Chapter 484 - 241: Heavenly Pool (Part 2)
As soon as this person appeared, all the disciples of the Lingshu Pill Sect immediately bowed together:
"Welcome to the Patriarch coming out of seclusion, breaking into the Mysterious Realm."
"We wish the Patriarch longevity and eternal vision, free from reincarnation, mastery of the Divine Techniques, and an early ascension!"
The many guests also stood up and congratulated him. Only the few high-level experts from the three righteous sects slightly nodded, waiting for Master Mu Yunzi to descend on a cloud and exchanged a few polite words with him.
On such a joyous day for his own family, the old man was naturally smiling, his face glowing, warmly greeting the fellow cultivators.
After all, they were all high-level cultivators from the upper sects. Even though he had always been proud and concerned with appearances, he couldn’t put on airs in front of these individuals.
However, it must be mentioned that amidst all these congratulatory voices, there were a few people out of place.
Yes, it was Chu Xuan and his table. He and the girl beside him not kneeling or bowing could be ignored, but even the person behind them, who looked like a mere servant, stood there like a statue with a cold face, unmoving.
This naturally aroused dissatisfaction in Mu Yunzi’s heart. The disciples of the Pill Sect also cast hostile glances their way, even suspecting if they had come to cause trouble intentionally.
Chu Xuan even had a slight mocking expression on his face, thinking that this old man was overly concerned with appearances. "Longevity and eternal vision, free from reincarnation"—one would think it was a promotion ceremony for a ninth-level cultivator.
On the surface, Mu Yunzi naturally wouldn’t lose his temper over such a trivial matter. After announcing the formal start of the Alchemy Dao Conference, he stroked his beard and sat in the main seat, exuding the demeanor of an old immortal.
However, the elder responsible for welcoming the guests today secretly lamented in his heart, quickly transmitting a message to the master about the background of the people at that table.
[Qingxu Temple] Qing Mingzi? Mu Yunzi was a bit puzzled in his heart. Since when did Qingxu Temple have such a young sixth-level real person?
But he only remembered it secretly, even preparing to guard against them causing trouble. If they dared to act up, he would suppress them directly! At that time, no one would say he bullied the young.
The opening of the conference naturally saw the offering of exquisite food and fine wine. Most of the guests had brought congratulatory gifts, so naturally, they had to enjoy themselves while talking about everything under the sun and wildly boasting a bit.
In nearly a decade, natural disasters continued to spread and worsen, making all the sects and cultivators everywhere struggle. The human world also gradually descended into chaos and bloodshed.
This resulted in fewer people paying attention to Chu Xuan. After all, he hadn’t shown up in over ten years, and no one could find him.
Chu Xuan sipped his drink while using "Sound Listening" to eavesdrop on the happenings around him, trying to extract useful information from the guests’ idle chatter.
The only pity was that, for years, he had been busy enhancing his realm and still lagged in cultivating Divine Techniques. Otherwise, if he had refined this technique further, he might even hear others’ Divine Sense transmissions.
Chu Xuan mainly focused on the activity among the higher echelons. It seemed that Mu Yunzi was still a grandmaster of the Alchemy Dao. Regardless of other matters, he was indeed skilled. Not only did ordinary cultivators flatter and praise him, but even top-tier cultivators of the three sects treated him politely. It’s no wonder he had developed a proud disposition.
At this moment, Mu Yunzi turned to Chen Yixian of Zichen and said with a smile, "I heard that the [Celestial Pool Secret Mansion] is about to reappear in recent years? Has Master Chen heard about it?"
Chen Yixian, a handsome man in purple robes, raised his glass, sighed, and said, "It’s all due to the natural disasters. According to our sect’s heritage, the Celestial Pool Secret Mansion was supposed to appear at least a hundred years later."
"But now the world is turbulent, with leaks everywhere, disturbing the Spiritual Qi, and causing disharmony between yin and yang."
"According to the joint calculations of our few sects, the reemergence of the Celestial Pool Secret Mansion isn’t far off. We can only hope there’s some means left by an Immortal in this immortal mansion; otherwise, this catastrophe will not be easy to endure."
Master Songxue and Duan Wanshan both nodded upon hearing this, looking somewhat worried.
Chu Xuan frowned slightly. In just ten years, had the natural disasters spread so rapidly? Even Zichen over there seemed unsure about the situation.
This conversation was only audible to these high-level cultivators. Otherwise, if the lower-level cultivators heard it, who knew what rumors would spread.
As for the Celestial Pool Secret Mansion, was it some kind of Grotto Heaven?
Chu Xuan really wasn’t familiar. Luckily, those at the middle and lower levels occasionally discussed it too. It seemed to be news that had gradually spread over the past six months.
After listening for a while, he felt a bit secretly excited.
Rumor had it that before ascension to the Immortal Realm, cultivators needed to soak in an Immortal Pool. It was partly to heal the bodily injuries sustained during the heavenly tribulation, and partly to use the Immortal Pool’s power to shed the mortal body and refine it into the body of an Immortal.
It’s said that in the [Celestial Pool Secret Mansion], there was a "Merak Immortal Pool," containing the true water of an Immortal Pool, no different from the pool in the heavens, capable of regenerating the bodies of the dead, nourishing the flesh and spirit, and reconstructing the Dao body and legal form.
But since one was located in the Immortal Realm, blessed by the pure qi of nine heavens and the rank of the Celestial Court, and the other was in the mortal realm, as a relic of ancient Immortals, its efficacy might be somewhat weaker than the one in heaven.
Moreover, ordinary cultivators, whose cultivation hadn’t reached Mahayana consummation and hadn’t undergone the heavenly tribulation, couldn’t possibly transform into an immaculate Immortal body just by soaking in it.
There were even rumors that those with too low cultivation should not even touch the water of the Immortal Pool. Otherwise, they couldn’t withstand its mysteries, and their mind might be taken by the pool, turned into an Immortal Pool puppet, eternally guarding the pool and attacking anyone who dared approach.
After hearing these tales, Chu Xuan’s first thought was: The beauty’s head can finally regenerate her body! Would her realm and combat power improve as well?
The second thought was: Why don’t I soak in it too? See if I can instantaneously break into the seventh realm.
The third thought was... Wait a minute, according to Gu Haitang, Shangguan Yu had already passed the Ninefold Heavenly Tribulation, and back then, when the Celestial Gate opened, divine light from the Immortal Realm shone through, making him a half-immortal, which allowed him to withstand the Five Decays of Heaven and Man forcibly.
If Shangguan Yu soaked in this pool, wouldn’t he become a true Immortal?!
At that time, although he might not easily escape the Five Decays of Heaven and Man, he would likely suppress it temporarily. Wouldn’t that spell my doom?
This deduction made Chu Xuan’s face look rather grim. If that’s how it was, then he must do everything to stop Shangguan Yu’s actions, or there would be no road for him except death.
Of course, at the moment, Chu Xuan only had a partial understanding of the information about the Celestial Pool Secret Mansion, so he had to keep listening...
It’s said this Grotto Heaven was initially the abode of an ancient Gold Immortal whose master was one of the founders of the current Celestial Court and even the Immortal Realm, a master of Great Divine Techniques.
After the establishment of the Celestial Court, he went alone to the Immortal Realm, becoming one of the Five Emperors of Heaven. He intentionally left all his belongings in this secret mansion, hidden within the mortal realm, for fated people in the future.
There’s a legend that within the secret mansion, there exists a mysterious celestial book, recording the past, the present, and the future.
There’s also a rumor that it contains rare treasures like Immortal Pills and Immortal Artifacts, possessing unparalleled power.
In any case, the sects were exaggerating their tales, and Chu Xuan found it really hard to discern the truth, making up his mind to gather substantial information about the secret mansion once the current affairs were done.
After several rounds of drinking and a joyous banquet where hosts and guests alike were delighted, the event finally progressed to the segment of "Discussing Pills and Debating the Dao."
This was the true intent of the Alchemy Dao Conference: to allow alchemy cultivators from various factions to exchange insights on alchemy, and at times, if the discussion became enthusiastic, they would even open a furnace to refine elixirs on the spot, validating each other’s learning.
As for those completely ignorant, this time the Pill Sect had specially prepared a set of Spirit Pills and miraculous medicines for all the guests to enhance their cultivation. You could indulge in tasting the pills while leaving the discussing of the Dao to the professionals.
Chu Xuan was in no hurry to take action. He still wanted to see if the Lingshu Pill Sect truly had a "Immortal Pill" passed down through generations. If he were to make a move, there would be no staying there for long.