Chapter 887
Ancient Secrets
Chapter 887 Ancient Secrets
Gu Yuanqing had no need to interfere in matters concerning the Qian Yuan Realm or even the entire Linglong Realm.
Or rather, even if he did it himself, he might not be as good as his children and grandchildren.
Although Li Guanrong was somewhat reluctant to be emperor and often slacked off, he still personally handled all matters related to his grandfather. During his hundreds of years as emperor, he was adept at all kinds of affairs.
The Qian Yuan Temple also gained even greater prestige than before thanks to this event.
The increased amount of incense smoke outside Beiquan Cave is a testament to this.
There was no other reaction from the Primordial Realm, and even those who had returned from the Primordial Realm back then all became quiet and obedient.
There was nothing they could do. The Ancient Divine Sect didn't even have a master of the Chaotic Undying Realm, so they were powerless to deal with Gu Yuanqing and could only let the Qian Yuan Realm develop.
The only thing Gu Yuanqing needed to be careful of were those old guys. They regarded the entire Linglong Realm as the foundation for continuing their own path and this world as their own private property. How could they allow Gu Yuanqing to grow up safely and peacefully in it?
For them, every bit of progress Gu Yuanqing made was a loss of their own fortune and resources.
Just as Zhou Tianyan's clone said when he came to Beiquan Cave Heaven that day, this is a struggle for the Dao, how can we give it up so easily!
Li Miaoxuan sat cross-legged atop the sky, comprehending the Dao of the Spirit Realm.
Gu Yuanqing then summoned Zhuo Ming again in the courtyard.
The divine essence, shaped like a celestial bell the size of a thumb, shone brightly, intertwined with golden light, and finally transformed into its form.
Upon seeing Gu Yuanqing, he said calmly, "Have you thought this through? Only with my help can you truly escape this calamity!"
Gu Yuanqing sat in the chair, calmly sipping his tea, and finally chuckled softly: "Why don't we start by talking about the divine cultivators in your Ancestral Hall, whom you call Great Venerables!"
Zhuo Ming stared at Gu Yuanqing for a moment, then said, "They've already made their move against you?"
Gu Yuanqing smiled calmly, took a sip of tea, and said lightly, "I remember three years ago, you said that once I survived the tribulation of the Chaotic Undying, they would give up. But now it seems that's not the case."
Zhuo Ming was shocked. He tried to judge the truth of the matter from Gu Yuanqing's expression. Since he had disappeared in Beiquan Mountain, others would definitely take action. His previous words might have been intended to buy time.
His own defeat here was merely an accident. He believed that anyone else would be extremely cautious if they made a move against him. In his view, even if Gu Yuanqing became a demigod, he would have no chance of defeating him.
Now, it seems that the facts have told him that the Ancient Divine Sect's attempt has failed once again.
"Oh, by the way, one of your old friends is here too. You two can meet up!" Gu Yuanqing waved his hand.
As the words were spoken, a golden light rose from the ground.
Gu Yuanqing slightly loosened the restriction, and the golden light spot instantly expanded and manifested as Zhou Tianyan's figure.
“Brother Zhou!” Zhuo Ming’s gaze sharpened.
Zhou Tianyan regained his senses and first glanced at Zhuo Ming: "Fellow Daoist Zhuo was indeed only sealed."
Zhuo Ming looked slightly embarrassed. Being banned was a huge loss of face, and he really regretted barging in that day.
At this point, he could roughly guess that Beiquan Mountain was a special place, like a Taoist temple, or perhaps shrouded in the power of a divine artifact, which was enough to isolate the Dao of the divine artifact and thus suppress him.
If one's strength truly reaches the level of being able to suppress true gods at will, then there is no need to care about the Ancient God Sect, nor is there any need to talk to me about this much.
Zhou Tianyan then turned to look at Gu Yuanqing and said, "It is indeed surprising that you were able to stop my divided spirit from returning to the void. However, it is of no use. My failure to return to my original self has already proven some things."
Gu Yuanqing chuckled lightly: "Then I'd like to ask you, what does your Ancient Divine Sect want? You should at least give me a way out, right?"
Zhou Tianyan suddenly frowned, looked up at the sky, and said, "Wait, how much time has passed?"
He was completely suppressed during the self-burning of his divine soul and return to the void. Zhuo Ming's divine core existed in its own space, and his consciousness could still flow within it, so he could roughly measure the passage of time. Zhou Tianyan was different; he was just a divided spirit. Under the suppression of Beiquan Cave Heaven, almost everything was in a state of stagnation. For him, the past three years were probably just a moment.
However, being a true god-level being, it only took a short while after emerging to discover the problem.
Gu Yuanqing leisurely took a sip of tea and refilled his cup.
Zhuo Ming also saw through something and slowly said, "Brother Zhou, if I am not mistaken, the sect has already taken action against him."
Zhou Tianyan's expression gradually became serious. He knew more than Zhuo Ming and had already reached a conclusion about how to deal with Gu Yuanqing.
Even so, it still failed.
He looked at Gu Yuanqing: "What do you want to say by releasing this part of my spirit this time?"
Gu Yuanqing smiled: "Don't tell me you released me so I could pass on a message?"
Zhou Tianyan raised an eyebrow and said, "Isn't that right? I admit that you do have some strength, but facing my Ancient God Sect, even if you are a true god or have a true god behind you, you have no chance!"
Gu Yuanqing said calmly, "Is it because of that cultivator in your Ancestral Hall whom you call the Great Venerable? I'm quite curious, what realm is he? Could he be the founding ancestor of your Ancient Divine Sect?"
Upon hearing the term "Great Venerable," Zhou Tianyan's heart sank even further: "If you want to extract information from me, you need not do so!"
Gu Yuanqing smiled and said, "How could I expect an avatar to say anything to me? I only asked you to come out so you could see your old friend!"
Upon hearing this, Zhou Tianyan turned to look at Zhuo Ming and said coldly, "Zhuo Ming, you should know what you should say and what you shouldn't say!"
Zhuo Ming said expressionlessly, "I don't need you to remind me of these things!"
Zhou Tianyan said, "You'd better understand!"
Gu Yuanqing said with great interest, "After hearing what you've said, I've really become interested in him."
Zhou Tianyan stopped speaking and closed his eyes. He intended to reignite his divine soul and annihilate this divided spirit, but he couldn't do it under the suppression of Beiquan Cave Heaven.
Gu Yuanqing could sense his hidden movements and smiled calmly: "Since you want to die so badly, then I'll grant your wish!"
As he spoke, he flicked his finger, and the Dao Source True Fire flew out, enveloping Zhou Tianyan.
Amidst the raging flames, Zhou Tianyan's divided spirit twisted violently, the intense pain making it difficult for this divided spirit to maintain its form.
Zhou Tianyan glared angrily and roared, "Gu Yuanqing, you are also a great cultivator, how is your behavior any different from that of the demonic path?"
Gu Yuanqing said calmly, "The demonic path? You steal the Dao fruits of your juniors, ruin the future of an entire realm, and use the Linglong Realm as resources to prolong your own path. Is this the righteous path?"
Zhou Tianyan gritted his teeth and sneered: "I have cultivated for millions of years, and I have endured all kinds of suffering. You think you can get anything about the Great Venerable from me? You are delusional!"
Gu Yuanqing chuckled and said, "You're overthinking it. I simply wanted to test the effects of this Dao Fire on the soul of a True God!"
As he spoke, the Dao Source True Fire suddenly surged, completely engulfing Zhou Tianyan. At the same time, Gu Yuanqing used his power of manipulation to disperse Zhou Tianyan's divine soul power, allowing the Dao Source True Fire to come into contact with every wisp of his divine sense from all directions.
The Dao Source True Fire is merely the fire of a illusory immortal, while the divine thought of a true god is like pure gold refined through countless trials. There was originally a difference in their levels, but since this was, after all, within the Northern Spring Grotto Heaven, with the aid of the power of controlling objects, Zhou Tianyan's divine thought was gradually dissolving.
Although this speed is very slow, it is even slower than the speed at which Gu Yuanqing, who was only at the Shattered Heaven Realm, refined the Undying Soul of Chaos back then.
After refining the divine sense, Gu Yuanqing gained something, but he did not integrate this power into his own origin because he could vaguely sense that the refined spiritual power was still not pure enough.
When a cultivator becomes a true god, the transformation of their divine sense seems to occur at a deeper level of rules. Although he erased Zhou Tianyan's consciousness from this wisp of divine sense, there still seems to be hidden dangers at a deeper level.
He casually collected and suppressed this power, leaving it for future research.
Although he dared not rashly refine the remaining spiritual power of the true god's divine thoughts into his body, he could observe the subtle changes during the refining process. Every bit of his divine thoughts was transformed from the Boundless Heavenly Secrets Diagram True Talisman at the microscopic level.
While refining it, one can also observe the Boundless Heavenly Secrets Diagram, which will give one more confidence to deal with it in the future.
Zhuo Ming looked coldly at Gu Yuanqing and said, "What exactly do you want to do? If you want to make an example of someone, there's no need!"
Gu Yuanqing raised his hand and completely suppressed Zhou Tianyan's soul at the bottom of Beiquan Mountain, slowly refining it with Dao Source True Fire.
He looked at Zhuo Ming, smiled slightly, and said, "If that's how you want to understand it, then you should consider what else can make me believe in you. In other words, what reason do I have to keep you here? I can refine Zhou Tianyan, and I can refine you to death. It's just a matter of taking a little more time!"
Zhuo Ming said coldly, "I can tell you about other things, but don't even think about this one, because... if I tell you, even if you don't kill me, I will definitely die!"
Gu Yuanqing raised an eyebrow.
Zhuo Ming said calmly, "I left a wisp of my divine soul in the Gui Cang Hall and made a covenant with the Great Dao. Unless I stay here and remain isolated from the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth, I will not escape death no matter where I go!"
Gu Yuanqing's pupils narrowed slightly. Although Zhuo Ming did not say anything specific, his words themselves revealed a lot!
"Guicang Hall? Is that the ancestral hall of your Ancient Divine Sect?" Gu Yuanqing asked.
Zhuo Ming remained silent.
Gu Yuanqing then asked, "The Primordial God Sect, judging from its name, is the inheritance of ancient gods. This sect serves as a tool for you to continue your path of cultivation. Can I not believe that what is truly continuing is not you, but it?"
Zhuo Ming remained silent, and even closed his eyes.
Gu Yuanqing suddenly asked again, "What is your relationship with the Great Wei Dynasty of the Ancient Realm?"
Zhuo Ming still seemed unresponsive, but Gu Yuanqing's eyes suddenly lit up.
This is the Northern Spring Grotto Heaven. As the master of the grotto heaven, even though he could not easily peek into the memories of cultivators at the True God level, he could still sense some things. When he mentioned the Great Wei Divine Dynasty, Zhuo Ming's emotions clearly fluctuated.
Perhaps sensing Gu Yuanqing's unusual behavior, Zhuo Ming raised his head and said coldly, "Gu Yuanqing, although I don't know your background, you may have a deep background and control divine objects, but there are some things you'd better not try to pry into right now, otherwise, you will truly be courting your own destruction!"
"Is that so?" Gu Yuanqing smiled faintly. "Do you think that if I don't investigate, your Ancient Divine Sect will let me off the hook?"
Zhuo Ming merely glanced at Gu Yuanqing indifferently, his mind calmed, and all his power returned to his divine essence.
Gu Yuanqing didn't ask any more questions. He knew that Zhuo Ming wouldn't say anything more. With a thought, he suppressed the divine spark again deep within the Beiquan Cave.
He lay back in his chair, picked up his teacup, took a small sip, and seemed lost in thought.
After a long while, he murmured to himself, "If it really is related to the Great Wei Dynasty of the Ancient Realm, then this is truly interesting!"
……
Li Miaoxuan sat cross-legged on the summit for over a month before finally letting out a long breath and waking up from her meditation.
Over the past month, she has gained much from observing and comprehending the Great Dao River. She has completely stabilized her Void Immortal realm and taken a small step forward.
She descended from the clouds and went straight into the Northern Spring Mountain, where the Dragon-Slaying Guillotine transformed into a hairpin and flew back into her hair.
Gu Yuanqing greeted him at the mountaintop.
"Congratulations! You have achieved the status of a Virtual Immortal. You are only one step away from the true path of immortality!"
“This last step is the most difficult!” Li Miaoxuan said.
Gu Yuanqing smiled and said, "We still have a long time ahead of us, more than 20,000 years, which should be more than enough."
Li Miaoxuan nodded slightly, smiled sweetly, and then said, "Unfortunately, I still couldn't help you this time!"
Gu Yuanqing smiled and said, "This can only be considered a test by the Ancient Divine Sect. The next time will be the time for them to really make their move."
As he spoke, Li Chengyi rushed forward and bowed, saying, "Congratulations, Mother, on achieving the status of a Void Immortal!"
A smile appeared in Li Miaoxuan's eyes as she reached out to help Yi'er up, saying, "Yi'er, there's no need for such formalities."
The mother and son exchanged a few words.
Gu Yuanqing said, "Miaoxuan, your father and the others should have seen you wake up and are waiting for you on the side peak. We... will talk later."
“Alright, I’ll go first,” Li Miaoxuan said.
……
The area around Beiquan Mountain is relatively quiet.
However, the spirit world is not so peaceful.
In less than a century, another person has achieved the status of a virtual immortal, which can be described as the biggest event in tens of thousands of years.
The various sects inquired among themselves, and the final result was unbelievable to them!
The most turbulent of these was the Lingxu Sect.
Did one's own Daoist disciple achieve the status of a illusory immortal?
And this news came from outsiders!
This caused a stir throughout the entire sect.
At first, they thought it was just a rumor.
After all, only the sect leader of the Lingxu Sect is a Huntian cultivator, and Li Miaoxuan's tribulation site is deep in the Canghai Sea, so they cannot sense the Dao vibrations brought about by the Void Immortal Tribulation.
Moreover, most people in the sect didn't even know that Li Miaoxuan had become the Undying Chaos, so who would believe it if she suddenly became a Void Immortal?
Even the sect leader Ye Zhenghong was greatly shocked when he heard the news. He knew that Li Miaoxuan had become the Undying Chaos, but Li Miaoxuan had only said that she was going into seclusion, but she did not say that she was going to undergo the Void Immortal Tribulation.
These days, he has been stationed in the city to guard against attacks from the Heavenly Demons. After hearing about this, he used the teleportation array to return to the Xuanqiong Realm almost without stopping.
(End of this chapter)