https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-242-Seventh-Heaven-Ascending-to-the-Heavens-Part-1-/12587064/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-243-Mastering-the-Heavenly-Master-s-Seal-Part-1-/12587066/
Chapter 242: Seventh Heaven, Ascending to the Heavens! (Part 2)
Chapter 242: Seventh Heaven, Ascending to the Heavens! (Part 2)
............
Suzhou, the Chu Clan.
The former clan head, Chu Xiuyuan, was also not in the ancestral land of Suzhou.
Chu Xiuyuan was currently standing on a dangerous peak in Huai Mountain, with a picturesque view of the rivers and mountains.
Behind him were several powerful members of the Chu Clan, led by his third son, Chu Zhe, the most promising of Chu Xiuyuan's sons.
"Dajuesi is still mainly focusing on Tianlong Temple." Chu Zhe reported to his father: "In addition, there are also disciples of Dajuesi near the Southern Bodhi Sect."
Chu Xiuyuan stood with his hands behind his back: "As expected."
Among the four sacred sites of Buddhism, Bodhi Temple had already been destroyed, leaving only a limited number of survivors who, with the help of the Tang court, established a new sect.
Even so, if given the chance, Dajuesi would not hesitate to uproot them.
Of the remaining three sacred sites, Jin'gang Temple and Xuantian Temple were both closed off and guarded. They were naturally defensible and rarely interacted with the outside world.
Therefore, after destroying Bodhi Temple, Dajuesi's second target had always been Tianlong Temple, leaving those two stubborn nuts for later.
"There is some dispute within Xuantian Temple, and Jin'gang Temple has been closed off for many years," Chu Zhe continued to report. "Although there has been some movement in both places recently, their actions are not significant, and they are just going through the motions to appease the Tang imperial family."
"Don't worry about Xuantian Temple; our efforts in Jinzhou over the years will pay off."
Chu Xiuyuan retracted his gaze from the distant mountains and rivers: "However, Jin'gang Temple may have something up their sleeves, so don't let down your guard."
The members of the Chu Clan behind him all acknowledged his words.
"We've received news from Jingxiang. Shu Mountain is making a move." Chu Zhe continued.
Chu Xiuyuan: "Are Qingming Sword and Beiming God Spear both out?"
Chu Zhe: "We've seen Qingming Sword, but Beiming God Spear is still in Shu Mountain. However, according to the news they've sent out, they are also prepared."
Shu Mountain was the holy land of the Daoist sect and the sacred site of external alchemy. It was also known as the lineage of refiners.
Over the years, they had accumulated the most precious treasures among all the current sects.
Customarily, they were referred to as the Six Treasures of Shu Mountain, corresponding to the Six Harmonies.
The Upper Treasure, also known as the Taiyi Pre-Heavenly Treasure Pagoda.
The Lower Treasure, the Qingshiufu, was embedded into the earth of Shu Mountain, becoming a part of the sect's mountain gate, combined with the Xiading, forming one of the foundations of Shu Mountain.
These two treasures were the most precious treasures of Shu Mountain, and since their creation, they had never left the mountain gate.
Then there were the Left and Right Treasures, also known as the East and West Treasures, namely the Shu Mountain's most powerful flying sword treasures, Purple Microcosm and Qingming Swords.
However, the Purple Microcosm Sword had been lost for many years, and now only the Qingming Sword remained.
The North and South Treasures, also known as the Front and Back Treasures, were the Nanjing Blazing Fire Cauldron and the Beiming God Spear.
Among them, the Nanjing Lihuo Ding was also one of the foundations of the Shu Mountain sect. It was renowned as the best alchemy and refining treasure in the world and rarely left the mountain. It produced the Nanjing Lihuo, which, although inferior to the Nine Abyss True Fire of Longhu Mountain, was extremely effective in aiding alchemy and refining.
And the Bei Ming God Spear was a formidable weapon of slaughter, renowned alongside the Purple and Green Twin Swords.
The Shu Mountain Sect's artifact refining encompassed all things, and while they were famous for their flying swords, they also possessed other magical treasures for combat.
The Bei Ming God Spear was an even more powerful weapon of slaughter than Xu Duan's Red Flame Fork.
If a conflict arose outside Shu, the Shu Mountain Sect would undoubtedly rely on the Qing Ming Sword and the Bei Ming God Spear as their mainstays.
"Any news from Ying Yun?" The elderly Chu from the Chu family asked.
Chu Zhe replied, "Still no news from Brother Ying Yun."
Jing Xiang Fang, the head of the Fang family from Jing Xiang, whose courtesy name was Ying Yun, was of the same generation as Chu Zhe. He was the number one expert of the Fang family in Jing Xiang.
After the Western Regions demon chaos, he had kept a low profile.
In recent years, the prestigious families had started to unite, and the Fang family from Jing Xiang, along with the Chu family from Su Zhou, had begun to change their attitudes towards the Lin family from Jiang Zhou and Dragon Tiger Mountain in Xin Zhou.
The situation would not remain frozen at a certain point indefinitely.
As time passed, the world changed, and people's hearts changed even more so.
Although the head of the Fang family, Fang Jing Shen, wasn't going to make a move himself, the Fang family as a whole had already taken action.
However, just like the Pure Yang Palace, the Shu Mountain Sect was also making its move.
"News of Miss Xu Yuan Zhen breaking through to the ninth heaven of the Daoist realm has started to spread in the North." Chu Zhe brought up another matter.
The elderly man in front of him smiled slightly, "It's not entirely impossible."
Hearing this, the group of Chu family cultivators all looked slightly grave.
"Let's spread the news in the South as well. This young lady hasn't shown herself in a long time, and in recent years, her fame has gradually been overshadowed by that Miss Tang. This won't do."
The elderly Chu first smiled faintly, then his smile faded as he looked north, "This will also help ease the burden on Brother Ye Chi Yuan."
............
Qing Zhou, the Ye family's ancestral land.
The family head, Ye Yan, whose courtesy name was Ye Chi Yuan, was entertaining a guest.
Prince Xuan An Wang Zhang Mu of the Tang royal family had come to visit the family head of the Qing Zhou Ye family.
"Congratulations, Mister, on attaining the realm of Pacifying the Nation." Zhang Mu slowly opened his mouth.
Ye Yan waved his hand, "I dare not, I dare not. I, Ye, merely study some scholarly pursuits. This nation belongs to the Tang Dynasty, and I've been going to the capital less frequently in recent years, causing some rumors to spread, which may have offended His Majesty. I hope that Your Highness will put in a good word for me and convey my sincerity to His Majesty."
The Confucian cultivation had three lineages, and the first heaven of all three was called Enlightenment. As for the ninth heaven, it was also called Pacifying the Nation.
Especially for the Lineage of Scholasticism, the second heaven was Self-Cultivation, the fifth heaven was Regulating the Family, the eighth heaven was Governing the Nation, and the ninth heaven was Pacifying the Nation, forming a coherent whole.
"Such a title has existed since ancient times, and His Majesty himself cultivated the Path of Scholasticism in the past, so how could he misunderstand? Mister is overthinking it." Xuan An Wang Zhang Mu slowly said.
His face was calm, but looking at Ye Yan, his heart was stirred.
To be fair, it wasn't completely unexpected.
After all, Ye Yan was a proud son of heaven in his youth, not to mention that he had rushed into the Upper Three Heavens at a young age and continued to soar, passing through the Seventh Heaven of Fighting and Striving to the Eighth Heaven of Governing the Nation, and constantly breaking through, perfecting his cultivation at every stage.
However, after that, he finally stopped, and for many years, he remained unchanged.
Today, he was already over two hundred years old, an age when Upper Three Heavens cultivators would start to decline.
Although he hadn't started to decline yet, outsiders gradually believed that he would stay at the Eighth Heaven and that the Ninth Heaven was out of reach.
Because Ye Yan's eldest daughter had become the Empress of the Tang Dynasty in recent years, he had frequently visited the capital, so the possibility of him having broken through and hidden his strength was very low.
But now, the family head of the Qing Zhou Ye family had sprouted new growth and successfully taken that step.
With the fact right before his eyes, Prince Xuan An still couldn't help but feel his heart stir.
"Mister has also said that you've been going to the capital less frequently."
Zhang Mu soon recovered his composure, "After all, the capital still has your family."
Ye Yan smiled and nodded, "Please ask Your Highness to convey my greetings to His Majesty, and I would like to pay my respects to His Majesty and ask for his permission."
"That's natural." Zhang Mu agreed.
Ye Yan didn't have to worry about going to the capital and not returning.
Because Ye Mo Quan and Chu Xiu Yuan were outside the capital.
If they dealt with each other face to face, the three of them together would be a match for the Tang Emperor.
On the contrary, if they were scattered, the Tang Emperor could only target one person at most at a time.
Breaking the balance would have unpredictable consequences.
Zhang Mu chatted with Ye Yan for a while longer and then took his leave, heading to the separate residence that the Ye family had arranged for him.
"Your Highness, there's still no news of Wei An Cheng, the rebel from the Southern Wilderness. It's just that the people of the Southern Wilderness Shamanism are still surrounding and suppressing him." A follower came to report at this time.
Zhang Mu nodded slightly.
After being seriously injured by the encirclement and suppression of Shang Guan Bo and others, although the Tang Dynasty's experts had gradually returned to the North, the future Maitreya of the White Lotus Sect had also disappeared, but the other experts of the Southern Wilderness had not given up on continuing to chase and suppress Wei An Cheng and the Blood River Sect.
At the very least, they wouldn't let Wei An Cheng recover from his injuries.
Otherwise, once he recovered, he would be a sharp blade hanging over the heads of the Southern Wilderness Shamanism.
Wei An Cheng was ruthless and ambitious, and he wouldn't seek revenge on the Tang royal family or the White Lotus Sect or cause trouble for the Shu Mountain Sect just to satisfy his personal grudges. This would expose his whereabouts and attract a siege.
But the Blood River lineage was like a bloodthirsty shark that was attracted by the smell of blood.
In the upcoming battle, Wei An Cheng might quietly get closer and take the opportunity to make a move...
"What about the White Lotus rebels?" Zhang Mu asked in a deep voice.
Attendant: "After the so-called future Maitreya of the White Lotus Sect disappeared in the Southern Wilderness, the White Lotus Sect seemed to have gone into hiding, and there has been little news lately."
Zhang Mu cautioned, "We must not be complacent. We should always be vigilant of the movements of the three great rebels: Bailian, Huangtian, and Dakong."
The attendant replied, "Yes, Your Highness!"
After the attendant retreated, Zhang Mu remained restless and couldn't sleep.
His gaze shifted towards the north, and he fell into a long silence.
In the ancestral residence of the Ye family in Qingzhou, the mansion was also brightly lit at night, and Ye Yan was still awake.
He stood in the courtyard, gazing towards the north.
"News has leaked," Ye Yan muttered to himself. "A lot of it."
He had already heard about some of the setbacks Lin Zhe and the others were facing in the northern border.
However, the extent of the leak far exceeded their expectations, not just in the area of Daheishan in the northern border.
The Tang imperial court's decisive response indicated that they had concrete information, which was why they deployed manpower on such a large scale and even persuaded Pure Yang Palace and Shu Mountain to invest significant resources.
This suggested that the leak came from a high-level source within the Four Surnames and Six Peaks.
Suzhou's Chu Yu, Jingxiang's Fang Yue, and Xiao Zu from beyond the border could be ruled out since they had already parted ways and wouldn't have had access to core secrets.
If it was the Lin Clan of Jiangzhou, then it could only be Lin Zhe himself who was the traitor...
But if it wasn't them, then where did the leak originate? Ye Yan's gaze shifted from the north to the west, towards the capital.
"What is Zhang Wantong up to...?"
............
In the broken otherworldly realm, the center was bustling with strange vitality.
Countless strands of spiritual energy intertwined, centering on the pitch-black thunderclouds that resembled hanging glaciers, constantly flowing and shifting.
As time passed, the spiritual energy gradually weakened.
Meanwhile, the pitch-black thunderclouds grew even larger.
Next to the black thunderclouds, a relatively smaller radiance flickered.
Countless specks of light spread out like a starry nebula.
Lei Jun remained seated, not performing any martial arts stances, but he was surrounded and enveloped by countless starlike specks of light that constantly rotated around him.
Although the black thunderclouds expanded, Lei Jun was not engulfed by them. Instead, he maintained a constant distance from the clouds.
Protected by the revolving starlight, Lei Jun's body underwent new changes.
Underneath him, a magnificent and ethereal dojo took form, condensed from radiant light.
It was complete with the eight gates and nine fields, and the six veils and six halls stood independently.
On the dojo, there was a three-layered altar. The first layer was square, the second layer octagonal, and the third layer perfectly round.
Lei Jun sat atop the third layer of the altar.
Above his head, the four-sided talismans reappeared and stood tall, facing the four directions. However, the talismans lacked the intricate talismanic patterns from before, featuring only simple designs:
One depicted a yin dragon and a yang dragon embracing each other.
Another showed a yang dragon and a yin dragon in an embrace.
One displayed the array of stars and constellations in the heavens.
And the last one illustrated the mountains and rivers of the earth.
Above the four talismans, a luminous sacred mountain emerged.
Passing through the mountain gate, one could see the Southern Dragon Tiger Dao Palace at the foot of the mountain.
As one continued climbing, the Central Three Purities Dao Palace stood atop the main peak.
To the left and right, the Western Spirit Officer Dao Palace and the Eastern Xuan Altar Dao Palace faced each other.
At the back of the mountain was the Northern Xuanming Dao Palace.
Within the Central Three Purities Dao Palace, an ancient and unadorned Daoist seal was enshrined.
The seal was subdued, its power concealed, lacking the mystical qualities it once had, but it exuded an air of a divine object veiled in obscurity.
At the same time, within Lei Jun's soul, in the True One Altar Cave Heaven, the dojo was also brightly lit.
The forty-nine lamps flickered, resonating with the starlight surrounding Lei Jun in the outside world.
In the three layers of the True One Altar, whether it was the heavenly soldiers and generals or the various heavenly law ancestors, their figures were now clearly visible, emerging from the profound laws.
Normally, a Middle Three Heavens Daoist talismanic cultivator would need the assistance of the sect's altar to break through to the Upper Three Heavens.
Direct disciples of the Dragon Tiger Mountain Heavenly Master's Mansion would need to cultivate near the Myriad Laws Sect's altar to challenge the Seventh Heaven realm.
However, Lei Jun was an exception.
He could rely on the True One Altar, which originated from the Myriad Laws Sect's altar, to aid him in his cultivation.
The True One Altar was, in many ways, considered a part of the Myriad Laws Sect's altar.
At this moment, Lei Jun's personal altar resonated with the True One Altar.
Then, a thunderous sound that seemed to shake the heavens and the earth resounded, audible only to Lei Jun.
The tribulation between the Sixth Heaven and Seventh Heaven had arrived.
Amidst the dazzling lightning, Lei Jun's altar and dojo seemed to tremble and showed signs of disintegration.
However, the Daoist seal remained steadfast like Mount Tai, stabilizing the turmoil.
In the outside world, the constellations formed by Lei Jun's spiritual power confronted the massive black thunderclouds.
The two forces, one dynamic and the other static, one light and the other dense, strangely presented a harmonious yin and yang balance.
A layer of lightning appeared on Lei Jun's Daoist seal, but it wasn't damaged.
Instead, as the lightning reached its peak, the Daoist seal seemed to sprout and grow like a seed, vigorously moving in this moment.
A thick column of light shot straight up, piercing through the Central Three Purities Dao Palace.
Although the Dao Palace shattered, the countless fragmented pieces transformed into talismanic patterns, merging into the towering column of light.
Subsequently, the other Dao Palaces, talismans, altars, and foundational altars and fields followed suit.
The column of light became increasingly brilliant and expansive, enveloping Lei Jun's entire body.
In this moment, the light connected the heavens and the earth.
Lei Jun felt his senses expanding, merging with nature, and further extending to the stars and constellations in the universe, connecting and intertwining with them.
This signified that Lei Jun had successfully taken another step forward.
Daoist Talismanic Seventh Heaven.
The realm of Communing with Heaven was achieved!
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
