Chapter 6: Seeking Immortals and Inquiring about the Dao

  (New book period, seeking recommendation votes, seeking collection!)

  Purple Bamboo Forest.

  There is a spiritual mist, the bamboo leaves are crystal clear, like purple jade carvings, the bamboo shadows are swaying, there are strange rocks standing among them, the spiritual dew is continuous, gathering at the tips of the bamboo, on the ground, there is a spiritual stream flowing, extending all the way into the depths of the purple bamboo forest.

  Above Lingxi, there is a surge of purple energy, with auspicious energy in all directions, manifesting various phenomena.

  This is a land of immortals and a pure land of gods, a sacred realm of divine beings.

  In the purple bamboo forest, there are several purple bamboo pavilions. In front of the pavilion, there is an octagonal stone table, and on the stone table, a few tilted wine gourds are placed.

  In a small room, Qi Tian slowly opened his blurry eyes, sat up, and rubbed his temples. He had drunk with Yun Fei all night yesterday, and now he felt a bit dizzy after waking up today.

  He fixed his gaze on the bamboo desk in front of him, where a cyan Taoist robe was neatly folded. He stared blankly for a while before letting out a soft sigh.

  He changed into a Taoist robe, took off his short-sleeved shirt and neatly folded it, putting it in a bamboo trunk. Qi Tian took a deep breath and walked out of the room.

  Under the purple bamboo, Yun Fei was meditating, his entire body radiating a layer of pale white divine light, hovering just above the ground. Between his breaths, faint wisps of white mist emerged, as if he were swallowing clouds and exhaling mist, truly extraordinary and supernatural.

  It seems to have sensed Qitian's arrival, Yunfei opened his eyes and smiled: "Younger brother, you're awake."

  The divine light dissipated, and Yun Fei flew up and down, sizing up Qi Tian with a glance: "Not bad, this robe fits perfectly, and I won't have to change again."

  Sit!

  Qitian Yiwen sat cross-legged opposite Yun Fei.

  "From today on, I'll pass on the immortal way to you, my junior brother."

  After a moment of contemplation, Yun Fei said: "The Taoist path is vast and boundless. Since ancient times, how many have sought the Tao? The Tao has been passed down from the dawn of time in my Eastern Land of Divine Continent. Those who follow the Tao conform to Heaven, conform to Earth, and conform to all natural phenomena. Enlightened to the great mechanism of the Tao, based on this, the ancients transformed the Taoist path into nine realms. The nine realms are respectively: foundation of the Tao, spiritual awareness, ascending clouds, shedding the mortal form, exchanging bones, Dragon Gate, True Man, Honored One of the Tao, and Ancestor of the Tao. It is said that upon reaching the realm of the Ancestor of the Tao, one can ascend to the Heavenly Path and open the gate of immortality."

  "Ascending to the heavenly path and opening the immortal gate," Qitian murmured, "are there any who have achieved immortality?"

  Yun Fei was taken aback, clearly not expecting Qi Tian to ask such a question. He fell silent for a moment, rolling his eyes and saying, "None."

  "No!"

  "Since no one can become immortal, what's the point of cultivating the Dao?"

  Yun Fei shook his head and said, "Wait for me to finish speaking. I didn't say it was impossible, only that it's a legend from the near ancient times. In the ancient times, there were indeed stories of the immortal path, and someone had successfully opened the gate of immortality. As for whether they became an immortal or not, no one knows. However, there have been instances where immortals descended into the world, and until now, their legacy still exists in my Eastern Divine Continent."

  Yun Fei couldn't help but laugh and said, "These are not to be discussed, however, the path of immortality is indeed capable of prolonging life. As long as one reaches the realm of perfecting the foundation of the Tao, they can give birth to the power of the Tao and live for a hundred years. If they reach the realm of escaping the womb, they can live for two hundred years. It's also said that in my Qingyun Sect, there are several Peak Masters who have reached the realm of exchanging bones and can live for five hundred years."

  Qitian's eyes lit up when he heard this. Legend has it that immortals are forever young and immortal, and cultivating immortality can indeed prolong one's lifespan and attain eternal life.

  At this moment, Qi Tian's heart moved and he asked: "Senior brother, I saw that your divine light protected your body earlier, what level of cultivation have you reached?"

  His face was slightly awkward, and Yun Fei wiped his Taoist robe with some embarrassment, saying: "This... I've been practicing the Sword Classic, and only now have I finally opened up the 96 Daoist apertures. My foundation is at the later stage, but it'll still take half a year to reach perfection."

  "Right," as if thinking of something, Yunfei took out a yellowed ancient book from his bosom and threw it to Qitian. "This is the Sword Classic. Go back and memorize it carefully. My Immortal Sword has some differences with the current immortal path, but there are also similarities. It starts with opening up the acupuncture points and laying the foundation of the path. There are 108 acupuncture points that need to be opened by circulating the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. This is a painstaking process that cannot be taken lightly."

  He nodded and said: "Don't worry, Master. I will definitely remember it. But I don't understand what the way of the immortal sword is?"

  Yun Fei rubbed his head, sighing: "I only know that the way of the immortal sword is divided into five major realms: Sword Fetus, Sword Soul, Sword Spirit, Sword Infant, and Sword Heart. As for your question, I also asked my master about it before, but he only told me one sentence, which has left me puzzled ever since."

  "What's up?"

  "A sword, its sharpness also."

  "A sword, a sharp edge!" Zitian hummed to himself several times, his brow furrowed slightly. He seemed to understand something, yet it was as if there was a layer of gauze in between, and he couldn't quite grasp or see through it.

  Yun Fei saw Qi Tian like this, and couldn't help but laugh: "No need to think about it, I've thought about this sentence for three years and still haven't figured it out. It turns out that the truth is in improving one's cultivation. Now, what I need to do is to break through the remaining twelve Dao meridians, cultivate sword energy, and nurture the sword embryo. And what you need to do is to follow the sword scripture, take solid steps to break through the meridians, and go to the Cang Jing Pavilion to take a look at some of the ancestral masters' notes."

  Qitian nodded, although he had not yet touched the Xianjian Yidao, he felt its profound and mysterious depth. The so-called Sword Path Five Realms were fundamentally unheard of, but it can be inferred that after cultivation, what kind of powerful divine abilities would be possessed.

  Why say that the sword path is inferior to the Taoist path?

  At this thought, Qi Tian couldn't help but ask aloud.

  Yun Fei let out a sigh and said, "It can't be explained. Since ancient times, there have been rumors that my swordsmanship has been punished by heaven, making it difficult to cultivate in recent times. It's not as good as the Fa Dao Xian Mai (Buddhist Taoist immortal pulse). Over the endless years, this is indeed the case. This is why the Eastern Land Shenzhou Sword Path has withered away and now the inheritance is almost cut off."

  "Heaven's Punishment!"

  Qitian frowned, this legend is a bit strange.

  However, he hesitated again and said: "This vast land, apart from Dongtu Divine State, are there other regions?"

  "Yes," Yun Fei nodded, "apart from my Dongtu Shen Zhou, there are also the Western Heavenly Buddha Realm, the Southern Wilderness Demon Domain, the Northern Sea Devil Abyss, and the Central Earth Ghost Capital. The four major continents have different cultivation methods compared to my Dongtu Shen Zhou. The Western Heavenly Buddha Realm cultivates Buddhism, the Southern Wilderness Demon Domain cultivates the demon way, the Northern Sea Devil Abyss cultivates the devil way, and finally, the Central Earth Ghost Capital is the most mysterious, cultivating the ghost way."

  "That's the five continents of the world."

  He took a deep breath and suddenly felt that he had entered a mysterious and unpredictable world.

  Here is the translation:

  "Speaking of which, Yun Fei shook his head and said: "However, just in my Eastern Divine State alone, it stretches for an unknown number of hundreds or thousands of millions of miles. As for other vast lands, it's very difficult to make contact with them unless they are those even more powerful immortal sects that may have some involvement. Our Dao foundation is not yet complete, and these things are still too far away."

  Looking up at the sky above, his gaze was somewhat dazed: "Is this what it means to seek immortality and ask about the Tao?"

  "The Immortal Path is vast and boundless, only by stepping into it can one realize its infinite vastness, profound like the sea. Junior brother, although my Sword Peak has not fallen, yet my heart to seek immortality and ask about the Tao remains unbroken. Senior brother has the intention to compete with the other eight veins for supremacy, are you willing to follow senior brother together?"

  "Big Brother!"

  Zi Tian's heart and spirit shook, looking towards Yun Fei, but what he saw was a pair of firm and clear eyes. In them, he saw boundless vastness, as well as an endless, unbroken aura of sharpness.

  A swordsman is also sharp!

  It seemed as if a spring in his heart had been opened, and a smile appeared on Qitian's face.

  "How dare you disobey orders!"

  As soon as the words fell, the two of them burst out laughing at the same time. The laughter was loud and clear, causing the entire purple bamboo forest to sway back and forth. The spirit creek also rippled with a faint wave.

  Behind the Sword Peak Mountain

  Next to a hundred-zhang high celestial waterfall, one could clearly see an immortal resting his head on a wine gourd and lying asleep on a huge bluestone.

  A mighty waterfall plunges into the pool, like a true dragon descending from the nine heavens. The pool water thunders and rumbles, as if the divine drums of the immortal realm are beating. Clearly visible is the Taoist priest, yet he neither hears nor notices, with only a single thread of saliva dripping down from the corner of his mouth.

  Suddenly, his mouth corners slightly curled up, as if a smile had emerged, but quickly dissipated. Then he turned over and soon, rhythmic snoring sounds began to rise, like thunder shaking the air, continuous and unbroken. (New book period, seeking recommendation votes, seeking collection!)