Fairyland Sunshine

Chapter 212: Zhong Xuanzhou's Spirituality and the Fortune of the Universe

The scenery of Taiguang Mountain remains the same with gurgling springs and swaying pine shadows.

Xu Heng climbed the stairs slowly and leisurely, sometimes stopping briefly at some forks where one could turn into the mountain trail.

Xu Heng suddenly realized that he actually knew very little about Taiguang Mountain. He knew that following the bluestone avenue all the way up would lead to the Taiguang Hall, but he didn't even know which mountain path led to Qimingyuan.

The only thing he remembered was the road leading to Taoist Feiyun's cave, because that was where he came down the mountain.

Xu Heng stopped here and looked into the depths of the mountain path for a long time before he regained his composure.

It was also at this time that Xu Heng felt that returning to Taiguang Mountain had become an ordinary thing for him.

He quickened his pace and began to climb upwards, wanting to go straight to the Taiguang Hall. However, he stopped when he had only climbed halfway up the long steps.

The mountain wind lifted the mist, and Xu Heng suddenly discovered that there was a young Taoist walking slowly down the bluestone road.

This Taoist's facial features were not very outstanding, but when put together, they were very soft. When he opened his mouth and spoke, his voice was like a warm breeze blowing slowly into Xu Heng's ears.

"No wonder I suddenly had the urge to go out for a walk in the mountains." The Taoist said, "It turns out that it is an old friend who has come."

"Junior Brother Xu, long time no see."

"It turns out to be Senior Brother Chen." Xu Heng said, "It has indeed been a long time since we last met."

Chen Taiji smiled slightly and walked slowly down the stone steps until he was level with Xu Heng. Then he turned around and looked at the end of the bluestone road with him.

"I thought that Junior Brother could become my disciple." Chen Taiji said, "To this day, I still feel it is a pity."

Xu Heng just smiled and said, "It's over."

"Really?" Chen Taiji nodded: "It's fine to go there."

Xu Heng was a little surprised, but he had no ill feelings towards Chen Taiji, and he didn't mind chatting with him. After thinking for a while, he took the initiative to ask, "Brother, how is your practice progress recently?"

Chen Taiji smiled and replied, "After years of hard work and practice, I finally got through it."

“Does dull learning accumulate merit?” Xu Heng disagreed with this statement. He knew that when Master Shui Jing drafted the four-character review, Chen Tai Chi was already listed in the word “Tao”.

In the past decade, Chen Tai Chi has slowly climbed from tenth place to sixth place.

When Chen Taichen first appeared in the Four-Character Review, he was ranked fifth in the One-Character Review, but after so many years, he only slightly advanced one place.

Perhaps it was not that Chen Taichen had not made any progress, but that those ahead of him had made faster progress. Or perhaps, having reached this level, they could only move forward slowly unless they could refine the golden elixir.

But no matter what, this is enough to illustrate how fast Chen Tai Chi's progress is.

Although Chen Taiji has never been mentioned in the other three words, but with such Taoist achievements, how could he be a mediocre person? How could he be considered a dull learner with accumulated merits?

But now, in the word "Tao", Xu Heng is ranked fifth, just one place higher than Chen Taiji, so it is difficult to say much.

"Brother, you are too modest." Xu Heng said.

Upon hearing this, Chen Taiji said, "The road ahead is long and arduous, so I dare not be unhumile."

Xu Heng couldn't help but recall that when Chen Taiji first met him, he also said: "The path of cultivation is rough and bumpy..."

He thought about it for a moment and did not respond. Chen Taiji did not say anything else. The two of them were silent for a while, and Xu Heng said, "I still have to go to Taiguang Hall, so I won't accompany you."

"In that case, goodbye." Chen Taiji nodded, without asking any more questions, he turned around and walked past Xu Heng.

Xu Heng started again, and still felt that Chen Taiji had a unique aura of Taoism. It seemed that his mind was so clear that he could make everything clear and easy.

Although this kind of Tao is not similar to Xu Heng's, it does not prevent him from feeling that even if the "road is long and difficult", Chen Taiji may still be able to go very far.

As I was thinking about it, I had gradually reached the end. As the last step of the bluestone road gradually descended in my sight, a wide square suddenly appeared before my eyes. In the center was a solitary palace with two words inscribed on a plaque - Taiguang.

The sky was clear and cloudless for thousands of miles. A thousand feet of golden clouds hung down, illuminating the palace. The two words "Tai Guang" appeared even more dazzling in the golden clouds.

This is the Taiguang Hall.

Xu Heng stepped onto the square and saw several figures standing in front of the Taiguang Hall. Before he approached, a voice reached his ears: "After many years of separation, Junior Brother has indeed made great progress in Taoism."

Xu Heng's eyebrows could not help but move, because the voice sounded so familiar. He looked and saw a Taoist priest with a star-shaped crown, dragon eyebrows and phoenix eyes, who looked majestic without even being angry. It was none other than Lian Tianfeng, the Taoist priest who had caused him to leave Taiguang Mountain.

When Lian Tianfeng spoke, he was still condescending and shouted indifferently: "But do you really think that after you have cultivated to the great perfection of the Refining Void Realm, you can show off your power in this Taiguang Immortal Palace?"

Facing Lian Tianfeng was Master Qiao. He just said, "Why not?"

Lian Tianfeng's eyes darkened slightly, and Xu Heng saw the golden clouds in the sky, which seemed to be surging. Although he did not feel any energy surging, his heart could not help but beat wildly, as if his most instinctive sense was reminding him that the world would collapse at any time.

However, as soon as Master Qiao's voice came out, this repression was broken.

"Among the three generations of the four branches of my Xuanwei sect, only Senior Brother Zhong has achieved the Immortal Yang."

Although Xu Heng couldn't see Master Qiao's expression, he could sense his calmness: "If Senior Brother Zhong comes forward, I can retreat."

"But he is trying to maintain the twelve heavenly caves in Taiguang Immortal Palace, so he probably cannot afford to be distracted."

"Qiao Cheng!" Before Lian Tianfeng could say anything, the Taoist nun with a high bun beside him shouted, "Do you know that this is the Taiguang Hall? The Grand Master is here!"

Xu Heng also remembered this Taoist nun, who was Chen Taichen's teacher Yan Baochan.

Yan Baochan pointed at Qiao Cheng and scolded: "You, Li... Taiyuan lineage, are the most rebellious. Not only did you leave the mountain and break away from the sect, you even established your own Taoist lineage."

"You have committed such a crime of betraying your teacher and ancestors, yet you dare to act recklessly in front of the Taiguang Palace?"

"Why don't you stop talking?" Qiao Cheng's eyes shone and fell on Yan Baochan's face, which was like a lightning strike, causing her body to shake.

"My Taiyuan lineage broke away from the sect because we were unwilling to decay. Although we have established our own sect, we still respect our ancestor. How can we allow you to slander us?"

"Yan Baochan, don't think that I won't kill you just because we're from the same sect!"

Qiao Cheng spoke each word with such intensity that it was like the rise and fall of a drum, shocking Yan Baochan so much that she couldn't help but take a step back.

Lian Tianfeng's heart sank when he saw this.

Since Qiao Cheng started practicing, he has been good at fighting. Among his peers in the four sects, only a few can defeat him. Now that he has achieved great success in the realm of refining emptiness, unless the head brother takes action to punish him, he will be truly lawless.

Although Lian Tianfeng was not afraid of Qiao Cheng, the two of them were at an ambiguous level. If they really fought, it would probably end up with the Taiguang Immortal Palace torn into pieces, which was not what he wanted to see. "That's enough." Lian Tianfeng interrupted, "Since you are from the Taiyuan lineage and still respect the ancestor, why did you come to our sect to make trouble?"

Qiao Cheng glanced at the Taiguang Hall and snorted coldly, "Since I ascended to the Taiguang Palace, when have I ever acted recklessly?"

Lian Tianfeng said coldly: "You forcefully opened the mountain gate formation and broke into the Taiguang Palace. Isn't that presumptuous?"

"Is it presumptuous to pay homage to the ancestor?" Qiao Cheng said calmly, "I don't want to waste my time talking to you. I came here to bring my disciples to obtain the Hunyuan Root."

Yan Baochan angrily said, "What qualifications do you have to come to Taiguang Mountain to obtain the Hunyuan Root?"

"In the past, for our Xuanwei Ten Thousand Years Plan, the four sects' masters followed the master's instructions and worked together to open up the Xumi Cave Heaven." Qiao Cheng said calmly: "My Taiyuan sect is also one of them, so I am qualified to use it."

Yan Baochan was about to refute again, but was stopped by Lian Tianfeng. He said slowly: "Junior brother, you have been away from Taiguang for a long time. You remember clearly when Xumi Cave Heaven was opened. No wonder you chose to come today. It turns out that you have this plan."

"Brother?" Yan Baochan heard his tone and frowned, but Lian Tianfeng ignored her and continued, "If you want to use the Hunyuan Root, you can--"

When Yan Baochan heard this, she snorted angrily again, but she also knew that since Lian Tianfeng had said this, he would not change his mind, so she simply stomped her cloth shoes, rode a red rainbow and flew away.

Lian Tianfeng ignored me and said calmly: "But I'm sure you haven't forgotten the rules of our Xuanwei Sect."

Only then did he glance at Xu Heng for the first time, and there was no trace of emotion in his eyes.

"If you want to collect the great medicine, go to Xumi Cave Heaven."

Xu Heng suddenly realized that there was another move waiting for him besides taking the elixir. Master Qiao must have anticipated it.

As expected, Qiao Cheng calmly nodded and said, "Okay."

Lian Tianfeng knew that Qiao Cheng had expected him to agree, and his face turned colder. He said indifferently, "Since you have made preparations, I will not say anything more. We will enter the cave tomorrow."

After saying this, he didn't care that Qiao Cheng was still there. He swung his sleeves suddenly and turned into a golden light that shot up into the sky.

Qiao Cheng snorted, then retracted his gaze and asked, "Did you understand?"

Xu Heng had listened for so long that he had a clue in his mind, but he was still trying to be smart, so he replied, "I still have some doubts, please enlighten me, Master."

Qiao Cheng was not surprised, he just said calmly: "Let's go first."

After he finished speaking, a fire cloud rose up to hold up the two of them. However, to Xu Heng's surprise, the fire cloud did not escape from the Taiguang, but instead flew slowly towards the depths of the fairy palace.

"When the master was here, our Xuanwei Sect was at its peak, and was even known as the leader of the Xuan Sect." Qiao Cheng suddenly said, "At that time, the Taiguang Immortal Mansion had all four sects gathered together, and there were so many people practicing. But now it has fallen into such decline."

"The four sects in the school are all gathered together..." It was not difficult for Xu Heng to construct that picture from Master Qiao's words, but when he really looked down under the clouds, all he saw was desolation.

Xu Heng was silent for a moment, and couldn't help asking: "Disciple, I dare to ask... What happened after the ancestor ascended to heaven that caused it to fall apart?"

He didn't know much about the Four Xuanwei Sect. He only knew from some records in Tianchi Mountain that the founder of Xuanwei had four disciples in the past - the four masters mentioned by Lian Tianfeng and Qiao Cheng.

These four are the only second generation of Xuanwei Sect. Each of them is an accomplished master. The third generation they passed down is the one that truly constitutes the heyday of Xuanwei Sect.

Four lines and three generations, all gathered together. Logically speaking, even if the founder ascended to heaven, Xuanwei could still maintain its prosperity.

But the fact is that our sect is declining, and the other three sects have all left Taiguang. The Taiyuan sect, which is now the Tianchi sect, has even broken away and established its own sect. The former Taiguang Immortal Palace has become a ruin...

"This matter..." Qiao Cheng seemed to be silent for a while, and then he said lightly: "If there is a chance in the future, you will know it."

Xu Heng knew when he heard this that perhaps these secrets were not something he should understand now, so he could only look silently at the clouds below.

The picturesque scenery of Taiguang Mountain remains the same, but it is extremely deserted. Many caves and pavilions are abandoned, and many have even been sealed off.

Xu Heng was ignorant and confused back then, but now, compared with the flourishing atmosphere of Tianchi Mountain, the gap is instantly revealed. Xu Heng couldn't help but sigh: "The decline of Taiguang Immortal Palace is far beyond what I originally thought."

Qiao Cheng nodded slightly at first, then said: "When I, Tianchi Xuanwei, return to Taiguang, I will naturally be able to make it rejuvenated."

Xu Heng was surprised and asked, "Return to Taiguang?"

"That's right." Qiao Cheng said calmly, "Tai Guang Immortal Mansion is the most spiritual place in Zhong Xuanzhou, and it has the fortune of the universe. There are few blessed places in the world that can compare to it."

"You wonder how our sect, which is so weak, can still train so many outstanding disciples? In addition to the help of Xuanwei's past foundation, Taiguang Immortal Palace is also a major reason."

Xu Heng couldn't help but be surprised, but after thinking about it carefully, it seemed to be true.

"And my Tianchi Xuanwei is also orthodox." Qiao Cheng said: "Returning to Taiguang and reviving the Taoist tradition is also natural."

Xu Heng nodded seriously, and Qiao Cheng said no more.

The fire cloud gradually descended into the mountains, and a cave entrance covered by vines came into view.

Qiao Cheng just flicked his sleeves, and the vines naturally parted, revealing the entire gate, which even had quite obvious traces of forbidden magic.

Xu Heng had already guessed that this should be the residence where Master Qiao lived when he was still practicing in Taiguang Immortal Palace. As expected, after he looked at the forbidden spell for a moment, he smiled slightly and said to himself, "It's really hard to accept."

In response, the ban was suddenly lifted, and the two doors slowly opened, revealing a hall that was not very spacious. There were several corridors inside, and it was unknown whether they were deep or not.

Qiao Cheng led Xu Heng in and sat down on the main seat very naturally. Then he said to Xu Heng, "If you have any questions, you can ask them now."

"Yes." Xu Heng went straight to the point and asked respectfully: "Master, what are the rules of Xumi Cave Heaven? Are there any taboos to pay attention to when collecting herbs inside?"

"Xu Mi Cave Heaven opens once every thirty-six years." Qiao Cheng said, "Disciples, if you have combined Gang and Sha, and have good merits, you can enter to look for medicine."

"In the cave, everyone depends on their chances. Fighting is prohibited. Other than that, there are no other taboos. This cave was opened to create the elixir, so how could there be any obstacles?"

"Everyone relies on chance, and fighting is prohibited?" Xu Heng thought about it and felt that it made sense.

The sect creates the elixir to benefit its disciples, and of course does not want to cause conflicts among its disciples, but... Xu Heng is not a member of this sect.

Xu Heng pondered and said, "I wonder how to stop fighting?"

Qiao Cheng said: "We have our own teachers to supervise us."

"Oh?" Xu Heng nodded thoughtfully, and after a moment of silence, he suddenly asked, "If a member of our sect violates the prohibition, how should the disciples respond?"

Qiao Cheng smiled faintly and replied, "Of course I will respond with thunderous wrath."

(End of this chapter)