Chapter 22: The Cultivation of Immortals

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

  Jianmen Pass

  Several ancestral tablets of Jianfeng were lifted by an invisible force and returned to their original positions in front of the Daoist statues.

  Blue stone ground, a ditch divides Sword Pavilion, on both sides are Sword Peak and Lieyang Peak, four 16th generation disciples.

  Ming Yang Daoist sat cross-legged, his hair was like a fierce flame, his muscles were crystal clear and transparent, even the flowing bone blood could be seen, within several inches of his body, there were also layers of immortal mist, originally a divine being among mortals, at this moment his eyes were wide open, but there was a faint cold light emanating from them.

  "Wu Zheng, your foundation is solid and complete, comparable to Yun Fei's nephew. Go ahead and learn from him, but be careful not to hurt anyone."

  "I humbly obey the Master's instructions!"

  A young Daoist stood up and came to the center of the great hall, his long hair tied up, wearing a bright yellow Daoist robe, his body fragrant, with a faint glow emanating from him, obviously having already achieved a Daoist physique, all worldly dust gone.

  He stood at the edge of the precipice, his gaze slanting upwards towards the flying clouds, his eyes unwavering, with a hint of disdain in their depths.

  Yun Fei's name resounded throughout the Qingyun Nine Veins, but his body of earth and metal dual cultivation had only one tendon that bowed to Sword Peak. After three years of bitter cultivation, he still hadn't achieved a solid foundation. Normally, he would often go down the mountain, deceiving and cheating, luring in immortal fate to bow to Sword Peak. His actions were also eccentric, disregarding etiquette and law. The eight vein disciples all looked down on him; if not for being the sole inheritor of Sword Peak's lineage, he would likely have been expelled from the sect long ago.

  "Come on, young master!"

  "Big Brother!"

  Yun Fei nodded slightly, let out a gentle breath, and stood up to come to the center of the grand hall.

  By the riverbank, the Purple Bamboo Sword was unsheathed, and compared to ten days ago, a layer of golden light appeared on the flying Purple Bamboo Sword, but this light was still shallow and had not been fully refined into the sword.

  "Go ahead!"

  He stood upright with his hands behind him, a faint smile hanging at the corner of his mouth. A layer of crimson flames gradually rose from his body, and the air around him distorted, rippling out in gentle waves.

  The purple bamboo sword pointed to the ground, and in an instant, Yun Fei's eyes burst with divine light. The purple bamboo sword chopped continuously, and in a flash, three golden sword auras, each over ten feet long, whistled out, causing the air to hum with a shrill, piercing sword cry.

  "It's just a mere sword aura, nothing more!"

  Wu Zheng let out a cold laugh, flipped his palm and slapped downwards. In an instant, a huge hand burning with crimson divine flames appeared out of thin air. The hand was several meters in diameter, its lines blurry but extremely fierce, emitting a powerful aura that surged forth.

  Pfft——

  Three golden sword auras were crushed to pieces, and the divine flame's massive hand dissipated more than half of it, yet still descended towards Yun Fei's head.

  "Fire Path Incantation, Fierce Yang Hand!"

  Qitian lightly sighed, in Jianfeng's senior notes, he had seen some descriptions of Taoist incantations. The Taoist incantation could unleash the true power of the Tao, and its might was so strong that it could shake heaven and earth, carrying the majesty of the Great Tao. Although Lieyang's hand was only an ordinary fire-element Taoist incantation, Wu Zheng was just a fire-element physique, but he still used his strength to suppress and extinguish Yunfei's golden earth sword energy.

  The power of Tao is too pure, it matches the great way of heaven and earth, and its subtlety is beyond that of swordsmanship. When the Taoist formula is applied, it naturally harmonizes with the spiritual energy of the universe, often using brute force to break through cleverness, without any reservations.

  Is the sword energy really so unbearable?

  At the time, he felt that something was off when he first saw the sword energy, as if Yun Fei's sword energy lacked a certain something, but he couldn't see through it and could only rely on his intuition.

  Yunfei's Golden Earth Sword Qi was extinguished, and the Nine Styles of Shocking Mountain were simultaneously unfolded. The sword was like a heavy mountain, and the golden yellow sword qi was like a rainbow, instantly cutting off that divine flame giant hand.

  These days, Yun Fei has been comprehending the sword rhyme and its lower boundaries, lifting heavy weights as if they were light. Although he still hasn't grasped the method, he follows Qi Tian's words and goes to the Cang Jing Pavilion every day to comprehend various sword techniques. The realm of his sword technique is also advancing rapidly. With this one move, even Ming Jian Dao Ren, who was standing at the top, nodded slightly, almost imperceptibly.

  He gazed calmly at the sword as if it were nothing, his Taoist robes fluttering in the wind. He clasped his hands together in a seal, flipped his palms over and pressed down, simultaneously letting out a fierce roar: "No matter how oppressive your sword energy is, no matter how formidable your sword technique may be, my Blazing Fire Seal will still suppress you!"

  There was a surge of scarlet divine flames, and Wu Zheng pressed down with both hands. On one side, the divine flames blazed fiercely, and a scarlet transparent seal condensed and took shape.

  Boom!

  A ten-foot radius of fierce flames descended, the air rippled with continuous waves, the sword energy shattered, the purple bamboo sword let out a mournful cry, Yun Fei's entire body flew backward, and he spat out a mouthful of blood into the air.

  His face changed, and he stepped out with the Qitian Step, retreating several zhangs and catching Yun Fei.

  "The way of the sword is complete, but it is just so!"

  "You!"

  Yun Fei's face turned pale, and another mouthful of blood was spat out. The entire person's breath had weakened.

  "Big brother, you've injured your internal organs, don't speak, calm your mind and heal! Rest assured, little brother won't bring shame to you."

  Qitian said, a cold glint flashed in his eyes and disappeared.

  Lihuo Yin, originally after shattering Yunfei's sword energy and sending him flying, he could have stopped there. However, Wu Zheng let Lihuo Yin dissipate on its own without any concern, severely injuring Yunfei in the process.

  Qitian's nature was originally calm and peaceful, and after three years of studying the Taoist scriptures at Wudang, he gained a deeper understanding of the workings of heaven and earth, causing his nature to become even more inclined towards the natural way of the Tao. However, this does not mean that Qitian is a stagnant pool of water, never stirring up any ripples.

  Regarded as the most talented swordsman among the juniors after the three ancestors of Wudang, Qi Tian's body was proud and arrogant, like a divine sword, light and still, but once moved, its sharpness was revealed, without any scruples.

  At this time, he was truly enraged. Originally, he thought that the immortal path was without contention, and wanted to calm his mind to seek immortality and ask about the Tao. He didn't expect that after entering the Qingyun Sect, in less than four months, he would see many things. Now, he had thoroughly understood that the immortal path is still a human cultivation of the great Tao, just like the moon has its phases of waxing and waning, people have their seven emotions and six desires, which cannot be erased or suppressed.

  "Wuzheng, your crude and rough Fire Seal is an embarrassment, how dare you bring it out to show off? You even hurt Yun Shi-di, now get back here!"

  "Yes, Master Feng!"

  Ming Yang Dao Ren smiled lightly and said: "Younger brother, I really don't know what's heavy or light, you won't mind, will you?"

  "No harm done, it's just that my apprentice isn't skilled enough."

  Ming Xian Dao Ren's expression was calm and serene, showing no signs of joy or anger. However, Qi Tian knew that this was not normal, as Ming Xian Dao Ren was usually carefree and casual, yet today he was unusually serious, a rare sight to behold.

  Ming Yang Dao Ren smiled and said, "Younger brother, what's the point of this? These juniors usually cultivate diligently, but not as well as us two. Why don't we put up some stakes and play a round? Older brother is generous, so let's use this mid-grade Golden Spirit Stone as the stake."

  As he spoke, Ming Yang Dao Ren flipped his right palm, and a gold spirit stone the size of a palm appeared before everyone's eyes. This was a mid-grade gold spirit stone, with dense and pure golden spiritual energy that could almost be smelled. On the surface of the spirit stone, there was even a faint golden aura circulating, as if there was a flow of golden liquid within, which was truly extraordinary.

  "Big brother's generosity is impressive, one piece of medium-grade Golden Spirit Stone can be exchanged for a hundred pieces of low-grade ones."

  Clearly visible, the Taoist did not move his voice or expression, but with a flip of his right palm, a section of purple air rose and a misty purple bamboo appeared. This section of misty purple bamboo contained sticky liquid like paste, as soon as it appeared, it emitted a strong grassy spiritual energy, taking a breath, one could feel their mind calm and their blood circulation smooth.

  "Five hundred years of misty purple bamboo!" Ming Yang Dao Ren laughed and said, "The strokes of Shidi's brush are not inferior to those of Shixiong in the slightest. Speaking of which, this sword-like purple bamboo forest is something that I, Shixiong, have always been envious of."

  "Senior brother is joking, Liuyang Peak has countless spiritual springs and waterfalls, and spiritual herbs are also commonly seen. My Purple Bamboo Forest can't compare to that."

  Ming Yang Daoren burst out laughing several times, and without saying another word, he pointed to another disciple and said: "Wu Ming, once you've opened up the eighty-one paths of the Dao, go and learn from Qi Shi Zhong's sword techniques."

  "Obeying Master Feng's instructions!"

  Wu Ming stood up, and his body suddenly ignited a layer of golden red divine flames. These flames were illusory and had not yet condensed into reality. Nevertheless, a shocking wave of heat rose from them.

  Ming Jian saw the Taoist frowning: "The ninth yang line belongs to one, the earth fire energy!"

  "Not bad, this is one of Leng Yangfeng Mingyuan's newly accepted disciples, who has been in the sect for almost a year. What do you think, junior brother?"

  Ming saw Dao Ren not speaking, he looked towards Qi Tian, nodded and said: "Go." (New book rankings, seeking recommendation votes, seeking collection!)