Mountain and River Festival

Chapter 289 Tianyao Holy Land
The Heavenly Yao Holy Land is not located within the borders of the Great Qian Kingdom, but rather in an overseas immortal mountain.

Besides glaciers, which may hold many ancient secrets, there are two other extremely vast regions that have never been explored or developed by the world: deserts and oceans.

The ocean is much larger.

The ancestors of Tianyao Holy Land occupied the ocean, thus occupying a vast future and controlling the exchanges with many overseas immortal sects. Therefore, for thousands of years, Tianyao Holy Land has produced many talented people and has firmly held the position of the number one immortal sect in the human world.

It is at least the most recognized immortal sect in China.

The name "Holy Land" is not something the Great Qian Dynasty made up; it truly is a holy land in the hearts of countless cultivators. If one could become a disciple there, even as an outer disciple, countless people would be willing to give up everything for it.

People truly believe that the Holy Land has a path to immortality, and they all believe that many of the predecessors of the Holy Land may have ascended to immortality, and that the Tianyao Holy Land possesses the true method to become an immortal.

As for whether ascension truly exists, to be honest, even Ye Tinglan, as the sect leader, wasn't entirely sure. She had only lived for a few decades, and based on her own observations, she had never witnessed ascension.

Whether the accounts in the classics and the testimonies boasted by elders are true or false is hard to say, since no one has witnessed them firsthand... But Ye Tinglan firmly believes that they exist, at most she has some vague doubts about where they go after ascension.

No matter how much she is questioned, her goal in this life is ascension, which is the ultimate pursuit of all cultivators.

After being with Lu Xingzhou, Ye Tinglan felt that many of the burdens in her heart had been lifted, and she became more detached and indifferent to many things. The barrier to breakthrough had indeed shown signs of loosening. Ye Tinglan didn't know if this could be considered a sign of ascension; perhaps it was, but it might not be the right time yet.

Back outside the sacred ground, gazing at the horizon bathed in the glow of the setting sun, the sacred mountain was shrouded in a bluish-purple mist, its outline like a faint ink wash, appearing and disappearing. The main peak was bisected by flowing clouds, its summit still covered in snow reflecting the rising sun, like a divine sword piercing the sea of ​​clouds. Two or three red-crowned cranes flew over the ridge, their occasional cries mingling with the sounds of flutes and pipes drifting from the mountains, harmonizing with the surrounding waves, creating a vast and timeless atmosphere.

This is a kind of immortal spirit that can never be seen in the Great Qian Dynasty. Even those immortal sects that claim to be secluded in the mountains are still unbearably vulgar compared to the Tianyao Holy Land.

Ye Tinglan felt an even stronger desire to ascend to immortality; the detachment and the yearning for transcendence were so intense that she almost forgot she had a man by her side.

Lu Xingzhou was also staring at the scene in a daze. He didn't even need to enter any secret place; his third-grade barrier was already showing signs of loosening.

Yuan Muyu grew up in such a place... It's quite remarkable that he developed such a ruthless and tyrannical personality.

This gentleman's personality is understandable; he's been greatly influenced by his environment, which has masked some of his less desirable traits. If he hadn't recently shed many masks, who would know he's like this...?

When she returned, her expression became much more solemn and dignified. She was wearing a veil and a robe... wait, why isn't she wearing her robe yet?
"I brought you back as a teacher from the Dan Academy," Ye Tinglan said succinctly, and lowered the small boat.

Although both sides already knew who she was, even A'nuo, who was standing beside her, knew very well. However, Ye Tinglan still didn't want to be openly with a man as the Holy Master of Tianyao. She had to deceive herself and wear a disguise to save face for the sect. This was probably why Ye Tinglan ultimately lacked the confidence to fight Shen Tang to the end.

Including the journey to the East China Sea, which has taken many days, the two of them have been sleeping together like a married couple, but the previous cloying, smoky feeling has diminished considerably.

That's not just because there's an extra big lantern, Ah Nuo.

To put it nicely, they were more like an old married couple. In reality, Lu Xingzhou knew perfectly well that she was feeling uneasy because she was about to return home. After all, she was no longer in a foreign land where no one knew her, and so the shackles returned.

It's completely understandable, and Lu Xingzhou didn't insist. It's already quite good that they can still act like an old married couple instead of pretending to be distant.

Ye Tinglan didn't lead him and A Nuo through the gate in a ostentatious manner, but instead went straight through the formation and headed straight for the inner scripture pavilion.

The magnificent and splendid scenery of other parts of the interior is currently unknown, but the mountain where the Sutra Repository is located remains serene and elegant.

A waterfall cascades down the mountainside like a silver ribbon, its mist forming a rainbow that appears and disappears. Jade-green bamboo forests stretch across the entire mountain, and a sea breeze stirs the distant eaves. A glazed dragon, carved from glass, perches on the eaves, its eyes seeming to come alive as the morning light shifts.

That's the library.

Ah Nuo sighed softly, "Master, this place is so beautiful."

Ye Tinglan said, "Do you want to become a disciple of the Tianyao Holy Land? I'll give you a direct lineage."

Ah Nuo shook her head: "I have a master."

Ye Tinglan gritted her teeth: "You've taken your master along with you, where do you think you're going to run?"

Lu Xingzhou chuckled to himself.

Ye Tinglan glanced at him but didn't force him to join. After all, she still harbored feelings of intimacy with the young man and couldn't really solidify the master-disciple relationship.

Seeing that they had arrived at the Scripture Pavilion, Ye Tinglan stopped the topic and instead introduced the building: "There are two buildings here. The one on the left contains various ancient texts, as vast as the ocean. You were right before, even I couldn't possibly read them all. If you search for them specifically, you might indeed find something else. I will have the Scripture Pavilion manager and disciples cooperate with you. The one on the right contains cultivation texts. There are restrictions inside, and whatever cultivation level you are on, you can choose the texts you want as long as you can go up."

Lu Xingzhou laughed and said, "Can I choose too?"

“Sure.” Ye Tinglan looked around and lowered her voice: “I can even have the steward help you with the records in other classic texts. That’s much better than the treatment of disciples. How could you not choose what ordinary disciples can choose?”

"Aren't you afraid of what people will say?" Lu Xingzhou quietly took her hand. "Let go..." Last night, she was still touching the oars while sleeping in the cabin, but now even touching her hand made Ye Tinglan's heart pound, and she hurriedly shook it off.

Just a moment after they shook off the crowd, someone came rushing over from afar. Ye Tinglan hurriedly pulled Lu Xingzhou and his apprentice into the scripture library on the right: "I have already sent a message to the guards to temporarily take cover, but there will still be other people coming and going, it's not like there's no one here... Don't touch me."

Since the guards had been dismissed beforehand, the library was now empty. Looking at the surrounding bookshelves and the somewhat flustered gentleman before him, Lu Xingzhou was reminded of many classic scenes from adult films.

So he deliberately took a step forward, and Ye Tinglan immediately stepped back, almost bumping into the bookshelf: "You... A'nuo is here! What are you doing?"

Lu Xingzhou laughed, reached out and brushed a stray strand of hair from her forehead, and shook his head, saying, "You... you've put on a veil again."

Ye Tinglan said angrily, "It's as if only being shameless with you means you've let go."

Lu Xingzhou said in a low voice, "You know that's not what I meant."

Ye Tinglan pursed her lips and remained silent.

That's definitely not what I meant. With Anuo by my side, Lu Xingzhou would never do anything reckless.

But it was clearly a deliberate attempt to tease her, and Ye Tinglan was a little annoyed. How could this be like an older man flirting with a young girl... Who's the "master" here?!

Lu Xingzhou said, "Since it's about seeing how far you can go, you don't need to come with us. You'll probably have a lot to do when you get back to the sect. Anuo and I will go up and see for ourselves... Hmm, if we force ourselves to go up to the third floor, will it be dangerous?"

Ye Tinglan sighed, seemingly afraid to look at him, and turned her head away to answer, "It's our own sect's territory, so there won't be any danger. It's just that we set some restrictions to prevent disciples from practicing techniques beyond their capacity beforehand. You're on the verge of the third rank, so you can give it a try. Your technique is strong and your cultivation quality is high, so reaching the third level shouldn't be a problem. A'nuo's constitution is special, so it shouldn't be a big problem either."

Lu Xingzhou nodded and led A Nuo upstairs.

Ye Tinglan looked up and watched the hems of their clothes disappear around the corner of the stairs. She stood silently for a long time before slipping away.

Having been away from the sect for so long, she naturally had a lot of things to take care of upon her return, making it difficult for her to stay by their side.

Lu Xingzhou and his apprentice climbed to the fourth floor without any obstacles, and then went directly up the stairs to the third floor.

—To correspond with the nine grades of rank, the Sutra Repository has nine on the ground floor and one on the upper floors. Therefore, it is the third floor.

During their journey to the fourth floor, Lu Xingzhou had already noticed that the obstacles were merely a form of pressure; the higher they went, the greater the pressure became, especially on the stairs. The two of them had made it easy up the earlier floors, but by the time they reached the third floor, they found it difficult to take a step, their legs feeling like they couldn't lift them.

"Anuo, what are you doing..." Lu Xingzhou turned to ask Anuo, and saw Anuo running up the stairs, only slowing down on the top few steps, but still going up smoothly.

Lu Xingzhou: “…”

Ah Nuo turned her head: "Hey, Master, why aren't you leaving?"

Lu Xingzhou irritably circulated his energy in his legs, instantly feeling much lighter, and then ran up.

Upon reaching the last few floors, I discovered that it wasn't that my legs couldn't run, but rather that my body was under severe pressure, giving me the feeling of being submerged in the deep sea and experiencing immense pressure from all sides, making it difficult to breathe.

However, with the Yin-Yang Extreme Intent activated, it was still easy to ascend, but one still had to bear pressure at the top and constantly needed to circulate the technique.

The master and apprentice exchanged a glance and said in unison, "Should we take another look up?"

Then, they grinned in unison and headed straight for the second floor.

An elderly man on the top floor put down his book and looked up in surprise: "These two brought by the sect leader... are quite interesting."

It's not uncommon for fourth-rank officials to be able to ascend to the third floor throughout history, since such internal facilities are relatively mild, and there are others who have it just as easy as them.

However, in terms of human nature, once one has stepped onto a floor beyond their own rank, and even crossed the major hurdle of the upper three ranks, most people would be overjoyed and would take advantage of their ability to withstand pressure to quickly find something suitable for themselves on the third floor.

Those who can overcome this human tendency to want to advance to the second level, besides having exceptional abilities, all have extremely high expectations of themselves, commonly known as narcissism.

At least in the last hundred years, only two people in the Tianyao Holy Land have done this.

One is Ye Tinglan, and the other... well, now she's called Yuan Muyu.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

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(End of this chapter)