Chapter 391: Chapter 337: The True Form of the Five Sacred Mountains, Even Immortals Cannot Save
By the East Sea, atop the summit of the clouds, stands the Heavenly Palace.
This place serves as the headquarters of the Spirit Treasure Sect.
The South Heavenly Gate of the Cloud Peak Heavenly Palace is guarded by Taoists and giant spirit Taoist soldiers. Amidst the ethereal clouds, immortal cranes can faintly be seen soaring.
At the center of the Cloud Peak Heavenly Palace lies a large lake known as Lotus Lake. Beside the lake stands a towering five-colored Sky-reaching Altar, comprising nine hundred and ninety-nine steps. The altar is not of ordinary five-colored soil but is forged from five-colored jade stone.
This Sky-reaching Altar was constructed by moving countless mountains.
Beneath the altar,
by the lakeside, only the Spirit Treasure Celestial Master and Tianhe remain. Tianhe has not transformed into his Holy Might; he remains in his original, aged form.
Now that his identity has been exposed, he sees no need to continue the charade—prolonging it would only invite ridicule.
The Spirit Treasure Celestial Master gazes at the lake’s surface, watching the rippling water and the leisurely swimming koi.
"You... How am I supposed to deal with you?"
The Spirit Treasure Celestial Master speaks with frustrated disappointment.
What Tianhe has done is utterly defiant of the heavens.
Possessing his grandson was questionable enough, but what’s worse is that someone exposed the act.
Killing people is one thing, but letting their aggrieved kin seek justice is entirely another.
Even allowing them to seek justice is tolerable, but failing to finish them off?
Of course, what made the Celestial Master feel most defied by Tianhe was that, despite pouring immense effort into his plots, he gained nothing and suffered staggering losses, sacrificing countless resources.
"Speak—what are your plans? At least come up with a decent excuse, won’t you?"
The Spirit Treasure Celestial Master found the situation increasingly absurd.
A husband and wife conspiring against one person, only to be counterattacked by them.
Though the Taoist Alliance is indeed an alliance, its governance lacks the stringent hierarchy of the Taoist School. Usually, Spirit Treasure Celestial Masters refrain from interfering with internal operations, as there is no explicit law giving them jurisdiction.
The Hierarch primarily presides over major matters.
And what Tianhe has done qualifies as major.
Impersonation, murdering the Chancellor of the Heavenly Mechanism, engaging in unfair competition that led to the Yin Spring Palace Master’s demise, and even seizing another person’s corpse.
Any single one of these crimes could warrant death a hundred times over.
But the perpetrator is a Heavenly Master, leaving the Spirit Treasure Celestial Master somewhat at a loss.
Whether or not this Holy Might is real is irrelevant; he would not avenge someone who has been dead for countless years.
Tianhe chuckles bitterly, saying, "I do have a solution, though the excuse is rather flimsy. For instance, I could claim that the Holy Might perished in battle against the Yin Spring Palace’s cultivators, and as his grandfather, I had no choice but to emerge and take the helm, keeping it concealed ever since."
"As for the sect’s internecine struggles, those were one-sided actions by Yunhai. Both sides suffered losses, so I suggest we let it go unaddressed."
"A feeble excuse indeed... And what about the matter regarding Zhi Xin?"
At the mention of Zhi Xin, Tianhe fell silent.
That particular incident was beyond explanation.
It was unspeakably ruthless—draining someone dry and then trying to finish them off.
Anyone hearing of this would feel a chill run down their spine.
The Spirit Treasure Celestial Master suddenly thought of something and asked, "What is the status of Ziyun?"
If Ziyun successfully breaks through, they could simply suspend Tianhe for a while, allowing Ziyun to take his place temporarily. After a time, they could find an opportunity to reinstate Tianhe.
"It’s unlikely. There is no solution to reverse the curse. The power of the curse has fused with her very being—it’s no longer the power of Zhi Xin, but Ziyun’s own strength."
Incredible.
How did Zhi Xin accomplish this?
Not even ten days have passed.
Ziyun is destined to die from the Tribulation Fire.
Tianhe racked his brains but couldn’t fathom how Zhi Xin silently and invisibly achieved this.
Unable to understand this fact, Tianhe dared not confront Song Lin.
"Never mind, we’ll chalk it up to my negligent leadership as the Hierarch."
The two conferred briefly, and Tianhe promised substantial benefits, firmly binding his interests to those of the Spirit Treasure Celestial Master.
Tianhe knew that with his capitulation today, he could no longer contend for the position of Heavenly Master within the Taoist Alliance.
"Bring Ziyun here tomorrow for me to take a look. Your Dao Foundation’s cracks aren’t too serious; just rest for a while and you’ll recover."
The Spirit Treasure Celestial Master offered an olive branch.
"Thank you, Hierarch."
The two formally reached an agreement.
"You should focus on handling matters within the Taoist School first."
The Spirit Treasure Celestial Master waved his hand, preparing to send Tianhe off.
Song Lin still had remnants from the Yin Spring Palace to deal with, which had even affected the Eight Ghost Kings.
They decided to postpone dealing with the offender for now and handle this mess later.
Or perhaps shamelessly eliminate him through personal assassination.
After much deliberation, Tianhe considered this method more cautious.
Once Ziyun’s issue is resolved, he would personally confront and eliminate him.
As for the Ghost Kings... they could simply be sealed away. Who says you must use Ghost Kings to kill someone? What a joke.
After finishing off those foes, there would be plenty of time to study them.
As for the Secret Technique Zhi Xin left behind, he would thoroughly examine it over the next few days.
Song Lin and his associates had effectively entered the countdown to their demise.
...
Donghua Jungle.
The jungle operated as usual, and tranquility was a blessing.
The Cultivation World’s pace was slow; decades or even centuries of uneventful calm were common.
Taoist Master Hall.
Inside a secret chamber, Song Lin sat in meditation.
The golden light flowing on his form was the mark of the Sixth Transformation Golden Body, equivalent in defense to a basic acquired Spirit Treasure.
With this Golden Body, most ordinary Purple Mansion cultivators’ spells could be ignored.
Following recent events, Song Lin planned to settle down and focus on studying Taoist Skills.
Senseless fighting and killing were tedious; researching Taoist Skills proved far more rewarding.
The story world still had plenty of cultivation techniques awaiting him.
Thinking of this, Song Lin opened his interface.
Realm: Late-stage Purple Mansion (Lead Flower, Silver Flower, Golden Flower).
Dao Realm: Seven hundred years.
Divine Skills:
Donghua Three Flowers Gathering at the Top Flying Immortal Scripture, Nine-Transformation Copper Skin Iron Bone Immortal Technique (Sixth Transformation), North Emperor Xuantian Technique, Donghua Taoist Soldiers Xuanzi Secret Book, North Emperor Black Law Primordial Venerable Returning Pill, Nine-Transformation Rejuvenation Pill Secret Technique, Five Qi Chaoyuan to Life Spirit Scripture, Supreme Heavenly Shu Spirit Pill Refining Treasure Disc, Qimen Spirit Illusion Creation Spirit Official Technique, Five Qi Yellow Court Twenty-four Nerve Secret Technique.
Blessings: [Emperor Seal][Moon Cultivation Great Witch][Temple Blessing][Golden Crow Yang Pattern][Emperor’s Qi Observation Skill][North Pole Ziwei Dao Pattern]
...
Items: Supreme Elder’s Eight Trigrams Furnace, Octagonal Purple Gold Furnace, Emperor Sword, Dragon Mansion Jade Gourd, Five Thunders Heavenly Master’s Order, Taiji Thunder Seal, Temple Emperor’s Seal, Eight Sceneries Key, Sun Jade Carriage, ...
Since focusing on the Swordman Dao, Song Lin had not encountered new Taoist Skills.
Most of his Taoist Skills had already been cultivated to completion.
The Three Flowers Gathering Technique was self-explanatory—Song Lin had mastered it to the pinnacle.
The Nine-Transformation Copper Skin Iron Bone Unbreakable Body posed no difficulty for transformations prior to the ninth; it was simply a matter of time.
Even the eighth transformation was within a few years’ grasp.
As for the Ziwei Dao Pattern and the North Emperor Xuantian Technique, they proved to be formidable spells.
Within certain worlds, these techniques could unleash immense power.
After all, summoning entities like the Six Palace Demon Kings and Marshal of the Heavenly Canopy was impossible in the real world.
This meant that identifying a potent magic vein remained a priority.
Having completed his cultivation, Song Lin stepped out of the secret chamber.
The sunlight outside was warm and dazzling.
Externally, people regarded him as the Shadow Heavenly Master, but how many truly understood the danger of his position?
Though a small faction within the Taoist School had pledged their loyalty, it was merely an alliance forged by mutual interest.
This was not the mortal realm, where banding together could divide the territory and crown oneself king.
Without resolving the highest level of combat power, gathering more followers would be meaningless.
The Zhonghuang Prince was in seclusion, likely unable to reach the Primordial Spirit realm in the short term.
Song Lin had developed two contingency plans.
The first was to await Zhi Xin’s return and the Zhonghuang Prince’s breakthrough to Primordial Spirit. By then, he would have a means to protect himself against Tianhe.
The second was to continue venturing into the Western Regions Record World to see if he could exchange for a powerful artifact.
The Western Regions Record contained a realm steeped in spell duels, with artifacts renowned for their unparalleled strength. Perhaps he could find one to counter Tianhe.
Ideally, it would be the Nine Elders Immortal Capital Seal of the Sanmao True Monarch.
As the great seal of the Sanmao Dharma Lineage, it may hold profound connections to this world.
Soon, he encountered Ground Evil and others.
"What’s Tianhe’s situation?"
"As expected, the Spirit Treasure Celestial Master didn’t punish him. Then again, neither were you punished—things were handled lightly."
Ground Evil smiled bitterly, finding the envisioned punishment for Tianhe to be nothing but a pipe dream.
The so-called Taoist Alliance continued to operate as a game of power.
"That’s already fortunate; at least we weren’t penalized."
Song Lin had never expected the Spirit Treasure Celestial Master to punish Tianhe. As long as the punishment didn’t turn toward him, that was enough.
Still, this outcome was a positive sign—it indicated that the Spirit Treasure sect valued strength over rules.
This implied that when the day came for Song Lin to kill Tianhe, the Celestial Master likely wouldn’t intervene much.
"Let’s leave it at that for now. Senior, is there still a Time Blessed Land available?"
"There’s one with a one-to-ten ratio. These past few years, Time Blessed Lands have become scarce."
The Time Blessed Land was remarkably advantageous, serving as a vessel for time manipulation favoring the talented.
It seemed even heaven disapproved, as such lands typically had short lifespans, and their reserves within this world progressively declined.
Once, there had even been lands with a one-to-twenty ratio.
Nowadays, even one-to-ten lands were considered exceptional treasures.
"Very well, I’ll borrow it for now."
With the tenfold time acceleration, resolving matters within this world should be swift.
...
Story World.
Song Lin returned to this realm.
The stark pure-white world was eerily tranquil to the point of being unsettling.
This time, Song Lin did not wander aimlessly. Instead, he stopped and settled his mind, carefully sensing the nature of this world.
He meticulously analyzed the environment.
He recalled that upon his arrival, he had seen images related to the Sanmao True Monarch.
Among True Monarchs, Sanmao was the one Song Lin was most familiar with.
After all, the Heaven and Earth Xuanmen Alliance revered Sanmao True Monarch.
The imagery of Sanmao True Monarch strongly resembled aspects of this world.
Though their physical appearances differed, their spiritual essence was unmistakably the same.
The Sanmao True Monarch of this white realm seemed most prominent through Xiao Mao True Monarch, even extending to Liangchang Mountain.
Perhaps this white realm belonged to Xiao Mao True Monarch’s lineage?
Song Lin mused.
The thought clarified many doubts.
Song Lin then formed hand gestures and recited the Taoist incantations used to worship Sanmao True Monarch in the real-world Taoist Schools.
"By human virtue, O immortal saint master. Filial piety reaches the divine, blessings extend to the nation... cycles of yin and yang govern the cosmos, overseeing the thunder and the waters."
Gradually, the surrounding elements began to stir in resonance.
Mists dispersed, and a void revealed five enigmatic black patterns.
They resembled words, paintings, talismans, or perhaps seals upon this realm.
Five Mountains True Form Map?
A brief attempt to sense them informed Song Lin of the map’s origins, following which he immersed himself in its study, losing count of the years.
...
Real World.
Spirit Treasure Sect’s Sky-reaching Altar.
Tianhe instantly materialized here, striking a beam of golden light toward the void.
Within the golden beam was a jet-black flame, and amidst the flames, a faint female figure could be seen.
The woman was completely engulfed in Tribulation Fire, with flames crawling over every inch of her skin.
The fire ceaselessly burned her flesh, while the golden light repaired it.
The torturous pain caused Ziyun to repeatedly transition between passing out and regaining consciousness, as though trapped in the eternal torment of hell.
Witnessing this, the Spirit Treasure Celestial Master could not help but be moved.
"When Tribulation Fire enters the heart, even immortals can’t save her. You might as well take her back."
The Spirit Treasure Celestial Master merely glanced once, proclaiming his judgement of death.
...
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