Chapter 261 Mountains and Rivers Interrupted (Fifteen)
"Why would it be the original form of the Mirror Flower Scroll?" Jiang Xiangyun was very familiar with the Mirror Flower Scroll. After all, when they fought against Xiao Dan's split spirit, Jiang Gu used the Mirror Flower Scroll to gather the divine power of all the temples on the Moon Gazing Continent in order to kill Xiao Dan's split spirit.
Jiang Gu said, "The primordial spirit of an ordinary cultivator is simply insufficient to withstand such vast divine power. Rather than absorbing divine power, I would say I used the Mirror Flower Scroll to decompose it into spiritual power for my own use. At the time, I only vaguely sensed that the power within the Mirror Flower Scroll would be somewhat turbid, possessing both spiritual and turbid energies. This is different from ordinary divine artifacts that only contain divine power, where the more powerful portion of the divine power is mostly neutralized by the turbid energy..."
Even so, the remaining divine power still shattered his primordial spirit, leaving him with hidden injuries to this day.
“Wei Feng refined the Mirror Flower Scroll in Shenyao. I had several spiritual exchanges with him and discovered that the Mirror Flower Scroll could greatly help him absorb spiritual and turbid energies, allowing his cultivation to increase rapidly. However, for the past three years, he has been constantly struck by heavenly lightning, making it impossible for him to cultivate. Otherwise, with his speed, his cultivation would probably have already surpassed the Dao Ancestor Realm by now,” Jiang Gu said.
Feng Wuyou suddenly realized: "So the reason why Heaven has been targeting him all along is because he refined the Mirror Flower Scroll?"
“Perhaps that’s the reason,” Jiang Gu said. “No one can resist the temptation of a rapid increase in cultivation, so he contacted Xiao Dan through the Mirror Flower Scroll. They reached some kind of agreement, on the condition that Xiao Dan would give him the ‘original body’ that gave birth to the Mirror Flower Scroll.”
Jiang Xiangyun sensed something was wrong: "But if this thing can really help Wei Feng's cultivation level soar, and he ultimately fails to ascend, then wouldn't he be—"
"His cultivation level keeps increasing?!" Feng Wuyou's expression changed drastically. "But no matter how powerful he is, he is still a creation of heaven and earth. Even if he can absorb both turbid and spiritual energies, his primordial spirit will eventually be unable to withstand it, and then..."
Jiang Gu stared at the water mirror and slowly said, "The soul and spirit have scattered and returned to heaven and earth."
No matter how powerful and influential he became, if he couldn't ascend to immortality, he would only have this one ending. The only difference was whether he died on his own or dragged the entire cultivation world down with him.
Jiang Gu originally thought that the tribulation lightning was a deliberate act by certain temples to target Wei Feng, but now it seems more like the balance and mutual restraint of this world.
Feng Wuyou's face was grim as he said, "Legend has it that a great demon appeared during the ancient calamity, absorbing the energy of heaven and earth and causing the spiritual energy to be extinguished. The Heavenly Dao intervened to kill the great demon, but the price was the extermination of all races in the cultivation world. In the end, only eight races remained. The ancient continent sank completely, leaving only three islands, which are now the three continents of Pingze, Wangyue, and Chenyao... If anything threatens the cultivation world itself, the Heavenly Dao will not sit idly by."
The cost, however, often exceeds what people can imagine.
“Although these are all unfounded legends, they may not be entirely untrue.” Feng Wuyou was unusually worried. “If what Xiao Dan has can really increase Wei Feng’s cultivation indefinitely, then if no one can defeat him in the end, Heaven will take action, and then it won’t just be Wei Feng who dies.”
"Why does Xiao Dan possess such an evil thing? And why does it only work on Wei Feng?" Jiang Xiangyun's temples throbbed. "Why doesn't he just use it to build a path to heaven? Or is he trying to use Wei Feng to attract the attention of the Heavenly Dao and achieve his own goals?"
It was as if a thick fog shrouded them. Whether it was Xiao Dan's Path to Heaven, the Yaoyan Temple which wanted to help Jiang Gu ascend, or the group of half-immortals from the Changning Temple who had remained inactive, they all seemed to be inextricably linked to the Upper Realm. The overlap between dreams and reality, the "Chaos Core" of unknown origin that could boost Wei Feng's cultivation, and the Heavenly Tribulation Lightning that constantly hung over Wei Feng's head all added countless obstacles to their path. No matter how Jiang Gu guessed and deduced, apart from Xiao Dan's "Path to Heaven," he could not find any other way for Wei Feng to successfully reach the Upper Realm.
Jiang Gu looked at Wei Feng through the water mirror. This guy always appeared very calm in front of outsiders, and his behavior was becoming more and more like his own. No one would doubt that this was the disciple he had personally taught.
Amidst the complex web of doubts and the uncertain future, Jiang Gu calmed his mind.
"Let's go."
Jiang Xiangyun was deep in thought when he heard this and asked, "Where to?"
"Respond to Wei Feng's call." Jiang Gu's eyes sharpened. "Since we don't know what the Heavenly Road and the Chaos Core are, we can find out by taking them."
Sometimes overthinking leads to mistakes and can actually cause problems.
Underground.
Wei Feng and Chan Lin were unaware that their three overly intelligent companions outside had already deduced from that lump of "mud" that the hopelessness of ascension meant the beginning of a great calamity and the destruction of the world by a great demon. They had even guessed that there was great chaos in the upper realm, and the man and the toad were secretly communicating.
"Could I also swallow the jade pendant on Xiao Dan's waist?" Chan Lin stared intently at the jade. "It must be extremely valuable."
“Swallow him,” Wei Feng said matter-of-factly. “If you have the ability, you can swallow him too.”
After considering it carefully, Chanlin said, "It might not work."
"What is that lump of mud you're holding?" Chan Lin asked from a distance. "I feel like it's draining my spiritual energy."
"Good stuff." Wei Feng squinted his eyes. "If I could get another piece, I could tear Xiao Dan apart alive to vent my anger."
Chan Lin gasped.
Xiao Dan was still waiting for half of his primordial spirit to emerge, showing great patience.
Wei Feng remained calm and unhurried. While slowly and methodically severing his own primordial spirit, he asked Xiao Dan, "City Lord Xiao, there is something I am very curious about."
"Oh?" Xiao Dan indicated that he was all ears.
Wei Feng said, "According to what you said, since this Mirror Flower Scroll is a divine artifact that you artificially created using this 'Chaos Core', besides the remnant souls of those powerful beings who failed to transcend tribulations, there are also several jade-level remnant souls inside the Mirror Flower Scroll. However, as far as I know, you are only a few thousand years old now, but tens of thousands of years ago no one was able to ascend to the upper realm. So where did you get these jade-level remnant souls?"
“We can’t possibly…” Wei Feng paused, “that the Misty Rain Terrace planned to build a road to heaven tens of thousands of years ago, could it?”
“Of course not.” Xiao Dan smiled slightly. “Although the predecessors of Yanyu Terrace are not lacking in visionaries, they always firmly believed that they could transcend tribulations and ascend to immortality, and never doubted the Heavenly Dao. They only learned about the so-called Jade Steps from the Spirit Realm Princess, but in the end they only researched Jade Step Marrow, a method used to control spirit pets and subordinates, which was really a waste of their talents.”
Since probably no one had ever dared to ask him this question before, Xiao Dan patiently explained, "Do you know what the Tower of Life and Death was originally built for?"
Wei Feng's expression darkened slightly, and he twitched the corner of his mouth: "To create a magical artifact?"
“No, it was initially just for screening Jade Rank,” Xiao Dan said. “But their efficiency was too low. Later, someone came up with a way to create Jade Rank using Jade Rank Marrow, but unfortunately, it couldn’t be hidden from the Heavenly Dao. Xiao Qingyan was the most successful pseudo-Jade Rank, and he still relied on your power.”
"Later, when I came to Shenyao, I realized that there were countless fake jade steps that were even more convincing than Xiao Qingyan's. When those immortals from the Upper Realm came down to undergo tribulations, countless fake jade steps would protect them, precisely to guard against 'rebellious' people like us from Yanyutai," Xiao Dan said with a smile. "So in these tens of thousands of years, Wangyue has only managed to find one princess from the Spirit Realm, and it was only because she was unlucky enough to be reincarnated in Yanyutai that her true nature was revealed... So they simply don't have the ability to build a road to heaven."
Wei Feng looked down at the "Chaos Core" in his hand.
“That’s right. Apart from the Spirit Realm, I found the remnant souls of other Jade Steps, including the remnant souls of those powerful beings who died after failing their tribulations, all within this Chaos Core,” Xiao Dan said. “This thing contains both spiritual energy and turbid energy, yet it can generate divine power out of thin air, barely enough to nourish these remnant souls, and even allow them to grow immortal bones. The Heavenly Dao cannot detect these things at all. The Chaos Core continuously provides divine power, with the immortal souls as the mud and the immortal bones as the roots, creating a staircase that is no different from that of an immortal… As long as one’s cultivation is sufficient, stepping on these Jade Steps will allow one to break through the void and directly reach the Upper Realm, without even encountering tribulation lightning.”
“Most importantly, this path to heaven can't be crossed by just one person.” Xiao Dan looked directly into Wei Feng's eyes. “Only two crucial points remain—”
"How so?" Wei Feng's eyes were full of excitement and anticipation.
“First, the jade steps in the Crimson Crystal Tower are still missing the last piece of immortal bone,” Xiao Dan said in a deep voice. “Second, although the Chaos Core can provide a continuous source of divine power, it requires a constant infusion of spiritual and turbid energy to generate divine power. My subordinates have been divided into spiritual cultivators and demonic cultivators, but they are not one entity. The slightest mistake will cause the divine power to become unstable. You, on the other hand, can absorb both spiritual and turbid energy at the same time. As long as the two of us cooperate, I will build the path to heaven, and you will nourish the Chaos Core, and we can go directly to the upper realm.”
"The difference between the Upper Realm and Shenyao is nothing more than the difference between Shenyao and Pingze. How many cultivators can ascend, how many immortals and gods will be cultivated, what is an immortal, what is a human... isn't it all up to you and me to decide?" Xiao Dan stared at him. "Why should you be suppressed by the Heavenly Dao and the half-immortal body? Besides, Jiang Gu was originally an immortal from the Upper Realm, but he lost his immortal bones. Once you become an immortal and a respected being, obtaining the immortal bones will be as easy as turning your hand. If you want him to come back to life, it's just a matter of a thought. Most importantly, no one can replace your control over the Chaos Core."
"If you stay in the lower realm, with this Chaos Core present, your cultivation will only continue to increase, and you will ultimately be unable to escape the fate of being strangled by the Heavenly Dao. Even if you are willing to sit and wait for death, Jiang Gu will not give up on ascension. In that case, why not fight for your own survival?"
Chanlin leaned on Wei Feng's shoulder, feeling that he had been persuaded, and quickly looked at Wei Feng.
Wei Feng pursed his lips.
It would be a lie to say she wasn't tempted; after all, the conditions Xiao Dan offered were incredibly alluring, and what he said was all true. However—
"Judging from Lord Xiao's words, it seems as if you are certain that I am deeply in love with Jiang Gu?" Wei Feng smiled sarcastically. "Why should I resurrect him and make him the final jade step, forever a stepping stone on my path to immortality? Wouldn't that better relieve my hatred?"
“Fellow Daoist Wei is indeed ruthless, but—” Xiao Dan’s smile deepened, “why is your half of your primordial spirit still not settling down?”
Chan Lin tensed up instantly.
Wei Feng laughed and said, "I only heard you talk a lot of nonsense, but now I haven't even seen that so-called Chaos Core, and I was tricked into cutting off my primordial spirit. Isn't that a loss?"
"What do you intend to do, Fellow Daoist Wei?" Xiao Dan asked.
Wei Feng tossed the small piece of "mud" in his hand and said in a flippant tone, "Simple. Take me to see that Chaos Core, and give me another piece while you're at it. A hundred days is too long. By then, I won't have enough time left to play Jiang Gu to death, and then it won't be interesting."
Xiao Dan hesitated for a moment, then smiled and stepped aside: "Please."
Wei Feng glanced at him and continued walking forward.
ground.
Wen Hanjiu was struggling to move the red crystal tower even an inch when Chang Ping'an's expression suddenly changed, and he whispered, "Someone's coming."
"Let's hide first." Wen Hanjiu pulled him into the vines on the wall. As soon as they stood still, three figures appeared in front of the tower.
It was Jiang, Gu, and the other two.
"Hiss, Xiao Dan didn't even send anyone to guard it. Isn't that a bit too careless?" Jiang Xiangyun said, puzzled.
Feng Wuyou spread his divine sense around and asked in confusion, "What are you guarding? There isn't a single living person in this city lord's mansion."
"Could they be hiding it?" Jiang Xiangyun asked.
Feng Wuyou shook his head: "They're probably all underground."
Jiang Gu suddenly turned his head to look at the lush green vines on the wall.
Wen Hanjiu, caught off guard by the sudden eye contact with Jiang Gu, broke out in a cold sweat despite knowing that Jiang Gu couldn't possibly see him.
Feng Wuyou stroked his chin, carefully recalling the great seal Xiao Dan had formed inside. With a thought, layers upon layers of formations appeared before him.
Jiang Xiangyun stood guard to the side, spreading his divine sense to carefully guard against any movement around him.
Within the vines, Chang Ping'an held his breath, while Wen Hanjiu, in desperation, prepared to draw an array to escape.
Jiang Gu moved his hand on the Crimson Snow Sword, and the Fire Rope had already circled behind the mountain wall.
Under a bright moon and sparse stars, a gentle breeze blew. The crimson crystal tower, half a person's height, stood in the soil, flashing a golden light in a flash. The silent air suddenly froze, everyone's movements slowed down for a moment, and time seemed to be stretched infinitely.
A tremendous and far-reaching tremor came from the ground, causing the entire cultivation world to tremble and the spiritual and turbid energies between heaven and earth to suddenly become disordered.
The fluctuating energy of heaven and earth flowed directly to the upper realm, causing the dozing Heavenly Gate to shudder and scatter the passing clouds.
Inside the Palace of Fate, the suspended Destiny Plate trembled slightly.
The person writing looked up, observed for a while, and then put down another stroke.
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