Starting from the Tiger Demon Yaksha, the demon immortality

Chapter 272, 281: The Twelve-Story Tower, the First True Inheritance
"You mean the imperial treasure, the Taiqing Palace?"

"Gao Pian is willing to let us in?"

As the core of the world's conflicts, Li Cunxiao naturally paid close attention to the Qin Dynasty.

Aside from a few masters who persevered through hardship, the most eye-catching is naturally the Lingbao Taiqing Palace, which was inherited from Emperor Taizong, and the mysterious and wondrous realm it nurtured.

"Now he has no choice but to comply, even if he doesn't want to."

Taiyi Zhenren gestured for Li Cunxiao to sit down and began to explain in detail:

"As the regional military governors grew powerful, everyone wanted to replace them."

"Although Gao Pian was autocratic and stubborn, he was indeed a loyal minister of Qin."

"Rather than letting those military governors seize the Qin Dynasty's centuries-old foundation after its defeat, it would be better to use it to win over our allies."

"It's just that our Louguan sect and Qinglong Temple are too close, making it impossible for us to extricate ourselves. Look at the world today, who else is willing to associate with the imperial court?"

"That makes sense," Li Cunxiao nodded, feeling a bit pleasantly surprised.

I was just worrying about the resources needed to cultivate the Seven Treasures Lotus, when I unexpectedly received the news that the Taiqing Palace Secret Realm had opened. It was like a pillow coming when I was sleepy.

This must be the opportunity that Yan Daotong mentioned earlier.

"This time, Louguandao and Qinglong Temple will each send two people."

"Two spots will be decided among several true disciples, and the winner will qualify."

"Xue Tianyun has already broken through the barrier and will not participate. Cunxiao, your chances are very good."

The opportunity is not just great, it's practically a sure thing.

Li Cunxiao thought this in his heart, but he never said it out loud.

It's not that he's arrogant; his strength is undeniable. If he can win, he can win; if he can't, he can't win.

Even Wen Zhongzi, the master who combined the three religions, is no match for him among his peers. Guo Zhao, Qin Sixing, and Cheng Ruoshui are even less of a match for him.

Right now, the most important thing is to consider how much effort we should put in to win decisively without causing too much embarrassment to the others.

Master Taiyi knew his disciple's strength was extraordinary, but seeing his expression, he still subconsciously reminded him:

"The opportunities in the Great Crimson Heaven are not simply about spiritual energy or rare treasures; they are enough to allow you to break through your cultivation barrier."

"No, you have now reached the peak of the Heavenly Ladder, so it should be said the other way around: before entering the Great Crimson Heaven, you must not rashly attempt to break through."

Li Cunxiao was puzzled upon hearing this.

"Master, what is the reasoning behind this?"

"Now that you have reached the pinnacle of the Heavenly Ladder, you must have read quite a few of the insights and notes of those who came before you."

Qi Ci took over the conversation.

What does it mean to have no regrets at the entrance to the gate?

"The Niwan Palace is the master of humans and gods, and the pivot of life and death."

"For martial artists, breaking through the Xuan Gate is extremely dangerous. They must either step through it, allowing their primordial spirit to merge with their true form and achieve a spiritual manifestation."

"Either you can't overcome it, your mind collapses, and you die suddenly. You only have one chance; there's no going back."

Although Li Cunxiao possessed the Vajra Pestle, he dared not be careless in breaking through the barrier and strived to be fully prepared.

When the senior monk asked the question, he blurted out the answer instinctively.

“Not bad. The entrance has three levels: the upper level, the inner view, and the interaction.”

"The Niwan Palace is both the key point and the foundation of the entrance hall."

"When you break through the Xuan Guan and open the Ni Wan, the larger the Shen Gong is opened, the greater the potential for future growth of the primordial spirit and spiritual form residing within it."

"The higher the potential, the more likely one is to complete the twelve-story tower—but not everyone can do that."

Listening to the old Taoist priest's words, Li Cunxiao seemed to understand something.

"You mean, within the Great Crimson Heaven, there is an opportunity to expand the Niwan Palace?"

The old Taoist priest and the senior monk nodded in unison, their gazes towards their disciple even revealing a hint of envy.

"The Great Crimson Heaven's Supreme Purity Profound Qi, also known as the Supreme Purity Profound Pill, is a creation naturally formed from the spiritual energy of the secret realm."

"Each Taiqing Xuan Dan contains not only abundant spiritual energy, but also the image left by predecessors, which can help people to achieve enlightenment, and is especially beneficial for the opening of the Niwan Palace."

“Cunxiao, you are truly blessed to have gathered so many opportunities. It would be a great pity if you could not cultivate each realm to its limit.”

“That’s right. The imperial court has supported Taiqing Palace with the resources of the entire nation for over six hundred years. Even sacred sites and spiritual treasures cannot compare. When I stayed at Qinglong Temple, I didn’t receive this kind of treatment.”

"Disciple understands," Li Cunxiao said, his heart burning with excitement, wishing he could go to Xijing Daxing City right now.

After a moment, I calmed down and couldn't help but feel secretly relieved.

Although Louguandao is in a perilous situation, it is precisely because of the dangers of war that the imperial court is willing to cede these core interests.

Each sacred site can only enjoy one offering at most, while the imperial court enjoys offerings from all over the world for more than six hundred years, which is incomparable to a dragon boat that is shelved as soon as it leaves the factory.

With such a massive investment of manpower and resources, the rewards that can be obtained from the secret realm of this magical treasure must be far beyond the ordinary.

Who knows, maybe this time we can get some refined gold and gather enough materials to upgrade the Dragon Prison Rope and the Fire Hell Spear into divine weapons?

"The nine realms of martial arts are: the first three realms are for refining essence, the middle three realms are for refining qi, and the last three realms are for refining spirit."

"Upon reaching the seventh realm, one opens the Niwan point, merges the primordial spirit, and forms the spiritual form. From then on, the visualized true self becomes the martial artist himself, the master of the microcosm."

"The three realms of the Mysterious Pass are the Tower, the Inner Realm, and the Intercourse. In the end, they are all preparations for the embryonic transformation and physical refinement of the Grandmaster realm."

"The more expansive the Niwan Divine Palace is, the higher one can climb in the twelve-story tower, and the easier it will be when one breaks through the Heavenly Gang and Earthly Fiends in the future."

Changsun Chi looked at Guo Zhao across the table and spoke earnestly:

“Gao Pian is just as devoted to serving the country as we are, but he is stubborn and self-willed and has never taken the founding dukes and marquises seriously.”

"Even when the old ministers of Lingyan Pavilion petitioned him to open the Great Crimson Heaven so that their descendants could gain experience, they were all resolutely rejected."

"Given the current turbulent situation, this opportunity may be the last one."

"Master, your disciple understands."

Guo Zhao responded, but a lingering worry remained in his expression.

Seeing this, Changsun Chi couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

His apprentice has been stuck at the entrance for six or seven years, unable to make any progress.

On the one hand, we want to accumulate strength and then make a breakthrough to reach new heights;
On the other hand, the uncertainty of life and death also gives rise to hesitation and even fear.

This is not unusual.

As the saying goes, those who have nothing to lose are not afraid of those who have nothing to lose; people are often the bravest when they have nothing at all.

However, as people acquire more possessions, they begin to hesitate and become overly concerned.

Guo Zhao is not an individual; he is the next Prince of Fenyang, and all his relatives, disciples, and former officials in the Prince's Palace are under his control.

In such circumstances, death meant the risk of annihilation of the entire family.

He was like that, and so were Qin Sixing and Cheng Ruoshui.

They all have family businesses, wives, children, and elderly parents; who wouldn't feel a shred of fear?
The significance of the opportunity in Taiqing Palace was all too clear to these nobles.

The world could descend into chaos at any moment, and the Qin Dynasty was in grave danger.

If you miss this opportunity to break through the barrier, it's hard to say whether there will be another chance.

Therefore, when Li Cunxiao followed Taiyi Zhenren to Liangyi Peak, he couldn't help but feel a little puzzled by the solemn expressions on Guo Zhao and the others' faces. Those who knew were competing for a spot in Taiqing Palace, but those who didn't might have thought they were selecting assassins to kill Zhu Quanzhong.

"Junior Brother Li is here, hahaha."

Guo Zhao, Cheng Ruoshui, and Qin Sixing gathered around, greeting them with smiles, while Du Guanglei also came over from the side.

Although everyone is theoretically qualified to compete for the opportunity at Taiqing Palace, everyone knows the truth in their hearts.

Compared to raising Ye Shuyi and Li Siqi by one or two insignificant minor realms, it's more worthwhile to strive to have more Xuan Guan experts in the sect.

It was with this in mind that Ye Shuyi and Li Siqi tacitly withdrew from this closed-door competition.

Therefore, with the addition of Du Guanglei, who recently broke through to perfection from the Heavenly Ladder Great Completion within half a year, the Four Symbols, Four Peaks and Two Elements Peaks are exactly one person per peak.

"I was able to break through to perfection in half a year, thanks to the care of my Uncle Taiyi."

During a break in their conversation, Du Guanglei secretly transmitted his voice to Li Cunxiao.

True disciples are allocated a fixed amount of elixirs each year; this is the rule.

However, there are ways to circumvent the rules, especially when the person making the circumvention is a master alchemist of the Louguan School, things become even simpler.

Taiyi Zhenren was not a stingy person; he had seen Du Guanglei's efforts in the Songzhou Secret Realm.

In addition to the promised Twenty-Four Qi Pills, the old Taoist priest also secretly slipped the latter some other pills that he had personally refined.

"Cultivation ultimately depends on personal effort; the help of elixirs is secondary."

Li Cunxiao's attitude was mild, much more friendly than when he treated Guo Zhao and others.

It can be said that among the disciples of Louguan Taoism today, Li Siqi and Du Guanglei are the two people with whom he has the closest relationship.

The former is due to the shared interests of the Li family of Longxi investing;

The latter was because Li Cunxiao had known Du Guanglei before he rose to prominence and could see that Du Guanglei was a person worthy of friendship.

That way, if anything happens in the future, he won't be unable to find someone to help him.

"Everyone's here," Yan Daotong said, glancing around the room without uttering any further words.

"I have called you here today to compete for a place in the Taiqing Palace."

"I don't need to say more about the opportunities at Taiqing Palace."

"Today's competition is held behind closed doors, and the results will not be announced to avoid damaging the harmony."

Upon hearing this, Guo Zhao and the others visibly breathed a sigh of relief. However, Yan Daotong's next sentence caused their expressions to become subtle again.

"Li Cunxiao, is there a problem with you coming to defend the title?"

Ok?
Before Li Cunxiao could speak, Yan Daotong added:
"You are permitted to use those divine weapons and magical treasures."

"no problem."

Li Cunxiao agreed without hesitation, and Taiyi Zhenren's expression changed from displeasure to a smile.

Stable.

However, the three pairs of masters and disciples, Changsun Chi, Qin Li, and Yuchi Mu, pouted.

It’s over.

“Li Cunxiao’s combat strength is already extraordinary. If we let him use divine weapons and magical treasures, what’s the point of the competition? We should just give him the spot.”

Cheng Ruoshui sighed.

"Our sect leader is being too biased. Even though everyone has divine weapons, Li Cunxiao has two, and he even has a high-grade magic treasure that rivals a quasi-divine weapon."

"Even the Five Mingzi of the Ming Cult couldn't withstand it, how can I?"

Qin Sixing gripped the iron mace in his hand and frowned.

"Li Cunxiao will definitely take one of these two spots. Since the odds aren't high, why bother being the bad guy?"

"Why not wait until Qin Sixing and Cheng Ruoshui have exhausted themselves before engaging these two directly?"

Guo Zhao's eyes darted around, and he stared at the other two with ill intent.

For a moment, each of the three had their own thoughts, and none of them dared to step forward, making the scene somewhat awkward.

Yan Daotong felt dissatisfied upon seeing this.

The most important thing for a martial artist is to be ambitious and enterprising; without this courage, it is difficult to achieve anything.

Guo Zhao and other scions of prominent families may have had a smooth start due to the protection of their families, but their so-called family traditions, shrewdness, and complex minds made them adept at scheming.

Once you reach the profound realm of touching the primordial spirit, your cultivation progress will actually slow down in the later stages.

"Ultimately, it comes down to different environments. When Changsun Chi and I were young, the four garrisons of Hebei were in turmoil, and even Xijing (the capital) had fallen again."

"Over the course of more than a decade, he experienced countless battles and was tempered by blood and fire, which led to his later breakthrough to the Grandmaster level."

'The current generation, including Guo Zhao, is ultimately lacking. If the world were to change drastically in the future, I fear our sect's lineage might be jeopardized.'

A look of worry flashed across Yan Daotong's eyes.

At this moment, seeing that no one was willing to be the first, Li Cunxiao was about to speak when Du Guanglei unexpectedly stepped forward.

"Junior Brother Li, I will be your opponent."

Li Cunxiao was somewhat surprised and couldn't help but secretly transmit his voice:
"Senior Brother Du, why don't we wait for them first?"

"Junior brother," Du Guanglei replied directly without using telepathy.

"Among everyone present, I am younger than several of my senior brothers, but older than you, although my cultivation is actually weaker than yours."

"Being stuck in this limbo, even if you go to Taiqing Palace and get an opportunity, the probability of breaking through the Xuan Gate is not high."

"Therefore, I only want to spar with my junior brother to see the difference between us. As for this spot, I will give it up."

Upon hearing this, not only did Guo Zhao and the other two look ashamed, but the four sect leaders and Yan Daotong all expressed their appreciation.

That makes sense, but with such benefits right in front of us, and the sect's interests being prioritized, it's undoubtedly extremely valuable and rare from a broader perspective.

"Since you say so, senior brother, then it would be disrespectful to you if I didn't go all out."

Li Cunxiao said this, but he only summoned the Dragon-Binding Rope, and the two began to fight the next moment.

Guo Zhao and the other two immediately widened their eyes, not wanting to miss even the slightest detail.

The Crimson Dragon and the Vermilion Bird collided, flames rose and twisted, and the wind howled wildly.

The changing light and shadows during their fight were like a never-ending downpour, crashing against the hearts of the three onlookers.

Time and again, from ripples to whirlpools, from waves to raging torrents.

Just when they thought things were about to calm down, an even stronger tide would come crashing in.

After about fifteen minutes, Du Guanglei, panting heavily, waved his hands repeatedly, indicating that he had given up.

Li Cunxiao, still calm and composed, turned around and saw three numb faces.

"Three senior brothers, who's next?"

The numbness was instantly shattered, and a few ingratiating smiles appeared on the three faces:

"Junior Brother's strength is evident to all, and he deserves a spot."

“Yes, Junior Brother Cunxiao, please go and rest over there. The rest we three will handle.”

"how?"

(End of this chapter)