Taizhou.
With a cry like a phoenix, a young Taoist rode the wind, dressed in feathered robes and a star-adorned crown, his face as smooth as jade, exuding an ethereal aura, resembling a celestial being exiled to the mortal world—this was none other than Wu Ming’s manifested spirit projection!
Since ascending to the position of Sovereign, his main body has primarily remained stationed at the Main Divine Temple, while his projections and avatars have managed affairs in the exploration worlds and the Zhou Empire.
This time, it was the projection previously stationed among spirit tamers who had arrived, riding atop an immortal bird that cried out joyfully.
Taizhou, Panshe Mountain… this should be the location of the Dongji Zhenming Tian (Ultimate Truth and Brightness Heaven), right? Damn it… finding the entrance to this heavenly cavern is so difficult…
He rode the immortal bird, continuously circling deep within remote forests, but alas, he saw no sign of a heavenly cave entrance at all. Instead, he startled many ordinary people, leaving behind legends of an immortal riding a crane.
At this moment, Wu Ming was preparing to make contact with the immortal sects. However, unlike Wu Ming, who could plant his fairylands directly within the Main Divine Temple and use the temple’s Great Luo power to instantly open portals anywhere in the world, these immortals’ paradises were not so easily established. Once a fairyland was determined, it could not be moved, becoming a major secret of the sect.
Therefore, most of them were hidden deep in remote mountains and forests. Some immortals were even more extreme, choosing not to settle within the Zhou Empire at all, instead establishing their domains directly in the wilderness of the Four Regions.
While this ensured their privacy and safety, it made Wu Ming’s search rather troublesome.
“That Tianxiang Daoist is truly useless!”
Wu Ming had originally thought this subordinate, who was once the master of a heavenly cave sect, might at least know the locations of a few. However, after summoning him for questioning, he found out that this person only knew a general direction, and being able to pinpoint it to a specific spiritual mountain was already the best he could offer.
Although the Four Symbols Heavenly Cave did maintain contact with the outside world, it was always under the guidance of the Four Symbols Celestial Immortal. He had never been involved in such matters.
Besides, even when discussing alliances or collaborations, they usually relied on specific formations, with the Celestial Immortal leading the way through spatial teleportation, or by reaching a certain area where the heavenly cave itself would provide guidance. Truly visiting through the world’s natural pathways was practically impossible unless the relationship was extremely close.
The only two places Wu Ming could be certain of were the original Four Symbols Heavenly Cave and the White Lotus Heavenly Cave—both already destroyed, leaving Wu Ming quite speechless.
As for the rest, all Tianxiang Daoist could provide were landmarks like certain mountains or lakes. Even the Panshe Mountain in Taizhou was the most precise location he could offer.
However, this “precision” was only relative. With heavenly cave entrances often being small and well-hidden, and sometimes concealed by formations that made them indistinguishable from ordinary space, even a Celestial Immortal’s divine perception would fail to detect them. Naturally, Wu Ming’s search was like looking for a needle in the ocean.
He swept his divine perception for a while longer, but eventually prepared to give up in frustration.
“Can’t count on finding a heavenly cave—might as well go look for those blessed lands instead… At least, the techniques of Earth Immortals won’t be able to hide from me!”
At this thought, a graceful figure surfaced in his mind.
It had been years since they parted ways—was she doing well?
“That old Yuying is really acting shady, hiding his disciple so mysteriously. Even Wu Qing knows only the general location of the Yuying Blessed Land, possibly even less precise than what Tianxiang Daoist knows…”
Of course, Wu Ming also understood that the entrances to these blessed lands were always critical locations. Even if they were not worried about enemies attacking, they had to be cautious about worldly forces digging up dragon veins, altering rivers, or disrupting the land’s energy.
If that happened, the blessed land couldn’t be moved, and they would be completely helpless.
Therefore, disciples entering these places were often required to go through concealment formations or even take powerful oaths to maintain secrecy. In more extreme cases, restrictions might even be planted in their spiritual consciousness.
“Cultivation sects are just a general term—there are also those who practice demonic techniques among them!”
“Alright then… I’ll go to the Yuying Blessed Land first. At the very least, I won’t let her be bullied…”
With this thought, Wu Ming’s eyes gleamed, and the immortal bird beneath him, sensing his intent, flapped its wings and flew eastward.
“Chirp chirp!”
However, not long after taking flight, several flashes of magical light below caught Wu Ming’s attention.
“Huh? This is the area of Panshe Mountain, sparsely populated. Could these be cultivators from the Dongji Zhenming Tian?”
His heart stirred, and he commanded the immortal bird to descend slowly.
At this moment, his divine perception scanned the area, and the scene below was instantly imprinted in his spiritual sea, vividly clear.
In a grove of ancient trees, three figures were locked in battle. One man and one woman shared similar auras and the same sect origin, both possessing the cultivation level of True Immortals, and were currently attacking another Daoist.
The Daoist being attacked was thin and bony, with an aged appearance, looking almost fifty or sixty years old. Yet his body was extremely agile, leaping through the forest like a flying monkey.
He was only at the level of a regular Daoist cultivator. Logically, he should have already been defeated by the two True Immortals, but somehow he had managed to subdue two Grade-3 spirit guardians from the spirit path, allowing him to hold his own against the two True Immortals.
Moreover, the techniques he used looked increasingly familiar to Wu Ming.
“This is strange… that technique seems to be…”
A gleam of sharp insight flashed in Wu Ming’s eyes.
“Black Cap Daoist! Leave that hundred-year-old Fire Spirit Ginseng now, or today you won’t leave this place alive!”
The female Daoist, with a fiery temper, shouted directly.
“Cursed… this treasure is naturally formed in heaven and earth. I found it first—why should I give it to you?”
The old Daoist cried out in protest, then flung out a handful of something like beans. In midair, they transformed into more than a dozen golden-armored divine generals, exuding a bloodthirsty aura as they rushed toward the two True Immortals.
“Come out!”
The male True Immortal among them, seeing this, directly pulled out a hairpin and launched a sword technique.
Buzz!
It turned out that the hairpin was actually a magical artifact, which emitted a hum and shimmered with runes before soaring upward like a coiling dragon or a shooting star.
Puff! Puff!
Faced with this, the dozen golden-armored spirit warriors were like paper figures, instantly falling to the ground, turning into mere paper talismans.
With his technique broken, the old Daoist’s face turned pale.
The True Immortal laughed and said, “Scattering beans to summon soldiers is just a minor technique. Even if you’ve used your own blood to refine these paper soldiers, they can’t withstand a single strike from my flying sword! Considering how hard cultivation is, be wise and hand over the medicinal herb quickly…”
“You disciples of famous sects actually dare to bully people like this?”
The old Daoist, cornered, saw his two Grade-3 spirit guardians retreating repeatedly, and cried out in desperation.
“Bully? The hundred-mile radius around Panshe Mountain is all the territory of our Dongji Xuanyan Sect. The spiritual mountains and medicinal herbs naturally belong to us. How is that bullying?”
The female Daoist shouted, “You control spirit guardians and refine blood artifacts, exuding a sinister aura—you’re clearly a heretic. There’s no reason not to kill you outright!”
She then drew a talisman in midair, and a bolt of lightning flashed, “Decree! Thunder, come forth!”
“Thunder technique? Summoning Thunder?”
The Black Cap Daoist’s expression changed—he was particularly vulnerable to such techniques, and he hadn’t expected this female True Immortal to have mastered Thunder Magic.
Crackle!
A bolt of lightning as thick as a wrist shot from the female Daoist’s hand, crackling as it struck one of the spirit guardians. With just one hit, the guardian was severely wounded, its glow flickering before vanishing—no one knew where it had been sent.
“Wait… I’m willing to…”
The old Daoist was greatly alarmed and finally wanted to surrender, but it was already too late.
The young True Immortal slashed his sword downward, ready to end the life of this evil cultivator.
After all, this was just a rogue cultivator from a minor sect, with no powerful backing. Killing him would be no big deal—who would come to avenge him?
“Jiejie!”
Just as the old Daoist closed his eyes, awaiting death, a strange laugh suddenly came from the side.
A sudden gust of wind! Amidst dark qi, a skeleton emerged, its entire body white as jade, its bones shimmering with starlight. It appeared in an instant, extended its bony claws, and grabbed the sword mid-swing.
The young True Immortal turned red with anger, his sword vibrating violently, yet utterly unable to break free.
“A skeleton spirit?”
The old Daoist’s eyes flickered with shock and disbelief as he gasped.
“Jiejie!”
The skeletal figure grinned, its body suddenly radiating starlight.
Chi chi!
Several beams of starlight swords appeared, moving at an astonishing speed, threatening to slice the two True Immortals into a thousand pieces.
“Senior Brother!”
As the female Daoist’s face paled, a clear voice descended from the sky, “Fiend! How dare you?”
Boom!
A magical realm descended, transforming into a Milky Way that swept through, instantly causing the countless sword beams to vanish.
“Jiejie!”
The skeletal spirit let out a strange cry, stirred up a black wind, wrapped the old Daoist within it, and quickly disappeared.
“I wonder which senior immortal came to the rescue? I am Feixingzi of the Dongji Xuanyan Sect, and this is my junior sister, Yuxue Daoist. We are deeply grateful!”
The young True Immortal spat out a mouthful of essence blood, looked at his sword lying on the ground, its surface pitted and damaged, reduced to a piece of scrap metal. He felt a pang of sorrow before bowing respectfully toward the sky.
“Chirp chirp!”
Accompanied by a clear cry, a young Daoist riding a magnificent fiery bird descended, “Are you from the Dongji Xuanyan Sect?”
“A celestial beast at the Earth Immortal level, and the power of a magical realm?!”
Feixingzi and Yuxue Daoist exchanged glances, then bowed deeply once more with utmost respect, “We pay our respects to the senior cultivator!”
“Mm.”
Wu Ming waved his hand, “This Daoist is nameless. I was just on my way to your sect…”
In reality, this was all a farce orchestrated by himself. In truth, he found these two far less interesting than the old Daoist from before.
…
“Jiejie…”
The black wind swept across, and in an instant, they had fled far away. The skeletal spirit stood atop a green stone and threw down the old Daoist.
“Thank you, senior, for rescuing me. This humble Daoist is Wuguanzi…”
Wuguanzi looked at the bone spirit before him, which resembled a demon, his heart filled with unease, his eyes flickering with both excitement and confusion as he performed a grand bow.
“Wuguanzi? Was the technique you used earlier the Maoshan Spirit Summoning Art? Are you a disciple of the Maoshan Sect?”
From the skeletal spirit came Wu Ming’s voice.
“No! This humble Daoist has never heard of it!”
Wuguanzi immediately denied, as if bitten by a venomous snake.
“There’s no need to hide…”
The skeletal spirit laughed eerily, its eyes glowing with green flame, looking terrifyingly, “This master also practices Maoshan scriptures. Don’t you recognize this skeleton? Do you really think you can deceive me?”
“Could this truly be our sect’s skeletal spirit?”
Wuguanzi was astonished, “How could it be refined to such a terrifying level, and even possess a demonic body?”
He carefully examined the skeletal spirit for a while, his face gradually losing its suspicion, and he directly knelt down, bowing his head with loud thuds, “Since you are able to refine a skeletal spirit, you must be a senior of our sect!”
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