Chapter 137: Not Wanting to End It Peacefully

"I don't know if the three True Monarchs saw through my background; otherwise, receiving such heavy treasures makes me feel a bit uneasy!"

Xu Chen followed behind Lan You, with a large group of young disciples from Yuqing Hall whispering behind him, muttering to himself while rubbing his chin along the way.

The group followed the high steps into the hall ahead, and facing them was a large thoroughfare hall, with a huge incense burner and three statues over a zhang tall placed in the center; each had long beards and eyebrows with a ruddy complexion, their bodies shimmering with spiritual light, appearing to have the air of immortals.

"Daoist Friend Xu, these are the divine positions of the three ancestors of our sect who have ascended to the immortal ranks. The one in the middle is the founding ancestor, Jade Pure Immortal Venerable, and the two on the sides are Cave Void Immortal Venerable and Pure Yang Immortal Venerable, respectively." Lan You stopped and introduced them softly.

Xu Chen immediately felt a sense of awe, stepped forward to take three sticks of incense from the shrine, lit them on the candle nearby, and after bowing respectfully three times, inserted the incense into the burner.

Lan You and the group of disciples also lined up to offer incense, and only after finishing did she lead Xu Chen through the hall to walk further inside.

Facing them was another massive square covering a hundred mu, all paved with blue-white jade and installed with arrays such as the Water Gathering Array, looking even more magnificent and solemn than the square outside. Around the square were palaces and temples, and in the open halls, many statues and divine positions could be seen, with sparse incense lingering and clouds and mist swirling, resembling an immortal's palace.

Lan You did not take him to offer incense and pay respects at every one of these shrines, but as they walked along, she still gave brief introductions; those enshrined were actually all Spirit Realm Great Cultivators who had passed away or gone missing while wandering in past generations.

Xu Chen roughly counted them and found there were no fewer than twenty, making him even more astonished by the foundation of Yuqing Hall.

At its peak, Yuqing Hall once possessed seven Spirit Realm Great Cultivators within the sect at the same time, and there were as many as five who had reached the Shenling Realm throughout the generations; this did not even include the three Immortal Venerables who had practiced Lianxu Huashen to become Void Immortals and left the mortal world.

At that time, Yuqing Hall was one of the top three massive Immortal Sects in the Shenzhou region, with tens of thousands of disciples under its banner.

However, this was already the past glory of Yuqing Hall.

In the last thousand years, neither Yuqing Hall nor the entire Great Song region had produced a single Void Breaking True Immortal, and the same was true for the immortal circles of neighboring countries like the Ming Kingdom, Shu Kingdom, and Wu Kingdom.

Therefore, the cultivation situation in the entire Shenzhou region was deteriorating day by day, seemingly always going downhill.

The reason could no longer be traced or verified, but it might have some connection to the situation of the Taiyuan Sect's destruction, though this was not universally acknowledged by the immortal world.

Passing through the square, another taller and more imposing hall appeared, with red walls and golden roofs, jade trees glowing, and flowing mist like clouds; the entire hall was half-hidden and half-revealed in the clouds and mist, and amidst the spiritual light, immortal birds could be heard chirping and dancing, and one could even see auspicious beasts like immortal deer and white apes playing as they passed, truly an eye-opener.

The high steps were thousands of levels long and over a hundred zhang wide, leading straight up from the square to the cloud-shrouded hall; walking on them, it felt like climbing the path to immortality, and with every step, Xu Chen could even hear faint immortal music playing in his mind, his Soul becoming peaceful and serene, suddenly giving rise to a sense of purity, as if all mortal affairs had turned into smoke and scattered with the wind.

"Damn it, this is the real big spender; just maintaining the countless arrays alone consumes an immeasurable amount of Spirit Stones every year!"

Xu Chen looked around as he walked, constantly complaining inwardly.

Lan You walked beside him, whispering to introduce him to some of the past history of Yuqing Hall.

The wide steps with lingering immortal music before them were called Dixin Road; every time one walked on them, it had the meaning of cleansing the mortal heart, allowing people to forget worldly troubles, and the insights gained each time were different.

Xu Chen didn't care much after hearing this; he did indeed hear the immortal music, and with every step he took, different sounds of bells, chimes, and drums would ring out, echoing in his mind, but apart from feeling it was magical, he didn't gain any insight into the Dao, though he did realize that Yuqing Hall was damn rich.

If so many Spirit Stones were given to the Taiyuan Sect, the Taiyuan Sect would probably be overflowing with wealth.

Therefore, the jealousy of the rich was never the exclusive domain of the poor in the mortal world.

The poor who sought the Dao of immortality would also be jealous of the rich, perhaps even more so.

He even thought that if one day Yuqing Hall collapsed just like the Taiyuan Sect back then, and these riches were scattered and looted, all the Great Song Immortal Sects would become nouveau riche.

But unfortunately, the idea of equalizing wealth was difficult to achieve even in the mortal world, and even harder to achieve in the immortal world; the strong remained strong, and a behemoth like Yuqing Hall, as long as it didn't court death, would definitely remain strong forever, and no one could shake it.

He thus associated this with the Mysterious Water Nether Lotus deep in the Spirit Fox Valley mine and the image Jade Slip left behind by that Wuwang Shenjun of the Taiyuan Sect.

If his guess was correct, the destruction of the Taiyuan Sect was related to them courting their own death.

The Taiyuan Sect back then must have been very powerful, likely no worse than Yuqing Hall at its most glorious, but perhaps after discovering strange monsters like the Netherworld Passage and the Mysterious Water Nether Lotus, they intended to use them to cultivate and conduct some unspeakable experiments, but ultimately buried the entire sect, collapsing with a bang in a very short time.

However, these things were too far away from Xu Chen after all; even if he wanted to find out the truth of this matter, it would only be possible after he reached the Spirit Transformation Realm or even the True Spirit Realm.

And for now, he was still struggling for his own Foundation Establishment, and the distance to Spirit Transformation was still far off, because wanting to reach Spirit Transformation was not just a matter of cultivation realm; the Spirit Pills and Spirit Medicine to assist Spirit Transformation alone were a deep chasm that could not be crossed.

In the history of the immortal world, countless experts at the Danyuan Realm Great Perfection were blocked at the threshold of Spirit Transformation, not because their strength was insufficient, nor because their aptitude was insufficient, but simply because their resources were insufficient, and in the end, they had to die with hatred after exhausting their three-hundred-year lifespan in helplessness.

The reason Xu Chen wanted to get a pair of Seven-Star Golden Toads was not because he was in a hurry to use them himself; he believed that if he used a strengthened version of the Guiyuan Pill, he would have a seventy or eighty percent chance of succeeding in Foundation Establishment. He wanted to see if he could influence the growth of the Seven-Star Golden Toads through the white energy of the Blue Light Treasure Bottle and the strange plants in the Medicine Garden, and eventually re-cultivate Seven-Star Golden Toads that could be fully used as medicine to refine real Heqi Pills.

If he could succeed, not only would the Taiyuan Sect soar into the sky, and all his senior brothers and sisters would have a chance at Foundation Establishment, but in the future, the disciples of the Taiyuan Sect would also have more opportunities to progress.

And the origin of this idea came from the stimulation of the two major dojos of Yuqing Hall and Longmen Mountain going to Black Wind Ridge and Spirit Fox Valley to suppress and kill Soul Beasts.

At that time, when he saw the dense crowd of dozens or hundreds of young generation Zhenyuan Realm Foundation Establishment cultivators appearing, he felt a sense of breathlessness.

A full half-hour later, Xu Chen, Lan You, and the others climbed to the end of the steps.

Before them was a magnificent hall, with the three characters "Welcome Immortal Palace" hanging on the lintel, radiating immortal light. The entire hall was surrounded by clouds and mist, and the thick white jade pillars were dozens of zhang high, shooting straight into the sky, towering like an immortal palace overlooking the human world, so opulent that Xu Chen couldn't help but want to carry these pillars back to build his own mountain gate.

"Five Elders, Disciple Lan You brings Daoist Friend Xu Chen of the Taiyuan Sect to pay a visit!"

Standing at the entrance of the wide and tall hall, Lan You bowed and reported to the hall.

"Mm, Little Friend Xu has arrived, please come in!"

A thick and powerful voice came from within the hall.

"Daoist Friend Xu, please; the Five Elders are waiting for you in the hall!" Lan You bowed to Xu Chen.

"Good, thank you for leading the way, Daoist Friend Lan, please!" Xu Chen returned the bow, and the two stepped into the hall together, while the other disciples remained outside in formation to wait.

The hall was extremely spacious, with hundreds of blue jade stone tables and embroidered cushions placed on both sides.

In the very center sat an elderly man of fifty with gray hair and beard, wearing gray-white Daoist robes, his hair tied in a bun, his face ruddy with a kind smile.

"Disciple Xu Chen, under the tutelage of Xuanhe Zhenren of the Taiyuan Sect, pays respects to Senior Yuxuan Zhenren!"

"Haha, Little Friend Xu, no need for formalities. Since you are here, there is no need to be polite. You'er, offer a seat!" The old man laughed heartily, appearing as if he knew nothing of the intense fight just now.

Xu Chen curled his lip inwardly, but still thanked him respectfully before following Lan You to sit on the cushion next to the old man.

Yuxuan Zhenren looked Xu Chen up and down a few times, stroked his beard and smiled: "Truly a hero among the young. Please do not take the matter at the mountain gate square to heart, Little Friend; it was merely a friendly exchange between peers. If you felt wronged, this poor Daoist apologizes here."

Xu Chen hurriedly put on an innocent smile and shook his head: "Junior dares not. Daoist Brother Yi Zhen has profound cultivation; fortunately, he showed mercy, otherwise, I would have certainly been left in a sorry state, and I would surely be scolded by the sect elders for not understanding the rules upon returning."

Yuxuan Zhenren's face twitched slightly, thinking to himself that this little fox was not a good sort either, actually wanting to go back and complain, but his face remained full of smiles, nodding with gratification:

"That is good. This poor Daoist already knows the reason for Little Friend Xu's visit today, and the Supreme Elder Baiyun Zhenjun has already issued an edict. You'er will take you to choose a pair of Seven-Star Golden Toads to take back. Everything will be as you said before; if the breeding is successful and you obtain the toad molts capable of Pill Refining, you must share them with our Yuqing Hall. This can be considered as the two Immortal Sects exchanging what they have and progressing together!"

Xu Chen curled his lip slightly, but still bowed and thanked him earnestly, saying he would definitely raise them well and get rich together, and so on.

After the old and young exchanged a few empty pleasantries, Yuxuan Zhenren said: "The two Supreme Elders have learned that you have arrived at Yuqing Hall and have summoned you to the Ascension Platform at the summit. You'er, take Little Friend Xu there!"

"Disciple obeys!" Lan You stood up, bowed, and led Xu Chen out of the Welcome Immortal Palace.

Standing at the entrance of the Welcome Immortal Palace, looking down at the surrounding mountains and the palaces and temples visible everywhere below, Xu Chen felt even more emotional while unable to help but spit in his heart.

After going to such great lengths to climb for half a day, there wasn't even a cup of tea for a guest.

However, since the Yuqing Hall Elder had received him and spoken, he figured there should be no problem in getting the Seven-Star Golden Toads.

Lan You was also quite delighted at heart and said: "Daoist Friend Xu, it seems this trip has been quite smooth. Lan You will first take you to visit the two Supreme Elders, then go to choose a Seven-Star Golden Toad!"

Xu Chen nodded and smiled: "I will leave everything to Daoist Friend Lan's arrangements."

Lan You raised her hand and released a Jade Talisman; before long, a Seven-Colored Spirit Sparrow let out a long cry, piercing through the clouds and mist as it arrived, carrying a gust of wild wind before landing in front of the two.

"Coo coo coo coo..."

The large bird landed, immediately lowered its body to squat in front of Xu Chen, opened its basket-sized beak, and made the sound of a hen pecking for food.

Xu Chen's face immediately turned black.

Lan You covered her mouth, her delicate body trembling with giggles.

A group of Disciples standing outside the gate were all dumbfounded, especially several male Disciples who were stunned watching Lan You laugh, with some even having drool dripping down the corners of their mouths.

Xu Chen speechlessly took out a Jade Bottle from his Storage Bag, poured out a pill flickering with spiritual light, flicked it gently into the large bird's mouth, and then kicked its beak, saying: "You broken bird, I'm truly convinced by you. You flew here so fast just to eat; can you have some dignity as a Third-Tier Spirit Beast!"

"Ku ku ku ku..." Lan You could no longer hold back, laughing so hard she wished she could tuck her head under the Spirit Sparrow's wing.

A moment later, the Spirit Sparrow let out a long cry, spread its wings, and soared into the sky toward the mountain peak, leaving only a group of young cultivators standing on the steps in front of the Welcome Immortal Palace, disheveled in the wind.

Never did they expect that Senior Sister Lan, who usually wore a cold and icy expression toward everyone, would look so beautiful when she laughed.

What shocked everyone even more was that Senior Sister Lan seemed to have a truly deep relationship with this fellow from the Taiyuan Sect; not only were they embracing in the mountain gate square just now, but now the two were riding the same bird away, and their attitude was very intimate, with the Senior Sister even appearing shy and fond.

It seems that Senior Sister Lan, the premier Ice Flower Fairy of Yuqing Hall, is likely to be stuck in this pile of dog shit that is Xu Chen of the Taiyuan Sect.

No, we cannot let an outsider have her if we cannot; we must notify all fellow Disciples of this matter as soon as possible and use every possible means to snatch Senior Sister Lan back.

Thus, not long after Xu Chen and the other left, the dozen or so young cultivators scattered in a rush, mounting their Flying Swords and Escape Lights to head in all directions.

Inside the hall, the Five Elders' Yu Xuan Zhenren also watched the group leave with his Divine Sense, his face unable to stop twitching a few times.

It seems that if this matter is to be settled well, it will likely not be easy.

Lan You's aptitude is heaven-defying, and she is almost internally designated as a Core Disciple of Yuqing Hall who will inevitably reach Spirit Transformation; therefore, who she associates with and takes as a Daolu naturally requires great importance.

However, this group of Elders does not quite dare to make the decision on this matter.

Because Lan You's status today is different from the past; her status in Yuqing Hall is not inferior to them, these Elders. Aside from not managing affairs, all her provisions are exactly the same as these old fellows, and she is personally guided by the two Supreme Elders, with the direct goal of aiming for Spirit Transformation.

In time, when Lan You achieves Spirit Transformation Infant, not only will Yuqing Hall add another Spirit Transformation Great Cultivator, but her status will be far higher than theirs, and the group of old fellows will still have to respectfully bow and address her as Supreme Elder when they see her.

Therefore, regarding the matter of a Daolu, they dare not even have the possibility of interfering in the slightest.

Although Xu Chen is a cultivator from another sect, it appears that not only does Lan You herself like him, but the two Supreme Elders also hold him in high regard, and it is even said that Chixia Zhenjun has repeatedly protected and looked upon him favorably; his future achievements will likely be extraordinary.

If the two truly become Daolu, the many Disciples of Yuqing Hall will likely be even more hostile toward Xu Chen, and the future situation will become even more chaotic and difficult to resolve.

"Sigh, forget it, let the two Supreme Elders worry about this matter!"

Thinking to the end, Yu Xuan Zhenren also felt he was powerless, could only sigh secretly, and closed his eyes to practice meditation.

(End of this chapter)