Fangxian Heretical Path

Chapter 295 The Five Sects of Ancient Mount Lu
According to the Blood Mother Scripture, immortals who have established their Daoist foundation will experience tremendous changes within their bodies and a significant increase in their magical power during the foundation-building process.

Strange phenomena will occur outside the body, such as wind and clouds gathering, summer rain and snow, snakes and insects emerging, soil turning black, grass not growing, rain not gathering, or even a white tiger carrying a corpse, a vermilion bird crying mournfully, mountains collapsing and the earth cracking, and stars appearing in broad daylight.

Before the foundation is established, the immortals will also have some sense in their hearts and some signs on their bodies.

Such an omen is a good thing, and it is often related to the Daoist lineage that the immortals are building.

Fang Shu, feeling his stomach rumbling, walked on, pondering to himself:

"My spiritual roots are insufficient; even my intermediate spiritual roots were obtained through chance. Therefore, the Daoist lineage of Yin Yang and the Five Elements is certainly irrelevant to me."

Therefore, if I were to establish my Dao foundation, I could only do so through the immortal arts I cultivate, such as the Dao of Gu, the Dao of Arrays, the Dao of Weapons… Now, it seems I must indeed settle on the Dao of Gu.”

He was immediately overjoyed and breathed a slight sigh of relief.

Fang Shu only learned about the Dao Meridian Foundation Building from the Blood Mother Scripture and the broken sword cultivator inheritance, so his understanding was not comprehensive.

Furthermore, according to the two transmissions, although the Dao lineage is related to the principles that immortals have cultivated and studied in the past, the Dao lineage that one can cultivate and realize is not necessarily as the immortals expected.

There are many immortals in the world whose final Dao lineage is completely different from their own expectations, or even the exact opposite.

The most typical example is that some immortals are skilled at manipulating strange fires, and all their cultivation throughout their lives is related to fire. As a result, when they were building their Dao veins, they ended up forging a vein of strange water.

It was only later that they discovered that the reason this person was so skilled at manipulating strange fire was because of his unique physique. He had the constitution of weak water, which allowed him to draw out fire without releasing it. However, it was precisely because of this that he was not affected by the strange fire and could control many fire techniques in the world, making it extremely convenient for him to cultivate fire techniques.

Such situations are not uncommon in the realm of immortal arts.

Some people are obsessed with ways to protect themselves and preserve their lives, but in the end, they create the Five Elements Thunder Technique, a lineage that is most skilled in killing and warfare.

The reason for this was that the person believed the best way to protect himself and his life was to strike first and use his supreme power to kill all the thieves!
Therefore, although Fang Shu believed that he would most likely build an insect vein and embark on the path of witchcraft and sorcery, he had doubts in his heart because his cultivation of immortal arts was quite messy, especially his research in array formation. He was worried that he might build a Dao vein other than a sorcery vein.

And now, he has not yet begun to establish his foundation, and has only cultivated the Hundred Toad True Qi, yet he already has such signs of Gu veins on his body.

It was clearly an inspiration from heaven and earth, indicating that the Dao vein he built must be related to refining and raising Gu.

This is a good thing. Not only can he continue to study witchcraft and sorcery in the future, but it also reminds him to focus all his attention on the way of witchcraft during the foundation building stage.

This will make it easier for him to achieve twice the result with half the effort and enjoy the benefits during the foundation building and ascension to the Dao!

Not long after.

With joy in his heart, Fang Shu excitedly climbed the hill where Hutang was located.

At this moment, a considerable number of disciples from the Five Stomachs Temple had already gathered in front of the steps of the Hall.

Today's Foundation Establishment Conference is a grand event for the entire temple. Although the main recipients of the teachings will be disciples like Fang Shu who have entered and exited the secret realm, this conference does not set any thresholds. Instead, it opens its doors wide to all, making it an open and unrestricted conference.

All the disciples and even the servants in the temple are welcome to come and listen without any restrictions.

At the entrance of the main hall, many disciples were also skipping with joy and looking delighted.

As soon as Fang Shu appeared, someone spotted him and immediately greeted him, "Brother Fang!"

"Fellow Daoist Fang Shu has arrived!"

Jin Duobao, Fang Lu, and others were already standing in the middle of the field, occupying a good position, and were also calling him over.

Fang Shu didn't stand on ceremony, nodding as he quickly walked over.

He walked closer and cupped his hands in greeting to the group, saying, "Greetings, fellow Daoists."

Fang Lu and the others looked at him with smiles, noticing the obvious joy on his face. They either teased him or expressed their envy.

"Now that this Foundation Establishment Conference is over, when we meet again, I think we should address Brother Fang as Immortal Master Fang."

"Brother Fang is the champion of this temple's secret realm trial, earning a total of fifteen merit points. He will surely gain the favor of the temple master. Who knows, the temple master might even want to take you as his disciple!"

Some people even spoke up out of curiosity:

"Eh, has the Dragon Maiden of the Gu Hall emerged from seclusion this time? I heard that during this Foundation Establishment Conference, all Earth Immortals who are not in closed-door cultivation will be summoned to pay their respects to the Temple Master."

Fang Shu was speaking to the other person with a smile, but upon hearing this, his smile faded slightly, and he simply said indifferently that he did not know.

Soon after, other immortals arrived and mingled among the crowd.

Among them was Nardaiyuan.

When this woman arrived, she was all alone, and she attracted the attention of many immortals.

This is because the changes that have occurred in Erjiaergu over the past three months are different from those in Gutang.

The only reason the Gu Hall was that the Dragon Maiden Immortal and the Second Senior Brother had not shown up was that they were in seclusion and had not yet come out. As for the Er family, almost all the Qi Refining Immortals had disappeared without a trace.

And as some creditors came knocking, the people in the temple discovered that even the Er family's ancestral property, Er Gu, had been mortgaged by the Er family's ancestor in exchange for spirit stones and other things.

Such a commotion immediately sparked a lot of speculation, with people guessing that the Er family had probably suffered a great calamity, most likely related to the Lushan Secret Realm.

Therefore, Er Daiyuan, the only heir of the Er family, has recently attracted much attention from people in the temple, many of whom are even cultivators at the Foundation Establishment stage.

Fortunately, this woman is now a Foundation Establishment seed, and she has earned a total of three spiritual herbs in the secret realm, so those who came to collect debts dare not bully her.

He only planned to come and discuss things with Erdaiyuan after she had successfully or failed to establish her foundation.

Fang Shu and the woman looked at each other, merely nodding slightly without saying much. But in reality, their spiritual senses had already intersected, and they had exchanged many words.

As time passed, the number of people in front of the hall grew larger and larger. Many of the servants, who had originally stood on the outside and dared not make a sound, gradually became bolder and began to talk among themselves when they saw the lively discussion inside.

The scene was bustling and chaotic, like a large market.

at last.

As dusk fell, streaks of light appeared above the mountain peak of Hutang, causing the disciples to quiet down and the noise to subside.

There were quite a few of these streaks of light, probably more than fifty in total, and each of them stood in mid-air with extraordinary presence. They were the Foundation Establishment Immortals who were gathered in the temple.

Dark clouds gradually appeared beneath their feet, making them feel as if they were walking on cotton, light and airy.

Suddenly, the sound of chanting came from the hilltop of Hutang:

"Today is an auspicious day. Welcome all fellow Daoists, young and old, to this gathering!"

The buzzing at the scene suddenly stopped.

Fang Shu and the others looked up and saw three huge heads peeking out from behind the prayer hall, swaying and scrutinizing them.

The Foundation Establishment Immortals standing in mid-air bowed and shouted, "Greetings, Three Capitals!" Fang Shu and the others, hearing the voices, also quickly followed suit, bowing and shouting in unison.
"Greetings, Three Capitals!!"

Amidst the shouts, the figures of the deer cart, the ox cart, and the sheep cart emerged completely from behind the hall.

They all had human bodies, but with heads of deer, cattle, and sheep, making them look strange and ancient, as if they were giants from ancient legends.

The three of them formed a tripod, standing around the disciples.

The three men smiled and nodded in agreement, then their expressions turned serious, and they whispered towards the center:

"The entire body of the five internal organs respectfully invites the Temple Master to descend upon us!"

The shouts from the Three Capitals were like rolling thunder, causing the Earth Immortals standing in mid-air to rise and fall like duckweed.

Fang Shu and the other Qi Refining disciples swayed unsteadily, their hearts pounding.

Because they could clearly feel three powerful forces converging above their heads, which, if they were to fall, could crush them into mincemeat at any moment.

"We respectfully invite the Temple Master to descend!" The spiritual light emanating from the group of earth immortals flickered as they bowed their heads and shouted.

Fang Shu and the others belatedly realized what was happening, quickly pulled themselves together, snapped out of their panic, and joined in the shouting.

After several rounds of noise, everyone in the Wuzang Temple, from the servants to the three chiefs, shouted in unison, more than nine times in a row.

Ding ding ding!

The temple's main bell was also shaken by the shouts of the crowd, and it rang out on its own, reverberating throughout the temple and carrying for miles around.

Amidst such shouts, streams of five-colored energy emerged from the ground, pushing aside the black energy and surging up to the top of the hall, slowly converging into a human figure.

The other person was stout and wore a coarse Taoist robe; his face was indistinct.

Fang Shu and the others looked up and saw a five-colored aura appear before their eyes, resembling the sunset, sunlight, and a lunar halo, incredibly mysterious.

"Get up."

The person appeared and uttered two words in a gentle tone.

But then, everyone from the three chieftains to the servants changed their expressions slightly, because they found that their internal organs were shaking as the temple master spoke, as if their internal organs were coming to life and jumping out of their chests.

The visitor uttered only two words, yet they nearly drove his entire being to madness.

Along with this, the sky above the temple, which was originally pitch black, also changed silently, forming a strange kind of light, which was unpredictable and dark in color, like splashed ink.

It was still the three immortals from the capital city, the one with the deer cart, the one with the ox cart, and the one with the sheep cart. They were the first to come to their senses, straightened up, and spoke:
"Thank you, Temple Master."

"All attendees are now present. This Foundation Building Ceremony can be held at any time. Please give your instructions, Temple Master."

As he spoke, the Deer Chariot Earth Immortal made a hand seal, and clusters of dark auspicious clouds formed prayer mats in mid-air, drifting towards the Foundation Establishment Earth Immortals.

Beneath the feet of Fang Shu and the other disciples, auspicious cloud-shaped prayer mats appeared, allowing them to sit cross-legged.

However, the Five Organs Temple Master heard that five-colored light flashed on his body.

He lowered his head, sized up Fang Shu and the other disciples, paused, and said:
"Indeed, it is time. You shall all follow me to the grand gathering."

As soon as he finished speaking, he waved his hand, and the five-colored light on his body shone brightly, becoming so dazzling that people could no longer see his hands and feet clearly, and only saw a human figure.

Those rays of light then separated and condensed into solid forms, falling upon all the immortals and easily transforming them into moths of various sizes.

Fluttering!
Only the three immortals of the Three Capitals, whose cultivation levels were not low, swayed their bodies and shook their heads, revealing their own heads, which then appeared as moths with beast heads.

Immediately, the Five Organs Temple Master turned around on his own, taking with him thousands of the Transformation Moth Immortals on the mountain.

A swarm of moths soared into the sky, a vast and mighty expanse.

Upon seeing this, the three earth immortals also showed surprise in their eyes and immediately asked, "May I ask the temple master, is it not planned to hold this sermon in the mountains?"

The Five Internal Organs Master nodded and shook his head, responding:

"It's not that it's not in the mountains, it's just on a different mountain."

"An auspicious day is rare, and since all five sects of Mount Lu are holding this Foundation Establishment Conference, let's just gather together."

With a flick of his sleeve, he quickened his pace and flew swiftly towards the center of the Lushan mountain range, his laughter continuing to emanate from his mouth:
"Now that you are disciples of Mount Lu, how can you not climb Mount Lu?"

"Come! Follow me and let's go sit on that ancient Mount Lu."

"Ancient Lushan" refers to the main peak of Lushan.

This mountain is located in the center of the area protected by the five sects of Mount Lu. Fang Shu was only able to see it from afar from the top of the Five Internal Organs Temple.

In fact, not to mention these disciples, even Foundation Establishment Immortals rarely went there.

It is a forbidden place because it was once the battlefield where immortals and Taoists fought in ancient times. It is fraught with danger and has ominous rumors. The spiritual veins on the mountain have long since collapsed and there is no spiritual energy or herbs there. It is not worth going there.

Therefore, the people in the Five Internal Organs Temple were even more surprised when they heard this.

Soon, the main peak of Mount Lu, which resembled a pillar of heaven, appeared before everyone's eyes. Its shape was magnificent, but its top was not pointed. It was not a natural shape, but rather it looked as if it had been slashed off at an angle.

Moreover, the scenery on this main peak is extremely ordinary. There are no palaces or strange rocks, only a mound of earth surrounded by weeds, like a mass grave.

Just as the group from the Temple of Five Internal Organs landed, the Temple of Dry Bones, the Palace of Appearance, the Nunnery of Skin and Flesh, and the Temple of Four Limbs also happened to fly in.

When they went out, they would be like a ball of will-o'-the-wisps, or they would be under a canopy, or they would beat drums and play flutes, with flowers falling from the sky and golden lotuses springing from the ground, making quite a spectacle.

However, when they arrived at the hilltop, the leaders of the five sects all restrained their power.

They concealed their radiance and descended from mid-air, walking forward and standing around the mound, their forms growing larger, resembling five stone statues.

As for Fang Shu and his disciples, they were all thrown onto the mound and were scurrying around like ants and butterflies, completely bewildered.

After a while, at the command of the three leaders and five masters of their respective sects, everyone sat in rows with their backs to the five sect leaders, clearly divided into different groups.

Fang Shu, who had long since transformed from a moth into a human form, was among the crowd.

Moreover, because of his achievements in the secret realm, he was naturally placed in the first row, no more than a hundred steps away from the disciples of the four sects.

Even with his sharp eyesight, he could clearly see the trembling eyelashes of the disciples from the four sects.

Clearly, the disciples of Rongyan Palace and other sects were equally astonished by this sudden gathering at Mount Lu and the meeting of the five sects.

(End of this chapter)