu Yuanqing's power was too strong. The comparison between the two was like the difference between the Primordial Realm and the Three Yang Realm. Although they were both from the Linglong Realm and seemed to be on the same level, the actual difference was like heaven and earth.

The two were simply not even in the same league!
As for Mu Tianheng and Ning Xuxuan, who are also immortal, they are even more helpless in front of Gu Yuanqing at this time. They are almost not even a single move away from Gu Yuanqing. Even if Gu Yuanqing were to completely erase their immortality, it would not take much effort!

This upgrade seems to have put the marks in the Lingshan Trial in a precarious state.

But there was nothing that could be done about it. At this point, Gu Yuanqing's power had almost reached the pinnacle of cultivation, and there were very few people in the world who could rival him.

Of course, the Ling Mountain Trial was not useless. Gu Yuanqing only needed to suppress the urge to subdue others by force and fight his opponents with only his skills, magic and supernatural powers. In this way, Ji Shan, Mu Tianheng, Ning Xuxuan and others became whetstones for him to hone his skills.

In this process, they gradually became familiar with the use of the power of the Chaotic Undying Realm.

At the same time, Gu Yuanqing began to deduce supernatural powers by using the incense smoke. He deduced all of the commonly used techniques, such as the Beiquan Zhenshi Seal, the Wandao Guixu Palm, the Wuxiang Jiezhi, the Taixu Zongheng Technique, and the Dayi Huantian Step.

The various supernatural powers that Gu Yuanqing had seen in the library were all incorporated into the deduction, elevating these powers to the level of Chaotic Immortality.

It's only thanks to the growing influence of the Qian Yuan Divine Temple over the years that more and more incense offerings have gathered outside the grotto-heaven; otherwise, it would be completely insufficient.

Half a year passed quickly, but Gu Yuanqing did not leave, because Li Chengyi was finally about to undergo the tribulation of yin and yang.

Before this, Li Haotian faced the calamity of the Heavenly Change.

The ordeal went smoothly; although I suffered some injuries, they were not serious.

To be honest, Li Haotian's talent and comprehension were not bad; otherwise, he would not have become a strong figure among the younger generation and even seized the throne.

However, the struggle for the throne damaged his health, leaving him with chronic illnesses. In the end, during the battle with Zuoqiu, he used far more power than he was capable of, and almost died.

Today, I am able to live like a celestial being, and I really owe it all to Li Chengyi.

Li Chengyi's Yin-Yang Tribulation was also immense, shrouding the entire Qian Yuan Island in tribulation clouds.

However, compared to the Chaotic Undying Tribulation that Gu Yuanqing had once overcome, it was on a completely different level, to the point that even the sleeping Mountain-Bearing Divine Turtle was not awakened.

This ordeal was naturally uneventful. Gu Yuanqing didn't even intervene, and Li Chengyi successfully overcame it. The process seemed like a complete rebirth, with his body charred black by the heavenly lightning, but in reality, everything was under Li Chengyi's control.

His talent and comprehension are among the best in the world. He received his mother's Spirit Pearl, his father's careful guidance, and the best and highest quality resources in the world. His cultivation level is even comparable to that of Gu Yuanqing at the same level.

After surviving the tribulation, Li Chengyi went into seclusion to stabilize his cultivation level.

Relieved, Gu Yuanqing created a clone and quietly left Qian Yuan Island.

In addition, he has two clones: one is comprehending the power of the rule artifacts in the Dao Source Forbidden Land, and the other is stationed in the Qingping Dao Palace to prevent any changes.

As for the original body, after its many avatars had each fulfilled their duties, it merged with the North Spring Grotto and entered into a state of enlightenment through mountain observation.

After Gu Yuanqing's strength broke through, the growth rate of Beiquan Cave Heaven accelerated again, and the size of its domain expanded considerably.

The rate at which demonic energy gathers in the underground demonic realm can no longer keep up with the rate at which it is transformed, and even the demonic energy within the Dragon Demonic Realm seems to have thinned considerably.

These will not be discussed in detail.

It is only said that this avatar left Beiquan Cave Heaven and entered the world of cultivation.

This clone's strength is only at the peak of the Shattered Heaven realm, but if he so desires, he can elevate it to the Undying realm in a short time.

The boundless ocean could not obstruct Gu Yuanqing's view. This place was a million kilometers away from the nearest continent, almost equivalent to crossing the entire Qian Yuan Realm, but for Gu Yuanqing, it was only a moment's time.

He stood above the white clouds, riding the clouds, walking in mid-air, looking down at this world.

Looking at the cultivation world is ultimately somewhat different from looking at the exquisite world.

Especially after becoming the Undying Chaos Realm, the Linglong Realm always gave him a sense of fragility, as if he could shatter this space if he used a little more force.

Although he knew that a large part of this feeling was an illusion, not only because the space of the Linglong Realm was relatively weaker, but also because Gu Yuanqing cultivated the Great Dao of the cultivation world and had condensed the spatial Dao imprint, he could instinctively sense the defects of the Linglong Realm's Great Dao.

In this realm of cultivation, one feels completely refreshed, like a fish entering the water or a dragon swimming in the ocean.

Gu Yuanqing was not in a hurry to do anything right now, but instead focused on experiencing the feeling in the present moment. These insights might become resources for his future progress in cultivation.

When a cultivator reaches the state of "immortality in chaos," their foundation is already nearly perfect. The next step forward is the distinction between immortals and mortals.

Only two things are most important: the Way and the mind.

Everyone's path is different; others' paths to immortality can only serve as a reference for oneself. That's why Gu Yuanqing embarked on his journey.

Having seen the vast world, I seek the path to self-discovery.

Perhaps one day, his true form will also travel, but it's not time for that yet.

A moment later, Gu Yuanqing had crossed the sea and arrived at the land.

Looking down at the earth's veins and the sky, he already knew where he had arrived.

"Wutongzhou is said to be famous because a phoenix once landed here. The largest sect in Wutongzhou should be the Fire Phoenix Sect. Within the sect is the ancient Wutong tree, a spiritual plant of the fire path. I wonder if it still exists now?"

Gu Yuanqing was actually quite interested in seeing it. He had taken in a demonic phoenix with phoenix blood in the Demon Realm and had seen the true face of the divine beast through its bloodline, so he was naturally quite curious about the legend of the phoenix.

However, when Gu Yuanqing followed the map he found in the Dao Palace to the former territory of the Fire Phoenix Sect, he only saw a ruin submerged in the wilderness, and even the underground spiritual veins seemed to have been dug up.

The world has changed dramatically over tens of thousands of years.

The most famous sect in Wutong Continent is now called Xiyue Sect, which is famous throughout the world for its Mirror Flower Water Moon Technique, but the highest level of its practitioners is only at the first calamity of the Heavenly Change.

Gu Yuanqing lingered on Wutong Island for more than ten days before continuing his journey.

He observed the local customs and culture along the way.

We traveled through some legendary and strange places.

I've enjoyed some local delicacies and snacks, drunk fine wine, and listened to a few songs in the opera house.

He also visited some so-called famous scholars, but most of them were just imposters.

Playing this game in a foreign land truly offers a unique experience.

Especially given Gu Yuanqing's current situation, with his exceptional cultivation and freedom from worldly concerns about food, clothing, and shelter, he can do whatever he pleases.

When the mood strikes, one can take fine wine and delicious food, climb to the top of a mountain, overlook the vast landscape, and recite the poems of sages.

It can also transform into a fish and swim freely in rivers and lakes.

One can immerse oneself in worldly pleasures, or transcend the stage to observe the human condition.

One can sit and watch the two armies clash while carrying a wine jug, or venture alone into a bandit stronghold at night to become a chivalrous knight who slays villains.

With no one by his side, Gu Yuanqing seemed to have done everything he had ever thought of in the mountains.

On this day, Gu Yuanqing let out a long laugh, rolled up a handful of silver from a cheating gambling den, and sent it flying into the air.

This gambling den has an extraordinary background; it is a property of the royal family and is guarded by cultivators.

Immediately someone shouted angrily, "You thief, don't run away!"

"Surrender now, or even if you are a cultivator, you will not escape death!"

It was quite a spectacle, but the cultivators were at most on the altar.

At this moment, Gu Yuanqing finally understood why those masters liked to play the game of life. It was because watching their opponents get angry but they couldn't do anything about it was indeed quite exhilarating.

Even if these people's cultivation level is not worth mentioning, they are still very interesting. It's like some people who are bored can squat there for half an hour just to stop an ant from going home.

When they got tired of playing, they would disappear without a trace around a corner, and the useless silver might just be casually tossed to some poor family.

Gu Yuanqing's actions attracted the attention of some sect members, who sent people to track him down and try to find out his background.

Even if Gu Yuanqing stood right in front of a cultivator at the Void Realm, the cultivator might not be able to detect him.

They traveled along this route, stopping and starting, and before they knew it, several months had passed.

Gu Yuanqing stood outside a large mountain, looking up into the distance.

"I wonder if Zhang Xuanlin is still the sect leader of the Lingxu Sect in the Dayan Mountains?"

Looking back, when Gu Yuanqing met Zhang Xuanlin, he was only at the Dao Fire Realm. His subsequent cultivation was largely thanks to the Formless Heart Sutra that Zhang Xuanlin taught him. Even some common knowledge about the relationship between heaven and man was obtained from Zhang Xuanlin.

During that period, although he was imprisoned in the mountains, the two still had some affection for each other.

"Since we're here, why don't we pay a visit?"

Gu Yuanqing smiled slightly.

He was very curious about what Zhang Xuanlin would look like when he met him.
He rode on his escape light and headed forward.

Before they had even approached within 500 li of the Taiyan Mountains, several figures soared into the sky, stood in the void, and softly proclaimed, "Lingxu Garrison, no unauthorized personnel allowed!"

Since Gu Yuanqing was visiting, he naturally followed the proper etiquette and asked with a smile, "Is your sect leader, Zhang Xuanlin, in the mountains?"

The disciples guarding the mountain gate exchanged glances, and one of them clasped his hands in greeting and asked, "Who are you? What business do you have with the sect leader?"

Gu Yuanqing smiled and said, "Just announce that an old friend from three hundred years ago has come to visit. By the way, my surname is Gu!"

(End of this chapter)