Immortality and Cultivation: Starting with Improved Spirit Rice

Chapter 99 Bright Mountain, Tranquil Sea

Zhao Cheng'an, Luo Qingyi, and Ning Zixu stood side by side at the edge of the deck, gazing at the vast expanse of light ahead, all momentarily lost in thought.

As the celestial ship continued to move forward, the originally dazzling and intense light began to gradually subside, or rather, their eyes began to adapt to the light.

The light curtain dissipated, revealing a real and magnificent scene inside.

Majestic mountains rise abruptly from the ground, piercing the clouds.

Between the mountains, countless enormous waterfalls cascade down into the abyss below. These waterfalls are not ordinary streams of water, but spiritual springs formed from the purest spiritual energy, refracting iridescent light under the sun.

Surrounding these sacred mountains lies a vast, dark sea.

The seawater was a deep, inky black, vast and boundless, stretching as far as the eye could see.

What is truly breathtaking is that within that pitch-black sea, countless glittering stars and a bright, clear moon slowly rise from the water's surface and float in mid-air.

Accompanied by the ancient and vast sound of bells, the sound echoed melodiously between heaven and earth.

The stars and the moon, like pearls, adorned the dark dome, radiating a soft glow.

Amidst the churning sea of ​​clouds, one could vaguely see several giant dragons soaring between the mountains and the Black Sea, emitting deep dragon roars.

A series of suppressed gasps immediately erupted from the deck.

Although this was not Zhao Cheng'an's first time visiting the Cave Heaven World, the Daoist temple on Tongming Mountain was undoubtedly more magnificent and vivid than the Floating Scale Cave Heaven he had visited before.

Luo Qingyi stood aside, looking at the spectacle before her, and explained with some excitement, "Those sacred mountains that rise abruptly from the ground are Mount Guangming."

"It is said that these sacred mountains can draw spiritual energy directly from the chaotic void, so the spiritual energy on the mountains is extremely rich, and in many places it has even condensed into tangible mist and water."

"Ordinary cultivators with poor aptitude simply cannot stay on those sacred mountains for long, as their bodies will be unable to withstand the excessively concentrated spiritual energy and will contract spiritual poison disease."

Luo Qingyi pointed to the dark sea on the outskirts.

"And that black sea is an extremely still sea."

"The Sea of ​​Extreme Stillness is vast and boundless, and it is said that stars in the sky can be buried within it. Moreover, once one approaches the area of ​​the Sea of ​​Extreme Stillness, the divine sense and spiritual energy within a cultivator's body will be suppressed, which can greatly suppress the distracting thoughts in one's mind."

Luo Qingyi continued, "Cultivating near the Tranquil Sea not only allows one to enter an extremely efficient state, but also greatly reduces the probability of going into a state of demonic possession. Even if a cultivator does accidentally go into a state of demonic possession, as long as they recuperate near this sea area for a period of time, there is a great chance that they can recover from their frenzied state."

At this point, Luo Qingyi turned her head and looked at the huge river that encircled the sacred mountain.

Her eyes sparkled with a bright light, and even her usually cool and aloof face became lively and vibrant.

"Those crystal-clear streams flowing between mountains and rivers are the best waters."

"The highest virtue is like water, which benefits all things without striving. This river contains extremely pure and vigorous life force, which can greatly accelerate the growth of spiritual plants throughout Tongming Mountain. Moreover, cultivating near the river is extremely helpful for comprehending water-attribute runes or techniques."

Luo Qingyi possesses a rare water-attribute celestial spiritual root, and the Shangshan Water River is undoubtedly the best cultivation sanctuary for her, which explains why she appears so excited at this moment.

Afterwards, Luo Qingyi introduced several other wonders, such as the Forest of All Things, the Tongchen Light Waterfall, and the Invisible Valley. Zhao Cheng'an stood aside, listening with great interest.

It was only at this moment that he truly understood why there was an insurmountable chasm between the Golden Core lineage and the first-class lineage.

Aside from the differences in teaching resources and sect status, simply occupying a complete and well-regulated grotto-heaven would bring immeasurable benefits to cultivation.

Cultivating in such a uniquely advantageous environment, even though Zhao Cheng'an's spiritual root aptitude is several levels lower than Chen Heng's, the rich spiritual energy and the wonders will ensure that their cultivation progress will not fall behind each other, and he may even surpass Chen Heng.

As for someone with a rare, heavenly spiritual root like Luo Qingyi, in such an environment, it's like a fine horse with a fine saddle; even traveling a thousand miles a day wouldn't be enough to describe the speed of her cultivation.

With a deep rumble, the celestial ship slowly landed on a majestic mountain of light.

The white jade plaza here is extremely vast. Looking into the distance, one can see more than a dozen enormous celestial ships of similar size, their spiritual light intertwined, exuding an extraordinary aura.

Before the magnificent hall entrance, a tall figure clad in blue scale armor strode forward.

Upon seeing this, Qi Chong grinned and led Zhao Cheng'an, Luo Qingyi, Ning Zixu, and the others to greet them.

"Senior Brother Xue, how have you been?" Qi Chong greeted him first with a cupped-hand salute.

The young man in the blue scale armor stood still, his face handsome, and his eyes revealing a gentle smile. He was Xue Qing, another true disciple of Tongming Mountain.

Xue Qing's gaze swept over Zhao Cheng'an and the others. "I heard that you encountered an attack by the remnants of Hunyuan Cave on the road. I was worried about you for a long time. It's great to see that you are all safe and sound."

"Haha, with me personally protecting you, what major incident could possibly occur?"

Qi Zhong patted his chest, making a dull sound, and briefly recounted what had happened.

Upon hearing this, a look of surprise flashed across Xue Qing's eyes.

He looked at Zhao Cheng'an and the others again. "To remain calm in such a dangerous situation, to have such composure and skill, is truly rare. You junior brothers and sisters, you did well."

Xue Qing's smile faded, his expression turning serious as he continued, "Next, I will be responsible for leading you through the upcoming entrance assessment. After the assessment, the sect will allocate subsequent cultivation resources and specific teaching arrangements based on your ratings. So, you must give it your all later."

Zhao Cheng'an and the others responded in unison.

Led by Xue Qing, the group stepped into the vast hall.

Although the outside appears to be a boundless expanse of light, the inner cave is distinctly divided into day and night.

At this moment, the entire cave was bathed in a gentle twilight, with soft light.

Along the way, Zhao Cheng'an saw many cultivators from other races.

Some of these cultivators showed almost no signs of alien bloodlines and looked very much like humans, except that occasionally a few tiny scales could be seen on their foreheads or behind their ears.

Another group of alien cultivators presented themselves in a peculiar form, being half-human and half-beast.

Some even transformed into gigantic beasts several meters tall, slowly traversing the wide passageway. These beasts were enormous, brimming with vitality, and each step they took carried a heavy sense of oppression.

But the Tongming Mountain disciples walking around all seemed completely unfazed.

Seeing the slightly curious look on Zhao Cheng'an's face, Xue Qing explained with a smile as they walked, "Our Tongming Mountain's philosophy of learning has always been that the Dao does not reject anyone, and reason can be verified. As long as these alien cultivators are willing to learn, the sect will also share some of the cutting-edge cultivation results with them."

"However, overall, the sect is still dominated by human cultivators. These alien cultivators also have great respect for us human cultivators."

Xue Qing turned to Zhao Cheng'an and said, "If you have your own businesses in the future, such as needing to cultivate large areas of spirit fields, draw a large number of basic talismans, or raise some complicated exotic beasts, you can hire these alien cultivators to help you at a lower price."

In Tongming Mountain, there are more than one agency that specializes in this type of employment, which is very convenient.

Zhao Cheng'an nodded to himself, making the information a memory.

Continuing forward, a vast forest of steles composed of countless black stone tablets came into view.

The stone tablets were of varying heights, and faint spiritual light flickered on them.

Xue Qing stopped and pointed to the forest of steles, explaining.

"This is the Stele of Seeking the Way."

"If you encounter any problems that you don't understand or can't verify through experiments during your cultivation or research of runes, you can write your questions on it and store some spirit stones in the stele as a reward."

"If other disciples in the sect see this, they will try to answer it. If the answer is good enough, they will not only receive the spirit stone reward set by the asking cultivator, but also have the opportunity to receive additional merit rewards issued by the Tongming Mountain sect."

Looking at the stone tablets, Zhao Cheng'an thought to himself that this was somewhat similar to the forums of his previous life. Not only could they help solve problems, but they could also greatly boost the learning enthusiasm of the sect's disciples.

Walking further ahead, through a long corridor, a series of grand and melodious chanting sounds suddenly came from the huge square in front of us.

As the chanting of sutras continued, various mysterious phenomena appeared faintly in the sky.

On a high platform in the center of the square, a Taoist priest with a bright halo floating behind him sat cross-legged, expounding on the Dharma.

Below the platform, there was a sea of ​​people.

On the inner side of the seats sat rows of human cultivators dressed in the robes of formal disciples of Tongming Mountain, each sitting upright and listening with rapt attention.

On the outside were various foreign cultivators or cultivators of different races dressed in different styles.

Even in the very corners, there were some spirit beasts that had not yet fully transformed, squatting on the ground, tilting their heads, listening intently.

Xue Qing looked at the Taoist priest on the high platform with a look of awe in his eyes: "The one on the platform is Uncle Huai Zhen from the sect, a proper Foundation Establishment cultivator, whose expertise lies in dismantling talismans and constructing formations."

"Every so often, elders at the Foundation Establishment stage will come out to give public lectures at Tongming Mountain, and anyone can come and listen in."

Xue Qing pointed to the seats on the inner side of the square: "However, the best seats on the inner side are only available to officially admitted inner disciples."

Foundation Establishment cultivators have already established their Dao foundation and mastered supernatural abilities. Their speech and teachings naturally carry a trace of the Dao's essence. The closer you are to the inner circle, the better the effect of the lecture. You will also have opportunities to audit these lectures in the future, so don't waste such an opportunity.”

Zhao Chengan and the others nodded in agreement.

As they walked along, they were overwhelmed by the sights and sounds and listened with great interest.

After passing through the preaching square, the group finally reached the end of the white jade road.

Ahead, a magnificent hall radiating a faint blue glow stood quietly in sight.