I became an immortal in the mountains

Chapter 759 How about we all draw up a line?

Gu Yuanqing stayed temporarily at Lingbao Palace.

He didn't find the place boring at all. He asked the Lingbao Holy Land for some books about the Xuanqiong Realm, the 108 Realm Cities, and the extraterrestrial demons. He read and learned about them while observing the Lingbao Holy Land's art of weapon crafting.

The Qingping Dao Palace was renowned for its expertise in weapon crafting, and the Heavenly Sword Elder was even hailed as having mastered the "Three Perfections." The palace's library housed numerous secret manuals on weapon crafting, so Gu Yuanqing was no novice when it came to it. In terms of knowledge and vision alone, he was even comparable to many disciples from major sects who specialized in the art of weapon crafting.

However, he had rarely immersed himself in this path in the past, so his understanding of it was not very deep. Now that he had come to this magnificent palace of weapon crafting, he naturally felt a bit curious.

The Sacred Land of Spiritual Treasures does not forbid outsiders from observing. The magical artifacts refined outside are mostly standardized items used to subdue Heavenly Demons; moreover, the essence of the Sacred Land's artifact refining is not something that can be grasped at a glance. The real key lies in the internal cultivation techniques, the secret arts of imprinting spiritual seals on the soul, the way of controlling fire, the proportions of materials, and the control of the heat at each stage.

The entire palace was vast in scale, with weapon-refining disciples scattered throughout. Many cultivators came to visit the Holy Land of Spiritual Treasures, and countless others came to observe, yet no one had ever been heard of actually stealing the Holy Land's secret weapon-refining techniques.

On the contrary, if one can glean some insight from it, it can be considered as accumulating a share of karma from the sacred land of Lingbao.

These good deeds may come in handy someday.

This is precisely the confidence and magnanimity of the world's number one sect.

Gu Yuanqing had no intention of stealing the Lingbao technique, but rather used the opportunity of observing others refining weapons to verify the weapon-refining methods passed down in the Qingping Dao Palace.

Having cultivated all the way to this point, he has reached the realm of immortality, but further advancement would likely require a long time. Now is the time to make up for his shortcomings.

In terms of supernatural powers, he has undergone numerous deductions and is now able to fully utilize his strength; he has also devoted a great deal of effort to the path of alchemy; only in weapon crafting, relative to his cultivation level, can it be said that he has barely entered the realm of basic skills.

Magical artifacts are protective tools. Even if others do not have any hidden tricks, they can never be as intuitive and easy to use as those that one has made oneself.

Just like the four swords left by the Heavenly Sword Elder—Sealing Demon, Sweeping Demon, Heavenly Demon, and Subduing Demon—all were personally forged to fully unleash their true meaning of swordsmanship.

This is why there are so many long swords on the Sword Tomb, some of which are even comparable to the Four Heavenly Swords, all left behind by cultivators of the Qingping Dao Palace!
When a disciple is weak, he borrows the magic sword of his predecessor to comprehend the Dao and protect himself; when he has achieved mastery, he forges his own natal sword; until he perishes, he returns the sword to the sword tomb for future generations.

Half a month passed in the blink of an eye.

Ji Shan from Xuantian Pavilion came to visit. He was clearly a frequent visitor to Lingbao Palace, and he easily entered the palace with his escape light.

Venerable Lingbao, Gu Yuanqing, and Ji Shan enjoyed tea and discussed philosophy in a secluded and beautiful place, talking about the general trend of the world and the struggle between good and evil, from the extraterrestrial demons.

Ji Shan smiled and said, "I heard that Li Miaoxuan of the Lingxu Sect has already overcome the Chaotic Tribulation, which is truly a sign of the revival of our righteous path. The Lingxu Sect is indeed blessed with long-lasting fortune. If Li Miaoxuan can achieve Chaotic Immortality, many crises can be easily resolved. By the way, before Fellow Daoist Gu came to this outer realm, did you visit the Lingxu Sect?"

Venerable Lingbao stroked his beard and chuckled: "Fellow Daoist Ji, your news is a bit late this time. Li Miaoxuan was able to safely pass through the tribulation thanks to Fellow Daoist Gu's protection."

"Oh?" Ji Shan's eyes flashed with surprise, then he laughed, "I was wondering why the heretical sects were so obedient to the rules this time. I thought it was because the Heavenly Venerable was secretly protecting them, but it turns out that Fellow Daoist Gu just happened to be there at the right time. No wonder, no wonder!"

Gu Yuanqing smiled calmly: "It was indeed just a coincidence."

Ji Shan then asked, "Could you tell which sect made the move?"

Gu Yuanqing said, "It should be the Taiyin Palace and the Youming Sect. There is still one person whose origin cannot be identified. Among the three people from the Taiyin Palace, one of them has already reached the Shattering Heaven Realm."

"A Chaos Heaven cultivator?" Ji Shan raised an eyebrow and then said, "It was expected that the Taiyin Palace would take action, but I didn't expect them to dare to disregard the agreement between the righteous and evil paths... However, they were just unlucky to run into Fellow Daoist Gu. With you here, even if the Chaos Heaven Undying were to come in person, he might not be able to harm that girl in the slightest. The Lingxu Sect was indeed lucky this time."

Gu Yuanqing smiled without saying a word. In fact, even if he didn't make a move, with Li Miaoxuan's cultivation level and her personal magic treasures, that Shattering Heaven Realm cultivator from the Taiyin Palace couldn't do anything to her. But this matter concerned Li Miaoxuan's background, so he naturally wouldn't say anything more.

Venerable Lingbao said, "Fellow Daoist Gu broke through to the Chaotic Heaven Undying Realm, and Li Miaoxuan advanced to the Chaotic Heaven Realm after only three hundred years of cultivation. With two geniuses rising up one after another and appearing out of nowhere, the evil sects are naturally getting restless."

Ji Shan sighed, "Indeed, evil sects have always only cared about their own affairs, never about the troubles of others. If it weren't for the overwhelming force of the extraterrestrial demons this time, their methods would probably be far more extensive. Fellow Daoist Gu, you must be extremely careful on this extraterrestrial battlefield!"

Gu Yuanqing nodded slightly. He didn't need anyone to remind him of these things. He was always cautious. As the saying goes, people's hearts are hard to fathom. Not to mention the evil path, even the righteous sects may have hypocritical people.

Venerable Lingbao also said, "It's a pity that our righteous sects haven't produced any more Void Immortals in tens of thousands of years, otherwise things wouldn't be like this. Fortunately, the evil sects are the same, otherwise, the cultivation world wouldn't be like this."

Lingbao Venerable couldn't help but sigh. Outside, he was the strongest in the righteous path and needed to maintain his mystery and strength in order to keep the righteous sects at ease and prevent the evil sects from acting recklessly. But when facing two Chaotic Undying cultivators, he didn't need to put on a show.

Ji Shan said, "These years have been tough for you, Venerable One. If it weren't for the greater good, you would have had the chance to break through to the Void Immortal realm back then."

Gu Yuanqing looked at Venerable Lingbao, as this was the first time he had heard of this matter.

Venerable Lingbao waved his hand and laughed, "There's no need to bring up the past. Besides, the chances were slim to begin with. If I had tried to break through rashly, I might have already perished. This world is not as prosperous as it was back then. Since this spatial rift appeared, the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth has become increasingly obscure, as if the Great Dao is flawed. Taking another step forward is extremely difficult. I'm afraid it will be difficult to see the flourishing cultivation described in the ancient books again."

Ji Shan said, "Yes, in the past 100,000 years, it seems that only Senior Tianjian has attained immortality and ascended to heaven. Thinking back to the prosperous times of ancient times, all the major sects had people who ascended to heaven, but now the path to immortality is almost completely cut off."

Lingbao Daozun smiled and looked at Gu Yuanqing, saying, "To be honest, all the sects and cultivators in the cultivation world should thank Senior Tianjian. If it weren't for his ascension to immortality and the restoration of morale in the cultivation world, the cultivation world would probably be a completely different place now. Although the path to enlightenment is uncertain, there is still a way to go!"

Gu Yuanqing was slightly shocked. This was the first time he had heard of such a record. He only knew that the path to becoming a Void Immortal was difficult, but he did not expect that the cultivation world, which he thought was a perfect place, would also be like this.

He did not doubt the truth of the matter. Although Qingping Dao Palace had a long history, it was naturally inferior to sects such as Lingbao Holy Land in terms of the length of its heritage.

The rise of Qingping Dao Palace was largely due to the Heavenly Dao Scripture and the immortal destiny depicted in that painting of immortals.

There aren't many records about the more distant past, or perhaps they were deliberately concealed by the Heavenly Sword Elder. One can imagine why: if a cultivator knew that the path to immortality was cut off, how desperate would he be? He would lose his courage and drive, leaving behind inner demons, and his path of cultivation would likely be severed as a result.

If Gu Yuanqing didn't have other support, his Dao heart would probably be affected by it.

Ji Shan also smiled and said, "Indeed, Fellow Daoist Gu, you possess such cultivation at such a young age. I truly look forward to seeing if you can retrace the path of the Heavenly Sword Elder. If I could witness it firsthand, then my life would not have been in vain." Gu Yuanqing's mind raced, but he suppressed his thoughts and dared not say that the Heavenly Sword Elder had not ascended but had died in the Dao Palace. He smiled and said, "Then I will do my best not to disappoint you, Fellow Daoist!"

Upon hearing this, Lingbao Tianzun and Ji Shan exchanged a glance, and then burst into laughter.

Gu Yuanqing suddenly realized that the words just now might have been a test, since although it was rumored that the Heavenly Sword Elder had ascended to heaven, no one had actually seen it!
……

Another half month has passed in the blink of an eye.

The day has come for the alliance meeting between the righteous and evil factions to discuss matters.

Gu Yuanqing boarded the flying boat of the Spirit Treasure Holy Land and followed the Spirit Venerable to Zhige Tianyuan.

At the center of the Xuanqiong Realm, on a huge circular white jade plaza, the Xuanqiong Myriad Manifestations Mystic Light Mirror, suspended high above, casts its light, condensing into several figures. These figures are all projections from distant Huntian cultivators, using the imprints left by their divine souls through this magical artifact.

These figures all stood in the palms of the thirty-six stone statues surrounding them.

Gu Yuanqing followed Lingbao Tianzun into the plaza, and Ji Shan accompanied him.

In fact, Lingbao Tianzun and Ji Shan could also project their divine souls, but since Gu Yuanqing was coming to participate this time, they also sent their own clones.

As soon as Gu Yuanqing stepped onto the plaza, he felt his true essence being suppressed, and the surrounding天地元气 (heaven and earth energy) disappeared completely. Fortunately, the faint connection between him and his original self remained, meaning that the Heavenly Fishing Technique could still take him away.

Just then, a cold snort was heard, and an aura of an immortal divine soul pressed down on Gu Yuanqing.

The Spirit Lord frowned slightly, waved his hand to dispel the aura, and said calmly, "Fellow Daoist Silent Annihilation, what is the meaning of this?"

Gu Yuanqing landed on a ferocious stone statue on the right. There, he saw a man shrouded in darkness staring at him with icy eyes. From the words of the Spirit Lord, Gu Yuanqing naturally knew that this man was the Silent Heavenly Lord from the Primordial Beginning Palace.

A top-tier, immortal cultivator from an evil sect!
At the same time, Gu Yuanqing also saw two familiar faces: Xiao Yunqi from Yunmeng Holy Land and Zhao Shengbing from Shengtian Sect. The Evil Lord had not yet arrived.

Xiao Yunqi remained calm, even nodding slightly.

Zhao Shengbing's eyes, however, were icy cold, revealing a hint of killing intent, but behind that killing intent lay a hidden fear.

"Meetings of the Alliance of Calamity Control are not open to anyone who is not a member of the Elder Council. Even if you are a Spirit Venerable, you cannot violate this rule." The Silent Heavenly Lord spoke, his voice as cold as if it came from an ancient well that had been dry for ten thousand years, without the slightest ripple.

The Spirit Venerable said calmly, "This is Gu Yuanqing, Fellow Daoist Gu, a successor of the Qingping Dao Palace. I will nominate him for the Elders Council this time."

"A successor of the Qingping Dao Palace?"

All the top cultivators from both the righteous and evil paths present turned their gazes toward this place, and even those who had been resting with their eyes closed opened them.

Qingping Dao Palace is renowned throughout the world. As the place of inheritance of the only person in modern times who attained immortality and ascended to heaven, how could these evil sects not know about it? However, this reputation is obviously not enough to scare people.

The Heavenly Sword Elder is the Heavenly Sword Elder, and the successor of the Qingping Dao Palace is the successor of the Qingping Dao Palace. The two should not be confused. How many cultivators and sects present have not produced someone who has attained enlightenment and ascended to immortality?

The Silent Heavenly Lord coldly said, "So what if it's the Pure Peace Dao Palace? To enter this Elders' Council, you have to prove your strength. What use is it if you're not strong enough?"

Immediately, a beautiful woman dressed in light gauze appeared on a stone statue and said in a sweet voice, "Fellow Daoist Jiemie, don't frighten the little one. However, Spirit Venerable, what Fellow Daoist Jiemie said is not wrong. To enter the Elder Council, one must speak with strength. Although there are eighteen positions each for the righteous and evil paths, one must be convincing to sit in this position. Otherwise, our Yujie Alliance will probably become a laughing stock."

Then another man in a blood-red robe chuckled: "That's right, just like the Lingxu Sect, it is also one of the nine righteous sects, but it is not strong enough, so it can only stay aside. We can't afford to lose face like that."

Gu Yuanqing's gaze fell on the two people, and he quickly matched them with people from evil sects. The woman was the leader of the Blissful Sect, the Heavenly Maiden of Wonderful Sound; while the middle-aged man in the blood-red robe was the leader of the Blood God Sect: the Blood Dark Ancestor.

Before the Spirit Venerable could speak, Gu Yuanqing smiled calmly: "Is that so? Whether I am qualified or not, I believe the Holy Heaven Sect should know."

As soon as he said that, everyone's eyes turned to Zhao Shengbing.

Zhao Shengbing's face immediately darkened, and he said coldly, "Gu Yuanqing, are you trying to provoke me?"

Gu Yuanqing smiled and said, "Fellow Daoist Zhao, please don't misunderstand. I just want to ask you to prove something. Of course, if the other Daoists present think that I am not qualified, they may find a place to mark out a path."

Zhao Shengbing snorted coldly, and the gazes of the cultivators who were seeing Gu Yuanqing for the first time narrowed slightly.

No one would think that Gu Yuanqing was recklessly spouting nonsense, and the Spirit Venerable would not bring such a person to make a fool of himself. Half of the people present were Undying Chaos cultivators, so if the other party could say such a thing, he must have some confidence!

"Undying in the Chaos?" The Heavenly Lord of Annihilation's tone remained calm and indifferent.

Gu Yuanqing said calmly, "The Heavenly Lord doesn't believe it?"

"Since you are immortal, then you have the right to do so." The Heavenly Lord of Annihilation showed no emotion, as if nothing could affect his state of mind. After speaking, he closed his eyes.

The Heavenly Maiden of Blissful Sound from the Blissful Sect said with a charming smile, "Oh dear, I was blind. My apologies, my apologies. I will personally apologize to Fellow Daoist Gu later."

Gu Yuanqing remained calm and did not respond. Don't assume that this woman is a good person just because she is beautiful and kind. She is one of the Three Venerables and Six Sovereigns. It is said that the Blissful Sect has countless male concubines who serve as furnaces for her cultivation.

Seeing that Gu Yuanqing ignored her, the Heavenly Maiden of Wonderful Sounds sighed mournfully, "Alas, it seems that he is another blockhead who does not know how to cherish women."

　The Immortal Path Chronicles has been unsealed. If you haven't read it, you can check it out, but this one was written quite a while ago, so I don't know if it will still appeal to today's readers.
　　
　
(End of this chapter)