Bodhisattva, please help me in my spiritual practice!

Chapter 218 Chengdu Sword Cultivator, Azure Sky Dao Lineage

"Everyone says immortals are wonderful, but they can't forget their beloved wives! I never imagined that I could complete half of my mission with just one chance encounter at the Erlang Temple. Truly wonderful, wonderful, wonderful!"

The Old Man of the Moon was smug, shaking his head and laughing heartily. Then he remembered that the other half of the task still lay with Guanyin Bodhisattva, so he looked at the Qingcheng Mountain Grotto and instantly came up with a plan.

As the Old Man of the Moon walked through the mountains and fields, seeing no one around, he remained smug, completely unaware that a small white snake was lurking in the grass beside him.

She was born with the ability to understand human speech, and her ruby-like eyes were filled with curiosity. When she heard the white-bearded old man say that there was a chance to transform into a dragon at Erlang Temple, she was also very curious.

In part of her inherited memories, snakes can transform into dragons. If she could transform into a real dragon, it would definitely be a good thing. So, after hearing this news, the little white snake swam down the mountain to the Erlang Temple.

However, neither the Old Man of the Moon nor the little white snake noticed that as the little white snake swam past the Old Man of the Moon, a red thread of fate was taken out of the Old Man of the Moon's treasure bag and was no longer the same.

The story continues at two different points, within the Qingcheng Grotto-Heaven.

This grotto-heaven is a miniature world of its own, spanning tens of thousands of miles, shrouded in clouds and mist. Immortal mountains float in mid-air, while sword immortals ride their swords through the clouds, carefree and joyful.

However, at this time, the method of sword immortal cultivation was only in its initial form and far from being perfected. The cultivation methods of the Han Dynasty still emphasized longevity more than supernatural powers.

However, during the past hundred years, humans and ghosts have lived together in various parts of Chengdu, and demonic disasters have occurred frequently. Therefore, local heroes combined some alchemical methods to develop the prototype of sword cultivation. Even for a major sword cultivation sect like the Qingxiao Sect, the highest-ranking patriarch was only at the second tribulation level, so he was not enough to quell the chaos caused by humans and ghosts.

But with the birth of Ao Peng, Taihe Daoist returned with a message sent by flying sword, and immediately the bell of the Qingxiao Dao lineage rang loudly, summoning all disciples.

As the three thousand sword lights converged and landed on the mountaintop platform, the Qingxiao Daoist Master, dressed in white, sat cross-legged on the platform and addressed his many disciples, saying, "Chonghe has sent word that the chaos of the ghost calamity in Shudu has shown signs of being quelled."

Upon hearing this, many disciples were overjoyed and approached the sect leader's direct disciple, asking, "May I ask, Sect Leader, where does this opportunity originate?"

Although this disciple was only a young man, he had two long, snow-white eyebrows and a heroic air about him.

Master Ai laughed and said, "You are in this grotto-heaven and have no idea what has happened outside. Just a few days ago, a righteous god descended from the sky in Jiangzhou County. He possesses the inheritance of the Netherworld God Tu Yulei, established Taodu Mountain, suppressed the Xiawen Ghost King, and vowed to quell the ghostly calamity in this place!"

"Is that really the case?"

"This is fantastic news!"

"If we succeed, the people of Sichuan will build a thousand temples in his honor!"

Those who cultivate immortality are unaware of the passage of time, and so are the sword immortals in the mountains. They usually cultivate in seclusion in their caves, and only when they are subduing demons will they descend the mountain to walk among humans. They take the ghostly calamities of Shudu as a warning, and in order to prevent magic from continuing to wreak havoc on the human world, the sword immortals of Shudu almost never stay in the human world for long.

At this time, the demons and monsters in the human world were powerful. Even the sect leader, Master Ai, could only avoid their sharp edge and could not fundamentally solve the ghost calamity. Therefore, the cultivation of the Shudu sword immortals was difficult at this time. First, their cultivation methods were incomplete, and second, many people died and their cultivation was destroyed in the process of going down the mountain to subdue demons and monsters.

After delivering the good news, Master Ai's expression turned serious. "The heavenly secrets have revealed themselves. I've heard that Laozi's cave within my Qingcheng Mountain territory is about to appear, containing a treasure for refining demons. That True God, accompanied by Jiangzhou Magistrate Zhang Daoling, Chong He, and others, has come to claim the treasure. The Netherworld Ghosts will definitely not let this go unpunished!"

"This calamity is perilous, and I cannot bear to see you lose your lives in vain. Therefore, I am informing you in advance. If you yearn for the path to immortality, I will not blame you. Now return to your caves and cultivate in seclusion, and you will naturally be able to avoid this calamity."

After Master Ai finished speaking, all the disciples on the mountaintop plaza fell silent. Then, the eldest disciple, Changmei, holding his sword and clasping his hands, said, "We inform our master that we follow him in cultivating the sword path, not seeking immortality, but only to protect all living beings. How can we possibly seek refuge in a cave!"

With the eldest disciple leading the way, the remaining three thousand disciples, swords drawn and fists clasped, declared, "We cultivate the way of the sword, not seeking immortality, but only to protect all living beings!"

"Okay, okay!"

Even though Master Ai had cultivated for hundreds of years, his eyes reddened slightly when he heard his disciples answer in unison. Since he created the sword path, he had been despised by many reclusive true cultivators as a rogue cultivator, who believed that the path he created was too bloody and harmful to the harmony of heaven and earth, making it difficult for him to ascend to the Spirit Void Heaven Realm.

But seeing his disciples say this today, he was filled with pride. Even if he didn't ascend to the Immortal Realm, even if he didn't seek immortality, it was a blessing that he could teach the three thousand disciples before him. Heaven had not let him down.

Thinking of this, Master Ai said to Long Eyebrow, "Go and ring the jade chime and golden bell again. All disciples, follow me to build the bridge to welcome our distinguished guests!"

The sound of jade chimes echoed from the mountaintop, stirring up thousands of feet of clouds. Long swords pierced the sky, transforming into rainbow bridges that stretched out from within the Qingcheng Cave Heaven.

Ao Peng and the others helped the Old Man of the Moon resolve the trouble at the foot of the mountain, and then continued up the mountain. There were no obstacles on this journey. They came to a cliff, where the mountain mist was layered and even Ao Peng could not see the depth.

Suddenly, a great sound of bells and chimes came from the clouds, followed by sharp sword lights that pierced through the air. Each sword light transformed into a rainbow, forming a magnificent rainbow bridge that extended from the inside out, opening the gate to the cave world.

Seeing this, Daoist Chonghe smiled and guided Ao Peng and Zhang Daoling, saying, "Gentlemen, your master is casting a spell to welcome you. Please step onto this bridge."

Faced with such a generous gift, the two first bowed slightly to Chonghe Daoist and the other Daoists of Qingcheng Mountain before stepping onto the sword-light rainbow bridge.

Above the Rainbow Bridge, the ends of the earth seemed within reach. Ao Peng saw the surrounding mountains suspended in mid-air. Although they were not connected to the earth's veins, under the evolution of the rules of the cave heaven, cloud dragons rose up around the mountains, refining the essence of heaven and falling down, making this place exceptionally beautiful and spiritually rich.

However, since there is no land connecting them, one needs the aid of flying magic to move between the mountains. In addition, the mountains are difficult to cultivate. It is possible to support a few cultivators who breathe clouds and mist, but it is not easy to support a large number of people. Therefore, the Wanli Cave Heaven itself is sparsely populated.

After crossing the rainbow bridge, Ao Peng and Zhang Daoling landed together on the summit of the Qingxiao Dao Vein.

The two were guests, so they first looked at Master Ai, the leader of all the sword cultivators, stepped forward to pay their respects, and thanked Master Ai for his grand welcome.

Master Ai did not presume to be arrogant and returned the greeting earnestly. He then led the two on a tour of the Qingxiao Daoist lineage.