Chapter Extra The National Preceptor (This chapter is free, 5200 words)

In the 327th year of the An Dynasty, the southwest suffered a severe drought, accompanied by a locust plague.

Government allocations were exploited at every level, and the disaster relief grain was nothing more than bags of floating rice, the bottom filled with sawdust and gravel, long before it reached its destination.

Famine spread everywhere for a time, and the three southwestern states were like hell. The victims exchanged children to eat, gnawed on tree bark, and swallowed dirt alive.

In a heavily guarded village, a group of desperate famine victims. Their eyes, red with hunger, made both sides look like ravenous ghosts crawling out of the Hungry Ghost Realm.

Neither side was at fault, but now they had to fight each other for survival.

The famine victims were too numerous, and the walls were broken in three days. The entire village was slaughtered, and even the grain and corpses were eaten clean.

Only Liu Xiu, the youngest son of the Liu family in the town, was fortunate enough to survive the siege of the famine victims with the help of an old friend of the Liu family, an elder of the Tianji Sixiang Sect.

"Uncle Wang, is the world always so full of suffering? Or is it just like this now?"

The emaciated child stood on a barren hill, gazing at the endless expanse of dry land and the swarms of locusts flying past like dark clouds. Liu Xiu blankly questioned the bitterly smiling cultivator. He could not understand the reason for all this. Why had the three southwestern states, usually blessed with good weather, suddenly not seen a drop of rain for hundreds of days? Why was the drought followed so closely by a locust plague?

"The heavens and earth revolve. Sunshine, rain, fog. This great drought is beyond the control of us mortals—it's laughable, but your Uncle Wang here practices the Xuanwu Water Control Art. I originally thought I could do something about this drought, but now I realize that if the heavens don't grant it, how can you ask for it? Without a trace of moisture, no magic can create something from nothing."

"Human power has its limits, human power has its limits."

With a sigh, the cultivator, still a mortal, looked up at the still cloudless sky and the corpses and bones scattered everywhere. He lamented and murmured, "According to legend, nearly a thousand years ago, there were still immortals and gods in the world who could summon wind and rain and move mountains and seas... If there were still immortals now, they could change the world and end this suffering."

"Is that so... the heavens don't grant..."

The child surnamed Liu repeated softly, his eyes revealing an intelligence and determination that did not match his age.

"If that's the case, then I must become an immortal."

Wang Shoudao, the Xuanwu Altar Master of the Tianji Sixiang Sect, brought the Liu family's young child, Liu Xiu, back to the sect. After testing his spiritual aptitude, it was confirmed that he possessed a 'Heavenly Dao Body', a talent that appeared once in a millennium. Therefore, he was accepted under the sect leader's banner, given the Daoist name 'Zhongling', and received meticulous training.

Eight years later, Liu Xiu, Liu Zhongling, at the age of seventeen, cultivated to the peak of the Houtian realm, reaching the Grandmaster level. He was taught the core secret technique of the Tianji Sixiang Sect, the 'Heavenly Thunder Qilin Art'.

Three years later, at the age of twenty.

Liu Zhongling became the thirty-seventh generation sect leader of the Tianji Sixiang Sect. All the altar masters and elders were sincerely convinced, believing that he had surpassed his predecessors. If the path to immortality hadn't been severed, he might have truly ascended to become an immortal.

Two years later, at the age of twenty-two.

Liu Zhongling's sword challenged the six directions, becoming invincible in the world. The Tianji Sixiang Sect suppressed the other seven major Daoist sects in Shenzhou, becoming the leader of the Daoist sects.

Five years later, at the age of twenty-seven.

Liu Zhongling deeply felt that the five fundamental inheritance methods of the sect were outdated. He presided over the reform of the methods, recreated the inheritance, and breakthroughly created composite Daoist techniques, as well as new applications of various Daoist techniques.

From the day the method reform ended, the Tianji Sixiang Sect hung his portrait next to the patriarch's. All new disciples, in addition to worshipping the patriarch, also had to worship him.

——This was the first decade after Liu Zhongling, the sect leader of the Tianji Sixiang Sect and leader of the Daoist sects, cultivated to the peak of the Houtian realm.

But Liu Zhongling did not care about these false names at all, and was not interested in them at all. Whether it was being invincible in the world, or the leader of the Daoist sects, or the disciples' worship, or the method reform of the three immortal achievements... all of these were bubbles for a cultivator.

He still couldn't become an immortal.

"No, if I want to break through the peak of the Houtian realm and enter the 'Xiantian realm' recorded in the classics, I must use spiritual energy to penetrate my entire body, cultivating to perfection from the inside out... I have reached the peak of inner cultivation, but external cultivation requires the assistance of the world's spiritual energy, so that my mind can penetrate the world, sense the spirit of the world, and grow."

"But the concentration of spiritual energy in the world is far from enough to support me in comprehending the spirit of the world and strengthening my own mind and soul... The path to heaven is cut off, this path is broken."

The handsome Daoist sat withered in the main hall of the sect leader. Liu Zhongling, invincible in the world, no longer took action, but no one dared to be his enemy. Now, his real enemy was not any tangible existence, but the heavens and earth and time itself.

"I have reached the upper limit of this world. Although I can sense that my limit is far more than that, the environment does not allow it."

After countless attempts, Liu Zhongling finally determined that almost all the inheritances in this world had cut off the road ahead, and it was impossible to cultivate into the Xiantian realm.

Unless... he created another inheritance himself. Created another set of Daoist techniques that could strengthen the soul and control the power of heaven and earth.

But this was really too difficult, and the time required might take up Liu Zhongling's entire life. With the idea of not putting all his eggs in one basket, Liu Zhongling once again went to various parts of Shenzhou, collecting the classics of various sects, from the myths and legends of the ancient times to the present.

He finally calculated that the rise and fall of spiritual energy had a fluctuating pattern, and that in this era, the concentration of spiritual energy was actually constantly rising, and the amount of this rise would reach its peak in the range of ninety-two to one hundred and fourteen years.

By that time, even if he had not created a new method, he could still achieve transcendence with the spiritual energy of the world.

"At least ninety years, or even more than a hundred years..." Liu Zhongling, who was already thirty years old, stood in the mountains full of stone tablets. He could see that the rocky ground centered on him had been smoothed out by someone using true energy, and countless dense characters were engraved on it, seemingly used to deduce and calculate some extremely complex things: "When decay reaches its limit, the world will usher in a great prosperity."

Stroking his long beard, the Daoist asked himself in a puzzled voice, "But can I live that long?"

Then, Liu Zhongling smiled, "Of course I can."

The lifespan of a cultivator is the cycle of a breath of true energy. Common people often joke that as long as you keep breathing, you won't die, but this joke is a reality for Daoists.

As long as a major cycle of spiritual power does not stop, the cultivator will not die of old age.

After confirming this, Liu Zhongling once again had a goal and hope.

In the second decade of his becoming the sect leader of the Tianji Sixiang Sect, he studied the Daoist techniques of other sects, also learned alchemy, and also fought with other sects who wanted to compete for the position of leader of the Daoist sects and the number one sect in the world. He repelled the heretical demons and monsters for the people of Shenzhou, and even fell into danger several times and was seriously injured.

Although Liu Zhongling's cultivation was number one in the world, the upper limit of the world was only the peak of the Houtian realm. Everyone was a Grandmaster at the peak of the Houtian realm, and if a few people ganged up on one person, or even launched a sneak attack, even Liu Zhongling had to retreat.

While receiving treatment, he, who was usually indifferent, would occasionally feel resentful: "Hateful, these people are just mediocre talents who blindly follow the old path of their predecessors, relying on the accumulation of time to reach the same realm as me... If a few more people sneak up on me, even I might die."

"But if I can achieve the Xiantian realm..."

——In the thirtieth year of cultivating to the peak of the Houtian realm, Liu Zhongling was forty-seven years old.

Feeling that time was running out, he cultivated the next generation of sect leader seeds for the Tianji Sixiang Sect and updated the Heavenly Thunder Qilin Art. However, because a Houtian-realm demon beast, the Thunder Eagle Wind Tiger, appeared in the northwest and led an army of beasts to raid towns, Liu Zhongling still led the team to the northwest without hesitation, slashing the demon tiger with his sword, killing the thunder eagle with his palm, and restoring peace to the people.

The disciples who were also injured carefully applied ointment to heal his wounds. Liu Zhongling smiled and comforted them: "It's okay, the Thunder Art becomes more and more skilled with use. This battle has given your teacher a deep understanding, and the new method has gained some inspiration."

"When I create a new method and achieve the Xiantian realm, you and I, master and disciple, can help the people more conveniently... Ouch, you rebellious disciple, be gentle!"

"Okay, okay, Shou Xin, come over here, I'll heal you and demonstrate the strength needed to apply the medicine."

——In the fiftieth year of cultivating to the peak of the Houtian realm, Liu Zhongling was sixty-seven years old.

Feeling that his body was beginning to age, he passed the position of sect leader to his disciple and became the Supreme Elder to recuperate.

At this time, Liu Zhongling still remembered his childhood oath and determination. He still tried to help others and created a special thunder technique to kill locusts and locust eggs, exterminating the locust plague in one area.

With this, he even received the personal imperial decree from the current emperor of the An Dynasty, and ancestral halls were built for him in various parts of Shenzhou.

Although he still couldn't perfect the new method and achieve the Xiantian realm, Liu Zhongling, who was quite depressed, was still invigorated for a while when he heard the news.

Until one day, he noticed the first white hair growing on his head.

"In his sixties, the human body begins to enter a period of decline?" Gazing at the white hair in his hand, the Daoist, whose face was still that of a middle-aged man, sighed softly, "It seems that the injuries left behind in previous battles have consumed a lot of my lifespan... I can't take action so frequently anymore. I need to maintain my peak state, otherwise, I may not be able to wait for the awakening of the spiritual energy of the world."

"The path to the Xiantian realm... a long and arduous road."

——In the seventieth year of cultivating to the peak of the Houtian realm, Liu Zhongling was eighty-seven years old.

The Daoist, whose face was already wrinkled and whose hair was half black and half white, no longer left the back mountain of the Tianji Sixiang Sect. He stayed in his bamboo house to recuperate and reduce his actions and breathing frequency to delay consumption.

"I must remain silent, and my mentality must be stable. Agitated emotions will bring additional consumption."

"Unless it's a major event like the destruction of the sect, don't come to me."

Although he said this to the disciples and grandchildren who respectfully sent him into the mountains, when Liu Zhongling's eldest disciple died and his grand-disciple succeeded as the sect leader, he still appeared and secretly shed tears at his disciple's spiritual tablet after the funeral and succession ceremony.

"Shou Xin, even you have died... Does the limited lifespan of a cultivator really get affected by injuries? It's all my fault, your teacher, for always taking you to dangerous places when you were young... It's all my fault..."

Shedding his last tears, Liu Zhongling, feeling empty in his heart, felt an unprecedented peace in his heart. He no longer had many attachments in this world.

His parents and relatives had all died in the great drought nearly a hundred years ago. Wang Shoudao, the Altar Master who saved him back then, also died decades ago, as did the old sect leader.

And now, his own disciple had also left, and the attachments in the Tianji Sixiang Sect, and even this world's attachments to him, were already few and far between.

He was completely free of any distracting thoughts, and his mind stepped into a higher realm.

——In the ninetieth year of cultivating to the peak of the Houtian realm, Liu Zhongling was one hundred and seven years old.

In the quiet bamboo house in the back mountain, covered with spider webs, the old man with white hair and wrinkles sat peacefully on the ground. No movement could be seen on his body, as if he were a stone sculpture.

Having cut off all distracting thoughts and wholeheartedly maintaining the great cycle of spiritual energy in his body, Liu Zhongling just waited. Even the Tianji Sixiang Sect seemed to have forgotten him, or rather, thought he had already died.

"Ninety years, the revival of spiritual energy is coming soon, I can't die, I can't die... Even if I can't achieve the Xiantian realm and become an immortal, I must at least wait for the revival of spiritual energy, I must wait for that era..."

"Otherwise, wouldn't my life be meaningless?"

——In the one hundred and tenth year of cultivating to the peak of the Houtian realm.

Liu Zhongling was one hundred and twenty-seven years old.

"The emotion of looking forward to becoming an immortal is also a fluctuation."

"The feeling of waiting for the revival of spiritual energy is also an emotion."

"The heart that cannot die is also a distracting thought."

"Cut off all troubles."

The shackles in the mind, the persistence in the mind, the fundamental foundation of a human being were cut off little by little. No one knew what Liu Zhongling was thinking at this time, and even Liu Zhongling himself was not clear.

He had forgotten and cut off too many things. Each time he eliminated the distracting thoughts in his heart, it not only made his state of mind clearer, but also made his temperament more and more ethereal.

"But if there is nothing in my heart, what is the difference between that and being dead?"

"I must... choose something."

"As the obsession of existence."

Even though his body was already withered, like a dried corpse, Liu Zhongling still opened his eyes. Those eyes were extremely bright, as if light was blooming from his soul: "My obsession..."

In this instant, he recalled many things: Liu Zhongling recalled the determination of a child, the cries of countless people on the dry land, that compassion for himself and the people, that unwillingness towards the heavens and earth.

Why doesn't it rain? Why is there a locust plague? Why are there blizzards and torrential rains, floods and tsunamis? Why is there always suffering in this world?

Why... why is the spiritual energy of heaven and earth always so barren, that even if people use their life's efforts to seek the qualification of 'happiness', it is not granted?

In this last time, Liu Zhongling recalled the questions of his life, and then forgot them all again.

"I want to become an immortal."

Why?

It seemed that someone was asking silently.

But the Daoist could no longer remember anything.

Why?

Becoming an immortal... does it still need a reason? That's an immortal. An immortal who is immortal and can summon wind and rain.

Having endless life and power, can... can...

What can you do by becoming an immortal?

Never mind.

Time passed in this way, and the fortieth generation sect leader of the Tianji Sixiang Sect already had white hair.

On this day, the ambassador of the new emperor of the An Dynasty came to visit, inviting Supreme Elder Liu Zhongling to come out of the mountain.

"Supreme Elder... he's still alive?!"

Even the Tianji Sixiang Sect itself was not clear about this, because Liu Zhongling had said before he went into seclusion that if it was not a major event like the destruction of the sect, do not look for him—so many years had passed, they thought Liu Zhongling had already passed away, so they were quietly guarding the back mountain, and regarded that mountain as his tomb.

And when the Tianji Sixiang Sect brought the emperor's ambassador, who claimed to have a life-extending medicine, to the back mountain and found Liu Zhongling, what they saw was a humanoid figure that was even more withered than a corpse.

This humanoid figure had not yet died. It even opened its eyes, shook the atmosphere with spiritual power, and asked in confusion, "Ex... tending... life?"

"Yes, this is His Majesty's sincerity—you are the most skilled cultivator in the world, and also a virtuous person of this era. There are many problems waiting for you to solve. In exchange, you can get a longer lifespan."

The emperor's ambassador was a martial general with a strong aura of wood, with green wooden patterns on his body. Saying this, he respectfully placed a bottle in front of Liu Zhongling.

And the old Daoist, whose voice was so old that even his spiritual sound was intermittent, looked at the jade bottle containing a strong vitality in front of him, then narrowed his eyes and looked at the ambassador: "What... do you need... this... old man... to do?"

"We need you to refine pills."

"Pills that can allow people to transcend their lifespan, achieve immortality, and ascend to become immortals."

The martial general originally had a hidden arrogance and disdain in the depths of his heart when facing the other Daoists of the Tianji Sixiang Sect. He knew that he, who had received the emperor's grace, was not on the same level as these ordinary Daoists at all. As for this possibly still-alive Supreme Elder whom the emperor ordered him to find, he originally looked down on him a little too.

Just a pile of bones in a tomb. That was his first impression, but now, the arrogant martial general was unprecedentedly respectful, because when facing this Supreme Elder who was like a pile of bones, the martial general could feel that the power and bloodline in his body, and even his soul, were trembling instinctively.

"Immortality..."

Repeating these words, the old Daoist who had been sitting cross-legged for decades suddenly laughed, but the laughter revealed a faint and indifferent apathy: "Ascension."

This word seemed to activate some obsession. Liu Zhongling slowly stood up—and at this moment, everyone present was shocked to see that he had not been sitting on the ground at all, but had been floating in the air with the circulation of his inner energy!

Boom, violent inner energy erupted, directly shattering the bamboo house. Invisible hands of spiritual energy bound the flustered martial general ambassador in mid-air. Liu Zhongling's body floated like flying. It surveyed this world and sensed that in the distant distance, a huge divine engine and wood energy were spreading: "Interesting, interesting, the spiritual energy has not yet recovered, but a divine tree has already been born."

"What are you waiting for?"

The Daoist, whose flesh had long since died, and whose actions and thoughts were only based on a breath of energy, straightened his clothes with spiritual power and shook the atmosphere with his own spiritual power to make a sound: "Ambassador."

It looked into the distance and said calmly, with a hint of pure curiosity in its tone, "Lead the way."

"Let me see what kind of divine pill can make people immortal."

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Through the vote of book friends, the update time has been determined to be 2 chapters at 6:00 AM every day.

The next update will be at 6:00 AM tomorrow, with 2 chapters updated, and the same will be true in the future.