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

After retrieving the treasures, Ying Zheng accompanied Lin Daochen to the Library Pavilion, allowing him to choose several ancient books. The remaining books were then sent to Wudang by Qin officials.

Although the efficiency was low, there was no other way—Lin Daochen's storage ring had limited space and could not hold a massive number of books.

After leaving the library, the two entered the palace square.

The twelve golden statues stand like prisoners, their imposing presence awe-inspiring.

Lin Daochen's eyes flickered slightly as he slowly approached one of the statues. After examining it closely for a moment, he suddenly reached out and touched the golden heart, pulling out a piece of green stone.

"Spirit Stones!"

His pupils contracted, and he was overjoyed—it was a high-grade spirit stone!

Spirit stones are crystals formed from the condensation of the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, and are an indispensable core resource for cultivators in their cultivation, array formation, and weapon forging.

Without hesitation, he turned around and took out all the spirit stones from the remaining eleven golden statues.

"Your Majesty, this item is useful to me, so I'm taking it with me," Lin Daochen said.

Ying Zheng hesitated slightly: "Master, without this stone, the golden man will lose the ability to move, I fear..."

Lin Daochen was prepared. He took out two jade talismans from his ring and handed them over: "Keep these two talismans with you at all times. One can block all attacks below the Celestial Realm on the Land, and the other is enough to kill a Celestial Immortal on the Land."

"With these two talismans protecting you, you will be completely safe."

Ying Zheng accepted the talisman, his last trace of hesitation vanishing. Even if he was unwilling, what could he do? Lin Daochen was determined to obtain those twelve spirit stones, and no one could stop him.

Before he finished speaking, Lin Daochen had already mounted the white crane, his feathered robes fluttering, and soared into the air, heading straight for the summit of Wudang Mountain in the Ming Dynasty.

No sooner had he left than Ying Zheng issued an imperial edict—the entire Qin army was to withdraw immediately! At the same time, an edict was issued throughout the land: Wudang would become the state religion of Qin, and its leader, Zhang Sanfeng, would be honored as the national teacher!

When the news reached the Ming Dynasty, Wudang gave an order, and the border soldiers all withdrew their weapons and returned to their camps, bringing the war to an abrupt end.

There's no such thing as a secret that stays hidden forever.

Within days, a shocking rumor swept across the land—Master Chen of Wudang Mountain had entered the Qin Palace alone on a crane, quelling the war between the two nations with a few words! Even more astonishing was that the Qin Dynasty had actually made Wudang its state religion!

The world was in uproar.

In a certain city of the Song Dynasty, a restaurant was bustling with noise.

"Have you heard? In that war of annihilation between the Qin and Ming dynasties, it was Dao Chen Zhenren who went to the Qin palace alone and forced Ying Zheng to call a truce on the spot!"

"I've heard so much! My cousin works in Xianyang, and he said it himself—dozens of top experts in the Qin palace couldn't even withstand a single move from him!"

"The most outrageous thing was that the bodyguard who called himself the 'Sword Saint of Qin' was sent flying backward, coughing up blood, by the real person with a mere flick of his sleeve, and he was half-dead!"

"Do you know what the most amazing thing is? The immortal descended from the sky riding a crane, straight into the imperial palace! His bearing was no ordinary mortal; he was clearly a celestial being banished from heaven!"

"If you ask me, he's probably a god descended to earth!"

Amidst the gasps of amazement, someone suddenly sighed, "Alas, if only Wudang were the state religion of our Great Song Dynasty... then perhaps Master Daochen would step in and help us deal with those Mongol barbarians!"

"That's right! The northern border is engulfed in war, and I've heard that several key towns are on the verge of falling..."

As soon as he finished speaking, the entire hall fell silent. The faces of the people of the Song Dynasty instantly darkened.

In this Central Plains, the Song Dynasty was the weakest. When the Mongol Yuan army marched south, the first thing they did was kick down their gates.

Similar scenes played out repeatedly in the streets and alleys of various dynasties.

However, other countries did not face the threat of national subjugation; their people were simply stunned by the legend of Lin Daochen.

Previously, Lin Daochen's name was widely known in the martial arts world.

Now, after this battle, his fame has swept across the land like a whirlwind. Even the most rustic villagers and common children know that on Mount Wudang in the Ming Dynasty lives an old immortal who can turn his hand to create clouds and rain!

His reputation soared like a tidal wave, growing by leaps and bounds in a single day.

-

The Royal Court of the Great Yuan Dynasty.

Upon hearing the report, Kublai Khan's face darkened, and he immediately summoned Meng Chixing.

"Master, how is my junior brother's cultivation progressing? Is he facing any obstacles?"

His tone was urgent. This time, he was truly terrified. Last time, when Meng Chixing said that Lin Daochen could intimidate the ruler of a country, he was half-believing and half-doubting; now, having witnessed the other party enter Qin alone and repel a large army without bloodshed, how could he not be shocked?

He desperately needs someone who can rival Lin Daochen.

"Progress is going smoothly," Meng Chixing said calmly. "Your junior brother has found a vessel with a 'Dao Heart,' and the demonic seed has been planted. Once it matures, the Dao Heart can be harvested, the demonic embryo refined, and the Great Dao Heart Demon Planting Technique will be perfected in one fell swoop!"

Upon hearing this, Kublai Khan's eyes lit up: "Excellent! Very good!"

The day Pang Ban succeeds will be the day the Yuan Dynasty crushes the Ming Dynasty!

Right now, our priority is to conquer the Song Dynasty and expand our territory!

As for the second step? It's on hold for now. The Qin and Ming dynasties haven't yet fought to the point of mutual destruction, so he won't get any easy gains.

-

Wudang Mountain.

The entire Taoist community was in an uproar.

When Song Yuanqiao and the others learned that Wudang had once again become the state religion and that their master Zhang Sanfeng had been appointed as the national preceptor, they were all dumbfounded.

Their usually low-key senior master... never makes a move, but when he does, it's earth-shattering!

Everyone couldn't help but imagine the shocked expression on their master's face when he returned from his seclusion and heard about these things.

-

Wudang, the Sutra Repository.

Lin Daochen sat quietly at his desk, slowly turning the pages of the "Mysterious Artifact Manual" in his hand, scrutinizing every word.

The outside world was filled with clamor and praise, but he seemed oblivious to it all.

Even knowing that his name was resounding throughout the world, he did not raise his eyes, his expression remaining completely unchanged.

Those worldly fame and fortune were nothing but fleeting clouds to him.

All he cared about was the path to immortality and ascension to heaven.

After returning from the Qin Dynasty, Lin Daochen devoted himself to the art of weapon crafting.

It wasn't that he had suddenly changed his mind, but rather that the trip to the treasure vault had yielded too much—he had obtained a batch of top-grade materials that could be used to refine high-level alchemy furnaces. Now that he had divine materials in hand, he naturally couldn't waste them, so he immediately decided to reforge an even stronger alchemy furnace.

The success rate of pill formation and the quality of the pills all depend on this new furnace.

After finishing a book on weapon crafting, he casually picked up a book on runes and restrictions and began to study it intently.

To forge a true magic weapon-grade alchemy furnace, simply knowing how to melt gold and forge iron is not enough; one must also inscribe runes and restrictions on the furnace body to draw upon the power of heaven and earth for one's own use.

Time slips away quietly.

As Lin Daochen digested and absorbed the classic texts, the outline of the alchemy furnace in his mind became clearer and clearer.

[You have thoroughly studied twenty classic texts on weapon crafting and rune restrictions, deepening your understanding of both disciplines. Combining your self-created "Heavenly Crafting Techniques" and "Supreme Talisman Scripture," you have successfully deduced the magical artifact: the Five Elements Universe Furnace!]

In an instant, a flash of inspiration struck Lin Daochen, his eyes gleaming and a smile playing on his lips.

The design has been fully formed in my mind's eye, and only one step remains—practical application!

He got up and stepped into the weapon-refining room. He took out all the materials from his storage ring, set up the array, lit the fire, and officially started the furnace.

One hour later.

Lin Daochen formed hand seals and cast the final sealing talisman.

boom--!

The refining furnace trembled violently, bursting forth with a dazzling purple-blue light. When the light dissipated, an ancient and awe-inspiring alchemy furnace was quietly suspended at its center.

It is entirely purple and blue, with intricate patterns. The furnace body is covered with runes and restrictions that circulate the five elements, and there are faint vortexes of spiritual energy moving around its surface.

Lin Daochen could not hide his joy.

It's done! The Five Elements Universe Furnace, a top-grade Yellow-level magic weapon, is the pinnacle of his forging skills to date!

With this, given his current alchemy skills, the pills he produces in the future will almost certainly reach the perfect Yellow-grade level.

Right now—

[During the process of refining the Five Elements Universe Furnace, you comprehended the laws of fire and the true meaning of the Five Elements, and mastered the spiritual fire technique: Five Elements Heavenly Fire!]

boom!!!

Flames rose from his palm, intertwining five colors, their intense heat containing the potential for life and death, far surpassing the true fire of the sun in the past!

Lin Daochen pondered for a moment, his smile deepening.

This fire is truly worthy of the heart of this alchemy furnace!

He then made a hand seal to close the furnace, and a restriction descended, shrinking the enormous alchemy furnace to the size of a bean before storing it in his storage ring.

From then on, he could carry his furnace with him wherever he went and refine his own materials, no longer needing to be confined to one place.

After leaving the weapon-refining room and taking a short break to catch his breath, he took out another spirit stone he had obtained from the Qin Imperial Palace and stared at it for a long time.

A moment later, he gently shook his head and put it back into the ring.

These twelve spirit stones had been severely depleted of their spiritual energy after several battles. Even if he absorbed them all, it wouldn't be enough to help him break through to the Foundation Establishment stage.

Rather than using it for cultivation, it's better to put it to another great purpose—for example, as the core energy source for a spirit-gathering array.

He had been secretly researching spirit-gathering formations for a long time. If he could successfully form a formation, gathering all the spiritual energy in the world to Wudang, the path to foundation building would naturally follow.

These days, the situation has been constantly evolving, and the overall outcome is already decided; only the final step is needed.

"Unfortunately... spirit stones are extremely rare."

He sighed inwardly.

On that day, he asked Ying Zheng about the source of the spirit stones, hoping they came from a mineral vein and that perhaps more could be found.

To everyone's surprise, Ying Zheng said: "It fell from the sky."

Lin Daochen immediately understood—just like the refining materials sent by the Ming Dynasty, they were all carried by a meteorite.

Rare treasures fall from the sky; they are a rare and precious occurrence.

However, this regret was fleeting.

He quickly calmed himself down, reopened the scriptures, and continued his arduous practice.

The next morning.

Yu Lianzhou stepped into the Sutra Repository.

"Master, I have recently encountered some bottlenecks in my practice of Tai Chi. I would like to ask you for some guidance."

Lin Daochen nodded in acknowledgment and listened to his detailed explanation.

A moment later, he understood.

The Tai Chi that Yu Lianzhou comprehended had long since deviated from Zhang Sanfeng's original path.

Master Zhang emphasizes using softness to overcome hardness, using minimal force to deflect great weight; while Yu Lianzhou's path becomes increasingly ruthless and bloodthirsty—fierce and ruthless, with a hidden killing intent, almost like the way of war!

For Lin Daochen, this was not surprising at all.

Yu Lianzhou was inherently wicked and ruthless, unlike Song Yuanqiao who was upright and proper. In his early years, he forcibly changed the "Tiger Claw Hand" passed down by Zhang Sanfeng into the "Tiger Claw Extinction Hand" that severed people's roots, and he used every move to kill. Even his master could only subtly warn him not to be too ruthless.

To put it bluntly, if he hadn't been born in the tranquil Wudang region, Yu Lianzhou might have become a powerful figure in the demonic path long ago.

But it was precisely this fierceness that made him more and more confused as he practiced.

He began to doubt: Had he strayed from the right path in his understanding of Tai Chi? Was such a fierce and domineering approach truly worthy of the name of the orthodox Wudang school?

Could it be that... it has already deviated from the original intention of Tai Chi to overcome hardness with softness and to follow the way of heaven?

After racking his brains without success, he finally approached Lin Daochen—the true founder of Tai Chi.

Once the question is posed, the answer becomes clear.