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

Chapter 301 The Emperor’s Daughter
A starry curtain hangs in the sky, a celestial pavilion appears in the mist, and a heavenly corridor rises from the ground, leading to the highest heavens.

In the early ancient period of the Immortal and Ghost Era, the Great Wilderness was a supreme battlefield where an ancient immortal fell, leaving behind a destroyed Dao Palace, the Flying Immortal Platform.

Countless ancient beings seeking immortality and enlightenment came to this place to comprehend the Dao, leaving behind traces of their journey.

During the last million years of ancient times, this place was lost and became the site where extraterrestrial beings held banquets in the mountains and seas.

"Boom!"

Chen Xuan was a little excited. In the exquisite little fairy pavilion, he saw a figure that resembled the Mountain Spirit Goddess!
No.

As one of the few people in the world to have seen the Empress's true face, and possibly the only one to have had close contact with her, he can say with certainty that she is the Empress!

"Open the door! Your Majesty, open the door!" Chen Xuan pounded on the door, his voice deafening.

This is an exquisite fairy pavilion, standing in the starry sky, like jade resting on the clouds. Green vines entwine the pillars, and the vermilion eaves pierce the moon. Twelve layers of eaves hang down like cherry bells, and the shadow of a small blue sparrow is curled up at the corner of the eaves.

"Chirp!" A small blue sparrow flew down from the eaves, pecking at Chen Xuan and chattering. It thought Chen Xuan was acting frivolously and daring to offend the divine countenance, so it needed to be driven away immediately.

"Go away, go away, don't mess with me and I'll beat you up!" Chen Xuan waved his sleeve to shoo away the unruly little blue sparrow, its feathers flying everywhere. He continued to knock on the door, calling out, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty!"

He had many questions in his mind, and he wanted to find the answers from her.

"Can you attain immortality?" he muttered. Why is the Mountain Spirit Goddess taking so long to take a bath?
Simply pour a stream of water or wood energy over her, and her ethereal beauty will be crystal clear. How easy is that? It's a trivial matter that can be done in the blink of an eye!
"Time is running out." Chen Xuan glanced down at the bronze lamp. The golden light was gradually fading. The power of the Dao Palace would soon come looking for trouble, and another great test might break out.

But there was still no response from the cabinet.

He was getting anxious, so he ran to the window that could be pushed open, gently pushed it open a crack again, and peeked inside.

"Women are all troublemakers, and Your Majesty is no exception."

Chen Xuan thought for a moment, then pushed the window crack a little wider, took two steps back, rolled a cool snowball in his hand, and threw it into the attic.

After that, several more were lost.

He waited a while before going over and shouting, "Your Majesty, are you inside? I miss you..."

"Wow!"

The window suddenly swung open, and a huge snowball flew out, hitting Chen Xuan's outstretched head with a thud.

"Huh?" His hair and collar were covered in cold snowflakes, and his body was buried in the snow. From a distance, he looked like a snowman.

Chen Xuan was stunned. Why was the Empress attacking him?

The next moment, a soft, snow-white hand grabbed his collar and pulled him inside through the window.

"Snapped!"

The fairy window closed, leaving behind a blanket of snow.

……

"That Xinzhai is really arrogant."

Under the extremely distant starry sky, two illusory figures slowly emerged and landed in front of a celestial pavilion painted with black feather and Kun scale patterns.

"The immortal seed in my ancestral land is also quite arrogant. It attacks anyone it sees, but it never goes against the will of its superiors. It knows who can be killed and who cannot be killed!"

"why?"

"We went through all sorts of trouble to hold the Mountain and Sea Banquet and support them!"

Both figures were humanoid, but the former had black roc wings on its back and fine fish scales at the corners of its eyes, while the latter had a pair of crimson peacock wings, as if wearing a crystal-clear fiery red feather robe.

Their figures appeared and disappeared intermittently, descending from the sky and arriving at the Dao Palace through special means, but they seemed unable to maintain a stable state, as if they were about to collapse at any moment.

“Xin Zhai has killed a celestial being who had the potential to reach the Supreme Heaven. Everyone is very unhappy and has endless worries,” the Crimson Sparrow said.

The immortal seed of Xiaoyao Mountain is gone, and the divine immortal seed of Zhuque Mountain, the Sparrow King, has started a conflict with Xinzhai...

They naturally believed that the Sparrow King was stronger than Xinzhai, but even if the Sparrow King killed Xinzhai, what difference would it make? His Golden Core would be destroyed, his Great Dao would be lost, and he would be reduced to an ordinary demon. Such an ending was unacceptable.

The fundamental purpose of the Mountain and Sea Banquet is to select a group of promising individuals who have the potential to become immortals and saints, and to bestow great fortune upon them, rather than to let these promising individuals perish.

"Unfortunately, the Celestial Palace has sealed off the Great Ruins. Even if we exhaust our resources and use every means at our disposal, we still cannot descend to the mortal realm in our true form."

The roc figure said helplessly, "Moreover, we cannot stray too far from the Zhuxian Pavilion area of ​​the third heaven. The farther we go, the more severe the loss of power will be."

"Fellow Daoist Beiming, even my divine travel power at the upper level of the [Tongtian] realm is feeling sluggish and difficult to activate." The Crimson Sparrow's figure activated its divine power and found that it was rapidly depleting.

The Dao Palace Ascension Platform was severely damaged and could not support True Monarch-level power descending to the mortal realm. Otherwise, the supreme fortune that would have returned to the ancestral land would not have fallen on the heads of the minor cultivators at the Mountain and Sea Banquet.

These two demons, though not True Lords, are very close to the True Lord level, practically only a hair's breadth away, having reached the point of no return.

“This Xinzhai item must have a powerful backer. Many people are waiting to use this weapon, which can harm both themselves and others, to challenge the Golden Core Immortals of the Celestial Palace,” the Crimson Sparrow said in a deep voice.

In fact, anyone who truly faces Xinzhai will inevitably feel a sense of apprehension.

Firstly, it stems from Xinzhai itself; they have already witnessed Xinzhai killing the little Kunpeng. Secondly, Xinzhai is even more troublesome than the Chosen Ones, and must be restrained by many forces behind the scenes.

Just like a saintly figure like Xiao Kunpeng, who has a True Lord behind him and ancient Daoist temples to rely on, once he falls, the severe consequences will be as fierce as thunder.

Behind Xinzhai, there can't be no one, but until the very last moment, no one knows which powerful figures with ulterior motives will emerge.

"What kind of backing does Xinzhai have at the Mountain and Sea Banquet? We are the biggest backing of the Mountain and Sea Banquet." Beiming Pengniao sneered.

Even the Celestial Palace couldn't find the location for the Mountain and Sea Banquet, let alone the True Lords of the Five Directions Lands—they were the very heavens here!

Furthermore, the mysterious woman in Zhulong's eyes, who seems to be related to Qingnang and might help Xinzhai, has also been locked onto by many beings working together.

Now that the "referee" has personally stepped onto the field, what unexpected events might occur?

“That makes sense.” The red sparrow nodded, a knowing smile on its face, and said, “When the Mountain and Sea Banquet ends and the news of Xinzhai’s downfall spreads, some True Lords on the ancestral land who plotted against Xinzhai will probably go crazy, their efforts all for naught.”

In fact, many beings have complex feelings about the momentous event of descending to the mortal realm to perform the fasting ritual.

But in the end, Xinzhai killed the Immortal Seed Little Kunpeng, and its killing intent was extremely strong, posing a great threat. What if it later destroyed several other Heavenly Fate Immortal Seed level geniuses... This was absolutely intolerable, and Xinzhai had dug its own death path.

Therefore, the various powerful forces behind the scenes in the Candle Dragon Eye not only tacitly approved of forces such as Xiaoyao Mountain, but many even secretly promoted this matter.

Otherwise, relying solely on the ancient Xiaoyao Mountain that ascended to heaven would be insufficient to break through the celestial palace's blockade and descend to the mortal realm to enter the Daoist palace.

"I wonder if Xinzhai truly has the strength to reach the third level of the Dao Palace."

The Crimson Sparrow spoke, its fiery eyes sweeping across the vast Dao Palace land beneath the starry sky.

“He has mastered the Shangyang inheritance to such an extent, and his other skills are equally impressive. It would be strange if he couldn’t advance.” Beiming Pengniao sneered, “This generation of Xinzhai, ha, if Heaven wants to destroy him, it first makes him mad.”

“That makes sense. Xinzhai is one of the most promising groups of geniuses to enter the third level of heaven.” The red sparrow nodded.

"How dare a demonic creature be called a prodigy?!"

"Uh... okay, evil spirit."

The crimson sparrow chuckled and nodded, thinking to itself, "The demons of Xiaoyao Mountain are indeed getting anxious." Then, it withdrew its gaze from its surroundings and said in a serious tone:

"In the third layer of heaven, there are traces of the Dao left by seekers of immortality during the ancient and medieval periods. The power of the Dao Palace awakens them at the same time, but some ancient beings are of extremely high level and can resist the power of the Dao Palace, possessing their own complete consciousness."

Although the Ascension Platform in the Great Wilderness is destroyed, many ancient beings still come here seeking immortality and enlightenment.

Some of these ancient creatures may have actually become immortals.

"During the Middle Ages, before our clan's ancient Kunpeng Immortal ascended to heaven with the main lineage of Xiaoyao Mountain, he comprehended the Dao in the Great Wilderness. There is a trace of his Dao here."

The Northern Peng Bird spoke calmly, then turned and knocked on the cold, black gate of the Immortal Pavilion. "We need not enter the game ourselves; please let the Ancestor make the first move," it continued, while simultaneously activating a special summoning spell from the Free and Unfettered Mountain.

Heaven knows that when Xinzhai dies, there will be great turmoil and unexpected events. This is an ultimate weapon that can be exchanged for life, so it should not be taken lightly.

Soon after.

The Xuan Tie Pavilion door, adorned with black feathers, slowly opened, resembling the gaping maw of an ancient beast, dark and unfathomable.

"Yes." Soon, an extremely ancient voice rang out from inside.

……

There were not many surprises.

Chen Xuan went through the window and entered the Immortal Pavilion, where he successfully saw the Mountain Demon Goddess.

Her face was flawless, her eyes were clear, and her long eyelashes were adorned with raindrops like stars. She seemed to have just emerged from a stream, and she casually grabbed a green robe and wrapped it around herself. The green robe was like a shimmering green silk, making her look radiant and fresh.

Her wet hair cascaded down like a waterfall, her jade feet treading in the clear stream, creating a world of her own that transformed the pavilion's environment into a sanctuary.

At this moment, Chen Xuan lowered his eyes. The Empress's soft little hand gripped his collar. It was very impolite. Was the Empress offending him?
"Sneaking around like that, you're very bold." She spoke first, her voice melodious but her expression fierce, water droplets sliding down her delicate collarbone like moonlight dancing in a spring stream.

"Ah? Your Majesty, I've been calling you outside the door for a long time," Chen Xuan quickly explained.

He was very honest; he had no other choice but to throw snowballs at the Empress.

"Are you Xinzhai?" The Empress looked Chen Xuan up and down. His starry eyes were clear, and his face was like that of the finest mutton-fat jade. At this moment, she was a little puzzled.

Her pavilion was very stable, with a vast world spontaneously generated within it, filled with endless mist, which even the power of the Dao Palace could not affect.

However, a mere cultivator could open the window and secretly spy on her without being discovered. It would be difficult for anyone other than Xinzhai, who had a special ability to suppress innate deities, to think of anything else.

This is a perfect, born deity. She has fair skin and delicate features, yet she is untouched by worldly affairs, possessing a divine aloofness that is characteristic and majesty of ancient deities.

"Hmm?" Chen Xuan was immediately suspicious.

Is this an ancient version of a young empress?

Although this mountain spirit goddess has the same appearance and figure, she feels very different.

The empress in my memory was noble and gentle, but she probably wouldn't easily show a fierce and naive demeanor. The empress in front of me is too young!

"Are you the Mountain Spirit Goddess?" Chen Xuan asked, somewhat disappointed.

He began to doubt her identity, feeling that she was too cute and playful, and too unsteady.

The legendary Mountain Goddess appeared nine times in recorded history.

However, many of these are too distant, and their deeds are difficult to verify. The first appearance of the Buddhist name "Mountain Spirit" comes from a great deity in the ancient Yunmeng Marsh, which is rich in mythology and is most likely a deity of the rank of immortals.

However, the few mountain spirit goddesses that appeared in recent times were not destined to become immortals. The last one, who lived 100,000 years ago, was a True Lord level being destroyed in the catastrophe caused by the chaos in the Heavenly Court.

Therefore, many people believe that the original mountain spirit may have been a great immortal being.

After all, the mountain spirit goddesses of recent times were only of above-average strength... A powerful True Lord may not necessarily become an Immortal, but a True Lord who becomes an Immortal must be powerful.

The nine generations of mountain spirits are all true lords.

However, some high-level cultivators from ancient Taoist temples hold the opposite view, believing that mountain spirits reincarnate more than nine times because naturally born deities do not fall into reincarnation and are immortal even after ten thousand deaths.

Looking at the entire river of time flowing down from the era of mountains and seas, the mountain spirit probably secretly became an immortal many times, but all of them perished and their cultivation vanished because they sought the supreme heaven.

This chilling speculation stems from some unofficial historical accounts—

The "Emperor's Daughter" is likely an earlier identity of the Mountain Spirit Goddess.

Mount Guyao in the Classic of Mountains and Seas is the place where the emperor's daughter ascended to godhood and was buried. It has no connection with the mountain spirit of Yunmeng Marsh.

However, the "Imperial Daughter" disappeared into the river of time along with the Shan Hai era. The Mountain Spirit Goddess, who was born in ancient times, later left Yunmengze, found the lost Guyao Mountain, and took control of it.

At the same time, the identities of Yao Shen, Wushan Goddess, and many other deities are all intricately connected to the "Emperor's Daughter".

If these ancient identities were to come together at the same time, it would be quite frightening.

After all, it's quite normal for immortal gods and deities to have multiple identities.

For example, the Earth Goddess Houtu of the Human Race's Underworld is recorded in "unofficial history" as a born deity, and possibly even a supreme celestial and earthly deity [Wa Shen]. The Demon Race's Wa Huang Mountain and the Human Race's Mending the Heaven Dojo are her other two places of enlightenment.

But in the end, the mountains and seas and the ancient times are too far away. The myths and legends of different regions and temples often conflict, making it difficult to distinguish between truth and falsehood.

"Who is the Mountain Spirit Goddess? Am I that old?" The goddess got angry when she heard Chen Xuan's question. Her cheeks puffed up, and she looked a bit arrogant and cute, making people want to pinch her cheeks.

"Oh...it's alright." Chen Xuan suddenly felt bored; this was an ancient, young empress.

He scrutinized the young goddess before him. It seemed that the Mountain Spirit Goddess of the Southern Wilderness had never come to the Great Wilderness to seek enlightenment and immortality... That made sense, since even the Immortal Palace had not been able to find such a place for millions of years, the Goddess probably couldn't either.

"Please call me Imperial Princess." The young empress spoke, tossing her long, flowing hair, which splashed like a silver river. Strands of hair brushed against Chen Xuan's face, and a fresh, fragrant breeze wafted over him.

"..." Chen Xuan felt a sharp pain on his face from being whipped by her hair.

"Can't you speak? You're a bit slow." The princess released her small hand, looking at Chen Xuan with pity. At the same time, a faint blue spiritual light emanated from her body, causing the water droplets on her body to disappear.

"..." Chen Xuanxin said, "You're the one who's clueless."

In his eyes, although this empress had the same appearance and figure, and was even a bit silly, she was not his empress.

She didn't even know who the Mountain Spirit was.

The gentle scent of perfume in the air no longer smells so pleasant.

"Your Majesty... Senior Princess, are you the reincarnation of the gods and deities, or the same person?" Chen Xuan asked.

Legend has it that every reincarnated deity has the same memories and is essentially the same thing.

Of course, this is just a rumor.

He also respected the princess before him. After all, the young princess had never shown any aggression... She had once attained enlightenment here, and was perhaps at the True Lord level. The power of the Dao Palace had very limited influence on her.

"Why do you ask this? The secrets of the gods cannot be told to mortals." The Empress laughed, her beautiful eyes curving like the moon, her pupils seemingly pulsating with the spirit of a thousand-year-old mountain spirit, making her appear mischievous and quirky.

"Can't I say? Fine." Chen Xuan had no choice but to give up.

"Hmm? Your spirit is really dull. I didn't mold you properly when I was creating you." The Empress's eyes lit up as she curiously examined Chen Xuan. At the same time, she was certain that she would have a close relationship with him in her future life.

But the fact that a born deity has a close relationship with Xinzhai, with whom he has a grudge, is quite intriguing.

Moreover, the Empress even sensed a trace of the Gu Yao aura on Chen Xuan... This surprised her. Would the Classic of Mountains and Seas be given to this mortal in the future?

“Mountain Spirit, referring to the spirit of the mountains, a wisp of a ghost trailing a lonely grave, is quite fitting.” The Empress pondered for a moment, then slowly nodded and said, “In that case, let’s use the name Mountain Spirit in the next life.”

"Huh?" Chen Xuan was taken aback upon hearing this.

At the same time, a sense of absurdity arose in his heart for the first time ever.

"Since that's the case, here's the scripture for you!" The Empress spoke softly, her green sleeves fluttering as she handed over a golden bamboo scroll, which glowed with a vibrant green light. The scroll was crystal clear and seemed to be imbued with a touch of celestial charm.

Chen Xuan was stunned. This imperial princess was suddenly going to give her scriptures?

Although the beings with Dao traces here are all illusory, they have retained a great deal of memories, which is extraordinary.

(End of this chapter)