Martial Arts Crossover: The Sweeping Monk of Wudang? That's our patriarch!

Lin Daochen silently glanced at the approaching figures, then at the old man, finally sighed softly, turned and walked towards the edge of the cliff, his back looking desolate.

"If I give up the trial now, will it damage my foundation? If I come again next time, will I still be able to find this place and re-enter this trial?"

The old man nodded and answered readily, "Of course. But let me make this clear beforehand—you must remain in this world. Once you step out of this boundary, the entrance will disappear, and trying to find it again will be like looking for a needle in a haystack."

"Therefore, the decision of whether to stay or leave is entirely up to you."

Lin Daochen paused, his brow furrowing slightly. He had followed the child's directions to the real waterfall, seeking the opportunity to "see his true self," hoping to unlock the door to union. Who would have thought that a single leap would plunge him into another world? It was so absurd it sent chills down his spine.

He stood there for a long time, his knuckles white from clenching his fist, before finally slowly making a fist, turning back to look at the world: "This trial, I will face it again. If I fail once, I will try ten times; if I fail ten times, I will try a hundred times—one day, I will personally shatter this mental barrier!"

He bowed with his hands clasped and eyes lowered, his posture humble: "May I ask your honorable name, senior? I will remember your name so that I may pay my respects in person in the future. Also, what is the origin of this world? I hope you will be so kind as to enlighten me."

The old man laughed loudly, and with a wave of his sleeve, a mountain wind suddenly arose: "This is the universe within the painting! I am Chen Hao, also known as the Immortal within the Painting—for millions of years, I have been stationed here and have seen too many little fellows like you achieve enlightenment, break free from their cocoons, and ascend to the Great Dao."

"By the way, Lin Daochen, you are one in ten thousand—the ten thousandth person to step into this realm. Since we are so compatible, I will bestow upon you a great fortune. Take it!"

Chen Hao flicked his wrist, and a wisp of primordial purple energy exploded outwards, like smoke and mist, instantly spreading across a radius of a hundred paces. Lin Daochen's vision instantly became chaotic, his five senses were obscured, and he could only feel the nine golden cores deep in his dantian humming and trembling, echoing each other, as if they were about to break free from their shackles and tear apart their old realms—it was an imminent leap, or a silent battle, ready to devour each other at any moment.

"Oh? Young friend, your nine golden core primordial spirits have already developed sentience, sensing and coveting each other, quietly brewing a plan to devour one another. How do you plan to overcome this calamity?"

Lin Daochen frowned slightly, his expression grave. Nine cores devouring each other? He hadn't even stepped into the realm of Body Integration, let alone fathomed such a life-or-death struggle at the primordial spirit level.

"Since we are destined to meet, I will give you a chance—three thousand miles to the west, there is a cold river that runs across the wilderness. On the riverbank, there is a fisherman with no hook, no bait, only a thin silk thread lowered into the water. If the fish are willing, they will take the bait. If you help him catch the fish, I will teach you the method of stabilizing the nine elements and turning conflict into harmony."

"A line without a hook?" Lin Daochen chuckled, his tone full of disbelief. "Without even a hook, what kind of fishing is this? It's pure fantasy."

Without hook or bait, isn't it just an empty rod facing the water?

But since it was the path pointed out by Chen Hao, the immortal in the painting, he had no choice but to bite the bullet, turn around, leap into the air, and speed off to the west.

About three hours later, a vast river suddenly appeared ahead. Strangely, while the surrounding area was bathed in bright sunlight, only the river was swept by a northerly wind, with white flakes flying everywhere and a biting cold, as if the world had left this one place alone in the frosty winter.

"I am Jiang Ziya, young friend, how have you been?" A clear and resonant voice pierced the air. The fisherman, wearing a green hat and a straw raincoat, leaned against an ancient pine tree, holding a smooth-carved peach wood rod in his hand. The line was empty, with no hook or bait in sight, only a thin silver thread hanging into the turbulent current.

Lin Daochen looked closely and saw that there was indeed no hook—this was not fishing, but clearly playing in the water!

"Senior, without a line, hook, or bait, the fish won't recognize the lure and won't bite the line. Even if you guard this place for a thousand years, you'll probably never see a single fish turn over."

He shook his head and sighed softly, speaking frankly. The old man, however, was not annoyed. He stroked his beard and smiled, pointing to the plain line: "If I really catch a fish, what will you do, young friend? How about we make a bet—a bet on a day of my life. If you win, you can do as I please; if you lose… you must do three things for me, without hesitation."

Lin Daochen shook his head with a wry smile. Since Chen Hao had personally led him here, it must be no child's play. He took a deep breath, cupped his hands, and agreed: "Alright! This junior will gamble with senior on this game—let's see if the line with the hook catches the fish first, or if your empty line can truly lure the fish in."

Jiang Ziya remained calm and silent, flicking his wrist to cast his line. The silver line pierced through the snow, and in an instant, the falling snowflakes enveloped the line, forming a thin frost. The ice crystals thickened, almost completely sealing the line. The river water also seemed to freeze in the cold air, a layer of brittle, glistening ice rising to the surface.

He remained motionless, his eyes fixed on the water's surface like nails, as if his life's purpose lay hidden beneath the ice.

Lin Daochen frowned as he watched: Is fishing like this just wishful thinking?

"Senior, fish don't recognize hooks or lines. You didn't even add a bit of fishy smell, so why would it bite you? You're guaranteed to lose this bet." He shook his head with a smile, confident that his fishing rod was already poised to strike, the hook tip gleaming coldly. He was just waiting for the fish's shadow to flicker before he yanked the rod up.

Two hours passed, but his buoy remained as still as a stone, without any movement.

In contrast, Jiang Ziya's fishing line suddenly trembled slightly, then shook rapidly, as if pulled by something alive! The old man's eyes lit up, his back straightened, veins bulged on his arms, and he suddenly raised the fishing rod: "Lift—!"

Splash! The ice cracked, water splashing everywhere. Just as the silver line broke through the ice, Lin Daochen's pupils shrank—there really was a silver carp about a foot long hanging on that smooth line, its tail fin thrashing wildly as it slammed onto the snow, splashing up snowflakes, leaping and bounding about!

"This...this..." Lin Daochen stood there, stunned, his throat tightening. After a long while, he managed to squeeze out the words, "No hook, no bait, how did the fish bite? And why are they biting so hard?!"

He quickly stepped forward to examine it closely, fiddling with the line between his fingers, bending down to inspect the fish, and even prying open the fish's lips to look—there were no hook marks, no injuries or medicine, it was simply that the fish had opened its mouth and grabbed the line, biting it very firmly, its jaws clenched, refusing to let go even in death!

"Hiss... Senior is brilliant! Senior Jiang Ziya, what is the reason behind this?"

The old man brushed the snow off his shoulders and smiled calmly: "Fishing is all about 'willingness.' If I sincerely cast my line, willing fish will come. If the fish don't come, it's because my fate is not right; if they come, it's because they are willing—young man, your horizons have broadened, haven't they?"

After saying that, he reeled in the line, picked up the live fish, turned to leave, paused before taking a slight nod to Lin Daochen.

"Young man, you've really messed up this time—your fishing rod came up empty, not even a fish scale was caught. For the rest of the day, you'll be at my beck and call, and you're not allowed to wander off anywhere."

"Oh dear, I almost forgot! That pile of bowls in the kitchen, it's higher than Mount Kunlun... Over the decades, there must be at least a million! My young friend, we're all counting on you!"

Lin Daochen lifted his eyelids and glanced sideways—this old man had a kind face like a Bodhisattva, but his heart was more cunning than a beehive! A million bowls? This laziness is almost a great art! Just as Jiang Ziya was smiling and planning how to get him to wash the pots and pans, Lin Daochen suddenly grinned and slowly spoke:

"Senior Jiang Ziya, are you seeing things? As for these bowls... I'm afraid you'll have to do it yourself."

"Huh?!" Jiang Ziya was taken aback, then immediately shouted, "You brat, stop talking nonsense! I clearly caught a fish, are you trying to renege on your promise? -- Fine, you say you won? Then show me your fish!"

His face was flushed with pride, and he was so pleased with himself that his tail was practically pointing to the sky. He didn't even notice the sly look on Lin Daochen's lips. In fact, Lin Daochen had quietly reeled in the line when the fish took the bait, and only now did he pull out a plump, shiny carp weighing at least eight pounds from his arms. Jiang Ziya froze on the spot.

"You...you...you cheated! I was clearly looking at nothing right now, how did a fish suddenly appear out of nowhere? You must have used magic!"

"Yes! It must have been some kind of supernatural power! I just remembered—this competition is strictly forbidden from using any magic!"

"Too late, senior. The fish have already been brought ashore, and they're even bigger. I've got this game in the bag."

"..."

"well--!"

Jiang Ziya sighed deeply and admitted defeat. The fish was so fresh it seemed to radiate spiritual energy; he, a dignified immortal, couldn't very well lie... Fine, fine, he'd admit defeat! He waved his hand, his face full of reluctance: "Alright, alright, you win! But this bowl..."

"I'll take care of the bowls." Lin Daochen smiled warmly, but a sly glint flashed in his eyes. "But you have to keep your promise—you have to do whatever I ask you to do. You won't go back on your word, will you?"

He knew perfectly well: this fish had indeed been secretly pulled up using magical techniques. Why didn't you set out the rules beforehand? By the time you added the prohibitions, the fish would already be in my arms—a win is a win, Lin Daochen didn't mince words.

"Tsk tsk, the younger generation is truly formidable! I've guarded this place for centuries and seen countless juniors, but you're the only one who could come up with such a trick! Just in terms of cleverness alone, you're a rare genius. Now, tell me, what do you need me to do?"

"It's simple. Please enlighten me, senior: how to cross the threshold of the Integration Realm, steadily condense the nine Golden Core Primordial Spirits into one, and prevent them from tearing each other apart and devouring each other."

"Oh?"

Jiang Ziya raised an eyebrow slightly. He was familiar with the Golden Core, but the extraordinary phenomenon of nine primordial spirits emerging simultaneously and refusing to yield to each other was only mentioned once in ancient texts—that was the legendary "Perfect Golden Core Realm." Ordinary cultivators' Golden Cores are divided into nine parts, which are slowly refined only when they reach the Integration Stage; and for primordial spirits to devour each other is even rarer, usually only happening in one situation: cultivation is too rapid, and all nine Golden Cores fill up at the same time, each giving birth to an independent primordial spirit—a occurrence that can be counted on one hand in the history of cultivation.

This realm is called "Nine Dragons Fusion". Once you break through it, your combat power will be nine times that of an ordinary Fusion cultivator!

"You brat, you actually managed to get this far? The strange thing is—if someone in the Golden Core stage truly cultivates nine primordial spirits, the energy of heaven and earth should have forcibly pushed them into the Integration Realm long ago; it wouldn't have dragged on until now!"

"How did you manage to suppress your cultivation level? Could it be... that you've already seen Chen Hao, the immortal in the painting?"

Lin Daochen nodded: "Senior Chen Hao has indeed seen them. But he was also helpless, which is why he sent me to find you. Moreover... my nine primordial spirits are really troublesome; I can't suppress them."

"Hmm... It's perfectly normal that you can't suppress it." Jiang Ziya's gaze darkened. "You have refined each of your primordial spirits to a level comparable to your original body—now, there are nine 'Lin Daochens' standing within you."

"Unity is fusion, not absorption. Why should these nine equally matched primordial spirits obey your commands and obediently merge into one?"

"Fortunately, it was I who was in charge of the Investiture of the Gods back then, and I do have a way to help you right now—come, let me show you what it means to 'unravel the mystery and suppress divine power'!" Before he finished speaking, Jiang Ziya's sleeves trembled violently, and a primordial purple aura soared into the sky like a dragon, carrying Lin Daochen and instantly breaking through the air, landing in front of a humble house with green tiles on the roof and thatched eaves in the blink of an eye.

Jiang Ziya moved swiftly and decisively. Lin Daochen's heels had barely touched the ground when he was already pressed into an old wooden armchair. He then reached into his robes, unfurled a yellowed scroll, squinted as he scanned it line by line, his fingertips slowly tracing the densely packed names, as if he were taking inventory of old treasures stored away in a trunk.

"Lin Yuan, Zhang Qingge, Hu Zhiyuan, Fazhen, Yang Hao..."

The roster was long and the ink was faded, making it difficult to discern who he was looking for. Lin Daochen, fearing he would be flipping through it until the sun was setting and the frost had fallen, quickly intervened: "Senior, I trust your kindness, but how exactly is this scroll used? You must explain it clearly first!"

Jiang Ziya shook his head, his mustache sticking up high, and put on a mysterious and enigmatic look: "This is a supreme treasure, how can its effects be revealed so easily? Once the secret of heaven is revealed, its spiritual power will dissipate! You can rest assured, I will definitely subdue those restless primordial spirits and make sure they don't bite back or devour each other."

Before the words were even finished, three blazing white streaks of light suddenly tore open the sky, hurtling towards them and hovering steadily above their heads. One of them, an old man with a thick, iron-like beard and a rough face, roared at the top of his lungs, "Foolish! Senior Brother, you still dare to misuse the Investiture of the Gods? A slight misstep and his primordial spirit will be nailed to the list, his soul scattered! Have you forgotten how the Heavenly Emperor warned you back then?"

The man had a broad forehead and a black robe that fluttered in the wind. Seeing the doubt on Lin Daochen's face, he straightened his back, cupped his hands and smiled, his humility revealing an undeniable weight: "I am Shen Gongbao, the senior brother of Jiang Ziya. Although I have not yet entered the ranks of immortals, in terms of seniority and authority, my junior brother here must address me as 'the honored one'."

"What? Did I say something wrong?"

Shen Gongbao's eyes narrowed, and Jiang Ziya immediately pouted and fell silent, looking exactly like a stubborn old man whose secret had been exposed.