The True Lord has arrived

Chapter 321 Only the Moonlight Enters Kunlun

The immortal essence had previously displayed a desire for autonomous action when it was in a state of being without a master. It had been sealed by Li Taibai with the sword energy of the Azure Lotus. Now, the Azure Lotus had transformed into divine essence and landed in Zhou Yan's sleeve. Naturally, the immortal essence wanted to escape.

Li Bai took a slight step back, smiled, and raised his hand in a gesture of invitation.

He gestured for Zhou Yan to go and catch it himself.

It is understated yet bold, with a hint of arrogance and nonchalance hidden beneath.

Zhou Yan felt a sense of familiarity with Li Bai's temperament. Seeing this, he did not hesitate. After a moment's thought, he raised his palm, flipped his wrist, and used his wind manipulation technique to bring the scroll into his hand. With a flick of his wrist, the scroll unfurled.

It was an exquisitely crafted and mysterious butterfly painting, a secret treasure of the Tengdie Painting School, and one of Li Yuanying's most mysterious treasures. It consumed a great deal of magical power. With a thought, Zhou Yan channeled a powerful and pure magical power into it.

Ripples spread across the butterfly painting, and with a gentle shake, golden light emanated from it. One by one, butterflies flew out as if they were alive, moving with incredible speed and agility, completely surrounding the celestial essence.

Each butterfly here possesses the power of thunder magic.

This immortal essence was previously held by Li Yuanying, so he naturally knew the power of the Tengdie Diagram. He circled and dodged left and right, but in the end, he was still unable to avoid it and was forced back to Zhou Yan by the butterflies.

Zhou Yan raised his palm and used the Innate Qi Capture Technique to grab the immortal essence directly into his hand. With his five fingers slightly clenched, no matter how the white essence changed, it could not escape.

Li Bai clapped his hands in praise: "Brother, what excellent skills you have!"

It was only when Zhou Yan used it that he realized that the butterfly in the [Tengdie Diagram] could not only unleash its power at once, but could also be controlled by the soul, and had many wonderful uses. It truly lived up to its reputation as Li Yuanying's signature magic weapon.

These butterflies were so troublesome when we were dealing with Li Yuanying.

Now that the [Tengdie Diagram] is in my hands, it feels incredibly satisfying to use it.

Zhou Yan carefully put away the Tengdie Diagram, rolled it up again into a scroll, and hung it on one side of his waist for easy access. At the same time, he curiously examined this celestial essence.

Suddenly, the thought that had crossed my mind earlier came back to me.

His gaze shifted from the immortal essence to Li Taibai. He activated his divine eye and saw a very obvious jade talisman within Li Taibai's dream body, slowly swirling with mysterious light.

Zhou Yan's heart tightened slightly. He first handed Li Zhiwei over to Yang Taizhen, then solemnly asked:

"The elder brother said before that he had met Li Yuanying."

"Yes……"

Li Bai was curious why Zhou Yan said such a thing, but being carefree, he casually replied, "That was many years ago. I was young then, and one day I got drunk and had a great dream. In the dream, I drifted and came to this heaven."

Li Bai raised his palm and pointed to the bright moon in the sky. The moon was so large that it seemed within reach, and the jade palaces on the moon were clearly visible. He said, "It was there that I met Li Yuanying. We both had the opportunity to meet immortals."

"He touched my head and said he would grant me immortality."

"It's a pity, it's a pity."

Zhou Yan was deep in thought.

The entire layout of Langzhong City is a top-notch feng shui formation, and the most famous part of it is the twelve-story building, which is located in different positions and forms the feng shui pattern of the entire city.

Even now, the largest building in Langzhong City, Huaguang Tower, still has a couplet that reads "These twelve buildings."

Could it be that the Jade City in the heavens that Li Bai saw back then refers to the ones on the bright moon in the sky, and the twelve towers among the twelve towers and five cities refer to Langzhong? Then, the city on the bright moon in the sky and the twelve towers on earth, combined, form…

Kunlun Villa, a fairyland?
As Zhou Yan was pondering, he heard Li Bai's voice and instinctively asked, "What's the pity?"

Li Bai laughed freely and said:
"Unfortunately, I found the sky too deserted and couldn't stand it, so I ran away."

"What's wrong, little brother? You're not looking at me right now. Is it because of that immortal I met in my dream back then? Is there something wrong with him?"

Zhou Yan pondered for a moment, nodded, and briefly recounted the matter in a way that Li Taibai could understand. Li Taibai said, "Holding the jade talisman, wielding power, huh..."

"It seems that the opportunities these immortals have come with are not free."

"If they intend to turn my soul into a jade talisman and let them control it to achieve immortality in this way, it would be better to die."

Zhou Yan briefly examined Li Taibai's situation and discovered the difference between Li Taibai and Li Yuanying. Li Yuanying seemed to be someone whom Emperor Gaozu Li Yuan was unwilling to have his son stand on the throne. So, in the face of this unwillingness and the tragic trend of killing his brothers, he joined forces with Shi.

With the help of jade talismans and bloodlines, a series of descendants were created.

Li Bai, on the other hand, seems to be the opposite.

He truly possesses an innate, ethereal quality.

[Shi] planted a mark on Li Taibai in advance, causing a jade talisman to be born inside Li Taibai. It seems that when Li Taibai dies, [Shi]'s men will appear and take away Li Taibai's jade talisman.

Upon hearing this, Li Bai laughed heartily: "Hahaha, after death, being driven by others, I do not wish for such immortality. How about this..." He looked at Zhou Yan with a smile, one hand on his sword, the other hand cupped together as if holding a cup of wine.

He invited them from afar by offering them a glass of wine:

"Judging from your appearance, it seems you can also take that jade talisman?"

"In that case, how about we make a deal with Bai?"

Li Taibai smiled and said, "When I die, my soul will return to the world. Please take this jade talisman inside my body with you. You may hide it in the deep mountains or put it in a clear spring, so as to save me from the trouble of worrying after my death."

He casually explained what would happen after his death.

There was a look of sorrow in Li Pingyang's eyes. She pursed her lips and tugged at her father's sleeve. When Li Taibai saw the girl's appearance, he could only wave his hand like an ordinary father and say, "Alright, alright, I won't say anymore."

"Don't look at me like that..."

"Sigh, just like your mother, she never says anything, she just watches."

Li Bai murmured, then patted Li Pingyang's hand. Looking at the wrinkled hand, even in his dream form, he suddenly smiled and sighed, "Such longevity is right before your eyes, yet you give it up. Don't you think it's a bit of a pity?"

His eyes held a complex mix of emotions: regret, reluctance, pity, and an unspoken apology for not being able to spend more time with his family.

Humans are not plants or trees; they have a natural desire for their own will to endure.

After learning about Shi's methods and Li Yuanying's ability to survive for so long, even Li Bai felt a sense of lament, longing, regret, and yearning. This had nothing to do with anything else but the desire of a living being to live.

Li Bai paused for a moment, but still said, "However, if such a thing were to happen, I would probably still refuse."

Zhou Yan asked, "Why?"

In the end, Li Bai simply drank down his complex emotions like wine, pointed to the bright moon in the sky, and said slowly and casually, "The sky is too desolate; drinking here is not enjoyable."

Zhou Yan could tell that he did not lack longing for immortality and yearn for immortals and gods.

It is admirable that he can still utter such a sentence.

Li Taibai said, "This [Immortal Essence] can bring great benefits if ingested, and can help one break through in cultivation. But it should also have other wonderful uses. Perhaps it would be delicious to use it to brew wine. In short, just keep it safe."

"The moon shines brightly here, while it's still daytime over there. I feel like I'm about to wake up. Brother, is there anything you'd like me to do for you?"

Zhou Yan looked at the aged swordsman and the poet immortal wielding his sword. This represented a promise from the banished immortal. Given Li Bai's nature, even if Zhou Yan asked for the moon, this banished immortal would help him find a way; he wouldn't refuse to help him fight with his sword. But Zhou Yan thought for a moment, then chuckled softly and said:
"There is indeed one."

Li Bai gazed intently at him.

He appears carefree and easygoing, but in reality, he is a man of deep affection and loyalty.

He had already made up his mind that he would agree to whatever Zhou Yan wanted.

But the young Taoist priest with graying temples merely smiled mockingly and said:
"I hope you will stop writing poems about the Pavilion of Prince Teng, so that future generations will not have to memorize more and more famous lines."

Li Bai was stunned, then suddenly burst into laughter.

He pointed at Zhou Yan, his brows relaxing. This was a request he had never heard before, yet it was so carefree and just what he wanted to hear. He said, "Okay, okay, okay!"

“Then I will naturally agree to your request. However, what I have seen today is truly exhilarating. Now, take up your pen!” Li Bai casually picked up his sword and, with a flourish, wrote characters on the wall of the Tengwang Pavilion, which was ablaze with flames behind him.

Zhou Yan looked around and saw that it was a poem he had never seen before. The words were already extremely elegant, and the poem was even more magnificent and unrestrained. It was a kind of spirit that Zhou Yan had never seen before!
Finally, a long poem in classical style was completed. The words outlined with swords, amidst the raging flames of the Tengwang Pavilion and under the bright moon of the long night, exuded a heroic and unrestrained spirit that seemed to burst forth from the walls.

Finally, Li Bai, ever carefree, wanted to drink, but there was no wine to drink, so he said:

"That felt great!"

"Although there is no wine, being with you is more enjoyable than drinking a hundred jars of fine wine... I have written everything I wanted to write, and I will finish writing it here at the Tengwang Pavilion in Langzhong and then stop."

Just then, Li Bai suddenly felt a push on his shoulder. He was slightly startled, but then he realized that it was the Tengwang Pavilion in Jiangnan West Circuit. The literati and officials who had been entertaining him were shaking his shoulder. He felt that he was about to wake up.

So Li Bai sighed softly, gripping the sword in his hand.

Then he reached out and took Li Pingyang's hand. He squatted down and, just like when they were children, straightened Li Pingyang's clothes, looking somewhat dazed.

Newly brewed liquor is ready, and I return from the mountains; yellow chickens peck at millet, and autumn is in full swing.

Calling the boy to cook chicken and pour white wine, the children laugh and tug at their clothes.

The child who was once his hem has now grown into a graceful young woman, with his own opportunities and a place in the martial world. Li Taibai wore a warm smile on his face and placed his sword on Li Pingyang's waist.

The height was adjusted to make the sword most suitable for Li Pingyang to draw.

Li Pingyang finally couldn't hold back her emotions any longer, and tears streamed down her face. She grabbed Li Bai's hand and said, "Father..."

Li Bai's lips moved, and though sadness lingered in his eyes, he remained unrestrained and bold, laughing as he said:

"gone!"

Li Pingyang reached out and grabbed only a piece of the hem of the garment. That piece of the hem vanished like smoke, just as if, long, long ago, his father had returned home in great joy and asked them to bring out the wine.

She was very young then and didn't understand separation.

They were happy to be able to eat chicken, unaware that it was the beginning of a long separation, for the next few lines, after the children's playful tugs at their clothes, already foreshadowed...

The foolish woman of Kuaiji looked down on Maichen, and I too left home to travel west to Qin.

He laughed loudly and went out the door.

We are not ordinary people.

From the beginning to the present, it has always been the same. In the distant Jiangnan West Road, in the Tengwang Pavilion, which became famous because of Wang Bo's "Preface to the Tengwang Pavilion", Li Bai slowly opened his eyes. Sunlight fell on the water, making it ripple.

"Li Hanlin, is he awake?"

The official greeted him with a smile and had already brought him paper and pen. After a while of conversation, he said, "Li Hanlin, since you've already gotten quite drunk, have you come up with any brilliant lines? Why don't you write them down and leave your name here?"

Li Bai looked at those scholars and literati, holding his pen, but suddenly threw it down and laughed, saying, "I have gained nothing, hahaha..." Many scholars thought of following Wang Lun and trying to make a name for themselves by associating with Li Bai, but they never expected this.

Despite everyone's attempts to persuade him, the old man simply smiled and said he had no inspiration.

Much later, when his cousin, Li Yangbing, the magistrate of Dangtu County in Xuanzhou, inquired about it, he said that he had made a promise with someone that he would no longer write poems at Tengwang Pavilion. Now, the officials and scholars had not been able to fulfill their wish, so he looked rather unhappy, and the leader of the group turned and left.

Li Bai didn't care; he simply leaned on the railing, enjoying the view and drinking wine.

In the heart of Langzhong, the Tengwang Pavilion burned in flames. In the end, the Tengwang Pavilion in this special environment, along with the poems left by the poet, vanished into the wind.

From then on, this ancient-style poem no longer exists in the world.

Despite the remarkable fact that the Tengwang Pavilion was so famous, and Li Bai traveled there extensively, producing so many poems, not a single poem related to the Tengwang Pavilion has survived to this day.

Later generations, puzzled, could only speculate that the poet had never visited the Pavilion of Prince Teng.

Despite his wide circle of friends and the renowned Tengwang Pavilion, he had no one to gather with.

That's all.

………………

In Langzhong, Zhou Yan watched Li Taibai dissipate and leave. After all, the latter was only a dream form and had a connection with Langyuan. He could leave now. Zhou Yan and the others composed themselves and left. Wang Boze remained silent and quietly carried Wang Wan'er away.

Zhou Yan remained silent for a long time, then cast a spell to protect the father and daughter with flowing winds, seeing them off for a while.

When Zhou Yan went to the antique shop to meet up with the others, he had a new [Grotto-Heaven Blessed Land Jade Talisman] in his hand. At this moment, the jade talisman had not yet been fully refined, but he could already vaguely sense a vast world filled with innate energy rising and falling in the distance.

Kaiming had previously said that he could recount his experiences later and didn't want to repeat them twice. Seeing Zhou Yan frown, he asked, and after Zhou Yan answered, a natural expression appeared on Kaiming's face.

Kaiming pointed to the enormous, bright moon in the sky and said, "I became like this because I went up there, because the real entrance to Langyuan is above this full moon!"

"It's like a dream, that's why they need to use the Tengwang Pavilion and the dream array to utilize this jade talisman."

"If you can completely control the [jade talisman] you hold."

"Therefore, at any time and from any place, one can use the radiance of the bright moon as an anchor point to enter the [Langyuan Wonderland]. It is filled with extraordinary spiritual energy and various mysteries, and it is located above the thirty-six grotto-heavens and seventy-two blessed lands of the Daoist sect!"

Zhou Yan slowly raised his head, looking at the enormous moon that seemed almost within reach—

The blessed land of Langyuan, is it truly the Jade Capital of Heaven?!

Using the moonlight as an anchor point, one can enter anytime and anywhere.

So, was Yi a hero from the era when the Kunlun Mountain pantheon was still active? Does the so-called Chang'e flying to the moon refer to Chang'e using moonlight as an anchor point to cross space and enter a real fairyland?
It's almost equivalent to a top-of-the-line personal space.

Luckily I didn't say it, otherwise King Jin would definitely have been tempted again.

As Zhou Yan's mind raced, he suddenly sensed a chilling killing intent pointing at him. His essence, energy, and spirit had become one, and when his divine sense perceived it, his primordial spirit and magical power began to operate spontaneously.

A surge of energy circulated around Zhou Yan, and a beam of Geng metal energy transformed into a sword light, tearing forward.

"Who's there? Come out!"

(End of this chapter)