Chu Tiandu shuddered violently and blurted in shock, "You're going to teach me the Eight Desolations Sun Refining Furnace divine power?"
Xu Ying smiled. "I won't stay in the Ancestral Court playing the Purple-Robed Divine Marquis forever. When I'm not here, I'll need a stand-in to act in my stead. Without a doubt, you are the best fit."
Chu Tiandu grunted softly.
If that happened, Chu Tiandu truly would become a stand-in for Chu Tiandu!
Chu Tiandu rallied his spirits and grinned. "Who knows? Once I master the Eight Desolations Sun Refining Furnace, I might end up stronger than you. When that time comes, we'll see who's whose stand-in!"
Xu Ying laughed heartily and unfurled his Hidden Scenery latent transformation ground, leaving him free to observe and comprehend his Eight Desolations Sun Refining Furnace divine power.
Chu Tiandu flew into his Hidden Scenery latent transformation ground and saw that aside from the Eight Desolations Sun Refining Furnace, there were all sorts of other anomalous phenomena here. The majestic bronze mountain alone possessed a spirit and Dao image that was in no way inferior to the Eight Desolations Sun Refining Furnace!
*Brother Xu's origins must be extraordinary!* he thought, stirred. *I am the disciple of the Little Celestial Venerable, which is how I earned the title of the Purple-Robed Divine Marquis. Whose disciple is he? Could there be beings in the Ancestral Court even more formidable than my master, the Little Celestial Venerable?*
Though he vaguely suspected that Xu Ying might not hail from the Ancestral Court, the Heavenly Daos, Dao methods, and divine powers Xu Ying displayed all followed the paths of the Ancestral Court, dispelling his doubts.
Xu Ying walked unhurriedly toward Lihenyuan.
His purpose on this journey was to understand the Demonic Dao and resolve the issue of dual cultivation of divine and demonic paths for his Primordial Spirit. Along the way, witnessing the Ancestral Court's local customs and comparing them with the Heavenly Daos he had comprehended in the Dao Revelation Ground caused his Dao attainment to climb steadily.
Many people in their cultivation would enter secluded meditation at the slightest impulse, staying closed off for decades or centuries. Yet how could the Great Dao be found in seclusion?
Only by reading ten thousand books, traveling ten thousand li, and experiencing the world's people, customs, and worldly ways could one comprehend and grasp where the Dao truly lay.
As Lihenyuan drew nearer, more and more people appeared along the road. After all, the Ancestral Court possessed an ancient history, crouching tigers and hidden dragons, generation after generation of powerhouses, and no shortage of young masters.
Xu Ying did not recognize a single one among the younger generation, but they knew one another, and quite a few broke into heated clashes along the way.
Yet what Xu Ying heard most were rumors of so-and-so challenging Nalan Du only to fall within two moves, or someone challenging Hua Cuoying only to be defeated within a few strikes.
The two young masters from Weixu were demonstrating astounding might before the Ancestral Court's younger generation!
"Although those two are exceptionally skilled, they also conceal immensely powerful immortal artifacts—one being the God Bridge and the other the Jade Pool! These two treasures render their magic power boundless and overbearing!"
"Rumor has it that these two immortal artifacts were refined from realms severed from a great devil. That great devil once wreaked havoc in the Ancestral Court as well!"
Xu Ying heard many such rumors along the way. Some spoke of the great devil's past deeds in the Ancestral Court, claiming he had once entrenched himself around Lihenyuan, plundering by trickery and force, taking away countless treasures.
Others said the great devil's treasure was hidden right in Lihenyuan.
Most of these, however, were ancient legends.
*They're all just slinging mud at me; none of it is credible,* Xu Ying thought.
After more than ten days, they finally arrived at Lihenyuan in the Ancestral Court.
*Yuan* meant a city wall; Lihenyuan was a walled city built upon the place called Lihen.
The greatest difference between this Ancestral Court city and other cities was that it stood atop an ancient ruin. When Xu Ying arrived outside the city, he saw an immense stone stele lying on the ground, inscribed with the words "Thirty-Three Heavens, Lihen Realm, Taiqing Heaven."
Xu Ying walked into the city and found that many of its buildings were likewise erected directly over the original ruins.
Over the past few days, Chu Tiandu had already left his Hidden Scenery latent transformation ground to cultivate the Eight Desolations Sun Refining Furnace in bitter seclusion; it remained to be seen whether he could master it.
Having nothing else to do, Xu Ying wandered about the city.
*There is a strange power here, seemingly originating from this piece of heaven and earth.*
Xu Ying felt a stir in his heart. It was a shattered Heavenly Dao, extraordinarily sacred and sublime, yet peculiarly, whenever he tried to sense it carefully, it slipped away.
*Wait. The Taiqing Qi from One Qi Transforming into Three Purities is remarkably similar to the Heavenly Dao here!*
With a stir of anticipation, Xu Ying immediately channeled One Qi Transforming into Three Purities, dividing his yuan qi into three parts to form Taiqing yuan qi, and pursued the shattered aura of the Great Dao.
By this time, many young masters had already arrived at Lihenyuan, and extremely powerful auras fluctuated outside the city, likely belonging to the older generation who had also come.
Outside Lihenyuan, terrifying might erupted from time to time, shaking heaven and earth—most likely older figures whose hands were itching for a match, sparring with one another.
Following the aura, Xu Ying ventured outside the city. He hesitated briefly. Because Chu Tiandu was cultivating the Eight Desolations Sun Refining Furnace, he hadn't accompanied him.
*I am a stranger in an unfamiliar land. If I get lost, I might not be able to find my way back to Lihenyuan...*
Pausing for a moment, he still decided to follow this Taiqing Qi.
*One Qi Transforming into Three Purities relies on the Taiyi Qi—the Innate One Qi—to transform into the three qis of Yuqing, Shangqing, and Taiqing, which forge the Heaven and Earth Primordial Spirit. If I can track down the Heavenly Dao of Lihenyuan, perhaps I can enhance the power of One Qi Transforming into Three Purities.*
This Great Dao aura was intermittent, appearing and fading by turns. Even with Xu Ying's exceptionally sharp Yuan Dao Heavens Induction, he lost track of it several times.
In the lands outside Lihenyuan lay many Immortal Dao anomalous zones, extremely perilous and teeming with lurkers and bizarre creatures. Xu Ying steered clear of these anomalous zones, and when dodging was impossible, he forced his way through.
His current strength was sufficient to cross through these anomalous zones without being disturbed by the Immortal Dao.
Yet as Xu Ying ventured deeper, some Immortal Dao anomalous zones became terrifyingly dangerous, nearly trapping him within and forcing him to pull back and search for alternative routes.
*Something isn't right here!*
Xu Ying looked solemn and considered turning back to Lihenyuan.
The more terrifying an Immortal Dao anomalous zone was, the more it proved how formidable the immortals who fought here in ancient times had been, and the stronger the Immortal Dao pollution caused by their lingering divine powers, corpses, or spilled blood!
If he continued deeper, he feared he too would encounter mortal peril.
He hesitated for a second, then gritted his teeth and pressed on. *I came to the demonic realm to probe the truth of the Demonic Dao and resolve my Primordial Spirit's dual cultivation of divine and demonic. Taiqing Qi is also a Great Dao; I must resolve this!*
He moved forward, and his sense of the Taiqing Qi gradually sharpened.
As he went deeper, the impression grew ever clearer.
Yet the surrounding Immortal Dao anomalous zones also turned increasingly terrifying. Even before he stepped into an anomalous zone, the Immortal Dao within began to encroach upon him, affecting his thoughts!
He had to distinguish which thoughts in his mind were his own and which were forced upon him by the Immortal Dao!
He even felt as though an extra person had appeared inside his body.
When he walked forward for another short half-hour, he felt as if several hundred people were inside his body.
After walking forward for another half-hour, Xu Ying saw hundreds of people around him, laughing and chatting merrily with him.
*It's all an illusion! I will hold fast to Taiyi. As long as I don't step into the Immortal Dao anomalous zone...*
Xu Ying suddenly froze. Cold sweat broke out on his forehead as he slowly backed away.
Ahead of him, a cascade of blood was radiating a faint, eerie Immortal Dao light. He had nearly stepped right into this anomalous place!
After a long while, he finally made his way past this anomalous area. The familiar figures beside him suddenly dissolved into smoke and vanished, ceasing to exist.
Xu Ying breathed a sigh of relief and looked back. Behind him, immortal rays of multicolored light glowed everywhere with alluring brilliance, a dense haze of immortal light that made it almost impossible to discern a path out!
*I actually made it through!*
Xu Ying found it hard to believe. Turning around to look ahead, an expanse of broken walls and shattered ruins appeared before his eyes—dilapidated palace gates, collapsed corridor bridges, dried riverbeds...
The shattered Heavenly Dao that Xu Ying had sensed originated from this very place!
He stepped into the ruins, trying to envision its former glory, but everything here seemed to have been deliberately erased, leaving behind little of value.
Xu Ying paused before a gate that had not yet collapsed, gazing at the bird-and-worm seal script inscribed on the stone lintel.
"Tushita Palace... Tushita Palace!"
His aura surged in shock as he stared blankly at those words. It was true—Tushita Palace!
Yet on the other shore of the Crimson Palace, there was also a Tushita Palace!
Of the two Tushita Palaces, which one was the true Tushita Palace?
Just then, a deep, resonant voice spoke from behind him: "Tushita Palace. In ancient times, immortals taught the Dao and passed down their arts here, lighting furnaces to concoct elixir. Someone once asked me: if the old immortal who dwelt in Tushita Palace had his elixir furnace tumble down from Lihen Heaven and crash into the mortal world, what would happen?"
Xu Ying turned around and saw a white-robed scholar who had appeared behind him at some unknown moment, likewise gazing up at the stone lintel carved with the characters for Tushita Palace.
Xu Ying inquired, "Brother, how did you answer?"
The white-robed scholar bore no trace of being from the Demonic Dao; instead, he exuded a refined scholarly air, resembling an erudite Confucian master. He said, "How could I have known? So I asked him in turn, and he told me."
With a solemn expression, he continued, "Then that elixir furnace would surely turn into an endless sea of fire, sweeping across the eight desolations, swallowing sun and moon, and forming countless fire Dao images. The person who told me this went on to comprehend the divine power of the Eight Desolations Sun Refining Furnace."
His face darkened with dejection. "Yet to this day, I have failed to comprehend it."
Xu Ying was shaken inwardly. *He's talking about the Boundless Sea of Fire at the border of the demonic realm, the site of True Lord Erlang's immortal tomb! Wait... could the person who told him the Boundless Sea of Fire was an elixir furnace be... be... me?*
An absurd thought rose in his heart.
The white-robed scholar looked at the ruined walls of Tushita Palace and said, "The person who told me this prepared to re-refine Tushita Palace. He was a man of grand ideas; whatever entered his mind, he acted upon, and he truly did succeed in refining the Tushita Immortal Palace. Later, he sent this Tushita Palace to the other shore of the Crimson Palace. He told me that by using this treasure to gather the immortal medicines of the other shore, he could bring blessings to countless people."
Xu Ying asked, "And then?"
"Then?"
The white-robed scholar's cheek twitched, and his expression darkened. "Then he abandoned the Ancestral Court and ascended. Heh-heh, do you know what this person's name was?"
Without waiting for Xu Ying to reply, he stated flatly, "His name was Xu! Ying!"
Chapter 342