Walking alone with a sword, slaying ghosts and gods

Chapter 437: The Chance of Patching the Sky, the Immortal Cave (Please subscribe!)
There is no time in the mountains, and there is no year in the cold weather.

If you can cultivate this middle way, your mind will be as free as the white clouds.

The pine wind enters the empty room, and the crane's shadow turns into green smoke.

Sit and forget the mundane world, and the pure and empty mind will lead you to immortality.

Twenty-four years have passed since the grand ceremony of the Fiery Dharma Realm Soul. Over the Ten Thousand Thunder Sea, the sky is covered with clouds like brocade and spiritual birds are flitting across the sky.

Lu Cheng sat cross-legged on a cloud bed deep in the Taoist palace. The five elements of immortal energy circulated around his body, transforming into five-colored light that lingered in the hall. This five elements of immortal energy can also be called the five internal organs' primordial energy, which is the deepest, thickest, most refined and purest.

It can improve the Taoist qualifications of the practitioners, and then inspire the spiritual wisdom of the five elements, so that the practice of the five elements Taoism can be twice as effective with half the effort.

Lu Cheng closed his eyes slightly. At this moment, he was practicing a new five-element magic that he had acquired in the spiritual world of earthly immortals. Suddenly, his brows moved and he looked out of the hall.

A moment later, a jade talisman flew in from outside. Lu Cheng did not look at it, but waved his hand to unlock the restrictions in the Taoist palace.

"Third Brother, please come in and have a chat."

The palace door opened without wind, and a figure with a cold and elegant temperament stepped in.

Ou Bai was wearing a long robe of ice soul, his eyebrows and eyes were as cold as frost, and his aura was more condensed than before. It was obvious that his cultivation had improved over the past few hundred years.

He flicked his sleeves, cupped his hands and said, "Junior brother, I am sorry to bother you."

The two of them came from the same lineage and had a clear master-disciple relationship. So even though Lu Cheng had already ascended to the Yuanshen realm, Taoist Ou Bai could still call Lu Cheng his junior brother.

Lu Cheng stood up to greet him. With a flick of his sleeves, inspiration flowed in the room, and a jade table and chairs appeared out of thin air to entertain the guests. He smiled and said:
"Brother, why are you being so polite? But is there any progress on the matter of the Bu Tian Zhi?"

Ou Bai nodded slightly, a trace of solemnity flashed in his eyes, and said:

"After a hundred years of exploration, we have finally gained something."

Then he flipped his palm, took out a jade slip and handed it to Lu Cheng.

"What the wise demon Luo Chen said back then was true. The Bu Tian Zhi does exist, and it is related to an ancient immortal's palace. Luo Chen's ancestor was a servant of the owner of that immortal palace, so he has some connections to know about this. This palace is hidden at the bottom of the abyss of the East Sea in the Ding Zhang Realm. It is covered by the prohibitions of heaven and earth and only appears in the world once every three decades. As far as I know, the next opening will be in thirty years."

Lu Cheng took the jade slip and scanned it with his spiritual sense. It recorded in detail the location of the immortal residence, the rules of prohibition, and even marked several secret places where the Bu Tian Zhi was suspected to grow. It was obvious that a lot of thought was put into it.

Ou Bai is also a capable person. He follows a clue given by Lu Cheng and investigates very deeply.

Lu Cheng pondered for a moment and said, "Thank you for your hard work, Senior Brother. But according to what is said here... since those Yuanshen Earth Immortals have been alarmed, this may not be easy."

Ou Bai sighed softly when he heard this:
"It's more than easy. The 'Old Monster Tianchi' of Dingzhang Realm and the 'Master Chitong' of Jumang Realm have already sent their disciples to secretly make arrangements. Even the 'Fairy Qingluan' who has always been reclusive has spread the news that she wants to use the Bu Tian Zhi to refine a precious pill. This thing is too complicated. Once it appears in the world, it will definitely be a catastrophe."

Lu Cheng tapped the jade table with his fingertips and suddenly smiled: "Mending the sky, mending the sky, if you can get it, maybe you can really cultivate to become an immortal. Such an opportunity, naturally everyone will fight for it."

Ou Bai's icy expression softened a little after hearing this: "Junior brother, it's good that you have this intention. I came back this time, first, to tell you the news, and second, to ask for an opportunity."

He paused, and continued, "Only when you reach the Nascent Soul stage can you know how difficult the path is. I am not as gifted as my junior brother, who has been brave and diligent all the way to the Nascent Soul stage. Without the help of the Bu Tian Pill, I am afraid I will never be able to see the Nascent Soul path in this lifetime."

When Ou Bai was young, he got a chance from the Snow God and inherited the Taoist tradition of the Snow God Palace in the Tongxuan Realm. He benefited greatly from this for a time and became a child of destiny. He was on par with Lu Cheng for a time and they were equally matched.

Later, he helped the Snow God to rebuild his body, which also became a good story in the world of immortal cultivation.

However, no matter how good Old Snow God was to him, his own Taoist practice was limited. Ou Bai was greatly influenced by Old Snow God, and he successfully cultivated all the way to the Nascent Soul stage, but from then on, his Taoist practice stagnated and it became difficult for him to make further progress.

Gains and losses are hard to describe.

Hearing this, Lu Cheng shook his head and said, "Brother, we are from the same sect, so why bother to mention the word 'ask'? For the trip to the Immortal Palace, you and I can just join forces."

After a conversation, Ou Bai left contentedly.

Hundreds of years ago, Lu Cheng mistakenly entered the Dingzhang Realm on the Tianfo Sect's golden boat and accidentally learned about a plant called Bu Tian Zhi.

Bu Tian Zhi is the main ingredient of the Bu Tian Dan, a elixir that can transform tribulations. According to legend, it can mend the flaws in the sky, giving cultivators a chance to transform tribulations again after one. It is a treasure that can drive countless Nascent Soul True Lords and Primordial God Earth Immortals crazy.

If they can be obtained, it will really be a hope for the Nascent Soul and Primordial Spirit cultivators to ascend to heaven.

How great is this opportunity to live again?
What's more, for most of the Yuanshen cultivators, their chances of turning their tribulations around are often used up when they are in the Yuanying stage. Although they have cultivated into the Yuanshen in their second life, they cannot avoid the pain of insufficient lifespan if they want to ascend to become immortals.

Hundreds of years ago, Lu Cheng did not participate too much in this matter, because he was very young at the time and had never experienced a calamity, so he did not need this thing.

But later, after Lu Cheng achieved Nascent Soul stage, he sent Ou Bai to investigate the matter secretly, and the results were not obtained until today.

Now Lu Cheng no longer needs this item to cultivate his soul, but this treasure is still extremely valuable to him.

Most of the spiritual objects in the lower world of Hengsha are available in the immortal world, and some are even of better quality. However, there are also very few treasures that can basically only be produced in the lower world. The more perfect and powerful the world's laws of heaven and earth are, the more difficult it is to produce them. Among them is the treasure such as Bu Tian Zhi.

"Whether in the lower realm or the middle realm, most cultivators can only turn the catastrophe once. Otherwise, the Taoist tradition of Sansheng Wendao Mountain cannot be listed among the thirty-six famous sects. However, the Bu Tian Dan can replace the Taoist achievements of thousands of years of dedicated practice with the power of the elixir. The elixir, the talisman array, can change the destiny to such an extent. Only the elixir path, only the elixir path.

"Third Senior Brother has been greatly influenced by the Snow God Palace in his life, and the Snow God Palace's tradition is inherently deficient, so it is difficult for him to cultivate to the level of the primordial spirit, so he is willing to put all his efforts into investigating this matter."

The matter of the Demonic Alliance was not worth Lu Cheng's intervention; the difficulty of the Xuanyue Sect in the Yin-Yang Realm was not worth Lu Cheng's intervention, but the current matter was worth it.

After other cultivators obtain the Bu Tian Zhi, it might be a good choice to swallow it alive along with other treasures.

After all, there are too few seventh-rank alchemists in the lower realm, and the chances of successfully refining the Bu Tian Pill are too low.

But Lu Cheng can take the Bu Tian Zhi to the upper realm and find a Shang Qing Sect alchemy master to make it on his behalf. Both his control and the number of pills he can create are incomparable to those of the cultivators in the lower realm.

Moreover, the value of the Heaven-Repairing Pill in the upper realm is much higher than that in the lower realm. In other words, the cultivators in the upper realm can pay a higher price.

Lu Cheng was lying on the cloud bed, repeatedly looking through the jade slip given by Ou Bai.

After a little thought, I roughly understood what was going on. This ancient cave was known as the ancient immortal's mansion. The owner of this mansion appeared suddenly and had incredible magical powers, but he rarely went out and eventually died of old age in the cave:

It must be a cultivator who encountered a void storm in the immortal spiritual world and was cast down to the mortal world due to his fate.

These earthly immortals have enjoyed endless happiness in heaven for thousands of years, but the blessings they have enjoyed will one day run out.

When their blessings are exhausted, they will fall into depravity according to their own karma. When they are about to fall, five signs of decline will appear in them.

The light on his body disappears, the white hair on his head withers, the throne shakes unsteadily, the fragrance on his body is gone and a foul odor comes from his armpits. The celestial maidens and attendants who used to surround him have all scattered, leaving him alone. When the five signs of decline appear, they are in endless pain and distress.

Especially since they possess supernatural powers and understand where they are going to fall, one can imagine how helpless they are at this time. The blessings in heaven are certainly good, but if they just enjoy them blindly they will eventually fall. Moreover, when the blessings are exhausted and they are about to fall, the pain brought by the manifestation of the five signs of decline is not as good as staying in peace on earth.

'A cultivator in the Earthly Immortal Spirit Realm who is at least at the Spiritual Transformation Realm would encounter an external calamity such as a void storm and be cast down to the mortal world. Fortunately, he would not die temporarily. If he were a high-level spiritual plant cultivator, he would have the opportunity to use the less powerful and perfect laws of the lower realm to cultivate the Heaven-Reinforcing Ganoderma, and then refine the Heaven-Reinforcing Pill to live out his next life.

But judging from the current situation, this fallen immortal probably didn't make it until the Bu Tian Zhi matured, and his deadline has already arrived.'

'In this case, the restrictions within the Immortal Mansion must be extremely strong, probably far beyond the attainments of formations in this world. With this jade slip in hand, I have gained an advantage.'

Combining his own knowledge and experience gained from traveling between the two worlds, Lu Cheng gradually analyzed the truth of this matter that was buried in ancient history.

……

This day happened to be the night of the full moon in the Jiazi cycle. The dark clouds over the Wanlei Sea dispersed, revealing a night sky as clear as glass.

That icy moon hung in the middle of the sky, casting its clear light across a thousand miles, making the copper bells on the eaves of the Taoist palace look as if they were carved from crystal.

Lu Cheng walked out of the Canxuan Palace, but saw:
"Twelve railings connect to the blue sky, and nine-story pavilions are locked in mist and clouds. Auspicious mist spews out of the mouth of the golden beast, and the scales of the jade dragon are shining."

What a magnificent scene, a fairyland scene.

There was already a puppet maid holding a gilded incense burner leading the way. Wisps of green smoke transformed into the shape of cranes, circling and disappearing into the warm room at the end of the corridor.

A mica screen had already been set up in the pavilion, with shark silk curtains hanging on all four sides and a fluffy green carpet on the floor.

The Xiao sisters, Xue Yuzhen, Yun Ling'er and the other four girls were all wearing colorful gauze clothes and looked like fairies. When they saw Lu Cheng coming in, they quickly stood up to greet him.

"My husband has devoted himself to spiritual practice and has toiled hard for these years. You must know that relaxation and tension are the way of Taoism. You should take a good rest these days and relax your body and mind." Xiao Yuhong picked up the mutton-fat jade pot, and as her white hands poured water, amber light filled the luminous cup.

"This is the 'Jiuyunchun' brewed by me with morning dew. It has been buried under the peach forest in the back mountain for sixty years."

Lu Cheng took it and drank it all. He felt that the throat was as sweet as drinking ice spring water, and his stomach was as warm as a charcoal stove. So he smiled and said, "Hong'er's skill in making spirit wine has improved."

Before he finished speaking, he heard the sound of seven strings. It turned out that Xiao Yuxue had brought the Jiaowei Qin and lightly brushed the icy strings with her fingertips.

"Sister, wait a minute." Xue Yuzhen suddenly stopped her and took out a purple bamboo flute from her sleeve.

"How about a solo performance that is as pleasant as an ensemble? I have just composed a new piece of music called 'Flying Fairy Under the Moon'." As she spoke, her eyes moved and she glanced towards Lu Cheng, her almond-shaped eyes containing three parts of coquettishness and seven parts of expectation.

Seeing this, Xiao Yuhong smiled and took out the golden nanmu chessboard from the table: "My two sisters, wait a moment to compete for your favor. Why don't you watch me and my husband play a game of chess first?"

After saying this, he picked up the black jade chess piece with his fingertips, which glowed faintly under the lamp.

Seeing their expressions, Lu Cheng knew that they were trying to cheer him up, and he was very happy. He clapped his hands and laughed:

"Why choose? Yuzhen plays the flute, Yuxue plays the piano, Hong'er holds the pot, and Ling'er arranges the chess. Today I will learn from those immortals in the sky and enjoy the boundless immortal bliss." In the palace, the warm room suddenly became lively.

The ancient tune of "Rainbow Skirt" flows from Xiao Yuxue's fingertips, and the sound of Xue Yuzhen's "Flying Fairy" is like a dragon flying through the clouds.

Yun Linger held the black pieces and laid out the layout, while Xiao Yuhong leaned on Lu Cheng's side, occasionally bringing the wine cup to her lips. Her jade arms were revealed when her silk sleeves fluttered, bringing gusts of fragrant wind.

Just as we were having a great time, we suddenly heard a rustling sound outside the window.

Xiao Yuxue stopped playing the zither and opened the window, only to see the whole garden full of white plum blossoms. It turned out that someone had secretly used magical powers to reverse the four seasons and make the flowers bloom.

Seeing this, Xue Yuzhen clapped her hands and laughed, "My husband is really powerful! Why not move this scenery to the plum forest?"

When everyone arrived at the garden, they saw the moonlight was like water, illuminating the plum forest like a jade sculpture made of snow.

The puppet maids had already spread out the brocade mattress and set up the agate table under the twisted branches.

Xiao Yuxue brought out the ice jade tea set, and when she was brewing tea with her bare hands, she actually caused the snow on the plum trees to melt into the pot.

"This is 'Xuepo Yunyu'." She handed the celadon cup to Lu Cheng, "Use plum heart snow to brew Yuncha, which is the best for clearing the mind and cleansing the thoughts."

Xue Yuzhen held up another cup of tea that was as red as agate: "My 'Drunken Cloud Juice' is made with cinnabar orchid dew. Would you like to try it, my husband?"

Lu Cheng drank a sip each, and suddenly felt his waist tighten. It turned out that Yun Ling'er hugged him from behind, resting her chin on his shoulder and said in a tender voice: "Your Majesty is partial and only drinks the sisters' tea."

The breath smelled like orchid on my ears, which was even more intoxicating than tea or wine.

As they were laughing and joking, Xiao Yuhong suddenly called out, "Look at the spring!"

I saw the Yin-Yang Spiritual Spring behind the rockery flowing without wind, and a seven-colored rainbow bridge rising from the water surface.

Twelve jade talismans flew out of Lu Cheng's sleeves and transformed into the shape of swimming fish in the air, causing the women to exclaim in surprise.

"My husband is cheating!" Xue Yuzhen lifted the hem of her skirt to catch the jade talisman, but her embroidered shoes were soaked by the spring water. Lu Cheng laughed loudly, and his magic power was activated. The water droplets were suspended in the air, reflecting the moonlight like twinkling stars.

By the time the moon was past its zenith, the maids had already hung up crimson gauze curtains around the hot spring.

Xiao Yuxue untied Lu Cheng's crown, and her long black hair brushed across her blushing cheeks. Just as they were about to bathe together, Lu Cheng suddenly took out a scroll of Taoist scriptures from his sleeve.

"Xue'er, do you still remember the scene when you and I first read this sutra in the Golden Light Cave?"

Xiao Yuxue was stunned for a moment, the charming look in her eyes gradually turned into tenderness, she leaned into his arms and whispered: "At that time, I thought my husband was a pervert, using the name of preaching... Who would have thought that he would really talk about the orthodox sect of Xuanmen, and I was stumped by his questions."

In the mist of the hot spring, four figures were seen reflected on the gauze curtain, one was holding a book and pointing, while the other three were listening attentively.

The third watch bell rang in the distance. The sound of the pages turning and the sound of the hot spring water were even more peaceful and distant than the sound of the zither and flute just now:

Flowers are bright, the moon is dark, and mist is shrouded. I would like to go to my lover tonight. I walk barefoot on the fragrant steps, holding my golden shoes. I see you on the south side of the painting hall, always leaning against me and trembling. It is difficult for me to come out, so I ask you to pity me as you please.

Warm jade and warm fragrance, and soft singing, are most intoxicating and most enchanting.

"Husband, can people like us really cultivate and become immortals?"

After the clouds and rain stopped, the other wives and concubines had fallen into a deep sleep.

Xue Yuzhen, who had the best physical fitness in this area, lay in Lu Cheng's arms and asked with some worry.

She was not afraid of not being able to cultivate to become an immortal, but she was afraid of getting old and no longer being able to accompany her husband. She was even more afraid of being forgotten by her husband.

“After all, there are only a very small number of cultivators who can cultivate to become immortals. In most cases, chance is more important than hard work. For example, if you were born in the earthly immortal world, then even an ordinary person would be able to match the merits of a hundred years of hard cultivation in the upper and lower worlds.

If you cultivate to the Divine Transformation Realm, your chances of achieving immortality are much greater than those of cultivators in the lower realms."

"After reaching the state of transformation into a spirit, although one's life span in the earthly immortal world is long, there will still be external disasters. If one is lazy and the turbid qi stagnates, one will eventually become a fallen immortal and will never be able to live forever."

If one is lazy, the turbid qi will stagnate, and he will mistakenly think that he is in harmony with the Tao and the inaction of heaven. However, if he is lazy for a long time, his spirit and body will be damaged, his spiritual platform will be covered with dust, and the gate of heaven will be blocked, which will damage his true essence. If one indulges in the leisure of the body, he will actually be trapped by the turbid qi; if he is confused by the entertainment of the ears and eyes, his mind will eventually be blocked. Only by being pure and empty, and embracing simplicity and truth, can one understand the Tao and return to the purity of an infant.

This is a sentence that Lu Cheng saw in the Daojing, and he agreed with it deeply:

Some cultivators, after reaching the state of transformation, become so lazy that their turbid energy stagnates. They think they can achieve everything by doing nothing and enjoy a carefree life.

But as time went on, his spirit and body were damaged, his mind was covered in dust, and although he indulged in drinking, singing and dancing every day, he was not actually happy. Instead, his mind was further damaged, and his path became increasingly vague and painful.

For those who truly seek the Tao, yin and yang can be said to be the Tao.

There is no conflict between diligently practicing Taoism and indulging in pleasure. Blindly practicing Taoism will make people lose their spirituality, or in the words of later generations, it is inefficient. This is not entirely accurate, but it can be understood in this way: indulging in pleasure will make people lose their Tao nature.

Heaven moves vigorously, and a gentleman should constantly strive to improve himself. ——From the Xiang Zhuan of the Qian Gua in the Book of Changes.

Although one can cultivate to become a primordial spirit and enjoy blessings for tens of millions of years, there will come a day when the blessings are exhausted and one becomes a fallen immortal.

Moreover, blindly enjoying oneself will not make you truly happy. You will only seek more and more intense stimulation and eventually fall into the trap of inner demons.

One yin and one yang can be called the Tao. It is not easy to balance or achieve, just like it is easy to obtain the Tao but difficult to cultivate it; it is easy to obtain a truth but difficult to put it into practice.

Lu Cheng told Xue Yuzhen about Taoist scriptures, the Book of Changes, and the Xiang Zhuan. Then he lowered his head and found that this stupid woman had fallen into a light sleep without him noticing.

He was stunned, then Lu Cheng gently kissed the forehead of this stupid woman and hugged her to sleep.

……

For a cultivator of the Yuanshen Sect, it is difficult to increase his magic power by one level in thirty years, so it is better to practice a few powerful seventh-level spells in these years.

In addition, many demonic monks have powerful magical powers, but the masters and apprentices, and fellow Taoists scheme against each other. Even if their spells are sharp and their magic skills are strong, they still cannot defeat the righteous sects.

So in the past thirty years, Lu Cheng prepared to find some helpers to open the ancient immortal cave with him.

“Master must be found. Master’s magical power has reached the level of a great cultivator. His magical power is so strong that even weaker Yuanshen cultivators may be able to deal with him.

But apart from Master Huang Longzi, there are too few high-level monks that I can fully trust. Should I call the Red Cloud Divine Lord? Although I have a good relationship with this Divine Lord, but there is probably only one of these heaven-defying spiritual creatures like the Bu Tian Zhi, and if I find one more person, I will have to share more. "

Even if he didn't go to Master Huang Longzi's side, Lu Cheng would still give him a share after he succeeded. But for other outsiders, the more people he found, the less he would get in the future.

A few years later, when Huang Longzi returned from outside after receiving the letter, Lu Cheng went to find his master and explained the matter to him.

"So, Cheng'er, do you want to invite your junior brother?"

"Yes, Master Chi Shen Zi has helped me achieve enlightenment, and he has profound magical powers and can be trusted, so when I open the overseas immortal palace, I would like to invite Master Chi Shen Zi to go with me."

"In that case, you can call your uncle Mie Hongzi to come along." When he said this, Huang Longzi noticed Lu Cheng's somewhat surprised look and continued:

"When your Third Uncle-Master destroyed Hongzi and caused the Great Tribulation of the Thousand Years, she was able to fight against the demon gods. She has already turned the tribulation around and started to cultivate again. Now she is a sword cultivator in the middle stage of the Nascent Soul. In addition, she, I and the Second Brother have always had a tacit understanding. The three of us can work together to set up an array and should be able to help you stop a powerful enemy."

"Third Uncle, you are truly determined and unstoppable."

When Lu Cheng heard this, he couldn't help but sigh.

Back then, among the three senior brothers and sisters Huang Longzi, Chi Shenzi, and Mie Hongzi, the path of Third Uncle Mie Hongzi was the least successful.

Huang Longzi and Chi Shenzi both cultivated to the Golden Core True Person realm, while Third Uncle Mie Hongzi only cultivated to the Core Forming realm. Finally, with the opportunity of Lu Cheng, he achieved enlightenment with the Ghost Infant Pill.

Those cultivators who also achieved enlightenment with the Ghost Infant Pill back then: the Xiao sisters, Xue Yuzhen and Yun Linger, Madam Baoxiang, the pill fanatic Huo Xiu, and Mie Hongzi.

Except for Mie Hongzi, everyone else is still enjoying the thousand years of longevity granted by the Ghost Infant Pill.

Although your magical powers cannot increase during these years, you can read Taoist scriptures to enhance your Taoist knowledge, which will also be beneficial to your future Taoist practice.

Only Mie Hongzi, after the Tongxuan Realm was opened, went to other realms to seek the ancient sword immortal's tradition. After finding it, he used a magic sword that had never killed anyone to avert the catastrophe and start over.

Sword cultivators often act in a cruel manner. Being cruel to others is nothing, but being cruel to oneself can be called cruel.

As a result, within hundreds of years after the catastrophe, not only did Mie Hongzi's magical powers recover to their original state, but he also made another breakthrough and advanced to the middle Nascent Soul stage.

Looking back on this man's life, even Lu Cheng couldn't help but marvel at the sharp and indomitable swordsmanship of his third uncle.

It's just that his talent and ability in swordsmanship are far inferior to others, otherwise he might really have a chance to ascend to become an immortal.

"They are both cultivating in Xuankong Realm. Logically speaking, you, as a junior, should go and pay them a visit.

But now is a great opportunity in the Ancient Immortal Palace, you'd better practice in the Taoist Palace to strengthen your foundation. As for them, I will personally write a letter to invite them to come, I think there will be no problem."

Thirty years is just a period of seclusion for a spiritual cultivator, but it is better to sharpen your sword before the battle.

Many Soul-enhancing cultivators have already set their sights on the Bu Tian Zhi in that ancient immortal's cave, so naturally they have to make more plans.

(End of this chapter)