The ancestor is incompetent!

Chapter 214 The Altar of White Bones

"Then why suppress me here?"

Li Yuan inside the tower remained indifferent.

“This is not my wish. It is because all my fellow Daoists in the Heavenly Palace do not want to see Xuanming spread throughout the world. Otherwise, I am afraid it will be even more difficult to deal with then.” The True Monarch Maomu, who appeared in the form of Qingying, sighed: “After all, Yuanshui gathers great power, and Xuanming can change the fate of heaven and earth. If you really come to prove the position of ‘Yuanming’ in vain, I am afraid that heaven and earth will have to be changed.”

"Empty certificate? Yuan and life united as one?" Li Yuan pondered, "So this is how a certificate of status can be obtained?"

Mao Mu Qingying immediately shut her mouth and said in another sentence: "I only hope that when you take charge of the Xuanming Dao, you will consider the past stance of the three of us Mu De and not destroy our destiny."

Farewell! "

Before he finished speaking, the blue light before his eyes dissipated, as if it had never appeared at all.

When Li Yuan was the only one left in the tower, his emotions did not change. The other party's words were all about distancing himself from the situation. He seemed to be neutral, but in reality, he was just a fence-sitter, trying to have his cake and eat it too.

Although he had never been to the Heavenly Palace, he could deduce its complexity based on the attitudes of the various Daoist masters.

Those who can be ranked among the True Lords are all beings of great wisdom and perseverance in this world, and no one should look down on them.

Above the Heavenly Palace, in the Maomu Immortal Abode, unlike other immortal abodes which are magnificent and grand, it is instead filled with the mundane and everyday life.

Looking around, one sees countless willows and painted bridges, endless red mansions and brothels, and endless singing and dancing on the lake, with lights never going out.

On a painted boat, a handsome man reclined on the lap of a beautiful woman, smiling as he drank wine. The woman beside him served him wine with tenderness. The man laughed and said, "I have said everything I needed to say. As for what he thinks, I have no idea."

Beside the mahogany round table sat a valiant man with broad forehead and thick eyebrows, dressed in a black, close-fitting outfit. He sat upright in the painted boat, still exuding an air of righteousness.

His brow twitched, and he said with a hint of helplessness, "Is this how you do things?"

"What? Still not satisfied?" Maomu Zhenjun chuckled as he sat up from the girl's arms. "When that Xuan Tower was forged, it borrowed the positions of those old fogies from the Ten Directions and that old thief from Wu Huo. If I say too much, they will naturally be able to sense it."

"But you just casually mention it, what do you take Xuanming for?" the valiant man said displeasedly. "Your intentions are too obvious."

"Heh, so what? He naturally understands the reasoning. But he's being watched by the First Manifestation, and by all the True Lords of the Heavens. Does he even have a choice?"

With a half-smile, Maomu Zhenjun grasped the delicate wrist of the girl beside him, startling her so much that she trembled and blushed. He then lifted the glass wine pot and poured the wine into her mouth.

Looking at the scene before him, the valiant man seemed to ignore it and continued, "I will be the next Immortal Lord of the World in the next era. Yi Mu has been getting too close to Tai Yin for thousands of years. You need to be careful."

"Once those old fogies return, I fear the Heavenly Palace will be thrown into even greater chaos. If we're not strong enough, we might as well borrow the power of the Gui Water and the Cold Qi. At worst, we could truly make them open the Underworld, causing the forces of Buddha and Demon to rise again, and the ancient Venerables to reappear. The more chaotic the world, the better."

"It's rare that even the upright and honorable Yin Wood can change its nature. Don't worry, I can consider the big picture. Jia Wood is born of Yang, while Yi Wood is born of Yin. Yi Wood really doesn't want to join forces with the two of us. Even if we get them, we won't be able to use them." Mao Wood True Lord said with a slightly cold look in his eyes.

“That’s not necessarily true. Tai Chi has already manifested in the world, so you can’t be as lax as before.” Yinmu Zhenjun reminded him, then stood up and walked out of the painted boat and willow-lined pavilion.

……

In Qilingpai, peach blossoms bloom in the mountains, creating a unique and vibrant spring scene.

At the foot of the peak, disciples were casting life-enhancing spells on the spiritual herbs in the herb garden, while behind them, Bai Xuanhua, the peak master of spiritual plants, silently inspected the herb garden.

Two deacons from the Spirit Plant Peak followed behind him, both of whom looked rather grim.

One of the shorter men spoke up: "Peak Master, this medicinal garden with the name 'Ren Chen' has used the Life-Nourishing Technique for the sixth time this year, but it has only barely managed to maintain its spiritual energy."

Bai Xuanhua nodded, put one hand behind his back, and walked to a spiritual herb. He carefully looked at the spiritual energy on it. This was a spiritual herb of the Yi Wood genus, which had been cultivated for more than forty or fifty years and could be used to refine pills for blood clotting and replenishing vital energy.

In his divine perception, the spiritual energy of this medicine seemed to be flowing southward. Even though there was a spirit-gathering array specially set up by the array peaks in the medicine garden, it was still difficult to stop this phenomenon.

He sighed, “This is something we can’t help. I’ve looked at more than fifty medicinal gardens, large and small, inside and outside the sect, and they all have this problem to some extent, especially the spiritual plants of the Yi and Mao wood genera.”

I consulted ancient texts and learned that this is the potential of the Golden Core stage, something that ordinary cultivators like myself cannot alter.

The two deacons standing nearby looked surprised upon hearing this. The beautiful female cultivator exclaimed, "Doesn't that mean that over time, the sect's spiritual herbs will be lost by more than half?"

Bai Xuanhua nodded silently, looked at his two juniors, and explained, "Our Qiling Sect is already so far away from the Shangxu Wanding Domain, yet we are still affected. I'm afraid the other neighboring sects will be even more severely affected."

The Wood of Mao gathers all the spring's vital energy, leaving us true cultivators to watch helplessly. Even with this ancient art of nourishing life to sustain the spiritual wood, it can only barely keep the spiritual herbs and medicines from withering.

The short man, Bai Qi, tentatively asked, "Then why don't we ask the two patriarchs?"

Bai Xuanhua shook his head and said, "I reported this strange phenomenon to the sect leader as soon as it appeared. The sect leader also consulted the ancestor, but unfortunately the ancestor is still in seclusion cultivating a secret technique and cannot come out of seclusion for the time being."

"Let's wait and see. Let the disciples of Spirit Plant Peak make choices, only preserving those over a hundred years old, and sending those under a hundred years old to other peaks, making the best use of resources and minimizing losses."

"Yes, Peak Master!" Both of them accepted the order and left, while Bai Xuanhua turned and left the place.

After the peak master left, Bai Qi and Bai Yun discussed which medicinal gardens had the most century-old spiritual herbs.

"Junior Sister Yun, my good-for-nothing nephew is currently learning alchemy, but he's lacking some Nourishing Grass. I'll get him a few. Anyway, it's just for family members, so you won't think too much of it, right?"

Upon hearing this, Bai Yun paused for a moment. After all, the other party was her cousin, and it was just a few yellow-grade Nourishing Grasses, not worth many spirit stones. Since her senior brother had spoken, she couldn't refuse, so she smiled and said, "It's just a small matter, senior brother, please take it."

"In that case, thank you very much, Junior Sister." Bai Qi said with a smile, "When that rascal has mastered alchemy, Junior Sister, if you have any alchemy-related questions, just ask him." Bai Qi returned the thanks with a smile.

He received Bai Yun's decree and then entered one of the several herb gardens.

The dozen or so disciples guarding the herb garden greeted him warmly upon his arrival, with the leader saying, "Does the steward have any instructions?"

Bai Qi said with a stern face, "I am here on the orders of the Peak Master to inspect the herb garden. All spiritual herbs less than a hundred years old must be sent to the various peaks. I am here to inspect them."

"You may all leave now."

The disciples didn't dare to ask any more questions and quickly accepted their orders and took their leave.

Only after Bai Qi was left alone in the vast herb garden did he sigh in amazement, “Our sect has such a profound foundation, with thousands of years of heritage, that there are so many rare and ancient spiritual herbs in this herb garden.”

There are no fewer than twenty or thirty herb gardens of this scale within the sect, including those at its outposts. The mountains are truly incredibly wealthy; no wonder the sect's contribution points can be exchanged for all sorts of rare and precious herbs. He walked and looked around, picking a few forty- or fifty-year-old Nourishing Grasses, but just as he was about to stop, the aura emanating from a nearby herb made him unable to move on.

"Profound Grade True Vast Spirit Grass! The second stage of my cultivation technique requires this as a medium. If I had this spiritual herb, I could directly shorten my arduous cultivation by more than ten years!"

Bai Qi couldn't suppress the throbbing in his heart. He hesitated for a moment, then finally reached out and took the spiritual herb, muttering to himself, "There are thousands of spiritual herbs in this herb garden. Who would notice if one is missing? It won't matter."

Besides, it's Junior Sister Bai Yun who's in charge of this herb garden. Even if it's discovered, it won't be a big deal. Even if it gets reported to the Peak Master, he's still my cousin, so nothing will happen!

He comforted himself for a long time before finally settling down to keep the elixir and leaving the herb garden as if nothing had happened.

……

Within the Dead Cave, the yin energy rises and falls erratically, piles of white bones form jars, and the mournful howls of ghosts and spirits echo endlessly.

A child sat on the altar, his youthful face bearing a solemnity beyond his years. The Xuanming position above the nine heavens was slowly drawn into the white bone altar by him.

The boy reached out and summoned the Myriad Souls Banner, which flew out and stood atop the white bone altar. Instantly, all the disciples imprisoned in the Death Cave knelt down in terror and wailed, fearing that they would become wandering ghosts at any moment.

Shenming used his primordial spirit to refine the entire white bone altar, imprinting his status deep within the magical artifact, condensing it into layers of magical restrictions.

When the fourth protective barrier was formed, a dark beam of light suddenly shot out from the White Bone Altar, turning the sky over the area of ​​Qiling Sect for thousands of miles into darkness.

Startled, countless black crows took flight and circled in the sky, their howling and wailing so loud that even the disciples of the Qiling Sect, knowing it was their ancestor's divine power, were still terrified.

Inside the Death Cave, Shen Ming slowly opened his eyes, and the white bone altar shrank, turning into a beam of white light which he absorbed into his body.

This White Bone Altar is a magical artifact he created by using that piece of Netherworld Bone as its body, collecting countless white bones and melting them into an altar to guide the beings to their positions!
Each of these magical treasures is a powerful item that only a Golden Core cultivator could forge, making them many times stronger than the spiritual artifacts of true cultivators.

When Li Yuan was cultivating and manifesting in the world, he did not value magic weapons or spiritual artifacts much, because even if he had high-quality magic weapons or spiritual artifacts, he would still be at the bottom of his level. Rather than spending a lot of effort to refine spiritual artifacts, he would rather focus on improving his cultivation level.

However, Shenming is clearly not Li Yuan now. His Xuanming Dao lineage is not weak in terms of combat power. In addition, with the fusion of his soul with Li Yuan, his original body has strange supernatural powers, which makes him not weak when facing most Golden Core cultivators.

With the White Bone Altar magic weapon enhancing his combat power, his strength has reached a new level, and he will not be at a disadvantage even if he fights against a Golden Core cultivator with two lives.

The tools used in the Golden Elixir draw upon the essence of supernatural powers and connect with the mysteries of rank and status. They can shake the heavens and the earth, move mountains and fill seas, and are thus called magical treasures.

Magical treasures are divided into four grades: Heaven, Earth, Profound, and Yellow. Those below the three levels of restrictions are called Yellow grade, those from the fourth to the sixth level are Profound grade, and those from the seventh to the ninth level are Earth grade.

A Heavenly Grade Magic Treasure cannot be controlled by anyone other than a True Lord. It is a treasure with ten restrictions. A True Lord's decree can be called a Heavenly Grade Magic Treasure, inheriting the power of the True Lord!

The White Bone Altar is a profound-grade magic treasure among the four treasures.

It has the effect of suppressing all evil spirits and ghosts, and can command all evil forces. It can be used for both offense and defense.

If it weren't for the limited time and the profound state of meditation, this magic weapon could even be directly called a Grade Earth Magic Weapon.

It wasn't the superior crafting technique, but rather the presence of a section of Netherworld Bone within it.

Shenming looked up at the commotion in the sky, and with a flick of his sleeve, he dispersed the black mist that filled the sky, and the crows fell one after another.

The countless crows in the Qiling region all came from the realm of the Guided Ones, although now they are mostly ordinary crows, with a few Qi Refining demon crows.

But as time goes on, these crow tides will inevitably grow stronger.

Because wherever there is loss, there is deathly aura. Crows cultivate themselves by absorbing deathly aura, so naturally, the longer they live, the more deathly aura they inhale.

Moreover, with Shenming boosting their strength, the crows have no natural enemies within the Qiling territory.

Outside the Death Cave, a group of peak masters and sect leaders had been waiting for a long time. When they saw the child emerge, they all bowed in unison and said, "Congratulations, Ancestor, on the great achievement of your supernatural powers!"

With a wave of her hand, Shenming laughed and said, "Get up, everyone. I'm just refining a magic weapon that I can use easily. Otherwise, when others attack our sect in the future, I'll only be able to take the beating."

Has anything significant happened in the mountains lately?

Some of the peak masters were seeing their ancestor in the form of a child for the first time. Although they were quite surprised, the aura of the Golden Core on his body was undeniable.

Sect Leader Wang Chaochen said, "Reporting to the Ancestor, all matters, large and small, in the mountain are proceeding as planned, and there are no problems."

However, recently, the vitality of the herbs in the spirit herb garden has been steadily waning, and many thousand-year-old spirit herbs cultivated by various sects are showing signs of decay. If this continues, I fear that all the hard work of our ancestors will be wasted!

"That's a difficult matter." Shenming shook his little head, about to say something, when he suddenly raised his head and looked westward, his eyes fixed on a certain spot, and said fiercely, "What are you going to do, you big snake?"

Everyone turned to look, only to see a effeminate man approaching with a smile, his presence enhancing the spring atmosphere. Holding a round fan, he chuckled and said, "Spring Banquet, Yu Xiaoyao."

Willows sway in the thick mist, a mournful flute plays amidst plum blossoms. How much of spring's beauty remains?

"Fellow Daoist, Gui Yin has come to see you. Please come to my residence for a chat."

Its deep, dark eyes darted around, seemingly with disgust, and it said, "I have no interest in dealing with you, you giant snake."

Come here!

Having said that, he turned around and his short body lengthened, transforming in the blink of an eye into a cold, slanted man dressed in a black robe. His indifferent voice unconsciously carried a chill, making the spring breeze feel cold.

"My dear friend, how have you been?"

"Oh? I see." Guiyin saw the man in front of her and guessed what was going on in a flash. Her smile deepened as she said, "Since it's you, fellow Daoist, then it's even easier to talk to you."

I have a favor to offer; I wonder if you'd like a share?

"What are the benefits?" Shen Ming did not refuse.

Gui Yin smiled secretly and said, "The birth of wood virtue in spring is a rare occurrence, one that is hard to come by even in a hundred lifetimes!"

(End of this chapter)