I became an immortal in the mountains

Chapter 872 Seize the opportunity
"So you came to me to ask about this news. It seems that after all these years, those old fogies finally realize I failed. They're not entirely stupid. But even if you know, what good will it do?" Zhuo Ming looked at Gu Yuanqing with a hint of sarcasm.

"That's none of your concern," Gu Yuanqing said with a smile.

"Heh..." Zhuo Ming suddenly chuckled, his figure appearing somewhat ethereal in the wisps of light. "Telling you won't hurt. Inside the Ancestral Hall, besides me, there are six other True Gods residing in the world. My cultivation and strength don't even rank in the top three among them. I probably don't need to elaborate on the path I cultivate."

Gu Yuanqing took another sip of spiritual tea before slowly saying, "So, you left behind these seven lineages so that one day you could find someone with compatible foundations and be reborn through possession?"

The Ancient Divine Sect is said to control the power of seven divine artifacts based on rules: the Zhenyuan Mingyu, the Jiantian Jing, the Tianlu Zhong, the Qiongtian Wanhua Yu Fengyin, the Juntian Leixiao Jian, the Wuliang Tianji Tu, and the Nirvana Jingshi Ding.

There are also seven true god souls in the Ancestral Master Hall, which may not be a coincidence.

Moreover, he had also obtained a lot of information from Li Lingyun back then.

Zhuo Ming's gaze sharpened slightly. It seemed that Gu Yuanqing knew more than he had expected. He did not deny it, but simply said, "With mortal bodies, shouldn't it be an honor for them to follow us to the position of true gods?"

“But… you all seem to be too useless. It seems that no one has truly come out of this situation yet,” Gu Yuanqing said.

Zhuo Ming snorted coldly: "The difference between gods and humans is as vast as the heavens and the earth. You should be from the Law Source Realm, right? You shouldn't be so ignorant."

“The Dharma Source Realm?” Gu Yuanqing smiled. “I heard that your Ancient Divine Sect’s Sect Master Mu Tianheng, Elder Li Lingyun, and Lei Fuyue have all betrayed the Ancient Divine Sect. Could it be… that they went to the Dharma Source Realm?”

"These juniors are just arrogant. With their meager cultivation, they dare to force their way into the Dharma Source Realm, only to court death." Zhuo Ming's words were tinged with disdain.

"You don't seem like the kind of people who care about the lives of the younger generation. I'm more afraid that you're worried they might break in and reveal your existence," Gu Yuanqing said with a half-smile.

Zhuo Ming looked at Gu Yuanqing: "Aren't you afraid?"

"Why should I be afraid?" Gu Yuanqing replied casually.

"Although you have never answered me directly, I know that you are definitely not from the Linglong Realm. The Linglong Realm cannot produce a person like you. The Qianyuan Realm is just an advanced one from the Floating Realm. Even if you have obtained an opportunity, even if you are blessed by the power of the Primordial Heaven Furnace, a cultivator in the Shattering Heaven Realm still cannot suppress me, let alone leave me powerless to resist."

Zhuo Ming stared at Gu Yuanqing and spoke slowly, trying to judge whether his speculation was true by Gu Yuanqing's reaction.

Gu Yuanqing said with great interest, "You continue."

Zhuo Ming continued, "If I'm not mistaken, you should be from a powerful force in the Dharma Source Realm. Due to some unforeseen circumstances, you brought a rare treasure to the Qian Yuan Realm, which is still just a floating realm. That's why the power of the Heaven and Earth Stele fell into the Qian Yuan Realm."

Gu Yuanqing poured himself another cup of tea, took a sip, and nodded, saying, "That sounds like it makes some sense."

Seeing Gu Yuanqing's ambiguous attitude, Zhuo Ming's doubts deepened. The golden phantom he conjured leaned forward slightly, as if trying to pierce through the leisurely facade and see through Gu Yuanqing's true nature.

However, it was impossible to discern even a fraction of his power; his strength was merely enough to condense this illusory body, not even a fraction more, and his power could not reach any further.

Just now, he seemed to be cooperating with Gu Yuanqing's words, but in reality, he was also stalling for time, intending to draw on the power of the Heavenly Law Bell to see if he could find an opportunity to break free from the cage. He also tried to send out his message through some means, but all his plans seemed to be in vain.

The surrounding oppression was like a net, cutting off all his thoughts.

"It seems I can't get out on my own."

These thoughts swirled in his mind, but his expression remained unchanged, even flashing with a hint of smugness: "It seems I guessed right."

Gu Yuanqing smiled and said, "So what if you guessed right?"

Zhuo Ming said, "If that's really the case, we can cooperate!"

"Cooperate? Someone who wanted to possess me, and is now in my hands, with his life and death entirely under my control, wants to cooperate with me? Don't you find that a bit ridiculous?" Gu Yuanqing's smile remained unchanged.

Zhuo Ming said, "There are no eternal enemies in the world, only eternal interests. We don't need to fight to the death."

Gu Yuanqing chuckled: "Really? Then how can you help me?"

Zhuo Ming said, "You are only at the Shattered Heaven Realm now, and you are still far from the True God Realm. If you want to cultivate in peace, you need a protector. I can protect you."

Gu Yuanqing laughed loudly: "Protect me? You are nothing but a remnant soul, how much strength do you have? In this Linglong Realm, how much power do you dare to use? How can you talk about protecting me!"
Besides, your act of protecting me is no different from inviting a wolf into the house; I can't trust you to do that.

Zhuo Ming said calmly, "At the very least, I can help you get through the Chaotic Undying Realm!"

"The Realm of Undying Chaos?" Gu Yuanqing asked with a strange expression.

Zhuo Ming said, "You dare not undergo the tribulation now, because once you do, they will definitely take the opportunity to attack and seize your body. I am the only one who can help you, and the only one who can help you."

Only by overcoming the tribulation of the Chaotic Undying and achieving the state of Chaotic Undying, where the physical body, soul, and the celestial world are completely fused into one, can one avoid the danger of being possessed. Only then can one sever the thoughts of those old fellows.

Only in this way can you be safe within the Linglong Realm!

Upon hearing this, Gu Yuanqing's expression became even more peculiar.

He looked up at Zhuo Ming: "Safety? Perhaps the danger of being possessed is gone, but my cultivation is higher, so isn't I a greater threat to the Ancient Divine Sect? How could you tolerate me? Where is the safety?"

Zhuo Ming said calmly, "Even if you become a demigod, do you think you'd be a match for a god-level expert?"

Gu Yuanqing thought about his experience in the trial space and shook his head, saying, "No."

Zhuo Ming said, "The only ones who can truly threaten us are true gods who have survived the divine tribulation and become beings on the same level as us. This world cannot bear the power of a true god. Even if one survives the divine tribulation in this world, the only way out is to tear through space and leave. Otherwise, when divine punishment descends, one's body will shatter, and one will seek one's own death."

Therefore, once you break through to the Undying Realm, it will lose its effect on both me and those old guys!

Do you think they would risk being punished by heaven and annihilated, body and soul, to kill you?

A look of surprise flashed across Gu Yuanqing's eyes. He suddenly realized that he seemed to have overlooked something.

Or rather, the thoughts and ideas of these old fellows in the Ancestral Hall of the Ancient Divine Sect are completely different from those of someone like me who has only lived for a few hundred years.

They have clung to life until now only to continue their journey, and of course they are unwilling to easily face death.

To the Primordial Divine Sect, perhaps the stronger one is, the greater the threat, and they will try every means to eliminate one in advance to avoid shaking the foundation of their sect. But to those old guys in the Ancestral Hall, it may not be the same.

For them, survival and spiritual progress are more important than anything else!
Once one reaches the state of immortality, since one cannot possess another body, one naturally loses one's value.

Thinking of this, Gu Yuanqing couldn't help but shake his head.

This can be considered being blinded by a leaf. He had always been thinking of hiding his strength so that he would have more treasures when he fought against the remnants of the true gods of the Primordial God Sect.

But now it seems that this is not the case at all.

He looked up at Zhuo Ming and suddenly smiled, "You'd be so kind as to help me break through?"

Zhuo Ming looked Gu Yuanqing over again, and said with some regret, "When I failed to possess you, I also lost this opportunity."

Gu Yuanqing smiled gently and said, "Have you ever considered that when you came looking for me back then, I was no longer at the Shattered Heaven Realm?"

Upon hearing this, even the pupils of the intertwined phantom seemed to shrink slightly, and a look of astonishment appeared on Zhuo Ming's face.

It was only at this moment that Gu Yuanqing clearly sensed the fluctuation in his emotions.

Despite Gu Yuanqing's previous threats to Zhuo Ming and the frequent changes in his expression when speaking to Gu Yuanqing, Gu Yuanqing knew that any emotions revealed by the figure with intertwined spiritual power were actually fake.

Throughout the entire process, Gu Yuanqing never sensed any genuine emotional change in him. It was as if everything Gu Yuanqing saw was merely a false appearance, and his heart remained as cold as ever!

"Impossible! If you were to undergo the Chaotic Undying Tribulation within the Linglong Realm, the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth would inevitably change accordingly, and it would be impossible for you not to be noticed! Even if you used a magic weapon to conceal the Qianyuan Realm, you could not hide the changes in the Great Dao. The Qianyuan Realm itself could not withstand the Chaotic Undying Tribulation!" Zhuo Ming's voice also changed slightly, revealing the fluctuation of his emotions.

If that were the case, it would mean that he had traveled hundreds of millions of miles to deliver himself to our door for nothing, which is fundamentally a joke.

Gu Yuanqing leaned back in his chair and said calmly, "Now that you're already under my control, do you think I still need to deceive you?"

Zhuo Ming stared at Gu Yuanqing and said, "Do you dare to reveal even a trace of your aura to me?"

Gu Yuanqing said calmly, "I'll grant your wish!"

As he spoke, he pointed his fingers and unleashed the sword energy of the Myriad Manifestations of Calamity, which struck the Heavenly Law Bell formed from the intertwined divine power.

clang!
The Heavenly Bell vibrated violently, and runes flew out from it. The shockwaves that shattered the void scattered and were forcibly suppressed by the power of the Northern Spring Cave.

Gu Yuanqing glanced at the divine core, which remained intact despite its constant fluctuations and changes, and gained a relatively clear understanding of Zhuo Ming's current strength.

Compared to the fully formed True God in the Ling Mountain Trial, it is naturally far inferior, but it still possesses at least 30 to 40% of the power. As for the exact difference in combat strength, it is difficult to guess unless they have fought a battle together.

After all, the true god level strength in the Linglong Realm lies in the application of the power of the Heavenly Law Bell, not in the bell itself.

Zhuo Ming's expression changed completely. Although Gu Yuanqing's casual sword strike had not damaged the core of his divine status, it had already qualified to shake his power.

Moreover, the power has been condensed to the extreme, and the sword energy contains astonishing Dao essence, which is something that a Shattering Heaven Realm cultivator could not achieve.

Gu Yuanqing smiled: "Tell me, since I have already become an immortal being, what use are you to me?"

"You've already become a demigod?" Zhuo Ming stared intently at Gu Yuanqing.

Gu Yuanqing said calmly, "That doesn't seem important. You should be more concerned about your future situation!"

"What do you want in exchange for letting me go?" Zhuo Ming's tone became serious.

It's no wonder that Gu Yuanqing was only at the Shattered Heaven Realm. He would only be considered imprisoned, not in mortal danger. This is why he dared to face it calmly. He had experienced countless situations that were far more dangerous than this.

However, if Gu Yuanqing becomes a demigod, there will only be a difference of one realm between him and Gu Yuanqing.

He wouldn't care about ordinary demigods at all; this final step is actually the difference between humans and gods, a world of difference in power.

However, Gu Yuanqing is clearly not an ordinary demigod. He possesses magical treasures and power that can completely suppress and trap him, which means that Gu Yuanqing may have the power to truly kill him!
"Actually, I quite like your rebellious side. This way of you is making me a little uncomfortable," Gu Yuanqing teased.

Zhuo Ming remained expressionless and slowly said, "Such words are somewhat unbecoming of your status. Since we are all cultivators, let's speak frankly."

Gu Yuanqing suddenly smiled: "There are three ways for a True God-level expert to stay in the Linglong Realm. The first is to use a magic weapon or array to isolate their aura, just like the Ancestral Hall of your Ancient God Sect. The second is to possess a cultivator and continue their path. And the third... I just happen to want to refine a magic weapon..."

"Impossible!" Zhuo Ming refused decisively, staring coldly at Gu Yuanqing: "Even if I perish, I will not become a spirit of a weapon and be manipulated by others."

Gu Yuanqing smiled: "No rush, take your time to think about it!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he waved his hand, and the power of his cave completely suppressed Zhuo Ming, sending him directly to the bottom of Beiquan Mountain.

Lying back in his chair, Gu Yuanqing tapped his fingers lightly on the table, pondering and weighing the truth or falsehood of Zhuo Ming's words, as well as the potential consequences of making a wrong judgment.

After a long time, he suddenly had a thought and contacted Li Miaoxuan and Li Chengyi.

About half an hour later, he used his celestial fishing technique to bring Li Miaoxuan back.

"What's the situation on the battlefield outside the domain?" Gu Yuanqing poured tea for Li Miaoxuan. He noticed that Li Miaoxuan's fighting spirit hadn't completely subsided, as if she had just experienced a major battle. As soon as she had some free time, she contacted Gu Yuanqing.

Li Miaoxuan sat down to the side, her aura gradually returning to calm. She took a sip of tea before slowly saying, "It's still under control. I recently found an opportunity to kill three Hun Tian Immortals, but unfortunately they were all just clones."

"That's not bad either. Back when I was in the outer realms, it took me quite a bit of effort to kill those Chaotic Undying Demons," Gu Yuanqing said with a smile.

Li Miaoxuan smiled and took those words with a grain of salt. She looked at Gu Yuanqing and asked, "Did you suddenly call me back for something?"

Gu Yuanqing put away his smile and said, "There is something I would like to discuss with you. I plan to take action against the Ancient Divine Sect first! I have also notified Cheng Yi, but he has not yet found an opportunity to return."

(End of this chapter)