Amid the rain along the lower reaches of the Qianjiang River, fields stretched endlessly on both banks.
Yu Hua sat by the window reading a book, having read the poetry collection obtained from Gu Wen countless times.
Suddenly, she looked up, feeling restless.
“Mu Jing, something might have happened.”
The old donkey lying on the ground twitched its ears, yawned, and said, “What could possibly go wrong with the Daoist Emperor around? Although the Great Qian Dynasty is teetering, if it were going to collapse, it would have done so already. Even if ten True Lords teamed up, it’s doubtful they could kill the Daoist Emperor.”
Currently, there were two top-notch experts in the Land of Immortals: the little ancestor before it and the Daoist Emperor.
Initially, the Daoist Emperor was undoubtedly the top one, which allowed him to establish his reign and plunder the spiritual resources of the world.
But now, the old donkey believed Yu Hua was slightly superior.
In a one-on-one fight, it wasn’t a matter of whether the Daoist Emperor could win but whether he could survive.
Yu Hua frowned and contemplated, becoming more anxious.
She decisively used the Dao Foundation ability, Heavenly Listening.
In an instant, her ears no longer heard the thoughts of people but the heartbeats of the heavens and the earth, surveying the universe, from the highest heavens to the deepest abyss.
This method harmed her life force, and Yu Hua only used it when searching for the elixir of immortality.
Now, she used it to find Gu Wen.
“Zhao Feng is dead.”
Yu Hua confirmed.
The old donkey was so shocked it almost jumped up.
“My Three Purities ancestors, have all those True Lords come out to overturn the table?”
Yu Hua didn’t answer, just gazed towards Bianjing with bright eyes and an uncontrollable smile.
As she said, if Gu Wen wasn’t forced into a corner, how could she make him willingly become the protector of the Dao?
“Use your divine ability to take me back to Bianjing.”
A hundred miles from Bianjing, a clear light descended from the sky, revealing a figure as pure as white jade, his aura as gentle as a cloud.
Three Purities Dao Sect, Supreme Purity Sect Leader, True Lord Yunmiao.
True Lord Yunmiao’s voice was peaceful: “Ao Daoist friend, please stop. Heavenly Maiden, please hear me out.”
A cloud enveloped the two of them, preventing the old donkey from approaching.
Of course, he didn’t attempt to break through the other’s Dao techniques.
This was the Supreme Purity Sect Leader, possibly the next Heavenly Sovereign in the coming millennium.
Yu Hua coldly asked, “Uncle Yunmiao, are you here to stop me?”
“I am not Hua Yang; he has been restrained by me. I won’t stop you. Since the Heavenly Maiden has grown powerful wings, she can communicate her intentions to the Dao Sect. There are some things you should know,” True Lord Yunmiao said, waving away the clouds.
He had no intention of interfering with the Land of Immortals’ matters but felt compelled to investigate after sensing an imminent great calamity.
“A thousand years ago, the Dao Sect’s library was robbed, leading to the current situation with the Great Qian Dynasty. It wasn’t the Dao Sect’s greed that replaced the protector, but by the time the Dao Sect learned of it, the Gu family was already dead, and the Daoist Emperor held the secret of the elixir of immortality,” Yunmiao explained.
Yu Hua questioned, “Fifteen True Lords of the Dao Sect, yet they fear him alone?”
“I am slightly stronger than him; naturally, the Dao Sect doesn’t fear him,” Yunmiao said, his tone unwavering. “But the Dao Sect made a pact with him: upon finding the elixir of immortality, he would receive a root piece, and in return, he would assume the role of protector. With you three joining forces, even if faced with a united assault from all sects, you could still retreat with ease. Without him, and turning him into an enemy, the Dao Sect can only hold off a few old monsters.”
Yu Hua countered, “Why would the Dao Sect risk revealing the elixir of immortality for a mortal, jeopardizing the revival of the Ancestor Qingcang?”
Yunmiao replied, “Gu Wen is already at the Third Stage Dao Foundation and possesses a Martial Dao avatar.”
“He indeed has the bearing of a Dao child. The Dao Sect will ensure his safety. It’s not worth it to fall out with the Daoist Emperor over this.”
Yu Hua’s voice turned cold, “So, the Dao Sect intends to make him suffer more?”
“For the greater good, the Dao Sect and the Great Qian will compensate him,” Yunmiao said, uttering words that made Yu Hua extremely uncomfortable.
Half a year ago, she would have thought the same, but now, must she make the same mistake again?
“Unless you have another reason, why should the Dao Sect accommodate him? I won’t stop you, but can you stop the True Lords of the world?”
Yu Hua’s gaze deepened, her divine sense in turmoil, unable to make an immediate decision.
Should she reveal Gu Wen’s talent? Would revealing his talent make the situation worse?
At this moment, everyone knew Gu Wen was at the Third Stage Dao Foundation but believed he had cultivated using the Gu family’s remaining techniques.
Therefore, even if it took five years to achieve the Third Stage Dao Foundation, he was considered a top-notch prodigy.
But only she knew that Gu Wen had cultivated for only half a year to reach the Third Stage Dao Foundation and had comprehended the Martial Dao avatar from the Profound Bright Spear.
She had not imparted any Martial Dao insights to him; Gu Wen had single-handedly forged his Martial Dao avatar.
Yu Hua slightly raised her head, the three flowers between her eyebrows radiating brilliantly, causing the surrounding white clouds to disintegrate inch by inch.
“I accommodate him, and that is enough,” she declared.
True Lord Yunmiao was silent for a moment, then smiled lightly. “Very well, great powers can achieve the ultimate.”
He stepped aside, no longer obstructing her path.
Yu Hua knew what she was doing and was willing to bear the consequences.
She was no longer merely a disciple of the sect; she had the authority to make decisions.
The Dao Sect trained disciples, not slaves.
Why practice cultivation? To pursue one's aspirations.
As for the grand plans of the sect, the Dao Sect did not rely on such plans for survival.
At least, True Lord Yunmiao did not believe so.
If no one ascends to immortality, why shouldn't he himself become an immortal?
“But you have deviated from the consensus of the sect. The Dao Sect will no longer support you. Whether other True Lords assist you is up to them,” Yunmiao concluded.
The old donkey sighed in disbelief.
He hadn't expected things to turn out this way.
The Dao Sect had directly abandoned full support for Yu Hua.
It was as if a national policy had suddenly been abolished, and protecting Yu Hua was no longer a duty.
This was only the surface; the fact that Yunmiao had come also meant that Huayang had lost his voice.
This further implied...
Yunmiao had advanced another level?
In the Fourth Realm of cultivation, those who reached the twelfth tier were referred to as True Lords.
Most remained in the first tier, the Realm of Speech.
This included the old donkey himself.
The other two tiers were the Path of Unity and the Path of Attainment.
These were not sequential stages but diverging paths: the ancient debate of innate versus acquired.
Innate cultivators pursued the Path of Unity, while acquired cultivators pursued the Path of Attainment.
The Path of Unity aligned with the heavens and earth; the Path of Attainment transcended them.
People once believed the Path of Attainment to be stronger because it sounded more enticing, promising transcendence.
Even the venerable Qingcang was an adherent of the Path of Attainment.
But later, it became clear that Qingcang's power was unique to him, not necessarily to the Path of Attainment.
True Lord Yunmiao followed the Path of Unity, while True Lord Huayang followed the Path of Attainment.
The Dao Sect was in tumult.
Yu Hua rode her dragon horse towards Bianjing, but was suddenly stopped again by Yunmiao, who pointed in a different direction. “You’re going the wrong way.”
In Bianjing
Gu Wen and Wen Renwu retreated ten paces, both bearing injuries, but it was clear Gu Wen was the one losing.
The question was only by how much.
However, the onlookers were in awe.
None dared to call him weak.
Facing a True Lord with just a Third Stage Dao Foundation and only being at a disadvantage was unheard of.
Gu Wen was teetering on the brink of collapse, his body riddled with wounds, yet the essence of his Martial Avatar in his eyes had not faded.
Instead, it was expanding, growing.
One-thousandth of a divine power, two-thousandths, three-thousandths...
He hadn’t fought many battles, and never under such disadvantageous conditions.
Crises brought opportunities, and they were the best teachers.
Gu Wen had learned much from Wen Renwu, who had mastered his techniques and combat responses to an extraordinary degree.
Wen Renwu, panting, noticed the change in Gu Wen’s aura.
He remarked, half-cursing, half-praising, “You truly are a demon, refining your divine power even while fighting me.”
Gu Wen slightly bowed in acknowledgment.
His profound and seemingly boundless fighting spirit was evident.
Wen Renwu’s acknowledgment of Gu Wen’s talent was a testament to his incredible growth and adaptability.
The fight had pushed Gu Wen to his limits, but instead of breaking, he was on the verge of a breakthrough.
The manifestation of a Dharma form nurtures divine abilities, though not everyone possesses them.
Geniuses condense spirit forms, prodigies cultivate Dharma forms, and the disciples of sects all possess at least one divine ability.
Yet Gu Wen was able to constantly comprehend and refine his own divine ability during his life-and-death struggle with Wen Renwu.
Wen Renwu could understand a breakthrough in the killing path during battle, but he couldn't fathom Gu Wen's speed.
It was simply too fast.
Others take years to hone their divine abilities, but he managed it in mere minutes, as if every move and technique of Wen Renwu became nourishment for him.
Gu Wen glanced at the water gate behind him, spat out a mouthful of blood, and said, "No matter how much I comprehend, it won't allow me to defeat the general in a day." Currently, his Zhaolie Spear divine ability was only at three-thousandths.
To put it nicely, it had tripled in power; to put it bluntly, even if he got beaten for three days and nights, it might not necessarily make a breakthrough.
Wen Renwu's forehead veins bulged as he sneered, "Boy, this lord is at the eighth level of Dao Foundation, the essence of the Fourth Realm. Do you not understand the gap between levels?" The issue was not that breakthroughs during battle were useless, but that there was a three-level gap between them.
Even with Wen Renwu's arm severed and his strength greatly diminished, the gap between them wasn't something that could be easily bridged.
Outside the Land of Immortals, the measure is the Four Realms; those with higher magic power are stronger, with some able to defeat enemies across small realms, but no one has ever crossed four realms to kill.
Within the Land of Immortals, the measure is the Dao Foundation, from one to nine levels, with a perfect Dao Foundation being worth two levels.
The rest depends on the Dharma form and divine abilities.
Compared to the Land of Immortals, where many trickery methods are unusable due to magic power restrictions, here it only relies on Dao Foundation and peak techniques.
Wen Renwu possessed an eighth-level Dao Foundation with three perfect levels, equivalent to eleven small realms.
Gu Wen, with three perfect levels, was equivalent to six small realms.
The Dharma form could count as one level, but Wen Renwu also had a Dharma form, making it impossible to achieve an effect similar to that on the Grand Chamberlain, Feng Bozhou.
Eleven levels against six, and that female celestial at least eighteen.
The gap between him and her was even greater than that between Gu Wen and him.
An ordinary Dao Foundation counts as one, a perfect Dao Foundation as two.
"Back to the point, you've already lost twice to me. Third time's the charm, so let me ask you one last time, will you become the Crown Prince of Great Qian, or be temporarily detained?" Gu Wen was surprised by the change in Wen Renwu's attitude and asked, "Not death?"
Wen Renwu replied frankly, "That Daoist celestial wants to protect you, so this lord cannot decide your life and death, lest it brings about my own demise." Indeed, background matters everywhere.
Without it, one faces complete eradication; with it, even mortal enemies must show restraint.
Gu Wen tossed aside his broken Xuan Heavy Spear and asked, "General, do you still have strength left?"
Wen Renwu, thinking Gu Wen had given up resistance, maintained his vigilance but answered honestly, "Some, but not as much as your Yuqing Dao Foundation with its endless vitality. My Hunyuan Dao Foundation lies in standing firm and undefeated."
"General, you are truly talkative."
"For those with talent, this lord naturally enjoys conversing."
"Then let's chat next time."
"Hmm?"
Splash!
Gu Wen dived headfirst into the river, moving like a fish, quickly submerging.
Wen Renwu almost instantly struck to prevent him, causing ten meters high water splashes, but his hit did little.
Water, when met with force, reacts with equal force.
The stronger the impact on water, the greater the dispersion and loss of power.
This was Gu Wen's original escape plan.
Yu Hua's words always lingered in his mind: In Great Qian, everyone must abide by the rules of mortality.
Regardless of one's cultivation, they all need to eat, drink, excrete, and sleep.
Taking pills and meditating were merely alternative ways to meet these needs, not complete exemptions.
And he possessed the spirit treasure, the Jade Wave Pearl, weak in killing but strong in water control.
"Knowing I can't beat him, I definitely planned to run. Now, I'm just upset I couldn't rob the Treasury again. If Wen Renwu hadn't come, I could've filled my storage pouch to the brim!"
"You slippery eel!" Wen Renwu couldn't help but curse.
However, he wasn't foolish enough to chase into the water.
There are no perfect methods in the world.
Having the ability to stand invincible on land naturally comes with its own weaknesses.
Following the river, Wen Renwu arrived at the water gate and sensed Gu Wen's presence.
He scaled the city wall, reaching the outskirts of Bianjing, only to find not an expansive plain, but countless chaotic houses.
Pursuing Gu Wen along the way, he thought Gu Wen wouldn't last long because of an inviolable rule in the Celestial Realm: 'All beings become mundane.' Breathing was part of it, and although the Avoid Water Technique could alleviate it, it still required mana.
Unless he had an Avoid Water spiritual treasure!
Wen Renwu suddenly realized this and transmitted a mental message towards the palace, "I beseech Your Majesty to take action!" Severely injured and not proficient in water combat, he knew Gu Wen might actually escape if he wasn’t careful.
The transmission went unanswered for a long time.
Then, a black light shot up into the sky and entered the spiritual realm.
The sound of thunder echoed in all directions, and snippets of information reached Wen Renwu's ears.
Qing Cang, Immortal Medicine, Second Life…
Boom!
The heavens and earth trembled, countless dormant old monsters broke through into the Celestial Realm from beyond.
Buddhist, Daoist, and Demon sects, the Dragon Clan from the Eastern Sea, and numerous powerful beings from the Forty-Eight Caves of Jianmu Demon Sea all swarmed in.
A simple-clad Daoist ascended to the sky with a sword, speaking warmly, "I am Yunmiao of the Great Purity Sect. I ask you all to retreat."
In an instant, the sky outside turned chaotic, and the battle lasted an entire day and night, affecting the entire thousand-mile territory of Daqian, making day and night indistinguishable.
Yunmiao, the head of the Great Purity Sect of the Three Purities Dao Sect, fought dozens of True Lords without falling behind.
Later, Huayang, the head of the Upper Purity Sect, led others to join the battle, resulting in another chaotic fight.
In the end, the Three Purities Dao Sect gained the upper hand.
Meanwhile, Yu Hua also killed two disrespectful old beings, but then she found that Gu Wen had slipped away.
This slippery eel runs too fast!
He doesn't need her to look after him.
He hides himself so well that even she couldn't find him using normal means.
No one else could either, as divine sense range is limited in the Celestial Realm.
Now, there shouldn't be anyone with a wider divine sense than hers.
Sometimes being too worry-free is not a good thing.
Yu Hua searched along the river but found countless tributaries.
After half a day, she found herself and Lao Lv exhausted.
"Little Ancestor, I'm afraid we can't find him. We'll have to wait until he shows up again." Yu Hua was about to give up when she saw an official ship and had a thought.
"We'll wait for him to come to us."
On the other side.
Relying on the inexhaustible nature of the Yuqing Dao foundation, Gu Wen swam for a day and a night, paying no attention to the commotion above.
Suddenly, he saw an official ship passing overhead.
Every month, the Treasury Office sends people to collect tributes from various places, traveling by land and water.
Given the developed waterways in the south, most of the transport is done via water.
Tiny sounds came, and through the water, Gu Wen could see the flag of the Treasury Office.
"Be careful with the loading, these are all tributes for the Emperor." What's given to the Emperor is mine for the taking?
Gu Wen, like a water ghost, bubbled with laughter and quickly swam towards the surface.