From a martial arts disciple to a god through countless trials and tribulations

Chapter 274 The True Lord is about to disappear; a great era is approaching.
The gentle voice of Ji Youbing of the Great Li Dynasty echoed in the empty hall. Chen Xuan raised his eyebrows and looked at Ji Youbing's pale face, which showed signs of kidney deficiency.

"you……"

The Ji siblings remained calm, their pale golden eyes fixed on the group at the Qingnang Dojo, their expressions softening as they smiled.

The Great Rites Dynasty originated from one of the earliest ancient Qi practitioners and has been passed down through the ages, always being one of the highest traditions of the human race.

On the day the Qingnang was reopened, they were the first to arrive and presented... a True Lord's head?
"Buzz!"

Inside the simple wooden box, a True Monarch-level array was slowly operating, preventing the True Monarch's head from leaking divine power. Otherwise, with just this newly emerged True Monarch's head, the entire Qingnang Mountain would be reduced to nothingness as the Dao laws evolved.

The head emitted a golden glow, its face shifting between youthful and aged, exuding a powerful and domineering aura.

"Ten thousand years ago, after the last deity ascended to immortality and went into seclusion, the immortal energy of the five lands was completely depleted, making it extremely difficult to prove oneself as an immortal."

Ji Youbing closed the wooden box, a gentle smile on his face. Facing Old Zhang, his tone conveyed a generous and resolute determination:

"People say that there are vacant positions among the Twenty-Four Earth Virtue True Lords, but in fact, there are too many vacant positions."

"For the past thousand years, my family has been monitoring all the heavens and has never allowed any newly promoted True Monarch to appear."

"..."

Chen Xuan, Zhang Dongxuan, and the others exchanged bewildered glances. Since the fall of Tai Xuan Zhenjun, the Ji family dynasty had practically taken control of the entire Tu De Immortal Path? Their ambitions were truly terrifying.

"The number of Earth Virtue True Lords still alive in the world today can be counted on one hand..."

Ji Youbing pointed to the wooden box and said, "This is a True Lord of the Ji family, over three thousand years old. Yesterday, when his thoughts of becoming an immortal were stirred, the Emperor Ancestor personally intervened."

Chen Xuan's thoughts were in turmoil. When he discussed sending invitations with Hua Liuli, they had talked about some things about the Great Li Dynasty. The old emperor of the Ji family, who was probably six thousand years old, was nearing the end of his life and was one of the longest-living true monarchs in the world.

Tai Xuan Zhenjun was once hailed as the foremost earth virtue master in the Southern Region for six thousand years, and the old emperor of the Ji family probably held the same title in the Central Divine Continent.

"What does the Ji family mean? Please speak frankly."

Zhang Dongxuan's robes shimmered with golden light, but his expression was far from pleasant. The great battle for immortality among True Monarchs had erupted; was the Ji family on the Earth Virtue Immortal Path setting their sights on Qingnang Mountain?
"The Earth Virtue True Lord who descended from the Celestial Palace last night is dead. All the families have checked his soul memories but have not obtained much useful information."

Ji Youbing slowly spoke, giving Zhang Dongxuan a meaningful look: "The Immortal Palace has not reacted further, perhaps because it is powerless... Its decrees will no longer be effective."

Everyone fell silent. Chen Xuan immediately recalled the scene when True Lord Ziyang sought immortality. His emotions were hard to describe. These True Lords in the world were truly daring and daring. Once the legendary [Immortal Palace] showed the slightest weakness, most of the immortals and sages of the Immortal Ghost World pressed down on it like a flood.

"The Celestial Palace is no longer transcendent... The Earth Virtue True Lord who appeared is dead, and more will die next... if the Earth Virtue True Lord still exists in the Celestial Palace."

Ji Youbing carefully chose his words and said, "The Emperor's ancestor meant that all of this was the work of the Tai Xuan Old True Lord."

Everyone fell silent upon hearing this, their minds filled with speculation... Judging from Ji Youbing's appearance, the Ji family was probably certain that the mastermind behind the True Lord's siege of the [Immortal Palace] was Tai Xuan?

After all, in today's world of immortals and ghosts, there is no fertile ground for self-promotion and the pursuit of immortality. One must either refine the Heavenly Mandate Elixir or embark on the bloody path of devouring the world to nourish one's own soul.

Each time the Celestial Palace appears in the mortal world, it sends the Earth Virtue True Lord.

If all the Earth Virtue True Lords in these celestial palaces were to perish...

Zhang Dongxuan's expression was serious, and his tone was resolute: "If the Ji family wants to seek immortality, they should do so on their own. There is no need to come to Qingnang Mountain to test Master Taixuan... The True Monarchs of Yunmeng have already made it clear that True Monarch Taixuan will not stand in everyone's way!"

This is true. Many True Lords in Yunmeng Prefecture have "borrowed" Old Zhang several times and studied him thoroughly.

"That must be what the Emperor Ancestor meant... Senior Zhang is still young. After the Great Battle for Immortality, Senior Zhang will be the first newly promoted True Lord of the Earth Virtue."

Ji Youbing smiled and pushed the wooden box in his hand over. Zhang Dongxuan lowered his eyes and looked at the wooden box containing the Dao principles of a True Monarch, and hesitated for a moment:
In any case, this gift is far too precious...

The conversation temporarily came to a close. Hua Liuli led the Ji siblings, who had come from afar, away. Chen Xuan stared at their backs, then looked at Old Zhang, a certain thought almost stirring within him.

The world and history books have both forgotten Old Zhang's name...

……

A few hours later.

The mountain courtyard was shrouded in mist. Old Zhang sat upright at the head of the table, his expression stiff and motionless. Many tables and jade ornaments were laid out in the square, and more and more people were gathering.

At this moment, all the forces willing to support have arrived, and those unwilling to support probably won't come anymore.

Zhang Dongxuan, seated at the head of the right courtyard, lightly raised his jade cup. Meanwhile, at the head of the left courtyard, where the status was slightly higher, sat Hua Liuli, the Mysterious Maiden of the Green Bag, and Chen Xuan, the first guest minister of the Green Bag.

During the earlier sacrificial ceremony, Zhang Dongxuan had already inscribed the name of Hua Liuli, the master of both realms, into the register of the newly built Ancestral Hall. However, Chen Xuan ultimately did not agree to serve as the first Dao Child, so he did not insist, but instead granted him the position of Chief Guest Elder.

At this moment, Hua Liuli pointed at the cultivators below and whispered to Chen Xuan:
"Senior Lu Zhuan from the Tongtian Dojo has arrived, and your good fellow Daoist has also arrived... Why don't you go and strike up a conversation..."

Chen Xuan looked in the direction of the sound and saw Lu Zhuan talking with Zhang Dongxuan in the second seat on the right. Beside him sat Yan Yushu, who was peerless in beauty. Her face was radiant with light, and she wore a black dress that was both pure and alluring, attracting everyone's attention.

"Don't talk nonsense, there's no such relationship as you're thinking."

Chen Xuan shook his head, his gaze sweeping over the other forces. Many ancient Daoist temples had arrived today, and his thoughts were focused on these forces, with some even wandering off in his mind.

To the right, on a table, the Black Cat Lady, dressed in a pretty little colorful dress, was munching on a bunch of grapes.

On the jade disc, Ox-Head and Horse-Face sat with cold and serious expressions, their Yin energy permeating the air like black flames, keeping strangers away and obscuring the gazes of all Qi practitioners, making them impossible to see clearly.

The Lesser Underworld has always been detached from worldly affairs, but it is not too mysterious in the face of true ancient traditions. The three divine beings, Ox-Head, Horse-Face, and Little Cat, have come together this time because of the Black and White True Lords, to support the Qingnang Dojo.

Further down, there was a demon spirit dressed in the dark robes of the Rain Master, resembling both a fish and a snake, who was from the local [Taiyi Forbidden Land] of Yunmeng.

"The Taiyi Forbidden Land of Yunmeng Great Swamp has arrived... This is the number one water-elemental power among demons... They have brought a pool of deep-sea spiritual treasure of the Tao Hongchen level, namely [Taiyi True Water]."

Taiyi Forbidden Land is a major demonic force in Yunmeng Prefecture. It has always been closed off for cultivation and has never interfered in external affairs. However, this time it has given face to its neighbor Qingnang and tacitly allowed Qingnang to reopen.

The Five Elements have always been dominated by the human race, but this Taiyi Forbidden Land was able to snatch a large number of Water Virtue True Lord positions from the human race, demonstrating its terrifyingly powerful foundation.

"Bai Hu'er Shen and Bai Jintong from the Bai family of Qingqiu still have the nerve to come here... These shameless fox spirits... They gave me a [Divine Soul Pill] of the Tao Hongchen level."

The Qingqiu fox still came to offer its congratulations, and even brought a group of young fox cubs who were half a person's height, seemingly wanting the little foxes to become disciples of the Qingnang Dojo.

The number of demon-based major arenas in the eastern part of the Southern Region can be counted on one hand, and now most of them have sent demons here.

Even the Golden Cicada Cave and White Rhinoceros Palace, where the True Lord passed away, sent their direct descendants to the scene and presented valuable gifts. Was this an attempt to curry favor?
"I heard that these two families, having lost their True Lords, have already fled to Qingqiu overnight..."

After looking to the right, Chen Xuan turned his gaze to the left where he was. This area was full of human race dojos, and the second seat at the bottom belonged to the Ji family of the Great Li Dynasty.

His gaze shifted slightly, and further down, he saw a middle-aged man in a phoenix robe sitting in the third seat, beside him a woman in red, wearing a phoenix hairpin and gold bracelets on her wrists. Her appearance bore a slight resemblance to Jiang Qinghuang. "The Jiang family of the Great Seal Dynasty in the Central Plains, through the connection with [True Lord Candlelight]... has sent a prince and a princess here, and they are equally respectful."

"The Jiang family gifted us a mortal artifact, the Nine Phoenix Fire Cover, which is very generous... truly worthy of being a legacy of sages."

Chen Xuan's eyes flickered as he spoke to Hua Liuli and continued reading.

Only these two orthodox Daoist schools in the Central Plains sent people from afar; the rest were all orthodox forces from the Southern Region.

"The Ziwei Daoist Temple in Ziwei Prefecture... This is the power of True Lord Ziyang, an ancient Daoist temple that embodies both Yin and Yang..."

"The Taichu Dojo in Taichu Prefecture... In the Southern Region, besides Wenjian, this ancient dojo of sword cultivators is the most famous, and it does not exclusively cultivate white qi."

These orthodox forces in the Qi cultivation world act with integrity and honesty. Although they are not familiar with Qingnang, they have no enmity with him, so they all came to take a look.

Furthermore, they even presented spiritual materials at the level of Tao Hongchen, which could be used as the main material for Hongchen artifacts or Shenyou pills.

Chen Xuan sighed, realizing that following the Qingnang Dojo had indeed brought him into an extraordinary high-level circle... Many of these ancient dojos had no connection with Qingnang and were separated by dozens or even hundreds of states, but they all came to support him and were very generous, casually giving away a spiritual item of the Tao Hongchen level.

Even the Heaven-Mending Dojo, where the Heavenly Evolution Dojo is located, sent people over!
However, the direct descendant of the Heaven-Mending Dojo who had traveled there in spirit only came to offer his congratulations and presented the Plague Department with a spiritual artifact of the Red Dust Realm, the [Mysterious Plague Netherworld Qi], before quickly departing without even entering the mountain gate.

"There are dozens of ancient Daoist temples in the Southern Region, each with its own glorious period... But now, many ancient Daoist temples don't even have a True Monarch, and they only rely on a few Divine Travelers to maintain their facade."

"The situation of these sects is not much better than that of Qingnang. They usually keep their gates tightly closed and lie dormant... but now they are all active."

Chen Xuan pondered the rumors surrounding these ancient forces. The divine journeys of these sects might very well occupy the pinnacle of some kind of True Scripture. Although these ancient forces had declined and lacked contemporary True Monarchs, their profound foundations made them terrifying beings who were not afraid of True Monarchs.

In Hua Liuli's ranking... the Five Elements Sect and Yunmeng Academy of Yunmeng Prefecture, True Lord-level forces that prospered because of a True Lord, are even seated below these ancient forces.

"The True Lords of the Five Elements Sect and the Cloud Dream Immortal Mansion... fled to the Great Ruins last night... These rogue True Lords are all more cautious than the last..."

“Sun Zhaowei from Yunmeng Academy has arrived…and indeed presented the complete version of the ‘Xiqu True Scripture’…Today, their gift is the most thoughtful.”

Following Hua Liuli's words, Chen Xuan looked towards the middle and lower ranks of the seats, which were ranked around tenth. As the Five Laws True Lord departed alone, Sun Zhaowei, the thousand-year-old divine traveler, seemed to have turned white overnight and was drinking alone with a sorrowful expression on his face.

"Having obtained a complete version of the Wood Virtue Mountain and Sea True Scripture, and having also peeked at some fragments of traces of True Lord Zhao, True Lord Baixi Palace, and True Lord Jinchan Cave with the Xuanmao Lady, I can now enter the Xinzhai Heaven for seclusion after today's matter is settled."

Chen Xuan was planning his next cultivation session. The immortal energies of wind, wood, and metal were surging in the Heart-Cleansing Heaven for at least nine days, making it an ideal time for seclusion.

Further down the list of seats are the minor, wandering forces like the Bai family of Yunmeng City and the Tianhe Sword Sect. In the eyes of the ancient Daoist temple, these are all second-rate "rogue cultivators" who barely qualify for a seat.

"Only after entering this seat do I realize how vast the difference in status and position is between us and Fairy Liuli and Fellow Daoist Chen." Wang Chengjian of the Tianhe Sword Sect, who came with his ancestor Wang Linyuan, looked at Chen Xuan, who was seated in the first seat, with a rather emotional expression.

This is just a desolate Qingnang Dojo. If it were an ancient Dojo like Wenjian, which was at its peak, holding a grand banquet, how exaggerated would the scene be? It's unimaginable. I'm afraid that the Shenyou forces wouldn't even have the right to sit properly. After shamelessly offering their congratulatory gifts, they would have to leave in dejection.

Wang Chengjian turned around and secretly asked Yuan Yang of the Yuan family, who was sitting in the next seat, "Yuan Yang, you've already reached the cauldron stage, are you really going to switch to cultivating earth virtue halfway and join Qingnang Mountain?"

"The word 'opportunity' is truly wonderful!" Yuan Yang took a small sip of his wine and nodded emphatically.

Beside her, Yuan Chongshan, the patriarch of the Yuan family, was talking to Wang Linyuan with a kind expression, but in his heart he sighed softly... As Yuan Yang grew older, she became more and more like Yun Jin Zhenjun of Qingnang in the past, as if foreshadowing the gradual return of something lost.

“Today, there are thirty or forty people from various sects who have come either by borrowing a shell or in person. Guess what they are thinking right now?” Suddenly, Chen Xuan heard Yan Yushu’s thoughts.

He couldn't help but glance in the direction of Yan Yushu. The exquisitely beautiful woman with a clever mind was chatting and laughing with the nine-tailed fox Bai Jintong. The two of them were laughing so hard they were shaking.

"What do you mean?" Chen Xuan asked, puzzled.

“Look at that old cultivator from Yunmeng Academy. He seems to be worried and his hair has turned white, but in fact, the three thoughts of greed, anger, and ignorance have already taken root and spread in his heart, and he is so happy that he is almost insane.” Yan Yushu joked with Bai Jintong and acted intimately while talking to Chen Xuan.

Upon hearing this, Chen Xuan couldn't help but look at Sun Zhaowei, who had a worried expression, and then glanced at Han Shuangjiang, the vice sect leader of the Five Elements Sect, who also looked preoccupied.

He then looked at the other places. The people in the ancient dojo all had different expressions. Some had solemn faces, while others had an uncontrollable joy between their brows... Most of them came from powerful forces that did not have a contemporary True Monarch.

"Having survived the great battle for immortality, the best era is about to arrive..." Yan Yushu said softly. The Six Desires Heaven can see through the evil in people's hearts, and she can sense the suppressed restlessness in those wandering minds.

"It might not be easy," Chen Xuan said.

Who knows when the battle between the True Lords will end?
Of the twenty-four True Lords in a lineage, it's impossible for all of them to be skilled in direct combat. Some True Lords are determined to escape and avoid battle, making it extremely difficult to kill them all... Moreover, there are quite a few True Lords in the world who are like True Lord Ziyang, who are obsessed with seeking immortality.

For example, the Taiyin lineage, which excels in divination, has a number of True Lords on this path of immortal energy that, when revealed, are no more than the size of a palm.

Although the Black and White True Lords are powerful, it is almost impossible for them to kill all the other twenty-three True Lords... The Taiyin lineage has never had a successful precedent of following this path of immortality.

The simplest method, or even the one that controls all the ascending channels of the Taiyin Divine Travel, is to wait patiently for thousands of years until the remaining Taiyin True Lords die of old age... In short, there is almost no way out for the Black and White True Lords.

"Ten years is not long, a hundred years is not short. It would be best to wait until after we have conquered the mortal world," Yan Yushu said with a smile.

Chen Xuan pondered for a moment, secretly considering his future path. If, decades later, he reached the point of approaching the True Lord, would he be an enemy of the entire world? After all, he cultivated too many types of immortal qi, and because of the Shangyang Secret Essentials, he seemed to be able to achieve considerable heights in all of them.

Who knows if the Black and White True Lords, the Lords of the Two Realms, and the Six Desire Heavens, who have such a good relationship today, will not part ways in the future and become strangers who fight against each other on the Great Dao?
"The path to immortality is too narrow, for the great path is solitary..."

……

The night was serene and quiet. The jade flowers on Qingnang Mountain carried a delicate fragrance on the night breeze, scattering dappled, brilliant light. At the foot of the mountain, spring water flowed gently, releasing ethereal energy.

Chen Xuan stood on the cliff, gazing at the quiet land in the distance. Clouds and mist rose and fell, and in the distant sky, space occasionally trembled and thunder rumbled. Was that some True Lord in the midst of a great battle, interfering with the present world?
By late at night, all the Southern Region forces that were willing to give Qingnang face had arrived, and the reopening of Qingnang had come to an end, with many forces departing one after another.

Meanwhile, some members of families such as the Ji family, Qingqiu, Yunmeng Yuan family, and even the Five Elements Sect remained behind, and Zhang Dongxuan and Hua Liuli were selecting suitable "outer disciples".

Chen Xuan looked back at Qingnang Mountain, remained silent for a moment, then summoned Xinzaitian, preparing to seize every opportunity to cultivate and strengthen himself.

"Hua Liuli will need some time to sort out the gifts. She will not be stingy with gifts that are suitable for my cultivation."

"Once things calm down in a few days, I'll go find her again..."

……

Meanwhile, under the starry night.

In Qingming Prefecture, hundreds of millions of miles away, a young Taoist boy named Feifei, carrying a blue immortal gourd, was chasing and rolling after a figure descending the mountain late at night.

But he couldn't catch up, so he could only open his mouth wide and shout anxiously:

"Nan Mian!! You've repeatedly disobeyed the orders of your masters, are you really determined to die?!"

Nanmian Yuzhe Xian did not turn around, but waved his hands twice behind him and left with a loud laugh: "True Lords are all busy and have no interest in the mortal world. If I don't find a way to leave now, when will I ever get another chance!"

(End of this chapter)