Chapter 265 A Series of Mountains and Rivers (19)
Chang Ping'an led them to the main hall without any problems.
To their surprise, none of the so-called "elders" who were supposed to be in the main hall were there, and even the divine senses that had tried to spy on them had disappeared. Wei Feng's gaze toward Chang Ping'an immediately turned hostile.
It's obvious this person has been lying.
The transparent ghost patterns completely enveloped Jiang Gu, making him a highly sought-after prize in the eyes of these half-immortals. Everyone wanted to take a bite out of him. Wei Feng was furious and wished he could swallow the Chaos Core and kill all these people, then hide Jiang Gu in a place where no one could find him, leaving only the two of them, master and disciple, to live together.
A warm hand patted the back of his head, and Jiang Gu's indifferent voice came: "Calm your mind and don't let your mind wander."
Wei Feng glanced at his wrist, which was covered in red marks, and then looked away.
With Jiang Gu around, he spent most of his time thinking about Jiang Gu, and the rest of his time was spent daydreaming about Jiang Gu. His master's request was really asking too much of him.
Jiang Gu only reminded him once, and then focused his attention on the main hall. In the center of the hall stood a majestic statue of a god, dressed in black robes, with a calm expression and eyes slightly lowered, looking down at everyone. He held a jade flute in his hand, and behind him were blooming flowers and flowing clouds. He was majestic and handsome, without sorrow or joy, which was in line with people's imagination of immortals.
Chang Ping'an led them around to the back of the statue, raised his hand to form a hand seal, and a complex mechanism appeared in front of them. He took out dozens of divine artifacts from his sleeve and placed them one by one. Then he used hundreds of substitution arrays, and a narrow door slowly opened in front of everyone.
“It’s inside.” Chang Ping’an turned to look at Jiang Gu. “I know you don’t trust me, but you can have Wei Feng put the ghost pattern in. We’ll know for sure if it’s safe once we try it.”
Jiang Gu nodded, and Wei Feng understood. He released his ghost pattern to investigate, and found that the spiritual energy and turbid energy inside were completely empty, like a calm and dry well, posing no threat whatsoever.
“Master, no problem,” Wei Feng said.
Chang Ping'an breathed a sigh of relief and walked in front, leading them through the narrow doorway.
After a long time, they were finally able to see what was inside: in the vast void, there were dozens of cultivators sitting cross-legged. They were emaciated, with white hair and beards, and aged faces. There was no spiritual energy in their bodies, and their chests did not rise or fall. If it weren't for a trace of life hanging between their brows, they would be almost indistinguishable from corpses.
Chang Ping'an stood among a group of withered cultivators and looked at Jiang Gu, his voice calm and indifferent: "They are the original group of half-immortals, my senior brothers and sisters. They began to age ten thousand years ago, and in the last few thousand years, they entered this void one after another. They can only rely on divine power to keep their last breath to prevent their purple mansion from falling off."
If needed in the future, the divine power can be withdrawn, and dozens of Dao Ancestor Realm Great Perfection Purple Mansions will assist in the process.
Feng Wuyou saw several familiar faces and suddenly realized, "No wonder I haven't seen them in so long."
"The immortality of the Half-Immortals is a complete lie," Chang Ping'an said. "The laws of Heaven are constant and will not allow a race like the Half-Immortals, which defies common sense, to exist in the world. If all cultivators are unable to ascend and all cultivators at the Great Perfection of the Dao Ancestor Realm become Half-Immortals, then the Half-Immortals will dominate the cultivation world, and the final result will be that everyone will go to their doom—because they will continuously increase their cultivation and absorb the spiritual energy between heaven and earth."
"So when the spiritual energy in their bodies accumulates to a certain level, it will pour out, and they will experience birth, aging, sickness, and death just like ordinary people," Chang Ping'an said.
Jiang Gu looked at these cultivators and said, "Haven't you investigated the cause?"
"Of course it has been found out, after all, no one wants to die." Chang Ping'an took a deep breath. "In this world there is heaven and earth, yin and yang, purity and turbidity. When a cultivator ascends, it is either to remove the turbidity and keep the purity or to remove the purity and keep the turbidity. When the cultivation in the body is purified to a certain degree, one will no longer be burdened by the world and the mortal body, and will be able to transcend and ascend to the primordial spirit and enter the upper realm. If the ascension fails, one will die and the Dao will dissipate."
Yet, for tens of thousands of years, no one in the cultivation world has successfully ascended to immortality. Those who fail can still survive in the world, and even continue their cultivation. Ultimately, this is because there is a problem with the energy of heaven and earth.
Chang Ping'an said solemnly, "Currently, the spiritual energy and turbid energy in the entire cultivation world far exceed the limits that this world can withstand. The spiritual energy is extremely pure, and the turbid energy is extremely murky. Even if a cultivator cultivates to the extreme, they cannot surpass the purity of these two, and naturally cannot ascend. The reason for this is—"
"Chaos Core".
Jiang Gu said, "You already knew about the existence of the Chaos Core."
“That’s right, much earlier than the group from the Yaoyan Temple,” Chang Ping’an said. “Unfortunately, no matter what we do, we can’t completely eliminate this thing. Instead, it grows larger and larger with our attacks, and in the end, we are helpless.”
"You've found Xiao Dan." Jiang Gu's words left no room for doubt.
“Yes,” Chang Ping’an said. “Three thousand years ago, I received a divine decree. A celestial lord told me how to build the road to heaven, saying that this method could help cultivators in the cultivation world ascend to immortality, but he forbade me to spread it.”
However, every move of our Changning Temple is being watched by the people of the Yaoyan Temple. Moreover, once our half-immortal race gets close to the Chaos Core, our cultivation will increase rapidly, accelerating our aging process. Therefore, I can only find someone far away from the Chenyao Continent and the Chaos Core, yet who must have sufficient ambition and ability. After several selections, I found Xiao Dan and told him the method to build the Path to Heaven.
“In my estimation, perhaps this Immortal Lord wants to use the Path to Heaven to exhaust the chaotic energy in the Chaos Core, so that the spiritual and turbid energies of the world can return to normal.” Chang Ping’an bowed to Jiang Gu. “Fellow Daoist Jiang, the Chaos Core and the Path to Heaven bear the fate of the entire cultivation world. Now that things have come to this, the person most suitable to provide the Chaos Core with the spiritual and turbid energies has appeared, and the Path to Heaven is only missing the last piece of immortal bone. Please—put the greater good first.”
Feng Wuyou was stunned and dared not utter a sound, while Jiang Gu's expression was unreadable.
Wei Feng was completely confused and didn't bother to think about it. He had only been diligently helping his master clear away the turbid energy, but Chang Ping'an's final meaning was basically the same as Xiao Dan's words: he wanted Jiang Gu's life and even wanted Jiang Gu to sacrifice himself for others.
"You're courting death!" Wei Feng roared, slashing down with his Mo Dao. Chang Ping'an hurriedly blocked, but his protective artifact was shattered. The sharp blade pierced his shoulder, forcing him to his knees. Bright red blood splattered all over Jiang Gu's white clothes.
Chang Ping'an remained neither humble nor arrogant, even keeping his hand still firmly in mid-air as he offered a salute: "The path to ascension is hopeless, Fellow Daoist Jiang. This is the only way to restore the cultivation world to normalcy."
"Why don't you just die?!" Wei Feng's eyes were bloodshot, and he wished he could cut off his tongue.
"We have all inherited our master's cultivation of the Way of All Living Beings. Chang Ping'an and the entire Changning Divine Palace clan are willing to risk their lives to help us." Chang Ping'an looked at Wei Feng and Jiang Gu with a firm expression, each word resounding, "Even if we are reduced to ashes and our bodies and paths are destroyed, we will have no complaints."
"You damned mortals—" Wei Feng's eyes were bloodshot as he suddenly drew his Mo Dao and slashed straight at Wei Feng's brow.
Chang Ping'an neither dodged nor feared, and didn't even blink. The sword and blade stopped steadily just inches away from his eyes.
"Master?" Wei Feng looked at the spiritual power that was blocking his blade, then turned to look at Jiang Gu in disbelief.
Jiang Gu seemed lost in thought, not even glancing at him, and simply said, "Keep him for now."
Wei Feng looked at him uneasily, wanting to speak, but was stopped by his raised hand, so he could only grip the hilt of his knife tightly and stand beside him.
Jiang Gu looked at the heavily injured Chang Ping'an and said, "So back in Anliu City, it was you who helped me sever the ghost runes connecting the Path to Heaven and the Chaos Core?"
He sensed something was amiss and suspected everyone, even Xiao Dan, but overlooked this unassuming cultivator—who shared a similar inconspicuousness and weakness with Wen Hanjiu, making him extremely difficult to notice.
“It was me,” Chang Ping’an said. “There are too many uncontrollable factors surrounding Xiao Dan. Moreover, I noticed that the Yao Yan Temple had mobilized all its forces, so I urgently notified the Chang Ning Temple. In case a fight broke out, the Tongtian Road and the Chaos Core could not all fall into their hands.”
That's definitely a clever idea.
They even went so far as to use themselves as bait, showing themselves to guide them to the Changning Temple with the Tongtian Road and some Chaos Cores. The immortal bones needed for the Tongtian Road and Wei Feng, who transported the Chaos Qi, were also there. All that was needed was for Xiao Dan to collect the other Chaos Cores and come over, and then everything would be ready.
Feng Wuyou looked at Chang Ping'an with a pained expression: "We actually got tricked by you?"
The main problem is that this guy... is really unremarkable, which makes people inexplicably annoyed.
Chang Ping'an stood up, clutching the wound on his shoulder, and said calmly, "I have already notified Xiao Dan to come here to meet us. The half-immortals of the Shenyao Temple will surely follow closely behind. If Fellow Daoist Jiang is willing to sacrifice himself, whether it is Changning or Shenyao, all the half-immortals will offer sacrifices to help us."
Jiang Gu narrowed his eyes: "What if I don't want to?"
Chang Ping'an was not surprised and said, "Then I'll have to offend you."
Before he finished speaking, he and Jiang Gu attacked almost simultaneously. Wei Feng held his longsword horizontally in front of him, and together with Feng Wuyou, they retreated to protect Jiang Gu. Feng Wuyou quickly formed hand seals and led them out of the void. But Chang Ping'an would not give up. He raised his hand and removed a divine artifact from the brow of the nearest cultivator. The purple mansion of the Dao Ancestor Realm cultivator at the Great Perfection stage crashed down, and the surging and powerful divine power slammed directly towards the three of them.
"Walk!"
Feng Wuyou, with a single palm strike, led them into his Void Seal. However, Chang Ping'an's Dharma Image anticipated his movements, suddenly reaching out from the void and tearing half of Feng Wuyou's arm. Immediately afterward, a Mo Dao (a type of Chinese sword) flew out horizontally, and Wei Feng's Dharma Image, in its original form, lashed out with its tail, smashing open his palm and dragging Feng Wuyou and Jiang Gu into his Void Seal.
Chang Ping'an remained calm, immediately retracting his Dharma form and teleporting back to the side hall.
"Ping An, why are you back?" Wen Hanjiu was startled when she saw him.
Chang Ping'an reached out to grab him, but was forced to take a half step back by the halberd cleaving through the air. Jiang Xiangyun smiled and said, "Where is my brother?"
Chang Ping'an flipped his wrist, and a whip appeared in his palm.
Having known him for so long, this was the first time Wen Hanjiu had ever seen him take action. She looked completely bewildered and asked, "Where are Jiang Gu and Wei Feng? Are they alright?"
Chang Ping'an did not answer him. Jiang Xiangyun's heart sank, and his smile deepened: "I didn't realize that you were such a hidden talent, fellow Daoist."
Chang Ping'an swung his long whip, intending to sweep away the Tower of Babel behind him. Chan Lin transformed into his true form and swallowed the tower and the Chaos Core in one gulp. He was immediately filled with pain and almost vomited. However, Feng Wuyou appeared out of thin air and blocked Chang Ping'an's whip, which was aimed at his heart, with a palm: "Are you out of your mind! You dare to swallow the Chaos Core!"
After hearing what Chang Ping'an said, Feng Wuyou was extremely wary of the Chaos Core, but the stupid toad actually swallowed it whole.
Chanlin let out a burp: "Good things should be hidden away—burp!"
"Protect his Dao Heart and Primordial Spirit, and seal his meridians." Jiang Gu placed hundreds of arrays on Chan Lin's body. "Feng Wuyou, Wei Feng, keep an eye on him."
Upon hearing this, Wei Feng immediately threw Chan Lin into the spirit pet bag and handed it to Feng Wuyou. He then rushed to Jiang Gu and said, "Master, you are still seriously injured and cannot overuse your spiritual power. Let me do it!"
He stepped forward and joined Jiang Xiangyun in a fierce battle with Chang Ping'an.
Jiang Gu neither stopped Wei Feng nor rushed to make a move. His scrutinizing gaze fell on Chang Ping'an, and then looked at Wen Hanjiu, who was almost frantic with worry.
"Stop fighting! Chang Ping'an, you're not allowed to hurt them!" Wen Hanjiu's voice was hoarse from shouting, but to no avail. He looked anxiously at Jiang Gu, "Immortal—Fellow Daoist Jiang! Please think of something!"
That's an interesting remark. Jiang Gu seemed to understand something, and slowly replied, "Do you also want to build a road to heaven? Or is it Yao Yan who wants to build a road to heaven?"
Wen Hanjiu was stunned: "What, the Road to Heaven?"
His acting skills are superb.
This vine demon looks naive and reckless, but it is actually very shrewd... Jiang Gu's eyes suddenly sharpened, and he suddenly attacked with the Crimson Snow Sword, which collided directly with a Dharma Image through the window. The surrounding walls instantly shattered, and the concealment formation they had set up vanished in an instant.
Xiao Dan stood on Fa Xiang's shoulder and smiled slightly at him: "Jiang Gu, we meet again."
"Xiao Dan, bring out the other Chaos Cores," Chang Ping'an said.
Xiao Dan said, "Fellow Daoist Chang, the Path to Heaven cannot be activated without me. Although you told me the method, you are probably not in a position to negotiate with me now."
With a wave of his hand, Wen Xiuji and the other half-immortals of the Yaoyan Temple appeared outside the main hall. "I discovered long ago that you were just using me to build the road to heaven. You are not a good partner, so I plan to abandon the darkness and embrace the light."
Wen Xiuji stood in the air with his hands behind his back: "Fellow Daoist Xiao is still sensible. So you are the junior uncle of Changning Divine Palace who never shows his face. I didn't recognize you that day. I was truly disrespectful."
Chang Ping'an abruptly put away his whip, stood on the roof of the main hall, and formed a hand seal. Ci Jun and the others instantly appeared behind him, confronting Wen Xiuji and his group.
"With the right timing, location, and people all in place, success or failure hinges on this one move." Chang Ping'an's gaze fell on Jiang Gu.
Wen Xiuji smiled and looked at Jiang Gu: "Fellow Daoist Jiang, now you can see who is truly looking out for you, right? Our Yaoyan Divine Palace only wants to help you ascend, but the Changning Divine Palace wants to take your immortal bones and your life."
"Let's see who dares!" Wei Feng blocked Jiang Gu's path with his sword drawn, his eyes bloodshot and his whole body surging with killing intent.
Jiang Xiangyun and Feng Wuyou stood on either side of Jiang Gu, showing no intention of backing down even in the face of a group of half-immortals at the Dao Ancestor Realm.
Jiang Gu stood calmly in the middle, slightly distracted.
Wen Xiuji and Chang Ping'an gave the order almost simultaneously, and countless half-immortals immediately engaged in a chaotic battle. Huge Dharma forms clashed and raged, and all kinds of Heavenly Rank artifacts exploded. Only the colorful spiritual energy impact remained in the world, casting a layer of gloomy blood color over a thousand miles.
As the sounds of battle faded into the distance, Jiang Gu's spiritual energy began to circulate wildly within his body. He even faintly sensed a response from the Heavenly Dao, and at this moment, he was about to break through to the late stage of the Dao Ancestor Realm or even the Great Perfection Realm, which caused his expression to change slightly.
Wei Feng sensed his change and turned around in a panic: "Master?!"
Wen Xiuji manipulated the divine artifact in his palm, smiling with absolute certainty: "Fellow Daoist Jiang, this is a divine artifact bestowed by the Upper Realm, specifically designed to increase your cultivation and help you ascend!"
The divine artifact was a jade-colored flute. Divine power mixed with spiritual power surged continuously towards Jiang Gu. No matter how Jiang Gu resisted, he could not stop the artifact in the slightest. In desperation, Wei Feng used his ghost runes to block it, but they were all cut off. The powerful divine power directly backfired on him, sending him flying away heavily.
Chang Ping'an's pupils contracted, and he leaped towards Wen Xiuji, intending to destroy the jade flute. Ci Jun and Ci Chunshen went to help him, but Wen Xiuji did not retreat but advanced instead: "Go ahead and destroy it. Once the artifact is destroyed, all the spiritual energy will flow to Jiang Gu, and he will be able to ascend to heaven on the spot!"
Chang Ping'an suddenly turned around, ripped the restraints off Wen Hanjiu with a whip, and shouted, "We must not let Jiang Gu ascend to immortality!"
Wen Hanjiu flew towards Jiang Gu, but a figure was even faster than him. Wei Feng almost pounced on Jiang Gu, tore open the spirit pet pouch at Feng Wuyou's waist, and took out all the Chaos Cores from Chanlin's body.
"Stop!" Jiang Gu snapped back to reality and hurriedly tried to stop him, but it was too late.
Wei Feng devoured the entire Chaos Core, his pupils instantly turning pale. His Dharma form, a mixture of the Divine Kite Shark and the Ghost-Faced White-Eyed, rose fiercely, and the chaotic power of heaven and earth surged wildly into his sea of consciousness, completely blocking the spiritual energy that was constantly entering Jiang Gu's body. This forced him to stagnate in his breakthrough, and his cultivation level barely stopped at the late stage of the Dao Ancestor Realm.
The massive, viscous black ghost patterns coalesced into a ball, within which the original forms of the Divine Kite Shark and the Ghost-Faced White-Eyed were faintly visible. The enormous Dharma Form suddenly increased in size by hundreds of times, overwhelming all the Dharma Forms and artifacts of the Half-Immortal Clan present, almost draining the energy of the world.
Wei Feng gasped for breath as his primordial spirit shattered into pieces, scattering within the ghostly patterns of the chaotic core. His flesh was completely melted by the chaotic core, but his broken, melting bones clung tightly to Jiang Gu. His face gradually became blurred, leaving only a pair of pale eyes beneath the blood and flesh.
Amidst the overwhelming ghostly patterns and the countless fragments of spiritual energy and Dharma forms flying everywhere, those eyes looked at Jiang Gu with sorrow and pleading, but not a single tear could be shed. Only scalding blood mixed with dripping flesh and broken bones slammed heavily into Jiang Gu's heart.
"Master, please don't ascend."
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