This is what an immortal should be like

Chapter 296 I, Old Sun, have been tricked by you!

As the nine treasure ships continued to move forward, both the cultivators on board and the people from the Bureau of Extraordinary Investigations witnessed an unforgettable scene for the first time.

Fiery clouds rolled across the sky, countless lightning bolts swirled as if wrapped in flames, and a fierce wind raged below, creating ripples in the air.

These ripples were actually the dark, malevolent energy emanating from beneath the mountain. This energy was so dense and terrifying that it seemed to have condensed into water, and even the raging winds could only create tiny ripples.
"Alas. Alas."

Before the thunder and fire arrived, the gale came first. Although it looked far away, the nine treasure ships that were moving at full speed suddenly trembled with magical light, and some cracking sounds could even be heard.

Zhuang Lin was startled and immediately came to his senses.

"Fellow Daoists, let us cast our spells together to protect the treasure ship as it sails onward. This is a great calamity of thunder, fire, and wind, which is beyond the power of ordinary people to withstand—"

Zhuang Lin's first thought was about these three calamities. If they were true, it was no joke. How many people present had survived unscathed? No wonder the seventy-two demon kings dared not come over.

The others were also startled by Zhuang Lin's words. Although they didn't know what the Three Calamities meant, they knew that anyone Zhuang Lin treated with such seriousness must be extraordinary.

Therefore, no one hesitated. The people who were already on high alert on the ship focused their attention on casting spells, supporting the operation of the array on the treasure ship in groups by sect.

For a moment, the array light on the nine treasure ships stabilized. Although the power of the Three Calamities was terrifying, it was, after all, the combined strength of several sects of the True Dao, and with a group of Nascent Soul experts led by Zhuang Lin present, they could resolve it using the principles of mutual generation and restraint of the Five Elements. Therefore, they were more at ease dealing with it than those demon kings.

"Attention, Thunderfire is here!"

As soon as Zhuang Lin finished speaking, the rain of lightning and fire from the sky began to fall. When the lightning and fire reached the magical light on the ship, it was like bombs falling.

"Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!"
The nine treasure ships began to rock violently, but the senior agents of the Bureau of Investigation and the personnel of the direct troops on board remained standing firm. This was comparable to a storm at sea and did not have a significant impact on the naval personnel, but they were certainly quite frightened.

Some soldiers looked at the strange phenomena in the sky outside the ship; the roar and explosions were so intense that they trembled with fear.

"Can the immortals remain calm?"

"It shouldn't be a big problem, right?"

Some soldiers and agents from the Bureau of Investigation stared wide-eyed at everything, and the modified equipment on the ship recorded the entire process. Such an opportunity would probably be hard to come by again.

Furthermore, some soldiers discovered that when the immortals concentrated on casting spells, they would often release spells outwards, detonating some of the falling lightning and fire from a distance, which was somewhat similar to reactive armor.
Zhuang Lin stood at the bow of the treasure ship, sensing its current condition. He knew that with the combined strength of all the cultivators, it could hold out for a while without much trouble, but the real test would probably not be the Three Calamities, but the place below the Three Calamities!
Beneath the three calamities lies a terrifying aura so dense it almost solidifies.

In fact, even the scattered baleful energy has spread to the edge of the entire Five-Colored Divine Peak Secret Realm, and it is even more concentrated at its current location and altitude. If it weren't for the array on the treasure ship isolating it, many people on the ship would probably have already been affected and started to go crazy.

"Is that the Five-Colored Divine Peak? The place where the previous generation of True Immortals perished!"

Xi Miao was just as excited as Zhuang Lin at this moment. Her fists, hidden in her sleeves, clenched tightly. This was a secret she had been searching for for many years, and today it was finally going to be revealed.

The mountain is five colors, representing the five elements, but it also resembles an upright palm, towering in the center of the mountains and clearly a size higher.

When Zhuang Lin was a child, he had an impression of the Five Elements Mountain from watching TV, and he thought it wasn't that big. But now that he actually saw the Five Elements Mountain, it already brought a strong sense of oppression from a distance. The closer he got, the more he felt that the size of this mountain range was far beyond his imagination.

Each of the nine treasure ships was quite large, with one as big as an ordinary mountain peak, but it still looked small compared to the five-colored giant peak.

While many people on the ship were working together to fight against the three calamities, they, like many ordinary people, subconsciously looked up at the five-colored mountain until they reached its summit.

"That is the Five-Colored Divine Peak, or rather, the Five Elements Mountain, the Five Finger Mountain!"

There were no demon kings to hinder them this time, only the three calamities from heaven. However, as they advanced to the Five-Colored Divine Peak, a strange resistance began to increase.

"That's... a Buddhist mantra?"

Many people saw that on the top of the central peak of the Five-Colored Mountain, there was a huge, golden seal that displayed the six-syllable mantra of Buddhism.

The sense of insignificance that arises in everyone's heart, while partly due to the mountain itself, also largely stems from this sealed mantra.

Even in this environment, seeing these six words of mantra brings an immense, awe-inspiring pressure. However, contrary to this, the danger is that it causes many to relax and even feel a sense of ease.
"Om Mani Padme Hum"

A majestic and awe-inspiring voice faintly echoed in the minds of some people.

On the nine treasure ships, some agents from the Bureau of Extraordinary Investigations and naval personnel stood there, gazing upwards with blank expressions. Throughout the ships, some cultivators from the True Path Sect also looked dazed and confused.
"Keep your mind steady and don't let it lead you astray. Once you lose your focus, there will be no turning back!"

Xi Miao's voice rang out at the right moment, followed by a sharp and clear whistling sound.

"Drink up."

A fox's cry resounded throughout the nine treasure ships, and even faintly echoed in all directions, causing the evil energy below to ripple even more.

Zhuang Lin also came to his senses at this moment, but he was not intimidated by the six-character mantra, but rather moved by the emotions in his heart.

"Thank you for your help, Fellow Daoist Xi Miao." Zhuang Lin nodded to Xi Miao, then immediately transmitted his voice to various places.

Everyone was already awake, and with Zhuang Lin's telepathic instruction, the nine treasure ships began to descend. Although the dense baleful aura was terrifying, they had to go inside eventually.

At this moment, for the nine treasure ships, it felt like they were being forced to dive. The surrounding pressure was several levels greater than when they were fighting the Three Calamities. However, having come this far, everyone knew that they could not retreat, otherwise all their previous efforts would be in vain.

The surrounding scenery gradually turned dark red, and the visibility suddenly dropped. Even though we had reached the edge of the mountains, it was as if we were lost and could not see our surroundings clearly.

Inside the various cabins of the treasure ship, many soldiers were reporting on the situation, and the instrument panels and screens were completely in disarray.

Even the equipment that had been modified by the array couldn't withstand the strain here.

Not only the instruments, but all the immortal cultivators' senses were completely lost. Even Xi Miao was helpless and could not perceive her surroundings at all.

After sailing for a while, the treasure ship could no longer distinguish east from west, north from south, up from down, and had no idea where it was. Moreover, the pressure on the array on the ship was getting heavier and heavier, and the mana consumption of the group of cultivators was enormous, several times more than when they fought the demon king in a short period of time.

But no one panicked. Everyone, including Xi Miao, looked at Zhuang Lin. As long as he was still there, everyone felt reassured.

Xi Miao firmly believes that only a true master of this era can unravel the mystery of the previous master's demise. As for the people of the True Dao, it goes without saying that Zhuang Lin is a saint of the True Dao in the world. In the eyes of the modern people of Hidden Immortal Valley and Great Yan, Zhuang Lin is even more of a savior Confucian immortal.

Therefore, Zhuang Lin is now bearing the pressure alone. Having come this far, there is no reason for him to back down. Moreover, even he is helpless because his senses have also been clouded.

But Zhuang Lin still held a belief in his heart: he believed that fate had led him to this point!
After taking a deep breath, whether it was self-comfort or a willingness to go all out, Zhuang Lin's outwardly calm but inwardly tense state gradually became consistent, like a calm lake.

The next moment, a five-colored light rose from Zhuang Lin's body, and a primordial spirit identical to his own left his body.

The primordial spirit leaves the body, and the true nature is revealed.

Apart from the Yanzhen Sect and a few other sects, most of the True Daoists present were seeing Zhuang Lin's primordial spirit appear for the first time.

When they saw the true manifestation of the sage's primordial spirit leaving his body, all the True Dao cultivators were briefly stunned, and then they all became fanatical, unable to contain their excitement, even those who had already seen it before.

With the Sage Lingxiao here, all matters can be accomplished!
Predicament? Danger? What do they matter?
Morale is a strange thing. At this moment, the atmosphere on the nine treasure ships changed suddenly. Although the external pressure was still great, it seemed to become calm and peaceful for the True Dao cultivators.

After Zhuang Lin's primordial spirit left his body, it transmitted its voice in all directions.

"You all wait and see what I do!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhuang Lin's primordial spirit crossed the barrier of the treasure ship and rushed outwards.

Strangely enough, Zhuang Lin had mustered all his strength to withstand the oppressive force of the boundless malevolent energy, but after he went outside, he did not feel much pressure.

Instead, the malevolent energy around Zhuang Lin swirled around him. Although much of the malevolent energy gathered, it circled around Zhuang Lin's primordial spirit, making the five-colored radiance on his body appear relatively dim, while a layer of crimson light shone even brighter.
As Zhuang Lin's primordial spirit passed away, the surrounding malevolent energy seemed to have been cleared, creating a wide path that converged towards Zhuang Lin from both sides.

On the treasure ship, someone shouted "Follow along!" and the treasure ship immediately moved forward, following Zhuang Lin. Gradually, they were able to see the surrounding scenery clearly.

This is also a bumpy, mountainous area, with mountains in the distance, and the huge five-colored mountain is already very close.

Suddenly, a golden light flashed ahead, and everyone looked up, including Zhuang Lin's primordial spirit and his physical body on the treasure ship.

Between the central peak of the Five-Colored Divine Mountain and the earth, there lies a colossal, jet-black pillar, seemingly rising from the ground and supporting half of the Five-Colored Mountain, making the mountain appear somewhat crooked.
Zhuang Lin stared blankly at the massive black gold pillar, his heart trembling far more than the others. But when he looked around, whether at the foot of the mountains or sensing his surroundings, he could not find the figure he was looking for.

Where? Where?
As the malevolent energy surged, the visibility around them actually increased. Zhuang Lin's primordial spirit instantly traversed the area around the mountains, seemingly searching urgently, yet unable to find what it sought.
After a long while, Zhuang Lin stood on the front of the mountain and roared in all directions.

"Where are you—where are you—Great Sage Equal to Heaven, where are you—"

The whooshing sounds were echoes of shouts, but Zhuang Lin couldn't hear the response he wanted. He looked up, slightly lost in thought, at the black gold rod that resembled a pillar of heaven.

It's here, so why isn't he here?

Zhuang Lin's primordial spirit soared to the center of the golden pillar, and then he couldn't help but reach out and touch the black gold giant pillar.

The instant Zhuang Lin's finger touched the giant pillar, a ripple was generated amidst a violent tremor, as if the world had suddenly become bright.

A terrifying aura swept across the boundaries of time and space, and a sense of resentment and regret welled up in everyone's heart.
"I, Old Sun, have been fooled by you! You've fooled me!"

It was stronger than a mountain collapsing and a tsunami crashing, like the sky falling and the earth splitting apart. The roar shook the universe and the hearts of every person.

"Rumble rumble rumble rumble."

The entire Five-Colored Divine Peak and its secret realm began to tremble violently. Even the seventy-two demon kings who dared not venture into the center were shaken and trembled with fear.
At the same moment, Zhuang Lin was stunned, his mind overwhelmed by a barrage of images and information.
(End of this chapter)