Longzang

Chapter 541: Peak
Upon returning to Qingming, Wei Yuan emerged from his seclusion and immediately convened a meeting of all the cultivators of Taichu Palace.

A moment later, all the cultivators from the Primordial Palace arrived. Wei Yuan then activated the token left behind by Ancestor Xuan Yue, and the figure of True Lord Xuan Yue appeared in the room. In this way, True Lord Xuan Yue could contact everyone without entering the Shattered Realm, while he himself could travel around and handle other matters.

However, after the magic weapon was activated, Xuan Yue Zhenjun's figure was very blurry, and his voice was intermittent.

Among the cultivators, Bao Yun, Xu Henshui, and Cui Yu were all very knowledgeable.

Bao Yun and Cui Yu pretended not to see it, but Xu Henshui, being a newcomer, casually remarked as usual, "This Mirroring Wall is only a Dharma Aspect level magic treasure, which is barely enough to bear the power of a True Monarch. Moreover, the quality of this Mirroring Wall is considered poor among magic treasures. Let's quickly replace it with another one; it doesn't cost much."

The image of True Lord Xuan Yue suddenly trembled and almost disappeared.

Wei Yuan pretended not to hear and said, "During my trip to the Netherworld, I was fortunate enough to enter the kingdom of Youwu Shuli and discovered many of his secrets. But then, I don't know what secret technique he used to transfer me to a strange place. Please take a look!"

Wei Yuan released a video, which was the surrounding spatial environment he perceived.

All the cultivators carefully perceived the image, and Yu Zhizhuo even released his Dharma form. The little golden bird flew into the image, pecking here and there, and then began to chirp.

Yu Zhizhuo then said, "The material above is made of metal and has a ghostly aura, so it should be Ghostly Cold Iron. Cold Iron is extremely heavy, and judging from the pressure you feel, there should be an entire mountain above. The area below should have originally been ordinary ghostly soil, but it has undergone a change under heavy pressure and gradually crystallized. There should be quite a few ghostly crystals inside."

The old Taoist priest's eyes lit up, and he said, "Nether Crystals are great! I have a Nether Sea Devouring Witch Flower that I need Nether Crystals to improve its quality!"

Sun Yu also said, "Nether Crystals can significantly enhance the rank of toxicity; they are indeed a good thing."

Yu Zhizhuo said, "The supply of Nether Crystals is currently insufficient. A few days ago, I inspected the Hall of Merit and saw that the exchange price was one tael for fifty days' merits."

Feng Tingyu, who was drowsy, suddenly brightened up. She randomly picked two muscles to think about for a moment and came to the correct answer: two ounces of Nether Crystals can be exchanged for an ordinary Dharma Image.

"Can we bring this back?" Cui Yu asked.

Yu Zhizhuo said, "Netherworld soil is fine, but Netherworld crystals are of a higher rank and can also switch between the real and the virtual, so they can be brought out."

The old Taoist priest, hoeing the fields, suddenly seemed to be deep in thought, his eyes gradually darkening: "Netherworld soil? Yes, this aura is Netherworld soil! Hmm, so that means the little bit of Netherworld soil I obtained..."

Yu Zhizhuo said calmly, "That's not important. Think about why the palace no longer accepts Netherworld Soil? And think about why Netherworld Soil has become completely worthless?"

The old Taoist priest, who was hoeing the fields, looked increasingly deep in thought, stroking his beard in silence.

Wei Yuan coughed lightly, quickly drawing the attention of those harboring resentment and greed back to the main topic, and said, "All the Dao Beacons in the Netherworld have been moved here, so if I go to the Netherworld again, I'll still end up here. The problem is, under the immense pressure here, I might only be able to hold out for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn. What should we do?"

As expected, everyone shifted their focus and began to worry about Wei Yuan's safety.

At this moment, True Monarch Xuan Yue suddenly said, "This place can compress soil into crystals; even ordinary True Monarchs couldn't withstand such pressure for long. Your ability to last for the time it takes to burn an incense stick is already quite remarkable. For some fragile Dharma Forms, their primordial spirit would be annihilated in a single breath." The cultivators present looked at each other, realizing that if Wei Yuan were used as the standard, they would likely be classified as fragile Dharma Forms. They felt offended, but dared not speak out.

Xuan Yue Zhenjun continued, “Judging from the environment here, it is probably at the bottom of the Golden Iron Treasure Mountain. There are probably some kind of magic arrays on the mountain peak. But it would be difficult even for an immortal to refine such a treasure mountain. For a mere Netherworld Witch, being able to carve a small array on the mountaintop is already the best she can do. You should be able to sustain yourself for the duration of an incense stick, which will allow you to do a lot of things.”

Taking advantage of Xuan Yue Zhenjun's good mood, Wei Yuan quickly asked for his opinion on what exactly was going on with Shu Li's incarnation.

Xuan Yue Zhenjun pondered for a moment and said, "When I fought him back then, I did destroy something. I couldn't see it from outside the heavens at the time, but now that I think about it, it must have been that he used his avatar in the Netherworld to withstand the old Daoist's attack and was then destroyed. But I destroyed at most two of his avatars, no more. You said he lost six avatars, so there must be another powerful enemy."

Wei Yuan then sought further advice on the art of warfare, but this True Lord Xuan Yue was not adept at it. His speech suddenly became profound and enigmatic, full of hidden meanings, making it virtually impossible for anyone to understand.

After Xuan Yue Zhenjun spoke for a long time, explaining the great principles of heaven and earth, Zhang Sheng, who had been silent all along, suddenly said, "What the patriarch meant was that he didn't understand either, so asking him was pointless."

Xuan Yue Zhenjun's figure twisted again, his beard bristling and eyes wide with displeasure.

But Zhang Sheng wasn't buying it. He said to Wei Yuan, "You don't practice the Qianqing Zhengfa Yushi Jing, so you're not quite clear on the differences. Let me explain it to you simply."

Zhang Sheng explained the difference in just a few words.

The mental world cultivated through the lineage of the Azure Sky Palace is not known for its vitality or spirituality; rather, its existence serves to enhance the individual, increasing the power of their attacks and spells. This is, in fact, the most common path.

The world of Xuan Yue Zhenjun's mind is filled with vast mountain ranges, and the creatures within are of low spirituality; few are truly powerful. If we speak of spirituality, it is the mountains and the land that possess it, not the sentient beings themselves.

The "Qianqing Zhengfa Yushi Jing" allows for a far greater use of the power of the mental world than ordinary cultivation methods. With such a profound and life-giving mental world supporting him, Xuan Yue Zhenjun's every move carries the immense power of an entire mountain range, which is difficult for ordinary cultivators to withstand.

Another path prioritizes the spirituality of the mental world, dedicating oneself to nurturing sentient beings within it, and then using these spiritual beings to fight. This is the path of the Listening Sea Immortal Lord.

This path is clearly disadvantageous in terms of combat power when one is at the Yujing stage, but it will show its advantages when one reaches the Immortal stage. When Xuan Yue Zhenjun achieves unity and ascends to the Immortal position, he will still have to make up for the lesson of sentient beings.

Wei Yuan wanted to destroy the Netherworld Kingdom, mainly by attacking it through the Mind World, but True Monarch Xuan Yue was not good at this and could not provide any guidance.

With Zhang Sheng's explanation, Wei Yuan understood.

In fact, on the spiritual path of the Mind World, Wei Yuan's worldly experience is almost at the pinnacle of all time, and he already had the ability to attack the Mind World when he was still in the Dharma Form stage.

When Zhang Sheng undermined him, True Monarch Xuan Yue glared and pretended to be angry. Finally, he said, "Considering that your new Dao Foundation is so-so, only a few times stronger than those trashy Immortal Foundations, I will not punish you for now."

These words made all the Foundation Establishment cultivators present, regardless of whether they were Immortal Foundation Establishment or Heavenly Foundation Establishment cultivators, quite uncomfortable. Everyone secretly thought to themselves, "Old Daoist Xuan Yue, if you want to praise your own disciple, just do it directly. Why do you have to put others down?"
Like Xuan Yue Zhenjun, Zhang Sheng also follows the path of relying on the power of the Heart World to empower himself. In terms of Dao foundation alone, he is already much stronger than Xuan Yue was back then. At this moment, in the Tai Chu Palace, she has already stood at the pinnacle of this path.

(End of this chapter)