Chapter 85

That is a huge stone gate.

The magnificent stone gate stands a full thousand zhang tall, exuding an ancient and grand aura.

At the moment this stone gate appeared, Zhang Jian felt his divine sense involuntarily drawn into it, yet he did not panic.

The Nine Chapters of the Pure Tongshan already recorded this.

After forging the Fate-measuring Dao Foundation, one naturally encounters fate, able to be guided by the Divine Mountain Dao Lineage, locate the gate of the Divine Mountain Dao Lineage, then enter and obtain the Great Dao of Longevity.

As his divine sense had just entered the stone gate, he saw a list floating in the air, and his body involuntarily flew into it.

He also vaguely sensed the location of a vast Divine Mountain territory.

At a glance, he felt as if he had entered a mythic mountain‑sea realm; the Divine Mountain suppressed the Cang Sea, and the rhythm of the boundless Great Dao rushed toward him, striking his divine sense and soul.

In the haze, he saw a figure extend a slender jade hand, snatch the list, and, holding a brush, circle his name, then say.

"This disciple I accept; he is just like me, his path lies outside the sect, so he ought to join my lineage!"

At that moment another voice sounded from afar.

「Senior Sister, you're not being shameless, aren't you, you already have several capable disciples under you; this disciple who has shown up on the main list ought to be given to us, and I and several of my senior brothers still have no disciples yet……」

Upon hearing that, the voice let out a light laugh and said: "Then you just put in some effort yourselves; outside there are countless talents, why must you compete with me, Senior Sister!"

「Slay Demon Senior Sister, your hand is too fast; this disciple hasn't even undergone the sect's Three Tribulations test, yet you already marked them ahead of time—how can we compete? This won't do; we need to go before the patriarch and speak our piece。」

「Then let's go before the patriarch and speak our piece! Let's see whether it's wrong for me, this Senior Sister, to take on more disciples, or wrong to take none。」

Afterwards, in a daze, Zhang Jian heard several figures arguing, but after a moment he still could do nothing about that slender figure.

In his daze, he then heard that figure speak.

「Zhang Jian, aged fourteen and a half, a native of Fengxi, Fengyang County, Great Qian, entered the Dao at fourteen, achieved Foundation Establishment in half a year, his talent is excellent, his fate bears the dormant dragon and tiger, his eight characters… have been verified as his true identity… Now he voluntarily becomes a disciple of the Paulownia Mountain Dao Lineage, undergoing the Paulownia Mountain Three Tribulations trial; once the Three Tribulations are resolved, he will naturally obtain the Divine Mountain Great Dao Lineage and enter the Slay Demon Lineage。」

This passage was like an azure inscription.

Zhang Jian's thoughts changed only slightly, and he immediately began to silently recite it.

Although he didn't understand much about the interior of the Divine Mountain, from the words of those arguing figures he also gained a few pieces of information.

First, he had entered the so-called main list.

Second, the fact that several masters are fighting over him shows his talent cannot be too poor.

Moreover, the identity of the one who selected him is likewise out of the ordinary, quite formidable.

This inevitably let Zhang Jian breathe a sigh of relief.

Actually, many things he doesn't particularly care about; what he cares about is whether this Divine Mountain Dao Lineage can let him continue his cultivation and go further on the path of longevity.

As the words fell, a radiance burst from the main list and in an instant sank deep into the space between Zhang Jian's brows.

He gazed toward the figure in the clouds, faintly seeing them smile lightly; with a wave of the hand, a stream of light sent him into the stone gate.

Inside the Zhang clan's ancestral hall, Zhang Jian opened his eyes, digesting the final message that had come to his mind; after a moment, a hint of helplessness appeared in his eyes.

「Resolve the Three Tribulations, gain the opportunity to choose one's own Dao Lineage! 」

That means he must join the Paulownia Mountain Dao Lineage to obtain the longevity method; he wishes to resolve the Three Tribulations, thereby contributing a strand of fortune to the sect, only then will the Dao Lineage acknowledge him and impart immortal arts.

And resolving the Three Tribulations need not be his own tribulations; they can also be someone else's.

As long as it can offer a strand of fortune to the sect, it suffices as the initiation gift.

Of course, the richer the gift, the more the sect will naturally favor him, and after joining he will have somewhat more choices.

If that is the case, it is actually quite simple.

But the problem is that his Three Tribulations have already been designated.

To ferry across and transform the Phoenix Spirit Ghost King, to resolve the trouble of Fengyang Prefecture.

Only then can he enter the Slay Demon Lineage.

Of course, this choice is two-way; that Slay Demon True Lord also gave him another option—to follow the sect's orthodox transmission, resolve another set of Three Tribulations, not according to the designated method, at which point he could choose to enter under the elders of other Dao Lineages.

But in Zhang Jian's view, this is almost no choice at all.

If he therefore shows timidity, those powerhouses of the Paulownia Mountain Dao Lineage may not necessarily look highly upon him.

It could very well affect his subsequent cultivation!

「But it's not that there's no opportunity! 」

Although the Slay Demon True Lord gave him a problem, he also gave him assistance; at critical moments he can borrow the Slay Demon True Lord's power three times.

Zhang Jian's gaze flickered; this actually already offers considerable maneuverability.

……

On another side.

The Phoenix Spirit Ghost King was pierced through by golden light, suffering an unimaginable heavy blow.

Her body almost turned into a golden sieve, while she desperately rushed back toward the direction of Phoenix Nest Mountain at great speed.

Deep within Phoenix Nest Mountain, a point of black light shot swiftly through the radiance of the outer "Jade Saint Hand Scroll" and directly entered the mountain's interior.

A white vapor followed close behind.

It flapped its wings, and after a moment it reached the depths of the mountain.

Inside the mountain at this moment there is a great cavern covered by massive stone stalactites.

Within the cavern there is a fissure; the point of black light plunged straight into it, and shortly thereafter a sound of excruciating wailing came from within the cavern.

「Master! 」

The little white bird watched this scene, instantly feeling a bit worried, yet dared not lightly enter the cavern.

It knows that the interior of the cavern is the Phoenix Spirit Forbidden Ground, entry prohibited.

There too is a breeding ground for the ubiquitous resentment of heaven and earth; if one enters, it is easy for the resentment to erode the mind and turn one into a puppet.

The little white bird, worried at heart, could only fly back and forth inside the cave, sometimes perching on a stalactite, sometimes landing on a strange phoenix tree nearby.

It is an old phoenix tree, merely beneath its bark the green is as dark as ink, full of vitality.

This is also where Bai Niao'er's foundation lies.

It is formed from the vital essence exhaled by the old tree.

Otherwise, it could not have been following the Feng Ling Ghost King all this time, nor would it have avoided being devoured by the Feng Ling Ghost King.

Cry!

In a moment, accompanied by a heaven-shaking, earth-shaking phoenix cry, it burst forth from within the mountain.

With this phoenix cry, a force that fills heaven and earth, as if summoned, gathered from above the Twin Phoenix Mountain Range, turning into a long river that pierced through the mountain's interior.

Here we go again!

At this moment, in Fengyang Prefecture, several deities saw the erupting sky-charging resentment on Feng Nest Mountain.

That thing, landing inside Fengyang Prefecture's city, is like a bomb that could explode at any moment; once it detonates, the entirety of Fengyang Prefecture, inside and out, will be reduced to a rotting ruin.

"Feng Ling Ghost King, a born ghost deity, is indeed a formidable figure!"

In the deep waters of White Water, Bai Nu gazed at this scene, also furrowing his brow deeply.

The phoenix is originally an existence whose foundation is not inferior to that of a true dragon.

He also roughly knows the origin of the Feng Ling in Feng Nest Mountain: it is a phoenix egg that fell there, nurtured into form by the spiritual excellence of the mountains and rivers.

It is both a phoenix and a mountain god.

However, her luck is not good.

Even before it could be born into the world, it fell victim to the poisonous hand of the Min King.

Deceived by people, its origin was split apart.

"Min King, you're truly a malignant tumor!"

Bai Nu's face darkened; he had trusted the Min King, which led to this great calamity, and the Feng Ling before him can only be said to have had ill fortune, having been found by the Min King's subordinates and become a sacrifice.

The Feng Ling Ghost King resents heaven and earth; now, combined with the vague resentment between heaven and earth, it has become the source of resentment, and adding a portion of the essence of the phoenix divine beast, one can imagine how difficult it is to deal with.

Once it breaks free of its shackles, it will undoubtedly be a first-rate formidable ghost deity among heaven and earth.

In the City Emperor Divine Bureau, the Prefectural City Emperor Chen Qingyuan also had a headache.

However, the two deities at this time do not know that the Feng Ling Ghost King is currently struggling on the brink of life and death.

The golden light bursting from that stone mirror was too terrifying; it directly pierced her primordial spirit, and possesses a layer of indelible power that continues to wear away her origin.