Chapter 203: Coincidentally, the Flowers and Trees of the Dao Palace Wither; Just in Time, I Hear of the Fragrant Jade and Crimson Sn

The Laoshan Sect dojo.

The mountains are high and the ridges are steep; the forests are deep and the valleys are secluded.

The mountain stream winds and coils, while the pines and cypresses grow in layer upon layer of rows. One hears endless cries of apes and calls of cranes, the roars of dragons and tigers, as mist and clouds rise on all sides.

Where the mountain peak is located.

Amidst the clusters of pines and bamboo, a precious pool sparkles, reflecting the shadows of the trees within. On the pine moss, there are dense clusters, dark green like jade, delicate and lovely.

A Daoist is sitting upright on a Dao platform in the center of the precious pool, preaching the Dao to the disciples seated below.

One sees that he wears a Xiaoyao Crown, is draped in a Dharma robe with thunder patterns, and wears a dragon-tiger jade pendant at his waist. His complexion is ruddy, his demeanor is approachable, and he truly possesses the spirit of an immortal and the bearing of a grandmaster.

As his preaching spreads, it transforms into dense, fine scriptures that fall, appearing both tangible and intangible, vast and scattered.

Wonderful sounds resonate, auspicious colors are vibrant, and they condense into blossoms of Golden Flowers and jade pistils, drifting slowly downward.

The disciples seated below are listening, entranced and swaying their heads.

Suddenly—

The Daoist stops preaching, causing the disciples to wake one after another from their listening.

"Duanhe, a distinguished guest has arrived. You shall receive them on behalf of your master first."

"Yes. This disciple accepts the order."

Among the disciples, a young man immediately emerges. He has a topknot, a brand-new Daoist robe, long eyebrows and broad eyes, a nose like a hanging gall, and a tall, upright posture. Clear Qi flows around him; he is already at the True Immortal realm.

He is the Daoist's eldest disciple.

Duanhe accepts the order, takes his leave, and exits the place of preaching.

Following the winding mountain path, neither fast nor slow, he uses the "shrinking the ground to an inch" technique, heading toward the mountain gate.

In a moment, Duanhe has already arrived at the mountain gate.

However, looking around, he does not see the distinguished guest his master spoke of.

Just as he is about to hold his breath and focus, waiting patiently, a sound of sword-ringing reaches his ears.

The cloud light in the firmament opens, and immediately, mysterious sounds rise in succession. Auspicious colors are vibrant, condensing into Golden Flowers and jeweled necklaces, drifting slowly downward.

Accompanied by this phenomenon, a Dao song comes from afar, drawing near: "Riding the sword, I come upon the wind, ridding the world of Demon.

With wine, I am happy and carefree; without wine, I am still mad.

One drink drains the rivers; another drink swallows the sun and moon.

A thousand cups cannot make me drunk; I am the Wine Sword Immortal."

Duanhe looks up and sees, in mid-air, sword light flickering as two figures appear.

One in front, one behind.

The one slightly in front is a Sword Immortal so handsome it is beyond words. One sees that he wears a Golden Crown, is draped in a white Dharma robe, and behind him, in a halo of light, a green blade slowly rotates.

His left hand holds a Red Jade Gourd, from which he is slowly sipping, while his right hand holds an Iron Pen, the size of a writing brush, appearing like a shrunken spear, which he strokes incessantly.

There is an indescribable sense of ease and romantic flair.

Falling two or three steps behind him is a female immortal of the Kun-Dao, her face covered by a veil, making it impossible to see her features, only her beautiful sea-blue eyes.

Neither of these two conceals their Aura, so he naturally senses that both are at the Golden Immortal realm.

His heart skips a beat immediately.

Especially the way the female immortal senior adopts a posture of deferring to the former, which makes him realize the extraordinary nature of this distinguished guest.

The two are naturally Fang Longye and Long Xuan.

Since he is acting under the identity of a Sword Immortal, Fang Longye naturally took a title for himself—Wine Sword Immortal.

There is a gourd, there is fine wine, there is an immortal sword.

Hmm, how could he not be the Wine Sword Immortal? As for the so-called Iron Pen in his right hand, it is naturally the Panlong Spear.

Following the Panlong Spear's achievement as a top-tier divine weapon, the vast disparity made it no longer so compliant to his will.

Facing such a situation, there is naturally only the option of using "water-grinding" effort to refine it bit by bit and regain control over it.

Therefore, whenever Fang Longye has nothing to do now, he keeps the Panlong Spear transformed into the size of a writing brush, holding it in his hand, stroking and refining it without end.

It can be said that with the current quality and power of the Panlong Spear, I fear that even if he steps into the Taiyi Realm, Fang Longye will have to maintain this image for a long time.

If, in this process, he were to manifest before mortals and be captured in a painting, I fear he would leave behind this very image.

Just like that Patriarch of Pure Yang, Lü Dongbin, from his past life, who, because of the story of having his precious sword borrowed by Zhenwu Dadi, came to have the image of carrying an empty sword sheath and was depicted in paintings.

The phenomenon fades, and the surroundings return to calm.

Before the Sword Immortal senior in front of him can look at him, Duanhe immediately bows and says, "Duanhe of the Laoshan Sect, greets the two seniors."

His attitude is respectful, gentle, and polite.

In his actions, even the strictest person could find no fault.

"No need for formalities." Fang Longye flicks his hand lightly, and a force as swift as the wind naturally lifts Duanhe up.

He looks Duanhe up and down, nods, and praises, "Indeed, the person lives up to his name. Based on this temperament alone, one day, you will surely be among the Golden Immortals."

"Many thanks for the senior's auspicious words."

Although Duanhe feels his own aptitude is good, the barrier of ascending to a Golden Immortal is different from an Origin Immortal ascending to a True Immortal; many peers are trapped in this quagmire.

He does not have absolute confidence, even though he has a master at the Golden Immortal completion stage protecting his path, and his grandmaster is a supreme Taiyi who founded the Laoshan Sect.

Thus, Duanhe does not say more on this, but leads the way, saying, "My master was just preaching the Dao, so I fear he cannot come to welcome you immediately. I hope the seniors will forgive this."

Fang Longye waves his hand and laughs aloud, "No need for that. This seat was merely passing by your precious land. It just so happened that I became interested, which is why I took the initiative to visit your sect. To disturb you without cause is my fault~"

Yet his gaze is deep, and he has his own thoughts in mind.

Laoshan Sect? I wonder if it is of the Shangqing Lineage? Also, the real Laoshan seems to be in Nanzhan Buzhou, right?...

Following the winding mountain path, enjoying the beautiful scenery of the immortals all the way, Duanhe leads Fang Longye and Long Xuan to a Dao Palace.

"Seniors, this Lower Qing Palace is where our Laoshan Sect specifically receives outside guests. It is a humble dwelling, and I hope the seniors will not mind."

Fang Longye smiled, surveyed his surroundings, and waved his hand, saying, "This Lower Qing Palace quite fits the concept of the Dao following nature; how can it be called a humble dwelling?"

It was not only because this Lower Qing Palace was truly not small, but the so-called humble dwelling was merely a display of modesty.

It was even more because he had confirmed which lineage of the Three Pure Ones this Laoshan Sect belonged to!

Gazing at the three bright, large characters "Taiqing Palace" on the plaque above, Fang Longye chuckled inwardly.

Setting aside his past life, in this Honghuang world, if the "Taiqing Palace" was called the Lower Qing Palace by this Laoshan Sect, what other reason could there be? It was a certainty that this Laoshan Sect belonged to the Shangqing Lineage~

He paced inside and, accompanied by Duanhe, began to tour the scenery of the Lower Qing Palace.

Passing through corridors and paths, winding and twisting, Fang Longye and his party arrived at a courtyard.

Duanhe introduced from the side, "The Senior may not know, but the outside guests received by this Lower Qing Palace include not only fellow practitioners but also the many pilgrims who venerate our Laoshan Sect."

"And the area where this courtyard is located is specifically for those mortal pilgrims who sincerely revere the Dao."

Fang Longye nodded, indicating he understood.

After all, the Laoshan Sect was not merely a pure cultivation sect; it also possessed a religious nature and had to interact with believers and pilgrims.

Walking inside, he saw that everything around was clear and clean.

With pines, bamboos, mossy flowers covering the ground, and three or five white cranes dancing, even the place where mortal pilgrims stayed was a scene of immortal splendor.

"Eh?"

Fang Longye's gaze fell upon three withered and decaying plants, and he could not help but look surprised.

One must know, what kind of place was this? An immortal sect, a place where a Golden Immortal resided.

No matter what flowers, grasses, or trees entered this place, they would inevitably remain evergreen for a thousand years and never age for ten thousand years.

How could there be a phenomenon of decay and withering? Hearing Fang Longye's exclamation of surprise, Duanhe also looked in the direction of his gaze, likewise showing astonishment.

"This~ I remember that over a month ago, this Naidong Wood and White Peony were still doing fine?"

"Hmm? Who cut down that Red Leaf Grass!"

"How hateful!"

"To actually kill three lives just like that!"

"Sigh! Lamentable, respectable, and pitiful!"

Fang Longye saw that Duanhe, who had been gentle all along the way, had suddenly flared with anger and was even jumping with rage.

He was immediately very surprised.

But upon hearing the few words of his angry speech, his expression immediately became strange.

This was only because the scene before him seemed very similar to a story from the *Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio* of his past life.

Gazing at the already dead peony and Naidong Wood, Fang Longye murmured in his heart: "Xiangyu? Jiangxue?"

A long while later.

Duanhe finally calmed his mind, stopped cursing, turned to Fang Longye, and apologized, "I have let the Senior see a disgrace!"

"It is just that~" His eyes welled with tears as he looked at the three dead plants, and his voice was even choked with emotion, "The twists and turns within this, looking back on them now, are truly too moving and tragic~"

"This junior could not help but yearn for them~ hence this great anger and grief."

After speaking, he immediately began to tell the story in detail.

As he spoke, just after he had finished the beginning, a flash of realization crossed Fang Longye's eyes.

"Although there may be differences in the details, it is indeed the story of Xiangyu, Jiangxue, and Huang Sheng told in the *Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio* of my past life~"

(End of this chapter)