There are no ancestors at all; I made them all up.

Chapter 212 Let's End It Then
"You mean, the Immortal Emperor Taijing did not go into seclusion?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Qing narrowed his eyes slightly and asked a question.

"Hehe, I didn't say that."

The grim look on Canxuan Gong's face vanished instantly, and he returned to his smiling appearance, as if he had just mentioned it casually. Then he said, "This old Daoist is just saying that you might as well think about it this way. After all, the Spirit Reduction Strategy and the Rank Determination Order are all imperial edicts issued by the Celestial Dynasty and stamped with the jade seal of His Majesty Taijing."

Seeing that the others were all deep in thought, he continued, "The Five Sects and Six Religions are at most just waving flags and running errands. Even the likes of Taiyi Dao Palace, who jump around and lobby beforehand, can only ultimately have the seal of office placed by the one in the palace."

Upon hearing this, Chen Qing frowned and remained silent. Since he became "Li Qing," everything he had seen, heard, and personally experienced had given him a poor impression of this Immortal Emperor who reigned above the Ninth Heaven.

Having heard that he had already gone into seclusion and that all the chaos stemmed from the power struggle among the Five Sects and Six Religions, my initial malice had lessened somewhat. However, upon hearing the old Taoist's meaningful words, my newly formed thoughts began to change.

Bingyanmiao immediately sneered: "A den of snakes and rats, birds of a feather! None of you top figures in the Immortal Dynasty have clean hearts! The only difference is whether your evil is obvious or subtle!"

“Your words are utterly wrong, fairy!” the twelfth prince, Xu Wenji, quickly retorted. “My father is by no means such a calculating and cruel person! His cultivation is unparalleled throughout history, and he is single-mindedly pursuing the Great Dao, wishing to follow in the footsteps of the two holy ancestors, Tai Chu and Tai Yuan, and transcend this realm. How could he…”

Canxuan Gong slowly interrupted him: "Your Highness, the fact that the first two were able to ascend is due to their good fortune. However, the flow of the spiritual energy of heaven and earth is no longer what it used to be. Some paths that predecessors have walked may not be able to be followed by successors. If you feel that the path ahead is blocked and want to find another way, the resources required will be far more than ordinary."

Bing Yanmiao's eyes suddenly sharpened: "According to your logic, that evil Immortal Emperor..." She disregarded Xu Wenji's ugly expression, "would also harm my Ice Soul Clan for the sake of some so-called alternative path, or plot against the Mysterious Gate? To harm Li... to harm my master?"

"That's not necessarily true." Master Canxuan paused in stroking his beard. "The reasons are not convenient for you to explain in detail. I can only say that his talk of seclusion may not be unfounded. There must be a reason why he has not appeared in the world for so long."

These words, seemingly concealing something, only fueled further speculation.

Chen Qing looked directly at Canxuan Gong and asked, "How did you learn these secrets? What is the basis for your deductions?"

Master Canxuan laughed heartily and flicked his sleeve: "It's just that I've lived a bit longer and seen a bit more. Random guesses don't count, they don't count at all."

"Lord Canxuan!" Xu Wenji's chest heaved, and he finally couldn't help but rebuke, "I respect you as a senior master, but how can you presume to judge my father like this? This is not the way of a subject! Moreover, you come from the Xuanpin Medicine Sect, which is one of the Five Sects and Six Religions. It's understandable that you want to defend your own family in your words!"

Canxuan Gong was not annoyed. Instead, he gave the twelfth prince a meaningful look and said, "Your Highness, he is indeed your father, but if you are talking about your understanding of his past, you may not be as good as this old Daoist. Don't forget, I already knew him when he was a disciple of Taiyuan Immortal Emperor."

Upon hearing this, Xu Wenji opened his mouth, but all the words of defense he had were blocked by this lighthearted remark, leaving him stunned in place.

Master Canxuan stroked his beard and smiled, then steered the conversation back on track, saying, “Fellow Daoist Li, my Xuanpin Medicine Sect has stood for ten thousand years, with connections throughout the world. Not to mention the Five Sects and Six Religions, even the Nine Heavens Immortal Palace and the Nine Netherworld Demon Abyss have some influence with us. Once the news of your possession of the Xuanmen secrets spreads, how can the Hidden Star Sect withstand all the open and covert attacks? My sect is willing to open its gates, treat you as a guest elder, offer you all the resources you need, let you read the Daoist scriptures, and protect you completely.”

Ice-like eyes flashed with a cold light as she interrupted with a sneer: "You talk a good game! You're just using a different pretext to covet my fortune as your master! You ancient sects, which one of you isn't a ruthless person who eats people alive?"

"The little girl is quite straightforward." Instead of being angry, Master Canxuan smiled and said frankly, "I do covet it, but I will not resort to trickery and scheming. The Xuanmen chooses its master, and only those with great opportunities and great fortune can obtain it. Forcibly taking it will surely incur divine retribution. What I seek is merely to borrow your guidance to observe the true essence of heaven and earth, which may be able to supplement the Xuan methods of my sect. For this, the Medicine Sect is willing to do its utmost to protect you. This is a win-win situation."

"Oh?" Chen Qing listened, seemingly lost in thought.

Xu Wenji, who was standing to the side, suddenly straightened his clothes, stepped forward, and said with a burning gaze, "Master Li! Although I am not talented, I am willing to use the royal treasure, the Nine Dragons Agarwood Carriage, to invite the three royal Dharma Masters to protect you for a hundred years!"

Upon hearing this, Chen Qing immediately shook his head: "Your Highness appreciates my kindness, but I am used to being carefree and have no intention of being bound by the court, much less of the power of the royal family. Besides, your words about becoming my disciple are just a fleeting thought born from a momentary emotional surge. As a prince, what kind of master can't you find? I am merely a ninth-stage Golden Core cultivator, how could I be your master?"

Despite being rejected, Xu Wenji was not discouraged. Instead, he said with conviction, "I am not speaking rashly because of a momentary emotional fluctuation. It is because as a prince, although I am honored, my path of cultivation is much more difficult than that of ordinary people! The shackles of bloodline are heavy, there are many taboos in the court, and my father strictly forbids us from having close ties with the major sects! I am close to the Liu family because they are neither from any sect nor a powerful clan, which is why I can obtain some meager resources."

Canxuan Gong nodded slightly, confirming, "What Your Highness said is indeed true. Taijing is extremely strict with the princes' cultivation."

Chen Qing remained unmoved.

He naturally had no intention of entrusting his safety to others. Although the Xuanpin Medicine Sect was good, it was ultimately an outsider; although the power of the royal family was strong, the consequences were too great.

However, the reminder from Master Canxuan was not false. Given the current situation, I really need to consider how to deal with being targeted by various factions.

In fact, Chen Qing had planned this for a long time.

"Relying solely on one's own strength is naturally insufficient. At crucial moments, one must still draw upon the historical echoes of the Taiyuan Immortal Emperor! By employing the method of connecting the mysteries through cause and effect, one can activate the Emperor's Daoist charm. However, the Taiyuan Ruins are not revealed in Jade Capital, and blindly seeking them out could easily expose one's true nature."

Upon realizing this, he understood that the key to breaking through was in the tattered scroll pavilion outside the dream!

The vast collection of books that Yu Yin guards contains a secret path leading directly to the ruins.

But to obtain its secret, one must first repay the debt.

With this thought in mind, Chen Qing looked up at the Canxuan Gong opposite him. This man was knowledgeable and knew the past of the Taijing Immortal Emperor like the back of his hand. Perhaps he knew something?
Thinking of this, he suddenly spoke up: "Master Canxuan, I have a question, but I don't know if I should ask it?"

As Shen Xuan was pondering how to persuade Chen Qing, he immediately smiled and said, "Fellow Daoist, please speak freely! I will tell you everything I know!"

Chen Qing slowly recited the verse: "The calamity of an era lies in the alternation of Dao fruits; the wonder of the three lives is revealed in the true texts of Dao evolution. What is the meaning of this?" Before he finished speaking, the smile on Canxuan Gong's face instantly froze!

"Where...where did you hear that?!"

Judging from his expression, Chen Qing knew that this matter was of great importance, and asked in return, "I learned about it by chance, but I didn't understand its meaning, so I asked for your explanation. It seems that you are aware of it."

The old man's expression was uncertain. After a long while, he took a deep breath and said in a very low voice, word by word, "I do know."

As he spoke, he flicked his sleeve, and an invisible barrier enveloped the four of them, isolating them from all sounds.

"The key to this statement lies not only in its content, but also in the medium on which it was recorded! So far, I have only seen this statement once and heard others mention it twice—oh, not counting yours this time. Besides the statement itself, there is another crucial point: what was this statement recorded on?"

In the present world, in a quiet room.

Inside the quiet room, Chen Qing suddenly opened his eyes, his gaze shifting briefly before settling back down.

However, he was still immersed in the obscure words spoken by Master Canxuan.

"An era has its Dao Fruits, but also its great calamities. If one cannot overcome the calamities, the era will end and the Dao Fruits will wither. One era, one cycle, flowers bloom and fruits fall, it is the time when heaven and earth are overturned. Formation, existence, decay and emptiness all depend on this; and the Dao Evolution True Script is related to cultivation realms, and is often left behind by ascended cultivators..."

Chen Qing pondered this for a long time in his dream, gradually gaining insights, but there were still many things he couldn't understand.

"Just this one sentence touched upon the changes of the times and personal cultivation, and there seems to be a connection between the two. I'll tell Yin about this; perhaps I can get other information from him..."

However, just as he was thinking this, the feedback from his dream came rushing in like a flood!

The surging spiritual energy poured down, but for Chen Qing now, the accumulation of quantity was no longer enough to bring about a qualitative leap.

However, a strange change suddenly occurred in the Niwan Palace!

As starlight begins to illuminate, the illusory image of the azure sea appears, with continuous mountain ranges rising from the seabed. Where the sea meets the sky, the reflections of the sun and moon float in the air, light and darkness rotating, creating an illusory and hazy scene!

The impending completion of the Jade Palace Purple Mansion manifested prematurely in Chen Qing's Niwan Palace!

"I've skipped a level again! My physical body hasn't even formed a Golden Core yet, but my Sea of ​​Consciousness has already begun to transform into a Purple Mansion and develop an inner landscape!"

After the inner scene manifested, it shone with light, causing his true form, Yin Spirit, to tremble slightly, as if it wanted to merge into the newly opened Purple Mansion.

"This cannot be integrated, otherwise it will be difficult to achieve perfection when condensing the golden core."

Chen Qing's mind raced, and he immediately focused on his spiritual platform, regulating the energy on both sides to stabilize the situation and temporarily restore balance between his Yin spirit and inner vision. However, with the Niwan Palace constantly undergoing transformation, this balance would likely be broken soon.

"I need to find a place as soon as possible to help my main body form its core! In this dream, my body has reached the ninth level of transformation, and all preparations are complete, saving me from the tedious process in between and allowing my main body to directly reach the gate of the ninth level! However, the spiritual energy in the mortal world is scarce and the spiritual veins are mixed, so finding a good place is not easy. But I do have an advantage here. What I really need to worry about is the matter of the guardian spirit during the core formation process..."

The moment this thought arose, an ancient door suddenly materialized and manifested in the center of the illusory image of the sun, moon, stars, and sea in the Niwan Palace!
"Om-"

The door trembled, and the strange door planted deep within Chen Qing's consciousness was activated, transforming into a wisp of light that entered it.

Immediately, the door, carrying the power of the inner realm, sank down and finally landed in the dantian's sea of ​​qi!
The next moment, his dantian trembled violently, as if the world had just been created!
An almost inexhaustible supply of pure spiritual energy surged out from the gate, pouring out through the pores of his body, transforming into streaks of solidified cyan-gold spiritual light that danced and swirled around him!

The quiet room was instantly filled with rich spiritual energy. Wherever the spiritual light swept across the floor, walls, and ceiling, specks of spiritual essence condensed, like dew or pearls. Illusory images of spiritual herbs and exotic flowers appeared out of thin air, blooming and swaying, fleeting and uncertain.

Furthermore, streaks of azure-gold light shone through the house, illuminating the courtyard outside in a magnificent light.

Above, clouds gathered and swirled, drawing spiritual energy from within a hundred miles, which slowly surged toward this small courtyard!
hum!
Within Chen Qing's dantian, a glimmer of light emerged from the gate, then frantically absorbed and exhaled spiritual energy!

And inside the door, they'll give you as much as you want!

His expression suddenly changed.

"Oh no! This gate is giving me too much spiritual energy; I'm about to form my core!"

Then, Chen Qing thought for a moment.

"Fine, there's no time like the present. I'm familiar with it anyway, and this body shouldn't be dragging on its cultivation level any longer, so let's settle this."

(End of this chapter)