Supreme Dao, Mysterious Pure Heaven
This is a renowned immortal grotto-heaven in Taoism. The sacred mountain is vast and majestic, seemingly about to leap up and soar into the clouds. Dragons and tigers are coiled and intertwined, with purple mist rising from it.
The mountains are full of wonders, with divine flowers blooming, wondrous trees swaying, longevity deer and fairy foxes appearing, and spirit birds and black cranes flying. On the clean stone platform, a qilin beast lies alone, and amidst the auspicious glow, colorful phoenixes soar.
Nestled amidst the beautiful mountains and waters, the temple complex is well-maintained, with soaring eaves and elegant buildings, towering pavilions and secluded towers, all surrounded by forests. A majestic golden palace stands tall within, radiating celestial light and auspicious clouds, subtly guarding the thousands of dragon-shaped mountains.
Between the golden palaces, there was only emptiness, filled with endless ethereal light, and a nine-grade blue lotus floating gracefully, drooping with wisps of pure energy.
On the lotus throne, a Taoist sat cross-legged, surrounded by pure energy, divine clouds filling the sky, dragons and phoenixes dancing, longevity tortoises exhaling auspicious omens, auspicious unicorns gathering energy, purple energy coming from the east, golden light arriving from the west, five-colored immortal light shining, and a seven-colored divine rainbow stretching across the sky.
Numerous wondrous phenomena and endless methods appeared one after another, mysterious and profound, like the divine sounds of heaven and earth, or the precious songs of the Great Dao, surrounding the Taoist priest who was dressed in a plain white robe, with white hair and beard, and a face as radiant as an infant, holding a whisk and sitting there, the sounds rumbling.
This is the Immortal Lord Xuanqing, who attained the Dao and became a true immortal in the Supreme Dao, achieving the carefree and unfettered state of a celestial being. He is also the biological father of Zhao Junxian, the foremost true disciple of the Supreme Dao.
"Um!"
As if touched by something in the darkness, this Taoist immortal slowly opened his eyes. All things in heaven and earth, the sun, moon and stars, the yin and yang energies, and many magnificent scenes flashed by. However, in the next moment, many strange phenomena subsided, and the vast divine light disappeared.
The golden palace immediately revealed its original appearance: jade beads covered the ground, vermilion pillars stood tall, and atop the 108 layers of rhinoceros horn was the nine-grade blue lotus throne where the Taoist sat cross-legged.
After emerging from his state of enlightenment, the Taoist priest frowned slightly, then made a few hand gestures, and a smile suddenly appeared on his usually calm face.
"I see!"
"Is Ren Liu here?"
"Sir, what are your orders?"
As the Taoist priest called out, a majestic golden-armored deity appeared in the Golden Palace.
"Is my son inside the mountain gate?"
The Taoist priest asked in a gentle voice.
"Reporting to Master, the eldest brother is currently in seclusion at the mountain gate!"
The god replied respectfully.
"Good, summon him!"
"Here you go!"
The divine general received the order, transformed into a golden ray of light, and vanished into the golden palace. A short while later, a dashing young man strode into the golden palace and inquired of the Taoist priest on the lotus-shaped platform…
"Father, what brings you here?"
"You've taken on disciples outside the mountain gate?"
Immortal Lord Xuanqing asked.
"yes."
Zhao Junxian was taken aback, but quickly realized what was happening.
"It was merely a registration; I didn't pass on any profound techniques to him, only the Daoist scriptures used for foundation building!"
"Registering names? Good!"
Xuanqing Daojun nodded.
"Someone wants to snatch you as their disciple, what will you do?"
"You stole my disciple?"
Zhao Junxian frowned. Since he had entrusted the Daoist scriptures to that child from Donghua Prefecture, he naturally planned to go back and take a look after some time to assess his character. If it was suitable, he would bring it back to the mountain gate.
"It wasn't through force, but by enticing him with an opportunity, and your disciple seems to be tempted."
"I beg my father to do justice for his child!"
Upon hearing this, Zhao Junxian immediately understood that the person who had taken a liking to his nominal disciple was probably no ordinary person, otherwise his father wouldn't have been alarmed.
"No rush, let's wait until your disciple gets the opportunity first."
"What kind of opportunity was it?"
"Nine Heavens and Ten Earths!"
...
"I am Zhong Jiangliang from the Zhong family of Jiangyin, Xiangxi Prefecture!"
"Um!"
Looking at the scions of prominent families who came out to pay their respects to him, Feng Bingwen nodded with a smile, which was his response.
After leaving the Ghost King's library, he did not leave, but waited here for the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths to open.
After leaving the Ghost King's Palace, Zhan Tai Si Yu, who had suffered a crushing defeat at his hands, invited him to a banquet. Because he was bored, Feng Bingwen accepted.
Then came this scene: those seated at the banquet were all energetic and dignified, or bright and beautiful young men and women. They came from cultivation families around Qingmang Mountain, the vast majority of whom were from Daqian, and some from neighboring countries of Daqian.
These were all invited by Zhan Tai Siyu, and they were all top-tier talents in their respective families, belonging to the most outstanding young figures in the cultivation world.
However, Feng Bingwen looked up and saw a pair of extraordinary-looking young men, exuding confidence, engaged in a magical duel.
One of the youths cast a spell, opened his mouth, and unleashed a torrent of flames as bright as a crimson cloud. In an instant, the spot where he stood was scorched black.
In the blink of an eye, the boy who was fighting him was left with only a patch of pure land supported by magical artifacts. Although it could still hold on, signs of defeat were already evident.
Seeing this, the proud sons of noble families sitting on both sides began to discuss among themselves. Some looked relaxed, while others had serious eyes and looked wary.
"I heard that this Wang Ban has a special physique that is incompatible with the family's 'Nine Rivers Meridian Chart'. His family specially found him a 'Crimson Fire Danxia Scroll'. I heard it was just a fragment, but I didn't expect it to have such power."
"I heard that he has cultivated thirty-six strands of Crimson Fire Spirit Qi, surpassing the direct descendant of the main family, which is why he is qualified to represent the Wang family at this banquet!"
"Thirty-six Dao? Judging from his faint spiritual insight, there's no sign of perfection yet. If he refines true qi, he can probably double it again. Wouldn't he then be able to evolve a mid-third-grade pulse pattern?"
"Middle Grade 3? Heh, I'm afraid that's a bit doubtful. The 'Crimson Fire and Danxia Scroll' he's working on is an incomplete scripture."
"If he succeeds in cultivating it, he will be the next head of the Wang family."
The faint conversation drifted from below and was overheard by Feng Bingwen, which made his expression even more bored. Zhan Tai Siyu had told him that all those attending the banquet were outstanding figures from noble families and the pride of heaven.
So what were all these things? Sitting at the head of the table, he could clearly see that Wang Ban was among the upper-middle tier of these aristocratic young masters. However, his potential had not yet been fully realized. Given time, he could become a top figure among them, but... thirty-six strands of true qi?
No wonder when he appeared, the Ghost King warmly invited him to hone his nephew. Spending every day with these so-called aristocratic prodigies, who knows how inflated Zhan Tai Si Yu's ego will become.
“Brother Dao, I know you have an extraordinary background, but you must not underestimate them.”
Seemingly because Feng Bingwen's expression was too obvious, Zhan Tai Siyu, who was surrounded by many aristocratic young men like stars in the center, saw Feng Bingwen's expression and immediately transmitted his voice.
"Um!"
Feng Bingwen responded indifferently. He did not look down on these people, but the combined true qi cultivated by all these young masters of noble families was less than that cultivated by him alone. They really couldn't get along. He felt a little embarrassed listening to them talk and flatter each other.
"With their talent and perseverance, if they had the same background as us, they probably wouldn't be much weaker than us, and might even be stronger."
"..."
Feng Bingwen could easily tell that this guy was still unconvinced and felt that the reason he lost was because he felt that his background was inferior to his.
This guy really knows how to use his Ah Q mentality.
"you're right!"
What else could be said? Feng Bingwen naturally agreed with his view: birth determines everything, especially in the cultivation world, where it is even more cruel.
Few people can achieve more than what they were born into, and such people often have to put in ten or a hundred times more effort, and even need an indispensable bit of luck.
Even so, the achievements they painstakingly attain are things that some people are born with, or even better.
That's the logic, but Feng Bingwen knew that he wasn't on the same level as these scions of noble families. He found a few scions of noble families who looked pleasing to the eye, gave them some pointers, and then drifted away amidst the respectful gazes of these people.
The scions of noble families weren't fools either. Observing people's expressions and moods was something they had learned since childhood. They could tell what to do just by looking at the attitude of the young king, who had been personally trained by the Ghost King.
Feng Bingwen, who was leaving, naturally didn't care about the thoughts of those scions of noble families, although he also felt that many of them had more perseverance and resilience than he did.
But life is full of such helplessness. Even if all these people were tied together, they wouldn't be enough for him to fight with one hand, even if they were at the same level.
Out of sheer boredom, Feng Bingwen simply went into seclusion in this Ghost Kingdom of No Destiny. He had no strict requirements for his cultivation environment; any of the five elements was acceptable. Yin energy, death energy, and baleful energy were all among the five elements.
Thus began the longest period of seclusion of Feng Bingwen's life, lasting a full ten days. It was only after being disturbed by the ghostly maidens sent by the Ghost King that he was able to break free from his cultivation.
"What is it?"
After ten days of seclusion, Feng Bingwen felt that his magical power had increased significantly and was now operating more smoothly. He was in a good mood and even found the ghostly maidservant, who had no human presence, quite pleasing to the eye.
"My lord, His Majesty has granted you the qualification to travel to the Nine Heavens and Ten Lands!"
"So fast?"
Feng Bingwen was somewhat surprised.
"The Nine Heavens and Ten Earths are about to open."
At this moment, the ghostly maidservant released her hands from her palms, and a palm-sized token appeared, engraved with mountains and rivers. Within its small size, it reflected the vast landscape of thousands of miles of mountains and rivers. On its back were engraved two cloud seal characters, "Tai Xuan".
"Is this the qualification to enter the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths?"
Feng Bingwen picked up the token, examined it closely, and sensed a powerful force contained within it.
"With this token in hand, when the time comes, this token will automatically send you to the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths."
"Um!"
Feng Bingwen nodded. Seeing that the Ghost King had no intention of meeting him, he took the token and returned to the day he had gone into seclusion. However, less than five days after he began to meditate, the token he had placed in front of him began to move.
On the front of the token, countless dazzling divine rays flowed from the vast landscape, which then evolved into a boundless world of mountains and rivers, before suddenly drawing Feng Bingwen into it.
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