Immortality and Cultivation: Starting with Improved Spirit Rice

Chapter 98 Arrival at Tongming Mountain

After a few incense sticks' worth of time.

As a slight tremor came from the hull of the immortal ship, the defensive light barrier that had dimmed during the demonic invasion lit up again, shimmering with a steady glow.

The AskTao ship resumed its stable operation, breaking through the menacing chaotic sea of ​​clouds outside, and slowly heading towards the edge of the forbidden zone.

After this battle, quite a few things happened today, and everyone was a bit tired.

Qi Zhong still needed to take stock of the damage on the ship, so he took his leave first.

The remaining three also headed towards their respective residences.

On the way back, Zhao Chengan and Ning Zixu happened to be going the same way, so they walked side by side.

The lamps in the corridor shone brightly again, sweeping away the oppressive gloom that had been there before.

Zhao Cheng'an was silent for a moment, then suddenly turned to look at Ning Zixu beside him and said earnestly, "Fellow Daoist Ning, thank you for today's matter."

Ning Zixu didn't stop walking; he turned his head and glanced at him.

Why is that?

"In that situation, you could have left on your own."

Zhao Cheng'an looked at him and said sincerely, "But you chose to fight alongside us, and then you even stayed behind to cover our retreat. Not everyone can have that kind of responsibility."

Zhao Cheng'an was genuinely filled with emotion.

When people face life and death, they are most likely to see their true nature.

A person who is willing to entrust their back to their companions in times of crisis, and who is willing to give up their own path to survival to others, is trustworthy no matter where they are.

Ning Zixu listened and remained silent for a few moments.

Only the sound of their footsteps remained in the corridor.

"My fellow disciples and teachers all died at the hands of demonic cultivators."

After a long silence, he spoke slowly, his voice calm, "When they fell, not one of them ran away; they all fought to the very last moment. Teachers bought time for their students, and senior students bought time for their juniors—"

"That's why I survived, and I think that was the last lesson they taught me."

"Being able to die to cover the retreat for my comrades is nothing to me; I am simply putting into practice what I learned from my teachers."

The next day, early in the morning.

Zhao Cheng'an filled a food box with spiritual fruits and snacks from the dazzling array of self-service areas in Zone A, and followed the familiar route, winding his way to Chen Heng's room in Zone B at the stern of the ship.

"Bang bang bang!"

Chen Heng pushed open the door, saw the food box in Zhao Cheng'an's hand, and stepped aside to let him in.

"Did nothing happen to you last night?" Zhao Chengan asked instinctively as he placed the food box on the table and opened it.

Chen Heng picked up a piece of pastry and looked at him with a puzzled expression.

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"What could possibly happen?"

"The boat seemed to have a slight malfunction last night, it stopped for a short while but it quickly returned to normal. Nothing happened here."

She swallowed the pastry and shook her head.

"What happened? Did something go wrong on your end?"

Zhao Cheng'an looked at her completely oblivious appearance and was at a loss for words, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

He briefly recounted the incident of the demonic cultivators invading the previous night.

"Hiss, this actually happened!" Chen Heng's face showed surprise, then he smiled bitterly, "But then again, a bad environment has its advantages. Not a single one of those demonic cultivators even came here."

However, as Zhao Cheng'an continued his narration, Chen Heng's expression turned serious.

Although Zhao Cheng'an glossed over what happened, he could still tell that the situation was dangerous.

"That was that dangerous—are you all alright?"

"It's all fine, nothing serious happened." Zhao Chengan waved his hand.

"How were these demonic cultivators dealt with?" Chen Heng asked again.

Zhao Cheng'an briefly recounted the events involving Qi Zhong and the Dao soldiers, gesturing with his hands as he recalled them.

Unexpectedly, as the conversation progressed, Chen Heng, who had been listening with great interest, suddenly became somewhat dazed.

His face showed an expression that said, "Since I've chosen sword cultivation, my life is over."

"What happened?"

Zhao Cheng'an was puzzled, so he stretched out his palm and waved it in front of her eyes.

Chen Heng finally came to his senses, let out a long sigh, and slumped listlessly onto the table.

"Fellow Daoist Zhao, do you know what our sword cultivators rely on for survival?"

Zhao Cheng'an thought for a moment.

"Combat skills?"

"That's right."

Chen Heng nodded weakly.

"The greatest characteristic of sword cultivators, and their only strength, is their combat ability among those of the same level, which is almost unmatched. But now, compared to Dao soldiers, they seem to have no distinguishing features at all. They're doomed."

"If even the strengths we rely on for a living are completely outclassed, won't we never have a chance to succeed in the future?"

"this----"

Zhao Cheng'an opened his mouth, intending to offer some words of comfort.

But upon closer reflection, it seems to make a lot of sense.

Even Zhao Cheng'an was at a loss for words to comfort him. He patted Chen Heng on the shoulder, "If you can't beat them, you can join them. As long as your cultivation can be improved, you'll eventually find a way out."

"Sigh, I hope so!" Chen Heng's face was full of despair, as if he had been admitted to a university majoring in sinkholes.

Another month has passed.

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"Bang!"

In the sunroom shaded by lush green trees, Zhao Cheng'an closed the last thick book, bathed in sunlight, his face showing an expression of accomplishment and relief. So much effort over such a long period, coupled with the improvement of his divine sense and the mutual exchange...

He finally finished studying all three sections of introductory material sent down by Tongming Mountain.

Seeing his expression, Luo Qingyi, who was sitting to the side, raised an eyebrow slightly and said with a smile, "Congratulations, you've achieved your goal."

Zhao Cheng'an waved his hand and quickly said, "This is nothing, just the beginning."

Zhao Cheng'an's gaze fell on Ning Zixu, who was flipping through a book with a cold expression. "Ning, where are you now?"

"I've finished studying Natural History and the Fundamentals of Runes, but there are still some questions I don't understand. I've only read the beginning of the final course, Fundamentals of Spells and Magical Implements. It seems impossible to complete this course before entering Tongming Mountain."

Patches of sunlight filtered through the trees and fell on his face, while the chirping of birds drifted from afar.

Ning Zixu remained calm. "Even so, it's still much faster than I initially expected. I'm very grateful for your guidance."

"What's the matter? I have some notes here that you can borrow to look through."

Zhao Chengan said with a smile.

Just then, a clear and melodious voice came from the corridor outside.

"We are about to arrive at the Tian'a Sword Sect. All disciples of the Tian'a Sword Sect, please pack your belongings and wait on the bow deck."

Zhao Cheng'an's heart skipped a beat; they had arrived at their destination.

"Gentlemen, a friend of mine is getting off at the Tian'a Sword Sect. I'll go see her off. I'll take my leave now."

Zhao Cheng'an stood up and said.

"Go ahead, go ahead, remember to bring me some red silk cakes when you come back." Luo Qingyi stretched her supple body and said with a smile.

"good!"

Zhao Cheng'an left the cabin and went to the deck.

Chen Heng was already waiting at the edge of the deck, carrying her two bundles and a long sword.

Following her gaze, I looked into the distance.

Before them lay a vast, scorching desert, with a massive mountain gate standing majestically.

The mountain gate is composed of dozens of majestic sword-shaped peaks, each of which is like a giant sword piercing the sky, with crisscrossing flames. Just by looking at it from a distance, one can feel a chilling sharpness coming towards them, and its momentum is indeed magnificent.

only----

Zhao Cheng'an stared intently at the gate, but he couldn't help feeling that the magnificent mountain gate had an inexplicable air of shabbyness in some of the details.

Several of the palaces on the sword peaks were clearly dilapidated from years of neglect, with some of the eaves crumbling. The light screen of the protective array outside the mountain gate also appeared somewhat dim, seemingly due to a lack of sufficient spirit stones, and could only maintain a minimal level of operation.

Indeed, all sword cultivators in the world come from humble backgrounds.

"All good things must come to an end. Now that it's time for me to take my leave." Chen Heng turned and waved goodbye to Zhao Cheng'an. A hot wind blew from the distant desert, and her slightly disheveled hair flew in the wind.

However, his clear black and white eyes were very bright and full of fighting spirit.

"Fellow Daoist Zhao, we'll meet again someday. I'll make sure you look at me in a completely different light then."

Zhao Cheng'an smiled and said, "Then I wish you a prosperous future."

Following the halo of light on the outer edge of the deck, Chen Heng leaped down and landed on the massive black stone platform below. When she looked up, she saw Zhao Cheng'an still standing at the edge of the deck. Chen Heng waved goodbye to him, and the distance between them grew larger and larger until they disappeared completely.

The fairy boat continued forward.

A few more days passed.

Zhao Cheng'an was sitting cross-legged in his room, refining his spiritual power.

It was the dead of night, and the view outside the porthole was pitch black, with only scattered halos of light on the distant horizon.

However, just as Zhao Cheng'an was immersed in his cultivation, boundless light suddenly appeared outside the window without any warning.

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The light did not come from the sun or the moon, but rather swept in like a tidal wave bursting its banks, instantly illuminating the entire dark night sky as bright as day.

Zhao Cheng'an suddenly opened his eyes.

He could clearly feel that the concentration of spiritual energy in the surrounding void began to surge wildly at an extremely terrifying speed at that moment.

His heart began to pound uncontrollably.

Zhao Cheng'an pushed open the door and quickly went to the deck outside.

By this time, the deck was already full of people.

These people all wore expressions of shock and awe, and even their voices were lowered unconsciously as if making a loud noise would be disrespectful.

Ning Zixu and Luo Qingyi had already come out of their respective rooms and were standing side by side by the railing, gazing into the distance with equally shocked expressions.

Zhao Cheng'an stepped forward and followed their gaze, looking towards the end of the earth.

All that could be seen was the boundary between the endless night sky and the sea of ​​clouds.

A colossal halo, radiating endless, warm white light, rose slowly between heaven and earth, just like the rising sun. Its boundless radiance dyed the sea of ​​clouds stretching for tens of thousands of miles into a pure, silvery-white hue.

Through the layers of boundless light, one could vaguely see, deep within the halo, towering and majestic divine mountains.

The waterfall cascades down from the mountaintop, transforming into a rainbow across the sky.

Countless celestial birds soared through the halo of light, and celestial music drifted faintly from the far distance, cleansing the soul.

The overwhelming aura that resonated with the laws of heaven and earth caused the three people standing on the deck to tremble involuntarily, their breath catching in their throats.

Zhao Cheng'an stared blankly at the light, already having found the answer in his heart.

This is the Taoist temple of Tongming Mountain.

It is the grotto-heaven created by the Supreme Lord Zichen Yuming, the head of the Golden Elixir lineage, from chaos with his unparalleled magical power.

Its name is—

The Mountain of Perfect Enlightenment and Unobstructed Light.