Chapter 453: Gods and Immortals Enter Dreams

Seven hundred days and nights have passed since I began refining the elixir.

Just as the world has undergone drastic changes in these seven hundred days and nights, my cultivation has also made great progress.

Yet, doubts have also grown within these seven hundred days and nights.

Back when I was in the Western Regions, I had vaguely "glimpsed" the Great Dao truths of heaven and earth and the opportunity for longevity; that should have been a sign that my cultivation was nearing perfection. It was just that a layer of mist had always shrouded that path, as if I were in a dense forest at a dead end, unable to find a direction or see a way out, and thus naturally unable to attain the truth.

What followed was a bitter search for direction and an attempt to clear the mist.

Yet, unexpectedly, even now, the mist remains the same mist, and the path forward is still nowhere to be found.

Why is there not even the slightest change?

Why can I not find even a shred of direction?

Lin Jue could not help but ponder this question.

Could it be that my attachment is too deep?

But from the East Sea to the Western Regions, in the process of traveling the world and visiting famous mountains, seeing the clouds rise and fall and the wind and flowers dance, there were often moments of realization and opportunities to let go; at those times, there was no attachment in my heart.

Could it be that my cultivation time is too short and my foundation is still shallow?

Indeed, Daoist attainment and cultivation are not the same thing.

Although I have natural talent, good fortune, and the help of the silver-eating ghost, completing in a dozen years the path that took others who attained immortality decades or centuries, if one thinks carefully about those others, which one of them was not a heaven-defying genius? Which one did not have good fortune, opportunities, or even the help of favorable timing? Most still required decades or centuries.

It is not to say there are no cultivators who have practiced longer, but for mortals, eight or nine out of ten have only this much lifespan.

But if so, how did the Corpse Tiger King attain the truth?

Could it be that Many Yaoguai and humans are not the same?

Lin Jue shook his head, deciding not to think about it for now, and said to his junior sister beside him: "I'll take a nap. The usual rule: wake me in half an hour."

"Understood."

The junior sister was also very tired.

Her senior brother refining an elixir had exhausted her quite a bit.

Yet, unexpectedly, during the time Lin Jue took a nap, a god entered his dream—

It was a divine official requesting an audience, wearing a bright red official robe, carrying five-colored divine light, and followed by two celestial soldiers, one on the left and one on the right.

In a void, the divine official bowed to him:

"True Man, I am the ritual official from the mansion of the Three Realms Demon-Suppressing, Saint-Protecting, Broad-Transforming, Spirit-Manifesting Husheng Husheng Zhenjun under the seat of the Heavenly Lord Supreme. I pay my respects to you this time."

The so-called Three Realms Demon-Suppressing, Saint-Protecting, Broad-Transforming, Spirit-Manifesting Husheng Husheng Zhenjun was the Saint-Protecting Husheng Husheng Zhenjun. Hearing this title, Lin Jue felt a bit of mockery, but also a bit of solemnity and doubt:

"Why did the divine official enter my dream to find me?"

"The True Man's Daoist attainment is nearing perfection, and I heard that the True Man is refining a Golden Core. Hehe, although our divine path is different from the path to truth of the Spirit Method Sect and the Elixir Cauldron Sect, we have seen enough to know a little. Therefore, I have come specifically to congratulate the True Man. Once the True Man consumes the Golden Core, you will attain the truth and the Dao, and achieve longevity and immortality. Tsk, it has been over a hundred years since we last saw a Daoist from the Spirit Method Sect attain immortality. Congratulations, congratulations."

The divine official smiled and bowed to him.

"What does the divine official mean?"

"Why must the True Man be so vigilant? Gods have the duties and virtues of gods, and also the constraints of gods. Since ancient times, unless a cultivator themselves lacks virtue or is deeply sinful, I have never heard of gods preventing a cultivator from attaining immortality."

The divine official's smile was sincere:

"I have come this time because the Heavenly Lord Supreme values the True Man's virtue and character and wishes to assist the True Man in attaining immortality, appointing the True Man as the Zhaoming Protection Great God, with a divine statue erected beside the Heavenly Lord, enjoying half the incense of the Heavenly Lord's hall, with all other treatment equal to the Four Saints."

Lin Jue frowned and replied tactfully: "I appreciate the Heavenly Lord's kindness, but I do not wish to ascend to heaven to become a god; I only wish to be a carefree immortal."

"Eh? Why?" The divine official was puzzled. "The True Man must know that it is no longer the ancient times; today is the world of the incense divine path. Even if the True Man attains the truth and the Dao, longevity does not equal immortality. Moreover, immortals have their own calamities. Isn't that Lady Yao Hua unable to overcome her calamity? Only by becoming a god can one last long."

"My ambition does not lie there."

"How can there be a reason to attain the truth and the Dao but not ascend to heaven?"

"Are there not many immortals in the mortal world?"

"Those are all ancient immortals..."

"I truly do not wish to."

"Is the True Man worried that ascending to the Nine Heavens and having a position will bring constraints and make you less carefree? Sigh, there is no need for that. There are many immortals in heaven, some of whom are no weaker in fighting than the True Lords and the great gods worshipped by the world. Why are their names rarely heard? It is because they are carefree in the Nine Heavens and not so busy, so naturally, the world rarely hears their names."

Does he want me to say that the Heavenly Lord is disloyal and treacherous, and that I only have the heart to fight him and will never accept his rewards or serve as an official under him?

Lin Jue was still smiling at this moment: "This is a major matter. Please allow me to finish refining the elixir before we discuss it."

"Does the True Man have an old grudge with my Husheng Husheng Zhenjun? Haha, there is no need for that. My Husheng Husheng Zhenjun is also a magnanimous person. Moreover, many years ago, the True Man still had a credit recorded with my Husheng Husheng Zhenjun. My Husheng Husheng Zhenjun can also recognize the big picture. I only hope the True Man can attain the truth and the Dao soon and ascend to heaven. At that time, I and my Husheng Husheng Zhenjun will bring three thousand celestial soldiers, five hundred ritual officials, and countless immortal cranes and rare birds to welcome you."

"I must consider it for a while."

"Why does the True Man repeatedly decline?"

"I am a Daoist of pure cultivation, with a heart for freedom, and I do not wish to be an official."

"Ascending to heaven to be a god, although it is being an official, does not necessarily require a real position. You can also bring your friends and family to ascend together. Isn't that much better than being exposed to the wind, sun, snow, and rain in the deep mountains?"

"In today's world of great changes, how can there be such a thing as a nominal position? I just do not wish to wade into these muddy waters."

The divine official tried to persuade him a few more times, but Lin Jue still refused.

Just at this moment, someone was already shaking him.

A faint call sounded in his ears:

"Third Shixiong brother..."

"Why must the True Man be like this? In this day and age, for a cultivator of the Spirit Method Sect, without other help, how can it be so easy to attain immortality? Moreover, the Golden Core the True Man is refining, looking at the celestial phenomena, should be the legendary Four Directions Five Elements Golden Core, right? To tell you the truth, I know an immortal of the Elixir Cauldron Sect who attained immortality by eating this elixir. True Man, please guess, how many of these elixirs have been refined from ancient times to now? Does the one in the furnace now still have the divine effect of allowing one to attain immortality on the spot?"

The divine official shook his head and smiled bitterly:

"Someone is calling the True Man outside. I dare not disturb the True Man's major task of refining the elixir. Please consider it carefully. Before the elixir is finished, I will come to invite you again."

"Third Shixiong brother..."

The junior sister's face appeared before his eyes; she was shaking his shoulders.

Lin Jue, however, suddenly frowned.

"Half an hour has passed." "Good."

"Third Shixiong brother, are you too tired? You used to wake up as soon as you were called," the junior sister said with concern. "Second senior brother also has high attainments in elixir refining. Why not ask him to come and help you?"

"It's not that..."

Lin Jue was still frowning, his expression serious.

The divine official in the dream came with courtesy, so he treated him with courtesy. This was his critical moment, and he was even less willing to fall out with the Heavenly Lord and the Saint-Protecting Husheng Husheng Zhenjun.

If I attain the truth and the Dao, who would still fear that damn Husheng Husheng Zhenjun?

But even in such a polite conversation, he had vaguely grasped something, and his complexion was not good.

And this actually greatly affected his state of mind.

Lin Jue had to force it down, not thinking or guessing, focusing on walking the path before him.

"However—"

!

Lin Jue turned his head to look at his junior sister again:

"Junior sister, after you switch with Good Fuyao later, please return to Mount Yishan and tell the senior brother for me that this is my critical moment, and perhaps also the critical moment for the Fuqiu Temple. Please be sure to borrow the Mountain-Moving Mirror for me."

"Ah?"

The junior sister was startled, but seeing his expression and hearing about the Mountain-Moving Mirror, she knew it was a major matter, so she immediately agreed: "I will talk to the senior brother properly."

"Just in case."

"Understood!"

Lin Jue withdrew his thoughts and continued to cast an object in.

"Hum..."

A dragon's roar suddenly rose from the furnace, piercing through the beams and tiles.

The fierce fire in the furnace and the spiritual aura of the gradually forming Golden Core seemed to turn into a fire dragon, coiling and crashing in the furnace, making the furnace ring with thuds.

In the blink of an eye, the furnace seemed about to be shattered.

"Be quiet!"

Lin Jue shouted in a deep voice.

The world fears power but not virtue, while gods fear virtue but not power. The gods here do not specifically refer to those incense gods above the Nine Heavens, but to all things in the world that have divinity and virtue.

Besides merit, Lin Jue also possessed a Daoist attainment that elixir-refining Daoists of the Elixir Cauldron Sect did not have. With this shout, both virtue and power were present, and the fire dragon in the furnace actually quieted down quite a bit.

At the same time, in this area south of the city, high officials and noble ladies were strolling on the street, peddlers were carrying loads, some were pushing carts, some were carrying sedan chairs, some were drinking in taverns, some were drinking tea and discussing the worries of the world, and some were begging along the street—a thousand people with a thousand faces, all kinds of people, suddenly all startled, looking toward the source of the sound.

"That... what sound is that?"

"What is calling!"

"So clear and long, shaking the clouds, could it be the legendary dragon's roar?"

"Where did it come from?"

"That side is... True Man Lin's mansion! It is said that True Man Lin is refining an immortal elixir in the capital, and others say True Man Lin is taking the dragon energy of the Great Jiang!"

Lin Jue took a nap, and another immortal entered his dream.

That was an old immortal, also an ancient immortal, wearing old white clothes, with white hair and beard, laughing:

"Fellow Daoist, I am True Man Xuanming. Greetings."

"Greetings." Lin Jue returned a Daoist salute. "Third Shixiong, what is the reason for finding this junior?"

"Fellow Daoist and I have a connection. Does the Fellow Daoist know where the connection lies?"

Lin Jue just looked at him and said: "Because Third Shixiong is an immortal who attained it by eating the Four Directions Five Elements Golden Core."

"Fellow Daoist has a good eye!" True Man Xuanming smiled. "But there is another thing: several hundred years ago, I also practiced on Mount Yishan. At that time, I was affiliated with the Jiulong Temple. Because the Fuqiu Temple also has elixir-refining techniques, I have always been on good terms with the Fuqiu Temple and have had frequent dealings."

"So that is how it is." Hearing this, Lin Jue bowed again. "Greetings, Third Shixiong."

"No need for that. Among cultivators, unless they are from the same sect, they should be treated as peers. Moreover, among three people walking, there is always a teacher. True Man Xuanming waved his hand. "I have come this time because I heard that someone in the mortal world is refining the Four Directions Five Elements Golden Core again, and I felt a connection. It just so happens that the Saint-Protecting Husheng Husheng Zhenjun asked me to help plead, so I have come to speak—"

True Man Xuanming was quite direct:

"That Saint-Protecting Husheng Husheng Zhenjun feels that he has some grudges with you. In this unusual timing, he does not wish to make an enemy of an immortal who is good at fighting, so he entrusted me to come and recruit you into the Heavenly Lord's command. If you agree, the past grudges will naturally be wiped clean, and your status and incense under the Heavenly Lord Supreme will not be shorted. This Heavenly Lord treats the gods under his command quite well.

"If you do not agree, as I guess, he may only find ways to trip you up.

"Are you willing?"

Lin Jue also answered directly: "This junior is not willing."

"Then it depends on your ability." True Man Xuanming waved his hand. "Since that is the case, I will not persuade you further. But since I am here, you and I can still chat for a while."

"I would be more than happy to."

True Man Xuanming waved his hand, and in the vast white world, ink-wash landscapes were outlined. At first glance, it felt too freehand and not real, but only the two who came from Mount Yishan knew that this was the real scenery of Mount Yishan in the mountain mist after rain.

There were a few more strokes, like ink and mist, outlining a pavilion, a tea table, a pot of tea, and two cups among the high mountains of the ink-wash landscape, with thin white smoke rising.

"In this day and age, just gathering the materials for the Four Directions Five Elements Golden Core is not an easy task, right?"

"Third Shixiong, which one did you eat?"

"The seventh one..."

"Seven already..."

While refining the elixir, the world was in turmoil and gods were watching, but the two sat here talking, not chatting about anything else, only sighing about Mount Yishan and the Golden Core, truly having the carefree spirit of Daoists.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 454 =====