Chapter 548: Fortune-telling Shangqing Slays the Great Charlatan

As the spiritual light gathered, the ancient souls in Neverfall City felt an unprecedented fear.

Their existence was closely tied to these wooden tablets; the disappearance of the tablets meant their source of power was cut off.

The ancient souls let out despairing howls, their voices echoing in the air, filled with resentment and fury.

Their bodies began to smoke, as if burned by an invisible flame, their forms grew blurred and gradually dissipated in the air.

As the ancient souls dissipated, the cultivators of Longyuan Immortal Sect also felt the influence of this mysterious power.

Many of them had suffered severe injuries in battle, but under the light's illumination, their wounds began to heal and their weary bodies regained vitality.

This power not only healed their bodies but also purified their souls, granting their minds an unprecedented tranquility.

Longling, Purple Yang True Person, and Clear Void Daoist stood at the center of the battlefield, their eyes fixed on the light diagram in the air. The appearance of this power was no coincidence; it must be closely tied to the secret of Neverfall City.

They began trying to decipher the information in the light diagram, hoping to find clues to solve the mystery of Neverfall City.

As time passed, the light diagram began to change; it was no longer still but started to spin, faster and faster, eventually forming a vortex of light.

At the center of the vortex, a huge gate slowly opened, emitting an ancient and powerful aura; it was a gate to another world.

Longling, Purple Yang True Person, and Clear Void Daoist exchanged a glance, without hesitation they walked straight toward the gate.

The moment they stepped into the gate, a strong suction pulled them in; they felt their bodies enveloped by an invisible force, the surrounding scenery blurred, then darkness.

When they opened their eyes again, they found they had arrived in a completely new world.

This world was utterly different from Neverfall City, brimming with life and vitality; the sky was a deep azure, the earth covered with strange flowers and herbs, the air fragrant with blossoms and soil.

At the center of this world stood a massive palace, its architecture ancient and solemn, exuding a sacred aura.

Longling, Purple Yang True Person, and Clear Void Daoist walked toward the palace; when they reached its main gate, the gate opened automatically, and a powerful force drew them inside.

Inside the palace was a vast hall, at its center stood a huge altar bearing a massive crystal sphere.

The crystal sphere emitted a soft glow, within it countless stars seemed to revolve. Around the altar stood rows of stone statues, each different—some like dragons, some like tigers, some like humans; they were ancient guardians protecting this secret world.

Longling, Purple Yang True Person, and Clear Void Daoist approached the altar, their eyes drawn to the crystal sphere.

With their efforts, the crystal sphere began to change, its light growing brighter until it burst forth in a blinding beam.

In that light, a huge soul shadow appeared before them—it was a mighty being of the Giant Demon Clan, its stature even larger than a bone dragon, its eyes flashing with sharp light.

"You have finally come." The soul shadow spoke, its voice like thunder echoing in the hall. "I have waited here for countless ages; at last a living being can take me out."

Longling, Purple Yang True Person, and Clear Void Daoist bowed respectfully, knowing they faced an immeasurably ancient relic.

The Giant Demon Clan's soul shadow, seeing this, had its eyes flash with memories from ages past.

It turned out this world had once been the holy land of the Giant Demon Clan, but after a disaster it was sealed; the calamity of Neverfall City is precisely the aftermath of that sealing.

The appearance of the bone dragon is a distortion of this world's power, while those ancient souls are the undead spirits of dragon warriors trapped by that distortion.

"To completely resolve Neverfall City's disaster, you must activate the Giant Demon Clan's clan-protecting treasure, the Myriad Soul Source, within this city." The soul shadow said, "And the Myriad Soul Source lies within that crystal sphere."

Longling, Purple Yang True Person, and Clear Void Daoist exchanged a glance, knowing the task was immensely daunting, yet they did not retreat.

They began attempting to activate the crystal sphere, hoping to find information about the Myriad Demon Tower.

As they worked, the crystal sphere emitted an even more dazzling light; a powerful force burst from it, full of life and vigor, beginning to repair this world's wounds and restore its balance.

With the release of this power, Neverfall City's disaster began to ease; the distorted forces started to dissipate, the sky over Neverfall City grew clear, and the land began to regain vitality.

The cultivators of Longyuan Immortal Sect felt this power, their faces breaking into delighted smiles; this calamity would finally end.

Longling, Purple Yang True Person, and Clear Void Daoist stood before the crystal sphere, their silhouettes looming vast in the light. Their efforts at noon were not in vain; Neverfall City would henceforth remain firmly in the grasp of Longyuan Immortal Sect.

"Hum—rumble..."

As the crystal sphere's power gradually stabilized, the figures of Longling, Purple Yang True Person, and Clear Void Daoist began to blur, finally vanishing into the light.

The city's sky returned to its former azure, sunlight spilling onto every stone slab, warm and bright.

Cultivators rebuilt their homes amid the ruins, their faces glowing with hope and determination, every action filled with anticipation for the future.

Longling stood before the rebuilt council hall, gazing far toward the horizon; although the disaster had passed, Longyuan Immortal Sect's responsibility was far from over—Neverfall City, adjacent to Heaven's Extremity Mountain Range, is a resting place for countless cultivators, and the surroundings teem with cultivator bandits; if unprepared, great upheaval would ensue.

Purple Yang True Person then entered seclusion in the cultivation chamber, the Great Sun Purple Qi circulating within his body, each breath resonating with the spiritual qi of heaven and earth.

Only by continually raising one's cultivation level can one have sufficient strength when facing unknown challenges.

Clear Void Daoist meanwhile perused the ancient texts left by Neverfall City; the power of the Shangqing Great Grotto True Scripture flowed through his fingertips.

Soon after, at the city's center, a new monument rose from the ground, inscribed with the names of all cultivators who had sacrificed in the disaster.

Whenever night fell, the monument would glow with a faint light, as if those heroic souls were guarding the city.

As time flowed, Neverfall City gradually regained its former prosperity.

The market bustled, vendors' cries rising and falling.

Children chased and played in the streets, their laughter clear and pleasant.

Cultivators practiced martial arts in the plaza, swordlight flashing, fist winds howling, their figures agile as flying.

On the city's edge, a new spiritual field was reclaimed, lush green medicinal herbs thriving under the sun's rays.

In the depths of Neverfall City, the elders of Longyuan Immortal Sect, following the contemplative information provided by Longling, continually verified and established a new cultivation team.

Their cultivation method combined Longling's White Bone Dharma Manifestation, Purple Yang True Person's Great Sun Purple Qi, and Clear Void Daoist's Shangqing Great Grotto True Scripture; the three united, resulting in breakthroughs so swift even they had not anticipated.

Time flew, days and months like shuttles.

During a midnight cultivation session, Longling sensed a faint fluctuation, unlike ordinary spiritual qi flow, carrying a hint of ancient and mysterious aura.

Purple Yang True Person's brow furrowed; he could feel that the power contained in this fluctuation was not trivial, seemingly connected to the force they had felt in the mysterious world before.

"Could this power be the residual ripple of that world?" he asked in a low voice.

"In ancient legends, some powers can traverse time and space to affect reality." Clear Void Daoist lifted his head, eyes flashing with wisdom, "Perhaps this fluctuation comes from some ancient entity."

The three decided to investigate the source of this fluctuation, beginning to lay formations around Neverfall City to try to capture its trajectory.

As the formations activated, the fluctuation's trajectory gradually became clear, seemingly pointing to the deep underground of Neverfall City.

Longling, Purple Yang True Person, and Clear Void Daoist led a group of elite disciples deep underground to explore.

They wound through twisting underground passages, finally arriving at a vast subterranean cavern.

In the center of the cave stood a huge stone platform, on which lay an ancient stone tablet covered in strange runes that emitted a faint light, resonating with the fluctuations they had felt earlier.

Longling stepped forward and lightly touched the tablet, and a powerful stream of information surged into his mind.

He saw an ancient civilization that once ruled this land and possessed great power.

However, due to a disaster, that civilization ultimately perished, leaving only this stone tablet as proof of its former existence.

Ziyang Zhenren and Qingxu Daozhang also sensed the power within the tablet, knowing that the power contained in this stone tablet was a tremendous treasure for Neverfall City.

They decided to bring the stone tablet back to the Longyuan Immortal Sect to study its secrets, hoping to thereby enhance the sect's strength.

After the stone tablet was brought back to the sect, the elders of the Longyuan Immortal Sect began researching it and discovered that the runes on the tablet were an ancient language recording a powerful cultivation method.

This method, when combined with their existing cultivation system, could greatly enhance a cultivator's strength.

As the secrets of the stone tablet were unveiled, the cultivators of Neverfall City began a new wave of cultivation fervor.

Under the guidance of the stone tablet, they cultivated more powerful spells and martial techniques, and his strength increased rapidly.

However, as their strength grew, some cultivators began to nurture ambition and desire in their hearts.

They craved more power, wished to surpass their predecessors, and even desired to control the entirety of Neverfall City. This sentiment spread quietly within the sect, and some cultivators secretly formed alliances, attempting to change the existing order.

"That cultivation method is extraordinarily strange; it can magnify the cultivator's hidden desires, and the higher the Realm, the heavier the impact received."

Longling, Ziyang Zhenren, and Qingxu Daozhang noticed this change, knowing that if left unchecked, this ambition and desire would bring a new disaster to Neverfall City.

They began to strengthen the sect's management and teachings, emphasizing that the true purpose of cultivation is to protect this land and its people, not to pursue personal power.

Through their efforts, the cultivators of Neverfall City gradually returned to the right path and came to understand the true essence of cultivation anew.

They began to focus more on inner cultivation, seeking harmony with nature, and as a result their power became purer and stronger.

With the passage of time, Neverfall City once again became a peaceful and prosperous city.

On the bustling streets of Neverfall City, Qingxu Daozhang strolled among the market stalls, his gaze calm and his steps leisurely.

Today he was not wearing the formal Daoist robes of the Longyuan Immortal Sect, but had changed into a simple green shirt to better blend with the crowd and observe the people's sentiments.

Along both sides of the street, the vendors' cries and children's laughter intertwined, forming a vibrant scene.

As Qingxu Daozhang was about to turn back to the sect, his gaze was drawn to a stall. Unlike other vendors displaying a dazzling array of goods, this stall had only a simple cloth banner bearing the four large characters 'Heaven's Secrets Can Be Divined'.

Behind the stall sat an apparently ordinary fortune-telling cultivator, whose eyes revealed a profound depth that was hard to describe.

The fortune-telling cultivator noticed Qingxu Daozhang's gaze, smiled slightly, and beckoned him over. 'Daoist, your aura is extraordinary; you are certainly no ordinary person. Let me cast a hexagram for you to see your future.' The cultivator's voice carried an irresistible charm.

Qingxu Daozhang furrowed his brow slightly; he had no intention of lingering here, but the cultivator's words seemed to conceal some deeper meaning.

His heart stirred; he decided to test the cultivator, so he walked to the stall, took up a brush, and wrote the four characters 'Upper Pure Numinous Treasure' on a blank sheet of paper.

'These four characters are the name of our sect's supreme treasure; can you calculate their mystery?' Qingxu Daozhang's voice was calm, but his eyes held a hint of challenge.

The fortune-telling cultivator took the paper, and a glint of precision flashed in his eyes.

He spread the paper flat on the stall and began to draw complex talismans in the air with both hands.

As the talismans were completed, a mysterious force began to gather in the air above the stall, and the surrounding air seemed to tremble.

However, at that very moment, an anomaly suddenly occurred.

The originally clear sky suddenly turned overcast, dark clouds gathered, and a oppressive aura enveloped the entirety of Neverfall City.

The fortune-telling cultivator's face changed drastically; he realized something, but it was already too late.

A terrifying bolt of lightning struck down from the sky without warning, hitting the fortune-telling cultivator directly.

The lightning's power was unmatched; the fortune-telling cultivator didn't even have time to utter a scream before turning to ash, his stall vanishing along with him into nothingness.

Qingxu Daozhang was shocked by this sudden turn of events, stepping back a few paces as a tremendous surge rose in his heart.

Even with his Cultivation Level, he felt a hint of fear from the lightning's might.

This was no ordinary heavenly thunder; it contained the profound and unfathomable power of some heavenly principle.

The surrounding populace was also terrified by this scene, panicking and fleeing in all directions, and the market instantly fell into chaos.

Qingxu Daozhang immediately cast a spell; a green light shot from his hand, forming a protective shield that sheltered the surrounding people, preventing greater casualties.

After learning of this incident, Longling and Ziyang Zhenren also grew solemn in expression.

The fortune-telling cultivator's death was clearly due to his touching some forbidden power, and that power was related to the four characters 'Upper Pure Numinous Treasure'.