In Xu Ying's mind, risking his life for the Eastern King was out of the question.
However, watching the Eastern King risk his life and waiting for the right moment to strike—seizing the fruits of victory while lending the Eastern King a hand along the way—was perfectly fine.
He sat inside the imperial carriage, encircled by swirling resplendent light that condensed into clouds and rosy vapor. Great Luo Dao patterns were embedded within, forging a formidable defense. Above Xu Ying's head hovered the Great Luo Heaven, and above the Great Luo Heaven stood the carriage's imperial canopy, which concealed an entire world of the heavens, allowing him to flee at any moment.
Behind the Great Luo Heaven lay Yingzhou, where the Divine Mother, Gushe, Yuan Tiangang, Master Fire Dragon and his disciple, and the others resided.
Back when Xu Ying defeated Yang Yanlong and departed the Realm of the Great Void, he returned to the Ancestral Court and located the Penglai Immortal Realm. He merged the two major cave abysses of Penglai and Yingzhou, which was why the Divine Mother and her group now lived within the unified Yingzhou.
The current Yingzhou far surpassed its former self, teeming with abundant world spiritual qi and spiritual power. Originally, Penglai had just over a hundred immortals, but that number had grown to two or three hundred. The Divine Mother had led them roaming through the Ancestral Court to seek the fortuitous encounters left by ancient immortals.
Every single one of them had obtained the legacy of an ancient immortal of the Ancestral Court. Some had even received legacies from Great Luo Golden Immortals like True Lord Erlang. The Heavenly River legacy obtained by the sisters Chu Xiangxiang and Hua Cuoying was in no way inferior to that of a Golden Immortal.
However, they had only the legacies and lacked sufficient immortal spiritual qi to cultivate.
The Divine Mother had remained calm and composed, always reassuring them that immortal spiritual qi would come in time. To their boundless delight, once Xu Ying tracked them down, sufficient immortal spiritual qi truly became available.
Having hundreds of immortals residing in Yingzhou did not hinder Xu Ying's cultivation. His primary source of world spiritual qi and power remained the Taiyi Cave Abyss; even if all of Yingzhou's spiritual qi were given to Chu Xiangxiang, Yuan Tiangang, and the rest, it would hardly matter.
"Immortal Master Xu, the Eastern King is scheming against you again!" Yuan Tiangang's voice called out from within Yingzhou.
Xu Ying looked up and saw light flare across the canopy overhead. A sudden premonition struck him, letting him know the Eastern King was attempting to divine his location.
"As the saying goes, when one's fortune meets the Canopy star, fortune shifts. With this canopy shielding your fortune and obscuring every vital aura, even the Eastern King will find it difficult to deduce your whereabouts," the Divine Mother said with a smile. "What is more, with me here, he can calculate your position only if I allow it."
This canopy was part of the funerary items of Emperor Haocang, the Last Lord of Ziwei, and Xu Ying had received two of them. The imperial carriage had also been the Last Lord of Ziwei's conveyance. With an expert like the Divine Mother overseeing things, the Eastern King had no hope of divining his precise location unless he attained the realm of Supreme.
To be safe against the Eastern King's divination, Xu Ying even deployed his Great Luo bodhimanda.
His purpose in seeking out the Divine Mother had been precisely to counter the Eastern King's miraculous calculations.
As for who held higher attainments in divine divination between the Eastern King and the Divine Mother, Xu Ying suspected it was still the Eastern King. Yet with the Last Lord of Ziwei's canopy and his Great Luo bodhimanda, the Eastern King would find tracking his every move exceedingly difficult.
"Ah Ying, won't the Eastern King be angry if you treat him like this?" The Great Luo bodhimanda formed a great ring, and the big bell hung suspended within it, absorbing the bodhimanda's Dao power while surveying their surroundings.
"It wouldn't do him any good even if he were angry."
Xu Ying remained perfectly poised, gazing toward Wuzhuang Temple. "The Eastern King hasn't entered the fray in person; he merely sent an avatar down. Because it's an avatar, he doesn't care whether it lives or dies. But I am intervening in the flesh, so I must exercise caution. Besides, I promised I would come in person to lend him a hand, but I never specified when."
Most crucially, if he showed himself too early, the Eastern King would certainly push him to the forefront, turning him into a target for everyone while the Eastern King reaped the benefits amid the chaos.
The big bell praised, "Ah Ying, you truly are a man of your word."
Xu Ying grinned smugly, then suddenly felt the big bell was mocking him. Yet if Lord Bell was mocking him, didn't that simply prove he was doing the right thing? His smug satisfaction returned immediately.
Suddenly, the sky trembled violently as an Immortal King descended to the lower realm, bearing an immensely powerful aura.
"No cave abyss—he must be a rogue immortal!"
Xu Ying gazed into the distance. The Immortal King possessed an extraordinary bearing, clearly the noble demeanor cultivated from holding high station for a long time, entirely distinct from the rough banditry of wild Immortal Kings.
Yet the man possessed no cave abyss and was dressed plainly, suggesting he was no longer an official of the court.
*He was probably an official in the Immortal Court who fell from power and stepped down. Though no longer an immortal official, he holds himself in high esteem, clinging to his refined bearing and refusing to mingle with ordinary rogue cultivators,* Xu Ying thought.
"That Immortal King is named Chen Shilin. Back in the day, he served as an official at Beiluoshimen, but he backed the wrong side and fell from grace," the Divine Mother's voice drifted out from Yingzhou.
Such Immortal Kings were not few in number. In just a short while, Xu Ying watched dozens of Immortal Kings descend into the lower realm, heading straight for Wuzhuang Temple.
Aside from Immortal Kings, there were also Immortal Monarchs who had cultivated Dao trees, and many of them were likewise rogue cultivators.
True rogue cultivators could never dream of becoming Immortal Monarchs unless they encountered miraculous luck that allowed them to seize a Monarch-grade cave abyss. Otherwise, even with hundreds of millions of years of accumulated wealth and cultivation, they would remain stuck in the Immortal King realm.
"These Immortal Monarchs also fell from power in the court,"
the Divine Mother said, looking around. "The one descending in a carriage is named Zhang Zining, also known as Immortal Monarch Zining, who formerly served under the Longevity Emperor. That one over there, traveling with great pomp, is named Chu Du, another Immortal Monarch and once an expert of the Water Department. And the one in purple robes flanked by four maidservants is named Qin Mufeng, who loves ostentation most of all. Before his downfall, he held a substantial post overseeing the Five Hells Heavenly Prison."
Xu Ying looked across the sky. The descending Immortal Monarchs carried an air distinct from the Immortal Kings. They traveled with grand entourages, often riding chariots, surrounded by retainers, with maidservants at their sides playing pipes, zithers, and drums.
Although they were now rogue cultivators after losing office, they had accumulated substantial wealth while serving in the court, allowing them to maintain opulent lifestyles even in exile.
However, people of their sort were frequently targeted by genuine rogue cultivators, who would rob and plunder their riches.
"There truly are quite a few powerful experts among the rogue Immortal Monarchs."
Xu Ying's expression grew solemn. Although he had defeated Perfected Lord Yang Yanlong, formidable figures existed among Immortal Monarchs as well. The bottlenecks in an immortal's cultivation realm were rarely due to aptitude or comprehension, but rather resources. Without an adequate cave abyss, no matter how extraordinary your talent, sharp your comprehension, or profound your Dao attainment, advancing to the next realm remained out of reach!
This produced a peculiar phenomenon: using cultivation realm alone to measure someone's combat strength would only lead to grave errors.
Xu Ying sensed that the cultivation and prowess of figures like Immortal Monarch Zining and Chu Du might not be inferior to his own!
"Wait, Hao Kaiyang, the leader of the Four Evils of the Hidden Lands!" Xu Ying suddenly spotted a familiar face.
Hao Kaiyang was a genuine rogue cultivator, the head of the Four Evils of the Hidden Lands, an Immortal King whose Eight Gates Direct-Reverse Life and Death Art was unmatched under heaven. He had once clashed with Xu Ying and even held the upper hand, leaving a deep impression on him.
Suddenly, Xu Ying frowned slightly. Hao Kaiyang's current cultivation and power had advanced astonishingly; the aura he emanated was many times more formidable than before!
*He isn't me—how could he elevate himself to such a state in just a few short years?* Xu Ying wondered inwardly.
The Divine Mother studied Hao Kaiyang and said, "That man is the crown prince of the Primordial Monarch, named Ling Wuxin. He seized Hao Kaiyang's physical body. Ling Wuxin cultivates the Primordial Monarch's Thirty-Three Heavens Divine Convergence Art. His primordial spirit is tremendously potent, having reached the twenty-eighth heaven, making him exceptionally dangerous."
Xu Ying was utterly stunned. "Hao Kaiyang is dead? Possessed by Ling Wuxin?"
He had greatly admired Hao Kaiyang's capabilities, finding his Life and Death Art breathtakingly brilliant. He had assumed the man was merely a dragon stranded in the shallows who would soar to prominence once granted an opportunity, never imagining he had been reduced to Ling Wuxin's vessel!
Ling Wuxin entered Wuzhuang Temple, his figure disappearing from view.
"An avatar of the Imperial Monarch has also descended."
The Divine Mother's voice jolted Xu Ying from his thoughts. He looked hurriedly and saw a ray of multi-colored light drop from the sky. A young man bearing a passing resemblance to the Imperial Monarch descended along the light and walked toward Wuzhuang Temple.
"This person is named Bai Mingzhong, a past-life incarnation of the Imperial Monarch. In the past, in order to cultivate and unravel the mysteries of the Heavenly Monarch realm, the Imperial Monarch reincarnated more than four hundred and eighty times, leaving behind his past-life incarnations across four hundred and eighty worlds,"
the Divine Mother said. "This past-life incarnation of the Imperial Monarch was the patriarch of the Bai family in the Taishi Great World, and his cultivation is also at the level of an Immortal Monarch, extremely formidable. The Imperial Monarch's Dao attainment is extraordinarily high; out of ten attempts to divine him, he detects six, making accurate calculation impossible. You must remain on guard against him, Immortal Master."
Xu Ying's pupils constricted. He clenched his fists, relaxing them only after a long moment.
He watched the Imperial Monarch's past-life incarnation step into Wuzhuang Temple without making a move.
Suddenly, an even more violent tremor shook the heavens. Thunder and lightning intertwined, and terrifying bolts nearly ripped apart the sky of the newly merged world!
A winged bird-man flew out from the rift torn in the sky, riding divine fire as he arrived.
"That is the Heavenly Demon incarnation of the Heavenly Venerable of the Thunder Department,"
the Divine Mother said. "When I calculate the Heavenly Venerable, my divinations often fail as well."
Just then, the melodic chime of jade ornaments drifted down from the heavens, followed by heavenly maidens scattering blossoms. The petals were Dao flowers, drifting down in fragrant, fluttering arrays.
A gentle, alluring immortal maiden stepped across the Dao flowers, walking toward Wuzhuang Temple.
"This woman is the Primordial Monarch's Dao body,"
the Divine Mother said. "The Primordial Monarch's primordial spirit cultivation is too overwhelming for her physical form to easily bear, so she ordinarily houses it within her Dao body. The Dao body is exceptionally robust, surpassing even her mortal flesh. Dispatching her Dao body shows just how much importance she places on Wuzhuang Temple."
Xu Ying waited a moment longer, only to see the Heavenly Venerables of the Pestilence, Fire, Water, and Wealth Departments arrive, either in person, via avatars, or through incarnations, all heading straight for Wuzhuang Temple.
Not a few Immortal Monarchs and Immortal Kings from the Immortal Court had personally rushed over as well, determined to claim the treasures of Wuzhuang Temple!
Seeing this, Xu Ying couldn't help asking in surprise, "Divine Mother, what is the background of Wuzhuang Temple? Why has the emergence of this single temple drawn so many supreme experts?"
The Divine Mother smiled and replied, "I dare not divine the master of Wuzhuang Temple, nor could I ever calculate his whereabouts. However, I have heard that he is the Ancestor of Earth Immortals."
"The Ancestor of Earth Immortals?"
Xu Ying cried out in shock. Didn't that mean the master of Wuzhuang Temple was the grandmaster of every immortal in the Earth Immortal Realm?
"Some say he is the embodiment of the Earth Immortal Realm, while others say he is the ancestral master of all immortals within it. Still others claim that divine tree of his was formed from the world spiritual root of the Earth Immortal Realm, while some insist it is his Dao tree,"
the Divine Mother explained, sharing all the lore she possessed. "The origin of this Ancestor of Earth Immortals is profoundly enigmatic, and speculations regarding his background are endless. However, before the Dao weeping arrived, the Ancestor of Earth Immortals vanished, leaving behind only Wuzhuang Temple."
She dared not calculate the whereabouts of the Ancestor of Earth Immortals, fearing the karma involved was far too profound. She continued, "When the Earth Immortal Realm shattered, Wuzhuang Temple vanished into concealment, disappearing without a trace. It is said that even the Supreme searched for Wuzhuang Temple in those days but failed to locate it. Over time, both Wuzhuang Temple and the Ancestor of Earth Immortals faded into legend. This Three Realms Tide is causing the myriad heavens and realms to merge, which is why Wuzhuang Temple has revealed itself, drawing everyone with ambitions to set their sights on this place."
Xu Ying inquired, "What about that Dao tree? Is it a naturally born divine tree, or is it the Ancestor of Earth Immortals' Dao tree?"
The Divine Mother shook her head. "I do not know either."
Xu Ying smiled. "Try divining it."
"I cannot calculate it."
Xu Ying gasped upon hearing this, his eyes widening as he blurted out, "Divine Mother, you once said you couldn't calculate the Supreme. Could that Dao tree be..."
The Divine Mother sighed and replied, "I do not know whether it is an entity on par with the Supreme, but I simply cannot deduce its whereabouts. By the way, some call it the Ginseng Fruit Tree, claiming that if one consumes a Dao fruit from it, one can instantly become a Great Luo Golden Immortal!"
She sounded full of regret. Had she been able to divine the Dao tree's whereabouts, she would have secured it long ago, sparing herself the need to hide in places like Penglai and Yingzhou.
Even divine calculation had its limits.
"There is also a rumor that back then, the Ancestor of Earth Immortals possessed a cave abyss which he concealed before departing. It may very well be inside Wuzhuang Temple,"
the Divine Mother noted. "The Imperial Monarch, the Heavenly Venerables, and the others anticipate the Three Realms Tide so eagerly precisely because they hope to use its shifts to discover more treasures and break through their cultivation bottlenecks."
As they spoke, Xu Ying's imperial carriage arrived outside Wuzhuang Temple. Looking toward the temple, Xu Ying found that it appeared veiled within an illusory world, evoking an eerie sense of unreality.
The temple was ancient beyond measure. Moss clung to the stone steps, while other sections were worn mirror-bright. The threshold of the temple gates was remarkably high, and the doors hung dilapidated.
Within the temple, boundless clear qi drifted in vast mists. The Ginseng Fruit Tree towered in the rear courtyard, shedding brilliant rays of light that dazzled the eye.
The temple appeared shallow from the outside, yet all the experts who had entered seemed to have vanished like clay oxen cast into the sea, leaving not a trace behind. Clearly, a grand universe was contained within.
At that moment, many immortals stood gathered outside the temple, attempting to cross the threshold and venture inside. However, most remained barred outside.
"The threshold of the Ancestor of Earth Immortals is no ordinary height—it's a chasm!" an immortal cried out. "How can anyone fly across such a chasm?"
Just then, an Immortal King sneered, "You call this a threshold? This is the foundation of entering the Dao! Without the foundation to enter the Dao, how could you possibly enter the temple?"
That Immortal King leaped into Wuzhuang Temple, his figure vanishing.
Other immortals flew forward one after another, only to find the threshold rising ever higher, stretching across heaven and earth, reaching infinitely upward and connecting to the underworld below. Unable to cross the doorway, they wore looks of helpless frustration.
Xu Ying approached in his imperial carriage. As the carriage drew near, the threshold sank lower and lower, allowing the carriage to roll into the temple with ease.
Inside Wuzhuang Temple, five immortal mountains stood upright between heaven and earth, adorned with cascading springs and sweeping waterfalls in magnificent splendor. A heavenly river descended from above, coursing through the five immortal mountains.
Xu Ying looked up into the distance, discovering a Heaven-and-Earth Mysterious Pass standing erect behind the Five Sacred Immortal Mountains.
"Wuzhuang Temple should really be called the Temple of the Five Viscera."
Xu Ying was filled with astonishment and wonder. Entering Wuzhuang Temple felt just like stepping into the Realm of Xiyi within the human body—the five immortal mountains corresponded precisely to the Five Sacred Mountains!
Chapter 513