Lingyuan Immortal

Chapter 925 The Spirit of Plants and Plants
“Fellow Daoists, since I have already agreed to this matter, there is no reason for me to go back on my word. You can rest assured.”

Chen Mu's voice was clear and melodious, his eyes sparkling with starlight: "But that small realm is ultimately located in the heart of Gonggong's secret realm, so it must be heavily guarded. How should we proceed?"

"Hahaha……"

Having received Chen Mu's affirmative answer, Yu Chengkong felt relieved and waved his hand, saying:
"Fellow Daoist Chen is overthinking it. Although that secret realm still nominally belongs to Gonggong, after tens of thousands of years of mining, its spiritual resources have long been depleted. Now, it is nothing more than a few broken restrictions, which are not worth mentioning."

As he spoke, he looked at Hong Wuyai: "Moreover, with Fellow Daoist Hong accompanying us, what can they do even if we encounter guards?"

Hong Wuyai smiled and did not refute.

The Gonggong clan was already small in number, so naturally they didn't have the energy to manage a depleted deep-sea secret realm.

Last time, he went there with Yu Chengkong, and they had a smooth journey...

Seeing this, Chen Mu slowly nodded: "In that case, when shall we set off? Is there anything we need to prepare?"

"Based on our calculations, the boundary restrictions are weakest when the moon is full..."

After pondering for a moment, Yu Chengkong said seriously, "Then there's nothing else, except for the missing Soul-Soothing Lotus, which is the key."

"What is this?"

Yu Chengkong gave a brief introduction, and then said, "Fellow Daoist Hong and I originally intended to exchange some of these items for high-grade Dao artifacts, but unexpectedly, after more than a month, not a single person has come to exchange them..."

"This item has many uses. It can help us subdue the remnants of the Blue Duck and protect our primordial spirits from damage. Without it, this journey would be much more difficult."

Hong Wuyai nodded in agreement: "There are still ten days until the middle of the month. If no one comes to exchange, we'll have to make another trip to Dongjue Valley to try our luck..."

Located deep within the Lingzhu Mountains, Dongjue Valley is shrouded in miasma year-round and is extremely dangerous, thus it has been rarely visited by humans for thousands of years.

However, the ways of Heaven are mysterious. Such extremely yin places have become a breeding ground for yin-attribute spiritual beings, among which the Soul-Soothing Lotus is particularly famous.

Today, the Soul-Soothing Lotus held by the Guixu Clan is mostly harvested from this remote region.

However, the wonders of heaven and earth have their own destiny. Although everyone knows that the Eastern Valley is home to the Soul-Soothing Lotus, its whereabouts are elusive and difficult to find, and it cannot be obtained by those who are destined to find it.

That is why Yu and Hong did not dare to gamble on this predestined opportunity, and instead chose the safer strategy of bartering.

As for the deal not being completed, it was truly a matter of fate that could not be defied; even a True Lord who sought the Dao could not fathom the mysteries of the Heavenly Dao…

Chen Mu understood the unspoken meaning in their words and smiled slightly, saying, "In that case, I, Chen, will go ahead and scout ahead. If we obtain the Soul-Soothing Lotus, that would be fortunate; even if we don't, it will save you all some time."

Seeing his upright and honest demeanor, Yu and Hong felt somewhat embarrassed.

One of them needed to accelerate the ripening of the Shadow Orchid, and the other needed to refine the Yin-Yang Boundary Jade. They were really stretched thin in the last few minutes. Otherwise, how could they have let Chen Mu, whom they had finally managed to invite, make this trip?
"Then I'll have to trouble Fellow Daoist Chen..."

The three understood each other without words, and each turned into a stream of light and disappeared, leaving only the sound of the ocean tide in the world.

……

After returning to Zhuxia Peak, Chen Mu paused to ponder for a moment, then rode a cloud towards the Liang clan's territory.

The Liang family is now flourishing, and all the clansmen they encounter along the way bow and pay their respects, as if they have already regarded this Taoist priest in plain robes as one of their own.

As they reached the mountainside, they saw the clouds churning. Liang Tian rode on auspicious clouds and sped over. Before he even landed, he laughed loudly and said, "After learning that you had successfully emerged from seclusion, I went to congratulate you, but Yu Xin told me that you had come down from the mountain for some business. May I ask what has made you so anxious? Is there anything we can do to help?"

Chen Mu's eyes flickered slightly, concealing the matter of the secret realm, and he only smiled and said, "It's nothing important, but I heard that there are signs of strange creatures near Haixin City, so I went to investigate."

"Have you found a good breed?"

Liang Tian's eyes flashed with a sharp light, showing that he was even more anxious than the person involved.

Upon seeing Chen Mu shake his head, he immediately showed regret and repeatedly said it was a pity.

"Although I didn't get a spirit pet, I did get some unexpected news."

Chen Mu raised his eyes and looked at the flowing clouds in the east: "I have come today to bid farewell to you, fellow Daoist. This journey will likely take me all over the realms of Guixu."

Regardless of whether his trip to the secret realm succeeds or fails, he has no intention of staying here any longer.

Liang Tian was not surprised to hear this, as the two had discussed this matter earlier.

He straightened his clothes and asked seriously, "Where do you intend to go first?"

Chen Mu's eyes flickered, but he didn't hide anything: "Eastern Absolute Valley."

"Eastern Desolate Valley?"

As soon as the three words were uttered, Liang Tian's eyebrows twitched slightly, but he did not ask for the reason.

He pondered for a moment, then took out a box of black iron and cold jade from his sleeve. Ice patterns were faintly visible on the surface of the box: "This item is called the Xuan Yin Mirror. Although it is not a weapon for attack, it can harmonize the Yin and Yang energies. Yin energy lingers in the Eastern Absolute Valley all year round. Holding this item may save some trouble."

Knowing it was a token of the other party's goodwill, Chen Mu solemnly accepted it and incorporated it into his grotto.

Seeing this, Liang Tian's smile widened, and he finally said, "Guixu is neither too big nor too small. If you encounter any difficulties during your travels, just send word, and the entire Liang clan will surely help you..."

Before the echo had faded, Chen Mu bowed and took his leave, his figure transforming into a wisp of light and drifting away.

For the next two days, clouds and mist frequently gathered and dispersed on Zhuxia Peak.

Chen Mu met with Xuanji Zi and the Liu Clan Chief alone. After all the causes and effects were resolved, on a certain evening when the clouds were melting into gold, a long rainbow quietly pierced the sky and disappeared into the vast sea of ​​clouds...

……

Lingzhu Mountain Range, Dongjue Valley.

A streak of water flew across the sky and fell into the desolate hillside with its barren trees.

Chen Mu stood with his hands behind his back on the edge of the cliff, looking down at the valley shrouded in thick, dark clouds.

The gray fog surged and churned endlessly like a living thing, while the surrounding sheer cliffs, thousands of feet high, seemed to have been cleaved by a divine axe, with jagged ravines crisscrossing the landscape, making it difficult to see even a sliver of sunlight all year round.

He has been wandering here for more than seven days, but the Soul-Soothing Lotus is still nowhere to be found.

However, by sheer chance, I encountered a hermit in the mountains the day before yesterday. I lingered in that moss-covered cave for half a day and received guidance from the old man: the ancient desolate tomb may hold the things I seek.

Only after arriving here in person did I realize that the Yin essence in the valley was condensed like mercury. If an ordinary Nascent Soul cultivator were to come into contact with even a trace of it, at best his Dao body would be damaged, and at worst his foundation would be completely destroyed.

Chen Mu concentrated and examined the situation carefully for a moment. He first took out the mysterious box given to him by Liang Tian. Just as he was about to activate it to dispel the yin energy in this place, a thought suddenly occurred to him.

Such a desolate and bleak place is something ordinary people would avoid like the plague, but he possesses something that he would desperately desire...

"Tai Xuan has been asleep for a long time. I wonder if he can still absorb it?"

Chen Mu made a hand seal, and a black banner appeared instantly. The banner had dark patterns flowing across its surface; it was the banner of the Soul Ancestor.

He has been in this world for quite some time now, but has never had the chance to awaken Tai Xuan. Today, however, he has the opportunity and might as well give it a try.

Thinking of this, he waved the banner, and a hundred yin spirits roared out from the banner, rushing towards the bottom of the valley like hungry tigers pouncing on their prey.

Those originally dazed souls, upon touching the Yin energy, suddenly swelled to over ten feet in size, as if bathed in sweet rain, their bodies churning with black mist. However, Chen Mu had no intention of nurturing these unconscious Yin spirits. He immediately changed his technique, and the Yin spirits instantly transformed into a vortex, feeding back all the Yin energy they had devoured onto the treasure banner.

The dark banners gradually emitted a faint glow, their surfaces shimmering with a cool, clear light, like ink jade.

As time passed, the yin energy that had accumulated over countless years gradually thinned, revealing the true state of the valley.

Below, a bottomless, dark cave suddenly appeared. Chen Mu stared intently and observed that several clusters of strange flowers and plants with eerie fluorescence grew around the cave walls, while the deeper part was as dark as ink.

However, in the moment of divine sense, there was a chilling aura condensing into wisps of white mist that surged upwards, and there was also some unknown entity lurking within it.

The Yin energy within a radius of ten thousand miles here flows into this place like rivers flowing into the sea. If there is such a spiritual treasure as the Soul-Soothing Lotus, it must be rooted in this extremely Yin place.

Chen Mu stood with his hands behind his back, not venturing too far. With a flick of his sleeve, he summoned three blue-faced, sinister soldiers.

Upon receiving the command, the several translucent souls leaped into the abyss, their robes trailing afterimages of phosphorescent flames.

After about half a cup of tea's time, his brows furrowed suddenly, and a sense of alertness arose in his mind. He tried to summon the wandering spirit back to its place by making hand seals, but his three attempts were like throwing a stone into the sea...

"That's strange."

He paced around the cave in mid-air, then stood still. Suddenly, he pointed his fingers together to form a sword and slashed it in the air. His body shone brightly with clear light, condensing into thirty-six dazzling sword lights like swimming dragons. This was the "Six Ding Dispelling Calamity Sword".

But just as he was about to unleash his power, he paused, flicked his sleeve, and dissipated the magic.

This method is quite powerful and has a remarkable effect on evil spirits. Once activated, it can completely clear a hundred-mile radius. If there are any Soul-Soothing Lotuses within that radius, they will be destroyed as well, which would be disastrous.

But as soon as he loosely clenched his five fingers, five balls of thunder spirits suddenly fell from the heavens.

The moment the leaping silver ball of lightning touched the cave, it exploded with a dull thud.

Amidst the aftershocks, a faint, delicate female shout rang out, as clear and penetrating as an icicle falling to the ground…

Chen Mu listened intently to the rhythm of the earth's veins, a sharp glint suddenly flashing in his eyes, and his figure abruptly transformed into wisps of water vapor, disappearing from the spot.

Almost simultaneously, a dark vine whip burst forth from the ground, sweeping across the spot where he had just stood with a tearing sound, its remaining force shattering the green rock three zhang away into dust.

Chen Mu smiled wryly. As shrewd as he was, he would not rashly rush into the deep cave to explore.

I deliberately stood directly above the pit just now, using myself as bait. Sure enough, this cowardly fellow is shallow-minded and couldn't resist after being provoked.

When the master of the vines realized that his attack had missed, he immediately understood that he had fallen for the trick of the monk in white robes, and he was extremely ashamed and angry.

Chen Mu faintly heard a whooshing sound as it cut through the air, and then saw a black and white mist surging out from it, like a sea and a tide, intertwining and churning, and blooming with a clear light about a foot long.

As the turbid air dissipated, a pair of lotus flowers with jade-like bones and icy skin floated in the void, their thirty-six petals swirling endlessly in yin and yang colors.

The strangest thing is that half of a white bone hairpin protrudes from the lotus heart, and under the influence of the extreme yin energy, it actually sprouts a flower bud, with a cold fragrance that is both refreshing and eerie.

Chen Mu's eyes shone brightly. Even though he had traveled between the two realms, he had never seen such a plant spirit that combined the Dao of life and death.

It turns out that this Soul-Soothing Lotus had been dormant in this earth's veins for over three thousand years, and had already reached the stage of transformation, but it dared not activate its life-threatening state due to fear of heavenly tribulation.

To overcome its tribulations, it spent a hundred years gathering the Yin energy from the deep valleys of the mountains, refining the entire Yin vein into a life-protecting Xuan Gang.

Unexpectedly, this scheme ended up benefiting Chen Mu...

The spirits of the plants were clearly resentful. The black and white lotus petals trembled violently, emitting a sharp shriek like tearing silk. Dozens of petals, which circulated the yin and yang energies, shot through the air like arrows.

The Taoist priest in the plain robe did not move an inch, his body rising three inches into the air, just like flowing clouds avoiding the wind, thus dodging the fierce killing intent.

Then, with a light flick of his wide sleeves, a black banner suddenly descended from the clouds above the dome of the sky, and as soon as he took it into his hand, it fluttered in the wind.

In an instant, a hundred-foot-high gloomy haze poured down like a waterfall, completely enveloping the area around the Soul-Soothing Lotus. Thousands of layers of nether energy condensed into black, spiderweb-like threads, which in a short while wrapped the violently struggling spirit plant into a mysterious cocoon.

In reality, with the Six Ding Dispelling Calamity Sword and the Thunder Technique of the East Sea Dragon Palace that Chen Mu possesses, both are orthodox methods of exorcising evil in the Xuanmen sect. It would be no problem to exterminate such Yin-type monsters.

However, seeing that it was not easy for it to develop intelligence, Chen Mu had the idea of ​​subduing it.

If one could have such a spiritual embryo of heaven and earth that could preserve one's primordial spirit and keep it by one's side, it would be tantamount to having an extra life-saving talisman. Naturally, one would not want to destroy its wisdom with drastic measures...

Chen Mu pressed down with his hand, and with a loud bang, An Hun Lian's slender body was immediately suppressed to the ground. Despite her shaking and struggling, she could not break free and could only let out a panicked sob, the clear sound echoing through the mountain wall.

Seeing this, Chen Mu couldn't help but shake his head and smile. He knew that this spiritual cultivator was quite skilled, so he had secretly prepared three backup plans. He was surprised that the cultivator had succeeded so easily. He laughed and said, "With just these tricks, you dare to take the initiative?"

Little did they know that although this Soul-Soothing Lotus had cultivated for thousands of years, it was not a naturally born extraordinary species like a dragon. It had not yet undergone the Heavenly Tribulation of Transformation, and its innate divine power had not yet awakened. It might be able to deal with ordinary cultivators seeking enlightenment, but how could it possibly contend with him?
This struggle only caused the Binding Spirit Lock, formed by the Xuan Yin Sha Qi, to tighten even more.

The spirit of the plants seemed to be filled with extreme shame and indignation. Its jade body suddenly stiffened, and its life essence condensed into a cold light that burst out of its body, transforming into a stream of light that shot straight into the nine heavens.

Chen Mu laughed loudly: "Well done!"

The clouds above shook, and his natal spirit broke free from his body.

With two fingers joined together, he intercepted the attack in mid-air. The spiritual light dissipated, revealing his true form: a Xuan Yin bone hairpin that could seize souls and steal spirits. Now, it was bound by powerful internal energy and could not be shaken in the slightest.

This was originally a deadly secret technique nurtured by the Soul-Soothing Lotus for a thousand years, specializing in attacking the soul and always effective. However, when it encountered Chen Mu's primordial spirit, it became as ineffective as snow falling into a furnace...

With a flick of his fingers, Chen Mu shattered the white bone jade hairpin into dust, then focused his mind on his inner palace.

With a slight thought, a wisp of the original energy of the "Taiyin Thunder Heavenly Strike Technique" was suddenly injected into the second fruit, "Flower in the Mirror".

In an instant, the ancient silver mirror emitted a clear sound, its surface trembled violently like ripples on water, and thousands of silver snake-like lightning bolts danced on the lotus platform within the mirror, blossoming into the complete Silver Lightning Dao Fruit.

"boom!"

A thunderous roar erupted from the ground, causing the spirits of plants and trees to tremble and shrink back. They felt that although the person before them had the same features as before, dragon-like lightning patterns suddenly burst forth around his body, and a majestic heavenly might poured out from between his brows, pressing down on them so much that they almost prostrated themselves on the ground...

Since the formation of the second fruit, Chen Mu has kept it hidden.

Firstly, this matter is too shocking and unconventional; any hint of it will surely bring disaster.

Secondly, Guixu did not put too much pressure on him. Even when facing Su Changge, he had the Bai family as his guarantor and mediator, so he did not need to reveal his full strength.

The desolate mountain was quiet at this moment, but I was not afraid of being seen by others. It was a good time to use this Soul-Soothing Lotus to test my skills.

With a slight thought, countless bolts of lightning surged like a reversed Milky Way, and with a flip of his palm, silver lightning struck down from the sky.

Sensing the might of Heaven, the Soul-Soothing Lotus emitted a surge of black and white mist from its calyx, which condensed into a protective yin-yang light.

However, lightning is particularly effective against evil spirits; the silver light, like a sharp sword, pierced through layers of barriers in an instant.

But the Soul-Soothing Lotus's true form trembled violently, emitting a painful cry.

He was already afraid of heavenly lightning, and now, even before the lightning struck, he was struck down by the Taoist priest before him...

……

(End of this chapter)