Free Web NovelYu Lingzi stared in horror at this scene, almost fleeing in panic, but Chen Shi remained standing there without moving, so he dared not run either, inwardly lamenting bitterly: "I'm afraid Tai Hua Qing Palace is about to be wiped out."
The Four Elders of Tai Hua were his grand-master uncles, uncles to Chang Ying's master.
People of this generation still alive were few; Patriarch Qiongyang was one of them.
The Four Elders of Tai Hua were even older than Patriarch Qiongyang, also existing at the Great Ascension Realm, with profound and unfathomable cultivation. They remained in seclusion year-round, placing themselves in a state of hibernation, using the Turtle Breathing Method to extend their lifespans. This method could prolong life by decades, preserving peak combat strength for Tai Hua Qing Palace.
Under normal circumstances, even if a demonic transformation occurred, the Four Elders of Tai Hua would not emerge from seclusion. Only when Tai Hua Qing Palace faced a life-or-death crisis would they be awakened to turn the tide.
Yet this time, the Four Elders had not turned the tide; they hadn't even had a chance to strike before they were already corrupted.
This was also the reason for Yu Lingzi's collapsed Dao Heart.
The Four Elders of Tai Hua held too high a status—higher even than Patriarch Qiongyang. If even they had fallen, Tai Hua Qing Palace had no power left to resist.
The Four Elders stood outside Blue Goat Palace, the muscles of their bodies trembling continuously, as if accelerating their separation from their own skin!
They regarded their skin as a container binding them, and now it was time to shed their casings and ascend with radiant clouds!
Their upper bodies pulled free from their casings, faces blooming with joy, as if they had achieved great liberation!
This sight made Chang Ying Daoist's scalp tingle and the back of his head itch, as if another self inside him was about to burst out, tearing him apart.
But his expression remained as calm as ever, even utterly unruffled. Relying on sheer conviction, he ignored all the abnormalities in his body, strode straight into Blue Goat Palace, and faced his teaching master face-to-face.
"Master."
He greeted Jinghong, then bowed to Blue Goat, "Patriarch Blue Goat."
Jinghong laughed heartily and said, "The two little friends outside, come in as well."
Chang Ying Daoist furrowed his brow slightly and looked outside the hall.
Chen Shi, with Yu Lingzi following, walked into Blue Goat Palace.
Yu Lingzi stuck close, not daring to leave his side.
The sun and moon orbited around the two of them, continuously refining—one cycle forward and back formed a single purgation, yin and yang interweaving formed a single refinement. Amidst the purgation and refinement, the invading demonic energy was dispelled.
As they passed the Four Elders of Tai Hua, the four old men stood rigid within their own skins, their eyeballs rolling to land on the pair, startling Yu Lingzi.
The yin-yang purgation also interfered with the Four Elders' demonic transformation. One old Daoist cried out, "Brothers, wake up—we've been ensnared!"
The other three elders also awakened, about to surge their cultivation to resist the demonic transformation, but the effects of the yin-yang purgation vanished, and the four supreme experts were once again seized by the demonic transformation, their faces beaming with smiles as they continued their metamorphosis.
Chen Shi's heart sank; he immediately saw the root of the problem.
The Four Elders of Tai Hua were all at the Great Ascension Realm. The source of their demonic transformation lay in their Realm of Emptiness. Each elder's Realm of Emptiness spanned thousands of miles, containing sun, moon, and stars, mountains, rivers, lakes, and oceans.
Chen Shi's yin-yang purgation could only illuminate a tiny portion of their Realm of Emptiness, enough to momentarily restore their awareness before their minds were lost again.
As for Chen Shi and Yu Lingzi, they had not yet opened a Realm of Emptiness. Although their Dao Fields were also being eroded by Jinghong's demonic energy, the coverage of their fields was small, and the yin-yang purgation could completely cleanse and refine the demonic energy within them.
"Daoist Tianzhen is on the verge of demonic transformation, with righteous and demonic forces in clear opposition within him. The sun and moon in his Realm of Emptiness, though large, are too small compared to the vastness of the realm, making it impossible to refine away the demonic energy," he thought to himself.
Chen Shi entered Blue Goat Palace and scanned his surroundings. The former sect master, Jinghong, was seated cross-legged on the floor. He was an ancient Daoist, extremely aged—white-haired, wrinkled, small and withered in stature, but with very long hair.
His hair was entirely white, trailing on the ground; his eyebrows were long, hanging down to his knees.
A cultivation technique surfaced in Chen Shi's mind: the Crane Crying to the Heavens Art.
This kind of physique was often the result of cultivating Tai Hua Qing Palace's Crane Crying to the Heavens Art.
Those who cultivated this technique tended to be very thin and could live very long.
At the head of the room, on a ritual altar, sat a blue goat, cross-legged, about ten feet tall, with smooth blue wool. The goat's eyes were fixed on its nose, and its nose fixed on its heart, not looking at him.
Behind the blue goat, incense smoke rose in curls. A censer held many burning sticks of incense, before which was enshrined the True Martial Exorcising Sword.
This immortal sword was absorbing the energy of incense offerings.
Chen Shi shifted his gaze to Chang Ying Daoist.
Chang Ying sat opposite Jinghong. Seeing that the two of them had managed to reach this point without undergoing transformation, a flash of surprise passed through his eyes.
Chen Shi bowed and said, "Greetings, Senior Jinghong."
Jinghong's gaze fell on the sun and moon revolving around his body, and he was also quite surprised. "You're not a Daoist? Wait, your appearance reminds me of an old acquaintance."
Chang Ying Daoist looked at Chen Shi and gave a slight shake of his head, signaling him not to reveal his true origins.
Chen Shi ignored it and said, "My grandfather once studied the Dao at Tai Hua Qing Palace. His name is Chen Yindu. Does Senior Jinghong have any impression of him?"
Chang Ying Daoist's expression changed slightly, and his gaze fell on the True Martial Exorcising Sword behind the blue goat. If Jinghong made any unusual move, he would sacrifice the sword immediately!
At the same time, the muscles on the blue goat's back, sitting on the altar, quietly tensed. His target was also the True Martial Exorcising Sword!
This immortal sword possessed unmatched power. If Jinghong made a move against Chen Shi, he would seize the sword first and slay Jinghong!
But Jinghong did not lash out as they had expected. Instead, he studied Chen Shi with great interest. "You are Chen Yindu's grandson? No wonder you look so much like him. I thought Chen Yindu had grown young again and come back to find me."
He reminisced about the past. "When Chen Yindu came up the mountain, I was the pride of Tai Hua Qing Palace. I had a First-grade Divine Embryo, deep and vigorous cultivation, and I learned any Daoist technique I encountered instantly. Everyone in the sect respected me, and many junior sisters favored me, even scheming against each other to become my Dao companion. The Four Elders of Tai Hua were all my defeated rivals. As for Qiongyang, Qionghua, and Qiongyu, they all admired me. My master even told me, 'You will be the next sect master.' I was at my peak then, unrivaled."
Outside the hall, the Four Elders of Tai Hua were making guttural sounds as they completed their transformations, airing out their bodies.
The casings of the four elders stood in place, lifelike.
Some of the four old Daoists had actually grown cicada wings, very thin and delicate. They flapped and flew onto the tree to the left of the hall entrance, clinging to the branches and chirping like cicadas.
Another elder flapped his cicada wings, flew to the hall opposite, and hung upside down from the eaves.
The other two elders looked on with envy, saying one after another, "Senior brothers have attained the Dao!"
But oddly enough, they soon grew new skin and then froze again, continuing their transformation.
Aside from them, the other Daoists of Tai Hua Qing Palace crawled on all fours like golden cicadas toward Blue Goat Palace. They would crawl a bit, then stop and undergo shell-shedding metamorphosis!
Many Daoists shed themselves until they looked like three-foot children, but their faces were incredibly old, like centenarians.
Yu Lingzi's Uncle Mei was also among them. As a spotted deer that had already achieved some success, he was also shedding skin, poking a bloody deer head out from the deer hide and crying out, "Yoo—yoo! Metamorphosis and ascension are right before our eyes! Yoo—!"
Jinghong shifted his tone and said, "But after Chen Yindu arrived, all of that changed. I had never seen anyone so intelligent, so unrestrained, so brilliantly talented that even I became jealous. When Chen Yindu came to Blue Goat Palace, I felt that the attention I received decreased, and the admiration I received also diminished. Many junior and senior sisters quickly fell for someone else, taking a liking to this new Daoist. Chen Yindu had the worst Divine Embryo, was at a lower realm than me, and had the worst innate talent. Yet, for some reason, he was likable. He was too clever and too handsome."
"Smack!"
The sound of a skin casing splitting came from outside. One of the elders pulled his head out from behind his own skin casing and shouted joyfully, "Aha! So this is the secret to feathered ascension! I have attained the Dao!"
Chen Shi smiled and said, "Senior Jinghong, why would a cultivator care about such things? Shouldn't it be a matter of tranquility and non-action?"
Jinghong sighed. "I wanted to, but at that time, I was young and hot-headed; I couldn't let it go. Now, my state of mind is much higher. Qiongyang liked him back then too, getting very close to him. In a very short time, he studied almost all the techniques and spells of Tai Hua Qing Palace, and he even drew inferences, creating many new spells, even altering the original techniques beyond recognition, but the results were even better than the originals. He even said, 'The legacy of our Tai Hua Qing Palace is nothing special; it's all empty fame.'"
Blue Goat said coldly, "Chen Yindu went too far, didn't he?"
Jinghong nodded. "He really went too far, taking away the brilliance that was rightfully mine in an instant. I was very angry, so I challenged him. I told him, 'If I lose, I'll give you the position of next sect master. If you lose, you get out of Tai Hua Mountain.' He had a good temper and refused, but I forced him to fight. And then I lost, nearly dying under his spells."
Blue Goat said, "He almost killed you. You hated him deeply."
Jinghong said, "I did hate him deeply, hated him for taking everything from me. After I lost, I was utterly hopeless and lived in a daze for a few years, the hatred growing stronger and stronger. But then he didn't become sect master. Instead, he dug up the ancestral tombs and was expelled from Tai Hua Qing Palace. After being expelled, he even ran off with Patriarch Blue Goat. I hated him so much. My master was old by then, and yet he refused to be sect master and ran away. I hated him for trampling my dignity, hated him for digging up the ancestors' graves for immortality, hated him for abandoning Qiongyang and the others. I inherited the position of sect master, but I still couldn't help hating him. Until one day, I realized I was old."
He said softly, "I found I had white hair, that my five viscera were uncontrollably turning to decay, that my Primordial Spirit was growing stronger while my physical body was aging, increasingly unable to contain such a powerful spirit. Only then did I understand Chen Yindu. Suddenly, I no longer hated your grandfather."
He looked at Chen Shi, showing appreciation, and said, "On the contrary, I deeply admire him, even revere him. He was so far ahead of his time. He hadn't even grown old yet, and he was already pursuing immortality. I only understood his actions when I was old, only then began to seek immortality. I am far inferior to him."
Chen Shi shook his head. "My grandfather did not seek immortality. He sought the mysteries of the Dao. Sect Master Jinghong, you have misunderstood."
Jinghong burst out laughing and shook his head. "You don't understand Chen Yindu, but I do. Compared to immortality, what are women? What is love? What is the position of sect master? He could cast all these things aside. He was a true seeker of the Dao!"
Blue Goat sneered. "Jinghong, you misunderstand Chen Yindu. Chen Yindu was a seeker of the Dao, not a seeker of immortality. His mind was all on developing Dao techniques, on reviving the civilization of the True King's Era, even surpassing his predecessors and the ancients. He was so obsessed with the Great Dao that he captivated Qiongyang, that he made me abandon my position to follow him."
Jinghong thought for a moment and smiled. "Perhaps you are right. But later, Chen Yindu disappointed me. He actually gave up the path of immortality, gave up the path of ascension, just for his grandson, and went to fight Western Capital with all his might. He cast everything aside for the sake of his grandson, preferring not to have immortality, not to have the Great Dao. He was a waste."
He sneered. "That Chen Yindu is beneath my contempt! I will personally verify the path of immortality, personally ascend! I will not only ascend myself, but I will also bring all the Daoists of Tai Hua Qing Palace with me! I lost to him back then, but after all these years, this time, I will not lose!"
He was full of heroic spirit and said with a long laugh, "I found a handwritten copy left behind by Chen Yindu, which recorded the Golden Cicada Shedding Immortal Diagram. He dug it out from the ancestral tomb. He organized this lost technique and even added annotations. He left an eight-character review: 'This art is heterodox; it cultivates a false immortal.' He was wrong, terribly wrong."
"Yoo—yoo! I have taken another step toward feathered ascension!" Uncle Mei's voice came from outside. freewēbnoveℓ.com
He had already shed himself down to the size of a fawn. If he continued to transform, he might even shed himself out of existence in the human world.
Chang Ying Daoist looked outside, while his Primordial Spirit looked into the underworld.
These Daoists were not only transforming in body, but their Primordial Spirits were also transforming. With each transformation, their spirits shrank by one degree!
If this continued, it wouldn't be long before they shed themselves into nothingness and ceased to exist!
Yet oddly enough, after transforming five or six times, the Four Elders of Tai Hua actually grew wings like cicadas, and the speed of their transformation slowed significantly. It seemed as if they were truly shedding their impurities and approaching an immortal body!
Seeing this, even Chang Ying Daoist's Dao Heart, which was as firm as a rock, could not help but waver. He thought to himself, "Could Master's path really be the right one? Could he truly make our entire sect ascend together?"
Jinghong smiled and said, "Cultivators transform again and again, shedding the impurities of their physical bodies and Primordial Spirits, gradually evolving into immortal bodies and immortal spirits, and then they can achieve Dao Unification! This is what Chen Yindu failed to see back then. And I, I have seen this secret to becoming an immortal. Chang Ying, your master has accomplished something even greater than Chen Yindu! Your master will lead all of you to unite with heaven and earth and ascend to the immortal realm!"
Chang Ying Daoist furrowed his brow and looked outside. A slightly weaker Daoist had shed himself down to the size of an infant and was still in the midst of transformation!
Suddenly, Chen Shi laughed and said, "Then, Senior Jinghong, since you have understood the secret to ascension, why did you go looking for Daoist Tianzhen? Could it be that you also saw the flaws in the Golden Cicada Shedding Immortal Diagram and went to seek Daoist Tianzhen's yin-yang purgation to prevent your own demonic transformation?"
Jinghong was stunned. "Daoist Tianzhen? Who is Daoist Tianzhen?"
Chen Shi's mind shook violently, and he exclaimed, "The one who used immortal fire to burn away the Golden Bell Sealing Technique—it wasn't you?"
Jinghong asked in confusion, "What immortal fire?"
Chen Shi pressed further, "Daoist Tianzhen was True Yang Patriarch's fire-tending boy. He had already cultivated to the Great Completion stage of the Ascension Realm, using yin-yang purgation to refine demonic energy. He was on the verge of achieving Dao Unification and ascending when he was slain. You don't know about this?"
Jinghong was perplexed. "Does such a formidable figure exist in my Tai Hua Qing Palace?"
In the moment of his distraction, Blue Goat acted without hesitation. He turned around, grabbed the True Martial Exorcising Sword, and swung it down, shouting, "Chang Ying, Qiongyang, help me exorcise the demon!"
