Chapter 28: Fat Daoist

Five days later, in a mountain range rarely visited by people.

Yang Zhu's interior rumbled, a divine light pierced the heavens, golden qi and blood surged out of the Bronze Immortal Palace, spreading over hundreds of li.

The momentum was like a torrential river pouring down, vast like a galaxy falling to the human world, and the laws of the entire heaven and earth resonated simultaneously.

"What person is so powerful, their qi and blood are actually as vigorous as an ocean."

"To cause such a commotion, even a Holy Son–level figure would be no more than this, right?"

"The Southern Demon's breakthrough back then couldn't compare to this; could it be that an Emperor Son–level figure has been born?!"

In the mountain range, some reclusive peerless experts in seclusion were simultaneously awakened by this blood qi, their faces filled with astonishment.

Such a tremendous might, even these old monsters of theirs had never heard of it, couldn't help but gasp, and all speculated who was breaking through here.

Yang Zhu's bones and five viscera, after being cleansed, were as white as jade, strong to an unimaginable degree, comparable to the toughest divine metal! At the location of the heart's divine repository, a golden deity stood awe-inspiring; though its form was completed, the aura it emitted could shatter mountains and split seas, immensely powerful.

Yang Zhu rose to his feet, the divine patterns on his true body shone, and strands of Great Dao light poured down like waterfalls, emitting blinding radiance.

Now, Yang Zhu's physical body needs only a slight tremor, and a wisp of pressure emanating from his true body can shatter mountain peaks.

The surrounding space seemed about to unable to bear it, as multiple black void cracks appeared, within which dark light burst forth, ready to collapse at any moment.

Yang Zhu leisurely exhaled a few breaths of turbid qi, his entire body's divine patterns retracted and vanished completely.

From then on, his realm successfully reached the Dao Palace.

During his seclusion, Yang Zhu could feel the Bronze Immortal Palace moving with him underground, but he had no leisure to attend to it.

"I can go out now, but I don't know where it has brought me."

Yang Zhu followed Ye Fan's former route and finally left this place through a hole that had been blasted through.

Outside the Bronze Immortal Palace, it was pitch black, you couldn't see your hand in front of your face, a chilling cold breath assailed you, icy to the bone; this place was undoubtedly underground.

Yang Zhu's body shone brightly, dispelling all darkness within several meters around him.

After leaving the cave mouth, the Bronze Immortal Palace headed into the distant darkness and soon vanished from sight.

From then on, I don't know how many ages I'll have to wait until the next emergence.

Yang Zhu swiftly rushed through the underground river below and finally found a secret passage leading upward.

The huge lake was bottomless, its emerald surface reflecting the sky, exceptionally tranquil.

Suddenly, a water column shot up into the sky, and Yang Zhu darted out from the depths like a bolt of electricity.

Yang Zhu looked around; the lake surface here was vast, surrounded by towering peaks, majestic and imposing, with an extraordinary aura.

Here vegetation covered the ground, ancient trees stood in rows, many kinds unheard of, a scene of lush greenery.

"It seems to be a dragon vein?"

Yang Zhu gazed at the distant mountain range's contour, resembling a reclining dragon, magnificent and mighty; it was actually a rare dragon vein, a precious piece of land.

The dragon vein gathers the creation of heaven and earth, its spiritual energy abundant, an excellent terrain for nurturing heavenly treasures and earthly riches, often possessing many opportunities.

Some great beings, when their lifespan nears its end, often choose to build tombs on terrains like dragon veins to keep their fortune from waning.

Yang Zhu is now extremely powerful; with a single step he can ascend a mountain peak, observe the direction of the ranges below, and quickly lock onto a direction.

He was like a gust of wind, his speed astonishing; in just two or three breaths he had already arrived at a mountain's base.

Not long after he left, many peerless experts arrived one after another, all wanting to see who was so strong, but they all came up empty-handed.

……

In front of the cliff, about ten meters away, there was a protruding flat platform with distinct edges, vaguely resembling a dragon head poking out.

This is the dragon vein's "dragon head"; generally the "dragon head" is the core of the dragon vein, a place where energy converges, where precious things often grow.

After going in less than a hundred meters, a stone door blocked the way.

I gave it a light push, and the stone door didn't budge at all, confirming what Yang Zhu said—that inside was likely a tomb.

Such a stone door posed no obstacle to him; Yang Zhu stepped on the Walking Character Secret, directly ignoring the barrier, and in the next moment arrived straight behind the stone door. "Not a tomb, but a stone chamber?"

Upon seeing clearly what lay beyond the door, the expected coffin did not appear; instead, what met the eyes was more like a secret room.

Beyond the door was a naturally formed cave, less than ten meters wide front to back, the ceiling height about three meters, the space not large, with only a single entrance.

The cave's furnishings were also simple: a bed made from leveled rock, plus a wooden table and chair—these were all there was.

"What is this?"

Upon entering, the gaze was first drawn to the stone bed, upon which lay a skeleton in a lotus pose, as if still cultivating before it.

Yang Zhu was astonished to discover that this skeleton had existed for thousands of years, its surface still retaining a layer of desiccated skin, indicating that its owner in life was definitely a supreme expert.

Beside the skeleton lay a tarnished black iron pestle, seemingly the master's personal treasure in life.

"A Vajra Pestle? It seems to also be a holy artifact."

The iron pestle was about the thickness of a forearm, its surface coated in a black layer, its patterns long blurred, and it bore many cracks.

Yang Zhu picked up the Vajra Pestle, examined it closely; although it is now severely damaged, inside it still harbors great power—if sufficient spiritual power is infused, it can be activated to unleash a remarkable attack.

"Could it be that this is an eminent monk from the Western Desert, who traveled ten thousand miles to come here just to seclude himself?"

"This type of treasure is normally only refined by Buddhist Sect practitioners; the eminent monk has already entered nirvana, so why did he come to this place to seclude while alive? Yang Zhu doesn't know where he is now, but he can be certain it's not in the Western Desert!"

"It could still be used a few more times; maybe it'll come in handy later."

After putting away the Vajra Pestle, Yang Zhu discovered on the table some items resembling the Buddha, further confirming his speculation.

After searching the entire cave, aside from a string of Buddhist prayer beads, there were no other treasures, inevitably leaving Yang Zhu somewhat disappointed.

At that moment, a sound came from the cave ceiling, starting faint and gradually becoming clearer……

With a bang, the cave ceiling was pierced, rubble pattered down, and immediately a plump figure leapt down from the hole.

"Hahaha! The poor daoist has arrived, let the poor daoist take a look…… My mother!"

That person was about to burst out laughing when he suddenly noticed there was a living person, as if seeing a ghost, and was frightened into stumbling backward.

Yang Zhu fixed his gaze and saw that it was a fat daoist holding a whisk, yet bearing no trace of a monastic demeanor.

The fat daoist wore a splendid daoist robe, was white and plump, his face glowing red; when he smiled, he always gave off a feeling of harboring ill intent, and at first glance he didn't look like a good person.

He had all kinds of things hanging on him, a bronze Bagua mirror, a longevity lock… they were all excellent treasures!

"Wuliang Tianzun! Fellow Daoist, why aren't you saying a word? You scared this poor Daoist to death!"

After getting a clear look at Yang Zhu's appearance, Pang Daoren patted his chest and chanted his Daoist name.

Yang Zhu roughly guessed who the other person was, thinking it couldn't be such a coincidence.

"I didn't know the Daoist Priest would come down from the sky; I didn't react right away." Yang Zhu joked.

"Er..."

Upon hearing that, Pang Daoren was momentarily at a loss, laughed embarrassedly, then continued.

"This humble Daoist finds this place quite extraordinary and specially came to take a look!"

Yang Zhu sighed inwardly, deep in these mountains, do you think anyone would believe you came just to sightsee? To end up sightseeing your way into someone's secret room—you must be after something else.

"Please go ahead, Daoist Priest."

If he'd encountered a fake corpse, it would have been fine—he could just have taken it—but suddenly a living person appeared, really catching him off guard.

Pang Daoren nodded gratefully, gave an embarrassed laugh, and said: "Good… okay."

After that, Yang Zhu kept staring at the other person, sightseeing in the cave with an ulterior motive.

Though he said he was sightseeing, most of the time his gaze lingered on that skeleton, his eyes darting about, not knowing what he was plotting.

(End of chapter)