After returning to the village, start chasing the mountain from binding Emei

Chapter 951 Mo Yuan Recalls the Past: The Reason for the Severance of the Heavenly Road!
"I'll find some time to meet him then, so that the old man won't try to cheat you with inferior goods."

As Huang Daolin spoke, he looked at Chen Yang meaningfully, "You're not taking these things because you want to practice the fire offering technique of the Divine Fire Sect, are you?"

"Oh……"

Upon hearing this, Chen Yang chuckled dryly, "Nothing can be hidden from Uncle. I do have such an idea, but for now, I just want to try it out to see if it works. A while ago, I took some paper ingots from you and burned them, and I did get some slight feedback."

Huang Daolin nodded and said, "Although cultivation techniques are neither good nor evil, some techniques can lead people astray. You are an adult and should know what you are doing. Don't go astray."

"Don't worry, Uncle, I understand."

Chen Yang nodded seriously. This fire offering technique, like the 315 Tooth Sutra, could easily lead people astray.

However, Chen Yang has the system, and with the system's assistance, his cultivation progresses much faster than ordinary people. The fire offering technique is merely icing on the cake.

With it, one might be able to increase their cultivation speed and temporarily boost their power in the short term, but it also depends on whether the input and output are worthwhile.

He certainly wouldn't succumb to temptation and follow Sanjay's example by directly offering people up for sacrifice.

If the Yin paper money made by Nie Liangyun is useful, then use it; if it is not useful, then don't force it. Not practicing this fire offering technique won't have any impact.

He simply wanted to convert the wealth he had accumulated into his own cultivation, nothing more.

Huang Daolin didn't say much. Some things are best left unsaid. Chen Yang is a smart man and will surely understand his reminder.

……

-

Night, Wang Yuanchao's villa.

Chen Yang meditated until midnight. He had recovered from the energy depleted by casting the third-tier spell seal the night before, and his condition had been adjusted to its peak.

Now, we're just waiting for Jiulao Cave to open tomorrow.

When I came down the mountain today, Wang Yuanchao told me that a total of 120 people entered the secret realm this time, with the Emei and Qingshen sects taking up 60 spots: 20 at the Creation Realm and 40 at the Spirit Realm.

Many people, including Yuanlong, will go to Emei Mountain.

Disciples from major sects such as Faxiang Temple, Shenxiao Sect, and Zixia Temple also came. Not only that, some reclusive sects such as Shennong Sect also came to join in the fun, which gave Wang Yuanchao and his team a headache. They couldn't afford to offend anyone, so in the end they had to squeeze out some spots from the association's 30 recommendation slots.

In addition, during dinner, I heard Wang Yuanchao say that he and Liu Jianguo also wanted to go in and try their luck.

It is easy to imagine how significant the opening of the Nine Elders Cave was for the cultivation world.

This was because Emei deliberately suppressed the news, only announcing it in the last two days, catching everyone off guard.

If it had been announced earlier, who knows what kind of chaos it would have caused? I can't even imagine. Some sects might have even started fighting over the spots.

After all, the Nine Elders Cave Secret Realm is related to the Emei Sect's heritage, and countless Celestial Realm experts have left their opportunities there. Just thinking about it makes one envious.

Chen Yang took out the Azure Pearl.

He didn't dare let Mo Yuan out. After all, they were still in Emei, and someone might detect his presence, causing unnecessary trouble.

His primordial spirit directly seeped into the Azure Profound Pearl.

It was completely empty inside, except for a flat area where nothing grew.

Mo Yuan sat cross-legged on the ground in meditation.

He actually looks somewhat human.

Sensing Chen Yang's spirit entering, Mo Yuan opened his eyes and looked into the void.

"Do you know about the Nine Elders Cave on Mount Emei?" Chen Yang's voice rang out.

"Nine Elders Cave?"

Mo Yuan was slightly taken aback upon hearing this. "I know, so what?"

"The Nine Elders Cave Secret Realm will open tomorrow..."

"Is it?"

Before Chen Yang could finish speaking, Mo Yuan suddenly stood up, his eyes gleaming. "That's perfect! Take me in. My cultivation level has dropped, so I'm not bound by the rules of the secret realm. Besides, I have a talent for treasure hunting..."

"Do you know a lot about Jiulao Cave?" Chen Yang asked.

Mo Yuan shook his head. "During my years at Chongtian Temple, the Nine Elders Cave Secret Realm opened several times, but I had already reached the Dao True Realm and had no chance to enter. I only knew that it was the foundation of the Emei Buddhist and Taoist sects, created by the Emei founder Situ Xuankong, and later enhanced by the efforts of many Heavenly Human Realm experts..."

"Throughout history, most of the Celestial Realm experts from both the Buddhist and Taoist sects have been buried here after their deaths, leaving behind their lineages and returning their physical bodies to the world..."

"However, although there are many opportunities inside, it has only opened about once every hundred years throughout history, with a large number of younger disciples flocking in to seek them. Especially in the last four hundred years, no Celestial Realm experts have been born, and the resources inside have only been flowing out and not coming in. I wonder what's going on..."

……

What Mo Yuan said was basically the same as what Chen Yang heard from Xuan Tong.

The only difference is that Mo Yuan did not mention the dangers inside.

Chen Yang asked, "Do you think there might be other experts at the Celestial Realm inside?"

"What?" Mo Yuan asked, puzzled.

Chen Yang said, "I mean, living Celestial Realm experts."

"This……"

Mo Yuan paused upon hearing this, then understood Chen Yang's meaning. "It shouldn't be that bad. After what happened back then, the world changed drastically. Under the circumstances, all the Celestial Realm experts directly shattered their Heavenly Path. Although the Nine Elders Cave Secret Realm is a world of its own, as long as one is a Celestial Realm expert, they should not be able to escape this calamity..."

Chen Yang raised an eyebrow. "What exactly happened back then? Why was the Heavenly Road broken?"

"This one……"

Mo Yuan paused.

Chen Yang frowned. "Is there something you can't say?"

Sensing the hostility in Chen Yang's tone, Mo Yuan quickly said, "It's not that I'm unwilling to tell you, it's just that my knowledge is limited."

"Then tell me what you know," Chen Yang said.

Mo Yuan said, "Back then, dozens of mountain lords and river gods gathered in the capital, and Zhao Quanzhen, as the eighteenth mountain lord of Shu Mountain, naturally went as well..."

"Before leaving, Zhao Quanzhen was very melancholy. He rearranged the sword formation in the Sword Forest and gave Chongtian Temple many instructions. I don't know what happened, but I've never seen him like that before. It must be something big..."

"Later, he went to the capital. Not long after, the heavens and earth shook. At that time, the Emei sect, the Buddhist and Taoist sects, and four Celestial Realm experts were suppressing it. For some unknown reason, their cultivation was destroyed and their bodies were injured. Almost simultaneously, they entered the Five Signs of Decay of Celestials..."

"Not long after, Zhao Quanzhen was sent back. By then, it had already entered the extreme state of the Five Signs of Decay of Heaven and Man, beyond saving. It held on for half a year, but finally died..."

“I asked him what happened, but he didn’t reveal a single word. He only said that the Heavenly Road was broken, a calamity was coming, and that I should guard Emei Mountain…”

"The whole thing happened suddenly, and no one knew the reason. For a time, the cultivation world was in a state of panic. Soon after, war broke out in the human world, and many sects were drawn into it. That period was too chaotic. Not to mention the Celestial Realm, there were countless ordinary cultivators who died or were injured..."

"After the calamity, the cultivation world was no longer what it used to be. Later, news spread throughout the martial world. Some said that the change of dynasties in the human world and the resulting war had severed the Heavenly Road; others said that there were too many powerful cultivators at the Celestial Realm, exceeding the limits of our world's capacity, causing the Heavenly Road to collapse; still others said that it was a great calamity, where cultivators seized too many resources from heaven and earth, and heaven and earth wanted to take them back, so the great forces of heaven and earth severed the Heavenly Road..."

"In short, there are many versions of the story, but since all the experts at the Celestial Realm perished at that time, no one can give a definitive answer..."

"This Heavenly Path, also known as the Bridge Between Heaven and Earth, is a passage opened in the void by a cultivator's spiritual platform using their primordial spirit. This passage leads directly to the Gate of Heaven and Earth, connecting with the Bridge Between Heaven and Earth, to achieve a true state of unity between heaven and man, to comprehend supernatural powers and creation, and to receive the great power of heaven and earth..."

"Everyone has their own path to heaven, and these paths are all connected to the same place through the spiritual world. So, if one path to heaven is broken, then all paths to heaven must be broken..."

"No matter where you are, no matter how self-contained the Nine Elders Cave Secret Realm may be, you are a Celestial Realm expert. Your Heavenly Path is still the same as everyone else's, connected to the Gate of Heaven and Earth. That is the spiritual world, and there is no reason why you can escape it..."

……

After Mo Yuan finished speaking, Chen Yang was still somewhat shocked.

Although he was unclear about many details, it was enough to give Chen Yang a rough outline of what happened back then.

If what Mo Yuan said is true, then it is indeed very unlikely that any Celestial Realm expert would survive.

The road to heaven is broken, and that's it. There's no reason why everyone else's road is broken while yours isn't.

The Heavenly Path is located in the spiritual world, and has nothing to do with where your physical body is hiding.

Besides, if the Nine Elders Cave Secret Realm was meant to block calamities, wouldn't it have been filled with Celestial Realm experts from various sects long ago?

But what about the being that Xuan Tong mentioned?
Never mind, let's see what happens after we get inside.

Putting aside his distracting thoughts, Chen Yang asked again, "You seem to know a lot about the Heavenly Road, don't you?"

Mo Yuan said, "I did follow the Mountain Lord, so even if I haven't eaten pork, I've seen pigs run. Besides, my cultivation level isn't low either. If the Heavenly Road hadn't suddenly been severed back then, I might have broken through to the Celestial Realm long ago..."

"Oh?"

"Back then, You Li and I had already reached the late stage of the Dao True Realm, and our cultivation had reached its peak. The Heavenly Gate had already appeared in our sea of ​​consciousness. We were just waiting to open the Heavenly Gate, build the bridge between heaven and earth, and enter the Celestial Realm. But Zhao Quanzhen stopped us..." "At first, You Li and I were a little resentful, but after that incident, we realized that Zhao Quanzhen's actions were actually to protect us. If we had broken through to the Celestial Realm back then, we would probably have died four hundred years ago..."

"Actually, at first, I wholeheartedly wanted to be a benevolent spirit. For hundreds of years after Zhao Quanzhen's death, I devoted myself to protecting the sect for him. But, I was afraid of death, terrified of it..."

“We spirit beasts are blessed by heaven and earth, giving us an advantage in lifespan compared to you humans. You humans need to reach the Celestial Realm to live to eight hundred years old, but I can reach a similar lifespan at the Dao True Realm. However, time waits for no one. Unable to break through to the Celestial Realm, once my lifespan ends, I cannot escape death. I was forced into this situation, which is why…”

As it spoke, it began to recount its psychological journey of changing mindset over the years.

How did he go from being a respected fellow practitioner in both Buddhism and Taoism at Emei Mountain to becoming a universally reviled rat?

Chen Yang had no interest in listening to it talk about this, so he took out a bottle of high-grade animal growth essence and threw it into the Azure Pearl.

"Get yourself in the right mindset, and come with me to Jiulao Cave tomorrow."

"Yes."

Mo Yuan nodded repeatedly, his eyes sparkling with excitement.

"Don't be too happy yet. Once you're inside, you must follow orders. If you dare to mess around, you'll bear the consequences."

"Don't dare, don't dare!"

Mo Yuan readily agreed.

Only when he sensed that Chen Yang's primordial spirit power had disappeared in the void did he breathe a sigh of relief.

Then, his eyes filled with barely suppressed excitement.

It has been in Emei for so many years, and the Nine Elders Cave Secret Realm has been opened several times, but due to the limitations of one's cultivation level, one cannot enter.

Unexpectedly, this setback in its cultivation level gave it such an opportunity.

As the saying goes, "a loss may turn out to be a blessing in disguise," and indeed it has.

Within this secret realm, countless opportunities exist; perhaps one could even help extend its lifespan.

Its greatest skill is treasure hunting, and the Nine Old Men Cave Secret Realm is simply a blessed land for it.

Although it cultivated the "Namo Prajna Nirvana Sutra," burning its remaining primordial spirit and cultivation to transform it into a small amount of life force, it managed to survive by the skin of its teeth.

However, this small amount of life force can probably only give it a few years, or maybe ten years, of lifespan at most. All it can do is try to cultivate back to its peak before its lifespan ends. At the very least, it can use the "Namo Prajna Nirvana Sutra" again and undergo Nirvana repeatedly. Although it's a lot of trouble, at least it can survive.

However, even though it is a rebuilt one, with such a short lifespan, it is quite difficult to rebuild it back to its peak.

It requires a stroke of luck, a great stroke of luck.

For example, the physical body and inner core of the Mountain Serpent Youli, etc.

But would Chen Yang be willing to give it away?
The only way out now, whether it's feigning compliance or genuinely submitting, is to appease Chen Yang.

As long as I demonstrate my value, this kid definitely won't want me to die.

Mo Yuan suppressed his excitement and looked at the bottle Chen Yang had thrown to him.

Upon opening the bottle, a pleasant fragrance instantly refreshed its senses.

The liquid in the bottle sloshed around, looking very tempting.

Elixir!

Although he didn't know what kind of spiritual liquid it was, Mo Yuan could sense that it was very beneficial to him.

Chen Yang had already used the Life and Death Curse Seal to control it, so there was no need for him to go through the trouble of poisoning it again.

Without hesitation, Mo Yuan drank the spiritual liquid in one gulp.

As soon as the spiritual liquid entered his stomach, a warm energy spread from his abdomen, reaching his limbs and bones.

So cool!

It has a relaxing feeling similar to soaking in a hot spring.

His divine sense was growing, and his cultivation level was also increasing. His body was like a dried-up sponge, frantically absorbing the energy released by the spiritual liquid.

However, it wasn't long before the spiritual liquid energy was completely absorbed.

"How amazing! What kind of spiritual liquid is this? It doesn't need to be refined; it can directly transform into my own energy..."

Mo Yuan's eyes brightened slightly. This kid seems a bit mysterious.

This single bottle of spiritual liquid actually healed his hidden injuries and even subtly increased his cultivation level.

If I had a few more bottles, I might be able to recover to the mid-stage of the Creation Realm.

……

in the room.

Chen Yang withdrew his primordial spirit from the Azure Profound Pearl.

This mouse does know a lot of things and has great potential value.

Chen Yang didn't care whether it was truly sincere in its allegiance or not; as long as it could bring him value, that was enough.

It had just mentioned the Heavenly Road, which gave Chen Yang some further understanding of the Celestial Realm.

The spiritual world, a bridge between heaven and earth, a unity of humanity and nature...

These words allowed him to sketch a rough image of the Celestial Realm.

According to Mo Yuan, after cultivating to the late stage of the Dao True Realm, a portal will appear in the cultivator's spiritual platform. Through the portal, one can enter the so-called spiritual world, connect with the bridge between heaven and earth, and thus achieve the state of oneness with heaven and earth.

At that time, one can invoke the power of heaven and earth, control the great forces of nature, and so on.

But we can talk to this rat about the specifics later. Right now, the most important thing for Chen Yang is his upcoming trip to the Nine Elders Cave Secret Realm.

……

-

The next day, early in the morning.

The scenic area is temporarily closed to tourists.

Early in the morning, Baoguo Temple was bustling with activity. As soon as the morning bell rang, many people had already gathered in the square inside the mountain gate.

There were people who participated in the Jiulaodong expedition, some who came to see them off, and some staff members. Two or three hundred people crowded the square in front of the mountain gate.

In the square, those who had obtained the qualification to enter the secret realm were divided into three groups.

One group consisted of people from Emei and Qingshen, with a few from the Five Sects and Eight Lineages. Emei sent more people, with forty, while Qingshen and the other sects were significantly fewer, with only twenty people coming together. Even Xiao Yutang, the current leader of the Qingshen Sect, participated.

Yu Huaizhen also came. Such a grand event naturally wouldn't be complete without him; he had to come and lend his support to his disciples and grand-disciples.

There are two other groups: one group consists of spots recommended by the association, with five spots for the Creation Realm and twenty for the Spirit Realm.

The association originally had thirty slots, but there were too many applications from other sects and forces. The higher-ups asked them to consider the applications carefully, but there was really no other way. After much maneuvering, they finally gave up five slots.

However, they were not the type to suffer losses. How much benefit was exchanged was unknown. Moreover, Wang Yuanchao and Liu Jianguo each took one spot.

The other group consisted of thirty-five people who had been brought in through personal connections from other sects.

In the square, Yuanlong gave some instructions to everyone.

It's nothing more than telling people to be careful once inside, and to help each other if they encounter danger.

But everyone in the audience was eager and excited, their eyes practically red.

They were all there to find opportunities, and they mostly ignored Yuan Long's instructions.

Regardless, Yuanlong has fulfilled his obligation to inform them. Once they enter the secret realm and encounter real danger, these people will naturally understand the pain.

He can't control others; he only needs to control the people under the Emei Sect.

After Yuanlong finished explaining and everyone's identities were verified, they left Baoguo Temple in batches and walked up the mountain to Jiulao Cave.

The procession stretched far and wide.

……

Chen Yang and Huang Can were both in the Emei group at the very front.

The group consisted of monks, with the Yuan generation, such as Yuanming and Yuanjue, preceding them, followed by the Ding generation, as well as some lay Buddhists who had made contributions to Emei Mountain.

(End of this chapter)