I'm already a Great Luo Golden Immortal, how come you're only Martial Saints?

Ning Chen was naturally unaware that Laozi had used him as a pretext to extort a large sum of money from King Qin Guang.

King Qin Guang then attributed this exorbitant debt to the Black and White Impermanence.

The two underworld officials dared not approach Ning Chen easily, fearing that they would be extorted by the Supreme Lord Laozi again.

Ning Chen felt that these two underworld officials always came up with all sorts of tricks every time they met. It seemed that spending so much time in the underworld had inevitably made them a little twisted.

He could only wave his hand.

"Farewell, you two messengers. Goodbye!"

Seeing the end of an era for a powerful figure, Ning Chen felt quite emotional.

He then looked at the ancient bamboo scroll in his hand and gently unwrapped it with oilcloth.

Ning Chen casually flipped through the beginning of the book, and the words that caught his eye were indeed the Essential Techniques of Peace.

The records mainly describe techniques such as summoning wind and rain, folding paper into soldiers, using talismans, arranging troops, and killing. Although these techniques are exquisite and profound, they are merely minor details to him, with limited power and little significance.

"The strategies for vying for supremacy in chaotic times are not what I seek."

Ning Chen sighed inwardly and was about to put it away when a sudden change occurred!

The bamboo slip in his hand suddenly trembled slightly, emitting a warm, jade-like, hazy light.

The four ancient seal characters of the Taiping Yaoshu rippled like water, and in an instant, they transformed into three even more ancient and profound characters: the Nanhua Jing!

This is?

Ning Chen's heart stirred, and he opened the bamboo slip again.

The talismans and military strategies from before have vanished without a trace, replaced by a profound and unfathomable Daoist text!

These characters resembled fish and birds, with no fixed form, and were not any script Ning Chen recognized.

However, with the blessing of over a thousand points of comprehension, the profound scriptures had already begun to flow in Ning Chen's heart on their own.

"The Dao is sentient and trustworthy, yet inactive and formless. It can be transmitted but not received, attained but not seen. It is self-originating and self-rooted. Before the existence of Heaven and Earth, it has existed since ancient times. It is the source of gods, ghosts, and emperors, giving birth to Heaven and Earth. It existed before the Taiji but is not considered high, below the Six Extremes but is not considered deep, born before Heaven and Earth but is not considered old, older than the ancient times but is not considered aged..."

Ning Chen suddenly realized that the "Nanhua Jing" was not a fixed text, but a cultivation manual that directly inherited the origin of the Great Dao!

It senses the holder's state of mind, cultivation level, and desires, and automatically evolves and manifests the most suitable Taoist method.

Zhang Jiao harbored ambitions to save the world, but was misled by the allure of power and the flames of war. Thus, he revealed his secrets of peace and helped others contend for supremacy.

Today, this scripture has fallen into Ning Chen's hands. Sensing the great freedom and ease he yearns for in his heart, it manifests the true meaning of the "Nanhua Scripture," which points directly to the Great Dao!

Ning Chen was completely absorbed in the sound of the Great Dao, which slowly resonated in his mind.

"Riding the true course of Heaven and Earth, and controlling the transformations of the six qi, to roam the boundless realm, Heaven and Earth are born together with me, and all things are one with me!"

Hmm, this sentence sounds familiar!

It seems to be a giant Kun from a previous life, a game that was good for getting points!

wrong!

Ning Chen finally remembered who it was: Zhuang Zhou, Zhuangzi...

He vaguely saw a white-haired boy sitting on the giant Kun, turning his head to look at Ning Chen, and then riding the Kun, soaring straight up to ninety thousand miles!

"Let's not allow this Zhuangzi to fall into the hands of vulgar people again!"

The boy's clear voice rang in Ning Chen's ears.

The book shimmered with light, and wisps of cool, Taoist charm, like a sudden enlightenment, silently seeped into his sea of ​​consciousness.

A notification popped up in front of Ning Chen's eyes.

[Nourished by the Daoist principles of the Nanhua Sutra, Root Bone +10, Comprehension +10!]

[To truly understand the essence of the Zhuangzi and comprehend the Daoist principle: Free and Easy Wandering! This method allows one to borrow the six energies of heaven and earth—yin, yang, wind, rain, darkness, and light—and merge with the pure wind to unleash this escape technique, free from any worldly restrictions!]

"Another escape technique?" Ning Chen was speechless.

Including the Taiyin Moon Shadow Escape Technique that he had previously comprehended on his own, the Five Elements Great Escape Technique passed down by Patriarch Bodhi, and the Free and Unfettered Wanderer Technique, he now possesses a total of twelve escape techniques.

He couldn't help but mutter to himself, "How afraid are you guys of me dying? I haven't even mastered the Great Dao yet, but you've already taught me twelve different escape techniques!"

Well, there's an old saying that goes, you can only produce something if you're alive.

As long as I don't die, I will eventually be invincible in the world!

Thinking this way, Ning Chen immediately felt much more at ease. A night breeze blew by, and Ning Chen's figure transformed with the wind. He rode the breeze and roamed freely in the mountains and forests, without any restraint!

During this trip, I lost track of time!

In the blink of an eye, dawn broke and the first rays of sunlight appeared!

The brothers Zhang Liang and Zhang Bao awoke from their stupor and discovered that their eldest brother, Zhang Jiao, was lifeless and his body was cold; he had quietly passed away.

The two men collapsed in front of Zhang Jiao, sobbing silently. These tough men cried like children.

Zhou Tao had seen Zhang Jiao's portrait in the imperial court, but he couldn't see it clearly last night because of the darkness. Now, however, he recognized it.

He quietly told everyone that the deceased was a great and virtuous teacher, and everyone remained silent.

It is truly regrettable that such a powerful and ruthless man died so quietly in a dilapidated temple in the wilderness.

The two brothers cried for a long time, then picked up their elder brother and walked outside.

Tang Hao and the others also stepped forward to help, and found a sunny hillside next to the temple to dig a grave.

Zhang Liang and Zhang Bao carefully placed Zhang Jiao's body inside, and to prevent it from being damaged by wild animals, they lit the bonfire they had prepared beforehand...

The raging fire consumed the body of a powerful warlord and extinguished the last glimmer of hope for the Yellow Turban Rebellion.

The two brothers knelt before the fire, tears streaming down their faces, silently bidding farewell to their elder brother.

Ning Chen returned to the dilapidated temple and looked at the raging flames and the two people's tragic figures. His understanding of the tribulations of the mortal world, the entanglements of cause and effect, and the difficulties of the path to enlightenment deepened.

After bidding farewell to Zhang Liang and Zhang Bao, Ning Chen and his group composed themselves and set off once again on their journey to Zhongnan Mountain.

By this time, the surrounding area was deserted, with only mountain spirits and monsters roaming the forest.

With Ning Chen, a powerful cultivator at the Nascent Soul stage, in charge, although there were monsters lurking along the way, they were all terrified by Ning Chen's vast and powerful divine sense. They felt their hearts pound with fear as soon as they sensed him from afar, and they all hid and retreated, not daring to make the slightest move.

The journey was unexpectedly calm and smooth.

"strangeness!"

Ning Chen frowned slightly and looked at Zhang Qingxuan.

"Master, why are the spirits of Nandan Prefecture so weak?"

Compared to the tyrant of Flower Fruit Mountain who wreaked havoc and bloodshed, the monsters here are pitifully weak.

Zhang Qingxuan smiled smugly and stroked his beard as he explained.

"Immortal, you may not know this, but it is all because the True Martial Emperor cultivated and ascended to heaven in Nandan Prefecture back then! Before the Heavenly Venerable ascended, he was fierce in nature, hated evil as if it were his enemy, and especially liked to use thunder magic to cleanse demonic atmosphere and sweep away evil spirits. Within a radius of ten thousand miles in this place, all the demons with a cultivation of more than a thousand years were easily wiped out by the Heavenly Venerable when he practiced thunder magic!"

Is it Zhenwu the Great again?

Ning Chen has heard the name of the Demon-Slaying Heavenly Venerable for the second time recently.

"Those powerful demons who survived by chance were all deeply afraid of the divine might of the Heavenly Venerable. They left their homes and dared not set foot in the core area of ​​Nandanbu Prefecture again. Over time, this place became a forbidden land for demons and monsters, which is why the Han Dynasty has enjoyed a hundred years of peace and tranquility."

The old Taoist's words were filled with reverence for the Demon-Subduing Heavenly Venerable.

Everyone listened with great admiration. To single-handedly quell all the demons in the world, he truly deserves the title of Demon-Slaying Heavenly Venerable!

If we can cultivate to even one percent of his level, then our journey to Zhongnan Mountain, risking our lives, will not have been in vain.