The Long Journey to Immortality

Finally, Master Yuanri concluded with a story about his own experience at the Nascent Soul stage, and as he had said at the beginning, "That's all for my crude words. In the next two incense sticks' time, if anyone doesn't understand, feel free to ask questions, and I will do my best to explain to you."

"Fellow Daoists, does anyone have a question? Don't worry about your cultivation level or the difficulty of your question, speak freely."

Master Yuanri casually lit one of the two incense sticks that had been inserted into the incense burner beside him earlier.

Just as he was about to call on a Qi Refining cultivator sitting in the audience who had raised their hand to ask a question, a voice suddenly came from the horizon, accompanied by two streaks of light.

"I have a question."

[Author's Note] Third update. I'll add more next time, unless the book's average daily subscriptions reach 1,000 (which seems unlikely at the moment).

Chapter 298 Grudges and Love

An uninvited guest arrived without warning, causing the Golden Core cultivators sitting on the second floor of the lecture hall to tense up.

In particular, the nine Golden Core cultivators from Jiulong Mountain stood up from their seats at the same time and looked at the two streaks of light flying from the horizon toward Jiulong Mountain.

Furthermore, one of the nine Golden Core cultivators had already brought out his most prized magic weapon, ready to make a big splash.

On the contrary, Master Yuan Ri, who was sitting on the platform, seemed to recognize the person who had spoken. His expression was somewhat complicated, but he remained seated.

The Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment cultivators in the square, however, were not as calm and composed as the experts.

Han Lu assumed that Jiulong Mountain's rivals had come to cause trouble, and instinctively wanted to find a way to escape so as not to get involved in this unrelated story.

Just as Han Lu was thinking of exchanging a few words with Xiao Ran and asking him, this fake Core Formation cultivator, to accompany her and act as her bodyguard,

Master Yuan Ri, who was sitting on the podium, began to speak.

"Fellow Daoists, there is no need to panic. He is just an old friend of mine. This is Jiulong Mountain. No one in Dongzhou Prefecture can swagger around and kill people here."

In the blink of an eye, two beams of light, which seemed to travel infinitely far, descended upon Mount Jiulong in just a moment.

As the light dissipated, two figures hovered in the air, looking down at the cultivators on the plaza and the platform.

He was dressed in a black Taoist robe, with white hair and a face that looked like that of an elderly man in his sixties or seventies.

A man dressed in brocade robes, looking like a wealthy young master.

Although Golden Core cultivators and Nascent Soul cultivators cannot be directly distinguished by their appearance, Han Lu knew that these two cultivators who dared to be so arrogant and come to Nine Dragons Mountain in an adversarial manner were most likely Nascent Soul cultivators, just like Yuan Ri Zhenren.

In fact, these two Nascent Soul cultivators might even be a cut above Yuan Ri Zhenren, who is sitting on the podium.

"Zhu Yuanliang, it's been a long time." The old man in black robes uttered a name that was completely unfamiliar to Han Lu.

The lower-level cultivators present were also somewhat bewildered, wondering who the old man in black robes was greeting.

Xiao Ran reacted quickly, "This is probably not the name that Master Yuanri used to have."

The gazes and expressions of the Golden Core cultivators present proved that Xiao Ran's guess was correct.

As expected, Master Yuanri smiled and looked at the two uninvited cultivators, saying, "Brother Qingzhu, didn't we just meet thirty years ago? How can you say it's been a long time?"

The sound of green bamboo made all the cultivators from Dongzhou Prefecture present aware of the newcomer's identity.

The old man in black robes was the Nascent Soul cultivator from Xuanyu Temple.

Just a few days ago, they were planning how to drive Xuan Yang Valley out of Dongzhou Prefecture, but now the sect leader of the other side has taken the initiative to attack them. Many sect leaders of the small sects who participated in that secret meeting were secretly lamenting how quickly the situation had changed. They felt that the arrangements made a few days ago were likely to be disrupted and could not continue.

The old man called Qingzhu laughed three times and said, "Thirty years ago, I met Fellow Daoist Yuanri. Today, I am meeting Brother Zhu, whom I have not seen for a thousand years. How can they be the same?"

“Indeed,” Master Yuanri changed his form of address and then asked, “Brother Tang, what question do you wish to ask me today?”

Qingzhu Daoren was very satisfied with Yuanri Zhenren's change of address, so he descended from the air and stood steadily on the platform. Looking at his familiar old friend, he spoke in a voice that only the two of them could hear.

"I have two questions for Brother Zhu. I hope you will be kind enough to enlighten me."

"Dispel the spell," Master Yuanri replied in a voice of equal volume.

"of course."

As he said this, Master Yuanri returned to his calm, lake-like demeanor during his sermons, as if those two words alone had completely dispelled his previous worries and concerns.

Seeing his old friend's change, Daoist Qingzhu knew that today he would most likely be able to completely resolve the past grievances.

Watching the two people on the podium exchanging words, I couldn't hear what they were saying.

This left the many monks sitting in the square with mixed feelings.

I was curious and wanted to know what gossip the two of them had talked about.

He wished he hadn't heard a single word, lest he learn any secrets about Nascent Soul cultivators and end up as a patch of yellow earth for his disciple in the Fertile Eastern Continent.

Han Lu and Xiao Ran, both from outside Dongzhou Prefecture, did not have much concern about this matter.

Seeing that the two cultivators who had come to Jiulong Mountain were only like this and did not show any intention of drawing their swords or guns, they became bolder and began to whisper among themselves in the square.

After chatting for a while, the two came to a conclusion.

Xiao Ran concluded, "The story in the rumors must be true."

After waiting a moment, the two exchanged a few more words. Qingzhu Daoist laughed loudly, casually took off his shirt, and revealed his thin upper body in front of everyone. He then excitedly said several things.

The nearly one hundred cultivators sitting closest to the podium could hear Qingzhu Daoren's words clearly.

The disciples of Jiulong Mountain changed their expressions drastically, as if they had suffered some terrible ordeal.

The way the invited guests looked at Yuanri Daoist changed considerably.

These words, only a few words, were carried by the wind to the ears of the monks below the stage.

"Unfaithful..."

"Appearance..."

"like……"

These words, among others, directly confirm Xiao Ran and Han Lu's guesses.

After chatting for a few more minutes, Qingzhu Daoren's emotions gradually calmed down, and he put on his usual air of a wise man again.

This time, when asking the second question, since it was no longer a private matter, Daoist Qingzhu deliberately raised his voice so that everyone present could hear him.

"Fellow Daoist Yuanri, let's talk about business after we've finished discussing personal matters. I'm asking you, are you thinking of joining forces with other sects to drive my Xuanyu Temple out of Dongzhou Prefecture?"

Master Yuanri had already made up his mind about this matter.

Originally, I wanted to keep it under wraps for a while and wait until the time was right before taking his place.

But now that the other party has come to ask questions, if we are vague and evasive, it will definitely cause the fellow practitioners who have just gathered around Jiulong Mountain to become disillusioned with Jiulong Mountain.

That would mean that the series of plans that had just been formulated would completely fail.

Therefore, without the slightest hesitation, Master Yuanri admitted to the matter in front of so many people.

"So what? Survival of the fittest. Today, the Nine Dragons Mountain is thriving, and many talented people are emerging from within our sect. Naturally, we must follow the will of Heaven and fight against your Xuan Yu Temple."

Conflict is the main theme in the cultivation world of the Great Yu Dynasty, not to mention the already tense relationship between Nine Dragon Mountain and Xuan Yu Temple.

Master Yuanri's words were reasonable, well-founded, and convincing.

Qingzhu Daoist came here for reasons unknown; his purpose was simply to have Yuanri Zhenren relay these words to the brocade-robed cultivator beside him.

As expected, after hearing what Yuanri Zhenren said, the cultivator in brocade robes snorted coldly and said, "The will of Heaven? The will of Heaven that Fellow Daoist Yuanri speaks of should be the will of my Jitian Palace, right?"

Upon hearing the words "my Heavenly Pole Palace" from the brocade-robed cultivator, Master Yuanri's heart skipped a beat. He forced himself to remain calm and said, "More or less. My Nine Dragons Mountain obeys the decree of Heaven and the laws of the Heavenly Pole Palace. Judging from your words, fellow Daoist, are you an elder of the Heavenly Pole Palace?"

“Of course, I would like to ask Fellow Daoist Yuanri, who exactly fabricated the Palace Master’s decree, allowing you to act recklessly in Dongzhou Prefecture and to replace Xuanyu Temple? Hmm?” The brocade-robed cultivator took out a luxurious chair from his storage bag, crossed his legs, and sat down, showing no trace of the demeanor of a Nascent Soul cultivator.

With that outfit, he looks more like a spoiled rich kid from a wealthy family.

[Author's Note] I'm really happy that FaZe won the championship, and I'm also happy that the Timberwolves played well this year (I didn't watch the live broadcast, just checked the forums and news). But Bayern's performance was disappointing. So there was no extra update.

Chapter 299 A Temporary Ceasefire

"This..." Yuan Ri Zhenren never expected the other party to be so arrogant and domineering.

He recalled his conversation with the envoy from the Extreme Heaven Palace in the sect that day, and remembered his promise to the envoy not to reveal his identity. Therefore, he did not directly answer the question from the cultivator in brocade robes.

“It is inconvenient to answer that here,” Master Yuanri asked again. “May I ask your name, fellow Daoist? May I know which reinforcements Fellow Daoist Qingzhu has brought?”

Although he had a past with Qingzhu Daoren, due to sectarian and personal reasons, Qingzhu Daoren is currently Yuanri Zhenren's greatest enemy.

This cultivator from the Jitian Palace, who stood on the same side as Qingzhu Zhenren and hindered Jiulong Mountain from dominating Dongzhou Prefecture, was naturally also an enemy of Yuanri Zhenren and Jiulong Mountain.

Therefore, although this brocade-robed cultivator came from the Jitian Palace and was an elder of the Jitian Palace, Yuan Ri Zhenren did not give this distinguished guest a friendly look.

Master Yuanri's words were barbed, which displeased the cultivator in the brocade robe.

He snorted coldly and said, "I didn't expect Fellow Daoist Yuanri to have such a bad temper despite his shallow cultivation."

"Instead of answering my questions, you're interrogating me about my identity?"

"Very well, I wonder if Master Yuanri has ever heard of my name, Young Master Xiang?"

Upon hearing this unusual Taoist name, Master Yuanri's expression changed slightly, and he inwardly cried out in alarm.

The faces of the Golden Core cultivators from Jiulong Mountain below the stage grew increasingly grim, as if the sky were about to collapse.

Among the Foundation Establishment and Qi Refining cultivators, only a small number were well-informed. Many cultivators, including Han Lu, had no idea who this Young Master Xiang was or what his status was among the Nascent Soul elders of the Extreme Heaven Palace.

On the contrary, the cultivators who practiced outside Dongzhou Prefecture had heard of the name of this Young Master Xiang.

Before Han Lu could ask, Xiao Ran whispered to Han Lu, who was engrossed in watching the excitement, about the origins of this "wealthy young master".

"A year and a half ago, the Palace Master of the Extreme Heaven Palace chose to go into seclusion to try to break through to the Nascent Soul realm."

Therefore, several elders within the Jitian Palace have become popular candidates for the new Palace Master.

"Among them, this Young Master Xiang was once the most popular candidate for the new Palace Master because he was considered half a disciple of the old Palace Master."

"But in the end, the current Palace Master of the Extreme Heaven Palace, Venerable Zhetian, surpassed him and took the position of Palace Master."

"Because during the election, Young Master Xiang and Venerable Zhetian had many unpleasant encounters, and their relationship was originally quite ordinary."

"So, I heard that Young Master Xiang has now been ostracized from the core of the Extreme Heaven Palace by the Venerable of Covering the Sky and the Palace Master."

"Their appearance here to support Xuanyu Temple is mostly an attempt to win people's hearts and minds and to gather the power of the peripheral sects that have also been marginalized."

Finally, Xiao Ran guessed, "Perhaps this Young Master Xiang is planning a coup in the Jitian Palace in the next few years to seize back the position of Palace Master."

Xiao Ran spoke his last sentence very softly, so softly that even Han Lu could barely hear it.

Listening to Xiao Ran's story, Han Lu felt as if she were hearing about a prince in a mortal empire who had to travel far and wide after failing to seize the throne.