Chapter 358: Purple Heaven Palace, Thunder Fire Hall

"This junior knows. Thank you for your help, Senior."

Li Yan had been prepared for this, so he naturally didn't feel surprised.

"You already knew?"

Wang Jingxiu was stunned, then immediately understood. He shook his head and said, "It seems Senior Brother Master Yulongzi has already told you about this."

"This is the decision of the Sect Leader; there is no chance at all."

"Actually, in my opinion, whether or not to build a temple on Wudang Mountain is not important. The Divine Dao and the Human Dao are inseparable. As long as one protects the people, why would the people interrupt the incense?"

"Seeking fish by climbing a tree is not as good as casting a net and retreating."

Li Yan bowed solemnly. "Thank you, Senior. This junior will handle it properly. The agreement with Senior will also not change. Whatever medicine Senior wants, we will do our best to find."

He could tell that this old Daoist was truly not good at scheming.

Don't look at how Master Yulongzi said many things, some of which were vital, but none were without purpose; behind all of them lay deep meaning.

Li Yan felt grateful in his heart, but also carried caution.

As for Wang Jingxiu, he didn't have so many thoughts; he was sincerely running errands to help them. Seeing that the matter hadn't been accomplished, he even felt a bit guilty.

Sure enough, hearing Li Yan say this, Wang Jingxiu shook his head quickly. "The matter wasn't accomplished; how could this old Daoist take advantage of juniors and order you around for nothing?"

"The spiritual medicines I want all grow in deep mountains and uninhabited places; they are basically all heavenly treasures. I will write a booklet later. As long as it is a precious medicine on it, I will purchase it long-term, and the price will definitely satisfy you."

"Don't feel bad either. After I refine the pills, there are plenty of wealthy gentry and households to buy them; I am not short of money."

After hearing this, Li Yan didn't stand on ceremony. "We will follow Senior's words."

This was also a good thing for them; it was equivalent to a long-term mission. In the future, as they traveled north and south, they could collect precious medicines whenever they found them.

"Good."

Hearing this, Wang Jingxiu was clearly in a very good mood. He smiled and said, "Let's go. This poor Daoist still has matters to attend to in Yunyang. I will help you get settled, and then I will leave."

Having said that, he led the group toward the Purple Heaven Palace.

While walking, he introduced, "This Purple Heaven Palace was first built during the Xuanhe years of the Northern Song Dynasty. After expansion after expansion, it finally reached this scale. The main hall is dedicated to the Jade Emperor."

"Although the area cannot compare to the Five Dragon Palace, the various ritual implements and talismans on Wudang Mountain are basically all offered here. I have already given instructions; you can purchase them at will..."

"The 'Purple Heaven Divine Lamp' is offered in the Purple Heaven Golden Hall. It never goes out all year round. Every midnight, you can enter it to comprehend the Dao."

"The Taihe Palace on the summit is the hub of our Wudang. If you want to go to 'Thunder Fire Refining Hall', you must apply in advance. Only when the timing of a great thunderstorm arrives will you be allowed to enter; you cannot approach it on ordinary days."

"Remember, after going up to Taihe Palace, except for 'Thunder Fire Refining Hall', you cannot wander into other places, so as not to cause trouble..."

"I have asked my junior brother to observe the celestial phenomena; in another seven or eight days, there will be a great thunderstorm. During this time, just stay in the Purple Heaven Palace first..."

This old Daoist was indeed a kind person. After giving instructions, he took them to see the host of the Purple Heaven Palace, Daoist Yu Lingzi, and entrusted him to take care of them, before hurriedly leaving and descending the mountain.

Here, the situation was completely different from the Five Dragon Palace.

Although the various precepts within the Purple Heaven Palace were strict, because of the connection with Wang Jingxiu, the attitude of the Daoists in the palace toward them was also quite good.

There was another point that was vastly different from the Five Dragon Palace.

The Daoists of the Five Dragon Palace mainly focused on practicing martial arts, while the Daoists in the Purple Heaven Palace were more proficient in various ritual altars, refining ritual implements, and medical and physiognomy arts; they were equivalent to the logistics department of Wudang Mountain.

After Li Yan and the others finished eating, they wandered around the palace.

Within the palace was the Dragon Tiger Hall, dedicated to the Daoist guardian god Wang Lingguan, as well as the Azure Dragon and White Tiger. It was mainly a military altar, and on ordinary days, it was also used to ward off disasters and pray for blessings.

The Daoists inside had a good attitude. As long as one didn't disturb their morning and evening lessons, they were very amiable when speaking. Wang Fu asked about some questions regarding setting up ritual altars, and they were all answered one by one...

The place where ritual implements were offered was the Lotus Leaf Hall. What was mainly offered inside were the King Ming Zhen Great Emperor of the Pure Joy Kingdom and the Queen Qiong Zhen Upper Immortal of Good Victory.

There was a saying about this: it is rumored that the True Martial Great Emperor was the 82nd incarnation of Taishang Laojun, born in the Pure Joy Kingdom of the Desireless Heaven Palace above the Great Luo Realm, and was the son of the King.

Queen Good Victory of the Pure Joy Kingdom dreamed that she swallowed the sun and became pregnant. After fourteen months of pregnancy, she gave birth to a prince, who was the future True Martial Great Emperor.

Of course, inside were also offered the Three Clouds Goddesses, the Child-Sending Goddess, and so on.

Li Yan checked for a while but didn't find anything he wanted; after all, every one of his own ritual implements was an extraordinary artifact.

It was mainly Wang Fu who replenished some talisman paper, red rope, incense, lotus lamps, and other items, mainly used for setting up ritual altars.

Before they knew it, it was already late at night.

At this time, the bright moon hung high. Inside the magnificent Purple Heaven Hall, the doors were wide open, and one could see the stars of candlelight inside. Many Daoists were waiting.

This time, it was mainly Li Yan, Wang Fu, and Lu San who entered, while Sha Lifei and Wu Ba sat outside the great hall waiting.

As the night deepened, the sound of a bell rang out. Immediately, a Daoist walked out the door and said loudly, "The time has arrived. Everyone may enter the hall to practice. Do not make noise in the hall, do not fight, each occupy one side, and do not interfere with each other..."

After finishing a pile of rules, he stepped aside.

Besides Li Yan and his group, there were eight other Daoists entering to practice this time. They were not from the Purple Heaven Palace, but from other Daoist temples on Wudang Mountain.

Everyone remained silent and filed in.

Entering the great hall, one could see the golden pillars and dougong brackets towering high. Looking up, the eight-sided caisson ceiling covered the top, and below were all stone Sumeru throne shrines.

The central Jade Emperor and the statues of the attendant gods on the left and right were all lifelike. In the dim candlelight, it was as if they were lowering their eyes to look down upon all living beings.

Li Yan took a look, then lowered his head to offer incense respectfully.

By now, he had already mastered the pattern.

For ordinary small temples and small gods, when they saw him enter holding the Gou Die, they would often appear on their own initiative, either issuing missions or requesting help.

For great secular gods like the Guan Saint Emperor, they were basically too lazy to pay attention to him; offering incense respectfully was enough.

As for heavenly gods like the Tathagata, the Jade Emperor, and the True Martial Great Emperor, they would often form incense gods within the shrines. They were not clones, and one could see them using the method of communicating with gods, but it was best not to provoke trouble.

The Purple Heaven Hall was towering and vast. After everyone offered incense respectfully, they were assigned to various places, several meters apart from each other, and separated by pillars.

This was the power of the Mystic Realm.

When they practiced, even if they were building a foundation and constructing a tower, the power that diffused would be suppressed and would not affect others.

Wang Fu, Lu San, and some other Daoists from other temples all seized the time to set up, preparing to build their towers later.

Different from the previous two times, Wang Fu set up a lotus lamp ritual altar and also placed a strange white stone in the middle. The center was pitch black, as if a single eye had grown out of it.

When a cultivator builds a three-story tower, they often need heavenly treasures to cooperate. When Wang Fu was in Wuchang, he entrusted Li Yan to buy this item.

This was called "Earth Mother Eye," a type of special mica stone. It couldn't be considered particularly precious, but it had long been proven to be the most stable when building a tower.

As for Li Yan, he was simply practicing.

Dang dang dang!

A few more bell sounds rang out, accompanied by a rumbling sound. The doors of the Purple Heaven Hall slowly closed, and the hall became completely quiet.

Pu!

Before the offering table of the Jade Emperor, an ancient oil lamp suddenly burst into a lamp flower, gradually becoming bright and emitting purple light.

Li Yan took one look, and his eyes widened immediately.

In this Purple Heaven Golden Hall, supernatural powers were likewise suppressed and could not be probed, but he could feel that the purple oil lamp's light had a mysterious power, like a vast bright moon, suppressing the other candlelight.

Gradually, the surroundings became pitch black. The light of those candles all disappeared, and in everyone's line of sight, only the purple oil lamp's light could be seen.

Li Yan's brow furrowed slightly, and a trace of disappointment flashed in his eyes.

He had already roughly figured out the principle.

This "Purple Heaven Divine Lamp," to a certain extent, was somewhat similar to his Northern Emperor Yinshan Method; both created unique environments to help people practice.

Sure enough, when he focused his spirit and entered the spirit-focusing space, purple light was everywhere between heaven and earth, forcing the spirit-focusing space to change.

This feeling was only slightly better than the Northern Emperor Yinshan Method.

Although somewhat disappointed, Li Yan still focused his spirit and, borrowing the Purple Heaven Divine Lamp, reviewed the methods he had learned in the past.

He knew that this Purple Heaven Palace was not his own opportunity.

If he wanted a breakthrough, I fear it would still have to be within the "Thunder Fire Refining Hall."

As for Lu San on the side, he wasn't much better off. He inherited the ancient Chu Shaman Dao, and although it couldn't be considered incompatible with this place, the effect was no different from an ordinary spiritual aperture.

!.

Fortunately, he had been prepared in his heart. Following the "Mountain and Sea Spiritual Response Sutra" method, he danced the Nuo dance. In the spirit-focusing space, two tall mountain peaks appeared, emerald green and layered.

Different from Li Yan and the others' methods, Lu San's method did not involve layered towers, but rather formed an altar on each mountain.

The altar offered a god statue, human head and beast body, extremely similar to his own face, like an ancient mountain god from the Classic of Mountains and Seas.

Lu San re-cultivated the "Mountain and Sea Spiritual Response Sutra," and now that he had built two mountain peaks, it was equivalent to a second-story tower in the Mystic Sect, which he had completed easily...

Different from them, Wang Fu had a deep realization.

What he practiced was the "Western Mystic Cave-Darkness True Sutra," honest and steady, step by step, gradually forming a three-story tower in the spirit-focusing space.

The purple light transformed by the "Purple Heaven Divine Lamp" was like moonlight falling from the sky, and Wang Fu's three spirit-focusing images all looked up to watch.

At the same time, the "Earth Mother Eye" within the ritual altar also overflowed with various mysterious auras, which merged with the purple light and fell into the eyes of the spirit-focusing images.

Not long after, the eyes of the three spirit-focusing images were all dyed purple.

At this moment, Wang Fu's eyes were swollen and painful, and all kinds of colorful light flickered in his eyes without stopping.

He had finally welcomed his own opportunity...

…………

Rumbling!

Accompanied by a rumbling sound, the doors of the great hall were slowly opened.

Li Yan woke up from his meditation. Looking at the inside of the great hall again, the "Purple Heaven Divine Lamp" had returned to normal, mixed among the many oil lamps, and one couldn't tell any difference.

"The time has arrived. Everyone, please leave..."

Following a loud shout from the hall-guarding Daoist, everyone lined up to leave.

Just as they walked out of the great hall, Sha Lifei hurried over anxiously. "How was it, how was it? Did you have any gains?"

Li Yan shook his head slightly. "I estimate it will be when we reach the Thunder Fire Refining Hall."

Lu San said in a muffled voice, "The second-story tower is stable. The Daoist secret realm makes no difference to me; next time I need to find another place."

Wang Fu rubbed his eyes, and tears couldn't help but flow down. He smiled bitterly, "This poor Daoist fears I have awakened an eye supernatural power; I can see some strange auras, but it hasn't stabilized yet."

"Congratulations, Daoist!"

Everyone offered their congratulations quickly.

When a cultivator builds a three-story tower, there is a chance to awaken a second supernatural power, but not everyone has this opportunity.

Wang Fu had mixed miserably in the past, only because he was a lone individual, and his supernatural powers were not suitable, so many methods could not be used. After teaming up with Li Yan, the situation gradually improved.

Now that he had awakened an eye supernatural power, even if it was just the most basic aura-gazing, for him, it was a world-shaking change.

This practice could be called a happy ending for all.

The group was not in a hurry to go up the mountain and stayed in the Purple Heaven Palace, waiting for the great thunderstorm to arrive.

A few days passed, and Wang Fu's supernatural power finally stabilized. The result made everyone pleasantly surprised: the eye supernatural power he awakened could not only check the two auras of Gang and Sha, but also check the flow of the earth vein aura.

With this eye supernatural power cooperating, Wang Fu's feng shui techniques would naturally ascend to another level.

In his spare time, Li Yan also became familiar with the Daoists of the Purple Heaven Palace and obtained some intelligence from down the mountain, but none of it was very good.

Over in Xiangyang, the epidemic began to spiral out of control, spreading from Fancheng to the surrounding areas. Many people wanted to flee, but the imperial court had already dispatched troops to blockade the roads to prevent the epidemic from spreading.

At the moment, not only the True Martial Palace but even the Baotong Zen Temple had sent people to investigate, and the Wuchang Prince's Mansion had also invited famous physicians to handle this matter...

In the mountains and forests of Jingchu, the imperial court's army was suddenly blocked.

Many mountain spirits and monsters were controlled by people, and combined with the appearance of many evil cultivators who practiced the long-life method of demon bodies, they caused heavy casualties to the imperial court's army.

These guys not only knew strange secret techniques but also carried new-style firearms, specifically targeting and killing imperial court officers, then releasing Gu poison and summoning poisonous mosquitoes and bees from the mountains to ambush them. They were simply elusive.

The Yunyang City God Temple dispatched Yin soldiers to search, but these demon people only attacked during the day and hid at night; the Yin soldiers could do nothing about them...

As for Zigui County, it was temporarily stable.

The imperial court navy's new-style cannons had terrifying power and occupied an absolute advantage; even with fewer people, they suppressed the Tusi City army so they couldn't move forward...

After learning this news, Li Yan's mood was also very heavy.

According to his original plan, with the imperial court's 200,000-strong army gathered, plus the navy's cooperation, the rebellion could be quelled very quickly.

But looking at this situation, I fear it would take some time.

The road to Fengdu in Shu would definitely not be peaceful...

…………

Rumbling!

Five days later, the thunderclouds arrived as promised.

Just past noon, the sky became gloomy, and pitch-black thunderclouds covered the sky and earth, as if the entire sky was about to collapse.

Thunder rumbled, and electric light flickered from time to time.

Because they had to head to the summit, the hub of Wudang, and there would be heavenly thunder strikes, Lu San and Sha Lifei stayed behind to accompany those shivering little demons and Wu Ba.

Li Yan and Wang Fu, led by a Daoist, headed to the summit.

Half an hour later, they had already arrived at the summit.

Just as Wang Jingxiu had said, although they were allowed to enter "Thunder Fire Refining Hall," they were forbidden from approaching other places.

Walking along the small corridor, there were sword-wielding Daoists guarding the route.

Rumbling!

Suddenly, a bolt of thunder tore through the firmament and fell.

Li Yan only felt a continuous rumbling in his ears. Looking up, he saw that at the top of the highest palace in the distance, the thunder fire had turned into fireballs, crackling and rolling back and forth on the roof, like living things...

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 359 =====