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

After Ning Chen expressed his gratitude, he did not leave.

The Jade Emperor exclaimed in surprise and turned his gaze over.

"Minister Ning, is there anything else?"

Ning Chen stood still, hesitated for a moment, and then spoke.

"Thank you for your praise, Your Majesty. However, there is one matter that has been weighing on my mind, and I humbly request Your Majesty's guidance!"

Seeing his solemn expression, the Jade Emperor's gaze sharpened slightly. He then raised his hand and waved away the celestial officials and warriors standing in the hall.

Only the emperor and his minister remained in the main hall, so empty that you could hear a pin drop.

Seeing that no one was in the hall, Ning Chen immediately stepped forward and asked seriously.

"Does Your Majesty truly intend to imprison the fairy Yao Ji for eternity?"

The Jade Emperor remained silent, his gaze sweeping over Ning Chen as if trying to see through his thoughts.

After a long while, he suddenly smiled.

"Now that you have persuaded my nephew Yang Jian to stay, I will also entrust the matter of Yao Ji's escape to you."

Ning Chen thought to himself, "Your family really thinks you can take advantage of me. You make me do everything. What's in it for you?"

The Jade Emperor said solemnly.

"Listen carefully. I don't care how Yao Ji gains her freedom, but this matter is unknown to Heaven, Earth, you, and me. Therefore, even if she gains her freedom, I will never pursue the matter further!"

Having said that, the Jade Emperor waved his sleeve.

"You may leave now. Do your job well; I have high hopes for you!"

Ning Chen was completely bewildered and only came to his senses after leaving the Lingxiao Palace.

Heaven doesn't know, Earth doesn't know, you don't know, I don't know?

That means releasing Yao Ji without anyone noticing.

Isn't this just a fantasy?

There are countless immortals and gods in the Three Realms. Beneath Peach Mountain, there is a Jade Emperor's younger sister who has violated the Heavenly Laws. How many eyes are watching her day and night?

If even the slightest hint of favoritism or abuse of power were to get out, it would probably cause a greater sensation than Yang Jian splitting the mountain.

He thought for a long time but couldn't come up with a solution.

He thought again, there are still eighteen years to go before Yang Jian comes looking for him.

The most urgent task at hand is to find Yang Tianyou's reincarnation. If he is reincarnated as wild grass and eaten by sheep and cattle, he might not be able to explain it to Yang Jian.

When he met Fairy Yaoji later, he was even more speechless.

Ning Chen left the South Heavenly Gate and rode the clouds straight down to the lower realm, speeding along the path of the restriction he had planted.

Before long, a green mountain came into view.

The mountain wasn't particularly high, but it was covered with lush pine and cypress trees. Halfway up the mountain, there was a Taoist temple hidden in the clouds and mist, with green tiles and gray walls, which looked quite old.

Ning Chen sensed the restriction he had placed years ago and realized that the aura of Yang Tianyou's reincarnation was right here.

He descended from the clouds and landed in front of the temple gate.

The three characters "Lingbao Guan" were written on the lintel of the Taoist temple, the ink marks were mottled, and it had a certain ancient feel.

The gate was tightly closed. Ning Chen stepped forward and knocked on the door knocker. The copper ring struck the wooden door with a dull thud.

After a moment, footsteps came from inside the door, and with a creak, the door opened a crack, and a young Taoist boy peeked out.

The young Taoist boy, about thirteen or fourteen years old, with his hair in two buns, glanced at him sleepily, then looked displeased and pouted.

"My master said he doesn't wish to see anyone today, so why have you all come to bother us?"

Ning Chen smiled, realizing that he had misunderstood.

"Young Taoist priest, please don't misunderstand. I am not here to see your master. In fact, there is something that is of great importance to me, so I have come to ask for it."

The boy rolled his eyes.

"That's what everyone who comes and goes says. Every time, they're asking my immortal master for elixirs and miraculous medicines. Stop making a fuss at the door. The Taoist temple will only open to guests on the eighth day of next month. Come back then."

The child's tender voice came muffledly through the door.

"Go away, don't block the feng shui of my family's mountain gate."

Meanwhile, Ning Chen was locked out by the Daoist boy. Just as he was about to speak again, a ripple suddenly stirred in his heart.

Lingbao Temple?

He narrowed his eyes slightly, did some quick calculations with his fingers, and then smiled faintly, "So that's how it is!"

This is the very place where Ge Xuan, the successor he found for Laozi, practiced his cultivation back then.

Judging by the years and months, Ge Xuan's time has come. Whether he ascends to heaven to become an immortal or returns to the underworld, it will all happen within the next few days.

Ning Chen, having calculated this far, couldn't help but look up at the Thirty-Third Heaven. He thought to himself, "So it's because Ge Xuan's lifespan is coming to an end. Laozi was anxious and secretly manipulated the heavenly secrets to lead me here."

"Laojun is quite the schemer! Under the guise of searching for Yang Tianyou's reincarnation, he's made me do all this for nothing!"

Having understood the cause and effect, Ning Chen was no longer in a hurry.

He went around to the side of the pavilion, found a flat spot, and used magic to move stones and fell trees. In no time, a hut was erected.

Although the house was humble, it provided shelter from the wind and rain.

He would sit in meditation behind closed doors every day, breathing in the clouds and mist. In his spare time, he would watch the pine trees rustling in the mountains and listen to the birds singing in the forest, waiting for the right opportunity to come.

Several days passed in this manner.

As dawn broke and the mountain mist lingered, the gate of the Taoist temple creaked open.

The mountain path was filled with figures, all dressed in wide robes and with refined manners. They were a group of famous scholars from the Later Jin Dynasty who had come seeking the secret to immortality.

Among the crowd was even the figure of the Jin Dynasty emperor.

The emperor, dressed in plain clothes and surrounded by attendants, appeared respectful as he walked to the mountain gate, alighting from his carriage and proceeding on foot.

Ning Chen sighed inwardly upon seeing this scene.

People are like this; they only know how to avoid the world and seek immortality, but they don't know that the true path for these people lies in helping the world, not in seeking immortality and enlightenment in the deep mountains.

If even the emperor of the Jin Dynasty behaves like this, how can the Jin Dynasty possibly prosper?

It's just unknown what role Ge Xuan plays in all of this, and whether he's worthy of being helped to achieve immortality.

Ning Chen quietly changed his appearance, transforming into a gray-robed Taoist priest, and mingled with the crowd as he entered the temple.

Inside the main hall, incense smoke curled upwards, and the Taoist atmosphere flowed.

In the center of the room, an old Taoist priest sat cross-legged on a prayer mat.

This man had white hair and beard, like silver frost covering snow, a gaunt face, and long eyebrows that drooped to his cheeks.

He wore a blue Taoist robe, washed until it was faded, yet it was spotless.

Ning Chen could vaguely tell from the features that this person was Ge Xuan from back then, only now...

He could already be called the Immortal Ge Xuan.

Ning Chen saw that his eyes were slightly closed, his mind was calm and focused, and he was completely integrated with the hall.

Everyone entered the hall, holding their breath and remaining silent, not daring to make a sound, and waiting quietly.

After a long while, Ge Xuan slowly opened his eyes, his gaze sharp and restrained, like the moon reflected in an ancient well.

He surveyed the crowd in the hall and began to recite.

"The Great Dao is formless, yet it gives birth to heaven and earth; the Great Dao is nameless, yet it nourishes all things. Those who understand it transcend life and death; those who are deluded sink into the sea of ​​suffering. Now that you have come seeking the Dao, do you know where it is?"

His voice was not loud, but it was like a morning bell and an evening drum, making the hall resound.

All the scholars and the emperor knelt down in unison, kowtowing and saying in unison.

"We beg the Immortal Elder to have mercy and bestow upon us the Great Dao, so that we may live forever and enjoy eternal bliss!"

Looking at the people in the hall seeking elixirs, Ge Xuan's expression showed no joy, but rather a hint of pity.

He sighed deeply and said slowly.

"The elixir can prolong life, but it cannot save people; the magic can communicate with the gods, but it cannot save the world. What you seek is nothing more than the desire to live, not the path to immortality..."

His voice trailed off, as if he were growing weary.

Ning Chen saw it in the crowd and nodded to himself.

This Ge Xuanguo has lived up to Laozi's expectations; his Daoist mind is clear and bright, and he has already glimpsed the path to enlightenment.

But these princes and nobles probably won't listen.