Chapter 156: Immortal (Happy New Year to everyone!)

More than a year passed, and some things in the sect had settled down.

One after another, a total of twelve people announced their seclusion, and Fang Weimin, who had gone into seclusion the earliest, had already come out.

Among these twelve, the only one who caused a slight stir was Lu Duxing, the Vice Hong Jiaozhu of Yujing Peak, who claimed to have fetal movement and wanted to go into death seclusion, resigning from his position as Vice Hong Jiaozhu to the Hong Jiaozhu to concentrate on the Dao.

For a Fourth-Realm cultivator, fetal movement meant that the Nascent Soul Dao Fetus had changed. This change couldn't be said to be good or bad. Perhaps the Dao Fetus was unstable, or perhaps there was an opportunity for Dao integration. No one could say for sure.

Fetal movement was a big deal, so the Hong Jiaozhu naturally agreed and let Lu Duxing cultivate in peace.

This Vice Hong Jiaozhu position was vacant, and it was the extremely important Vice Hong Jiaozhu of Yujing Peak. Therefore, Shi Tongxuan, the former Vice Hong Jiaozhu of the Pure Yang Hall who had also claimed fetal movement and resigned, came out of seclusion again, temporarily acting as the Vice Hong Jiaozhu of Yujing Peak, assisted by You Weixu, the Peak Master of Yuxu Peak.

As for the Vice Hong Jiaozhu of the Pure Yang Hall, it remained vacant, managed by the Vice Hong Jiaozhu of the Yuan Yin Hall.

Besides Lu Duxing, the Golden Core Realm occupied more than half of the twelve people. Among them, the one with the highest status was the Vice Mountain Master of Bai Hu Mountain, Pang Jingyu.

Cheng Xinzhan naturally couldn't inquire about these things. It was on this day that Hong Jiaozhu Ji suddenly came to Mingzhi Mountain to find him and specifically told him about it.

He asked,

"Hong Jiaozhu, has any important secret of Sanqing Mountain been leaked?"

Hong Jiaozhu Ji Hehe nodded painfully,

"Longhu Mountain already knows about the ginseng fruit. It was when you were participating in the Longhu Dharma Assembly that Lu Duxing personally told the Celestial Zhang Ancestral Tian Shi. As for other secrets, they have been leaked bit by bit over the past few hundred years. I have already asked Tongxuan to preside over the adjustment of the mountain-protecting array."

Cheng Xinzhan was shocked. He really didn't expect that the highest level of those who were sealed could reach the level of Hong Jiaozhu Lu.

"Then what about those people?"

He asked.

Ji Hehe looked worried and said,

"These people all yearn for Longhu Mountain, but they are not completely puppets of Longhu Mountain. Sanqing Mountain has not treated them poorly, and this is also engraved in their Youjing. Their biggest wish before was for Sanqing Mountain and Longhu Mountain to be forever united and become a brotherly alliance. They never thought of selling out all of Sanqing Mountain, so these people cannot be easily killed."

"Then what about claiming seclusion?"

"They have all been sent to the Sanqing Heaven Mystical Realm. For those with short time and low realm, the brand on the Youjing is washed away. For those with long time and high realm, the Primordial Spirit must be shattered and recast."

Cheng Xinzhan frowned. The sect had suffered a great loss this time. It was not easy to cultivate a Golden Core Realm. The better they performed at the Longhu Dharma Assembly earlier, the more distressing it was now.

"However, I have already contacted the Sect Masters of Gezao Mountain, Bingfeng Mountain, and Xishan to inform them of this matter, asking them to secretly eliminate the hidden dangers. With this incident, Longhu Mountain is already the target of public criticism. Even if the Shenxiao Sect has always respected Longhu Mountain, this time Longhu Mountain wants to seize people's orthodoxy, which is something even Bingfeng Mountain cannot tolerate."

"Misfortune is where fortune lies, and fortune is where misfortune lies. Longhu Mountain is digging its own grave. Once the matter is exposed, this may not be a bad thing for the Yu Zhang Dao Sect. However, the timing here needs to be controlled. First is the Dao-Demon dispute, then the Eastern Dao-Western Xuan orthodoxy, and finally the internal struggle of the Yu Zhang Dao Sect. If this sequence is not grasped well, fortune will become misfortune."

"And once Longhu Mountain falls into a dangerous situation and throws out the matter of the ginseng fruit, Bingfeng Mountain, Xishan, and Gezao Mountain might turn against each other again. At that time, I am afraid it will not be an internal matter of Yu Zhang, and all sects and factions in the world will come to join in the fun. So before making full preparations, we cannot anger Longhu Mountain. Before that, Celestial Zhang Ancestral Tian Shi wants to swallow the ginseng fruit privately, so he will definitely keep his mouth shut."

Cheng Xinzhan listened to these words and felt a headache. Things were far more complicated than he thought. However, as the saying goes, if a person has no long-term worries, there will be immediate worries. The Hong Jiaozhu was right, and he really needed to make plans early.

It was just that he didn't ask about the Sanqing Heaven Mystical Realm, a term he had never heard of, after listening, but just asked,

"Master Tongxuan has been transferred to Yujing Peak, then what about Wufu Mountain?"

Ji Hehe said, "You don't have to worry about this. An immortal has come to the Sanqing Heaven Mystical Realm. I came here today to take you to pay your respects."

Cheng Xinzhan was stunned, "An immortal?"

Ji Hehe nodded, "The situation in the Heavenly Realm is complicated now, and it is no longer a rarity for immortals to stay in the world. You have seen them. Not to mention scattered immortals and earth immortals, isn't the Master of Huanzhu a heavenly immortal? He doesn't want to ascend either."

Cheng Xinzhan had doubts in his heart, so he asked,

"Hong Jiaozhu, is ascension something you can choose not to do if you want?"

Ji Hehe smiled. He came here today to tell Cheng Xinzhan about these things.

He had been busy dealing with the people who were sealed during this period and had no time to manage Cheng Xinzhan. After finishing the matter, he inquired and found out that Cheng Xinzhan was cultivating his heart and nature and slowing down his cultivation.

This made Ji Hehe extremely happy.

It made him happier than Cheng Xinzhan being on the Nandou List twice.

Only those with high aspirations and eyes on the future can not be in a hurry for the speed of their feet. The process and accumulation are important. People who are eager for success find it difficult to pass the Golden Core Tribulation, let alone conceive a Dao Fetus and integrate with the Dao of heaven and earth.

So after hearing about it, he came specifically to tell Cheng Xinzhan about these things, so that he could know the major events in the sect earlier, so that his vision would not be confined to himself, but to the sect, orthodoxy, and even the world. As for destroying people's paths and destroying people's lineages, there was no need to fight and kill, there were more ruthless ways.

And discussing immortals was naturally to put Cheng Xinzhan's vision on the immortal realm, to let him know that immortals were not far away. With a higher realm in his eyes, his mentality could be raised to a higher level, and he could be entrusted with greater things.

"Immortals are divided into four categories: scattered immortals, corpse-dissection immortals, earth immortals, and heavenly immortals. When integrating with the Dao in the Fifth Realm, you must determine the immortal path. Integrating with the heavenly mechanism is a heavenly immortal, integrating with the earth energy is an earth immortal, and other methods of finding another way are corpse-dissection immortals. Becoming an immortal requires crossing the tribulation. After the heavenly immortal and corpse-dissection immortal cross the tribulation, they ascend to the Heavenly Realm. Only after the earth immortal crosses the tribulation do they stay in the world."

"If the heavenly immortal tribulation is not passed, as long as there is a breath left, you can turn into a scattered immortal. The scattered immortal stays in the world and needs to cross the scattered immortal tribulation again. Only after nine turns can you regain the heavenly immortal fruit position, but as long as you fail once, you will die."

"If the earth immortal tribulation is not passed, as long as there is a breath left, you can turn into a ghost immortal. But a ghost immortal cannot be considered a true immortal and has no chance to return to the immortal path. So it is not among the four immortals. As long as the lifespan is reached, you will die."

"As long as the corpse-dissection immortal tribulation is not passed, you will die on the spot immediately, with no room for maneuver."

"So from the perspective of retreat, people divide the four immortals into four grades: heavenly immortal is higher than earth immortal, higher than corpse-dissection immortal, higher than scattered immortal. But from the perspective of magic power, there is no difference between the four."

Cheng Xinzhan nodded, so that was it.

"After the heavenly immortal and corpse-dissection immortal cross the tribulation, the Heavenly Gate opens, and they can enter the Heavenly Realm. But after becoming an immortal, the heavenly immortal and corpse-dissection immortal can still descend to the world, but their magic power will be suppressed, and they cannot stay for long. If they stay for a long time, the clear energy on their bodies will be eroded by the earth energy, lightly leading to the five decays of heaven and man, and heavily leading to falling from the realm."

"But earth immortals and scattered immortals can never pass the Heavenly Gate and ascend to the Heavenly Realm. But scattered immortals still have a turning point, while earth immortals need to stay in the world forever."

"So from the perspective of freedom, some people think that heavenly immortal is higher than corpse-dissection immortal, higher than scattered immortal, higher than earth immortal."

"So no matter how you look at it, heavenly immortal is the best solution. This is why everyone wants to become a heavenly immortal, but integrating with the heavenly mechanism in the Fifth Realm is the most difficult. Many people wait until their lifespan is exhausted and still cannot integrate with the heavenly mechanism, so this also requires a choice."

Cheng Xinzhan suddenly realized.

"Xinzhan, think carefully. This point is not only about choosing the immortal path, but it is also reflected in every realm before becoming an immortal. If you walk fast in one realm, your understanding of the Five Elements will be worse, but if you walk slowly, your lifespan will also be consumed. If you are perfunctory in opening apertures and gang-sha in the Second Realm, the quality of the Golden Core will be poor. If you care too much about opening apertures and gang-sha, the lifespan left for the Third Realm will not be enough. In the Third Realm, if the Golden Core quality is poor, the path ahead will be blocked, and you will not be able to go further. But if the Golden Core quality is too good, the more Dan-washing tribulations you have, the more lifespan you will consume, and you may not even wait for the day to conceive the Dao Fetus. The Fourth and Fifth Realms are the same. So Xinzhan, you must think clearly about every step you take. You must clarify your direction and keep an eye on the life wheel in your Crimson Palace at all times."

Cheng Xinzhan realized something and bowed to Ji Hehe,

"Thank you, Hong Jiaozhu, for your guidance." After thinking for a while, he asked another question,

"I wonder who the senior who came to sit in Wufu Mountain is?"

"A heavenly immortal. That is my grandmaster, of the Shan generation. When you get there, just call him Ancestor Qu. My Sanqing Mountain has a Cave Heaven Mystical Realm, which can cover the heavenly mechanism and extend the time that heavenly immortals and corpse-dissection immortals exist in the world."

Cheng Xinzhan said yes.

So, Hong Jiaozhu Ji performed the Void Technique, stepped across, and brought Cheng Xinzhan to Wufu Mountain.

Now, he had been taken for a flight by a Fifth-Realm great cultivator again.

This time, there was no feeling of dizziness at all.

Arriving at the ginseng fruit seedling, he saw a Daoist sitting in the hut built by Master Tongxuan.

The Daoist looked middle-aged, with a kind face, wearing hemp clothes and straw shoes, wearing a Five-Dou Crown on his head, and fiddling with a pair of Yin-Yang rings in his palms. The Yin-Yang mysterious light on the rings intertwined, like cutting and polishing.

Ji Hehe brought Cheng Xinzhan forward and called him Grandmaster.

Cheng Xinzhan bowed sideways,

"Disciple Xinzhan, pays respects to Ancestor Qu."

!

Immortal Qu looked at Cheng Xinzhan, seeing that his aura was restrained, his foundation was solid, and his face was ruddy and shiny. Looking closer, he saw five-colored light intertwining into a ball on his chest. This was a manifestation of health-preserving methods and cultivation results.

Immortal Qu nodded, his eyebrows smiling,

"I have heard about your affairs, good child. You have made great contributions to the sect."

Cheng Xinzhan repeatedly said he didn't dare.

"You are in the Second Realm, right? Let the old Daoist take a look. What is still missing? Hmm, the apertures opened are a bit few. You still have to work hard. How come even the seven apertures on your face are not fully opened? This is not good. Look at your eyes, left yang and right yin. The Yang Palace is decent, but why is there no movement in the Yin Palace? Come, the old Daoist will give you a pupil technique, which can be used to refine the pupil secret method to open the Yin Palace, which just happens to match your Yang Palace."

Before Cheng Xinzhan could say anything, Immortal Qu stretched out his hand and pointed in the void. A wisp of spiritual light rushed into Cheng Xinzhan's Purple Mansion. He looked inside and found it was a pupil technique Dao method.

"This ocular technique is called 'Profound Spirit-Illuminating Azure Eyes', also known as the Judge's Eyes. Legend has it that it was first obtained from the judges of the ancient Underworld. Once mastered, one can see through mountains to observe cattle with every fine detail revealed, peer through soil to trace meridians without the slightest error, and even discern the souls and Primordial Spirits of others. It has a suppressive effect on ghost-type wandering spirits."

The ancestor had already passed on the Dharma, and Cheng Xinzhan could not refuse, so he had to bow and thank him again.

"Hehe, does this child have any position in the sect?"

Immortal Qu looked at Ji Hehe again.

Ji Hehe replied, "Xinzhan has just entered the Second Realm and has no arrangements yet."

Immortal Qu waved his hand, his words slightly blaming, "So what if he is in the Second Realm? The juniors have ability, and you don't know how to add burdens. I think it's like this."

Ji Hehe immediately bowed his head to listen to the order.

"The Inspection Division of the Inspection Mansion has always had a position of White Tiger Envoy. I think it is very suitable for Xinzhan. The Judge's Eye is clear and divine, which is also very suitable for his cultivation of pupil techniques. As for offending people, it doesn't matter while you are young. It will be difficult to do when the position is high later. What do you think?"

"Disciple thinks it is excellent."

Ji Hehe responded, then looked at Cheng Xinzhan and asked,

"Xinzhan, is there any problem?"

He was amazed at the courage of his grandmaster. The White Tiger Envoy's Dharma robe and salary were paid by the Inspection Mansion of Bai Hu Mountain, but its authority far exceeded that of Bai Hu Mountain. Looking at the entire Sanqing Mountain, it was extremely special.

From the registered disciples down to the five Sect Masters, the White Tiger Envoy could face-to-face point out their mistakes, suggest rectification, and could also assign people from the Yingyuan Mansion and the Inspection Mansion to lock up the wrongdoers, or confine them, or punish them.

Moreover, in addition to the authority of inspection, the White Tiger Envoy could also access almost all files and classics in the sect and freely enter and exit the forbidden areas of the sect.

Because it was too special, although Sanqing Mountain set up this position, few people had ever held it. Even those who held it were mostly held by the Vice Hong Jiaozhu of the Pure Yang Hall or the Mountain Master of Bai Hu Mountain. It had never been granted to a Second-Realm disciple.

If he wanted to promote this matter, there would be considerable resistance, but now that the ancestor had spoken, he only needed to go with the flow.

Cheng Xinzhan didn't know what the White Tiger Envoy meant, but he knew what the Inspection Division did—it was to supervise fellow disciples. This job was very important, but no one wanted to do it. This White Tiger Envoy should be about the same.

However, at this time, Ancestor Qu and the Hong Jiaozhu were both looking over. He couldn't just enjoy without working in the mountain, so he agreed. Ancestor Qu was right. While he was young, he would do the inspection for a period of time and then step down. Presumably, no one would hold a grudge.

So he arched his hands and said,

"Disciple obeys the Dharma decree."

Immortal Qu and the Hong Jiaozhu both laughed.

Subsequently, Immortal Qu gave Cheng Xinzhan some pointers on cultivation, and Ji Hehe took Cheng Xinzhan away from Wufu Mountain.

Before leaving, Cheng Xinzhan took a special look at the seedlings. It could be said that they were growing well, had already grown two leaves, and were half a foot high.

————

After leaving Wufu Mountain, Ji Hehe asked Cheng Xinzhan if he knew what a White Tiger Envoy was.

Cheng Xinzhan replied, aren't all the fellow disciples in the Inspection Division White Tiger Envoys?

He rarely inquired about the affairs of the Inspection Division.

Ji Hehe laughed heartily after hearing this, and only after laughing did he tell him the authority of the White Tiger Envoy.

Cheng Xinzhan was stunned.

Ji Hehe also said that the sect gave the White Tiger Envoy such great authority and convenience, so the assessment of the White Tiger Envoy was naturally high. When reporting on duty, he had to examine how many mistakes the White Tiger Envoy had pointed out face-to-face and how many people he had dealt with. If he neglected his duty, it would not only be dismissal, but also a fine.

Cheng Xinzhan begged the Hong Jiaozhu to withdraw the order.

Ji Hehe laughed, "This is the immortal's Dharma decree! Xinzhan, go back to the mountain and wait for the appointment, and seize the last time to rest. I am going to announce the immortal's Dharma decree to the mountains."

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 157 =====