The road is vague

Chapter 272 Soul-Binding Aurora
The mountain where the Duotian Sect is located is called Haotian Mountain.

Legend has it that in ancient times, there was a great cultivator in the Mountain and Sea Realm known as the Haotian Emperor. He was not only invincible in the Mountain and Sea Realm, but also sought to achieve immortality by traversing many worlds.

The Jade Emperor ultimately could not live as long as the heavens and was forced to ascend to become an immortal.

Haotian Mountain commemorates this event.

Boom!
As the melodious bells rang out from the mountain, disciples from various countries, holding longevity tokens, climbed towards the summit in a grand procession. At a glance, there were nearly a thousand of them.

The disciples of the Duotian Sect stood solemnly on both sides of the stone steps along the way, welcoming the group.

Li Mo blended into the crowd and was hardly noticeable. He frequently looked towards the mountain peak, feeling a sense of unease, as if a divine secret was close at hand, with opportunity and crisis coexisting.

"To seize the creation of the heavens is truly unbelievable."

His expression turned solemn.

A full hour later, Li Mo finally followed the crowd and climbed step by step to the gate of the Duotian Sect.

At the summit of the majestic mountain stands the gate of the Duotian Sect, about ten zhang high, with an arched structure and a gate tower on top. A dozen disciples stand there, chatting and laughing, occasionally looking down at each other, seemingly engaged in some lively discussion. This causes those who have climbed up to look up in astonishment and displeasure.

"He is a true disciple of various schools of thought in the State of Lu!"

Upon hearing the words "true disciple," these people, who were initially displeased, immediately composed themselves.

Below the city gate, two distinguished cultivators were examining the Longevity Tokens.

These two individuals had indifferent and calm expressions, but their attitudes were imperious; they were most likely experts at the Golden Core stage.

Wearing a bronze mask, Li Mo took out the Longevity Token and glanced at the high-ranking disciples of the State of Lu.

He could vaguely tell that these people were divided into two factions.

Just as the Great Qian Kingdom was divided between East and West, the Lu Kingdom was divided between the Longevity Daoist lineage and the Immortality Daoist lineage. Although the two sides appeared to be on the same side, the atmosphere was actually tense.

Immediately afterwards, Li Mo followed the crowd and entered the Duotian Sect.

It's still early before noon, and there are still two hours before the opening of the Heavenly Realm. On the huge white jade square, thousands of prayer mats have been placed, and many people have already found empty seats and sat down, whispering among themselves in twos and threes.

Li Mo looked around, preparing to find an empty seat.

"Eh, Fellow Daoist Li?"

It's Zuo Lan again.

He was standing about ten feet away from Li Mo. After looking around for a moment, he noticed that Li Mo was also alone, and his face immediately showed surprise.

"Why are you alone, fellow Daoist? Why aren't you with your fellow disciples?"

Upon hearing this, Li Mo looked at Zuo Lan.

"My Longevity Token did not come from my sect, but was obtained by chance. It involves some secrets. In addition, I am used to walking alone in the sect, so I did not make an appointment with my fellow disciples. But Fellow Daoist Zuo, why did you not come with your fellow disciples?"

He is indeed a little strange.

Others may not know the other person's identity, but he does.

This Zuo Lan is a true disciple of the Qiancheng Sect. He should have been surrounded by his fellow disciples at this conference, but he was alone both times I saw him.

Zuo Lan smiled slightly upon hearing this.

"Actually, my true identity is somewhat special within the Thousand Chariots Sect, making it inconvenient for me to travel with fellow disciples, so I have always acted alone."

Say it.

Zuo Lan smiled and said, "In that case, why don't we wait here together?"

"That's fine!"

Li Mo hesitated slightly before agreeing.

Firstly, Li Mo had a good impression of Zuo Lan, and secondly, he wanted to inquire in detail about the upcoming Longevity and Enlightenment Conference.

……

the other side.

On the city gate tower of the Duotian Sect, the true disciples of the ten major sects of Lu State—one temple, two mountains, three gates, and four schools—are looking down at the endless procession at the foot of the mountain.

One of the female cultivators, exuding charm and allure, let out a soft laugh.

"Hehe, look at these people coming down the mountain. Although their clothes and demeanor are all different, they have all climbed to the top step by step without fear of hardship. They look just like a group of devout pilgrims. No wonder some people say that as long as the Heavenly Realm exists, the Heavenly Sect's power will continue. After all, the spirit stone income that the Heavenly Sect receives from each Immortal Life Conference is almost equivalent to our Immortal Mountain's annual budget."

Many people echoed this sentiment upon hearing it.

Upon hearing this, Liu Can and Zhao Wu, both disciples of the Duotian Sect who were participating in the conference, looked at the alluring female cultivator who was speaking eloquently.

Liu Can snorted coldly.

"Yao Chun Chun, the spirit stones that your Undying Mountain receives through the God of Wealth every year are probably never recorded openly, right?"

Zhao Wu then looked at the other two people beside him.

"Fellow Daoist Zunlong, Fellow Daoist Shi Shanchang, you two are true disciples of the Longevity Temple. Please judge this matter. Our sect has repeatedly emphasized that the name of this conference is the Longevity Enlightenment Conference. Yet this person keeps calling it the Longevity Immortality Enlightenment Conference. He is clearly harboring malicious intentions and deliberately trying to provoke a dispute over longevity!"

Upon hearing this, John Lone and Shih Shan-chang exchanged a glance.

The two of them came to participate in this Longevity and Enlightenment Conference for a different purpose; otherwise, they would never have come down the mountain so easily.

Zunlong was dignified and elegant, with a noble demeanor, clearly someone who had long cultivated himself in seclusion. Shi Shanchang was full-figured, gentle and refined, with a subtle air of flowing water about him, like a handsome scholar who was a disciple of a great sage in the State of Lu.

"There's no need for you to beat around the bush and test the waters any further."

John Lone responded calmly.

"We two have come here for another purpose. Although the Rainbow Bird is precious, the Longevity Temple doesn't value it. The Longevity Temple has received reliable intelligence that the Misty Peacock Clan has sent people to infiltrate this conference, aiming to try to find the ancient Misty Realm through the Jianmu Tree. The Longevity Temple will not allow these alien races to act recklessly!"

"Exactly."

Shi Shanchang put away his folding fan, his expression turning serious.

"No matter how you fight, even those of you below who come from different countries, your struggles are only for the succession of your sects. But those alien races are definitely not just like that. The Longevity Temple's mission is to heal the sick and save the world."

Upon hearing this, Liu Can and Zhao Wu, who were not related by blood, immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

The two then revealed confident smiles.

As long as the Changsheng Temple doesn't interfere in this matter, they are confident that they will be the ultimate winners!
But at this time.

Meanwhile, another argument broke out on the other side.

Bi Wangchan was dressed in a loose white robe, with long black hair flowing down his back, making him a handsome man full of masculine energy.

He glanced sideways at the man in black not far away and sneered.

"I've long heard that the second family of the Rebirth Sect is the number one family in Lu State. They've practically turned the Rebirth Sect into their private property, dominating the sect for a long time with arrogance and autocracy. It seems the rumors outside are indeed true. Some time ago, you actually started threatening the Natural Sect?"

The man in black was none other than the Second Yong.

Upon hearing this, he didn't even glance at Bi Wangchan.

"The reason why the Hidden Dragon Organization has become increasingly arrogant in the territory of Lu is because you sects of the Longevity Dao lineage are timid and indecisive. If you could be like our Rebirth Sect, and immediately skin and tear apart any evil cultivators who cause trouble, crush their bones and scatter their ashes, extract their souls and refine their spirits, and torture and intimidate them, how could we allow them to grow stronger?"

"How can you educate the world with such cruelty!"

Faced with Bi Wangchan's righteous and awe-inspiring questioning, Di Eryong grinned maliciously.

"I think the problem lies with the sages of your Natural Gate. Their lives are too comfortable, leading them to be overly idealistic and benevolent. Mercy towards enemies is cruelty towards themselves..."

Disciples from various sects engaged in heated debates, their tensions reaching a boiling point.

This can be seen.

Previously, Li Mo, based on what he saw and heard at the city gate, guessed that the two sides above were only superficially united, and this was indeed true.

Unknowingly.

As noon approached, the disciples from the market town below the mountain had gradually arrived at the summit, gathered in the white jade square, and sat down quietly, waiting for the conference to begin.

Sudden.

An unsettling, oppressive atmosphere emerged.

The clear sky over Haotian Mountain suddenly became overcast, and the spiritual energy of heaven and earth became turbulent, forming a magnificent celestial phenomenon that made people's hearts tremble.

Everyone looked up at the rolling dark clouds.

At the beginning, these dark clouds were about a hundred miles in diameter, similar in size to the celestial phenomena observed when one advances to the Nascent Soul stage.

But as time went by, the area covered by the dark clouds continued to expand, eventually completely blocking out the sunlight and turning daytime on Haotian Mountain into night.

In the center of those rolling dark clouds, a vortex suddenly appeared.

Black cracks continuously spewed out from the vortex, but they disappeared as quickly as lightning; these cracks were unstable.

Standing in the pitch black, Li Mo looked up at the exaggerated celestial phenomenon and was speechless with astonishment. He felt incredibly small and insignificant, and marveled at how worthwhile this smuggling trip had been. Zuo Lan, standing beside him, was also too shocked to speak, as if she had seen another world.

At this time.

The Heaven-Seizing Sect's grand formation unleashed beams of spiritual light that soared into the sky, illuminating the darkness and mingling with the constantly flashing spacetime rifts in the air.

This process lasted about fifteen minutes.

At the center of the swirling vortex, the cracks gradually solidified.

It was like an ancient ferocious beast that had just awakened, slowly opening its mouth and spewing out streams of magical light.

A Nascent Soul cultivator with a fiery red gourd hanging from his waist released his spiritual pressure and burst into laughter.

"This is the Soul-Binding Aurora, a remnant of an ancient restriction. It is extremely dangerous for high-level cultivators above the Golden Core stage, but for you Foundation Establishment disciples, it has some effect on condensing your primordial spirit. Before the secret realm is fully opened, how much you can comprehend depends on your comprehension!"

Upon hearing this, everyone suddenly realized what was going on.

Li Mo then realized that, apart from the Nascent Soul elder, all the high-level cultivators nearby had disappeared, obviously to avoid the so-called Soul-Forbidden Aurora.

This ancient restriction comes with powerful supernatural abilities that are terrifyingly lethal to cultivators at the Golden Core and Nascent Soul stages.

However, for Foundation Establishment cultivators who lack the ability to cultivate their spiritual soul, this is an invaluable opportunity for enlightenment.

"Even a mere wisp of the barrier's power is enough to unleash such might. It seems the ancient cultivators' ability to move mountains and fill seas was not an exaggeration..."

Li Mo immediately closed his eyes and carefully sensed the subtle changes in his divine sense after being illuminated by the spiritual light.

(End of this chapter)