Great Red Immortal Sect

Chapter 491 Immortal Descent
Deep within the cave.

The flames surged and burned fiercely, the intense heat of summer spreading and churning, turning this peak crimson. Atop it stood a magnificent golden palace, ancient and weathered, as if it had stood for thousands of years.

A young man sat on a yellow jade throne inside the hall. He wore an apricot-yellow Taoist robe, had a short sword at his waist, and had a heroic appearance. His eyes were like torches as he gazed through the hall door at the endless brownish-yellow light.

The radiance of the Earth element was like a towering city wall, firmly sealing off the center of the cave. Even cultivators of the Purple Mansion could not shake it in the slightest, and could only wait for the great formation to dissipate on its own.

Beside the green wooden beams and pillars, a woman leaned against the railing. Her face was as beautiful as a peach blossom, she wore a green skirt and a jade belt, and her demeanor was elegant and graceful. She wore a black longsword and carried a bronze sword case on her back. It was Gongsun Xi.

Song Shiyi's gaze shifted and landed on her. A slight smile played on his lips, a hint of mockery in his expression. He simply said:

"That sword immortal who warded off tribulation has truly met his fate—[Heavenly Decline Yin Candle]. Ha, Fu Chen has even brought out such a precious treasure; he doesn't seem to care about losing face."

“An Xianhui has suffered two defeats in a row. It seems that the position of Daoist Child will change hands.”

Gongsun Xi shook her head, her voice clear and bright, like plucking the strings of a zither.

“I don’t think so. What kind of schemes does Master Lingjing have? If he really wanted to take that sword immortal’s life, why would he need to use An Xianhui? With his late-stage Purple Mansion cultivation, how could he fail if he took action himself?”

“The True Man of Bijie bears the Black Law, which is the real destiny of the Thunder Palace, comparable to Deng Zhuoxin in the past. An Xianhui’s defeat under the She Lei has become a calamity of heavenly tribulation, which just makes up for the [Zhuyin] aura.”

"【Candlelight】."

When it comes to this destiny, even Song Shiyi, who is blessed with the Crimson Bird fortune, is somewhat wary. Among the entire Song family, only the Vermilion Bird destiny can be compared to it.

However, this destiny also comes at a price. This Daoist Fuchen is truly unworthy in terms of temperament. He is arrogant, domineering, fierce to the point of being demonic, and lacks the aura of an immortal.

As the two were talking, the void outside the hall suddenly opened up. A mysterious and ethereal aura spread out like a tide, and the scorching heat on the peak instantly dissipated, replaced by a cool and refreshing chill.

Song Shiyi's expression changed drastically, his gaze fixed on the void rift. Gongsun Xi also straightened up slightly, a hint of solemnity flashing in his eyes.

From within the void rift, a deep and upright voice resounded, and the light of the bright yellow earth surged, transforming into crisscrossing roads and paths, sometimes near and sometimes far, mysterious and extraordinary.

“People of this blessed land, please step back for now. I have matters to discuss with the imperial descendant.”

A strange smile appeared on Gongsun Xi's face as he looked at the rift in the void and said calmly:
"If I don't leave, what should I do? The blessed land has granted my request to accompany him in all matters, and he has promised to leave the capital."

Song Shiyi, who was standing to the side, remained silent. Gongsun had brought up the name of the blessed land, but the person in the void still did not move. The two sides were in a state of implicit confrontation, which was enough to explain the identity of the newcomer.

The heaven descends.

'【Neighboring】'

Song Shiyi's mind calmed down slightly. Just by looking at this Gen Earth Divine Power, which had never appeared in the present world before, he could understand the extraordinary nature of the newcomer.

As a descendant of the emperor, he was unwilling to show any obvious stance at this moment, remaining silent and watching quietly.

"Immortal Zhenyuan, why hide yourselves? Why not come out and show yourselves?"

Gongsun Xi's tone grew increasingly somber as he stared intently at the rift in the void, seemingly having made up his mind. After a short while, a sigh was heard coming from within.

A surge of magical light emanated from the earth, from which emerged a young Taoist priest. He wore a long robe with black patterns and a yellow background, held a whisk, and had a thin face and a tall stature.

The extremely profound and transformative power of the Gen Earth element reveals the aura of the late stage of the Purple Palace realm.

This uninvited guest was actually a high-ranking cultivator of the Gen Tu Dao lineage. Judging from his cultivation level alone, he was far superior to Hua Gu of the Shi Ren Dao lineage.

However, Gongsun Xi showed no fear. The bronze sword box behind her shimmered with light, and the supreme sword intent emanated from it, capable of separating life and death, cutting through the void and destroying the real, representing the ultimate flying sword.

"So it is the Yuejue Sword Clan. My apologies. I am a minor cultivator from the Zhenyuan Temple, with the Daoist name Yuanpu. I have not been in the world for a long time and have come to meet the imperial descendant."

Yuanpu Daoren turned to look at Song Shiyi, seemingly with some emotion, and said:
“Back when the imperial family was still in Tianshui, my Daoist master was ordered to enter the court to create clay figurines for the Xia Emperor, and thus had some interaction with that King Guanluo. Today, the Song family is the imperial family of the Heavenly Dynasty, but the Golden Crow has almost disappeared.”

"Please sit down, senior. I didn't expect you to still remember these old stories. There are very few records of them in my clan."

Song Shiyi first invited the Taoist priest of great renown to take a seat, while Gongsun Xi remained leaning against the green wooden spirit pillar, seemingly determined to stay there.

Yuanpu did not dwell on these matters any further, leaving Gongsun there, and only looked at Song Shiyi, saying in a deep voice:
"I have already met with the Imperial Preceptor and discussed many matters with this fellow Daoist. Now I have come to see the imperial descendant again so that I can take action in the future and avoid any trouble."

Upon hearing this, Song Shiyi naturally knew what the other party was referring to—the affiliation of the Earth element (戊土)!
Even in the heavens, the Zhenyuan lineage is an extremely powerful force, with more than one leader overseeing it. Now that they have descended to the mortal realm to plot against this Wutu, few can rival them.

"Taiheng's metal element should remain in the imperial palace, but it is unknown how much there is."

Song Shiyi's gaze darkened slightly as he continued, "Your esteemed Daoist has already secured one share, but Fu Chen also has his own requests, and that Yuan Yi Zhenren has even activated the main force of the Imperial Palace, which means two shares have already been allocated. Furthermore, Youming is now also eager to make its move, making it truly difficult to decide."

"My Song family also has its own requests. Regarding the conferment of gods, the position of the Mountain God requires this [Wu Xuan Chang Yuan Tai Heng Xing]. In the end, everyone will have to rely on their own methods. It is probably impossible for the other sects to compete with Zhen Yuan."

Yuan Pu, standing to the side, seemed lost in thought. He appeared extremely confident and simply said calmly:

"Youming. Who is the candidate? Back then, the ancient Shu borrowed a layer of Futu, and now it should return a layer of Wutu."

Upon hearing this, Song Shiyi's heart stirred slightly. The original Daoist path of Futu was not in the Netherworld, but belonged to the Zhenyuan lineage. And this Yuanpu Zhenren's attitude towards the Netherworld was somewhat ambiguous, which aroused suspicion.

"Repay? How can it ever be repaid? Back then, the Underworld almost destroyed an entire nation's immortal path. Now, it's laughable that it can so easily talk about borrowing and repaying."

Gongsun Xi suddenly spoke, making the atmosphere in the hall somewhat cold.

Yuan Pu's expression remained unchanged; he simply said calmly:

"Even if the underworld doesn't intervene, other powerful figures will step in. To privately control the netherworld is a grave taboo. With the background of the Shu Emperor gone, he naturally couldn't withstand the pressure from all sides and ultimately met his demise."

Gongsun Xi remained noncommittal, shook his head slightly, and walked out of the hall, leaving behind a curt remark:
"You two discuss this in detail."

Seeing the figures from the Blessed Land of White Paper depart, Yuan Pu's expression eased slightly. He looked at Song Shiyi beside him and simply said:

"I've heard that a Thunder Cultivator has emerged in the Li Kingdom, manifesting the Black Law and becoming the legitimate successor of the Thunder Palace?"

His words caused Song Shiyi's gaze to sharpen slightly, and he replied:
"That's right, but this person was seriously injured. Fu Chen used the [Heavenly Decay Yin Candle] to burn away his physical body. It will take at least ten years for him to recover."

"It's a pity. I wanted to see her, but even in the heavens, She Lei is rarely seen." Yuan Pu sighed, waving his whisk lightly. "Hei Lu is even rarer. Back then, only the Bei Lei Sect had the inheritance."

Song Shiyi was unwilling to discuss this matter, as it was indeed somewhat sensitive and involved the highest point in the sky. He then changed the subject.

“Master Yuanpu has not descended to the mortal realm for a long time. I wonder what his plans are. If he wishes to see the mountains and rivers, my Song family would like to do our part as hosts.”

Yuanpu pondered for a while, as if deep in thought, and then sighed.

"There is nothing else to do, but one of the lineages of my Zhenyuan Daoist tradition has now been cut off, and I should go and take a look. Even though the lineage is quite far away, I cannot let it be humiliated in vain."

"I wonder what the connection is? Could you tell me?"

Song Shiyi was quite curious, as there were no records of such ancient Taoist secrets related to the Earth element even in the palace.

“I believe that it was passed down from the Patriarch Zhenyuan. He was a noble immortal who possessed the true nature of the Gen Earth and the remaining nature of the Earth. When the Patriarch went to the heavens, I believe that he ascended to the heavens.”

Yuanpu seemed to be reminiscing, his face showing some emotion.

"Later, the true fruit of Gentu was reaffirmed by a great man of my Dao. He returned to the world and re-established the Dao lineage in Kunlun, which became known as the [Eight Extremes Yuan Mountain]. The [Great Chaos of the Northern Wei Dynasty] was quelled by His self-sacrifice."

"So it was you, sir!"

Song Shiyi immediately understood who this Yuanpu Zhenren was referring to. It was none other than the Fangji Zhenjun, who shouldered the dragon veins of the world and whose merits were comparable to mending the heavens. He was a person with great merits and a great spirit.

"The lineage He passed down has split into three branches. One branch is involved in the Shu Rebellion and has been separated from my path. You should be familiar with True Man Zhu Xia, whose surname is Duan."

Upon hearing Yuanpu's words, Song Shiyi's expression changed slightly. He was unaware that the Duan family had such a background, and simply said:

"I wonder what you wish to do, senior?"

"When Duan entered Sichuan to serve as an official, he had already violated the rules of our sect. His retribution was also the will of Heaven. But... did he leave any descendants?"

Yuanpu sighed, and Song Shiyi, seeing that the other party only wanted the bloodline, felt a little more at ease and understood that the matter was negotiable.

“There is a bloodline with auspicious fortune bestowed upon him. In the past, Dingji Mountain was entrusted to watch over him, but now Fuchen has taken him away. I can go with you, senior, to retrieve him.”

"Thank you for your help, Imperial Blood."

"As for the other two lineages, they always belonged to the Immortal Path and were within my Zhenyuan Dao lineage. Now they have also been wiped out. I've heard that they were related to the dragon race of the South China Sea?"

Yuanpu's voice gradually deepened, and the bright yellow light of the Gen soil slowly covered the hall, bringing an extremely heavy pressure that made Song Shiyi feel a little uneasy.

"I've heard it was done by a [Mingdu] Dragon King from the Mingze Dragon Court."

(End of this chapter)