I changed the world.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Sicheng immediately understood Gu Shunzhi's meaning. Clearly, these three "immortal mountains" were not at sea, but in some special places where immortals lived in seclusion.

He seemed to understand something and said, "What my uncle means is that the immortal mountain is not in the sea..."

"The three sects' dojos are located in grotto-heavens, inaccessible to ordinary people..." Gu Shunzhi didn't keep them in suspense and went straight to the point.

Zhang Sicheng immediately feigned realization. As the contemporary Celestial Master, he couldn't possibly be unaware of the term "Dongtian" (洞天), a term from the Xuanmen (玄门) school of Taoism, widely used and generally referring to the abode of immortals in mythology, or a blessed land of immortals. Interestingly, later generations often associated famous mountains and rivers with the concept of Dongtian.

However, upon hearing Gu Shunzhi's words, Zhang Sicheng immediately understood that the grotto-heaven did exist and was indeed a blessed land of immortals, but this mountain was not the same as that mountain, and the two could not be compared.

Just as Zhang Sicheng was lost in thought, he saw Gu Shunzhi reach out and stroke the air. Immediately afterward, Zhang Sicheng felt the surroundings suddenly darken. The sky above, the flowers, trees, mountains, rocks, and the ground beneath his feet began to turn into nothingness. Except for Gu Shunzhi in front of him and the chessboard in front of him, everything around him turned into a vast and silent void.

A subconscious sense of disorientation arose within Zhang Sicheng, and he steadied himself against the chessboard in front of him, narrowly avoiding falling. But the next moment, an even more spectacular sight appeared before him.

It was an enormous yet vaguely familiar planet, spinning in the void beneath his feet. Above the planet, blue oceans surged with tides, and large swirling clouds drifted and rotated in the sky. A feeling of being utterly insignificant compared to it, like an ant, arose spontaneously within him.

Fortunately, Zhang Sicheng was a man of great experience, and soon recovered from his initial shock. He then realized that the planet in front of him seemed to be Earth.

However, upon closer inspection, one will find that the space surrounding the Earth is not as still as the universe as ordinary people perceive it to be. Instead, it is filled with turbulent currents, like the deep ocean with its undercurrents, giving people a sense of dread, as if they were in the abyss.

"Look..." Gu Shunzhi pointed to the side, and Zhang Sicheng quickly looked in the direction he was pointing. He then saw the outer side of the planet, where there was a place that looked like a satellite, surrounded by layers of clouds, appearing and disappearing. At first, he thought it was the moon, but soon he realized it didn't look like it.

“That is the grotto-heaven.” Gu Shunzhi’s voice rang in his ears.

Amazed, Zhang Sicheng noticed that something like chains seemed to extend out from the cave... He wanted to take a closer look, but suddenly felt dizzy. The next moment, all the void and planets vanished, and everything around him returned to normal. The surroundings were shaded by green trees, and occasionally birds flew by, as if everything just now was an illusion.

Taking a deep breath, Zhang Sicheng rubbed his throbbing temples. At that moment, Tong Zifasheng silently came to the chessboard and served tea to the two of them.

Zhang Sicheng felt a dry cough in his throat, so he casually picked up the tea and took a sip. He immediately felt a cool sensation rush to the top of his head, and the dizziness he had felt earlier vanished. He knew that this tea must be of good quality...

Growing increasingly amazed by his uncle's abilities, Zhang Sicheng took another sip of tea before bowing and saying, "Uncle's methods are profound; I am truly awestruck!"

At this moment, Zhang Sicheng felt even more cautious and respectful towards those sects hidden in history.

Just then, Gu Shunzhi placed a piece in front of him, capturing the five pieces that Zhang Sicheng had linked together. Gu Shunzhi then laughed and said, "Master, you were careless."

"Uncle's chess skills are superb; this move was truly a stroke of genius..." Zhang Sicheng feigned annoyance and then added a witty remark.

Gu Shunzhi smiled and nodded at him, without saying much, signaling him to continue making moves. So the two of them went back and forth for several more moves.

"Uncle just said that behind Yunxiao Mountain... is Kunlun?" Zhang Sicheng asked casually as he stepped down, though he actually wanted to ask who was behind his own family, but he didn't want to ask so directly.

Gu Shunzhi nodded slightly, but did not answer his question directly. Instead, he asked a seemingly unrelated question: "Do you know what the Three Mountains Talisman is?"

Zhang Sicheng was slightly taken aback. Of course, he knew what the Three Mountains Talismans were, since the "General Register of All True Sects" was kept in the Imperial Edict Pavilion of the Celestial Master's Mansion.

The so-called Three Mountains Talismans refer to the so-called "Three Mountains of Xuanmen", namely, the Celestial Master's Mansion on Danding Mountain, the Yunxiao Temple on Yunxiao Mountain, and the Chunyang Palace on Yuhua Mountain.

According to the "General Register of All Sects of the True Manifestations", there are 86 sects in the Xuanmen sect today, of which no more than 50 have a clear lineage. If we trace the origins carefully, at least half of the sects are directly or indirectly derived from the three mountains of the Xuanmen sect.

These three mountains have always been the core of the Great Zhao Xuanmen General Association, and even the Great Zhao Xuanmen itself.

"Are you referring to the Celestial Master's Mansion of Danding Mountain, the Yunxiao Temple of Yunxiao Mountain, and the Chunyang Palace of Yuhua Mountain?" Zhang Sicheng asked.

Gu Shunzhi nodded, but then shook his head: "These three families are correct, but do you know why they are called the Three Mountains Talismans?"

Zhang Sicheng was slightly taken aback, and upon further reflection, he hesitated. He had never considered this question before. He originally thought that the so-called Three Mountains Talismans were exactly what they sounded like. The Three Mountains referred to the three schools located in famous mountains and rivers: Dan Ding Mountain, Yun Xiao Mountain, and Yu Hua Mountain. As for the talismans, they were a metaphor for the Xuanmen (Taoist sect).

However, he thought that his uncle would not ask him such a simple question. Then, thinking about the three immortal sects that his uncle had just mentioned, he suddenly had a flash of inspiration. He took a deep breath and asked, "Uncle, are you referring to those three immortal sects behind the three mountains?"

“Not bad,” Gu Shunzhi nodded with a look of aptitude for teaching, “The so-called Three Mountains Talismans are the result of the Three Sects’ edicts. The Three Mountains do not refer to the three families in the secular world, but to the three immortal sects that venerate the Three Pure Ones’ lineage. Their origins lie in this.”

(For ease of narration, Kunlun, Penglai, and Fanghu will be referred to as the Three Sects, and the Celestial Master's Mansion, Yunxiao Temple, and Chunyang Palace will be referred to as the Three Mountains.)

Upon hearing this, Zhang Sicheng felt a sudden sense of clarity. A thousand years had passed, and the Xuanmen (Taoist sect) had endured countless calamities: invasions by foreign tribes, suppression of the sect, and the slaughter of its practitioners… Yet, regardless of these hardships, the Xuanmen had survived to this day, especially its three sacred mountains, all of which boasted ancient and profound lineages. Some practitioners even claimed that whenever the Xuanmen declined, Heaven would send someone to restore its glory…

Chapter 542 The Real Ochre Peak

Of course, many people see it as a historical coincidence...

I initially thought it was just some people making up stories for the sake of proselytizing. But now it seems there's no historical coincidence at all! There's someone behind this! Their backing is incredibly strong! Otherwise, why did so many of the incompetent rulers in history who banned and suppressed Taoism meet such terrible ends?

No wonder, when the Celestial Master established the Celestial Master's Mansion, he did not honor himself as the leader of the sect, but instead remotely revered the Great Celestial Venerable Xuanyuan as the patriarch...

That makes sense now!

"I wonder, which family does my Celestial Master's Mansion originate from..." Zhang Sicheng put down the chess piece in his hand and bowed slightly...

"The Celestial Master's Mansion received the edict from the Penglai Immortal Sect, inheriting the lineage of the Great Celestial Venerable Xuanyuan..." At this point, Gu Shunzhi also put down the chess piece in his hand, cupped his hands in a respectful voice from afar, and said solemnly.

Only then did Zhang Sicheng finally feel the weight in his heart lift, and he felt as if he had become much lighter. Although he still did not know the true extent of the power of the Penglai Immortal Sect, judging from the vague legends in history, it could also be traced back to ancient times, and its foundation should not be underestimated.

Thinking about it, a look of anticipation involuntarily appeared on her face...

Seemingly seeing through Zhang Sicheng's thoughts, Gu Shunzhi's expression did not relax. Instead, he said solemnly, "Does the Celestial Master think that by entering a sect, one can become an immortal and live a carefree life?"

Zhang Sicheng wanted to answer "yes," but with his experience, he could naturally see that his uncle clearly had a hidden meaning, and the question was not as simple as it seemed.

However, if he answered against his conscience, his uncle might think he was being insincere. If he gave such a prejudice, it would be even worse. So, after a moment's thought, he said, "Since childhood, I have read about the deeds of famous masters and Taoist immortals throughout history. I have seen those ancient Taoist priests drinking dew and roaming the North Sea in the morning and Cangwu in the evening. I am not afraid of being laughed at by my uncle, but I truly admire them..."

"Everyone says immortals are wonderful..." Gu Shunzhi smiled and shook his head upon hearing this: "But little do they know, immortals are not necessarily carefree..."

Zhang Sicheng was taken aback upon hearing this: "Uncle, what makes you say such a thing?"

Gu Shunzhi was looking at the chessboard, seemingly thinking about his next move. Hearing this, he remained silent. Then, he picked up a white piece with his index and middle fingers and placed it on the board.

"Snap!" A crisp sound of a piece being placed rang out, and the surrounding scenery changed once again!

In that instant, Zhang Sicheng suddenly felt as if the scenery around him had been frozen in time, the wind stopped blowing, the leaves stopped swaying, and even the birds flying by in the distance stopped in mid-air.

Immediately afterward, the surrounding space collapsed and shattered into countless colorful fragments. The crystalline fragments scattered in all directions, glowing and swirling, their speed gradually slowing down until they were completely frozen in nothingness. In those brief seconds, Zhang Sicheng felt a suffocating sense of oppression.

Suddenly, the scattered, glass-like fragments began to move again, forming countless swirling rays of light that swept across the entire dark and void space.

As the light slowed down again, it rearranged to form a clear scene, but it had a shimmering quality, as if viewed through water. The shimmering finally stopped, and Zhang Sicheng regained control of his body.

Zhang Sicheng gasped for breath as if he had just woken from a nightmare, his forehead covered in cold sweat. After all, he was getting on in years, and such an ordeal was far too stimulating for him.

When he recovered, he realized that although he was still sitting on the stone bench and the chessboard in front of him was still there, the scenery around him had completely changed.

The sky above his head was not the clear sky it used to be, but a gray sky with a blood-red glow. The crimson clouds hung very low, giving an immediate impression of extreme oppression and a strong sense of foreboding.

The surrounding temperature seemed to drop suddenly, even giving Zhang Sicheng a chilly feeling. There were still trees around him, but the trees here appeared extremely sparse, with almost all the leaves fallen, the branches withered, and many trees looked somewhat gnarled and twisted. Even with Zhang Sicheng's experience, he couldn't tell what kind of trees they were.

He seemed to have stumbled upon some strange wilderness? That was Zhang Sicheng's first thought, but then he remembered that his great-uncle wouldn't have brought him here for no reason...

Sure enough, Gu Shunzhi dusted off his sleeves, stood up, and smiled at Zhang Sicheng: "Master, please come with me."

As he spoke, without any apparent action, Zhang Sicheng saw a large cloud of mist rise from below him. This cloud of mist surged out like a spring, and within a few breaths, it covered an area of ​​several meters in radius. Then, the cloud of mist rose up and actually carried him and Gu Shunzhi into the air!

The clouds rose higher and higher, soon reaching a height of tens of meters above the ground.

"Soaring through the clouds!"

The word immediately came to Zhang Sicheng's mind. Overwhelmed with excitement, he subconsciously stomped on the cloud, feeling its supple and springy texture beneath his feet. Of course, he was careful not to step too hard and break through the cloud, causing him to fall.

The clouds had stopped rising and were flying straight ahead. Now, with the initial excitement gone, Zhang Sicheng began to feel a little apprehensive. To put it figuratively, this height was like standing on the top of a twenty or thirty-story building, with only a small area a few meters in diameter below where you could stand. And this building was moving forward at a considerable speed. Even though Zhang Sicheng didn't consider himself to have a fear of heights, he was still worried that if he lost his footing, he might accidentally fall.

Fortunately, the clouds moved very steadily. In addition, perhaps due to some kind of protective measures, Zhang Sicheng did not feel the strong wind that he usually felt at high altitudes. This gradually put his mind at ease, and he began to focus his attention on observing the surrounding scenery.

At this moment, Zhang Sicheng noticed that there was an extremely large mountain not far ahead. Just then, the clouds began to descend and slow down. Zhang Sicheng noticed that the terrain beneath his feet began to rise, and a winding mountain road leading up the mountain could be vaguely seen.

These mountains are extremely tall, piercing straight into the clouds. The closer one gets, the more one can feel their immense size, like pillars of heaven in mythology. Looking up, the upper part of the mountain peaks disappears into the clouds, their tops invisible.

As they drew closer, Zhang Sicheng could see that the winding mountain road was carved from a single block of rock that appeared to be extremely solid. On both sides of the road, there were stone sculptures, which were probably decorative items.

“This mountain is the real Ochre-Green Peak,” Gu Shunzhi’s voice rang out beside Zhang Sicheng.

P.S.: My uncle passed away these past few days, and the whole family has been busy helping out. I'm trying my best to keep updating, but the content might be a bit rushed, so please forgive any typos or other errors. Also, I wanted to let everyone know that Sunday's post was released before midnight to coincide with the ranking update, so please bear with me.

Chapter 543 The Frightened Celestial Master

Zhang Sicheng was shocked by what he heard and wanted to ask more, but Gu Shunzhi said, "Let's see..."

Knowing that his uncle must have a deeper meaning in bringing him here, Zhang Sicheng put aside the question about the upcoming exit and simply observed the scenery along the way.

The clouds continued to descend, getting closer and closer, until they finally stopped two or three meters above the winding mountain road, and then continued to ascend the mountain road at a leisurely pace.

Zhang Sicheng roughly guessed that Gu Shunzhi was trying to give him a clearer view. He then observed carefully, noting that from this distance, he could see more details on the winding mountain road. He realized that the road was far more weathered and aged than it appeared from afar, clearly having weathered a long period of time. Zhang Sicheng, with his extensive experience in antique appraisal, immediately recognized that it had genuinely endured the test of time, rather than being artificially aged.

In addition, Zhang Sicheng noticed that there were some very conspicuous dilapidations and damages on the mountain road from time to time. These damages were not the kind of weathering and peeling caused by years of erosion, but were obviously caused by some kind of violent destruction. Some were like being chopped by a sharp weapon, and some seemed to have been hit by a huge force and had huge gaps. Zhang Sicheng even saw a huge gap that was tens of meters square, like a bomb crater. He didn't know what kind of force caused it...

However, this gave rise to a vague suspicion in Zhang Sicheng's mind that this place was probably not peaceful!

At this moment, Gu Shunzhi, who had been standing silently with his hands behind his back beside him, suddenly spoke up: "If you see anything horrifying in a moment, Celestial Master, do not be alarmed."

As he spoke, Gu Shunzhi handed over a jade pendant and instructed, "The Celestial Master may hold this jade in his hand."

Zhang Sicheng instinctively wanted to save face; after all, few adults are willing to admit they are cowardly, let alone someone like Zhang Sicheng who had always held a high position. However, this thought only flashed through his mind for a moment before he immediately recalled all the things he had encountered along the way that were enough to shatter his previous worldview. It could be said that in all his years, the number of amazing things he had encountered in his entire life did not compare to the number of things he had experienced in just one day.

Since Uncle Gu said so, he must have a reason for it. Zhang Sicheng hesitated for a moment, but still obediently accepted the jade pendant.

So the clouds carried the two of them upwards. After giving the instructions, Gu Shunzhi stopped talking. Before long, the clouds reached a platform.

Considering the overall height of the mountain, this platform is roughly located near the foot of the mountain, which shows how tall and majestic the mountain is!

The platform was extremely spacious. Upon arriving on the platform, Zhang Sicheng immediately saw a huge square altar standing in the center of the platform.

The altar was extremely magnificent, with a towering building in the center that looked like a multi-story building from a distance.

Upon seeing the towering building, even though it was too far away for Zhang Sicheng to see clearly with his eyesight, he could already feel an extremely oppressive and even trembling aura rushing towards him. For some reason, his heart began to beat faster, and he felt inexplicably uneasy. Zhang Sicheng could not describe this feeling. If he had to describe it, it was like birds before a volcanic eruption, with a kind of fear that seemed to be based on genetic instinct rising up.

The clouds carried the two towards the high altar, and the feeling Zhang Sicheng experienced grew stronger as they drew closer. His heart began to pound uncontrollably, and adrenaline surged. Zhang Sicheng gasped for breath, trying his best to calm himself. He glanced to the side instinctively, only to see Gu Shunzhi looking calm and unaffected.

At this point, Zhang Sicheng also noticed that at the four corners below the high altar, there was a huge stone sculpture of a ghost or god. Each of these statues was more than ten meters tall, wearing ancient-style Eastern metal armor and boots, with a ferocious and menacing face, as if they were intimidating all directions.