Chapter Thirty-Eight: Penglai Fairy Palace

  The Water Dragon slowly approached the shore, near the mountain body without a dock, fortunately, the Water Dragon was different from ordinary boats and wasn't afraid of running aground. It stopped slowly by the shore.

  After the boat stopped, Mu Rong Xuanfeng slowly walked out of the cabin. Mu Rong Xuanfeng looked at Sui Feng standing on the deck and cupped his hands: "This is where the Penglai Dao Sect's Zijin Mountain is located, and the Penglai Palace is at the top of this mountain."

  With a smile, he bowed and said: "Having troubled the Murong family for many days, I'm even more grateful to have Brother Xuanyi see me off personally. I really can't bear to part with you all. Now that Penglai has arrived, I'll take my leave as well. Thank you for the hospitality of the Murong family. The future is long, and when we have time, I'll invite both of you to chat again."

  As he spoke, he walked to the edge of the deck and was about to jump off. Mu Rongqing suddenly said: "Please stay your step, Zuo Shaoxia!"

  Dazed by the wind, he turned his head back. Even Murong Xuanfeng was puzzled, but his face remained calm, without a hint of surprise or curiosity.

  Murong Qingfeng said: "Xuan Feng brother, since we've both arrived here, I might as well send him up the mountain. After he meets Hua Shixiong, I'll come back."

  Murong Xuanfeng glanced at him, seemingly guessing his thoughts, and replied: "Alright, the Water Dragon's Wharf will wait for you here for a day. If by evening you still haven't returned, I'll set sail directly." After speaking, he turned around and walked away slowly.

  Sui Feng said with a hint of surprise: "How can this be, Qing Feng, you're really too polite."

  Murong Qingfeng just smiled and didn't explain, saying: "Let's go, let's climb the mountain together." After finishing speaking, he pulled Su Feng along and jumped down from the Water Dragon Whirl.

  Fortunately, the coast is just at the foot of Ziying Mountain, and after walking a few steps, we arrived at the Ziying Mountain Road. At this moment, although it's early in the morning, there are not many people on the mountain road. "Are all these people here with the idea of worshiping Baihua as their master?" Su Feng looked at the various Jianghu people on the mountain road and couldn't help but ask.

  Murong Qingfeng smiled and said, "Are you too tense? It's not that it's a secret that Hua Shixiong has appeared in Penglai Palace, but it's not something that every Jianghu person can hear about. And since this is a Daoist territory, there will be some incense guests and followers around, which is normal."

  Looking up at the mountain with a smile, but not answering. Although Zijing Mountain can't compare to Mount Tai's majesty, it is by no means short. At first glance, the winding stone steps leading to the top of the mountain have hundreds of steps. After counting carefully, every 70 steps form a section, and each section has a bronze tripod, with a total of seven tripods, and the largest one is at the top of the mountain. There are a total of 490 steps, symbolizing the Taoist number 77. The bronze tripod at the top is the most extraordinary, and under the sunlight, it seems to have a faint purple aura rising from it, making it look like no ordinary object.

  Sui Feng quietly followed Su Xing up the mountain, not saying a word. Along the way, Sui Feng seemed to have thought of something and asked, "Why did Hua Xianjun appear in the Penglai Sect? I've been thinking about this for a long time, but I still haven't come to a conclusion."

  Murong Qingfeng murmured, "Speaking of this matter, I've only heard a little about it. When Huaxian was 15 years old, he met his master, Ku Mu Zhenren. At that time, Ku Mu Zhenren was the leader of the Penglai Dao Sect, but for some reason, he passed on the Huitian Shen Gong to Huaxian, who was not favored by anyone at the time. However, this skill is only passed down through generations to one person each time. At that time, Huaxian had already promised to marry Jiang Bimei, so although he became a disciple of Ku Mu Zhenren, he did not join the Penglai Dao Sect. It's said that Ku Mu Zhenren passed on another divine skill to the current leader of the Penglai Dao Sect, Liriyang Shangren. However, Huaxian's lineage and the Penglai Dao Sect have a very good relationship, and it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say they are one entity. Many people have speculated that this time, Huaxian's most likely disciple would be Wucheng, Liriyang Shangren's eldest disciple, to make up for the regret of the two divine skills being separated."

  It wasn't until now that he realized there were so many secrets hidden within. It seemed like anyone who was mentioned in passing was a powerful competitor. Fortunately, he had heard the words spoken by Liang Tou'er before he left, and at this moment, he didn't think it was such a big deal whether or not he could become a disciple of Hua Jiu Gong. This time, coming to the mountain was more about paying respects to his past friend, Su Tian, and fulfilling some filial piety.

  But with a change of expression, he asked: "What kind of person is this Wú Chén? Being taken as the great disciple by a sect leader, he must have some extraordinary qualities."

  Murong Qingfeng smiled slightly and said, "Wu Chen is his Taoist name. This person's natural talent is indeed extraordinary. At the age of weak crown, he ascended to the throne after Tian and was hailed as the first genius of Penglai Taoism except for the founder. Now that he has been lingering at the peak of the post-heavenly stage for several years, last year our master visited Penglai and I also met him once. His demeanor and martial arts are even better than those of Brother Xuanfeng."

  Under the shock of the wind, I couldn't help but feel a sense of awe. Indeed, the world is vast, and there are people outside of people, everywhere there are extraordinary talents, and oneself is really nothing to speak of. Sighing softly, not saying a word, just heading up the mountain.

  More than 400 stone steps, it took a good while to reach the top. The entire Penglai Taoist Temple is divided into inner and outer views. In addition to the large tripod in the center that emits purple gas and looks very mysterious, there is also a bronze platform with half a layer of incense ash inside, where many devout men and women burn incense and pray.

  In front of them was a very tall Hanbaiyu marble archway, which looked up at the wind. The four characters "Penglai Xianjing" were written in the middle of the archway, with strokes flying into the fairyland, and a whole stock of dust-free meaning came to the face. Looking at the signature, it was actually written by the ancestor of the Penglai School, which is much better than the "Guanyun Mountain Villa" four characters of the Murong family. On both sides was a couplet: Get rid of vulgarity and return to truth, you must come to my door to ask for the enlightenment path; Transcend the ordinary and enter the sacred, it is more suitable to ask about the mysterious ferry in this land.

  Murong Qingfeng also looked up and sighed after a long time: "At first, when I came here for the first time, I still felt that this book was really dull and tasteless. Which has the plaque at home written with great fanfare? But, after a year, I just feel that the person who wrote this book is a real high-ranking official. The words of Yunshan Villa are indeed written by my ancestors, but they are indeed too utilitarian."

  Listening to him say this, Sui Feng was somewhat surprised, although he knew that Murong Qingfeng was not to be underestimated. Until just now, he felt even more so, perhaps compared to Murong Xuanyi, he would also have his own unique place in the future.

  Most of the people outside Penglai are ordinary incense guests, and some are rivers and lakes. I don't know if they are here to join in the fun or try their luck to worship at the gate of Huajiu Gong.

  The wind doesn't care about them, the inner view of Penglai is built on a higher mountain peak, and at the end of the outer view, there is a bluestone path leading to the top of the mountain, where the inner view is even more exquisite. In front of the inner view, there is also a plaque, only this plaque is slightly smaller, and the words on it are different, becoming "Penglai Holy Land". On the bluestone path in front of the plaque, a small circle of people gathered around, judging from their clothes, they should all be Jianghu people who came to visit, probably also coming to pay respects.

  They didn't care about the wind, and directly passed through the more lively appearance with Murong Qingfeng, climbed up the bluestone steps, and came to the front of the plaque. Sure enough, they found that there were several disciples of Penglai standing in front of the plaque, blocking the crowd and not allowing ordinary people to go up.

  Su Feng and Murong Qingfeng stood at the outermost periphery, and only after inquiring from someone did they come to know. Although Hua Jiu Gongs had appeared here to recruit disciples, it wasn't that anyone could be accepted. Only a few young prodigies who were already famous or came from large families were allowed to enter, while others had to wait outside for Hua Jiu Gong to select them. However, many people felt this was just an excuse, so they tried negotiating with the disciples of Penglai, but those Penglai disciples were stubborn and refused to let them in no matter how hard they asked.

  Su Feng and Mu Rong Qing Feng finally squeezed into the center with ease, only then did Su Feng understand Mu Rong Qing Feng's intention in coming here together. If he had come alone, claiming to be the Son of Heaven, probably no one would have believed him. But Mu Rong Qing Feng had been to Penglai last year and had the token of the Mu Rong family, making him the most suitable person to make this announcement.

  Murong Qingfeng rushed to the disciples of Penglai and said: "I am Murong Qingfeng from the Murong family. This is Su Feng, the young master of the Su family in Yangzhou, and he is the son of Su Tian. Can we enter now that we have come to Penglai for a visit?"

  But as soon as he finished speaking, the onlookers around him burst into laughter. "Haha, is this guy an idiot? He didn't even choose a good identity to impersonate, but instead chose one of the three young masters of the Murong family, Xuan Hui Qing. Who doesn't know that the Murong family is in Jiangnan, how could they possibly be here in Shandong?" "And this guy is even more stupid, actually wanting to impersonate the son of the great hero Su Tian. Who doesn't know that on that day when the Su family was destroyed, every single member of the family died, where would there be any survivors? Even if there were a son, wouldn't Master Hua have gone to Yangzhou himself to investigate and still not found anyone? How could he suddenly appear now?"

  The surrounding people's seven mouths and eight tongues discussing did not disturb the Penglai welcoming disciple. The welcoming disciple only said: "This matter is of great importance, I dare not be careless, let me go in and report, please wait a moment." After finishing speaking, the welcoming disciple hastily walked in.

  As the welcoming disciple entered, the murmurs around them grew much louder. Almost everyone thought that the two were impostors, and some even spoke to Su Feng with a serious tone: "Young man, it's better for you to wait outside with us. Don't think that by using this little trick, you'll be able to meet Master Hua and become his disciple. On the contrary, you'll offend the entire Penglai Sect, which isn't worth it. Take advantage of the fact that the messenger disciple has just entered, and leave quickly."

  He looked at Murong Qingfeng with some helplessness, shook his head and didn't say a word.

  Chuán xìn dì zǐ gāng jìn qù bù jiǔ, biàn hé yīgè qīng nián dào rén zǒu le chūlái. Qīng nián dào rén mǎn liǎn de shén guāng, jiǎo xià bù lǚ shēng fēng, qì shì zhāng ér bù lòu, nèi liàn yuán rùn, lìng rén zhī wēi ér bù jù, yī shēn hún yuán nèi gōng kě jiàn yī pān. Suí fēng kàn le dōu yǐn yǒu xiē xīn jīng, qián jǐ rì jiàn mù róng yú de shí hòu méi yǒu zhè zhǒng gǎn jué, tā dàodi shì shuí?

  The young Taoist priest approached, and Murong Qingfeng cupped his hands together in greeting. "It's been over a year since we last parted ways," he said. "Brother Wuchen still looks as dashing as ever; I suppose your skills have improved yet again?"

  As soon as this was said, the people around were shocked. The young Taoist priest was naturally unsuspecting, but he never thought that this unknown little boy would actually know Wucheng, could it be that he was really the Qingfeng Gongzi of the Murong family?

  The young Daoist smiled slightly and replied, "Oh no, no, Qingfeng Gongzi is overpraising me. Wucheng has already passed the age of thirty but has yet to enter the prenatal stage, it's truly embarrassing. I wonder who this is?" He had heard about Suifeng's identity from his disciples before he came, but out of courtesy, he still asked again.

  Murong Qingfeng smiled and said, "This is the only son of Yangzhou's Su Tian Daxia, Su Feng Gongzi. He has been a guest at my Murong family for several days, and when he heard that Hua Xiansheng had appeared in Penglai, Qingfeng brought him over."

  With a fan in hand, Suī Fēng smiled and said: "I am Suī Fēng. I have met Wú Chén."

  Wu Chen was shocked and exclaimed, "It's really the son of Daxia! I'm so sorry for not showing respect earlier. But after the Yangzhou incident, I haven't heard any news about your whereabouts?"

  "At that time when the incident occurred, I happened to be out traveling and thus escaped a calamity."

  Wu Chen also casually asked, and immediately felt inappropriate, hurriedly saying: "This is not a place to talk, the two of you please go inside to speak."

  Murong Qingfeng smiled and said, "Everyone, I came this time to send Suo Gongzi. Since he has seen Wucheng brother, then Qingfeng's mission is also considered complete, so I will take my leave."