Shrouding the Heavens: Starting by joining the Holy Land of Yao Guang

Chapter 192 Jade Pool Pure Land

The Jade Pool Gathering is truly grand. Although it hasn't officially started yet, many extraordinary people have already settled in this sacred land. Most of the emperors from the Central Plains and the demon lords from the Southern Ridges have come.

Only a few forces, either busy with other matters or still on their way, were all rushing towards Yaochi as expected.

As a supreme holy land, Yao Guang was greeted by powerful figures from Yao Chi upon their arrival, who then led them to their pre-arranged residence.

Yaochi is like a fairyland, exceptionally magnificent and beautiful, as if you have stepped into the legendary Yaochi fairyland.

Soon, the group arrived at a majestic sacred mountain with flowing springs and waterfalls. A silver dragon, thousands of feet long, fell from the sky and crashed into the blue lake, creating a vast expanse of white.

The mountains are planted with many spiritual herbs and are frequented by auspicious beasts. They possess both a mystical aura and wondrous scenery, making them a place that people linger and never want to leave.

As one of the most powerful holy lands in the Eastern Wilderness, Yaochi is even more profound than Yaoguang in terms of its foundation.

Here, the dragon's aura swirls, and the essence is abundant, even surpassing the power of the Yao Guang.

The residence that Yaochi prepared for Yaoguang was of a very high standard. When they climbed the mountain, they saw several palaces and pavilions on the top of the mountain, carved with dragons and painted with phoenixes, each one magnificent.

Around the palace, there is a grove of purple bamboo, and next to it, there is a clear little lake.

The purple bamboo is as lustrous as jade, and many medicinal herbs grow in the forest. Although they are few in number, each one is thousands of years old.

During the Yaochi Grand Gathering, this mountain peak belongs exclusively to Yaoguang, which is the highest standard.

Apart from the Jiang family, Ji family, and other extreme forces, the rest were mostly several forces crammed onto a single mountain peak. The worst were those in secluded retreats at the foot of the mountain, or simply temporary houses built on the edge of the Jade Pool Pure Land.

This is not an exaggeration at all, because there are just too many people attending the Peach Banquet.

"This is my first time attending the Jade Pool Gathering. I wonder what the world-famous peaches are like?" Yao Xi said with some anticipation.

"The peaches of immortality from Yaochi are famous throughout the world. They are the most renowned spiritual roots in the Eastern Wilderness. Mortals who eat them can prolong their lives, and cultivators who eat them will also find them extremely helpful for their cultivation," a Supreme Elder said with a smile.

This is the Supreme Elder of Rising Sun Island. It is actually his first time participating in the Jade Pool Gathering. However, he has eaten peaches of immortality before and knows a little about them.

The saying "When one person attains enlightenment, even his chickens and dogs ascend to heaven" is perfectly exemplified in the case of Asahi Shinjima.

At such a grand banquet as the Jade Pool Gathering, all the holy lands would bring people to participate, but it would be shameless to bring dozens or hundreds of people, as that would be like freeloading.

No one wants to lose face like that, so they usually only bring a few people, and try not to bring more than nine.

The Holy Land of Yao Guang has countless Supreme Elders, making the competition for a spot extremely fierce.

Among the twelve meridians, Rising Sun Island is not particularly special, and they were not usually invited to participate in the previous Jade Pool Gatherings.

Of the nearly one hundred Supreme Elders of Rising Sun Island, only a handful have actually attended the Jade Pool Feast.

Liu Xiu thought of the peach he ate, which Zhang Chong had secretly packed and brought back. In his thousand years of life, Zhang Chong had only attended the Jade Pool Gathering once.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but sigh. The ancient history of Yao Guang is vast and boundless, but it can be summed up in just four words: contend, stand, saint, and master!

Now that a Holy Lord has emerged on Sunrise Island, their treatment has undergone a dramatic change, with all kinds of benefits now being maximized.

Just like this time when participating in the Yaochi Grand Gathering, there are nine spots. Xuri Island has four spots, and the remaining five spots are occupied by Yaoguang Mountain (two), Luoxia Mountain (one), Tianxuan Mountain (one), and Zhisheng Mountain (one).

Of the nine, apart from the one from the Holy Mountain, the other factions all have one thing in common: they belong to the same faction as the current Holy Envoy.

"No wonder all twelve sects want to vie for the position of Holy Lord." Liu Xiu felt he had figured it out; having a Holy Lord was truly appealing.

"Legend has it that there is an ancient tree in the Yaochi Holy Land, which is the most precious thing after divine medicine. Will there be peaches from that ancient tree at this grand event?" Yao Xi asked with some curiosity.

Li Yao chuckled and shook his head: "Impossible. The peaches that grow on that ancient tree are truly heaven-defying treasures, capable of extending one's lifespan by five hundred years. Even Yaochi herself doesn't have enough, so how could she possibly give them out?"

"Five hundred years! Such a spiritual root, I wonder where Yaochi obtained it?" Yao Xi exclaimed in amazement.

"It is said that it was brought out from the Divine Ruins," Liu Xiu said softly from the side.

The Divine Ruins is one of the seven forbidden zones of life in the Eastern Wilderness, alongside the Primordial Ancient Mine and the Desolate Ancient Forbidden Land. It is located in the western part of the Eastern Wilderness, a place where no living beings exist.

Legend has it that the Divine Ruins were left behind by the gods. Some ancient books even record that there is an unyielding Southern Heavenly Gate and a majestic and vast Heavenly Palace in the Divine Ruins, which is the place where the ancient Heavenly Court fell.

As a forbidden zone for life, it has always been a place of no return, and no one in the world has been able to fully explore its secrets.

In the world, there are only a handful of immortal herbs, and they can no longer be found in the world today, as they are all in forbidden zones of life.

The Immortal Peach Tree is said to be rooted in the Divine Ruins, only about three feet tall, and it takes ten thousand years to bear fruit.

"Legend has it that tens of thousands of years ago, a sage from Yaochi risked his life to enter the Divine Ruins and managed to escape. Although he did not bring out the Immortal Peach Tree, he did bring out a divine peach medicine from it," Liu Xiu revealed a secret he had found in an ancient book.

"The spiritual root in Yaochi was grown from the seed of the Immortal Peach Divine Medicine?" Yao Xi was shocked. An Immortal Divine Medicine can only exist once in the world; it's impossible for a second one to be born. How did Yaochi manage to do it?
“Because of the Sacred Pool, it is a divine pool whose water contains boundless vitality. It can bring the dead back to life, heal the wounded, aid in cultivation, and be used in medicine.” Li Yao said, thinking of the Sacred Pool in the ancient land of Yaochi.

"After the ancient sage of Yaochi returned, he planted the seeds of the divine peach medicine in the sacred soil, and then irrigated them daily with the spring water from the sacred pool. In the end, a myth was truly created, and the peach seeds took root and sprouted," Liu Xiu also said.

"No wonder it can extend one's lifespan by five hundred years! So that ancient tree has such a remarkable history!" Yao Xi exclaimed in amazement.

"That's only now; the effects were even more exaggerated in the past." Liu Xiu was learned in both ancient and modern times and knew many secrets.

When the seed of the Immortal Peach Divine Medicine first blossoms and bears fruit, the resulting peach is equivalent to a semi-divine medicine. Although it only happens once, the subsequent fruits can extend one's lifespan by a thousand years.

"A thousand years, then why is it now five hundred?" Yao Xi was very curious about the secrets of the past and quickly asked.

"I don't know the specifics, but it should be related to the relocation of Yaochi. The Sacred Pool is a treasure of heaven and earth, and it can only appear in special terrains. The relocation of Yaochi may have caused a great loss of the Sacred Pool's spiritual energy, right?" Even Liu Xiu was somewhat uncertain at this point in his story.

The relocation of Yaochi is an absolute mystery, known to all ages. Even Yaoguang, another sacred site, knows very little about it.

Li Yao remained silent. He had been to the ancient Yaochi and seen that sacred pool, and even now, thinking about it, he still felt regret.

Although he had never seen the divine spring in the desolate forbidden land, Li Yao was certain that the spring water in the Yaochi Sacred Pool, even if it couldn't compare to the divine spring, was at least nearly the same, both being heaven-defying divine objects.

Such a precious place, yet it's filled with corpses. Although its efficacy remains undiminished, it's still unsettling.

I can't use it myself, and I can't live with myself selling it to someone else. It's clearly a treasure, but it seems a bit useless.

……

After explaining some matters to the elders, Li Yao led Yao Xi into the main hall.

The grand gathering at Yaochi has not yet officially begun, and many people have not yet arrived; they are currently on their way.

Li Yao certainly wouldn't waste time. Now that he had decided to take the path of proving the Dao through force, the next step was to continuously accumulate the depth of his Dao cultivation.

Fortunately, improving one's cultivation level is difficult for others, but it's nothing for him.

He had not yet fully digested the insights gained from his third entry into the realm of creation. If he were to move faster, he might be able to enter the realm of creation again to comprehend the Dao before the Yaochi Grand Gathering.

The sacred power of the Taiyin and Taiyang converged and circulated in the main hall. Yao Xi cultivated the Taiyin True Scripture, and the sacred power of the Taiyin greatly helped her cultivation.

The two sat facing each other, both diligently cultivating and improving their skills, making the most of their time.

Relax when you need to relax, and don't slack off when you're working hard...

Since the two broke through the last barrier, their relationship has become extremely close, and they have been practicing together almost all the time.

The benefits of constantly cultivating alongside a powerful figure are obvious, not to mention that Li Yao often preached to her.

The Daoist aura flowing from Li Yao's cultivation was of great help to her, making it easier for her to enter a state of cultivation.

Even when circulating the Taiyin True Scripture, the speed felt much faster.

There is also the sacred power of the Taiyin, which, if gathered by oneself, would not be visible even for half a day.

Beside Li Yao, the Yin Holy Power was so dense that it was terrifying; he didn't even need to gather it himself, he could just start absorbing it directly.

Under these circumstances, Yao Xi's cultivation level improved rapidly, after all, this cultivation environment is top-notch even in the universe.

Yao Xi was quite talented, and in the end, she reached the Great Sage level. Her cultivation environment at that time was not good. She had to avoid the Ruthless Clan while also keeping her whereabouts secret. She rarely discussed the Dao with people of similar cultivation level.

Even under these circumstances, she managed to cultivate to the Great Sage realm, which shows that her talent is by no means bad.

In this life, because of Li Yao, she cultivated to a more powerful ancient scripture, enjoyed better resources, often listened to Li Yao preach, and cultivated by Li Yao's side...

These changes make Yao Xi far more powerful than in the original novel.

Now, everyone in the Eastern Wilderness is only paying attention to Xia Mingxiao, Jiang Yifei, and others.

However, little did they know that Yao Xi in this world was absolutely superior to the other holy sons and daughters.

With the cultivation level of the sixth transformation of the dragon, defeating Ye Fan in his current state would pose absolutely no challenge.

Regardless of whether she will be surpassed in the future, Yao Xi is currently in a clear lead over Ye Fan.

Based on her performance, apart from Xia Mingxiao and Jiang Yifei, she's the only one left in the Eastern Wilderness.

In fact, if this trend continues, Yao Xi might be considered one of the most amazing young talents in the Five Regions.

　I can't add an extra chapter today, it's too late now, I definitely won't finish writing before midnight.
　　
　
(End of this chapter)